Space shuttle Atlantis landing brings 30-year program to a close

In the faintest glimmer of dawn, Atlantis safely touched down Thursday (21/07/2011), ending the flawless final mission of NASA's space shuttle program.

With Commander Chris Ferguson at the helm, Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Center at 5:57 a.m. on a cloudless, windless morning. When the orbiter's wheels stopped a minute later, NASA saluted 30 years of triumph and tragedy for a shuttle program that has kept the United States at the forefront of manned space flight since 1981.

"The space shuttle changed the way we view the world and changed the way we view the universe," Ferguson said. "We have emotion today, but one thing is indisputable: America is not going to stop exploring.

"Thank you Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Endeavour and our ship Atlantis," Ferguson continued, acknowledging the other orbiters. "Thank you for protecting us and bringing this program to such a fitting end. God bless all of you. God bless the United States of America."

The mission, Atlantis' 33rd and the shuttle program's 135th, carried a year's worth of supplies to the International Space Station. It equipped and stocked that space lab to become the new centerpiece of NASA's manned space flight program until the agency can develop the deep-space rockets it wants to build. That could take a decade or more.

"Everything worked just flawlessly," NASA Associate Administrator Bill Gerstenmaier said of Atlantis' final mission.

The $100-billion space station, with a six-member international crew — currently three Russians, two Americans and one Japanese — has been the crowning achievement of the shuttle, which was first launched in April 1981 as a do-all space truck capable of science, military, commercial and exploration missions.

The five shuttles launched satellites and space probes; they deployed some of humanity's great observatories, including the Hubble Space Telescope.

There was also heartbreak. In 1986, Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff, killing seven astronauts, and in 2003 Columbia broke up reentering Earth's atmosphere, also killing seven astronauts.

"It's been an extraordinary spacecraft," said Marion Blakey, president of the Aerospace Industries Assn. "And I think it's fair to say has pioneered work in a variety of areas beyond simply accomplishing what is an extraordinary feat, that is building the International Space Station."

Atlantis — which will go on exhibit at Kennedy Space Center — will join Discovery and Endeavour in retirement. Endeavour will become the centerpiece of a new wing at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.


11 Incredible Photos of the Space Shuttle on Its Final Mission

Taken by astronaut Ron Garan, who’s serving a stint at the International Space Station, this pic shows Atlantis about 600 feet below the ISS, with the Bahamas as a backdrop.

Atlantis pilot Col. Doug Hurley snapped this pic of Garan during a spacewalk, with the Earth “upside down."

It looks almost like a model, but this pic from ISS engineer Satoshi Furukawa shows the Atlantis on final approach to the ISS.

Garan took this photo during a spacewalk; it shows the ISS and Atlantis (its nose is peeking out on the right).

ISS crew member Mike Fossum shot this photo of Garan “standing on top of the world" during a spacewalk. Note the shuttle’s Canadarm and fin to the left of Garan.

The blurred clouds on the earth below give the illusion of motion in this amazing shot of Atlantis, packed and ready for its return journey, from Fossum.

Atlantis’ wing peeks into this great photo, from Furukawa, of green auroras over Australia.

From Furukawa, a photo of the shuttle docking to the ISS taken from the Cupola, the “ultimate" observation deck.

Yet another picture of Garan, shot by Fossum. You can see Atlantis in the background, with Earth’s terminator line between night and day making for a dramatic background.

Garan shot this photo of Atlantis’ rear with the French and Italian rivieras in the background.

Taken from the shadow side of the shuttle, it’s the contrast that gives this photo of Atlantis pointing “down" its impact. Shot by Garan from engineer Sergey Volkov’s window.

Space Shuttle Atlantis Final Landing at Kennedy Space Center

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This government peon owns assets worth Rs 2 crore

Bhagyadhar Das, who works as a peon at the collector's office in Cuttack, amassed a fortune worth crores of rupees in a very short span.

Incredible though it may sound, vigilance sleuths on Wednesday discovered that a class-IV employee Bhagyadhar Das, who works as a peon at the collector's office in Cuttack and earns less than Rs 10,000 per month is the proud owner of assets worth above Rs 2 crore. Such was the meteoric rise of Bhagyadhar Das (55) of Upula village in Jajpur district, who works as a peon at the collector's office in Cuttack.

Sources said Das amassed a fortune worth crores of rupees in a very short span. He owns palatial houses in Chatia, Upula, Duburi in Jajpur and Joda in Keonjhar district, besides other places. He also owns huge amounts of property, including land, cash and jewellery, as the vigilance sleuths found out on Wednesday during a surprise raid of his houses. The officials also found about 450 gm of gold along with huge amounts of cash from his houses.

