Solar cycle effects on the whole atmosphere.

NCAR’s Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM)is being used to study the atmospheric response from the surface to the lower thermosphere to changes in solar and geomagnetic forcing over the 11 year solar cycle. WACCM is a new general circulation model developed by scientists at ACD, HAO, and CGD. It incorporates MOZART-3 interactive chemistry that solves for both neutral and ion species.

Energy inputs include solar radiation and energetic particles, which vary significantly over the solar cycle.

Simulations show large changes in composition and dynamical variables such as ozone and temperature, especially in the upper atmosphere, that are in good agreement with observations.

Many of ACD’s models are available to the public. Please visit NCAR’s Community Data Portal to download. Note a short registration is required.

Source: http://www.acd.ucar.edu

square shaped nebula

I found this picture while browsing. http://www.sciam.com/gallery_directory.cfm
The work regarding the picture was published in the April 13 issue of Science.

Discover8 : a new scientific communications database

Discover8 is a new scientific communications database where registered users can suggest, comment and rate scientific communications. Its also possible to recommend any article with a valid web link (for instance your own articles ).

A large number of topics related to life sciences are present.

Take a look at it at http://www.discover8.com/

Mysterious hexagon spotted above Saturn.

A mysterious giant hexagon lies above Saturn’s north pole, captured by cameras on Nasa’s Cassini Orbiter.

Spanning 25,000km - equivalent to the width of two planet Earths - the bizarre geometric feature appears to remain virtually still in the atmosphere as clouds swirl around it.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/technology/technology.html?in_article_id=445117&in_page_id=1965

Essentials for scientific communications

We all know that an important part of the scientific work is related to communicating your findings to your peers. So here are a couple of texts on the subject (from the “Improbable research” site). I hope you find them useful .

“How to write a scientific paper“, by E. Robert Schulman

” How To Make a Scientific Lecture Unbearable” , by Alexander Khon

SOME of the great science books of all time

DISCOVER has presented a list of some of the best/most important scientific writing of all time. I think that the title “25 Greatest Science Books of All Time” is a little bit too much, but still… anyway one can always vote to set the record straight.

To see the list click here.

Just one more thing… did anyone notice that there isn’t any book refered here about chemistry? Or did I miss it?

You can find another post about the list at Blogui-ci.

Popular blogs about science

This post is more a bookmark for myself but I don’t mind sharing with all of you who visit this blog.

Nature magazine has compiled the list of (the most) popular science blogs at the present, based on the Technorati ranking. The list is here.

I imagine that with this “publicity” the traffic in these blogs wil increase exponentially, and next year they will be even more at the top. .

The list is also refered in: http://blogomica.blogspot.com/

Image of the Crab Nebula / NASA planetary photojournal

If you like pictures of the Universe, those that really show you how small we are this is the site to go. In the NASA planetary photojournal you can find some of the most fabulous images ever captured by the NASA telescopes. Just for an example I took an image of the crab nebula. Take a look.

Original Caption Released with Image:

This new Hubble image — one among the largest ever produced with the Earth-orbiting observatory — shows the most detailed view so far of the entire Crab Nebula ever made. The Crab is arguably the single most interesting object, as well as one of the most studied, in all of astronomy. The image is the largest image ever taken with Hubble’s WFPC2 workhorse camera.

Landmarks of Science : Christie’s auction

Just for you to have an idea of what is going to be auctioned tomorow here is a small list with few examples:

		Lot
		115 Lot details	ALBERT EINSTEIN (1879-1955) Autograph manuscript of his first scientific essay, ‘Über die Untersuchung des Aetherzustandes- im magnetischen Felde’ ['On the investigation of the ...		300,000 - 500,000 British pounds

138 Lot details

The Thomas Alva Edison Trial Evidence (Edison Electric Light Company vs. United States Electric Light Company) for U.S. patent 223,898 Used as courtroom evidence on the 8 July ...

200,000 - 300,000 British pounds

29 Lot details

CAROLUS LINNAEUS (1707-177 Systema naturae, sive regna tria naturae systematice proposita per classes, ordines, genera, & species. Leiden: Johann Wilhelm de Groot for Theodor ...

200,000 - 300,000 British pounds

		83 Lot details		SIR ISAAC NEWTON (1642-1727) Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica. London: Joseph Streater, 1687. 4° (235 x 178mm). Engraved plate of cometary orbit bound between 3M1 and ...		90,000 - 120,000 British pounds
		36 Lot details	CHARLES ROBERT DARWIN (1809-1882, EDITOR) The Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle, under the Command of Captain Robert FitzRoy, R.N., during the Years 1832 to 1836. London: Smith, ...		50,000 - 80,000 British pounds
		54 Lot details		EUCLIDES (FL. C.300 B.C.) Elementa geometriae. Translated from Greek or Arabic into Latin by Adelard of Bath. Edited by Johannes Campanus. Venice: Erhard Ratdolt, 25 May 1482. ...		50,000 - 70,000 British pounds

		86 Lot details		SIR ISAAC NEWTON (1642-1727) Opticks: or, a Treatise of the Reflexions, Refractions, Inflexions and Colours of Light. Also Two Treatises of the Species and Magnitude of ...		20,000 - 30,000 British pounds
		87 Lot details		SIR ISAAC NEWTON (1642-1727) Manuscript on paper, 'Opticae' [the Optical Lectures], in Latin, a transcription in a late 17th-century hand, two volumes bound in one, 243 pages, 4to …		20,000 - 30,000 British pounds
		74 Lot details		JOHANN KEPLER (1571-1630) Epitome astronomiae copernicanae. Linz: Johann Planck [vol. I], Linz: Johann Planck for Gottfried Tambach, and Frankfurt: Gottfried Tambach [vol. III], …		15,000 - 25,000 British pounds
		67 Lot details		GALILEO GALILEI (1564-1642) Istoria e dimostrazioni intorno alle macchie solari e loro accidenti … si aggiungono nel fine le Lettere, e Disquisizioni del finto Apelle. Rome: …		18,000 - 25,000 British pounds

		100 Lot details		JOHN DALTON (1766-1844) A New System of Chemical Philosophy. London: S. Russell, Manchester for R. Bickerstaff [vol. I, part 1] and Russell and Allen, Manchester for R. …		17,000 - 25,000 British pounds

103 Lot details

DMITRI IVANOVICH MENDELEEV (1834-1907) Osnovy khimii. [Principles of Chemistry]. St Petersburg: 1869-71. 2 volumes, 8° (179 x 110mm). Half-titles, engraved illustrations in text, …

12,000 - 18,000 British pounds

and so much more that I will obviously will not continue.

Take a look at all the items at the “Christie’s” site (from where I took the texts and images above).

LANDMARKS OF SCIENCE, Sale 7269
December 13, 2006, London, King Street

What question will science never be able to answer?

Please leave your opinion.