Apa Hebatnya Solat Di Awal Waktu?

Setiap peralihan waktu solat sebenarnya menunjukkan perubahan tenaga alam ini yang boleh diukur dan dicerap melalui perubahan warna alam.

Aku rasa fenomena perubahan warna alam adalah sesuatu yang tidak asing bagi mereka yang terlibat dalam bidang fotografi, betul tak?

Waktu Subuh

Sebagai contoh, pada waktu Subuh alam berada dalam spektrum warna biru muda yang bersamaan dengan frekuensi tiroid yang mempengaruhi sistem metabolisma tubuh.

Jadi warna biru muda atau waktu Subuh mempunyai rahsia berkaitan dengan penawar/rezeki dan komunikasi.

Mereka yang kerap tertinggal waktu Subuhnya ataupun terlewat secara berulang-ulang kali, lama kelamaan akan menghadapi masalah komunikasi dan rezeki.

Ini kerana tenaga alam iaitu biru muda tidak dapat diserap oleh tiroid yang mesti berlaku dalam keadaan roh dan jasad bercantum (keserentakan ruang dan masa) - dalam erti kata lain jaga daripada tidur.

Di sini juga dapat kita cungkil akan rahsia diperintahkan solat di awal waktu.

Bermulanya saja azan Subuh, tenaga alam pada waktu itu berada pada tahap optimum.

Tenaga inilah yang akan diserap oleh tubuh melalui konsep resonan pada waktu rukuk dan sujud.

Jadi mereka yang terlewat Subuhnya sebenar sudah mendapat tenaga yang tidak optimum lagi.

Waktu Zohor

Warna alam seterusnya berubah ke warna hijau (Isyraq & Dhuha) dan kemudian warna kuning menandakan masuknya waktu Zohor.

Spektrum warna pada waktu ini bersamaan dengan frekuensi perut dan hati yang berkaitan dengan sistem penghadaman.

Warna kuning ini mempunyai rahsia yang berkaitan dengan keceriaan.

Jadi mereka yang selalu ketinggalan atau terlewat Zuhurnya berulang-ulang kali dalam hidupnya akan menghadapi masalah di perut dan hilang sifat cerianya. Orang yang tengah sakit perut ceria tak?

Waktu Asar

Kemudian warna alam akan berubah kepada warna oren, iaitu masuknya waktu Asar di mana spektrum warna pada waktu ini bersamaan dengan frekuensi prostat, uterus, ovari dan testis yang merangkumi sistem reproduktif.

Rahsia warna oren ialah kreativiti.

Orang yang kerap tertinggal Asar akan hilang daya kreativitinya dan lebih malang lagi kalau di waktu Asar ni jasad dan roh seseorang ini terpisah (tidur la tu).

Dan jangan lupa, tenaga pada waktu Asar ni amat diperlukan oleh organ-organ reproduktif kita.

Waktu Magrib

Menjelang waktu Maghrib, alam berubah ke warna merah dan di waktu ini kita kerap dinasihatkan oleh orang-orang tua agar tidak berada di luar rumah.

Ini kerana spektrum warna pada waktu ini menghampiri frekuensi jin dan iblis (infra-red) dan ini bermakna jin dan iblis pada waktu ini amat bertenaga kerana mereka resonan dengan alam.

Mereka yang sedang dalam perjalanan juga seelok-eloknya berhenti dahulu pada waktu ini (solat Maghrib dulu la) kerana banyak interferens (pembelauan) berlaku pada waktu ini yang boleh mengelirukan mata kita.

Rahsia waktu Maghrib atau warna merah ialah keyakinan, pada frekuensi otot, saraf dan tulang.

Waktu Isyak

Apabila masuk waktu Isyak, alam berubah ke warna Indigo dan seterusnya memasuki fasa Kegelapan.

Waktu Isyak ini menyimpan rahsia ketenteraman dan kedamaian di mana frekuensinya bersamaan dengan sistem kawalan otak.

Mereka yang kerap ketinggalan Isyaknya akan selalu berada dalam kegelisahan.

Alam sekarang berada dalam Kegelapan dan sebetulnya, inilah waktu tidur dalam Islam.

Tidur pada waktu ini dipanggil tidur delta di mana keseluruhan sistem tubuh berada dalam kerehatan.

