Astronaut Chris Hadfield, currently orbiting planet Earth. Does an AMA from Space

Now this must be the coolest AMA on planet earth. We write a lot about some of the really cool AMA's done by people and this seems to be one of the finest and coolest. If you're wondering where Chris Hadfield is while doing his AMA - when asked by one Reddit users. He said he was now off the western coast of Australia in the Indian Ocean. when asked which part of earth looks coolest from space he replied that the Australia Outback looks coolest and the Bahamas looks most beautiful. He is now aboard the Space Station ISS. If you're wondering what the ISS space station is - Wikipedia says that the International Space Station is a habitable artificial satellite in low orbit earth. There are many interesting questions answered by him - like, what does space smell like, What's the funniest thing that happened on the ISS?, what's the scariest thing he has seen in space. He answered saying watching a meteorite burn up between me and Australia. Now this is something considering all the near hits and misses or rocks hurtling past earth. Before his pre-launch flight the Col did an AMA which we wrote about and can be found here.

Please find below some of the amazing answers from space by Col Chris Hadfield



 



 



 

Read the full AMA on Reddit here.

What normal life sounds like in space

Reddit has many users who come from all walks of like and every kind of professional you can think of -- yes they also have Redditors who are astronauts. most notable - Col Chris Hadfield who's a Canadian Astronaut and fighter pilot having flown two space shuttle missions for NASA -- STS-74 in 1995 and STS-100 in 2001. On his missions he has some fantastic sound recordings that any space enthusiast would like to hear -- 'Ambient Noise on an International Space station'. Listening to the recording you would be surprised to learn that the constant noise on an international space station can be quiet loud and astronauts need to use earplugs to cut out the noise. Col Chris Hadfield has released a recording of the noise while aboard the space station and you can listen in and check out the constant buzz.

Col Chris Hadfield via Facebook
Two recordings of the Colonel are now available -- a song recorded in space called ' Jewel In the Night' and the 'Ambient Noise of the International Space Station'. After posting the sound clip on Reddit, the post has already attracted about 500 comments. With some users asking for a sample of the sound found outside the space station. There are also a whole host of other sounds that people will be interested in maybe Col Chris Hadfield would make those available. So till then please enjoy the sounds as we have attached them below. His is an enjoyable contribution to science. You can follow him on Facebook here and Twitter here.

https://soundcloud.com/colchrishadfield/space-station-noise

https://soundcloud.com/colchrishadfield/jewel-in-the-night

#EndOfTheWorldConfession trending on Twitter

Well, it is already the 21st in Australia and users on Reddit have already started creating memes about it. Once meme says what the f^%$ would the Mayans go by Australian time. There have also been a lot of Tweets regarding the 21st having already landed in Australia. One thing for sure whether the world ends or not time for confessions on Twitter. End Of The World Confessions is now a trending topic on Twitter and people are sharing their confessions, some of which are absolutely hilarious. The trend has also answered the question 'who let the dogs out? which has become a top trending tweet. So here are a few tweets that.



 

https://twitter.com/FillWerrell/status/281967959818252289
https://twitter.com/bibiper3z/status/281984192584249344
https://twitter.com/JeffBattikha/status/281985259011190784
https://twitter.com/amandara11/status/281985094019850240
https://twitter.com/nikhu07/status/281984956954206209

Image Credit: Doomsday cat is a little too late by redditor hummy_Seed

Will the world end on December 21, 2012

As December 21 draws closer, searches on the internet seem to be getting more frantic. 12/21/2012 seems to be all over search terms regarding the doomsday conspiracy theory stating that the world will end on Dec 21, 2012. In fact while browsing through Google for related news on the topic - these are some of the search terms that came up. what time will the world end on December 21 2012 - what time will the world end on December 21 and when is when is doomsday 2012. There have also nee reports of teens and people who are not too sure deciding to end their time on earth before the universe ends it for them.

So how did the prediction that the world will end on December 21, 2012 start.
Also known as the 2012 phenomenon which together comprise of a range of beliefs according to which cataclysmic events will occur on 21.12.2012 and which will transform the world and bring about doomsday. The whole thing started with claims that the planet Niberu, discovered by the Sumerians is header towards earth.

So will the world end on 12/21/2012
NASA astrobiologist David Morrison has taken it upon himself to answer all these questions.NASA have released a separate and independent page called 'Ask an Astrobiologist' and David Morrison personally looks after all the answers. The page goes into detail about how the whole Doomsday 2012 actually started and wheather we are in any actual danger.

The NASA page says there is no danger and Dec 21, 2012 will pass like any other normal day. There are no signs in the cosmos or known universe that revel any kind of doomsday event. In fact thye go on to claim that photos and videos of Niberu found on the internet are false. Poeple who believe in Niberu say it is hiding behind the sun. The NASA scientist however says that these are false images of the sun caused by internal reflections.

Source: Here is the Wikipedia article on Doomsday 2012 phenomenon and here is the link to 'Ask A Astrobiologist' -- NASA's answers to all your Doomsday 2012 questions. A blog entry by the US Govt debunking the theory. Image via MayanCalendars.

Here is a video by NASA Astrobiologist David Morrison answering questions 'The Truth About 2012'
http://youtu.be/LG2B9YZjr7w

Why Background TV is not good for your kid

Image Source

So let's start this post with this to say. If no one is watching TV, it's best to turn it off - this according to researchers in the latest issue of pediatrics. So what is Background TV - typically parents who leave the TV on while no one is watching. The study that took place in American households studied the effect of TV noise and visuals that kept going on in the background while parents and kids went about their day. The constant noise in the background is shown to alter kids attention between noise and the play tasks at the same time. This constant shift has adverse effects. 

