Astrophile: A-List black hole gets a face

Astrophile is our weekly column on curious cosmic objects, from the solar system to the far reaches of the multiverse

Object type: Black hole
Location: M87 galaxy, 50 million light years from Earth

Being photographed is pretty much a way of life for human celebrities. Not so astronomical ones. The most massive black hole ever measured, which lies at the heart of the galaxy M87, 50 million light years from Earth, is the closest thing we have to a celestial bigwig. Yet no picture of it, or any other black hole, has ever been snapped.

That's not just a problem for fans lusting after a pin-up. Seeing the shadow of a black hole would provide the first direct evidence that these bizarre objects really do exist. What's more, looking at the way light bends around the edges of the shadow could also turn up deviations from Einstein's theory of general relativity, the reigning theory of gravity that some physicists want to replace.

The trouble is not that black holes are invisible: as great absorbers of light, they should appear as a black spot when viewed against a bright background. Rather, all known black holes are too far away for ordinary telescopes to make out the shadow. However, plans are afoot to take a picture of a black hole using radio telescopes set far apart on Earth but which together act like a single huge telescope thousands of kilometres across.

In the meantime, Jason Dexter of the University of California in Berkeley and colleagues have created the next best thing ? the most realistic preview yet of what the black hole at the heart of M87 looks like. As well as putting a face on this A-list object, their simulations reveal details that suggest glimpsing M87's black hole for real may well be feasible.

Smeared jets

The team simulated how matter and light behave near M87's black hole. Unlike previous efforts, their calculations fully incorporated general relativity and the effects of powerful magnetic fields near the black hole.

They simulated the disc of gas and dust that is swirling around it as well as the powerful jet of electrically charged particles shooting into space from the black hole's vicinity.

Both the disc and jet emit radio waves. But rather than travelling in straight lines, the radio waves are bent by the black hole's powerful gravity, which acts a little bit like a lens.

This would radically distort the appearance of the disc and jet in radio images, the researchers found, smearing them to make a bright crescent surrounding the dark shadow of the black hole.

In a real image, the existence of this shadow would provide direct evidence for an event horizon, the defining feature of a black hole. Once light, or anything else, passes inside this boundary, it can never escape.

Target: M87

The simulations suggest the black hole's shadow should be observable with telescopes that researchers are planning to link up for this purpose. The researchers concluded this from calculations of the shadow's size and the size of the smallest details discernable by such linked telescopes.

With a mass that was recently revised upwards to 6.4 billion times that of the sun, M87's black hole seems like an ideal photographic target, because its shadow should look relatively large in the sky.

Though the black hole at the heart of our own galaxy would appear slightly larger because it is so much closer, M87's position in the sky means it is easier to observe using some of the best radio telescopes. Its black hole could well be the first to be seen directly.

These images will be the next best thing to actually travelling across the event horizon into a black hole ? an experience that has been simulated but will remain forever in the realms of science fiction.

Journal reference: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.20409.x

Read previous Astrophile columns: Pinball planets get wild, deadly ride, Picture yourself on a sandboard on Titan, How to spot a dark-matter galaxy , Glimpse elusive matter in shattering star, Cool echoes from galaxy's biggest star, Stopped clocks deepen pulsar enigmas, Wounded galaxy is crux of cosmic whodunnit, Did comet killing spark Christmas light show?, Blinged-out stars were born rich, Supercritical water world does somersaults, Attack of the mystery green blobs, Undead stars rise again as supernovae, The sticky star cluster that's mostly black hole.

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

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Romney battles Santorum, Paul in GOP caucuses (AP)

ST. CHARLES, Mo. ? Republican front-runner Mitt Romney battled Rick Santorum and Ron Paul on Tuesday in political caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado, hoping to extend his winning streak in the race for the presidential nomination.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich mounted no significant campaign in either state, looking ahead to primaries elsewhere.

Romney prevailed in both Minnesota and Colorado in 2008, the first time he ran for the nomination, but the GOP has become more conservative in both states since then under the influence of tea party activists.

There were 37 Republican National Convention delegates at stake in Minnesota and 33 more in Colorado.