Qiamullail

Selepas tengah malam, alam mula bersinar kembali dengan warna putih, merah jambu dan seterusnya ungu di mana ianya bersamaan dengan frekuensi kelenjar pineal, pituitari, talamus dan hipotalamus.

Tubuh sepatutnya bangkit kembali pada waktu ini dan dalam Islam waktu ini dipanggil Qiamullail.

Begitulah secara ringkas perkaitan waktu solat dengan warna alam.

Manusia kini sememangnya telah sedar akan kepentingan tenaga alam ini dan inilah faktor adanya bermacam-macam kaedah meditasi yang dicipta seperti taichi, qi-gong dan sebagainya.

Semuanya dicipta untuk menyerap tenaga-tenaga alam ke sistem tubuh.

Kita sebagai umat Islam sepatutnya bersyukur kerana telah di’kurniakan’ syariat solat oleh Allah s.w.t tanpa perlu kita memikirkan bagaimana hendak menyerap tenaga alam ini.

Hakikat ini seharusnya menginsafkan kita bahawa Allah s.w.t mewajibkan solat ke atas hamba-Nya atas sifat pengasih dan penyayang-Nya sebagai pencipta kerana Dia tahu hamba-Nya ini amat-amat memerlukan-Nya.

Erdoğan’s Economic Revolution

Ibrahim Ozturk2011-06-14

Erdoğan’s Economic Revolution

ISTANBUL – Since 2002, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been governing Turkey with remarkable success in economic terms. Indeed, its record is almost unique in Turkey’s modern history, comparable only with the rule of the Democratic Party (DP), which came to power in the 1950’s, at the start of multi-party parliamentary democracy in Turkey, and ran the country for a decade.

The era of DP rule is ingrained in Turkey’s public consciousness as one of phenomenal growth and expanding freedoms. With the mandate it received in the June 12 election, and almost 42 years after the DP was deposed by a military junta, the AKP has emerged to set new benchmarks in Turkey’s development.

Indeed, unlike the DP’s leader, Adnan Menderes, who was brutally executed following a sham military trial, the AKP’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who will now begin his third term as Prime Minister, appears to have secured democratic political control of Turkey’s military and bureaucracy. Both institutions’ ability to challenge the results of elections appears at an end.

Turkey’s latest transformation began with the severe economic, political, and social turmoil of 2001, which then-Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit called a “crisis of the Turkish state.” That year marked the last gasp of the authoritarian/bureaucratic regime that emerged in the early 1920’s, and that had become so isolated from the public that its legitimacy had evaporated.

Over the years, that system had been captured by self-interested rent-seekers. Tension, and at times open confrontation, between a modernizing elite and ordinary people regarding the nature, function, and design of the state undermined the very capacity to govern. A political pendulum of reform and reaction, and of populist and pragmatic cabinets, weakened the republic for most of its history.

Unlike Japan, for example, with its de facto one-party government for most of the period since 1945, the lifespan of Turkish governments averaged around 14 months between 1960 and 2000. Whereas political stasis supported a development miracle in Japan, the inertia created by Turkey’s self-interested establishment resulted in a discouraged society with unfulfilled expectations.

With much of its immediate neighborhood convulsed in revolutionary change and in search of a viable road forward, understanding how Turkey moved from cronyism to economic dynamism is vitally important.

First, Erdoğan’s government recognized that change can deliver greater stability than inertia, which invariably breaks down chaotically as economic decline and political infighting take hold. Second, Turkey shows that an external anchor, such as membership in the European Union or pressure from the International Monetary Fund, can be decisive in triggering change and, therefore, in enhancing prosperity.

But the best way to understand what Erdoğan’s government has gotten right is to examine what went wrong in the “lost decade” of the 1990’s. That decade was characterized by low and unstable growth; low per capita GDP, at around $3,400 dollars; dramatically low productivity; an unsustainable fiscal and financial position in both the public and private sectors; average annual inflation of 70% for more than two decades; a lack of competitiveness, reflected in 10% unemployment; and widespread corruption.

Partly as a result of these factors, Europeans tended to refer to Turkey as “too big, too poor, and too unstable” for full EU membership.

Weary with crisis, Ecevit’s administration embarked on a comprehensive reform package– spearheaded by Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis – that included a flexible exchange-rate system with a dedicated inflation-targeting regime. With this macroeconomic groundwork laid, greater economic, and soon political, stability followed.

