Bright Hall http://brighthall.aol.com Bright Hall http://brighthall.aol.com/media/feedlogo.gif Bright Hall http://brighthall.aol.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Satellite Crash Due To Inaccurate Datahttp://brighthall.aol.com/2009/02/14/satellite-crash-due-to-inaccurate-data/http://brighthall.aol.com/2009/02/14/satellite-crash-due-to-inaccurate-data/http://brighthall.aol.com/2009/02/14/satellite-crash-due-to-inaccurate-data/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Iridium Satellite, LLC had been given no advanced warning that one of their 66 (make that 65, now) satellites was on a collision course with a Russian military satellite, Kosmos-2251, Tuesday.

The impact of the two satellites in orbit over Siberia created at least 600 identifiable pieces of debris, increasing the likelihood of other crashes with the 18,000 other objects orbiting Earth.

Most astonishing is that the trajectory information available to agencies such as the Center for Space Standards and Innovation tracking orbiting objects projected that the collision of the two satellites was only the 152nd likeliest to occur on Tuesday.

The likeliest crash to occur was a different Russian satellite with debris of another Russian satellite (do you see the trend emerging?) that were estimated to pass within 243 feet of each other.

The Iridium 33 and Kosmos-2251 satellites were supposed to pass each other 1,729 feet (about a third of a mile) apart. Instead we have infrastructure loss and a new cloud of space junk.

 

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]]>Adam Kirchner2009-02-14T18:29:00+00:00"Stayin Alive" Now Even More True to Its Namehttp://brighthall.aol.com/2008/10/19/stayin-alive-now-even-more-true-to-its-name/http://brighthall.aol.com/2008/10/19/stayin-alive-now-even-more-true-to-its-name/http://brighthall.aol.com/2008/10/19/stayin-alive-now-even-more-true-to-its-name/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother, you can save lives!

A study from the University of Illinois medical school attempted to determine whether the Bee Gees' classic "Stayin' Alive" (see/hear below) can actually help people perform CPR. According to the American Heart Association, people are supposed to perform 100 compressions a minute when trying to revive someone. It turns out that at 103 beats a minute, "Stayin' Alive" has the perfect rhythm for dancing and performing CPR. In fact, whether listening to the music or just thinking of the song, subjects in the study performed more chest compressions than are considered necessary, which is sort of a "more the merrier" situation.

The study on how you can tell by the way a man uses his walk, he's a woman's man, was inconclusive.

 

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]]>Emily Lasky2008-10-19T06:04:00+00:00Mars Signal Down for a Day -- But E-Cards Still Workhttp://brighthall.aol.com/2008/05/28/mars-signal-down-for-a-day-but-e-cards-still-work/http://brighthall.aol.com/2008/05/28/mars-signal-down-for-a-day-but-e-cards-still-work/http://brighthall.aol.com/2008/05/28/mars-signal-down-for-a-day-but-e-cards-still-work/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The surface of Mars is pretty much dirt and rocks. Are they sure there can be life on this thing?

The Phoenix lander has so far sent back about 200 photos of the Red Planet, all displayed by the University of Arizona mission team on its website.

And as if the thought that scientists may learn more about Mars than ever before isn't enough, the team is also giving the public the gift that can only be given to friends and family on their birthday at the last minute: e-cards.

(There are also screen savers and Mac widgets that display the weather on the fourth rock from the sun.)

But the big news is that the rover is going to start digging through the surface soon in an attempt to find ice, a sign that life could or could have existed there. The signal from the Phoenix was cut out for a day but was restored Tuesday night, and now the team leaders say its robotic arm will be ready for soil excursions soon.


The Phoenix apparently also is equipped with a sort of Easy-Bake Oven that will cook materials to determine what they're made of, and if there is any sign of water in them.

It's been three days since the explorer landed almost perfectly on Mars. Now, according to the team, it is ready to begin "unlatching its wrist and then flexing its elbow." The commands to move the arm were sent Tuesday morning, but were not received because of the delay (cause undetermined).

In the meantime, there are dozens of pictures to browse of what Mars looks like up close. No sign yet of little green men, or Don Imus.

 

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]]>Matt Negrin2008-05-28T13:25:00+00:00