This is just too cool: NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has captured for the first time enough light from planets outside our solar system, known as exoplanets, to identify signatures of molecules in their atmospheres. The landmark achievement is a significant step toward being able to detect possible life on rocky exoplanets and comes years before […]
…here’s a website devoted to ways to destroy the earth. As the web creator notes, it’s not quite as easy as you might think: All the explosives mankind has ever created, nuclear or non-, gathered together and detonated simultaneously, would make a significant crater and wreck the planet’s ecosystem, but barely scratch the surface of […]
At present it seems that the North Koreans set off a small to medium yield, large format implosion type nuclear device, similar to the gadget around 10:30 AM local time. Detonation was likely in a horizontal shaft associated with a coal mine that was no longer in use. Given other seismic data from nuclear tests […]
(UPDATED BELOW) (And, Megan, thanks for the Instalanche!) I haven’t been terribly happy with Sen. Reid’s battle against the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site over the years, but even I have to agree he’s got a good point here: WASHINGTON (AP) – Sen. Harry Reid has a new argument against the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste […]
…isn’t this the way that superheroes (or -villians) get started? Doctors seeking treatments for malignant brain tumors have found promise in the venom of scorpions, according to a study released on Friday. The study showed that a synthetic version of a protein found in the venom of giant yellow Israeli scorpions targeted tumor cells but […]
Ever wonder what it would be like to fall back to earth from 24 miles up? NASA attached a video camera to one of the Space Shuttle’s solid rocket boosters and recorded the booster’s entire flight, from pre-launch to splashdown. Hat tip to The Llama Butchers. ..bruce.. Toss up for 10 points: how many of […]
UPDATED (07/24/06): Apparently, the documentary claims that Armstrong and Aldin saw a UFO as well. Hat-tip to Sploid. According to a new BBC documentary coming out — “Apollo 11: The Untold Story” — Neil Armstrong accidentally broke a switch for a circuit breaker on the lunar lander, then cannibalized a ball-point pen to close the […]
Stories of sand dunes that emit sounds and even pure tones date back to at least Marco Polo. A research group has actually located such dunes and recorded the sounds (note: the top two pictures on the page don’t have working links; try the rest). Their explanation: self-synchronizing particles of sand within the dunes. Hat […]
Some links of interest (hat tip to Real Clear Politics) Robert Samuelson – always one of my favorite commentators Mark Hertsgaard – a view from the doomsayers John Stossel – a view from the skeptics And a weather report (ht to Instapundit): No tornadoes so far this year in Kansas and Nebraska (55-year record) ..bruce..
