Friday, October 5, 2012
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Hailstone!!
Here are some shots for the icy day yesterday:
What is hail? (Ref: http://weather.about.com/od/h/g/hail.htm)
Definition: Hail is a form of precipitation that falls from the sky as pellets of ice. The pellets can range in size from small pea-sized pellets, to hailstones as large as grapefruits. Hail is especially damaging to crops. In the central US, where many hail storms are reported each year, delicate wheats and other crops are often ruined. Annually, hail can cause over 1 billion dollars in damages.
How Does Hail Form?
Hail forms as a result of the strong updrafts common in severe weather systems. When a strong convective cell forms, warm air rises and cool air sinks. If there is a sufficient amount of supercooled water, accumulation of ice can begin in the clouds.
Rising air will often reach a point in the atmosphere that is below freezing (hence, ice will form). The ice is suspended in the air by the strong updrafts and will later fall back down. This process will occur over and over adding layer upon layer to the hailstone. If you cut a hailstone in half, you would see alternating concentric layers inside it. As the hail falls, it may melt to varying degrees only to be picked up again and carried high into the atmosphere to re-freeze. Therefore, very large hailstones form with many repeated cycles.
What is the Largest Hailstone Found
Many states have records for the largest hailstones. Nationally, the largest hailstone on record based on diameter and circumference was found in Aurora, Nebraska on June 22, 2003.
What are the Dangers of Hail?
The formation of hail means there is usually a severe thunderstorm. A severe thunderstorm is the precursor of tornadoes and should be closely monitored.
- Posted by Ecomel from my iPad
Monday, September 24, 2012
Indentify trees with smartphone.. So smart indeed!
(Ref: http://earthsky.org/earth/now-you-can-identify-trees-with-your-smartphone)
Now you can identify trees with your smartphone
As summer turns into autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, our attention often drifts to trees and their changing colors. From what we hear via social media today, the leaves are just beginning to change in parts of the U.S. and elsewhere in this hemisphere. No matter what the season, you can now take advantage of an electronic field guide that makes it easier than ever to identify the trees you’re looking at with your smartphone. The free mobile application application is called Leafsnap, and it uses visual recognition software to identify tree species from photographs of leaves that users upload to their phones.
Leafsnap was developed in 2011 by scientists from Columbia University, the University of Maryland and the Smithsonian Institution. The idea for the application came from Peter Belhumeur of Columbia University and David Jacobs of the University of Maryland, who work in the field of Computer Science. They realized that facial recognition software might also be useful for identifying non-human species, and they collaborated with John Kress, Chief Botanist at the Smithsonian Institution, to design one of the first electronic field guide for trees.
Weather Channel’s fall foliage maps and drives
Leaves are beginning to change along this Pennsylvania roadway, and in other parts of the Northern Hemisphere, in late September, 2012. This image is from September 19, 2012 via EarthSky Facebook friend Carla Fink.
Autumn leaves. Image Credit: Jenny Downing via Flickr.
With Leafsnap, users can take a photograph of a leaf placed on a white background and upload the image to a database that uses visual recognition software to identify potential matches for the tree species. After browsing through high-resolution images of leaves, flowers, fruit, petioles (the stalk that joins a leaf to the stem), seeds and bark, users can select the correct species match and start to build their own electronic collection of trees that they’ve observed.
According to the Leafsnap website:
Leafsnap turns users into citizen scientists, automatically sharing images, species identifications, and geo-coded stamps of species locations with a community of scientists who will use the stream of data to map and monitor the ebb and flow of flora nationwide.
Currently, Leafsnap can only identify trees that occur in the northeastern United States. However, the Leafsnap program eventually plans to expand the application to include all trees that grow in other regions of the United States as well. If you don’t live in the northeastern United States, you can still start using the application today by browsing through Leafsnap’s encyclopedia of species to identify trees such as quaking aspen and weeping willows that have a large habitat range. Leafsnap also contains two games aimed at improving environmental education.
Autumn leaves. Image Credit: Jenny Downing via Flickr.
With Leafsnap, users can take a photograph of a leaf placed on a white background and upload the image to a database that uses visual recognition software to identify potential matches for the tree species. After browsing through high-resolution images of leaves, flowers, fruit, petioles (the stalk that joins a leaf to the stem), seeds and bark, users can select the correct species match and start to build their own electronic collection of trees that they’ve observed.
