Unmanned spacecraft from NASA, Europe and other space agencies are exploring the moon, Mars and other destinations across the solar system.
By Miriam Kramer Space.com
THE WOODLANDS, Texas ? Scientists from 37 countries are discussing the latest and greatest planetary science discoveries this week, but a few folks are notably absent: high-ranking NASA officials.
Instead of briefing the 1,750 attendees of the 44th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference?here in person, two senior NASA officials beamed in via Skype Monday?to detail some of the finer points of the space agency's budget and goals for the coming years.
"It's a pleasure to be coming to you from D.C., though I'd much rather be in Houston with all of you," said John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for science missions at the agency's headquarters in Washington.
Neither Grunsfeld nor Jim Green, director of NASA's planetary sciences division, is attending the conference. The two space agency officials explained that in light of the new budgetary constraints known as the "sequester," they decided to stay at NASA headquarters so funds for their travel could be used by active researchers.
Indeed, travel budgets for civil servants were one of the first things to be cut after the sequester came into effect on March 1, other NASA officials have said.
"It has been a tough time here in Washington," Grunsfeld added.
Follow Miriam Kramer?@mirikramer?and?Google+. Follow us?@Spacedotcom,?Facebook?and?Google+. Original article on?Space.com.
Copyright 2013 Space.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The price of oil rose to around $93 a barrel Wednesday as energy markets appeared to set aside worries about the financial crisis in Cyprus and look to the U.S. Federal Reserve for signs about the future of its stimulus program.
By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for April delivery was up 89 cents to $93.05 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.58 to finish at $92.16 on Tuesday.
Brent crude, used to price many kinds of oil imported by U.S. refineries, was up $1.04 to $108.49 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
Oil prices fell Tuesday after lawmakers in Cyprus rejected a plan to tax bank deposits to stabilize the country's banks and clear the way for an international bailout of 10 billion euros ($12.9 billion).
"The Cyprus saga has been tabled since the Cypriot parliament rejected the savings reduction bailout plan," said the Kilduff Report's Energy Overview, edited by Michael Fitzpatrick. "Apparently, Russia and/or Gazprom have offered a private bailout, as well. Regardless, time has been put back on the clock."
Other analysts said the uncertainty over Cyprus would prevent oil prices from rising too far.
"Clearly, market players anticipate that an alternative solution will be found for Cyprus," said a report from Commerzbank in Frankfurt. "Nonetheless, the uncertainty surrounding this issue is likely to continue to keep the oil prices in check in the short run. "
Fitzpatrick also predicted the U.S. Fed, which ends a two-day policy meeting later Wednesday, would keep interest rates low and uphold other measures meant to stimulate economic growth ? feeding expectations of rising oil demand.
"We expect a full, continuing commitment to monetary easing. Despite some improvement in the labor market, the U.S. is nowhere near the Fed's target," Fitzpatrick said. "Without robust employment levels, the Fed sees no risk of inflation and that is the bottom line."
Later Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Department is expected to report an increase of 2 million barrels in U.S. crude oil supplies, according to a survey of analysts by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. U.S. oil production, at more than 7 million barrels a day, is at the highest level in 20 years.
In other energy futures trading on the Nymex:
?Wholesale gasoline rose 1.87 cent to $3.059 a gallon.
?Heating oil added 2.4 cents to $2.9924 a gallon.
?Natural gas fell 7.2 cents to $3.897 per 1,000 cubic feet.
___
Pamela Sampson in Bangkok contributed to this report.
FILE - Los Angeles Lakers' Jerry West (14) is fouled as he tries to get around Houston Rockets' John Vallely after teammate Wilt Chamberlain set screen in game at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., in this Dec. 27, 1971 file photo. The Lakers went on to their 28th straight win, beating the Rockets 137-115. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Los Angeles Lakers' Jerry West (14) is fouled as he tries to get around Houston Rockets' John Vallely after teammate Wilt Chamberlain set screen in game at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., in this Dec. 27, 1971 file photo. The Lakers went on to their 28th straight win, beating the Rockets 137-115. (AP Photo, File)
President Barack Obama waves as he boards Air Force One during his departure from Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Tuesday, March 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
An American flag waves at half staff in the town of Hawthorne near the Hawthorne Army Depot on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, where seven Marines were killed and several others seriously injured in a training accident Monday night, about 150 miles southeast of Reno in Nevada's high desert. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner)
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
1. OBAMA AIMS TO REASSURE ISRAEL OF US SUPPORT
The president arrived today for his first visit since taking office to a country eager to hear his commitment to Israeli security.
2. A BLOODY MESSAGE IN IRAQ
An al-Qaida affiliated group claimed responsibility for a wave of bombings that killed dozens a decade after the U.S.-led invasion.
3. QUESTIONS ABOUT MORTARS IN EXPLOSION THAT KILLED SEVEN MARINES
The Pentagon halted use of the weapons after the accident during a Nevada training exercise.
4. WHAT LOWER-INCOME WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE ECONOMY
An AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey says many who earn less than $35,000 view their jobs as a dead end.
5. CHARGES OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN SYRIA
An Israeli official says it's "clear" the weapons were used; Syrian rebels and Assad have blamed each other for the northern attack.
6. CYBERATTACK SUSPECTED IN SOUTH KOREA NETWORK CRASH
The computer shutdown at several broadcasters and banks came a day after North Korea blamed the South and U.S. for crippling its network.
7. SANFORD BID TO RE-ENTER POLITICS ALIVE
The ex-South Carolina governor advanced to a Republican runoff for an open congressional seat.
8. TEEN LAUGHS, WEARS 'KILLER' SHIRT AT SENTENCING FOR KILLING 3
T.J. Lane gestured obscenely to the families of the students he shot dead in an Ohio school cafeteria before he was given three life terms.
9. ACTIVISTS SEEK CHARGES IN IDITAROD DOG DEATH
PETA wants Alaska prosecutors to file cruelty charges over the death of 5-year-old Dorado, who was buried by drifting snow at a race checkpoint.
10. MEMORIES OF THE 33-GAME STREAK
"The only bad thing about it is we were really too old to be able to sustain it," said Jerry West, whose Lakers hold the record the Miami Heat seeks to break.
By: John M Wilson Melbourne is continuously increasing in population size and simultaneously increasing in popularity. More and more travellers are heading to Melbourne to see what delights this eclectic city has to offer, while a growing number of businesspeople are also setting their sights on Melbourne as a world-class destination for business meetings. Whether you are planning to host a seminar, a workshop, a meeting with prospective clients or even if you need a space in which to have interviews, you will need a corporate meeting room in Melbourne where you can facilitate your corporate event.
As Melbourne is growing as a centre of commerce, so is the range and availability of corporate function rooms. There are a few points to keep in mind when selecting the room in which you wish to host your corporate event. A logical place to start from is to think of your budget. Are you looking for a small, simple venue for the sake of practicality? Or are you hosting the business event of the year with wealthy clients that need to be wined and dined? For the former, you could look for a small meeting room in a community centre, as perhaps it will be a small amount of people meeting for a short time. But, if you are getting the events coordinator and party planner out, then you should perhaps be looking at a corporate meeting room Melbourne that is part of a hotel or expo centre.
The hotel option is a winner for many reasons. Firstly, if you choose a hotel with an ample amount of stars, the meeting rooms will definitely be luxurious. You can expect delicious food from the caterers, state of the art technology in the rooms, wifi access all around and gourmet coffee made barista style to keep your guests focused and the ideas flowing all day long. The other reason why a hotel meeting room is a good idea is because you have the luxury and convenience of accommodation added into the picture. Especially if many or all of your guests are flying in to join your corporate event, it helps a lot to have the guests stay just upstairs from the meeting room. It allows visitors to be more relaxed, and they could even enjoy a night out on the town with a few drinks, knowing that they do not have to worry about getting up at ridiculously early hours of the morning. Instead they can just leisurely amble down the stairs following the smell of freshly brewed coffee and freshly printed documents.
Regardless of your business in Melbourne, when it comes to meeting rooms youll be spoiled for choice!
About the Author: John M Wilson primarily writes articles that offer recommendation about planning and booking for corporate meeting room Melbourne. If you would like to use any of John Wilsons existing work please visit the grandhotelmelbourne.com.au.
Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com
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Spend A Few Days At North ConwayBy: Peter Rattay | Mar 21st 2013 - North Conway is the perfect destination for nature and adventure sports lovers. From highly luxurious resorts to totally adventurous hiking trails, the destination has everything to make your vacation memorable. Lets find out more about sports, places to see, and accommodation options in North ...
