Refracted sunlight can turn the Moon a spectacular shade of red
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Skywatchers in parts of Europe, Africa, Central Asia and Australia are counting on clear skies to enjoy a total lunar eclipse on Wednesday.
This is the first total lunar eclipse of 2011 and the longest in nearly 11 years, experts say.
This type of eclipse occurs when the Earth casts its shadow over the Moon.
But indirect sunlight can still illuminate the Moon turning it a dramatic shade of red.
The shadow starts to fall at 1724 GMT and lifts at 2300 GMT.
“Totality” – when the lunar face is completely covered – lasts from 1922 GMT until 2102 GMT.
The 100-minute period of totality is the longest since July 2000.
Nasa’s eclipse expert Fred Espenak commented: “The entire event will be seen from the eastern half of Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and western Australia.”
Observers throughout Europe will miss the early stages of the eclipse because they occur before moonrise. However, totality can be observed throughout the continent except for northern Scotland and northern Scandinavia.
In the UK, observers will be able to start viewing the eclipse at around 2100 BST (2000 GMT).
Dr Robert Massey, from the UK’s Royal Astronomical Society, said the weather for viewing the event in London was “50-50” and that observers in the south-east would need a good horizon view that was not blocked by buildings.
The weather forecast looks better for viewing the event from northern parts of Britain; but the further north one is, the shorter the totality lasts.
In the Americas, the totality will be visible from eastern Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. But none of the eclipse will be visible from North America.
Eastern Asia, eastern Australia and New Zealand will miss the last stages of the eclipse because they occur after moonset.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich is helping to lead a group suing Barack Obama
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has filed a lawsuit against President Barack Obama in federal court for taking military action in Libya without authorisation from Congress.
Ten members of the House of Representatives signed the lawsuit, saying Mr Obama violated the constitution in bypassing Congress.
The War Powers Resolution, passed after US withdrew from the Vietnam War, rules that involvement in combat operations unauthorised by Congress must be terminated after 60 days.
The suit, which also targets Defence Secretary Robert Gates, challenges “policy that any president can take the US to war unilaterally”, Democratic lawmaker Dennis Kucinich said.
“We have asked the courts to move to protect the American people from the results of these illegal policies,” he added.
Some of the plaintiffs in the suit also include Democratic Representatives John Conyers and Michael Capuano and Republicans Walter Jones, Howard Coble and Ron Paul.
The politicians have said they want President Obama to explain whether he intends to follow the War Powers Act and ask for Congressional approval for continued action in Libya.
The War Powers Resolution rules that involvement in combat operations unauthorised by Congress must be terminated after 60 days and troops must be withdrawn after 90 days. Sunday marks the 90-day deadline.
Last month, White House lawyers were said to be looking at ways US action in Libya can continue without contravening the resolution.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Ms Giffords will continue daily rehab sessions at the hospital, her husband said in a statement
The US congresswoman shot in the head in January has been released from hospital to begin outpatient treatment after improvements in her condition.
Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona is to move to the Texas home of her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly.
Six died and 13 were injured in the shooting at Ms Giffords’ constituent event in Tucson, Arizona.
The man accused of shooting Ms Giffords and killing six others has been found mentally unfit to stand trial.
“Congresswoman Giffords has shown clear, continuous improvement from the moment she arrived at TIRR five months ago,” Dr Gerard Francisco, the hospital’s chief medical officer, said in a statement.
“We are very excited that she has reached the next phase of her rehabilitation and can begin outpatient treatment. We have no doubt that she will continue to make significant strides in her recovery.”
Last month, Ms Giffords, 41, underwent surgery to replace a portion of her skull with a ceramic implant, with a device permanently implanted in her her skull to drain fluids.
On Sunday, Ms Giffords’ aides released the first photographs of her since the shooting. In the images, she was smiling and appeared clear-eyed.
But in an interview with The Arizona Republic published last week, Ms Giffords’ chief of staff Pia Carusone said she still had only limited speaking ability.
Jared Loughner, the man accused of shooting Ms Giffords, is being held in a mental health facility while doctors attempt to treat him so he can be tried for the attack.
He has pleaded not guilty.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
By Jorn Madslien
Eurocopter’s Jean-Michel Billig: ‘It’s a game changer in the way we use helicopters in our day-to-day life”
Surging in from the west through one of Provence’s many beautiful valleys, a peculiar looking aircraft is preceded by an unfamiliar sound.
The deep chugging rumbling of a conventional helicopter rotor is mixed with the loud whining noise of two wing-mounted forward-facing propellers, making it difficult to guess what is coming.
As the aircraft swoops over Montagne Sainte-Victoire, shaking the windows in holiday cottages and farm houses below, it becomes clear that this flying machine resembles nothing else in the skies.
Eurocopter’s X3 rotorcraft – pronounced “X cubed” – is basically a chopper with wings, which will be seen for the first time by the public next week as part of the aerial displays at the Paris air show.
The prototype combines the versatility of a helicopter, by way of vertical take-off and landing, with the higher speed of a plane.
