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Nature World News
31 Jan 2015, 01:26 UTC
Buffalo is a pretty cold place this time of year, but that not the case for the city's facilities of CUBRC Inc, where engineers are testing the heat resistant materials that will make up the base of NASA's new flagship rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS).
SLS Testing Heats Up With Rocket Base Burns
31 Jan 2015, 01:26 UTC
Buffalo is a pretty cold place this time of year, but that not the case for the city's facilities of CUBRC Inc, where engineers are testing the heat resistant materials that will make up the base of NASA's new flagship rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS).
Starts With a Bang!
30 Jan 2015, 23:25 UTC
Is there another version of you somewhere out there in a parallel Universe?Continue reading on Medium »
Ask Ethan #73: The Multiverse and you
30 Jan 2015, 23:25 UTC
Is there another version of you somewhere out there in a parallel Universe?Continue reading on Medium »
Sky and Telescope
30 Jan 2015, 21:14 UTC
Yes, it was too good to be true. The cosmic "discovery of the century" last March has officially blown up. Or will blow up next week when a new analysis of polarization in the cosmic microwave background is officially released.A MESSY FOREGROUND. This Planck polarization map covers the field of sky analyzed by the BICEP2 project: the white outline. The texture indicates the orientation of interstellar magnetic fields; these influence how elongated dust particles align themselves, and hence the alignment of polarized microwaves that the particles emit. Click here for larger view and more info. Courtesy ESA / Planck Collaboration.The excitement burst onto the world 10 months ago when the BICEP microwave background team, working with three years of data from their detectors at the South Pole, announced that they had found modern cosmology's holy grail: evidence of gravitational waves distorting spacetime during the Big Bang's first trillionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second. Such gravitational waves are a key prediction of the cosmic-inflation theory of how the Big Bang happened. Inflation already rested on several impressive pieces of evidence. This was supposed to be the crowning proof that nailed it for good. People were talking Nobel ...
BICEP’s Big Bang Finding Reduced to Dust
30 Jan 2015, 21:14 UTC
Yes, it was too good to be true. The cosmic "discovery of the century" last March has officially blown up. Or will blow up next week when a new analysis of polarization in the cosmic microwave background is officially released.A MESSY FOREGROUND. This Planck polarization map covers the field of sky analyzed by the BICEP2 project: the white outline. The texture indicates the orientation of interstellar magnetic fields; these influence how elongated dust particles align themselves, and hence the alignment of polarized microwaves that the particles emit. Click here for larger view and more info. Courtesy ESA / Planck Collaboration.The excitement burst onto the world 10 months ago when the BICEP microwave background team, working with three years of data from their detectors at the South Pole, announced that they had found modern cosmology's holy grail: evidence of gravitational waves distorting spacetime during the Big Bang's first trillionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second. Such gravitational waves are a key prediction of the cosmic-inflation theory of how the Big Bang happened. Inflation already rested on several impressive pieces of evidence. This was supposed to be the crowning proof that nailed it for good. People were talking Nobel ...
io9 Space
30 Jan 2015, 19:36 UTC
Asteroid 2004 BL86 charmed us with its tiny, dive-bombing moon during its close approach at the start of this week. Now JPL has released more radar data of the minuscule moon's trajectory guaranteed to charm us with its unwavering obedience to the laws governing orbital dynamics.Read more...
A Tiny Moon Putters Away From Asteroid During Near-Earth Encounter
30 Jan 2015, 19:36 UTC
Asteroid 2004 BL86 charmed us with its tiny, dive-bombing moon during its close approach at the start of this week. Now JPL has released more radar data of the minuscule moon's trajectory guaranteed to charm us with its unwavering obedience to the laws governing orbital dynamics.Read more...
io9 Space
30 Jan 2015, 18:30 UTC
The hunt for Rosetta's misplaced lander on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is like staring out an airplane window trying to find a washing machine in a field of boulders. These gorgeous new images from the European Space Agency highlight the incredible challenge of finding a tiny robot on a huge comet.Read more...
Where Is Philae, And When Will It Wake Up?
30 Jan 2015, 18:30 UTC
The hunt for Rosetta's misplaced lander on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is like staring out an airplane window trying to find a washing machine in a field of boulders. These gorgeous new images from the European Space Agency highlight the incredible challenge of finding a tiny robot on a huge comet.Read more...
