Bolden’s trip his idea, not the White House’s
According to the website SpaceRef, NASA administrator Charles Bolden’s trip to Saudia Arabia and China this past week was his idea alone, and that the White House did not want him to go.
Category: Behind The Black
The Sun was brighter when it was dimmer?
The science is settled? According to one scientist’s data, the Sun actually brightened in visible wavelengths during the ramp down from solar maximum to minimum in 2004-2007 — the exact opposite to what was expected — while dropping in the ultraviolet four times more than predicted.
Scientists and Soldiers Solve a Bee Mystery
The cause of the mysterious honey bee die-off since 2006 appears to have been identified.
Layoffs Continue as NASA Slows Constellation Spending
Confusion at NASA: Layoffs continue as NASA slows Constellation spending. This despite a budget in 2010 that requires the program’s continuation, and a Congressional authorization for 2011 that requires NASA to build a comparable heavy-lift rocket.
Chang’e 2 arrives in lunar orbit
China’s new lunar orbiter, Chang’e 2, has arrived in lunar orbit.
Apollo 11 original television footage unveiled
Digitally remastered footage of the original television recordings from the Apollo 11 mission have been unveiled in Australia.
It’s only a seltzer moon Plumes from Saturn’s Enceladus may be carbonated
The plumes that come out of the tiger stripe cracks on Saturn’s moon Enceladus may be carbonated!
Engineer spice
An evening pause: Engineer spice.
Pluto’s ice: 97% nitrogen, 3% methane
More results from the press conference going on right now at the 42nd meeting of the AAS Division for Planetary Sciences:
Pluto’s surface ice is made up of 97% nitrogen, 3% methane, while the surface of the Kuiper Belt object Eris (which is larger than Pluto) is even more rich in methane, with a make up of 90% nitrogen and 10% methane. Both measurements go down to a depth of about 10 inches. To see the abstract for this result, go here.
The atmosphere of Venus is 60% less dense at its poles
By diving into the upper atmosphere of Venus above its north pole, Venus Express has found that the atmosphere there is 60% less dense than predicted. This from a press conference going on right now at the 42nd meeting of the AAS Division for Planetary Sciences. They plan an additional dive campaign during the next month. And they plan more dives, going deeper each time, as they judge the consequences to the spacecraft each time.
To read the abstracts of the Venus Express papers, go here.
Updated: The full press release, with images, can be seen here.
No active volcanoes on Mars
Geert Wilder’s words make Muslims uncomfortable
How sad. The harsh words that Dutch politician Geert Wilder has for Islam (now facing prison for saying those words) is making Muslims in the Netherlands feel unsafe. Key quote:
“My family and I no longer feel safe in the Netherlands because Mr. Wilders is continually making hateful remarks about Islamic Dutch people,” said one complaint read out by the judge.
Gee. What about the more than 16,000 violent attacks committed by Islamic terrorists since September 11, 2001, leaving tens of thousands of people dead or maimed? How does this violence make these Dutch Muslims feel?
The October 2010 sunspot graph
Yesterday NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center published its October monthly graph, showing the sun’s developing sunspot cycle in comparison with the consensis prediction made by the solar science community in May 2009.
Sunspot activity in September clearly jumped, though it still remains far below predictions. Prepare for the weakest solar maximum since the 1810s!
Note also that today the Sun is blank, with no sunspots, the first time this has happened since August. At that time I speculated that this might “be the last time the Sun will be blank for years as it continues to ramp up to its next solar maximum.” Obviously not. The question now is whether today will be the finale in blankness for this minimum.
If you do this in an email, I hate you
EPA’s Own Estimates Say Greenhouse Gas Regs Could ‘Slow Construction Nationwide for Years’ — and Take a Century to Reduce Temperature 0.0015 Degrees
The EPA itself believes that its effort to regulate carbon dioxide under its Prevention of Significant Deterioration program could “slow construction nationwide for years”. And what would this accomplish? Global temperatures would be reduced a whopping 0.0015 degrees! Key quote:
“It is clear throughout the country, PSD (Prevention of Significant Deterioration) permit issuance would be unable to keep up with the flood of incoming applications, resulting in delays, at the outset, that would be at least a decade or longer, and that would only grow worse over time as each year, the number of new permit applications would exceed permitting authority resources for that year.”
Treasury Inspector General to Investigate White House Disclosure of Confidential Taxpayer Data of Political Opponent
The headline says it all: “Treasury Inspector General to investigate White House disclosure of confidential taxpayer data of political opponent.”
Four Chinese lunar landers?
Hayabusa brought back extraterrestrial matter
Reports today in the Japanese press say that the Hayabusa return capsule did capture minute particles of extraterrestrial material.
Muppets: “I don’t want to live on the Moon”
An evening pause:The Muppets (1978). Jim Henson singing, “I don’t want to live on the Moon.”
13 Stunning Photos From 10-Year Sea Census
Thirteen stunning photos from a 10-Year census of the oceans.