LANDSAT DATA CONTINUITY MISSION OVERVIEW

The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) is NASA’s eighth satellite in the Landsat series and continues the Landsat program’s critical role in monitoring, understanding and managing the resources needed for human sustainment such as food, water and forests. As our population surpasses seven billion people, the impact of human society on the planet will increase, and Landsat monitors those impacts as well as environmental changes.

With the longest unbroken data stream of Earth’s surface as seen from space, NASA’s Earth-observing Landsat fleet has provided the world with unprecedented information on land cover changes and their residual effects since 1972. The knowledge gained from 40 years of continuous data contributes to research on climate, carbon cycle, ecosystems, water cycle, biogeochemistry and changes to Earth’s surface, as well as our understanding of visible human effects on land surfaces. Building off that research, the Landsat imaging data set has, over time, led to the improvement of human and biodiversity health, energy and water management, urban planning, disaster recovery and agriculture monitoring, all resulting in incalculable benefits to the U.S. and world economy.
The Landsat Data Continuity Mission, or LDCM, spacecraft arrived at Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., at 6:25 a.m. PST today. Crews are readying the spacecraft, which is positioned inside a payload fairing or nosecone that will protect it during launch, for hoisting and attachment to the top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V. Launch is scheduled for Feb. 11. 
image/ Info. source:http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/landsat/overview/index.html

Inside China's Secret Arsenal

"The Chinese government is rapidly building a bigger, more sophisticated military. Here’s what they have, what they want, and what it means for the U.S."

"In a single generation, China has transformed itself from a largely agrarian country into a global manufacturing and trading powerhouse. China’s economy is 20 times bigger than it was two decades ago and is on track to surpass the United States’ as the world’s largest. But perhaps most startling has been the growth of China’s ambitious and increasingly powerful military."

"Just 10 years ago, the budget for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was roughly $20 billion. Today, that number is more like $100 billion. (Some analysts think it’s closer to $160 billion.) The PLA’s budget is only a sixth of what the U.S. devotes to defense annually, but defense dollars go much further in China, and in the years ahead, Chinese military spending will grow at the same rate as its economy. Meanwhile, Chinese president Hu Jintao has called for the PLA to carry out “new historic missions” in the 21st century—to move beyond the traditional goal of defending the nation’s sovereignty and develop the global military reach of a true world superpower. In some cases, China’s increasing international presence could lead to greater cooperation with the U.S., as it did in 2008 when China joined antipiracy patrols off Somalia. But if American and Chinese forces end up in the same place with different goals, the result could be a standoff between two of the best-equipped militaries in the world."
"American officials aren’t just concerned about the amount of money the Chinese military is spending. They’re worried about the technology that money is buying. U.S. military hardware remains a generation ahead of any rival’s, but the Chinese have begun to close the gap. Consider China’s progress in building advanced warplanes. Until recently, American officials thought their F-22 and F-35 aircraft were the world’s only fifth-generation fighters (the name given to a class of stealthy fighter jets developed in the past decade, which are equipped with radar-evading features, high-performance engines and avionics, and networked computer systems). Then, on a 2011 trip to China, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates learned otherwise. While Gates met with Hu Jintao, his hosts “coincidentally” revealed the existence of an advanced new fighter, the J-20, by staging the inaugural public flight over the city of Chengdu."


Image/info. source: 
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-12/inside-chinas-secret-arsenal

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP

 -Photoshop is the leading digital image editing application for the Internet, print, and other new media disciplines.

-It's likely that nearly every picture you've seen (such as posters, book covers, magazine pictures, and brochures) has either been created or edited by Photoshop.

- Photoshop has been around since 1982! That's around 25 years of troubleshooting and advancing software.

some of the photoshop's products:

BEFORE:                                                                                                           (CLONING)

                                                                           AFTER:

                                                   

                                                       

BEFORE:                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                   (POSTER )

                                                              

                                                                   AFTER:

Antarctica Glacier's Retreat 'Unprecedented'

Like a plug in a leaky dam, little Pine Island Glacier holds back part of the massive West Antarctic Ice Sheet, whose thinning ice is contributing to sea level rise.
In recent decades, Pine Island Glacier's rapid retreat raised fears that the glacier could "collapse," freeing the ice sheet it buffers to flow even more rapidly into the southern seas. The West Antarctic Ice contributes 0.15 to 0.30 millimeters per year to sea level rise.

info. source:
http://www.livescience.com/26290-pine-island-retreat-history.html

Ominous-Looking Dust Storm

        Western Australians witnessed this ominous-looking dust storm off the coast of Onslow on Wednesday 9 January. The stunning but eerie view was created as winds of up to 120km/h and extreme rain caused the storm to dump the sand and dust it had ingested while inland.

 

















Image/info. source: 
Brett Martin/Perth Weather Live/AFP/Getty, via Universlings for Science and Reason

TYPHOON PABLO (INTERNATIONAL NAME BOPHA) SLAMMED MINDANAO

  Typhoon Pablo slammed into Mindanao Tuesday, toppling trees and blowing away thousands of homes with 210-kph gusts before easing and heading towards the West Philippine Sea.

It is said that typhoon pablo was the most strongest typhoon landed in the area of the philippines.

 

10 areas were under Storm Signal 3, (101-185 kph) December 3, 2012 ''afternoon''

1. Surigao del Norte including Siargao Islands
2. Surigao del Sur
3. Dinagat Province
4. Agusan del Norte
5. Agusan del Sur
6. Misamis Oriental
7. Bukidnon
8. Davao Oriental
9. Compostela Valley
10. Davao del Norte including Samal Island