Mountain Views News          Saturday, July 9, 2016

Mountain Views-News Saturday, July 9, 2016 12 THE WORLD AROUND US Mountain Views-News Saturday, July 9, 2016 12 THE WORLD AROUND US 
TEENAGERS ON WORK EXPERIENCE AT KEELE UNIVERSITY DISCOVER NEW PLANET 
A group of teenagers on work experience atKeele University in Staffordshire, England, mayhave discovered a new planet.

Twenty four students in years 10, 11 and 12,
boys and girls aged 15 to 17, from local schoolsand colleges came together for the week inthe Lennard-Jones building at Keele to work 
on a research project that aimed to discover 
exoplanets—planets that orbit other stars—andto characterize eclipsing stellar binary systems.

The highlight of their week at Keele hasbeen the discovery of at least one new strongexoplanetary candidate—a Neptune-sizedplanet in a 19-day orbit around a Sun-like star.
The potential planet orbits a star, much like theSun, that is about 800 light-years away in theconstellation of Virgo. The star was previouslyan anonymous object, about 100 times fainterthan you could see with the naked eye.

The results of their work are feeding intoKeele’s ongoing research into exoplanetarysystems and binary stars, and some of thediscoveries will be followed-up immediatelyby Professor Rob Jeffries [http://www.astro.
keele.ac.uk/~rdj], of Keele’s Astrophysics group,
with spectroscopy at the 2.5-m Isaac NewtonTelescope in the Canary Islands.

During this week, Professor Jeffries, Dr.
Pierre Maxted and the Astrophysics group atKeele hosted “Project Tatooine.” A key focus ofthe project was to search for rare examples of“circumbinary exoplanets”—those planets thatorbit around a double star, like the fictional 
Tatooine from the film “Star Wars.” 

The students carefully examined thousandsof light curves: precise measurements of stellarbrightness taken every 30 minutes over thecourse of 75 days by NASA’s Kepler satelliteobservatory. In teams, they characterized thelight curves, identified eclipsing binary systemsand searched for the elusive transit signals oforbiting exoplanets. They collated their results, produced a final report and delivered a presentation of their work to each other and the Astrophysics group.

Professor Jeffries said, “The project entailed the students rapidly assimilating a great deal of new knowledge about stellar variability and astrophysical measurements. They also had to practiceand improve many transferable skills: team building, time management, information retrieval, communication and presentation, computing and problem solving. They also had the opportunityto visit the observatory at Keele University.”

 YOUR SCHOOL MAY ALSO DISCOVER AN EXOPLANET. School, colleges, and individual citizen scientists everywhere have the opportunity to do their own research with the KeplerTelescope data. To find out more about accessing the Kepler data, go to: http://keplerscience.arc.nasa.gov agersonworkexperienceatkeeleuniversitydiscovernewplanet.html https://en.wikipedia. 
org/wiki/Kepler_(spacecraft)#/media/File:Kepler_spacecraft_artist_render_(crop).jpg You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@MtnViewsNews.com. 


CHRISTOPHER Nyerges 

GET TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS 


[Nyerges is the author to “How to Survive Anywhere,” war, bombs that nations point at nations, crazy 
“Foraging California,” and other books. His schedule leaders, economic chaos that drives our lives into the 
of classes is available at www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance. dirt, rampant plague and disease from poor hygiene, 
com.] and so many other preventable crises. 

Some of these “acts of men” we can do something 

Real Survival is not a sport. It is not a computer about, and most we cannot. But we can inform 
game. Survival is not a “reality” TV show. Survival is ourselves, and we can organize with like-minded 
not a concept that intellectuals discuss over latte. Nor individuals. This is perhaps the most important step 
is it a topic for science fiction novels. we can take, since as our society has grown ever 

Real Survival is that live-or-die feeling that larger, and vastly more technologically-oriented, and 
emanates from our deepest desire to continue our “leaders” that seem ever-distant, we realize that it’s 
life. It is the deepest instinct of human kind and the important to try to take control of whatever we can 
entire animal kingdom. of our individual lives. We realize that knowledge 

We joke about “the apocalypse” and zombies and is power, and my increasing our personal sense of 
“the end of the world,” and yet, due to our ability to responsibility, and awareness, we can at least move 
adapt and to condition ourselves, we live all the time our lives in the right direction. 
with factors that threaten our very survival. But we Self-sufficiency and neighborhood coopera-tiveness iscontinually address those factors, and we modify and the path to sustainability and survival.
change, and we survive. An associate of mine who told me he hates his 

Human society stands as a testament to human neighbors, said that his ace in the hole in the event of 
ingenuity, adaptability, and the desire to survive. a major disaster is his uncle in Minnesota who has a 
Our growth, and our ability to harness and utilize self-sufficient farm and home, and produces his own 
nature, all arose from our desire to survive. Now, the power.
main threat to our survival as a species seems to be “Really?” I mocked. “And how do you expect to 
– ourselves. get to Minnesota after some major catastrophe?” (My 

We know the natural threats to our survival: friend lives in urban California). 
earthquakes, mudslides, tsunamis, volcanoes, Like it or not, we’re all in this same boat. In an 
hurricanes, tornadoes, and maybe even occasional emergency, your neighbors are your family. Get to 
millennia where a comet hits the earth. know them, now, not later. Get back to our roots of 

The so-called “acts of God” will be contended with neighbors helping neighbors, and learn to share and 
when they happen, and it seems they will always be support among yourselves. That is our tradition, and 
with us. that is what made this country great. 

