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Space Fellowship
2 Sep 2010, 13:34 UTC
The explosion of a massive star blazes with the light of 200 million Suns in this Hubble Space Telescope image. The arrow at top right points to the stellar blast, called a supernova. The supernova is so bright in this image that it easily could be mistaken for a foreground star in our Milky Way Galaxy. And yet, this supernova, called SN 2004dj, resides far beyond our galaxy. Its home is in the outskirts of NGC 2403, a galaxy located 11 million light-years from Earth. Although the supernov [...]
Picture of the Day - A Bright Supernova
2 Sep 2010, 13:34 UTC
The explosion of a massive star blazes with the light of 200 million Suns in this Hubble Space Telescope image. The arrow at top right points to the stellar blast, called a supernova. The supernova is so bright in this image that it easily could be mistaken for a foreground star in our Milky Way Galaxy. And yet, this supernova, called SN 2004dj, resides far beyond our galaxy. Its home is in the outskirts of NGC 2403, a galaxy located 11 million light-years from Earth. Although the supernov [...]
Space Fellowship
2 Sep 2010, 09:09 UTC
Pity poor Mercury. The tiny planet endures endless assaults by intense sunlight, powerful solar wind and high-speed miniature meteoroids called micrometeoroids. The planet's flimsy covering, the exosphere, nearly blends in with the vacuum of space, making it too thin to offer protection. Because of this, it's tempting to think of Mercury's exosphere as just the battered remains of ancient atmosphere. Really, though, the exosphere is constantly changing and being renewed with sodium, potas [...]
Seven Things You Didn't Know About Mercury
2 Sep 2010, 09:09 UTC
Pity poor Mercury. The tiny planet endures endless assaults by intense sunlight, powerful solar wind and high-speed miniature meteoroids called micrometeoroids. The planet's flimsy covering, the exosphere, nearly blends in with the vacuum of space, making it too thin to offer protection. Because of this, it's tempting to think of Mercury's exosphere as just the battered remains of ancient atmosphere. Really, though, the exosphere is constantly changing and being renewed with sodium, potas [...]
Beyond Apollo
2 Sep 2010, 05:49 UTC
In December 1983, the National Science Foundation's Division of Policy Research and Analysis enlisted Science Applications Incorporated (SAI) of McLean, Virginia, to compare the science and technology research potential of an Earth-orbiting space station and a base on the moon. In its report, which was completed on January 10, 1984, SAI cautioned that, because its study was performed "in a very short two-week period," it could offer only "a preliminary indication" of the relative merits of a space station in low-Earth orbit (LEO) and a lunar base. Though SAI did not say so, the study had a short turnaround time because its results were meant to be made available to the White House ahead of President Ronald Reagan's planned announcement of a NASA space station program during the January 1984 State of the Union Address. SAI explained that its study had used a four-step approach. First, the study team had judged which science and technology disciplines could best be served by an LEO space station and which by a lunar base. Next, the team had developed a lunar base conceptual design capable of serving the disciplines it identified. It then had developed a transportation system concept for deploying and maintaining ...
Lunar base or space station? (1984)
2 Sep 2010, 05:49 UTC
In December 1983, the National Science Foundation's Division of Policy Research and Analysis enlisted Science Applications Incorporated (SAI) of McLean, Virginia, to compare the science and technology research potential of an Earth-orbiting space station and a base on the moon. In its report, which was completed on January 10, 1984, SAI cautioned that, because its study was performed "in a very short two-week period," it could offer only "a preliminary indication" of the relative merits of a space station in low-Earth orbit (LEO) and a lunar base. Though SAI did not say so, the study had a short turnaround time because its results were meant to be made available to the White House ahead of President Ronald Reagan's planned announcement of a NASA space station program during the January 1984 State of the Union Address. SAI explained that its study had used a four-step approach. First, the study team had judged which science and technology disciplines could best be served by an LEO space station and which by a lunar base. Next, the team had developed a lunar base conceptual design capable of serving the disciplines it identified. It then had developed a transportation system concept for deploying and maintaining ...
