To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Little Giants Create a Big Cosmic Controversy
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2000 09:06:17 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

For Release: 9:20 a.m. EST, January 12, 2000

LITTLE GIANTS CREATE A BIG COSMIC CONTROVERSY

ATLANTA, GA -- Astronomers using a new technique to measure cosmic
distances are finding that the universe may be expanding faster than
previously thought. Indeed, for some theorists it may be expanding too
fast!

By measuring the distances to a relatively common but unusually constant
class of stars called "Red Clumps" in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the
distance derived is much smaller than that found by other popular methods,
such as observing Cepheid variables. Since the Large Magellanic Cloud --
the galaxy closest to our own -- represents the first big step outward in
determining cosmic distances, it means the Hubble Constant, or expansion
rate of the universe, must necessarily be larger.

"Red Clump stars are very consistent in their brightness, which makes them
excellent standard candles for marking milestones in space," says Kris
Stanek, a Hubble Fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
in Cambridge, MA. "However, their apparent brightness in the Large
Magellanic Cloud indicates that our galactic neighbor must be some 12
percent closer to us than many astronomers would like."

So named because they tend to "clump" together in a narrow range of color
and brightness, Red Clump stars have masses similar to that of our Sun,
but are older and more evolved. Whereas the Sun is still processing the
hydrogen in its core, Red Clump stars have used up all their hydrogen and
are now converting helium into heavier elements in their cores. Basically,
the Red Clumps started out with about the same size as the Sun, but they
have already passed through the large "Red Giant" stage and are now
shrunken to an intermediate, or "little giant," size.

The most distinctive feature of Red Clumps, however, is their constancy --
they give off a very consistent amount of light, so their absolute brightness
is unvarying and predictable, which makes them ideal distance indicators.

Moreover, they are plentiful, especially where most needed by astronomers.
While Cepheid variables are rare in the Milky Way and the Large Magellanic
Cloud, the lower mass Red Clump stars are very common in both. Indeed,
15 percent of all the stars visible to the naked eye are Red Clumps. This
makes the accurate calibration of their absolute brightness relatively easy
and certain.

The distance to nearby stars can be directly measured through the
"parallax method," using the shift in a star's apparent position caused by
the Earth's annual motion to produce a simple geometric triangulation. The
Hipparcos satellite measured parallaxes to 1000 Red Clump stars near the
Sun and firmly fixed their intrinsic brightness with high precision.

"The Hipparcos measurements make Red Clump stars the best calibrated
standard candles available to astronomers," says Peter Garnavich of the
University of Notre Dame and co-author of the study presented today at
the American Astronomical Society meeting here.

"Some day, new space techniques may improve the calibration of the classic
Cepheids," adds Garnavich. "But, for now, the Red Clumps are our gold
standard."

The disagreement between the Red Clump distance to the Large Magellanic
Cloud, most recently refined by Andrzej Udalski of the Warsaw University
Observatory in Poland, and the previously accepted Cepheid distance has
created some contention in the astronomical community.

"This shorter distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud is in excellent
agreement with the one deduced from the radio observations of water
masers in the galaxy NGC4258, announced at the last meeting of the AAS,"
says Udalski, co-author of the Red Clump study. "These results combine
into very strong evidence that the Large Magellenic Cloud is about 12
percent closer than previously thought."

That means that the Hubble Constant, or expansion rate of the universe,
must be necessarily larger. In turn, this means the expected age of the
universe would become smaller. Much too small, say some cosmologists.

"Quite often the reaction to our low distance is: 'It can't be right, because
the age of the universe would be too low!'," says Stanek. "But astronomers
can only measure distances as carefully and as completely as they can and
let the cosmological consequences fall where they may."

Stanek, Garnavich, and Udalski's paper, "Red Clump Stars -- Further
Improved Distance Indicators," presented as Poster #11.04 at the 195th
Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, with images of the Large
Magellanic Cloud, can be found at:
   http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~kstanek/RedClump/

via: SEDSNEWS@listserv.tamu.edu

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Russia Today items (1/12/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2000 09:23:03 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

January 12, 2000

Soviet-Era Jewish Homeland Struggles On In Siberia By Michael Steen

Zion was never meant to be this cold. There is snow in every direction the
eye can see, coating forests, rivers, steppe and distant hills.

