Greenhouse Gas Probing Satellite to Measure Global Warming
While thousands of people spout hot air about whether there's any such thing as global warming, Japanese space-scientists have launched a satellite to accurately measure it. That's why they're awesome space-scientists while the others are busy misspelling their angry comments. The Ibuki satellite has successfully deployed its solar panels and is all set to watch us for the next five years.
The Ibuki is armed with optical sensors which can measure methane and carbon dioxide levels. The problem with existing ground-based monitoring stations? Well, the clue is in the question. Once you build a monitoring facility it's pretty hard to pick it up and drive around with a building on your back, and many locations either can't afford such a station or don't want to build a messenger they'll only have to shoot later.
The Ibuki can instead log incontrovertible evidence, observing over fifty thousand locations every hundred minutes. It's pretty much the best measurement you can get short of confiscating the atmosphere and sticking it through a spectrometer. Whether the data will support the current greenhouse gas scenarios or suggest that something else is taking place remains to be seen, but whatever it says people will have to listen or brand themselves as utterly ignorable from then on. When someone actually comes back with numbers based on "leaving the planet for a better view," you either accept them or put on your novelty "I ignore what doesn't suit me" baseball cap (with complimentary blinkers).
In an excellently efficient touch, this project to police pollution piggy-backed seven other satellites on the same rocket - a rocket which makers claim was the smallest and cheapest space-launch currently in operation. It seems that the Japanese are extending their reputation for making things smaller and better to space.
Posted by Luke McKinney.
Ibuki Environment Probe http://www.physorg.com/news151918774.html







Perfect comment about this issue: angry bloggers who can't spell demanding, attention to their nonsensical non-science screeds.
The only other topic they misspell and get angry about with this frequency is evolution.
We know who you people are.
Sorry. Science rules. Beliefs don't.
Posted by: Mark | January 28, 2009 at 11:30 AM
Well at least the clouds look cool.
Posted by: Nattyb | January 28, 2009 at 12:17 PM
There is no such thing as global warming. In fact, there is a natural cycle of ice ages, and warmer inter-glaciation period. We are going towards an Ice Age, not global warming
Posted by: Christian Rioux | January 29, 2009 at 06:56 PM
So we continue to collect data on global warming and yet we're sooo sure that the planet's heating up. But check it, unless that Ibuki thing can go back in time and get comparative data it'll be pretty much useless for the current debate, since so much past data collection is questionable anyway. But .. But .. WAIT A MINUTE! As you say Luke "they're awesome space-scientists." could be they can go back in time! Maybe, just maybe, they can settle this argument once and for all. Until then I'll hold to my Skepticism.
Skepticism = Science Rule #6
The debate is still on you fools! HaHaHa!
Posted by: zip | January 31, 2009 at 12:16 PM
hey mark, seems to me there is no evidence of the author not being able to spell "demanding". At least he has some basic understanding of punctuation!
Posted by: sbu | February 02, 2009 at 04:06 AM