Daily Postcard: Jupiter and Saturn viewed around 5:45 p.m. Friday from North Community taken with a DSLR and 400mm lens. Jupiter and Saturn continue to close the gap as they approach the ‘Great’ Conjunction that will occur Monday evening, Dec. 21. This will be the first time in nearly 800 years since the two planets have been this close at night. Source: nasa.gov. Photo by Marc Bailey
World
Heinrich On Massive Cyberattack On U.S. Government
From the Office of U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on the extensive cyberattack that breached the networks of U.S. federal agencies and private companies:
“The scale and complexity of this cyberattack should have us all alarmed.
“We need a whole-of-government approach with engagement between the private and public sectors to provide a full accounting of what happened and deter future cyberattacks.
“Given the Read More
Los Alamos Fire Department Awarded International Accredited Agency Status With CFAI
Gathered in a virtual format Tuesday to answer questions from CFAI, from left, Management Analyst Xavier Anderson, Deputy Fire Chief Steve Dawald, Accreditation Manager Norma Jean Valdez, Fire Chief Troy Hughes and IAFF Local 3279 President Bertram Quintana. Courtesy/LAFD
LAFD News:
The Los Alamos County Fire Department has received Accredited Agency status with the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) for meeting the criteria established through the CFAI’s voluntary self-assessment and accreditation program.
The Los Alamos Fire Department is one of 280 agencies Read More
Skolnik: How Much Better It Could Have Been
By Richard Skolnik
Los Alamos
A Day to Remember – with Sadness
The US hit a tragic milestone today – 300,000 deaths due to COVID-19. This is about 75 percent of the number of American military personnel killed in World War II. Yet, it did not have to be this way.
How did this happen in the US?
The Chinese did fail to transparently provide in a timely manner all of the information they had about an emerging infectious disease.
However, this cannot be an excuse for America’s failure to suppress the virus. A number of countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, S. Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam, for Read More
AGU: Few Studies Focus On Fish Communication
Underwater recorders, known as ‘hydrophones’, are deployed near the seafloor for months to years at a time. Shallow locations are maintained by divers, while deeper locations contain ‘acoustic releases’ that can be triggered with a signal to send the equipment back to the surface for retrieval. Photos by Peter Auster/University of Connecticut; Paul Caiger and John Atkins/Ocean Instruments LTD
AGU News:
Abstract – Ocean acoustics is a rapidly growing field, yet few studies have focused on fish communication. Understanding fish signaling is crucial for recognizing how fish behave Read More
Aditya Viswanathan Wins International Photo Contest
Aditya Viswanathan of Los Alamos has won the NWF’s Ranger Rick International Photo Contest. Courtesy/NWF
Aditya Viswanathan in 2018 in Kenya where his photo of a leopard was his first award winner. Courtesy/PEEC
By CAROL A. CLARK
Los Alamos Daily Post
caclark@ladailypost.com
Aditya Viswanathan, a 6th grader at Barranca Mesa Elementary School has won his second international photo contest.
The National Wildlife Federation’s Ranger Rick International Photo Competition selected his photo, “Rip-Roaring Cat” showing a jaguar balancing on a branch, that Aditya took while on a trip with his Read More
Biosciences Company NTx Led By Former LANL Scientist Alex Koglin Set To Launch Major Expansion In New Mexico
NTx Co-founder/President Alex Koglin went to work at LANL in 2009 as the J. Robert Oppenheimer Fellow specializing in antibacterial drug resistance as part of the biosecurity and defense program. Courtesy/NTx
State Economic Development Department News:
- STEM employer will add 116 jobs with LEDA assistance
RIO RANCHO – A home-grown biosciences company that can make New Mexico a leader in the development and manufacturing of life-saving medicines will receive state economic assistance as it expands into a new research and production center, Economic Development Cabinet Secretary Alicia Read More
Preparing Historic Oppenheimer House For Public Viewing
Owners Helene and Jerry Suydam willed the Oppenheimer House at the end of Bathtub Row to the Los Alamos Historical Society, which is preparing it for public view. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
View of the living room in the Oppenheimer House on Bathtub Row. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
The house at the end of Bathtub Row in downtown Los Alamos is a time capsule; nearly 100 years of local history packed into its stone walls.
The home’s most famous inhabitant was J. Robert Oppenheimer, often known as the “father of Read More
Hanukkah ‘Festival Of Lights’ Begins At Sundown
Hanukkah begins at sundown with a nightly menorah lighting through Dec. 18. Courtesy/bkreader.com
Staff Report
Hanukkah 2020 begins today at sundown and ends at sundown Friday, Dec. 18.
The eight-day Jewish celebration, also known as Chanukah, commemorates the rededication during the second century B.C. of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, where according to legend Jews had risen up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt.
Hanukkah, which means “dedication” in Hebrew, begins on the 25th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar and usually falls in November or December.
Often
AFRL Receives First Component Of Solar-Beaming Project
AFRL’s Arachne spacecraft that will pave the way for development of a space-based solar power transmission system capable of providing useable power regardless of time of day, latitude or weather. Courtesy/Melissa Grim, Partise
AFRL News:
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE — The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has received the first flight hardware component of the Arachne spacecraft from Northrop Grumman.
Arachne is the flagship experiment within the Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstrations and Research, or SSPIDR, project.
The component, named “Helios”, is a commoditized spacecraft Read More