Featured Posts
Bad Astronomy
7 Jun 2010, 19:29 UTC
There has been a bit of an uproar the past day or so that scientists have found evidence of life on Saturn’s giant moon Titan. As soon as I saw the press release I knew this was going to be a problem. So let’s be clear: First, have we found life on Titan? No. Have we found evidence that there might be life on Titan? Sorta. The results are preliminary and not yet confirmed; in fact, some of the evidence is from computer modeling and has not been directly observed. Bear in mind as well that evidence is not proof. Evidence just means an observation was made that is consistent with life on the moon, but doesn’t say much else. There are non-biological explanations for the observations as well. Of course, speculation is running rampant, so much so that Chris McKay, an exobiologist who studies Titan, has released an article clearing things up. First, a little background. Titan is a monster, the second biggest moon in the solar system at 5150 km (3200 miles) in diameter. If it weren’t orbiting Saturn, it would probably be considered a planet in its own right: it’s bigger than Mercury and Pluto. It has ...
Has life on Titan been discovered? No.
7 Jun 2010, 19:29 UTC
There has been a bit of an uproar the past day or so that scientists have found evidence of life on Saturn’s giant moon Titan. As soon as I saw the press release I knew this was going to be a problem. So let’s be clear: First, have we found life on Titan? No. Have we found evidence that there might be life on Titan? Sorta. The results are preliminary and not yet confirmed; in fact, some of the evidence is from computer modeling and has not been directly observed. Bear in mind as well that evidence is not proof. Evidence just means an observation was made that is consistent with life on the moon, but doesn’t say much else. There are non-biological explanations for the observations as well. Of course, speculation is running rampant, so much so that Chris McKay, an exobiologist who studies Titan, has released an article clearing things up. First, a little background. Titan is a monster, the second biggest moon in the solar system at 5150 km (3200 miles) in diameter. If it weren’t orbiting Saturn, it would probably be considered a planet in its own right: it’s bigger than Mercury and Pluto. It has ...
Discovery News - Space News
7 Jun 2010, 18:16 UTC
The Mars Tumbleweed Rover could be a paradigm shift in planetary exploration thinking, but is it realistic? A group of university scientists think so, and they have developed a computer simulation to help out.
Mars Tumbleweed Computer Model Developed
7 Jun 2010, 18:16 UTC
The Mars Tumbleweed Rover could be a paradigm shift in planetary exploration thinking, but is it realistic? A group of university scientists think so, and they have developed a computer simulation to help out.
Bad Astronomy
7 Jun 2010, 17:45 UTC
The European Southern Observatory just posted this lovely picture of the moon setting behind the Very Large Telescope observatory in Chile: [Click to embiggen.] Photographer Gordon Gillet was 14 km (8.5 miles) away from the observatory when he caught the full Moon behind it. The sky is pink because behind him, the Sun was rising — as it must be when the full Moon is setting. But I had to chuckle when I read the description: Contrary to what one may think, this picture is no montage. The Moon appears large because it is seen close to the horizon and our perception is deceived by the proximity of references on the ground. In order to get this spectacular close view, a 500-mm lens was necessary. The very long focal length reduces the depth of field making the objects in focus appear as if they were at the same distance. This effect, combined with the extraordinary quality of this picture, gives the impression that the Moon lies on the VLT platform, just behind the telescopes, even though it is in fact about 30 000 times further away. The part about the long lens collapsing the perspective is absolutely correct. That effect ...
Very Large Moonset… but not why you think
7 Jun 2010, 17:45 UTC
The European Southern Observatory just posted this lovely picture of the moon setting behind the Very Large Telescope observatory in Chile: [Click to embiggen.] Photographer Gordon Gillet was 14 km (8.5 miles) away from the observatory when he caught the full Moon behind it. The sky is pink because behind him, the Sun was rising — as it must be when the full Moon is setting. But I had to chuckle when I read the description: Contrary to what one may think, this picture is no montage. The Moon appears large because it is seen close to the horizon and our perception is deceived by the proximity of references on the ground. In order to get this spectacular close view, a 500-mm lens was necessary. The very long focal length reduces the depth of field making the objects in focus appear as if they were at the same distance. This effect, combined with the extraordinary quality of this picture, gives the impression that the Moon lies on the VLT platform, just behind the telescopes, even though it is in fact about 30 000 times further away. The part about the long lens collapsing the perspective is absolutely correct. That effect ...
Weirdwarp
7 Jun 2010, 15:51 UTC
How did life start? You would be talking to a Nobel prize winner if I could tell you that. Unfortunately nobody knows. There are a few theories around and a few advances have been made in this field but I will talk about the one that is most widely accepted in scientific circles. The starting point [...]
