If you want to know one of the negative effect of science and technology read the story below and express your view.
A Chinese teenager has sold his kidney to buy an iPad and iPhone.
:: Commentary on this video is in Mandarin
Xiao Zheng, from the country's south-eastern Anhui province, is believed to have met a broker on the internet who said he could help him sell his kidney for £1,825 (Yuan 20,000).
He is said to have left a message for the middleman saying: "I want to buy an iPad 2."
Zheng then travelled to Chenzhou in central Hunan province, where he had his right kidney removed in a hospital.
His mother told reporters she was devastated by the news.
She said: "When my son came home he had a laptop computer and an Apple phone.
"Where did all that money come from? Only when he could bear it no longer did he tell us.
"He said, Mum, I sold my kidney.
"When I heard it I felt like the sky was crashing down on our family."
The boy's mother alerted police after she found out but they were unable to locate the broker as his phone was switched off.
The hospital was not authorised to perform organ transplants, and claimed they had no idea about the surgery because the department had been contracted to a businessman from a neighbouring province, reports said.
Saturday, 4 June 2011
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
EARTHQUAKE SHIFT EARTH AXIS
Buzz Up! Print StoryThe powerful earthquake that killed hundreds of people.
Richard Gross, a research scientist at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, calculated how much the axis may have changed in position following the the disaster.
More than 700 people died and two million are estimated to have been affected by the 8.8-magnitude tremor and subsequent tsunamis.
The quake, the most powerful to hit the nation in 50 years, sent shockwaves out from the epicentre 70 miles from Chile's second city, Concepcion.
Buildings and roads collapsed and 500,000 homes have been left severely damaged.
Six aid workers died when a plane carrying them to Concepcion crashed.
The team was on its way to help organise accommodation for those left homeless by the disaster.
Soldiers were sent to patrol Concepcion's streets after mobs set fire to shops and started looting them, hindering attempts to rescue survivors.
If the planet's axis did shift by 8cm during the quake, days would have shortened by 1.26 microseconds, Mr Gross calculated.
A microsecond is one-millionth of a second.
Earth days are 24 hours long because that is the amount of time it takes the planet to make one full rotation on its axis, so shifting the axis would affect rotation.
The quake shifted the Earth's axis by even more than the 9.1-magnitude tremor off Indonesia that started the deadly tsunami in Asia in 2004, according to Mr Gross.
This was partly because the fault line responsible for the quake in Chile "dips into Earth at a slightly steeper angle than does the fault responsible for the 2004 Sumatran earthquake", he said.
The different angle made Saturday's tremor more effective at moving Earth's mass vertically and shifting the planet's axis, Mr Gross continued.
The 2004 quake in Asia, which killed hundreds of thousands of people, caused the Earth to move by around 7cm.
It chopped an estimated 6.8 microseconds off the length of a day, Nasa said.
Monday, 1 March 2010
WONDER TWINS
Two nine year olds known as the Wonder Twins for their record-beating exam results are set to become the youngest pupils admitted to a British secondary school.
Paula and Peter Imafidon, from Waltham Forest, London, amazed parents and teachers when they passed an A-level maths exam at the age of seven.
The twins have been waiting to find out which secondary school they will attend, along with thousands of other youngsters - who are two years older - across the country.
Peter and Paula, who attend a state primary in London, were helped by their three older brothers and sisters, all of whom were also child prodigies.
Their father Chris said he was thrilled by his childen's achievements at school.
He denied any particular genius in the family, crediting their success to the Excellence in Education programme for inner city children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
"Every child is a genius," he said. "Once you identify the talent of a child and put them in the environment that will nurture that talent then the sky is the limit.
"Look at Tiger Woods, or the Williams sisters - they were nurtured.
"You can never rule anything out with them, the competition between the two of them makes them excel in anything they do.
"They are forever competing and fighting, even if it's just for the remote control or the computer."
Paula hopes to become a maths teacher, while Peter hopes to become Prime Minister one day.
Friday, 5 February 2010
PLUTO CHANGING COLOUR
Pluto, the dwarf planet on the outer edge of our solar system, has a dramatically ruddier hue than it did just a few years ago, NASA scientists said Thursday, after examining photos taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Skip related content
Related photos / videos
Newest images of Pluto taken by the Hubble Space Telescope
Enlarge photo More photos: Space
They said the distant orb appears mottled and molasses-colored in recent pictures, with a markedly redder tone that most likely is the result of surface ice melting on Pluto's sunlit pole and then refreezing on the other pole.
The remarkable color shift, which apparently took place between 2000 and 2002, confirms that Pluto is a dynamic world undergoing dramatic atmospheric changes and not simply a ball of ice and rock, according to scientists at the US space agency.
They said they will compare Hubble pictures taken in 1994 with some from 2002 and 2003, as they search for more signs of seasonal change, including evidence that Pluto's northern polar region has gotten brighter, while the southern hemisphere has darkened.
"The Hubble observations are the key to... showing how it all makes sense by providing a context based on weather and seasonal changes, which opens other new lines of investigation," said the leader of the study, principal investigator Marc Buie of the Southwest Research Institute in the western US city of Boulder, Colorado.
Pluto -- declassified as a full-fledged planet in August 2006 -- has a 248-year orbit and an axial tilt which, unlike Earth, alone drives the seasons. The icy orb's seasons are asymmetrical because of its elliptical orbit.
Spring transitions to polar summer quickly in the northern hemisphere, because Pluto is moving faster along its orbit when it is closer to the sun, NASA said.
Scientists are hoping to collect additional riveting snapshots of Pluto when NASA's next space probe, dubbed New Horizons, flies by the dwarf planet in 2015.
Hubble underwent repair during a space shuttle mission last year that left it with a new camera and spectrograph, as well as spruced up scientific instruments.
The repair job marked the end of NASA's human missions to the beloved Hubble. Launched in 1990, the telescope was repaired and upgraded in 1993, 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2008.
Last year's final upgrade extended the life of Hubble another five years.
Monday, 16 November 2009
Thursday, 12 November 2009
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Monday, 6 July 2009
ABOUT NEIL ARMSTRONG
A hero to millions, Neil Armstrong has consistently shunned the limelight. To mark the 40th anniversary of the first manned Moon landing, author Andrew Smith travelled across America to discover why the man who first set foot upon the Moon remains such an enigma.
His words on being the first person ever to set foot on the Moon have been written into soundbite history - but in the four decades since Neil Armstrong became a household name, he has also increasingly become an enigma.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Armstrong has refused to cash in on his fame and seemingly done everything in his power to diminish it.
FIND OUT MORE...
Being Neil Armstrong, presented by Andrew Smith (right), is on BBC Four at 0000 BST, Tuesday 7 July
Or watch it here on the BBC iPlayer
So what has made Neil Armstrong such a reluctant hero, unsusceptible to the normal trappings of celebrity? And why won't he speak about his historic journey?
In his quest to uncover the man behind the spacesuit, Andrew Smith, author of Moondust: In Search of the Man Who Fell to Earth, decided to travel across America to meet people who have had an impact on Armstrong's life.
His conclusion is that Armstrong, now 78, believes simply that he did not deserve the attention.
"There were 400,000 people that worked on that [Moon landing] programme in various different ways and he thinks he didn't deserve all the credit just because he did the flying part," says Smith.
But Armstrong became a celebrity overnight. The Apollo 11 Moon landing marked a seismic shift in space exploration during a time when the world was captivated by space. It was watched by the largest television audience of its time, and President Nixon put in a congratulatory phone call just after the US flag was planted.
On the astronauts' return, Nasa sent them on a world tour.
Although Neil Armstrong initially went along with the celebrations, he always remained aloof; an elusive presence who preferred to talk about facts rather than feelings.
Neil Armstrong was the commander aboard Apollo 11
He started to decline speeches and interviews, eventually refusing to sign autographs and shying away from being photographed in public.
"To my knowledge he has done two television interviews in the last 40 years - and he says nothing about what he felt about anything. He will talk about matters of fact and that's it," says Smith. The author has been repeatedly refused an interview with Armstrong despite many requests, although the pair have had e-mail correspondence.
"And he didn't want to profit from it financially - even though a lot of the other Moon walkers have done - and amazingly he's stood by that. An auction house told me that if Armstrong spent just one afternoon signing autographs he could make a million dollars, but he's always refused."
Face of space
Two years after his historic journey, in August 1971, Armstrong left Nasa and decided to become a teacher.
"Ostensibly, it was a very strange decision. He could have done anything," says Smith.
Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin made up the crew
But if Armstrong thought a small aerospace engineering department at the University of Cincinnati would provide a refuge, he was to be disappointed.
"His old boss told me when he first arrived, he spent two hours every single day signing autographs for members of staff and students. Apparently there was a window right at the top of the wall and people used to go and make human pyramids just to look into his office.
"He dealt with it but he didn't like it, he couldn't walk across the campus without being constantly approached. He ended up going and spending a lot of his time flying, on his own, to get away from it."
Neil Armstrong's decision to keep a low profile contrasts with the man he shared the limelight with on that historic lunar landing.
Buzz Aldrin has become the face of space, courting media attention with a series of high-publicity manoeuvres including a Buzz Aldrin's Race into Space computer game and making a guest appearance in The Simpsons.
'World's press was in a frenzy'
For the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing, Aldrin has teamed up with hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg and producer Quincy Jones to create a rap single and video, Rocket Experience.
It's the kind of stunt that might send a shiver down Armstrong's spine.
But in an age of mass celebrity culture, how has Armstrong managed to remain so enigmatic?
"Everyone I met described Armstrong as a reserved and quiet man. I started to wonder whether they were protecting him, or maybe, in some ways at least, he was just a rather ordinary, nice man," says Smith.
And yet he concedes in many ways Armstrong is far from ordinary.
"He was an extraordinary pilot. He's flown the X-15, the fastest plane in the world, at 4,000mph (6,440km/h). He can fly anything; he is possibly the most distinguished pilot that has ever lived," says Smith.
"His generation were enchanted by flying, they were aviation pioneers. The Second World War pilots were their heroes. Armstrong never wanted to be a celebrity, he wanted to push the boundaries of flight."
