Work to bring back the St. Petersburg Science Center are wort attention.
Source: https://stpetecatalyst.com/vintage-st-pete-the-science-center-part-one/
https://stpete.foundation/programs/the-science-center/
Showing posts with label Space and Science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Space and Science. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 01, 2025
Tuesday, September 09, 2025
Friday, March 28, 2025
Defining Closed Systems - Science Partnering with Faith
Defining Closed Systems - Science Partnering with Faith
"A closed system is a natural physical system that does not allow transfer of matter in or out of the system, although – in the contexts of physics, chemistry, engineering, etc. – the transfer of energy (e.g. as work or heat) is allowed.
An example would be A classic example of a closed system is a sealed thermos bottle containing hot coffee, where no matter can enter or leave, but energy (heat) can be exchanged with the surroundings. "
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_system
Generative AI is experimental
Sunday, November 17, 2024
Significance of Fallen Star: as seen from Florida
Last night while driving home from Bradenton, Florida we were fortunate to observed a fallen star al most directly in line with our path (I-75 North). - A. T. Brooks
"
The Symbolism of Falling Stars
As the night sky twinkles with countless stars, there is something particularly captivating about witnessing a falling star. These celestial phenomena, also known as shooting stars or meteors, have fascinated humans for centuries, evoking a sense of wonder and awe. However, beyond their breathtaking beauty, falling stars hold a deeper spiritual significance that has intrigued seekers of spiritual truth throughout history.
Ancient Beliefs and Mythology
In ancient times, falling stars were often seen as omens or signs from the gods. Many cultures believed that these celestial events carried messages from the divine realm. In Greek mythology, for example, shooting stars were considered to be the manifestation of the gods’ attention or a celestial being descending to Earth. Their appearance was seen as a direct communication between mortals and the heavens.
Spiritual Interpretations
In the realm of spirituality, falling stars are seen as symbolic of various concepts and experiences. Some interpret them as reminders of the impermanence of life, representing the fleeting nature of existence. Just as a shooting star blazes across the sky for a brief moment before vanishing, so too does life move swiftly, urging us to cherish each precious moment.
Others view falling stars as symbols of hope, an encouragement to pursue our dreams and aspirations. The sight of a falling star can serve as a reminder to keep our desires alive and to believe in the power of manifestation. It is a sign that the universe is listening, ready to grant our heartfelt wishes if we dare to envision and pursue them.
Personal Significance
Beyond the collective symbolism, falling stars can also hold personal significance for individuals. Many people believe that witnessing a falling star is a spiritual message tailored specifically for them. These celestial events are seen as personal signs from the universe, indicating that one is on the right path or that a significant change or opportunity is on the horizon.
The interpretation of a falling star’s meaning is highly subjective and can vary depending on an individual’s beliefs and experiences. Some may see it as a sign of encouragement during times of struggle or a reminder of the presence of loved ones who have passed away. Others may interpret it as a gentle nudge to reassess one’s goals and dreams or to embrace the unexpected with open arms.
No matter the interpretation, the experience of witnessing a falling star often leaves a profound impact on individuals, inspiring introspection and reflection on their spiritual journey and connection to the universe.
In the next section, we will delve deeper into interpreting the spiritual meaning behind falling stars, exploring how they can serve as signs from the universe, messages from spirit guides, and catalysts for manifestation and transformation."
The above are not my words, citing below. Thank you
Source: https://spiritualityshepherd.com/spiritual-meaning-of-a-falling-star/
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Solar Storm Bombards Earth
"It begins on the sun's surface: a broad, hellish plain of boiling 5,700 degree gas. Powerful magnetic fields arc upwards from the surface, rising high into the solar atmosphere to form giant, twisting arcades of energy. Matter streams up these arches to be gripped in a magnetic vise a million miles above the surface. Then something happens. Something shifts. Magnetic lines of force in the arcade snap like steel cables on the bridge to heaven. Billions of tons of solar gas are suddenly blown outward, exploding across interplanetary space. Three days later the shimmering ball of energy smashes head-on into the unsuspecting Earth.
While the paragraph above might sound like the beginning of a bad science fiction movie it's really nothing more than a slightly hyperbolic description of the last three days. The only error in my description of the solar storm that struck us today is that we were not caught unawares. We have been watching the whole time. In that fact lays a deeper truth speaking to much more than solar activity.
Yesterday I received an email from NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. They had issued a watch for a "geomagnetic storm" associated with a bright flare on the sun Sunday evening. The expectation was that storm would arrive today "with possible impacts to navigation, the power grid and satellites." NOAA says it's the most powerful such event to hit Earth since 2005.
Space weather, as it is called, originates with solar magnetic activity. The sun is a giant spinning ball of charged particles. In addition to its spin, the heat released from the core through nuclear fusion eventually sets the upper layers of the sun into a kind of boiling motion called convection. All that motion — spin and convection — means lots of charged particles streaming this way and that. Since current (the flow of charges) produces magnetic fields, the outer domains of the sun are ruled by magnetism. Magnetic fields are the source of all those cool images of giant flares erupting in planet-spanning arcades of super-hot plasma. It's also the source of so-called Coronal Mass Ejections or CMEs, which are, essentially, the space storms that space weather is all about.
