Monday, January 31, 2005

Comet Machholz update...

"With the bright Moon waning, now is a good time to see Comet Machholz again. Step outside after sunset and face north. You'll find the comet near the W-shaped constellation Cassiopeia. It looks like a faint fuzzball, barely visible to the unaided eye but an easy target for binoculars or a small telescope."

Visit SpaceWeather.com for sky maps and pictures. Also, check out Sky And Telescope.

Fireball over Madrid, Spain...

"MADRID (AFP) - Residents of the area near Madrid airport reported seeing a ball of fire explode and disintregrate in skies over the Spanish capital overnight, security services said."

Thursday, January 27, 2005

Cambodian meteorite sparks fires...

A meteorite landed in Cambodia sparking fires and prayers. Some farmers were angry at the rock because it set fire to their rice paddies...


Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Asteroid named for Douglas Adams

The "Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" mastermind Douglas Adams has been further immortalized with an asteroid bearing a fitting designation - "2001 DA42".


Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Hubble, we hardly knew ye...

The debate rages on with what to do with Hubble. Now, it seems, the plan is to dump it in the Pacific with no immediate replacement...

Update: Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has joined the fight with Senator Barbara Mikulski (Also, D-MD) and has released a statement in support of Hubble.

Thursday, January 20, 2005

Mars rover finds meteorite

"LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- NASA's Opportunity rover has determined that a strange bubbly rock on the surface of Mars is actually a meteorite, offering a new clue into how the Martian surface is made and remade."


Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Ancient Astronomer's Work Found on Roman Statue

"SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - A Roman statue of Atlas -- the mythical titan who carried the heavens on his shoulders -- holds clues to the long-lost work of the ancient astronomer Hipparchus, an astronomical historian said on Tuesday."

Three largest stars identified

"Astronomers have identified the three biggest stars known to science. If they were located in the same place as our own Sun - at the centre of the Solar System - the stars would stretch out further than the orbit of Jupiter."

Deep Impact To Liftoff Today

"A daring scientific mission to smash a washing machine-sized bullet into
the heart of Comet Tempel 1, excavating a stadium-sized crater to reveal
primitive materials left from the solar system's creation for spacecraft
and Earth-based telescopes to observe, is poised for blastoff at 1:47 p.m.
EST (1847 GMT) today aboard a Boeing Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral,
Florida."


Monday, January 10, 2005

Texas Company Putting Biosphere 2 Up For Sale

"TUCSON, Arizona (AP) -- The company that owns Biosphere 2 Center, 3.1 glass-enclosed acres designed to simulate the Earth's environment, has put the site up for sale."

Don't see a price...wonder if Century 21 is handling it?


Saturn's Moon Iapetus Shows a Bulging Waistline

"Images returned by NASA's Cassini spacecraft cameras during a New Year's Eve flyby of Saturn's moon Iapetus (eye-APP-eh-tuss) show startling surface features that are fueling heated scientific discussions about their origin."


Sunday, January 09, 2005

Look up!

CNN's guide to a little winter stargazing.


Friday, January 07, 2005

New Shuttle Fuel Tank Should Allow May Launch

"NASA passed a milestone toward returning the space shuttle to flight Thursday as a new version of the ship's external fuel tank completed its 900-mile trip to Florida."

Keep your fingers crossed...

Bush Plans to Boost Commercial Human Space Flight

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush plans to give private industry a greater role in space and encourage new commercial markets, including for human space flight."

Cool beans!


Thursday, January 06, 2005

The black hole that cannot stop eating!

"Astronomers have recorded the most powerful eruption of energy yet observed in the universe. It comes from a gigantic black hole, a billion times more massive than our sun, which is swallowing vast amounts of material from its surrounding galaxy."

Sounds like me at the local Chinese buffet...

More info and images over at NASA.

Titan's first visitor nears touchdown

"(On January 14th) after years of riding piggyback on NASA's Cassini craft, the Huygens probe will become the first craft from Earth to arrive on an alien moon."

Can't wait! Hope it turns out better than Beagle did.

Oops! Almost forgot to put a link to the Cassini-Huygens Mission Home Page.

Pennsylvania School District Defends Evolution Teaching Plan

"PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania school district on Wednesday rejected charges that plans to include references to an alternative to Darwin's theory of evolution in high school biology classes would be illegal."

It's been a while, but I seem to recall Darwin not being a problem back when I was in high school...

Wednesday, January 05, 2005

Tsunami's and you!

Yeah, yeah, I know it's probably mostly "scaremongering", but it is kinda interesting how a teeny-tiny island on the other side of the Atlantic could potentially cause to much trouble...

...and over at the OGI School of Science & Engineering they've been working on American west-coast Tsunami models.

The Discovery Channel will be running "The Next Wave: Science of Tsunamis" tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

Comet Machholz in View

From "Astronomy Picture of The Day":

"Good views of Comet Machholz are in store for northern hemisphere comet watchers in January. Now making its closest approach to planet Earth, the comet will pass near the lovely Pleiades star cluster on January 7th and the double star cluster in Perseus on January 27th as Machholz moves relatively quickly through the evening sky. Currently just visible to the unaided eye from dark locations, the comet should be an easy target in binoculars or a small telescope."


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