Aerospace Bob

2007-05-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

NASA released stunning new images of Jupiter and its moons taken by the New Horizons spacecraft. Views include a movie of a volcanic eruption on Jupiter's moon Io; a nighttime shot of auroras and lava on Io; a color photo of the "Little Red Spot" churning in Jupiter's cloudtops; images of small moons herding dust and boulders through Jupiter's faint rings--and much more: gallery.

2007-02-27T13:13:00.000-08:00

Here is the colorful demise of a Sun. A new image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows the colorful "last hurrah" of a star like our sun. The picture was taken on Feb. 6, 2007, by Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, which was designed and built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

The star is ending its life by casting off its outer layers of gas, which formed a cocoon around the star's remaining core. Ultraviolet light from the dying star makes the material glow. The burned-out star, called a white dwarf, is the white dot in the center. The planetary nebula in this image is called NGC 2440.

2007-02-26T21:04:00.000-08:00

Your personality has everything to do with your income, your career, your personal relationships, and your life. A personality test of this kind would normally cost you $500.00 and up. It is offered to you here free of charge as a public service.

2007-02-24T17:02:00.000-08:00

Video: Atmospheres of Faraway Worlds. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has uncovered clues about the atmospheres of two planets beyond our solar system.

2007-02-23T17:15:00.000-08:00

Anyone who wants to succeed in a technical career should know this datum: "In all scientific systems you have a number of code words which operate as communication carriers, and when a person does not know these words well, he is having difficulty with the science itself." There is a chapter on this in Scientology, a New Slant on Life, by L. Ron Hubbard. He expands on this in another chapter on how to study a science. A person who learns these materials can do creative things that actually work. A person who does not have these materials will find it difficult to do creative things that actually work. I enjoy working with a team that is very good at creating new things.

2007-02-19T12:31:00.000-08:00

Comets are colliding and kicking up dust around a dead star at the center of the Helix nebula, according to new observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The dead star appears as a dot in the middle of the nebula, like a red pupil in a green monster's eye. The Helix nebula is located about 700 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius. It was formed when a star much like our sun died. This nebula won't last long. In about 10,000 years, its shiny clouds will fade, leaving the white dwarf and its circling comets to cool down alone in empty space.

2007-02-18T21:11:00.000-08:00

A Scientology friend of mine told be this story: "I was in Berlin when the wall came down. I met an old man who had been a young boy in East Germany in 1930. He remembered that he had lived in a free country at that time. People had rights. They voted in elections that were meaningful. But then the Nazis took power, and suddenly people did not have rights. They lived in fear of their government. And this government was replaced by a Communist regime. And he knew he was not free, he could only remember having lived in a free country, many years ago. Now he was a very old man, and he was so very grateful that he might live his last few remaining years in a truly free country." The moral of this story is that personal rights can be lost. This is especially true if they are not really known and understood in the first place.

There is something called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is an international agreement, signed by nearly every nation, including the United States. It describes your rights, under international law. A website is available that describes the 30 Articles of Human Rights.

2007-02-18T20:54:00.000-08:00

Mars Rover Video: Mars Rover Spirit has completed its campaign at the "Montalva" target and in the upcoming week, Opportunity will image Victoria Crater.

2007-02-12T20:59:00.000-08:00

I just celebrated a birthday. I am alive because of Dianetics, and some auditing I received in late 1989. The last seventeen years have been fun! And I have continued to have wins by using this technology on myself and with others.
Bob

2007-02-11T21:08:00.000-08:00

Explore Saturn's moon Titan with a new interactive tour, which includes a 3D globe with interactive hot spots.+ Virtual tour
Saturn's moon Titan is one of the strangest and most Earthlike places in our solar system.
Larger than Earth's moon and the planet Mercury ... it's the only moon in our solar system that has clouds and a dense atmosphere, mostly nitrogen and methane.
Titan's surface remained shrouded in secrecy below the clouds until July 2004. That's when NASA's Cassini spacecraft arrived at Saturn.

2007-02-08T12:03:00.000-08:00

Career success includes keeping up with new developments. Education is a continuous process. There is a Basic Study Manual, and other resources, that help a professional maintain technical skills.

2007-02-05T16:45:00.001-08:00

Cassini Images Mammoth Cloud Engulfing Titan's North Pole A giant cloud half the size of the United States has been imaged on Saturn's moon Titan by the Cassini spacecraft. The cloud may be responsible for the material that fills the lakes discovered last year by Cassini's radar instrument.