The Gish Bar Times
2 Sep 2010, 05:06 UTC
Over the last few days, we have focused on the geology and volcanic history of Tvashtar Paterae, a string of four volcanoes located within Io's high northern latitudes. During the Galileo mission, Tvashtar was the site of several volcanic eruptions between November 1999 and October 2001, including a large, sulfur-rich plume that was seen by Cassini during its brief flyby in late December 2000. Since the end of the Galileo mission in 2003, monitoring of active volcanism on Io was limited to intermittent data taken at ground-based telescopes like the European Southern Observatory in Chile, Keck II, and IRTF in Hawaii. In addition, in late February 2007, the Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft flew by Io from a distance of 2.26 million kilometers (1.4 million miles), allowing the cameras on-board to search for surface changes on the moon since it was last seen five years earlier. Today, we will discuss the volcanic activity seen at Tvashtar since the end of the Galileo mission as what this volcanic history tells us about the variety of eruption styles exhibited by the volcanoes of Tvashtar and how their lavas are fed.Don't forget to check out the previous two parts of our series on Tvashtar ...
Io Volcano of the Week: Tvashtar - Part Three
2 Sep 2010, 05:06 UTC
Over the last few days, we have focused on the geology and volcanic history of Tvashtar Paterae, a string of four volcanoes located within Io's high northern latitudes. During the Galileo mission, Tvashtar was the site of several volcanic eruptions between November 1999 and October 2001, including a large, sulfur-rich plume that was seen by Cassini during its brief flyby in late December 2000. Since the end of the Galileo mission in 2003, monitoring of active volcanism on Io was limited to intermittent data taken at ground-based telescopes like the European Southern Observatory in Chile, Keck II, and IRTF in Hawaii. In addition, in late February 2007, the Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft flew by Io from a distance of 2.26 million kilometers (1.4 million miles), allowing the cameras on-board to search for surface changes on the moon since it was last seen five years earlier. Today, we will discuss the volcanic activity seen at Tvashtar since the end of the Galileo mission as what this volcanic history tells us about the variety of eruption styles exhibited by the volcanoes of Tvashtar and how their lavas are fed.Don't forget to check out the previous two parts of our series on Tvashtar ...
Cosmic Log
2 Sep 2010, 03:19 UTC
British physicist Stephen Hawking's latest book is already making waves with his observation that science can explain the universe's origin without invoking God. Rodger Bosch / AFP - Getty Images filePhysicist Stephen Hawking delivers a lecture in South Africa in 2008. In a new book, he says science doesn't need God to explain the origin of the universe. British physicist Stephen Hawking's latest book is already making waves with his observation that science can explain the universe's origin without invoking God. "Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing," Hawking and his co-author, Caltech physicist Leonard Mlodinow, write in "The Grand Design," which is due to be issued next week. "Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going." That's the quote that lit the match in The Guardian as well in The Times of London, which published an excerpt from the book in its Thursday edition. But by itself, the quote doesn't have much "there" there. If Hawking is saying merely that something ...
Hawking says God's not needed. So?
2 Sep 2010, 03:19 UTC
British physicist Stephen Hawking's latest book is already making waves with his observation that science can explain the universe's origin without invoking God. Rodger Bosch / AFP - Getty Images filePhysicist Stephen Hawking delivers a lecture in South Africa in 2008. In a new book, he says science doesn't need God to explain the origin of the universe. British physicist Stephen Hawking's latest book is already making waves with his observation that science can explain the universe's origin without invoking God. "Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing," Hawking and his co-author, Caltech physicist Leonard Mlodinow, write in "The Grand Design," which is due to be issued next week. "Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going." That's the quote that lit the match in The Guardian as well in The Times of London, which published an excerpt from the book in its Thursday edition. But by itself, the quote doesn't have much "there" there. If Hawking is saying merely that something ...