Quiet determination
That an ordinary small town boy from Ohio might struggle with becoming one of the most famous men on the planet is hardly surprising. But Smith thinks his steely, disciplined determination to shy away from the public eye is another of Armstrong's strengths.
Neil Armstrong only makes very rare public appearances
He says it helped him cheat death three times before he even got to the Moon.
"He always kept his cool. At one point on a flight he was just a fingernail away from not making it. Afterwards, fellow Nasa astronaut Alan Bean told me he saw Armstrong filling out an incident report but recalled him saying he'd just had a 'little difficulty'.
"He thought Armstrong had stubbed his toe or something, but actually he'd been two-fifths of a second away from death. He couldn't believe he was just calmly filling in forms as if nothing had happened - but that was the kind of man he was."
And then there is Armstrong's apparent eccentricity.
"The music he took on the mission to the Moon was deeply eccentric," says Smith. "Most astronauts took one classical piece, and one country and western.
"Armstrong took Dvorak's New World Symphony. But the other was theremin music - that eerie, wavy sound associated with sci-fi movies that goes 'woo woo'. On one hand it was the most perfect thing he could take, on the other it is massively eccentric - and that's kind of him."
And what about the poetic prose "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind" that slips off most people's tongues almost as easily as Shakespeare's famous lines "to be or not to be"?
Whether Armstrong was fed the line by a press officer or it was his own musing is the subject of much speculation, but one of his oldest friends has his own theory about its origin.
"'Kotcho' Solacoff says they used to play the game Mother May I? (also commonly known as Grandmother's Footsteps) - where you take small steps or giant steps - in the playground. He thinks it came from that. It struck me as really weird," says Smith.
Ordinary man or gentlemanly genius, maybe Armstrong's most celebrated act has been to remain - certainly in many ways - a man of sizeable mystery.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G8 LEADERS TO SET EMISSIONS GOAL
China has changed its attitude to CO2 emissions, Mr Blair says
Leaders of G8 nations are to set a target to cut greenhouse gases by 80% by 2050, the BBC understands.
They will also call for any human-induced temperature rise to be held below 2 degrees Celsius, says BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin.
But environmental campaigners believe key commitments will be scaled back.
News of the G8 plans came as ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair urged rich nations to hit short-term climate targets by ramping up existing clean technologies.
They should also paying poor countries to protect their forests, Mr Blair said.
However our correspondent said that environmental campaigners fear that the United States is blocking the short-term emissions targets which scientists say are needed for us to keep to that two degree mark.
"American officials have privately told BBC News they just can't cut emissions as fast as they know is required" he said.
'Sensible acceptance'
This is now at the stage where it's been taken out of the hands of campaigners and into the hands of the people who are going to have to get the job done
Tony Blair
Mr Blair insisted that acting on climate change was "urgent" and that progress was being made in engaging governments of some of the world's largest economies.
There was "a general acceptance on the part of most sensible people that we have to deal with it," he said.
"We have an American administration committed to tackling climate change.
"We have a Chinese administration that's no longer saying you guys have created the problem - you solve it, but has immersed itself in this challenge."
But Mr Blair added that "practical policy making" was now needed if the fight against global warming was to be effective.
Technological solutions to climate change were "well within our grasp" he added, saying only political will was needed to implement them.
"This is now at the stage where it's been taken out of the hands of campaigners and into the hands of the people who are going to have to get the job done," he told the BBC.
However campaigners have questioned whether politicians will get the job done, especially the global economic downturn.
'Universal acceptance'
Mr Blair's comments came in a report published ahead of Major Economies Forum, being held in Italy this week.
The document sets out seven policies to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions over the short and long term.
These include greater energy efficiency, an end to deforestation, using lower-carbon power sources and investing in technologies needed to reduce CO2 by between 50% and 85% by 2050.
In December, Copenhagen will host a United Nations climate change summit.
Mr Blair said, unlike previous events at Kyoto in 1997 and Gleneagles in 2005, there was now "almost universal" acceptance of the scientific evidence that climate change was a reality.
There was also a willingness from politicians to adopt ambitious CO2 reduction targets, if they were practical, he added.
Despite the financial restrictions placed on governments by the global recession, the cost of inaction was "far greater" Mr Blair said.
'Clean' energy
The report is published with the Climate Group - a charity which promotes how government, especially in cities, can move to low- carbon economies.
It said technologies which enable this offered the chance of "substantial job creation and growth".
Rising oil price could make switching to low-carbon technologies a cheaper option, it added.
The report said the technologies needed to meet emission reduction goals set for 2020 were "already proven, available now and the policies needed to implement them known".
Almost half the emission cuts could be reached by halting deforestation and the degradation of forests, the report said, something that would require developing nations to be given support from richer countries.
Other action called for included investment in alternative, "clean" energy sources such as wind and solar as well as carbon capture and storage, new generation nuclear plants and electric vehicles.
Leaders of G8 nations are to set a target to cut greenhouse gases by 80% by 2050, the BBC understands.
They will also call for any human-induced temperature rise to be held below 2 degrees Celsius, says BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin.
But environmental campaigners believe key commitments will be scaled back.
News of the G8 plans came as ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair urged rich nations to hit short-term climate targets by ramping up existing clean technologies.
They should also paying poor countries to protect their forests, Mr Blair said.
However our correspondent said that environmental campaigners fear that the United States is blocking the short-term emissions targets which scientists say are needed for us to keep to that two degree mark.
"American officials have privately told BBC News they just can't cut emissions as fast as they know is required" he said.
'Sensible acceptance'
This is now at the stage where it's been taken out of the hands of campaigners and into the hands of the people who are going to have to get the job done
Tony Blair
Mr Blair insisted that acting on climate change was "urgent" and that progress was being made in engaging governments of some of the world's largest economies.
There was "a general acceptance on the part of most sensible people that we have to deal with it," he said.
"We have an American administration committed to tackling climate change.
"We have a Chinese administration that's no longer saying you guys have created the problem - you solve it, but has immersed itself in this challenge."
But Mr Blair added that "practical policy making" was now needed if the fight against global warming was to be effective.
Technological solutions to climate change were "well within our grasp" he added, saying only political will was needed to implement them.
"This is now at the stage where it's been taken out of the hands of campaigners and into the hands of the people who are going to have to get the job done," he told the BBC.
However campaigners have questioned whether politicians will get the job done, especially the global economic downturn.
'Universal acceptance'
Mr Blair's comments came in a report published ahead of Major Economies Forum, being held in Italy this week.
The document sets out seven policies to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions over the short and long term.
These include greater energy efficiency, an end to deforestation, using lower-carbon power sources and investing in technologies needed to reduce CO2 by between 50% and 85% by 2050.
In December, Copenhagen will host a United Nations climate change summit.
Mr Blair said, unlike previous events at Kyoto in 1997 and Gleneagles in 2005, there was now "almost universal" acceptance of the scientific evidence that climate change was a reality.
There was also a willingness from politicians to adopt ambitious CO2 reduction targets, if they were practical, he added.
Despite the financial restrictions placed on governments by the global recession, the cost of inaction was "far greater" Mr Blair said.
'Clean' energy
The report is published with the Climate Group - a charity which promotes how government, especially in cities, can move to low- carbon economies.
It said technologies which enable this offered the chance of "substantial job creation and growth".
Rising oil price could make switching to low-carbon technologies a cheaper option, it added.
The report said the technologies needed to meet emission reduction goals set for 2020 were "already proven, available now and the policies needed to implement them known".
Almost half the emission cuts could be reached by halting deforestation and the degradation of forests, the report said, something that would require developing nations to be given support from richer countries.
Other action called for included investment in alternative, "clean" energy sources such as wind and solar as well as carbon capture and storage, new generation nuclear plants and electric vehicles.
Friday, 12 June 2009
METEORITE: FROM WHERE?
A teenager was hit by a meteorite travelling at 30,000mph - and lived to tell the tale. Skip related content
Related photos / videos Boy Hit By Meteorite Travelling At 30,000mph Enlarge photo Gerrit Blank was on his way to school when he saw a massive fireball heading straight towards him from the sky.
The white-hot meteorite bounced off the schoolboy's hand and hit the ground so hard it left a foot-long crater in the tarmac - as well as a three-inch scar on his hand.
Gerrit, 14, said: "At first I just saw a large ball of light and then I suddenly felt a pain in my hand.
"Then, a split second after that, there was an enormous bang like a crash of thunder."
"The noise that came after the flash of light was so loud that my ears were ringing for hours afterwards.
"When it hit me it knocked me flying and then was still going fast enough to bury itself in the road."
Scientists are now studying the pea-sized meteorite, which crashed to Earth in Essen in Germany.
Chemical tests on the rock have now proved it is from outer space.
Ansgar Korte, director of Germany's Walter Hohmann Observatory, said: "It's a real meteorite, therefore it is very valuable to collectors and scientists."
Chances of being struck by a meteorite are around one in 100 million.
Mr Korte said: "Most meteorites don't actually make it to ground level because they evaporate in the atmosphere.
"Of those that do get through, about six out of every seven of them land in water."
There is only one other known case of a human being surviving a direct hit from a meteor.
A grapefruit-sized meteor crashed through the roof of a house in Alabama, in the USA, in 1954.
After smashing through the top of the building, it bounced off furniture and then hit a woman who was asleep at the time.
Related photos / videos Boy Hit By Meteorite Travelling At 30,000mph Enlarge photo Gerrit Blank was on his way to school when he saw a massive fireball heading straight towards him from the sky.
The white-hot meteorite bounced off the schoolboy's hand and hit the ground so hard it left a foot-long crater in the tarmac - as well as a three-inch scar on his hand.
Gerrit, 14, said: "At first I just saw a large ball of light and then I suddenly felt a pain in my hand.
"Then, a split second after that, there was an enormous bang like a crash of thunder."
"The noise that came after the flash of light was so loud that my ears were ringing for hours afterwards.
"When it hit me it knocked me flying and then was still going fast enough to bury itself in the road."
Scientists are now studying the pea-sized meteorite, which crashed to Earth in Essen in Germany.
Chemical tests on the rock have now proved it is from outer space.
Ansgar Korte, director of Germany's Walter Hohmann Observatory, said: "It's a real meteorite, therefore it is very valuable to collectors and scientists."
