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Monday, June 3, 2013

Watch the northern lights dance in these surprising time-lapse videos

Brad Goldpaint

The International Space Station creates a long-exposure streak in this photo of the auroral glow over Crater Lake, captured by Oregon photographer Brad Goldpaint. Click on the image to see the full-length video, or watch the embedded version below. For more of Goldpaint's work, check out the Goldpaint Photography website.

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

A surprisingly strong geomagnetic storm swept over our planet this weekend, resulting in a surprisingly strong set of videos showing the northern lights (and the southern lights, too).

A couple of the videos pack in some extra goodies. For example, Oregon photographer Brad Goldpaint's video of the aurora over Crater Lake features a long-exposure streak left behind by the International Space Station as it passed overhead on Saturday morning.

"Like the aurora, the ISS was another great surprise during the night," Goldpaint, who offers a treasure trove of night-sky views on his website, told NBC News in an email. "Usually I pay close attention to events like these, but this night completely threw me off with strong aurora levels and the ISS flyover."

Goldpaint told SpaceWeather.com that he drove out to Crater Lake National Park on Friday night primarily to photograph the Milky Way, not thinking that there'd be any fireworks. "I've waited months for the roads to open and spring storms to pass, so I could spend a solitude night with the stars," he explained. But by around 11 p.m., he was picking up on the signs of a great auroral show in the making.

"With adrenaline pumping, I raced to the edge of the caldera, set up a time-lapse sequence, and watched northern lights dance until sunrise," he wrote. "The moon rose around 2 a.m. and blanketed the surrounding landscape with a faint glow, adding depth and texture to the shot."

Scientists aren't exactly sure what caused the upswing in geomagnetic activity. "Current speculation focuses on a co-rotating interaction region (CIR) ? that is, a shock-like transition zone between high- and low-speed solar wind streams," SpaceWeather.com's Tony Phillips reported.

There's a chance that observers in higher latitudes will see enhanced auroras on Sunday night as well, due to the interaction between a high-speed solar wind stream and Earth's magnetic field. To keep up with the aurora forecast, check in with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center and its automated Ovation prediction page. If you're in the zone, the best time to see the aurora is after midnight. In the meantime, check out these aurora time-lapse videos on Vimeo. For the best viewing experience, turn the settings to full-screen HD:

Shawn Malone's time-lapse video captures the northern lights amid thunderstorms over Lake Superior. "Clouds cleared out for a second, for which I am thankful," Malone writes. Watch "A Mother of a Light Show" from LakeSuperiorPhoto on Vimeo.

More auroral glories:

For still more great time-lapse videos of the May 31-June 1 auroral outburst, check out "Aurora Over Mount Si" from Jim Reitz, and Michael Rector's "Bright Aurora in the Adirondacks."

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the NBC News Science Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with NBCNews.com's stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2cbe0dc3/l/0Lcosmiclog0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A60C0A20C1870A0A0A80A0Ewatch0Ethe0Enorthern0Elights0Edance0Ein0Ethese0Esurprising0Etime0Elapse0Evideos0Dlite/story01.htm

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Runaway oligarch says Kazakh leader takes revenge on family

By Dmitry Solovyov

ALMATY (Reuters) - Fugitive Kazakh oligarch and dissident Mukhtar Ablyazov said on Saturday his wife and daughter were with relatives in the city of Almaty, after earlier accusing President Nursultan Nazarbayev of "kidnapping" them following their deportation from Italy.

Ablyazov, 50, fled the oil-rich Central Asian state after his bank BTA was nationalized and declared insolvent in 2009. The former government minister, who says his life is in danger, was granted political asylum in Britain in 2011.

BTA has brought fraud charges against Ablyazov and his allies. Accused of embezzling $6 billion, he has been in hiding since last year when he fled Britain after missing a contempt of court hearing at which he was due to be jailed for 22 months.

Ablyazov, accused at home of stoking unrest, said on his Facebook page that Italian police had taken his wife Alma Shalabayeva from a house in a Rome suburb on May 29. He said police had removed his six-year-old daughter Alua on Friday.

Kazakhstan's official news agency Kazinform said Italian authorities had deported Ablyazov's wife and daughter to Kazakhstan because his wife had been living in Italy illegally.

Her Italian lawyer, Riccardo Olivo, told Reuters she did not have a valid visa, but should not have been sent back to Kazakhstan because she would be in put danger.

"It is incredible how quickly this took place. They handed her over as a hostage to a dictator and this is very grave," Olivo said.

But Ablayzov said on Facebook later on Saturday that his wife and daughter had been taken to the home of relatives in Almaty, suggesting they were not in imminent danger.

Italian news agency Ansa said Ablyazov's wife had been found to have a false passport issued by the Central African Republic in the name of Ayan Alma. The Kazakh authorities could not be reached for comment and Olivo said it was not clear if the passport was false or authentic.

Kazakhstan's presidency declined to comment.

