Hubble Photographs Jupiter Impact Site

Space Weather News for June 16, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

HUBBLE SEEKS DEBRIS, FINDS NONE: Even the Hubble Space Telescope cannot find any debris where a meteoroid apparently hit Jupiter on June 3rd. Today, researchers released new HST images of the impact site, which show nothing but uninterrupted clouds. The non-detection is consistent with a relatively small asteroid or comet fragment making a shallow strike in Jupiter's high atmosphere. Links to photos and more information may be found at http://spaceweather.com

NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS:  Observers in Europe are reporting brightening displays of noctilucent clouds (NLCs).  That's to be expected.  Late spring and early summer often bring the strongest displays of these electric-blue clouds wafting across the top of Earth's atmosphere.  Visit today's edition of http://spaceweather.com for photos, observing tips--and a possible connection between NLCs and sunspots.

 

Thoughtful, Impactful Father's Day Gift Ideas + Free Shipping

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Dear Supporter,

Last minute doesn't mean less thoughtful: Father's Day is right around the corner, and if you haven't snapped up the perfect gift yet, we can help. Shop for dear old Dad today and find an untraditional, no-ship gift that's sure to please. Our Gifts That Give More™ department is full of great ways to honor all the Fathers in your life while helping to support a cause that is close to his heart (and yours!).

For as little as $10, you can purchase our Give Books to U.S. Children in Need Gift That Gives More™. This donation will support the work of First Book, a non-profit organization with a single mission to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books. Through Gifts like these, First Book has provided more than 50 million new books to children in need!

Each of these direct donation opportunities come with a full-color pdf that you can print for your recipient; all are 100% tax-deductible in the U.S.; and, all are a truly unique way to give twice--once to your gift recipient and once to the cause! Click here to view all these amazing Gifts.

Done with your Father's Day shopping? Find great deals for yourself and save with free standard shipping on your $20 U.S. or $50 international order! Hurry: This offer ends at the stroke of midnight on Wednesday, June 16th.

Thank you for supporting the causes you and your family care about.

Sincerely,

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MNN Daily Briefing: Dolphin Diplomacy

