California Dreamin’
An evening pause: Since I am out in California, giving a lecture to the Orange County section of the AIAA, I figure this song might be appropriate.
Author: Robert Zimmerman
Pro Cap & Trade Democrats slaughtered in elections
“Global climate disruption” takes another hit! Democrats who had voted for the Cap & Trade bill in 2009 were slaughtered in yesterday’s elections.
“Global climate disruption” takes another hit! Democrats who had voted for the Cap & Trade bill in 2009 were slaughtered in yesterday’s elections.
The Making of a Mind-Blowing DIY Sun Photo
A do-it-yourself photo of the Sun that looks as good as any taken from space. And it’s art too!
A do-it-yourself photo of the Sun that looks as good as any taken from space. And it’s art too!
Destroy Earth from home
Space and the election results
Yesterday’s elections will clearly force changes again to NASA’s future. Below are a few links from some other space experts expressing their thoughts on the matter. I will follow with my own essay sometime next week, after the election results have some time to shake out.
From SpacePolicyOnline, an overview of the results in relation to space policy.
From Rand Simberg: Great election news for space.
From Space Politics: Brooks wins, Giffords with a narrow lead.
See also this Space.com article: Election Brings New Leadership to NASA Oversight Committees.
Overall, the defeat of Congressmen like Oberstar and Grayson, both of whom loved to regulate, can only be good for the future of private space.
The updated monthly sunspot graph, as of November 2, 2010
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center today published its monthly update of the Sun’s developing sunspot cycle, showing the slow rise in sunspots in comparison with the consensis prediction made by the solar science community in May 2009.
Unlike October graph, which showed a clear jump in sunspot activity, this November update shows that the rise in sunspot numbers has once again slowed down. As I’ve noted repeatedly, these numbers suggest that we are heading for the weakest solar maximum in two hundred years, far below predictions. And when that last happened, around 1810, it was called the Dalton minimum and the Earth experienced one of its coldest periods in many many decades.
We ain’t goin’ away
An evening pause: As election day is just about over, I think this song will help explain to our elected officials the kind of government the United States has, and how the results from today are merely a single moment in a long struggle.
Electrical problem on Discovery could delay launch
An electrical problem on the space shuttle Discovery could delay tomorrow’s launch. Update: NASA has decided to definitely delay the launch until Thursday, at the earliest.
An electrical problem on the space shuttle Discovery could delay tomorrow’s launch. Update: NASA has decided to definitely delay the launch until Thursday, at the earliest.
Astronauts on ISS vote from space
Democracy marches on! The American astronauts on ISS used a secure email system to vote early from space.
Democracy marches on! The American astronauts on ISS used a secure email system to vote early from space.
Dollar could lose 20% of its value in next few years
According to the manager of the world’s largest mutual fund, the U.S. dollar could lose 20% of its value in next few years, due to actions of the Federal Reserve.
According to the manager of the world’s largest mutual fund, the U.S. dollar could lose 20% of its value in next few years, due to actions of the Federal Reserve.
Overhaul of NASA’s Deep Space communication system completed
NASA has completed a significant upgrade of its Deep Space communication system. These unheralded antennas and the engineers who maintain them make it possible for scientists to communicate with the far flung planetary probes in orbit around Venus, Mars, and Saturn, as well as the spacecraft visiting comets or traveling beyond the edge of the solar system.
NASA has completed a significant upgrade of its Deep Space communication system. These unheralded antennas and the engineers who maintain them make it possible for scientists to communicate with the far flung planetary probes in orbit around Venus, Mars, and Saturn, as well as the spacecraft visiting comets or traveling beyond the edge of the solar system.
Gliese 581g does exist, according to another scientist
The superEarth orbiting the red dwarf star Gliese 581 in its habitable zone does exist, according to a preprint paper published today on the Los Alamos astro-ph website.
The superEarth orbiting the red dwarf star Gliese 581 in its habitable zone does exist, according to a preprint paper published today on the Los Alamos astro-ph website.
New regulations by EPA threatens to reduce the electrical grid capacity by 7.2%
A deluge of new regulations by the EPA threatens to reduce the American capacity to produce electricity by over seven percent.
A deluge of new regulations by the EPA threatens to reduce the American capacity to produce electricity by over seven percent.
Just Jesse
Saving NASA From The Obama Science Fair
Saving NASA from the Obama science fair. Key quote:
In place of a plan crafted by his predecessor which might have one day carried astronauts to Mars, Mr. Obama has proposed a science fair that literally goes nowhere.
Hasn’t someone already said this, at great length, more than a few times?
Link fixed! Sorry about that.
Saving NASA from the Obama science fair. Key quote:
In place of a plan crafted by his predecessor which might have one day carried astronauts to Mars, Mr. Obama has proposed a science fair that literally goes nowhere.
Hasn’t someone already said this, at great length, more than a few times?
Link fixed! Sorry about that.
Democrat supporters rip up signs on private property, curse Tea party protestors
Feel the hate: Virginia Democrat supporters rip up Repulican signs on private property while screaming curses at conservative demonstrators.
Feel the hate: Virginia Democrat supporters rip up Repulican signs on private property while screaming curses at conservative demonstrators.
Another Iceland volcano eruption pending?
Another Iceland volcano eruption pending? Iceland’s largest glacier, which sits atop the island’s largest volcano, Grimsvotn, began releasing large amounts of melt water on Thursday, October 25, indicating the volcano underneath might be heating up.