In 2003 came the formation of the AKP’s first single-party government, which enthusiastically backed the country’s IMF-based stabilization program. Turkey’s adoption of a road map for full membership in the EU also created a strong impulse to follow through on painful reforms. Exceptionally favorable economic conditions worldwide at this time no doubt helped significantly, but the real credit must go to a government that stuck to its liberalizing instincts.

This consistency has paid off. From 2002-2007, Turkey experienced its longest period of uninterrupted economic growth, which averaged 6-7% year on year, while annual inflation has plummeted (it now stands at 3.9%). Moreover, the economy proved resilient following the global financial crisis, with growth recovering rapidly.

Indeed, annual real GDP rose by 9% in 2010. And, despite Turkey’s fast-growing population, per capita GDP has tripled since 2002, reaching $10,500 in 2010. As a result, Turkey is projected to graduate from “middle-income” status and enter to the league of rich countries by 2012.

Not surprisingly, Turkey’s capacity to attract foreign direct investment is now comparable to other fast-growing emerging-market economies. But serious problems remain. The ever-rising current-account deficit (6.8% of GDP in 2010) will require a second round of reforms. And unemployment remains stubbornly high, though employment is now more widespread than it has ever been.

For the first time in its modern history, Turkey not only resisted a serious global economic crisis, but also decoupled itself from the rest of Europe by rebounding strongly in 2010. This economic prowess, together with the government’s “zero problem” foreign policy, have helped make Turkey a leading regional power.

Turkey’s achievements form a case study in successful economic development. The question now is how Turkey will use its rapidly growing economic power.

İbrahim Öztürk is Professor of Economics at Marmara University in İstanbul.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2011.
www.project-syndicate.org

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One hundred years of superconductivity

Superconductors have already helped build amazing technologies - but the next step will revolutionise physics itself. Michael Norman Last Modified: 16 Jul 2011 09:52

Huge superconducting magnets power the Large Hadron Collider in its search for the building blocks of our universe [GALLO/GETTY] The world's first "quantum" computer - a machine that harnesses the magic of quantum phenomena to perform memory and processing tasks incredibly faster than today's silicon-based computer chips - was recently sold by D-Wave Systems of Canada to Lockheed-Martin. And, while some question whether the machine is truly a quantum computer, its designers have published articles in peer-reviewed journals demonstrating that the basic elements of this novel computer are indeed superconducting quantum bits. This spring marked the 100th anniversary of the discovery of superconductivity - the ability of materials to carry electrical current with no loss. Currents set up in superconducting wires can exist for years without any measurable decay. Because of this property, superconductors have unique features that can be exploited in many ways. They can carry enormous amounts of current, making them ideal for urban power grids. And, when wound into coils, they can produce extremely strong magnetic fields. Such superconducting magnets have been applied in a variety of technologies. The best-known examples are the magnets that drive the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines found in most hospitals. Perhaps the most exotic are the huge magnets used to accelerate particles in the Large Hadron Collider, which seeks to discover the fundamental principles of matter. Conducting oneself properly Despite their great promise, however, superconductors have limits, the primary one being that most superconduct at very low temperatures - indeed, near absolute zero (-273 ºC). Such temperatures can be achieved only through liquid-helium cooling. Thus, Swiss researchers caused excitement in 1986 by announcing the discovery of superconductivity in an oxide of copper at twice the temperature of the previous record holder. Shortly thereafter, researchers in the United States found a related material that superconducts above the temperature at which air liquefies. As Time magazine proclaimed in May 1987, with the discovery of these so-called "cuprates," the superconducting revolution had begun. Alas, the revolution soon bogged down. Cuprates are notoriously difficult materials to work with, because they are very brittle. This is exacerbated by their strong anisotropy - the materials have a quasi-two-dimensional structure consisting of a weakly coupled stack of conducting sheets. As such, they are a challenge for industry, though applications are beginning to appear. Since the cuprates first appeared, a variety of other "high temperature" superconductors have been discovered - one is a simple compound of magnesium and boron, and another involves a mixture of iron and arsenic. Although none of them superconduct at temperatures as high as liquid air, they may ultimately be better materials with which to work. Given the vast number of combinations of elements that can form compounds, there is a good chance that better superconductors await our discovery. Quantum leap In the coming years, superconductors are expected to play a growing role in technology. Already, "second generation" cuprate wires are being used to make high-capacity cables for electric-power transmission, and lighter-weight generators for wind turbines. Stronger superconducting magnets are leading to the development of MRIs with more sophisticated diagnostic capabilities. Superconductors are being used for levitated trains in high-speed rail transport, and as microwave filters for improved signal bandwidth in cellular base stations. The discovery of a new superconductor with enhanced properties could lead to even greater technological innovation. This brings us to the intellectual challenge of superconductors. It took 46 years from the discovery of superconductivity to the 1957 Bardeen, Cooper, and Schrieffer (BCS) theory of how the phenomenon occurs. Along the way, a number of famous physicists tried and failed to get the answer - Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and Richard Feynman being notable examples. Discovering the solution required the development of advanced theoretical techniques. What had been difficult to figure out was how to get electrons to superconduct. The basic discovery of BCS was that if the electrons pair up, those couples could indeed superconduct. Fortunately, the mechanism for such coupling was known. Although electrons are negatively charged, and therefore repel one another, the positive ions that they leave behind when they flow through a metal can mediate an effective attraction between two electrons under restrictive conditions (for example, the metal must be very cold). The suspicion, though, is that this is not the case in the new superconductors. Cuprates superconduct at much higher temperatures, but, more importantly, they possess some exotic properties: they are formed by doping electrical carriers into a host material that is a magnetic insulator - the last place one would look for a conventional superconductor. And, unlike BCS theory, in which the pairs are isotropic - with identical properties in all directions in space - the pairs in cuprates are strongly anisotropic, resembling a cloverleaf. How can one pair electrons without ions holding them together, thereby enabling higher-temperature superconductors? While ideas about this abound, new theoretical breakthroughs most likely will be needed to develop the machinery required to solve such electron-electron theories, perhaps even involving black holes. Whatever the theory turns out to be, it is certain to revolutionise physics. Michael Norman is Argonne Distinguished Fellow and head of the Materials Science Division at Argonne National Laboratory, a principle investigator in the Center for Emergent Superconductivity, and Fellow of the American Physical Society. A version of this article was first published by Project Syndicate.

