Ever since the infamous 2006 reclassification of Pluto off the list of “official” planets (which had a rather incendiary effect on many of the distant world’s Earthly fans) the term “planet” has been seen as a variable one, difficult to nail down and apparently able to be given and taken away. But was Pluto ever [...]
Yesterday I reported (see blog entry) further on the case of the misappropriated $35 million in the current National Weather Service budget. At issue is the “reprogramming” of funds within the National Weather Service budget away from one program (primarily AWIPS) to make up for a shortfall in funds needed to meet the agency’s payroll. [...]
The SpaceX Dragon mission splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the southern California coast on Thursday, bringing a successful conclusion to a nine-day test flight. The voyage marked the first U.S.commercial re-supply mission to the six-person International Space Station. With the splashdown shortly before 12 p.m., EDT, SpaceX joined the United States, Russia, Japan [...]
: , . Home Suggest Stories About Us Staff Contact Us Log In Register to Comment Lots of they-did-it ink flows : SpaceX capsule is one-for-one as ISS supply truck . It splashes safely into sea SW of San Diego AP : Arctic air hits a CO2 milestone the rest of use will catch up soon Al Gore gets a comment , ditto two . contrarians Just a shorty here to mark a no-news story , if one defines news as surprises that depart from the norm . But it’s news because it has a big round and previously unseen number in its context : 400. The AP s Seth Borenstein reports on data gathered at the Nat’l Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Boulder , Colo labs and elsewhere that show , over the Arctic , ambient CO2 concentrations are now running at more than 400 parts per million . It goes up every year ,
: . Home Suggest Stories About Us Staff Contact Us Log In Register to Comment Raleigh Observer heats up blog squall reports N . Carolina may ban gov’t plans for faster sea level rise AP : Arctic air hits a CO2 milestone the rest of use will catch up soon Al Gore gets a comment , ditto two . contrarians Lots of they-did-it ink flows : SpaceX capsule is one-for-one as ISS supply truck . It splashes safely into sea SW of San Diego Photo Space X via AP On only its second flight to orbit and first chance to extend its legs for useful work , the privately-developed SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher did its job and , more important , its Dragon space capsule just parachuted into the Pacific Ocean with a load of trash and used , return cargo from the Int’l Space Station . As this site followed the runup to
: , Subscribe Today Renew Give a Gift Archives Customer Service Facebook Twitter Newsletter SEARCH Health Medicine Mind Brain Technology Space Human Origins Living World Environment Physics Math Video Photos Podcast RSS History is made as Dragon splashes down safely in the Pacific Hold on tight : in 4 billion years , we’re due for a galactic collision The galaxy we live in , the Milky Way , is a large spiral galaxy that lives in a small cluster of other galaxies called the Local Group . The other big member is the Andromeda galaxy , located about 2.5 million light years away . That’s a long way off , but we’ve known for a long time that Andromeda is heading more or less toward us at a speed of roughly 100 km sec 60 miles second The question is , is it headed directly at us , or does it
Astronomers have known for years that our Milky Way and its closest neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy, (a.k.a M31) are being pulled together in a gravitational dance, but no one was sure whether the galaxies would collide head-on or glide past one another. Precise measurements from the Hubble Space Telescope have now confirmed that the two [...]
Severe weather is moving into the Houston area a little ahead of schedule. A cluster of thunderstorms moving eastward across central Texas has now reached western parts of Harris County. Accordingly, for parts of the Houston region, there is now a severe thunderstorm and tornado warning in effect until 1:45 p.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively. [...]
Concluding a perfectly executed and history making test flight, the first private spacecraft ever to visit and dock at the International Space Station (ISS) performed a picture perfect splashdown at 11:42 a.m. EDT today, May 31, in the Pacific Ocean, off the west coast of Baja, California, some 560 miles southwest of Los Angeles to [...]
It’s been a busy time in the commercial spaceflight arena. The headline news, of course, has been the successful flight to the International Space Station by SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which completed its mission this morning by splashing down into the Pacific Ocean of the Baja Peninsula — right on target. To make its landing the [...]
