Cosmic rays accelerated by exploded stars

Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope and NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have shown that cosmic rays from the Milky Way are very efficiently accelerated in the remnants of exploded stars.

Cosmic rays are extremely energetic particles – mostly protons – moving at close to the speed of light. They originate from outside our Solar System and are constantly bombarding the Earth’s atmosphere at a rate of some 100,000 per square metre per second.

Earth gravity and solar eclipse

A team of Chinese scientists is planning to conduct a once-in-a-century experiment on July 22, the day of the total solar eclipse, which would test the controversial theory that gravity drops slightly during a total eclipse.

According to a report in New Scientist, geophysicists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences are preparing an unprecedented array of highly sensitive instruments at six sites across the country to take gravity readings during the total eclipse due to pass over southern China on July 22.

The results, which will be analyzed in the coming months, could confirm once and for all that anomalous fluctuations observed during past eclipses are real.

The first sign that gravity fluctuates during an eclipse was in 1954, when French economist and physicist Maurice Allais noticed erratic behaviour in a swinging pendulum when an eclipse passed over Paris.

Pendulums typically swing back and forth as a result of gravity and the rotation of the Earth. At the start of the eclipse, however, the pendulum's swing direction shifted violently, suggesting a sudden change in gravitational pull.

In the run up to July's eclipse, Chinese researchers have prepared eight gravimeters and two pendulums spread across six monitoring sites.

At over five minutes, the event will be the longest total solar eclipse predicted for this century.

Shuttle Endeavour finally launched

Shuttle Endeavour finally roared to life and blasted off Wednesday on its sixth try, rocketing away through a hazy sky toward a Friday rendezvous with the International Space Station from Kennedy Space Center.

Multiple pieces of foam insulation fell from the ship's external tank during the early moments of flight, but it was not immediately clear whether the shuttle's fragile heat shield suffered any significant damage.

With commander Mark Polansky and pilot Douglas Hurley at the controls, Endeavour's three main engines ignited in staggered sequence and throttled up to full thrust, followed seconds later by ignition of the shuttle's twin solid-fuel boosters at 6:03:10 p.m. EDT.

President Obama hails successful Hubble repair

President Barack Obama called the crew of the shuttle Atlantis late Wednesday and congratulated the astronauts on the successful overhaul of the Hubble Space Telescope. He also promised to name a new NASA administrator soon, although he provided no clues as to who might get the nod.

Shuttle Endeavour launch on sunday postponed

NASA on Sunday postponed the launch of space shuttle Endeavour for the day due storms near Kennedy Space Center.

NASA will next try to launch the shuttle on Monday at 6:51 p.m.

Endeavour's launch was postponed twice last month because of a liquid hydrogen leak.

Endeavour, carrying seven astronauts and a key component for Japan's Kibo science laboratory, is to head to the International Space Station for a 16-day mission. Five spacewalks are planned for the crew after the shuttle docks.

Indian moon mission saved

India's only satellite Chandrayaan -I orbiting moon came close to overheating and failure but scientists improvised to save it.

Last month the satellite lost a critical instrument called the star sensor. The sensor helps the $80-million satellite stay oriented so its cameras and other recording equipment are constantly aimed at the lunar surface. Without the sensor , the mission is useless.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) team used other systems such as an antenna mechanism and gyroscope to make sure that satellite was " looking at the moon". Now, the mission is safe and the systems are working.

Chandrayaan is scheduled to last two years. Scientists hope that Chandrayaan project will boost India's capacity to build more efficient rockets and satellites.

Cass School opens

Cass School opens

Education Management Corporation

Education Management Corporation

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Stunning Home Interior Renders Alessandro Prodan’s

When we first saw Alessandro Prodan’s work, we thought we wouldn’t ever be surprised seeing what CG artists are capable of. But the creator of the following images just proved us wrong. Hail the Russian CG visualization specialist Anton Valiev who has created these drop dead gorgeous renders.




Compared to Alessandro’s work these images lay more emphasis to the interiors and the tools they used for creating them are also different. Anton used 3DS Max for design and VRay for rendering while Alessandro chose Maya with MentalRay for rendering.




For the clueless, this level of photorealism is very difficult to achieve in computer aided design and if you are capable of doing this it means that you are the very cream of the trade you practise.

Beautiful All White House With Pool Design

With its stunning pool and impeccable style, The Sotogrande House is fit for a celebrity. The credit for its design goes to Spanish architectural firm A-cero. The design is fresh and exciting and you can’t stop but admire how serene the whole home looks. White dominates throughout and except for this minor(?) challenge of keeping it that way we really can’t find anything else to crib about this fabulous home.

Los Angeles Concept Hotel Designed On The Iconic Hollywood Sign

Los Angeles Concept Hotel Designed On The Iconic Hollywood Sign

10 Drop Dead Gorgeous Bedrooms Pictures

We recently went around plucking bedroom pictures. And while doing that we fell. Not literally, but fell in love with some of these gorgeous ones we came across. Each bedroom that is featured below has a different story to tell. One transforms you into the victorian era, another takes you on a stroll through the rooms of a house on some deserted street. Some are beautifully lit, some have got even the simplest blinds going for them. Some are design wise pretty dramatic while some subtle. One even has a swimming pool thrown in! Basically each is different from the other and we sort of love this design hotch potch. Hope you would too.