In addition, Missouri held a non-binding primary on Tuesday. The state picks its delegates at caucuses next month.

Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, campaigned aggressively in all three states, seeking a breakthrough to revitalize a campaign that has struggled since his narrow first-place finish in the Iowa caucuses a month ago.

Paul, a Texas lawmaker, has yet to win a primary or caucus.

Romney began the day the leader in the delegate chase, with 101 of the 1,144 needed to capture the nomination at the Republican National Convention this summer in Tampa. Gingrich had 32, Santorum 17 and Paul nine.

Taken together, the number of delegates at stake Tuesday was the largest one-day total yet in the Republican race to pick a rival for President Barack Obama. Even so, the campaigning was a pale comparison to the Iowa caucuses or primaries last month in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida.

Television advertising was sparse; neither Colorado nor Minnesota hosted a candidates' debate, and there was relatively little campaigning by the contenders themselves until the past few days.

The same was true in last weekend's Nevada caucuses, which Romney won on the heels of a Florida primary victory days earlier. The same pattern holds in Maine, where caucuses finish on Saturday.

Not until primaries in Michigan and Arizona on Feb. 28 is the campaign likely to regain the intensity that characterized the first few weeks of the year. Then it roars back to life with a 10-state Super Tuesday on March 6 with 416 convention delegates at stake.

Santorum, in particular, hoped to seize the relative lull to redeem the promise of his Iowa victory.

He campaigned more aggressively this week than any of the other contenders, and he spent the day hopscotching from Colorado to Minnesota to Missouri in hopes of nailing down a victory in one of the states. Touting himself as a true conservative ? a slap at Gingrich ? he sought to undermine Romney's electability claim at the same time by predicting the former Massachusetts governor would lose to Obama.

Romney responded by assailing Santorum as an advocate of congressional earmarks ? shifting the criticism he had leveled at Gingrich when the Georgian seemed a more imposing threat.

In the hours before the caucuses convened, the front-runner sought to lower expectations.

"Mitt Romney is not going to win every contest," Rich Beeson, the campaign's political director, wrote in a memo for public consumption.

"John McCain lost 19 states in 2008, and we expect our opponents will notch a few wins, too," Beeson wrote. McCain, the Arizona senator, won the Republican nomination four years ago.

In fact, Colorado and Minnesota were among the states that McCain failed to win, and he lost them to Romney.

In the four years since, the GOP has become more conservative in both. That posed a challenge for Romney, who runs as the Republican most likely to defeat Obama and is still trying to establish his credentials among tea party activists suspicious of a one-time moderate who backed abortion rights.

Two years ago in Minnesota, establishment candidates for governor were swept aside in the primary, and tea party-backed insurgents for governor and the Senate in Colorado won the party nominations.

In all three cases, Democrats won in the general election that fall.

Gingrich spent the day campaigning in Ohio, one of the primary states on March 6.

His campaign went into a downward spiral after he won the South Carolina primary in an upset. The former speaker was routed in the Florida primary to Romney, then finished a distant second in Nevada over the weekend.

___

David Espo reported from Washington.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120207/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

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UBC researchers use Google Earth to verify Mediterranean fish farming data

Public release date: 8-Feb-2012
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Contact: Jennifer Jacquet
j.jacquet@fisheries.ubc.ca
740-507-7339
University of British Columbia

The Great Wall of China is not the only thing you can see from space. Fish farming cages are clearly visible through Google Earth's satellite images and University of British Columbia researchers have used them to estimate the amount of fish being cultivated in the Mediterranean.

The study, published today in the online journal PLoS ONE, is the first to estimate seafood production using satellite imagery.

"Our colleagues have repeatedly shown that accurate reporting of wild-caught fish has been a problem, and we wondered whether there might be similar issues for fish farming," says lead author Pablo Trujillo, an Oceans Science Advisor for Greenpeace International, who conducted the study while a research assistant at the UBC Fisheries Centre.

"We chose the Mediterranean because it had excellent satellite coverage and because it was of personal interest," says Chiara Piroddi, co-author and an ecosystem modeler at the UBC Fisheries Centre. "We hand counted 20,976 finfish cages and 248 tuna cages, which you can differentiate due to their extremely large size each tuna cage measured at more than 40 metres across."

