Pluto — No Longer a Planet — Has a Twin Sister

If Pluto's looking for someone — or something — to blame for being drummed out of the planetary corps back in 2006, it need look no further than Eris. The solar system's ninth planet had long had its detractors — purists who sniffed at its tiny size and irregular orbit — but it was in 2005 things came to a head.

An artist's rendering of the dwarf planet Eris
NASA

That was when Caltech astronomer Mike Brown found a tiny, frigid world orbiting some three times further out than Pluto. Brown had been finding similar objects in the Kuiper Belt — the massive band of comet-like bodies that circles the solar system — for years. But all of them were smaller than 2,320 km (1,440 miles) across, the modest dimensions of Pluto. Eris (which Brown nicknamed Xena, before the International Astronomical Union settled on its official name), though, was evidently a little larger — and that discovery set off an international furor. If Pluto was a planet, Eris obviously was too. And if so, why not Quaoar and Sedna, and several other worlds, which were smaller than Pluto, but not by much?

In the end, the astronomical union avoided the whole mess by demoting Pluto and the rest to the status of "dwarf planet," infuriating Pluto partisans around the world (an odd category, when you think about it: there are no rabid fan clubs for Jupiter or Mercury or Mars). Brown ultimately poked Pluto lovers again when he wrote a book titled How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming. The one hope Pluto fans had for revenge was that it was very tough to pin down Eris' size exactly. Maybe it would end up proving smaller than Pluto after all. That wouldn't restore Pluto to full planethood, but it would make them feel better, anyway.

Now a team of astronomers has finally nailed down Eris' size with high precision, and the answer is that it may be bigger than Pluto, or it may not — but the difference is probably pretty small either way. Much more significant, says Bruno Sicardy of the Paris Observatory, lead author of a paper on the discovery in the latest Nature, is that despite their comparable size, Eris is some 27% more massive than Pluto. What's more, it's prettier, with a surface Sicardy describes as "brighter than new fallen snow."

Measuring the size of something 24 billion km (15 billion miles) away is no mean feat. It is, says Sicardy, "like measuring a coin at a distance of 100 miles." Even with the Hubble telescope, Eris looks like a featureless pinpoint. The only way to gauge its size accurately was to wait for it to pass in front of a distant star, in what's known as an occultation. All you have to do then is time how long it takes the star to reappear on the other side and you can calculate the size of the obscuring object. Two years ago, Sicardy and his team found a good star in what seemed to be the right spot — but they couldn't be sure the two bodies would actually cross paths until it was about to happen. "You need to know the location of the star and the orbit of Eris very, very precisely."

Fortunately, they chose well. Last November, the occultation took place. "It's amazing it works!" says Sicardy, who knew better than anyone how hard it was to predict. "The star disappears and then reappears!"

If the occultation had been spotted from only one telescope, it wouldn't have been very useful, since the star might have barely skimmed Eris' edge rather than passed behind its fat middle. But two telescopes, both in Chile, managed to see the event take place. They were far enough apart and saw it from different enough angles that they captured different parts of Eris. Assuming the object is roughly spherical (not unreasonable), they could use those parts of the overall disc to trace out the rest and thus calculate its size. The answer they got: 2,326 km (1,445 miles), with an uncertainty of half a percent. That margin of error actually straddles Pluto's accepted dimensions. At its greatest possible size, Eris is bigger than Pluto; at its least, it's smaller.

Such exquisite mathematical ambiguity is made less certain still by the fact that unlike Eris, Pluto has a thin atmosphere, so when it goes in front of a star, the star doesn't wink out. It fades. Pluto may be a few tens of kilometers smaller than Eris, or a few tens of kilometers bigger.

Whatever Pluto's exact dimensions, the fact doesn't have much significance beyond cosmic bragging rights. What does matter a lot is Eris' surprisingly large mass, which means it has considerably more rock underneath its icy surface than Pluto. As Brown writes on his blog, "explaining why Pluto and Eris are so different is going to keep us busy for many years, I suspect."