Chances of being struck by a meteorite are around one in 100 million.
Mr Korte said: "Most meteorites don't actually make it to ground level because they evaporate in the atmosphere.
"Of those that do get through, about six out of every seven of them land in water."
There is only one other known case of a human being surviving a direct hit from a meteor.
A grapefruit-sized meteor crashed through the roof of a house in Alabama, in the USA, in 1954.
After smashing through the top of the building, it bounced off furniture and then hit a woman who was asleep at the time.
Friday, 5 June 2009
DIVINE ORDINANCE OF THE WIND by Rev. Babatunde Ezekiel Ajibola
Not many readers of the bible would have noticed the fact that there are specific divine attributes tied to the designation of the east and west wind. The authority of God is seen in creation especially in the ways He uses and manipulates the elements of creation even, including man.
“Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb. I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;” Is.44:24
There is no doubt that every authority belongs to God and that all that He made are for His pleasure. He commands and it stands. He called everything by their numbers and they obey His command and act according to His pleasure. It is also written that He made His messengers spirit and fire hence He asked Job these questions;
“Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? Canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundant of waters may cover thee?
Canst thou send lightening, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?” Job 39:33-35
To all these questions Job answered, “I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.” Job 42:2
By the authority by which He made all things He is always able to assign them for a specific function and when He calls them by their names, they hear Him and they go ahead to fulfil His pleasure and bring to fulfilment His purpose.
In line with these principles in God’s ordinances in creation we can notice in what manner God has designated the different location of the earth to be the custodian of winds that reflects the positive and the negative role in the fulfilment of God’s purpose.
From the account of the bible, when the east wind blows it has negative impact or it sometimes manifest the powerful arm of God to manifest His purpose in a situation. The west wind blows it brings to an end a negative impact of the east wind or bring about a positive change to manifest the shedding of divine grace and mercy.
In the time of Noah’s flood it was reported that with the blowing of the wind the waters began to decrease. “And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged: Gen.8:1
It is mentioned here if this wind was west or east Wind but from the biblical trends of the role of the west and east wind, the wind that God made to pass over the waters is very much likely to be the west ind. You will agree with me logically as you read along.
When Pharaoh refused to allow the Israelites depart from Egypt, God used the east wind to bring locust upon Egypt. “And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.”Ex.10:13
After Pharaoh pleaded for the locust to be taken away, God sent a west wind that blew the locust away.
“And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locust, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.”Ex.10:19
In Exodus 14:21 God sent the East wind to separate the red sea. “And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.”
The purpose of this miracle even though made a way for the Israelites to escape the wrath of Pharaoh, the primary aim of the east wind coming to play was to manifest the powerful arm of God in battle and to bring an end to the Egyptians pursuit of the Israelites. Where ever the east wind is assigned a disaster manifest. The Egyptians all died in the red sea while the Israelites escaped to the other side.
In Num. 11:31 God responded to the protest of the Israelites who were no more delighted in manna as their only source of sustenance in the wilderness. The wind brought quails in excess and the Israelites ate to their satisfaction but died in great numbers. Though it was not mentioned if it was the east wind that brought the quails, it can logically be deduced that it was the east wind that was in action.
In two instances in the bible, it is recorded how ship heading to Tarshish was broken. In the book of 2Chronicle 20:37, the king of Judah Jehoshaphat and the king of Israel, Ahaziah both built a ship to go to Tarshish. The ship was broken because God was against the venture because Ahaziah was evil in the sight of the LORD. We are only told that the ship was broken but we do not know how.
Also in the book of Jonah, the ship in which Jonah was running away from the presence of the Lord to go to Tarshish was said to be about to be broken by the wind but we are not told if it was the east or west wind that God used to trouble the ship. Jonah 1:3-4
However, in Psalm 48:7 there seems to be the clue as to what was used to break the ship of Tarshish “Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.”
In the vision given to prophet Ezekiel, the dry bones in the valley by the miracle of the wind received life.
“Then said he unto me, prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”Ezek.37:9
This time around the wind came from all sides, north, south, east and west because the assignment for this occasion was peculiar and it involves giving life back to dead bones. It was an assignment that needed to bring about perfection and God invoked every facet of the elements that empowers the wind in its divine functions.
Finally in the prophecy of prophet Hosea it reads, “Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.”Hos.13:15
The storm of life could blow against us negatively but the ultimate authority which is in the east and the west wind of God benevolence and goodness will always blow against such storms and they shall be still. Greater still the combine anointed wind of the Lord from all sides shall come and perfect life in us.
“Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb. I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;” Is.44:24
There is no doubt that every authority belongs to God and that all that He made are for His pleasure. He commands and it stands. He called everything by their numbers and they obey His command and act according to His pleasure. It is also written that He made His messengers spirit and fire hence He asked Job these questions;
“Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? Canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundant of waters may cover thee?
Canst thou send lightening, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?” Job 39:33-35
To all these questions Job answered, “I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.” Job 42:2
By the authority by which He made all things He is always able to assign them for a specific function and when He calls them by their names, they hear Him and they go ahead to fulfil His pleasure and bring to fulfilment His purpose.
In line with these principles in God’s ordinances in creation we can notice in what manner God has designated the different location of the earth to be the custodian of winds that reflects the positive and the negative role in the fulfilment of God’s purpose.
From the account of the bible, when the east wind blows it has negative impact or it sometimes manifest the powerful arm of God to manifest His purpose in a situation. The west wind blows it brings to an end a negative impact of the east wind or bring about a positive change to manifest the shedding of divine grace and mercy.
In the time of Noah’s flood it was reported that with the blowing of the wind the waters began to decrease. “And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged: Gen.8:1
It is mentioned here if this wind was west or east Wind but from the biblical trends of the role of the west and east wind, the wind that God made to pass over the waters is very much likely to be the west ind. You will agree with me logically as you read along.
When Pharaoh refused to allow the Israelites depart from Egypt, God used the east wind to bring locust upon Egypt. “And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.”Ex.10:13
After Pharaoh pleaded for the locust to be taken away, God sent a west wind that blew the locust away.
“And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locust, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.”Ex.10:19
In Exodus 14:21 God sent the East wind to separate the red sea. “And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.”
The purpose of this miracle even though made a way for the Israelites to escape the wrath of Pharaoh, the primary aim of the east wind coming to play was to manifest the powerful arm of God in battle and to bring an end to the Egyptians pursuit of the Israelites. Where ever the east wind is assigned a disaster manifest. The Egyptians all died in the red sea while the Israelites escaped to the other side.
In Num. 11:31 God responded to the protest of the Israelites who were no more delighted in manna as their only source of sustenance in the wilderness. The wind brought quails in excess and the Israelites ate to their satisfaction but died in great numbers. Though it was not mentioned if it was the east wind that brought the quails, it can logically be deduced that it was the east wind that was in action.
In two instances in the bible, it is recorded how ship heading to Tarshish was broken. In the book of 2Chronicle 20:37, the king of Judah Jehoshaphat and the king of Israel, Ahaziah both built a ship to go to Tarshish. The ship was broken because God was against the venture because Ahaziah was evil in the sight of the LORD. We are only told that the ship was broken but we do not know how.
Also in the book of Jonah, the ship in which Jonah was running away from the presence of the Lord to go to Tarshish was said to be about to be broken by the wind but we are not told if it was the east or west wind that God used to trouble the ship. Jonah 1:3-4
However, in Psalm 48:7 there seems to be the clue as to what was used to break the ship of Tarshish “Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.”
In the vision given to prophet Ezekiel, the dry bones in the valley by the miracle of the wind received life.
“Then said he unto me, prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”Ezek.37:9
This time around the wind came from all sides, north, south, east and west because the assignment for this occasion was peculiar and it involves giving life back to dead bones. It was an assignment that needed to bring about perfection and God invoked every facet of the elements that empowers the wind in its divine functions.
Finally in the prophecy of prophet Hosea it reads, “Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.”Hos.13:15
The storm of life could blow against us negatively but the ultimate authority which is in the east and the west wind of God benevolence and goodness will always blow against such storms and they shall be still. Greater still the combine anointed wind of the Lord from all sides shall come and perfect life in us.
Friday, 22 May 2009
YES YES - YOU CAN
The story narrated below is a glaring example of what we can achieve in an helpless situation by surmoning up courage and upgrading our mental instinct to embark on doing what we might consider beyond our natural ability to overcome situations. The young boy in this report changed what should have become misfortune to fortune. Under the law he is not qualified to be behind the wheel but we can see how the letters of the law could kill but the spirit of the law upholds and justify any action that is taken to preserve the higher value in a situation like this. Trustin is an hero and he can always be trusted for his sharp instinct.
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A six-year-old boy grabbed the wheel of his family's pick-up truck and stopped it from crashing after his father became unconscious in the driver's seat. Skip related content
Related photos / videos Boy, 6, Takes Wheel After Dad Passes Out Enlarge photo Tustin Mains told police in North Platte, Nebraska, he was in the back seat with his three-year-old brother when their dad Phillip slumped over at the wheel.
He had been driving the family home from a restaurant when he suffered a low blood sugar attack and suddenly passed out.
Brave Tustin leapt into his father's lap to steer the Chevrolet Avalanche for several blocks, even turning around when he entered an area he did not recognise.
Although Mr Mains' foot had slipped off the accelerator, the vehicle continued to travel at 10-15mph with the boy at the wheel until it was spotted by police.
North Platte officer Roger Freeze ran up to the moving truck, reached through an open window and slipped the gearstick into neutral before rolling it into a park.
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HOW TUSTIN DID IT
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Tustin later described how he saw his dad "fall asleep" and got scared, then was frightened again when the policeman appeared at the window.
But when Officer Freeze stopped the vehicle, the youngster was "just happy", he told The North Platte Telegraph.
Police Chief Martin Gutschenritter praised Tustin and said he was "a very special young man".
He added: "He was able to take quick action when his dad was incapacitated, and we are very proud of him."
Mr Mains said Tustin had done a good job of driving the truck, with the only damage being a minor scrape which happened when he brushed the side of a bridge.