Almost half the cages were located off the coast of Greece and nearly one-third off of Turkey and both countries appear to underreport their farmed fish production. The researchers note that not all areas had full satellite coverage for instance, images were missing for large portions of the coasts of France and Israel, for reasons the authors do not fully understand.

Combining cage counts with available information on cage volume, fish density, harvest rates, and seasonal capacity, the research team estimated ocean finfish production for 16 Mediterranean countries at 225,736 tonnes (excluding tuna). The estimate corresponded with government reports for the region, suggesting that, while there are discrepancies at the level of individual countries, overall, the Mediterranean countries are giving accurate counts.

"The results are reassuring, and the methods are inspiring," says co-author Jennifer Jacquet, a post-doctoral researcher with UBC's Sea Around Us Project. "This shows the promise of Google Earth for collecting and verifying data, which means a few trained scientists can use a freely available program to fact-check governments and other large institutions."

Trujillo adds that Google Earth, with its high-resolution images and consistent time series, can be a powerful tool for scientists and non-governmental organizations to monitor activities related to ocean zoning and capture fisheries.

###

The University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre, in the College for Interdisciplinary Studies, undertakes research to restore fisheries, conserve aquatic life and rebuild ecosystems. It promotes multidisciplinary study of aquatic ecosystems and broad-based collaboration with maritime communities, government, NGOs and other partners. The UBC Fisheries Centre is recognized globally for its innovative and enterprising research, with its academics winning many accolades and awards. For more information, visit www.fisheries.ubc.ca and www.cfis.ubc.ca.

CONTENT:
Jennifer Jacquet
UBC Fisheries Centre
Cell: 740.507.7339
E-mail: j.jacquet@fisheries.ubc.ca

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 8-Feb-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Jennifer Jacquet
j.jacquet@fisheries.ubc.ca
740-507-7339
University of British Columbia

The Great Wall of China is not the only thing you can see from space. Fish farming cages are clearly visible through Google Earth's satellite images and University of British Columbia researchers have used them to estimate the amount of fish being cultivated in the Mediterranean.

The study, published today in the online journal PLoS ONE, is the first to estimate seafood production using satellite imagery.

"Our colleagues have repeatedly shown that accurate reporting of wild-caught fish has been a problem, and we wondered whether there might be similar issues for fish farming," says lead author Pablo Trujillo, an Oceans Science Advisor for Greenpeace International, who conducted the study while a research assistant at the UBC Fisheries Centre.

"We chose the Mediterranean because it had excellent satellite coverage and because it was of personal interest," says Chiara Piroddi, co-author and an ecosystem modeler at the UBC Fisheries Centre. "We hand counted 20,976 finfish cages and 248 tuna cages, which you can differentiate due to their extremely large size each tuna cage measured at more than 40 metres across."

Almost half the cages were located off the coast of Greece and nearly one-third off of Turkey and both countries appear to underreport their farmed fish production. The researchers note that not all areas had full satellite coverage for instance, images were missing for large portions of the coasts of France and Israel, for reasons the authors do not fully understand.

Combining cage counts with available information on cage volume, fish density, harvest rates, and seasonal capacity, the research team estimated ocean finfish production for 16 Mediterranean countries at 225,736 tonnes (excluding tuna). The estimate corresponded with government reports for the region, suggesting that, while there are discrepancies at the level of individual countries, overall, the Mediterranean countries are giving accurate counts.

"The results are reassuring, and the methods are inspiring," says co-author Jennifer Jacquet, a post-doctoral researcher with UBC's Sea Around Us Project. "This shows the promise of Google Earth for collecting and verifying data, which means a few trained scientists can use a freely available program to fact-check governments and other large institutions."

Trujillo adds that Google Earth, with its high-resolution images and consistent time series, can be a powerful tool for scientists and non-governmental organizations to monitor activities related to ocean zoning and capture fisheries.

###

The University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre, in the College for Interdisciplinary Studies, undertakes research to restore fisheries, conserve aquatic life and rebuild ecosystems. It promotes multidisciplinary study of aquatic ecosystems and broad-based collaboration with maritime communities, government, NGOs and other partners. The UBC Fisheries Centre is recognized globally for its innovative and enterprising research, with its academics winning many accolades and awards. For more information, visit www.fisheries.ubc.ca and www.cfis.ubc.ca.

