http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com Quick takes on the fast-moving world of science Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:16:38 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 [1]A magnitude 3.9 earthquake occurred 9.3 miles beneath the seafloor roughly 50 miles south-southwest of Dana Point at 6:43 a.m., generating seismic energy that was lightly felt in about a half dozen local cities, the U.S. Geological Survey says. The agency's online "Did you Feel it?" feature says the quake, which started 9 miles southeast of San Clemente Island, was felt in Laguna Beach, Ladera Ranch, Irvine, Newport Coast, Garden Grove and La Habra. The quake began at a spot slightly northwest of the known trace of the San Clemente fault zone. The shaker was followed by a 3.4 quake a short distance to the northwest at 12:24 p.m. Live California earthquake map | OC earthquake Wiki Follow @grobbins [2] on Twitter | Become a fan of Sciencedude [3] on Facebook Add Sciencedude to your Yahoo [4] and iGoogle [5] pages Email your weather photos to grobbins@ocregister.com [6] Latest and science news: In rarity, 2 warships dock at once at Seal Beach NWS [7] White House to honor UC Irvine physicist [8] The identity of the mystery science photo that stumped readers [9] UCI offering free science classes online [10] New photo galleries Newly updated: Reader weather photos [11] Space and astronomy [12] O.C. marine life [13] [1] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/24/39-offshore-earthquake-lightly-shakes-oc/68727/picture-15/ [2] http://twitter.com/grobbins [3] http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sciencedude/125075464016 [4] http://add.my.yahoo.com/content?.intl=us&url=http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/feed/ [5] http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/feed/ [6] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.commailto:grobbins@ocregister.com [7] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/18/in-rarity-2-warships-visit-seal-beach-at-once/68415/ [8] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/12/white-house-to-honor-uci-physicist/68043/ [9] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/14/bet-you-cant-identify-this-photo-2/68125/ [10] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/11/uci-begins-offering-free-classes-online/67813/ [11] http://www.ocregister.com/articles/weather-216541-photos-orange.html?pic=0 [12] http://www.ocregister.com/articles/astronomy-216597-space-photos.html?pic=0 [13] http://www.ocregister.com/news/life-220567-marine-photos.html http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/24/39-offshore-earthquake-lightly-shakes-oc/68727/ [1] Well, if I had not given so many hints -- especially the Cezanne hint -- I suspect we would not have had a winner today. But a reader with the screen name of John Miles correctly stated that you're looking at the fuzzy skin of a peach. The image was taken with an electron microscope at Australian National University. Miles wins a copy of Andrew Chaikin's wonderful book, "Voices from the Moon." Expanded hint: The image shows something virtually everyone has seen and touched,  it is organic and it would pass through your intestines, in the right circumstances. Cezanne would be disappointed by all these wild guesses. SPECIAL THANKS to readers: At 1:05 p.m. today, Sciencedude surpassed 3 million page views for the year. Thank you for your readership. Follow @grobbins [2] on Twitter | Become a fan of Sciencedude [3] on Facebook Add Sciencedude to your Yahoo [4] and iGoogle [5] pages Email your weather photos to grobbins@ocregister.com [6] Latest and science news: In rarity, 2 warships dock at once at Seal Beach NWS [7] White House to honor UC Irvine physicist [8] The identity of the mystery science photo that stumped readers [9] UCI offering free science classes online [10] New photo galleries Reader weather photos [11] Space and astronomy [12] O.C. marine life [13] [1] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/21/bet-you-cant-identify-this-photo-3/68503/picture-13-2/ [2] http://twitter.com/grobbins [3] http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sciencedude/125075464016 [4] http://add.my.yahoo.com/content?.intl=us&url=http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/feed/ [5] http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/feed/ [6] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.commailto:grobbins@ocregister.com [7] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/18/in-rarity-2-warships-visit-seal-beach-at-once/68415/ [8] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/12/white-house-to-honor-uci-physicist/68043/ [9] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/14/bet-you-cant-identify-this-photo-2/68125/ [10] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/11/uci-begins-offering-free-classes-online/67813/ [11] http://www.ocregister.com/articles/weather-216541-photos-orange.html?pic=0 [12] http://www.ocregister.com/articles/astronomy-216597-space-photos.html?pic=0 [13] http://www.ocregister.com/news/life-220567-marine-photos.html