Category: Behind The Black
A galaxy eats a star
Nyiragongo Crater: Journey to the Center of the World
Walking in Nyiragongo Crater in Africa. The pictures are stupendous.
Walking in Nyiragongo Crater in Africa. The pictures are stupendous.
Caving in Druid Cave, Cheat Canyon, West Virginia
An evening pause: Caving in Druid Cave, Cheat Canyon, West Virginia. The caver is David Riggs. The videographer is caver Aaron Bird. The caver who arrives at the end with the ATV is caver Brian Masney. All are world class cavers, with whom I’ve had the honor of caving.
The video is nicely done, and gives an excellent and accurate feel for modern cave exploration and techniques. Watch especially how the rigging allows David to climb past the waterfall while on rope and hardly get wet.
Hot time on the ol’ Sun tonight!
After literally years of inactivity, well below all initial predictions, the Sun truly came to life this past month. Below is the March monthly update of the Sun’s sunspot cycle, published by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. The red curve is the prediction, while the dotted black line shows the actual activity.
As you can see, the Sun’s sunspot activity shot up precipitously. Though I don’t have the data from past years, the March jump appears to me to probably be one of the fastest monthly rises ever recorded.
Does this mean the newest prediction from the solar scientists at the Marshall Space Flight Center calling for a weak solar maximum in 2013 is wrong? Probably not, though of course in this young field who knows? I would say, however, that the overall trend of the data still suggests the next maximum will be very weak.
Stay tuned! The next few months should finally give us a sense of where the next maximum is heading.
GOP Budget Proposal: ‘Not a Penny’ for Obamacare
More progress, if true: The Republican 2012 budget proposal includes nothing for Obamacare.
More progress, if true: The Republican 2012 budget proposal includes nothing for Obamacare.
Bill Staines – River
Evidence that liquid water once existed on a comet
Scientists have found strong evidence that liquid water once existed in the interior of a comet.
Scientists have found strong evidence that liquid water once existed in the interior of a comet.
Martian Mud Volcanoes
A Koran, and Free Speech, In Flames
Obama Rejects Latest Republican budget
Looks like he has decided to shut the government down: Obama rejects latest Republican budget.
Looks like he has decided to shut the government down: Obama rejects latest Republican budget.
Astronauts take cover as debris drifts toward International Space Station
Astronauts in ISS take cover as Chinese space junk flies past.
Astronauts in ISS take cover as Chinese space junk flies past.
NASA human space-flight programme lost in transition
From the British science journal Nature: NASA human space-flight programme lost in transition.
From the British science journal Nature: NASA human space-flight programme lost in transition.
Ann Barnhardt vs Lindsey Graham
This woman bluntly, clearly, and without apology explains freedom, the first amendment, and the difference between peaceful protest and violence to Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina).
Make sure you watch part 2 of her oration, where she goes through the worst quotes from the Koran (bookmarked with bacon strips!) and burns those pages.
SpaceX Unveils Plan for World’s Most Powerful Private Rocket
SpaceX unveils its plan for the Falcon 9 Heavy, what would be the world’s most powerful private rocket.
The new rocket will be able to carry about 117,000 pounds (53,000 kilograms) of cargo to orbit – about twice the payload-carrying capability of the space shuttle. The Falcon Heavy would launch more than twice as much weight as the Delta 4 heavy, currently the most powerful rocket in operation. Only NASA’s Saturn 5 moon rocket, which last launched in 1973, could carry more cargo to orbit, SpaceX officials said.
Musk said the rocket should lower the launch cost of cargo to about $1,000 per pound, about one-tenth the cost per pound on NASA shuttle launches.
SpaceX unveils its plan for the Falcon 9 Heavy, what would be the world’s most powerful private rocket.
The new rocket will be able to carry about 117,000 pounds (53,000 kilograms) of cargo to orbit – about twice the payload-carrying capability of the space shuttle. The Falcon Heavy would launch more than twice as much weight as the Delta 4 heavy, currently the most powerful rocket in operation. Only NASA’s Saturn 5 moon rocket, which last launched in 1973, could carry more cargo to orbit, SpaceX officials said.
Musk said the rocket should lower the launch cost of cargo to about $1,000 per pound, about one-tenth the cost per pound on NASA shuttle launches.
Ryan proposes $6.2 trillion in cuts over the next 10 years
Progress! The House Republicans propose $6.2 trillion in cuts over the next 10 years.
Progress! The House Republicans propose $6.2 trillion in cuts over the next 10 years.
Tallest Known Cliff in the Solar System
Russia Speeds Up Moon, Mars Plans as U.S. May Cut Spending
Russia is accelerating its space program.
“It is the first time that the government has allocated decent financing to us,” Anatoly Perminov, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, said in a phone interview on April 2. The agency’s $3.5 billion budget for 2011 has almost tripled since 2007, reaching the highest since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. “We can now advance on all themes a bit,” Perminov said.
Unlike 50 years ago, when beating the U.S. into space marked a geopolitical victory in the Cold War, Russia is focusing on the commercial, technological and scientific aspects of space travel. President Dmitry Medvedev has named aerospace one of five industries the government plans to nurture to help diversify the economy of the world’s largest energy supplier away from resource extraction.
Russia is accelerating its space program.
“It is the first time that the government has allocated decent financing to us,” Anatoly Perminov, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, said in a phone interview on April 2. The agency’s $3.5 billion budget for 2011 has almost tripled since 2007, reaching the highest since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. “We can now advance on all themes a bit,” Perminov said.
