WHY THE MOON IS NEVER FULL.

Here's a neat article about the technical aspects of the Moon being full from Space.com.

The next Full Moon will occur March 6. Or will it? Technically speaking, the Moon is never full.

Let's back up a moment. The actual moment of Full Moon that time when the Moon is opposite to the Sun in the sky can be found in any almanac. Some newspapers also provide the exact time. It occurs each time the Moon has swung around on its roughly 29-day orbit.

We could then say that the Moon is officially "full" for only one minute. The Full Moon of Feb. 6, for instance, occurred at 3:14 a.m. EST. In the very strictest sense, one minute before that time, the phase of the Moon was a waxing gibbous; one minute after that time, it was a waning gibbous phase.

But the mechanics of the celestial alignment -- the Sun, Earth and Moon all in a line -- adds a twist to the idea of fullness.

The disk of the Moon can appear 100 percent sunlit from Earth only if it is diametrically opposite to the Sun in the sky. But at that moment the Moon would be positioned in the middle of Earths shadow -- and in total eclipse. So in any month when there is no eclipse, there is an ever-so-slight . . . (continue article)

Space debris hit shuttle during last mission

Space debris hit shuttle during last mission

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A piece of space debris punched a small hole in one of space shuttle Atlantis' radiator panels during its recent 12-day spaceflight, NASA said on Thursday.

Damage from debris has been NASA's top safety issue since the destruction of shuttle Columbia in February 2003, when insulating foam came off the ship's fuel tank during launch and punched a hole in the shuttle's protective heat shield.

The radiator damage, which measures slightly more than one-tenth of an inch in diameter, was found during . . . (continue article)

Introducing Gothamist Maps, the best way to see what's going on

Introducing Gothamist Maps, the best way to see what's going on. This Google Maps Mash-up takes Manhattan and mixes in all the fires, thefts, and police calls they can manage into one map. This in one person who should keep busy.

Mexican archeologists make major Aztec find

Mexican archeologists make major Aztec find

By Gunther Hamm Wed Oct 4, 4:56 PM ET

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican archeologists have made the most significant Aztec find in decades, unearthing a 15th century altar and a huge stone slab at a ruined temple in the throbbing heart of Mexico City.

The works were uncovered last weekend at the Aztec empire's main Templo Mayor temple, near the central Zocalo square, which was used for worship and human sacrifice. It was the most meaningful find since electricity workers stumbled upon an ... (continue article)

New Pics of the "Transformer" movie online

TheJay.com Exclusive!! Pics From The Set Of Transformers

Head over to the Jay for exclusive pics of the new Transformers movie and a couple of video clips. The production photos show Bumblebee and a bunch of tanks upside down in the middle of the city. Nice.

NHL Season Starts Tonight.

Just a friendly reminder that the NHL starts up again tonight. You have 3 options to watch games. One, you need the former OLN channel, now called VS. or VERSUS. Second, in a local market, you should get Fox Sports (FSN) games or a similar broadcast. In Tennessee, we get the Predators on FSN, but it's never listed on our cable system guide. You have to know when they show here to catch the games. Or third, if you have Comcast Internet you can watch selected games on Hockey Live, which is free to Comcast Internet subscribers. Here's this week's schedule for the online broadcasts:

• 10/04/06 Ottawa Senators Toronto Maple Leafs 7:30 PM 10/05/06 Washington Capitals New York Rangers 7 PM 10/05/06 New York Islanders Phoenix Coyotes 10 PM 10/06/06 New Jersey Devils Carolina Hurricanes 7 PM 10/06/06 Los Angeles Kings Anaheim Mighty Ducks 10 PM 10/07/06 New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers 7 PM 10/07/06 New York Islanders San Jose Sharks 10:30 PM

You've Got Me All Wrong!

You've Got Me All Wrong! Shirts and stuff!