Home Suggest Stories About Us Staff Contact Us Log In Register to Comment NYC’s ban on big drinks : Will it reduce obesity Raleigh Observer heats up blog squall reports N . Carolina may ban gov’t plans for faster sea level rise So what IS wrong with British science journalism Source : Wikimedia Commons Earlier this month , the Slate science writer Dan Engber noticed a story circulating in the British media regarding the so-called five second rule” the idea that if dropped food is only on the floor for a few seconds , bacteria don’t have a chance to swarm . it Wait , he thought , hasn’t that whole idea been discredited But then he noticed that the new study was funded by a cleaning products company . That fact and the fact that the industry-subsidized work was getting such attention led
History’s first commercial cargo ship ever to visit the International Space Station (ISS) has safely and successfully departed the orbiting lab complex after astronauts released the craft from the grip of the station’s robotic arm at 5:49 a.m. EST (949 GMT) this morning, May 31, 2012 for the return trip to Earth to conclude a [...]
Yet again young amateur astronomers are helping scientists with real science.
While there’s an impressive looking cluster of thunderstorms over north central Texas, don’t expect that system to hold together long enough to bring meaningful rain to the greater Houston area, says the National Weather Service. Instead our rain chances will come later this afternoon and evening when a cool front should reach the area. The weather [...]
: Home Suggest Stories About Us Staff Contact Us Log In Register to Comment Enlightenment’s dreams of science as dogma buster go poof Or , climate skepticism isn’t same as ignorance NYC’s ban on big drinks : Will it reduce obesity New York City Michael Bloomberg is all over the news this morning in the wake of a press conference yesterday at which he proposed a ban on large soft drinks , sugary fruit drinks and sweetened coffee , in an effort to help curb obesity . The proposed ban would cover any sugary drink larger than 16 ounces . For those of you who guzzle diet sodas by the quart , there’s no reason for concern . Diet drinks are excluded , as are milkshakes and those sickeningly sweet blue alcoholic concoctions with little umbrellas . Bloomberg described the ban as an example of doing
Although it’s not a great chance, Houston has its best chance of rain in two weeks tomorrow and early Friday as a front nears and possibly moves through the area. There’s also a decent chance of severe weather, moreso for inland than coastal areas, says the National Weather Service. Here’s their forecast: The front coupled [...]
Want to see your name up in lights? How about harnessing galaxies to send a message? There's a website for that, thanks to University of Nottingham astronomer Steven Bamford and Galaxy Zoo's legions of virtual sky-searchers. "My Galaxies" lets you spell out anything you want, usi hellip;
Subscribe Today Renew Give a Gift Archives Customer Service Facebook Twitter Newsletter SEARCH Health Medicine Mind Brain Technology Space Human Origins Living World Environment Physics Math Video Photos Podcast RSS The art of exploring Mars Video of the daylight California fireball Timeline for the fall of the Dragon Tomorrow morning , Thursday May 31, the SpaceX Dragon capsule will undock from the International Space Station , perform a series of maneuvers , and then come back home to Earth . Over at The Planetary Society Blog Jason Davis has a great writeup giving the times of the key events . The preliminary stuff happens in the middle of the night for me in Colorado , but the actual descent to Earth happens at a much more palatable time . At 14:51 UTC 10:51 a.m . Eastern US time the
The International Space Station crew gathered Wednesday to prepare the SpaceX Dragon capsule for its departure, with only a Pacific Ocean splashdown and recovery standing in the way of a successful conclusion of the first U. S.commercial re-supply mission to the orbiting science lab. The Dragon capsule will splashdown about 550 miles southwest of [...]
: Home Suggest Stories About Us Staff Contact Us Log In Register to Comment All Fracked Up Enlightenment’s dreams of science as dogma buster go poof Or , climate skepticism isn’t same as ignorance E E Greenwire : An atonment for the Forest Service’s past sins” The cascading species shift in Eastern US forests One is accustomed to reading of the tinderboxes partly attributable to overactive fire suppression in the drier Rocky Mountains and Far West of the US . At Environment Energy Daily’s Greenwire public feed yesterday reporter Paul Voosen takes readers for a vivid visit with foresters in the east who see the same thing He starts off with and 11-word , 13-syllable lede : It was a rare patch of sunlight in a dark forest” then relates how the Ozark National Forest , one example among many 
Home Suggest Stories About Us Staff Contact Us Log In Register to Comment Lots of Ink : Always a tiny bit radioactive , Bluefin tuna carry a new signature : Fukushima E E Greenwire : An atonment for the Forest Service’s past sins” The cascading species shift in Eastern US forests All Fracked Up Source : Wikimedia Commons About ten days ago , the University of Buffalo released a peer-reviewed study or so it described it at that moment which seemed to cast a positive light on the way regulators were able to managing the risks of the controversial method of gas extraction known as . fracking The researchers at Buffalo’s Shale Resources and Society Institute had analyzed fracking in Pennsylvania and found that increased regulation was , indeed , making it safer . They cited a pattern of fewer
Intelsat, the world’s leading provider of satellite services, has announced the first commercial contract for the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
“SpaceX is very proud to have the confidence of Intelsat, a leader in the satellite communication services industry,” said Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer.” The Falcon Heavy has more than twice the power of [...]