Das earlier worked as a chainman in the land consolidation department at Chatia for 20 years. Two years ago, he was transferred to the record room of the collector's office in Cuttack as a peon.

The vigilance officials and police were surprised at the amount of money Das had spent on the construction and decoration of the houses in Upala, Chatia and Dubari."Based on a complaint, the officials of the state vigilance department raided his houses and were surprised when they found that the former chainman had assets worth more than Rs 2 crore," said Bhrata Chandra Sethi, the deputy superintendent of police (vigilance) in Jajpur.

Das owns various movable assets like expensive household articles, two luxury cars and gold ornaments weighing about 450 gm. He also owns four trucks. Moreover, a car for his personal use and two-wheelers were found to be in the possession of the peon, whose retirement age is nearing, said the official. Deposits made by him in different banks have been seized. Investigation in the matter is on, said the official.

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The Benefits of Eating Green Peas and How to Prepare a Green Peas and Carrot Salad

Green Peas nutrition facts

Starchy, sweet and succulent green peas or garden peas are one of the ancient cultivated vegetable grown for their nutritious green pods. Peas are probably originated in the sub-Himalayan plains of north-west India. Now, they are one of larger commercial crops grown all over the temperate and semi-tropical regions.

Botanically, pea plant is a herbaceous vine. It belongs to the family of Fabaceae of the genus, Pisum. Scientific name: Pisum sativum. Some of common names include english peas, sweet peas, garden peas, pease...etc.

Pea is a very rapid-growing annual plant requires trellis as support for growth. It flourishes well in well drained sandy soil with adequate moisture and cool weather conditions. Short stalked green pods which appear during late winter or spring. The pods measure about 2-3 inches long, swollen or compressed, straight or slightly curved, filled with single row of 2-10 light green color smooth edible seeds.
Pea tendrils are also edible. They are tender top shoots of young pea plants, have similar pea taste and favored in cooking as well in salads.
Snow peas or sugar snap peas are different species of peas where the whole immature green pods are eaten.

Health benefits of green peas

• Peas are one of the most nutritious leguminous vegetable, rich in health benefiting phyto-nutrients, minerals, vitamins and anti-oxidants.
• Peas are relatively low in calories when compared with beans, and cowpeas. 100 g of green peas provide only 81 calories, contain good amount of soluble and insoluble fiber but contains no cholesterol. 
• Fresh pea pods are excellent source of folic acid. 100 g provides 65 mcg or 16% of recommended daily levels of folates. Folates are B-complex vitamins required for DNA synthesis inside the cell. Well established research studies suggest that adequate folate rich foods in expectant mothers would help prevent neural tube defects in the newborn babies. 
• Fresh green peas are very good in ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Contain 40 mcg/100 g or 67% of daily requirement of vitamin C. Vitamin C is a powerful natural water-soluble anti-oxidant. Vegetables rich in this vitamin helps body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals from the body. 
• Peas contain phytosterols especially ß-sitosterol. Studies suggest that vegetables like legumes, fruits and cereals rich in plant sterols help lower cholesterol levels in the body. 
• Garden peas are also good in vitamin K. 100 g of fresh leaves contain about 24.8 mcg or about 21% of daily requirement of vitamin K-1 (phylloquinone). Vitamin K has found to have potential role in bone mass building function by promoting osteo-trophic activity in the bone. It also has established role in Alzheimer's disease patients by limiting neuronal damage in the brain. 
• Fresh green peas also contain adequate amounts of anti-oxidants flavonoids such as carotenes, lutein and zeaxanthin as well as vitamin-A (provide 765 IU or 25.5% of RDA per 100 g). Vitamin A is essential nutrient which is required for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin and is also essential for vision. Consumption of natural fruits rich in flavonoids helps to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.
• In addition to folates, peas are also good in many other essential B-complex vitamins such as pantothenic acid, niacin, thiamin, and pyridoxine. Furthermore, they are rich source of many minerals such as calcium, iron, copper, zinc and manganese.

Selection and storage
Green peas are winter crops. Fresh green peas are readily available from December till April. However dry seeds or products of seeds like split peas, flour...are made available in the markets all around the year.

While shopping for green peas look for fresh pods that are full, heavy in hands and brimming with seeds. Avoid those with wrinkled surface or over-matured, yellow colored pods.

Peas are best eaten immediately after their harvest since the sugar content in the seeds rapidly converted in to starch. If you have to store at all, then place them inside the vegetable compartment of home refrigerator set with high relative humidity where they keep fresh for 2-3 days.


