THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2012
SCIENCE
PAGE 7
This undated image made available by NASA and the Goddard Space Flight Center shows an artist's rendition of the Van Allen Probes in orbit around Earth. The twin spacecraft have captured the clearest sounds yet from Earth's radiation belts - and they mimic the chirping of birds. NASA's Van Allen Probes have been exploring the hostile radiation belts surrounding Earth for just three months. But already, they've collected measurements of high-energy particles and radio waves in unprecedented detail. Scientists said Tuesday that these waves can provide an energy boost to radiation belt particles, somewhat like ocean waves can propel a surfer on Earth.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NASA probes listen to the music of radiation
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — twin spaces have captured the clearest sounds yet from Earth's radiation belts — and they mimic the chirping of birds.
NASA's Van Allen Probes have been exploring the hostile radiation belts surrounding Earth for just
three months. But already, they've collected measurements of highenergy particles and radio waves in unprecedented detail.
Scientists said Tuesday these waves can provide an energy boost to radiation belt particles, somewhat like ocean waves can propel a surfer on Earth. What's more, these so-called chorus waves operate in the
same frequency as human hearing so they can be heard.
University of Iowa physicist Craig Kletzing played a recording of these high-pitched radio waves at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.
of cricket-like thing in the back ground", Kletzing told reporters.
"Not only do you hear the chirps — the alien birds as my wife calls them — but you hear that sort
Before, those background sounds were inaudible.
"So this is really a fantastic new measurement," he said.
While the chorus has been audible even before the Space Age — ham radio operators could sometimes hear it in decades past — the clarity of these measurements is "really quite striking." Kzeling said.
Initial findings show the outer radiation belt to be much more dynamic and rapidly changing than anticipated, said the University of Colorado's Daniel Baker, principal investigator for the electron proton telescope on each probe.
CRIME
known as the Radiation Belt Storm Probes — were launched from Cape Canaveral on Aug. 30. They were named after the late University of Iowa astrophysicist James Van Allen, who discovered the radiation belts that bear his name a half-century ago.
The Van Allen probes — formerly
In Cold Blood' murderers suspected in Florida killing
ASSOCIATED PRESS
OSPREY, Fla. — At the end of 1959, two families of four — one in Kansas, the other in Florida — were brutally murdered.
The Florida murder of two parents and two children was investigated by dozens of detectives over the years, but it remained unsolved. Now, a detective is trying to prove that the men who were executed in Nansas were also responsible for the Florida slayings.
Two men were arrested, charged and executed in the Kansas case, and writer Truman Capote captured the horrific tale in his iconic true crime book, "In Cold Blood."
"It's like putting together a jig-sw puzzle," said Sarasota County Sheriff's detective Kimberly McGath, who began re-investigating the murders of Cliff and
Christine Walker and their two young children in 2007.
McGath said there is evidence that points to two men who are now in a Kansas cemetery for executed prisoners: Perry Smith and Richard Hickock.
DNA recovered from semen found on Christine Walker's underwear could be compared to the remains of Smith and Hickock, said McGath. She is working with Kansas authorities to petition a judge there to approve exhuming the bodies of the two men.
Kansas officials said this week they have talked with Florida detectives and would continue to help if the Florida detectives file an exhumation petition in court.
Hickock and Smith are buried on a gently sloping hill at the Mount Muncie Cemetery in Lansing, Kan. The state of Kansas intered its executed criminals there when their
families didn't claim the bodies.
There are about 28,000 graves.
Cemetery manager Gene Kirby said the Hickock and Smith graves regularly visit visitors, particularly around the anniversary of the Clutter slayings or when "In Cold Blood" receives media attention.
"We have a fair amount of people come out and ask where they're buried, want to come down and actually see the graves," Kirby said. "If there's anything in the news that kind of piques the interest."
Kirby hopes that if an exhumation occurs, officials will be able to get the material they need by simply opening the coffin on site, without full removal. He was also concerned about the timing of any exhumation, because relatives visit other graves and decorate them around Christmas.
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In this Jan. 6, 1960 photo, Perry Edward Smith is led by police officers into the courthouse at Garden City, Kan. Smith was arrested in Las Vegas and charged with first degree murder for slaying four members of the Clutter family.
HEALTH
Alternative sex passes Harvard admissions
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Kinky sex has been admitted to Harvard.
The nation's oldest university has formally recognized Harvard College Munch, a group promoting discussions and safe practices of kinky and alternative sex.
The Committee on Student Life recognized Munch on Friday, making it one of 400 independent student organizations on campus. It occurred more than a year after members began meeting informally over meals.
Founders say Munch "meets an otherwise unaddressed need on campus."
The Harvard Crimson quotes one founder as saying that recognition "comes with the fact of legitimacy" and shows members are being taken seriously.
Munch has created a safety team to enable victims of abuse or trauma to get suitable help.
Organizers say the group started with seven people and now boasts about 30 members.
ROLITICS
Kansas Democrats to curtail Kobach's power
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TOPEKA — Democratic legislative leaders said Tuesday that they will introduce two measures in January that would limit Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach's power and the time he devotes to pet issues such as immigration.
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, of Topeka, said he plans to submit a bill that would restrict statewide elected officials and their employees to 10 paid hours per week spent on non-official duties. He said Kobach should be concentrating on the secretary of state's office, not working with other states on immigration issues.
Kobach, a Republican, has said that he only works on immigration measures in his "spare time." But Hensley questioned whether an elected official who is doing his or her job properly would have any spare time.
Messages left for Kobach by The Associated Press were not immediately returned. But he told the Wichita Eagle that the Democrats' proposal to limit what he does in his free time is "ridiculous."
"He's trying to do two jobs at once, but we need a fulltime secretary of state," said House Minority Leader Paul Davis, of Lawrence.
The measure Democrats want to see enacted would apply to the governor, secretary of state, attorney general, insurance commissioner and the governor's Cabinet, including agency secretaries. It does not apply to the lieutenant governor because governors in the past have frequently held a Cabinet position, such as head of commerce or administration.
“If the secretary of state golfed a lot and the Legislature didn't like that, would they limit him to three rounds of golf per week?” Kobach said. “It's silly.”
Kobach, a former constitutional
A second bill would require county commissions in the state's four largest counties to hire election commissioners, to address problems arising from the general election. It is aimed at preventing Kobach from appointing those commissioners.
law professor, has gained national notoriety for his work with Arizona, Alabama and others to draft immigration laws.
Democrats said the problems that led to counting votes during the November general election point to the need for having a person who is accountable to the voters for getting it right.
Elected county clerks run elections in 101 of the state's 105 counties, but the secretary of state appoints election commissioners in the four most populous ones, those being Johnson, Sedgwick, Shawnee and Wyndotte. Kobach has appointed the commissioners in Sedgwick and Shawnee since he
took office in 2010.
Kobach said having the secretary of state appoint the election commissioners makes them more accountable.
Both measures proposed by Democrats have been introduced in recent years but have failed to advance. Republicans hold a majority in both chambers.
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