On Orbit
1 Sep 2010, 21:15 UTC
We're in the Second Life rover yard this morning, preparing for a D-RATS mixed reality event from the Arizona Black Rock volcanic field. We'll stream the live, real-world webcast into Second Life's social media 3-D world to create an immersive, participatory experience for the Second Life community. The rover yard in Second Life replicates NASA rover activities so users can share in NASA's compelling story of science and exploration. Mission concepts and technology models are available to everyone in this hands-on, distance-learning environment. Second Life residents are telepresent as they work together and communicate about the design, analysis and performance of space technology and events. This feeling of telepresence creates a collaborative bond that fosters engagement, conversation, feedback and learning. More at NASA Blogs read more
Second Life Desert RATS: A Mixed Reality Meeting in the Desert
1 Sep 2010, 21:15 UTC
We're in the Second Life rover yard this morning, preparing for a D-RATS mixed reality event from the Arizona Black Rock volcanic field. We'll stream the live, real-world webcast into Second Life's social media 3-D world to create an immersive, participatory experience for the Second Life community. The rover yard in Second Life replicates NASA rover activities so users can share in NASA's compelling story of science and exploration. Mission concepts and technology models are available to everyone in this hands-on, distance-learning environment. Second Life residents are telepresent as they work together and communicate about the design, analysis and performance of space technology and events. This feeling of telepresence creates a collaborative bond that fosters engagement, conversation, feedback and learning. More at NASA Blogs read more
Young Astronomers
1 Sep 2010, 20:25 UTC
As I’m sure you know As I’m sure you know Alice, Hannah and myself , love galaxies. We are all part of the Galaxy Zoo Project, and in its honour we have decided to launch Project Galaxy (being truthful Hannah and I pulled Alice … into it willingly of course ) Project Galaxy will detail the various categories and subcategories that exist in galactic morphology (shape and structure). This post is a simple list of some of the main types and gives an example for the main categories. The main project will go into each group and subgroup in much greater detail. Spirals AHZ10003aj Credit; Galaxy Zoo The example I chose for the spirals section is this lovely two armed number. I chose it as it has well formed arms and a very bright (potentially active) nucleus (centre). The galaxy’s spectra as view on AEGIS has a reasonably high peak in H beta. This is hydrogen that has been energized previously but is now losing energy and this process emits radiation in at a very specific wavelength. Whilst a galaxy having a large amount of H beta relative to another variety of hydrogen - H alpha – is very unusual ...
The Galactic Prelude
1 Sep 2010, 20:25 UTC
As I’m sure you know As I’m sure you know Alice, Hannah and myself , love galaxies. We are all part of the Galaxy Zoo Project, and in its honour we have decided to launch Project Galaxy (being truthful Hannah and I pulled Alice … into it willingly of course ) Project Galaxy will detail the various categories and subcategories that exist in galactic morphology (shape and structure). This post is a simple list of some of the main types and gives an example for the main categories. The main project will go into each group and subgroup in much greater detail. Spirals AHZ10003aj Credit; Galaxy Zoo The example I chose for the spirals section is this lovely two armed number. I chose it as it has well formed arms and a very bright (potentially active) nucleus (centre). The galaxy’s spectra as view on AEGIS has a reasonably high peak in H beta. This is hydrogen that has been energized previously but is now losing energy and this process emits radiation in at a very specific wavelength. Whilst a galaxy having a large amount of H beta relative to another variety of hydrogen - H alpha – is very unusual ...
Universe Today
1 Sep 2010, 19:44 UTC
Racing is rarely the term that comes to mind when one considers astronomy. However, many events are a race to reach stability before a system flies apart or implodes. The formation of stars from gigantic interstellar clouds is just such a race in which stars struggle to form before the cloud is dispersed. Although a [...] Image of the Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070) by Joseph Brimacombe.Racing is rarely the term that comes to mind when one considers astronomy. However, many events are a race to reach stability before a system flies apart or implodes. The formation of stars from gigantic interstellar clouds is just such a race in which stars struggle to form before the cloud is dispersed. Although a rough estimation of the requirements for collapse are discussed in introductory astrophysics classes (See: Jeans Mass Criterion) this formulation leaves out several elements that come into play in the real universe. Unfortunately for astronomers, these effects can be subtle but significant but untangling them is the subject of a recent paper uploaded to the arXiv preprint server.(...)Read the rest of The Race to Stellar Formation (470 words)© jvois for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to ...
The Race to Stellar Formation
1 Sep 2010, 19:44 UTC
Racing is rarely the term that comes to mind when one considers astronomy. However, many events are a race to reach stability before a system flies apart or implodes. The formation of stars from gigantic interstellar clouds is just such a race in which stars struggle to form before the cloud is dispersed. Although a [...] Image of the Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070) by Joseph Brimacombe.Racing is rarely the term that comes to mind when one considers astronomy. However, many events are a race to reach stability before a system flies apart or implodes. The formation of stars from gigantic interstellar clouds is just such a race in which stars struggle to form before the cloud is dispersed. Although a rough estimation of the requirements for collapse are discussed in introductory astrophysics classes (See: Jeans Mass Criterion) this formulation leaves out several elements that come into play in the real universe. Unfortunately for astronomers, these effects can be subtle but significant but untangling them is the subject of a recent paper uploaded to the arXiv preprint server.(...)Read the rest of The Race to Stellar Formation (470 words)© jvois for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to ...
