INCOMING CME (UPDATED): On May 11th at 23:54 UT, a coronal mass ejection raced away from the sun faster than 1000 km/s. The fast-moving cloud will deliver a glancing blow to Earth’s magnetic field on May 14th around 14:30 UT, according to a revised forecast track prepared by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab. Mars is also in the line of fire
fr/spaceweather.com
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| An artist’s interpretation of Bigfoot. CREDIT: Karl Tate, LiveScience Infographic Artist |
Anyone seeking ultimate proof of the existence of Bigfoot should head south. In Texas, it is legal to shoot and kill this legendary giant ape, known in other parts of the world as Sasquatch or Yeti, which has never been discovered.
According to an official with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, Bigfoot isn’t listed as an endangered species, so you’re free to kill as many as you want.
“If the Commission does not specifically list an indigenous, nongame species, then the species is considered nonprotected nongame wildlife,” David Sinclair, direction of the law enforcement division at Texas Parks and Wildlife, wrote in an email response to a curious Bigfoot believer. “A nonprotected nongame animal may be hunted on private property with landowner consent by any means, at any time and there is no bag limit or possession limit.”
John Lloyd Sharf of Salem, Ore., contacted Texas Parks and Wildlife to inquire whether Bigfoot was protected in Texas. As one of the 29 percent of Americans who believe Bigfoot inhabits the country’s remote woodland areas and is just really difficult to find, Sharf was apparently motivated by the concern that the as-yet-undiscovered creature could face extermination in the state.
“So, it is the case all individuals of an unknown species … could be exterminated without criminal or civil repercussions — essentially causing extinction?” Sharf said he replied to Sinclair. At Cryptomundo, a popular “cryptozoology” discussion forum and blog, Bigfoot believers are forming a plan of action to deal with what they see as the potentially disastrous outcome of this loophole in the Texas hunting laws, which would allow Bigfoot to be hunted to extinction before a living specimen could be studied. [Hunter Captures UFO in Nevada]
“I would advocate a small group of trained hunters, under close supervision and observing all necessary safety precautions shooting a SINGLE individual to provide a type specimen,” wrote a user who goes by the name AreWeThereYeti. “Then, once the existence of Sasquatch was proven, immediate steps could be taken to attach an endangered/protected status to both the species and its habitat.”
What do you think? Would you shoot Bigfoot? [Vote here]
from: http://www.livescience.com/20248-shooting-bigfoot-legal-texas.html
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| CREDIT: H.C. Mayer and R. Krechetnikov |
Ever wondered why it’s so hard to walk with a cup of coffee without spilling? It just so happens that the human stride has almost exactly the right frequency to drive the natural oscillations of coffee, when the fluid is in a typically sized coffee mug. New research shows that the properties of mugs, legs and liquid conspire to cause spills, most often at some point between your seventh and tenth step.
So says a pair of fluid physicists at the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB). They investigated the science of sloshing in a new study published in the journal Physical Review Letters E, and calculated the natural frequency at which coffee sloshes back and forth when held in mugs of a variety of sizes, from a dainty espresso cup to a cappuccino behemoth. They found that a normal human gait moves at nearly the same frequency, so each step amplifies the coffee’s heave-ho motion. Stumbling or changing pace — common occurrences when you’re low on caffeine — make matters worse by causing chaos in your cup, increasing the chance of a splash over the rim.
But now, there’s hope. By modeling the fluid and walking dynamics of the situation, and comparing the math with some real-world walking-with-coffee experiments, the UCSB scientists have uncovered a few tips for bleary-eyed coffee cup carriers.
“Of course, there are ways to control coffee spilling,” study co-author Rouslan Krechetnikov told Life’s Little Mysteries.
Coffee drinkers often attempt to walk quickly with their cups, as if they might manage to reach their destination before their sloshing java waves reach a critical height. This method is scientifically flawed. It turns out that the faster you walk, the closer your gait comes to the natural sloshing frequency of coffee. To avoid driving the oscillations that lead to a spillage, walk slowly. [Why Does Room-Temperature Coffee Taste So Bad?]