Why is exposure to background TV bad for kids.
Background TV as apposed to actual TV viewing has brought out some startling results. Background TV according to a previous study has been shown as a deterrent to development to social skills in kids. Specifically acts as an impediment to social skills, impulse control,  the ability to concentrate and complete tasks, lower interactions between parents and kids. Lower a kids' performance on tasks that require thinking and drain kids' attention.

The study further explains that the average US child was exposed to 232.2 minutes of background television on a typical day. As kids get older they are exposed to less background TV. The research suggests as is implied that turning the TV off when no one is viewing will definitely help your child learn better and grow with the right social skills and less impediment to growth and learning. 
Source: Pediatrics Publications

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Sociolatte

How to get photos from Mars Curiosity Rover in your Inbox

Mt Sharp on Mars: Source

Photos and videos coming from Mars Curiosity Rover can be fund and quiet exciting. It gives you the chance to keep track of all the latest happening from Mars Curiosity Rover and as intriguing as it can be - it is a way to explore another planet. There are many ways to keep tracks of all the photos, images and videos from the red planet. You can follow the official Curiosity Rover Twitter Channel or the NASA channel on Twitter. This would mean however that you need to keep logging to Twitter and checking for their tweets. If you have a very vibrant Twitter account sifting through all your tweets can be time-consuming. CNet's Jason Cipriani however has a nice solution. 

You can follow If This The That shared recipes -  user lsalvador from ifttt has this recipe to share with people - Email me new photos from Mars Curiosity rover. You need to sgn-up for this recipe and you will be get Mars Curiosity Rover in your email whenever a new one is uploaded to the NASA or Curiosity Rover Twitter accounts. This is achieved by monitoring the Twiter accounts and sending you an email everyone something new is tweeted. You will need to grant Twitter access and enter the email ID you want to receive photos in. Click on create account and join ifttt - you can now start receiving the latest photos from Curiosity Rover. 

Source: Email me new photos from Mars Curiosity rover - join now and get updated photos.

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Sociolatte

Mars Curiosity Rover Landing on Mars Video [Aug 5, 2012]

Middle or a Mars crater: Source

I arrive on the red planet on Aug 5, says the Twitter account of the NASA team. This video or the Mars Curiosity Rover provides a fascinating glimpse of the miraculous landing of Curiosity on Mars. In a tweet about the event NASA had this to say 'Look out below! What descent to the surface of Mars looked like from my POV'. The video is fascinating and the YouTube account that uploaded the video had this to say 'The Curiosity Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) captured the rover's descent to the surface of the Red Planet. The instrument shot 4 fps video from heatshield separation to the ground'. The video is phenomenal in that it showcases an event in history that will be remembered for the technology that is being used to study and observe the red planet. 

Curiosity is a full functional mobile-science lab sent to another planet. Which is why NASA scientists have said that it has been the most challenging and elaborate achievement in the history or robotic-flight. The daredevil decent of Curiosity enclosed in a capsule-like protective shell. Took eight months to finally streak through Martian atmosphere at 17 times the speed of sound. The landing is nothing short of spectacular and something to be seen. to follow more from the Curiosity team on Twitter you can follow them @MarsCuriosity. 

Look out below! What descent to the surface of Mars looked like from my POV #MSL #MARDI [video] bit.ly/OIqmBW
— Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity) August 6, 2012

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Sociolatte

Video: How our Galaxy meets its end

Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way crashing together

NASA scientist say that our galaxy will come to an end 4 billion years from now and there is also a video to show how it happens. Massive gravitational pull will bring the Andromeda galaxy and the Milky way together and they will collide. The world as we know it will then end and the two galaxies will then join together to become one. Images from the video have been taken over the 22 year life span of the Hubble space telescope. The animation is fascinating but would have been better with more graphics and picture quality. Anyway, please find the video below and use the comments section below to share your thoughts. 

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Sociolatte

Video: Steven Hawking telling us to get packing and head for the stars

Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA (born 8 January 1942) is a British theoretical physicist, whose scientific career spans over forty years. His books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity and he is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a lifetime member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and in 2009 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.


I remember him saying in his earlier books that he did not think aliens existed because if they did. We would have probably had a visit by now. Steven Hawking is now telling the citizens of the beautiful blue. They time is up not more than maybe a 100 or 200 years. The earth cannot sustain the growth of the human race any more than this, with all it's depleting natural resources. We are running out of time. 


This revelation by Professor Hawking has already opened up loads of discussions across all sorts of Media. People of all races, creeds and colors have something else to think about. What do you think?

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Sociolatte

Video: Check out first flights of Military Aircraft built by Lockheed Martin on YouTube

The Lockheed Martin YouTube channel makes for some interesting viewing. The company has started releasing first flight videos of many of the fighter planes all of us have come to love and adore. Especially the first flight of the A-12 otherwise known as the Blackbird. The is a special section that the company has created on their YouTube channel called "From The Archives" which currently has 13 videos which has some great first flight footage including the Blackbird and the Starfighter. There are also a couple of other interesting sections that every aviation enthusiast is going to love. 


The playlist includes
F35, How To Videos, From The Archives, LCS, Code One Magazine, Test Videos and Ads. People interested in Aviation and flight or Navy hardware will not be disappointed. The newly released A-12 first flight is of particular interest.


Visit Lockheed Martin's official YouTube Channel. 

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Sociolatte

Video: Solar plane heads off on 24-hour test flight

A solar plane aiming to fly around the world without fuel in 2012 has embarked on a 24-hour plus test flight. This marks a big step towards the goal of Solar Flight. Imagining a day not too far in the distant future. When planes will be able to fly on their own solar generating energy.


This is something that the world has been waiting for. Marking a small step and a humble beginning in Solar Powered Flight.

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Sociolatte