This Could Be The First Confirmed Astronomical Discovery Of An Extrasolar_Moon More Than 20_Years After

Nice Sci_Fi Scenery!  

This is The Smallest Sized EXOPLANET Discovered by NASA's TRANSITING EXOPLANET SURVEY SATELLITE so far!

NASA's TESS mission finds its smallest planet yet

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered a world between the sizes of Mars and Earth orbiting a bright, cool, nearby star. The planet, called L 98-59b, marks the tiniest discovered by TESS to date.

Two other worlds orbit the same star. While all three planets’ sizes are known, further study with other telescopes will be needed to determine if they have atmospheres and, if so, which gases are present. The L 98-59 worlds nearly double the number of small exoplanets – that is, planets beyond our solar system – that have the best potential for this kind of follow-up.

“The discovery is a great engineering and scientific accomplishment for TESS,” said Veselin Kostov, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. “For atmospheric studies of small planets, you need short orbits around bright stars, but such planets are difficult to detect. This system has the potential for fascinating future studies.”

A paper on the findings, led by Kostov, was published in the June 27 issue of The Astronomical Journal.

Keep reading

Extrasolar Planets - Nancy Kiang, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.  

Extraterrestrial Photosynthesis.  

A Presentation on The Colors of Plants on various different Habitable Moons and Habitable Planets in different kinds of Solar_Systems throughout The Universe.  

Peace Corps.

Colorin colorado, este cuento se ha acabado

July 1, 2016

It feels like an impossible task to condense all that I’ve learned and experienced and become in the last three years into one final blog post, especially since I’m sleep deprived and feeling all of the feelings. Maybe in the next days or weeks or months I will attempt this. But in the meantime, I leave you with this poem, which begins to speak to my feelings toward Peace Corps and toward the Dominican Republic.

Children Running Through

by Rumi, Translation by Coleman Barks with John Moyne

I used to be shy.
You made me sing.

I used to refuse things at table. 
Now I shout for more wine.

In somber dignity, I used to sit 
on my mat and pray.

Now children run through 
and make faces at me.

Thank you for following my journey!

Here's a Look at The Lunar Space Elevator!  

What The Future of Autonomous Driving will bring to the world.  

With Net Neutrality On The Chopping Block, Communities Are Taking Matters Into their Own Hands—And Scaring The Hell Out Of Comcast

Trees on Extrasolar Habitable Worlds could be Black, Purple or Red as well as Green. 

We Found the Universe’s First Type of Molecule

For decades, astronomers searched the cosmos for what is thought to be the first kind of molecule to have formed after the Big Bang. Now, it has finally been found. The molecule is called helium hydride. It’s made of a combination of hydrogen and helium. Astronomers think the molecule appeared more than 13 billion years ago and was the beginning step in the evolution of the universe. Only a few kinds of atoms existed when the universe was very young. Over time, the universe transformed from a primordial soup of simple molecules to the complex place it is today — filled with a seemingly infinite number of planets, stars and galaxies. Using SOFIA, the world’s largest airborne observatory, scientists detected newly formed helium hydride in a planetary nebula 3,000 light-years away. It was the first ever detection of the molecule in the modern universe. Learn more about the discovery:

Helium hydride is created when hydrogen and helium combine. 

Since the 1970s, scientists thought planetary nebula NGC 7027—a giant cloud of gas and dust in the constellation Cygnus—had the right environment for helium hydride to exist. 

But space telescopes could not pick out its chemical signal from a medley of molecules. 

Enter SOFIA, the world’s largest flying observatory! 

By pointing the aircraft’s 106-inch telescope at the planetary nebula and using a tool that works like a radio receiver to tune in to the “frequency” of helium hydride, similar to tuning a radio to a favorite station…

…the molecule’s chemical signal came through loud and clear, bringing a decades-long search to a happy end.

The discovery serves as proof that helium hydride can, in fact, exist in space. This confirms a key part of our basic understanding of the chemistry of the early universe. SOFIA is a modified Boeing 747SP aircraft that allows astronomers to study the solar system and beyond in ways that are not possible with ground-based telescopes. Find out more about the mission at www.nasa.gov/SOFIA

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IT'S TIME AGAIN TO TAKE A CENSUS OF THE U.S. POPULATION.

MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE COUNTED!

2020 Census: Everyone Counts

It’s that time again. Census time! Once every ten years the federal government counts every single person living in the U.S. of A. in order to effectively allocate representation and resources across the country. It’s an ambitious endeavor, for sure, but one designed to benefit everyone by making sure each community can adequately fund crucial public goods and services, like roads, hospitals, and schools. It determines how many seats each state gets in the U.S. House of Representatives. Also, congressional and state legislative boundaries are drawn and redrawn based on the data collected. Political representation at the state and federal level hinges on census participation. That’s a big deal!

The census count kicked off in March, with its biggest push for people to respond on their own in April, a.k.a. tax month. Although people in the U.S. pay federal income taxes every year, only once every decade do we have the power to influence how those dollars come back to us

The census is a nine-part questionnaire that takes just 10 minutes to complete. To combat all the misinformation flying around about what the census is and how the collected data is used, we’re gonna bust some of the myths and answer a few of the frequently asked questions:

Is there a citizenship question?

No. The courts have permanently blocked asking respondent their citizenship status and the courts have permanently blocked the Trump administration from adding one. Furthermore, federal law prohibits the Census Bureau from sharing individual census information with any person, organization or government body, including law enforcement. Your responses can only be used for statistical purposes (individual records are released only after 72 years!).

What will you be asked?

The questionnaire asks for basic demographic information such as age, race, type of housing, etc. It will not ask for compromising or sensitive information like social security numbers, bank account numbers, or immigration status.

Who should be counted on the Census?

Every person living in the United States, regardless of citizenship status, including kids and babies!

How can I take the Census?

Great news! Completing the census questionnaire is literally the easiest it’s ever been. For the first time ever, you can complete the census online at 2020Census.gov or by phone at 844-330-2020. Also, by April 1st, every home will receive a mailed notice to participate in the 2020 Census.

When is the deadline?

Ideally, Uncle Sam would like to receive your data by April 30th. But as of right now, you can respond on your own all the way until mid-August. If you don’t respond on your own by the end of May, a Census worker may come to your home and ask to record your answers in person. And while it was funny on screen, please do not behave like Christopher Walken in this classic SNL Census sketch.

Is it safe?

Yes. The census is safe, your information is handled with the utmost confidentiality meaning that no one can take your data and use it against you. Your individual data will not be shared with any person, organization or government body, including other federal agencies or any law enforcement or housing authorities. It’s to your benefit to participate.

Sure, filling out a form sounds boring, but it helps to think of it as an opportunity to make your voices heard in a way that really matters. That sounds exciting, no? Plus, you only have to spend 10 minutes doing it once every 10 years.

Make sure to pass this information to your friends and family in order to stop the spread of misinformation. If you have any questions, please check out the United States Census Bureau Fact Sheet.

Please visit 2020census.gov for more information.