“It’s exactly like a helicopter,” says flight test engineer Dominique Fournier. “But as soon as you’ve taken off, it’s exactly like a fixed wing aircraft.”
Helicraft such as the X3 are set to revolutionise aviation, company executives say
The X3 is one of the fastest rotorcrafts in the world, having achieved a cruising speed of 232 knots (430 km/h or 267 mph) during a test flight on 18 May.
Though not quite as fast as US rival Sikorsky’s equally futuristic-looking but differently designed X2, which achieved a true air speed of 250 knots last September, the X3 has nevertheless made the prospect of ultra-fast helicopters going on sale within years much more likely.
Consequently, both helicopter companies describe their innovations as “potential game changers”.
“The aerospace industry today has a new horizon,” according to Sikorsky’s president Jeffrey Pino. Eurocopter’s chief executive Lutz Bertling says “it will be a totally different way of flying”.
“If you can do it with a balloon or a fixed wing or a bicycle, you don’t buy an expensive helicopter”
Lutz Bertling Chief executive, Eurocopter
For the pilot and for passengers, the difference lies in the “very different sensation from flying this when compared with an ordinary helicopter”, according to experimental test pilot Herve Jammayroc. “In the X3 we accelerate and decelerate horisontally.”
And although the X3 is perhaps a more complex machine to build, “it is easier to fly than a conventional helicopter”, Mr Jammayroc says.
For Eurocopter’s customers, it is all about balancing costs with how quickly and how far the aircraft can travel.
Hence, although the X3 is at least 50% faster than conventional helicopters, “the key message is not speed”, according to chief executive Mr Bertling.
“The key message is productivity,” he says, insisting that the X3’s greater size makes it a more versatile rotorcraft than Sikorsky’s X2.
“We are not selling helicopters, we are selling mission capability,” Mr Bertling says.
“If you can do it with a balloon or a fixed wing or a bicycle, you don’t buy an expensive helicopter.”
Experimental test pilot Herve Jammayroc says it is easy to fly the X3
Eurocopter’s aim is to deliver an aircraft that increases cruising speeds by 50%, while limiting any resulting increase in costs to 25%.
“The target is a productive aircraft,” Mr Bertling says.
“So 210-220-230 knots for us is quite reasonable. And 270-280 knots may be conceivable, but fuel costs get too high.”
With the X3, the required technology is pretty much there, according to Eurocopter’s chief technology officer Jean-Michel Billig, who is in charge of research and development.
“Today, we believe it should cost in the region of 20% more than a similar size helicopter in terms of cost of ownership,” he says.
Fast helicraft such as the X3 are unlikely to replace conventional helicopters
The X3 forms part of a broader restructuring of Eurocopter, which includes plans to replace its entire current offering of six different helicopter models.
“We have a road map to renew our current product family over the next 10 years,” says Mr Billig.
A helicopter programme costs about 1bn euros ($1.4bn; £876m) per year and typically lasts for about six years, so it is a costly exercise.
The company is also working on more fuel-efficient models, such as helicopters powered by diesel-electric hybrid engines, or unmanned or optionally manned helicopters, even full-sized ones that carry passengers.
Improving safety, both in terms of reliable systems and crew awareness, and to reduce operating and maintenance costs, are also central tasks.
Profit margins are tight, both on the military and the civilian arena, chief executive Lutz Bertling says
Some replacement models might be similar to X3, says Mr Billig. “We are assessing the performance of X3 and we will apply it to helicopters where it makes sense,” he says.
But his boss, Mr Bertling, adds there will still be a buoyant market for conventional helicopters. “For example, one of the great growth areas is servicing wind parks offshore, and here high speed doesn’t make sense,” he says.
Typically, the faster an aircraft moves horizontally, the less able it is at vertical take-offs and landings, so any aircraft that tries to be both helicopter and plane will be a compromise that is neither fish nor fowl in some situations.
Hence, rather than compete with fixed-wing planes or even with conventional helicopters, which will continue to serve growing markets in Asia, Latin America and the US, as well as here in Europe, the X3 and other helicraft of its ilk are carving out new niches in the aviation market.
Such aircraft could be used on new routes between city centres, such as between London and Brussels, or even within mega-cities, such as Mumbai, where vertical take-off and landing would save time by not having to travel to and from airports.
Other customers, such as the oil and gas industry, could speed up air shuttles to and from the rigs, thus enabling crews and experts to spend more time actually working.
Eurocopter is preparing to replace its entire helicopter model range
Such customers would be particularly sensitive to the cost of the helicraft, Mr Bertling observes.
Whereas for others, such as search-and-rescue or military customers, it is “less a question of money and more about mission success”.
That does not make it a licence to print money, however.
“Operating with high margins in military areas – outside the US, I have to say – is not that easy in the current climate,” Mr Bertling observes.
This year’s Paris Air Show will take place at Le Bourget exhibition centre on the outskirts of Paris from 20 to 26 June 2011.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
