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Chile earthquake may have shortened days

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:09:59 +0000

Seventh strongest quake in recorded history may have shifted Earth’s axis
The massive 8.8 earthquake that struck Chile may have changed the entire Earth’s rotation and shortened the length of days on our planet, a NASA scientist said Monday.The quake, the seventh strongest earthquake in recorded history,hit Chile Saturday and should have shortened the length of an Earth day by 1.26 microseconds (millionths of a second), according to research scientist Richard Gross at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
“Perhaps more impressive is how much the quake shifted Earth’s axis,” NASA officials said in a Monday update.The computer model used by Gross and his colleagues to determine the effects of the Chile earthquake effect also found that it should have moved Earth’s figure axis by about 3 inches (8 centimeters or 2.7 milliarcseconds).
Earth’s figure axis is not the same as its north-south axis, which it
spins around once every day at a speed of about 1,000 mph (1,604 kilometers per hour). The figure axis is the axis around which Earth’s mass is balanced. It is offset from the Earth’s north-south axis by about 33 feet (10 meters).Strong earthquakes have altered Earth’s days and its axis in the past. The magnitude-9.1 Sumatran earthquake in 2004, which set off a deadly tsunami, should have shortened Earth’s
days by 6.8 microseconds and shifted its axis by about 2.76
inches (7 centimeters, or 2.32 milliarcseconds).
One Earth day is about 24 hours long. Over the course of a year, the length of a day normally changes gradually by one millisecond. It increases in the winter, when Earth rotates more slowly, and decreases in the summer, Gross has said in the past.The Chile earthquake was much smaller than the Sumatran temblor, but its effects on Earth’s figure axis were a bit larger because of its location. Its epicenter was located in the Earth’s mid-latitudes rather than near the equator like the Sumatran event.The fault responsible for the 2010 Chile quake also slices through Earth at a steeper angle than the Sumatran quake’s fault, NASA scientists said. “This makes the Chile fault more effective in moving Earth’s mass vertically and hence more effective in shifting Earth’s figure axis,” NASA officials said.Gross said his findings are based on early data available on the Chile earthquake. As more information about its characteristics are revealed, his prediction of its effects will likely change.The Chile earthquake has killed more than 700 people and caused widespread devastation in the South American country.
Several major telescopes in Chile’s Atacama Desert have escaped damage, according to the European Southern Observatory, which manages those facilities.

The Critically Complex World of Cars’ Sparky Bits

admin — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 19:04:35 +0000

The problems that Toyota has been having with its Prius and other models has put a spotlight on modern cars’ often complicated electrical systems. Many of a car’s functions that were once controlled by mechanical parts like rods and cables are today controlled with computers. When and if a car’s computer crashes, the car itself may be next.

Snowstorm paralyses Washington DC and eastern US

admin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:07:23 +0000

The storm knocked down power lines and left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity.Nearly 2ft (60cm) of snow had fallen by noon on Saturday in cities across the region, the Associated Press reports.The governors of Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland have declared states of emergency.West Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey are also affected. The National Weather Service declared a 24-hour blizzard warning for the Washington-Baltimore region until 2200 on Saturday (0300 GMT on Sunday).Most flights from the Washington-Baltimore area’s three main airports and Philadelphia International Airport have been cancelled.Hundreds of car accidents were reported, including two fatalities – a father and son who died while helping another motorist in Virginia.US national rail service Amtrak cancelled a number of trains between New York and Washington, and also between Washington and some southern destinations.Local weather forecasters said the Washington area could see its heaviest snowfall in 90 years.It comes less than two months after a December storm dumped more than 16in (41cm) of snow in Washington.
The usually traffic-heavy roads of the capital were deserted, while the city’s famous sites and monuments were covered with snow. The Washington Metro was operating only on underground lines, and bus services were cancelled.US government offices in the Washington area closed four hours early on Friday, while the Smithsonian museums and National Zoo were closed on Saturday.
Debi Adkins, who lives just outside the city of Baltimore, told the BBC: “The snow started at 1130 yesterday morning and it just hasn’t stopped… about 20 inches came overnight – and thunder and lightening.”I’m not going anywhere – I couldn’t if I wanted to. You just can’t get your cars out. The front door of the building I live in is closed shut, so I just can’t get out.”Ushaa Shyam Krishna in Chantilly, Virginia, said he – like many others – had stocked up on essential food items ahead of the storm.
“For the first few hours after the storm began, my daughter and I tried to shovel the snow, but now we have given up,” he said.”On Thursday the supermarkets were half empty – we went again yesterday and the shelves were totally empty.”

Nigeria’s ailing President Yar’Adua breaks silence

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 08:09:54 +0000

Nigeria’s president, not seen in public since going into hospital in Saudi Arabia for heart treatment in November, has told the BBC he is recovering.
In his first interview since then, by telephone, Umaru Yar’Adua said he hoped to make “tremendous progress” and return home to resume his duties.His long absence and speculation over his health has led to calls for him to hand over power to his vice-president.
The opposition plans a rally to demand details on the president’s health.
Doctors said in December that President Yar’Adua was suffering from acute pericarditis, an inflammation of the lining of the heart.He is also known to have kidney problems.

Al-Qaeda’s influence in Yemen

admin — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:48:58 +0000

BBC News – Jeremy Bowen – ‎1 hour ago‎
To get an idea of the state of mind of the men here in Yemen who run al-Qaeda in the Arabia peninsula, just take a look at what they said about the failed attack on the US airliner on Christmas Day.