There’s a nearly endless source of energy out there in the center of our solar system, and the collection methods we have here on the surface of the Earth only grab a very small fraction of it. If we could harvest solar energy directly from space, the useable amount would increase dramatically. The US Navy Research Laboratory is testing out two modules that would float in space to collect solar power and beam it to Earth. Arrays of the modules could produce enough energy to power entire cities.

The team, headed by Dr. Paul Jaffe, is working on two designs. One uses a “sandwich” model: the electrical components are all packed between two square panels. The top of the module is a solar collector and the bottom is an antenna that beams the power down to a receiver on the ground. The other design uses a “step” model which is more or less an opened-up version of the sandwich model. The open design is far more efficient; the larger surface area allows it to capture more solar power without overheating.

Although the idea of sending a solar power collector into space isn’t new, the scope of this proposed project is impressive. Dr. Jaffe expects the finished modules to span a full kilometer, which would necessitate their being built in space by robots. Small scale models of the modules have been tested in space-like conditions and have been found to be more than four times as efficient as previous concepts. While many people have expressed concern over the safety of beaming solar power down from space, Jaffe explains that there wouldn’t be a high-powered death laser aimed at Earth; the power would likely be transmitted using safer microwaves, and they would only hit specific receivers set up to receive the space power.

The post Beaming with Pride: Sending Solar Power Down from Space first appeared on Gajitz.

Detailed images from satellites have changed the way we see our world. It isn’t difficult to notice a unique type of art in the natural and man-made features of Earth as seen from above. But the Earth as Art Three exhibit uses scientific equipment purely for the creation of some of the most wonderfully strange art ever seen by Earthlings.

The Earth as Art series displays images from the Landsat 5 and 7 satellites that were produced specifically as art rather than for scientific interpretation. After the images of unusual bits of Earth’s surface are snapped, vibrant otherworldly colors are added. The colors correspond to radiation wavelengths, most of which are invisible to the naked human eye.

The resulting images are stunningly vivid and offer a unique view of the place we call home. Mundane features like lakes, clouds and mountains become beautiful, colorful objects of wonder.

USGS researchers were analyzing satellite imagery from 450 miles above Earth’s surface, they were struck by how ethereal the planet’s natural features could appear. The Earth as Art series was born out of this realization that images of our complex planet could be admired not only for their scientific value, but for their aesthetic value as well.

These fascinating images seem to mirror the human body in many ways. The features of our planet bring to mind the subtle beauty hiding within all of us – rivers and veins, islands and blood cells…our own bodies are intimately connected to the planet that gives us life.

The post Amazing Technicolor Dream Planet: Our Earth as Fine Art first appeared on Gajitz.

Economists are always interested in tracking the economic progress of countries around the world. However, that’s a difficult thing to do in undeveloped countries where records are rarely kept. Many countries do not even appear in the Penn World Tables, one of the most trusted compendiums of world economic data. Researchers at Brown University think that they’ve come up with an ingenious way of tracking the gross domestic product (GDP) of developing countries: they’ll do it from space.

As odd as it sounds, it makes perfect sense when you understand the method. Economists J. Vernon Henderson, Adam Storeygard, and David N. Weil suggest that satellite images of nighttime lights can give clues as to an area’s income. They propose using known economic data along with changes in the country’s nighttime lights to estimate the economic growth of the area over a period of time. Since consumption of just about any goods requires the use of lights at night, their report says, the light output is the ideal way to measure how much wealth a country is gaining.

The method isn’t perfect, and it’s not meant to replace actual numbers. Rather, it is most effective when used in combination with official reports of economic status. Using nighttime lights to measure the economic growth of a country has been used experimentally with mixed results, but obviously having any estimate is better than having no data at all.

The post Using Space Satellites to Measure Earth’s Economic Growth first appeared on Gajitz.