German astronomers say they have discovered conclusive proof of a supermassive black hole at the heart of the galaxy. The study also enabled astronomers to calculate the distance of the earth from the center of the galaxy, now measured to be 27,000 light-years, and enhanced by six times the accuracy to which they were able to measure the positions of stars -- the equivalent of seeing a one euro coin from a distance of 10,000 kilometers (6,214 miles). One star, called S2, orbited the center of the Milky Way so quickly that it completed one full revolution within the duration of the study. Genzel said the center of the galaxy was a "unique laboratory" for the study of the strong gravity, stellar dynamics and star formation with a level of detail "never possible beyond our galaxy." Stefan Gillessen, the chief author of the study, published in the Astrophysical Journal, said: "The Galactic Center harbors the closest supermassive black hole known. Hence, it is the best place to study black holes in detail." The 16-year study involved tracking the movement of 28 stars at the center of the Milky Way using telescopes at the European Southern Observatory in Chile. Using the data collected, astronomers were able to calculate important properties about the black hole -- called Sagittarius A* -- such as its size and mass. Professor Reinhard Genzel, who led the study at the Bavaria-based Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, said the data collected proved the existence of the black hole "beyond any reasonable doubt." "Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our long term study is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Genzel. The black hole had a central mass concentration of four million solar masses, he added.

Author: vippppl
Keywords: Black hole NASA Space German astronomers
Added: December 10, 2008

The basic idea behind all string theories is that the fundamental constituents of reality are strings of extremely small size (possibly of the order of the Planck length, about 10−35 m) which vibrate at specific resonant frequencies.[2] Thus, any particle should be thought of as a tiny vibrating object, rather than as a point. This object can vibrate in different modes (just as a guitar string can produce different notes), with every mode appearing as a different particle (electron, photon etc.). Strings can split and combine, which would appear as particles emitting and absorbing other particles, presumably giving rise to the known interactions between particles.

Author: amirdoit
Keywords: 11th dimension string theory god space
Added: December 1, 2008

I have created another planetary fractal algorithm. Just as in Infinite Fractal Gardens, this planet is also both finite and infinite and for the same reasons. This fractal algorithm is distinctly different from that used in infinite Fractal Gardens. For example, here, I have placed a major emphasis on color. I hope viewers find it to be as beautiful as I do. Also, journeys into the infinite passageways are layered rather than linear. For those who have asked how it is possible that something can be infinite within a finite structure, the answer is this: There is no limit (at least mathematically) to inner space. I suspect there is no such limit in reality either, although Max Planck would disagree (c.f. the Planck Length).

Author: abysimus
Keywords: fractals nature tomita golden mean fibonacci ecology gardens planets extraterrestrial science educational
Added: November 9, 2008

Carbonate chimneys in the Black Sea grow close to each other and can vary in size. They can reach heights of several meters - like this one at 2.5 m high. Many of them emit bubbles of methane gas, which provides the energy source for the microbes that formed this chimney. Video footage taken by ROV Quest during the MICROHAB cruise aboard RV Meteor, 2007. Copyright MARUM/Max-Planck-Institute for Marine Microbiology Microhab METEOR M72/2.

Author: HERMESproject
Keywords: HERMES Black Sea microbial reefs Max Planck Institute
Added: October 20, 2008

www.quranexplorer.com - Global warming time bomb trapped in Arctic soil: study PARIS (AFP) — Climate change could release unexpectedly huge stores of carbon dioxide from Arctic soils, which would in turn fuel a vicious circle of global warming, a new study warned Sunday. And according to one commentary on the research, current models of climate change have not taken this extra source of greenhouse gas into account. Scientists have long known that organic carbon trapped inside a blanket of frozen permafrost covering one fifth of the world's land mass would, if thawed, release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. But until now they simply did not have a good idea of how much carbon is actually locked inside this Arctic freezer. To find out, a team of American researchers led by Chien-Lu Ping of the University of Alaska Fairbanks examined a wide range of landscapes across North America. They took soil samples from 117 sites, each to a depth of at least one metre, in order to provide a full assessment of the region's so-called "carbon pool." Previous estimates of the Arctic carbon pool relied heavily on a relative handful of measurements conducted outside of the Arctic, and only to a depth of 40 centimetres (15.5 inches). The study, published in the British journal Nature Geoscience, found that the stock of organic carbon "is considerably higher than previously thought" -- 60 percent more than the previously estimated. This is roughly equivalent of one sixth of the entire carbon content in the atmosphere. And that is just for North America. The size and mix of landscapes in the northern reaches of Europe and Russia are about the same, and probably contain a comparable amount of carbon-dioxide producing matter currently held in check only by the cold, the study said. And the danger of a thaw is real, note climate scientists. The Nobel Prize-winning UN panel of climate change scientists project temperature increases by century's end of up to six degrees Celsius (10.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Arctic region, which is more sensitive to global warming than any other part of the planet. Commenting on the research, Christian Beer of the Max Planck Institute in Jena, Germany, pointed out that the climate change models upon which future projections are based, do not include the potential impact of the gases trapped frozen Arctic soils. "Releasing even a portion of this carbon into the atmosphere, in the form of methane or carbon dioxide, would have an significant impact on Earth's climate," he noted in his commentary, also published in Nature Geoscience. Methane, another greenhouse gas, is less abundant than carbon dioxide but several times more potent as a driver of global warming.

Author: LANGRIAL
Keywords: Australia New Zealand London England UK USA UAE Dubai United State Of America Victoria BC Vancouver Winnipeb York Tokyo Japan beijing 2008 olympic Games China Russia georgia war LalaMusa Kharian Gujrat Punjab Pakistan Sialkot Haidarabad Lahore Karachi Islamabad Kabul Afghanistan Murree Jalalpur jattan Gwadar Balochistan Sindh Dhaka Bangladesh Sri Lanka India Rawalpindi MirPur Iran Quetta Bhimber Azad Jammu and Kashmir Peshawar Multan Gujranwala Pervez Musharaf ShahRukh Iraq Barack Obama
Added: August 25, 2008