Featured Posts
The Launch Pad
30 Jun 2010, 16:03 UTC
Speaking of Moon bases (from our last Friday Fun Day), Japan recently announced plans to create a droid-built Moon base by 2020. The endeavor is part of a $2.2 billion project to send humanoid rovers to the Moon:"A Japanese government panel has produced a draft paper outlining how humanoid rover robots will begin surveying the moon by 2015, according to a report by the prime minister's office. ... the droids will begin construction of an unmanned base near the south pole of the moon that will be powered by solar panels ..."We can't wait to see how these prototypes develop over the next decade!
Droids to build Moon base by 2020
30 Jun 2010, 16:03 UTC
Speaking of Moon bases (from our last Friday Fun Day), Japan recently announced plans to create a droid-built Moon base by 2020. The endeavor is part of a $2.2 billion project to send humanoid rovers to the Moon:"A Japanese government panel has produced a draft paper outlining how humanoid rover robots will begin surveying the moon by 2015, according to a report by the prime minister's office. ... the droids will begin construction of an unmanned base near the south pole of the moon that will be powered by solar panels ..."We can't wait to see how these prototypes develop over the next decade!
Alien Life
30 Jun 2010, 15:00 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 Abodes - Many scientists speculate that our galaxy could be full of places like Pandora from the movie "Avatar" - Earth-like worlds in solar systems besides our own. Seeing them has been impossible, though – but now it may be possible to see them in the infrared. See article.g Intelligence - The news keeps us constantly in tune with environmental disasters and their effects on Earth's climate and biosphere. How did past generations who didn’t have television or a camera depict those dramatic moments in living geologic history? Through art. See article.g Message - Some people sit in the tub, yell "Eureka!", and come up with a brand new view of matter. Others can be riding a trolley home and at the sight of a clock initiate a whole new concept of time. Yet another more pedantic method is to follow government procedures to resolve riddles. Steven Dick and James Strick in their book, “The Living Universe - NASA and the development of Astrobiology,” narrate how this occurred for the new academic field of astrobiology. Though perhaps not as ...
Discovering Earth-like planets via infrared and new national space policy for United States
30 Jun 2010, 15:00 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 Abodes - Many scientists speculate that our galaxy could be full of places like Pandora from the movie "Avatar" - Earth-like worlds in solar systems besides our own. Seeing them has been impossible, though – but now it may be possible to see them in the infrared. See article.g Intelligence - The news keeps us constantly in tune with environmental disasters and their effects on Earth's climate and biosphere. How did past generations who didn’t have television or a camera depict those dramatic moments in living geologic history? Through art. See article.g Message - Some people sit in the tub, yell "Eureka!", and come up with a brand new view of matter. Others can be riding a trolley home and at the sight of a clock initiate a whole new concept of time. Yet another more pedantic method is to follow government procedures to resolve riddles. Steven Dick and James Strick in their book, “The Living Universe - NASA and the development of Astrobiology,” narrate how this occurred for the new academic field of astrobiology. Though perhaps not as ...
Cosmic Variance
30 Jun 2010, 14:19 UTC
The Copernican principle is a guiding foundation of cosmology. In short, it states that we are not in a privileged place in the Universe. A “random” observer will see the same Universe that we do. The cosmological standard model does satisfy this principle in space: at this moment, any other observer in the Universe should see the same Universe as we do (at large scales). Just like us, they see a smooth distribution of galaxies and a smooth CMB sky, with similar small anisotropies. However, we do live at a privileged time: in the history of the Universe, we just happen to be at the time when the dark energy density starts dominating over the dark matter density. This is known as the “coincidence” problem, and has been much discussed and agonized over. Here is a graphical description: Today is very, very near where the two lines cross (redshift=0 is today; redshift=1,000 is where the CMB is generated; the Big Bang is at redshift=infinity). You can’t even see the crossing on the main plot; you need to go to the inset to see the incredibly rapid change at redshift=1. Last week at the Yukawa Institute workshop John Moffat was advocating ...
