New Discovery Mars is Full of Water!!

June 22, 2012

Scientists Discover That Mars is Full of Water 

By Joseph Stromberg

Despite claims in the 1890s that Mars was filled with canals teeming with water, research over the past several decades has suggested that in fact, Mars has only a tiny amount of water, mostly near its surface. Then, during the 1970s, as part of NASA’s Mariner space orbiter program, dry river beds and canyons on Mars were discovered—the first indications that surface water may have once existed there. The Viking program subsequently found enormous river valleys on the planet, and in 2003 it was announced that the Mars Odyssey spacecraft had actually detected minute quantities of liquid water on and just below the surface, which was later confirmed by the Phoenix lander.

Now, according to an article published yesterday in the journal Geology, there is evidence that Mars is home to vast reservoirs of water in its interior as well. The finding has weighty implications for our understanding of the geology of Mars, for hopes that the planet may have at some point in the past been home to extraterrestrial life and for the long-term prospects of human colonization there.

“There has been substantial evidence for the presence of liquid water at the Martian surface for some time,” said Erik Hauri, one of the study’s authors. “So it’s been puzzling why previous estimates for the planet’s interior have been so dry. This new research makes sense.”

The research team, led by led by University of New Mexico scientist Francis McCubbin, didn’t even have to go all the way to Mars to find the water—they just closely looked at a pair of meteorites we’ve already had for some time. The Shergotty meteorite, which crashed in Bihar, India in 1865, and the Queen Alexandria Range 94201 meteorite, which landed in Antarctica and was discovered in 1994, were both ejected from Mars roughly 2.5 million years ago. Because they formed due to volcanic activity, when molten Martian mantle was brought to the surface and crystallized, they can tell us a great deal about the planet’s insides.

“We analyzed two meteorites that had very different processing histories,” Hauri said. “One had undergone considerable mixing with other elements during its formation, while the other had not.” For both of the meteorites, the team looked specifically at the amount of water molecules locked inside crystals of the mineral apatite and used this as a proxy for how much water was contained in the original rock on Mars that produced the meteorites. To determine the precise amount of water, they used a technology called secondary ion mass spectrometry, which shoots a focused beam of ions at the sample and measures the amount of ions that bounce off of the surface.

The amount of water in the meteorites suggested that the Martian mantle contains somewhere between 70 and 300 parts per million of water—an amount strikingly similar to Earth’s own mantle. Because both the samples contained roughly the same water content despite their different geological histories on Mars, the researchers believe that the planet incorporated this water long ago, during the early stages of its formation. The paper also provides us with an answer for how underground water may have made its way to the Martian surface: volcanic activity.

Earlier this week, we discussed how solar radiation is among the many problems that face potential human colonization of Mars, but finding a huge underground store of water inside the planet would still go a long way towards making settlement a legitimate possibility. In the long-term, drilling for underground water may be cheaper and easier than, say, trying to melt surface ice, or subsisting off the tiny amount of surface water that we know is present.

Additionally, the finding is getting an entire separate crowd excited: those who are hoping to find fossil or other evidence that Mars once supported life. The fact that water has apparently existed on the planet for such a long time makes the odds of life originating there just a little less scant.

All this from a pair of meteorites that crashed on our planet over a century ago. Just imagine what we might learn during future missions to Mars, such as NASA’s unmanned space laboratory, Curiosity, which will land on Mars on August 5th.

Still, it won’t be easy. Watch this NASA video to learn about the riskiest part of the whole mission—the seven minutes between when the rover hits the top of the Martian atmosphere and when it touches down.
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/suprising-science/scientists-discover-that-mars-is-full-of-water.html#ixzz1yxvRDGHU

Balotelli's crop!! || Imej Kepala Balotelli Di Ladang Gandum

Support: Italian artist Dario Gambarin shows the back of the head of Mario Balotelli cut into a wheat filed near Verona

Balotelli spurred onto glory by giant crop circle of his head in Italian field

By Sportsmail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 07:34 GMT, 25 June 2012 | UPDATED: 07:34 GMT, 25 June 2012

Italy and Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli was spurred onto glory against England by a unlikely tribute before the game in Kiev. An artist in his homeland ploughed a field to show show the back of the strikers head.

