Jim Small's Science and Other Stuff

Blood Falls – Extremophiles in Antarctica

jrsmall — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:14:07 +0000

Some organisms can live without dependence on either oxygen OR light. The result is a whole ecosystem that depends on other inorganic compounds as a source of energy for metabolism. One such location that may be studied occurs at Blood Falls, a lake under the ice that seeps to the surface at the tongue of Taylor Glacier. This enables scientists to study the organisms without actually contacting the lake. This is a big advantage as the material seeping out can’t contaminate the lake, yet scientists may study the organisms that live there. The falls are red from Iron in the water reacting with oxygen on contact with the air.

Here is an article from Wikipedia about Blood Falls
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Falls

Another article about anoxic waters. Anoxic waters are salt or fresh water completely depleted of oxygen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anoxic_waters

Microraptor – evidence of flight evolution from above

jrsmall — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:06:19 +0000

A new study released Jan 25th appears to have settled the age-old argument about the evolution of flight in birds. Microraptor fossils have the key! Read more here!

http://www.sciencenewsdaily.org/archaeology-fossils-news/cluster32762700/

Will the Sun ever shine again?

jrsmall — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:54:02 +0000

Sooo…. it seems like it’s been forever since the Sun has popped out to let us take a look at it! For the St Louis Astronomical Society, all you have to do is look at our calendar to see how many events have been canceled! It’s been a long time since we’ve had a star party actually take place! My last record of seeing objects in the heavens through a telescope was New Year’s Eve! It was COLD! I did get a nice look at the Orion nebula and the Moon that night, however.

Perhaps it will actually clear up for my Observational Astronomy class tonight! I certainly hope so and will post some results if we do get to look at anything!

Clear Skies!

Will the world end in 2012? Get the real information.

jrsmall — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:26:08 +0000

So…. you’ve seen the hype about the movie. Now learn some good information regarding questions about 2012.

David Morrison, astrobiologist from NASA, answers 20 questions about 2012 and the doomsday hoax.
http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/intro/nibiru-and-doomsday-2012-questions-and-answers

FAQ from NASA: 2012: Beginning of the End or Why the World Won’t End?http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html

Article from badastronomy.com: The Planet X Saga: The Scientific Arguments in a Nutshell
http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/planetx/nutshell.html

Article from Sky and Telescope by E. C. Krupp, director of Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012-guest.html

Tickets!

jrsmall — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:04:24 +0000

Can’t wait until next February. Buddy Guy and BB King at the SAME show!

Welcome to Jim Small’s website!

jrsmall — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:38:41 +0000

This is the website for Jim Small. It will include information for all classes as well as some personal information and many resources for the sciences. If you need help with any class, there will be pages that will serve as tutorials and practice for various skills needed in the class. Welcome and enjoy the site!

Jim Small