Historic Plaque Sought: West End Branch, Carnegie Library

 
West End Branch, The Carnegie Library
of Pittsburgh
(Source: The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh) 


The Friends of the Library, West End Branch, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, has filed an application nominating the West End Branch of The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh to receive a historic plaque offered by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.

The West End Branch Library was the second neighborhood branch library constructed in Pittsburgh, opening to the public on 1899 January 31. It is the second library to house a specifically-designed and constructed library Children’s Room. In the Lower Level meeting room, a Library custodian painted pictures of children’s literature fictional characters on the doors to several cabinets, in the 1950s.

Story hours for children had their beginning at this library. Charlotte Keith tried storytelling as an experiment. She got the idea from kindergartens which were just opening throughout the country. Youngsters at the branch liked the stories and soon the main Carnegie Library and others all over the United States copied her plan.

The West End Branch, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh was designated a City-Designated Historic Structure, by the City of Pittsburgh, by a unanimous vote of Pittsburgh City Council, on 2004 July 14. At the following Internet address is the statement, delivered by Glenn A. Walsh before Pittsburgh City Council on 2004 June 30, in support of the designation of the West End Branch Library as a City-Designated Historic Structure.

Link >>> http://andrewcarnegie.tripod.com/clpgh/ST-DesgWestEnd.htm

The historic plaque will communicate to the public visiting the Library of the Library's rich history. Unlike city or national historic designations, the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation is a private organization, and the plaque provides no legal protections for the historic building. A few years ago, a similar historic plaque was mounted on Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science, which, like the West End Branch Library, is a Pittsburgh City-Designated Historic Structure.

Once the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation awards a historic plaque to the West End Branch, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, a fundraising campaign will be launched to pay for the metal plaque.

 Historic Plaque Nomination Application for the West End Branch, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

 Link >>> http://andrewcarnegie.tripod.com/friends/clpgh/westend/PlaqueapplicCLPWEnd.html

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://friendsofthezeiss.org >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < http://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
< http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
< http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
< http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
< http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
< http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
< http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >

Admiral: Navy Laser Weapons Just 2 Years Away

Whoever wins the upcoming presidential election, by halfway through the new term the Commander-in-Chief could be wielding a new weapon straight out of science fiction: laser cannons.

That’s how close the U.S. Navy is to being able to field the first generation of “directed energy” weapons aboard ships, according to Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, the chief of the Office of Naval Research. Klunder made the claim Monday to WIRED.com’s Danger Room, which has been following the development of the futuristic laser arsenal.

Earlier this year Klunder’s office had said the Navy was four years away from mounting the laser weapons, but he told WIRED Monday that recent tests had been “very successful” and the Navy has figured out physics issues that plagued early concepts.

More - Link >>> http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/10/navys-laser-weapons-just-2-years-away-admiral-says/

Sources: Wired Magazine, ABC News.

Related Blog Post --

Anti-Rocket Truck-Mounted Laser to be Tested in 2013 (2012 Oct. 7)

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2012/10/anti-rocket-truck-mounted-laser-to-be.html

 
October 24 marks 73rd anniversary of dedication of Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science: Link >>> http://www.planetarium.cc

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://friendsofthezeiss.org >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < http://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
< http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
< http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
< http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
< http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
< http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
< http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >

Calif. Rock Not Meteorite; Still Searching for Meteorite

Object found in Marin thought to be meteor chunk just a rock

By Bay City News Service

Posted:   10/24/2012 08:13:35 AM PDT

Updated:   10/24/2012 08:13:36 AM PDT

By Bay City News Service

After a fireball streaked across the Bay Area sky last Wednesday evening, scientists and locals alike have been on the hunt for pieces of the meteor that is believed to have made landfall in the Bay Area.

Today the meteor astronomer with the SETI Institute who reported over the weekend that the first
piece of the meteor was found after it hit the roof of a Novato home clarified that the suspected meteorite discovered there is actually a natural rock.

Dr. Peter Jenniskens with the SETI Institute said on his NASA Ames Research Center webpage today the house of administrative nurse at the University of California at San Francisco Lisa Webber was hit by something during the fireball's descent last Wednesday evening, but the meteorite remains elusive.

More - Link >>> http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_21844017/object-found-marin-thought-be-meteor-chunk-just

Sources: Bay City News Service, San Jose Mercury-News.

Related Blog Post --

Meteor Experts: Back & Forth on Fireball Fragments (2012 Oct. 26)

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2012/10/meteor-experts-back-forth-on-fireball.html

Meteorite From Calif. Fireball Found (2012 Oct. 22)

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2012/10/meteorite-from-calif-fireball-found.html

 

Photos & Information: Buhl Planetarium Meteorite

Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/Buhlexhibits.htm#meteorite

 

October 24 marks 73rd anniversary of dedication of Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science: Link >>> http://www.planetarium.cc

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://friendsofthezeiss.org >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < http://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
< http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
< http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
< http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
< http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
< http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
< http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >

Sun: Major Flare Erupts, More Expected

Major Solar Flare Erupts From the Sun

by SPACE.com Staff

Date: 23 October 2012 Time: 10:38 AM ET

inShare1

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite captured this photo of the X-class solar flare unleashed from the sun Oct. 22, 2012. CREDIT: SDO/NASA View full size image

The sun unleashed a powerful solar flare late Monday (Oct. 22), releasing waves of radiation into space that have already caused a short radio blackout on Earth.

The flare erupted from the sunspot AR 11598 (short for Active Region 11598), and reached peak brightness at 11:22 p.m. EDT (0322 GMT this morning, Oct. 23), according to scientists working on NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), a space telescope that constantly monitors the sun with high-definition cameras. It ranked as an X1.8 solar flare, one of the strongest types of solar flares, according to the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) run by NOAA and the National Weather Service.

