Petrified Forest National Park: Fossil-Finding Via Satellite

Above, fossils on display at Petrified Forest National Park's
 Rainbow Forest Museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Along with ancient forests, Petrified Forest National Park has been a source for fossils over the years.

A new tool, satellites, can potentially aid paleontologists in finding areas that may contain fossils.

According to the Sedona Red Rock News:

Satellite imagery has the potential to assist paleontologists in focusing their efforts where to look for new fossil discoveries and help land managers monitor paleontological resources according to new research conducted at Petrified Forest National Park by the University of Oregon published in the journal Geological Magazine in November.

“The potential applications of finding fossil-rich areas using chemical differences visible from space are limitless,” said PEFO paleontologist Adam Marsh in a recent email. ”It could help us identify particularly sensitive areas to protect in the park and also those that might be more scientifically significant for our research.” 

This is the first time researchers have attempted to locate individual fossils on the landscape while previous works focused on looking for outcrops for fossil excavation. The project’s goal is to be able to get huge areas mapped using satellites, so people don’t have to physically set foot in those areas to reduce workloads and increase worker safety according to UO paleontologist Edward Davis. 

 To read more, go here.

Tokyo Nightlife Not Fully Recovered

Above, the Wako Department Store in Ginza in December 2010. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan fully reopened to foreign visitors last October. COVID has also been downgraded. Businesses in Tokyo have also reopened.

However, satellite images of Tokyo has shown that nightlife in Japan's capital city has not fully recovered from the pandemic.

According to Nikkei Asia:

TOKYO -- Tokyo is darker at night now than in 2019 before COVID-19 ravaged the city's entertainment districts. Nighttime satellite images show the city last year had luminosity only 90% that of 2019, while Paris and London had fully regained their glow.

Based on NASA satellite image data processed by Colorado School of Mines, a research university in the U.S., Nikkei has calculated nighttime brightness in various cities during the April-October period of 2022. Data showed that illumination levels increased 3.2% in Paris and 1.4% in London from 2019 averages, but fell 3.2% in New York and 11.6% in Tokyo.

The sharp drop in Tokyo is mostly attributed to a slow recovery in city centers frequented by business people for after-work socializing.

Nighttime luminosity fell much more in entertainment quarters than in residential areas, with light levels falling more than 15% in popular nightspots like Roppongi, Shinjuku and Ginza. People traffic downtown was about 20% less in February than three years earlier, according to mobile location data provided by Docomo InsightMarketing. 

To read more, go here. 

The Incredible Disappearing Lake Mead Via Satellite

Above, Lake Mead just behind the Hoover Dam in November 2018. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

NASA satellite photos of Lake Mead has been released and they show a slowly withering lake in a time span of 22 years.

Naturally, there are those who blame "climate change". 

Here's how Lake Mead has slowly disappeared during the past 22 years:

Telstar 1

While listening to the song, "Telstar" by the Tornados, I became curious about Telstar 1 satellite.

I remember when it was launched by NASA in 1962.

According to Wikipedia:

Telstar 1 was a communications satellite launched by NASA on July 10, 1962, it was the satellite that allowed the first live broadcast of television images between the United States and Europe. It remained active for only 7 months before it prematurely failed due to Starfish Prime, a high-altitude nuclear test conducted by the United States. Although it no longer works, it is still in Earth orbit.

To read more, go here.

The song, "Telstar" by the Tornados may not be a familiar title, but the tune is:

Satellite Image of Frontal System

The above NOAA satellite image shows the frontal system cutting across Utah, Colorado, Arizona and heading to New Mexico.

We are probably going to get rain during the early morning hours and snow later in the morning.

The National Weather Service forecast:

Tonight

A 50 percent chance of showers, mainly after 3am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 35. Southwest wind 15 to 20 mph. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Monday

A 50 percent chance of snow, mainly before 9am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 41. West wind 15 to 20 mph. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

New Antenna

Above, the new antenna mounted on the wall (with the white coaxial cable) and the old
one sitting a couple of feet above (left, top) the television set. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Since my old television digital antenna appears to have crapped out, I picked up a One For All Suburbs Line Pro ultra-thin antenna. I was watching the "Godzilla Marathon" last weekend on Comet TV when it died.

It is rated to be able to receive on-air television broadcast signals at a 50-mile range, which is more than enough as the broadcasting towers are about 10 miles away (or less).

It received signals for 19 stations when I programmed the television set. That's more than enough for me. So far, so good!