According to the Leafsnap website:
Leafsnap turns users into citizen scientists, automatically sharing images, species identifications, and geo-coded stamps of species locations with a community of scientists who will use the stream of data to map and monitor the ebb and flow of flora nationwide.
Currently, Leafsnap can only identify trees that occur in the northeastern United States. However, the Leafsnap program eventually plans to expand the application to include all trees that grow in other regions of the United States as well. If you don’t live in the northeastern United States, you can still start using the application today by browsing through Leafsnap’s encyclopedia of species to identify trees such as quaking aspen and weeping willows that have a large habitat range. Leafsnap also contains two games aimed at improving environmental education.
Structure of a leaf. Image Credit: University of Missouri.
Funding for the development of Leafsnap was provided by in part by a National Science Foundation Grant titled “An electronic field guide: plant exploration and discovery in the 21st century” and the Washington Biologists’ Field Club.
The Leafsnap application is currently available for the iphone and ipad. A version of the application for Android phones is under development.
The Smithsonian Institution has created an excellent video showing Leafsnap in action that you can view here.
Bottom line: Scientists have developed an electronic field guide that makes it easier than ever to identify what trees you’re looking at with a free mobile application for your smartphone. The application, called Leafsnap, uses visual recognition software to identify tree species from photographs of leaves that users upload to their phones. Leafsnap was developed in 2011 by scientists from Columbia University, the University of Maryland and the Smithsonian Institution.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
As summer turns into autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, our attention often drifts to trees and their changing colors. From what we hear via social media today, the leaves are just beginning to change in parts of the U.S. and elsewhere in this hemisphere. No matter what the season, you can now take advantage of an electronic field guide that makes it easier than ever to identify the trees you’re looking at with your smartphone. The free mobile application application is called Leafsnap, and it uses visual recognition software to identify tree species from photographs of leaves that users upload to their phones.
Leafsnap was developed in 2011 by scientists from Columbia University, the University of Maryland and the Smithsonian Institution. The idea for the application came from Peter Belhumeur of Columbia University and David Jacobs of the University of Maryland, who work in the field of Computer Science. They realized that facial recognition software might also be useful for identifying non-human species, and they collaborated with John Kress, Chief Botanist at the Smithsonian Institution, to design one of the first electronic field guide for trees.
Weather Channel’s fall foliage maps and drives
Leaves are beginning to change along this Pennsylvania roadway, and in other parts of the Northern Hemisphere, in late September, 2012. This image is from September 19, 2012 via EarthSky Facebook friend Carla Fink.
Autumn leaves. Image Credit: Jenny Downing via Flickr.
With Leafsnap, users can take a photograph of a leaf placed on a white background and upload the image to a database that uses visual recognition software to identify potential matches for the tree species. After browsing through high-resolution images of leaves, flowers, fruit, petioles (the stalk that joins a leaf to the stem), seeds and bark, users can select the correct species match and start to build their own electronic collection of trees that they’ve observed.
According to the Leafsnap website:
Leafsnap turns users into citizen scientists, automatically sharing images, species identifications, and geo-coded stamps of species locations with a community of scientists who will use the stream of data to map and monitor the ebb and flow of flora nationwide.
Currently, Leafsnap can only identify trees that occur in the northeastern United States. However, the Leafsnap program eventually plans to expand the application to include all trees that grow in other regions of the United States as well. If you don’t live in the northeastern United States, you can still start using the application today by browsing through Leafsnap’s encyclopedia of species to identify trees such as quaking aspen and weeping willows that have a large habitat range. Leafsnap also contains two games aimed at improving environmental education.
Autumn leaves. Image Credit: Jenny Downing via Flickr.
With Leafsnap, users can take a photograph of a leaf placed on a white background and upload the image to a database that uses visual recognition software to identify potential matches for the tree species. After browsing through high-resolution images of leaves, flowers, fruit, petioles (the stalk that joins a leaf to the stem), seeds and bark, users can select the correct species match and start to build their own electronic collection of trees that they’ve observed.
According to the Leafsnap website:
Leafsnap turns users into citizen scientists, automatically sharing images, species identifications, and geo-coded stamps of species locations with a community of scientists who will use the stream of data to map and monitor the ebb and flow of flora nationwide.
Currently, Leafsnap can only identify trees that occur in the northeastern United States. However, the Leafsnap program eventually plans to expand the application to include all trees that grow in other regions of the United States as well. If you don’t live in the northeastern United States, you can still start using the application today by browsing through Leafsnap’s encyclopedia of species to identify trees such as quaking aspen and weeping willows that have a large habitat range. Leafsnap also contains two games aimed at improving environmental education.
