8/17/12 Mars Daily Weather Forecasts



Hazy Mars Day
Courtesy: marsweather.com

Ever wonder what the weather would be like on a day to day basis on Mars? Now you don't have to!

Beginning this past Wednesday, daily weather forecasts will be posted for Gale Crater on Mars.

Gale Crater is where the Curiosity rover landed back on August 5th. On board Curiosity is a weather monitoring station, called Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS), that collects data on wind speed and direction, maximum and minimum temperatures, humidity, pressure, and even UV levels, just in case you wanted to know what your sunburn likelihood would be on Mars. There is a wide variety of weather on Mars; everything from sunny skies to intense dust storms. You can see pictures of said dust storms, hazy days, and sunny days on the Mars Weather Blog. This blog, written by astronauts and other NASA employees, not only describes how the weather impacts Curiosity, but also details all the data collected, and what it means.



Mars Weather Data
Courtesy: marsweather.com

 The interesting thing here is that they aren't just collecting weather data; they are also trying to forecast! Yes, they are using the current conditions, along with the other satellite data, and actually trying to forecast the weather for the next day. They will only be forecasting the high temperature, low temperature, UV Index, and sky condition (cloudy, sunny, dust storm, etc.)

Just in case you would like to have updates with you on the go, there is an app for that! Both iPhone and Android will have these in the next few weeks.

If you are interested in seeing the weather on Mars for yourself, here's the website:
http://marsweather.com/

Curiosity Rover
Courtesy: Baltimore Sun

8/07/12 Blinded By The Light

Courtesy: Geek.com

The image above is a familiar sight when it’s pouring down rain while you are driving at night. The problem isn’t necessarily that your headlights are too dim or dark. It’s actually the opposite; they are too bright, and that causes a glare from the reflections of the raindrops, which can make it very difficult for the driver to see very far. The same thing happens when you are driving through heavy snowfall or hail. It also has an impact on the drivers traveling in the other direction because they don’t see you until much later, which increases the risk of an accident happening. So what can you do? You obviously can’t prevent it from always raining during the evening hours. Well, scientists at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute think they have come up with a solution….high tech headlights.

Combining cameras and computers they are able to predict the trajectory of each rain drop. This allows the new smart headlight to adjust the direction of the light being put out by a headlight, avoiding the glare from the raindrops. A high-speed camera that detects drops, uses an algorithm to work out the raindrops location just a few milliseconds later.

Once the algorithm is completed, the headlight flickers very rapidly and redirects light around the drops. To the driver the rain essentially isn’t there, or at least not lit up. The flicker is also not visible to human eyes because it happens so quickly.

"If you know where the rain drops are, you can sort of stream light between them," says lead researcher Srinivasa Narasimhan.



Courtesy: Positive Press Daily

However, this new technology won’t exactly be rolling out on next year’s car models. The current system has a few flaws that need to be tweaked first, including losing effectiveness at higher speeds, and adjusting for turbulence (speed bumps or potholes) or vibrations. But they're working on it. Also, the system being used in the labs at the University use a DLP projector, but the one that would likely end up on your car would be made up of lots LED lights, which are cheaper, and could be turned on and off very quickly.

Courtesy: Dipity

8/03/12 Olympics: Triathlon & the Weather

Olympic Triathlon races combine three separate events into one; swimming, cycling and running - in that order. The swimming is typically done in a lake or other type of open water for a distance of 1.5km (0.9 miles). The cycling is usually done on a large, paved road for a distance of 43km (26.7 miles)…note that this is approximately 3km longer than the normal course length. Finally, the running element is done for a distance of 10km (6.2 miles), also commonly known as a 10k.

Rain: This is by far the biggest issue for Triathletes. This not only impacts the running element of a triathlon, but also the cycling sector. Slippery roads have the biggest risk for the cycling part of the event because all the athletes cycle so close together, that if one person slips and slides, the others are affected as well.

"It could rain anywhere," U.S. triathlete star Gwen Jorgensen said. "We've prepared for that. I think everyone has put themselves in a training situation where their training environment is similar to London's."


U.S. Olympic Women's Triathlon Team
Courtesy: USA Triathlon

Temperature: The swim often takes place in open water, so the temperature of that water is just as important as the air temperature. Also, temperature is an obvious impact element to the running part of the event.

Wind:  A favorable tail wind is essential because it could either assist you by pushing you from behind down the track, or slow you down by pushing against you.

"I like to look at the wind direction and if I know I have a four hour bike ride I will try to do the first two hours into the wind so I have a nice two hours on the way back with the wind behind me,” explains British triathlete Todd Leckie.

Courtesy: USA Triathlon

8/02/12 Olympics: Beach Volleyball & the Weather

Beach Volleyball is usually a sport people associate with very warm climates like Florida, California, Hawaii, or the Caribbean. However, that’s not where the Olympics are being held this year, so the athletes will have to contend with weather they are not very familiar with.


U.S. Mens Volleyball versus Spain Tuesday
Courtesy: Twitchy

 One might think that the overcast skies and slightly cooler temperatures would actually make conditions a bit better than the hot and humid conditions that can make the sand feel like I t is burning the athletes feet. It was actually quite the opposite. In fact many of the Olympians commented or even tweeted about how miserably cold it felt.

"Well, the sand was cold," explains Canadian Beach Volleyball athlete Marie-Andree Lessard. "My feet were frozen. But the ambiance warmed us up."

