California Law Pledges to Reduce Emissions

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed anti-pollution legislation into effect.
Image: BBC.co.uk

California is now the first US state requiring standard target reductions of greenhouse gases. Although some fear businesses may leave the state due to increased restrictions, many--including Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair--feel the move is necessary. Mr. Blair said, "This will echo right around the rest of the world." Gov. Schwarzennegger believes the legislation will further the cause of environmental protection.

--BBC.co.uk has more information

Tarantulas Secrete Silk From Feet

A zebra tarantula.
Image: www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~dzs/

As reported in the September 28 Nature, researchers have discovered that zebra tarantulas secrete silk not just from their spinnerets, but from their feet as well, allowing them to cling onto surfaces better. Spiders had only been known to secrete silk from their abdomen to create webs. This newly discovered location and function for silk secretion may change scientists' current understanding of how and why the ability to spin silk evolved in spiders.

—Read more at Eurekalert.org

Top Scientists Sound Alarm on Warming

The Portage Glacier in Alaska has retreated significantly due to global warming.

Image: USA Today

A report from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences warns of dangerous anthropogenic (human-causing) climate change. The research, led by James Hansen of NASA, found that the planet has warmed to the highest overall temperatures in the last 12,000 years. The journal Nature reported that 1,700 species of plants and animals have migrated poleward to find cooler climates. The most affected region is the far north, where glaciers are melting as a result of the change.

--The USA Today has more information

New Images of "Face on Mars"

The "Face on Mars" from a different angle

Image: esa.int

The European Space Agency (ESA) is collecting Martian geologic data. The ESA's Mars Express spacecraft has captured images of Mar's Cydonia region, the location of the famous "Face on Mars." The new photos reveal what scientists had originally thought--the "Face" is an illusion caused by light and shadow. The Cydonia region is located at 40.75° North and 350.54° East on the Martian surface. Nasa's famous image was taken on July 25, 1976 by the Viking 1 Orbiter.

--The European Space Agency has more information and photographs

Massive Supernova

Supernova of the star SNLS-03D3bb

Image: BBC.co.uk

Scientists are baffled by the intensity of the supernova of the star designated SNLS-03D3bb. Based on a chemical analysis of the nearby atmosphere, it has been classified as a type 1a supernova. These type 1a supernovae typically follow a uniform brightness, however, the SNLS-03D3bb is much more powerful. Type 1a supernovae occur when the remnants of a low to medium sized star, called a "white dwarf," pull sufficient matter from adjacent stars, resulting in an explosive reaction. These uniform explosions are often used to designate distances in space. Scientists are currently searching for answers as to why the SNLS-03D3bb supernova is brighter than other similiar supernovae.

--For more information, see BBC.co.uk

"Lucy's Child" Excavated in Ethiopia

"Dikika Girl": Dated to 3.3 million years before present

Image: BBC.co.uk

The skeleton of a juvenile female Australopithecus afarensis has been excavated in the Dikika region of Ethiopia. The find has been dubbed the "Dikika girl" after the site's location. This species, the same as the skeleton "Lucy" discovered in 1974, has been dated to 3.3 million years before present. Having both an adult and child skeleton will allow scientists to study growth development in this distant ancestor. Australopithecus stood upright, and the species is considered to be an important part of the history of human evolution. The findings were reported in the journal Nature.

--BBC.co.uk has more information

National Academy of Sciences Advises Return to Lunar Surface

An artist's rendition of the Orion spacecraft. It is planned to take astronauts to the moon by 2020.

Image: USAToday.com

A panel from the National Academy of Sciences declared, "The moon is priceless to planetary scientists." The Academy responded enthusiastically to NASA's planned lunar exploration. President Bush hopes current funding will lead to a landing between 2015 and 2020, a trip that may entail an "extended presence there." Scientists believe the moon's geology holds clues to planetary evolution. NASA recently announced that Lockheed Martin will construct the Orion lunar spacecraft, a replacement of the space shuttle.

--See the USA Today for more information

Meteorological Office: England's Temperature Rising

Sites collecting temperature data.
Image: BBC.co.uk

Analysis of temperature records at the Meteorological Office in England show the country's average temperature to have risen 1 degree Celsius since 1950. Animals in Britain are moving north to cooler zones, and spring is coming earlier to the continent of Europe. Researchers David Karoly (University of Oklahoma) and Peter Stott (Hadley Centre-UK Meteorological Office) concluded, based on computer climate models, the rise is due to anthropogenic (human) causes, namely the release of greenhouse gases. The findings are published in the journal Atmospheric Science Letters.