2007-02-05T16:45:00.000-08:00

Titan Virtual Tour Explore Saturn's moon Titan with a new interactive tour, which includes a 3D globe with interactive hot spots. + Virtual tour

2007-02-01T16:59:00.000-08:00

The Scientology Logics are a sophisticated method of thinking and problem solving. Logic 8 is "A datum can be evaluated only by a datum of comparable magnitude. "

In management, this is extremely important. It tells you right away why you have plans, and what information is needed in a plan. You will accumulate actual data on schedule and cost and technical performance as you manage a project. That actual data must be compared to data of comparable magnitude, which will be in the plans for that project. If planning does not exist, or does not contain information that can be compared to actual data as the project is executed, then management will not be able to correctly evaluate progress.

This is my criteria for developing the planning system for projects at my organization. Planning that does not meet this criteria would be wasted effort. My organization is noted for being among the very best in NASA in this field. That is not an accident. That is based on an understanding of fundamentals, including Logic 8.

The Scientology Logics are provided in: Scientology 0-8, The Book of Basics, which is available in Scientology bookstores.

2007-01-30T06:11:00.000-08:00

The 'Earth Science Decadal Survey', titled "Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond," was released just a few days ago. It is available at:http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11820.html. One surprising finding is a projected decline in the number of missions and instruments that will be studying Earth science. The decline will be about 30% from the peak number of missions in 2006 to the number of missions in 2008.

2007-01-29T05:55:00.000-08:00

There are twelve conditions. Successful management is much easier if a manager (1) knows which condition they are in and (2) follows the actions appropriate for that condition. Right now my group is in an emergency condition, so I had better follow the formula for that condition. The Ethics and The Conditions Booklet provides introductory knowledge about the conditions and formulas. A more comprehensive treatment is provided in the Organization Executive Course Volume 0.

2007-01-27T12:38:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of a Martian sunset.

2007-01-23T21:11:00.000-08:00

Some professionals slow down with age, but I just said fairwell to a very active 69 year old. One factor that might cause one to slow down is the factor of pollution. Pesticides, radiation, drugs and environmental toxins have become increasingly pervasive in today’s society. They damage not just your health, but your personality and your ability to think clearly. What can be done about this?

Clear Body, Clear Mind - The Effective Purification Program, by L. Ron Hubbard, details his groundbreaking discoveries in this field. There is an all-natural, proven program to eliminate drug and toxic residues lodged in the fatty tissues of a body. This program has helped me maintain a high level of creativity over 30 years so far.

2007-01-19T16:33:00.001-08:00

You create order when you do a good job of planning and managing something. The book, A New Slant on Life contains a chapter that is titled: On Bringing Order. This chapter describes what goes wrong when you try to create order, and it tells how to overcome this problem. This is a very good lesson for the technical professional.

2007-01-19T16:33:00.000-08:00

Mars Rover webcast on Thursday January 25, at 7 p.m. PST, click here

If you don't have RealPlayer, you can download the free RealPlayer 8 Basic .

TITLE -- Mars Rovers: Two Thousand Sunsets on Mars

In January 2004, twin Rovers landed on opposite sides of Mars. Each Rover was to explore the surface for 90 days. Each rover is now approaching its third anniversary. How are they performing now, and what will they be doing next?

2007-01-16T12:56:00.000-08:00

Technical career success is based on knowledge about organizational matters, as well as technical knowledge. The most thorough introductory book on organizational matters is the Organization Executive Course, Volume Zero.
This contains vital data on basic organization, handling communications, dealing with necessary and unnecessary traffic, appearance, getting exchangeable products, correctly keeping statistics, application of conditions formulas, promotion, servicing the public, following and getting compliance to orders, staff member reports, and much more.
This book has over 900 pages of basics on how any organization operates, and how a person can function as a valuable, productive team member.

2007-01-16T12:49:00.000-08:00

The original Mars Rover has been found. The high-resolution camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has imaged the 1997 landing site of NASA's Mars Pathfinder, revealing the current location of the Pathfinder mission's small rover, Sojourner. It has moved closer to its stationary lander after the final data transmission from the lander.
Pathfinder landed on July 4, 1997, and transmitted data for 12 weeks. Unlike the two larger rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, currently active on Mars, Sojourner could communicate only with the lander, not directly with Earth. Here is a link to more information.

2007-01-15T09:51:00.000-08:00

NASA announced it was now funding development of a new instrument to detect signs of life on Mars. The new instrument is called Urey. It was proposed by a scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.
The instrument is designed to provide the most rigorous analysis possible for the past and present existence of biological compounds on Mars' surface, according to Jeffrey Bada, a professor at Scripps and lead investigator on the project team. Other principal scientists are Richard Mathies of UC Berkeley and Frank Grunthaner of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena as well as researchers at NASA's Ames Research Center in Menlo Park and the Leiden Institute of Chemistry in the Netherlands.

2007-01-15T08:55:00.000-08:00

Self Analysis is the first book to provide definite techniques to improve memory, speed reaction time, and reduce stress. It is a means to self-discovery through a series of processes designed to give an individual the clearest look he has ever had into his past.
A series of tests at the beginning of the processing section enables the reader to assess his current condition before starting, and provides a gauge of the improvements achieved as he progresses through the book.