Nikola Tesla proved in 1931 that we don’t need any gasoline whatsoever to power our cars

1930 Pierce Arrow Electric Vehicle

The fuel to power the world’s machinery and vehicles for thousands of years can be derived from electromagnetic wave conductors. We have known for 80+ years that electromagnetic coupling can be used to harness the freely available cosmic rays (electromagnetic radiation) and power the World. A simple antenna is an electromagnetic conductor which converts harnessed radio waves in free space to an electrical current. This electromagnetic conversion can power all our machinery, including our automobiles.

Supported by the Pierce-Arrow Co. and General Electric in 1931, Nikola Tesla, inventor of the AC generator, took the gasoline engine from a new Pierce-Arrow and replaced it with an 80-horsepower AC electric motor with no external power source.

Tesla reportedly bought 12 vacuum tubes, some wires and assorted resistors, and assembled them in a circuit box 24 inches long, 12 inches wide and 6 inches high, with a pair of 3-inch rods sticking out. Getting into the car with the circuit box in the front seat beside him, he pushed the rods in and announced, “We now have power”. Using no gasoline whatsoever Tesla proceeded to drive the car for a week and at speeds of up to 90 mph.

As the AC motor can only operate on AC (alternating current that is typically supplied in a home) electricity the single 12 volt car battery wasn’t the source of power as a car battery supplies only DC (direct current) electricity. So what was the source of power that powered the AC electric motor? Electromagnetic (EM) waves which Tesla declared is a free source of power that is “everywhere present in unlimited quantities”.

The 1931 Pierce Arrow demonstration proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that we don’t need any gasoline whatsoever to power our automobiles.

An electric powered automobile possesses many advantages that the noisy and polluting gasoline cars could not offer.

First and foremost is the absolute silence one experiences when riding in an electrically powered vehicle. There is not even a hint of noise. One simply turns a key and steps on the accelerator – the vehicle moves instantly! No cranking from the start, no pumping of the accelerator, no spark control to advance, no exhaust pipes, no leaking gas tanks, no clogged fuel pumps or lines, zero emissions and no tuneups. One simply turned the ignition switch to on!

