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Friday, 09/23/16Watch the full episode of Friday night's The Rachel Maddow Show.
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Week in Geek - Hubble redux edition
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) just took the Hubble Ultra Deep Field to the next level.
ALMA is an array of 66 radio dish antennas located at an altitude of over 16.000 feet in the Atacama desert of northern Chile. Much like the Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico, these dishes all work in concert to create a telescope used to observe radio emission at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. Astronomers use radio telescopes to probe phenomena such as star formation by observing gas and dust clouds that are too distant and/or too faint to be see by infrared or optical telescopes.
The Hubble Ultra Deep Field is an image released by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2004 of a patch of sky roughly as big as 1/10th of the full moon. The filed was found to contain 10,000 galaxies of all shapes, sizes, and ages and is the deepest view of the universe to date. Now ALMA has begun to to peer at the same area of the sky to uncover what else might be there that Hubble was unable to see.
The recent results are from only 50 hours of ALMA observing the HUDF. ALMA is slated to observe an additional 150 hours in the near future. They show that total mass of stars in a galaxy is highly correlated with its rate of star formation. Additionally, astronomers were able to identify regions where star-formation was likely to happen next based on the concentration of molecular gas, regions Hubble could never "see". The video below highlights these areas (in orange) superimposed on the HUDF (in blue).
"This is a breakthrough result. For the first time we are properly connecting the visible and ultraviolet light view of the distant Universe from Hubble and far-infrared/millimeter views of the Universe from ALMA." - Jim Dunlop, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Here's some more geek from the week:
Republicans are once again turning their backs on the people of Flint who have waited far too long for help. It's wrong, unfair, and unjust. https://t.co/tj5l0UH6Lu
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 23, 2016
Republicans excluded #Flint aid in the bill to fund the government. Unbelievable. #FundFlint #DoYourJob https://t.co/06QugT7WYN
— Rep. Dan Kildee (@RepDanKildee) September 23, 2016
There was a lot to include in this lede, and I'm sure I missed a few things… https://t.co/bwhLEfeBX0 pic.twitter.com/370pfB5Ueb
— Russell Berman (@russellberman) September 23, 2016
(1/3) The #FlintWaterCrisis must be addressed now. Up to 12,000 Flint children have been exposed to lead in tap water.
— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) September 23, 2016
(3/3) It’s intolerable for Republicans in Congress to not lend a helping hand to Americans in need. #FlintWaterCrisis
— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) September 23, 2016
Friday's Mini-Report, 9.23.16
* Charlotte: "Unsettling footage obtained by NBC News shows the moments leading up to the fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina."
* Also in North Carolina: "Charlotte police on Friday announced the arrest of a suspect in the killing of a demonstrator shot during protests this week over a police-involved shooting."
* Tulsa: "The life and career of the white Oklahoma police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man last week is now under a microscope. Tulsa police Officer Betty Shelby, a five-year veteran of the force, has been charged with manslaughter for fatally shooting 40-year-old Terence Crutcher on a highway."
* Big news out of Ohio: "In the latest court victory for voting rights, a federal appeals panel on Friday ruled against Ohio's controversial procedure for removing inactive voters from the rolls. The decision could give a modest boost to Hillary Clinton in a crucial swing state."
* A rare veto: "President Barack Obama on Friday vetoed controversial legislation aimed at helping the families of the victims of the September 11th attacks sue Saudi Arabia -- a move that sets up an emotionally-charged, election year showdown between an outgoing commander-in-chief and members of his party who supported the bill."
* New Jersey: "Key members of the New Jersey Assembly have begun researching whether or not to bring articles of impeachment against Gov. Chris Christie, NBC 4 New York has learned."
* Sometimes, little, off-the-beaten-path stories can be incredibly important: "A judge appointed by President Obama has been added to the group that will decide the fate of his landmark climate change regulation. The addition of Judge Nina Pillard tips the scales further toward Democratic appointees for the case, which comes before the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit next week."
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Abandoning all principles Ted Cruz backs Donald Trump
Facing a chorus of relentless boos from Trump loyalists on the convention floor, Cruz instead told Republicans, "Vote your conscience."
That was two months ago. This afternoon, Cruz changed his mind, publishing a 700-word piece on Facebook announcing his support for his party's nominee.
"After many months of careful consideration, of prayer and searching my own conscience, I have decided that on Election Day, I will vote for the Republican nominee, Donald Trump. I've made this decision for two reasons. First, last year, I promised to support the Republican nominee. And I intend to keep my word.
"Second, even though I have had areas of significant disagreement with our nominee, by any measure Hillary Clinton is wholly unacceptable...."
Of course, what he didn't mention is that those identical issues were equally important to Cruz two months ago, when he refused to endorse the GOP nominee.
In other words, if today's announcement makes it seem as if Cruz is a craven opportunist, far more interested in partisan gamesmanship than deeply held principles, it's probably because he's making it difficult to draw any other conclusion.
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About The Rachel Maddow Show
Launched in 2008, “The Rachel Maddow Show” follows the machinations of policy making in America, from local political activism to international diplomacy. Rachel Maddow looks past the distractions of political theater and stunts and focuses on the legislative proposals and policies that shape American life - as well as the people making and influencing those policies and their ultimate outcome, intended or otherwise.
