Astronomers have identified the same kind of minerals found in comets in our solar system in the dusty disk surrounding the nearby star Beta Pictoris.
The law is such an inconvenient thing: The Obama administration’s promise to reimburse any fines issued to employers who violate the law is the equivalent to “a mini-coup,” according to one senator.
Leftwing tolerance: New research has now documented the widespread bigotry of liberals in the academic community against conservatives.
Hostility toward and willingness to discriminate against conservatives is widespread. One in six respondents said that she or he would be somewhat (or more) inclined to discriminate against conservatives in inviting them for symposia or reviewing their work. One in four would discriminate in reviewing their grant applications. More than one in three would discriminate against them when making hiring decisions. Thus, willingness to discriminate is not limited to small decisions. In fact, it is strongest when it comes to the most important decisions, such as grant applications and hiring.
This behavior is hateful, prejudiced, intolerant, and close-minded. And it is occurring against individuals merely because they disagree with the accepted orthodoxy of liberal academia. Worse, it is occurring in our universities among the educated elites of our society. Such close-mindedness among the educated cannot bode well for our society’s future.
The uncertainty of science: Using data from the Spitzer Space Telescope astronomers have narrowed the universe’s rate of expansion to about 74.3 kilometers per second per megaparsec.
The importance of this number, also called the Hubble Constant, is that it allows astronomers to extrapolate more precisely backward to when they believe the Big Bang occurred, about 13.7 billion years ago. It also is a crucial data point in their effort to understand dark energy, in which this expansion rate is actually accelerating on vast scales.
Back in 1995 a team led by Wendy Freedman, the same scientist leading the work above, announced that they had used the Hubble Space Telescope to determine the expansion rate as 80 kilometers per second per megaparsec. Then, the margin of error was plus or minus 17 kilometers. Now the margin of error has been narrowed to plus or minus 2.1 kilometers.
Do I believe these new numbers? No, not really. Science has nothing to do with belief. I do think this is good science, however, and that this new estimate of the Hubble constant is probably the best yet. I would also not be surprised if in the future new data eventually proves this estimate wrong.
Leftwing civility: An elderly couple in California have received death threats and their property vandalized because they put a Romney sign on their front lawn.
This is a wonderful article, outlining (with video!) the present state of knowledge about the past, present, and future of our home galaxy.
The head of Russia’s manned program said today that the first yearlong mission on ISS will begin in March 2015.
This appears to be another case of the Russians trying to use the media to pressure NASA into agreeing to the mission. I hope it works.
Vote early and often! True the Vote has found more examples of voters voting in more than one state, this time in New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Florida.
Felix Baumgartner has set October 8 as the day he will attempt his record-setting sky-dive from almost 23 miles high.
Diederik Stapel, the psychologist who had fabricated his results in numerous published papers and has since resigned, is now under investigation by Dutch prosecutors.
Twenty-five of Stapel’s papers have now been retracted.
The scientist famous for identifying drowning polar bears in the Arctic has been reprimanded for leaking emails and following “inappropriate” procurement procedures at his job at the Department of Interior.
The investigation also criticized the scientist, Charles Monnett, for fudging his data in reporting the death of the polar bears, a report that the global warming movement used extensively to falsely prove that global warming was causing the destruction of the polar bear population.
The Nature story above tries to make light of Monnett’s misconduct, especially in connection with his polar bear report as well as his work in awarding contracts. The report itself [pdf] is far more harsh.
In connection with Monnett’s contract work, it appears he actually helped one contractor write his proposal, then sat on the board that awarded the contract to that contractor.
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Just a note to explain the light posting yesterday and possibly today. I am reviewing the proof for the new ebook edition of my first book, Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8. Because the book is now out of print in both hardback and paperback, I want to have this new edition published and available for sale before the end of this month, which is why I must focus on getting that done quickly.
Free speech for me but not for thee: A college professor, offended by comments on a free speech wall, forces the students to take it down.
The weather in Gale Crater on Mars: warmer than expected.
The competition heats up: The first stage of Orbital Sciences’ Antares rocket was rolled to the launchpad today for testing.
Europe’s ATV cargo freighter finally undocked successfully from ISS on Friday.
Does this make you feel safer? A convicted former TSA agent admits that theft is “commonplace” in the TSA.
The competition heats up: The rollout to the launchpad of the first stage of Orbital Sciences’ Antares rocket has been delayed until Saturday.
The rollout had been scheduled for today, but had to be scrubbed due to a battery problem in the transporter for moving the rocket. Once on the pad, they will then spend the next 4 to 6 weeks preparing for a hold down firing test. And if that test goes well, they will follow it up with the first launch of Antares before the end of the year.
The undocking of Europe’s ATV cargo freighter from ISS has been delayed again.
No explanation, which is worrisome. Then again, this might be nothing.
Isn’t competition wonderful? The head of Russia’s space agency said today that they need to reorganize their industry in order to compete.
Key quote: “Unless we act now – we will cease to be competitive,” he warned.
I wonder why? Could it be there is a company out there selling launch capability at half the cost?
Two days ago Ralph Kayser, head of the Tucson Tea Party, sent out an email announcing that the Republican Congressional candidate for my district, Jonathan Paton (pictured on the right), was going to hold a luncheon fundraiser today. Ralph wanted to know if anyone was interested in attending.
Normally, I detest giving money to politicians, from either party. I consider them to be the worst form of bloodsuckers. They don’t produce any wealth, cannot create jobs no matter how hard they try, add restrictions to our lives that squelch freedom, and generally only serve to squeeze tax dollars from us all for wasteful government projects, money that we would better left in our own hands to use as we each saw fit. And then they go on the campaign trail, begging for more money so that they can beat the other guy.
Like I say, bloodsuckers.
Nonetheless, to me this election is different, in the same way the 2010 election was different.
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