Author: Robert Zimmerman

New images of a dry river on Mars.

10:27 am

New images of a dry river bed on Mars.

Reull Vallis, the river-like structure in these images, is believed to have formed when running water flowed in the distant martian past, cutting a steep-sided channel through the Promethei Terra Highlands before running on towards the floor of the vast Hellas basin. This sinuous structure, which stretches for almost [1000 miles] across the Martian landscape, is flanked by numerous tributaries, one of which can be clearly seen cutting in to the main valley towards the upper (north) side.

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James Hansen, activist global warming scientist, teams up with leftwing Occupy Wall Street.

9:10 am

Birds of a feather: James Hansen, activist global warming scientist, teams up with leftwing Occupy Wall Street.

Hansen gave a lecture this morning to OWS, detailing “the harsh realities of the climate emergency and what needs to be done to address it.” I would love to see some footage, as I expect what he advocated was harsh government regulation, to great applause.

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Some more details have been revealed about Bigelow’s deal with NASA to send one of its modules to ISS.

4:52 pm

Some more details have been revealed about Bigelow’s deal with NASA to send one of its modules to ISS.

This is apparently going to be another test of a smaller prototype, similar to Bigelow’s Genesis I and Genesis II modules already in orbit, but this time docked to a manned station.

What is interesting however about this article above is that reveals the names of the seven countries that have signed an agreement with Bigelow for future use of the company’s orbiting stations:

In another interesting development, Bigelow has named the seven sovereign customers who’ve expressed interest in leasing space aboard a future Bigelow commercial space station. Bigelow has preliminary agreements with the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, Singapore, Japan, Sweden and the United Arab Emirate of Dubai, according to Reuters. According to another report by Leonard David, Bigelow expects to have two BA 330 modules ready for construction of Space Station Alpha by late 2016. The Bigelow 330 is a much larger module, weighing 43,000 pounds with a diameter of 22 feet and length of 31 feet.

Bigelow Aerospace previously announced that it plans to charge sovereign customers $23 million for a 30-day stay aboard a Bigelow space station. That price includes space transportation, astronaut training, and consumables.

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A man who expressed strong agreement with many leftwing causes has been arrested at the Wisconsin state capitol with a Molotov cocktail in his backpack.

4:44 pm

Leftwing civility: A man who expressed strong agreement with many leftwing causes has been arrested at the Wisconsin state capitol with a Molotov cocktail in his backpack.

The man, Kvon R. Smith, had reportedly used Facebook to threaten to do harm at the Capitol. Law enforcement was ready for him and arrested him as he attempted to enter the building. Smith then reportedly claimed to have a Molotov cocktail in his backpack. Police evacuated portions of the capitol building and a bomb squad reportedly arrived and handled the backpack. Police did not say whether or not the backpack contained the explosive device the man allegedly claimed it did. A search of the man’s apparent Twitter account reveals deep sympathies for Palestinians, support for other liberal and far-left causes, and claims of previous felony charges. Smith has also expressed support for the newest leftist movement, which previous Occupy supporters are beginning to flock to, named “Idle No More.” Less than 24 hours before being arrested, Smith stated on Facebook: “I’m in support of the Idle No More Movement.” Two hours after writing his support for the new activist movement, Smith posted this video on what authorities verify is his Facebook showing the bottles he claims to have intended to take to the Wisconsin Capitol building.

Go to the link to see the video.

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A new study has found that five Gulf Coast states have so many vague environmental laws that anyone who does anything outdoors can be found guilty of something.The rise of facism: A new study has found that five Gulf Coast states have so many vague environmental laws that anyone who does anything outdoors can be found guilty of something.

11:20 pm

The rise of fascism: A new study has found that five Gulf Coast states have so many vague environmental laws that anyone who does anything outdoors can be found guilty of something.

And it has happened. Read the article.

Then there’s this good news: “Any federal regulation enacted by Congress or executive order…offending the constitutional rights of my citizens will not be enforced by me or my deputies.”

Update: A second Oregon sheriff has joined the first in declaring he will not enforce any federal regulation that violates the Constitution.

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Scientists are going to use Hubble to take six more deep field images.

2:43 pm

This will be cool: Scientists are going to use Hubble to take six more deep field images.

The Hubble Space Telescope’s iconic “Deep Field” photo wowed the world in 1996 by revealing a huge collection of galaxies hiding inside a patch of the sky that looked like nothing more than blank space. Now NASA plans to image six more “empty” bits of sky for a whole new set of deep fields that could revolutionize astronomy once again. …

Since the original photo’s release, Hubble looked even longer at the same spot to create the “Ultra Deep Field” in 2004 and then the “eXtreme Deep Field” in 2012. But the new effort, called Hubble Frontier Fields, will be the first to try a similar technique on some new areas of the heavens. These photos won’t go quite as deep as the Ultra Deep Field, but will represent some of the deepest images of the universe ever taken.

Though I repeatedly challenged them at press conferences, too many astronomers claimed in 1996 that the first Hubble Deep Field was representative of the heavens, something that seemed unlikely considering how little of the heavens this one image saw. These new deep fields will help confirm — or disprove — that claim.

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Volunteers are needed to analyze images from Mars.

9:17 am

Volunteers are needed to analyze images from Mars. From the website:

We need your help to find and mark ‘fans’ and ‘blotches’ on the Martian surface. Scientists believe that these features indicate wind direction and speed. By tracking ‘fans’ and ‘blotches’ over the course of several Martian years to see how they form, evolve, disappear and reform, we can help planetary scientists better understand Mars’ climate. We also hope to find out if these features form in the same spot each year and also learn how they change.

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A (new) Mexican standoff at the old spaceport.

9:11 am

A (new) Mexican standoff at the old spaceport.

Messier not only provides a detailed analysis of the negotiations on-going between Virgin Galactic and Spaceport America over liability issues, he also provides context, much of which is not encouraging. For example,

SpaceShipTwo is set to begin its first powered test flights later this year using a “starter motor” that will be smaller than the full-scale hybrid engine that will be used for flights into space. The motor will allow pilots to test the space plane in the transonic flight region, which would be a major step forward.

Whether the full-scale RocketMotorTwo engine, powered by nitrous oxide and rubber, will be ready to fly this year is an interesting question. There have been stories for years – persistent, consistent and never really denied – that the motor just doesn’t work very well. Hybrid motors can function effectively for smaller vehicles, such as the smaller SpaceShipOne vehicle that flew in 2004, but are difficult to scale up. SpaceShipTwo is three times larger than its predecessor.

Meanwhile, there are the liability questions which might force Virgin Galactic, and all other private space companies, to flee New Mexico. The analysis suggests that the taxpayers of New Mexico might have paid for a very expensive spaceport that might never pay for itself.

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For the first time a giant squid has been filmed in its natural habitat.

11:57 am

For the first time a giant squid has been filmed in its natural habitat.

In hopes of drawing the animals in, [Edith] Widder [of the Ocean Research and Conservation Association] used a different sort of light. Although very little sunlight penetrates to the deep sea, many deep dwellers produce a bioluminescent light. Past research by Widder suggests that the bioluminescence can act as a sort of burglar alarm, among other functions. The idea is that the bioluminescence produced by some prey when they are attacked may serve to attract larger predators — such a giant squid — that will then eat the attacker.

Widder and her colleagues therefore fitted Medusa with an electronic device that mimicked the bioluminescence that jellyfish produce when attacked to serve as a lure. It worked: Medusa first encountered a squid during its second deployment, igniting jubilation on the ship. “I just was blown away,” says Widder,” I couldn’t have been happier.”

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