You may have seen this on Leslie's Blog last year but may have a better time of putting the layers in order after we cover the Earth History section.
Give it another try!
DISCOVERY SIM
August 30, 2010
August 29, 2010
Eratosthenes Calculates the Earth's Circumference
Years ago when man first began to wonder about this amazing Earth of ours, they did not have computers or satellites to help them determine the size of the Earth. Eratosthenes was able to calculate the circumference of the Earth using shadows. Watch the video below.
Hubble's 20th Anniversary
This Hubble Space Telescope image, released April 22, captures the chaotic activity atop a three-light-year-tall pillar of gas and dust that is being eaten away by the brilliant light from nearby bright stars. The turbulent cosmic pinnacle lies within a tempestuous stellar nursery called the Carina Nebula, located 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina. The image was released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Hubble's launch.
New Guinea Volcano
How are islands formed? Islands seemingly pop up out of the ocean. New land is created through magma/lava oozing out of the ocean crust and forming seamounts (large amounts of magma/lava piled on top of each other) When the pile gets tall enough so that it is taller than the water - an island is born. As the magma/lava continues to flow, the island continues to get taller and wider. You can see streams of hardened lava down the sides of the volcano where the vegetation has been destroyed by the lava.
Clouds pass over Papua New Guinea's Manam Volcano on June 16, just as a thin, blue-gray volcanic plume issues from the summit. The bright white clouds may result from water vapor from the volcano, or they may be unrelated to the volcanic activity. This picture was captured by an imager aboard NASA's Earth Observing-1 satellte, also known as EO-1.
Elevation on the Far Side of the Moon
Elevation of the Far Side of the Moon is shown below. Why do you suppose that most of the lower elevations are found on the southern pole of the Moon?
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's LOLA laser altimeter produced this color-coded image of elevations on the far side of the moon, which cannot be seen from Earth. The highest elevations, above 20,000 feet, are shown in red. The lowest elevations are shown in blue. The image was listed as one of the "10 cool things" to come from the space probe, which finished its first year in lunar orbit on June 23.
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reefs, which is made up of approximately 900 islands and 3000 coral reefs!
Experts opine the Great Barrier Reef was formed around 18 million years ago. Due to various climatic and environmental changes, the reefs, which we see today, are those that have grown over the earlier reefs since the last Ice Age.
Among the species that are supported by the reef - around 30 species of whales, 215 species of beautiful birds, 6 species of sea turtles, 125 species of sharks and stingrays, 49 species of pipefish, 17 species of sea snakes and around 1,500 types of fish!
Every cubic meter of the reef has many different species of animals and plants! This itself explains the wide diversity of life!
One of the oldest species of fish that can be found at the Great Barrier Reef is the Red Bass. This fish can live for more than 50 years as compared to other species.
In the year 1981, the Great Barrier Reef was selected as a World Heritage Site.
The Great Barrier Reef stretches out over 344,400 square kilometers.
Experts opine the Great Barrier Reef was formed around 18 million years ago. Due to various climatic and environmental changes, the reefs, which we see today, are those that have grown over the earlier reefs since the last Ice Age.
Among the species that are supported by the reef - around 30 species of whales, 215 species of beautiful birds, 6 species of sea turtles, 125 species of sharks and stingrays, 49 species of pipefish, 17 species of sea snakes and around 1,500 types of fish!
Every cubic meter of the reef has many different species of animals and plants! This itself explains the wide diversity of life!
One of the oldest species of fish that can be found at the Great Barrier Reef is the Red Bass. This fish can live for more than 50 years as compared to other species.
In the year 1981, the Great Barrier Reef was selected as a World Heritage Site.
The Great Barrier Reef stretches out over 344,400 square kilometers.
Astronaut Doug Wheelock sent this picture of a section of Australia's Great Barrier Reef down to Earth from the International Space Station on Aug. 22. "I think even the great Impressionists would be awestruck with this natural display," Wheelock said.
Flooding in Pakistan in August 2010
You cannot stop the flow of water. The photos shown here are the before and after a series of rain storms.
Two pictures from the Landsat 5 satellite illustrate the effects of flooding in Pakistan: The top image, captured Aug. 9, shows the region around the city of Khewali before the flood hit. The bottom image shows the same region on Aug. 12, after the flooding began.
Piece of Greenland Glacier Breaks Off
What would make a large piece of ice break off this glacier in Greenland?
The ice island that calved off Petermann Glacier in northwestern Greenland on Aug. 5 continues its slow migration down the fjord 11 days later. An imager on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 satellite captured this natural-color image on Aug. 16.
