The formation of the "Snowman" craters would have been an amazing event to witness firsthand

Dawn is falling toward Vesta today as NASA’s spacecraft is currently circling one of the largest asteroids in the solar system and preparing to take a closer look at an asteroid first viewed by German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers on March 29, 1807. The picture above is one of the latest images taken by Dawn of three craters on the surface of Vesta called “Snowman”that are located in Vesta’s northern hemisphere. The associated picture below is of craters visible in the southern equatorial region of the giant asteroid taken at a height of around 3,200 miles above Vesta. Currently, astronomers indicate Dawn is about 1,800 miles above Vesta, and is slowly getting closer to the giant asteroid, while it takes additional pictures we expect to be released in a few days.

The south equatorial region of Vesta looks just as inviting as the rest

The real work begins once Dawn begins orbiting Vesta at a height of around 1,700 miles, this orbital height will provide astronomers with an in depth view of the surface of the giant asteroid they can use to begin unravelling the current mystery surrounding the birth of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Planetary astronomers looking into the birth of our solar system believe Vesta and similar large asteroids in the asteroid belt could be the source of the large number of meteorites that fell on Earth in the past. Vesta and similar large asteroids in the asteroid belt could also be potential planet-killers we here on Earth need to be aware of if we want to possibly avoid future collisions.

Vesta takes a last look at Mars, from its orbit around Vesta

Dawn is currently circling closer to Vesta at a distance of around 114 million miles from Earth and has travelled a total distance of around 1.7 billion miles during its journey through the inner solar system. All of this work has been done in order to give the human journey to the beginning of the universe a closer look at Mars, Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. Dawn will travel to Ceres after it has finished taking a closer look at Vesta and use its on board instruments to detect subtle changes in the gravity field of Ceres. The data on the subtle changes occurring in the gravity field of Ceres can help astronomers determine some of the internal structure of Ceres by studying the mass distributed in the gravity field of each large body close to the dwarf planet.

Dawn will orbit Vesta for one year and then depart for Ceres, where it will arrive sometime in 2015. The present view we have of Vesta shows a dark world that has been bombarded by other asteroids throughout its history, the study of which could provide clues to the formation of the early inner solar system and the Earth. Future images and analysis of data collected by Dawn, once it reaches Ceres, could also provide the human journey to the beginning of the universe with clues to the reasons why life exists on Earth.

The Dawn mission to Vesta and Ceres is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The University of California, Los Angeles, is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Other scientific partners include Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, Ariz.; Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany; DLR Institute for Planetary Research, Berlin; Italian National Institute for Astrophysics, Rome; and the Italian Space Agency. Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Va., designed and built the Dawn spacecraft.

More information on Dawn and its mission to Mars, Vesta and Ceres can be found by visiting www.nasa.gov/dawn.

Geophysicists are currently monitoring seismic activity near Hekla volcano in southern Iceland in order to try to detect possible signals of an impending eruption. Magma appears to be moving beneath the volcano, and while this doesn’t necessarily signal an impending eruption, it could be a sign that Hekla volcano is preparing to release a little steam and ash into July skies. Hekla is actually one of Iceland’s most active volcanoes, erupting about every decade, but most recently in February 2000.

Airports to travel destinations around the United Kingdom and Europe will be watching the action surrounding events near Hekla volcano closely this week. Iceland’s volcanoes have a history of sending deadly ash into the air that has in the past grounded flights leaving and arriving in airports around the United Kingdom and Europe. In April 2010, ash plumes from Eyjafjallajokul volcano caused disruptions in air travel across the United Kingdom and Europe for days, grounding 10 million air travellers.

The recent eruption of Grimsvotn volcano was very intense according to geophysicists monitoring the volcano, blasting about 100 times more ash into the air per second than the total released by the Eyjafjallajokul volcano. This could mean the Grimsvotn volcano has actually spent the major portion of its energy and could subside quicker due to this fact. This particular eruption was in fact the most powerful eruption in Iceland during the past five decades, according to geophysicists, and measurements taken of the plume over the volcano indicate the volcanoes energy could be subsiding.

Meteorologists actually tracked the plume as it rose into the air above the Grimsvotn volcano to the height of about 10 to 15 kilometres following the eruption. Ash rising high into the stratosphere where commercial airliners cruise can damage windows and sensitive parts of an aircraft, like engines, which can cause an air plane to stall, according to the latest scientific information. These plumes of ash can then be carried on the winds across to the United Kingdom and Europe and even around the world, causing airports to close and air travellers to change their plans.

The natural colour satellite image below was taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra satellite. It shows a towering ash plume above Grimsvotn volcano at 1pm local time. Clouds beneath the ash plume cover much of the area, you can see signs of lingering snow to the northeast and brown ash covers a part of the Vatnajokull Glacier near the Atlantic coast.