CONTENT:
Jennifer Jacquet
UBC Fisheries Centre
Cell: 740.507.7339
E-mail: j.jacquet@fisheries.ubc.ca

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-02/uobc-uru020712.php

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Oracle rejects $272M SAP award, demands new trial

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Business software maker Oracle Corp. has turned down $272 million in court-ordered damages from SAP AG in hopes of leaving a much bigger dent in its rival's pocketbook and reputation during a second trial over allegations of corporate theft.

The decision to extend the 5-year-old legal brawl had been expected since September. That's when a federal judge lowered a $1.3 billion verdict awarded to Oracle by a jury that sat through a three-week trial filled with evidence depicting Germany's SAP as a high-tech bandit. U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton lopped more than $1 billion from the jury's award after concluding it was "grossly excessive."

Oracle demanded the new trial in a Monday court filing.

In doing so, Oracle will try to prove the jury got it right the first time while getting another chance to sully SAP.

"We are disappointed that Oracle has passed up yet another opportunity to resolve this case," SAP spokesman James Dever said Tuesday. "We will work to bring this case to a fair and reasonable end."

Oracle, which is based in Redwood Shores, California, declined to comment.

The case revolves around SAP's $10 million acquisition of a small software services firm TomorrowNow that had promised to help corporate customers and government agencies maintain the applications that they had purchased from Oracle.

After SAP took over TomorrowNow in 2005, Oracle uncovered evidence that TomorrowNow was breaking into Oracle's computers to steal instruction manuals and other technical information about copyrighted software.

SAP acknowledged much of the misconduct before the first trial began in 2010, but argued it shouldn't be penalized severely because it didn't gain that much from the stolen data. SAP estimated it picked up about $40 million in revenue from the skullduggery, prompting it to set aside $160 million for the damages that it thought it might have to pay.

Signaling it wanted much more money, Oracle seized on the first trial as a bully pulpit for protecting software copyrights. Oracle also sought to implicate some of SAP's top executives, It unsuccessfully tried to subpoena SAP's former top sales executive, Leo Apotheker, to testify about his knowledge about TomorrowNow's shady tactics. By that time, Apotheker had started an 11-month stint as CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co., giving Oracle a chance to use the first trial as a platform for tainting another rival.

Oracle is dueling with Hewlett-Packard in another legal battle in a California state court. That case, revolving around Oracle's decision to stop making software for HP systems that rely on a line of Intel Corp. microprocessors, is scheduled to go to trial in April.

Oracle shares fell 7 cents to $28.93 in afternoon trading Tuesday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-02-07-Oracle-SAP/id-ff7533a752cd4991b447479f9d86926f

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Explore the Deep Blue at the Phuket Marine Biological Centre ...

Post by Pushpitha Wijesinghe

Nestled on idyllic Phuket island lies a grand institution devoted to studying and preserving its rich marine life heritage. This enclave devoted to the ocean?s most gorgeous inhabitants is a ought to-see for all marine life enthusiasts.

Ideally located inside 10km from the heart of Phuket town lies a renowned institution and investigation centre dedicated to the preservation of the island?s resplendent aquatic ecosystems and its vibrant inhabitants. Spread out more than an expansive region of 8.4 hectares the a single of a sort Phuket Marine Biological Centre sits on the scenic Laem Panwa promontory.

With the stated purpose of researching the diversity of marine animals and coastal flora and fauna in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea the centre hopes to understand the connection amongst the locale?s oceanography and the ill-effects of the pollution and destruction of coral reefs, mangroves and sea grass beds to aid create actions to combat the outcomes. In raising awareness on the problems by means of its education and visitor initiatives the centre hopes to encourage public participation in this conservation endeavour and resource management with both local and international collaboration. Separated into six sections the Marine Biological Centre is mainly divided into the units dubbed Marine Biology and Ecology, Marine and Coastal Resource Exploration, Marine and Coastal Resource Production and Assessment, Marine Endangered Species, Oceanography and Surroundings and the Reference Collection and Aquarium.

