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Starts With A Bang!
4 Feb 2012, 02:40 UTC
"More days to come / New places to go I've got to leave / It's time for a show Here I am / Rock you like a hurricane!" -The Scorpions It's isn't just Earth, of course, where these great cyclonic storms occur, whipping across the planet and wreaking havoc as they rage above the surface. Most famous, perhaps, is Jupiter, whose great red spot has existed for as long as we've been able to see at the necessary resolution. But one doesn't often think of Saturn when it comes to devastating storms. (Image credit: Earth-based telescope, retrieved from SolarSystemQuick.com.) Saturn, quite famously, is a great gas giant planet, second only in size to Jupiter in our Solar System, and renowned for its spectacular rings. And although Saturn's rings are its most obvious feature, the clearly defined, featureless bands along its different latitudes also stand out. Unless, that is, you've taken a close look in the last year or so. (Image credit: Trevor Barry, Broken Hill, Australia.) That is not a featureless band up there in Saturn's Northern Hemisphere! Quite to the contrary, this is a virtually planet-wide storm plume, whose core is a 3,000-mile-wide thunderstorm, kicking up beacons of warm ...
Saturn's Super Storm Staggers Skywatchers!
4 Feb 2012, 02:40 UTC
"More days to come / New places to go I've got to leave / It's time for a show Here I am / Rock you like a hurricane!" -The Scorpions It's isn't just Earth, of course, where these great cyclonic storms occur, whipping across the planet and wreaking havoc as they rage above the surface. Most famous, perhaps, is Jupiter, whose great red spot has existed for as long as we've been able to see at the necessary resolution. But one doesn't often think of Saturn when it comes to devastating storms. (Image credit: Earth-based telescope, retrieved from SolarSystemQuick.com.) Saturn, quite famously, is a great gas giant planet, second only in size to Jupiter in our Solar System, and renowned for its spectacular rings. And although Saturn's rings are its most obvious feature, the clearly defined, featureless bands along its different latitudes also stand out. Unless, that is, you've taken a close look in the last year or so. (Image credit: Trevor Barry, Broken Hill, Australia.) That is not a featureless band up there in Saturn's Northern Hemisphere! Quite to the contrary, this is a virtually planet-wide storm plume, whose core is a 3,000-mile-wide thunderstorm, kicking up beacons of warm ...
Alien Life
4 Feb 2012, 00:35 UTC
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:g Message - Could extraterrestrials already have tried to contact us? On the basis of statistical calculations on galactic migration, here’s a paper that explores the possibility that exogenous vehicles and/or probes may have reached our solar system, including Earth. See article.g Learning - Why do American students suck so much at science? See article.g Aftermath - Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence depends as much upon social support for the project as upon appropriate engineering design and upon the actual existence of a nearby extrasolar civilization. The results of a sociological survey of 1,465 American college students provide the first detailed analysis of the social and ideological factors that influence support for CETI, thereby suggesting ways that support might be increased. Linked to the most idealistic goals of the space program, notably interplanetary colonization, enthusiasm for CETI is little affected by attitudes toward technology or militarism. Few sciences or scholarly fields encourage CETI, with the exceptions of anthropology and astronomy. Support is somewhat greater among men than among women, but the sex difference is far less than in attitudes toward space ...
Potential of ETI trying to contact us and why Americans suck so much at science
4 Feb 2012, 00:35 UTC
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:g Message - Could extraterrestrials already have tried to contact us? On the basis of statistical calculations on galactic migration, here’s a paper that explores the possibility that exogenous vehicles and/or probes may have reached our solar system, including Earth. See article.g Learning - Why do American students suck so much at science? See article.g Aftermath - Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence depends as much upon social support for the project as upon appropriate engineering design and upon the actual existence of a nearby extrasolar civilization. The results of a sociological survey of 1,465 American college students provide the first detailed analysis of the social and ideological factors that influence support for CETI, thereby suggesting ways that support might be increased. Linked to the most idealistic goals of the space program, notably interplanetary colonization, enthusiasm for CETI is little affected by attitudes toward technology or militarism. Few sciences or scholarly fields encourage CETI, with the exceptions of anthropology and astronomy. Support is somewhat greater among men than among women, but the sex difference is far less than in attitudes toward space ...