Full Story:
http://www.russiatoday.com/features.php3?id=124614

-----------

Gorbachev May Back Putin For President

MOSCOW, Jan 13, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) Mikhail Gorbachev, last
president of the former Soviet Union, said Thursday he might back Vladimir
Putin for Russia's next head of state if his program appealed to him.

Full Story:
http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=125167

---------

Kremlin Computers Fall Victim To Millennium Bug

MOSCOW, Jan 13, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) The Kremlin press
office's computer communication system has been paralyzed by the
millennium bug, a spokesman for the Russian presidency revealed
Wednesday.

More:
http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=124875

--------
How Russia Pays For The War
 BBC (13Jan.00)
http://www.russiatoday.com/frames/frames.php3?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.
bbc.co.uk%2Fhi%2Fenglish%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Fnewsid_601000%2F60
1204.stm

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Chinese weathermen make it snow
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2000 09:32:58 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Chinese weathermen go one better than forecasting rain

FROM OLIVER AUGUST IN BEIJING

AFTER suffering terrible floods and damaging droughts, China's
meteorologists have decided to take the weather into their own
hands with astonishing results.

In developing a cheap technique to seed clouds, the Chinese
claim that they have successfully manipulated mother nature by
triggering a huge snowfall over Beijing, delivering badly needed
water to the capital. The Chinese development could be employed
by ski resorts to create masses of powder snow on the pistes,
although in China the method is being applied to avert a winter
drought.

Full story:
http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/2000/01/14/timfgnfar01001.ht
ml?999

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Infobeat News items (1/14/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2000 09:38:21 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

*** Chechen leader doesn't want U.S. aid

WASHINGTON (AP) - Chechnya does not want U.S. weapons and hopes for
a negotiated settlement with the Russian government to end the
bloodshed in the breakaway province, a Chechen official says. Ilyas
Akhmadov, who serves under Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov in
Grozny, said he is not seeking American assistance or mediation of
the conflict but only understanding for the Chechens' desire to stop
Russian military attacks. The Clinton administration on Wednesday
ruled out a U.S. role in mediation between Russia and the rebels in
its province of Chechnya, and suggested Europeans could take on the
job. But as Russian forces resumed an offensive in Chechnya on
Wednesday, there was no indication Moscow would heed Chechen appeals
or U.S. advice that it seek a political solution to the threatened
secession. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2563238916-f42 ***
Also: Chechen borders closed to men, 10-60, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2563239076-681

*** Paper shows Mideast peace progress

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli negotiators insisted in peace talks with
Syria that Jewish settlers be allowed to stay on the Golan Heights
after an Israeli troop withdrawal, and did not commit to a pullback
from all of the plateau, according to a U.S. document published
Thursday by an Israeli newspaper. The text also confirmed that Syria
has agreed to joint management of the Golan's water sources and
accepted the establishment of an early warning station on the heights
to be run by American and French forces. According to the document
the two sides have made considerable progress in detailing future
relations. They have agreed to full diplomatic relations, open border
crossings, free trade and cooperation in the field of tourism. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2563252885-5b5 ***
Also: Palestinian: Withdrawal falls short, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2563248055-665 ***
And: Clinton, Assad confer by phone, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2563251466-569

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Flu Epidemic Not?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2000 09:46:53 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

[BPRnote: A few days ago, prompted by a member who questioned
the flu epidemic stories concerning the UK, I asked readers to
comment on the "epidemic" in that region. Two members wrote in
and said that the conditions were not of "epidemic levels." One
member even commented on the official statistics and said the
numbers weren't adding up. Seems someone in the news media is
now looking at the math as well. Thanks readers! I appreciate the
feedback given on this story.]

Flu figures undermine claims of epidemic 14 January: The flu
figures yesterday edged just over the norm for the time of year,
but the official statistics got nowhere near the epidemic levels
that the health secretary, Alan Milburn, has claimed are to
blame for cancelled operations and hospital bed shortages.

Full story:
http://www.newsunlimited.co.uk/flu/

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