The same sunspot produced three strong flares before this one in just the two days since it became visible from Earth's perspective. "This means more flares are probably in the offing, and they will become increasingly Earth-directed as the sunspot turns toward our planet in the days ahead," astronomer Tony Phillips wrote on Spaceweather.com, a website that tracks skywatching and space weather events.

More - Link >>> http://www.space.com/18179-major-solar-flare-sun-storm-erupts.html

Source: Space.com .

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://friendsofthezeiss.org >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < http://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
< http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
< http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
< http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
< http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
< http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
< http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >

Science Conferences Affected by GSA Meeting Scandal

Federal Budget Limits Affect Scientific Conferences

By LAURA DATTARO

Published: October 23, 2012

After General Services Administration workers were found splurging on hotels, food and catering for a regional conference near Las Vegas two years ago, the Obama administration imposed new guidelines that limit the amount of money that federal agencies can spend on such events. The Office of Management and Budget estimates that the directive saved more than $600 million in the first two quarters of this fiscal year, compared with the same period in 2010.

But a number of science and technology organizations are now arguing that the federal belt-tightening is affecting the ability of the scientific community to share research and collaborate. 

The U.S. Public Policy Council of ACM, the Computing Research Association, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers have written to Congress and federal officials, asking for an exemption from the spending policy for “recognized scientific, technical and educational meetings” and “meetings of national and international standards bodies.”

More - Link >>> http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/science/federal-budget-limits-affect-scientific-conferences.html?_r=0

Source: The New York Times.

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://friendsofthezeiss.org >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < http://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
< http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
< http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
< http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
< http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
< http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
< http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >

A Swedish Stonehenge?

A Swedish Stonehenge? Stone Age Tomb May Predate English Site

Tia Ghose, LiveScience Contributor

Date: 22 October 2012 Time: 08:18 AM ET

inShare

A 5,500-year-old tomb possibly belonging to a Stone Age chieftain has been unearthed at a megalithic monument in the shape of a ship called the Ale's Stenar (Ale's Stones). Here, archaeologist Björn Wallebom clears the northern brim of the dolmen, or several upright stones with a horizontal boulder on top in which a body would be placed. CREDIT: Annika Knarrström, Swedish National Heritage Board. View full size image

A 5,500-year-old tomb possibly belonging to a Stone Age chieftain has been unearthed at a megalithic monument in the shape of a ship called the Ale's Stenar (Ale's Stones). The tomb, in Sweden, was likely robbed of stones to build the Viking-era ship monument.

Perched on a seaside cliff in the village of Kåseberga stands the Ales Stenar, also called Ale's Stones, 59 massive boulders arranged in the 220-foot (67-meter)-long outline of a ship. Most researchers believe the 1,400-year-old ship structure is a burial monument built toward the end of Sweden's Iron Age. Local legend has it that the mythic King Ale lies beneath the site.

The Ales Stenar megaliths, some of which weigh as much as 4,000 pounds (1,800 kilograms), have distinctive cut marks similar to ones found at Stone Age sites. So researchers wondered whether the stones were stolen from an even older monument, Söderberg told LiveScience. [See Photos of Ale's Stones & Tomb]

In 2006, archaeologists used magnetic sensors and radar to map the area's underground terrain and found a larger circular structure about 541 feet (165 m) in diameter, with a 65-foot by 25-foot rectangle at its heart.

More - Link >>> http://www.livescience.com/24157-ancient-tomb-ales-swedish-stonehenge.html

Source: LiveScience.com .

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://friendsofthezeiss.org >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < http://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
< http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
< http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
< http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
< http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
< http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
< http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >

Meteorite From Calif. Fireball Found

Meteorite Found! Fragment of California Fireball Hit House

by Clara Moskowitz, SPACE.com Assistant Managing Editor

Date: 22 October 2012 Time: 09:23 AM ET

inShare

The dent in a roof caused by a meteorite from the Oct. 17, 2012, fireball over Northern California is identified by Luis Rivera, the neighbor of Lisa Webber who found the meteorite after it struck her Novata, Calif., home. CREDIT: P. Jenniskens SETI Institute/NASA ARC View full size image

A meteorite from a fireball that lit up the night sky over Northern California last week hit the roof of a Novato house and landed in the backyard, scientists say.

Homeowner Lisa Webber, a nurse at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, found the space rock

Saturday (Oct. 20), after reading an article about the dazzling Oct. 17 fireball in the San Francisco Chronicle. She recalled hearing a sound on her roof the night the meteor was reported and went searching behind her house, where she found a 2.2 ounce (63 grams) stone.

Webber contacted Peter Jenniskens, head of the CAMS (Cameras for Allsky Meteor Surveillance) project, which is jointly run by NASA and the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute. The CAMS project put out a public call for information on possible meteorite sightings soon after the fireball last week.

More - Link >>> http://www.space.com/18156-meteorite-discovery-california-fireball-hit-house.html

Source: Space.com .

Related Blog Post --

Meteor Experts: Back & Forth on Fireball Fragments (2012 Oct. 26)

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2012/10/meteor-experts-back-forth-on-fireball.html

Orionid Fireball Seen in San Francisco Area (2012 Oct. 18)

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2012/10/orionid-fireball-seen-in-san-francisco.html

 

Photos & Information: Buhl Planetarium Meteorite

Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/Buhlexhibits.htm#meteorite

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://friendsofthezeiss.org >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < http://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
< http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
< http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
< http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
< http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
< http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
< http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >