SMAP Takes to the Skies

The latest from NASA! http://ift.tt/1Abgzx7 A United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket with the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) observatory onboard is seen in this long exposure photograph as it launches from Space Launch Complex 2, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. SMAP is NASA’s first Earth-observing satellite designed to collect global observations of surface soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state. SMAP will provide high resolution global measurements of soil moisture from space. The data will be used to enhance scientists’ understanding of the processes that link Earth’s water, energy, and carbon cycles. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)http://ift.tt/1Abg9qy

What Do Federal Child Abuse Laws Say? 3 Things You Should Know

The newest legal news In addition to state laws prohibiting child abuse, the federal government has its own laws meant to protect children from neglect and other forms of abuse. These laws include minimum child welfare standards to which the states are required to conform. However, a recent three-year study by the Children’s…… FindLaw News – Top Stories http://ift.tt/1wJcrxa

Hubble’s View of the Polar Ring of Arp 230

The latest from NASA! http://ift.tt/1yUpRM1 This image shows Arp 230, also known as IC 51, observed by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

Arp 230 is a galaxy of an uncommon or peculiar shape, and is therefore part of the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies produced by Halton Arp. Its irregular shape is thought to be the result of a violent collision with another galaxy sometime in the past. The collision could also be held responsible for the formation of the galaxy’s polar ring.

The outer ring surrounding the galaxy consists of gas and stars and rotates over the poles of the galaxy. It is thought that the orbit of the smaller of the two galaxies that created Arp 230 was perpendicular to the disk of the second, larger galaxy when they collided. In the process of merging the smaller galaxy would have been ripped apart and may have formed the polar ring structure astronomers can observe today.

Arp 230 is quite small for a lenticular galaxy, so the two original galaxies forming it must both have been smaller than the Milky Way.  A lenticular galaxy is a galaxy with a prominent central bulge and a disk, but no clear spiral arms.  They are classified as intermediate between an elliptical galaxy and a spiral galaxy.

European Space Agency

Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Flickr user Det58http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubbles-view-of-the-polar-ring-of-arp-230

What Is Resisting Arrest? Are There Any Defenses?

The newest legal news What is resisting arrest, and what defenses can potentially be used to defeat the charge? A San Francisco public defender was arrested Wednesday after she refused to let police photograph her client in a court hallway. Notably, a police officer told her before she was placed in handcuffs that she…… FindLaw News – Top Stories http://ift.tt/1LnclWE

FindLaw.com Opens New Doors With Legal Forms in Spanish

The newest legal news FindLaw.com is expanding its already robust selection of easy-to-use legal forms by offering over a dozen of our most popular forms in Spanish. We recognize that the Spanish-speaking population is continuing to grow in America, and those families and individuals more comfortable with Spanish need better access to the U.S……. FindLaw News – Top Stories http://ift.tt/1Lncn0F

What Is Rent Control?

The newest legal news In order to prevent the cost of rental housing from skyrocketing, local governments may institute rent control regulations. Without rent control, rental prices in some cities can be, as former New York City mayoral candidate Jimmy McMillan eloquently put it, “too damn high.” Though as it turns out, McMillan’s…… FindLaw News – Top Stories http://ift.tt/1JORU3l

James Brown Will Dispute: Was He Legally Married When He Died?

The newest legal news James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, died in 2006, but a legal battle over his estate has been going on ever since. Brown’s will left his entire estate to a charitable trust, leaving nothing to the woman he married in 2001, Tommie Rae Hynie.But legally speaking, was Hynie even Brown’s…… FindLaw News – Top Stories http://ift.tt/1JPZzOH

Contractor Injured at Your House: Are You Liable?

The newest legal news Homeowners having work done to their homes may be concerned about not just the quality of the work, but also about the potential legal liability for injuries sustained by contractors performing the work. By virtue of owning the property, homeowners may generally be held responsible for injuries caused by…… FindLaw News – Top Stories http://ift.tt/1LmfYw8

Supreme Ct. Stays Executions, Will Hear Lethal Injection Challenge

The newest legal news For the first time in years, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the lethal injection method of execution is constitutional. The decision to hear the case comes shortly after one Oklahoma state prisoner out of four to file the case was already executed. At least that won’t happen to…… FindLaw News – Top Stories http://ift.tt/1LncedP

‘Mark of the Beast’ Accommodation Lawsuit: Lessons for Employers

The newest legal news The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) prevailed earlier this week in a lawsuit that pitted a religious employee against an employer that wouldn’t give him a reasonable accommodation. Well, it’s really more complicated than that. The employee claimed that the employer’s biometric hand-scanning system, used for time tracking, would brand…… FindLaw News – Top Stories http://ift.tt/1JPZtGT