Work starts on New Mexico spaceport

The location of the spaceport was selected for its distance from any sizable populations - only the occasional ranch and the local rattlesnakes will know it is there.

But New Mexico brings other advantages. The state proudly boasts that it has about 350 days of sun each year, meaning that unlike Nasa at Cape Canaveral, weather should not often affect launches, and the spaceport's neighbour - the White Sands missile testing range - ensures the air space overhead is already a no-fly zone.

New Mexicans are proud of their role in helping to foster scientific advancement from Von Braun's work with the V2 and Redstone rockets, to nuclear power, and the many observatories that are based here.

Governor Bill Richardson said he felt that the economic benefits of positioning the state at the forefront of the burgeoning commercial space sector would lead to developments on many levels for New Mexico and build on its rich history of aviation and spaceflight.

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Space storm's 'Epicentre' found

The precise spot at which a space storm struck the Earth's outer atmosphere has been pinpointed for the first time.

These storms are caused by the bending and stretching of the Earth's magnetic field by material from the Sun.

Observations like this may one day lead to better forecasting of these events, a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in Toronto, Canada, has heard.

This would provide more time to power down satellites and electrical grids, which can be damaged by these storms.

Dr Rae led a team of scientists who took measurements of changes in the Earth's magnetic fields using a system of cameras and magnetic instruments on the ground, while simultaneously observing the onset of a space storm from Nasa's five-strong fleet of THEMIS spacecraft.

They saw magnetic oscillations hit the upper atmosphere in a particular location - somewhere over Canada - and ripple out across the ionosphere. These events were followed, three minutes later, by an auroral display.

Researchers hope to use these observations to better predict these events. This could lead to the forecasting of storms hours, or even days, before they occur.

This would give more advanced warnings, helping protect humans and equipment from the radiation generated by disturbances.

"In the future, we should be able to predict space weather in the same way that we now can predict long-term weather forecasts [on Earth]," Dr Rae said.

The work is reported in the Journal of Geophysical Research and is co-funded by the Canadian Space Agency and Nasa.

'Iconic' Antarctic hut burns down

An isolated hut in Antarctica favoured by explorer Sir Edmund Hillary has burnt down after a fuel leak during a routine inspection at minus 35C.

Antarctica New Zealand said the "iconic" A-frame timber and bitumen hut on the Ross Ice Shelf went up in flames during re-ignition of the heater.

A spokesman said the hut, stationed on the ice since 1971, "will be sadly missed".

Everest-conqueror Sir Edmund visited during his last trip to Antarctica.

Fire hazard

With the extremely dry conditions, he said it was fortunate that staff removed themselves from harm quickly.

"Fire is the biggest hazard in Antarctica. Earlier this season, two Russians were killed when one of their buildings burned down," said Mr Sanson, quoted by the New Zealand Herald.

About 12,000 New Zealanders, including prime ministers, poets and scientists, have stayed in the hut during field training and as a retreat from New Zealand's Scott Base.

In May 2004 it survived 12 hours of over 160km/h winds with two Scott Base staff inside.

It was once owned by the US, stationed next to Scott Base at McMurdo Station, but they abandoned it in 1971.

Scott Base operates with about 10 staff during the southern winter, with no physical contact from beyond the continent between February and August.

Japan Robot Teacher, Miss Annie Droid

Saya the teacher doesn't mind being poked or pinched, or if the students play in class: she's an android designed to show children that science and technology can be fun subjects.Saya, a life-like female who started her career as a robot receptionist at Japanese companies and was then re-programmed to teach, gave a lesson to fifth-graders at Tokyo's Kudan Elementary School after being carried to the podium. Professor Hiroshi Kobayashi of Tokyo University of Science, who built Saya, says she's not meant to replace human teachers, just to highlight the joys of technology. He also said, "We are not looking at making something that will take over from teachers, but rather our main reason for building this robot is to use new technology to teach children about technology”. It's so much more fun than regular classes," said 10-year-old Nanako Iijima. The children's human teacher, however, was not as impressed with the robot as her students.

Ancient Tsunami 'Hit New York'

A huge wave crashed into the New York City region 2,300 years ago, dumping sediment and shells across Long Island and New Jersey and casting wood debris far up the Hudson River. The scenario, proposed by scientists, is undergoing further examination to verify radiocarbon dates and to rule out other causes of the upheaval. Sedimentary deposits from more than 20 cores in New York and New Jersey indicate that some sort of violent force swept the Northeast coastal region in 300BC. It may have been a large storm, but evidence is increasingly pointing to a rare Atlantic Ocean tsunami. Steven Goodbred, an Earth scientist at Vanderbilt University, said large gravel, marine fossils and other unusual deposits found in sediment cores across the area date to 2,300 years ago. He also said "If we're wrong, it was one heck of a storm’’.