China is readying its crew-carrying Shenzhou-9 spacecraft to conduct that country’s first piloted docking mission. Shenzhou-9 will have three astronauts onboard – a crew that may include a woman — to manually rendezvous and dock with the already orbiting Tiangong-1. Last year, China’s unpiloted Shennzhou-8 docked with the Tiangong-1as a step toward the upcoming mission, [...]
Subscribe Today Renew Give a Gift Archives Customer Service Facebook Twitter Newsletter SEARCH Health Medicine Mind Brain Technology Space Human Origins Living World Environment Physics Math Video Photos Podcast RSS Another tiny rock will pass Earth tomorrow Victoria , Australia government wants to stop free pertussis vaccines Rainbow Pinwheel galaxy I have no shame in admitting I love face-on spiral galaxies . Scientifically , of course , they’re fascinating spread out in front of us are all the inner workings of a galaxy . It’s like having an X-ray of human body in front of you , making it easier to understand anatomy . But their beauty well . The scope and grandeur of a face-on spiral is unparalleled , I think , in astronomy , or perhaps any field of science . But don’t take my word on
Welcome to your weekly weather update, in which I’ll attempt to sum up the immediate past, present and future of weather on the bayou. PAST The full effect of those early May rains have finally showed up in the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor, published last Thursday. In this report we can see that the [...]
Subscribe Today Renew Give a Gift Archives Customer Service Facebook Twitter Newsletter SEARCH Health Medicine Mind Brain Technology Space Human Origins Living World Environment Physics Math Video Photos Podcast RSS Memorial Day 2012 Rainbow Pinwheel galaxy Another tiny rock will pass Earth tomorrow tl dr A small 5-10 meter asteroid will pass us tomorrow it poses no danger to us . UPDATE May 29, 16:30 UTC The JPL website for this asteroid has been updated the rock passed us at the predicted distance of about 14,500 km from the Earth's surface . The new numbers use 50 observations of the asteroid the earlier orbit calculations used far fewer so this looks pretty solid to me . As we knew all along , it was a close pass , but nothing to worry about . I recently wrote about near-Earth asteroid
, Subscribe Today Renew Give a Gift Archives Customer Service Facebook Twitter Newsletter SEARCH Health Medicine Mind Brain Technology Space Human Origins Living World Environment Physics Math Video Photos Podcast RSS Your last chance to see Venus for the next few weeks Memorial Day 2012 Dragon hunting above , dragon hunting below On May 23 the day after the SpaceX Dragon capsule launch International Space Station astronaut André Kuipers snapped this shot of the : Earth Click to ensmaugenate . André who’s Dutch put this up with the caption Er zit een draak achter ons aan There’s a dragon after us That’s a funny pun , given the name of the capsule that was already on its way . there But he didn’t say what this feature was I wanted to find out , and wound up with a fun . story Because I was
Subscribe Today Renew Give a Gift Archives Customer Service Facebook Twitter Newsletter SEARCH Health Medicine Mind Brain Technology Space Human Origins Living World Environment Physics Math Video Photos Podcast RSS In which I SEE the light Dragon hunting above , dragon hunting below Your last chance to see Venus for the next few weeks As I usually do when I go outside at twilight , I glanced over to the west to look for Venus and it was much lower toward the horizon than I was expecting . I shouldn’t have been surprised in two weeks it’s due for a close encounter with the Sun . On June 5 6, it’ll pass directly between us and the Sun in an event called a transit . I’ll have more info on that later , though you can read up about it at the Transit of Venus website I set up my binoculars and
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft successfully rendezvoused and berthed with the International Space Station on Friday, accomplishing the first cargo delivery by a U. S.commercial supplier. The milestone was a significant step in the push by U. S.policy makers to turn over the cargo and crew transport responsibilities once assigned to NASA’s space shuttle [...]Today's first post-shuttle visit to the International Space Station by a U.S.-made spaceship won high-level praise from the White House, NASA Headquarters, Congress and other circles. Here's a sampling of the reaction:
White House science adviser John Holdren:
Home Suggest Stories About Us Staff Contact Us Log In Register to Comment AP etc : Solar powered airplane , a gossamer thing but it does have a pilot , heads for North Africa Media buildup for Transit of Venus in first week of June 2004 Transit snapshots Once upon a time , centuries ago , it was big news among scientists even though they didn’t call themselves scientists yet to be able to predict when the planet Venus would cross the face of the Sun as seen from Earth . The first was predicted , for the event of 1631, by Johannes Kepler , namesake to NASA’s exo-planet hunting Kepler telescope , They are rare events . They became even more enticing when solar system mapmakers realized they could calculate the sizes of and distances among Sun and planets by watching it from different places
Subscribe Today Renew Give a Gift Archives Customer Service Facebook Twitter Newsletter SEARCH Health Medicine Mind Brain Technology Space Human Origins Living World Environment Physics Math Video Photos Podcast RSS When a Dragon mated the space station In which I SEE the light Small asteroid to buzz Earth on May 28 Asteroid 2012 KP 24 a smallish rock about 25 meters 80 feet across , will pass pretty close to the Earth on May 28, buzzing us at a distance of about 30,000 kilometers 18,000 miles 51,000 kilometers 32,000 miles Note : the numbers at JPL have updated , making the pass a bit farther out than the numbers I originally used That’s close as passes go , but still a clean . miss Closest approach is at about 15:00 UTC 11:00 a.m . Eastern US time on May 28. It’ll actually pass Earth
: , , Home Suggest Stories About Us Staff Contact Us Log In Register to Comment Nace Materia” ambiciosa plataforma de periodismo científico en español impulsada por los antiguos integrantes de la sección de ciencia de Público Media buildup for Transit of Venus in first week of June AP etc : Solar powered airplane , a gossamer thing but it does have a pilot , heads for North Africa Manufacturers of jet engines have nothing to worry about but a no-combustion , solar powered airplane and its pilot plus about half a ton of lithium-polymer batteries for night flying are making their way toward Morocco after takeoff from Switzerland . So far , they’ve gotten to Spain and have landed for a rest stop . The pilot is Bertrand Piccard , a 3rd generation member of a family that practically has the
Subscribe Today Renew Give a Gift Archives Customer Service Facebook Twitter Newsletter SEARCH Health Medicine Mind Brain Technology Space Human Origins Living World Environment Physics Math Video Photos Podcast RSS Dragon is approaching the space station UPDATED : CAPTURED Small asteroid to buzz Earth on May 28 When a Dragon mated the space station At 16:02 UTC , Friday , May 25, 2012, the SpaceX Dragon officially became the first privately-owned commercial spacecraft to be captured by and berthed at the International Space Station . It is if I’ve done the math correctly the 114th spacecraft to dock with ISS , including the missions sent up to build the station . It is the first privately-owned commercial spacecraft in history to do . so You can read more about this in my last post which
Today's arrival of a cargo spaceship at the International Space Station wasn't your typical outer-space delivery run: It was an emotional experience for any of the folks who watched ASA's webcast of the SpaceX Dragon's approach.
"I'm not going to lie, I'm a little cho hellip;
: Subscribe Today Renew Give a Gift Archives Customer Service Facebook Twitter Newsletter SEARCH Health Medicine Mind Brain Technology Space Human Origins Living World Environment Physics Math Video Photos Podcast RSS Update : the Dragon capsule as seen by the ISS When a Dragon mated the space station Dragon is approaching the space station UPDATED : CAPTURED UPDATE : ISS has captured the Dragon That's not a sim That's the Dragon capsule held by the ISS robot arm , 30 minutes after capture . See the notes below The SpaceX Dragon capsule is currently on approach to the International Space Station . As I write this 13:00 UTC it is about 50 meters away and moving in . NASA has a live feed that I am embedding : here You may need to refresh this page to see it . Dragon had approached to 30
The International Space Station's crew reached out today with a robotic arm to grab SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule and brought it in for the orbital outpost's first-ever hookup with a commercial spaceship.
