The news became a trending topic on Twitter almost instantly, with the social-networking site's millions of users — including celebrities — issuing countless tweets of thanks to the president.
"Bravo, Mr. President, and thank you," Neil Patrick Harris a tweeted. The actor is engaged to his longtime partner, David Burtka, and the pair adopted twins together in 2010.
"Open our hearts & minds! Proud of Obama for speaking up," wrote "Glee" actress Dianna Agron, with co-star Chris Colfer tacking his happy thoughts onto those of Ellen DeGeneres: "I second! RT @TheEllenShow: Thank you President @BarackObama for your beautiful and brave words. I'm overwhelmed."
"Star Trek" and "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" star Simon Pegg summed things up succinctly with initials and an emoticon: "GO BO!!! :)"
If there were awards handed out for the most LOL-inducing celeb tweet, that would go to "Modern Family" star Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who had a message for the first lady and his partner: "With @MichelleObama & @JustinMikita permission I would like to marry @BarackObama right now!"
Even more excited was Kim Kardashian, who had way more than 140 characters to express on the subject, so she took to her website. "This is such a huge step forward in our country's fight for civil rights and I hope that today this will give hope to so many young people across the country," she wrote. "We've never had a president so supportive of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and today I am proud to be an American!! I'm so happy that our country is making history and moving forward. No more living in the past!"
Technology developed at Caltech measures Martian sand movementPublic release date: 9-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Deborah Williams-Hedges debwms@caltech.edu 626-395-3227 California Institute of Technology
Dune migration rates appear to be similar to those on Earth
PASADENA, Calif.Last year, images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured sand dunes and ripples moving across the surface of Marsobservations that challenged previously held beliefs that there was not a lot of movement on the red planet's surface. Now, technology developed by a team at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has allowed scientists to measure these activities for the very first time.
The new method for data processing is outlined in an advance online publication of the journal Nature.
"For many years, researchers have debated whether or not the sand dunes we see on Mars are fossil features related to past climate, since it was believed that the current atmosphere is too thin to produce winds that could move sand," says Jean-Philippe Avouac, the Earle C. Anthony professor of geology at Caltech, who initiated the study. "Our new data shows that wind activity is indeed a major agent of evolution of the landscape on Mars. This is important because it tells us something about the current state of Mars and how the planet is working today, geologically."
Using the COSI-corr software (for Co-registration of Optically Sensed Images and Correlation), which was invented at Caltech, a team of researchers gathered high-resolution imagery from Mars to look at a specific field of sand dunes called Nili Patera. The images came from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
The team focused on precise, subpixel measurements of movement between pairs of images. On the dunes at Nili Patera, the software automatically measured changes in the position of sand ripples from one image to another over a 105-day period, resulting in the surprising findings that the ripples are moving fastsome upwards of 4.5 meters during that timewhich contributes to the total motion of the sand dunes.
"This is the first time that we have full, quantitative measurement of an entire dune field on a planetary surface, as opposed to the localized manual measurements that were done before," explains Francois Ayoub, a coauthor of the paper and a scientist engineer in Avouac's lab. "Using this technique, you could monitor other dune fields, or you could also follow a particular area over a longer time frame to see the seasonal or annual evolution of the sand dunes. This is a huge step in terms of the data that you can obtain from the surface of Mars."
The team also found that the dunes at Nili Patera appear to move similarly to those found on Earth in Victoria Valley, Antarctica. This implies that the rates of landscape modification due to wind are similar on the two planets. Interestingly enough, getting these measurements was much easier on Marsthe researchers could not quantify dune ripple migration rates on Earth using the same technique because that would require satellite imagery of our planet at a resolution that makes it classified information.
"These new measurements provide keys to interpreting the landscape and the stratigraphic record that you see exhumed when you look at the imagerywe see sediments and wonder what they mean in terms of the past geologic history," says Avouac. "The fact that you can describe the current activity of surface systems will help us understand Mars's past geological record, which is a reason that this is important."
Next, the team will focus on learning more about how the sand is actually moving on the surface of Mars.
"We would like to use this new data to tie our observations to the physics of sand transport, which are not well understood," says Sebastien Leprince, a coauthor of the study and a senior research scientist on Avouac's team. "By learning more about how the sand moves around, we may also learn more about the atmosphere on Mars."
The group also plans to use the HiRISE images paired with COSI-Corr to explore other regions of Mars and monitor for surface motion. For example, there are parts of the planet that may have glaciers covered with dust, and other places where fault lines can be seen and could be tracked for displacement.
"We are going to visit other areas on Mars to get a better view of what kind of activity there is on the planet todaygeologically speaking, of course," says Avouac, who points out that while they are not looking for life on Mars, their technique is detailed enough that it would detect very small changes on the surface.
###
The Nature study, "Earth-like Sand Fluxes on Mars," was funded by grants from the Keck Institute for Space Studies at Caltech, NASA's Mars Data Analysis Program, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Director's Research and Development Fund. Additional authors on the study are Antoine Lucas, a postdoctoral scholar in planetary science at Caltech, Nathan T. Bridges from Johns Hopkins University, and Sarah Mattson from the University of Arizona. An exclusive license to Caltech's COSI-Corr technology was recently awarded to Imagin'Labs Corporation (www.imaginlabs.com).
