Could you be an astronaut?

Read this and find out!

There are three types of astronauts: Pilot Astronauts, Mission Specialists, and Payload Specialists. Pilot astronauts are either mission commanders or pilot of the space craft. To be a pilot astronaut, you have to be an United States citizen, have at least a bachelors degree in engineering, physics, mathematics or biology, and have logged one thousand hours of flying time in a jet aircraft. There are also strict physical fitness requirements. A mission specialist works with the commander and pilot, helping with shuttle operations such as monitoring the crew's use of fuel, water and food, conducting experiments and participating in space walks. A mission specialist must be a United States citizen, and have at least a bachelor's degree in engineering, physics, mathematics or biology, and have three years of related professional experience. The third type of astronaut is the payload specialist. These astronauts are not official members of the astronaut corps. They are professionals in physics or biology and skilled in working shuttle equipment.

Sharks

how would you like to be swallowed by this guy?

There are more than 350 different kinds of sharks, and they range in size between 9 in. and 45 ft. 

Sharks have skeletons of cartilage, which is lighter and more  flexible than bones. Sharks' scales are called denticles, and are like sharp teeth and are rough and jagged - they feel like sandpaper. They have five different kinds of fins; caudal, anal, dorsal, pelvic, and pectoral:

Sound travels faster through water than air, hence the shark uses sound to locate prey. However, they use their eyes as well, though not as much. A shark's sense of smell is amazing, they can smell blood from about a mile away.

There are many rows of teeth in a shark's mouth. The front teeth are easily lost, then are replaced by new ones moving up from behind. 

Don't worry, sharks don't mainly prey on humans, in fact, if a shark attacks a human, it's almost always an accident. For instance, If a shark is really hungry and sees you moving, it might mistake you for a seal, but that usually never happens. All that stuff on movies about people being attacked by sharks are all over exaggerations. Another time that a shark might attack you is if it is trying to check you out. Sharks have nerves in their teeth, and they literally bite something to see what it is.  

NASA picks potential landing site on Mars

AP Photo/NASA

A color-enhanced image of the Gale Crater -- one of four proposed sites for the landing of the next Mars rover. After years of poring through images from space to decide where to send the next Mars rover, it comes down to four choices.

After years of poring through images from space and debating where on Mars the next NASA rover should land, it comes down to four choices.

Scientists in the close-knit Mars research community get one last chance to make their case this week when they gather before the "judges" -- the team running the $2.5 billion mission that will soon suggest a landing site to NASA, the ultimate decider.

The stakes are high. Location is everything when it comes to studying whether the red planet ever had conditions that could have been favorable for microbial life.

The upside is that all four candidates are relatively free of dangerous boulders and other hazards that would pose a threat to rover Curiosity upon landing. The size of a mini Cooper, Curiosity is scheduled to launch in late November after a two-year delay.

With no real engineering showstopper, scientists are haggling over the scientific merits of the locations and trying to convince the rest of the tribe why Curiosity should land at their preferred spot.

"All four of these places are compelling places on Mars to study. There's not a loser among them," said landing site scientist Matt Golombek of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, one of the meeting's leaders.

But as in any contest, there can only be one winner in the end. Here's a look at the final cut:

-- Gale crater located near the Martian equator possesses a 3-mile-high mound of layered mineral deposits.

-- Mawrth Vallis is an ancient flood channel in the Martian northern highlands that is rich in clay minerals.

-- Eberswalde crater in the southern hemisphere contains remnants of a river delta.

-- Holden crater, close to Eberswalde, is the site of water-carved gullies and sediment deposits.

The shortlist was culled from nearly 60 hopefuls in a selection process that began in 2006. Some scientists broke up into teams to pore over close-up images snapped from the eagle-eyed Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for the various locations and presented their findings at meetings. After technical woes pushed back Curiosity's launch, the community regrouped and considered more places.

Research scientist Steve Ruff of Arizona State University stayed on the sidelines for much of the debate. No longer.

He said he will make a pitch for Mawrth Vallis, the only spot where Curiosity can conduct science experiments as soon as it lands. For the other three sites, the rover would need to drive outside its landing zone to reach interesting targets.

Mawrth is the sole locale "that contains the scientific goodies," Ruff said.

It can be slow going to get to a destination. Just look at the driving record of the twin Mars rovers, which took months to trek several miles (kilometers).

"You could eat up a substantial portion of your mission just driving where you want to go," said Ruff, who called it an unnecessary risk.

Astronomer Jim Bell of Arizona State University, who goes back and forth between favoring Gale and Eberswalde craters, agreed it was chancy, but thinks it's worth it.

"We won't be putting on blinders and heading east or west without stopping," said Bell, who is part of the mission's camera team. 

There's a clear pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but there are also some neat things to do along the way."

Planetary geologist John Mustard of Brown University was disappointed when the site he was rooting for, the Nili Fossae region, a series of deep fractures in the Martian crust, was rejected because it was deemed too dangerous to land.

He now supports going to Mawrth because he thinks it's the most diverse.

"It's not a one-trick pony. You've got more than enough compelling outcrops that one can test," he said.