2007-01-12T16:48:00.002-08:00

I coached one of my employees on how to become much more efficient. She is actually doing quite well, but she has attracted some new work that will really test her ability to make things go right. The information that I gave here is right out of chapter four of the book, Problems of Work. I think she is going to have a great career.

2007-01-12T16:48:00.001-08:00

I interviewed someone for a job last week and they really blew it. They had good communication skills, but they didn't show the aptitude for learning that is needed in a challenging technical job. If they had read the Basic Study Manual, they would have done much better in the interview.

2007-01-12T16:48:00.000-08:00

Cassini will fly by Titan on the eve of Huygens anniversary. Cassini will conduct several Titan flybys starting Jan. 13, 2007, one day shy of the Huygens probe two-year anniversary, by imaging Titan's surface with its radar instrument.

2007-01-06T20:48:00.000-08:00

Are you more and more alarmed at what is going on at your work place? in the world at large? Do you feel less and less able to do anything about it?
You are not alone. If you feel that you can do nothing about the situations around you, that is not an uncommon reaction.
L. Ron Hubbard provides methods that will help you bring a calming influence into your life and into the lives of your family, friends and associates. Find more information here.

2007-01-06T20:36:00.000-08:00

Scientists report definitive evidence of the presence of lakes filled with liquid methane on Saturn's moon Titan in this week's journal Nature cover story. (Jan. 3)

A multi-media podcast describes these findings.

2007-01-01T09:19:00.000-08:00

Lots of people make new year's resolutions. Many of us wish for less war and less crime in the world. There happens to be a program underway that is a grass roots movement, called "Operation: Planetary Calm". The idea behind this movement is that turmoil, intollerance, violence and crime expand when ethics and morals decline. What can be done about this is to promote better ethics and morals. This is being accomplished by many of us through the use and distribution of The Way to Happiness booklet. Twenty one basic principles are described in this booklet, which lead a person to live a happier, more ethical, and more successful life.
Distribution of The Way to Happiness booklet has been endorsed by over 150 US governors and mayors so far. It has been recognized in many other countries as well. With over 2 million copies distributed in the Middle East, this is one of the few significant efforts for peace that the individual citizen can support in a meaningful way.
This is a grass roots movement which will advance as far as individuals support it. Additional information on what is going on and how people can participate is provided at this web site.

2006-12-31T20:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a site that gives accomplishments of the deep space program for 2006. There were some really spectacular discoveries!

2006-12-31T19:36:00.000-08:00

Curious about Scientology? Here is an exclusive filmed interview, where L. Ron Hubbard himself answers the most commonly asked questions about Scientology. Now available in a new digitally restored format on DVD and in 50 different languages.

2006-12-30T08:47:00.000-08:00

For the first time, we found a black hole eating up a star. This was observed by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX). This is the first time astronomers have seen the whole process of a black hole eating a star, from its first to nearly final bites.

2006-12-29T16:32:00.001-08:00

A good friend died, yesterday. I was greatly comforted by the essay, 'Man's Search for His Soul', in the book Scientology, a New Slant on Life.

2006-12-29T16:32:00.000-08:00

Celebrating 2006 accomplishments in space -- Spitzer identified two huge "hypergiant" stars, circled by very large disks of what might be planet-forming dust. It has located coliding galaxies. It has investigated the remnants of supernova (see picture). You can get these and a large number of other very cool images here.

2006-12-28T10:39:00.002-08:00

One reason to have an excellent command of personal communication skills is to conduct good job interviews. I am interviewing someone who wants a position in my organization right now, and it is important for me to help them get past any communication barriers that they might have in order to determine if they have the necessary underlying knowledge and ability to work here. The Success Through Communication course is a good way to gain essential personal communication skills.

2006-12-28T10:39:00.000-08:00

Cassini images of Saturn's moon Enceladus backlit by the sun show the fountain-like sources of the fine spray of material that towers over the south polar region. This image was taken looking more or less broadside at the "tiger stripe" fractures observed in earlier Enceladus images. It shows discrete plumes of a variety of apparent sizes above the limb (edge) of the moon.
Imaging scientists, as reported in the journal Science on March 10, 2006, believe that the jets are geysers erupting from pressurized subsurface reservoirs of liquid water above 273 degrees Kelvin (0 degrees Celsius).
You can vote now for your favorite image from Cassini at this web site.

2006-12-26T21:26:00.000-08:00

Efficiency on the job is created. The best reference for improving personal efficiency that I know of is Chapter 4 of the book, The Problems of Work, by L. Ron Hubbard.

2006-12-26T21:22:00.000-08:00

Cassini wraps up 2006 with a flyby of Titan on Dec. 28, 2006. On this flyby, radio science instruments will measure Titan's gravity field in search for a potential subsurface ocean. Find more information here.