Scientists also have to explain why Eris is so blindingly bright. Its surface should darken over the years as dust and cosmic rays mar its pristine whiteness, and yet it's kept its youthful sheen. The answer, the scientists suspect: when Eris comes closer to the sun in its highly elongated orbit, surface ice warms up to form a temporary atmosphere. When it recedes, the atmosphere condenses again to form a new coating of ice just a millimeter thick. "Unfortunately," says Sicardy, "we will have to wait 250 years to test this idea." But Pluto is currently moving further out, so the same thing might happen to it in reverse. "Within 20 years or so," he says "we could see Pluto begin to brighten" as its atmosphere starts to freeze out, confirming the hypothesis.

Astronomers won't have to wait that long to firm up their understanding of the outer solar system, though: Sicardy and his team already have occultations in hand from other Kuiper Belt objects. Measuring their size and density will help theorists figure out how these miniworlds came to be.

Brown, meanwhile, holds out an even more exciting prospect. "There are surely even larger dwarf planets out there," he writes. "It is only a matter of time before both Pluto and Eris are supplanted." Presumably, one hopes, before Eris develops a fan base of its own.

Sources: Science

»»  Continue Reading...

Why We Can’t Buy Happiness, But Try to Anyway

In 1972, the percentage of Americans who said they were “pretty happy” was about 50%. In the years since, the U.S.’s standard of living has risen dramatically, and our gross domestic product per capita has increased by 96%. That means we have more, we consume more and we can afford more. But today, what percentage of Americans say they’re “pretty happy?” Fifty percent. In a new book out Nov. 8, Shiny Objects: Why We Spend Money We Don’t Have in Search of Happiness We Can’t Buy, Marketing Professor Dr. James Roberts analyzes why we buy more, more, more but just don’t think we’re any better off. In fact, we seem to think things are even worse.

In your book, you write that over the last several decades, we’ve consumed more and more products, but we’re just as happy as we were 40 years ago. So, what’s wrong with us?

We have short-term amnesia as consumers, and not only are we really not any happier than we were, we’re probably worse off. What we’ve found after every recession in modern times is that we’ve actually up-ticked our spending afterward, but we’re finding that what we thought would bring us happiness, all this extra increase in consumption, just doesn’t deliver the goods. So it’s not only that our happiness has not increased, but there’re a number of studies that tell us we are more depressed, more suicidal, more psychotic, more anxious, more stressed than we were 30, 40 years ago.

It seems that consuming is in our DNA, but we still bare responsibility for our actions, right?

Most of the research says we can blame about 50% of our problems on our personality. We have been programmed as human beings to store up materials for the future when there may not be food available. That was a good thing for us when we were living in the era of scarcity. But now in the era of abundance, we haven’t learned that there’s plenty tomorrow. We’re still storing up, and we just never seem to fill that void.

You write that we seem to understand that money doesn’t bring happiness. But knowing that appears to have no affect on our behavior.

As much as we’re refined and have elevated ourselves from those more primordial concerns, we’re still that caveman under the stress of not having enough. People want to blame marketers and say, “Well, it’s all this advertising.” That may have accelerated it, but you don’t have to look that far back to see that before TV or radio, we had the gold rush, or the Egyptian rulers who were buried with their gold because they thought it would give them an easier entrance into the afterlife.

We’ve always had this idea of the American Dream: a nice house, picket fence. How has the definition changed over the last few years?

It started out with the puritan work ethic that we were to scrimp and save through hard work, patience and perseverance. Then the goal was just to have some level of comfort. But we have perverted the American Dream. We’ve perverted the little white house with the picket fence and the car in the driveway to the 3-car garage with a Hummer out front, the 3,000-square foot house and jewelry and everything that goes along with it. It’s the American Dream on steroids. Today we want the easy wealth without the work.

Do you think this recession will have long-lasting impacts on our behavior?

Just the fact that we’re having another recession and we’re caught with our pants down with no money and savings, suggests that we didn’t learn from the previous recession. As soon as we see the light at the end of the tunnel, we’re back out there with our credit cards in hand at the mall.

Does it feel funny writing a book about the hazards of consumerist culture considering you’re a professor of marketing?

I’m kind of on the dark side. I teach consumer behavior and advertising, yet a lot of what I talk about is, How does all this advertising and marketing impact us as human beings? How does it impact our society? So, yeah, I’m a bit of anomaly in the marketing faculty.

Do you think we can get out of this cycle of more, more, more?