Second, is a sense of power. If one wants to increase speed, you simply depress the accelerator further – there is never any hesitation. Releasing the accelerator causes the vehicle to slow down immediately – you are always in complete control.

Thirdly, the electric cars envisioned by Tesla were a lot lighter as there were no battery packs (only a single 12 volt battery was used to power the lights), no gas tank with heavy liquid gasoline or diesel, no exhaust system (no muffle, catalytic converter, or pipes) and no heavy combustion engine.

Lastly and most importantly the source of power for his vehicle is available for free. You would never have to recharge this vehicle. You would never have to pay 1¢ to any electrical company. Since the source of energy that powered Tesla’s electric car in 1931 was energy harvested from EM waves that is everywhere this type of electric car had unlimited range.

Tesla used an antenna to capture this free energy and he was able to drive for hours with no stopping whatsoever for a recharge. If he drove and ended up in the middle of nowhere he could stop and rest and continue on in a couple of hours or even days without ever having to worry about running out of power. It is not difficult to understand why these vehicles were so very popular around the turn of the century.

Short URL: http://presscore.ca/2011/?p=2965

Pluto to Make a Star "Wink Out" Twice This Week

Find out when and where to watch it happen.Main Content

Pluto and its three known moons—Charon, Nix, and Hydra—as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope.

On Thursday tiny Pluto will cause a bright star to fade in the nighttime sky, and an army of astronomers is fanning out across the Pacific to capture the rare event.

The unprecedented sky show involves what scientists call an occultation—when an object passes directly in front of a star, as seen from Earth, causing the star to dim temporarily.

Starting at 11:15 UT on June 23, Pluto and its largest moon Charon will both occult a very bright star. Just a few days later, beginning at 14:18 UT on June 27, Pluto and its smaller moon Hydra will each pass in front of a different bright star.

"We've never had an event like this one we're seeing now," said team member Leslie Young of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. "We're getting two bright stars, both brighter than Pluto itself—as seen from Earth—occulting Pluto just about four days apart."

The pair of unusual celestial events will provide astronomers with a Pluto "weather report" and may shed light on other mysteries ahead of a visit to the dwarf planet in 2015 by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft.

For instance, by reading the starlight that filters through Pluto's atmosphere during the occultations, scientists will be able to take more exact measurements of Pluto's size and the temperature and density of its atmosphere.

Amateur stargazers across Australia and the Pacific will also be scanning the skies during both events, and Young says their data will be welcome.

The project's wiki planning page features finder charts, schedules, local occultation timings, and other useful information for those hoping to take in a truly historic view of Pluto and its moons.

"All you really need is an 11-inch telescope with video capability and some way of timing exactly when things happen," Young said.

Double Pluto Events Like "Christmas in June"

Occultations of Pluto were very rare before 2002. But since then Pluto has moved in its tilted orbit so that it's now entering the star-rich central plane of our Milky Way galaxy.

That means Pluto has been been passing between Earth and other stars more often.

Still, an occultation with a particularly bright background star happens, on average, just once every two or three years, and time is running out to learn as much as possible about Pluto before the New Horizons spacecraft arrives in the dwarf planet's home region, the Kuiper belt.

"It's really Christmas in June, the totality of this event," said Alan Stern, principal investigator of the New Horizons mission.

The hitch is that there's always the chance a patch of bad weather could obscure the occultation entirely.

It's also key that at least some of the observers get the best possible vantage point, which is found within the narrow shadow cast on Earth by Pluto and its moons.

"We don't know Pluto's position in the sky perfectly, or the star's position in the sky perfectly, so there is always some uncertainty about exactly where the shadow will cross," team member Young explained.

To make sure they get what they need from the occultations, Young and colleagues have coordinated a massive campaign that's sent astronomers and mobile observatories to several exotic locales.

Team members are even now setting up base camps in eastern Pacific sites such as Hawaii, California, and Mexico, as well as in western Pacific countries including the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

The dozen or so telescopes out in the field includes two 14-inch mobile units funded by the National Geographic Society's Committee for Research and Exploration, which are stationed in Nauru and the Marshall Islands. (The National Geographic Society owns National Geographic News.)