Temperature: This is probably the most important of all of the weather elements, and believe it or not, most of the athletes prefer the hot weather, since it’s what they’re used to playing in! In fact most players know that there is no such thing as wrong weather, only the wrong clothing. Since the weather in London isn’t exactly known for being like Hawaii’s, the International Volleyball Federation actually relaxed the clothing regulations to allow players to cover up more of the bodies if the temperatures drop to below 68°F.

Rain:  The rainy conditions only really affect their handsets since the volleyball can become slippery. Even when it rains a bit, the Olympics are prepared, having the ball boys and girls towel off the volleyballs.

U.S. Women's Volleyball on Tuesday versus Czech Republic
Courtesy: Newsday



8/01/12 Olympics: Sailing & the Weather

Another windy day today for the sailing event, and a particularly good day for the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team who ended up accruing solid/powerful results.

Sailing is one of those tricky sports where the weather can make or break not only who wins, but how it is won. Back in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics, six races were cancelled due to a complete lack of wind. Winds started off light, and they delayed four of the races, but then winds continued to weaken, eventually causing officials to cancel all six events in one day.

USA Sailing at London Olympics
Courtesy: Wired

Wind: Obviously, this is vital for this sport. If you have a wind that comes across the boat, the air coming in from the side can be redirected toward the rear by the sailor. When the wind goes in the same direction as the boat, it is much easier since the force of the wind simply pushes on the sail.

A run is when you sail within about 30 degrees either side of dead downwind. This is often the preferred method of sailing since it is the most agreeable, but requires constant attention.

“We were happy with conditions both days,” said U.S. Sailing team member Erik Storck about the weather  at Tuesday’s event. “We had a good game plan for the fourth race that we executed. We like flat water and breeze, and expect to have more the next few days.”

Humidity:

When the humidity is relatively high, less lift is produced on the sails. Very humid air could also reduce the drag on the sails in the right wind/temperature conditions. Both of these “problems” can be corrected as long as the sailors maintain constant attention

Courtesy: Sailfeed

7/31/12 Olympics: Cycling & the Weather

Heavy rain drenched the women's road cycling race Sunday along with strong winds. However, that didn’t keep the thousands of fans from coming out to support their athletes along the 87 mile course. Standing on the sidelines pales in comparison to what the riders themselves had to battle in order to maintain control of their bikes as they hovered across pools of rainwater.

"It was a fantastic atmosphere despite the rain,” said Simon Ashmore, who attended the women’s cycling race.

Weather dictates cycling. On everything from what they should wear, what they should eat/drink, what equipment to use, and what methods/maneuvers they should apply during the race.



Olympic Cycling competition Saturday
Courtesy: Wired

Rain: Not only do your hands slip and slide on the bars, but your tires do the exact same. Road bikes normally do not have much tread on the tires, and they are thinner than standard tires as well. Which means not only is it hard to get traction on straight roads that are wet, but riders have to use extra caution when going around tight corners as well.

Temperature: Obviously this is a major factor in what the cyclists wear, but that’s not the only thing the cyclists need to consider. Very cold temperatures could lead to a thin coat of ice or slush on the street – not exactly ideal road conditions. If it’s too hot, the pavement could weaken or buckle, which creates dangerous segments of the road.

Wind: This is probably the most uncertain and tricky aspect of weather for cycling since it comes and goes so quickly, and can have relatively strong bursts. Why? When racers encounter a strong gust of wind, it is usually impossible to find a refuge from the bursts of wind, so often they will seek shelter from side winds by riding in echelons (a type of alignment, similar to the formation of geese, or airplanes staggered a certain distance behind from the airplane ahead). Also, just because you may be able to maneuver through the winds, doesn’t mean the rider in front of you will, and thanks to the domino effect, you could still get knocked down. In these conditions riders need to be very tactically aware not to get left behind.



U.S. Road Racer Taylor Phinney on Sunday
Courtesy: ESPN



7/30/12 Olympics: Archery & the Weather

Thanks to the Hunger Games, archery is quickly becoming a very popular sport, even though it has been around for about 10,000 years. The object of archery is relatively simple, and similar to darts: have the arrows hit the bullseye of the target, or as close as you possibly can. However, Olympic Archery targets are a bit different from your typical darts board at a restaurant/bar. Not just because you have to throw them with a large bow, but also because you have to do it outside, which means Mother Nature often dictates how close you end up getting to that target.


Wind - this can make or break the event.  is an archer's worst enemy. British archer, Mike Peart, explains, "Even if I aim dead-centre, the arrow can drift, two, three, foot feet away and sometimes I can miss the target. Even though I have shot, the wind can take it totally off."


U.S. Mens Archery Team wins silver medal
Courtesy: AZ Central

Bombayla Devi Laishram, who is on the Indian Archery team, admitted wind affected their competition at the Olympics as well, "There was a little bit of wind - more than [Saturday], but I am confident for the individual round. I will try my best."

Rain - Often wind accompanies rain showers, and large rain drops can attach to the arrows and bows and weight the equipment down. In fact, the women's archery team quarterfinal between Denmark and South Korea was spoiled by heavy downpours. The athletes tend to use more of their time to try to wipe down the bows and arrows to calibrate them as best as they can.

Temperature - and also humidity heavily impact the equipment and used. As the humidity increases or decreases the arrows change stiffness and that affects everything from direction to distance. Older ones used to be made of wood, which would absorb more moisture in the air, but now most bows are made of carbon composites which aren't affected by humidity as much.


Miranda Leek, who is on the U.S. Archery team, experienced some weather related issues when she competed Friday.  “Considering the weather, the temperature of the day, the first match and all of that, I thought she shot well,” Scott Leek, Miranda's father and coach explains.


U.S. Archer Miranda Leek
Courtesy: Chicago Tribune