[Note: Every week I hold a live video chat on Google+ where I answer questions from readers. I call it Q&BA, and when I get a question that stands alone, I'll make it its own video. ] A lot of people, it seems, have morbid thoughts about space. Why else would I get asked this [...]
: . . Home Suggest Stories About Us Staff Contact Us Log In Register to Comment Washington Post : NASA’s first , tragic reminder that space ships are dangerous NYTimes Science Times : Mammals that poison Ta-DA pal , you’re circumicised Hope diamond lab test our dun-EE-suh-vin kinfolk Lots of Ink : The Everglades death toll now apparent . Giant snakes are cleaning the place out of anything big and still . alive This one had a 6' alligator inside For awhile now the news of pythons and other huge constrictors breeding in the swamps of southern Florida could be put in the brain’s slot for drolly amusing scenes from horror movies . Mankind’s carelessness and hubris , creepy creatures , and brave rangers and police officers tracking them down while local golfers know that water hazard” is not
Russia says “eish odin ras”* for its Mars moon lander mission, according to Roscomos chief Vladimir Popovkin. If the European Space Agency does not include Russia in its ExoMars program, a two-mission plan to explore Mars via orbiter and lander and then with twin rovers (slated to launch in 2016 and 2018, respectively), Roscosmos will try [...]
Current Price: $469.99Buy It Now Price: $516.99Bids: 0 Silver 4.5" GPS 'GoTo' Computerized Reflector Telescope 114mm (4.5 inches) objective mirror Focal Length: 500mm (20 inches) F Ratio: 4.4 (that is perfect for wide-field, deep-space observing!) Plossl 25mm Eyepiece Plossl 10mm Eyepiece Dust Free Eyepiece Cleaning Cloth iOptron SmartStar-A Computer Controlled Combination Altazimuth and Equatorial Mount [...]
The next two launches of crews to the International Space Station will each be postponed by about 45 days, due to an air leak found during testing of the descent module of the Soyuz spacecraft. An official from the Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, said they will need to build a reserve capsule, and they will [...]
There’s been a lot of concern expressed about the state of NASA’s rocket program in recent months, especially since the space agancy announced its plan to develop a heavy-lift vehicle. Paul Spudis declared last year an Annus Horribilis for the space agency. Wayne Hale asked Whither America’s Space Program? And this weekend I wrote an [...]
: , Home Suggest Stories About Us Staff Contact Us Log In Register to Comment New Scientist How long before green energy becomes just energy source to be capped Lots of Ink : The Everglades death toll now apparent . Giant snakes are cleaning the place out of anything big and still . alive Washington Post : NASA’s first , tragic reminder that space ships are dangerous Four days ago we received notice that the Washington Post s Brian Vastag had a melancholy , powerful story on the anniversary of the Apollo capsule fire It struck 45 years ago during a routine test on the launch pad and with no blast off yet on the schedule . I finally got around to reading his look-back at what the day was like , as recounted by the former wire service reporter who was NASA press officer on . duty It is a
When it comes to space, the first thing most people think of is NASA. Or Russia and the European Space Agency, or even more recently, countries like China and Japan. In the public eye, Canada has tended to be a bit farther down on the list. There is the Canadian Space Agency, but it is [...]
This image of the zodiacal light was taken by Felipe Gallego on January 23, 2012 near the natural park of Sierra Norte de Sevilla in Spain. Zodiacal light appears as a faint, diffused, triangular, white glow extending up from the vicinity of the Sun along the ecliptic or zodiac. Ideally, zodiacal light can be seen [...]
An amazing panorama revealing Western Europe’s ‘Cities at Night’ with hardware from the stations robotic ‘hand’ and solar arrays in the foreground was captured by the crew in a beautiful new image showing millions of Earth’s inhabitants from the Earth-orbiting International Space Station (ISS). The sweeping panoramic vista shows several Western European countries starting with [...]
This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by our very own Ray Sanders at his very own website, Dear Astronomer Click here to read the Carnival of Space #234. And if you’re interested in looking back, here’s an archive to all the past Carnivals of Space. If you’ve got a space-related blog, you should really [...]
Spektr-R Zenit 2 rocket tumbling from Ralf Vandebergh on Vimeo. Ralf Vandebergh captured this unique show made by a Zenit rocket second stage. The rocket was recorded while it was tumbling as it passed through the field of Ralf’s 10 inch Newtonian telescope. This rocket launched the Russian Spektr-R radiotelescope. “I think this is amazing [...]