"We're going to countries that we've never been to before and working out practicalities—from customs to connectivity of telephones and the Internet—and trying to find out how it works to observe in those countries," Young said.

"But we work with local observers, both professionals and amateurs, and that helps a lot."

(Get daily field updates and pictures from team members in the Philippines and the Marshall Islands.)

Getting Pluto's Weather Report

If all goes as planned, the team will come home with valuable new data on the small and largely mysterious world.

"Whenever you have a bright-star [occultation], you get a detailed look at the weather report on Pluto," Young said. "We can sample the atmosphere at the scale of a kilometer or better and get details of waves on Pluto, the jet stream on Pluto, and turbulence on Pluto, which is astonishing."

The dwarf planet Pluto and its moons have been moving away from the sun since 1989 on their 248-year orbit. Teams should therefore be able to see any seasonal changes in atmospheric pressure and temperature that have occurred since previous observations.

"We expect Pluto's atmosphere to change as it moves away from the sun," Young said.

"It's made of nitrogen, just like Earth's. But unlike Earth, Pluto is so cold that nitrogen is also frozen on the surface. So eventually, as Pluto moves away from the sun, the atmosphere will cool down and snow out, and it will be ten or a hundred or perhaps a thousand times less dense than it is now."

(Related: "Pluto Has 'Upside Down' Atmosphere.")

Because two occultations are occurring one after the other, scientists will also have an unprecedented opportunity to see what a day looks like in the life of Pluto.

"Pluto's day is 6.5 times longer than the Earth day, so with occultations just about four Earth days apart, we can see how the dynamics of weather on Pluto change from one part of the day to the next," Young said.

Astronomers Jane Greaves of the University of St. Andrews in the U.K. said she is excited about the occultation because the bright starlight could reveal more about the thin upper layers of Pluto's atmosphere.

"Occultations over the past couple of decades have been mysterious, with [Pluto's] atmosphere sometimes staying stable and sometimes swelling up for no obvious reason," said Greaves, who is not part of the current occultation field team.

"Adding to this sequence will hopefully help show if and why Pluto has such erratic weather."

(Related: "Pluto Has Toxic Carbon Monoxide in Its Atmosphere.")

Pluto's Orbital Mysteries

The June 23 occultation will also reveal precisely where Pluto and Charon are relative to one another in the sky.

The data should help astronomers solve an orbital mystery that was revealed by the discovery of the two smaller moons Nix and Hydra almost six years ago.

"We once thought that Pluto and Charon orbited in simple ellipses. But, with the discovery of the small moons, we found they all pull on each other and affect each other in subtle ways," Young said.

Pinpointing the orbits more exactly will reveal the objects' masses—and will help astronomers plan observation strategies for the New Horizons spacecraft.

"Knowing the orbits better will help us refine where we aim our cameras—you don't want an image with half of an object out of the frame," explained NASA's Stern.

"Knowing the orbits more accurately will also make us more efficient, so we have time to do more things—and we're only going to be there once."

(Related: "Pluto is the Biggest Dwarf Planet After All?")

The June 27 Hydra occultation is especially exciting, team member Young added, because the small moon has been an elusive target for the past six years. With this round of observing, her team is hopeful that they'll finally be able to pinpoint Hydra's size.

"It's been very hard to do, because until recently we didn't know the orbit of Hydra relative to Pluto very well, and because the object is so small that we have a very small chance of being in Hydra's shadow" to observe it from the proper place on Earth, Young said.

Recent work with Hubble Space Telescope images has narrowed Hydra's position relative to Pluto to within tens of kilometers. With that information in hand, observations from the June 23 occultation can be analyzed in time to pinpoint where in Australia to place a telescope to be in Hydra's shadow four days later.

"By the time [astronomer] Marc Buie starts driving out of Alice Springs two days before the second occultation, we'll be able to tell him and his army of amateurs where to go."

Even with all the planning, NASA's Stern added, part of the allure is that no one's quite sure exactly what they'll see during the Pluto occultations.

"That's the great thing about astronomy," Stern said. "Sometimes when you unwrap a present, you really get a surprise gift."

(The Pluto occultation research is supported by the National Geographic Society's Committee for Research and Exploration, NASA's Planetary Astronomy program, NASA's New Horizons Mission, and the Southwest Research Institute.)