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Festivals In Australia Enthrals Cultural Connoisseur In YouBy: Rob Morrow | Mar 21st 2013 - Festivals offer an interesting peek into the tradition and cultures of a country. And if it is a city like Melbourne, Perth and Sydney the celebrations never come to an end. With its culturally diverse population, the city poses as a fountainhead of festivals.
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Catch Flights To New York To Explore Its FestivalsBy: adrianpye | Mar 21st 2013 - There could be various facets of New York for people with different orientations. For some it is overwhelming and for others it is nothing short of an organised chaos.
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Hotels In Vadodara: World Class Amenities By: Shayman Paul | Mar 21st 2013 - Vadodara offers plenty of accommodation options for the business and leisure travelers. The city has luxury hotels, business hotels, five star hotels, four star hotels, luxury resorts, budget hotels and other accommodation options. Visitors can choose to stay at hotels near Vadodara airport or rai ...
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Business Hotels In New Delhi: Save And SavorBy: Shayman Paul | Mar 21st 2013 - Tourists and business travelers have a wide range of lodging and accommodation facilities to choose from. New Delhi houses a vast range of luxury and mid range hotels and guest houses scattered all over the prime locations of the city.
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Know-how The Magnificence Of India Throughout Festival Packages By: kailashkumar | Mar 21st 2013 - India is a stunning and versatile country hosting a assortment of enriching and wonder. There are loads of Agra Overnight tour Packages so as to lets you occurrence the India in its complete splendor.
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In Depth Exploration Of Bali: Banjra Sandhi MonumentBy: Kiara Brownell | Mar 21st 2013 - The list goes on for the many sites to see and activities to do in Bali. When speaking about Bali, the first thing that would come to mind are the white sand beaches, restaurants and boutiques, as well as the hotels and villas in Bali for rent.
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Experience The Pleasure With Online Hotels Reservations From A Good Travel AgencyBy: jimmyseikh | Mar 21st 2013 - Almost all the travel agencies are linked to two, three, four, and five star hotels and these hotels is sake of getting more and more customers provide them more facilities or attractive discount. You can also tell them your preferred location. Suppose you are heading to Delhi and you want to stay ...
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Unearth The Beautiful Island Of Fiji!By: seosujitchakma | Mar 21st 2013 - The people from different part of the world are flocking to Fiji islands to have a glimpse of the enchanting islands. It has been placed in the world tourist map as a favorite destination of the tourist.
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Find, Rate And Share Best Hotels, Resorts, Businesses, Shopping Places And Tourism Attractions In PhBy: Abhishek Tripathi | Mar 21st 2013 - PinoyTopTips is online place which helps you in finding info about anything in Philippines without asking you to pay anything. It could be Hotels, restaurants, entertainment, medical tourism, services, nightlife, shopping places and tourism attractions in Philippines. You may also list your own bu ...
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Perfectly Clear for Android just got a hefty update, making one of my favorite apps even better. Perfectly Clear is an intelligent photo editor, that can take a good picture and make it great. It adjusts all the color and exposure settings based on some sort of magic algorithm, and truly does make a big difference in the clarity, color, and quality of the pictures you take with your phone. With today's update, it now does it all better.
One of the major changes is a healthy speed increase, as the app has been re-written and now is twice as fast at displaying changes to your photo. Move a slider and you see the results almost instantly, especially with quad-core processors. Another is saving Exif and GPS data, especially if you use software on the computer or your Android that sorts using Exif and GPS.
But those aren't the only change, have a look.
Faster! It’s now twice as fast opening and correcting images. Fine-tuning with the slider bars is near-real-time when using the latest quad core devices, such as those powered by NVIDIA Tegra 4 and 4imobile processors.
New, powerful memory mapped buffer. You can now save huge images (up to 40 MP).
A new look! We have re-designed the entire GUI.
Zoom. Now you can zoom into your photo to view the details as you correct.
One simple price. The beautify preset, is included in the app price so you only have to purchase once.
Bug Fix: licensing. Now you can use Perfectly Clear “offline”.
Now you can copy the app to your SD card.
Exif support. The app now retains your Exif and GPS data.
Quick Correct. Tap your hardware menu button and selected images will be automatically corrected and saved without going to our edit screen.
Some really nice changes to a great app. Grab it from Google Play for $2.99 if you haven't yet, or hit the Google Play app on your device to update if you have.
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