As the bright Mars-crossing asteroid 433 Eros makes its closest approach to Earth since 1975, astronomers around the globe are taking the opportunity to measure its position in the sky, thereby fine-tuning our working knowledge of distances in the solar system. Using the optical principle of parallax, whereby different viewpoints of the same object show [...]A few years ago, I started doing a weekly video question-and-answer session I called "Q & BA". It was a series of short videos that were a lot of fun to make. Unfortunately, the overhead got to be too high — it took all day to edit them! — and I had to stop. But [...]
Home Suggest Stories About Us Staff Contact Us Log In Register to Comment Wall Street Journal : No need for global warming panic Daily Mail : Forget global warming James Hansen Don’t forget , and get . busy New Scientist How long before green energy becomes just energy source to be capped Artist : Andy Potts What a terrific story . New Scientist’ s Anil Ananthaswamy throws his vision into full-fisheye , wide-angle mode to put human use of energy into long term future-history context Do that , he writes , and it starts to become clear that at some point , there can be too much energy even if it is all green energy . This is an outlier scenario that puts today’s arguments over the price of energy both directly economic and indirectly environmental into sharper . focus The theme question
As Cassini weaves its way around the multiple moons of Saturn, it’s not really a coincidence when one gets in the way of another. As a matter of fact, it’s a guarantee. These are called mutual events, and when Cassini dove past Dione, it saw this terrific view of Mimas peeking out from behind it: [...]
I know I’ve been writing about the Sun quite a bit lately, but I have a followup to yesterday’s cool video of the big solar flare… and you’re gonna like it. I was fooling around with helioviewer.org, watching the flare in different wavelengths of light detected by NASA’s Solar Dynamics observatory, when I switched to [...]
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This striking “Blue Marble” image of the Earth was taken January 4th by NASA’s newest Earth-observing satellite, the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP). The satellite was named after the late Verner E. Suomi, a meteorologist at the University of Wisconsin who [...]
Active Region 1402, the same sunspot cluster that blew out a solar flare and caused all the ruckus last week, is still being feisty: just before rotating to the other side of the Sun, it erupted in an intense, pulsing solar flare that actually was much more powerful than the one that happened last Monday. [...]
Scientists showed off the largest-scale color map of the universe in 3-D this month, as part of an effort to determine how matter has clumped together over the past few billion years.
The sunspot responsible for setting off a colorful round of northern lights over the past week got off a doozy of a parting shot today, just as it was about to pass around the edge of the sun's disk.
Sunspot 1402 let loose with an X-class flare, the most powerful class of solar o hellip;
: , , Home Suggest Stories About Us Staff Contact Us Log In Register to Comment Reuters : The Russian captain of the tanker that rescued Nome talks AP : Thai taste for bushmeat , pachyderm division , threatens species From Bangkok comes what the AP says is an exclusive story , and is definitely a good example of how to use a dramatic development to illuminate a larger , chronic issue . The development , writes reporter Thanyarat Doksone is that an official of Thailand’s wildlife agency reports that poachers are not only killing Asian elephants for their tusks , but their meat , giblets , sweetmeats , and other edible parts . The issue is the near-global concern that growing , hungry human populations may eat many endangered species out of . existence The story illustrates the sort of small
: Home Suggest Stories About Us Staff Contact Us Log In Register to Comment Clueless coverage of GOP candidates’ blather about US space program AP : Thai taste for bushmeat , pachyderm division , threatens species Reuters : The Russian captain of the tanker that rescued Nome talks Nice piece here of enterprise writing about the Russian rush to make money in the Arctic Ocean . alliteration is wit almost as cheap as puns . Almost but not quite . I try to draw the line at puns . Reuters s A lbina Kovalyova and Alissa de Carbonnel spoke with the captain of the Russian tanker that just delivered fuel oil to Nome , Alaska with the help of the overworked USCG ice breaker Healey They filed from Severodvinsk after reaching the skipper by phone in Vladivostok . A tagline credit goes to reporter
Next month space enthusiasts will hold the 2nd Annual SpaceUp Houston Unconference to discuss space exploration and radical ideas for how we might go about doing this. The event will feature eight discussion sessions held over two days, a Space Show & Tell as well as feature innovations from Johnson Space Center and the community. [...]
Home Suggest Stories About Us Staff Contact Us Log In Register to Comment Phil . Inquirer : Did New Scientist just say cosmologists figure the big answer is god Clueless coverage of GOP candidates’ blather about US space program Lunar Newt via jubbling.com , tinyurl.com 8xnryeb The last week has seen intense coverage from Florida of the two main remaining contenders sparring over how they would revive and invigorate NASA . Last night I watched the latest debate , in which Newt Gingrich repeated his intention to use prizes as one way to get private industry to pour big dollars into entrepreneurial efforts . He implied that a colony on the moon within ten years or less might be one result . And I watched as Mitt Romney said something smart in reply : it is ludicrous to think private
Because I was on the road Wednesday night, I missed the first few hours of reaction to Newt Gingrich’s speech in Florida, when he said he wants to have a permanent station on the Moon "by the end of my second term". It wasn’t until Thursday morning that I opened up my web browser and [...]