But as our urban centers grow ever-larger, we There is no threat that stout-hearted people 
wonder if we will ever turn into a Bladerunner-type working together cannot overcome. 
world, where we’re all cramped into ever-tighter There are no simple answers to life’s many 
quarters. problems, but it’s a step in the right direction to 

We have to be concerned about the “acts of man” always learn new things, and get to know your 
that continue to threaten our survival: terrorism, diverse community. 


OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder 

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN 

During vacation time, I have some anxiety3” tall and almost as wide. I carry my weightpoints that becomes a little more serious eachwith the most dignity I can. When I approachedyear. It is not that I do not like vacation, I justmy seat, I noticed that on either side of my seatdon’t like going on vacation. It’s the “going”were men who made me look like a midget. Iaspect that frustrates me. I just hate stoppingcould barely sit down in my seat and for twowhat I’m doing and changing gears. I usuallyhours I was crunched between these two sumo 
end up in neutral.wrestlers. 

I’m not quite sure who invented this vacationI was afraid that somewhere along the flightidea, but I wished he would have been on I would have to sneeze and that would destroyvacation that week. I do not mind getting awayeverything. Fortunately, I did not sneeze andfor a little break now and then, but a whole more fortunately, during those two hours I didweek’s vacation! Do you know what a wholenot have to go to the bathroom. I am not sureweek’s vacation cost? Don’t ask me what I could what I would have done had I had to go.
do with that kind of money!When we finally got to our destination, it

Once again this year the Gracious Mistress ofturned out to be wonderful. We were stayingthe Parsonage and I took a vacation.at my son’s home in Ohio with his wife and

I was reminded of my first day of first gradefour children. I only get to see these fourschool. The bus came to pick me up and I foughtgrandchildren once a year and it is always alike a crazy person and refused to get on thatgreat time together.
bus. No way was I going to go to school andWhen the time came for us to leave and flynobody was going to make me.back home, I wasn’t very happy. I just didn’t

My mother had to drive me to school and towant to go home. I could have spent the rest ofput it mildly, she was not very happy. When shethe summer there with the grandchildren.
got me to the school, she said, “You will takeThe flight back home was not quite as stressfulthe bus home tonight!” Then she added thoseas the other flight. Sitting next to me was ainfamous words, “… or else!” two-year-old who hardly took up his own seat.

I found my way, somehow, to my class and toI could stretch out, relax and enjoy the flightmy great surprise, I had a wonderful day. I didand I even enjoyed the nonstop chatter of thisnot know school was so fun. Then the time came two-year-old.
for me to go home. And then, I wasn’t happy.During the flight, I had some reflective thoughts.

I did not want to go home. I did not want toI came to what I will refer to as the grandfather’sleave school. I refused to get on the bus and mydilemma. As a grandfather; do I have the bestmother had to come pick me up.grandchildren or, do my grandchildren have the

When I got home I was introduced to the “orbest grandfather?
else” aspect of my mother’s displeasure with myAll the way home, I thought about that andactions for the day.concluded that my grandchildren are the best

Isn’t that just the way life is?grandchildren in the world who happen to haveI had the same feeling when it came to vacationthe best grandfather in the world. I think thattime this year. To avoid the issue I leave all thesolves both sections. 
preparation to my wife who begins six monthsI suppose flying high in the air makes thebefore the actual time. She is anxious for air so thin that a person cannot think straight.
vacation time to come and can hardly wait for itThat being so, it was wonderful to land and thento arrive. All she talks about is what we’re goingfinally get back home and back into the saddleto do on “our vacation.” again.

It was this year I finally realized what wasFlights of fancy have their place, but so doesgoing on. While my wife was making all thegetting back to work and doing the things youpreparations and plans for our vacation, I endedlove. 
up footing the bill. And then, I wasn’t happy.I love what Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 3:1, 

She usually does a great job in the planning“To every thing there is a season, and a time toof these things, especially the flights where sheevery purpose under the heaven.”
knows where to get the cheapest ones.For me, the best time is coming home and

This year on our plane flight, we did not setgetting back in the saddle again.
together. I do not know if it was cheaper or howRev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family 
it actually worked out. On every plane, there areof God Fellowship Ocala, FL 34483 where 
three seats on the right and three seats on thehe lives with the Gracious Mistress of the 
left. I happened to get the middle seat on theParsonage. Call him at 1-866-552-2543 or e-mailright.jamessnyder2@att.net. His web site is www. 

I certainly am not a small person. I stand 6’ jamessnyderministries.com. 

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