Scientists have for the first time confirmed liquid water flowing on the surface of present-day Mars, a finding that will add to speculation that life, if it ever arose there, could persist now.
“IOTD” is image of the day, a concept I came up with. I teach visual meditative therapy – or in easy terms – a mini mental holiday. For some people it is very difficult for them to get their image right. I post an image a day for people to use in their mini mental vacay. Some are serious, some are silly, and some are just beautiful!”
Recent Measurements of Pluto and Charon Obtained by New Horizons
“This graphic presents a view of Pluto and Charon as they would appear if placed slightly above Earth’s surface and viewed from a great distance.
Recent measurements obtained by New Horizons indicate that Pluto has a diameter of 2370 km, 18.5% that of Earth’s, while Charon has a diameter of 1208 km, 9.5% that of Earth’s.”
It’s 3 billion miles away (4.7bn km) and has never been seen in detail but now Pluto, at the very edge of the solar system, is on the brink of being revealed in a new light. On Tuesday, July 14, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft sweept past the icy dwarf planet and sent back the clearest ever images of it. David Shukman reports.
Google Doodle Celebrates Sally Ride’s 64th Birthday
Today, May 26, 2015, American astronaut Sally Ride would have have been 64 years old.
She died in 2012, but her work lives on as an inspiration to young women who want to touch the stars.
Ride was indefatigable in promoting education, in promoting the need to explore space, and working to get girls more involved with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. As the first American woman in space her place in history was secure, but she knew what this implied for her as a role model, and maximized that leverage.
Google has helped promote her message today in a series of lovely Doodles, animated images that come up when you open the home page of the search engine.
Dr. Ride was immortalized when NASA named the GRAIL spacecraft impact site after her. But her legacy was secured by her own doing, by her actions. And we thank her for them.
The astronaut and physicist worked to motivate young people, especially girls, to become interested in science and math.
On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride made history when she became the first American woman in space. On Tuesday, Google honored what would have been her 64th birthday with an animated Google Doodle.
Ride was born in Los Angeles on May 26, 1951. While finishing her Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University in 1977, she applied to join NASA and was among one of six women selected to be astronaut candidates.
At the age of 32, Ride became the first American woman in space while on board the Challenger space shuttle. She made another mission into orbit the following year, also on board Challenger.
Ride’s partner Tam O’Shaughnessy wrote in a blog post that while in space Ride “realized how important it is for all of us to take care of our fragile home in space, and became an environmentalist.”
After leaving NASA, Ride became the director of the California Space Institute and professor of physics at the University of California at San Diego. She saw how girls were being put off from pursuing careers in science and math and worked to inspire young people, especially girls and minority students, to keep up their interests in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects.
Google celebrates Sally Ride’s 64th Birthday with five animated Google Doodle on May 26, 2015. Sally Ride was an American physicist and astronaut and became the first American woman in space in 1978 at the age of 32.
~~Sally Ride – Mini Biography~~
~~Published on Aug 29, 2013~~
Watch a short biography of Sally Ride, who became the first American Woman in space as part of the Challenger shuttle mission on June 18, 1983.
Jupiter Ascending is a 2015 American-Australian space opera film written, produced, and directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski. Starring Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis, the film is centered on Jupiter Jones (Kunis), a down-on-her-luck cleaning woman, and Caine Wise (Tatum), an interplanetary warrior who informs Jones that her destiny extends beyond Earth.
Supporting cast member Douglas Booth has described the film’s fictional universe as a cross between The Matrix and Star Wars while Kunis named its underlying themes indulgence and consumption.
The film was co-produced by Grant Hill, who acted as executive producer on The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions and as producer on V for Vendetta, Speed Racer, Ninja Assassin and Cloud Atlas, making Jupiter Ascending his seventh collaboration with the Wachowskis.
Several more longstanding Wachowski collaborators since the creation of The Matrix films have contributed to the picture, including production designer Hugh Bateup, visual effects supervisor Dan Glass, visual effects designer John Gaeta, supervising sound editor Dane Davis and costume designer Kym Barrett. Other notable past collaborators include Speed Racer’s composer Michael Giacchino, Cloud Atlas’ director of photography John Toll along with its editor Alexander Berner and hair and make-up designer Jeremy Woodhead, who worked on both.
~~Plot~~
In the story, Earth’s residents are unaware that life on Earth and countless other planets has been seeded by families of alien royalty for the purpose of “harvesting” the resulting organisms at a “Darwinian state of perfection” to produce a type of youth serum for the elites on still other planets.
After the death of the matriarch of the House of Abrasax, the most powerful of the alien dynasties, her children Balem (Eddie Redmayne), Kalique (Tuppence Middleton), and Titus (Douglas Booth) quarrel over the inheritance, with Balem inheriting an enormous production facility on Jupiter and Titus declaring his intention to dismantle the youth serum trade, of which Earth is the next intended source.