Grimsvotn volcano letting us humans know who the boss really is

Are the Guardians of the Universe sending us a message across space and time

Visitors from the stars have often been the main characters in myths, legends, comic book adventures and books and movies created by humans throughout the ages of mankind. Considering the diminutive knowledge humans have of space and time this choice provides the perfect context for adventure and the unknown. The Green Lantern is one of the most popular and beloved DC Comics heroes of all time and more recently a full length feature film starring Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively and Peter Sarsgaard. The original Green Lantern Alan Scott was created by writer Bill Finger and commercial artist Martin Nodell for All American Comics #16 (July 1940) edition. Since this time the Green Lantern alias has been shared by several DC Comics superheroes and fictional characters that have all contributed to the popularity of this timeless character.

Astronomers on the leading edge of the human journey to the beginning of time and space recently glimpsed this emerald nebula using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. Reminiscent of the emerald ring wielded by the Green Lantern, this emerald ring wasn’t forged by the Guardians of the Universe as the power rings of the Green Lantern Corps were in the original Green Lantern adventures. Astronomers viewing scenes like the one in the picture above believe emerald nebula like the one seen here are in fact born in the fire of the most massive stars astronomers have viewed on the human journey to the beginning of the universe O type stars. This particular emerald nebula lies deep within clouds of hot gas and glowing dust in the constellation Scorpius and has been given the name RCW 120 by astronomers. The green ring we see is in fact glowing in infrared colours our eyes aren’t designed to view, but using the infrared detectors of the Spitzer Space Telescope astronomers can produce images like this one.

The green ring viewed here was actually carved out by the intense ultraviolet radiation of a couple of giant stars near the centre of the nebula. The giant stars will be obscured by the light from the other stars nearby, when viewed by the infrared detectors of the Spitzer Space Telescope. Ring nebula like this one have actually been a common sight on the human journey to the beginning of space and time, so common that professional astronomers have asked amateur astronomers to take part in the search for ring nebula. People interested in taking part in the search for ring nebula should contact the people in charge of The Milky Way Project, at http://www.milkywayproject.org/.

Engineers and scientists ready Curiosity for her journey to the Red Planet

The human journey to the beginning of space and time will get a detailed view of Mars using the Mast Camera on NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity, once Curiosity lands on the surface of Mars, sometime around August 2012, according to the latest estimates by NASA. Space travel is by necessity extremely well planned and every detail must be worked out to a set time table if the Curiosity is to accomplish its mission. All aspects of the mission parameters must be analysed and reanalysed to ensure everything works as expected and the mission sticks to the timetable set by engineers and scientists working to get Curiosity ready to journey to Mars, sometime between November 25 and December 18, 2011. The Mast Camera on Curiosity is in fact two digital color cameras riding high on the mast, each capable of recording high-definition video at about 8 frames per second, and taking and storing thousands of full-color images of the Red Planet in an eight-gigabyte flash memory. Once they combine the information taken by both cameras scientists and engineers will get detailed 3-D images of Mars as good as or better than any taken before.

The sensor head is being worked on in this picture

NASA’s Mars Rover Curiosity will also have onboard a “chemical element reader” to measure the different chemical ingredients making up the soil and rocks of Mars. This particular instrument, along with nine others on board Curiosity will be looking at the present and past ability habitability of a specific spot on the Red Planet. The Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument viewed here was designed by physics professor Ralf Gellert of the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. This instrument uses alpha particles, or helium nuclei, and X-rays to bombard the Martian soil or a rock, which will cause the target to emit its own characteristic alpha particles and X-ray radiation. This emitted radiation will be detected by an X-ray detector inside the sensor head, which will be analysed by Mars scientists to see which elements are within the soil or rock. The exact identification of the elements that make up the Martian soil and rocks will help planet scientists determine the building blocks of the Martian crust, and any possible weathering of the soil or rock since it was formed.

The Mars Science Laboratory is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl . You can follow the mission on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MarsCuriosity and on Twitter @marscuriosity . A full listing of JPL social media accounts is at: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/social .

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                                 Want to get pregnant, start by getting healthy

If your one of the millions of Canadian couples trying or thinking about conceiving a child, getting pregnant can be one of the most pleasurable and frustrating things in life.

Below you will find suggestions on how to make the process a little easier to achieve for you and your partner.  Although your partner may want to take his time and enjoy each session as an individual and pleasurable experience, we think you’ll find the suggestions will help you through the decision of trying to become a parent easier to deal with.

Shedding the extra pounds that you have worked so hard on adding to your frame is one step on the road to increased fertility.  Quitting smoking increases lung capacity and air flow and increases blood flow to the important parts of the male and female anatomy.  Just as reducing alcohol consumption to less than eight drinks a week and cutting back on caffeine can all help increase a couples chances of conceiving say reproductive endocrinologist and infertility experts.