Colbert Report's "Atonement Hotline" Crashes Phone Switches

This is an instant classic. Thought I'd spread the joy of Colbert's 1-800-oops-Jews phone line. Colbert Report's "Atonement Hotline" Crashes Phone Switches

U.N. says sewage growing coastal problem

Here's an interesting article about the U.N.'s research into coastal problems:

By MIKE CORDER, Associated Press Writer Wed Oct 4, 7:48 AM ET THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Untreated sewage pouring into the world's seas and oceans is polluting their water and coastlines and endangering the health and welfare of the people and animals that inhabit them, according to a bleak new U.N. report released Wednesday on the threats to the world's marine environments

As well as the growing problem of sewage, oceans also are suffering from rising levels of nutrients such as run-off from agricultural land triggering toxic algal blooms that deprive the water of oxygen, destruction of coastal ecosystems such as mangroves and a rising tide of ... (continue article)

GIS PILOT UPDATE UNDERWAY...

The overhaul on GIS PILOT has begun. Actually, it began last week and it'll go on for awhile. I've updated all the main pages, such as the index, links, blog, etc. The crappy part is the 50 pages of states and various world page links that need updated. I'm going through and checking for dead links and various updates, many sent in by readers and associates. (thanks again!)

You'll notice the difference with the older state pages and the new ones immediately. Check out the state pages for Arkansas GIS Links and Ohio GIS Links to notice the difference. One thing I've added to the pages are the drop down boxes under the flag to allow for quick access to state pages.

www.gispilot.com

Object off Alaska coast may be WWII sub

By JEANNETTE J. LEE, Associated Press Writer

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Underwater sonar images of a black shape against a background of grainy monochrome are safely stored on two computer hard drives at Bruce Abele's home in Newton, Mass.

Blurred by odd shadows and striations, the silhouettes are the biggest clues in more than 60 years to the fate of his father's World War II submarine, the USS Grunion, which sank nearly 5,000 miles west of Massachusetts, near the obscure ...(continue article)

GIS SITES Presents GOOGLE EARTH NEWS

• 'Let Google Earth be a security tool'
• Coalition against Google Earth
• Google Earth Accused of Invading Privacy
• Top Ten coolest things seen with google earth.
• Spatial Energy Joins Google Enterprise Professional Program
• Now and on (Google) Earth

GIS SITES Presents GIS News

GIS news

• GIS companies get boost
• Akshara maps Bangalore schools - GIS map covers 1400 government schools
• GIS, Part 2: The Expanding World of Enterprise Data
• Keynote Speaker to Connect GIS With Unified Emergency Response Preparedness
• NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter: First HiRISE Image of Mars from Mapping Orbit: Ius Chasma, Valles Marineris
• Plan panel for user mapping to check power losses

Mars Images

THE PILLS KEEP MY HAPPY! SHIRTS AND GIFTS.

Check out the shirts "THE PILLS KEEP ME HAPPY!"

JACKSON COUNTY, WEST "BY-GOD" VIRGINIA ADDED

West "BY-GOD" has a new addition, the JACKSON COUNTY ASSESSOR site. It features a deep search with owner, street, parcel, etc. There are sketches of buildings and it claims to have a parcel map, but in my brief search I haven't found one yet. I'll keep looking.

Also, added were Greenbrier County Assessor Link, Mercer County Assessor for West Virginia and Natrona County Assessor link and GIS maps link for Wyoming.

NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE GIS ADDED

Thanks to Michael Costantini for the tip on the New Castle, Delaware GIS site that I've added to the blog and GIS PILOT. I can't say that the guy in the picture above is Michael, but it would be cool if it were.

Record ozone loss during 2006 over South Pole

Ozone measurements made by ESA’s Envisat satellite have revealed the ozone loss of 40 million tonnes on 2 October 2006 has exceeded the record ozone loss of about 39 million tonnes for 2000.

Ozone loss is derived by measuring the area and the depth of the ozone hole. The size of this year’s ozone hole is 28 million square km, nearly as large as the record ozone hole extension during 2000, and the depth of the ozone hole is around 100 Dobson Units, rivalling the record low ozone values in 1998. This year’s record ozone loss was reached because these two measurements occurred...(continue article)

Chuck Norris Bible Thumper.