How are #LED lights affecting light pollution? #ISS Astronauts tell give us the inside scoop - http://clapway.com/2015/08/23/iss-astronauts-say-leds-are-making-light-pollution-worse-232/

Astronauts aboard the ISS have made an interesting discovery earlier in the week after comparing photos of Milan they’ve taken over the past few years. According to astronauts, the widespread adoption of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is producing a lot more light pollution than their predecessors.

Swapping to LEDs

LEDs are known for being more eco-friendly since they are better at conserving energy. Cities across the globe are switching to LEDs since they’re typically brighter, in addition. The city of Milan made a full transition in 2015, and New York City has recently installed over 250,000 LEDs in street lights. Unfortunately for New Yorkers, many are saying that light pollution is causing them a lot of discomfort.

According to Tech Insider, many Brooklyn residents specifically mention that LEDs are so bright, they’re beginning to invade their homes. Those complaints might seem quaint, but check out the photos from the ISS below to see what all the commotion is about.

Check out more news about the ISS here!

Astronauts Compare Images of Milan Then and Now

Back in 2012, Astronauts aboard the ISS took a photograph of Milan prior to the LED installs in the center of the city. Taking a look at the picture, you can see that the light levels emitted from the suburbs are roughly equivalent to what’s being produced by the city center. They aren’t exact, but they’re pretty close.

Now, taking a look at the second picture, you can see one of two things happening: the cameras onboard the ISS seemed to have snapped a much cleaner shot, and the light levels coming from the city center are now more distinct than the suburbs. You can also see that the light coming from the suburbs gives off warmer reds than the green and blues from the city center, which contributes to making it brighter.

Negative Consequences

The light pollution is also having a negative impact on the environment. The photos from the ISS show that the LEDs are giving off more blue and green light, which has a tendency to obscure the night’s sky, which is disrupting the day and night cycle. As you might expect, this is having a negative impact on nocturnal animals, hunting and migration patterns, and even their internal physiology.

Animals aren’t the only ones who suffer under these conditions, though. Our melatonin levels are regulated by day and night cycles as well. If our bodies become confused by the light pollution then it will cause our bodies to produce less melatonin, which can cause sleep disorders, headaches, anxiety, and even obesity.

Astronauts aboard the ISS will continue to take pictures of various cities in order to better understand how light pollution is spreading across the globe.

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Don’t forget to check out the New in Review with Brandi — featuring the best of Clapway this week!:

ISS Astronauts Say LEDs are Making Light Pollution Worse

Astronauts used to have a glorified profession but now #NASA wants "em to eat #poop? - http://clapway.com/2015/08/20/nasa-receives-200000-to-turn-human-poop-into-space-food-322/

NASA has been doing a lot of weird things in regards to what astronauts may be eating while they’re out in space, but this newest idea takes the cake. In a recent blog post, NASA announced that it received a $200,000 grant that would allow the agency to research how they might be able to use human poop as a reusable food source.

NASA’s Innovation Engine

This news comes from NASA’s decision to select eight university-led studies that would explore and research various innovative technologies that would help propel America’s space program further along its path.

Among the various technologies were proposals for how to tackle areas of solar cell operations in scenarios involving high temperature, atmosphere entry, synthetic biology, and “dynamic tensegrity-based space structures.” Structures with tensegrity properties would be able to maintain mass with various changes in tension and compression.

“These early career researchers will provide fuel for NASA’s innovation engine,” said Steve Jurczyk, an associate admin of NASA’s Space Technology Directorate.

Learn more about NASA here!

So, What About the Poop?

NASA doesn’t refer to this program in terms quite so blunt. Instead, NASA is calling this the Synthetic Biology for Recycling Human Waste into Food, Nutraceuticals, and Materials: Closing the Loop for Long-Term Space Travel. Try saying that five times fast.

Mark Blenner of Clemson University in South Carolina is heading the project, and it’s just another idea NASA has to help solve how astronauts will maintain a sustainable supply of food during deep space missions.

NASA isn’t the first organization to consider repurposing human waste. Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates helped fund a water filtration system that turns human excrement into safe, drinkable water.

Preferable (?) Alternative Methods

Expedition 44 recently ate part of the second harvest of crop they’ve been growing on the Russian segment. This project is called veg-01, and the idea is that astronauts will be able to grow their own fresh produce while in space through the use of pillows. Astronauts plant these pillows, and in about 33 days they will have fresh produce to eat. So far the first taste-testing began earlier this week, and went over well. Astronauts aboard the ISS ate half of the harvest and sent the rest back for a second round of tests back at NASA headquarters.

Find more about NASA’s space gardening here.