Here’s the latest research on fertility boosters:

Spread natural peanut butter on the bagel you get at Tim Horton’s.  A Harvard school of public health study determined that women whose lifestyle includes a diet with fewer trans-fats and more mono-unsaturated fats, vegetable proteins, multivitamins and iron were most likely to conceive.  The study also corroborated that being overweight or obese can significantly hamper conception.

Think about the benefits of acupuncture.  Acupuncture raised the likelihood of conception by 65 percent for women undergoing embryo transfer via in vitro fertilization, according to a recent University of Maryland review of seven clinical trials involving 1,366 women.  While this research is preliminary, it’s something to consider as a complement to other healthy fertility choices.  Do research to locate a qualified, well-trained acupuncturist who sterilizes his or her needles (to avoid diseases associated with needles, such as hepatitis C and HIV).

Toss a salad.  A small Spanish study found that men who ate more fruits and vegetables and less meat and dairy products improved their sperm quality and count.  This has been supported by other research that indicates antioxidant-rich produce also has natural benefits that help increase sperm count.

                                                         Lyme disease on the rise in Canada

If not diagnosed and left untreated, the symptoms of Lyme disease will progress from flu-like lethargy to severe heart and neurological damage.  If treated with antibiotics, the normal prescription for Lyme disease, this disease is treatable with modern techniques, but many times this debilitating disease is misdiagnosed as something else and left untreated, in which case the complications associated with Lyme disease increase.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) usually records less than 60 cases a year of Lyme disease in a country with upwards of 30 million souls, but acknowledged in a 2008 report on Lyme disease in Canada that a large percentage of cases of Lyme disease probably go unreported or are mistakenly recorded as something else.  The British Columbia based Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation argues that the real figure is more like 2,000 cases of Lyme disease each year, which they base in part on statistics from the U.S. that show cases in the United States have doubled in number since 1991 to more than 20,000 a year.  The PHAC is currently working with the provinces and Canadian government to require doctors to make a report of all cases of Lyme disease they treat each year.

The Lyme causing bacteria (Borrelia burgdoferi) are transmitted primarily by two species: the black-legged tick, which are most prevalent in parts of Nova Scotia, Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia, but their range has been reported lately by ecologists to be increasing and they can currently be found across the geological regions of Canada.

Prevention is the best cure for most diseases and Lyme disease is no different.  To help, wear long-sleeved shirts and tuck pants into socks when in black-legged tick infected areas, and use DEET-based insect repellent – containing up to 30 percent DEET for adults; 10 percent for children six months to 12 years of age;  and don’t give infants under six months any as it can cause additional medical concerns.

The initial day in the existence of the newborn calf of Qila, the Beluga whale kept in captivity at the Vancouver Aquarium, went off without a problem Wednesday.

The, as yet, unnamed newborn weighted into the world at about 100 pounds and approximately 53 inches of vigorous life, she spent the first hours quietly, before nursing about three to five times an hour.  A sight that allowed aquarium personnel to breathe easier and head home knowing the calf was in good hands.  Can we expect the calf naming contest that inevitably follows such new arrivals at the aquarium, without a doubt; just get your suggestions ready.

Stopping for a breath, the newborn would dart across the big pool, stopping occasionally to sneak a peek into an adjoining pool through a grate at her curious grandmother Aurora, smiling back at her.  The newborn would occasionally vocalize to the delight of the crowd in response to the vocalizations of her mother and grandmother.

Qila seemed comfortable with the feeding calf and took on the mothers’ role quickly, instinctively taking the time to replenish her fish supplies with huge quantities of herring in order to produce the high-fat milk the calf needs to live, when not feeding the calf.

The joy the sight of the newborn calf brings to the kids and families that come down to the aquarium cannot be deigned, but at what cost, does an animal like this deserve to be in captivity?

This is a question that is being juggled by aquariums more and more, every day, in a world where animal species are disappearing daily.  How do we balance the human desire to learn about the world and the animals in it, with the welfare of the animals in question? 

Newborn calves should ideally be born and reared in the wild, not a human designed habitat, which can never truly be the same.  Many would say that the calf would never know the difference having been born in captivity or the wild, but this doesn’t excuse disrespecting such a beautiful animal.  Beluga whales were meant to swim free not kept as entertainment for humans, it’s demeaning towards Beluga whales and arrogant of humans to think there’s nothing wrong with such behaviour.   

It’s true that we will need to create even larger artificial habitats in the future if we keep destroying the natural habitats that exist on the Earth.  Especially, if there are going to be any animals for future generations to enjoy and coexist with, we may need to design and create habitats that would make the current ones seem like a petting zoo.  I just question whether this is an answer or just a stalling measure that only forestalls the inevitable demise of all wildlife on planet Earth.  Maybe the answer hasn’t been invented or thought of yet; at least we can hope so, for the sake of all life on spaceship Earth.

Somewhere, a talented young mind is reading this and thinking about the problem in away never dreamed of before, at least that’s my thought.