Casting aside Copernicus
30 Jun 2010, 14:19 UTC
The Copernican principle is a guiding foundation of cosmology. In short, it states that we are not in a privileged place in the Universe. A “random” observer will see the same Universe that we do. The cosmological standard model does satisfy this principle in space: at this moment, any other observer in the Universe should see the same Universe as we do (at large scales). Just like us, they see a smooth distribution of galaxies and a smooth CMB sky, with similar small anisotropies. However, we do live at a privileged time: in the history of the Universe, we just happen to be at the time when the dark energy density starts dominating over the dark matter density. This is known as the “coincidence” problem, and has been much discussed and agonized over. Here is a graphical description: Today is very, very near where the two lines cross (redshift=0 is today; redshift=1,000 is where the CMB is generated; the Big Bang is at redshift=infinity). You can’t even see the crossing on the main plot; you need to go to the inset to see the incredibly rapid change at redshift=1. Last week at the Yukawa Institute workshop John Moffat was advocating ...
John's Space / Astronomy Blog
30 Jun 2010, 12:00 UTC
Observing an aurora from space is really nothing new. Astronauts aboard one of the space shuttles or orbiting on the International Space Station (ISS) have been seeing them for years. But this image captured of an aurora Australis is quite unusual in that it appeared over the southern Indian Ocean....Read Full Post
Aurora Australis - Image of the Week
30 Jun 2010, 12:00 UTC
Observing an aurora from space is really nothing new. Astronauts aboard one of the space shuttles or orbiting on the International Space Station (ISS) have been seeing them for years. But this image captured of an aurora Australis is quite unusual in that it appeared over the southern Indian Ocean....Read Full Post
Space Fellowship
30 Jun 2010, 09:41 UTC
Following the relocation of a Soyuz spacecraft Monday, the Expedition 24 crew of the International Space Station focused on systems maintenance and science experiments Tuesday, as well as on orientation activities for the three newest crew members. Commander Alexander Skvortsov and Flight Engineers Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Doug Wheelock, Mikhail Kornienko, Fyodor Yurchikhin and Shannon Walker got a late start on the day, as they adjust their sleep schedules back to normal following Monday’s [...]
Station Crew Back to Work After Soyuz Move
30 Jun 2010, 09:41 UTC
Following the relocation of a Soyuz spacecraft Monday, the Expedition 24 crew of the International Space Station focused on systems maintenance and science experiments Tuesday, as well as on orientation activities for the three newest crew members. Commander Alexander Skvortsov and Flight Engineers Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Doug Wheelock, Mikhail Kornienko, Fyodor Yurchikhin and Shannon Walker got a late start on the day, as they adjust their sleep schedules back to normal following Monday’s [...]