See the table below for in depth analysis of nutrients:

Green peas (Pisum sativum), fresh, raw, Nutrition value per 100 g
(Source: USDA National Nutrient data base) 

 

Preparation of Green Peas and Carrot Salad:

Green Peas and Carrot Salad

Serves: 4
Cooking time (approx.): 5 minutes
Style: North Indian Vegetarian

2 big carrot(s) chopped
1 cup(s) green peas shelled
1 big onion(s) finely chopped
1 green chilli(es) crushed with salt
A few mint leaves chopped.
Salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.
Fresh coriander or parsley to garnish

1. Boil the carrots and peas with water on medium / low heat for about 5 minutes or till they are cooked but firm. Cool.
2. Now add the chopped onions, chillies, mint leaves, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Mix well.]
3. Garnish with finely chopped fresh coriander / parsley.

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Hunt on for hidden treasure of Vijayanagara empire

Located 11 km from Tirupati, in Chittoor district, Chandragiri was the former capital of the mighty Vijayanagar Empire.

Hampi is a village in northern Karnataka, on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in India. Hampi is located within the ruins of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara empire

The treasure trove at the 16th century Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple worth over Rs 1 lakh crore is believed to be the largest discovery of its kind in India catching the authorities in Kerala by surprise and forcing the state government to deploy cops for a round-the-clock surveillance to the previously unguarded shrine.

Following the discovery in Kerala temple, several groups of hunters and gangs are feverishly at work nearer home, in Anantapur district, to unearth gold, jewels, precious stones and antiques belonging to the Vijayanagara empire in the hope of raking in the moolah. The gangs are digging the forts, temples and other monuments of the Vijayanagara empire to unearth the riches.

While the hunters were looking for bags of gold coins, diamonds and other jewels and solid gold statues of gods and goddesses, the alarming rise in the gold diggers' numbers has unnerved the cops. So much so, the gang members are moving along with hi-tech scanners and other equipment to excavate the hidden wealth, sources said.

A gang of four members was arrested at Bukkapatnam by police recently when they were destroying an old statue of a goddess in the Siva temple built by the Vijayanagara rulers. A police official said following speculations that Penukonda, which was the summer capital of Vijayanagara kings, was a treasure trove of gold, diamonds and other jewellery several gangs have started operating in the area.

"We are confident of striking it rich. We know that the kings had left behind a massive stockpile of jewellery in the forts, temples and monuments. Our men are at work," Manjunath, a gang leader from Madakasira, said. In fact, the entire hillock region in Penukonda, Gooty, Ratnagiri and Madakasira mandals where the Vijayanagara rulers have forts and monuments are being dug up by the gangs.

Sources said the alleged treasure has revived questions as to who had managed to plunder the wealth, much of which was believed to have been deposited in the forts and temples by the royal family of the Vijayanagara kingdom in 16th century. Sources said some of the hidden treasures beneath the fort foundations have not been opened for several decades.

Legend has it that diamonds and gold jewellery were transported on elephants, horses and bullock carts to Penukonda by the Vijayanagara rulers from their capital Hampi in Karnataka to protect the wealth from Muslim rulers in the 16th century. "A staggering stockpile of valuables was hidden in the temples, forts and memorials in the second capital of Penukonda by the kings. No wonder, the hunters and gangs are back with vengeance," historian Visvendra Sarma said.

Pratap Reddy, advocate, said the authorities should immediately step in and protect the wealth from being pillaged by the gangs. In fact, one Kaleswar Baba of Penukonda is facing charges after he allegedly built a huge palace and multi-storied buildings after laying hands on the hidden treasures of Vijayanagara rulers 10 years ago. "There are also allegations that he had encroached the Vijayanagara fort and illegally raised structures there," a local not wanting to be named said. There were also charges that he was helped by district officials and politicians in this exercise.

Sources said the famous Nandi in Siva temple atop Madakasira hill was dug up by the treasure hunters in the hope of finding gold jewellery, while the famous 'flower symbol' in Lord Vishnu temple in Kambadur was destroyed as the hunters suspected that it was embedded with lots of diamonds. "We have identified a gang from Tamil Nadu involved in the digging operations. We will nab them soon," a police official said.

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Source: Times of India

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13 Most Colorful Lakes on Earth

Color is how the human eye perceives the reflection of different spectrums of light. We perceive color just as we perceive taste: sublime, exquisite, horrible and delicious. It provokes us, it enchants us and our whole world revolves around it. Everything from the clothes we wear, to the foods we eat are determined by color.

