think I heard this, I was asleep and I heard 2 loud bongs, like expansion in a metal drum. It woke me from a sound sleep?
RADIO-ACTIVE SUNSPOT: Behemoth sunspot 1045 is crackling with M-class solar flares--and that's not all. "There have been many
loud shortwave radio bursts over the past two days,"
reports amateur radio astronomer Thomas Ashcraft of New Mexico.
"Some of the bursts have completely saturated my receivers."
Just
listen to the sounds coming from the loudspeakers in his
observatory. (continued below)

Image credit: Alan Friedman of Buffalo, New
York [details]

The roaring sounds you just heard were mainly
Type
III radio bursts, caused by beams of electrons streaming
through the sun's outer atmosphere. Sunspot 1045 appears poised
to explosively accelerate more electrons in the days ahead
as the flare-show continues. Ham radio operators, point your
Yagis toward the sun!

more images: from
Mike Borman of Evansville, Indiana; from
Rogerio Marcon of Campinas Brasil; from
Pete Lawrence of Selsey, West Sussex, UK; from
Stefano Sello of Pisa, Italy; from
James Kevin Ty of Manila, Philippines; from
John Stetson of Portland, Maine; from
Steve Riegel of Sanata Maria, CA; from
Jo Dahlmans of Ulestraten, The Netherlands;
NORTHERN LIGHTS: "As
the solar wind swept over our planet tonight (Feb. 7th), the
silent winter landscape with its heavy snow-clad trees made
me feel that our place in the solar system must be among the
most beautiful," says Fredrik Broms of Kvaløya, Norway.
He used a Nikon
D3 to record the otherworldly scene:

Photo details: Nikon D3, Nikkor 20mm f72.8, 800 ISO, 10-15 sec
Arctic sky watchers should be
alert for more auroras in the nights ahead. Sunspot 1045
hurled a CME toward Earth on Feb. 7th and it is due to arrive
(along with an unrelated solar wind stream) on Feb. 9th to
10th. NOAA forecasters estimate a 30% chance of high-latitude
geomagnetic actvity.

Spaceweather.com  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Satellite View of "Snowmageddon"

Did you live through what has been called “snowmageddon” or
“snowpocalypse?” Here's a satellite's-eye view of the exceptionally
severe winter storm in the Eastern US that dropped several feet of snow
on Feb. 6 and 7. Reports of crashed and abandoned cars and hundreds of
cancelled flights were interspersed with stories of massive snowball
fights. The huge snowfall may hinder highway traffic into midweek, and
hundreds of thousands lost electricity. The image comes from the
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra
satellite. Snow blankets the area hundreds of kilometers inland from
the Atlantic coastline.
Click to continue…

Awesome Shot! STA Over the Launchpad

During the early morning countdown for the launch of space shuttle Endeavour today, it was back and forth, yes and no, red and
green, no and no-go. And all because of weather. As per standard
procedure, an astronaut flies the Shuttle Training Aircraft to monitor
weather conditions around the launchpad. Today it was especially
important in helping make the decision if the weather was acceptable
for launching the shuttle. Amazingly, photographer Romeo Durscher
captured this beautiful shot as astronaut Chris Ferguson flew the STA
right over launchpad 39A and shuttle Endeavour. Not only is the image
gorgeous in its own right, but it also captures a pivotal moment in the
launch countdown. The skies had just cleared of the low clouds that had
been drifting in and out of the area all night, clearing the way for a
spectacular night launch. This image and the memory of the fickle
weather will stay with me always. New desktop! Get a larger version here.
Durscher is with the Solar Dynamics Observatory- Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager instrument team,
and is looking forward to the upcoming launch of SDO on February 10th.

LAUNCH!

I am still shaking and still awestruck! I just witnessed my first rocket launch and my first space shuttle launch which also happens to be the last night launch for the
space shuttle program. It was absolutely the most amazing thing I have
ever witnessed. When the SRB's lit, night literally turned into day.
The shuttle moved silently upward until the sound wave reached — and
hit me — a couple of seconds later. I could feel the power of the
launch from 3 miles away. The crackling and popping was amazingly loud,
and the noise endured a very long time. So, so, so absolutely
incredible! I wish I could better relate the awesomeness of seeing a
shuttle launch! All I can say is that seeing the launch in person is
nothing like watching it on TV or on your computer screen. But, I've
embedded the video below, since I have run out or superlatives.
I was going to try and take a couple of pictures, but I ended up
instead taking NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden's advice to just suck
it up and enjoy the experience of the launch and not try to capture it
on film — just let the professionals do that. (And yes, Charlie, I
cried, too!) So the image above was taken by fellow journalist Rich
Yaeger who graciously shared his image with Universe Today. Thanks Rich! Check out Rich's blog.
Click to continue…

