Returning to the Dust Bowl.

Future drought. These four maps illustrate the potential for future drought worldwide over the decades indicated, based on current projections of future greenhouse gas emissions. These maps are not intended as forecasts, since the actual course of projected greenhouse gas emissions as well as natural climate variations could alter the drought patterns.

The maps use a common measure, the Palmer Drought Severity Index, which assigns positive numbers when conditions are unusually wet for a particular region, and negative numbers when conditions are unusually dry. A reading of -4 or below is considered extreme drought. Regions that are blue or green will likely be at lower risk of drought, while those in the red and purple spectrum could face more unusually extreme drought conditions. (Courtesy Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews, redrawn by UCAR. This image is freely available for media use. Please credit the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

Article discusses information and details. The scientist are making the statements.

E.T was looking at Chicago.

Yesterday evening was enjoyable, the weather in Chicago seems a bit warm for this time of November with temperatures hovering around the 60's and dropping into the 40's at night. Wanted to go to the Adler Planetarium as the Chicago Astronomer, Joe Guzman, was hosting a star party for the evening. Upon arriving, was able to see the Moon hanging low in the western sky's over Chicago's skyline. Jupiter and two of the moons were visible in the sky, even with the high cloud haze along the shoreline of Lake Michigan. It is always great to meet individuals that are interested in the sciences and learning, Joe is excellent in explaining various astronomical sights to everyone. While there, we all got to see "E.T" placement in the night sky and Universe above us. The "E.T" constellation was once called "The Owl" constellation, not to be confused with "The Owl" nebula. It was enjoyable to meet other people and especially talk with the bus driver, we all learn every day something fascinating when one looks out into the night sky and beyond.

I was hoping that two other friends, Paulie Christman, and his girlfriend, Hillary, would be there last night. We had communicated earlier about seeing Sun-dogs, on our social network connection. Paulie, you got some excellent pictures of the Sun-dogs posted over on your blog site!

During the time, I went for a walk along the shoreline and the reflections of the City of Chicago is like a Christmas Tree when viewed from near the Adler Planetarium. People and families walking and enjoying a warm night, the couples that embrace and have their special memories, the occasional motorbike that one hears along the street.

I attended one about a month ago, but the humidity and cool moisture off of the lake made the evening a bit chilly. Plus, that day the President was in Chicago and traffic was a mess along Lake Shore Drive. It seems like every time I go into the city, something occurs and traffic is re-routed in some way.

I live out in the western burbs near Ohare Airport and last night CTA, Chicago Transit Authority, had reported "police activity". Well, this shut down the Blue Line from Addison to Jefferson Park on the train route. Everything might as well be viewed as an adventure, so off the train and onto one of the buses. Later, as people tried to figure out what was occurring--the bus driver had said that a bomb-threat had been called in and that the police were checking the rail-transportation between Addison and Jefferson Park. During the same time, there was accidents on the incoming and outgoing lanes of I-94 in the same region.

E.T was looking at Chicago.

Another generation...

Life on Earth has survived for millions of years and undergone genetic changes because of evolutionary processes that coincided with climate conditions. Even when the Siberian traps and out pouring of volcanic gases occurred 250 million years ago or with the Deccan traps 65 million years ago, plant life and animal life continued.

Humanity may try to geoengineer the planet and in the process may find beneficial aspect to continue on several other planets in this solar system, especially Mars or Venus.

Yet, the philosophical question and aspect would be "Why should humanity have dominion over the Earth?" when the reality is that humanity is part of the Earth. Over the last 700 years many species have gone extinct because of human settlement and human population that has needed the space for their own living. In the next 100 years many of the larger species of animals will become extinct in the wild with only genetic material frozen and stored.

The Earth cannot support the current population of 6.7 Billion individuals indefinitely, even with proper allocation of resources of food and water. How can humanity expect that the Earth is going to support 9.1 Billion individuals in the next 50 years with a life-span of those individuals at 70 years? With the aspect of raising the poverty levels of the people in every Nation on the planet, over that 120 year time frame is unrealistic?

Cutting down the forests to "Pave Paradise and Put up a Parking Lot" is going to leave the world very impoverished. Well see what the next 50 years brings upon the Earth.