Another Iceland volcano eruption pending? Iceland’s largest glacier, which sits atop the island’s largest volcano, Grimsvotn, began releasing large amounts of melt water on Thursday, October 25, indicating the volcano underneath might be heating up.
Anti-American propaganda from the National Endowment for the Humanities
Anti-American propaganda from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Key quote:
In my thirty years as a professor in upper education, I have never witnessed nor participated in a more extremist, agenda-driven, revisionist conference, nearly devoid of rhetorical balance and historical context for the arguments presented.
Anti-American propaganda from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Key quote:
In my thirty years as a professor in upper education, I have never witnessed nor participated in a more extremist, agenda-driven, revisionist conference, nearly devoid of rhetorical balance and historical context for the arguments presented.
Fifty-eight percent of population favors repeal of Obamacare
And the Democrats wonder why they are losing this election? Fifty-eight percent of the population favors repeal of Obamacare, with a whopping 70 percent of independents wanting repeal.
And the Democrats wonder why they are losing this election? Fifty-eight percent of the population favors repeal of Obamacare, with a whopping 70 percent of independents wanting repeal.
Massacre by Islamic terrorists at Iraqi Christian church
The religion of “peace” strikes again! Islamic terrorists seized a Christian church in Baghdad during services. In the violence that followed, 58 people were killed and 78 wounded.
The religion of “peace” strikes again! Islamic terrorists seized a Christian church in Baghdad during services. In the violence that followed, 58 people were killed and 78 wounded.
Opportunity’s journey continues
Opportunity’s long journey across the desert plains of Mars to reach Endeavour Crater is now more than half completed. Below is the most recent mosiac of its view heading east towards the crater, with the crater’s rim visible on the distant horizon, still five miles away.
Poll warden denies a policeman in uniform the right to vote because he is wearing a gun
A poll warden, since dismissed, denied the right to vote on Friday to a policeman in full uniform because he refused to surrender his gun.
A poll warden, since dismissed, denied the right to vote on Friday to a policeman in full uniform because he refused to surrender his gun.
Poll numbers suggest largest Republican victory in generations
Gallup poll numbers suggest tomorrow’s Republican victory could be the largest in generations, and could exceed all predictions. Key quote:
It should be noted, however, that this year’s 15-point gap in favor of the Republican candidates among likely voters is unprecedented in Gallup polling and could result in the largest Republican margin in House voting in several generations. This means that seat projections have moved into uncharted territory, in which past relationships between the national two-party vote and the number of seats won may not be maintained. [emphasis mine]
Gallup poll numbers suggest tomorrow’s Republican victory could be the largest in generations, and could exceed all predictions. Key quote:
It should be noted, however, that this year’s 15-point gap in favor of the Republican candidates among likely voters is unprecedented in Gallup polling and could result in the largest Republican margin in House voting in several generations. This means that seat projections have moved into uncharted territory, in which past relationships between the national two-party vote and the number of seats won may not be maintained. [emphasis mine]
UN conference passes broad ban on “geoengineering”
A UN conference in Japan today approved the extremely broad language that I had noted earlier this week, banning all “climate-related geoengineering activities that may affect biodiversity . . . until there is an adequate scientific basis on which to justify such activities.” You can read some reactions here. Key quote from the ETC group, a Canadian non-profit organization which supports the language:
The agreement, reached during the ministerial portion of the two-week meeting which included 110 environment ministers, asks governments to ensure that no geoengineering activities take place until risks to the environment and biodiversity and associated social, cultural and economic impacts have been appropriately considered. The CBD secretariat was also instructed to report back on various geoengineering proposals and potential intergovernmental regulatory measures.
If the broad language of this policy is accepted by the United States government, it will effectively shut down almost all new construction and development, as practically anything people do “may affect biodiversity.”
The Haunting
An evening pause: From the film, The Haunting (1963), based on the story by Shirley Jackson. Stay for the closing scene in this clip.
Shuttle launch now set for Wednesday
The last launch of the space shuttle Discovery has been moved to Wednesday afternoon in order to give engineers time to test their repairs.
The last launch of the space shuttle Discovery has been moved to Wednesday afternoon in order to give engineers time to test their repairs.
The suborbital commercial industry responds to smog accusations
The commercial suborbital industry responds to the recent science paper that said that the soot from their rocket engines might cause to global warming.
The commercial suborbital industry responds to the recent science paper that said that the soot from their rocket engines might cause to global warming.
The telescope that ate astronomy
The telescope that ate astronomy. My just finished Sky & Telescope article (expected out early next year) covers some of the same ground, describing how the cost overruns on the James Webb Space Telescope has badly damaged much of NASA’s space astronomy budget, for this and possibly the next two decades.
The telescope that ate astronomy. My just finished Sky & Telescope article (expected out early next year) covers some of the same ground, describing how the cost overruns on the James Webb Space Telescope has badly damaged much of NASA’s space astronomy budget, for this and possibly the next two decades.
Spirited Away
An evening pause: As it is the Halloween weekend, how about an appropriate clip from Hayao Miyazaki’s surreal masterpiece, Spirited Away (2001).
Brother, can you spare a dime?
An evening pause: In honor of the anniversary of the 1929 stock market crash, Bing Crosby singing “Brother, can you spare a dime?”