Top 100 Interior Design Schools in the World

Given the thousand interior design schools all over the world, the School of Interior Design has compiled a list of the top 100 interior design schools worldwide!

With schools such as Boston Architectural College, Istituto Superiore di Architettura e Design, the Illinois Institute of Art at Chicago, Zokei University, and Akademie der Bildend Künste München, the list contains the most diverse and comprehensive selection of interiordesign education offered locally and internationally.

New Modern Beautiful and Diverse Interiors from SHH Share

Dorm Room Furniture Design

Beautiful All White House With Pool Design

Stunning Home Interior Renders Alessandro Prodan’s

10 Drop Dead Gorgeous Bedrooms Pictures

Contemporary Lighting Ideas

Outdoor Lighting Ideas

Living Room Design

The Elmgreen School officially opened by Tessa Jowell

The Elmgreen School officially opened by Tessa Jowell

The Elmgreen School in West Norwood, the first Parented Promoted School in the UK, was officially opened today by The Right Honourable Tessa Jowell MP, who described the school as a beautiful building that is fulfilling the dreams and ambitions of the parents and children.

The school designed by Scott Brownrigg and part of the award-winning Lambeth BSF programme, opened to students in September 2009 and has been developed through a partnership between Lambeth Council and the Parent Promoter Foundation (PPF) and built by contractor Carillion.

The £26 million three storey school, designed by Scott Brownrigg, provides 1,100 places for 11 to 18 year-olds, including a 30 place hearing impaired unit, and a 200 place sixth form. The building is designed as a single envelope with facilities placed around a central space that is based on the idea of a medieval market square. This principle allows for total flexibility. The Market Square is used to move through and connect learning areas; for curriculum activity and enhanced learning; to socialise in; and provides a stimulating inside/outside environment that has been transformed into a year-round external space through its sawtooth glass roof.

Since September, staff at The Elmgreen School have been able to realise transformational learning opportunities through using agile and varied teaching spaces, including those in the orchard and on the roof top science garden. The design enables a high level of natural supervision and allows learning to be ‘on show’. Benefits of the design are already being felt with the school reporting a significant improvement against KPI’s and an 80% reduction in Fixed Term Exclusions.

John Wilkinson, Acting Headteacher, said, “"We were very privileged, as school staff, to be so closely involved, with the architects, in creating a building that reflects the ethos of the school. Being in our new building has transformed the learning opportunities available to students and families."

University Center among nation's best designs

The world of interior design has taken notice of Trine University.

Trine’s new University Center and Center for Technology and Online Resources is featured in the Educational Interiors Showcase of American School & University’s August 2008 edition. The 80-year-old publication devoted exclusively to education facilities is considered the authority for information about the educational facilities market.

The annual competition honoring educational interior design excellence spotlights projects representing some of the most effective learning environments in America. Trine’s University Center and Center for Technology and Online Resources earned a citation for Outstanding Designs in student centers/service areas.

A jury of American Institute of Architects members and education administrators evaluated submissions from architectural firms, schools and universities across the country. One hundred-nine projects were chosen for publication.

Featured projects include designs that
take essential elements of education design—security, creating an environment for learning, a healthful environment—and package that into an award-winning facility. The jury used sustainability, character, long-term appropriateness of materials and colors, innovation, safety, balance of collaborative spaces, and adaptability for current and future technology as criteria for selection.

Schools with outstanding designs in Trine’s category included Glendale Community College in Glendale, Arizona, Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, Merritt College in Oakland, Calif., University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash., Berklee College of Music in Boston, Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., and Rasmussen College in Lake Elmo, Minn.

Design Collaborative of Fort Wayne designed the 73,454-square-foot University Center and Center for Technology and Online Resources, with Jim Ingledue Construction Inc. in Angola was project manager.

Trine President Dr. Earl D. Brooks II identified the lack of an outstanding student center as a central issue when he arrived on the campus in 2000. In the ensuing years, he worked with the university’s Board of Trustees, alumni, and local and community leaders to launch the Vision for the Future capital campaign to revitalize the campus. A sweeping renovation, including the opening of the stunning University Center and Center for Technology and Online Technology a year ago, followed.

The center forms an activity hub at the middle of campus, housed in a sleek package of curved architecture, window walls, and black and grey granite floors. Amenities include a 320-seat theater, indoor and outdoor gourmet dining, library, digital group work space, fitness center, bookstore, radio station, and post office.

A main “S”-shaped atrium space anchors the center’s strong design concept. Situated between the residential and academic areas of campus, it takes advantage of the student traffic passing between the two destinations.

“This prestigious award supports our vision to transform our campus into a learning environment unlike any other,” President Brooks said. “Our mission is to provide a first-class education in an atmosphere with the aesthetics to challenge the senses and stimulate the intellect of our students.”