Structure of a leaf. Image Credit: University of Missouri.
Funding for the development of Leafsnap was provided by in part by a National Science Foundation Grant titled “An electronic field guide: plant exploration and discovery in the 21st century” and the Washington Biologists’ Field Club.
The Leafsnap application is currently available for the iphone and ipad. A version of the application for Android phones is under development.
The Smithsonian Institution has created an excellent video showing Leafsnap in action that you can view here.
Bottom line: Scientists have developed an electronic field guide that makes it easier than ever to identify what trees you’re looking at with a free mobile application for your smartphone. The application, called Leafsnap, uses visual recognition software to identify tree species from photographs of leaves that users upload to their phones. Leafsnap was developed in 2011 by scientists from Columbia University, the University of Maryland and the Smithsonian Institution.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Earth in Mars' Sky.. Awesome!!
Earth in Mars’ sky
I ran into this image recently and had to post it here for you to see. Isn’t it awesome? It’s Earth as seen in Mars’ sky by the rover Spirit on March 8, 2004. This is Mars’ sunrise sky. Earth has risen into view just before the Martian dawn.
Earth in Mars’ sky on March 8, 2004, as seen by NASA’s Mars rover Spirit. Make larger. Thanks to: NASA Goddard Photo and Video on Flickr. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/Texas A&M
NASA says it’s an historic image, the first-ever image of Earth from the surface of a planet beyond our own Earth-moon system. The Mars rover Spirit captured this image one hour before sunrise on the 63rd Martian day, or sol, of its mission on March 8, 2004. Here’s what NASA has to say about this image:
The image is a mosaic of images taken by the rover’s navigation camera showing a broad view of the sky, and an image taken by the rover’s panoramic camera of Earth. The contrast in the panoramic camera image was increased two times to make Earth easier to see.The inset shows a combination of four panoramic camera images zoomed in on Earth. The arrow points to Earth. Earth was too faint to be detected in images taken with the panoramic camera’s color filters.
By the way, you can see Mars in nearly this same position in Earth’s sky now – nearly drowned in the glare of the nearby sun that sustains both Earth and Mars – except that Mars in Earth’s sky is visible in the evening now, instead of before dawn. Mars is tough to spot from Earth’s Northern Hemisphere now, but easier from the southern part of Earth’s globe. Still, I’ll bet you can spot it if your sky is clear! To learn how to spot Mars in late September 2012, click here.
Bottom line: Earth seen in Mars’ sky by the Mars rover Spirit on March 8, 2004. This is the first image of Earth taken from the surface of a world beyond our Earth-moon system. Awesome!
(source: earthsky)
- Posted by Ecomel from my iPad
I ran into this image recently and had to post it here for you to see. Isn’t it awesome? It’s Earth as seen in Mars’ sky by the rover Spirit on March 8, 2004. This is Mars’ sunrise sky. Earth has risen into view just before the Martian dawn.
Earth in Mars’ sky on March 8, 2004, as seen by NASA’s Mars rover Spirit. Make larger. Thanks to: NASA Goddard Photo and Video on Flickr. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/Texas A&M
NASA says it’s an historic image, the first-ever image of Earth from the surface of a planet beyond our own Earth-moon system. The Mars rover Spirit captured this image one hour before sunrise on the 63rd Martian day, or sol, of its mission on March 8, 2004. Here’s what NASA has to say about this image:
The image is a mosaic of images taken by the rover’s navigation camera showing a broad view of the sky, and an image taken by the rover’s panoramic camera of Earth. The contrast in the panoramic camera image was increased two times to make Earth easier to see.The inset shows a combination of four panoramic camera images zoomed in on Earth. The arrow points to Earth. Earth was too faint to be detected in images taken with the panoramic camera’s color filters.
By the way, you can see Mars in nearly this same position in Earth’s sky now – nearly drowned in the glare of the nearby sun that sustains both Earth and Mars – except that Mars in Earth’s sky is visible in the evening now, instead of before dawn. Mars is tough to spot from Earth’s Northern Hemisphere now, but easier from the southern part of Earth’s globe. Still, I’ll bet you can spot it if your sky is clear! To learn how to spot Mars in late September 2012, click here.
Bottom line: Earth seen in Mars’ sky by the Mars rover Spirit on March 8, 2004. This is the first image of Earth taken from the surface of a world beyond our Earth-moon system. Awesome!
(source: earthsky)
- Posted by Ecomel from my iPad
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