2006-12-22T15:40:00.001-08:00

A really fun set of books to read is Mission Earth by L. Ron Hubbard. They are on sale at the Galaxy Press web site.

2006-12-22T15:40:00.000-08:00

Stardust was the first NASA mission dedicated to exploring a comet. The mission collected comet samples by flying within 149 miles of Comet Wild 2 in January 2004. The spacecraft passed the comet at 13,000 mph. The thousands of comet particles were captured using aerogel, which is a special type of foamed glass, made so lightweight that it is barely visible and almost floats in air. To collect the comet samples, Stardust traveled two-billion miles to meet Comet Wild 2 and then another billion miles to get back home. The samples returned to Earth in January 2006. Preliminary analysis was conducted until August. The preliminary results appear in the December 15 issue of Science. What they found includes Mg-rich silicates, such as pyroxene (MgSiO3; Px) which are intermixed with amorphous silicates and Fe-Ni sulfides. Analysis of additional Stardust samples is ongoing.

2006-12-21T09:21:00.000-08:00

The CartwheelGalaxy is 2.5 time larger than our own galaxy. Earlier this year, NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer completed a multi-wavelength, neon-colored portrait of the enormous Cartwheel galaxy after a smaller galaxy plunged through it, triggering ripples of sudden, brief star formation.
The false-color composite image shows the Cartwheel galaxy as seen by Galaxy Evolution Explorer in ultraviolet light (blue); the Hubble Space Telescope in visible light (green); the Spitzer Space Telescope in infrared (red); and the Chandra x-Ray Observatory (purple). "The dramatic plunge has left the Cartwheel galaxy with a crisp, bright ring around a zone of relative calm," said astronomer Phil Appleton of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. "Usually a galaxy is brighter toward the center, but the ultraviolet view indicates the collision actually smoothed out the interior of the galaxy, concentrating older stars and dust into the inner regions. It's like the calm after the storm of star formation." The outer ring, which is bigger than the entire Milky Way galaxy, appears blue and violet in the image. (more)

2006-12-21T09:15:00.000-08:00

Applied Scholastics International assists parents, teachers, students, tutors and educators in eradicating illiteracy, through the use of L. Ron Hubbard’s revolutionary breakthroughs in learning which culminated in his development of the Study Technology. With more than 400 licensed schools and community-based programmes, literacy has been brought to millions in Europe and around the world — from Denmark to South Africa, from the United Kingdom to Greece.

2006-12-20T17:47:00.000-08:00

From the history of space exploration: The Ranger project of the 1960s was the first U.S. effort to launch probes directly toward the Moon. These craft were designed to relay pictures and other data as they approached the Moon and finally crash-landed into its surface. Although the first attempts failed, the later Rangers were a complete success.

2006-12-17T08:12:00.000-08:00

"The oxcart of Modern Planning" is chapter one of L. Ron Hubbard's book: How to Live, Though an Executive. Here he explains the importance of communication in planning and in getting plans accomplished. Great managers need great communication skills. The best start for verbal communication skills is the Success Through Communication course. The best start for written communication skills is the Key to Life course. These are fundamental to career success in the technical fields.

Bob

2006-12-17T08:07:00.000-08:00

Massive Mountain Range Imaged on Saturn's Moon Titan

The tallest mountains ever seen on Titan -- coated with layers of organic material and blanketed by clouds -- have been imaged on Saturn's moon Titan by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Here is more information.

2006-12-15T14:46:00.000-08:00

A New Slant on Life is a collection of thirty of L. Ron Hubbard’s best-loved articles and essays. Some originally appeared as magazine articles, while others are from his lectures and early radio programs; every one is a gem of wisdom and practical truth.
I recently used this book to help sort out a troublesome situation at work. The key section for me was: "What is Greatness?". This book is available here.

2006-12-13T15:39:00.000-08:00

Beneath the surface of Mars -- thanks to a pioneering radar co-sponsored by NASA aboard the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter, observations strongly suggest that ancient impact craters lie buried beneath the smooth, low plains of Mars' northern hemisphere. The technique uses echoes of waves that have penetrated below the surface. Pictures and details can be found here.

2006-12-12T15:22:00.000-08:00

Where is your boss on the tone scale? One tool for the successful professional is the ability to evaluate people. The tone scale is the breakthrough accomplishment that allows anyone working with people to correctly locate a person's level of survival potential. There is a tone scale chart here.
There is also a course on how to improve personal relations, available here.

2006-12-11T11:55:00.000-08:00

A giant black hole has been caught red-handed dipping into a cosmic cookie jar of stars by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer. Here are the details.

2006-12-11T11:49:00.000-08:00

Successful professionals can resolve confusions at work. One of my goals is to drive confusion out of the major projects that I engage in. The basic knowledge for resolving confusion is 'confusion and the stable datum'. A lecture is available that gives a lot of information on this basic. Here is where you can get that lecture.

