Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Full Moon Trifecda and then some.



You might want to look up this evening ( Early Wendesday Morning ) because the Moon will be doing some cool stuff.

1) This Moon is a Super Moon: The moon travels in an elliptical orbit, so this time the moon is a little closer to Earth than the average distance. This makes the Moon appear large and brighter.

2) This Moon is a Blue Moon: Using the modern definition of a "Blue Moon", the second full moon in a calendar month, this is the second full moon in the month of January.

3) This Moon is a Blood Moon: The full moon will enter the Earth's shadow making a lunar eclipse. The color of the Moon may vary from Amber Yellow to a Deep Red. The color comes from the refraction of sunlight through the Earth's atmosphere.

4) This Moon is the Snow Moon: Usually this would be the Wolf Moon, the full moon in the month of January, however since it is the second full moon and should be the full moon of Feburary this moon is called the "Snow Moon"

You can read some details about the Moon and viewing this wonder here:

Look up! Tonight's total lunar eclipse is special in at least three ways

'Super Blue Blood Moon' Coming Jan. 31

Thursday, January 25, 2018

First Primates Cloned! Is Human Cloning just around the Corner?

Scientist have cloned two Macaques monkeys. These are the first clones in the primate branch, the same branch that humans and all other Hominids belong. Cloning a primate is a big step towards cloning human beings. Here is some video of theses two cuties: Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua.



You may also read some great articles about the two Macaques monkeys and the methods used to generate theses clones.

Monkey Clones Created in the Lab. Now What?

Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua: first primates born using Dolly the sheep cloning method

Researchers clone the first primates from monkey tissue cells