August 25, 2010
Just for Fun - Walking with Dinosaurs
I went to see Walking With Dinosaurs over the summer at Madison Square Garden. It was fantastic! This is a clip of the smallest dinosaurs that were in the ring. The Tyranasaurus Rex was the highlight of the show.
Magnets and how they work
Watch the video below to get a better understanding of magnets and what makes them do what they do.
Fire Tornado in Sao Paulo, Brazil
What is a tornado? It is warm air that rises up very quickly. Even though there is fire eating the air at that time, it is still a tornado.
August 24, 2010
Passage of Time on Earth
Watch the video below which illustrates the passage of time here on Earth. The clip is from the movie "The Time Machine" (2002) staring Guy Pearce.
August 20, 2010
See a meteor shower in a minute
Time elapsed photography of the Perseids Meteor Shower in August 2010
August 18, 2010
Northern Lights
What is it exactly that makes those beautiful lights dance in the sky? It is the Earth's electromagnetic field. The field is in place to protect the Earth from the Sun's radiation. When the Sun's electromagnetic energy comes in contact with Earth's magnetic field, visible light is scattered into the atmosphere and the result is what we call the Aurora Borealis or the Northern Lights. Click on the link below to view a compilation of photos from space of the Northern Lights. Then read the article to understand how the visual display actually occurs.
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/08/03/4808408-can-you-see-the-northern-lights
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38559204/displaymode/1247/?beginSlide=1
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/08/03/4808408-can-you-see-the-northern-lights
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38559204/displaymode/1247/?beginSlide=1
August 12, 2010
Eclipse Shadow on Earth Seen From Space July 2009
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth. When all 3 astronomical bodies are perfectly aligned, a solar eclipse will occur. This is not a common event. Depending on the distance of the Moon from the Earth, a total or a partial eclipse can occur. In July, the Moon was closer to the Earth and created a total solar eclipse. The photo below shows what the Moon and Sun look like during the eclipse from Earth. The second photo is how the Earth looks from space during this eclipse. The area on Earth that was affected at the time the photo was taken is shown by the dark spot in the top left corner.
This is an excerpt from CosmicLog at msnbc,.com
A total solar eclipse cast a huge shadow on Earth Wednesday, captured by a Japanese satellite.
Shown here covering Taiwan on July 21, 2009 at 9:30 a.m. local time at nearly the height of the eclipse, the shadow covered some locations as long as six minutes, making it the longest solar eclipse of the century. The next one this impressive will not occur until 2132.
This image combines data from the MTSAT stationary satellite of the daytime portion of the globe with previous data from NASA of the nighttime portion.
Read More http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/07/eclipseshadow/#ixzz0x0id2ODsMassive Change to Water Systems on Earth
Over time, we are able to see that water is drying up in certain hot areas. Most notable is the Aral Sea, which is shown in photos in the article below. When viewing the photos, the most recent is at the top while earlier photos from the 1970's are at the bottom.
The videos below show time elapsed photography of several areas on Earth including a river in Utah.
Enormous Ice Block Breaks Off Greenland Glacier
The animation shows a glacier in Greenland on July 31, 2010 and August 7, 2010. What are some of the factors that could have caused this to occur? Think of some of the events that have occurred over the past couple of months that may have effected this glacier.
Moon Phases and Eclipses
The attached video explains how the phases of the moon are created and how an eclipse occurs.
Extreme Weather in Australia
On March 6, 2010, Melbourne, Australia had some extreme weather - there was a Hail storm and flash flooding. What would make this severe weather occur?
http://www.wimp.com/flashflooding/
http://www.wimp.com/flashflooding/
Earth Images
There are some pretty good images of different areas on the planet in this video.
http://www.wimp.com/amazingsights/
http://www.wimp.com/amazingsights/
Warmer Waters Bring Sharks to Northeastern State Beaches
People often wonder what kind of effects global warming will have in their own cities. One of the problems of warmer waters are predators that feed on fish that like warm waters. As summer continues and water continues to warm, there will be increased occurrences of shark sitings.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
See (and hear) the Perseids Meteor Show
Read the article below to learn about the meteor showers that are visible in the NYC area during August.
Underwater Volcano
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency had been sponsoring submarine volcano research for more than two decades without ever observing lava on the seafloor. “This is historic,” Resing said.
Continue Reading “First Ever Video of Deep-Sea Volcanic Eruption
Read More http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/category/earth-science/page/8/#ixzz0wRosOHVg
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