The Daily Galaxy
30 Jan 2015, 16:48 UTC
"We have no idea how long a technological civilization like our own can last," says University of Rochester astrophysicist Adam Frank. "Is it 200 years, 500 years or 50,000 years? Answering this question is at the root of all our concerns about the sustainability of human society. Are we the first and only technologically-intensive civilization in the entire history of the universe? If not, shouldn't we stand to learn something from the past successes and failures of other species?" Human-caused climate change, ocean acidification and species extinctions may eventually threaten the collapse of civilization, according to some scientists, while other people argue that for political or economic reasons we should allow industrial development to continue without restrictions. In a new paper, two astrophysicists argue that these questions may soon be resolvable scientifically, thanks to new data about the Earth and about other planets in our galaxy, and by combining the earth-based science of sustainability with astrobiology. In their paper, which appeared in fall 2014 in the journal Anthropocene, Frank and co-author Woodruff Sullivan call for creation of a new research program to answer questions about humanity's future in the broadest astronomical context. The authors explain: "The point is to see ...
Technological Civilizations --"Are Their Lifespans 200 years, 500 years or 50,000 years?" (Weekend Feature)
30 Jan 2015, 16:48 UTC
"We have no idea how long a technological civilization like our own can last," says University of Rochester astrophysicist Adam Frank. "Is it 200 years, 500 years or 50,000 years? Answering this question is at the root of all our concerns about the sustainability of human society. Are we the first and only technologically-intensive civilization in the entire history of the universe? If not, shouldn't we stand to learn something from the past successes and failures of other species?" Human-caused climate change, ocean acidification and species extinctions may eventually threaten the collapse of civilization, according to some scientists, while other people argue that for political or economic reasons we should allow industrial development to continue without restrictions. In a new paper, two astrophysicists argue that these questions may soon be resolvable scientifically, thanks to new data about the Earth and about other planets in our galaxy, and by combining the earth-based science of sustainability with astrobiology. In their paper, which appeared in fall 2014 in the journal Anthropocene, Frank and co-author Woodruff Sullivan call for creation of a new research program to answer questions about humanity's future in the broadest astronomical context. The authors explain: "The point is to see ...
Universe Today
30 Jan 2015, 16:23 UTC
In the past four decades, NASA and other space agencies from around the world have accomplished some amazing feats. Together, they have sent manned missions to the Moon, explored Mars, mapped Venus and Mercury, conducted surveys and captured breathtaking images of the Outer Solar System. However, looking ahead to the next generation of exploration and […] Artist’s concept of a Bimodal Nuclear Thermal Rocket in Low Earth Orbit. Credit: NASA In the past four decades, NASA and other space agencies from around the world have accomplished some amazing feats. Together, they have sent manned missions to the Moon, explored Mars, mapped Venus and Mercury, conducted surveys and captured breathtaking images of the Outer Solar System. However, looking ahead to the next generation of exploration and the more-distant frontiers that remain to be explored, it is clear that new ideas need to be put forward of how to quickly and efficiently reach those destinations. Basically, this means finding ways to power rockets that are more fuel and cost-effective while still providing the necessary power to get crews, rovers and orbiters to their far-flung destinations. In this respect, NASA has been taking a good look at nuclear fission as a possible means ...
Exploring the Universe with Nuclear Power
30 Jan 2015, 16:23 UTC
In the past four decades, NASA and other space agencies from around the world have accomplished some amazing feats. Together, they have sent manned missions to the Moon, explored Mars, mapped Venus and Mercury, conducted surveys and captured breathtaking images of the Outer Solar System. However, looking ahead to the next generation of exploration and […] Artist’s concept of a Bimodal Nuclear Thermal Rocket in Low Earth Orbit. Credit: NASA In the past four decades, NASA and other space agencies from around the world have accomplished some amazing feats. Together, they have sent manned missions to the Moon, explored Mars, mapped Venus and Mercury, conducted surveys and captured breathtaking images of the Outer Solar System. However, looking ahead to the next generation of exploration and the more-distant frontiers that remain to be explored, it is clear that new ideas need to be put forward of how to quickly and efficiently reach those destinations. Basically, this means finding ways to power rockets that are more fuel and cost-effective while still providing the necessary power to get crews, rovers and orbiters to their far-flung destinations. In this respect, NASA has been taking a good look at nuclear fission as a possible means ...