Dario Gambarini has used tractors to similar effect to create images of Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela among others in the past opted to create Balotelli ahead of the big game. The 2,700 square metre piece was created in Castagnaro, near the artist’s native Verona.

Rather than show Balotelli’s face, however, Gambarini broke with tradition to portray the Manchester City striker’s trademark Mohawk haircut, with the word ‘Italia’ visible at the top of his shirt.

'I wanted to pay homage to all the Azzuri,’ Gambarini said. ‘But it seemed ideal to reproduce the blonde Mohawk of Balotelli on a field of threshed wheat.'

Balotelli scored the first penalty in Italy's 4-2 shoot-out win over England on Sunday night.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Sky high: The Balotelli creation was clear for all to see

 Imej kepala Balotelli di ladang gandum

CASTAGNARO - Seorang artis seni, Dario Gambarini menggunakan sebuah traktor untuk menghasilkan imej seperti kepala bintang bola sepak Itali, Mario Balotelli di sebuah ladang gandum di sini kelmarin.

Menurut Gambarini, dia membuat kerja seni itu bagi memberi penghormatan untuk skuad Itali. Imej itu berjaya disiapkan sebelum pasukan Itali menentang England dalam Kejohanan Bola Sepak Eropah (Euro) 2012.

- Agensi (Kosmo Online)

Oki Setiana Dewi

Oki Setiana Dewi

Oleh Norhayati Nordin
yati@hmetro.com.my

NAMA Oki Setiana Dewi tentunya sudah tidak asing di kalangan penonton tempatan. Apatah lagi, bagi yang sudah menonton lakonannya dalam filem dan sinetron popular Indonesia, Ketika Cinta Bertasbih (KCB) karya Habiburrahman El Shirazy. Watak Anna Althafunnisa nyata cukup mempopularkan Oki.

Baru berusia 23 tahun, gadis yang tampil menutup aurat ini matang berbicara.
Setiap patah katanya, jelas menonjolkan dia seorang yang berilmu. Tanpa berlindung, Oki memaklumkan kedatangannya ke negara ini adalah untuk berkongsi kisah penghasilan dua novel karyanya dan pengalaman sebagai penulis.

Menghasilkan novel Melukis Pelangi: Catatan Hati Oki Setiana Dewi dan Sejuta Pelangi: Pernik Cinta Oki Setiana Dewi, anak kelahiran Batam, Indonesia itu yang ditemui pada majlis ramah mesra bersamanya di Spice Garden, Chulan Square, Kuala Lumpur kelmarin, mengakui sambutan yang diterimanya sangat baik.

“Novel pertama, Melukis Pelangi: Catatan Hati Oki Setiana Dewi mengisahkan perjalanan hidup saya daripada seorang gadis biasa sehinggalah dikenali ramai selepas membintangi filem KCB. Dalam setahun penjualannya di Indonesia, novel ini menjadi antara karya yang laris di pasaran dan sudah lapan kali cetakan semula.

NUKILAN SAYA...Oki menunjukkan dua novel tulisannya, Melukis Pelangi: Catatan Hati Oki Setiana Dewi dan Sejuta Pelangi: Pernik Cinta Oki Setiana Dewi.

“Manakala, novel Sejuta Pelangi: Pernik Cinta Oki Setiana Dewi pula baru tiga bulan berada di pasaran Indonesia dan sudah empat kali cetakan semula. Saya sangat bersyukur dengan penerimaan baik pembaca terhadap kedua-dua novel ini yang dihasilkan menerusi pengalaman yang pernah saya lalui.

