Scientists note that there are two new and different twists to today's changing climate:
(1) The globe is warming at a faster rate than it ever has before;
and (2) Humans are the main reason Earth is warming.
Since the industrial revolution, which began in the mid-1800s,
humans have attained the magnitude of a geological force
in terms of our ability change Earth's environment and impact its climate system.

Since 1900, human population doubled and then double again.
Today more than 7 billion people inhabit our world.
By burning increasing amounts of coal and oil,
we drove up carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere by 30 percent.
Carbon dioxide is a "greenhouse gas" that traps warmth near the surface.

Humans are also affecting Earth's climate system in other ways.

For more information and to learn about the satellites launched and in development
to specifically study the earth and its climate,

CLICK HERE.

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FASTER THAN LIGHT NUTRINOS TURNS PHYSICS UPSIDEDOWN



Dr. Brian Cox tells the BBC that CERN's recent finding that nutrinos can travel faster than the speed of light
could be the most significant physics discovery in at least the last hundred years.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

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BATCH OF 50 NEW ALIEN WORLDS -- DISCOVERED
16 OF THEM "SUPER EARTHS"

Astronomers have announced the discovery of 50 (yes, five-zero) exoplanets,
the largest group of alien worlds announced at one time.
Sixteen of these worlds are "super-Earths" --
exoplanets that possess masses larger than Earth,
yet much smaller than the gas giants.

MORE

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LIQUID WATER FOUND ON MARS



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SPACE SHUTTLE ERA AND AMERICA'S MANNED SPACEFLIGHT
PROGRAM END WITH A SOFT WHOOSH

Somehow it seems almost paranormal that to the day, on the forty-second anniversary of Neil Armstrong's assertive, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind," space shuttle Atlantis landed with a whisper onto the runway of the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center and effectivly ended the nation's manned space flight program. Despite the President's rhetoric and NASA's "stiff upper lip," for the first time in over fifty years the United States has no coherent space program, no intelligent transport system (would you want to spend a year going to and from an astroid in a four person capsule?) and no direction. Maybe we can hitch a ride with the Chinese.

Oh, no... wait...sorry... our credit card's no good anymore. Is it?

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CONSTELLATION REBORN AS LIBERTY?



ATK and NASA are set to work together
during the development phase of ATK’s commercial Liberty Launch System.
The teams signed an unfunded Space Act Agreement (SAA)
that will see NASA provide technical advice to the Liberty programme office
during the Preliminary Design Review phase of the program.

READ MORE

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The Science Minute Tours Discovery Inside and Out

Gallery - Click on a picture then view a slide show or navigate around

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Discovery was located in Bay 2 of the Orbiter Processing Facility, a large hanger with platforms surrounding the vehicle for access to every part. The Orbital Maneuvering System pods had been removed and sent back to their manufacturer in White Sands, NM for "safing." The fuels they use (Monomethyl Hydrazine [CH3NHNH2] and Nitrogen Tetroxide [N2O4]) are very volatile and toxic, plus they ignite on contact. They were used in the ascent engine of all the moon landers because the always work. The shuttle's main engines had also been removed so you see the big holes in the rear of the vehicle where the engines go. You'll see a circle of eight white bolt covers in the center of each engine hole. This is where the engine attaches. The green things that look like cannons are the actuators that move (gimble) the engines during launch to provide steering. The yellow covers cover the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen lines coming from the big external tank. The cargo bay doors were open but supported by big yellow supports as they are unable to support themselves on earth; only in the weightlessness of orbit can they function as they should. The mid-deck and flight-deck are really small... about the size of a car. A very tight fit for seven people for 7-16 days. If you have any questions, just go to our CONTACT page and drop us a note.

CLICK HERE TO SEE A FANTASTIC 360-DEGREE PANORAMA OF DISCOVERY'S FLIGHT DECK


CLICK PLAY ABOVE TO TAKE THE SAME TOUR WE DID WITH TERRY


PART TWO


PART THREE

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Space Shuttle Launches
As You've Never Seen Them Before



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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT THE FUKUSJIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

Tracking, assessing, and understanding the developments at Japan’s
severely damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is challenging:
conditions are fluctuating daily, as is the quality of information available about them,
and the vocabulary and concepts at play in a nuclear crisis are complicated.
It also has been many years since the U.S. public, press, and even most U.S. officials
have had to be conversant in the language of nuclear radiation risks.
The release of radiation in Japan, therefore, has caused great concern and confusion
among the general public and the media alike, especially regarding the extent of
the potential health risks that could occur as a result of the damaged Fukushima reactor.
This brief is intended to help explain and put into context for a nonexpert audience some of the
often unfamiliar terminology and concepts associated with nuclear radiation.

CLICK HERE to read the brief.

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FLASH--HUBBLE FINDS FIRST GALAXY



The Hubble Space Telescope has detected what scientists
believe may be the oldest galaxy ever observed.
Scroll down for more below.
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FLASH--NASA FINDS EARTH-SIZE PLANET CANDIDATES IN THE HABITABLE ZONE

Read the story by CLICKING HERE

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CLICK HERE for the latest science news from Science Daily

NEW! CLICK HERE for Discovery News Videos
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The International Space Station - 1998 thru 2010


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NASA HD TV

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What would other planets look like orbiting Earth at the distance of the moon?

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Are We Becoming A Theocracy?

We seem to be a nation becoming more and more mired in mysticism...
led by politicians who have nothing but disdain for science and
scientific principles, and beliefs not coinciding with their own.
When such people take power in a society, that society eventually runs amok.

Even now, new laws are being debated; laws that would restrict
our freedoms of speech and dress among other things.
Soon it may be illegal to wear, in schools or public buildings,
certain garments or adornments pertinent to a person's religion other than Christianity.
If you're of a certain faith or sexual orientation
you may soon be barred from specific employment.

Sound familiar?
Will we also soon be pinning badges on people identifying their origins, beliefs or sexuality?

The flap over a Muslim cultural center in New York to be built
several blocks from "Ground Zero" has reached fever pitch
even though there was a Mosque in the World Trade Center itself
and several hundred Muslims who worked in the buildings died in the 911 attacks.

The world IS round.
The earth is NOT the center of the universe, galaxy or solar system.
E(nergy) really DOES equal M(ass) times C(the speed of light - 300,000 km/sec in a vacuum) squared (times 300,000 km.sec).

These are facts proven by science. Dogma is emotional conjecture.
In 1392 a billion people believed positively that the earth was flat. They were ALL wrong.
Belief proves nothing. Science proves everything.

Nobody said it better than Jacob Bronowski.