Written by Katie Neith
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Technology developed at Caltech measures Martian sand movementPublic release date: 9-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Deborah Williams-Hedges debwms@caltech.edu 626-395-3227 California Institute of Technology
Dune migration rates appear to be similar to those on Earth
PASADENA, Calif.Last year, images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured sand dunes and ripples moving across the surface of Marsobservations that challenged previously held beliefs that there was not a lot of movement on the red planet's surface. Now, technology developed by a team at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has allowed scientists to measure these activities for the very first time.
The new method for data processing is outlined in an advance online publication of the journal Nature.
"For many years, researchers have debated whether or not the sand dunes we see on Mars are fossil features related to past climate, since it was believed that the current atmosphere is too thin to produce winds that could move sand," says Jean-Philippe Avouac, the Earle C. Anthony professor of geology at Caltech, who initiated the study. "Our new data shows that wind activity is indeed a major agent of evolution of the landscape on Mars. This is important because it tells us something about the current state of Mars and how the planet is working today, geologically."
Using the COSI-corr software (for Co-registration of Optically Sensed Images and Correlation), which was invented at Caltech, a team of researchers gathered high-resolution imagery from Mars to look at a specific field of sand dunes called Nili Patera. The images came from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
The team focused on precise, subpixel measurements of movement between pairs of images. On the dunes at Nili Patera, the software automatically measured changes in the position of sand ripples from one image to another over a 105-day period, resulting in the surprising findings that the ripples are moving fastsome upwards of 4.5 meters during that timewhich contributes to the total motion of the sand dunes.
"This is the first time that we have full, quantitative measurement of an entire dune field on a planetary surface, as opposed to the localized manual measurements that were done before," explains Francois Ayoub, a coauthor of the paper and a scientist engineer in Avouac's lab. "Using this technique, you could monitor other dune fields, or you could also follow a particular area over a longer time frame to see the seasonal or annual evolution of the sand dunes. This is a huge step in terms of the data that you can obtain from the surface of Mars."
The team also found that the dunes at Nili Patera appear to move similarly to those found on Earth in Victoria Valley, Antarctica. This implies that the rates of landscape modification due to wind are similar on the two planets. Interestingly enough, getting these measurements was much easier on Marsthe researchers could not quantify dune ripple migration rates on Earth using the same technique because that would require satellite imagery of our planet at a resolution that makes it classified information.
"These new measurements provide keys to interpreting the landscape and the stratigraphic record that you see exhumed when you look at the imagerywe see sediments and wonder what they mean in terms of the past geologic history," says Avouac. "The fact that you can describe the current activity of surface systems will help us understand Mars's past geological record, which is a reason that this is important."
Next, the team will focus on learning more about how the sand is actually moving on the surface of Mars.
"We would like to use this new data to tie our observations to the physics of sand transport, which are not well understood," says Sebastien Leprince, a coauthor of the study and a senior research scientist on Avouac's team. "By learning more about how the sand moves around, we may also learn more about the atmosphere on Mars."
The group also plans to use the HiRISE images paired with COSI-Corr to explore other regions of Mars and monitor for surface motion. For example, there are parts of the planet that may have glaciers covered with dust, and other places where fault lines can be seen and could be tracked for displacement.
"We are going to visit other areas on Mars to get a better view of what kind of activity there is on the planet todaygeologically speaking, of course," says Avouac, who points out that while they are not looking for life on Mars, their technique is detailed enough that it would detect very small changes on the surface.
###
The Nature study, "Earth-like Sand Fluxes on Mars," was funded by grants from the Keck Institute for Space Studies at Caltech, NASA's Mars Data Analysis Program, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Director's Research and Development Fund. Additional authors on the study are Antoine Lucas, a postdoctoral scholar in planetary science at Caltech, Nathan T. Bridges from Johns Hopkins University, and Sarah Mattson from the University of Arizona. An exclusive license to Caltech's COSI-Corr technology was recently awarded to Imagin'Labs Corporation (www.imaginlabs.com).
Written by Katie Neith
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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'You sort of go with it and wait until somebody calls cut,' actress tells MTV News of the 'general chaos' on set of the Sacha Baron Cohen flick. By Fallon Prinzivalli
Sacha Baron Cohen and Anna Faris in "The Dictator" Photo: Paramount
When MTV News spoke with Anna Faris about her role in the upcoming film, it was everything you'd expect from an interview with the comic actress. Her humorous disposition led to quite a few laughs while we got the scoop on her latest flick.
In the movie, Faris plays Zoey, a liberal idealist with a good heart who runs an organic, vegan grocery store in Brooklyn. When she meets General Aladeen (Baron Cohen) at a protest, she thinks he's a refugee and jumps at the opportunity to help him.
When we spoke to the "Scary Movie" actress, she opened up about the challenges of her role (in particular having to grow out her underarm hair), Baron Cohen's stunt at the 2012 Academy Awards and his crazy antics on set.
