New Caledonia: Through Google Earth and NASA World Wind

Located East of Australia

View Coordinates: 20°27’05.69" S 165°26’48.18" E

Exact View Location: 22°16’40.97" S 166°27’08.31" E and yes, this is the same island.

In Easter Island, it was the western portion which was mostly inhabited. As we turn to New Caledonia it is the southern region that is overwhelmingly populated.

While the capital city – Noumea, stands out as one increasingly zooms  in for a better look, neighbouring regions like Le Mont-Dore which lies to the east of Noumea are also alive and buzzing.

In this same region of New Caledonia, are a series of trees (within the white outline) planted in an unnatural pattern in contrast to surrounding trees.

When looking at the surrounding mountainside, which is elevated over 1900 feet above the ground in the picture above according to the ruler tool, it makes you wonder if they acted as a protective barrier enabling settlements to develop. The fact that New Caledonia is surrounded by water provided another defence for local inhabitants from foreign invaders until their ships landed.

Coral Reefs located southeast of the island imply that humans are not the only inhabitants within the political boundaries of New Caledonia as underwater lifeforms would thrive within these reefs.

While New Caledonia’s southern region remains the home to many of its human inhabitants, the northern region is relatively uninhabited. Yet as the second photo above demonstrates via the bridge across a body of water (confined within a pattern similar to the outline of Australia), human infrastructure can be found throughout the region.

By utilizing satellite images via Google Earth and NASA World Wind, I have been able to do something previous generations could not – explore regions of the world without entering their political border. This analysis of New Caledonia is by no means complete although I hope it has enlightened your understanding of this region and the world we live in.

 

Guyana: Through NASA World Wind and Google Earth

Alongside Google, NASA has played a key role in reshaping our understanding of planet Earth and its position in our universe. Yet, is it still possible in the twenty-first century to have unexplored territory? Being integrated into the Amazon Rainforest ensures the possibility that potential new discoveries are certain in our future versus a figment of our past. Only by understanding the world we live in can we truly understand the role of lifeforms elsewhere.

NASA World Wind image of the Guyana region within South America

With so much foliage, what mysteries lie unearthed?

View Location:  3°58’25.75" N  59°20’21.33" W

Yet, deforestation still exists. Is it truly necessary to new discoveries by reshaping the environment it rests within?

Alternative approaches lead to alternative results. Hard work by a similar brush paints a picture where both the discoverer and the environment can co-exist.

 

Solar Storms: Knowledge Is The Next Best Defence To Taking Preventative Measures

Image via Wikipedia

Quote from NASA update:

The sun and Earth are separated by 93 million miles of space—a seemingly safe distance. But since the Space Age began, and especially in recent years, there has been a growing realization that 93 million miles really isn’t so far apart.

Solar mass ejections from the Sun, consisting of a breeze of plasma, can be traced to the phenomenon here on Earth known as the Aurora Borealis. Today, Dr. Tony Philips of NASA issued an update informing the public of the meeting on Germany of “representatives from more than 25 of the world’s most technologically-advanced nations” declaring the risks solar storms pose on the safety of urban society.

In an earlier update on January 21 2009, it was revealed that ”a solar flare can make you toilet stop working”, and that

[t]he strongest geomagnetic storm on record is the Carrington Event of August-September 1859, named after British astronomer Richard Carrington who witnessed the instigating solar flare with his unaided eye while he was projecting an image of the sun on a white screen. Geomagnetic activity triggered by the explosion electrified telegraph lines, shocking technicians and setting their telegraph papers on fire; Northern Lights spread as far south as Cuba and Hawaii; auroras over the Rocky Mountains were so bright, the glow woke campers who began preparing breakfast because they thought it was morning. Best estimates rank the Carrington Event as 50% or more stronger than the superstorm of May 1921.

If you are interested in tracking solar storms, with training instructions provided, visit http://solarstormwatch.com/ to watch next to live data streamed every hour from STEREO, which “ consists of two space-based observatories – one ahead of Earth in its orbit, the other trailing behind. [NASA STEREO Website]“

Image by NASA Goddard Photo and Video via Flickr

Ultimately it becomes very easy to tie the possibility of a solar mass ejection to doomsday prophecies, but much more difficult to provide solutions. One such person by the name of Lawrence E. Joseph featured on the popular American radio show Coast to Coast AM suggested that a good way to counter these plasma bursts from the Sun frying electrical components in the ground would be to install giant surge protectors to prevent an overload of electricity. HowStuffWorks further explains how excess power is diverted from the surge protector to the ground, but the true test of this concept would be to develop a working prototype capable of protecting the Power Grid.

In conclusion, solar storms can trigger beautiful displays on light on Earth’s poles, but they can also trigger disasters. Hence a meeting was needed to put forth new ideas and raise awareness on the risks associated with a plasma ejection travelling to the Earth. Surge protection found in most homes could be the solution, if applied on a grand scale, but unless more people become educated on the risks of solar storms, the demand for their installation, or the installation of other preventative technology, could be compromised.

If you are interested in the topic of solar storms here are some articles below for further reading:

• ‘Sun Awakens’: Scientists Warn of Solar Storms to Come (abcnews.go.com)
• Lawrence E. Joseph: The Solar ‘Katrina’ Storm That Could Take Our Power Grid Out For Years (huffingtonpost.com)
• Earth Gets Geomagnetic Wallop (news.discovery.com)
• STEREO Reveals Solar Storm Related to Failure Aboard Communications Satellite (eon.businesswire.com)

 

A Student’s Opinion On The STEREO Hunt

 

Image via Wikipedia

I have recently been updated on NASA’s STEREO probes. They are a set of probes set to make solar observations but now, their focus has been shifted to find a more mysterious object, as the full article below points out. STEREO is searching for what appears to be the object that crashed into Earth 4.5 billion years ago to form the moon, an object labelled Theia. Although scientists have never found concrete evidence concerning remnants on “Theia”, the STEREO probes bring a new sense of hope that soon, humanity will come one stop closer to finding more about our Moon’s origin and what it indicates about further objects in space situated similarly.

 

Full Article:

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/09apr_theia.htm?list1315750 

And How You Can Help:

http://sungrazer.nrl.navy.mil/