Secondly, watch your cup, not your feet. The researchers found that when study participants focused on their cups, the average number of steps they took before spilling coffee increased greatly. Krechetnikov and his graduate student Hans Mayer, the primary author of the study, suggested two explanations for this result: First, focusing on one’s cup tends to engender slower walking, and second, it dampens the noise, or chaotic sloshing, in the cup. Whether focused carrying decreases the amount of noise because we perform “targeted suppression,” automatically counteracting the sloshing of the liquid with small flicks of our wrists, or because we simply hold the cup more steadily when we’re looking at it, the researchers could not say.
Third, accelerate gradually. If you take off suddenly, a huge coffee wave will build up almost instantly, and it will crash over the rim after just a few steps.
But the best way to prevent coffee spilling might be to find an unusual cup. According to Krechetnikov, ideas from liquid sloshing engineering studies, which historically were done to stabilize fuel tanks inside missiles, indicate three possibilities for spill-free cup designs: “a flexible container to act as a sloshing absorber in suppressing liquid oscillations, a series of annular ring baffles arranged around the inner wall of the container to achieve sloshing suppression, or a different shape cup.”
from: http://www.livescience.com/20246-coffee-spill-walking.html
SOLAR ACTIVITY INTENSIFIES: Huge sunspot AR1476 is crackling with M-class solar flares and appears to be on the verge of producing something even stronger. The sunspot’s ‘beta-gamma-delta’ magnetic field harbors energy for X-class flares, the most powerful kind. Earth is entering the line of fire as the sunspot rotates across the face of the sun. Solar flare alerts:text, phone.
Earlier today, amateur astronomer Thomas Ashcraft of New Mexico detected strong shortwave radio bursts coming from the sunspot. Click to hear the “solar static” that roared out of his loudspeaker:
Dynamic spectrum courtesy of Wes Greenman, Alachua Radio Observatory
“The strongest burst so far occured around 1631 UT on May 9th,” reports Ashcraft. “I am observing at 28 MHz and 21.1 MHz. As I send this note I am hearing more bursting, indicating powerful magnetic dynamism within active region 1476.”
Solar radio bursts are caused by plasma instabilities that ripple through the sun’s atmosphere in the aftermath of powerful flares. With AR1476 poised for more eruptions, this ‘radio activity’ is likely to continue for days
fr/spaceweather.com
Dark matter, the elusive stuff that makes up a substantial portion of all the mass in the universe, is largely a mystery to astronomers. They’ve tried finding it and creating it, but so far no conclusive proof as to what exactly it is though most theories state that we interact with it through gravity.
But Christoph Weniger, of the Max Planck Institute for Physics in Munich, has a different theory to explain new possible evidence for dark matter. By carrying out statistical analysis of three and a half years worth of publicly available data from NASA’s Fermi Space Telescope, he’s found a gamma ray line across the sky that he says is a clear signature of dark matter.
Astrophysicists generally think that supermassive black holes, like the one at the center of the Milky Way, release jets that interact with surrounding dark matter. This interaction is thought to be the source of high-energy gamma rays that satellites like Fermi can detect. What satellites can see are the photons produced when these jets interact with dark matter.
Weniger looked for signs of such an interaction in about three and a half years worth of gamma-ray observations carried out by the Fermi satellite’s Large Area Telescope (LAT).
To increase his chances of success he only considered data from those regions of the Milky Way that should generate the highest ratios of dark-matter photons to photons from background sources. He was looking specifically for a peak in energy, a sign that a photon was produced by the collision between and annihilation of two particles; the photon left over should have the same mass as one dark matter particle. This energy would theoretically appear as a very narrow peak, a line in gamma-ray spectra, distinct from the broad energy distribution seen across the visible universe.
That’s just what he found — a line in the gamma ray spectrum.
