Before Galileo

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[excerpt]

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/messagestick/stories/s2730570.htm

In the International Year of Astronomy, astronomers world-wide are celebrating the 400th anniversary of Galileo turning a telescope to the sky and while some Aboriginal artists and elders are learning from astronomers and seeing a western view of their constellations, they in turn are teaching astronomers their stories and ways they have viewed the stars way before Galileo was born. Wardaman Senior elder Bill Yidumduma Harney from Menngen, near Katherine in the NT, was raised by Wardaman lore men and women in the bush, during the assimilation era and taught the spiritual and practical significance of reading the night sky.

This program will look at the ways in which western science intersects with Aboriginal Cosmology, leading us to a deeper understanding of the night sky, gained by learning the practical pointers of the constellations and the guiding spirits that occupy the dark nebulae in between.

New floating ATVs arrive in territory

New floating ATVs arrive in territory

Gabriel Zarate
Northern News Services
Published Monday, November 2, 2009

NUNAVUT - Search and rescue crews have a new tool when operating at the most challenging times of year. Twelve communities have received new all-terrain vehicles for use in difficult snow and ice conditions.

Jimmy Noble Jr. takes a new Argo Avenger out for a test drive. Afterwards he said, "I'm trying to keep from smiling." - Gabriel Zarate/NNSL photo

Buffalo Air DC-4 Water Bomber (Ice Pilots NWT)

www.buffaloairwear.com
Behind the scenes of the first flight of the fire season for Buffalo Air's DC-4 Tanker 02 BAJ (Bad Ass Jack). I was helping the film crew do some shooting for our new show "Buffalo Air" (Working Tittle) in Hay River NWT.

Tanker 02 is an ex Aero Union bird. She migrated up from California and now summers with the other green machines and Ugly Ducklings in the Northwest Territories.

Ice Pilots NWT Buffalo Joe

ICE PILOTS NWT premieres November 18 at 10 pm ET/PT on History Television. Renegade Arctic airline Buffalo Airways defies the freezing cold and the competition by using resilient WWII-era propeller planes to fly vital fuel, supplies and passengers to remote outposts all over the Canadian North. Rookie pilots with nerves of steel come from across the country to Yellowknife to receive training from the very best and for the chance to earn their wings flying powerful vintage planes originally built for war. From landing essential cargo onto airstrips at mine sites to carving out runways on frozen lakes and rocky tundra, the Ice Pilots do it all, despite frequent blizzards and breakdowns.

Ice Pilots NWT - Preview

ICE PILOTS NWT premieres November 18 at 10 pm ET/PT on History Television. Renegade Arctic airline Buffalo Airways defies the freezing cold and the competition by using resilient WWII-era propeller planes to fly vital fuel, supplies and passengers to remote outposts all over the Canadian North. Rookie pilots with nerves of steel come from across the country to Yellowknife to receive training from the very best and for the chance to earn their wings flying powerful vintage planes originally built for war. From landing essential cargo onto airstrips at mine sites to carving out runways on frozen lakes and rocky tundra, the Ice Pilots do it all, despite frequent blizzards and breakdowns.

THE EXPERIMENTAL ESKIMOS Trailer

"Director Barry Greenwald reunites Peter Ittinuar, Zebedee Nungak, and Eric Tagoona to reflect upon the profound impact the experiment had on their lives and identities as Inuit people. The men candidly recount their stories in this bold and thought-provoking film about assimilation, empowerment,
and the triumph of the human spirit."
-- Michele Latimer, Hot Docs

Polar bear plus grizzly equals ... ?

[excerpt] More at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8321000/8321102.stm

By Matt Walker Editor, Earth News

Clockwise: A female hybrid, male hybrid, polar bear and brown bear (all pictures courtesy of Alexandra Preuß)

What do you get if you cross a polar bear with a grizzly brown bear?

Scientists can now answer the question, following the first study of a polar bear/grizzly bear hybrid.

Only one hybrid bear has ever been seen in the wild, so the study evaluated two hybrid bears kept in captivity, which are among 17 such bears known to exist.

While each hybrid has inherited characteristics from either parent, some traits, such as partially hollow hair, appear to be a blend of the two.

"Hybrids between polar and brown bears in the wild are very rare. Only one confirmed case is known," says Dr Ute Magiera, the conservation coordinator of Osnabruck Zoo in Germany.

We were surprised about the offspring, because for 24 years nothing happened Dr Ute Magiera Osnabruck Zoo, Germany

That hybrid bear was shot in April 2006 by an American big game hunter on Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Canada.