Scientists with NASA's planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft have revamped the mission's online archive of alien worlds, opening up the database for the entire world to see.
Researchers are now posting all exoplanet sightings by the Kepler observatory into a single, comprehensive website called the NASA Exoplanet Archive. Instead of going through the long planet confirmation process before making data publicly available, since December of last year, scientists have started shoveling out all the data Kepler collects into a comprehensive list.
"When we make that list, right away it goes to the archive," Kepler mission team member Steve Howell told SPACE.com during the 221st American Astronomical Society meeting in Long Beach, Calif., this month. "So the day we know about the list, the archive knows about the list. And then everybody, including us, can work on that list. But that list is dynamic so if we, or a community person, makes an observation and says, 'Hey, I looked at this planet candidate but it's really an eclipsing binary,' then that entry in the archive will be changed."
The archive has information about the size, orbital period and other metrics of any possible planet discovered and investigated by Kepler.
"It's all in real time," Howell said. "The sausage-making process is exposed."
Before the new archive was debuted, astronomers were already doing creative work with the data. One created a visually stunning video of every known Kepler planet candidate — 2,299 unconfirmed exoplanets at the time — orbiting one central point.
The Kepler team’s new "open" attitude toward data release is giving everybody, not just members of the scientific community, a chance to do some hands-on scientific research by building their own experiments, Howell said.
A group of high school students has already taken data from groups of planets observed by Kepler and mapped them against a map of known stars looking for a pattern. Howell doesn’t think they'll see much, but he's glad that they have the opportunity to get creative.
"The entire world can help us with this Kepler data," Howell said. "I don't see any downside."
Planet Hunters, a collective of amateur astronomers, recently found 42 new alien planets using Kepler data that was publicly available prior to the launch of the new archive system.
It would be difficult for Kepler scientists to get their jobs done without the help of amateur astronomers around the globe, mission researchers said. By making the exoplanet archive more accessible, it could mean that more planets are found and confirmed in shorter amounts of time than ever before.
More people sifting through the wealth of data collected by Kepler means that scientists have a better chance of finding even more planets circling distant stars, Howell added.
Since its launch in 2009, NASA's Kepler spacecraft has flagged more than 2,300 objects as possible alien worlds. Although only about 100 have been confirmed, scientists expect that at least 80% could be certifiable exoplanets.
Currently, Kepler has entered a "safe mode" after researchers spotted an issue with one of the spacecraft's three reaction wheels that are responsible for orienting the telescope. The malfunction has stalled science observations, but researchers hope that the issue will be resolved by Jan. 27.
Image courtesy of NASA
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
NASA's Alien Planet Archive Now Open to the World
Scientists with NASA's planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft have revamped the mission's online archive of alien worlds, opening up the database for the entire world to see.
Researchers are now posting all exoplanet sightings by the Kepler observatory into a single, comprehensive website called the NASA Exoplanet Archive. Instead of going through the long planet confirmation process before making data publicly available, since December of last year, scientists have started shoveling out all the data Kepler collects into a comprehensive list.
"When we make that list, right away it goes to the archive," Kepler mission team member Steve Howell told SPACE.com during the 221st American Astronomical Society meeting in Long Beach, Calif., this month. "So the day we know about the list, the archive knows about the list. And then everybody, including us, can work on that list. But that list is dynamic so if we, or a community person, makes an observation and says, 'Hey, I looked at this planet candidate but it's really an eclipsing binary,' then that entry in the archive will be changed."
The archive has information about the size, orbital period and other metrics of any possible planet discovered and investigated by Kepler.
"It's all in real time," Howell said. "The sausage-making process is exposed."
Before the new archive was debuted, astronomers were already doing creative work with the data. One created a visually stunning video of every known Kepler planet candidate — 2,299 unconfirmed exoplanets at the time — orbiting one central point.
The Kepler team’s new "open" attitude toward data release is giving everybody, not just members of the scientific community, a chance to do some hands-on scientific research by building their own experiments, Howell said.
