SpaceX, headquartered out of Hawthorne, California, launched the Falcon 9 on May 22, 2012. From the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the Falcon 9 is on a mission to the International Space Station. This is a new era of commercial spaceflight, as NASA moves forward into space history.

In 2002, SpaceX was founded by Elon Musk. Musk also co-founded PayPal and Tesla Motors.

The contract that SpaceX has with NASA will have a minimum value of $1.6 billion and a maximum value of $3.1 billion. The company will center its attention around the transport of cargo and astronauts to the ISS, with a goal of sending humans to Mars in the future.

SpaceX also has contracts with private sector companies, non-American government agencies and the American military. There is talk of a new commercial launch pad. The launch pad could be built in one of five states — Alaska, California, Florida, Texas, or Virginia. Good luck to all.

Welcome to the Solar Eclipse Webcast from Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque, N.M. If it is time for the video to display but it is loading slowly—or not at all—we have reached the carrying capacity for this event.

We’ll post a brief highlights video as soon as possible after the live portion of our eclipse coverage ends. In the meantime, National Park Service photographers are taking pictures and video of the solar eclipse live and are posting them to the National Park Service Flickr page. Click on the solar eclipse 5.20.12 group.

Source: National Park Service

Where can you see it? Click here.

Be prepared for a solar eclipse on May 20, 2012. Have special glasses ready. Do not look at the solar eclipse with bare eyes! Be prepared! Attention!

If you are planning to attend a solar eclipse viewing, you’ll need welding glasses, at least shade 14 or better — Green Shade 14 Solar Eclipse Glasses. These glasses are made specifically for use in observing solar eclipses.

From Wikipedia: An annular solar eclipse will take place on May 20, 2012. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partially obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon’s apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun, causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring), blocking most of the Sun’s light. An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region thousands of kilometres wide.

A total solar eclipse will take place on 13-14 November, 2012. For this eclipse totality will be visible from northern Australia and the southern Pacific Ocean.

A total solar eclipse will take place in the United States on Monday, August 21, 2017. It will have a magnitude of 1.0306 that will be visible from a narrow corridor through the United States. The longest duration of totality will be 2 minutes 40 seconds at the Bainbridge/Sinking Fork area of Christian County, Kentucky just northwest of Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

This eclipse (Aug. 21, 2017) will be the first total solar eclipse visible from the United States since 1991 (just from part of Hawaii), the first visible from the contiguous United States since 1979.

If you just want to look outrageous or need cool glasses for costume effect, here’s an interesting pair — Hobart 770096 Welding Oxy-Acetylene Goggle – 50mm Eye Cup. These are great goggles for the price. Outrageous enough?

The untold story of fracking is a short documentary presented by LinkTV. Reporters have a look at the natural gas development in the Marcellus Shale. The focus is on toxic chemicals found in the drinking water, due to the dumping of radioactive waste that can contaminate water supplies.

With a gas production boom underway in the Marcellus Shale and plans for some 400,000 wells in the coming decades, the cumulative impact of dumping potential lethal waste without adequate oversight is a catastrophe waiting to happen. And now U.S. companies are exporting fracking to Europe.

In 2010, there was an award winning film known as Gasland, that aired on HBO. The director of the film, Josh Fox, was arrested earlier this year, while trying to film at a House hearing. Why was there an attempt to suppress media at the hearing?

Fracking is a very controversial procedure that is also being marketed in Europe, and shale gas production could begin in Poland in the year 2014.  The people of Europe and Asia should be concerned about the dangers of fracking.

Shale drilling is largely unregulated and ecologists have spoken with families that have endured the effects. Increased levels of methane gas in water supplies have been reported in areas of intensive drilling. The water is undrinkable.

The wastewater that eventually winds up in the rivers of Pennsylvania may not be as safe as federal regulators are proposing. There are confidential reports that have exposed the dangers of waste contaminants.

There can be no guarantee that the drinking water is safe where production of shale drilling is active.

The chemicals that are pumped into the ground are not potable. The enormous quantities of fracking waste cannot be disposed of in a safe manner. Many times the contaminated water is dumped on or near private lands. The cumulative impact of contamination is not being properly addressed.

The long-lasting effect of radium 226 is considered lethal. Even government studies claim that levels of radium over a long period can lead to death and other severe health problems. “Based upon our current knowledge, it is assumed that any radiation exposure (from radium) carries some degree of risk.”

It is estimated that 95% of the shale drilling is not being regulated adequately. “The estimate of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Preservation is 1 serious environmental concern for every 150 wells drilled to date.”

A study that will be published this month in Science of the Total Environment reveals: “Benzene, a carcinogen, and chemicals that can irritate eyes and cause headaches, sore throats or difficulty breathing, were found in air close to the wells.”