Ablyazov said his wife and daughter had been in Italy legally. He said a local judge had ordered they should be sent to Kazakhstan, after which they were put on a private jet bound for the Kazakh capital Astana.

"I declare that the kidnapping of my family was ordered by President Nursultan Nazarbayev," Ablyazov had said while they were en route to Kazakhstan.

Ablyazov, a theoretical physics graduate who earned a fortune after the Soviet Union's demise, told Reuters in an interview in December that he would run for office if free elections were called when Nazarbayev's rule ends.

Nazarbayev, 72, has governed his vast nation of 17 million for more than two decades. He has overseen market reforms and foreign investment inflows that have ensured rapid economic growth, but he has tolerated no dissent.

In October, Ablyazov's friend Vladimir Kozlov, also a fierce critic of Nazarbayev, was found guilty by a Kazakh court of colluding with the runaway oligarch in attempting to bring down Kazakhstan's government and jailed for seven-and-a-half years.

(Additional reporting by Philip Pullella in Rome, Raushan Nurshayeva in Astana and Steve Gutterman in Moscow; Editing by Mike Collett-White)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/runaway-oligarch-says-kazakh-leader-takes-revenge-family-202139043.html

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Sunday, June 2, 2013

Acer Iconia W3 official: the first 8-inch Windows 8 tablet launches this month for $379 (hands-on)

It looks like the promise of smaller Windows 8 tablets has been fulfilled, and Acer's revealed its plans for a smaller form factor. Yep, we heard word of (and even peeked at listings for) the 8-inch Iconia W3, but it's been unveiled in earnest here at Computex 2013, weighing just over a pound and measuring under half an inch thick. Acer's promising around eight hours of battery life, while that smaller screen can still beam out 720p video playback on its 1,280 x 800 display. Better still, Acer has added in a full version of Office free with the tablet which should go well with the optional full-size keyboard accessory (69 euros, around $90) -- one that apparently mirrors those found on Acer's 13-inch notebooks. On the tablet itself, there's front- and rear-facing two-megapixel cameras, plus connectivity through Bluetooth 4.0 and micro-USB.

The Iconia W3 also houses Intel's dual-core 1.8GHz Atom Z2760 processor, one we've already seen on larger Windows 8 slabs, and will have either 32 or 64GB of internal storage, with an additional 32 gigs of space possible through microSD expansion. A built-in micro-HDMI port should also ensure displaying content on larger screens is relatively painless, although the tablet does lack the plethora of ports found on its bigger brothers, like USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt. The Iconia W3 will be priced at 329 euros for 32GB and 379 euros for 64GB -- Acer US confirms that the tablet will arrive at $379 but haven't confirmed which capacity just yet. It will go up for pre-order tomorrow at Amazon, Microsoft's retail stores and online Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples and Walmart, with a retail launch before the end of June. Before then, though, we've already got to grips with the world's first 8-inch Windows 8 tablet. Check out our impressions right after the break.

Gallery: Acer Iconia W3 hands-on

Gallery: Acer Iconia W3 tablet press shots

Filed under: Tablets, Acer

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/t-FeUFg7P0E/

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Boeing completes new spacecraft, rocket milestones

June 1, 2013 ? The Boeing Company of Houston, a NASA Commercial Crew Program (CCP) partner, recently performed wind tunnel testing of its CST-100 spacecraft and integrated launch vehicle, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. The testing is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) initiative, intended to make commercial human spaceflight services available for government and commercial customers.

Boeing and ULA also worked together to test a newly developed component of the Atlas V's Centaur upper stage. Boeing now has completed two of eight performance milestones under CCiCap and is on track to have completed all 19 of its milestones around mid-2014.

"The Centaur has a long and storied past of launching the agency's most successful spacecraft to other worlds," said Ed Mango, NASA's CCP manager at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "Because it has never been used for human spaceflight before, these tests are critical to ensuring a smooth and safe performance for the crew members who will be riding atop the human-rated Atlas V."

The wind tunnel testing, which began in March and wrapped up in May at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., were the first interface tests of Boeing's spacecraft, launch vehicle adaptor and launch vehicle. A scale model of the integrated spacecraft and rocket was placed in Ames' 11-foot diameter transonic wind tunnel. The data gathered provides Boeing with critical information it needs to ensure its system is safe for launching crews to low-Earth orbit.

The Centaur liquid oxygen-feed duct line was tested in March in Murrieta, Calif., to characterize how liquid oxygen moves from the stage's oxygen tank to its two engines where the propellant will be mixed with liquid hydrogen to create thrust. The Centaur, which takes over after the Atlas V first stage runs low on propellants, will push the spacecraft to its intended orbit. The Centaur has an extensive and successful history of delivering spacecraft to their destinations, including carrying NASA's Curiosity science rover to Mars.

"The CST-100 and Atlas V, connected with the launch vehicle adaptor, performed exactly as expected and confirmed our expectations of how they will perform together in flight," said John Mulholland, Boeing vice president and program manager for Commercial Programs.