A group of high school students has already taken data from groups of planets observed by Kepler and mapped them against a map of known stars looking for a pattern. Howell doesn’t think they'll see much, but he's glad that they have the opportunity to get creative.
"The entire world can help us with this Kepler data," Howell said. "I don't see any downside."
Planet Hunters, a collective of amateur astronomers, recently found 42 new alien planets using Kepler data that was publicly available prior to the launch of the new archive system.
It would be difficult for Kepler scientists to get their jobs done without the help of amateur astronomers around the globe, mission researchers said. By making the exoplanet archive more accessible, it could mean that more planets are found and confirmed in shorter amounts of time than ever before.
More people sifting through the wealth of data collected by Kepler means that scientists have a better chance of finding even more planets circling distant stars, Howell added.
Since its launch in 2009, NASA's Kepler spacecraft has flagged more than 2,300 objects as possible alien worlds. Although only about 100 have been confirmed, scientists expect that at least 80% could be certifiable exoplanets.
Currently, Kepler has entered a "safe mode" after researchers spotted an issue with one of the spacecraft's three reaction wheels that are responsible for orienting the telescope. The malfunction has stalled science observations, but researchers hope that the issue will be resolved by Jan. 27.
Image courtesy of NASA
Monday, January 21, 2013
WeeUp 0.2 coming within few days
WeeUp, a uploading site featured on TechInUs and MakeUseOf announced that the new version of their website will be released within few days. The souce code would be made public and published by HackingTag Code.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Downloaded: Napster Documentary
A new documentary on the rise and fall of Napster, the peer-to-peer file-sharing service that revolutionized the music industry, is set to debut at South by Southwest.
Downloaded will have its world premiere on March 10 at the Texas festival.
The film focuses on the birth of digital-media sharing.
Downloaded will have its world premiere on March 10 at the Texas festival.
The film focuses on the birth of digital-media sharing.
How to make a blogging social network
You might have read articles about
how to make a blog. But, we have something more special for you this time. Let
me start with introduction. Blogging Social Network means a social network
where people (bloggers) can make friends, chat, promote their blog, even blog
etc. There will be hundreds of inbuilt features that you can add to it with few
clicks.
You might know about WordPress, a blogging software. That is
the main thing we need. First of all we need to install WordPress on our
server. After installation we need to configure few settings like general,
permalink, discussion etc. There are many things you need to configure later.
The next thing we need is BuddyPress. It is a WordPress plugin
capable of making your blog a social network. First we have to download
BuddyPress and install it on our server. After starting the installation we
need to configure few things. You need to enable a new BuddyPress capable
theme, just use the default one during the installation. If you have knowledge
of HTML and CSS you can add a new theme also.
Profile Fields
To give user a
better experience, add profile fields like Name, Country, Address, Blog Name,
Blog URL, Work etc. You can configure these fields in your WordPress Dashboard
> Users > Profile Fields.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
For
making your blog social network search engines friendly. You can use the WordPress SEO plugin by Yoast. You can easily add Google
Webmaster, Bing Webmaster and even Alexa Webmaster verification methods too.
You can change page titles easily in this plugin.
Permalink Settings
A permalink is
a URL that points to a specific blog entry. I recommend using the Post Name permalink format. To change
the default permalink settings, go to WordPress Dashboard > Settings >
Permalink.
Power
To
add the power to your blog, use the JetPack
by WordPress. Here, power means power auto sharing system, email subscription
support, sharing buttons, better comments form etc support for you blog.
Without applying more pressure to your server. You can even add mobile theme “MiniEleven” to your blog. But it does
not work properly with BuddyPress. So, I don’t recommend it.
Chat
Messaging
feature is already in the BuddyPress but instant messaging feature like Facebook is not. So, there comes a
plugin called BP-Chat. But the
plugin is released in beta version and is not recommended for live networks.
You can also use BuddyPress Ajax Chat
Plugin.