NASA’s Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft is more than two billion miles from home. Even at that distance, Earth controllers this month have woken up the probe from hibernation, as well as successfully test the New Horizons Radio Science Experiment (REX). That test took advantage of an Earth-moon-spacecraft alignment to simulate atmospheric measurements “REX” will make [...]
. : Home Suggest Stories About Us Staff Contact Us Log In Register to Comment AP , etc : USDA gardening map adjusted . PR lady says global warming No nothing like that ha ha . But it is . Clueless coverage of GOP candidates’ blather about US space program Phil . Inquirer : Did New Scientist just say cosmologists figure the big answer is god At the Philadelphia Inquirer the clever Faye Flam went into full deconstruction mode on Monday quarreling with creationists’ glee over their declaration that big shot scientists just stumbled across the creator . She did so in her column , Planet of the Apes , which revolves around evolution issues and , one has to say , cosmic evolution surely can be squeezed in among . them The news she parses is that a big meeting in the UK among cosmologists led to
If you live nearly anywhere on Earth — those of you north of 73° you’re out of luck, but I’m guessing there aren’t many of you! — and look to the southeast shortly after sunset, you’ll see the figure of Orion. Follow the three belt stars to the east, and you’ll see a bright star: [...]
President Obama joined with NASA on Thursday to honor the aspirations and sacrifice of the 17 astronauts who perished aboard the shuttles Columbia and Challenger and in the Apollo 1 fire as they pushed the boundaries of exploration for the United States of America and the citizens of all nations. NASA’s Day [...]
, : . . . Home Suggest Stories About Us Staff Contact Us Log In Register to Comment Inter Press Service : Biodiesel far worse on climate than the regular kind AP , etc : USDA gardening map adjusted . PR lady says global warming No nothing like that ha ha . But it is . A little announcement at the National Arboretum in DC , about a new version of the handy climate zone maps that the USDA and its Agricultural Research Service publishes to help home gardeners and others know whether figs , peonies , or passion flower vines will do well in the yard , included a delightful round of fast-talking . That is , if the AP s Seth Borenstein got it right , and he’s a diligent reporter AP has a video by Lee Powell on the news , . too Now , he could have written portentiously that the affair reflects
As I’ve been telling you it would happen for several days, the city of Houston got a tremendous soaking on Wednesday. The final totals are not yet in, but it looks like most of Harris County will end up with between 1 and 4 inches of rain. Before we get to what was, it’s worth [...]
The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for areas south of Houston, including Pearland and Friendswood. The areas in the following map are under a warning until 12:45 p.m. CT. The reported tornado was near Manvel and moving to the east at 25 mph.
U. S.and European high school student teams prevailed in a competition this week aboard the International Space Station involving a trio of colorful robotic spheres involved in the simulated exploration of an asteroid. In all, 36 teams competed in the third annual Zero Robotics SPHERES challenge, which was orchestrated by the Massachusetts Institute [...]
Just before Halloween last year, NASA launched into orbit the improbably named National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project, which they thankfully shortened to NPP. In its low 800 km (500 mile) orbit it looks down at the Earth to investigate our environment. It only sees a portion of the Earth at any one [...]
The first supernova of the year was spotted a couple of weeks ago: Supernova 2012A, in the galaxy NGC 3239 in the constellation of Leo. Adam Block of the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter took a phenomenal image of it: [Click to corecollapsenate.] Funny, the supernova isn’t what you’d expect; it’s not that really bright star (which [...]
Talk about your sunny disposition! The Sun is brewing with activity following one of the longest and weakest periods of action in many cycles In late January 2012, our nearest star offered a preview of coming attractions in the solar maximum of 2012–13. The Sun-spurred storm has the potential to disrupt some communications and satellite [...]
The solar storm that erupted from the Sun yesterday reached the Earth today at about 15:00 UTC (10:00 a.m. Eastern US time). The wave of subatomic particles has been impacting the Earth’s magnetic field, and we’re starting to see some auroral activity: Isn’t that lovely? That was taken at 18:00 UTC today from a webcam [...]
We've been talking a lot about the northern lights lately, but here's a must-see view of the southern lights, as captured by the crew of the International Space Station on Jan.