Universe Today
3 Feb 2012, 23:03 UTC
This is why I always keep a pair of 3-D glasses by my computer. This well-preserved crater on Mars may look like just your average, run-of-the-mill impact crater in 2-D, but in 3-D, the sharply raised rim, the deep, cavernous crater body, and especially the steep crater walls will have you grabbing your armchairs so [...] A 3-d view of a well-preserved and unnamed impact crater on Mars, as seen by the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona. Click for high-resolution version. This is why I always keep a pair of 3-D glasses by my computer. This well-preserved crater on Mars may look like just your average, run-of-the-mill impact crater in 2-D, but in 3-D, the sharply raised rim, the deep, cavernous crater body, and especially the steep crater walls will have you grabbing your armchairs so you don’t fall in. The image is courtesy of the HiRISE camera team from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. This unnamed crater is about 6 or 7 kilometers wide from rim to rim. HiRISE took the image on New Year’s Eve 2011. (...)Read the rest of Incredible 3-D View Inside a Martian Crater (199 words) © nancy for Universe ...
Incredible 3-D View Inside a Martian Crater
3 Feb 2012, 23:03 UTC
This is why I always keep a pair of 3-D glasses by my computer. This well-preserved crater on Mars may look like just your average, run-of-the-mill impact crater in 2-D, but in 3-D, the sharply raised rim, the deep, cavernous crater body, and especially the steep crater walls will have you grabbing your armchairs so [...] A 3-d view of a well-preserved and unnamed impact crater on Mars, as seen by the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona. Click for high-resolution version. This is why I always keep a pair of 3-D glasses by my computer. This well-preserved crater on Mars may look like just your average, run-of-the-mill impact crater in 2-D, but in 3-D, the sharply raised rim, the deep, cavernous crater body, and especially the steep crater walls will have you grabbing your armchairs so you don’t fall in. The image is courtesy of the HiRISE camera team from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. This unnamed crater is about 6 or 7 kilometers wide from rim to rim. HiRISE took the image on New Year’s Eve 2011. (...)Read the rest of Incredible 3-D View Inside a Martian Crater (199 words) © nancy for Universe ...
AmericaSpace
3 Feb 2012, 22:32 UTC
Click here to view the video on YouTube. Violent activity on the Sun is accelerating as 2012 moves into its second month. All the activity has been seen building since late 2011. It heralds the start of a new Solar Maximum phase; the imagery was obtained by the NASA/Goddard Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). [...]
Violent Sun Imaged by NASA Solar Observatory
3 Feb 2012, 22:32 UTC
Click here to view the video on YouTube. Violent activity on the Sun is accelerating as 2012 moves into its second month. All the activity has been seen building since late 2011. It heralds the start of a new Solar Maximum phase; the imagery was obtained by the NASA/Goddard Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). [...]
Universe Today
3 Feb 2012, 21:22 UTC
Are you listening to Astronomy.FM? If not, you should join the audience of over 25,000 listeners in 85 countries who are enjoying this amazing free service. Astronomy.FM is billed as “The only all-Astronomy radio station in the Known Universe.” You can listen to this one-of-a-kind radio station on-line anytime, as it is streaming 24 hours [...] Are you listening to Astronomy.FM? If not, you should join the audience of over 25,000 listeners in 85 countries who are enjoying this amazing free service. Astronomy.FM is billed as “The only all-Astronomy radio station in the Known Universe.” You can listen to this one-of-a-kind radio station on-line anytime, as it is streaming 24 hours a day and it includes both wonderful original astronomy programming and replays of many great astronomy shows and podcasts including Astronomy Cast, 365 Days of Astronomy, Planetary Radio, 60-Second Science and Slacker Astronomy, and also they have just recently added the Weekly Space Hangouts to their lineup. They also have science and astronomy news – the kind of stuff you really want to hear! (As Astronomy.FM announcer Rob York said, “Who cares about Snooki? Give me more supernovae!” What is really awesome about Astronomy.FM (besides their great programming) is ...
Are You Listening to Astronomy.FM?
