Our galaxy is big, really big — so the odds are in our favor that Earth is not a fluke. Of course this thinking is old news at this point, however what’s new is that astrophysicists are starting to crunch numbers on the subject based upon what we currently know from the field of astronomy. Once such fellow is Astrophysicist Duncan Forgan who has been crunching the numbers based on what we know about the currently discovered 330 known exoplanets. His estimate took into account factors like temperature, availability of water (so yes it’s “life as we know it”) and the size of the Milky Way. Read more…
While this planet is about twice the size of Earth it’s amazing to think of the progress that astronomers have made in just the past few years. I wouldn’t be surprised if in the next few years we discovered a solar system that’s similar to own own. This latest exoplanet was detected by looking for a drop in brightness of the parent star as the planet passed in front of the star: During this transit the planet appears as a tiny black dot. There’s some controversy to the exact size of the planet, but to me what’s exciting is that we’re getting better at spotting the small one.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 31, 2009 in Science
Lacking a new administrator NASA’s next direction seems a bit uncertain — and part of the problem with the previous administrator was that the Orion Vehicle project which was suppose to replace the space shuttle which ran way over budget. This past week a mockup of part of the new system arrived at the Kennedy Space Center with the hope that NASA can put together a test launch by July. While it’s certain that President Obama wants to return to the moon his immediate focus at the White House has been on trying to rescue the economy, although the space exploration fanboy in me hopes he gives NASA some leadership sooner than later.
The most recent NASA soap opera started with administrator Michael Griffin giving the incoming Obama transition team a hard time — coming from an engineering background Griffin’s fear was that the Obama administration was going to gut the new moon rocket program. To be fair to Griffin the program was way over budget (so it looked like a good target) and early in the campaign trail Obama sent mixed signals on his support for manned exploration. The latest chapter was Griffin’s wife sending out a sad email pleading his case to keep his job (despite the fact that he is a Bush administration employee). Read more…
“As Apollo 8 nosed its way back from the far side of the Moon for the fourth time, it was Frank Borman who first spotted the view by chance from a window, his reaction captured by the on board tape recorder. “Oh, my God! Look at that picture over there!” he exclaimed. “Isn’t that something…” After a quick joke about the fact that it was not in their flight plan to photograph it, the crew abandoned protocol and scrambled to get a snap of the occasion with their stills camera. The Hasselblad only had a black and white film magazine in, resulting in the image above – the first photograph of Earthrise taken by a human as he watched it happen.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 23, 2008 in Science
In January the Mars rover program will turn five years old — it’s quite amazing to think how much we’ve learned about the red planet in such a short amount of time. To me this program is yet another argument why we should focus on a manned trip to Mars rather than returning to the moon.
What happens when a top flight international team of biochemists and rocket scientists get together? The answer is Space Beer! The brew was created with barley grown on the International Space Station: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 17, 2008 in Science
When most scientists thought of the one place in our solar system outside Earth that may support life the common favorite was Titan, but now that honor may go to the Europa the other sister moon of Jupiter. Astronomers feel that underneath it’s icy surface may lurk energetic oceans which due to the gravity from Jupiter would feature tides — a key ingredient to making life possible: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 15, 2008 in Science
Stephen Hawking is predicting that one day we’ll discover alien life, although what’s interesting is that he feels that it may not be a carbon based life form which is what makes his statement so interesting. Hawking also went back to the Carl Sagan idea that one danger for any intelligent life form may be destroying itself with nuclear weapons, although as time goes on I wonder if the real danger is a species not developing a strategy to protect itself from a natural catastrophe be it an asteroid hit or change in climate. In the past Hawking has advocated human leaving the Earth to better guarantee survival of our species, in that respect I wish NASA would act on what he’s saying and get aggressive above going to Mars: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 12, 2008 in Science
There’s a great article at New Scientist on speculation that the cosmos existed before the Big Bang and that the bang itself was a recycling effect. It seems that scientists are now starting to play with computer simulations to try and determine what a pre-Big Bang cosmos looked like: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 12, 2008 in Science