After the community input, the team will meet in private to mull over the pros and cons of each site and eventually recommend one to NASA. The space agency has the last say, but it usually follows the advice of its researchers. A final decision is not expected until late June or July.

Smithsonian geologist John Grant, who is co-chairing the meeting, said he hopes there's more clarity about the strengths and weaknesses of the final four.

"There's a big investment in this rover. We want to make sure that it goes to the best possible site."

-fox news

Suspension Bridges

A suspension bridge is made up of a deck, which hangs on strong, horizontal cables, which are on vertical suspenders. The main forces in a suspension bridge are the tension in the cables and compression in the pillars. Tension is the magnitude of the pulling force exerted by a string, cable, chain, or similar object on another object. Compression is the opposite; it is the result of the subjection of a material to compression, which results in reduction of volume as compared to an uncompressed but otherwise identical state. Because most of the force on pillars is vertically downwards and they are stabilized by the horizontal cables, the pillars can be made very thin. In a suspended bridge, cables suspended via towers hold up the road deck. The weight is transferred by the cables to the towers, which is then transferred to the ground.

Having a very small weight compared to the deck and cars being supported, the horizontal cables will form a parabola. You can see the shape from the constant increase of slope of the cable with distance of the deck. This increase in slope at each connection with the deck provides a support force. Combined with the simple constraints on the deck, this makes the suspension bridge much simpler to design and analyze than a other bridges, where the decks are in compression.

Suspension bridges have multiple advantages over other bridge types including;

Longer main spans are achievable than with any other type of bridge
Less material may be required than other bridge types, even at spans they can achieve, leading to a reduced construction cost
Except for installation of the initial temporary cables, little or no access from below is required during construction, for example allowing a waterway to remain open while the bridge is built above
May be better to withstand earthquake movements than heavier and more rigid bridge

However they have a few disadvantages as well;
Stiffness or aerodynamic profiling may be required to prevent the bridge deck vibrating under high winds
The relatively low deck stiffness compared to other (non-suspension) types of bridges makes it more difficult to carry heavy traffic where high concentrated live loads occur
Some access below may be required during construction, to lift the initial cables or to lift deck units. This access can often be avoided in cable construction

Brain Section Dominance

There are 4 sections of your brain: upper left, upper right, lower left, & lower right.

The upper left part of your brain controls your logic and mathematics, the upper right controls your creativity, the lower left controls your organization and planning, and your lower right controls your emotions. They control more, but these are the most basic.

brain section test
the accuracy of this test depends on the honesty of your answers, and I'm not a Neurologist, but I know quite a bit about this, you decide if you believe me.

what do you feel about art?
a.  I don't see any good reason for it but I like it
b. It is amazing, and I'm pretty good at it myself
c. It's too messy
d. It is a good way to show my deep feelings

what about science?
a. I enjoy science
b. I don't care either way
c. I am good at it but I don't really care for it
d. I don't like it, frankly I'd rather b e doing something else

What is the state of your room?
a. It is moderately organized
b. It is a mess
c. It is very organized, there is a place for everything
d. It is messy, but who's isn't?

Do you have a life plan?
a. yes
b. well, maybe, but not really
c. yes, it is very elaborate
d. no

Are you amazing?
a. no
b. maybe
c. it doesn't matter
d. yes

If you were to volunteer for something, what would it be for?
a. a science convention or something similar
b. an art show
c. It could be for anything as long as it helps me towards my goals
d. Helping people in 3rd world countries or the animal shelter

results:
mostly a's: upper left
mostly b's: upper right
mostly c's: lower left
mostly d's: lower right

you can (and most likely are) be dominant in more than one section.

hope you had fun.

Wanted: Knotweed : DEAD

Have you ever seen this plant?

This plant is called Japanese knot weed and is an invasive species that came rom Japan. It was originally used for decoration, but then it got out of control, and now it lives all over the place!

So, you may ask; who cares if it grows all over the place, it's just another plant right?

The thing about knotweed is that wherever it grows, other plants can't for multiple reasons:

1. Its leaves are so big, and it is so tall, that other plants can't get sufficiant sunlight.

2. Its roots eject poison that kills other plants around it.

There is also another problem; nothing known eats it except for Japanese Garden Beatles. (Another invasive species) Therefore, nothing can compete with it.

However, there is a solution; there are multiple things that we can use it for, expecially in cooking. For example, you can make knotweed tea, which tastes kind of like lemon/apple tea.

Here is the recipe for knotweed tea:

you will need: knotweed stems, water, and sugar and/or other sweetener.

1. boil water with knotweed stems in it until the stems are a lighter green (like a sea foam) then turn off water
note: this will smell like peas, but it will not taste like them.

2. after letting sit for 5 minutes or so, pour tea into cup

3. sweeten to taste

note: not very good cold; serve wam.

I will post more knotweed recipes soon, as my science class is making a recipe book.

to learn more about knotweed, visit morgansmythology.blogspot.com

Hey, people click this!
http://www.castleink.com

Welcome To My Blog!

Welcome!
This is a place where you can learn abaout all kinds of science.
I have to go to science class right now, so see you all later!