Good morning! And welcome to the Daily Briefing for the weekend of June 12. To stay on top of Earth-friendly news all day, visit us at Mother Nature Network. BP PHONE HOME: Saturday's U.S.-U.K. World Cup soccer match isn't the only trans-Atlantic grudge match playing out this weekend. As Americans' anger over the Gulf oil spill grows, it has begun stirring a backlash in Britain, the birthplace and home base of the multinational company once known as "British Petroleum." Many indignant Britons are suddenly struggling to keep their upper lips stiff, fuming over what they see as mean-spirited U.S. critiques of BP, a major British taxpayer and pension-fund contributor. London Mayor Boris Johnson said Thursday he was concerned about "anti-British rhetoric" and "name-calling" from U.S. politicians, warning that "it starts to become a matter of national concern if a great British company is being continually beaten up on the airwaves." Such defensiveness is largely a response to growing pressure on BP from the Obama administration, which is pushing the company to repay oil-rig workers' lost wages on top of cleanup costs, and is also conducting a criminal investigation into what caused the spill. BP's market value has plunged at least 50 percent since the spill began, and the escalating outrage has even raised questions of whether the company should withhold stock dividends until the scope of devastation is better understood. Americans may find it appropriate for BP to avoid paying billions to shareholders while people and animals suffer throughout the Gulf Coast, but the idea still irks people like George Osborne, the U.K.'s finance minister, who says it's important to remember "the economic value BP brings to people in Britain and America." Osborne and other BP apologists, however, have been much quieter about the importance of another great asset that's in even worse shape than BP - the Gulf of Mexico. (Sources: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Reuters) DOLPHIN DIPLOMACY: It may not help them survive the Gulf oil spill, but a new study has discovered that bottlenose dolphins are apparently master diplomats, capable of defusing fights with a few subtle clicks and squeaks. Marine biologists have long believed these mammals mainly rely on whistling to communicate, but Italian researchers based at Sardinia's Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute have now shown the importance of another, little-known tool in the dolphin vocabulary: "burst-pulsed sounds." On top of complementing dolphins' other vocalizations, which already help them navigate highly complex social communities, burst-pulsed sounds also serve a variety of other purposes, the researchers say, including putting upstarts in their place, submitting to dominant dolphins and even talking down would-be attackers. "Burst-pulsed sounds are used in the life of bottlenose dolphins to socialize and maintain their position in the social hierarchy in order to prevent physical conflict," says Bruno Diaz, the study's lead author, "and this also represents a significant energy saving." Dolphins' well-known tonal whistles allow them to stay in contact with each other over long distances and to coordinate hunting strategies, according to the study, while the more elaborate burst-pulsed sounds are mostly used "to avoid physical aggression in situations of high excitement, such as when they are competing for the same piece of food," Diaz says. Unfortunately for the Gulf of Mexico's large bottlenose population, though, the deadly and ever-expanding oil spill there probably won't listen to reason. (Source: ScienceDaily) CLIMATE CONTROL: The U.S. Senate may not be quite ready to pass a comprehensive climate-change bill this year, but it showed Thursday that it's at least not entirely opposed to curbing the emissions that fuel global warming. By a vote of 53-47, the Senate rejected a proposal challenging the Obama administration's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and other large polluters. The proposal would have stripped the EPA of its power to cut greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, a strategy the agency only began pursuing after the Senate failed to act last year on a climate bill passed by the House. As President Obama's broader climate agenda has stalled amid political hoopla over other issues like health care and immigration, Thursday's vote was seen by many as a senatorial referendum on whether climate-change legislation is even still on the table. "If ever there was a vote to find out whose side you are on, this is it," says Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee. Independent Connecticut Sen. Jospeh Lieberman predicts the vote will "increase momentum" to pass a climate bill this year, but opponents such as Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., are nonetheless finding a silver lining to the setback. Although the EPA challenge was shot down, Inhofe says the vote made clear that a majority of senators support either delaying or banning "the Obama EPA's job-killing global warming agenda." (Sources: AP, Boston Globe, USA Today)   Check out all of the news for the weekend. Quick Links: > Artisan rice? A 5th generation farmer in CA is growing what might be the best rice in the country > A neglected canal in Milan, Italy has been turned into an amazing bird haven. Looking forward to your visit, The team at Mother Nature Network ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~                           Fan us at Facebook | Follow us at Twitter

Solar Flares and Radio Bursts

Space Weather News for June 12, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

ACTIVE SUNSPOT: A new sunspot has popped up and it is crackling with solar flares.  Today, AR1081 has unleashed a series of  M- and C-class eruptions plus at least one strong shortwave radio burst detected by amateur radio astronomers on the Pacific side of Earth. High resolution movies of the flares and an audio recording of the solar radio burst may be found at http://spaceweather.com.

SPACE WEATHER ALERTS:  Would you like to turn your phone into a space weather monitoring system?  Sign up for Space Weather PHONE: http://spaceweatherphone.com

 

Help Feed U.S. Families In Need + Free Shipping Offer!

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Dear Supporter,

According to a 2008 report prepared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nearly 7 million households in America are considered to have very low food security, the highest level recorded in 13 years. This means that people in these homes had much less to eat and often skipped meals due to lack of food.

In these times of need, many families turn to food assistance programs and nonprofit organizations, like our charity partner Feeding America®, to help fill their pantries and their bellies. Today, June 7th (through 11:59 p.m. PT), you can do your part to continue their amazing work by shopping in our do-good store. Place your order at The Child Health Site store to help feed a U.S. family...at no additional cost to you. Shop now to support the cause.

You can also increase your impact by helping fund the work of our charity partner Feeding America through the purchase of either our Feed a U.S. Family Gift That Gives More™ or our Feed U.S. Kids with The Backpack Program Gift That Gives More™. Easing the worries of families who are concerned with where their next meal is coming from will go a long way toward helping break the cycle of hunger and poverty. And, when you make your 100% tax-deductible donation, we'll provide you with a full-color pdf certificate of acknowledgement that makes a thoughtful Father's Day gift. You can help the 7 million households in America get the help they need: Start today.