Universe Today
1 Sep 2010, 18:32 UTC
If you didn’t have the chance to see Brian Cox’s series “Wonders of the Solar System” that played on the BBC earlier this year and the Science Channel in August, we’ve got some good news for you: it comes out on DVD and Blu-ray in the US on September 7. But there’s even better news for readers of Universe Today: We have five – count ‘em – five copies to give away, courtesy of the BBC and Bender Helper Impact marketing agency. “Wonders” is an extraordinary look at our world and solar system, and is rich with breathtaking images beamed back from the fleet of probes, rovers and telescopes currently in space, and is a “must-see” for any space and astronomy enthusiast.To enter the contest, send an email to info@universetoday.com with “Wonders DVD” in the subject line. Deadline for entry is Wednesday, September 8 at 12 pm PDT. Winners will have their choice of “Wonders” on DVD or Blu-ray. (...)Read the rest of Contest: Win "Wonders of the Solar System" DVD (156 words)© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Contests, Giveaways Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh
Contest: Win "Wonders of the Solar System" DVD
1 Sep 2010, 18:32 UTC
If you didn’t have the chance to see Brian Cox’s series “Wonders of the Solar System” that played on the BBC earlier this year and the Science Channel in August, we’ve got some good news for you: it comes out on DVD and Blu-ray in the US on September 7. But there’s even better news for readers of Universe Today: We have five – count ‘em – five copies to give away, courtesy of the BBC and Bender Helper Impact marketing agency. “Wonders” is an extraordinary look at our world and solar system, and is rich with breathtaking images beamed back from the fleet of probes, rovers and telescopes currently in space, and is a “must-see” for any space and astronomy enthusiast.To enter the contest, send an email to info@universetoday.com with “Wonders DVD” in the subject line. Deadline for entry is Wednesday, September 8 at 12 pm PDT. Winners will have their choice of “Wonders” on DVD or Blu-ray. (...)Read the rest of Contest: Win "Wonders of the Solar System" DVD (156 words)© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Contests, Giveaways Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh
Bad Astronomy
1 Sep 2010, 17:35 UTC
If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you’ve read about my friend Nicole, aka Noisy Astronomer. She’s a young grad student studying radio astronomy at the University of Virginia (my alma mater!), and she’s very gung ho about astronomy outreach. In a recent post about comets, I mentioned her and a project she and a bunch of other grads are working on: Dark Skies, Bright Kids. This is a terrific project that is doing a lot to bring the joy and wonder of astronomy to third graders in Albemarle County, the home of UVa (if you saw my show "Bad Universe" where I made the comet, I got that recipe from Nicole and DSBK!). One of their efforts is a bilingual book designed to make astronomy fun for the kids — I have a copy, and it’s very cute; as someone who has worked on astronomy education I know kids that age will love it. Nicole and her group have a big goal for the book, too: they’re looking to get a copy of it into the hands of every single third-grader in the county. To do this, they applied for a Pepsi Refresh Grant, which, if ...
A click a day helps astronomers help kids
1 Sep 2010, 17:35 UTC
If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you’ve read about my friend Nicole, aka Noisy Astronomer. She’s a young grad student studying radio astronomy at the University of Virginia (my alma mater!), and she’s very gung ho about astronomy outreach. In a recent post about comets, I mentioned her and a project she and a bunch of other grads are working on: Dark Skies, Bright Kids. This is a terrific project that is doing a lot to bring the joy and wonder of astronomy to third graders in Albemarle County, the home of UVa (if you saw my show "Bad Universe" where I made the comet, I got that recipe from Nicole and DSBK!). One of their efforts is a bilingual book designed to make astronomy fun for the kids — I have a copy, and it’s very cute; as someone who has worked on astronomy education I know kids that age will love it. Nicole and her group have a big goal for the book, too: they’re looking to get a copy of it into the hands of every single third-grader in the county. To do this, they applied for a Pepsi Refresh Grant, which, if ...