Astro Bob
30 Jan 2015, 15:30 UTC
Saturn, you’ve got company. A planet orbiting the young, sun-like star J1407 in the southern constellation Centaurus has a ring system that makes yours look, well, microscopic. Not only is the planet they encircle much more massive than either Jupiter … Continue reading → Artist’s conception of the extrasolar ring system circling the young giant planet or brown dwarf J1407b. The rings are shown eclipsing the young sun-like star J1407, as they would have appeared in early 2007. Credit: Ron Miller Saturn, you’ve got company. A planet orbiting the young, sun-like star J1407 in the southern constellation Centaurus has a ring system that makes yours look, well, microscopic. Not only is the planet they encircle much more massive than either Jupiter or Saturn, but the rings are 200 times as wide and packed with material. Discovered in 2012, it’s the first system of its kind to be found in another solar system. Eric Mamajek (University of Rochester) and Matthew Kenworthy (Leiden Observatory) co-authored a recent paper detailing their discovery. The system consists of 37 rings with a total diameter of 74.5 million miles (120 million km). That’s 438 times the size of Saturn’s primary rings. If you plucked out the ...
Saturn, meet Super Saturn … and try not to be jealous
30 Jan 2015, 15:30 UTC
Saturn, you’ve got company. A planet orbiting the young, sun-like star J1407 in the southern constellation Centaurus has a ring system that makes yours look, well, microscopic. Not only is the planet they encircle much more massive than either Jupiter … Continue reading → Artist’s conception of the extrasolar ring system circling the young giant planet or brown dwarf J1407b. The rings are shown eclipsing the young sun-like star J1407, as they would have appeared in early 2007. Credit: Ron Miller Saturn, you’ve got company. A planet orbiting the young, sun-like star J1407 in the southern constellation Centaurus has a ring system that makes yours look, well, microscopic. Not only is the planet they encircle much more massive than either Jupiter or Saturn, but the rings are 200 times as wide and packed with material. Discovered in 2012, it’s the first system of its kind to be found in another solar system. Eric Mamajek (University of Rochester) and Matthew Kenworthy (Leiden Observatory) co-authored a recent paper detailing their discovery. The system consists of 37 rings with a total diameter of 74.5 million miles (120 million km). That’s 438 times the size of Saturn’s primary rings. If you plucked out the ...
Most Recent Blogs
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- 1 Feb 2015
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12:30 UTC
Bad Astronomy
Illusion of Lights
I am a big fan of Brad Goldpaint’s astrophotography. His images of the night sky are crisp and clear, vivid and astonishing. He also creates amazing time-lapse videos, which I’ve ...
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12:00 UTC
One Universe at a T...
Grand Canyon of Mars
The Grand Canyon was formed by water. So how did a dry world like Mars form an even larger canyon? The post Grand Canyon of Mars appeared first on Brian ...
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Lunar Meteorite Hun...
Tokyo, Japan Fireball Meteor 01FEB2015 - 2015年2月1日 05:32:...
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12:00 UTC
Astronomy Now
4 billion-year-old meteorite reveals Mars’ darker side
A new spectroscopic analysis of “Black Beauty,” a 4.4 billion-year-old meteorite found in the Moroccan desert, has given scientists a better picture of the crust beneath Mars’ red dust. Designated ...
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11:51 UTC
EarthSky Blog
Long-necked dinosaur roamed China 160 million years ago
Scientists report on the discovery in China of a new species of dinosaur - calling Qijianglong - a creature that was "half neck." Artist’s concept of newly discovered long-necked dinosaur, ...
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11:21 UTC
NASASpaceFlight.com
ILS Proton M ready for Inmarsat-5 F-2 launch
International Launch Services (ILS) will open their 2015 campaign with the launch of the Russian Proton-M launch vehicle, this time carrying the Inmarsat-5 F-2 communications satellite – part of the ...
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11:08 UTC
The Imagineer's Chr...
Darf Matter as a field property of space-time
In 1933 Fritz Zwicky a Swiss astronomer, was trying to measure the mass of a galactic cluster using two different methods. First he tried to infer it from the rational ...
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11:05 UTC
In the Dark
Hirsute advised to take care of the beard in snowy weathe...
Originally posted on Kmflett's Blog:Beard Liberation Front PRESS RELEASE 30th January Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266 HIRSUTE ADVISED TO TAKE CARE OF THE BEARD IN SNOWY WEATHER The Beard Liberation ...
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11:00 UTC
AmericaSpace
‘Next Time, We Will Shake Your Hand': 20 Years Since STS-...
The Mir space station, as viewed by the crew of STS-63. Photo Credit: NASA Twenty years ago, next week, in February 1995, U.S. astronauts Jim Wetherbee, Eileen Collins, Bernard Harris, ...
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09:53 UTC
Bad Astronomy
DC comics pins Krypton to the star map
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09:36 UTC
The Universe
synplynatural:M81 & M82 Mosaic by John.R.Taylor...