Shop To Help Save Lives...And, Save!

Starting today, through Wednesday, June 16th (11:59 p.m. PT), when you spend a mere $20 in our do-good store ($50 for international orders), you'll receive free standard shipping! It's our way of saying thank you for clicking and shopping on behalf of children in need: Your purchases at The Child Health Site store provide basic, but vital healthcare for children all over the world. Start your savings spree in our Gifts For Kids department where you'll find a great selection of charming toys and treats for the young people in your life.

Thank you for helping to positively impact the world each and every day!

Sincerely,

Tim Kunin & Greg Hesterberg
timkunin@thechildhealthsite.com
greghesterberg@thechildhealthsite.com
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Jupiter Impact Event Caught on Video

Space Weather News for June 3, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

SOMETHING HAS JUST HIT JUPITER:  Veteran amateur astronomers Anthony Wesley of Australia and Christopher Go of the Philippines have independently observed an impact event on Jupiter. The strike occurred at 20:31 UT on June 3rd and produced a bright flash of light in the giant planet's cloudtops.  Visit http://spaceweather.com for images and video.

 

72 Hours to Act: Polar Bear Homes, Lives at Risk

 

		Urgent: Protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge   Irresponsible development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge could wreck the most important onshore denning habitat for America's threatened polar bears.   Urge the Fish and Wildlife Service's Alaska Regional Director to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the polar bears and other spectacular wildlife that live there. Forward this message to a friend! Dear Raul, Imagine the potential damage from an industrial oil field in the midst of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge – one of the most important onshore denning habitats for polar bears – and you'll understand why I need your help today. Polar bear mothers are particularly sensitive to noise and other disruptions. Construction, road traffic, airplanes and other noisemaking activities can cause these beloved wild bears to abandon their cubs, leaving them to die without the important lessons that only a mother bear can teach.  Help preserve the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Tell the Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the Arctic Refuge – and the polar bears and other wildlife that rely on this pristine landscape to survive. With the Fish and Wildlife Service set to revise the Arctic Refuge's 15-year management plan, we only have until Monday (June 7th) to make our voices heard. We only need 800 messages from caring people in your state like you to meet our goal of 40,000 messages. Will you help? Please take action right now! Urge the Fish and Wildlife Service's Arctic Refuge Planning Team to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the spectacular wildlife that live there. For years, the oil industry and its political supporters have pushed to industrialize this special place. Just this week, one of the oil industry's biggest supporters, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin even claimed that the offshore oil disaster in the Gulf proves the need to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge!  In fact, the Gulf oil spill proves only that drilling is too dangerous to risk harming a pristine place like the Arctic Refuge. The Arctic Refuge is home to polar bears, grizzly bears, caribou, musk oxen, Dall sheep, wolves and rare wolverines. It's also an important area for millions of migratory birds, many of which make their way across your state on their way to the Arctic Refuge. Today you have the unique opportunity to tell the Fish and Wildlife Service how you think the Arctic Refuge should be managed for future generations. Please help protect the Refuge's wildlife by taking a moment to tell the Fish and Wildlife Service how important the Arctic Refuge is to you. Send your message today and urge federal officials to… Begin a comprehensive review with an eye toward designating the entire Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as federally designated Wilderness, so that polar bears and other wildlife need never again be threatened by the potential for harmful oil and gas drilling and other destructive development in the habitat they need to survive;  Stand strong against the State of Alaska's efforts to extend its out-of-control and scientifically unfounded predator control programs into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and Preserve the viability of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and its wildlife for future generations of Americans by setting aside unique ecological areas and regulating recreation. With the lives of threatened polar bears and other arctic wildlife hanging in the balance, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering how exactly to manage the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It's up to us to ensure that these federal officials act on behalf of the Arctic Refuge…and the wildlife that call this special place home. Please take action right now! For the Wild Ones, Peter Nelson Director, Federal Lands Program Defenders of Wildlife
		© Copyright 2010 Defenders of Wildlife.