http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/21/bet-you-cant-identify-this-photo-3/68503/ [caption id="attachment_68647" align="aligncenter" width="451" caption=" DARK ... FOR NOW: Scott O'Donnell of Yorba Linda photographed the thick marine layer above Orange County today. The clouds are spitting some rain, but significant precipitation is not expected. The photo was taken southbound on the 5, near the intersection with the 405. "] [1][/caption] There are isolated sprinkles this morning from a thick marine layer. But that's not the main weather issue we face ... Weak offshore winds are about to start blowing through northeastern Orange County, creating four days of increased wildfire danger in parched Southern California, says the National Weather Service. Forecasters also say it is possible that the county will go through November without receiving any significant rain. Santa Ana averages about 1.3'' of precipitation in November, and so far as received only trace amounts. A weather service advisory issued today says,  "A long period of weak dry offshore flow will increase the fire weather hazard Monday through Thursday, mainly in the mountains and inland valleys near the foothills." [2] The winds will primarily blow through Orange County's northeastern canyons and foothills and are not expected to exceed 35 mph. But the dry winds, combined with drought and lower-than-normal humidity, raise the danger of wildfires, forecasters say. The transition to the offshore flow begins today. High temperatures will be 3-7 degrees below average today, with most areas rising only to the mid-60s, the weather service says. But a large high pressure system is moving into Southern California that will create the offshore flow and raising inland temperatures to the mid-to-upper 70s inland by early in the week. Thursday -- Thanksgiving day -- is expected to be warm,  dry and mostly clear in Orange County. Live OC weather map [3] | OC weather wiki [4] Follow @grobbins [5] on Twitter | Become a fan of Sciencedude [6] on Facebook Add Sciencedude to your Yahoo [7] and iGoogle [8] pages Email your weather photos to grobbins@ocregister.com [9] New photo galleries Reader weather photos [10] Space and astronomy [11] O.C. marine life [12] [rssfeedme cat="sciencedude" feedpath="category/uci-science-news/feed/" max="5"] [1] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/21/dry-winds-to-stoke-oc-wildfire-danger/68543/todaysweather/ [2] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/21/dry-winds-to-stoke-oc-wildfire-danger/68543/warning/ [3] http://www.ocregister.com/articles/county-217815-live-map.html?maps=1 [4] http://wiki.ocregister.com/Orange_County/Orange_County_weather [5] http://twitter.com/grobbins [6] http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sciencedude/125075464016 [7] http://add.my.yahoo.com/content?.intl=us&url=http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/feed/ [8] http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/feed/ [9] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.commailto:grobbins@ocregister.com [10] http://www.ocregister.com/articles/weather-216541-photos-orange.html?pic=0 [11] http://www.ocregister.com/articles/astronomy-216597-space-photos.html?pic=0 [12] http://www.ocregister.com/news/life-220567-marine-photos.html http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/21/dry-winds-to-stoke-oc-wildfire-danger/68543/ [caption id="attachment_68425" align="alignright" width="300" caption="The bow of the USS Curts (38) is visible just ahead of the stern of the USS Gary (51). Image by Gary Robbins, The Register"] [1][/caption] The Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station has such a small, shallow bay, it rarely hosts more than one warship at a time. But the California base is on double duty at the moment, serving two Perry-class frigates, the USS Curts [2] (38) and the USS Gary [3] (51), which are docked stern-to-stern in Anaheim Bay. It's an unusual sight for motorists passing nearby on Pacific Coast Highway. Frigates are the smallest surface ships serviced at Seal Beach, so the base can handle two at once. The Navy sometimes have schedule overlaps and needs to handle two vessels at once. It's not a regularly thing. These ships, which were built by Todd Shipyards in San Pedro during the height of the Cold War, are each 453 feet long. And while they have very sophisticated equipment, especially for tracking submarines, searching for mines and knocking down short-range missiles, they represent the past instead of the future. The Navy has been building dozens of Arleigh Burke-class guided missiles destroyers, ships that stock up to 96 Tomahawk cruise missiles. Frigates of this kind are slowly being decommissioned to make room for more technologically robust ships. The frigates are not open to the public, and boaters are prohibited from approaching the vessels. Quiz corner: In the movie, "The Hunt for Red October," an American frigate fires on the submarine. What was factually wrong with the scene? Email answers to grobbins@ocregister.com [4]. I'll give a book to the reader with the best answer. Follow @grobbins [5] on Twitter | Become a fan of Sciencedude [6] on Facebook Add Sciencedude to your Yahoo [7] and iGoogle [8] pages Email your weather photos to grobbins@ocregister.com [4] Latest and science news: White House to honor UC Irvine physicist [10] The identity of the mystery science photo that stumped readers [11] UCI offering free science classes online [12] [1] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/18/in-rarity-2-warships-visit-seal-beach-at-once/68415/frigates/ [2] http://www.curts.navy.mil/default.aspx [3] http://www.gary.navy.mil/default.aspx [4] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.commailto:grobbins@ocregister.com [5] http://twitter.com/grobbins [6] http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sciencedude/125075464016 [7] http://add.my.yahoo.com/content?.intl=us&url=http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/feed/ [8] http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/feed/ [9] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.commailto:grobbins@ocregister.com [10] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/12/white-house-to-honor-uci-physicist/68043/ [11] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/14/bet-you-cant-identify-this-photo-2/68125/ [12] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/11/uci-begins-offering-free-classes-online/67813/ http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/18/in-rarity-2-warships-visit-seal-beach-at-once/68415/ [caption id="attachment_68369" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Look toward Constellation Leo between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. Tuesday. Graphic courtesy of Astronomy.com"] [1][/caption] The annual Leonid meteor shower will peak overnight, and astronomers say that people who are ideally located (the desert) should be able to see 20-30 meteors per hour between 1:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. Tuesday. But even amateur skygazers in urban/surburban areas like Orange County should be able to see several meteors per hour as Earth passes through debris shed by Comet Swift-Tuttle. Stay away from street lights and other sources of light pollution, and give your eyes time to adjust to the dark. Richard Talcott, an Astronomy.com [2] editor we often consult, said in a news advisory, "If the weather cooperates, viewing conditions should be nearly ideal. Observers normally can see 20 to 30 meteors per hour at the peak, but rates could spike considerably this year. These meteors started out as tiny specks of dust and debris ejected by Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle during its countless trips around the Sun. Over time, these particles spread out along the comet's orbit. Every November, Earth passes through this stream of dust. "The particles hit our atmosphere at 147,000 mph and vaporize because of friction with the air. This produces the streaks of light in the sky we call meteors. If you trace all the shower's meteor paths backward, they appear to emanate from the constellation Leo the Lion (hence the name Leonid)." Live OC weather map [3] | Reader weather photo gallery [4]| OC weather wiki [5] Follow @grobbins [6] on Twitter | Become a fan of Sciencedude [7] on Facebook Add Sciencedude to your Yahoo [8] and iGoogle [9] pages Email your weather photos to grobbins@ocregister.com [10] Latest and science news: White House to honor UC Irvine physicist [11] The identity of the mystery science photo that stumped readers [12] UCI offering free science classes online [13] US warship to be commissioned in Seal Beach for first time [14] [1] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/16/meteor-shower-to-peak-overnight/68341/picture-31/ [2] http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=8774 [3] http://www.ocregister.com/articles/county-217815-live-map.html?maps=1 [4] http://www.ocregister.com/articles/weather-216541-photos-orange.html?pic=0 [5] http://wiki.ocregister.com/Orange_County/Orange_County_weather [6] http://twitter.com/grobbins [7] http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sciencedude/125075464016 [8] http://add.my.yahoo.com/content?.intl=us&url=http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/feed/ [9] http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/feed/ [10] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.commailto:grobbins@ocregister.com [11] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/12/white-house-to-honor-uci-physicist/68043/ [12] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/14/bet-you-cant-identify-this-photo-2/68125/ [13] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/11/uci-begins-offering-free-classes-online/67813/ [14] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/10/29/warship-to-be-commissioned-in-oc-for-first-time/65631/ http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/16/meteor-shower-to-peak-overnight/68341/ [1] I vowed that this week's contest would be harder than last week's. And it was. After scores of entries, we finally got the right answer from Kyle Martin of Yorba Linda, who goes by the screen name of Aceofspades. He knew that the photo shows human