CMEs are eruptions of matter and magnetism from the sun into space. A typical CME will blow 10 billion kilograms (about 22 billion pounds) of solar plasma into space along with enough energy to represent a flotilla of 220 aircraft carriers moving at 500 km/s. The fact the CME's are quite common says a lot about the power locked up in an ordinary star like the sun.
While 1 to 3 CMEs may occur every day, we only notice the ones that slam into the Earth on their journey across the solar system. When a CME crosses the Earth it runs into our planet's own magnetic field. Charged particles from the CME get trapped by the Earth's magnetic field and stream down toward the planet's surface near the poles.
When those CME particles, running down magnetic field lines, strike atmospheric gas atoms, the collisions cause the atoms to light up like Christmas tree bulbs. That is the origin of the simmering walls of color we called aurora. There was a time when pretty lights were all there was to space weather. Those days are over.
Before we became a high-tech culture, the collision of the CME with the Earth was no cause for alarm. Now space weather poses serious risks for everyone. For astronauts, the torrent of high-energy particles pose health risks via heavy doses of ionizing radiation. Orbiting satellites used for communications, weather prediction and a 100 other purposes can feel the blow too, as CME particles destroy solar panels and sensitive electronics.
Sprawling grids of power-lines on Earth can also feel the effect of all that CME current dumped suddenly into the atmosphere. Electric grids can overload and, without warning, millions of people might be plunged into darkness (as occurred in 1989, when a severe space storm caused a system-wide power failure in Quebec).
To deal with the problem, NASA and other space agencies have begun to continually monitor the Sun. As soon as a CME is observed, powerful supercomputers are engaged to predict its path through space. If the storm of matter and magnetism appears headed toward Earth then precautions can be taken like bringing astronauts in from space walks or putting satellites into "safe-modes" where their electronics will be less likely to suffer damage.
While there is enough remarkable science related to space weather to fill 20 blog posts, I want to end this description with the briefest of thoughts which never fails to astonish me. For thousands of generations the human habitation of this planet knew nothing of space weather. We knew Earth-bound winds and even learned to use those winds to become a sea faring race. When gossamer veils of light appeared in the northern skies we watched, wondered and prayed and then went about our business.
Now we have crossed a threshold. Now we have become a high-tech, space-faring race encircling the planet's surface with power-lines and its skies with orbiting satellites. There are other winds and other storms we must now be attentive to as we go about our business. In this way, as in so many others, our long childhood as a species has ended for better or for worse."
http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2012/01/24/145700040/storms-in-the-void-space-weather-and-childhoods-end
While the paragraph above might sound like the beginning of a bad science fiction movie it's really nothing more than a slightly hyperbolic description of the last three days. The only error in my description of the solar storm that struck us today is that we were not caught unawares. We have been watching the whole time. In that fact lays a deeper truth speaking to much more than solar activity.
Yesterday I received an email from NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. They had issued a watch for a "geomagnetic storm" associated with a bright flare on the sun Sunday evening. The expectation was that storm would arrive today "with possible impacts to navigation, the power grid and satellites." NOAA says it's the most powerful such event to hit Earth since 2005.
Space weather, as it is called, originates with solar magnetic activity. The sun is a giant spinning ball of charged particles. In addition to its spin, the heat released from the core through nuclear fusion eventually sets the upper layers of the sun into a kind of boiling motion called convection. All that motion — spin and convection — means lots of charged particles streaming this way and that. Since current (the flow of charges) produces magnetic fields, the outer domains of the sun are ruled by magnetism. Magnetic fields are the source of all those cool images of giant flares erupting in planet-spanning arcades of super-hot plasma. It's also the source of so-called Coronal Mass Ejections or CMEs, which are, essentially, the space storms that space weather is all about.
CMEs are eruptions of matter and magnetism from the sun into space. A typical CME will blow 10 billion kilograms (about 22 billion pounds) of solar plasma into space along with enough energy to represent a flotilla of 220 aircraft carriers moving at 500 km/s. The fact the CME's are quite common says a lot about the power locked up in an ordinary star like the sun.
While 1 to 3 CMEs may occur every day, we only notice the ones that slam into the Earth on their journey across the solar system. When a CME crosses the Earth it runs into our planet's own magnetic field. Charged particles from the CME get trapped by the Earth's magnetic field and stream down toward the planet's surface near the poles.
When those CME particles, running down magnetic field lines, strike atmospheric gas atoms, the collisions cause the atoms to light up like Christmas tree bulbs. That is the origin of the simmering walls of color we called aurora. There was a time when pretty lights were all there was to space weather. Those days are over.
Before we became a high-tech culture, the collision of the CME with the Earth was no cause for alarm. Now space weather poses serious risks for everyone. For astronauts, the torrent of high-energy particles pose health risks via heavy doses of ionizing radiation. Orbiting satellites used for communications, weather prediction and a 100 other purposes can feel the blow too, as CME particles destroy solar panels and sensitive electronics.