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
Tuesday, 19 May 2009
DARWIN RUBBISH DUMP REVISITED: By Rev. Babatunde Ezekiel Ajibola
WHAT A FUNNY WORLD OF MAN! The height of human foolishness cannot be better discribed than by what scientist are now claiming to be the missing link between man and the monkey. Not wanting to accept that there is a God behind creation, the level of human foolishness and ignorance is leading him into darkness. The bible in Psalm 49 says man that is called to honour and understand not is like the beast that is perishing. If the so called scientist want to believe that their great grand parents were monkeys, then they need to ask themselves again. "Are we in our right mind?" Everything that God created were created after their kind and there has not been any reasonable proof that a monkey or monkeys evolved to mankind. The report below is nothing but fallacy and should be sent to where it belongs. The rubbish dump. If man evolved from monkeys, where does the monkeys that we see today evolved from. Every creature have their life span and it is impossible for one creature to evolve to another as all that are created in creation are created in their kind. Trees are trees, birds are birds, lions are lions, water is water, the fishes in the seas and rivers are all of their kind. Nothing evolved they are created. God created them all in their kind. Science is suppose to improve man's ability to relate to his enviroment and not to deteoriorate to foolishness.
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DARWIN RE-ECHOED
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Scientists have unveiled a 47-million-year-old fossilised skeleton of a monkey hailed as the missing link in human evolution. Skip related content
The search for a direct connection between humans and the rest of the animal kingdom has taken 200 years - but it was presented to the world today at a special news conference in New York.
The discovery of the 95%-complete 'lemur monkey' - dubbed Ida - is described by experts as the "eighth wonder of the world".
They say its impact on the world of palaeontology will be "somewhat like an asteroid falling down to Earth".
Researchers say proof of this transitional species finally confirms Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, and the then radical, outlandish ideas he came up with during his time aboard the Beagle.
Sir David Attenborough said Darwin "would have been thrilled" to have seen the fossil - and says it tells us who we are and where we came from.
"This little creature is going to show us our connection with the rest of the mammals," he said.
"This is the one that connects us directly with them.
"Now people can say 'okay we are primates, show us the link'.
"The link they would have said up to now is missing - well it's no longer missing."
A team of the world's leading fossil experts, led by Professor Jorn Hurum, of Norway's National History Museum, have been secretly researching the 1ft 9in-tall young female monkey for the past two years.
And now it has been transported to New York under high security and unveiled to the world during the bicentenary of Darwin's birth.
Later this month, it will be exhibited for one day only at the Natural History Museum in London before being returned to Oslo.
Scientists say Ida - squashed to the thickness of a beer mat by the immense passage of time - is the most complete primate fossil ever found.
With her human-like nails instead of claws, and opposable big toes, she is placed at the very root of human evolution when early primates first developed features that would eventually develop into our own.
Another important discovery is the shape of the talus bone in her foot, which humans still have in their feet millions of lifetimes later.
Ida was unearthed by an amateur fossil-hunter some 25 years ago in Messel pit, an ancient crater lake near Frankfurt, Germany, famous for its fossils.
She was cleaned and set in polyester resin - and incredibly, was hung on a mystery German collector's wall for 20 years.
Sky News sources say the owner had no idea of the unique fossil's significance and simply admired it like a cherished Van Gogh or Picasso painting.
But in 2006, Ida came into the hands of private dealer Thomas Perner, who presented her to Prof Hurum at the annual Hamburg Fossil and Mineral Fair in Germany - a centre for the murky world of fossil-trading.
Prof Hurum said when he first saw the blueprint for evolution - the "most beautiful fossil worldwide" - he could not sleep for two days.
A home movie records the dramatic moment.
"This is really something that the world has never seen before, this is a unique specimen, totally unique," he says, clearly emotional.
He says he knew she should be saved for science rather than end up hidden from the world in a wealthy private collector's vault.
But the dealer's asking price was more than $1 million (£660,000) - ten times the amount even the rarest of fossils fetch on the black market.
Eventually, after six months of negotiations, he managed to raise the cash in Norway and brought Ida to Oslo.
Prof Hurum - who last summer dug up the fossil remains of a 50ft marine monster called Predator X from the permafrost on Svalbard, a Norwegian island close to the North Pole - then assembled a "dream team" of experts who worked in secret for two years.
They included palaeontologist Dr Jens Franzen, Dr Holly Smith, of the University of Michigan, and Philip Gingerich, president-elect of the US Paleontological Society.
Researchers could prove the fossil was genuine through X-rays, knowing it is impossible to fake the inner structure of a bone.
Through radiometric dating of Messel's volcanic rocks, they discovered Ida lived 47 million years ago in the Eocene period.
This was when tropical forests stretched right to the poles, and South America was still drifting and had yet to make contact with North America.
During that period, the first whales, horses, bats and monkeys emerged, and the early primates branched into two groups - one group lived on mainly as lemurs, and the second developed into monkeys, apes and humans.
The experts concluded Ida was not simply a lemur but a 'lemur monkey', displaying a mixture of both groups, and therefore putting her at the very branch of the human line.
"When Darwin published his On the Origin of Species in 1859, he said a lot about transitional species," said Prof Hurum
"...and he said that will never be found, a transitional species, and his whole theory will be wrong, so he would be really happy to live today when we publish Ida.
"This fossil is really a part of our history; this is part of our evolution, deep, deep back into the aeons of time, 47 million years ago.
"It's part of our evolution that's been hidden so far, it's been hidden because all the other specimens are so incomplete.
"They are so broken there's almost nothing to study and now this wonderful fossil appears and it makes the story so much easier to tell, so it's really a dream come true."
Up until now, the most famous fossil primate in the world has been Lucy, a 3.18-million-year-old hominid found in Ethiopia in 1974.
She was then our earliest known ancestor, and only 40% complete.
But at 95% complete, Ida was so well preserved in the mud at the bottom of the volcanic lake, there is even evidence of her fur shadow and remains of her last meal.
From this they concluded she was a leaf and fruit eater, and probably lived in the trees around the lake.
The absence of a bacculum (penis bone) confirmed she was female, and her milk teeth put her age at about nine-months-old - in maturity, equivalent to a six-year-old human child.
This was the same age as Prof Hurum's daughter Ida, and he named the fossil after her.
The study is being published and put online by the Public Library of Science, a leading academic journal with offices in Britain and the US.
Co-author of the scientific paper, Prof Gingerich, likens its importance to the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, an ancient Egyptian artefact found in 1799, which allowed us to decipher hieroglyphic writing.
One clue to Ida's fate - and her remarkable preservation as our oldest ancestor - was her badly fractured left wrist.
The team believes this stopped her from climbing and she had to emerge from the trees to drink water from the 250-metre-deep lake.
They think she was overcome by carbon dioxide gas from the crater, and sunk to the bottom where she was preserved in the mud as a time capsule - and a snapshot of evolution.
But amazingly this final piece of Darwin's jigsaw was almost lost to science when German authorities tried to turn Messel into a massive landfill rubbish dump.
Eventually, after campaigning by Dr Franzen, the plans were rejected and the fossil-rich lake was designated a World Heritage Site.
But no doubt there would have been one person happy for the missing link to have remained hidden.
When Darwin famously told the Bishop of Worcester's wife about his theory of evolution, she remarked: "Descended from the apes! My dear, let us hope that it is not true, but if it is, let us pray that it will not become generally known."
Now, it certainly is.
Thursday, 7 May 2009
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
THE MYSTERIES OF THE CLOUD: Rev Babatunde Ezekiel Ajibola
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When we mention the word 'Cloud' it is an interesting phenomenon that triggers the immagination of every individual from their different emotional perspective of what the 'Cloud' that we all see in the sky mean to them. To kids the cloud in the sky could always appear mysterious because of the way they manourver across the sky. At sunset the reflection of the sun in the horizon is often a spectacular scenery of beautiful cloudy lamp in the sky that anyone would wish should remain in the sky permanently to illuminate the sky.
Cloud sometimes announced the advent of rain shower which is often accompanied by cool wind that brings serenity into the atmosphere. To the weather man or woman it is an everyday vocabulary. "It will be partly cloudy and we should be expecting some rain shower in the morning." We hear such statement like this every day on our television and radio broadcast.
To the Pilot and Flight Crews in airlines and those that travel constantly by air, going through layers of clouds in the sky is a daily routine that probably make them become used to the phenomenon known as cloud. Looking through the window of the aeroplane could bring any one travelling by air closer to this wonderful phenomenon . What is the mystery of the Cloud? we might ask. In creation as recorded in the bible the word cloud was mentioned by God for the first time in Gen:9:12-17 in a very significant occasion. "And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between you and me and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations.
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud."
After this, the word was mentioned not less than one hundred and sixty seven locations in the bible and all these instances are tied to the mysteries of God in creation. In delivering the Israelites from Egypt, God used the cloud as an instrument of deliverance. "And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them, and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them.
And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night." Ex.14:19-20
"And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked towards the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud."Ex.16:10
"And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I came unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee forever. And moses told the words of the people unto the LORD."Ex.19:9
In another mysterious incident as recorded in Mk.9:7. "And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him."
Also in Rev.10:1 an angel was seen with cloud around Him. "And I saw a mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head and his face was as it were the sun, as his feet as pillars of fire.
Furthermore in revealing the events of the last days it is recorded in Rev.14:14 as to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ coming on a white cloud to harvest the world. "And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and on his hand a sharp sickle.
And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
And he that that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped."
Also in the book of Daniel 7:13-14 Christ referred to as the Son of man came in the cloud and received the authority of the kingdom from God. "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."
There is something mysterious about the Cloud. We know that geaography reveals that rain came about as a result of precipitation that takes place in the cloud at a high altitude of the firmament. There seems to be four agents of nature that collaborate with the cloud to make it manifest its admirable qualities that attracts man's attention in creation. These agents are, light, the wind and water. If the cloud then is to be seen as means of transportation and communication both in the physical and in the spiritual. The water is the source of energy, the wind propells while light illuminates.
If man had not rejected God's source of acquisition of knowledge to enroll in satanic school from where man continuously acquire the knowledge of the good and evil, we probably would have acquired the righteousness of God by which we should have by now know how to convert the numerous advantages that exists in the usage of the clouds as means of transportation, communication and energy without possing threat to the enviroment as we have now. What do you think. We need to stop polluting the earth. The cloud can form the bedrock of new approach to satellite technology.