2006-12-10T07:02:00.000-08:00

Podcast: Recent Water Gushes and Craters on Mars

Scientists have observed two gullies on Mars that have fresh deposits, which they believe were formed by water. Find out more here.

2006-12-07T11:09:00.000-08:00

It is unfortunate that there has been a worldwide rise in ethnic and religious violence, conflict and war. Underlying these hostilities is the fundamental fact that on the level of the individual, man does not always practice tolerance of diversity nor seek to understand and live with his neighbor. Far too often he deals with his fellows as stereotypes or objects of unreasoning hatred. The Way to Happiness undercuts this and helps a person see his neighbor as another human being, worthy of respect and decent treatment as a unique individual. There is an active campaign to promote and distribute The Way to Happiness. People who would like to live in a more peaceful world may wish to support this campaign. Here is where to start.

2006-12-07T11:01:00.000-08:00

NASA photographs have revealed bright new deposits seen in two gullies on Mars that suggest water carried sediment through them sometime during the past seven years. The Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor provided the new evidence of the deposits in images taken in 2005. Analysis of the many images from this mission will continue for quite some time, even though this particular spacecraft is no longer transmitting new data.

2006-12-06T07:52:00.000-08:00

Drugs can destroy a technical career. Many years ago a co-worker of mine took LSD three different times, and lost his ability to concentrate to the degree necessary to do technical work. He left aerospace within a few months, never to return. Now I've found something that might have salvaged his career at this web site.

2006-12-06T07:46:00.000-08:00

Correction: MRO webcast is December 7 (Thursday). This is an orbiter around Mars that has some of the most powerful instruments of any deep space mission, including ground-penetrating radar. Go to here at 7 p.m. Pacific Standard Time for the briefing.

2006-12-05T06:16:00.000-08:00

NASA is conducting a "Senior Review" of Earth Science missions that are in orbit at this time. This review is to determine which missions will continue as planned, which missions should be augmented to obtain additional science, and which missions will be terminated. This review will include preparation of material from each mission over the next few months. Then a science panel will make recommendations, followed by decisions at NASA Headquarters.

2006-12-04T12:53:00.000-08:00

I interviewed both a husband and a wife who wanted a job in my Section of JPL. Both had top grades and graduate degrees from an outstanding university. The one I really wanted to hire had the best verbal communication skills. These skills are developed, they do not happen by accident. Anyone who wants to develop superior verbal communication skills should take the Success Through Communication course. To find the organization that delivers this course nearest to you, go to this site.

2006-12-01T06:46:00.000-08:00

Here is a little known JPL project: MIRO (Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter) is a scientific instrument on the European Space Agency's ROSETTA Spacecraft. MIRO will measure the near surface temperatures of the asteroids OTAWARA and SIWA, and the comet WIRTANEN, thereby allowing scientists to estimate the thermal and electrical properties of these surfaces. In addition, the spectrometer portion of MIRO will allow measurements of water, carbon monoxide, ammonia, and methanol in the gaseous coma of comet WIRTANEN. These measurements will allow scientists to study how the comet material changes from its frozen state to a gas in time and distance from the sun.

2006-11-30T13:37:00.000-08:00

Career success is created with hard work and superior knowledge. Some basic knowledge about how to get ahead at work is provided in the booklet: Tools for The Workplace. You can get a copy of this from this location on the web, or from any Scientology bookstore (find the nearest location here).

2006-11-30T13:25:00.000-08:00

Webcast Thursday, December 6: NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). MRO is searching for evidence that water persisted on the surface of Mars for a long period of time.

Webcast title: MRO: Following the Water with New Capabilities

by: Jim Graf, Project Manager & Dr. Richard Zurek, Project Scientist for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission.

Click here on Thursday at 7 p.m. PST for the webcast.

2006-11-29T08:54:00.000-08:00

With the Tom Cruise wedding, some people are curious to learn what a Scientology wedding is like. Here is a good description.

2006-11-28T07:05:00.000-08:00

Global warming is partly caused by variation in the amount of sun light that Earth gets from the Sun. Acrimsat is the spacecraft that is currently measuring total solar irradiance. It launched in December, 1999, and it is continuing a data collection process that has been going on for 28 years. That is not a lot of time for the purpose of making long term forecasts, but it is now believed by the Project Scientist that as much as 25% of global warming is caused by an increase in total solar irradiance in recent years. Acrimsat is described at this web site.

2006-11-28T07:01:00.000-08:00

I am at the Scientology religious retreat in Clearwater, Forida, right now. In case you are interested, the location of the nearest Scientology organization where you live can be found here.