Sprawling grids of power-lines on Earth can also feel the effect of all that CME current dumped suddenly into the atmosphere. Electric grids can overload and, without warning, millions of people might be plunged into darkness (as occurred in 1989, when a severe space storm caused a system-wide power failure in Quebec).
To deal with the problem, NASA and other space agencies have begun to continually monitor the Sun. As soon as a CME is observed, powerful supercomputers are engaged to predict its path through space. If the storm of matter and magnetism appears headed toward Earth then precautions can be taken like bringing astronauts in from space walks or putting satellites into "safe-modes" where their electronics will be less likely to suffer damage.
While there is enough remarkable science related to space weather to fill 20 blog posts, I want to end this description with the briefest of thoughts which never fails to astonish me. For thousands of generations the human habitation of this planet knew nothing of space weather. We knew Earth-bound winds and even learned to use those winds to become a sea faring race. When gossamer veils of light appeared in the northern skies we watched, wondered and prayed and then went about our business.
Now we have crossed a threshold. Now we have become a high-tech, space-faring race encircling the planet's surface with power-lines and its skies with orbiting satellites. There are other winds and other storms we must now be attentive to as we go about our business. In this way, as in so many others, our long childhood as a species has ended for better or for worse."
http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2012/01/24/145700040/storms-in-the-void-space-weather-and-childhoods-end
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Best chance for life beyond Earth # 2: Enceladus
After Mars, Saturn and its several moons is the nearest best chance for finding life beyond Earth. In addition to the possibility of life the Saturn system possesses the best chance for finding natural resources such as methane and water.
The next large moon is Enceladus, measuring 504 km across, and orbiting at 238,000 km from the center of Saturn. NASA's Cassini spacecraft recently discovered geysers of water ice pouring out of Enceladus' southern pole. Astronomers think that there could be vast reserves of liquid water underneath the moon's icy surface.
Enceladus has the highest albedo (>0.9) of any body in the solar system. Its surface is dominated by fresh, clean ice.
At least five different types of terrain have been identified on Enceladus. In addition to craters there are smooth plains and extensive linear cracks and ridges. At least some of the surface is relatively young, probably less than 100 million years.
This means that Enceladus must have been active until very recently (and perhaps is still active today). Perhaps some sort of "water volcanism" is at work.
Enceladus is much too small to be heated solely by the decay of radioactive material in its interior at present. But briefly after its formation 4.5 billion years ago short-lived radioisotopes may have provided enough heat to melt and differentiate the interior. That combined with modest present day heating from long-lived isotopes and tidal heating may account for the present day activity on Enceladus.
Cassini closeup view (looks like Europa?) Enceladus is locked in a 1:2 resonance with Dione (similar to the situation between Io and Europa). This may provide a heating mechanism but it is probably insufficient to melt water ice. Enceladus may therefore be composed of some low-melting point material rather than pure water.
Enceladus is very likely the source of the material in Saturn's tenuous E ring. And since the material cannot persist in the ring for more than a few thousand years, it must be due to very recent activity on Enceladus. A less likely possibility is that the rings are maintained by high-velocity collisions between dust particles and the various moons.
Source: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060608.html
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/10/enceladus_up_close.html
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Best chance for life beyond Earth # 3: Europa
Europa (pronounced /jʊˈroʊpə/ ( listen); or as Greek Ευρώπη) is the sixth moon of the planet Jupiter, and the smallest of its four Galilean satellites. Europa was discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei (and possibly independently by Simon Marius), and named after a mythical Phoenician noblewoman, Europa, who was courted by Zeus and became the queen of Crete.
Roughly the size of Earth's Moon, Europa is primarily made of silicate rock and likely has an iron core. It has a tenuous atmosphere composed primarily of oxygen. Its surface is composed of ice and is one of the smoothest in the Solar System. This surface is striated by cracks and streaks, while craters are relatively infrequent. The apparent youth and smoothness of the surface have led to the hypothesis that a water ocean exists beneath it, which could conceivably serve as an abode for extraterrestrial life.[12] This hypothesis proposes that heat energy from tidal flexing causes the ocean to remain liquid and drives geological activity similar to plate tectonics.[13]
Although only fly-by missions have visited the moon, the intriguing characteristics of Europa have led to several ambitious exploration proposals. The Galileo mission provided the bulk of current data on Europa. A new mission to Jupiter's icy moons, the Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM), is proposed for a launch in 2020.[14] Conjecture on extraterrestrial life has ensured a high profile for the moon and has led to steady lobbying for future missions.
Discovery: Jan 7, 1610 by Galileo Galilei
Diameter (km): 3,138
Mass (kg): 4.8e22 kg
Mass (Earth = 1) 0.0083021
Surface Gravity (Earth = 1): 0.135
Mean Distance from Jupiter (km): 670,900
Mean Distance From Jupiter (Rj): 9.5
Mean Distance from Sun (AU): 5.203
Orbital period (days): 3.551181
Rotational period (days): 3.551181
Density (gm/cm³) 3.01
Orbit Eccentricity: 0.009
Orbit Inclination (degrees): 0.470
Orbit Speed (km/sec): 13.74
Escape velocity (km/sec): 2.02
Visual Albedo: 0.64
Surface Composition: Water Ice
http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/europa/#overview
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