LIVE from Prague!

~I'm writing this from an internet cafe in Prague called "Bohemia Bagel", which has a clientele consisting mostly of tourists like myself. Well, I suppose that I'm not technically a tourist, but close enough.
On Monday, my group toured the national library, and yesterday and today we attended lectures about libraries in the Czech Republic. Tomorrow, we will go to a monestary!
More later...

DON'T call me Junior!

~I've received a scholarship from the Friends of the Carrboro Branch Public Library. Normally, I'd attach a link in the previous sentence so you could look up the Friends, but I can't do that, as a website for their activities does not exist...yet. Making it will be my job, along with a number of other projects to assist the library. I'll be interning there over the summer and fall, an experience which I'm looking forward to.

On Saturday, I'll be flying to Prague, where I will stay for two weeks. In case you missed my previous entry about the trip, I'll be touring libraries and other cultural institutions in the Czech Republic as part of a UNC seminar. Afterwards, I'll write a paper about my experiences there so I can receive some course credit. I don't know any of the other students who will be attending the program, although I do know the faculty advisor, who was one of my professors from last semester.

In other news, it would appear that the Jupiter has developed a third Red Spot, a massive storm in the atmosphere of the gaseous planet. The largest of the three Spots, the Great Red Spot, is over three times the size of Earth and has been raging for centuries (it was first observed by Galileo). The second, Red Spot Junior, formed in 2006. The most recent spot (Red III?) was originally a "white" storm that changed to red as it grew in intensity.

Astronomers aren't sure what causes the changes in color; the leading theory is that as the storms increase in strength and speed, they dredge up gases from deeper in Jupiter's atmosphere and pull them to the surface. If you have a reasonably-powerful telescope, you can actually see storm bands on Jupiter, and like Galileo, you may even observe one or more of the now-famous Red Spots.

Darth Vader's Secret Talent

~Most people who watch the Star Wars films are unaware of Darth Vader's secret talent. Unfortunately, it is only revealed at the end of his life. Please enjoy this touching moment between parent and child:

^ Such skill! He's amazing!

Bar Monkey

~Check out this video of a monkey that works at a bar in the Japanese city of Utsunomiya:

^ I wonder if you're supposed to tip him in bananas? I found this video here.

Kaguya

~Last September, the Japan National Space Agency launched a lunar probe named "Kaguya" (formally known as SELENE: SELentological ENgineering Explorer) which has been orbiting the Moon for a few months now. Kaguya's purpose is to construct a detailed gravity map of the Moon with the assistance of two smaller satellites released from the main probe. Also aboard Kaguya are ground penetrating radar, a spectrometer to detect lunar minerals, a laser altimeter that is building a precise topographical map of the Moon, and a high-definition video camera. The camera has returned some great high-def movies and images, such as this lunar landscape:

^ This image was taken near the north pole of the Moon. Where's Moon Santa?

Check out this great movie from Kaguya located here (it may take time to load, as the server is in Japan). Amusingly, the text above the video notes that there is "no audio"...gee, I wonder why that might be? You can also see more images and movies taken by Kaguya by clicking here.

For now, Kaguya's mission will continue in preparation for an unmanned Japanese lunar lander scheduled to arrive in 2010. By the way, the name "Kaguya" comes from a Japanese legend about a woman from the Moon, a story which also explains how Mount Fuji became a volcano.

Odd Couples (includes monkeys!)

~The website of ABC News recently put up a page showing ten pictures of animals with other animals they aren't normally with. If that sounds confusing, take a look at these pictures from the site:

^ "A little macaque nestles its head on a pigeon that responds peacefully on Neilingding Island, China. Three months ago, the macaque was born on the island, but strayed from its mother. Luckily, it was taken in by work staff in the protective station and made the acquaintance of the pigeon. More than 2,000 macaques live on the island. "
(CNImaging)

^ " An iguana rides on the back of a manta ray near the Caribbean port city of Cartagena, Colombia, June 23 2005. "
(Fredy Builes/Reuters)

(Perhaps the manta moonlights as a taxi driver?)

^ "Dema, a 26-day-old male endangered Sumatran tiger cub, cuddles up to 5-month-old female orangutan Irma at the Taman Safari Indonesia Animal Hospital, on Feb. 26, 2007 in Cisarua, Bogor Regency, West Java, Indonesia. Irma and another orangutan were rejected by their mothers while two Sumatran tiger cubs, including Dema, also born in the hospital, were also rejected by their mother, Cicis, and are being looked after by staff at the Animal Hospital".
(Dimas Ardian/Getty Images)

Why a mother animal would reject its own children is beyond me, but seeing as how human mothers sometimes do the same thing, I guess we're really not all that far from animals ourselves. At any rate, you can visit the "Animal Kingdom's Odd Couples" site by clicking here.

Galaxy Evolution Explorer

~Here's a science satellite I wasn't aware of: NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), which has been orbiting Earth for over five years now. It's photographed millions of galaxies, adding information on the subject of how stars form and galaxies change over billions of years.

Originally planned as a 29-month mission, the life of GALEX has been extended thanks to its remarkable returns. One of the primary project goals is to complete a comprehensive extra-galactic ultraviolet survey, to map all major ultraviolet sources of energy in the universe. Quite a challenge, but it will give humanity an understanding of how galaxies are forming--right now--in the far reaches of space, which will help us better understand the stellar evolution of the Milky Way.

For example, it is suspected that most galaxies begin as spirals, and become elliptical galaxies over time. This is supported by the fact that elliptical galaxies tend to have more red stars, which are older than blue stars and yellow stars like the sun. Further supporting this hypothesis are images taken by GALEX of "transitional" (teenage?) galaxies, which are something between spiral and elliptical forms. Before GALEX, there were few images of these transitional galaxies for astronomers to study, but the satellite has been able to find many of them.


GALEX has also made other interesting discoveries, some of which I'd read about without realizing GALEX was behind them. For example, this was in the news a few months ago:

^ Although it looks like a comet, this image, captured by GALEX, is actually a star called Mira which hurtles through space at an astonishing 291,000 miles per hour. It's moving so fast that you can see a bow shock of gas to the right of the star, and the long trail of gas being thrown off from the movement to the left. Gas released by Mira has been excited to release ultraviolet radiation (detected by GALEX), which will cool to form material for new stars. One particular area of interest for astronomers about Mira are the "streams" labeled in the image, which are suspected to be material flowing from the polar areas of the star.

You can see and read about more of the findings from GALEX here. The satellite has enough power to last for twelve years, and I hope the mission is further extended for as long as it can be.