World

Glimpse Of What’s New In COVID-19 Research At LANL

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LANL continues working to better understand and mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Los Alamos National Laboratory continues its work to better understand and mitigate the impacts of the pandemic.

Here’s a brief look at some of the research underway:

Infrastructure analysis and decision support

Los Alamos developed the Modeling Epidemics for Decision Support with Infrastructure Analysis (MEDIAN) to understand interdependencies between critical infrastructures and public health measures such as contact tracing and diagnostics as it relates to pandemic Read More

AFRL Spacecraft Collects Never Before Seen Data

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A diagram of the Air Force Research Laboratory DSX and Japanese Space Agency Arase experiment in which the first space-to-space very low frequency transmission was conducted. The locations and directions of the spacecraft at the time of the experiment are shown, DSX in yellow and Arase in cyan, when they were 436 kilometers apart. Direct VLF wave paths from DSX are in blue, while the paths of waves reflected by magnetospheric plasma are in red. White dotted lines show magnetic field lines from the Earth’s magnetic field, which tends to guide the low-density plasma and, as a result, the VLF waves. Read More

AGU: Birth Of A Hawaiian Fissure Eruption

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A fountaining eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, which occurred May 5, 2018. Courtesy/AGU

AGU News:

Ready for a new kind of holiday yule log? Then this mesmerizing video of an erupting volcano is for you.

This spectacular footage captures a fountaining eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano May 5, 2018. The eruption went through several phases:

  • First, there were pulsing bursts of escaping volcanic gas;
  • Next, closely spaced weak explosions of particles torn from magma in the volcanic vent; and
  • Last, weak incandescent fountaining of particles and gas.

Researchers analyzed the footage in Read More

Five Astronauts On The International Space Station Beam Down Christmas Tidings To The People Of Earth

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Members of the Expedition 64 crew send a Christmas message to Earth from the International Space Station. Clockwise from top left: NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi, NASA astronauts Kate Rubins and Shannon Walker. Courtesy/NASA

The astronauts decked the halls of the International Space Station with Christmas decorations made with items they found around the spacecraft. They challenged NASA’s Mission Control team at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to do the same, using only decorations found in their building. Read More

Gov. Lujan Grisham Assures Kiddos: Santa Claus Is Immune From COVID-19 And He Will Be Visiting This Christmas

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The governor said today that Santa Claus, and all of his reindeer, are immune from COVID-19 and may safely visit homes all across New Mexico this holiday season. Courtesy/santaclausvillage.info

 

From the Office of the Governor:

SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced this morning that the issuing of a proclamation assuring New Mexico children of all ages that health experts have determined Santa Claus, and all of his reindeer, are immune from COVID-19 and may safely visit homes all across New Mexico this holiday season.

The governor thanked New Mexico children for adapting

Read More

More Scenes Of Great Conjunction 2020 Over Los Alamos … Jupiter And Saturn Only 0.1 Degree Apart Dec. 21

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Downtown Los Alamos viewed from North Mesa with Jupiter, the brightest point in the sky – to the upper right and Saturn, the dim point to the right of Jupiter, just after sunset Monday, Dec. 21. Photo taken with an Olympus OM-1 MIII, 40-150mm lens at 40mm, f/2.8, ISO 1600 2sec. Photo by Rick Wallace

Close-up of the conjunction as it overexposes Jupiter to show two of its moons – Io to the upper left and Europa to the lower right. Photo taken with an Olympus OM-1 MIII, 300mm f/4 with MC 1.4 (840mm equivalent), f/5.6, ISO 1600 1/80s. Photo by Rick Wallace

The Unistellar telescope view greatly overexposes Read More

The Great Conjunction Viewed From Los Alamos

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The Great Conjunction viewed this evening from Los Alamos. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

Saturn, Jupiter and two of its moons viewed this evening from Los Alamos. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

COMMUNITY News:

Skywatchers were in for an end-of-year treat this evening in what has become known popularly as the “Christmas Star”, an especially vibrant planetary conjunction easily visible as the bright planets Jupiter and Saturn came together.

In 1610, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei pointed his telescope to the night sky, discovering the four moons of Jupiter – Io, Europa, Read More

Happy Holidays From New Mexico Museum Of Space History

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NMMSH News:

The New Mexico Museum of Space History (NMMSH) in Alamogordo wishes everyone happy holidays.

The museum is a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, under the leadership of the Governor’s Commission to the New Mexico Museum of Space History.

Programs and exhibits are supported by the International Space Hall of Fame Foundation through the generous support of donors.

Dedicated Oct. 5, 1976, as the International Space Hall of Fame, the New Mexico Museum of Space History’s mission is to inspire and educate, to promote and preserve, and to honor the pioneers of space

Read More

Top Los Alamos Locations For Viewing ‘Great Conjunction’

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Local astronomer Rick Wallace shared what are likely the best locations in town for viewing Jupiter and Saturn’s great conjunction this evening within an hour after sunset. Wallace suggests viewing the event in Los Alamos from the parking lot at the Canyon Rim Trail across from the Co-op Market. If viewing from White Rock, Wallace suggests observing the great conjunction from the Overlook Park area. Here’s a projected view of how Jupiter and Saturn will look this evening through a telescope. Source:earthsky.org. Image/Rice University  Read More

‘Great Conjunction’: NASA Tips To View ‘Christmas Star’

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Jupiter and Saturn will appear just one-tenth of a degree apart this evening, in an event known as a ‘great conjunction’. The planets will be visible to the naked eye when looking toward the southwest about an hour after sunset. Courtesy/NASA/JPL-Caltech

By Samantha Mathewson
www.space.com

Jupiter and Saturn will align in the night sky this evening in an event astronomers call the “great conjunction” — also referred to as the “Christmas Star” — marking the planets’ closest encounter in nearly 400 years.

When Saturn and Jupiter converge tonight, the two planets may appear as a bright point of Read More