Staffing And Infrastructure Needs Top Discussion At LANL Community Conversations Breakfast At Buffalo Thunder
Attendees hear the latest developments at LANL during the Community Conversations Breakfast Wednesday at Buffalo Thunder Resort. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com
By Bonnie J. Gordon
Los Alamos Daily Post
bjgordon@ladailypost.com
Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Thom Mason spoke to educators, business people and community leaders at a LANL Community Conversation Breakfast Wednesday at Buffalo Thunder Resort. Staffing and infrastructure topped the agenda.
LANL Director Thom Mason. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com
Sustained growth is predicted for LANL, Read More
University Of Arizona: Astronomers Bid Farewell To Spitzer, NASA’s Coldest Space Telescope
The Spitzer Space Telescope. Courtesy/Space.com
UA News:
TUCSON, Ariz. — The Spitzer Space Telescope received its final command Jan. 30.
After more than 16 years of exploring the cosmos in infrared light, it was switched off permanently, ending its career as one of NASA’s Great Observatories.
The spacecraft operated for more than 11 years beyond its prime mission.
Spitzer orbits the sun, trailing about 158 million miles behind Earth – more than 600 times the distance between Earth and the moon. Due to the constraints of its orbit, the angle at which the telescope’s solar panels Read More
LANL Foundation Grant Moves Nonprofit Into New Reality
A LANL Foundation grant recently allowed the purchase of Virtual & Augmented Reality supplies for science education in elementary schools, with C’YA science educator Chad Lauritzen. Courtesy/C’YA
EDUCATION News:
Champions of Youth Ambitions (C’YA) has gained some new gifts just before Valentine’s Day, and they hope you might consider giving something small, too.
A grant from Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation has moved the small non-profit to enter a new reality. That new reality is a virtual one. The purchase of Oculus goggles and Merge Cubes will allow students to hold science Read More
AGU: Pluto’s Icy Heart Makes Winds Blow
Four images from NASA’s New Horizons’ Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were combined with color data from the Ralph instrument to create this global view of Pluto. Courtesy/NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
AGU News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A “beating heart” of frozen nitrogen controls Pluto’s winds and may give rise to features on its surface, according to a new study.
Pluto’s famous heart-shaped structure, named Tombaugh Regio, quickly became famous after NASA’s New Horizons mission captured footage of the dwarf planet in Read More
Los Alamos Residents Bryan Fearey And Maureen Connolly Endow Chemistry Scholarship For Students Passionate About Arts
Maureen Connolly and Bryan Fearey have created the Fearey/Connolly Endowed Scholarship for Science and the Arts. Courtesy/LANLF
LANL FOUNDATION News:
Los Alamos residents Bryan Fearey and Maureen Connolly met during their graduate work at Iowa State University, where they both earned PhDs in physical chemistry.
Fearey spent 32 years at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) while Connolly taught science to students ranging from college level to preschool.
Their relationship has been deepened by a mutual passion for the arts. Fearey’s skill as a clarinetist and saxophonist led him to Read More
Journey To Pluto & Beyond At Nature Center Planetarium Friday
Astronomer Dan Reisenfeld discusses the discoveries of the New Horizons mission at Pluto and beyond at 7 p.m. Friday in the Los Alamos Nature Center planetarium on Canyon Road. Courtesy/PEEC
PEEC News:
Journey to Pluto and beyond with the New Horizons spacecraft this Friday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. in the Los Alamos Nature Center planetarium. Launched in 2006, the NASA New Horizons spacecraft executed a close fly-by of Pluto in 2016, making it the first spacecraft to ever encounter this distant Dwarf Planet. Astronomer Dan Reisenfeld will be the pilot for the evening and will take the audience on a journey Read More
Citizen Scientists Discover New Aurora Type Named ‘The Dunes’ Helping Understand Mysterious Layer Of Earth’s Atmosphere
Auroral dunes photographed Oct 7, 2018 near Ruovesi, Finland. Photo by Rami Valonen
AGU News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new type of aurora called “the dunes” discovered by aurora chasers in Finland is helping scientists better understand a mysterious layer of Earth’s atmosphere.
The aurora – nighttime light displays in the atmosphere near Earth’s poles – take on various shapes and forms. They often appear as rippling curtains of green, red, or purple light. But in October 2018, amateur auroral photographers in Finland discovered a new auroral form they dubbed “the dunes”.