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08:23 UTC
Space Fellowship
NGC 4676: When Mice Collide
These two mighty galaxies are pulling each other apart. Known as the "Mice" because they have such long tails, each spiral galaxy has likely already passed through the other. The ...
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08:01 UTC
EarthSky Blog
February evenings will be great for planet-watching!
Brilliant Venus and modestly-bright Mars shift close together after sunset. Magnificent Jupiter beams low in the east as darkness falls and then stays out all night. February 2015 will be ...
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07:22 UTC
Lunar Meteorite Hun...
The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 31JAN2015
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07:17 UTC
Lunar Meteorite Hun...
California Meteor 31JAN2015
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SALT Astronomy
Night Log 2015-01-31
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06:20 UTC
Lunar Meteorite Hun...
ONT QC MA Meteor 31JAN2015
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Selenian Boondocks
Random Thought: Simulating Mars Speed-of-Light Delays on ...
[Note: I’m almost positive this isn’t a new idea, but I figured I would share it, just in case.] One of the many concerns with deep-space human spaceflight missions, is ...
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05:00 UTC
Astrobiology Magazi...
Long-necked ‘dragon’ discovered in China
University of Alberta paleontologists have discovered a new species of a long-necked dinosaur from a skeleton found in China.
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NASA: Earth Observa...
Soil Moisture Mission Rockets to Orbit
The SMAP mission lifts off to make the most accurate, high-resolution soil moisture measurements ever collected from space.
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02:40 UTC
AmericaSpace
Sharpest Views of Mysterious ‘Planet’ Ceres Now Better Th...
Comparison of Ceres images taken from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft on Jan. 25, 2015 and the Hubble Space Telescope up to January 2004. What is the nature of the ‘White Spot’ ...
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01:18 UTC
The Universe
500px more like 500 copies of the same image more like 50...
500px more like 500 copies of the same image more like 500 hours of my life wasted scrolling past repetitive posts more like 500 times I’ve tried to fix this ...
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00:54 UTC
NASA Watch
NASA Budget Preview
Keith's note: You can expect to see a NASA budget for $18.5 billion to be announced on Monday. Planetary gets treated well and Europa mission planning gets significant money and ...
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00:37 UTC
The Meridiani Journ...
Comment on Image Gallery: rocky hill in Pahrump Hills by ...
hei, there is a skull in the hill right in the centre of the picture! http://imgur.com/gallery/GPjC0xZ Joking of course, but that stone really looks like a skull
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00:00 UTC
Sky Caramba
February 2015 astronomy events
Jupiter up all night, Mercury reemerges in the morning sky, the moon passes by Mars and Venus, Saturn escapes the scorpion's claws, and more. Continue reading → ¡SkyCaramba! Weekly astronomy ...
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12:30 UTC
Bad Astronomy
- 31 Jan 2015
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23:53 UTC
NASASpaceFlight.com
Japanese H-IIA set for IGS spy satellite launch
Japan will make its first launch of 2015 Sunday with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries deploying a radar reconnaissance satellite with the aid of its H-IIA carrier rocket. Liftoff, from the Tanegashima ...
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23:11 UTC
io9 Space
Moroccan Meteorite May Be a 4.4-Billion-Year-Old Chunk of...
Mars is often referred to as the Red Planet, but its signature color is only skin-deep. Beneath its rusty regolith, Mars has many other hues, including large dark regions formed ...
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23:06 UTC
Astro Bob
What would the sky look like if Arcturus, Sirius or Alpha...
I was out walking the other night around 11 o’clock when I noticed a new bright star poking through the trees low in the northeastern sky. For a moment I ...
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22:38 UTC
EarthSky Blog
Video: Cool movie of close-passing asteroid 2004 BL86
Asteroid 2004 BL86 and its newly discovered moon passed only 745,000 miles (1.2 million km) from Earth last week. Did you see the still photos? Now see the movie ...
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22:24 UTC
Astronomy.FM
In Memoriam: Martino Nicolini
IN MEMORIAM Martino Nicolini Feb 1961 – Jan 2015 … We’ll see you in the stars … ***************************************************** ESCAPE AT BEDTIME, by Robert Louis Stevenson The lights from the parlour ...
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22:10 UTC
EarthSky Blog
Absolutely awesome images of comet lander Philae
NASA hopes communications with the Philae comet lander can be regained by May or June. In the meantime, check out these stunning newly released images! View larger. | Philae comet ...
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22:04 UTC
Universe Today
Moroccan Meteorite May Be a 4.4-Billion-Year-Old Chunk of...