2006-11-27T09:09:00.000-08:00

Genesis is the mission that crashed into the Utah dessert, when its parachute failed to open. This meant that several months of painstaking work was needed to recover the particles that Genesis had collected from the Sun

Now we are getting some scientific results. Genesis data are helping scientists understand the lunar samples that were collected during the Apollo program, almost thirty-five years ago. Details are described here.

2006-11-27T09:00:00.000-08:00

Your human rights are described in this DVD. This material is based on international agreements, signed by the United States and over 100 other nations around the world in Helsinki, in 1948.
This is an extremely cool DVD, with video representations of each of your human rights that are delightful. Enjoy!

2006-11-22T15:56:00.000-08:00

People get distracted by current events, for good reason. The specter of war hangs over the world today. Screaming headlines and blaring television and radio alerts pound into us minute to minute that violence and loss are at hand.
Ask yourself these questions: Are you more and more alarmed at occurrences around you? Do you feel less and less able to do anything about it?
If you feel frightened and alarmed, you are not alone. If you feel that you can do nothing about the situation around you, that is not an uncommon reaction.
L. Ron Hubbard dissected the phenomenon of the dangerous environment, providing methods that will not only help you overcome your fears, but allow you to help others. Here are some things that you can do about a dangerous environment.

2006-11-22T15:45:00.000-08:00

The Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer is an infrared sensor designed to measure the state and composition of Earth's troposphere, the layer of the atmosphere that extends from Earth's surface to about 16 kilometers (10 miles) in altitude. While the instrument can detect and measure many components of the troposphere, one of its main purposes is to study ozone. The TES Project has created a movie on how this instrument works.

2006-11-21T16:03:00.001-08:00

The Writers of the Future have just released their latest volume of new Science Fiction. This program is the best entry point for new writers into this field. I attended one of their award banquets a year ago, and I saw that it was supported by many of the greatest authors alive today. The new authors are the winners of competitions from around the world, and they are very good. You can get your copy at any on-line vendor of books, or directly from the publisher at Galaxy Press.

2006-11-21T16:03:00.000-08:00

The Mars Rovers are alive and well. Spirit is moving away from its winter haven and Opportunity is also on the move. There is a video from JPL on the rovers at this web site.

2006-11-17T16:40:00.001-08:00

NASA's Ulysses spacecraft has begun its third voyage around the sun's poles, seeking to learn how the sun affects weather in space, plus cellphones, satellites and electricity on Earth. Hear more from the project scientist at this site.

2006-11-17T16:40:00.000-08:00

Your learning rate determines your success rate in high tech jobs. I have someone in my group who knows that their career is limited by their limited willingness to study. Persons who don't want to be limited in their rate of learning would be well advised to get one or more of the books at this website. These books describe standard study technology, which is a breakthrough in this field.

2006-11-14T21:05:00.000-08:00

Here is what a Cloudsat 'quick look' image looks like. This is a profile, from the top of clouds down to the ground. This is the first satellite that provides this type of profile. For more quick look images, at full resolution, here is where to look.

2006-11-13T13:11:00.000-08:00

Stress can slow you down on the job. Solutions for a Dangerous Environment is a booklet that can reduce stress for many people.

2006-11-13T13:07:00.000-08:00

Looking underground from outer space was first demonstrated in 1981.

"It was just a fluke," recalls JPL Director Dr. Charles Elachi, who was the principal investigator of the Shuttle Imaging Radar-A (in 1981).
The radar onboard the shuttle was comprised of a single-frequency, single-polarization antenna capable of acquiring imagery at only one angle. Yet, the results were proof that certain radar frequencies could actually take images from as deep as 3 meters (9 feet) below the sand.

You can find more data on this here.

2006-11-10T16:50:00.000-08:00

Mercury transitted the sun yesterday. I looked at it using a special telescope that protected my eyes from the sun's brightness, but showed Mercury as it crossed in front of the sun.

Mariner 10 was launched by JPL in 1973 in order to reach Mercury. This was the final Mariner project, and it pioneered the use of a "gravity assist" by swinging by Venus to bend its flight path to Mercury.

Using a near-ultraviolet filter, it produced the first clear pictures of the Venusian chevron clouds and performed other atmospheric studies before moving to the small, airless, cratered globe of Mercury. Here a fortuitous gravity assist enabled the spacecraft to return at six-month intervals for close mapping passes over the planet, covering half the globe (Mercury’s slow rotation left the other half always in the dark when Mariner 10 returned).

2006-11-10T16:37:00.000-08:00

HOW TOXIC ARE YOU? There are metals and other substances that can reduce your mental ability. This would undermine your chances for long term career success.
If you live in an environment that is the least bit polluted, or if you are getting unnatural substances into your body from your food, drugs or other sources, then over time you will collect increasing amounts of toxic material. Here is one answer to this problem that has helped me.