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NASA Receives $200,000 to Turn Human Poop Into Space Food

Shoutout to #Pluto!: Where are you getting all that #nitrogen from anyhow? - http://clapway.com/2015/08/17/scientists-think-theyve-cracked-how-pluto-refills-its-seemingly-endless-supply-of-nitrogen-235/

In a recent NASA blog post, Kelsi Singer, a researcher at Southwest Research Institute working on NASA’s New Horizons, goes over an interesting discovery made about Pluto: It seems to have a near infinite supply of nitrogen.

Pluto is Gassy

The most recent images returned by New Horizons shows that Pluto’s surface is mostly composed of nitrogen, just like Earth’s. There is; however, about a 20 percent difference in composition. Earth’s atmosphere is around ~78 percent nitrogen while Pluto’s is ~98 percent. Another interesting fact is that the nitrogen in Pluto’s atmosphere is actually leaving, and at a pretty alarming rate. According to Singer, the nitrogen is escaping at an estimated rate of “hundreds of tons per hour.”

To learn more about the latest New Horizon imagery, check: HERE.

Other pictures also show that Pluto’s surface is full of ice (duh), but there is also evidence that some of this ice is actually flowing. According to Singer, normal water ice (H20) would be essentially frozen stiff, but ice composed of nitrogen would still be able to flow.

Being a dwarf planet, this phenomenon begs an answer for one question: How can Pluto still be full of nitrogen?

Maybe It’s Comets

Comets take the blame for a lot of stuff. Maybe comets brought bacteria to Earth where it flourished and evolved. Maybe it was (probably) an asteroid or comet that wiped out the dinosaurs. Now it might be comets that are bringing the necessary nitrogen into Pluto’s atmosphere, says Singer.

For this hypothesis the team tried to answer two questions: “Could comets hitting Pluto directly deliver enough nitrogen to Pluto’s surface and atmosphere? Could these comets excavate or expose enough nitrogen ice from the near-surface layers on Pluto by forming impact craters?”

Ultimately, Singer says that it’s just not possible for comets to bring in enough nitrogen to replace the amount escaping from the atmosphere. That leads the team to a perhaps more direct hypothesis: maybe the dwarf planet is creating a huge amount of nitrogen all by itself.

Taking The Direct Approach

In the team’s prediction paper, they go over how Pluto is more likely making nitrogen through the planet’s “heat and geologic activity.” Unfortunately, the team doesn’t have enough data from New Horizons to verify what exactly is the cause of all the nitrogen.

More and more data is expected to reach us over the next few months, so the team will have more clues about what’s going on with Pluto and its interesting nitrogen phenomenon then.

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Scientists Think They"ve Cracked How Pluto Refills Its Seemingly Endless Supply of Nitrogen

Canadian Company Patents a Space Elevator - http://clapway.com/2015/08/15/canadian-company-patents-a-space-elevator543/

On July 21 Thoth Technology, a Canadian space and defense company, was granted a US patent for a space elevator. This freestanding structure would stand 20 km (12 miles) high, and be used for ‘wind-energy generation, communications and tourism,’ said Thoth in its blog.

Ditching Rockets

Space elevators certainly aren’t a new concept. Russian scientists have been exploring the idea of space elevators since 1895. It is important to note that this structure isn’t a literal elevator leading straight to space. The idea is that the elevated launch platform will reduce fuel costs, and make traveling to space much more routine than the dramatic launches we have now. According to Thoth, the proposed technology could save up to 30 percent of the fuel it typically takes to get spacecraft into space. Unfortunately, the patent doesn’t go into much detail on how exactly it plans to do this aside from simply skipping over those first twelve miles. The patent says that the space elevator will use “gravity-defying technologies,” but as CNET’s Erik Mack discusses, “Technically speaking, getting to space hasn’t become any easier over the past half century or so. It still requires using huge rockets to create a massive enough amount of force to push a payload beyond the grip of Earth’s gravity.” Learning what technologies Thoth has developed should prove interesting.

Objectives

The space elevator will be using modular tubes of Kevlar polyethylene composites filled with pressurized gas (helium). These tubes are light enough that the helium actually helps keep the space elevator stable. This essentially allows the launch pad to stay elevated while allowing the base of the structure to ‘guide’ it. Dr. Brendan Quine, the inventor, says, “Astronauts would ascend 20 km by electrical elevator. From the top of the tower, space planes will launch in a single stage to orbit, returning to the top of the tower for refueling and reflight.”

Looking to the Future

NASA is currently working on its largest rocket to date to reach Mars, so it’s interesting to see other companies exploring alternative options that might lead to lower cost mission later down the road. Thoth President and CEO Caroline Roberts believes the space elevator will introduce a new era of space transportation, but we’ll be waiting with bated breath until then.

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Canadian Company Patents a Space Elevator