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the International Space Station NASA is offering a free calendar online to to the public (caution: link goes to a 5.3 meg Adobe Acrobat file). 100,000 copies of the printed version of the calendar will be distributed to schools for free in the United States.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 10, 2008 in Science
It’s amazing how every day we find more and more obvious clues that there may be other signs of life in he universe. This latest discovery shows that astronomers have detected carbon dioxide (a basic requirement for plants to perform photosynthesis) on a Jupiter sized planet. What’s great about this is that someday this technique may used to hunt for hints of life on an Earth like planet: Read more…
As a new administration comes in I’m starting to see NASA push hard for the idea of returning to the moon. My own feeling is that this is going backwards, and people should speak up about it now. Frankly my larger worry is that in view of a major economic downturn that NASA will have their budget chopped yet again — and what sad is that there hasn’t been any serious investment in the program for almost forty years now. So here are my ten reasons why we should try to land on Mars by 2018 instead of going back to 1969: Read more…
It might be quite a leap from going to making synthetic single celled creatures by 2011 to full blown Blade Runner replicants by 2019 — but it does make one wonder if we might see that Brave New World of genetic engineering in our lifetime: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 27, 2008 in Science
We always think of Jupiter as a gas giant, but what’s amazing to think about is that when you get to the core of the planet you have an Earth-like rock core that is 14 to 18 times the mass of Earth (which is twice the size as what scientists use to think):
“Jupiter has a rocky core that is more than twice as large as previously thought, according to computer calculations by a University of California, Berkeley, geophysicist who simulated conditions inside the planet on the scale of individual hydrogen and helium atoms.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 26, 2008 in Science
Astronomers have just found a region of our galaxy where the sugar module Glycolaldehyde which is linked to the origin of life is available. This is great news in the search for extraterrestrials as it may help scientists discover the location of earth like planets that support life:
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 24, 2008 in Science
Supporters of NASA and the commercial space industry are taking a close look to what the Obama administration will bring. The last few years with the Bush administration have been a disappointment to say the least, so many of us are looking for a fresh break. Early on in the Democratic primaries Obama indicated that he wouldn’t push manned space exploration, but that stand changed later in the race. And now it’s looking like New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson will be heading to the Obama cabinet as commerce secretary. This may be really good news as Richardson is very pro-space. As Governor in New Mexico he’s been pushing for Spaceport America which would act as a launching point for a commercial space industry. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 22, 2008 in Science
NASA is starting to make fairly elaborate plans for building a moon base which include creating on site nuclear power plants. This reminds me a great deal of the 70s series Space:1999 which took the concept a step further and made the moon a dumping ground for nuclear waste as well. What’s funny is that except for the possibility of a transportation disaster the idea of storing nuclear waste on the moon may seems like a better long term solution than storing it here on Earth. Also that would give an economic reason to return to the moon. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 21, 2008 in Science
It turns out that NASA has discovered that under soil of Mars there are huge glaciers — what cool about this is that it means that a future manned visit to the red planet would be much easier to pull off. Scientists are now trying to figure out just how the ice got there in the first place, but to me that’s yet another argument why NASA should be focusing on a Mars mission instead of returning back to the moon (which China and India are already doing as we speak). Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 21, 2008 in Science
The Homestar Home Planetarium use to only be available in Japan, but now ThinkGeek is about to carry a version designed for the American market. What’s nice about this gizmo is that it can turn any space into a planetarium for the cost of about $160. In fact not only do I think this is the kind of gift to give to an astronomy fanboy (or fangurl) but it would be cool if folks started buying these to give to science teachers at your local school. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 20, 2008 in Science
The year is 1961 and Hughes Aircraft Electronic Labs is set to revolutionize the world with Mobot the Magnificent Mobile Robot. Mobot is slightly larger than several refrigerators put together and this mechanical marvel will automate every mission critical task in your life like doing your nails, zipping up your dress, and helping you comb your hair while looking at yourself in a mirror. The only minor catch is that Mobot requires a college educated engineer at the controls the robot 24/7 in a little booth in the corner. I wonder why this gizmo didn’t catch on?