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Monday, 4 May 2009
FLYING WITHOUT WINGS
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I have been away now for two months and on a busy schedule hence I have not been able to make new posting on this blog. However I am delighted to be back and to acquint my readers with what I have been up to. I left the United Kingdom for Nigeria and on my way back during the six hours flight I took time to take some pictures with the use of my handset camera. I had the advantage of sitting alone eith the sit next to me vacant in the economy class that in which I travelled. I guessed the lady that was to share the no 62 sit with me vanished after making a phone call. I suspected she was moved to a higher class by one of the cabin crew or someone in
the best position to do so. That put me at an advantage to move freely and satisfy myself in the things that I enjoyed doing. I took the advantage of available facilities to make the journey exciting. You know what we all think in our mind each time we fly. The possibility of a plane crash mixed with the thoughts of safe landing and happy reunion with love ones.
As a Christian I always believe that such misfortune as being involved in a plane crash should not be my portion. To get reassured, a constant recertation of "the Lord is my Shepherd" Psalm 23. gives me the confidence that I am secured. I washed the film titled "Australia" and couple of others. I took some photograph of the thick clouds below seizing the advantage of sitting by the window. I always sit by the windows each time I fly. I always demand for it and I always get it if they are still available. I dedicated the vacant seat by me to the Lord and I am very sure He was there sitting with me. The flight was smooth and the Air Bus aircraft crused well. Thank God. We landed at heathtrow airport at exactly 5.00pm. It was a sunny day and it was delightful flying on the Virgin Atlanti airline. Now that I am back my blogs are coming alive again. Follow me.
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
EARTH-LIKE PLANET
As NASA prepares to hunt for Earth-like planets in our corner of the Milky Way galaxy, there's new buzz that "Star Trek's" vision of a universe full of life may not be that far-fetched.
An artist's impression shows a planet passing in front of its parent star. Such events are called transits.
Pointy-eared aliens traveling at light speed are staying firmly in science fiction, but scientists are offering fresh insights into the possible existence of inhabited worlds and intelligent civilizations in space.
There may be 100 billion Earth-like planets in the Milky Way, or one for every sun-type star in the galaxy, said Alan Boss, an astronomer with the Carnegie Institution and author of the new book "The Crowded Universe: The Search for Living Planets."
He made the prediction based on the number of "super-Earths" -- planets several times the mass of the Earth, but smaller than gas giants like Jupiter -- discovered so far circling stars outside the solar system.
Boss said that if any of the billions of Earth-like worlds he believes exist in the Milky Way have liquid water, they are likely to be home to some type of life.
"Now that's not saying that they're all going to be crawling with intelligent human beings or even dinosaurs," he said.
"But I would suspect that the great majority of them at least will have some sort of primitive life, like bacteria or some of the multicellular creatures that populated our Earth for the first 3 billion years of its existence."
Putting a number on alien worlds
Other scientists are taking another approach: an analysis that suggests there could be hundreds, even thousands, of intelligent civilizations in the Milky Way.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland constructed a computer model to create a synthetic galaxy with billions of stars and planets. They then studied how life evolved under various conditions in this virtual world, using a supercomputer to crunch the results.
Galaxy Quest• The Milky Way is believed to be more than 13 billion years old.• It is just one of billions of galaxies in the universe.• The Milky Way has a circumference of about 250,000-300,000 light years.• It is about 100,000 light years in diameter.• There are three types of galaxies: ellipticals, spirals and irregulars.• The Milky Way is a large disk-shaped barred spiral galaxy. (A barred galaxy has a bar-shaped structure in its middle.)Source: Space.com
In a paper published recently in the International Journal of Astrobiology, the researchers concluded that based on what they saw, at least 361 intelligent civilizations have emerged in the Milky Way since its creation, and as many as 38,000 may have formed.
Duncan Forgan, a doctoral candidate at the university who led the study, said he was surprised by the hardiness of life on these other worlds.
"The computer model takes into account what we refer to as resetting or extinction events. The classic example is the asteroid impact that may have wiped out the dinosaurs," Forgan said.
"I half-expected these events to disallow the rise of intelligence, and yet civilizations seemed to flourish."
Forgan readily admits the results are an educated guess at best, since there are still many unanswered questions about how life formed on Earth and only limited information about the 330 "exoplanets" -- those circling sun-like stars outside the solar system -- discovered so far.
The first was confirmed in 1995 and the latest just this month when Europe's COROT space telescope spotted the smallest terrestrial exoplanet ever found. With a diameter less than twice the size of Earth, the planet orbits very close to its star and has temperatures up to 1,500° Celsius (more than 2,700° Fahrenheit), according to the European Space Agency. It may be rocky and covered in lava.
Hunt for habitable planets
NASA is hoping to find much more habitable worlds with the help of the upcoming Kepler mission. The spacecraft, set to be launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida next week, will search for Earth-size planets in our part of the galaxy.
Don't Miss
NASA.gov: Explore the Kepler mission
iReport.com: Stargazers unite! Share your view of the universe
Kepler contains a special telescope that will study 100,000 stars in the Cygnus-Lyra region of the Milky Way for more than three years. It will look for small dips in a star's brightness, which can mean an orbiting planet is passing in front it -- an event called a transit.
"It's akin to measuring a flea as it creeps across the headlight of an automobile at night," said Kepler project manager James Fanson during a during a NASA news conference.
The focus of the mission is finding planets in a star's habitable zone, an orbit that would ensure temperatures in which life could exist. Watch a NASA scientist explain the search for habitable planets »
Boss, who serves on the Kepler Science Council, said scientists should know by 2013 -- the end of Kepler's mission -- whether life in the universe could be widespread.
Finding intelligent life is a very different matter. For all the speculation about the possibility of other civilizations in the universe, the question remains: If the rise of life on Earth isn't unique and aliens are common, why haven't they shown up or contacted us? The contradiction was famously summed up by the physicist Enrico Fermi in 1950 in what became known as the Fermi paradox: "Where is everybody?"
The answer may be the vastness of time and space, scientists explained.
"Civilizations come and go," Boss said. "Chances are, if you do happen to find a planet which is going to have intelligent life, it's not going to be in [the same] phase of us. It may have formed a billion years ago, or maybe it's not going to form for another billion years."
Even if intelligent civilizations did exist at the same time, they probably would be be separated by tens of thousands of light years, Forgan said. If aliens have just switched on their transmitter to communicate, it could take us hundreds of centuries to receive their message, he added.
As for interstellar travel, the huge distances virtually rule out any extraterrestrial visitors. iReport.com: Share your view of the universe
To illustrate, Boss said the fastest rockets available to us right now are those being used in NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto. Even going at that rate of speed, it would take 100,000 years to get from Earth to the closest star outside the solar system, he added.
"So when you think about that, maybe we shouldn't be worried about having interstellar air raids any time soon," Boss said.
An artist's impression shows a planet passing in front of its parent star. Such events are called transits.
Pointy-eared aliens traveling at light speed are staying firmly in science fiction, but scientists are offering fresh insights into the possible existence of inhabited worlds and intelligent civilizations in space.
There may be 100 billion Earth-like planets in the Milky Way, or one for every sun-type star in the galaxy, said Alan Boss, an astronomer with the Carnegie Institution and author of the new book "The Crowded Universe: The Search for Living Planets."
He made the prediction based on the number of "super-Earths" -- planets several times the mass of the Earth, but smaller than gas giants like Jupiter -- discovered so far circling stars outside the solar system.
Boss said that if any of the billions of Earth-like worlds he believes exist in the Milky Way have liquid water, they are likely to be home to some type of life.
"Now that's not saying that they're all going to be crawling with intelligent human beings or even dinosaurs," he said.
"But I would suspect that the great majority of them at least will have some sort of primitive life, like bacteria or some of the multicellular creatures that populated our Earth for the first 3 billion years of its existence."
Putting a number on alien worlds
Other scientists are taking another approach: an analysis that suggests there could be hundreds, even thousands, of intelligent civilizations in the Milky Way.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland constructed a computer model to create a synthetic galaxy with billions of stars and planets. They then studied how life evolved under various conditions in this virtual world, using a supercomputer to crunch the results.
Galaxy Quest• The Milky Way is believed to be more than 13 billion years old.• It is just one of billions of galaxies in the universe.• The Milky Way has a circumference of about 250,000-300,000 light years.• It is about 100,000 light years in diameter.• There are three types of galaxies: ellipticals, spirals and irregulars.• The Milky Way is a large disk-shaped barred spiral galaxy. (A barred galaxy has a bar-shaped structure in its middle.)Source: Space.com
In a paper published recently in the International Journal of Astrobiology, the researchers concluded that based on what they saw, at least 361 intelligent civilizations have emerged in the Milky Way since its creation, and as many as 38,000 may have formed.
Duncan Forgan, a doctoral candidate at the university who led the study, said he was surprised by the hardiness of life on these other worlds.
"The computer model takes into account what we refer to as resetting or extinction events. The classic example is the asteroid impact that may have wiped out the dinosaurs," Forgan said.
"I half-expected these events to disallow the rise of intelligence, and yet civilizations seemed to flourish."
Forgan readily admits the results are an educated guess at best, since there are still many unanswered questions about how life formed on Earth and only limited information about the 330 "exoplanets" -- those circling sun-like stars outside the solar system -- discovered so far.
The first was confirmed in 1995 and the latest just this month when Europe's COROT space telescope spotted the smallest terrestrial exoplanet ever found. With a diameter less than twice the size of Earth, the planet orbits very close to its star and has temperatures up to 1,500° Celsius (more than 2,700° Fahrenheit), according to the European Space Agency. It may be rocky and covered in lava.
Hunt for habitable planets
NASA is hoping to find much more habitable worlds with the help of the upcoming Kepler mission. The spacecraft, set to be launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida next week, will search for Earth-size planets in our part of the galaxy.
Don't Miss
NASA.gov: Explore the Kepler mission
iReport.com: Stargazers unite! Share your view of the universe
Kepler contains a special telescope that will study 100,000 stars in the Cygnus-Lyra region of the Milky Way for more than three years. It will look for small dips in a star's brightness, which can mean an orbiting planet is passing in front it -- an event called a transit.
