Astronomers have discovered a previously unknown neighbor to the Milky Way.
Astronomers have discovered a previously unknown neighbor galaxy to the Milky Way.
Year: 2013
In a NASA contest, a nine-year-old has named asteroid 1999 RQ36 after the Egyptian god Bennu.
A rose by any other name: In a NASA contest, a nine-year-old has named asteroid 1999 RQ36 after the Egyptian god Bennu.
1999 RQ36, or Bennu, is an important asteroid for two reasons. First, NASA is sending an unmanned sample return mission to it in 2016. Second, some calculations suggest the asteroid has a 1 in a 1000 chance of hitting the Earth in 2182.
In other naming news, the private space company Uwingu has launched its “Adopt-a-Planet” campaign.
This open-ended campaign gives anyone in the public—worldwide—the opportunity to adopt exoplanets in astronomical databases via Uwingu’s web site at www.uwingu.com. Proceeds from the naming and voting will continue to help fuel new Uwingu grants to fund space exploration, research, and education.
As noted earlier, they are ignoring the IAU’s stuffy insistence that only the IAU can name things in space.
Eight abandoned and truly gigantic construction projects.
Eight abandoned and truly gigantic construction projects.
Probably the most amazing is the one in North Korea.
From Palestine’s moderate leader: Palestinians who murder Israeli Jews cannot be punished.
From Palestine’s moderate leader: Palestinians who murder Israeli Jews cannot be punished.
Large majorities in the Muslim world want the Islamic legal and moral code of sharia as the official law in their countries
Large majorities in the Muslim world want the Islamic legal and moral code of sharia as the official law in their countries.
While the poll included many encouraging things, I found this to be its most disturbing statistic:
Suicide bombing was mostly rejected in the study by the Washington-based Pew Forum, but it won 40 percent support in the Palestinian territories, 39 percent in Afghanistan, 29 percent in Egypt and 26 percent in Bangladesh.
Name for me any other culture or religion in the world today where more than a quarter of the population thinks suicide bombings are a good thing.
In NASA’s new contract with Russia to launch astronauts to ISS Russia has raised the ticket price from $63 million to $70.6 million per seat.
The competition heats up: In NASA’s new contract with Russia to launch astronauts to ISS, announced today, Russia has raised the ticket price from $63 million to $70.6 million per seat.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union the Russians have become very good capitalists indeed. Consider: the price the Russians were charging for a single ticket on Soyuz was about $33 million in 2004, when George Bush announced the planned retirement of the shuttle. Since then they have repeatedly jacked up the price, knowing that we have no where else to go.
In the end, these price increases are actually a good thing, as they will make it easier for the new American companies to undercut them while simultaneously making a bigger profit.
Schools from Puerto Rico dominated the competition at this past weekend’s Great Moonbuggy Race.
Schools from Puerto Rico dominated the competition at this past weekend’s Great Moonbuggy Race.
Better buy your tickets now because in a week the price for a flight on SpaceShipTwo is going up 25%.
The competition heats up: Better buy your tickets now because in a week the price for a flight on SpaceShipTwo is going up 25%.
The meteoric rise in Texas oil production since 2010.
The meteoric rise in Texas oil production since 2010.
Amazingly, oil production in the Lone Star State has more than doubled in less than three years, from 1.142 million bpd in July 2010 to 2.295 million bpd in February 2013, which has to be one of the most significant increases in oil output ever recorded in the history of the US over such a short period of time. A million bpd increase in oil output in less than three years in one state is remarkable, and would have never been possible without the revolutionary drilling techniques that just recently started accessing vast oceans of Texas shale oil.
The article does not going into any detail about why this boom suddenly started in 2010. They indicate that it is linked to the development of new drilling techniques, but I’d like to know more.
Smithsonian researchers have recovered a short recording of Alexander Graham Bell’s voice, made in 1885.
Smithsonian researchers have recovered a short recording of Alexander Graham Bell’s voice, made in 1885.
Opportunity went into safe mode during the communications pause in April when the Sun was between Mars and the Earth.
Opportunity went into safe mode during the communications pause in April when the Sun was between Mars and the Earth.
Mission controllers for Opportunity, which landed on Mars in January 2004, first learned of the issue on Saturday (April 27). On that day, the rover got back in touch after a nearly three-week communication moratorium caused by an unfavorable planetary alignment called a Mars solar conjunction, in which Mars and Earth are on opposite sides of the sun. The Opportunity rover apparently put itself into standby on April 22 after sensing a problem during a routine camera check, mission managers said.
It sounds like this is a recoverable problem and the rover will be back in operation momentarily. Stay tuned.
A dozen Democrats are calling for action on global warming because it might cause women to become hookers.
Is there nothing global warming can’t do? A dozen Democrats are calling for action on global warming because it might cause women to become hookers.
I shouldn’t be surprised by this idiocy. These are the same politicians that voted for Obamacare without even reading the bill.