Author: Robert Zimmerman
Bigotry and hate in a Massachusetts University
Europe’s first Mars lander mission threatened by budget woes
Europe’s first Mars lander appears threatened by budget woes in both Europe and the United States.
Europe’s first Mars lander appears threatened by budget woes in both Europe and the United States.
XCOR Aerospace and Space Expedition Curacao Sign Contract
Another suborbital tourism company enters the fray: XCOR Aerospace has signed a contract “to begin operations in Curacao in 2014.”
Another suborbital tourism company enters the fray: XCOR Aerospace has signed a contract “to begin operations in Curacao in 2014.”
NASA astronauts to spend three days underwater
Can’t go up? Go down! NASA astronauts to spend three days underwater in a research sub.
Can’t go up? Go down! NASA astronauts to spend three days underwater in a research sub.
China to launch unmanned space module Sept. 27-30
China has announced a launch window, September 27-30, for its first unmanned space station module Tiangong 1.
China has announced a launch window, September 27-30, for its first unmanned space station module Tiangong 1.
Blurred vision a risk for astronauts who spend months in space
Blurred vision is now considered a serious risk for astronauts who spend months in space.
According to one NASA survey of about 300 astronauts, nearly 30 percent of those who have flown on space shuttle missions – which usually lasted two weeks — and 60 percent who’ve completed six-month shifts aboard the station reported a gradual blurring of eyesight.
This story is a followup on information contained in an earlier National Academies report on astronaut staffing.
Blurred vision is now considered a serious risk for astronauts who spend months in space.
According to one NASA survey of about 300 astronauts, nearly 30 percent of those who have flown on space shuttle missions – which usually lasted two weeks — and 60 percent who’ve completed six-month shifts aboard the station reported a gradual blurring of eyesight.
This story is a followup on information contained in an earlier National Academies report on astronaut staffing.
Muslim students on trial for shouting during Israeli diplomat’s speech
Muslim students on trial for shouting during Israeli diplomat’s speech. You can watch what they did here.
As much as I found the actions of these Muslims despicable, it seems a mistake to put them on trial, as this only garners them undeserved sympathy. It also goes against American culture to put anyone on trail for what they say, no matter how impolitely they say it. Furthermore, the punishment meted out by the university seems more than sufficient.
Muslim students on trial for shouting during Israeli diplomat’s speech. You can watch what they did here.
As much as I found the actions of these Muslims despicable, it seems a mistake to put them on trial, as this only garners them undeserved sympathy. It also goes against American culture to put anyone on trail for what they say, no matter how impolitely they say it. Furthermore, the punishment meted out by the university seems more than sufficient.
Senate appropriations committee has capped Webb Telescope budget
The Senate appropriations this week recommended capping the budget for the James Webb Space Telescope at $8 billion, less than the $8.7 billion that NASA now thinks is required to finish the telescope.
The committee also recommended a budget of $17.9 billion for NASA, about $1 billion less than the House recommendation and about a half billion less than NASA’s 2011 budget. If the Senate numbers are adopted, it would bring NASA’s budget back to the budget it received in 2008.
The Senate appropriations this week recommended capping the budget for the James Webb Space Telescope at $8 billion, less than the $8.7 billion that NASA now thinks is required to finish the telescope.
The committee also recommended a budget of $17.9 billion for NASA, about $1 billion less than the House recommendation and about a half billion less than NASA’s 2011 budget. If the Senate numbers are adopted, it would bring NASA’s budget back to the budget it received in 2008.
John McDermott – Voyage
The Spaceship Company has opened its final assembly factor in Mohave
The Spaceship Company has opened its final assembly factory in Mohave for building a fleet of SpaceShipTwos and WhiteKnightTwos for Virgin Galactic.
The Spaceship Company has opened its final assembly factory in Mohave for building a fleet of SpaceShipTwos and WhiteKnightTwos for Virgin Galactic.
Times Atlas shows ice free areas of Greenland that are not ice free
When faith trumps data: The most recent edition of the Times Atlas incorrectly shows large areas of Greenland free of ice, claiming this was caused by global warming, even though those areas remain ice-covered. More here.
The Scott Polar group, which includes director Julian Dowdeswell, says the claim of a 15% loss in just 12 years is wrong. “Recent satellite images of Greenland make it clear that there are in fact still numerous glaciers and permanent ice cover where the new Times Atlas shows ice-free conditions and the emergence of new lands,” they say in a letter that has been sent to the Times. “We do not know why this error has occurred, but it is regrettable that the claimed drastic reduction in the extent of ice in Greenland has created headline news around the world. There is to our knowledge no support for this claim in the published scientific literature.“
When faith trumps data: The most recent edition of the Times Atlas incorrectly shows large areas of Greenland free of ice, claiming this was caused by global warming, even though those areas remain ice-covered. More here.
