Heavens

The small science of nanotechnology — which deals with objects so tiny that thousands would fit inside the period at the end of this sentence — is having a big impact in the construction industry, according to the cover story in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the American Chemical Society's weekly newsmagazine. Indeed, some experts believe that nanotechnology will revolutionize the industry, which builds, renovates, and repairs society's infrastructure.

Competing in races is the life of a runner. But, for sportspeople with sensory impairments, any race is one of obstacles. Tecnalia is working intensely on eliminating these obstacles.

The system involves a series of wireless-interconnected devices in order to facilitate the starts in time trials for persons with sensory disabilities and thus enable the athlete to have a reaction time equal to his or her competitors.

Since 1611, humans have recorded the comings and goings of black spots on the sun. The number of these sunspots wax and wane over approximately an 11-year cycle -- more sunspots generally mean more activity and eruptions on the sun and vice versa. The number of sunspots can change from cycle to cycle and 2008 saw the longest and weakest solar minimum since scientists have been monitoring the sun with space-based instruments.

A unique example of some of the lowest surface brightness galaxies in the universe have been found by an international team of astronomers lead by the Niels Bohr Institute. The galaxy has lower amounts of heavier elements than other known galaxies of this type. The discovery means that small low surface brightness galaxies may have more in common with the first galaxies formed shortly after the Big Bang than previously thought. The results have been published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Orbiting about 31 miles above the lunar surface, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft will get a "front-row seat" to the total lunar eclipse on June 15, says Noah Petro, Associate Project Scientist for LRO at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Some satellite images are striking and memorable, while others are just interesting. On June 10, NASA's Aqua satellite flew over Hurricane Adrian from space and sent a stunning image to the science team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Meanwhile a GOES-11 Satellite animation shows how and when Adrian fizzled.

Adrian is no more in the Eastern Pacific as of June 13, 2011, but the Aqua satellite image it left behind will be remembered this hurricane season.

The low pressure system called System 98A was renamed tropical depression 1A over the weekend, and its strengthening was short-lived, just as it appears on NASA satellite imagery.

NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Depression 1A on June 11 at 21:29 UTC (5:29 p.m. EDT) as it still sat off of India's west-central coast. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument did see some strong thunderstorms in the depression at that time, that brought heavy rainfall to region near the Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary National Park in Bhojde, Gujarat, India.

DARIEN, IL – Although a class schedule with later start times allows colleges students to get more sleep, it also gives them more time to stay out drinking at night. As a result, their grades are more likely to suffer, suggests a research abstract that will be presented Tuesday, June 14, in Minneapolis, Minn., at SLEEP 2011, the 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS).

What has made the Internet such a success could help change the way high-dollar and hazardous packages are tracked, according to Randy Walker of the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Tracking 2.0, an ORNL system being developed by a team led by Walker, provides a clear start to finish view as an item moves to its destination, thereby eliminating the problem of proprietary and often incompatible databases used by various shippers. The system is the culmination of many years of research.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The United States federal government supports many welfare and entitlement programs that attempt to eliminate poverty by providing financial assistance to families in need. Now, a researcher at the University of Missouri has found that requirements for some of these welfare programs can create stress on families, which can have a negative effect on young children.

DARIEN, IL - A Major League Baseball player's natural sleep preference might affect his batting average in day and night games, according to a research abstract that will be presented Monday, June 13, in Minneapolis, Minn., at SLEEP 2011, the 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS).

NASA's Dawn mission to the doughnut-shaped asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, which launched in September 2007, is now approaching Vesta, a protoplanet that is currently some 143 million miles from Earth. Many surprises are likely awaiting the spacecraft.

Cambridge, MA - In 1987, light from an exploding star in a neighboring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, reached Earth. Named Supernova 1987A, it was the closest supernova explosion witnessed in almost 400 years, allowing astronomers to study it in unprecedented detail as it evolves.

Today a team of astronomers announced that the supernova debris, which has faded over the years is now brightening. This shows that a different power source has begun to light the debris, and marks the transition from a supernova to a supernova remnant.

Tropical Depression 05W has grown into a tropical storm and given the name Sarika as it heads toward China. Satellite imagery from NASA shows that the center of the storm seems to be separated from the strongest thunderstorms.

Hurricane Adrian has been good at hiding his eye from satellite imagery over the last two days, but the latest Aqua and GOES-13 satellite imagery provides the best look at the eye, despite some overcast inside.

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite called GOES-11 captured a visible image of Major Hurricane Adrian on June 10 at 1601 UTC (12:01 p.m. EDT).The image, that shows the eye of the storm with some dense overcast in it, was made at the NASA GOES Project out of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. GOES-13 is managed by NOAA.