“Bagi novel Sejuta Pelangi, saya menulis kisah diri ini bersama masyarakat.
Antaranya, pengalaman mendekati seorang kanak-kanak pesakit kanser, bertemu orang di rumah sakit jiwa serta banduan yang dipenjarakan. Berada di sisi mereka, saya tidak menyangka golongan ini cukup tabah menghadapi dugaan Tuhan.

TENANG...Oki ramah memberi jawapan pada setiap soalan wakil media kepadanya.

“Mereka memberi saya inspirasi dan pengajaran dalam hidup. Ia membuatkan saya mahu lebih memahami agama yang dianuti dan dekat dengan Sang Pencipta. Justeru, dengan sokongan baik yang diterima daripada golongan banduan, saya mengambil inisiatif menganjurkan kelas mengaji al-Quran di penjara.

“Aktiviti ini (ajar mengaji) sudah saya lakukan beberapa bulan yang lalu. Bagi saya, daripada menghabiskan masa dengan hanya mengambil gambar bersama saja adalah lebih baik diadakan majlis ilmu yang memberi manfaat untuk kami semua.

Secara tidak langsung, saya dan mereka (banduan) dekat dengan Allah,” katanya.

Oki yang bertudung pada usia 16 tahun berkata, atas sambutan baik diterimanya, dia akan melancarkan novel ketiga Cahaya Di Atas Cahaya tidak lama lagi.

Katanya inspirasi untuk penghasilan novel itu diperoleh ketika dia melanjutkan pengajian selama sebulan di Universiti Ummul Qura, Makkah pada Februari lalu.

Mengakui dirinya seorang yang begitu cintakan ilmu, Oki menyifatkan semakin dia gigih mencari ilmu, sebenarnya masih banyak yang belum diketahui. Ujar anak sulung daripada tiga beradik ini, ilmu Allah itu cukup luas dan takkan pernah habis diperoleh. Katanya dia akan sentiasa terus belajar.

Berbicara mengenai watak Anna Althafunnisa lakonannya, Oki berkata sudah empat tahun dirinya cukup dikenali peminat dengan nama itu. Jelasnya, dia tidak kisah dipanggil Anna sampai bila-bila pun. Menurut Oki, dia menjadi sangat jatuh cinta pada agama Islam yang dianuti sejak mendapat peluang membintangi KCB.

CINTA ILMU...Oki lanjutkan pengajian di Universiti Ummul Qura, Makkah pada Februari lalu selama sebulan.

“KCB membawa impak yang besar dalam diri saya terhadap agama. Saya sentiasa berdoa kepada Allah dan berusaha mahu menjadi manusia yang baik. Saya bersyukur dipilih melakonkan watak Anna dalam KCB yang cukup memotivasikan diri ini.
Memang impian saya pun menjadi Anna di dunia yang nyata.

“Sebelum berlakon dalam KCB, saya sudah pun membaca novelnya. Saya suka dengan watak Anna itu yang digambarkan sebagai seorang wanita yang baik. Malah, apabila diberi kepercayaan melakonkannya, saya banyak pula belajar mengenai ilmu rumah tangga walaupun saya belum berkahwin,” katanya.

Menerusi KCB juga, Oki meraih anugerah Pendatang Baru Wanita Terbaik Indonesian Movie Award 2010 dan Pendatang Baru Wanita Favorit Indonesian Movie Award
2010. Pun begitu, sikap Oki yang profesional membuka peluang untuk wakil media mengetahui sedikit kisah peribadinya seperti impian perkahwinan.

Oki berkata, dia adalah seorang wanita yang berharap dapat bertemu jodoh pada usia muda. Katanya, dia bersyukur sekiranya impian itu tertunai dan calon terpilih pula direstui kedua-dua ibu bapanya.

Sehubungan itu, lakonan Oki boleh disaksikan penonton dalam pakej Indo Pek
di Saluran Bintang (141) dan Pelangi (142).