"It's akin to measuring a flea as it creeps across the headlight of an automobile at night," said Kepler project manager James Fanson during a during a NASA news conference.
The focus of the mission is finding planets in a star's habitable zone, an orbit that would ensure temperatures in which life could exist. Watch a NASA scientist explain the search for habitable planets »
Boss, who serves on the Kepler Science Council, said scientists should know by 2013 -- the end of Kepler's mission -- whether life in the universe could be widespread.
Finding intelligent life is a very different matter. For all the speculation about the possibility of other civilizations in the universe, the question remains: If the rise of life on Earth isn't unique and aliens are common, why haven't they shown up or contacted us? The contradiction was famously summed up by the physicist Enrico Fermi in 1950 in what became known as the Fermi paradox: "Where is everybody?"
The answer may be the vastness of time and space, scientists explained.
"Civilizations come and go," Boss said. "Chances are, if you do happen to find a planet which is going to have intelligent life, it's not going to be in [the same] phase of us. It may have formed a billion years ago, or maybe it's not going to form for another billion years."
Even if intelligent civilizations did exist at the same time, they probably would be be separated by tens of thousands of light years, Forgan said. If aliens have just switched on their transmitter to communicate, it could take us hundreds of centuries to receive their message, he added.
As for interstellar travel, the huge distances virtually rule out any extraterrestrial visitors. iReport.com: Share your view of the universe
To illustrate, Boss said the fastest rockets available to us right now are those being used in NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto. Even going at that rate of speed, it would take 100,000 years to get from Earth to the closest star outside the solar system, he added.
"So when you think about that, maybe we shouldn't be worried about having interstellar air raids any time soon," Boss said.
Thursday, 19 February 2009
BUY THESE BOOKS
THE BATTLE DESTINED TO FIGHT
THE PREVAILING GATE OF HELL
MOUNTAIN OF PREY
PARABLES OF THE KINGDOM
A CALL TO HONOUR: A BIOGRAPHY OF APOSTLE JOSEPH AYO BABALOLA
CHRISTHOOD FOR MANKIND
INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIAN LIVING
Author: Rev. Babatunde Ezekiel Ajibola
Published and distributed by lulu.com
http://www.lulu.com/ezekielbookshelve
THE PREVAILING GATE OF HELL
MOUNTAIN OF PREY
PARABLES OF THE KINGDOM
A CALL TO HONOUR: A BIOGRAPHY OF APOSTLE JOSEPH AYO BABALOLA
CHRISTHOOD FOR MANKIND
INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIAN LIVING
Author: Rev. Babatunde Ezekiel Ajibola
Published and distributed by lulu.com
http://www.lulu.com/ezekielbookshelve
Friday, 13 February 2009
FATHER AT 13? GOD BLESS THE CHILD: B.E. AJIBOLA
We might be tempted to want to say this is new but I assure us that there is nothing new under the heavens. I am sure such as this must have taken place in several remote locations of the earth far away from news media glare and attention. However, we can not turn our eyes away from such and pretend it is one of those things. Thank to science that has made us to know that all that is needed to become a father and a mother is to have the male sperm to fertilise the female ovary where ever they are both available. Definitely when the two involved have reached puberty they stand the risk of becoming father and mother if they copulate. This knowledge saves us from stories affiliated with taboos or moral impositions in the human society.
In the bible we read about men getting to an advance age before becoming a father. If we compare such era with the present day mentality, we might want to ask the question what is this world turning into.
I remember when I was in my early years I would turn green if any young girl of about my age was being referred to as my wife. Such an insinuation would make any teenage boy shy not to talk of being a father. In some primitive culture such an occurrence will bring all the village elders into the village square to discuss what they will regard as an abominable act especially in situations like this where the mother is older than the father. It might call for sacrifice or even excommunication from the community in order to avoid the wrought of the local deity.
There are many things that happen these days which we have never found the like written in the bible. Many are yet to start manifesting and many are already manifesting which is not yet opened to the world. We however thank science for having explanation to most of these issues even though not all of science explanation sound convincing.
I admire the courage of this young father who already agree to take responsibility for his baby. I hope he knows the economic implications. I guess he does not. Thanks to the parents of the young couple, they seem to be helping out. What job Can we offer this young dad. Let us give him some time to have enough experience of what it is to be a father at such an early age, we might find him useful as counsellor to young men of his age who might want to do the same, to tell them if it is worth taken the risk or not. God bless mother and child. Read the News article below.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FATHER AT THIRTEEN?
Alfie Patten's girlfriend Chantelle Steadman, 15, gave birth to Maisie Roxanne in Eastbourne Hospital, East Sussex, four days ago.
Little Alfie, who stands just 4ft tall and looks young for his age, told a newspaper: "I thought it would be good to have a baby."
But he admitted he did not think about how he would afford to raise his child.
"I don't really get pocket money. My dad sometimes gives me £10," he said.
Alfie, who lives with his mother Nicola, 43, in Eastbourne, was 12 when Maisie was conceived.
The pair, who have the support of their parents, kept the pregnancy secret until Chantelle's mother Penny noticed her daughter's swollen belly.
Alfie said: "When my mum found out, I thought I was going to get in trouble. We wanted to have the baby but were worried how people would react
"I didn't know what it would be like to be a dad. I will be good, though, and care for it."
Alfie's father Dennis said his son wanted to be a devoted and responsible father, but did not fully appreciate what he had taken on by having a child.
He said Alfie had wanted to be the first to hold his child. "He could have shrugged his shoulders and sat at home on his Playstation. But he has been at the hospital every day," he said.
Chantelle and Maisie have been discharged from hospital and are living with her family in a council house in Eastbourne.
In the bible we read about men getting to an advance age before becoming a father. If we compare such era with the present day mentality, we might want to ask the question what is this world turning into.
I remember when I was in my early years I would turn green if any young girl of about my age was being referred to as my wife. Such an insinuation would make any teenage boy shy not to talk of being a father. In some primitive culture such an occurrence will bring all the village elders into the village square to discuss what they will regard as an abominable act especially in situations like this where the mother is older than the father. It might call for sacrifice or even excommunication from the community in order to avoid the wrought of the local deity.
There are many things that happen these days which we have never found the like written in the bible. Many are yet to start manifesting and many are already manifesting which is not yet opened to the world. We however thank science for having explanation to most of these issues even though not all of science explanation sound convincing.
I admire the courage of this young father who already agree to take responsibility for his baby. I hope he knows the economic implications. I guess he does not. Thanks to the parents of the young couple, they seem to be helping out. What job Can we offer this young dad. Let us give him some time to have enough experience of what it is to be a father at such an early age, we might find him useful as counsellor to young men of his age who might want to do the same, to tell them if it is worth taken the risk or not. God bless mother and child. Read the News article below.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FATHER AT THIRTEEN?
Alfie Patten's girlfriend Chantelle Steadman, 15, gave birth to Maisie Roxanne in Eastbourne Hospital, East Sussex, four days ago.
Little Alfie, who stands just 4ft tall and looks young for his age, told a newspaper: "I thought it would be good to have a baby."
But he admitted he did not think about how he would afford to raise his child.
"I don't really get pocket money. My dad sometimes gives me £10," he said.
Alfie, who lives with his mother Nicola, 43, in Eastbourne, was 12 when Maisie was conceived.
The pair, who have the support of their parents, kept the pregnancy secret until Chantelle's mother Penny noticed her daughter's swollen belly.
Alfie said: "When my mum found out, I thought I was going to get in trouble. We wanted to have the baby but were worried how people would react
"I didn't know what it would be like to be a dad. I will be good, though, and care for it."
Alfie's father Dennis said his son wanted to be a devoted and responsible father, but did not fully appreciate what he had taken on by having a child.
He said Alfie had wanted to be the first to hold his child. "He could have shrugged his shoulders and sat at home on his Playstation. But he has been at the hospital every day," he said.
Chantelle and Maisie have been discharged from hospital and are living with her family in a council house in Eastbourne.
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL, THE LORD GOD MADE THEM ALL
Doctors in California have been astonished by a baby boy born with 24 perfectly formed and fully functioning fingers and toes. Skip related content
Related photos / videos Double Dozen Digit Baby Blessing Kamani Hubbard has six digits on each hand and foot, a condition commonly known as polydactylism.
Doctors at St Luke's Hospital in San Francisco say, because the extra fingers and toes are so well formed, they do not consider it a deformity or disability.
Maternity staff and the radiographer did not detect the baby's extra digits, so it came as quite a surprise to Kamani's father.
Kris Hubbard said "I was in amazement. It took a little while for me to take it all in.
"My son has six fingers, then I saw his toes and I thought 'This is quite unique'."
Polydactylism affects around 1 in 500 babies.
The extra digits are usually small pieces of soft tissue. They occasionally contain bone without joints and are rarely complete, functioning digits.
Famous polydactyls include: actress Gemma Arterton; West Indian cricketer Gary Sobers; Blues guitarist Hound Dog Taylor; and Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII.
Dr Michael Treece, a paediatrician at St Luke's Hospital, said: "It's merely an interesting and beautiful variation rather than a worrisome thing.
"Imagine what sort of pianist a 12-fingered person would be. Imagine what sort of flamenco guitarist. If else, think of their typing skills."
The parents have not decided whether to have the extra fingers and toes removed, but doctors say the baby should keep them.
Wednesday, 14 January 2009
BLACKHOLE
Black holes found at the center of galaxies around the cosmos seem to have appeared first not the other way around, scientists say, solving an age-old riddle which long has dogged astronomers. Skip related content
Related photos / videos Enlarge photo "It looks like the black holes came first. The evidence is piling up," said Chris Carilli, of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
Carilli outlined the research conducted by an international team of astronomers at a meeting Wednesday of the American Astronomical Society's meeting in Long Beach, California.
Scientists long have believed that a link exists between galaxies and black holes, but in a classic "chicken or egg" conundrum, were uncertain about which came first.
Researchers were particularly intrigued by a link between masses of the black holes and the central "bulges" of stars and gas in galaxies, said Dominik Riechers of the California Institute of Technology.
"The black hole and the bulge affect each others' growth in some sort of interactive relationship," Riechers said.