Unlike 50 years ago, when beating the U.S. into space marked a geopolitical victory in the Cold War, Russia is focusing on the commercial, technological and scientific aspects of space travel. President Dmitry Medvedev has named aerospace one of five industries the government plans to nurture to help diversify the economy of the world’s largest energy supplier away from resource extraction.
House GOP introduces one-week stopgap with $12B in spending cuts
The House Republicans last night introduced a one-week stopgap continuing resolution with $12 billion in spending cuts.
The House Republicans last night introduced a one-week stopgap continuing resolution with $12 billion in spending cuts.
For Some Entrepreneurs, Moon Is Money
Software engineers to the Moon!
Crazy? Absolutely! Impossible? Probably not! There are a growing number of people who believe that with federal funding for our space program getting scarce, the future lies in private-public partnerships. Entrepreneur Elon Musk’s third job (after leading electric car company Tesla and acting as the Chairman of solar installer SolarCity) is heading up SpaceX, which was the first private company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a rocketship. Virgin’s Richard Branson has a similar private space venture.
Software engineers to the Moon!
Crazy? Absolutely! Impossible? Probably not! There are a growing number of people who believe that with federal funding for our space program getting scarce, the future lies in private-public partnerships. Entrepreneur Elon Musk’s third job (after leading electric car company Tesla and acting as the Chairman of solar installer SolarCity) is heading up SpaceX, which was the first private company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a rocketship. Virgin’s Richard Branson has a similar private space venture.
Federal workers in shutdown limbo
My heart bleeds: Federal workers in shutdown limbo.
Considering government workers generally make twice the salary of workers in the private sector, I have little sympathy for them and consider this to be nothing more than a pig squealing.
My heart bleeds: Federal workers in shutdown limbo.
Considering government workers generally make twice the salary of workers in the private sector, I have little sympathy for them and consider this to be nothing more than a pig squealing.
The “Pioneer Anomaly”: Case Closed
Supreme court decision today on school choice reveals much about their position on Obamacare
The Supreme Court decision today on school choice reveals a greal deal about how the justices might vote on the legality of Obamacare.
The Supreme Court decision today on school choice reveals a greal deal about how the justices might vote on the legality of Obamacare.
Boehner digs in on spending cuts, saying $33B is ‘not enough’
The Republican response to the various Democratic claims that a budget deal is imminent: There is no deal, and $33 billion in cuts is “not enough.”
The Republican response to the various Democratic claims that a budget deal is imminent: There is no deal, and $33 billion in cuts is “not enough.”
Will EPA Lose Control of Greenhouse Gas Rules?
Will the EPA lose control of greenhouse gas rules?
The article above, written for the journal Science, is clearly on the side of the EPA. Nonetheless, it does outline well the political dynamics of this regulatory battle between the EPA and Congress.
Will the EPA lose control of greenhouse gas rules?
The article above, written for the journal Science, is clearly on the side of the EPA. Nonetheless, it does outline well the political dynamics of this regulatory battle between the EPA and Congress.
Astronauts head to ISS on spaceship Gagarin
Three astronauts were launched to ISS today in a Soyuz capsule the Russians have named Gagarin, in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of his flight on April 12.
Three astronauts were launched to ISS today in a Soyuz capsule the Russians have named Gagarin, in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of his flight on April 12.
Beach Boys – Sloop John B
Toyota says it will shut North American plants
The real disaster in Japan finally reaches the U.S. and it isn’t radiation: Toyota has announced it will shut its North American plants due to the shortage of parts caused by the earthquake/tsunami.
The real disaster in Japan finally reaches the U.S. and it isn’t radiation: Toyota has announced it will shut its North American plants due to the shortage of parts caused by the earthquake/tsunami.
Record loss of ozone over Arctic
I thought the banning of CFCs was going to change this? March sets a record for ozone loss over the Arctic.
Or to put it another way, climate science is far more complicated than too many climate scientists want to admit.
I thought the banning of CFCs was going to change this? March sets a record for ozone loss over the Arctic.
Or to put it another way, climate science is far more complicated than too many climate scientists want to admit.
Russia’s western spaceport to be ready for first launch by 2015
Russia’s launch capability continues to expand: Not only will they be able to launch rockets from French Guiana this year, it looks like Russia’s western spaceport will be ready for its first launch by 2015.
Russia’s launch capability continues to expand: Not only will they be able to launch rockets from French Guiana this year, it looks like Russia’s western spaceport will be ready for its first launch by 2015.
Exploring the floor of Copernicus
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter website recently announced a new way to tour the Moon. The website, called QuickMap, allows a user with any home computer to zoom into any spot on the lunar surface and see the high resolution images being taken by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Using QuickMap, I spent a few hours this past weekend strolling about on the northern half of the floor of the crater Copernicus. It is in this area, annotated in the image on the right, that NASA engineer James Fincannon has already located a slew of collapse features and possible caves, the images of which I have posted previously on behindtheblack. (Click on the image or here to see a larger version of this updated index map.)
(You also can go sightseeing there if you wish. Go to QuickMap and zoom in on 10.1 latitude and -20.1 longitude to get to the floor of Copernicus. Or pick your own spot on the lunar surface and do some of your own exploring!)
What I found in the northern half of Copernicus’s floor was a plethora of possible caves and collapse features. Literally, the crater floor is littered with what appear to be pits, fissures, rills, and sinks. More significantly, sometimes the cave entrances line up with long straight collapse features, suggesting strongly the existence of extensive underground passages beyond the initial entrance pits.
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