--BBC.co.uk has more information

Ethane Snow Flakes on Saturn's Moon Titan

Ethane clouds are seen in red on Saturn's moon Titan.

Image: BBC.co.uk

The Cassini spacecraft--a joint operation between Nasa (United States), the European Space Agency (Esa), and the Italian Space Agency (Asi)--has found evidence of massive clouds of ethane on Saturn's moon Titan. Scientists think this cloud system rains or snows ethane into lakes of liquid ethane on the surface. Ethane is an odorless, colorless, flammable gas. The findings are published in the journal Science.

--BBC.co.uk has more information

Paleontologists discover 67 dinosaur skeletons

Two of Jack Horner's doctoral students excavate a Psittacosaurus skeleton.
Image: Eurekalert.org

A team of paleontologists working in the Gobi Desert found 67 dinosaur skeletons in a single week. Montana State University paleontologist Jack Horner noted that the specimens all represent the same species, the Psittacosaurus, which means "parrot lizard." The Psittacosaurus was a plant-eater that lived about 120 million years ago in the Early Cretaceous Period, and was an ancestor of horned dinosaurs like the triceratops.

—Read more at Eurekalert.org

Watch PBS' "The Elegant Universe" Online

An apple is broken down into its most fundamental structures, the "strings."

Image: PBS.org

PBS' three-hour miniseries, titled "The Elegant Universe," can be viewed online from the organization's website by following this link. This program, adapted from Brian Green's book The Elegant Universe, explains "string theory" in comprehensible terms. According to "string theory," the most basic particles which make up everything consist of rubberband-like "loops" or "strings." The documentary can be viewed in either Quicktime or RealVideo.

--PBS also provides a glossary for relevant terms

Larger than Jupiter, Yet Light Enough to Float

Artist's rendition of HAT-P-1 orbiting its parent star.
Image: BBC.co.uk

A recently discovered planet, dubbed HAT-P-1, orbits a star 450 light-years away in the Lacerta constellation. Its radius is larger than Jupiter, the dominant planet in our solar system, yet its mass is only half of Jupiter's. Just like Saturn, the giant HAT-P-1 would float in a cosmic bathtub. Scientists are puzzled by HAT-P-1's dimensions, because its size and density do not fit current mathematical equations used to model planetary formation.

Astronomers have detected some 200 planets outside of our solar system. They locate extrasolar planets when a star's light dims as the object orbits around.

--For more information, see BBC.co.uk

Writing in Mexico, 900 BC

The slab was found in Cascajal, Mexico.
Image: BBC.co.uk

A recent discovery in Mexico reveals the characters of a writing system nearly three-thousand years ago. The discovery, a stone slab, contains 62 symbols, interpreted by archaeologists to be a written language. The writing is credited to the Olmec civilization, known best for their large head statues. The text is currently indecipherable, but archaeologists are hoping that future finds may provide clues. The findings are published in the journal Science.

--BBC.co.uk has more information

The Last Neanderthals

Neanderthal Man: Eurasian Hominid

(c. 230,000-30,000/25,000 BP)

Image: BBC.co.uk

A study published in the journal Nature suggests the Neanderthals survived longer than previously thought. A find in Gorham's Cave on Gibraltar provides evidence of Neanderthal habitation until 24,000 years before present. They were previously believed to have gone extinct some 10,000 years prior. Professor Clive Finlayson stated that this find "shows conclusively that Gorham's Cave today was the last place on the planet where we know Neanderthals lived." The migration of modern humans into Eurasia and severe Ice Age climate change, among other causes, are believed to have led to the downfall of the Neanderthals.

--For more information, see BBC.co.uk

Welcome to Copernicus' Workbench

Welcome to the workbench! As the inaugural post, I think it would be fitting to provide a brief overview of our namesake, Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543). Copernicus, or Mikotaj Kopérnik in Polish, was a groundbreaking astronomer. His revolutionary model of the universe, placing the sun at the center of the solar system, was published in De revolutionibus orbium coelestium in 1543. The treatise, dedicated to Pope Paul III, set in motion our modern understanding of the solar system.

--The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2004 edition, s.v. "Copernicus, Nicholas, Pol. Mikotaj Kopérnik (1473 – 1543)"