"The big question has been whether one grows before the other or if they grow together, maintaining their mass ratio throughout the entire process."
The research appears to have solved the mystery, using the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array radio telescope and the Plateau de Bure Interferometer in France to peer far back into the 13.7 billion-year history of the universe.
"We finally have been able to measure black hole and bulge masses in several galaxies seen as they were in the first billion years after the Big Bang, and the evidence suggests that the constant ratio seen nearby may not hold in the early universe," said Fabian Walter of the Max-Planck Institute for Radioastronomy (MPIfR) in Germany.
"The black holes in these young galaxies are much more massive compared to the bulges than those seen in the nearby universe," he said. "The implication is that the black holes started growing first."
The researchers said the next challenge is to figure out precisely how the black hole and the bulge affect each others' growth.
"To understand how the universe got to be the way it is today, we must understand how the first stars and galaxies were formed when the universe was young," Carilli said.
"With the new observatories we'll have in the next few years, we'll have the opportunity to learn important details from the era when the universe was only a toddler, compared to today's adult."
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
BLACK AND WHITE TWINS BABY
A mixed-race couple who had one black and one white twin daughter seven years ago have described how they defied the odds and did it again. Skip related content
Related photos / videos Black And White Twins... Again! Dean Durrant, 33, and Alison Spooner, 27, of Fleet, Hampshire, have had another set of twin girls with different coloured skin.
Miya has her father's black skin and Leah is white like her mother.
The couple's first set of twins arrived in 2001, with blue-eyed, red-haired Lauren taking after her mother while Hayleigh has black skin and hair like her father.
Ms Spooner told Sky News: "I honestly didn't think it would happen again.
"I thought we would have two the same - and I didn't think we'd have twins again for a start. That was a shock," she said.
The couple tried to put a bet on just in case but say bookies William Hill refused because the did not have the medical knowledge to offer them odds.
Rupert Adams, a spokesman for William Hill, said some novelty bets are difficult to offer fair odds on.
However, the bookes will try and offer a price if the couple want to make it third time lucky.
"If they came to us again saying they would try for another set, we'd give them odds of 10,000 to one," he said.
Miya and Leah were delivered by Caesarean section at Frimley Park Hospital, in Surrey, at just 37 weeks of pregnancy after scans revealed both babies were in the breech position.
Mr Durrant said he began to suspect they were different colours when second-born Miya arrived.
He explained: "I was sure in my mind there was a difference but I didn't think it was as much as with Hayleigh and Lauren but obviously it is."
The babies were taken to a special care unit because they were not breathing properly so it took five days for the parents to see them side by side.
"It's amazing," Mr Durrant added. "I think I'm still in shock."
Related photos / videos Black And White Twins... Again! Dean Durrant, 33, and Alison Spooner, 27, of Fleet, Hampshire, have had another set of twin girls with different coloured skin.
Miya has her father's black skin and Leah is white like her mother.
The couple's first set of twins arrived in 2001, with blue-eyed, red-haired Lauren taking after her mother while Hayleigh has black skin and hair like her father.
Ms Spooner told Sky News: "I honestly didn't think it would happen again.
"I thought we would have two the same - and I didn't think we'd have twins again for a start. That was a shock," she said.
The couple tried to put a bet on just in case but say bookies William Hill refused because the did not have the medical knowledge to offer them odds.
Rupert Adams, a spokesman for William Hill, said some novelty bets are difficult to offer fair odds on.
However, the bookes will try and offer a price if the couple want to make it third time lucky.
"If they came to us again saying they would try for another set, we'd give them odds of 10,000 to one," he said.
Miya and Leah were delivered by Caesarean section at Frimley Park Hospital, in Surrey, at just 37 weeks of pregnancy after scans revealed both babies were in the breech position.
Mr Durrant said he began to suspect they were different colours when second-born Miya arrived.
He explained: "I was sure in my mind there was a difference but I didn't think it was as much as with Hayleigh and Lauren but obviously it is."
The babies were taken to a special care unit because they were not breathing properly so it took five days for the parents to see them side by side.
"It's amazing," Mr Durrant added. "I think I'm still in shock."
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Wednesday, 24 December 2008
SANTA JOURNEY ON SATELLITE
For web-savvy kids everywhere, Santa's journey from the North Pole can be tracked online. Skip related content
Related photos / videos Track Santa by satellite! The North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad), which is responsible for aerospace and maritime defence, has teamed up with internet giants Google to make Santa's busy 24 hours visible online via the www.noradsanta.org site.
It appears he has already dropped off some some gifts in Russia, Japan, Fiji, North Korea, New Zealand and Australia and will be heading to the UK later.
So you'd better be good for goodness sake...
Related photos / videos Track Santa by satellite! The North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad), which is responsible for aerospace and maritime defence, has teamed up with internet giants Google to make Santa's busy 24 hours visible online via the www.noradsanta.org site.
It appears he has already dropped off some some gifts in Russia, Japan, Fiji, North Korea, New Zealand and Australia and will be heading to the UK later.
So you'd better be good for goodness sake...
Friday, 19 December 2008
NASA TO SELL THREE USED SPACE SHUTTLES
For anyone with an interest in the starry skies and around 42 million dollars to spare, NASA may have an interesting proposition. Skip related content
Related photos / videos Enlarge photo
Related content
US gives green light for first commercial spaceport
UN chief calls 2009 'year of climate change'
X-ray measurements boost dark energy theory
Related Hot Topic: Space
Have your say: Space
The US space agency has announced it is selling three used space shuttles when they are retired in 2010, after 30 years of service.
Sadly for enthusiasts planning their own voyage of discovery, the orbiters will only be made available for display in museums and other educational institutes.
And potential buyers may have to move quickly.
One of the three craft -- the most complex aircraft ever built which launches into space like a rocket before gliding back to Earth like a plane -- has already been earmarked for the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
There the shuttle will join a wealth of exhibits held by the museum which mark the history of flight and space exploration, including a first successful motorized plane produced by the Wright brothers in 1903.
The two remaining craft, which were generally used to transport equipment into space, will be cleaned, decontaminated and stored in the Kennedy Space Center in Florida while new homes are found.
The 42-million dollar cost includes six million dollars to fly the shuttle to its new home piggybacked on a special Boeing 747, but not the costs of the final road transport.
For those with a smaller budget, NASA is also selling engines found at the rear of the shuttles and which run on a mixture of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. They will cost around 400,000-800,000 dollars each, not including delivery.
The 37-metre long shuttle has carved a place into space history, helping to construct the orbiting International Space Station and to repair the Hubble space telescope.
It must be kept in a covered and temperature-controlled area, NASA said.
Only six space shuttles were ever built. The prototype Enterprise never flew in space.
Two were destroyed. Challenger exploded 73 seconds after its lift-off in 1986 killing seven astronauts on board. Columbia disintegrated as it returned to the Earth's atmosphere in 2003 also with seven astronauts on board.
Only three shuttles remain -- Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour. They are due to make eight more flights to the ISS to finish construction and carry out the last maintenance mission on the Hubble.
According to the British daily The Guardian, the Science Museum in London has voiced interest in buying Endeavour, but reportedly only American organizations are being considered.
Related photos / videos Enlarge photo
Related content
US gives green light for first commercial spaceport
UN chief calls 2009 'year of climate change'
X-ray measurements boost dark energy theory
Related Hot Topic: Space
Have your say: Space
The US space agency has announced it is selling three used space shuttles when they are retired in 2010, after 30 years of service.
Sadly for enthusiasts planning their own voyage of discovery, the orbiters will only be made available for display in museums and other educational institutes.
And potential buyers may have to move quickly.
One of the three craft -- the most complex aircraft ever built which launches into space like a rocket before gliding back to Earth like a plane -- has already been earmarked for the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
There the shuttle will join a wealth of exhibits held by the museum which mark the history of flight and space exploration, including a first successful motorized plane produced by the Wright brothers in 1903.
The two remaining craft, which were generally used to transport equipment into space, will be cleaned, decontaminated and stored in the Kennedy Space Center in Florida while new homes are found.
The 42-million dollar cost includes six million dollars to fly the shuttle to its new home piggybacked on a special Boeing 747, but not the costs of the final road transport.
For those with a smaller budget, NASA is also selling engines found at the rear of the shuttles and which run on a mixture of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. They will cost around 400,000-800,000 dollars each, not including delivery.
The 37-metre long shuttle has carved a place into space history, helping to construct the orbiting International Space Station and to repair the Hubble space telescope.
It must be kept in a covered and temperature-controlled area, NASA said.
Only six space shuttles were ever built. The prototype Enterprise never flew in space.
Two were destroyed. Challenger exploded 73 seconds after its lift-off in 1986 killing seven astronauts on board. Columbia disintegrated as it returned to the Earth's atmosphere in 2003 also with seven astronauts on board.
Only three shuttles remain -- Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour. They are due to make eight more flights to the ISS to finish construction and carry out the last maintenance mission on the Hubble.
According to the British daily The Guardian, the Science Museum in London has voiced interest in buying Endeavour, but reportedly only American organizations are being considered.
Thursday, 18 December 2008
NUCLEAR CLEAN-UP
By Jorn Madslien
Business reporter, BBC News, Sellafield
The National Nuclear Laboratory's Fiona Rayment tours Sellafield's new research centre.
Staring into a dark green crystal ball, nuclear engineer Matt Clough is eyeing the future.
It tells us where the hazards are and how severe they are
Matt Clough, nuclear engineer
Consortium takes charge
"The basic idea is that it's transparent when it's new," he grins, holding it up against the light.
"The darker it is, the more radiation it's absorbed."
Mr Clough is a member of a team of scientists at the recently-established National Nuclear Laboratory, a nuclear technology services provider owned by the state, but run as a private enterprise.
Mr Clough and his team are behind the RadBall, or radiation ball, made from a polymer material that becomes opaque when exposed to radiation.
To nuclear decommissioners, who are working to clean up the mess left behind from half a century of nuclear weapons and energy production, the RadBall could soon become a vital tool.
The RadBall's main advantage is that it is very portable.
"You can use it in hard-to-reach areas in the plant and in areas where electric devices struggle with high radiation levels," Mr Clough explains.
"It tells us where the hazards are and how severe they are."