Astronomy For Kids: Orion – The Star Hunter

If you've been peeking out the windows at night, or maybe looked up
while walking the dog before bedtime or taking out the trash after
dinner, perhaps you've seen three fairly bright stars in a row. Depending on how early or late you look, you may see them
lined up side-by-side above the horizon, or they may be one on top the
other when they are setting to the west. If you've noticed them, you
wouldn't be the first… Humankind has been telling stories about this
set of stars for centuries! Click to continue…

Orion can Launch Safely in 2013 says Lockheed

(Editor's Note: Ken Kremer is in Florida for Universe Today covering the upcoming Endeavour launch attempt.)
“We can fly Orion in 2013”, says John Karas, the VP and General Manager of Human Space Flight for Lockheed Martin. Lockheed is the prime contractor for NASA’s Orion capsule.
“There is no doubt in my mind we can do this. And Orion is very
safe”. He strenuously repeated this statement to me several times with
absolutely no doubt in his mind during a wide ranging interview. I
spoke at length with Karas today (Feb. 6) at the NASA Press Center
shortly before the scheduled Feb. 7 launch of shuttle Endeavour on the
STS 130 mission to the ISS. Click to continue…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Current Moon Phase



Current Solar Data From NOAA


Astronomy Picture of the Day NASA  
 
February 9, 1954

Kevin Warwick
  Kevin Warwick Google Videos
Kevin Warwick is a British scientist and professor of cybernetics at
the University of Reading, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom. He is
best known for his studies on direct interfaces between computer
systems and the human nervous system, although he has done much
research in the field of robotics.
 
AUGMENTED REALITY
Augmented Reality Cosmetic Mirror in Tokyo   Vizworld - February 8, 2010  
All you do is sit down and let the camera scan your face ...
    - February 8, 2010  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
February 14, 2010

Chinese New Year - Year of the Tiger
White Tigers  Wikipedia


In China, the tiger is considered the king of all beasts and represents powerful energy. Further, the tiger is associated with Tsai Shen Yeh, the Chinese God of Wealth usually seen sitting on a tiger in Asian art.
Asian lore considers the tiger the protector of the dead, and will
often be seen in graves as a mark of protection, assuring peace for
those who have passed. Tigers are considered a yang energy, and are
also a solar animal which associates them with symbolisms of the sun,
summer and fire. In ancient Chinese myth there are five tigers that
hold the balance of cosmic forces in place and prevent chaos from
collapsing into the universe.
These five tigers are:

• White Tiger: ruler of the Fall season and governor of the Metal elementals


• Black Tiger: ruler of the Winter season and governor of the Water elementals


• Blue Tiger: ruler of the Spring season and governor of the Earth elementals


• Red Tiger: ruler of the Summer season and governor of the Fire elementals


• Yellow Tiger: the supreme ruler of all these tigers and symbolic of the Sun

Chinese animal symbolism of the tiger deals with (but is not limited to):

• Power


• Energy


• Royalty


• Protection


• Generosity


• Illumination


• Unpredictability

February 14, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day
Ancient Kissing Wasn't Just for Valentines   National Geographic
  Valentine's Day Rx: Four Future Love Drugs   National Geographic
Valentine's Day Facts: Gifts, History, and Love Science   National Geographic

The Romantic Evolution of True Love   Live Science

The Most Tragic Love Stories in History   Live Science

The Strangest Valentine's Day Stories   Live Science

Elephant Love Calls and Triangles Science Daily
Wildlife Salute Valentines Day Of Their Own Science Daily

Valentine's Day 'Zoorotica' tour offers glimpse into the sex lives of animals MSNBC
 
IRIS Seismic Monitor USGS Ongoing Updates and Links
 
GAY
Children Raised by Lesbians Do Just Fine, Studies Show   Live Science - February 8, 2010  
NATURAL WONDERS
The Most Awe-Inspiring Natural Wonders in America   Live Science - February 8, 2010