The Scott Polar group, which includes director Julian Dowdeswell, says the claim of a 15% loss in just 12 years is wrong. “Recent satellite images of Greenland make it clear that there are in fact still numerous glaciers and permanent ice cover where the new Times Atlas shows ice-free conditions and the emergence of new lands,” they say in a letter that has been sent to the Times. “We do not know why this error has occurred, but it is regrettable that the claimed drastic reduction in the extent of ice in Greenland has created headline news around the world. There is to our knowledge no support for this claim in the published scientific literature.“
WISE telescope raises questions about asteroid that is thought to have killed dinosaurs
The WISE space telescope has raised questions about source of the asteroid believed to have killed the dinosaurs.
The WISE space telescope has raised questions about source of the asteroid believed to have killed the dinosaurs.
New exoplanets make astronomers long for a telescope to see them
The plethora of new exoplanet discoveries has astronomers longing for a telescope that can see them up close.
Astronomers need either a giant space telescope equipped with a device for blocking starlight, or an interferometer, consisting of several telescopes flying in formation. NASA did develop a proposal for such a space telescope, called Terrestrial Planet Finder, and the European Space Agency hoped to fly a similar mission called Darwin. But budgetary constraints have left both missions in limbo, unlikely to advance to the front of either agency’s queue until well into the next decade. At the conference, Traub raised the issue. “People are not thinking deeply about the distant future. People are wrapped up with what they’re doing right now,” he says. “Clearly, I’m concerned.”
The plethora of new exoplanet discoveries has astronomers longing for a telescope that can see them up close.
Astronomers need either a giant space telescope equipped with a device for blocking starlight, or an interferometer, consisting of several telescopes flying in formation. NASA did develop a proposal for such a space telescope, called Terrestrial Planet Finder, and the European Space Agency hoped to fly a similar mission called Darwin. But budgetary constraints have left both missions in limbo, unlikely to advance to the front of either agency’s queue until well into the next decade. At the conference, Traub raised the issue. “People are not thinking deeply about the distant future. People are wrapped up with what they’re doing right now,” he says. “Clearly, I’m concerned.”
Online gamers crack AIDS enzyme puzzle
Online gamers crack AIDS enzyme puzzle.
Online gamers crack AIDS enzyme puzzle.
Another ObamaCare glitch could result in some businesses being exempt from fines for not providing their workers with health insurance.
Another ObamaCare glitch could result in some businesses being exempt from fines for not providing their workers with health insurance.
In reading the article I found its attempt to explain this situation to be quite incomprehensible. In fact, I wonder if anyone really understands this law, which helps explain why it has squelched the economy and should be repealed.
Another ObamaCare glitch could result in some businesses being exempt from fines for not providing their workers with health insurance.
In reading the article I found its attempt to explain this situation to be quite incomprehensible. In fact, I wonder if anyone really understands this law, which helps explain why it has squelched the economy and should be repealed.
One of the judges who ruled in the Kelo property case has apologized to the owner
One of the judges who ruled in the Kelo property case has apologized to the owner.
One of the judges who ruled in the Kelo property case has apologized to the owner.
White House Emails Reveal Major Obamacare Accounting Fraud
Repeal it: White House emails have revealed an effort by the Obama administration in 2009 to coverup the accounting failures of the CLASS program within Obamacare.
Emails show that the first warning about CLASS came in May 2009, from Richard Foster, head of long range economic forecasts for Medicare. “At first glance this proposal doesn’t look workable,” Foster wrote in an email to other HHS officials, some of whom were working with Congress to get CLASS into the health care law. Foster said a rough outline of the program would have to enroll more than 230 million people — more than the U.S. workforce — to be financially feasible. But work on CLASS continued, bolstered by a report for AARP that laid out scenarios for implementing the plan. The AARP study also raised financial concerns, although the seniors’ lobby supports CLASS.
In July, Foster tried again. After reviewing the latest information from Kennedy’s office, he wrote HHS officials: “Thirty-six years of (professional) experience lead me to believe that this program would collapse in short order and require significant federal subsidies to continue.” Too late. The Obama administration had decided to support CLASS. Documents and emails indicate that Foster was edged out of deliberations. [emphasis mine]
Repeal it: White House emails have revealed an effort by the Obama administration in 2009 to coverup the accounting failures of the CLASS program within Obamacare.
Emails show that the first warning about CLASS came in May 2009, from Richard Foster, head of long range economic forecasts for Medicare. “At first glance this proposal doesn’t look workable,” Foster wrote in an email to other HHS officials, some of whom were working with Congress to get CLASS into the health care law. Foster said a rough outline of the program would have to enroll more than 230 million people — more than the U.S. workforce — to be financially feasible. But work on CLASS continued, bolstered by a report for AARP that laid out scenarios for implementing the plan. The AARP study also raised financial concerns, although the seniors’ lobby supports CLASS.
In July, Foster tried again. After reviewing the latest information from Kennedy’s office, he wrote HHS officials: “Thirty-six years of (professional) experience lead me to believe that this program would collapse in short order and require significant federal subsidies to continue.” Too late. The Obama administration had decided to support CLASS. Documents and emails indicate that Foster was edged out of deliberations. [emphasis mine]
Largest dam removal in U.S. history begins in Washington
The largest dam removal in U.S. history has begun in Washington.
The article is remarkably vague about how this source of electrical power will be replaced.
The largest dam removal in U.S. history has begun in Washington.