Another 2011 study identified 632 chemicals used in natural gas operations. Only 353 of these are well-described in the scientific literature; and of these, more than 75% could affect skin, eyes, respiratory and gastrointestinal systems; roughly 40-50% could affect the brain and nervous, immune and cardiovascular systems and the kidneys; 37% could affect the endocrine system; and 25% were carcinogens and mutagens. The study indicated possible long-term health effects that might not appear immediately.

Out of eight major drilling companies that the EPA made a voluntary request, only Halliburton was subpoenaed for information on the chemicals it uses for hydraulic fracturing.

There is intense  pressure from corporations to drill for gas. The crushing force of economically challenged cities may compel them to be lured into even more drilling. However, there is no price on safe drinking water.

Nikola Tesla is well known for his hand in developing alternating electricity. This was an enormous accomplishment within itself. Yet, some of his works were never published. Why wasn’t his papers acknowledged?

Even though Nikola Tesla was a legal American citizen, his papers were impounded by the United States government. It is a fact that Tesla’s papers were classified as top secret by FBI agents.

His works can now be found at the Nikola Tesla Museum, which is located at: Krunska 51, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.

It was early as 1891 that Tesla demonstrated wireless energy transmission. In fact, the Tesla effect is the term used for this type of electrical conductivity.

It can be said that Tesla was a man way of ahead of his time. Why was his idea of wireless energy so threatening to the establishment?

Will the grid eventually disappear? Is our current establishment trying to prevent this?

Scientists and inventors are in discussion over future developments of the “new energy age”.

The Seven List

Seven classical planets, seven days of the week, seven day creation, seven musical notes, seven scales of music, seven basic emotions, seven deadly sins, seven wonders of the world, seven elements of art, seven colors of the rainbow, seven colors of light, seven continents, seven seas, seven-number summary, Seven Years’ War, seven nutrients, seven primary tectonic plates, seven seals, seven-line stanza, seven stars in the Big Dipper, Seven Sisters of Pleiades, seven dwarfs, seven sided heptagon, seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, seven types of energy, seven types of propaganda, seven states of matter, seven states of consciousness, seven textures of chocolate, seven candlesticks, seven diatomic atoms, seven properties of solids, seven properties of water, seven properties of minerals, seven cells embryo sac, seven sentence patterns, seven face shapes, seven bean soup, seven bean dip, seven-string guitar, seven strikes bowling, seven basic smells, seven basic SI units, seven periods of time, seven parts of speech, seven parts of the large intestine, seven parts of the brain, seven parts of a prescription, seven parts of a story, seven parts of a letter, seven parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, seven dimensions of wellness, seven fold tie, seven year apple, seven properties of life, seven properties of light, seven classes of vertebrates, seven branches of the military, seven branches of philosophy, seven branches of science, seven branches of chemistry, seven branches of human knowledge, seven hills of Rome, seven motions of the shoulder, seven vials wrath, seven vowels Greek alphabet, cells regenerate every seven years, seven body systems, seven body cavities, seven movements of dance, seven bones of the ankle, seven bones of the neck, seven muscle groups, seven styles of learning, seven openings of the head, seven openings into the pharynx, seven spikes on the Statue of Liberty, seven processes plant life, seven classes of proteins, seven clans of the Cherokee, seven classics China…

Planetary Conjunction Of Venus And Jupiter March 2012

March 20. March Equinox. The March equinox occurs at 05:14 UTC. The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world.

It’s springtime, or just a few hours away from it officially, and if you look to your western sky right after dusk (the best viewing time is approximately around 10:00 PM EST), you’ll see Venus and Jupiter. Venus is on the top right and Jupiter is just below on the left, what is referred to as conjunction. This is astronomy in the northern hemisphere.

If you want to see something spectacular, be sure not to miss Venus and Jupiter in the west. They both look extremely large and magnificent. I’m not sure how long they’ll be hanging around so you better view them soon. Remember, just after dusk. (Observation inserted here: Both planets seemed to have vanished into the horizon later on in the night.)

For an added bonus, Pleaides is just above Venus, slightly to the left. Pleaides is a very prominent star cluster located in the constellation of Taurus. See if you can spot this gem!

If you look to the east, you can also see Mars and Saturn, although you might have to wait a few hours into the night to see the latter.

Orion is very visible and can be spotted in the southwestern region of the sky. Orion contains three stars that are placed horizontally; they are Orion’s belt.

Sky & Telescope magazine is considered to be one of the best in the astronomy field. Personally, I have not subscribed to this magazine, but it looks like a good one.

I do get on the Sky & Telescope website and it’s quite helpful if you’re a star gazer. Star gazing tips can always be found here.

Happy star gazing!

Image Credit:
Shankbone 4

Here is video of an EF3 Tornado that struck West Liberty, Ky., on March 2, 2012. This family was lucky enough to provide us with video and captions. Here are the captions:

Our family was lucky, most others were not. Several dead. Dozens injured. Hundreds homeless. Pray for our people. Help any way you can.

Video Credit: lkevinadkins