Most Recent Blogs
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- 2 Sep 2010
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16:22 UTC
Cosmic Variance
Look, but don’t touch
There is a struggle going on for NASA’s soul. Is NASA all about sending human beings into space? Or is NASA about elucidating the secrets of the cosmos? The former ...
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16:12 UTC
Young Astronomers
The Dusty Mysteries of NGC 4696
This is NGC 4696, an NGC 4696 credit: ESA/Hubble and NASA This is NGC 4696, an ancient ball of old and dying stars 150 million light years away. This elliptical ...
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15:57 UTC
Cosmic Diary
Good bye, Paranal
Last evening's cloudy sunset seen from the top of Paranal Everything, sooner or later, comes to an end. This is my last day on Paranal, and it is quite unusual. ...
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15:54 UTC
Astro Bob
Side by side, these giants stalk the night
The name of Anthony Wesley, an amateur astronomer from Australia, often comes up in this blog because of his remarkable discoveries of two meteoroid impacts on Jupiter over the past ...
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15:41 UTC
NASA Watch
Making Space Food
TV's 'Top Chefs' cook up ultimate astronaut takeout, space.com "Among those who tasted the cosmically inspired dishes during the show were former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the ...
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15:40 UTC
Astronomy magazine ...
Celestron and Granite Gap team up for dark skies
Celestron Community Relations Coordinator Kevin Kawai (right) delivers a Celestron CGE Pro 1400HD telescope to Gene Turner for his new astronomy development, Granite Gap near Animas, New Mexico. Kevin Kawai ...
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15:35 UTC
HobbySpace RLV Spac...
Briefs; Copenhagen Sub. update; Solar sails; Space prizes...
Saturday, Sept. 4th is the current target date for the Copenhagen Suborbitals launch of the HEAT-1X rocket. ==== An overview of current solar sail projects and speculation on future applications: ...
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15:31 UTC
collectSPACE.com: T...
Assignments
NASA and its partners in the International Space Station (ISS) named on Thursday the crew of Soyuz TMA-08M, who will join the Expedition 34 crew in December 2012 and then, ...
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15:29 UTC
HobbySpace RLV Spac...
Briefs: Space UP DC review; Nobel winners et al letter
Here's an audio clip of a discussion about the recent SpaceUP DC event: Evadot Podcast #33 - SpaceUp DC, the aftermath. BTW, esources related to the event are at SpaceUpDC ...
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15:00 UTC
Alien Life
What If everybody is listening and nobody is transmitting...
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:g Stars - A striking galaxy buzzing with energetic star ...
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14:58 UTC
NASA Astrobiology I...
Montana's First Fellow of the American Chemical Society
Tim Minton, a researcher and professor at Montana State University and member of the NAI Astrobiology Biogeocatalysis Research Center (ABRC), has been named a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, ...
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14:58 UTC
Starry Critters
Galactic Pac-Man
Interacting galaxies form a Pac-Man shape moving in to devour a distant galaxy in this image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Explore the pair known as NGC 6090. Credit: NASA, ...
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14:51 UTC
Space Politics
Garver: “a lessening of tensions” in the NASA budget deba...
In a luncheon speech Tuesday at the AIAA Space 2010 conference in Anaheim, California, NASA deputy administrator Lori Garver sounded an optimistic and even a bit of a conciliatory note ...
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14:34 UTC
Universe Today
Hawking: God Not Needed for Universe to be Created
Physicist Stephen Hawking has written a new book called "The Grand Design." While the title might seem like Hawking might be delving more into the “mind of God” that he ...
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14:28 UTC
Astroblog
See Baroness Greenfield at the Florey Lecture (Friday Sep...
The Florey Lecture is an Annual Public Lecture at the University of Adelaide where a distinguished international scientist talks about some aspect of medical science and how it touches our ...
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14:15 UTC
Discovery News - Sp...
Dissecting Hurricane Earl: Big Pics
Satellites are giving us amazing new looks inside the guts of Hurricane Earl as it bears down on the U.S. coast.
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14:01 UTC
13.7
Life Is A Patchwork Quilt
Even single cell creatures have most of the genomes responsible for complex life. But why are they there? by Ursula Goodenough Marcello treated us to a blog yesterday on the ...