Universe Today
30 Jun 2010, 02:20 UTC
From the Royal Astronomical Society Many of the Milky Way’s ancient stars are remnants of other smaller galaxies torn apart by violent galactic collisions around five billion years ago, according to researchers at Durham University, who publish their results in a new paper in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. (...)Read the [...] Simulation showing a Milky Way-like galaxy around five billion years ago, when most satellite galaxy collisions were happening. Credit: Andrew Cooper, John Helly (Durham University)From the Royal Astronomical SocietyMany of the Milky Way’s ancient stars are remnants of other smaller galaxies torn apart by violent galactic collisions around five billion years ago, according to researchers at Durham University, who publish their results in a new paper in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. (...)Read the rest of Finding the Origin of Milky Way's Ancient Stars (550 words)© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Astronomy, milky way Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh
Finding the Origin of Milky Way's Ancient Stars
30 Jun 2010, 02:20 UTC
From the Royal Astronomical Society Many of the Milky Way’s ancient stars are remnants of other smaller galaxies torn apart by violent galactic collisions around five billion years ago, according to researchers at Durham University, who publish their results in a new paper in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. (...)Read the [...] Simulation showing a Milky Way-like galaxy around five billion years ago, when most satellite galaxy collisions were happening. Credit: Andrew Cooper, John Helly (Durham University)From the Royal Astronomical SocietyMany of the Milky Way’s ancient stars are remnants of other smaller galaxies torn apart by violent galactic collisions around five billion years ago, according to researchers at Durham University, who publish their results in a new paper in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. (...)Read the rest of Finding the Origin of Milky Way's Ancient Stars (550 words)© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Astronomy, milky way Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh
Universe Today
29 Jun 2010, 21:58 UTC
From a JPL press release: Mars rover team members have begun informally naming features around the rim of Endeavour Crater, as they develop plans to investigate that destination when NASA's Opportunity rover arrives there after many more months of driving. A new, super-resolution view of a portion of Endeavour's rim reveals details that were not [...] Since the summer of 2008, when NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity finished two years of studying Victoria Crater, the rover's long-term destination has been the much larger Endeavour Crater to the southeast. Credit: JPLFrom a JPL press release: Mars rover team members have begun informally naming features around the rim of Endeavour Crater, as they develop plans to investigate that destination when NASA's Opportunity rover arrives there after many more months of driving. A new, super-resolution view of a portion of Endeavour's rim reveals details that were not discernible in earlier images from the rover. Several high points along the rim can be correlated with points discernible from orbit. (...)Read the rest of Opportunity Rover Able to See More Detail of Endeavour Crater (222 words)© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Mars, Mars Rovers, ...
Opportunity Rover Able to See More Detail of Endeavour Crater
29 Jun 2010, 21:58 UTC
From a JPL press release: Mars rover team members have begun informally naming features around the rim of Endeavour Crater, as they develop plans to investigate that destination when NASA's Opportunity rover arrives there after many more months of driving. A new, super-resolution view of a portion of Endeavour's rim reveals details that were not [...] Since the summer of 2008, when NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity finished two years of studying Victoria Crater, the rover's long-term destination has been the much larger Endeavour Crater to the southeast. Credit: JPLFrom a JPL press release: Mars rover team members have begun informally naming features around the rim of Endeavour Crater, as they develop plans to investigate that destination when NASA's Opportunity rover arrives there after many more months of driving. A new, super-resolution view of a portion of Endeavour's rim reveals details that were not discernible in earlier images from the rover. Several high points along the rim can be correlated with points discernible from orbit. (...)Read the rest of Opportunity Rover Able to See More Detail of Endeavour Crater (222 words)© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Mars, Mars Rovers, ...
Astroblog
29 Jun 2010, 21:21 UTC
Australians wern't the only ones to enjoy the partial lunar eclipse of June 26, 2010. The delightful image sequence comes from long time correspondent Tony Travaglia of Otago, New Zealand. Tony struggled with perssitent cloud to get these images, and was snapping well into the wee hours. His persistence paid off with a lovely sequence for us to enjoy.He used a Canon 40D with a Rubinar 1000mm mirror lens to take these images.
More Images of the Partial Lunar Eclipse
29 Jun 2010, 21:21 UTC
Australians wern't the only ones to enjoy the partial lunar eclipse of June 26, 2010. The delightful image sequence comes from long time correspondent Tony Travaglia of Otago, New Zealand. Tony struggled with perssitent cloud to get these images, and was snapping well into the wee hours. His persistence paid off with a lovely sequence for us to enjoy.He used a Canon 40D with a Rubinar 1000mm mirror lens to take these images.
The Mars Society
29 Jun 2010, 20:02 UTC
This year we are pleased to present Mars Camp! It is designed to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education and will include flight simulators, hands-on displays and special guest speakers -- all aimed at educating and inspiring the next generation of space explorers. So bring your family with you to this year’s convention and share your passion for humans to Mars