But he’s quick to admit it’s a provisional result. His data points come from about 50 photons and he’ll need a lot more to prove conclusively that his line is related to dark matter. It’s possible the line he observed is from a known, though no less mysterious, astronomical phenomenon: the pair of enormous gamma-ray-emitting bubbles extending outwards from the plane of the Milky Way.
In December 2010, scientists working with the Fermi Space Telescope found two giant lobes extending from the black hole at the center of our galaxy.
Twenty-five thousand light years high, each bubble spans more than half of the visible sky reaching from the constellation Virgo to the constellation Grus and may be relatively young at just a million or so years old.
The bubbles are a recent find, normally masked by the fog of gamma rays that appears throughout the sky that is a result of particles moving near the speed of light interacting with light and interstellar gas in the Milky Way. Scientists only found the bubbles by manipulating the data from the LAT to draw out the striking feature.
The manipulated images show the bubbles have well defined edges, suggesting they were formed as a result of a large and relatively rapid energy release — the source of which is still unknown. Interestingly, the energy cutoff of the bubbles corresponds to the gamma ray line Weniger found, the one he’s associating with a dark matter signature.
It’s possible the bubbles and the line have the same origin. Or, dark matter might be the cause of the bubbles’ defined endpoint.
Whether or not the two observations turn out to be linked — which of course hinges on conclusive proof of Weniger’s gamma ray line — both are very cool and part of the fascinating and mystery nature of our corner of the universe.
Image credit: NASA-Goddard
BIG SUNSPOT: One of the largest sunspot groups in years rotated over the sun’s northeastern limb on May 6th. With a least four dark cores larger than Earth, AR1476 sprawls more than 100,000 km from end to end, and makes an easy target for backyard solar telescopes. Amateur astronomer Alan Friedman sends this picture of the behemoth from his backyard in Buffalo, NY:
“AR1476 is firecrackler,” says Friedman.
Indeed, the active region is crackling with impulsive M-class solar flares. Based on the sunspot’s complex ‘beta-gamma’ magnetic field, NOAA forecasters estimate a 75% chance of more M-flares during the next 24 hours. There is also a 10% chance of powerful X-flares.
“This one is going to be fun as it turns to face us!” predicts Friedman. He might be right
from: Spaceweather.com
CORONAL HOLE: A dark hole in the sun’s atmosphere (a ‘coronal hole’) is spewing a stream of solar wind toward Earth. The impact of the stream, expected on May 9-11, could add to the effect of the incoming CMEs, boosting the chances of strong geomagnetic activity later this week. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory took this picture of the opening on May 8th:
Coronal holes are places where the sun’s global magnetic field opens up and allows some of the sun’s atmosphere to escape. The outflow of gas is the solar wind. NOAA forecasters estimate a 40% chance of geomagnetic activity on May 9-10 when the stream arrives (along with the CMEs of May 7th).
from: spaceweather.com
TWO INCOMING CMEs: A pair of solar eruptions on May 7th hurled coronal masss ejections (CMEs) toward Earth. Forecast tracks prepared by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab suggests that clouds with arrive in succession on May 9th at 13:40 UT and May 10th at 07:54 UT (+/- 7 hours). The double impact could spark moderate geomagnetic storms. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.
from; spaceweather.com
Lightning Medicine Cloud, a rare white buffalo born in 2011, and his mother were found dead at the Lakota Buffalo Ranch in Texas this week just weeks after the calf’s father was fatally struck by lightning.
The rare animal, sacred to the Lakota Sioux, was about to celebrate its first birthday during a powwow on May 12.
NBC 5 has learned the calf was found mutilated and skinned on the ranch northeast of Dallas. The next day, the calf’s mother was found dead as well.
Read the original report at NBCDFW.com
Hunt County Sheriff Randy Meeks has opened a criminal investigation into the livestock deaths, although Meeks said they have not yet classified the crime. The Texas Rangers and other state agencies are assisting.