It marks the station's first linkup with a U.S.-made spacecraft since last hellip;
: Subscribe Today Renew Give a Gift Archives Customer Service Facebook Twitter Newsletter SEARCH Health Medicine Mind Brain Technology Space Human Origins Living World Environment Physics Math Video Photos Podcast RSS Obi Wan better watch his back Dragon is approaching the space station UPDATED : CAPTURED Update : the Dragon capsule as seen by the ISS Just a quick update : a new series of pictures of the Dragon capsule as seen by astronauts aboard the International Space Station has just been released , and they’re way cool . Here’s : one Click to embiggen . Earlier today Dragon passed just 2.4 kilometers 1.5 miles from the station , performing a series of tasks to make sure it was ready to dock with ISS tomorrow . I’m sure the folks at SpaceX are poring over these images to make sure
Subscribe Today Renew Give a Gift Archives Customer Service Facebook Twitter Newsletter SEARCH Health Medicine Mind Brain Technology Space Human Origins Living World Environment Physics Math Video Photos Podcast RSS SpaceX Dragon capsule buzzed the space station Update : the Dragon capsule as seen by the ISS Obi Wan better watch his back It’s a tough time to be a science fiction hero . Just look at the headlines for proof First , there’s this Honestly , that’s not surprising . He does seem to get into trouble wherever he goes . So misunderstood . But it would’ve been interesting to know where the TARDIS materialized in that . situation This next one though is clearly her own : fault Not that I blame her . I’ve spent many an hour alone in an observatory , and I imagine the Astrometrics Lab
Subscribe Today Renew Give a Gift Archives Customer Service Facebook Twitter Newsletter SEARCH Health Medicine Mind Brain Technology Space Human Origins Living World Environment Physics Math Video Photos Podcast RSS Mars craters are sublime Obi Wan better watch his back SpaceX Dragon capsule buzzed the space station Early this morning , the SpaceX Dragon capsule passed just 2.4 kilometers below the International Space Station , completing another critical step in its mission profile that’ll lead to it docking with the orbiting station Friday . morning From the station , astronauts captured video as the capsule cruised : by You may need to refresh this page to see the video load . Very , very cool . You can see the Dragon capsule in this video frame grab : it’s in the lower left corner ,
The unpiloted SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carried out a successful flyby of the International Space Staton early Thursday, a milestone in the company’s bid to achieve the first U. S. commercial re-supply mission to the orbiting science laboratory. The four hour operation sent the capsule sailing a mile and a half below the six person [...]
, Subscribe Today Renew Give a Gift Archives Customer Service Facebook Twitter Newsletter SEARCH Health Medicine Mind Brain Technology Space Human Origins Living World Environment Physics Math Video Photos Podcast RSS Cateidolia Mars craters are sublime OK , one more eclipse shot I’ve posted a lot of stuff about Sunday’s annular eclipse see Related Links below and I figured I was done but then I got a pretty remarkable picture sent to me . During the eclipse , in northern California , two men sent a small 6 cubic meter helium-filled balloon up to 90,000 feet roughly 27 km Equipped with a camera and an ingenious system that used puffs of gas to orient the payload , they took this pretty amazing shot of the eclipse : Click to penumbrenate . That’s the Earth on the left duh and on the upper
Subscribe Today Renew Give a Gift Archives Customer Service Facebook Twitter Newsletter SEARCH Health Medicine Mind Brain Technology Space Human Origins Living World Environment Physics Math Video Photos Podcast RSS A fake and a real view of the solar eclipse FROM SPACE Saturn , surreally SpaceX Dragon on its way to the ISS At 07:44 UTC , May 22, 2012, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket thundered into space carrying the Dragon capsule into orbit . So first , holy wow , and yay That’s fantastic news This was the second attempt , after a glitchy valve caused a launch abort a few days ago . This morning’s launch went very smoothly . After achieving orbit , the uncrewed Dragon craft decoupled from the rocket and successfully deployed its solar panels , a key milestone in the mission . When that happened
Subscribe Today Renew Give a Gift Archives Customer Service Facebook Twitter Newsletter SEARCH Health Medicine Mind Brain Technology Space Human Origins Living World Environment Physics Math Video Photos Podcast RSS Gallery : When the Moon ate most of the Sun SpaceX Dragon on its way to the ISS A fake and a real view of the solar eclipse FROM SPACE First : CONGRAT S to SpaceX for the successful launch of the Falcon 9 and deployment of the Dragon capsule Everything looked great and things are apparently going smoothly . You can watch the whole thing here and I'll have more about all this in a little while . Until then , back to your regularly scheduled blog post . Over the past couple of days , a lot of people are passing this image around , saying it’s from the eclipse Sunday , taken by an
Flying on the International Space Station is the world's biggest high, and a series of psychedelic time-exposure images engineered by NASA astronaut Don Pettit proves it.
This picture, showing the station's truss structure in the foreground and Earth's airglow in the background, hellip;