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14:01 UTC
13.7
Life Is A Patchwork Quilt
Even single cell creatures have most of the genomes responsible for complex life. But why are they there? by Ursula Goodenough Marcello treated us to a blog yesterday on the ...
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14:00 UTC
NASA Watch
Rocket Motors to Nowhere?
Frank's note: Heaven forbid that the 5-segment solid rocket motor test would have blown up - nobody in their right minds would want that. But I have to ask why ...
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13:56 UTC
In the Dark
Hawking and the Mind of God
I woke up this morning to the news that, according to Stephen Hawking, God did not create the Universe but it was instead an “inevitable consequence of the Law of ...
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13:56 UTC
IYA2009 Updates
Online Universe Wins AAAS Education Website Award
A website that brings the universe into the homes and onto the computer screens of professional and amateur astronomers alike has won a Science Prize for Online Resources in Education, ...
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13:52 UTC
Evadot
Evadot Podcast #33 – SpaceUp DC, the aftermath
Joining Michael today is a great group of SpaceUp DC participants. Michael called them “attendees” in the beginning which isn’t correct. There are only participants at SpaceUp. These 4 people ...
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13:38 UTC
IYA2009 Updates
Postcards from the Edge of the Universe
On 7 September at 10:30 a book based on the IYA2009 Cornerstone project, Cosmic Diary, entitled Postcards from the Edge of the Universe, will be launched at the ESO exhibition ...
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13:38 UTC
Astroblog
The Return of We can be Heros (just for one Day)
After a break of a year, due to family commitments, I am entering the City to Bay fun run. In 2008 I ran a whole 6 kilometres. This year, I'm ...
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13:34 UTC
Space Fellowship
Picture of the Day - A Bright Supernova
The explosion of a massive star blazes with the light of 200 million Suns in this Hubble Space Telescope image. The arrow at top right points to the stellar blast, ...
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12:59 UTC
NASA Watch
Buzz Says Send English Speakers to Mars
Buzz Aldrin calls for NZ to help in Mars exploration, Stuff.co.nz "Moonwalk pioneer Buzz Aldrin says Australia and New Zealand should be part of an international coalition to explore and ...
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12:43 UTC
IYA2009 Updates
JENAM2010 Special Session: New Trends in Global Astronomy...
Science Education is acknowledged globally as a major aspect of a modern education system. But it is also known that the interest of the younger generations in science topics has ...
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12:03 UTC
Pillow Astronaut
The Dark Side
The downside of doing journalistic-type media reviews is that every time I promote a book or a movie I enjoyed, I get an onslaught of suggestions for other books and ...
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11:44 UTC
Space Fellowship
Cluster turns the invisible into the visible
Cluster has spent a decade revealing previously hidden interactions between the Sun and Earth. Its studies have uncovered secrets of the aurora, solar storms, and given us insight into fundamental ...
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11:37 UTC
Space Fellowship
The Superwind Galaxy NGC 4666
The galaxy NGC 4666 takes pride of place at the centre of this new image, made in visible light with the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ...
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11:35 UTC
Universe Today
NASA & ATK Turn Sand to Glass With DM-2 Test
The deserts of Promontory, Utah came alive with fire as NASA and Alliant Techsystems (ATK) tested the Development Motor-2 (DM-2). The five-segment, first-stage of the Ares rocket was activated at ...
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11:31 UTC
The Launch Pad
Prize Roundup: MICI Presentations, MoonBots Winners, More...
@doug_comstock: Congrats to X-Hab proposers Oklahoma St, Univ of Wisc, and Univ of Maryland. Now let the competition begin! http://tinyurl.com/x-hab-selNASA Selects University Finalists for Inflatable Loft Competition - NASA (so ...
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11:13 UTC
The Discovery Enter...
Red Rain - Alien life?
Alex has posted on Panspermia , the hypothesis that life exists throughout the Universe distributed by meteoroids, asteroids, and planetoids, previously, but finding real evidence has been difficult. In 2001 ...
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10:52 UTC
Mars and Me
Spirit Sol 592
Just in front of Spirit are a couple of tasty-looking rocks -- concave, with some kind of striations, almost as if they were wheel prints. At the SOWG there's a ...