Protagonist ‘Jupiter Jones’ narrates that her father Maximilian Jones (James D’Arcy) met her mother Aleksa (Maria Doyle Kennedy) in Saint Petersburg. After Maximilian is killed by a robbery, Aleksa names their daughter Jupiter, after his dying wish, and they move to Chicago to live with Aleksa’s family.
Many years later, Jupiter (Mila Kunis) works with Aleksa and her Aunt Nino (Frog Stone) and cleans the homes of wealthy people. To buy a telescope, Jupiter agrees to sell her eggs with the help of her cousin Vladie (Kick Gurry), under the name of her friend Katharine Dunlevy (Vanessa Kirby).
At Katharine’s house, Jupiter and Katherine are attacked by extraterrestrial ‘Keepers’; and when Jupiter photographs them, they erase her memory of the incident. During the egg donation procedure, the doctors and nurses are identified as Balem’s agents, sent to kill her; and she is saved by Caine Wise (Channing Tatum), a genetically engineered ex-soldier sent by Titus.
Stinger Apini (Sean Bean), an old comrade of Caine’s, agrees to help Jupiter; but a group of hunters take her to Kalique’s palace on a distant planet, where Kalique explains that Jupiter is genetically identical to the dead matriarch, and therefore heir to the Earth. Supported by Captain Diomika Tsing (Nikki Amuka-Bird) of the Aegis (an intergalactic police force), Caine retrieves her from Kalique, and brings her to the planet Ores (the intergalactic capital city) to claim her inheritance.
On the way back to Earth, Titus detains Jupiter and Caine. He reveals his plan to marry and then kill Jupiter and claim Earth before throwing Caine into the void, but Caine survives and saves Jupiter at the altar. Jupiter asks return home; but her family has been taken hostage by Balem. In his citadel in the Great Red Spot, Balem demands Earth in exchange for Jupiter’s family. Realizing that Balem can “harvest” Earth only if she signs it over, Jupiter refuses. Balem tries to kill Jupiter; but she defeats him in a fight.
She escapes and is rescued by Caine, Stinger, and Tsing.
~~GALLERY~~
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Jupiter’s family is returned home with no memory of her disappearance, while Jupiter secretly retains ownership of the Earth.
Her family buy her the telescope she wanted and Caine is granted a pair of wings earlier removed from his body.
From the streets of Chicago to the far-flung galaxies whirling through space, “Jupiter Ascending” tells the story of Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis), who was born under a night sky, with signs predicting she was destined for great things.
Today is the Super New Moon in the sign of Aquarius. While that doesn’t mean a lot to most of us (including myself), what it does mean is that this is the time to manifest new projects & beginnings. A time when you are virtually unlimited! Take advantage of this moment in time when you can achieve anything you desire. Meditate on it – pray about it – then begin to take action.
Sarah is honored to be part of the Advisory Council for the Challenger Center, the non-profit science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education organization.“Through my partnership with Challenger Center, I hope to inspire in children the same wonder and excitement for space exploration that I feel myself. As I prepare for my own space journey, I am proud to work with them to impart the sense of magic that has had me dreaming and looking up at the stars since I was a child.”
Sarah will be joined on the council by other distinguished individuals including President George H.W. Bush, Mr Norman Augustine, Senator John and Mrs Annie Glenn, all of whom will be lending their diverse talents and support of STEM education to help expand the organization’s reach with today’s youth.
“These extremely distinguished individuals have broken down the walls between nations, led us into a new space age, revolutionized modern business strategy and encouraged us to expand our minds to change the way we see ourselves and the world,” said Dr. Lance Bush, president and CEO of Challenger Center. “Each member of our Advisory Council has expressed a commitment to our mission and is dedicated to educating our next generation. We are honored and privileged to have their guidance and support.”
ChallengerCenter and its network of more than 40 Challenger Learning Centers engage students in hands-on experiences that strengthen knowledge in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and inspire students to pursue careers in these important fields. As a recognized leader in STEM education, Challenger Center uses state-of-the-art technology to create simulated space missions that bring classroom lessons to life. Students are transformed into astronauts and engineers and solve real-world problems as they share the thrill of discovery. Founded in 1986 to honor the seven astronauts of shuttle flight STS-51-L, Challenger Center has reached more than 4 million students around the globe.
FOLLOW SARAH BRIGHTMAN
Follow Sarah on Twitter and like Sarah on Facebook to ensure you don’t miss out on any of the latest news.
DREAMCHASER IN CONCERT | August 2013 on PBS
Angel
Published on Jul 29, 2013
Travel to new musical worlds with Sarah Brightman as she takes viewers on a cosmic journey featuring both new songs and fan favorites inspired by the wonderment and beauty of space. With evocative lighting, elaborate costumes and powerful imagery, this concert is an out-of-this-world experience.
It Is What It Is 