mitochondria, the so-called "power plants" of cells. The photo was supplied by UCI geneticist Doug Wallace, one of the world's foremost experts on mitochondria. Martin wins a free copy of "Jacques Cousteau: The Sea King," a new biography by Brad Matsen. Follow @grobbins [2] on Twitter | Become a fan of Sciencedude [3] on Facebook Add Sciencedude to your Yahoo [4] and iGoogle [5] pages Email your weather photos to grobbins@ocregister.com [6] Latest science news: Don't miss: Do elephant seals sleep while diving off O.C.? [7] [rssfeedme cat="sciencedude" feedpath="category/uci-science-news/feed/" max="5"] [1] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/14/bet-you-cant-identify-this-photo-2/68125/trythis/ [2] http://twitter.com/grobbins [3] http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sciencedude/125075464016 [4] http://add.my.yahoo.com/content?.intl=us&url=http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/feed/ [5] http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/feed/ [6] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.commailto:grobbins@ocregister.com [7] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/12/elephant-seals-may-sleep-while-diving-off-oc/67991/ http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/14/bet-you-cant-identify-this-photo-2/68125/ [1]A magnitude 1.8 microquake occurred at 1:29 a.m. near the intersection of Hazard Avenue and Beach Boulevard, not far from the Westminster Mall and Westminster Memorial Park, says the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake began a bit southeast of a branch of the Newport-Inglewood fault, at a depth of 3.7 miles.  The shaker was not widely felt, and is mentioned here because the public is interested in the small, isolated microquakes that regularly happen in or near Orange County. The little tremor is unlikely to lead to something larger, and likely represents normal shifting in the Newport-Inglewood fault zone. In an unrelated event, a 1.5 microquake occurred beneath the seafloor at 8:44 a.m. today, off the Palos Verdes Peninsula, a region where there are sizable sub-sea faults. Follow @grobbins [2] on Twitter | Become a fan of Sciencedude [3] on Facebook Add Sciencedude to your Yahoo [4] and iGoogle [5] pages Email your weather photos to grobbins@ocregister.com [6] Latest earthquake news [rssfeedme cat="sciencedude" feedpath="category/earthquake-news-and-research/feed/" max="5"] [1] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/14/tiny-earthquake-near-westminster-mall/68261/westminjster/ [2] http://twitter.com/grobbins [3] http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sciencedude/125075464016 [4] http://add.my.yahoo.com/content?.intl=us&url=http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/feed/ [5] http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/feed/ [6] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.commailto:grobbins@ocregister.com http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/14/tiny-earthquake-near-westminster-mall/68261/ [1] Updated Saturday, 4:15 The National Weather Service has upped the potential threat of wildfire, issuing a red flag fire warning for northeastern Orange County. (Check description above.) Earlier, forecasters had a lesser, fire weather watch in place for the whole county. The red flag fire weather warning will be in effect from 9 a.m. Sunday to 6 p.m. on Monday. The weather service says in an advisory, "Northeast winds of 15-25 mph with gusts in excess of mph will develop below the Cajon Pass and in the Santa Ana Mountains and foothills Sunday morning. The winds should spread south and east into portions of inland Riverside and San Diego counties during the day and continue into Monday. Local gusts in excess of 45 mph are possible at times in the windiest locations. Relative humidities will drop to 15 percent or less for several hours on Monday, mainly in the valleys and on the lower coastal mountain slopes, and below 10 percent for 10 hours or more on Monday, especially at the lower elevations. " Live OC weather map [2] | Reader weather photo gallery [3]| OC weather wiki [4] Follow @grobbins [5] on Twitter | Become a fan of Sciencedude [6] on Facebook Add Sciencedude to your Yahoo [7] and iGoogle [8] pages Email your weather photos to grobbins@ocregister.com [9] Latest weather and science news: [rssfeedme cat="sciencedude" feedpath="category/uci-science-news/feed/" max="5"] [1] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/13/fire-weather-watched-issued-for-oc/68199/redflag_with_text-2/ [2] http://www.ocregister.com/articles/county-217815-live-map.html?maps=1 [3] http://www.ocregister.com/articles/weather-216541-photos-orange.html?pic=0 [4] http://wiki.ocregister.com/Orange_County/Orange_County_weather [5] http://twitter.com/grobbins [6] http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sciencedude/125075464016 [7] http://add.my.yahoo.com/content?.intl=us&url=http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/feed/ [8] http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/feed/ [9] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.commailto:grobbins@ocregister.com