Boeing is one of three U.S. companies NASA is working with during CCiCap to set the stage for a crewed orbital demonstration mission around the middle of the decade. Future development and certification initiatives eventually will lead to the availability of human spaceflight services for NASA to send astronauts to the International Space Station from the United States.

For more information about NASA's Commercial Crew Program and its aerospace industry partners, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/nasa/~3/mV94_Fm3UZU/130601134949.htm

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Saturday, June 1, 2013

CA-NEWS Summary

Five killed in Oklahoma tornadoes, storms move northeast

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - Tornadoes killed five people in central Oklahoma including a mother and her baby and menaced Oklahoma City and its hard-hit suburb of Moore, before the storm system tracked northeast early on Saturday. The National Weather Service said the severe weather threat would shift into neighboring Illinois and Missouri, where Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency on Friday.

Turkish PM calls for immediate end to protests as clashes flare

ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan called for an immediate end on Saturday to the fiercest anti-government demonstrations for years, as thousands of protesters clashed with riot police in Istanbul and Ankara for a second day. The unrest was triggered by government plans for a replica Ottoman-era barracks housing shops or apartments in Istanbul's Taksim Square, long a venue for political protest, but has widened into a broader show of defiance against Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Fighting in Syria's Qusair; U.N. says world watching

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian troops and Hezbollah guerrillas besieging the border town of Qusair fought with rebels on Saturday as the United Nations warned all sides they could be held accountable for the suffering of civilians trapped there. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighting was taking place inside Qusair and in villages around it, largely controlled by President Bashar al-Assad's forces who have cut off access to the town.

More than 1,000 killed in Iraq violence in May

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - More than 1,000 people were killed in violence in Iraq in May, making it the deadliest month since the sectarian slaughter of 2006-07, the United Nations reported on Saturday, stoking fears of a return to civil war. Nearly 2,000 people have been killed in the last two months as al Qaeda and Sunni Islamist insurgents, invigorated by the Sunni-led revolt in Syria and by Sunni discontent at home, seek to revive the kind of all-out inter-communal conflict that killed tens of thousands five years ago.

Rock guitarist May leads London march against badger cull

LONDON (Reuters) - Protesters dressed as badgers and led by Queen guitarist Brian May marched through central London on Saturday demanding that the government scrap a plan to cull badgers, aimed at slowing the spread of a cattle disease. About 5,000 of the nocturnal black-and-white animals are due to be shot by marksmen in the six-week pilot cull, authorized to begin on Saturday in two areas in southwestern England.

U.S. rebalance to Asia-Pacific gaining steam, Pentagon chief says

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The U.S. military will devote more air power, ground troops and high-tech weaponry to the Asia-Pacific region as it moves ahead with a strategic rebalance, the U.S. defense chief said on Saturday in a speech that accused China of cyber incursions. In remarks laying out his vision for regional security, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel assured allies and partners at the annual Shangri-La Security Dialogue in Singapore that the United States was fully able to continue its strategic pivot to the region despite budget constraints at home.

Russia to send nuclear submarines to southern seas

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia plans to resume nuclear submarine patrols in the southern seas after a hiatus of more than 20 years following the break-up of the Soviet Union, Itar-Tass news agency reported on Saturday, in another example of efforts to revive Moscow's military. The plan to send Borei-class submarines, designed to carry 16 long-range nuclear missiles, to the southern hemisphere follows President Vladimir Putin's decision in March to deploy a naval unit in the Mediterranean Sea on a permanent basis starting this year.

Two drone strikes kill seven in southern Yemen: local official

ADEN (Reuters) - Two drone strikes killed seven suspected al Qaeda militants in southern Yemen on Saturday morning, a local official said, nine days after U.S. President Barack Obama said he would only use such strikes when a threat was "continuing and imminent". Washington views al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) as the movement's most dangerous wing after it attempted to launch bomb attacks on international airliners.

Rajoy sees hope for Spain in jobless figures

MADRID (Reuters) - Jobless figures to be released next week in Spain will be encouraging and the recession-hit country has started to turn a corner, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Saturday. "I'm not counting chickens here, however I recommend that you pay attention to unemployment and social security numbers on Tuesday the 4th ... If the patterns we've seen are confirmed they will be clearly encouraging," Rajoy said at an economic conference.

Cyprus rescinds citizenship of Assad billionaire cousin

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus has rescinded citizenship briefly bestowed upon a Syrian billionaire suspected by the European Union of helping to bankroll President Bashar al-Assad's government, authorities said on Saturday. Rami Makhlouf, who is a maternal cousin of Assad, is widely considered part of the Syrian president's inner circle and one of the most influential men in Syria.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-000647171.html

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Incubator NEST Investments Wants To Help Hong Kong's Fledgling Startup Industry Take Flight

Though Hong Kong is one of the world's leading financial hubs, its startup industry is still embryonic. Incubator NEST Investments hopes to change that by helping tech companies take advantage of the region's wealth and resources as they work toward entering the mainland Chinese market.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ktdV7GH9Yew/

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