Mars is often referred to as the Red Planet. But its signature color is only skin-deep – or, I should say, dust-deep. Beneath its rusty regolith Mars has many other ...
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22:03 UTC
AMSAT-UK
ISS SSTV Operational
The Russian ARISS team on the International Space Station started the Slow Scan TV (SSTV) experiment on 145.800 MHz FM at 1000 UT on Saturday, January 31. Initially there was ...
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21:51 UTC
NASASpaceFlight.com
SpaceX conducts Static Fire test ahead of DSCOVR mission
SpaceX has conducted a Static Fire test on its latest Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket Saturday, paving the way for a February 8 launch attempt to loft the DSCOVR spacecraft uphill ...
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21:44 UTC
The Sky Above
iPhone image of Jupiter and its moons
Jupiter and its 4 major moons are visible tonight. Unfortunately, this is the best image I could get with an iPhone and a 90mm Mak-Cass telescope. There should be 4 ...
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21:28 UTC
AMSAT-UK
Successful ELaNa-10 CubeSat launch
On Saturday, January 31 the CubeSats FIREBIRD-2, GRIFEX and ExoCube carrying amateur radio payloads were successfully launched on a Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base The GEO-CAPE ROIC ...
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20:29 UTC
Space Fellowship
The Strange Way Fluids Slosh on the International Space S...
The next time you pour yourself a glass of water, pause before you drink it. First, swirl the clear liquid around the glass. Gently slosh it back and forth. Tap ...
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20:26 UTC
NASA: Earth Observa...
New posts in the Notes from the Field blog - SMAP: Adopt ...
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20:26 UTC
Earth Observatory: ...
SMAP: Adopt a Satellite
Two hours before SMAP’s early morning launch Saturday, Vanessa Escobar was on NASA TV, explaining a new effort to link the soil-moisture-measuring satellite with the people who will put it ...
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20:21 UTC
Space Fellowship
High-Def Radar Images of Near-Earth Asteroid
A team of astronomers using the National Science Foundation's Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia and NASA's Deep Space Network radar transmitter at Goldstone, California, has made the most ...
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19:24 UTC
Irene W. Pennington...
Super Saturn Discovered with Rings Stretching 55 Million ...
Because of its detailed ring system, Saturn is known as the “jewel of the solar system.” Saturn’s rings stretch from edge-to-edge as wide as 175,000 miles, about the distance from ...
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19:02 UTC
The Solstice Blog
4.4 Billion Year Old Meteorite Represents the Bulk of Mar...
A few years ago, in a desert in Morocco, a very special meteorite was found. A rock unlike anything ever found on Earth, called NWA 7034, or colloquially ‘black beauty.’ ...
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18:52 UTC
Universe Today
NASA Launches Revolutionary Earth Science Satellite Measu...
At dawn this morning (Jan. 31) NASA launched an advanced Earth science satellite aimed at making measurements of our planet’s surface soil moisture that will revolutionize our understanding of the ...
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18:44 UTC
Space-For-All at Ho...
The search for the Philae lander on Comet 67P/C-G
Here is a reprint of an article from the Rosetta mission team on where the lander might be: Where is Philae? When will it wake up? Where is Philae? Ever ...
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18:40 UTC
JP Aerospace Blog
MHD Test 113
The testing just keeps rolling on.
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18:33 UTC
JP Aerospace Blog
Ascender 26 Prep
Today we’re working on all the little odds and ends of the Ascender 26 airship. The team is getting ready for the upcoming float test.
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18:26 UTC
Universe Today
Awesome New Radar Images of Asteroid 2004 BL86
New video of 2004 BL86 and its moon Newly processed images of asteroid 2004 BL86 during it brush with Earth Monday night reveal fresh details of its lumpy surface and ...
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18:00 UTC
io9 Space
This Is The Clearest, Sharpest Video Of Lightning Seen Fr...
This lightning storm is an eerie, glowing spider in a web of clouds when seen from above. Video footage of this unusual perspective was captured from the International Space Station ...
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17:41 UTC
Parabolic Arc
ULA Delta II Launches NASA Environmental Satellite
Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., (Jan. 31, 2015) – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta II rocket carrying the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) payload for NASA lifted off from ...
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17:37 UTC
The Solstice Blog
Let’s Watch a 10Km Asteroid Hit Us!
Enjoy this great little video about an asteroid hit as viewed by a dinosaur on ancient Earth. The one in the video is 10Km wide and it’s the size of ...
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23:53 UTC
NASASpaceFlight.com