http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/13/fire-weather-watched-issued-for-oc/68199/ [1]The National Weather Service is reminding local boaters who plan to travel west of Santa Catalina Island that there's a small craft advisory in effect, with winds in the outer waters gusting to 25 knots. The winds will last well into this evening, and pose a threat to people who want to go sportfishing in the outer waters. The winds will ease some on Saturday but will still gust to 20 knots at times, forecasters say. Conditions are comparatively mild on the seas between Orange County and Catalina. A low pressure system passed through overnight, dropping trace amounts of rain on parts of the county. Temperatures will rise to seasonal levels Saturday and Sunday (and maybe just above in some areas.) And the latest computer models contain a hint of potentially bad news. The weather service says, "A moderate to strong offshore flow (Santa Ana winds) is expected late Saturday night through Sunday with gusty northeast winds over the mountains, inland valleys and into Orange County." Forecasters say the winds will gust to 30 mph inland and 15-20 at the county's coast. The weather service is debating whether to issue a fire weather watch. (Santa Ana winds explained [2].) Live OC weather map [3] | Reader weather photo gallery [4]| OC weather wiki [5] Follow @grobbins [6] on Twitter | Become a fan of Sciencedude [7] on Facebook Add Sciencedude to your Yahoo [8] and iGoogle [9] pages Email your weather photos to grobbins@ocregister.com [10] Latest weather and science news: [rssfeedme cat="sciencedude" feedpath="category/uci-science-news/feed/" max="5"] [1] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/13/small-craft-warning-for-oc-boaters/68163/picture-12-2/ [2] http://wiki.ocregister.com/Orange_County/Orange_County_weather/Santa_Ana_winds [3] http://www.ocregister.com/articles/county-217815-live-map.html?maps=1 [4] http://www.ocregister.com/articles/weather-216541-photos-orange.html?pic=0 [5] http://wiki.ocregister.com/Orange_County/Orange_County_weather [6] http://twitter.com/grobbins [7] http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sciencedude/125075464016 [8] http://add.my.yahoo.com/content?.intl=us&url=http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/feed/ [9] http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/feed/ [10] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.commailto:grobbins@ocregister.com http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/13/small-craft-warning-for-oc-boaters/68163/ [caption id="attachment_68097" align="alignright" width="333" caption="There's moisture south of Orange County, but little of it will move into this region."] [1][/caption] A thick marine layer is developing over Orange County and will reach 5,500 feet deep in many areas by early Friday, possibly generating drizzle over a wide area and keeping temperatures in the 60s again tomorrow. But the National Weather Service says "high pressure aloft slowly shifts over the state on Saturday through Sunday. An offshore flow develops late Saturday night through Sunday morning with gusty northeast (Santa Ana) winds over the mountains, inland valleys and into Orange County. Offshore flow weakens Monday through Tuesday." The strength of the offshores has yet to be determined, but this is not considered to be a major Santa Ana event. The forecast means a couple of things: The weather service was right when it said a week ago that Orange County would not receive significant rain through Nov. 15. And the region is temporarily locked in a pattern where it's cool for a couple of days, then warm, followed by another round of seasonal, or below seasonal temperatures. It also means that, for the moment, the county won't get the rain it badly needs. But the pattern can change quickly. It's just that there's no sign, at the moment, that it's going to happen right away. Live OC weather map [2] | Reader weather photo gallery [3]| OC weather wiki [4] Follow @grobbins [5] on Twitter | Become a fan of Sciencedude [6] on Facebook Add Sciencedude to your Yahoo [7] and iGoogle [8] pages Email your weather photos to grobbins@ocregister.com [9] Latest weather and science news: [rssfeedme cat="sciencedude" feedpath="category/uci-science-news/feed/" max="5"] [1] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/12/clouds-flow-in-ahead-of-offshore-winds/68087/ir2san-copy/ [2] http://www.ocregister.com/articles/county-217815-live-map.html?maps=1 [3] http://www.ocregister.com/articles/weather-216541-photos-orange.html?pic=0 [4] http://wiki.ocregister.com/Orange_County/Orange_County_weather [5] http://twitter.com/grobbins [6] http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sciencedude/125075464016 [7] http://add.my.yahoo.com/content?.intl=us&url=http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/feed/ [8] http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/feed/ [9] http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.commailto:grobbins@ocregister.com http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/12/clouds-flow-in-ahead-of-offshore-winds/68087/