Category: Space

Photos of distant worlds

Photos of distant worlds

| November 13, 2008 | 1 Reply

[Thanks to Ace of Spades for the link!] Over the past decade or so, astronomers have discovered over 300 extra-solar planets, that is, planets orbiting stars other than our Sun. However, these discoveries have largely been indirect, due to the planet transiting the star it orbits, or variations in the radial velocity of the star. […]

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DARPA Guts Falcon Blackswift

DARPA Guts Falcon Blackswift

| October 15, 2008 | Reply

Earlier this year I outlined a DARPA project to produce a hypersonic UAV under the project name “Falcon Blackswift” According to the few details available on Blackswift, Lockheed Martin’s famed Skunk Works shop is the main contractor for the vehicle. DARPA, in fact, still isn’t talking about Blackswift; it’s using the HTV-3X designation. But HTV-3X […]

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Don’t Panic – NASA’s Tuesday Solar Press Conference

Don’t Panic – NASA’s Tuesday Solar Press Conference

| September 21, 2008 | Reply

Friday the blog world was examining this curious press release from NASA: NASA To Discuss Conditions On And Surrounding The Sun WASHINGTON — NASA will hold a media teleconference Tuesday, Sept. 23, at 12:30 p.m. EDT, to discuss data from the joint NASA and European Space Agency Ulysses mission that reveals the sun’s solar wind […]

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Just in case you were wondering…

Just in case you were wondering…

| September 14, 2008 | Reply

…the sun is blank — no sunspots: This is how the sun has been for the last six weeks or so.  ..bruce w..

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Real Scientists Speak Up On… Global Cooling?

Real Scientists Speak Up On… Global Cooling?

| July 12, 2008 | Reply

Get your snowboards waxed… the next ice age may be here soon! I have been talking about how quiet sunspot cycle 24 has been, and how it’s possible that may foretell a cooler period in the Earth’s climate for the next set of years. I have also pointed out that I am a computer engineer, […]

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Sunspot Update – Our Quiet Sun

Sunspot Update – Our Quiet Sun

| July 10, 2008 | Reply

Our sun, the largest single input of energy to our world, continues its quiet period. For the past 16 days there has not been any sunspots on the face of our local star. If you discount the small spots visible only because of our modern powerful tools, the blank period is much longer than that. […]

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On Mars: Phoenix Lander Photographed In Descent

On Mars: Phoenix Lander Photographed In Descent

| May 27, 2008 | Reply

Over the long US holiday weekend, the latest Mars probe known as “Phoenix” landed near the Martian north pole. As wonderful as it is when we can actually get some of our gear on Mars to work correctly, it was even more fun that we were able to snap a picture of it taking place. […]

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NY Times silently corrects major scientific gaffe in story [UPDATED]

NY Times silently corrects major scientific gaffe in story [UPDATED]

| May 24, 2008 | Reply

[UPDATE (05/26/08): See end of post for the response from the New York Times. Also note that there is now a correction note in place at the end of the article. On the other hand, I haven’t been able to find any news about Fournier actually making the jump yesterday.] This morning (Saturday, 5/24), the […]

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Still Waiting For Sunspots

Still Waiting For Sunspots

| May 23, 2008 | Reply

A quick check of space weather shows us that once again the face of the sun is blank – no sunspots. In the past few weeks we have had a few tiny sunspots show up that are part of the last sunspot cycle, but it seems we are still waiting for cycle 24 (the new […]

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USA 193 Shoot Down Video

USA 193 Shoot Down Video

| May 22, 2008 | Reply

The US Navy and the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization have compiled a nice collection of video from this past winter’s shoot down of a broken NRO satellite known as USA 193. It includes footage aboard USS Lake Erie (the cruiser who took the shot) as well as cameras that show the moment of impact with […]

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