TORRANCE TRIBUNE April 16, 2015 Page 5 Sun Has Seasonal Changes, New Research Finds These images of dwarf planet Ceres, processed to enhance clarity, were taken on Feb. 19, 2015, from a distance of about 29,000 miles (46,000 kilometers), by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft. Dawn observed Ceres completing one full rotation, which lasted about nine hours. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA Burkley & Brandlin LLP A T T O R N E Y S A T L AW Living Trusts/Wills, Probate, Employment Law, Personal Injury Trust and Estates Litigation, Business Litigation, Civil Litigation 310-540-6000 *AV Rated (Highest) Martindale - Hubbell / **Certified Specialist Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization Film Review Dior and I is a Glamorous, Inspired Look Into the Fashion Empire A piece from new Dior designer Raf Simons’ first couture collection debuts on the runway, from the documentary Dior and I, directed by Frédéric Tcheng. Courtesy of CIM Productions. See Film Review, page 10 By Morgan Rojas for CINEMACY A man’s journal is read aloud over grainy black and white footage of women from 1947: their wardrobe reflects the time period – a crucial moment in women’s history when traditional, civilian dress, and military attire was being traded for more masculine-femme looks like fuller skirts, rounded shoulders, and cinched waists. Most notably, the revival of the skinny black suit revolutionized the way women dressed, empowering those who came back from WWII, and ultimately set a trend that changed the fashion world – and history – forever. The pioneer of this new sartorial vision, the one credited as The Godfather of the “New Look,” is Christian Dior, owner of the aforementioned journal, and whose empire would far success his impactful life on this earth. Dior and I, a fashion documentary from director Frédéric Tcheng shot in the spring of 2012, serves as an exclusive look behind the runway and into the nitty-gritty world of haute couture (a world that, sadly, is beginning to disappear). The film pays homage to Mr. Dior with a story that is both personal and informative. While Dior and I may only lure those with an interest in high fashion, do not be mistaken, everyone can appreciate these sequences of beautiful and artistic pieces coming to life– and that alone is worth the watch. Dior and I continues the fashion icon’s legacy with a new artistic director: the minimalist Belgian designer, Raf Simons. Simons has only six weeks to create, execute and display his first ever haute couture collection under the famed brand; whereas five to six months is the typical construction period for such grandeur shows, Simons undeniably hits the ground running. Simons, a very low-key leader, is quite the collaborator when it comes to designing his debut collection, fully relying on Dior’s in-house seamstresses, essentially factory workers in white coats rather than blue collars, to literally pull it all together, hand-sewing every single piece. Dior is one of the last fashion houses to board such ateliers, or workrooms, and this alone is another fascinating dimension to the film; the camaraderie in the ateliers between Simons and the hard-working seamstresses, some who have worked at Dior for over 40 years, is very humanizing to watch. There is no trace of a catty, backstabbing workplace vibe like The Devil Wears Prada would suggest. PROFESSIONAL HEAD LICE HOUSE CALLS Local, Mobile and Discreet All-natural, non-toxic ingredients SAFE for Skin & Hair LETHAL for Lice 323.325.8317 Serving the Beach Cities of the South Bay www.HairForceONE.us Your ALLIES in the Battle Against Head Lice With every donation made to Goodwill, you not only help reduce the amount of waste going into landfills, you also help support individuals in your community. That’s because every donation you make to Goodwill—whether it’s clothing, household items or e-waste for recycling—goes directly to providing education, training and job placement to individuals with barriers to employment. Now, that’s good. www.ThinkGood.org © 2015 Goodwill, Serving the People of Southern Los Angeles County Looking Up Based on press releases from National Center of Atmospheric Research and NASA, provided by Bob Eklund The Sun undergoes a type of seasonal variability with its activity waxing and waning over the course of nearly two years, according to a new study by a team of researchers led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). This behavior affects the peaks and valleys in the approximately 11-year solar cycle, sometimes amplifying and sometimes weakening the solar storms that can buffet Earth’s atmosphere. The quasi-annual variations appear to be driven by changes in the bands of strong magnetic fields in each solar hemisphere. These bands also help shape the approximately 11-year solar cycle that is part of a longer cycle that lasts about 22 years. “What we’re looking at here is a massive driver of solar storms,” said Scott McIntosh, lead author of the new study and director of NCAR’s High Altitude Observatory. “By better understanding how these activity bands form in the Sun and cause seasonal instabilities, there’s the potential to greatly improve forecasts of space weather events.” The overlapping bands are fueled by the rotation of the Sun’s deep interior, according to observations by the research team. As the bands move within the Sun’s northern and southern hemispheres, activity rises to a peak over a period of about 11 months and then begins to wane. The quasi-annual variations can be likened to regions on Earth that have two seasons, such as a rainy season and a dry season, McIntosh said. The study, published this week in Nature Communications, can help lead to better predictions of massive geomagnetic storms in Earth’s outer atmosphere that sometimes disrupt satellite operations, communications, power grids, and other technologies. Dawn in Excellent Shape One Month after Ceres Arrival Since its capture by the gravity of dwarf planet Ceres on March 6, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has performed flawlessly, continuing to thrust with its ion engine as planned. The thrust, combined with Ceres’ gravity, is gradually guiding the spacecraft into a circular orbit around the dwarf planet. All of the spacecraft’s systems and instruments are in excellent health. Dawn has been following its planned trajectory (http://dawnblog.jpl.nasa.gov) on the dark side of Ceres—the side facing away from the Sun—since early March. After it entered orbit, the spacecraft’s momentum carried it to a higher altitude, reaching a maximum of 46,800 miles on March 18. Today, Dawn is about 26,000 miles above Ceres, descending toward the first planned science orbit, which will be 8,400 miles above the surface. By early May, images will improve our view of the entire surface, including the mysterious bright spots that have captured the imaginations of scientists and space enthusiasts alike. What these reflections of sunlight represent is still unknown, but closer views should help determine their nature. The regions containing the bright spots will likely not be in view for the April 10 images; it is not yet certain whether they will be in view for the April 14 set. On May 9, Dawn will complete its first Ceres science phase and begin to spiral down to a lower orbit to observe Ceres from a closer vantage point. Dawn previously explored the giant asteroid Vesta for 14 months, from 2011 to 2012, capturing detailed images and data about that body. •
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