"We're actually trialling it on plant at Sellafield at the moment, so the technology is being used in the field," says RadBall's inventor, Dr Steven Stanley, who won the young engineer of the year award for his creation.
Nuclear's emergence
High up in a 120m tall building, half the height made up by a fragile-looking chimney, a team of nuclear decommissioning experts are prepared for the worst.
Dressed in PVC suits and wearing breathing apparatus, they work behind a sealed, low-pressurised canvas cover, chipping away at a steel and concrete structure that will eventually be demolished.
Business reporter, BBC News, Sellafield
The National Nuclear Laboratory's Fiona Rayment tours Sellafield's new research centre.
Staring into a dark green crystal ball, nuclear engineer Matt Clough is eyeing the future.
It tells us where the hazards are and how severe they are
Matt Clough, nuclear engineer
Consortium takes charge
"The basic idea is that it's transparent when it's new," he grins, holding it up against the light.
"The darker it is, the more radiation it's absorbed."
Mr Clough is a member of a team of scientists at the recently-established National Nuclear Laboratory, a nuclear technology services provider owned by the state, but run as a private enterprise.
Mr Clough and his team are behind the RadBall, or radiation ball, made from a polymer material that becomes opaque when exposed to radiation.
To nuclear decommissioners, who are working to clean up the mess left behind from half a century of nuclear weapons and energy production, the RadBall could soon become a vital tool.
The RadBall's main advantage is that it is very portable.
"You can use it in hard-to-reach areas in the plant and in areas where electric devices struggle with high radiation levels," Mr Clough explains.
"It tells us where the hazards are and how severe they are."
"We're actually trialling it on plant at Sellafield at the moment, so the technology is being used in the field," says RadBall's inventor, Dr Steven Stanley, who won the young engineer of the year award for his creation.
Nuclear's emergence
High up in a 120m tall building, half the height made up by a fragile-looking chimney, a team of nuclear decommissioning experts are prepared for the worst.
Dressed in PVC suits and wearing breathing apparatus, they work behind a sealed, low-pressurised canvas cover, chipping away at a steel and concrete structure that will eventually be demolished.
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
THE BLACK HOLE
There is a giant black hole at the centre of our galaxy, a study has confirmed.
German astronomers tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using two telescopes in Chile.
The black hole is four million times more massive than our Sun, according to the paper in The Astrophysical Journal.
Black holes are objects whose gravity is so great that nothing - including light - can escape them.
According to Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit.
'The black pearl'
Dr Massey said: "Although we think of black holes as somehow threatening, in the sense that if you get too close to one you are in trouble, they may have had a role in helping galaxies to form - not just our own, but all galaxies.
The most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do exist
Professor Reinhard Genzel
Head of the research team
"They had a role in bringing matter together and if you had a high enough density of matter then you have the conditions in which stars could form.
"Thus the first generation of stars and galaxies could have come into existence".
The researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany said the black hole was 27,000 light years, or 158 thousand, million, million miles from the Earth.
"Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Professor Reinhard Genzel, head of the research team.
"The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt."
Observations were made using the 3.5m New Technology Telescope and the 8.2m Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. Both are operated by the European Southern Obsevatory (Eso).
There is a giant black hole at the centre of our galaxy, a study has confirmed.
German astronomers tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using two telescopes in Chile.
The black hole is four million times more massive than our Sun, according to the paper in The Astrophysical Journal.
Black holes are objects whose gravity is so great that nothing - including light - can escape them.
According to Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit.
'The black pearl'
Dr Massey said: "Although we think of black holes as somehow threatening, in the sense that if you get too close to one you are in trouble, they may have had a role in helping galaxies to form - not just our own, but all galaxies.
The most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do exist
Professor Reinhard Genzel
Head of the research team
"They had a role in bringing matter together and if you had a high enough density of matter then you have the conditions in which stars could form.
"Thus the first generation of stars and galaxies could have come into existence".
The researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany said the black hole was 27,000 light years, or 158 thousand, million, million miles from the Earth.
"Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Professor Reinhard Genzel, head of the research team.
"The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt."
Observations were made using the 3.5m New Technology Telescope and the 8.2m Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. Both are operated by the European Southern Obsevatory (Eso).
There is a giant black hole at the centre of our galaxy, a study has confirmed.
German astronomers tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using two telescopes in Chile.
The black hole is four million times more massive than our Sun, according to the paper in The Astrophysical Journal.
Black holes are objects whose gravity is so great that nothing - including light - can escape them.
According to Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit.
'The black pearl'
Dr Massey said: "Although we think of black holes as somehow threatening, in the sense that if you get too close to one you are in trouble, they may have had a role in helping galaxies to form - not just our own, but all galaxies.
The most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do exist
Professor Reinhard Genzel
Head of the research team
"They had a role in bringing matter together and if you had a high enough density of matter then you have the conditions in which stars could form.
"Thus the first generation of stars and galaxies could have come into existence".
The researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany said the black hole was 27,000 light years, or 158 thousand, million, million miles from the Earth.
"Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Professor Reinhard Genzel, head of the research team.
"The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt."
Observations were made using the 3.5m New Technology Telescope and the 8.2m Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. Both are operated by the European Southern Obsevatory (Eso).
There is a giant black hole at the centre of our galaxy, a study has confirmed.
German astronomers tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using two telescopes in Chile.
The black hole is four million times more massive than our Sun, according to the paper in The Astrophysical Journal.
Black holes are objects whose gravity is so great that nothing - including light - can escape them.
According to Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit.
'The black pearl'
Dr Massey said: "Although we think of black holes as somehow threatening, in the sense that if you get too close to one you are in trouble, they may have had a role in helping galaxies to form - not just our own, but all galaxies.
The most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do exist
Professor Reinhard Genzel
Head of the research team
"They had a role in bringing matter together and if you had a high enough density of matter then you have the conditions in which stars could form.
"Thus the first generation of stars and galaxies could have come into existence".
The researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany said the black hole was 27,000 light years, or 158 thousand, million, million miles from the Earth.
"Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Professor Reinhard Genzel, head of the research team.
"The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt."
Observations were made using the 3.5m New Technology Telescope and the 8.2m Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. Both are operated by the European Southern Obsevatory (Eso).
ARIELLE FORD
ARIELLE FORD
German astronomers tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using two telescopes in Chile.
The black hole is four million times more massive than our Sun, according to the paper in The Astrophysical Journal.
Black holes are objects whose gravity is so great that nothing - including light - can escape them.
According to Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit.
'The black pearl'
Dr Massey said: "Although we think of black holes as somehow threatening, in the sense that if you get too close to one you are in trouble, they may have had a role in helping galaxies to form - not just our own, but all galaxies.
The most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do exist
Professor Reinhard Genzel
Head of the research team
"They had a role in bringing matter together and if you had a high enough density of matter then you have the conditions in which stars could form.
"Thus the first generation of stars and galaxies could have come into existence".
The researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany said the black hole was 27,000 light years, or 158 thousand, million, million miles from the Earth.
"Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Professor Reinhard Genzel, head of the research team.
"The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt."
Observations were made using the 3.5m New Technology Telescope and the 8.2m Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. Both are operated by the European Southern Obsevatory (Eso).
There is a giant black hole at the centre of our galaxy, a study has confirmed.
German astronomers tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using two telescopes in Chile.
The black hole is four million times more massive than our Sun, according to the paper in The Astrophysical Journal.
Black holes are objects whose gravity is so great that nothing - including light - can escape them.
According to Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit.
'The black pearl'
Dr Massey said: "Although we think of black holes as somehow threatening, in the sense that if you get too close to one you are in trouble, they may have had a role in helping galaxies to form - not just our own, but all galaxies.
The most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do exist
Professor Reinhard Genzel
Head of the research team
"They had a role in bringing matter together and if you had a high enough density of matter then you have the conditions in which stars could form.
"Thus the first generation of stars and galaxies could have come into existence".
The researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany said the black hole was 27,000 light years, or 158 thousand, million, million miles from the Earth.
"Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Professor Reinhard Genzel, head of the research team.
"The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt."
Observations were made using the 3.5m New Technology Telescope and the 8.2m Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. Both are operated by the European Southern Obsevatory (Eso).
There is a giant black hole at the centre of our galaxy, a study has confirmed.
German astronomers tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using two telescopes in Chile.
The black hole is four million times more massive than our Sun, according to the paper in The Astrophysical Journal.
Black holes are objects whose gravity is so great that nothing - including light - can escape them.
According to Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit.
'The black pearl'
Dr Massey said: "Although we think of black holes as somehow threatening, in the sense that if you get too close to one you are in trouble, they may have had a role in helping galaxies to form - not just our own, but all galaxies.
The most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do exist
Professor Reinhard Genzel
Head of the research team
"They had a role in bringing matter together and if you had a high enough density of matter then you have the conditions in which stars could form.
"Thus the first generation of stars and galaxies could have come into existence".
The researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany said the black hole was 27,000 light years, or 158 thousand, million, million miles from the Earth.
"Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Professor Reinhard Genzel, head of the research team.
"The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt."
Observations were made using the 3.5m New Technology Telescope and the 8.2m Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. Both are operated by the European Southern Obsevatory (Eso).
There is a giant black hole at the centre of our galaxy, a study has confirmed.
German astronomers tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using two telescopes in Chile.
The black hole is four million times more massive than our Sun, according to the paper in The Astrophysical Journal.
Black holes are objects whose gravity is so great that nothing - including light - can escape them.
According to Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit.
'The black pearl'
Dr Massey said: "Although we think of black holes as somehow threatening, in the sense that if you get too close to one you are in trouble, they may have had a role in helping galaxies to form - not just our own, but all galaxies.
The most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do exist
Professor Reinhard Genzel
Head of the research team
"They had a role in bringing matter together and if you had a high enough density of matter then you have the conditions in which stars could form.
"Thus the first generation of stars and galaxies could have come into existence".
The researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany said the black hole was 27,000 light years, or 158 thousand, million, million miles from the Earth.
"Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Professor Reinhard Genzel, head of the research team.
"The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt."
Observations were made using the 3.5m New Technology Telescope and the 8.2m Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. Both are operated by the European Southern Obsevatory (Eso).
ARIELLE FORD
ARIELLE FORD
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