Horizon highlights – Tough questions for Obama, tough gadgets for soldiers, and tough love for Chrome cgaylord Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:15:03 -0000 Our regular roundup of sci-tech stories from across the Web includes: Where does Obama stand on science issues? How sturdy are Panasonic Toughbooks? And how good is Google’s new web browser? Let’s kick it off:
Politics – Obama answers your science questions
“Though unable to convince Obama and John McCain to engage in a full-blown science debate, [...] ‘Spore’ ready to bloom briefs Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:12:04 -0000 “Spore,” the long-awaited (and long-delayed) follow-up from video game guru Will Wright launches Friday in Europe and Sunday in North America. Mr. Wright, who made pop culture history when he created the massively popular PC world known as “The Sims,” calls his new creation “the ultimate God game,” allowing players to guide a home-brewed species [...] How to download free books, music, and movies from local libraries editorial Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:11:55 -0000 In a time when practically any question can be answered through a Google search, brick-and-mortar libraries are evolving to remain relevant.
Rather than cede ground to search engines, e-book readers, and download services, more than 7,500 US libraries are adopting their competitor’s tricks and offering digital means to access books, music, and movies – free of [...]
Comet-Chasing Spacecraft Encounters Rare Asteroid Soulskill Sat, 06 Sep 2008 12:13:00 -0000 Riding with Robots writes "Yesterday the robotic spacecraft Rosetta, on its way to a distant encounter with Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, flew by the asteroid 'Steins', which is roughly 4.6 kilometers wide. Steins is one of the relatively rare E-type asteroids. The mission team live-blogged throughout the day, and a press conference with the first pictures will be available soon." Rosetta's flyby took it to within 800 kilometers of Steins while both objects were roughly 360 million kilometers from Earth. According to Rosetta's fact sheet (PDF), the craft will next swing by Earth in 2009 and take a look at another asteroid in 2010 on its way to the rendezvous with the comet in 2014.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
NASA To Explore "Secret Layer" of the Sun Soulskill Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:03:00 -0000 SpaceAdmiral brings news that NASA will be launching a telescope next April, called Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph Investigation (SUMI), which will examine what is called the "transition region" between the Sun's corona and the chromosphere. Scientists have studied characteristics of the Sun around this region before, but never within it. NASA notes: "It is a place in the sun's atmosphere, about 5000 km above the stellar surface, where magnetic fields overwhelm the pressure of matter and seize control of the sun's gases. It's where solar flares explode, where coronal mass ejections begin their journey to Earth, where the solar wind is mysteriously accelerated to a million mph. It is, in short, the birthplace of space weather."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Every Satellite Tracked In Realtime Via Google Earth kdawson Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:12:00 -0000 Matt Amato writes "With the recent discussion of the ISS having to dodge some space junk, many people's attention has once again focused on the amount of stuff in orbit around our planet. What many people don't know is that USSTRATCOM tracks and publishes a list of over 13,000 objects that they currently monitor, including active/retired satellites and debris. This data is meaningless to most people, but thanks to Analytical Graphics, it has now been made accessible free of charge to anyone with a copy of Google Earth. By grabbing the KMZ, you can not only view all objects tracked in real-time, but you can also click on them to get more information on the specific satellite, including viewing its orbit trajectory. It's an excellent educational tool for the space-curious. Disclaimer: I not only work for Analytical Graphics, but I'm the one that wrote this tool as a demo."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
L.A. Times - Science
Ice shelf breaks away in Canadian Arctic Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700 The 19-square-mile Markham Ice Shelf is now floating in the Arctic Ocean. An Arctic ice shelf specialist says 83 square miles of ice has been lost from shelves this summer.
Ice shelf breaks off in Arctic
Hanna-Ike-Josephine storm trio isn't an anomaly Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Global warming can't be blamed for the trifecta -- headed toward the Southeast U.S. -- meteorologists say. It's just 'peak season in an active hurricane cycle.'
Despite the prospect of three major tropical storms heading toward the Southeastern United States, meteorologists say that the conga-line assault is not particularly unusual in the stormy history of the region.
Straying mate? His genes may be to blame Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700 That cheating husband could have a gene variant that scientists have linked to higher risks of marital discord and divorce. (He could even have two.)
Men are more likely to be devoted and loyal husbands when they lack a particular variant of a gene that influences brain activity, researchers reported this week.
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