Is this meteorite from Mercury? Some scientists now say no.
The uncertainty of science: Is this meteorite from Mercury? Some scientists now say no.
Year: 2013
NASA has indicated that the first manned launch using a commercial space carrier has slipped by a year.
NASA has now indicated that the first manned launch using a commercial space carrier has slipped by a year.
The reasons are as yet unclear, though it is suspected that the main cause is the decision by the Obama administration to cut the funds of this program under sequestration. As Clark Lindsey notes, however, there is no reason that some of these private companies won’t go forward and fly other passengers on their spaceships, ahead of the NASA flights. Specifically, SpaceX and its Dragon capsule should easily be ready to go well ahead of 2017, and will likely be earning enough cash from its commercial launches to pay for development even if the NASA subsidies get delayed.
The first launch of Antares has now been scheduled for April 17.
The first launch of Antares has now been scheduled for April 17.
The coming Obamacare chaos
The article is a very detailed summary of the many problems caused by Obamacare, from increased unemployment to loss of healthcare insurance to higher premiums to higher debt. Everyone should read it. However, the most important question is laid out in the very first paragraph:
The biggest political problem faced by so-called “liberals” and so-called “progressives” in President Obama’s second term is how to prevent voters from holding them politically responsible as the public comes to realize how badly they were lied to during the first Obama term to win passage of Obamacare.
It is going to be the number one priority of all Democratic politicians and their allies in the mainstream press to somehow find a way to blame Republicans for Obamacare. The question will be whether they will succeed.
World’s Roundest Object!
An evening pause:
Antares is on the launchpad, being readied for its first launch in about 10 days.
The competition heats up: Antares is on the launchpad, being readied for its first launch in about 10 days.
Hiring lifeguards who can’t swim in the name of diversity.
Hiring lifeguards who can’t swim in the name of diversity.
Nude crashing stars spark radiation bursts.
Astronomy headline of the year: Nude crashing stars spark radiation bursts.
The location of the volcanoes on Titan are not where scientists had expected them to be.
The uncertainty of science: The location of the volcanoes on Titan are not where scientists had expected them to be.
As Io moves closer to Jupiter, the planet’s powerful gravity pulls hard on the moon, deforming it. This force decreases as Io retreats, and the moon bounces back. This cycle of flexing creates friction in Io’s interior, which in turn generates enormous amounts of volcano-driving tidal heat. Common sense suggests that Io’s volcanoes would be located above the spots with the most dramatic internal heating. But Hamilton and his colleagues found that the volcanoes are significantly farther to the east than expected.
Many of the news headlines, including the article above, have trumpeted how the volcanoes on Io are in the wrong place. (See also this article.) Not. The theories were wrong, not the volcanoes. Nature does what it wants to do. It is our job to figure out why.
India has delayed the first test flight of its human-rated GSLV Mark 3 rocket until the spring of 2014.
India has delayed the first test flight of its human-rated GSLV Mark 3 rocket until the spring of 2014.
Was a meteorite found in Africa in 2012 originally from Mercury?
Was a meteorite found in Africa in 2012 originally from Mercury?
Using Hubble astronomers have confirmed that it was a yellow supergiant star that was the progenitor for the nearest supernovae in decades that occurred in 2011.
Using Hubble astronomers have confirmed that it was a yellow supergiant star that was the progenitor for the nearest supernovae in decades, that occurred in 2011 in the Whirlpool Galaxy.
The uncertainty of science: As I noted in 2011 when the yellow supergiant was first detected in pre-explosion images. no theory at that time had ever proposed this kind of star as a supernova progenitor. The discovery has thus required the theorists to come up with new theories.