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09:33 UTC
IYA2009 Updates
Babak Tafreshi: Hosting Star Parties in Iran
Babak Tafreshi featured on Dicover Magazine: http://discovermagazine.com/2010/may/17-questions-hosting-star-parties-in-iran Inspired by Carl Sagan, Babak Tafreshi is on a mission to bring the wonder of astronomy to the Middle East, and to the ...
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09:13 UTC
Space Fellowship
Three more GLONASS satellites put into orbit
MOSCOW, September 2 (RIA Novosti) Russia's Proton-M carrier rocket put three GLONASS satellites into orbit on Thursday, a spokesman for the Russian Space Forces said. The rocket blasted off from ...
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09:09 UTC
Space Fellowship
Seven Things You Didn't Know About Mercury
Pity poor Mercury. The tiny planet endures endless assaults by intense sunlight, powerful solar wind and high-speed miniature meteoroids called micrometeoroids. The planet's flimsy covering, the exosphere, nearly blends in ...
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09:00 UTC
Space Fellowship
Science and Maintenance for Station Crew
As part of the ongoing Russian Seiner experiment, Expedition 24 Commander Alexander Skvortsov photographed and documented developments and conditions in the Earth’s oceans Wednesday. His unique perspective of the oceans ...
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08:53 UTC
Space Fellowship
Herschel Finds Water in a Cosmic Desert
ESA’s Herschel infrared space observatory has discovered that ultraviolet starlight is the key ingredient for making water in space. It is the only explanation for why a dying star is ...
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08:47 UTC
Space Fellowship
Fly your experiment to the edge of space!
ESA is inviting students to propose experiments to fly on sounding rockets and stratospheric balloons. The winning teams will have the opportunity to design and build an experiment for the ...
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08:46 UTC
Discovery News - Sp...
Two Chinese Satellites Have Close Encounter in Orbit
It would appear that China has successfully carried out a satellite rendezvous maneuver in orbit. And on August 19, the two satellites may have even touched, one probe being shunted ...
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08:36 UTC
Space Fellowship
Boeing-built GOES-15 Weather Satellite Enters Service for...
Boeing [NYSE: BA] today announced that GOES-15, the company's eighth Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, has completed on-orbit testing and has been accepted into service by NASA and the National Oceanic ...
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08:06 UTC
21st Century Waves
Readers’ Favorite Posts — August, 2010
This is an updated end-of-August list of our readers’ favorite posts, based on the number of times each post was visited during the times indicated below. The lists below include ...
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07:05 UTC
The Discovery Enter...
Carl Sagan's Cosmos – The Persistence of Memory
Today on Discovery Enterprise we present the eleventh episode of Carl Sagan’s highly acclaimed PBS documentary series – Cosmos: The Persistence of Memory.In this instalment of Cosmos, The Brain is ...
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06:32 UTC
The Sky Above
Mind Museum Volunteers Needed!
The Mind Museum’s announcement over Facebook: The Mind Museum is currently looking for interested applicants who will serve as Mind Museum Representatives in the following: 1. Roving Space Shell Man ...
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05:49 UTC
Beyond Apollo
Lunar base or space station? (1984)
In December 1983, the National Science Foundation's Division of Policy Research and Analysis enlisted Science Applications Incorporated (SAI) of McLean, Virginia, to compare the science and technology research potential of ...
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05:43 UTC
HobbySpace RLV Spac...
Commercial spaceflight countdown
Another overview of commercial spaceflight companies: Counting Down to Commercial Space Launches: The next few years will see at least two new commercial spacecraft put into orbit - Technology Review ...
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05:11 UTC
HobbySpace Blog
Moonbots Challenge winners announced
The winners of the Moonbots competition, which started with 200 teams from 16 nations, have been selected: /-- X PRIZE Foundation and LEGO Group Announce Winners in "MoonBots" Educational Contest ...
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05:06 UTC
The Gish Bar Times
Io Volcano of the Week: Tvashtar - Part Three
Over the last few days, we have focused on the geology and volcanic history of Tvashtar Paterae, a string of four volcanoes located within Io's high northern latitudes. During the ...
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04:33 UTC
Richard Drumm The A...
Dragon*Con schedule!
I'll be at Dragon*Con in Atlanta September 3, 4 & 5.Here is my schedule, (reading it directly from my iPod).Come on by the AstroShpere New Media table and sit a ...
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16:22 UTC
Cosmic Variance