“I feel very confident we’ll work together with a renewed vigilance to find whoever this is that perpetrated this heinous act,” Judge John Horn said during a news conference at the ranch Friday.
Arby Little Soldier, the owner of the ranch, would not comment on the specifics of the white calf or his mother.
Lm Otero / AP
A rare white buffalo walks in a corral in Greenville, Texas, in June 2011. The calf and its mother were found dead this week.
“I will not say what has happened to this animal,” he said. “I will not say what has happened to the mother. Ben, the dad that protected this calf was struck by lighting April 3 when we had the tornado when it hit Lancaster. Lightning … struck Ben, and I seen him go down. My people, my brothers, my sisters are hurt by what has happened here on this ranch. You don’t think things like this are going to happen to such a sacred animal, a sacred family.”
Little Soldier said Lightning Medicine Cloud’s legacy will carry on and that the powwow scheduled for May 11-12 will go on as planned — only now, they will memorialize the rare animal as well.
“The powwow will continue on. I welcome you all to come grieve with us, mourn with us and celebrate with us,” Little Soldier said. “Ecclesiastes said, ‘There is a time for life and a time for death.’ My little boy went on home. His mother went on home. His dad went on home. They’re all together, and God bless them. This legend will go on forever.”
Little Soldier said there is a reward of $5,000 leading to an arrest and capture of the person responsible for the deaths of Lighting Medicine Cloud and his mother.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Hunt County Sheriff’s Department at 903-453-6800 and ask for either Sheriff Randy Meeks or Lt. Tommy Grandfield.
Non-Attachment. That is the theme for this week. There will be much coming your way that you will need to understand in terms of what is truly important for you. This involves moving on from stuff that you have kept, admired, felt was necessary for so long. There is sorrow attached to this, but also relief. It is time for your makeover. :Perhaps a spiritual or etheric makeover. You have the tools right now., The decision is yours. This week also, you will find that your perceptions are changing, some of them in a crazy manner. What seemed near is far, and what seemed far is right there. This an lead to a bit of uncertainty as to what is going on, perhaps a bout of vertigo. It is not you, rather it is the energies as things are falling into a new alignment. This week will bring much uncertainty, but it is part of the greater picture. On a different note, it is of utmost importance at this time to nourish your physicalities with the most healthful, organic, and clean products available. The advantages of this will more than pay for themselves as time goes by.
On the larger scale, expect weather anomalies, Earth events out of scale, weird animal sightings, breakdowns in relations political, international, economic, etc. Along with all of this there can be a number of blips in the energies being emitted by the Sun which can lead to problems with electronics. There are going to be a number of troubling pronouncements from the media that will come and go and come back again. All of this will lead to a lessening of confidence in many areas, particularly financial. Expect the Stock Market to have some inexplicable movements. Trust your intuition where finances are concerned. There are going to be some interesting developments in the job market. Also there will be something new coming out on the electronic horizon that will be touted as the best ever, a replacement for tablets, etc. Be aware that much of this is mere marketing. There is a slow down happening in the area of ingenuity. This is temporary.
Sunday, May 6: Dark Grey
As the energy of the Super Moon enters the atmosphere, rather than clarifying, it is causing more obfuscation. Take time today to look into what is happening around you. Look into what you are thinking and perceiving. Feel how all of that feels to you. Things are changing around you, and this will be obvious in how people are acting, speaking, reacting. You need to go within and center. Be the observer today. There is light behind the shadow of what is going on, but you must take the time to know the shadow for what it is. Then the light will turn on for you. That can be a real revelation. The evening is a time for honoring what you have done and what you have seen. This was a day for lessons.
Crystal Vibe: Colorado Sunset—-The energy of this stone works to ground while, at the same time, giving one the strength to move forward in confidence to deal with life issues, particularly as related to long term goals. Resonates with the Root and Solar Plexus Chakras.