Highlights include the Marine Endangered Species Unit which explores the population characteristics of numerous marine creatures such as whales, sea turtles and dugongs and their survival rates in the Andaman Sea even though the Reference Collection and Aquarium section examines the behavioral patterns of captive marine organisms and their breeding habits. The Marine and Coastal Resource Production and Assessment sector on the other hand delves into the food chains and algal growths prevalent in the area as properly as phenomena such as the red tide.

The Marine and Coastal Resource Exploration region deals with coastal resources and their impact on the abundance, size and prevalence of specified species. Study is also conducted to develop technologies to aid and rehabilitate broken coastal habitats. The Marine Biology and Ecology unit is yet another point of interest as it explores ecosystems in sea grass beds, beaches, estuaries and coral reefs and their impact on the population of different marine creatures.

Guests desiring a luxurious 5 star Patong beach resort will be pleased with the Millennium Resort Patong Phuket. Perfectly located on one of the island?s most pristine beaches this resplendent Phuket resort also provides guests each beachside and lakeside living spaces.

Source: http://marine-biology-salary.com/explore-the-deep-blue-at-the-phuket-marine-biological-centre/

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The value of Humor and Funny Pictures

Humor is a really much important include people?s lives. Jokes and funny pictures might make humans laugh. It?s always interesting that only humans have capacity laugh, along with make others laugh.

Great why people laugh? In accordance with some researches people laugh every time they see an item that is strange, odd or contradictory. Often a joint of humor or possibly a joke makes fun of your person. If that?s so humor tend to make other individuals feel much better mainly because they feel they are not that weak or bad. Humor has a great opportunity to get people to watch a new angel within the situation. A number of times humorists and satirists use humor to share their feelings that otherwise they find not easy to convey without assistance of humor (check this out funny pictures). It?s correct a large number of time people say harsh truth during the garb from a joke or satire. If someone makes someone see his wrong points in humorous way he will not mind. Though the same man may mind it should you show him his bad pints without having any make use of humor.

Humans likewise require humor to share their inner felt feelings that otherwise may very well be deeded as politically incorrect. The civil society has this practice of always being proper and youngsters are taught to continually obey elders and respect everyone. However, the best working life is packed with idiots and not-so-nice people. You cannot you should be nice around with them. Humor comes handy if so whilst you express your disapproval of them without seeming rude.

In new age, there are lots of practitioners of your art of humor. Comedians in films and dramas are hugely popular with regards to reach and touching upon the humor which happens to be element of the lifetime of the end man. One can find satire writers who express their disapproval of the the community in written words. Like, Rudyard Kipling?s famous book Animal Farm is a satire on your civil society. Cartoonists may also be great practitioners of humor as they quite simply show view of employment using humor and drawing. A totally new medium from the Internet has given common people chance to access and also this camera pieces of humor, including funny pictures.

Find a number of the funniest photographs from around the world at Funny Photos. Updated daily for your enjoyment 2dumb.com

Source: http://freebestarticles.net/the-value-of-humor-and-funny-pictures.html

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Roseanne announces 2012 W.H. run (Politico)

This might be good for a few laughs.

Comedian Roseanne Barr announced Thursday on Twitter that she was running for the Green Party nomination for president of the United States.

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?I am running for Green Party nominee for POTUS. I am an official candidate. I am4 the Greening of America&the world. Green=peace/justice,? she wrote on Twitter.

It appeared that Barr was hoping to utilize the language and themes recently adopted by the Occupy Wall Street protests.

?The Democrats and Republicans have proven that they are servants ? bought and paid for by the 1% ? who are not doing what?s in the best interest of the American people,? Barr said in announcing that she had filed paperwork for the nomination, according to the AP.

The Green Party?s nominee will be selected at the party?s convention in Baltimore in July.

This may be part of a joke: a 2010 post on Barr?s website said that she was running for ?President of the US/Prime Minister of Israel.?

Barr stared in the sitcom ?Roseanne? from 1988 to 1997, picking up an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for her performances.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories0212_72407_html/44403575/SIG=11mnlpoqr/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/72407.html

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