If we can’t convince ourselves that money and material possessions won’t bring us happiness, we are forever going to be chasing that golden ring. So really the change has to be attitudinal. Once we can do that, if we can do that, then the behaviors will follow. Then we’ll start to say, well I don’t need that watch, or that fancy car or that big house. I don’t want to be misunderstood — I’m not saying money is evil. Money plays a very important role in our lives. But the point is that it’s got to be held in balance with all our other important values. Money is a poor master but a good servant. If you allow it to run your life, you are going to be unhappy. But if you use it to live a reasonable life and to help others, you’re going to find great happiness in a moderate level of material possessions and affluence.

So is it unrealistic to think that we could ever get out of these habits? Are you concerned your book will have zero impact?

People are so busy that they really don’t have time to reflect on their behaviors. Someone asked me  – How do you justify or rationalize people spending $20-$25 for a book when you’re trying to tell people not to spend money? And that’s a good question. My answer is, this is an investment that can literally change your life. There’ve been some studies that have shown that overly materialistic men spend less time with their families and are more likely to get divorced from their wives. So it isn’t just a pocketbook thing. It’s about quality of life. I don’t think people realize how much our attitudes toward money and possessions impact that.

Sources: Moneyland

»»  Continue Reading...

7 Healthy Foods as Sweet as Candy

Don’t be haunted by your sweet tooth; simulate a sugar rush with these tasty and healthier treats

This time of year, the ubiquity of candy summons a monsterlike sugar craving in all of us—which can be more terrifying than the latest slasher flick when it comes to sticking to aweight loss plan. With its often-astronomical sugar content, candy’s clearly not the best choice for your diet. So instead of looting the nearest kid’s Halloween spoils the next time a sweet tooth haunts you, reach for these healthier, but just as sweet, suggestions from Marisa Moore, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.

Dried Fruit

Are you gaga for gummy snacks? Opt for dried fruit, which contains far fewer calories and grams of sugar than fruit-flavored bears and worms, and has the added benefit of vitamin C, dietary fiber, and other minerals. Just keep in mind that dried fruit contains more calories per gram than fresh produce. A cup of grapes contains about 60 calories, but 2 tablespoons of raisins pack more than 80 calories. Mix dried wild blueberries or cranberries with nuts to add protein, minimize the amount of sugar you consume, and keep you satisfied.

Greek Yogurt with Honey and Fruit

For a decadent-tasting dessert, top Greek yogurt with fruit and honey. “Not only does it satisfy your sweet tooth, but also has that creamy, cold texture we like in desserts,” Moore says. Plus, it’s a superhealthy combo: Yogurt is packed with protein, fruit contains fiber and nutrients, and honey contains antioxidants and possesses antimicrobial properties, which can keep us healthy.

Frozen Banana Dipped in Chocolate

Quell your hankering for ice cream by whipping up a, healthier frozen treat. Dip a small banana in melted dark chocolate and then put it into the freezer. The fruit’s a fantastic source of potassium, which has been linked to a reduced risk of stroke and lower blood pressure.

Cinnamon-Sugar Popcorn

Choose popcorn without added salt, butter, or oil, and prepare it according to the directions. Then dust it with a little bit of cinnamon and sugar. “It’s sweet and low in calories,” Moore says. Three cups of this light snack come to about 90 calories. You’ll want to go easy on the sugar, but it’s not so bad if you have a heavy hand with the cinnamon. Research suggests that the spice may lower glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes.

Hot Cocoa

“A tablespoon of powder contains 12 calories and almost 2 g of fiber.” It also boasts flavonoids, which have been linked to heart health, reduced blood pressure, and lower stroke risk. To get the most benefit, select natural cocoa powder, not cocoa that has been alkalized. The alkalization process removes some of cocoa’s bitterness and improves its color and solubility, but may destroy or modify some beneficial phytonutrients. Check the label for the word alkalized, Dutch-processed, or European-style, and “alkali” will be listed in the ingredients. If it’s not alkalized, the label will read “natural” or “nonalkalized.” Mix it with skim, almond, or soy milk for a low-calorie treat that also serves up plenty of calcium and protein.

Almonds Dusted with Cocoa Powder

Get the sweet and salty satisfaction of eating a Snickers bar or Peanut M&Ms without all of the fat and calories. A quarter cup of Emerald Cocoa Roasted Almonds comes to just 150 calories and packs 6 g of protein and 3 g of dietary fiber. Or you could make your own. Either way you’ll reap the benefits of the heart-healthy nut, which can lower harmful LDL cholesterol.

Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate is a candyphile’s saving grace, as it packs real health benefits. Evidence suggests it may reduce blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular disease. It also lowers stress hormones in anxious people, according to a study published by the American Chemical Society. Look for chocolate that contains at least 70% cocoa , and be sure to consume only a bite-size piece, or about an ounce. Despite its positive qualities, an ounce of dark chocolate still often packs close to 150 calories, Moore warns.

Sources MSN

»»  Continue Reading...

The Coolest Cameras in The World

8 Coolest Cameras in The World

Panoramas like never before

Digital cameras are constantly evolving. The sensors get bigger, the mega-pixel count higher, and thus the images produced improve. But innovation and evolution can also throw up some interesting anomalies, as these amazing cameras show. For example, if you want to create a digital panorama you usually have to stitch together the pictures using an app or PhotoShop. The Seitz 16 x 7, however, has been designed to capture perfect panoramas in seconds. Up to 160 million pixels are packed into each shot, so every photo looks vibrant and sharp enough to step inside. For creating incredible epic landscapes, capturing architectural wonders or vibrant city scenes, the Seitz 16 x 7 Digital Panoramic Camera can be considered one of the best in existence.

Photography and video in 3D

Films, televisions and video games have all made the jump to the third dimension recently, and now your photos can too. The Fine Pix Real 3D W3 is the first camera that shoots high-resolution 3D photos and movies mass produced for consumers. It's surprisingly easy to use — just press the shutter and capture the world as it was meant to be seen. It also has a feature where you can take two shots of the same subject from different positions and the camera will merge them into a single 3D photo. Clever stuff.

The value of history

It might not look it, but the camera pictured above is the most expensive in the world. So if you thought a camera's price tag reflected how much high-tech gadgetry it had, think again. This 1923 Leica 0-Series is worth an incredible $1.74 million thanks to its historical significance and iconic status. Only 25 were ever produced in order to test the market for a new Leica camera; this is the seventh, and the only one with "Germany" engraved on the top plate. In 2007 the very same camera sold at auction for $475,000 — an amazing return on investment.

The camera engineered like a car

Leica still makes some of the finest cameras in the world, and the M9 Titanium is no exception. This exclusive special edition model is the result of collaboration with Walter de'Silva, famed for his design work with Audi. The camera body is made from precision-engineered titanium, and the trim is a special leather typically used in Audi's top-of-the-range cars. Only 500 Titanium M9s have been produced worldwide, each one is individually numbered and costs around $30,000.

A camera for space travel

The Wide Field Camera 3 is the size of a small piano. But when you're taking pictures of the farthest reaches of the universe, you need something with a big zoom lens. It's actually the third version of the camera housed inside the Hubble Space Telescope, installed during a spacewalk in early 2009. It can capture images of astronomical targets over a wide wavelength range, and has a massive field of view, allowing scientists to see as much as possible of deep space. As well as being scientifically useful, the images captured by this camera are also extremely beautiful.

Incredible resolution in a single image

The megapixel count often overshadows all other aspects of a camera's performance, even though the sensor, lens and other features are just as important for producing great images. However, for professionals shooting images that are going to appear on billboards or glossy magazines, normal digital cameras are often not enough. By using a traditional medium format camera with a digital camera back, the professionals are able to get great single images in incredible detail — and there's none higher than the Phase One IQ180 back, which can capture 80 million pixels.

Incredible images in the palm of your hand

The Pentax Q is currently the smallest camera body in the world featuring interchangeable lenses, a feat made possible by Pentax's newly developed Q mount system. The removal of an optical finder, mirror box, focusing plate and AF sensor makes the camera super light, too, so it's perfect for popping in a pocket.

Redefining the disposable camera

With a diameter of just 0.99 millimeters, the Medigus video camera is the tiniest in existence; yet the minute CMOS sensor inside is still able to capture video with a 45,000 pixel resolution. It's been designed for use in medical procedures that require the use of a small-diameter endoscopic device and is made from materials that won't harm the human body. Despite these impressive specifications, the camera is actually designed to be disposable, eliminating the need for sterilisation after use.

Quoted from MSN

»»  Continue Reading...