How Did Those First Organic Molecules Get to Earth?
7 Jun 2010, 15:51 UTC
How did life start? You would be talking to a Nobel prize winner if I could tell you that. Unfortunately nobody knows. There are a few theories around and a few advances have been made in this field but I will talk about the one that is most widely accepted in scientific circles. The starting point [...]
Astro Bob
7 Jun 2010, 15:29 UTC
Look northeast around the start of dawn to see Comet McNaught.
A very nice morning comet
7 Jun 2010, 15:29 UTC
Look northeast around the start of dawn to see Comet McNaught.
NASA: Earth Observatory News
7 Jun 2010, 14:10 UTC
For more than two centuries, scientists have wondered how much heat and light the sun expels, and whether this energy varies enough to change Earth’s climate.
Why NASA Keeps a Close Eye on the Sun's Irradiance
7 Jun 2010, 14:10 UTC
For more than two centuries, scientists have wondered how much heat and light the sun expels, and whether this energy varies enough to change Earth’s climate.
Space Fellowship
7 Jun 2010, 08:27 UTC
Researchers at McGill's department of natural resources, the National Research Council of Canada, the University of Toronto and the SETI Institute have discovered that methane-eating bacteria survive in a highly unique spring located on Axel Heiberg Island in Canada's extreme North. Dr. Lyle Whyte, McGill University microbiologist explains that the Lost Hammer spring supports microbial life, that the spring is similar to possible past or present springs on Mars, and that therefore they too could [...]
Could life survive on Mars? Yes, expert says
7 Jun 2010, 08:27 UTC
Researchers at McGill's department of natural resources, the National Research Council of Canada, the University of Toronto and the SETI Institute have discovered that methane-eating bacteria survive in a highly unique spring located on Axel Heiberg Island in Canada's extreme North. Dr. Lyle Whyte, McGill University microbiologist explains that the Lost Hammer spring supports microbial life, that the spring is similar to possible past or present springs on Mars, and that therefore they too could [...]
Rigel: Megan's Blog
7 Jun 2010, 07:45 UTC
SN 2005E discovery image, discovered by the Lick Observatory Supernova Search CREDIT: LOSSMost supernovae are classified as one of two different types of explosion: single massive short-lived stars that explode when their cores run out of fuel at the end of their lives and undergo gravitational collapse, and old evolved white dwarfs in binary systems which accrete hydrogen from a companion star before exploding catastrophically.; Core collapse supernovae are generally seen only in regions of ongoing star formation since, by stellar standards, their supergiant progenitors do not live for very long. In contrast, type Ia supernovae in binary systems are produced by old, evolved stars and so are seen in all galaxy types, even those which show no signs of recent star formation. However, in the May 20th issue of the journal Nature, two groups of astronomers report stellar explosions with characteristics that do not fit into existing categories of supernovae, and come to very different conclusions about their progenitors.The first event, SN 2005E, was observed in the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 1032 in 2005 and was initially classified as a type Ib (core collapse) supernova based on the chemical elements detected in its optical spectrum soon after explosion. Located ...
In the news this month... a possible new class of supernova
7 Jun 2010, 07:45 UTC
SN 2005E discovery image, discovered by the Lick Observatory Supernova Search CREDIT: LOSSMost supernovae are classified as one of two different types of explosion: single massive short-lived stars that explode when their cores run out of fuel at the end of their lives and undergo gravitational collapse, and old evolved white dwarfs in binary systems which accrete hydrogen from a companion star before exploding catastrophically.; Core collapse supernovae are generally seen only in regions of ongoing star formation since, by stellar standards, their supergiant progenitors do not live for very long. In contrast, type Ia supernovae in binary systems are produced by old, evolved stars and so are seen in all galaxy types, even those which show no signs of recent star formation. However, in the May 20th issue of the journal Nature, two groups of astronomers report stellar explosions with characteristics that do not fit into existing categories of supernovae, and come to very different conclusions about their progenitors.The first event, SN 2005E, was observed in the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 1032 in 2005 and was initially classified as a type Ib (core collapse) supernova based on the chemical elements detected in its optical spectrum soon after explosion. Located ...
The Discovery Enterprise
7 Jun 2010, 07:05 UTC
Today on Discovery Enterprise we continue our whirl wind tour of the wonders of the solar system with episode four of the BBC documentary “Wonders of the Solar System”, presented by Professor Brian Cox.In this episode we join Dr. Cox in the exploration of the terrestrial planets of the solar system. The worlds that surround our planet are all made of rock, but there the similarity ends. Some have