3 Feb 2012, 21:22 UTC
Are you listening to Astronomy.FM? If not, you should join the audience of over 25,000 listeners in 85 countries who are enjoying this amazing free service. Astronomy.FM is billed as “The only all-Astronomy radio station in the Known Universe.” You can listen to this one-of-a-kind radio station on-line anytime, as it is streaming 24 hours [...] Are you listening to Astronomy.FM? If not, you should join the audience of over 25,000 listeners in 85 countries who are enjoying this amazing free service. Astronomy.FM is billed as “The only all-Astronomy radio station in the Known Universe.” You can listen to this one-of-a-kind radio station on-line anytime, as it is streaming 24 hours a day and it includes both wonderful original astronomy programming and replays of many great astronomy shows and podcasts including Astronomy Cast, 365 Days of Astronomy, Planetary Radio, 60-Second Science and Slacker Astronomy, and also they have just recently added the Weekly Space Hangouts to their lineup. They also have science and astronomy news – the kind of stuff you really want to hear! (As Astronomy.FM announcer Rob York said, “Who cares about Snooki? Give me more supernovae!” What is really awesome about Astronomy.FM (besides their great programming) is ...
The Planetary Society Blog
3 Feb 2012, 20:09 UTC
By Bill Nye Audacious— that's how I describe the Arecibo radio telescope. For me, it was just hard to believe what I was seeing. I have just returned from my first Planetary Society-sponsored trip to Puerto Rico and this historic, remarkable, big idea of a telescope. The Arecibo Radio TelescopeCredit: The Planetary Society If you're not familiar with this machine designed to explore the cosmos and our own ionosphere, it was conceived in ....
The Arecibo Trip
3 Feb 2012, 20:09 UTC
By Bill Nye Audacious— that's how I describe the Arecibo radio telescope. For me, it was just hard to believe what I was seeing. I have just returned from my first Planetary Society-sponsored trip to Puerto Rico and this historic, remarkable, big idea of a telescope. The Arecibo Radio TelescopeCredit: The Planetary Society If you're not familiar with this machine designed to explore the cosmos and our own ionosphere, it was conceived in ....
SPACE.com
3 Feb 2012, 19:53 UTC
Not since 1978 have so many people wanted to be a NASA astronaut.
NASA Awash In Astronaut Applications, But Still Lacks Spaceships
3 Feb 2012, 19:53 UTC
Not since 1978 have so many people wanted to be a NASA astronaut.
Most Recent Blogs
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- 4 Feb 2012
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03:55 UTC
AmericaSpace
Glenn and Carpenter to Attend “Celebrating 50 Years of Am...
The two surviving Mercury astronauts Senator John Glenn and Scott Carpenter will be at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on Feb. 18 to commemorate 50 years of Americans on ...
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03:49 UTC
Space Age Archaeolo...
The art of the cable tie
OK, I've already admitted I'm obsessed. But I really can't resist sharing these wonderfully creative uses of the cable tie. A few weeks ago, I bought a book on the ...
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03:44 UTC
Universe Today
Cities at Night Panorama of Millions of US East Coast Ear...
Do you live here? Tens of millions of Earthlings live and work in the bustling and seemingly intertwined American mega-metropolis of the Philadelphia-New York City-Boston corridor captured in this stunning ...
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03:00 UTC
Spaceports
Iran Launches 'Navid-e Elm-o Sanat'
The Islamic Republic of Iran has successfully launched its domestically-built Navid-e Elm-o Sanat satellite into orbit following a decree by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. More from PressTV, Russia Today, Fars ...
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02:56 UTC
SpaceRef
NASA Hosts Special Event With Recent Space Station Reside...
NASA Hosts Special Event With Recent Space Station Residents
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02:55 UTC
SpaceRef
NASA Talk Features Pioneer Researcher and Inventor
NASA Talk Features Pioneer Researcher and Inventor
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02:54 UTC
SpaceRef
New USAF X-Plane, the X-56A UAV, Revealed by Aviation Wee...
New USAF X-Plane, the X-56A UAV, Revealed by Aviation Week
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02:40 UTC
Starts With A Bang!
Saturn's Super Storm Staggers Skywatchers!
"More days to come / New places to go I've got to leave / It's time for a show Here I am / Rock you like a hurricane!" -The Scorpions ...
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02:38 UTC
The Mars Society
Wanted: Mock Astronauts for Mission to Mars ... in Hawaii
By Clara Moskowitz, SPACE.com, 02.03.12 If you've ever dreamed of becoming an astronaut and have four months to spare, you might have the "right stuff" to fly to Mars … ...
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02:19 UTC
SpaceRef
Global Extinction: Gradual Doom as Bad as Abrupt
The deadliest mass extinction of all took a long time to kill 90 percent of Earth's marine life--and it killed in stages--according to a newly published report. It shows that ...
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02:15 UTC
SpaceRef
"Science and Engineering Indicators 2012" Released
"Science and Engineering Indicators 2012" Released
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02:14 UTC
SpaceRef
Chairmen Hall and Palazzo Statements on House Passage of ...