2006-11-09T16:15:00.000-08:00

Webcast: Black Holes, Thursday, at 7 pm PST -- by Curt Cutler, a Senior Research Scientist at JPL.

"Most normal galaxies contain, at their cores, black holes that are millions to billions of times more massive than our Sun. Most galaxies probably also contain millions of stellar-mass black holes, which are the remnants of massive stars. In this lecture I will try to explain what black holes are, in theory, and give a brief overview of some of their remarkable properties. I will then review some of what we know observationally about black holes in Nature. " Click here on Thursday at 7 p.m. PST for the webcast.

2006-11-09T16:09:00.000-08:00

More on career success: In The Problems of Work, Mr. Hubbard isolates the problems encountered on the job. He offers solutions to frayed tempers and the common feeling that one cannot possibly accomplish all there is to do. This book uncovers the way to handle the confusions that surround a job and opens the doors to efficiency.

2006-11-08T10:32:00.000-08:00

We lost communication with the Mars Global Satellite (MGS), sometime yesterday. MGS was launched in 1996, and has been orbiting Mars for nearly 10 years. This is 6 years beyond it's original design goal. MGS has returned data on surface contours, minerals, magnetic fields, gravity fields, and global weather. It provided landing site information for Pathfinder and MER. It has been a communications relay for the Mars Exploration Rovers. Efforts to regain communications are underway at this time.

Currently JPL still has two orbiters ( Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter) and two rovers (Spirit and Opportunity) that are working at Mars. The European Space Agency also has an orbiter at Mars.

2006-11-07T17:09:00.000-08:00

You have 30 human rights, according to the Univeral Declaration of Human Rights, which was signed by the United States and over 100 other nations, over 50 years ago. Human right number 19 is freedom of expression. Here is a really cool video that illustrates that right. From this site, you can find out all of the other human rights that you should have. Enjoy!

Bob

2006-11-07T16:52:00.000-08:00

Here is an artist's conception of "Dusky Disks" and their influence on star formation.

Developing stars spin so fast that, left unchecked, they would never fully contract and become stars. Astronomers had theorized that dusty disks might be slowing the super speedy stars by yanking on their magnetic fields. When a star's fields pass through a disk, they are thought to get bogged down like a spoon in molasses. This locks a star's rotation to the slower-turning disk, so the shrinking star can't spin faster. Spitzer is an infrared observatory that can find the swirling disks around stars, because dust in the disks is heated by starlight and glows at infrared wavelengths. Spitzer observed nearly 500 young stars in the Orion nebula. Stars divided into slow spinners and fast spinners, and it was determined that the slow spinners are five times more likely to have disks than the fast ones. "We can now say that disks play some kind of role in slowing down stars in at least one region, but there could be a host of other factors operating in tandem. And stars might behave differently in different environments". Other factors that contribute to a star's winding down over longer periods of time include stellar winds and possibly full-grown planets.

2006-11-07T16:42:00.000-08:00

I saw a cool video on being competent at this website. The Way to Happiness Association has distributed over 80 million booklets so far. In my opinion, it is one of the best calming influences we have in this troubled world.

2006-11-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

One Day Left! NASA's campaign to send the nom de plumes of people from around the world into the heart of the asteroid belt ends Sat., Nov. 4. Submitted names will be carried on board NASA's Dawn spacecraft. Mission scientists are confident Dawn observations of asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres will answer basic questions about the nature and composition of these celestial wanderers. When the craft is launched in June 2007, yours and the names of your loved ones can hitch along for the ride and be part of space exploration history. Dawn will carry a silicon chip containing the names of asteroid, space and other enthusiasts from around the world. People may submit their names for this historic one-way mission by visiting JPL's Dawn Web site now through Nov. 4 at http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/ . More than 170,000 people have already signed up for the asteroid belt tour.

2006-11-02T20:59:00.000-08:00

Dianetics: Understanding people in the work place (and other places) is something that a successful manager works on all the time. Dianetics provides knowledge about why people respond to things the way they do. It is based on many millions of hours of recorded work, going back more than 50 years. The complete Dianetics home study course package is recommended as your first step with Dianetics. It includes everything you need to get started in less than an hour and get the most out of the Dianetics procedure. It includes a how-to DVD, the book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, the Dianetics Lectures & Demonstrations, the home study course workbook and free phone consultation. Here is where you can get this.

2006-10-31T21:22:00.000-08:00

JPL's history is described at this site.

2006-10-29T10:44:00.000-08:00

The International Association of Scientologists (IAS) held its 22nd aniversary event last week. What is Scientology? Here is where you can find out.

2006-10-29T10:37:00.000-08:00

NASA's long-lived Mars Exploration Rover Spirit will finish its 1,000th Martian day Thursday, continuing a successful mission originally planned for 90 Martian days. A color 360-degree panorama released today -- produced from the most detailed imaging yet completed by either Spirit or its twin, Opportunity -- shows rugged terrain of the robot's current location amid a range of hills. The vista, dubbed the "McMurdo Panorama," comes from Spirit's panoramic camera and is available online at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/images/20061025.html .