(Initially posted on Cosmic Log). JMW

NGC 6210 Nebula

Hubble took a deep look at NGC 6210, which is 6,500 light years away, in the constellation of Hercules

At the heart of NGC 6210 is a star slightly less massive than our sun that is in the last fitful stage of its life cycle. The star's death spasms have kicked off multiple shells of material with different degrees of symmetry, giving the NGC 6210 nebula its odd, bulbous shape.

The new Hubble image shows the inner region of the planetary nebula in unprecedented detail, where the central star is surrounded by a thin, bluish bubble that reveals a delicate filamentary structure. The glowing bubble appears to be intertwined with an asymmetric, reddish gas formation where holes, filaments and pillars are clearly visible.

Planetary nebulas are shells of gas and dust expelled by stars near the end of their lives. They are typically seen around stars comparable or smaller in size than the sun. Planetary nebulas are not related to planets as their name suggests, but instead earned the moniker because they resembled giant planets when viewed through early telescopes.

A star's life ends when it runs out of fuel for its thermonuclear engine. The estimated lifetime for a sun-like star is about 10 billion years.

What's left behind is a tiny, but very hot, star remnant known as a white dwarf. The white dwarf inside NGC 6210, which is visible in the center of the Hubble image, will cool down and fade very slowly.

According to stellar evolution theory, our own sun will experience a similar fate in approximately 5 billion years.

How long does the 'cooling down and fade slowly away" last? Is it 10,000 years or 1/2 a billion years?

What happens to the existing solar system around such a star, are the planets obliterated? Do they continue to orbit a common baricenter?

Do the planets gain substantial mass because of all the ejected stellar material that forms the nebula? Would a Jupiter size world in such a nebula gain enough mass to become a star out of the ashes to the prior star?

Small Worlds seem so large.

Ever wonder what Earth looks like from Mars? With all the various people and nations, species extinction, arguments over global warming, rising sea level, inner city crime, country lacking things to do and a multitude of other issues, when looked at from afar Earth is a small world.

The picture came from a undocumented web resource on the web.

Existentialism....

....and a "Birthday Party".

On the existential view, to understand what a human being is it is not enough to know all the truths that natural science—including the science of psychology—could tell us. The dualist who holds that human beings are composed of independent substances—“mind” and “body”—is no better off in this regard than is the physicalist, who holds that human existence can be adequately explained in terms of the fundamental physical constituents of the universe. Existentialism does not deny the validity of the basic categories of physics, biology,psychology, and the other sciences (categories such as matter,causality, force, function, organism, development, motivation, and soon). It claims only that human beings cannot be fully understood in terms of them. Nor can such an understanding be gained by supplementing our scientific picture with a moral one. Categories of moral theory such as intention, blame,responsibility, character, duty, virtue, and the like do capture important aspects of the human condition, but neither moral thinking (governed by the norms of the good and the right) nor scientific thinking (governed by the norm of truth)suffices.

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Today, would have been my father's 97th birthday. His physical body past away, nearly 22 years ago in November of 1988. I try to focus on all the good memories and then go for a walk, thankful for the day, and even go and buy a piece of birthday cake. Well, I figure 1/2 of my genes came from him and since he cannot eat a piece of cake.......and that spiritually he's at the table...I'll eat the cake and that way we've shared the day and the cake.

Plus, I get three birthdays parties a year, with two birthdays existentialism. 1/2 of a cake to celebrate them and a entire cake on my birthday.

So, I turn the emptness into something good and enjoyable, a positive. It is better than going to a grave and standing alone in a field for 15 minutes.

I celebrate my Mom's birthday this way too, and then my birthday as well where they are invited.

The rest of the year, when occassionally they cross my toughts. I think of Dad out mowing the yard or Mom working in the garden and canning; somewhere out in West Virginia, in that place called Appalachia (Almost Heaven). As well as thoughts about my Aunts or Uncles or even Grandparents.

Those individuals were part of my life, just because "they are not here physically" their memory is a part of my life.

So, Happy Birthday Dad!

Gliese 581g and a Purple Sky.

What would the sky or even a sunset on Gliese 581g look like, considering a Red dwarf star with a surface temperature of 3700 F?

Purple and the clouds would create a Purple Haze or mist, with rain falling in a purple darkened sky.

Seriously, no joke.

The sunset would be that region between the light side and the dark side of the tidally locked planet with the sun overhead, just if one was wondering or asking the question "Wait, how can there be a sunset or twilight region on a tidally locked planet?"