Chairmen Hall and Palazzo Statements on House Passage of FAA Reauthorization
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02:13 UTC
SpaceRef
NOAA SATOPS Morning Report: Friday, February 03, 2012
NOAA SATOPS Morning Report: Friday, February 03, 2012
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02:11 UTC
SpaceRef
NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 3 February 2012
After wakeup this morning, FE-1 Shkaplerov performed the routine inspection of the SM (Service Module) PSS Caution & Warning panel as part of regular Daily Morning Inspection.
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01:47 UTC
Cosmic Log
Crazy colors from the Red Planet
There's not much red in this picture of the Red Planet, produced by the high-resolution camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Browns and blues and greens and yellows and violets ...
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01:21 UTC
Beyond Apollo
Manned Eros flyby (1966)
German astronomer Gustav Witt discovered the asteroid Eros on August 13, 1898. Eros was both the first asteroid found to orbit entirely outside of the Asteroid Belt and the first ...
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01:21 UTC
Spaceports
Orbital Sciences Corporation Role in Space Biz
Learn more about Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corporation and its major products. The firm will be launching commercial cargo to the International Space Station from Wallops Island, VA. later this year. ...
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01:04 UTC
Space Politics
Santorum joins in
This morning we noted that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney criticized fellow candidate Newt Gingrich’s plans for lunar bases in a letter on the Romney campaign web site, even though ...
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00:43 UTC
SpaceRef
Joint USAF/NOAA Report of Solar and Geophysical Activity ...
Joint USAF/NOAA Report of Solar and Geophysical Activity 3 February 2012
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00:35 UTC
Alien Life
Potential of ETI trying to contact us and why Americans s...
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:g Message - Could extraterrestrials already have tried to contact ...
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00:15 UTC
Spaceports
Matter That Matters on This Week @ NASA
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03:55 UTC
AmericaSpace
- 3 Feb 2012
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23:49 UTC
Spaceports
SpaceX SuperDraco: Ditching the Parachute?
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23:25 UTC
Alien Life
What makes a planet habitable and how matter between star...
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 - Using data from NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer ...
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23:03 UTC
HobbySpace RLV Spac...
McCain presses USAF on ULA block buy
The USAF is determined to go through with its big block buy of EELVs but Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is determined to make them prove it is a good deal: ...
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23:03 UTC
Universe Today
Incredible 3-D View Inside a Martian Crater
This is why I always keep a pair of 3-D glasses by my computer. This well-preserved crater on Mars may look like just your average, run-of-the-mill impact crater in 2-D, ...
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22:49 UTC
Parabolic Arc
The Sounds of Silence on the Space Coast’s Unemployed
Lost in all the talk about Newt Gingrich’s plan to establish a base and then a state on the moon has been the plight of thousands of jobless along Florida’s ...
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22:38 UTC
HobbySpace RLV Spac...
Remotely contour crafting a lunar base
Lunar base building looking more feasible: No Joke: These Guys Created A Machine For Printing Houses On The Moon - Co.Design (via Popular Science) -
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22:33 UTC
SPACE.com
Jupiter-Bound NASA Probe Adjusts Course Toward Giant Plan...
NASA's Juno probe is the first solar-powered spacecraft to the outer solar system.
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22:32 UTC
AmericaSpace
Violent Sun Imaged by NASA Solar Observatory
Click here to view the video on YouTube. Violent activity on the Sun is accelerating as 2012 moves into its second month. All the activity has been seen building since ...
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22:31 UTC
NASA Blueshift
[Blueshift Ponders] What Would You Like to Find on an Exo...
We just recently blogged about some of the strange and wonderful planetary systems recently discovered. From Saturn-like rings, to miniature scale, to systems practically right out Star Wars, it seems ...
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22:30 UTC
SPACE.com
Space Rock of Love: Asteroid Eros Attracts Skywatchers in...
The close pass of the asteroid Eros this week allows astronomy buffs to measure the size of the solar system.
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22:17 UTC
HobbySpace RLV Spac...
Briefs: UP Aerospace April launch; Next STIG to 120km; Jo...
UP Aerospace Inc. says they will fly to space again this April in New Mexico: Twitter / @UPAerospace: UP Aerospace announced today that they will launch SpaceLoft 6 on April ...
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22:15 UTC
Universe Today
Can We Land On a Comet?
