Wired News has some pictures of Titan's surface taken by Cassini. The article explains somewhat the new questions the images have created, and what the Huygens mission hopes to accomplish in terms of answering those questions, including this explanation for the bright/dark spots:
Do the dark areas in the radar images of Titan's surface signify the existence of lakes?
When radar waves are used to create images of surfaces, areas that reflect more radio waves turn up as bright spots, while those that reflect fewer waves appear as dark spots. Some scientists believe the large, dark patches in the Titan images could be lakes full of liquid ethane and propane, which would absorb radio waves. But if this is true, do the lakes have ripples and waves caused by the wind, or are they completely still?
A former correspondent from CBS ran a very harsh critique of blogging as a form of journalism a few weeks ago. The author's claim is that journalism is not simply reporting events, it's also the expert interpretation of those events. The election is an excellent example... here's a quote from the article:
"While out on the campaign trail covering candidates, my own network's political unit would not even give me exit poll information on election days because it was thought to be too tricky for a common reporter to comprehend. If you are standing in the main election night studio when your network's polling experts start discussing the significance of a particular state poll, you the reporter will hear about three words out of one hundred that you will understand. These polls occur in the realm of statistics and probability. They require PhD-style expertise to understand. The people who analyze them for news organizations, like the legendary Warren Mitofsky and Martin Plissner at CBS News -- have trade associations like doctors do to certify their work.
"When you the humble reporter are writing a story based on the polls you need one of these gurus standing over your shoulder interpreting what they mean or you almost certainly will screw it up. There is a word for this kind of teamwork and expertise. It's called 'journalism'."
The writer concludes:
"...the chances of the bloggers replacing mainstream journalism are about as good as the parasite replacing the dog it fastens on."
Of course, this is a retired journalist writing this. While I have nothing but respect for career journalists, it makes sense that they would be the first to lash out against bloggers. Plus, let's face it, older generations often look down on new forms of media... just look at resistance to hiphop music and the SMS-style of writing for further examples.
This is all the more impressive because Playstation has just launched a new PS2 that is about the size of a DVD case... but doesn't, obviously, come with a screen. Gamespot has more information here and here are some pictures.
Sony is marketing this new PS2 as portable... their engineers should be ashamed!
As well, Sony does have a true portable PS2 coming out next year (I heard mid 2005... it keeps getting pushed back). Here are some pictures.
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has been working on a related issue for the past couple years: plant sustainability. Not only does the Mars mission need the right variety of plants, but it also needs to ensure that these plants are sustainable for the entire voyage.
The key is fertilizer. The plants chosen must come with a means for recycling the unused plant fiber and the astronaut's own waste in such a way that the process yields compounds suitable for additional growth cycles.
Furthermore, this issue isn't limited only to the mission to the planet, but also food production after landing on the surface. Even with a faster means of getting to Mars (for example, mag-beam propulation as discussed recently on slashdot), you still need a way to produce food after you get there.
Slashdot Mirror
http://www.wired.com/news/space/0,2697,65533,00.ht ml
layperson (lay'pûr'sen) n. A man or woman not interested in math.
Robot (sounding like Ned on South Park): Errrmm..... nice job on quiz.
Elderly Owner: Oh, domo arigato, Mr. Roboto!
"While out on the campaign trail covering candidates, my own network's political unit would not even give me exit poll information on election days because it was thought to be too tricky for a common reporter to comprehend. If you are standing in the main election night studio when your network's polling experts start discussing the significance of a particular state poll, you the reporter will hear about three words out of one hundred that you will understand. These polls occur in the realm of statistics and probability. They require PhD-style expertise to understand. The people who analyze them for news organizations, like the legendary Warren Mitofsky and Martin Plissner at CBS News -- have trade associations like doctors do to certify their work.
"When you the humble reporter are writing a story based on the polls you need one of these gurus standing over your shoulder interpreting what they mean or you almost certainly will screw it up. There is a word for this kind of teamwork and expertise. It's called 'journalism'."
The writer concludes:
"...the chances of the bloggers replacing mainstream journalism are about as good as the parasite replacing the dog it fastens on."
Of course, this is a retired journalist writing this. While I have nothing but respect for career journalists, it makes sense that they would be the first to lash out against bloggers. Plus, let's face it, older generations often look down on new forms of media... just look at resistance to hiphop music and the SMS-style of writing for further examples.
It's not a myth--down here in Australia it spins backwards. Just like the water in the toilets.
Sony is marketing this new PS2 as portable... their engineers should be ashamed!
As well, Sony does have a true portable PS2 coming out next year (I heard mid 2005... it keeps getting pushed back). Here are some pictures.
The key is fertilizer. The plants chosen must come with a means for recycling the unused plant fiber and the astronaut's own waste in such a way that the process yields compounds suitable for additional growth cycles.
See: "To Get To Mars, Use Wheat".
Furthermore, this issue isn't limited only to the mission to the planet, but also food production after landing on the surface. Even with a faster means of getting to Mars (for example, mag-beam propulation as discussed recently on slashdot), you still need a way to produce food after you get there.