2006-10-27T21:43:00.000-07:00

The ability to understand and retain data, to actually be able to learn, is vital for a successful career in any field of technology. Average learning skills will only produce average career success. Here is a method for learning that could give you above average skills and success.

2006-10-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

Video: The Rocketmen.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a pioneer in America's Space Age. Hear from one of the original 'rocketmen' as he describes the first experiments that led to the making of JPL. This is the 70th anniversary of the founding of JPL.

2006-10-25T21:46:00.000-07:00

Now Playing: Cassini at Saturn
This is an update on a recent flyby of the moon Titan. The flyby captured great images, including one of a lake. Here is the link.

2006-10-23T12:52:00.000-07:00

How do you know if you are hiring an effective person? There are techniques for evaluating people that protect your interests, and lead to a team loaded with highly effective people. Some of these techniques are in the book, Science of Survival.

2006-10-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

Free Cassini mission posters can be down loaded from this site.

2006-10-20T16:45:00.001-07:00

NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists report this year's ozone hole in the polar region of the Southern Hemisphere has broken records for area and depth. The ozone layer acts to protect life on Earth by blocking harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. The "ozone hole" is a severe depletion of the ozone layer high above Antarctica. It is primarily caused by human-produced compounds that release chlorine and bromine gases in the stratosphere. More details are available at this web site.

2006-10-20T16:45:00.000-07:00

Your mental processes can be affected by the pesticides, radiation, drugs and other environmental toxins that can accumulate in your body over time. These things damage not just your health, but your personality and your ability to think clearly. Clear Body, Clear Mind-The Effective Purification Program, by L. Ron Hubbard, details his groundbreaking discoveries in this field. There is a way to eliminate drug and toxic residues lodged in the fatty tissues of your body.
I have seen people who were intellectually vigorous in their seventies, and I have seen people (especially those who took a lot of drugs and medications) who lost a lot of their intellectual vigor long before they retired. I would recommend the Purification Program to anyone who feels the need to recover some of their ability to do highly skilled and creative work.
Bob

2006-10-17T04:46:00.000-07:00

Nearly forgotten history of space: Pioneer 3 and 4 were early satellites designed to be lofted toward Earth's Moon. They were equipped with Geiger counters to measure radiation in space.
Pioneer 3 was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on December 6, 1958. Because of a slight error in the satellite's velocity and angle after burnout of the Juno II rocket, it did not reach the Moon; instead it achieved a peak altitude of 102,320 kilometers (63,580 miles). The satellite did, however, discover a second radiation belt around Earth during its flight. Pioneer 3 reentered Earth's atmosphere over equatorial Africa a day after launch.
Pioneer 4 was launched March 3, 1959, and successfully passed within 60,000 kilometers (37,300 miles) of the Moon the following day. The satellite was tracked for 82 hours to a distance of 655,000 kilometers (407,000 miles) from Earth, a record at that time. Pioneer 4 is now orbiting the Sun, the first U.S. spacecraft placed in solar orbit.

2006-10-15T16:30:00.000-07:00

Seven steps to reduce stress are provided at this website. Stress on the job can rob you of your concentration, leading to errors and other difficulties. If you feel stressed out, these seven steps are an easy way to do something about it.
Bob

2006-10-13T20:05:00.000-07:00

A Mars Rover has been found by a Mars orbital satellite. The Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter used its " HiRISE" camera to see the rover Opportunity near the rim of Victoria Crater in Meridiani Planum. You can also see its shadow on the Martian surface and wheel tracks in the Martian soil behind it. The HiRISE image also reveals eroded segments of the crater rim and other landscape features in great detail. Here's the story .

2006-10-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

Career success for an engineer or an IT professional involves more than just technical knowledge. To do really well you must be able to: (1) become expert and remain expert in your field; (2) successfully get jobs that are being offered; (3)understand what is really needed and wanted to get ahead where you are working; (4) plan your work so that it can get done; (5) manage your work so that it actually gets done; and (6) let people know about what you have done and what you could do in the future. This last point is often not done properly by engineers. The book described at this site gives you the basics.

2006-10-11T22:34:00.000-07:00

Strange weather coming? Over the past several weeks, NASA's Aqua and Jason satellites have observed a general warming of ocean temperatures and a rise in sea surface heights in the central and eastern Pacific along the equator, both indicators of El Niño development. "The present conditions indicate that the intensity of this El Niño is too weak to have a major influence on current weather patterns," said Bill Patzert, oceanographer and climatologist at the NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "But, if the ocean waters continue to warm and spread eastward, this event would likely strengthen, perhaps bringing much-needed rainfall to the southwestern and southeastern United States this winter."