Author Archive (John Tyburski): May 2014

Friday, May 16, 2014

Scientists discover world’s oldest complex cardiovascular system

A stunning cardiovascular system is discovered in China.

by John Tyburski

Clickity: First published at Science Recorder on April 9, 2014

“Surprisingly complex” is a phrase used more than once to describe morphological characteristics of a 520-million-year old Chengjiang arthropod found in China in 1987. At least two of the early Cambrian period shrimp-like creature named Fuxianhuia protensa were remarkably-well preserved. In 2012, Nicholas Strausfeld and colleagues at the University of Arizona... [Pending]

Mars puts on stunning light display

Mars puts on a stunning display for amateur astronomers.

by John Tyburski

Clickity: First published at Science Recorder on April 9, 2014

The expression, “the planets align” applies tonight for large portions of the U.S. as clear skies allow residents to view Mars at “opposition” to Earth. Anyone with a telescope or even good pair of binoculars may wish to stay up until around midnight local time and gaze at Mars as it aligns with Earth and the sun... [Pending]

Expansion rate of the early universe estimated with most precision to date

Scientists have measured for the first time how fast the universe was expanding 10.8 billion years ago.

by John Tyburski

Clickity: First published at Science Recorder on April 8, 2014

Two teams of astronomers with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) have recently reported the most precise measurement to date of the expansion rate of the early universe. The researchers observed light from 140,000 quasars with a 2... [Pending]

Young volcanic island fuses with older neighbor off coast of Japan

A young volcanic island has recently joined with its neighbor, its lava claiming the remnants of a 40-year-old volcanic island as its own.

by John Tyburski

Clickity: First published at Science Recorder on April 8, 2014

The world’s newest island, Niijima, born by volcano off the Pacific coast of Japan a few hundred miles south of Tokyo, was predicted to stop growing and erode away fairly quickly. However, Nii (new) Jima (island) kept growing as its volcano kept releasing lava until joining to its older neighbor, Nishinoshima... [Pending]

‘SNL’ borrows Neil deGrasse Tyson to educate ‘Fox And Friends’ on science

SNL uses Neil deGrasse Tyson to try an educate an audience.

by John Tyburski

Clickity: First published at Science Recorder on April 8, 2014

The cast of Saturday Night Live (SNL) once again took aim at the Fox News Channel’s (FNC) morning program “Fox And Friends.” This time astrophysicist and “Cosmos” host Neil deGrasse Tyson, played by SNL’s, Kenan Thompson, attempted to explain the importance of climate change to the program’s three hosts... [Pending]

NASA’s $280 million lunar probe LADEE will crash into moon

It will slam into the moon later this month, according to NASA.

by John Tyburski

Clickity: First published at Science Recorder on April 7, 2014

A $280 million lunar mission is about to come to a spectacularly violent end. NASA scientist Rick Elphic recently announced the end of the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission that will be marked with the mission’s moon-orbiting probe crashing into the surface of the moon... [Pending]

Sentinel-1A: Europe’s launch of new environmental satellite a success

The launch was successful.

by John Tyburski

Clickity: First published at Science Recorder on April 5, 2014

The European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched its widely anticipated environmental satellite called “Sentinel-1A” on April 3, 2014, at 21:02 GMT (5:02 p.m. EDT). The deployment of the 2.3-tonne satellite is the first in a series of planned missions within the Coperincus Programme, a joint initiative between ESA and the European Commission that will “provide accurate, timely and easily accessible information to improve the management of the environment, understand and mitigate the effects of climate change, and ensure civil security,” according to ESA officials... [Pending]

April 8 will leave topical Mars visible from Earth

See tropical Mars from Earth.

by John Tyburski

Clickity: First published at Science Recorder on April 3, 2014

Bring out the telescopes because on April 8, Mars will come nearest to Earth as it has since 2007 in a configuration astronomers call “opposition.” This is when both Earth and Mars, the third and fourth planets out from the sun, respectively, fall in a straight line out from our sun. If the skies are clear, even with a small telescope one may view a number of topical Martian features, including the polar ice caps... [Pending]

Pittsburgh proud to see return of American bald eagles

Pittsburgh sees the return of the bald eagle.

by John Tyburski

Clickity: First published at Science Recorder on April 2, 2014

The United States almost destroyed its own National Emblem, the American bald eagle. Fortunately, however, the bird has made an incredible comeback. Recently, bald eagles have been found nesting along all three of Pittsburgh’s major rivers in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, an area from which they have been absent for some 250 years... [Pending]

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Supermassive black holes may have been born large

Black holes may have been born large.

by John Tyburski

Clickity: First published at Science Recorder on April 1, 2014

Black holes are objects in space that are so massive that their gravity prevents anything, including light, from escaping. At the hearts of all galaxies, including our own Milky Way, are black holes of enormous sizes, having masses billions of times that of our sun. Because not all black holes are equal in size, astronomers have speculated for decades as to how the “supermassive” black holes attain their heft... [Pending]

Episode 4 of ‘Cosmos’ to examine a ‘Sky Full of Ghosts’

The latest episode examines illusions of the universe.

by John Tyburski

Clickity: First published at Science Recorder on March 31, 2014

“Sky Full of Ghosts,” the fourth episode of the television program “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey” runs tonight on Fox and again on Monday, March 31, on the National Geographic Channel. Host Neil deGrasse Tyson continues the imaginative journey through space and takes viewers along on a closer look at light, time, and gravity... [Pending]

Realtime 3D X-ray imaging shows the internal flight motor of the blowfly

A new image gives us an idea of the inner-workings of the blowfly.

by John Tyburski

Clickity: First published at Science Recorder on March 31, 2014

A new image gives us an idea of the inner-workings of the blowfly.
Mention flight and for most, birds or airplanes quickly come to mind. In fact, the vast majority of flying animals are insects, a class of invertebrates consisting of vast numbers and enormous diversity. Scientists are keenly interested in the details of how insects perform flight because of how understanding these mechanisms may inform the design and development of robotics...[Pending]

Total lunar eclipse: ‘Blood moons’ to begin April 15

A lunar eclipse will take place in mid April.

by John Tyburski

Firstpublished at Science Recorder on March 30, 2014

Avid skygazers will want to mark their calendars for the upcoming total lunar eclipse that will occur in the early morning hours of Tuesday, April 15, according to astronomers. Amateur astronomers will have to stay up late or get up very early to see this first of four “blood moons” anticipated to occur over the next year and a half... [Requires Subscription]

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Friday, May 16, 2014

Wednesday, May 14, 2014