Current Events

  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

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    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.
  • Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley
    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Io...Read more

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    Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley

    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. On May 20th, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities - destroying over 100 homes and hitting two elementary schools and a hospital - with many casualties and deaths. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues suffering from these storms. For more on the May 20th storms, see the NOAA Storm Prediction Center Storm Report.
  • Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education
    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of ...Read more

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    Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education

    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of sustainability. Here is a link to the one-page bill: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2366_00_0000.pdf. See report on Bloomberg News.

Summary Images for Known Extrasolar Planets

First set of extrasolar planets

Second set of extrasolar planets

Third set of extrasolar planets

Fourth set of extrasolar planets


Because these images are so large, we have chosen to list them seperately. Viewing all four images will show you all of the known extrasolar planets to date (November 29, 2001). Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars and Jupiter are listed for reference.

The first thing to note about these images is that there is a mass key on the fourth image. Mass is given in MJ, Mass of Jupiter. So for instance, an extrasolar planet that has a mass of 3.9 MJ is 3.9 times as massive as Jupiter. Jupiter's mass is 1,898x10^24 kilograms, so the extrasolar planet's mass is 3.9 X 1,898x10^24 kilograms. The name of each planet is written in white on that bar. Most planets are simply a derivation of the parent star's name. Eccentricity of the planet's orbit is listed at the end of each bar. And the distance from the parent star can be read by looking at the AU bar at the top and bottom of each image.

Last modified November 29, 2001 by Jennifer Bergman.

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