• Satellite spots China's first aircraft carrier at sea

    DigitalGlobe / AP

    This satellite image provided by the the DigitalGlobe Analysis Center shows the Chinese aircraft carrier Shi Lang (Varyag) sailing in the Yellow Sea. The picture was acquired Dec. 8 by DigitalGlobe's QuickBird satellite.

    By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

    A commercial satellite operator says it has captured a rare image of China's first aircraft carrier as it sailed through the Yellow Sea, after going through an exercise that's the 21st-century equivalent of finding a needle in a haystack.

    DigitalGlobe said the aircraft carrier showed up on a cloud-filled picture snapped on Dec. 8 by its polar-orbiting QuickBird satellite from a height of 280 miles (450 kilometers). An analyst spotted the ship while checking the image on Tuesday, said Stephen Wood, the director of the company's analysis center.

    "There is something that is always indispensable about having people involved," Wood told me. The ship was identified "using a combination of the satellite imagery plus open-source material on the Internet, and geography," he said, but "at the end of the day, it still comes down to a person."

    Experts have been hoping for months to get a glimpse of the aircraft carrier at sea. The former Soviet Union started building the ship, originally known as the Varyag, but never finished it. After the Soviet breakup, the Varyag ended up in the hands of the Ukrainian government. The ship was auctioned off to the Chinese in 1998. Since then, the Varyag, which has reportedly been rechristened the Shi Lang, has been under refurbishment for sea service.

    "This is a ship and a story that has had legs for many years," Wood said.

    DigitalGlobe

    Don't feel bad if you can't spot the aircraft carrier in this wide-field version of the satellite image from QuickBird. It's in the very center of the picture.

    NBC's Brian Williams reports on the DigitalGlobe satellite picture.

    DigitalGlobe said this picture was taken during the carrier's second sea trial, approximately 62 miles (100 kilometers) south-southeast of the port of Dalian. Wood said the picture indicates that the ship is "moving at a decent rate of speed, which would be expected in the middle of the ocean." The U.S. military could no doubt glean more information about the Shi Lang's status, from QuickBird's pictures as well as from classified, higher-resolution imagery.

    China says the Shi Lang will be used for research and training, and the project is thought to be part of the country's strategy to expand its presence as a naval power. The Chinese military is expected to build more copies of the ship in coming years. In fact, sources told Reuters in July that a second aircraft carrier was under construction.

    "China's next moves have to be watched carefully, or there eventually could be a negative impact on maritime safety in Asia," Yoshihiko Yamada, a professor at Japan's Tokai University, told Reuters at the time.

    QuickBird's view of the Shi Lang serves as today's offering from the Cosmic Log Space Advent Calendar, which features an image of Earth from space every day from now until Christmas. Here are the past offerings in the series:

    Update for 10:45 p.m. ET: The Associated Press' Dan Elliott got in touch with a Pentagon spokeswoman, Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde, who said the progress made by the Chinese on the aircraft carrier was in line with the U.S. military's expectations. A Defense Department report to Congress said the carrier could become operationally available to China's navy by the end of next year, but without aircraft. "From that point, it will take several additional years before the carrier has an operationally viable air group," Hull-Ryde told Elliott in an email.

    Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

  • South Korean coastguard clashes with armada of Chinese fishing boats

    Dong-A Ilbo / AFP - Getty Images

    A picture taken from a South Korean helicopter shows Chinese fishing boats banded together with ropes being chased by a South Korean coastguard ship. The incident followed alleged illegal fishing by the Chinese boats in South Korean waters in the Yellow Sea off Buan, South Korea, on November 16.

    Dong-A Ilbo / AFP - Getty Images

    msnbc.com news services report:

    South Korea's coastguard has mobilized 12 ships, four helicopters and a commando squad for a special three-day crackdown on illegal fishing by Chinese boats, Agence France Presse reports.

    Ten Chinese boats alleged to have been fishing without permission in the Yellow Sea banded together with ropes in an apparent attempt to resist arrest.

    In dramatic scenes, some of the Chinese fishermen wielded sticks in an ultimately futile attempt to stop South Korean commandos - themselves armed with clubs - from boarding their vessels.

    The U.S. and smaller Asian nations have grown increasingly concerned about China's claims of dominion over Pacific waters and the revival of old territorial disputes, including confrontations over fishing rights.

    In a speech to the Australian Parliament on Thursday, President Barack Obama vowed to expand U.S. influence in the Asia-Pacific region and "project power and deter threats to peace" in that part of the world.

    Dong-a Ilbo / AFP - Getty Images

    Chinese fishermen wielding sticks try to stop an attack by South Korean coastguard commandos armed with clubs aboard rubber boats (right) during a crackdown on alleged illegal fishing in South Korean waters in the Yellow Sea on November 16.

    Dong-A Ilbo / AFP - Getty Images

    South Korean coastguard commandos board Chinese fishing boats during a crackdown on their alleged illegal fishing in South Korean waters in the Yellow Sea on November 16.