It’s only fitting then, that we explore some of Mother Nature’s most colorful works.The kaleidoscope of colors presented in this series of spectacular lake images, encapsulate the incredible natural beauty of enclosed expanses of water.

1. The blue hues captured in this stunning photograph of Peyto Lake in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, show just how awesome the natural world can be.

2. A lake with no name in Berlin. We’re not sure if the image is ’shopped’ or not but the result is still pretty spectacular.

3. Wonderful orange and purple skies over Lake Murray, South Carolina, at sunset.

 4. Purple and blue skies at sunset over Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada.

5. This amazing shot was taken near Uyuni, Bolivia. The dark green waters are so calm the mountains are reflected perfectly.

6. Wise Lake turned green from overhanging trees at Congaree National Park in South Carolina.

7. A cleverly placed sunglasses lens in front of the camera turns Kournas Lake in Crete an interesting green co lour.

8. A lime green colored lake at Mill Hollow in the Unita Forest is actually named Yellow Lake.

9. Wonderful shot of a large salt lake, Uyuni, Bolivia. The red colour is caused by astronomical numbers of microscopic, unicellular organisms living in the water and salt crust.

10. A deep red lake at Sanetsch Pass, Switzerland.

11. Red Lake at Uyuni salt plains, Bolivia.

12. Another red lake near Albertville in the French Alps.

13. Red salt lake, Tunisia. How the bacteria survive in the intense desert heat is truly amazing.

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Stunning pictures of a solar corona where temperatures around Sun reach 2,000,000c

Shooting a million miles or more out into the hard, cold vacuum of space, this fiery halo is one of the wonders of the universe.

Whipped into gigantic swirls by the Sun's ferocious magnetic fields, the shell of super-hot gas is as beautiful as it is dangerous.

It's called a corona and can't normally be seen because of the brightness of the Sun, a broiling sea of hydrogen gas at 10,000c. But during a solar eclipse, the Moon blocks out the Sun and the corona is spectacularly revealed.

A photo montage captured during a solar eclipse over the Marshall Islands in July 2009. The beautiful image shows the solar corona that makes up the sun's 'atmosphere' in amazing detail as the sun passes behind the Moon

This extraordinary image is a montage, digitally stitched together from 38 photos taken in Mongolia in August 2008 by veteran eclipse hunter Miloslav Druckmuller.

Even though there are small pink areas resulting from over-exposure, the result is still the clearest picture yet of this extraordinary phenomenon. To understand it is to come closer to grasping the awesome power of the Sun.

This flaming ball of hydrogen and helium gas, at 865,000 miles across, is 100 times wider than the Earth, with a million times its volume. Powered by nuclear reactions in its core, it is the most majestic object in our skies.

This picture was created from 38 individual photographs at ISO 100, exposure time was between 1/125 seconds and 8 seconds

As well as being very hot, the ionised gas of the corona (called plasma) has a superthin consistency. It is less than a billionth of the density of the hydrogen that makes up the main ball of the Sun

As hot as the Sun is, the corona is 200 times hotter - more than a million degrees celsius. Why this should be is a mystery. Some believe it is the result of a form of heating called induction - the same thing that powers hi-tech cooking hobs.

As well as being very hot, the ionised gas of the corona (called plasma) has a superthin consistency. It is less than a billionth of the density of the hydrogen that makes up the main ball of the Sun.

The odd result of this is that if, by some magic, you were to touch the corona, you would freeze rather than fry.

Despite its thinness, the corona can pack a deadly punch. Occasionally, the Sun's surface erupts in a solar quake, a paroxysm of gigantic storms and flares. Sometimes these are powerful enough to eject vast blobs of corona gas into space at millions of miles per hour.

This was the view from the Marshall Islands for Mr Druckmuller where the pictures were taken. He has travelled the world chasing eclipses

In 1859, one such eruption hit the Earth square on, generating a brilliant aurora in the night sky (bright enough to wake sleeping Gold Rush miners in the Klondyke) and shorting out much of the world's nascent telegraph system.

Though solar storms can't hurt humans directly, the 1859 event was powerful enough to melt copper cables. Should such an event happen today, it would cause utter chaos and could well precipitate an economic meltdown.

Our electricity grids would be fried and phone and internet lines would be shut down.

But what's the likelihood of that happening? Unfortunately, it's impossible to say - though some scientists predict another corona eruption in the summer of 2012, when the Sun is predicted to enter a new 'manic' phase of turbulence.

A total eclipse is only seen along a narrow band on Earth that is covered by the Moon's umbra

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