Stars Growing up in Bad Neighborhood
“Star formation is something we don’t really understand, even if it’s not near a black hole,” said Farhad Yusef-Zadeh of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, to New Scientist. His comment refers to evidence that he and colleagues have presented suggesting that there are stars growing up some 6 to 20 light years from the center […]
The International Space Station, a test-bed for future space exploration
Only a week after author and Washington Post columnist Michael Benson theorized that the International Space Station should become an interplanetary vehicle, the Heads of the International Space Station (ISS) Agencies from Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia and the United States met Friday at ESA Headquarters in Paris, France, to review ISS cooperation.
In a joint statement […]
Is the ISS an Interplanetary Spaceship waiting to be Launched?
The International Space Station, the ISS to most of us, has often been called the most expensive thing ever to be built. At $156 billion so far, with probably more to come later on, the ISS doesn’t seem to be doing a whole lot. The pinnacle of international cooperation so far, one would imagine that […]
France Wants EU Politics in Space
In an attempt to continue the Americanization of France, and the rest of the EU apparently, France President Nicolas Sarkozy wants the EU to make the European Space Agency more like NASA. According to a senior French space policy advisor, their goal is to shake up the ESA, by giving it a politically-led direction.
“The United […]
Tunguska Could have Wiped out St. Petersburg
The Tunguska Event, a massive explosion near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in what is now Krasnoyarsk Krai of Russia, at around 7:14 a.m.on June 30, 1908, has been the focus of much speculation in the past hundred years. Theories such as the end of the world (this was, not surprisingly, quickly dismissed due to conclusive […]
Ancient Earth to be found on Modern Moon
A paper published in 2002 by University of Washington astronomer John Armstrong first presented an idea which could one day lead us to understanding how life formed on early Earth. It runs parallel to the idea that an meteorite found in Antarctica has preserved evidence of life on early Mars.
The theory posits that during […]
Twin Earth Soon to be Found
“Detecting Earth in reflected light is like searching for a firefly six feet from a searchlight that is 2,400 miles distant,” wrote a panel of astronomers recently, when describing the challenges facing the search for other planets in the universe. But nevertheless, many astronomers involved in such a search are confident that we are very […]
Was there a Big Bang or Big Bounce?
When I first saw the heading “How did the universe begin?” on a PhysOrg story today, I was immediately intrigued. As I read through the article, attempting to wade my way through the mass of science being thrown my way, I realized that the real story had somehow been buried.
The story deals with the work […]
NASA Going to the Sun:
Journalists across the planet are having the time of their lives with this news story. For many, there is nothing better than making clever puns for your stories. So when NASA announced that they would be sending a mission to the Sun, the natural assortment of “going at nighttime” jokes almost overweighed the actual story.
Which, […]
Google Founder Space-Bound
Describing themselves as “the only company that provides human space missions to the world marketplace,” Space Adventures Ltd have announced that Google co-founder Sergey Brin has made an investment in the company that will someday see him on a flight in to outer space.
Space Adventures announced on Wednesday the “Space Adventures’ Orbital Mission Explorers Circle.” […]
Our Sun Definitely Not Special
For a long time there has been a latently held view that our Sun was special in that it was the only planet so far found to harbor life nearby. It had seemed that Earth was lucky to have developed life – through whatever means you choose to herald as the “right one” – in […]
Europa’s Poles Have Gone ‘a’ Wanderin’
Orbiting its much larger parent body Jupiter, Europe is the sixth of at least 63 moons that call the big red planet home, and the smallest of the four Galilean moons. Discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei, she was named after a mythical Phoenician noblewoman who was courted by Zeus and became the queen of […]
Colbert talks to the ISS
Speak about your exclusive interviews, check out this clip from The Colbert Report, where he speaks to a member of the current crew aboard the International Space Station. Unlike so many of Colbert’s interviewees, this guy - Garrett Reisman - seriously holds his own!
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Man’s Mission to… 2000 SG344?
Those who keep track of such things will know that there is a lot of discussion as to where man will head next, in its continuing journey in to space. Bush wants us to head back to the Moon in 2020, and set up a lunar outpost. Experts want us to forget the Moon and […]