The article is remarkably vague about how this source of electrical power will be replaced.
Obama to propose $1.5 trillion in new taxes
Obama to propose $1.5 trillion in new taxes today.
A quick look at this proposal tells me that most of it is made of gimmicks and smoke and mirrors. The cuts are elusive, while the tax increases are real. More important, none of it actually appears to cut spending at all, merely reducing the rate that spending increases over the next decade.
Sadly, I don’t expect anything much better from the present Republican leadership.
Obama to propose $1.5 trillion in new taxes today.
A quick look at this proposal tells me that most of it is made of gimmicks and smoke and mirrors. The cuts are elusive, while the tax increases are real. More important, none of it actually appears to cut spending at all, merely reducing the rate that spending increases over the next decade.
Sadly, I don’t expect anything much better from the present Republican leadership.
Surviving the end of the shuttle problem: how some companies are doing it
Surviving the end of the shuttle problem: how some private companies are doing it.
Surviving the end of the shuttle problem: how some private companies are doing it.
China launches communications satellite
China has resumed rocket launches after an August failure, putting a communications satellite into orbit.
This bodes well for the pending launch of the country’s first space station module, Tiangong 1.
China has resumed rocket launches after an August failure, putting a communications satellite into orbit.
This bodes well for the pending launch of the country’s first space station module, Tiangong 1.
Bjork – It’s oh so quiet
UARS to hit Earth in a week
The sky is falling: The six-ton climate satellite UARS is now expected to crash to Earth within a week.
The sky is falling: The six-ton climate satellite UARS is now expected to crash to Earth within a week.
Webb Telescope budget continues to grow
Bad news for astronomers: The budget for the James Webb Space Telescope continues to swell.
Bad news for astronomers: The budget for the James Webb Space Telescope continues to swell.
Gordon Lightfoot – Canadian Railroad Trilogy
Spelling negus
The reconnaissance satellite Big Bird on display
Worth a look: The U.S. spy satellite Big Bird, the KH-9 Hexagon, will be on public display for the first time tomorrow, for only one day, in the parking lot of the Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center.
Worth a look: The U.S. spy satellite Big Bird, the KH-9 Hexagon, will be on public display for the first time tomorrow, for only one day, in the parking lot of the Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center.
A Yellow Supergiant Progenitor of a Massive Star Supernova in M51
The uncertainty of science: Astronomers have determined that the star that went supernova in the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) in June — making it the nearest supernova in 25 years — was a yellow supergiant star, not an aging red supergiant as predicted by theory. From the preprint paper:
Despite the canonical prediction that Type II supernovae arise from red supergiants, there is mounting evidence that some stars explode as yellow supergiants. A handful of Type II supernovae have been observed to arise from yellow supergiants: supernovae 1993J, 2008cn, and 2009kr. The locations of the progenitors on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram shows clearly that these stars are not located on the predicted end points for single star stellar evolution tracks. In addition, despite arising from supposedly similar yellow supergiant progenitors, these supernovae display a wide range of properties.
The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is a graph mapping the color of stars against their luminosity. Because color and brightness change as the star evolves over time, the graph is used by astronomers to track the birth, growth, and death of stars. That these yellow supergiants don’t appear to be at “the predicted end points for single star evolution” on the diagram is a serious problem for the theorists who have tried to explain what causes this particular type of supernova.
Which also means astronomers are still unable to tell us what stars in the sky are most likely to go supernova in the future.
The uncertainty of science: Astronomers have determined that the star that went supernova in the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) in June — making it the nearest supernova in 25 years — was a yellow supergiant star, not an aging red supergiant as predicted by theory. From the preprint paper:
Despite the canonical prediction that Type II supernovae arise from red supergiants, there is mounting evidence that some stars explode as yellow supergiants. A handful of Type II supernovae have been observed to arise from yellow supergiants: supernovae 1993J, 2008cn, and 2009kr. The locations of the progenitors on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram shows clearly that these stars are not located on the predicted end points for single star stellar evolution tracks. In addition, despite arising from supposedly similar yellow supergiant progenitors, these supernovae display a wide range of properties.
The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is a graph mapping the color of stars against their luminosity. Because color and brightness change as the star evolves over time, the graph is used by astronomers to track the birth, growth, and death of stars. That these yellow supergiants don’t appear to be at “the predicted end points for single star evolution” on the diagram is a serious problem for the theorists who have tried to explain what causes this particular type of supernova.
Which also means astronomers are still unable to tell us what stars in the sky are most likely to go supernova in the future.
Update on the repairs to the Subaru Telescope
The Subaru Telescope team has posted an update on its repair effort following a July 2nd coolant leak.
The Subaru Telescope team has posted an update on its repair effort following a July 2nd coolant leak.
Bigelow and Boeing do airbag drop tests on Boeing manned capsule
On Monday Bigelow and Boeing completed successful drop tests in the Mohave Desert of airbags to be used during landings of the Boeing manned capsule. With video.
On Monday Bigelow and Boeing completed successful drop tests in the Mohave Desert of airbags to be used during landings of the Boeing manned capsule. With video.