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THE OATH

Barack Obama has arrived at the US Capitol to be sworn in as America's 44th president - and the country's first African-American leader. Millions of people gathered in the National Mall from dawn in a wintry Washington DC, to see Mr Obama take the oath of office at 1200 (1700 GMT). Huge crowds cheered and waved as Mr Obama and Vice-President-elect Joe Biden were introduced. Unprecedented security is in place, with 40,000 on duty or stand-by. Across the US there is a sense of history being made, correspondents say. Anticipation has been building across the US ahead of the ceremony, held on the steps of the US Capitol, where Congress sits. See map showing key sites of Inauguration Day But the new president faces serious challenges. America is gripped by uncertainty as the economy faces its worst crisis in decades. Mr Obama must also handle wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and seek to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In Washington, homeland security officials said they were monitoring a "potential threat" of "uncertain credibility" on inauguration day. Church visit Hundreds of thousands of visitors arrived in Washington in the days before the inauguration, and vast numbers braved early-morning cold to secure a vantage point for the midday ceremony. Competition for tickets along the parade route has been fierce, as has the scrum for standing room in the National Mall.
Officials in Washington reported record numbers of passengers on the city's subway network early on Tuesday, and police were forced to close a key entry point hours before event began because of overcrowding.
Before 0900 local time (1400 GMT), Michelle and Barack Obama couple travelled in a heavily-armoured motorcade for a private church service at St John's Episcopal Church alongside Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his family.
The motorcade then headed to the White House, where Mr Obama and Mr Biden took coffee with outgoing President George W Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney.
The group - including Mr Cheney in a wheelchair after pulling a back muscle - then left for the US Capitol, where VIPs awaited their arrival for the inaugural ceremony.
There, from 1130 local time (1630 GMT), Mr Biden will be sworn in, followed by Mr Obama.
America's first black president will place his hand on a Bible used by Abraham Lincoln at his inauguration in 1861 and repeat the oath of office, promising to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States".
He will then deliver his inaugural address - a 20-minute speech which, aides say, will focus on dual themes of responsibility and accountability.

Crowds in the National Mall will watch proceedings on huge video screens. At least two million people are expected, a record number for an inauguration event.
They will be braving unusually cold weather, with temperatures of -1C expected. Wind chill would make it feel several degrees colder, forecasters said, urging people to guard against possible hypothermia and frostbite.
Early on Tuesday, tens of thousands defied the pre-dawn cold to secure a good spot in the Mall when it opened at 0400 (0900 GMT) to those without tickets.
There was a huge sense of excitement, a BBC reporter at the scene said, with people breaking out in cheers. The subway was as busy at 0500 as it would normally be at rush hour, but most seemed happy to battle through the crowds.
"I've been queuing for hours, I don't care how long I have to wait," Washington resident Ronald Brisbon, 55, told the BBC.
"Dr [Martin Luther] King said it might take 40 years. It's been 45 years, I can wait another hour."
Source :http://news.bbc.co.uk/

"Missing" Moon Linked to Major 1761 Eruption?

A "disappearing" moon that preceded an unusually bitter winter in China was most likely the result of a mysterious volcanic eruption in the 1700s, a retired NASA scientist says.
Astronomer Kevin D. Pang collected evidence from the fields of geology, biology, and Chinese history that suggests a major eruption belched out enough dust and gas to completely blot out the moon during a 1761 total lunar eclipse

A massive column of ash and gas rises from Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines on June 12, 1991. The eruption spewed enough material into the atmosphere that viewers in Maryland reported seeing a dimmed lunar eclipse in 1992.A 1761 eclipse so dark that the moon seemed to vanish from the sky was most likely the result of a mysterious volcanic eruption, a former NASA scientist reported in January 2009

A total eclipse occurs when the moon enters completely into Earth's shadow. (Watch video of the February 2008 lunar eclipse—the last total eclipse of the moon until December 2010.)
Lunar eclipses can vary in brightness and color based on the angle of the moon's path and the composition of Earth's atmosphere.
While no sunlight hits the moon directly, some gets filtered by Earth's atmosphere and is bent toward the moon, causing it to shine in hues ranging from bright orange to blood red.
"But when there's a large volcanic eruption," Pang said, "the moon can drop in brightness by a million times, or in some cases disappear altogether."
Pang presented his results last week during the 213th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Long Beach, California.
Volcanic Winter
Heavy amounts of particles in the air could explain why, in May of 1761, astronomers reported that the moon appeared very dark or disappeared altogether, even with the aid of telescopes.


An atmosphere clogged by a powerful volcanic eruption would also lead to global cooling and trigger extended bouts of strange weather, experts say.
(Related: "Ancient Global Dimming Linked to Volcanic Eruption" [March 19, 2008].)
To test his theory, Pang searched the scientific literature about tree rings and ice cores from Antarctica and Greenland. He found evidence of a "volcanic winter" around the same time as the dark eclipse.

January 16, 2009

--Rumor has it that the new U.S. presidential limousine is sturdy enough to withstand a direct hit from an asteroid. Even if not, Barack Obama's fully customized Cadillac, which debuts on Inauguration Day, is still the place to be when disaster strikes. Specs weren't released, but experts say the limo's body probably sits on the chassis of a GM commercial truck and has a similarly hefty engine. "The Beast," as the Secret Service calls it, likely has heavy armor, five-inch-thick (12.7-centimeter-thick) bombproof glass, tough-as-nails tires, and a sealed interior that's invulnerable to chemical attack. One thing it's not is green: No car this mammoth will sport good gas mileage.
—Photograph courtesy U.S. Department of the Treasury

sources : nationalgeographic.com