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[Apologies, folks, I totally forgot to update this post with the link. Hopefully most of you figured out how to find it. I'll do better next time; I'll make a checklist. ] I will be doing a live video chat session — what I call Q&BA — on Google+ today at 20:00 UTC (3:00 p.m. [...]Did you hear the one about the planet that's boiling away? Astronomers working with data from NASA's Kepler planet-hunting telescope say they're seeing evidence that a star system 1,500 light-years from Earth has a "super-Mercury" orbiting less than a million miles from its sun.
Home Blog Advertise The Sky This Month The Moon This Month Astronomy News Astrobiology Magazine News Astronomy Picture of the Day BBC Science News CNN Space News Earth Observatory News Eurekalert Astronomy Space News European Southern Observatory News European Space Agency News Gemini Observatory News Hubble Space Telescope News JPL News Kepler Telescope News Lunar and Planetary Institute News MSNBC Space News NASA Breaking News NASA PlanetQuest News NASA TV National Geographic News PBS Nova News Science at NASA News Scientific American News Space Shuttle News Space Today News STEREO Solar Mission News The Astronomer’s Telegram News The Space Show Wired Science News Astronomy Podcasts 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast Astronomy Cast Podcast Astronomy Magazine Podcast Earth Sky Podcast
Home Blog Advertise The Sky This Month The Moon This Month Astronomy News Astrobiology Magazine News Astronomy Picture of the Day BBC Science News CNN Space News Earth Observatory News Eurekalert Astronomy Space News European Southern Observatory News European Space Agency News Gemini Observatory News Hubble Space Telescope News JPL News Kepler Telescope News Lunar and Planetary Institute News MSNBC Space News NASA Breaking News NASA PlanetQuest News NASA TV National Geographic News PBS Nova News Science at NASA News Scientific American News Space Shuttle News Space Today News STEREO Solar Mission News The Astronomer’s Telegram News The Space Show Wired Science News Astronomy Podcasts 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast Astronomy Cast Podcast Astronomy Magazine Podcast Earth Sky Podcast
Home Blog Advertise The Sky This Month The Moon This Month Astronomy News Astrobiology Magazine News Astronomy Picture of the Day BBC Science News CNN Space News Earth Observatory News Eurekalert Astronomy Space News European Southern Observatory News European Space Agency News Gemini Observatory News Hubble Space Telescope News JPL News Kepler Telescope News Lunar and Planetary Institute News MSNBC Space News NASA Breaking News NASA PlanetQuest News NASA TV National Geographic News PBS Nova News Science at NASA News Scientific American News Space Shuttle News Space Today News STEREO Solar Mission News The Astronomer’s Telegram News The Space Show Wired Science News Astronomy Podcasts 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast Astronomy Cast Podcast Astronomy Magazine Podcast Earth Sky Podcast
Home Blog Advertise The Sky This Month The Moon This Month Astronomy News Astrobiology Magazine News Astronomy Picture of the Day BBC Science News CNN Space News Earth Observatory News Eurekalert Astronomy Space News European Southern Observatory News European Space Agency News Gemini Observatory News Hubble Space Telescope News JPL News Kepler Telescope News Lunar and Planetary Institute News MSNBC Space News NASA Breaking News NASA PlanetQuest News NASA TV National Geographic News PBS Nova News Science at NASA News Scientific American News Space Shuttle News Space Today News STEREO Solar Mission News The Astronomer’s Telegram News The Space Show Wired Science News Astronomy Podcasts 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast Astronomy Cast Podcast Astronomy Magazine Podcast Earth Sky Podcast
Home Blog Advertise The Sky This Month The Moon This Month Astronomy News Astrobiology Magazine News Astronomy Picture of the Day BBC Science News CNN Space News Earth Observatory News Eurekalert Astronomy Space News European Southern Observatory News European Space Agency News Gemini Observatory News Hubble Space Telescope News JPL News Kepler Telescope News Lunar and Planetary Institute News MSNBC Space News NASA Breaking News NASA PlanetQuest News NASA TV National Geographic News PBS Nova News Science at NASA News Scientific American News Space Shuttle News Space Today News STEREO Solar Mission News The Astronomer’s Telegram News The Space Show Wired Science News Astronomy Podcasts 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast Astronomy Cast Podcast Astronomy Magazine Podcast Earth Sky Podcast
The National Space Society (NSS) is proud to announce that LtCol Paul E. Damphousse USMC (Ret) has been named Executive Director effective January 1, 2012. The appointment of LtCol Damphousse coincides with the 25th anniversary of the 1987 merger of the National Space Institute (NSI) and the L5 Society to form the National Space Society.
“Since [...]