The dunes appear as thin Read More
LANL: Acetone + Light Creates Green Jet Fuel Additive
Starting with acetone derived from plants, scientists at Los Alamos are converting this simple molecule into jet fuel using a novel process that uses light. This has the potential to be blended with regular jet fuel to offer a greener option. Courtesy/LANL
LANL News:
Take biomass-derived acetone—common nail polish remover—use light to upgrade it to higher-mass hydrocarbons, and, voila, you have a domestically generated product that can be blended with conventional jet fuel to fly while providing environmental benefits, creating domestic jobs, securing the nation’s global leadership Read More
PEEC: Explore Milky Way History; Other Galaxies Friday
Explore how our understanding of the Milky Way’s place in the universe has evolved over time at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24 at the Los Alamos Nature Center’s planetarium with Paul Arendt. Courtesy/PEEC
PEEC News:
Explore how understanding of the Milky Way’s place in the universe has evolved over time at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24 in the Los Alamos Nature Center’s planetarium.
Paul Arendt will explore the history of the Milky Way and then discuss the methods used to discover our home galaxy’s satellite neighbors. He also will look at ultra-diffuse galaxies and the recent controversies involving a few of Read More
Family YMCA Invites Nominations For Española Teen Center For Air Force Research Laboratory STEM Award
An Española YMCA Teen Center team member demonstrates the team’s watering system during an international robotics competition last summer in China. Courtesy/Family YMCA
YMCA News:
The Family YMCA invites people to nominate The Española YMCA Teen Center for the Air Force Research Laboratory’s STEM awards in the nonprofit category.
Española YMCA Teen Center Director Ben Sandoval took a team of three young people to China in summer 2019 to compete in the robotics international program. The team earned a first place in the Entrepreneurial Division for their designed watering system.
The nomination Read More
LAPS: District Science Fair At LAMS Feb. 1
Participants in the 2019 District Science Fair. Courtesy/LAPS
LAPS News:
Los Alamos Public Schools invites the community to the annual District Science Fair Saturday, Feb. 1.
View the array of projects 1-2 p.m. at Los Alamos Middle School on Hawks Drive.
There will be approximately 200 projects on display from four different groups:
- K-5 class projects;
- Elementary Division (grades 4-5);
- Junior Division (grades 6-8); and
- Senior Division (grades 9-12).
Students will set up projects 4:15-6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, with judging 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. Students are present for the Junior and Senior Read More
AGU: Air Pollution From Oil And Gas Production Sites Visible From Space
OMI NO2 map and NOx emission estimates.(a) Absolute changes in OMI tropospheric NO2VCDs between 2007 and 2018 for the continental U.S. Green boxes denote major U.S. oil and gas production regions. The insets show the NO2 VCD change between 2007 and 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively, over the Permian basin. (b) 2015 FOG NOx emission estimates for the areas outlined in (a) ©2019 American Geophysical Union. Courtesy photo
AGU News:
Oil and gas production has doubled in some parts of the United States in the last two years, and scientists can use satellites to see impacts of that trend: a significant Read More
New Mexico Delegation Recognizes Sandia National Laboratories Contributions To State Economy, Jobs
NM CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) and Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.), commended findings from a 2019 economic-impact analysis released Wednesday, which found that Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is responsible for creating 1,100 new jobs while contributing $509 million to New Mexico businesses and $96.6 million in state gross receipt tax revenue.
The Economic Impact Report also found that SNL contributes $784 million to small Read More
New Mexico Museum Offers Preservation Workshop
Preservation Workshop series begins Jan. 25. Courtesy/myheritage.com
NMMSH News:
ALAMOGORDO – The New Mexico Museum of Space History is introducing a new series of free quarterly programs aimed at helping people learn how to preserve and protect their family valuables and heirlooms.
The first Preservation Workshop is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 25, beginning at 9 a.m. on the Museum’s first floor. The title of the program is A Beginners Guide to the Care and Feeding of Your Collections and will be presented by Museum Curator Sue Taylor.
The introductory workshop will cover a wide variety Read More
LANL Foundation: STEAM Day At Legislature Jan. 22
Scene at the 2019 STEAM Day at the Legislature. Photo by Andrea Neal/LANF
Scene at the 2019 STEAM Day at the Legislature. Photo by Andrea Neal/LANF
LANLF News:
SANTA FE — The community is invited to join the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation (LANLF), 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Jan. 22 for STEAM Day at the Legislature.
Two dozen educational organizations from throughout the state that advocate for STEAM education from kindergarten to career will provide hands-on STEAM activities for all ages.
Leaders, advocates and policy makers will share their vision for Science, Technology, Engineering, Read More