MTV: Zoey is a physical departure from your usual leading-lady roles in films like "The House Bunny" and "What's Your Number?" What was it that led you to choose this script? Anna Faris: I've been such a big fan of Sacha's for years and I just jumped at the opportunity to get to work with him. I was just thrilled. That was really exciting for me. I love, in general, just getting to transform myself for characters. That's really an exciting process for me. When they presented me with a more androgynous look, I thought that was just perfect. You know, this is the kind of girl that the dictator has never met before. He's used to sleeping with models and actresses, these really stunning women, so for a while he thinks that I'm a boy.
MTV: Was there anything challenging for you about the role? Faris: Not so much the role, but the project was really challenging because Sacha and his whole crew, all the writers and our director, they've worked together for so long and they do so much improv. It's like 90 percent improv, and so the challenge was just keeping up with that as an actor, just being on your toes. I found it really hard, but also really exciting.
MTV: Of course, we have to ask: What was it like working with Baron Cohen? Faris: It was amazing. He's just this sort of crazy genius. You just have to be prepared for anything. The scene [can go] in a gazillion different directions and you just have to sort of roll with the punches. But it was great, I loved it. I just adore him. He was in character a lot of the time, but when he wasn't, he's a really kind gentleman — really intellectual and very funny. I just adored him.
MTV: You said he was in character most of the time. Would you approach him in character as well? Faris: [Laughs] Yeah, I kind of would! Like, "OK, wait, is this the...? Oh, wait, he's the supreme leader." It was a little tricky for me because my character isn't supposed to know that he's a dictator. So I was like, "Well, do I then? Maybe? I don't know? I'll just go to craft services."
MTV: With all the improvisation, did you have a hard time keeping a straight face on set? Faris: Yeah, a lot of times! I mean, I feel really fortunate that I had the "Scary Movie" experience because I feel like that sort of prepared me for a lot of the general chaos of the set of "The Dictator," so I just felt like you sort of go with it and wait until somebody calls cut. Until then, you just keep acting.
MTV: He's known to make people uncomfortable, like his stunt at the Oscars where he poured fake ashes on Ryan Seacrest. Did he ever do anything that made you think, "OK, where is the nearest exit? How can I escape this?" Faris: [Laughs] No! He was actually so sweet to me. I sort of escaped all that. But he was always, you know, such a gentleman. I didn't know what it was going to be, but I did know that something was sort of afoot for the Oscars. And my husband [Chris Pratt] and I went and I saw Sacha, and I was like, "Honey, we just need to steer clear. I don't know what's going to happen, but let's just sort of avoid Sacha."
MTV: Do you have a favorite memory from shooting? Faris: There's a scene where Sacha and I are sort of forming our friendship in an intimate way, [laughs] and that's really fun. I had to grow my armpit hair for the movie.
MTV News: How was that? Faris: It was awful! I was so naive about it too. I was like, "Yeah, I'll grow it out. No big deal."
MTV News: Did your husband say anything about it? Faris: He was such a good sport about it. He was like, "Yeah, honey! You do it. Just go." But he also didn't have to be around me too much that summer. I thought it would be, you know, fluffy and light, I guess. But it was so dark and thick and coarse. It was crazy. I felt very self-conscious about it. Maybe I was a little bit of a baby about it.
MTV News: Before we sign off, can you tell us your favorite joke? Faris: Oh, my favorite joke! OK, let's see. A little boy and his grampa ... wait, oh no, I won't tell you that one. It's a little raunchy. But I will tell you this one: There's two blondes and there's a river in between them and one blonde says to the other blonde, "Hey, how do I get to the other side?" And the other blonde says, "You're already there!" Yep. Pretty dumb.
Are you excited to see "The Dictator"? Let us know in the comments!
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I would like to know if it is possible to access 3G on my UK HTC Sensation when I go to New York next month on a U.S. SIM card? My limited understanding is that the frequencies used for U.S. phones are different to those in the UK but am unclear if the Sensation will still be able to access. If it is not possible could I just use a US SIM for voice calls and rely on WiFi access?
Thanks
Great question, with several good answers. Basically, yes, you can use your UK model HTC Sensation for 3G data in New York. The European Sensation uses a quad-band GSM radio that supports the frequencies used by AT&T here in the states. You'll need to make sure your Sensation is fully SIM unlocked (talk to your current carrier if you're unsure), and then you'll be ready to do a little research and make a decision.
In the U.S., there are only two GSM operators -- T-Mobile and AT&T. But there are many MVNO networks (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) who rent and resell network space from either one, or even both. You'll not be interested in T-Mobile or any MVNOs using the T-Mobile frequencies, as your Sensation doesn't support them. But that's OK, as your choices are still pretty broad.
Here's a small list of a few different operators that will sell you a no-contract SIM card to use while you're visiting:
Don't be fooled by the words unlimited, as this refers to voice calls. Data rates will cost anywhere between $5 USD for 5MB to $20 USD for 2GB. Of course, this is just a few of the many out there, and you'll have to scour the web to see all the options. In the end, they all use the same network, so the deciding factor is price and how easy it is to get your SIM card and activation.
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Public release date: 9-May-2012
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