Monday, May 7: Yellow Orange
Emotions will be close to the surface today. There are things out there that are going to make you want to scream. Take time before reacting. Step back and think. A lot of the stuff that used to push your buttons before does not really matter any more. You are shifting. You can find yourself taking a look around you today and wondering why you ever held onto certain things you have. This can apply also to friendships and loyalties. Your first priority must be yourself and anything or anyone who does not agree and/or further that is working against you. There can be some ah-ha moments today. Some might be painful, but it is part of the process of catharsis.
Crystal Vibe: Chrome Diopside—-The energy of this mineral resonates with the heart and its essential calm. Resonates with the Heart and Ninth Chakras.
Tuesday, May 8: Fire Red
There are surprises in the air today, and a lot of them are good. Issues that have been hanging about can be worked out and conversations that were put on hold can be completed. Th key to all of this is how you will be dealing with these things. There can be joy and laughter or pain and sorrow or anger and confrontation. You are in change of all of this. There is a sense throughout the day that someone or something is lurking there in the shadows. You will not be able to understand this until the evening. Spend a moment with the events of the day, and you will understand that you had both participated and observed. There are lessons you learned. Honor them. Change is in the air.
Crystal Vibe: Witherite—-The energy of this mineral assists one in moving beyond planning to action, oftentimes effortlessly and without planning. Resonates with the Third Eye and Eleventh Chakras.
Wednesday, May 9: Yellow Green
Things that you had planned for today may not unfold as you had thought. And this, actually, is a good thing. There is novelty in the air. It is not that of the Trickster but that of new horizons and discoveries. Take everything in stride and look at it from many different angles. Perspectives are changing and messages come in unusual formats. The changes that you have been awaiting are happening. It is time to understand what they mean and to know that what you have been wishing for is not necessarily coalescing in ways that you would have thought. But the energies of the day carry a surprise and a joy that will cap off all else that has occurred.
Crystal Vibe: Albite—-The energy of this stone works with the element of water to bring about immersion on new levels. Resonates with the Heart and Throat Chakras.
Thursday, May 10: Bright Blue
This is a day for ups and downs. Be ready for anything, but also be aware that you can be blinded by the light. It is important that you take hold of any questionable situation that you are in. Your voice has power, and it is time to use it now. People are not used to hearing speak your truth, talk your talk. You can do it today, and it will feel really good. Do not worry, the emotions that come about as a result of this will dissipate as you begin to see that you are changing into that which you truly are. Your WHO you are. Horton, are you listening. There are friends and support everywhere. It is time to accept that fact and be open. What you have been waiting for is in front of you. It is time to see it.
Crystal Vibe: Hematite—-Grounding and breathing. These are the foundations for true perspective. Resonates with the Root Chakra.
Friday, May 11: Yellow Red
Do not expect too much from people today. Do not expect too much from yourself. There is an illusion that is making itself felt in the energies which can cause confusion, uncertainty, unhappiness, even fear and anger. This is a day for going within, for knowing what it is that you truly are wishing to create in your life. It is a day for truth —- for seeing what you have done and taking it for what it is. Knowing that if there is more that you were looking for, it is time to go for that. The past is past. Today opens a new chapter. There can be tears. There can be laughter. But if you are open to all that is going on within the levels of reality, there will definitely be realization and release.
Crystal Vibe; Pigeon Blood Jasper—-The energy of this stone assists with issues around nurturing, the mother, and acceptance of one’s creative. Resonates with the Solar Plexus Chakra.
Saturday, May 12: Light Lime Green
Ups and downs are in the works today. This is not a time to take things too seriously, rather step bakl and see where things are fitting into the greater pattern. There are questions that need to be asked. There are those who are willing to answer and those who will turn away. All of that will give you clues as to which way to turn. You have some needs that have not been met, and you need some direction in relation to the,. You can find it today if you are willing to see through the illusion. And there is assistance available. Look for the signs.
Crystal Vibe: Golden Apatite—-This mineral assists with moving forward when youare feeling stuck or tired. Resonates with the Third Eye Chakra.