Activity Refresh Plugin
First
of all, I will explain what is activity in BuddyPress. Like in Facebook we have
News Feed but in BuddyPress we have
Activity page. To make the activity page refresh automatically, we will use the
RS BuddyPress Activity Refresh plugin.
This plugin will automatically refresh the activity stream.
BackUp
To
keep your valuable network safe, we will use WordPress BackUp to Dropbox. This plugin automatically backups your
files and database to Dropbox.
Udrina Adsense Alternatives
If you don’t
like Google Adsense. You can use
this plugin on your social network. To enable ads on your social network other
than Adsense use this plugin, Udrina
Adsense Alternatives.
Invite Anyone
This allows
group admins to invite any member of the network to their group.
Custom Login Lite
This plugin
helps in modifying the default boring login form. Thanks to the Frosty for
making this plugin.
BuddyPress Friends On-Line (FoL)
This plugin
will display a new tab on your friends page called currently online friends.
There are many hundreds of
features you can add to it by just searching BuddyPress in WordPress Plugin
Directory.
Areeb Majeed is the founder of HackingTag Security. He has also made a blogging
social network known as BlogTag. Become his friend on Facebook or Follow him @hackingtag.
Aaron Swartz Was a Possible Source: Wikileaks
Wikileaks revealed Saturday that late Internet activist and hacker Aaron Swartz was an ally and possible source for the organization.
It also disclosed that Arron, was "in communication" with founder Julian Assange during 2010 and 2011.
It also disclosed that Arron, was "in communication" with founder Julian Assange during 2010 and 2011.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Google to Spend $1 Billion on UK HQs
Reuters reports that Google is investing $1 billion in its new UK headquarters.
The company purchased a 2.4 acre plot of land in London's Kings Cross Central development. The company is planning to build 1-million-square-foot office.
The company purchased a 2.4 acre plot of land in London's Kings Cross Central development. The company is planning to build 1-million-square-foot office.
Windows 8 price to hike
Microsoft launched Windows 8 with attractive pricing —just $39.99 for Windows 7, Vista or XP user. But the price will go up in February.
After the promotional upgrade offer ends on Jan. 31, anyone running an older version of Windows will have to pay $119.99 for the privilege of running Windows 8. If you want Windows 8 Pro, it'll cost you $199.99. Follow my blog with Bloglovin
After the promotional upgrade offer ends on Jan. 31, anyone running an older version of Windows will have to pay $119.99 for the privilege of running Windows 8. If you want Windows 8 Pro, it'll cost you $199.99. Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Alicia Keys will perform U.S National Anthem at Super Bowl
CBS and NFL have tapped singer-songwriter Alicia Keys to sing the "Star-Spangled Banner" before kick-off at Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans on February 3.
Source: Mashable!
Source: Mashable!
Opera Ice: Coming in February
Opera Software ASA, the company behind the popular browser Opera Mini and Opera, will launch a new smartphone and tablet browser called Opera Ice in February.
"This is a full touch and tablet-focused browser," said the product manager. Opera will focus its efforts on releasing the new browser on schedule in February for iOS and Android.
"This is a full touch and tablet-focused browser," said the product manager. Opera will focus its efforts on releasing the new browser on schedule in February for iOS and Android.
Friday, January 18, 2013
Sony agrees to sell US headquarters for $1.1 billion
Google+ iOS App Arrives in 48 More Countries
Google released its iOS application for Google+ available in 48 new countries and territories.
The full list of new countries is as follows: Albania, Anguilla, Barbados, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Chad, Republic of Congo, Dominica, Fiji, Gambia, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Liberia, Macau, Malawi, Mauritania, Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Suriname, Swaziland, São Tomé and PrÃncipe, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos, Ukraine, British Virgin Islands and Zimbabwe.
The full list of new countries is as follows: Albania, Anguilla, Barbados, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Chad, Republic of Congo, Dominica, Fiji, Gambia, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Liberia, Macau, Malawi, Mauritania, Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Suriname, Swaziland, São Tomé and PrÃncipe, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos, Ukraine, British Virgin Islands and Zimbabwe.
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