The Rosetta mission will do something never before attempted: land on a comet. The spacecraft is now on its way to intercept comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in January 2014 and land a ...
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22:13 UTC
Aviation Week: On S...
Calling all space entrepreneurs
As many as 10 finalists are expected to present their plans to judges at the Space Frontier Foundation’s annual NewSpace Business Plan Competition during the NewSpace 2012 Conference at NASA ...
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21:45 UTC
HobbySpace RLV Spac...
Commercial spaceflight regs: moratorium & review
Here's more about the apparently successful effort to extend until 2015 the moratorium on FAA regulations dealing with crew and passenger safety: Congress acts to protect space industry from regulation ...
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21:42 UTC
moonandback
NASA Receives Second Highest Number Of Astronaut Applicat...
HOUSTON, Texas — More than 6,300 individuals applied to become a NASA astronaut between Nov. 15, 2011 and Jan. 27, the second highest number of applications ever received by the ...
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21:31 UTC
SPACE.com
Photos of Space Love: The Asteroid Eros Up Close
See photos of the asteroid Eros taken by NASA's NEAR space probe in 2000, and other observers.
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21:28 UTC
Aviation Week: On S...
Spaceport View
A private reusable-rocket testbed flying from New Mexico's Spaceport America has produced a preview of coming attractions for space tourists and researchers using the same facility to embark on suborbital ...
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21:22 UTC
Universe Today
Are You Listening to Astronomy.FM?
Are you listening to Astronomy.FM? If not, you should join the audience of over 25,000 listeners in 85 countries who are enjoying this amazing free service. Astronomy.FM is billed as ...
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20:57 UTC
The American Associ...
AAVSO Newsletter 51 is now online
AAVSO Newsletter 51, January 2012, is now online. http://www.aavso.org/aavso-newsletter
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20:56 UTC
Space Calendar
February 6-12, 2012 / Vol 31, No 6 / Hawai`i Island, USA
Vega Inaugural Launch Set for Feb 9 from Kourou, French Guiana The maiden voyage of Europe’s Vega rocket (TR), VV01, is set to launch NET February 13 from Kourou, French ...
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20:50 UTC
SpacePolicyOnline.c...
NRC Says Yes to NASA Participation in ESA's Euclid Missio...
The National Research Council (NRC) issued its report today on whether NASA should make a modest hardware contribution to Europe's Euclid dark energy mission valued at about $20 million in ...
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20:33 UTC
SPACE.com
Mock Astronauts Needed for Mission to Mars … in Hawaii
Scientists will study diet & nutrition for "astronauts" who spend four months in a mock space capsule.
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20:31 UTC
Cosmic Log
Video: Be mesmerized by the future of glass
Corning, the company known for its innovation in glass, has just put out another mesmerizing video exploring how its interactive display technology could mate with the computers and gadgets of ...
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20:29 UTC
Aviation Week: On S...
A big step for Boeing Satellites
It may seem a stretch to look for similarities between a C-17 or 737 assembly line and a satellite factory. The atmosphere in the two places is so different—literally. Airplane ...
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20:26 UTC
The Urban Astronome...
Could your school discover an asteroid?
To mark Global Astronomy Month this April, a special asteroid search program will be launched by astronomy outreach group International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC), in conjunction with Astronomers Without Borders. ...
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20:21 UTC
MarsTravel
Mars Photo of the Day - Feb 3 2012
Today's Image of Mars is from HiRISE and shows fretted terrain near Reull Vallis, a valley on Mars that appears to have been carved by water. Reull Vallis flows into ...
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20:20 UTC
Eastside Astro-Blog
When Oppy sees her shadow, does that mean a longer winter...
Another one of those very cool "Ooooooh!" photos that us Earthbound Mars explorers can appreciate from our virtual rides along with Oppy on Mars. Hard to believe that the little ...
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20:09 UTC
The Planetary Socie...
The Arecibo Trip
By Bill Nye Audacious— that's how I describe the Arecibo radio telescope. For me, it was just hard to believe what I was seeing. I have just returned from my ...
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20:09 UTC
HobbySpace RLV Spac...
Briefs: Romney space shots at Newt; Not "Lunar-cy"; Romne...
Jeff Foust reports that the Romney campaign continues to try to use Newt's space proposals against him: Space hasn’t completely faded from the presidential campaign - spacepolitics.com. === A defense ...
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23:49 UTC
Spaceports