I absolutely refuse to pay a satellite company over $100 a month for channels loaded with commercials and uninteresting (to me) programming. I don't watch television that much anyway. There is an old satellite dish mounted in back of the house. If there is something I do want to see on a pay channel, I can always check into a hotel in Gallup that has free satellite service.

I remember when we first got cable service in Hawthorne, California through Jack Barry Cable back around 1982. The service was around $25/month and it included HBO and Cinemax. Ages ago, when companies were promoting cable service (it was called "pay TV"), one of the selling points was "no commercials". Well, that didn't last long and channels are now loaded with commercials. American Movie Classics (AMC) was one such channel ruined by commercials. 

Monument Valley...From Space!

Above, the Mittens and Merrick Butte. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One of the highlights of my 2016 trip to Metropolis, Illinois was my stay on the way home at Monument Valley, Utah.

Although it was cold and windy, I enjoyed it. Anyone wondering where to go on a vacation trip, they should seriously consider a visit to Monument Valley.

NASA's Earth Observatory website has some pictures of Monument Valley taken from space.

They start their photo article with:

Arguably one of the most photographed places on Earth, Monument Valley is the quintessential picture of the American West. The valley covers about 92,000 acres along the border of Arizona and Utah. You may have seen this iconic landscape in several John Wayne movies as the Hollywood star rode a horse through these sandy plains. You can travel for miles on horseback amid towering sandstone pillars that are peppered throughout this Navajo Tribal Park. 

Between the red rock formations and the sandstone towers, the valley contains evidence of eons of nature’s constructive and destructive power. Formed during the Permian period, this patch of land once formed part of a seafloor where sediments and sandstone piled up in layers for millions of years. Tectonic forces raised the slab above the water line and created a plateau. Then water and wind chipped away at the sedimentary rock and removed the softer materials, eventually giving us the towering structures that we see today. 

The natural-color composite image at the top of this page gives a sense of the topography of the valley. The image was made from data acquired by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 from May 8, 2018, and from a digital elevation model (the National Elevation Dataset of the U.S. Geological Survey).

To see the photos and read more, go here. 

Godzilla Via Satellite

Above, a satellite view of Kurihama Flower World. Can you spot the Godzilla slide?

The other night, I was looking up something in Yokosuka, Japan. After I was done finding what I was looking for, I decided (for the fun of it) to see if I can get a satellite view of the Godzilla slide at the Kurihama Flower World park.

Sure enough, once I located the park through Google Maps, I zoomed in on the park and hit the satellite view feature and was able to find the Godzilla slide pretty fast.

Above, a little closer view. The Godzilla slide casts a familiar-shaped shadow.

As you can see from the accompanying satellite photographs, Godzilla was relatively easy to spot by his distinctive shadow. The overhead power lines that I knew were there were also an aid to finding the Godzilla slide.

Above, zooming in on the Godzilla slide.

In the photographs, it is easy to spot the shadow image of his dorsal spikes and tail.

Above, a view of the Godzilla slide from the ground. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If Godzilla were a real creature and the Japanese Self Defense Forces had to find him via satellite, this would be what they would likely see to pinpoint where to direct their weapons.

The Godzilla slide is covered in The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan on page 32.

Satellite Photos of Sendai Coast Released

Satellite images of the Sendai, Japan coast have been released. The images of the aftermath of the earthquake and resulting tsunami were taken today and the earlier image was taken February 26, 2011.

Unfortunately, cloud cover obscures views of the post-earthquake Matsushima Bay. What little of it I can see, it appears the contours of Matsushima bay are unchanged. Hopefully, the southern peninsula and islands were able to block much of the tsunami's force.

Click on images to view larger.

Sendai Coast - March 12, 2011

This image from NASA's Terra Satellite shows extensive flooding along Japan's northeastern coast near the city of Sendai after a massive tsunami caused by the 8.9-magnitude earthquake that struck the country on March 11, 2011. This image was taken by Terra's MODIS instrument on March 12.
CREDIT: MODIS Rapid Response Team/NASA GSFC


Sendai Coast, February 26, 2011

This image from NASA's Terra satellite shows Japan's northeastern coastal region near the city of Sendai as it appeared on Feb. 26, 2011, before a massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck the region and caused a tsunami that led to extensive flooding on March 11.
CREDIT: MODIS Rapid Response Team/NASA GSFC

To view these in larger format, go to Space.com's website here.