Space Shuttle for Last Launch

Space Shuttle for Last Launch

NASA has cleared the space shuttle Atlantis for one final launch this week, but a dismal weather forecast is clouding plans for the upcoming Friday (July 8) liftoff.

NASA officials unanimously voted today (July 6) to clear Atlantis for launch, setting the stage for the last-ever mission of the space agency's 30-year space plane program, agency officials said via Twitter.

The latest weather outlook predicts a 70 percent chance of thunderstorms and rain showers too close to the seaside launch site where Atlantis sits poised for an 11:26 a.m. EDT (1526 GMT) blastoff on Friday.

The chief concern is actually at a nearby shuttle landing strip, which would be needed in the remote chance that Atlantis had to make an emergency landing shortly after launch. NASA launch rules require no stormy weather within 20 miles of the shuttle runway since foul weather can damage an orbiter's heat shield and make landing perilous.

Atlantis and a skeleton crew of four astronauts will fly a 12-day mission to the International Space Station to make one final delivery before the shuttle program shuts down for good this year. The cargo on Atlantis — spare parts, equipment and other supplies — is expected to help the space station continue flying despite the lack of regular big deliveries from visiting shuttles.

If NASA is unable to launch Atlantis Friday, the space agency does have two other chances (on Saturday and Sunday) before it would have to stand down to avoid a space traffic conflict with another rocket set to launch an Air Force navigation satellite on July 14 from the nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The latest forecast predicts a 60 percent chance of foul weather on Saturday, but conditions improve on Sunday, which is expected to pose only a 40 percent risk of bad weather, officials said.

The upcoming mission will be the 33rd flight of Atlantis and NASA's 135th shuttle mission since the orbiters began launching into orbit in April 1981. NASA is retiring the iconic shuttle program to make way for a new one aimed at sending astronauts on deep space exploration trips to asteroids and Mars.

Once Atlantis returns to Earth, the shuttle and its two sister ships Discovery and Endeavour will be retired as museum displays.
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Summer Solstice - What you don't know

Summer Solstice - What you don't know

The summer solstice shouldn't come as a surprise. It arrives at pretty much the same time every year. But some of the little-known facts behind and surrounding the solstice are fascinating. First, the basics:

Summer in the Northern Hemisphere will officially arrive on Tuesday at 1:16 p.m. EDT: the June solstice.  At the same time, winter officially begins for the Southern Hemisphere.
At that moment, the sun will reach the point where it is farthest north of the celestial equator. To be more precise, when the summer solstice occurs, the sun will appear to be shining directly overhead at a point on the Tropic of Cancer (latitude 23.5 degrees north) in the Great Bahama Bank, roughly halfway between Andros Island and central Cuba.
Extreme daylight From no point in the contiguous 48 United States can the sun appear directly overhead.  From New York, for instance, at 12:57 p.m. Eastern Time, the sun will attain its highest point in the sky for this entire year, standing 73 degrees above the southern horizon or about four-fifths of the way up from the horizon to the point directly overhead.
And since the sun will appear to describe such a high arc across the sky, the duration of daylight is now at its most extreme.  In fact, north of the Arctic Circle, which encompasses northern Alaska, far-northern Canada and much of Greenland as well as the northernmost parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland, the sun now remains above the horizon for an entire 24-hour day, leading to the effect known as the "midnight sun."
However, contrary to popular belief, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset do not coincide with the summer solstice.  For mid-northern latitudes, the earliest sunrise actually occurred on June 14, while the latest sunset is not due until June 27.
Hotter weather If the insolation — the total energy received from the sun — alone governed the temperature, we should be experiencing the year’s hottest weather right now. 

But the atmosphere in temperate regions continues to receive more heat than it gives up to space, a situation that lasts a month or more, depending on the latitude. Though it depends on the local climate, most locations see the hottest part of the year occurring in late July.  A reverse process occurs after the winter solstice in December; most places see their coldest weather in late January. 
The solar heating depends directly on the sun's altitude in the sky, which also controls its daily path and the number of hours the sun is above the horizon. As an example, although on April 12 the insolation is the same as on Aug. 31, thanks to the seasonal temperature lag, the northern and central United States can still experience a freeze at the former date, or endure a 90-degree heat wave at the latter. 
Armistice
Just as the word "armistice" is defined as a staying of the action of arms, "solstice" is a staying of the sun's apparent motion over the latitudes of the Earth.
At the summer solstice, the sun stops its northward motion and begins heading south.  At the winter solstice, it turns north.
So technically on Tuesday, even at 17:17 UT, the sun will have turned around and started on its six-month journey south.  It will cross the equator at the autumnal equinox, passing into the Southern Hemisphere on Sept. 23, at 9:05 UT.

Vancouver Canucks fans set cars ablaze, fling bottles after loss

Vancouver Canucks fans set cars ablaze, fling bottles after loss Stanley cup riot

VANCOUVER—Furious Canucks fans are running riot in downtown Vancouver after their Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup final.
Eyewitnesses say at least two parked cars have been set ablaze, while others have been tipped over.
Pandemonium reigned in the streets, which were strewn with garbage and filled with acrid smoke.
Some fans were seen flinging beer bottles at the giant television screens in the immediate aftermath of the 4-0 loss.
Others chanted obscenities and leaped over raging bonfires as riot police moved in to try to restore order.
The chaos is eerily reminiscent of a similar riot that erupted in the city in 1994 following a similar Cup loss to the New York Rangers.

Weiner's Messages With Teen

Weiner's Messages With TeenIn the latest chapter of Weinergate, the New York congressman admitted to sending messages to a 17-year-old girl , but said they were "neither explicit or indecent." After Rep. Weiner spoke to the girl's school group in Washington, she started following him on Twitter and posted a public message complimenting his speech. He then in turn began following her on Twitter, referencing her career goals in a message that read, "How hip am I to be talking to a future president." Conservatives monitoring his activity sent both Weiner and the girl chiding messages, prompting the congressman to write her an apologetic message and remove her from the list of people he followed. But communication picked up again about a month later and they exchanged three private messages. After she posted a link on YouTube of one of his speeches with the message, "My true love," he wrote her a private response and likened himself to a superhero
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported today that Philadelphia lawyer Daniel P. McElhatton, who represents the girl's family, issued a statement saying: "The 'Tweets' in question between the student in question and the Congressman were not salacious or in any manner inappropriate. No photographers were ever sent to her or from her."
New Castle police also said that their investigation thus far has turned up no wrongdoing on Weiner's part.
"The teen has been interviewed and disclosed no information regarding any criminal activity," New Castle County police spokeswoman Officer Tracey Duffy said.
She said she did not know what prompted the investigation, but said it was continuing.
The girl's mother also told the New York Post there was nothing obscene in the two communications Weiner sent her daughter.