Stagnation fears haunt Russian space program
Stagnation haunts Russian space program.
Category: Points of Information
Very brief descriptions, with appropriate links, of current or recent news items.
Virgin Galactic Hiring SpaceShip Pilots
Virgin Galactic is now hiring for spaceship pilots.
Government shutdown averted as congressional leaders reach agreement on budget deal
A government shutdown is averted as congressional leaders have reached an agreement on a budget deal. Here’s some analysis of the political ramifications.
Government Shutdown Would Idle All but 500 NASA Workers
A government shutdown would idle all but 500 NASA workers.
ISS Plans Week-Long Simulated Mars Mission
ISS plans week-long simulated Mars mission.
This is the right idea, but to really learn something NASA needs to commit to a year-plus long simulated mission.
6 Pages of Obamacare Equals 429 Pages of Regulations
This monstrosity has got to be repealed: Six pages of Obamacare equals 429 pages of regulations.
Let’s dump trash at Boehner’s pad
Leftwing civility: “Let’s dump trash at Boehner’s pad.”
NASA braces for possible government shutdown
NASA backs out of space gravitational wave mission
NASA, crunched for money due to overages on James Webb Space Telescope, has cancelled its participation in the space gravitational wave mission LISA.
Two Americas: Public vs. Private Employees
Two Americas: public vs. private. The graph illustrates our nation’s problems quite clearly.
Conservative judge wins in Wisconsin
After much fussing in the vote-counting process, the conservative judge has won in Wisconsin. This probably ends the debate over the union law passed last month, which will now become law.
Spaceship Lands at San Francisco Airport
The future is here: Spaceship lands at San Francisco airport. And yes, that is an accurate headline!
Picking the landing spot for the next Mars rover is down to four finalists
Picking the landing spot for the next Mars rover: down to four finalists.
The strange fluctuating polar vortex over Venus’s pole
The strange fluctuating polar vortex over Venus’s south pole.
Lettuce alone
Kepler tracks the tiny light variations and oscillations of 500 stars
Kepler does asteroseismology on 500 sunlike stars. The data says that the theories of star formation need to be revised.
Russian Spaceship ‘Gagarin’ Arrives at Space Station
Russian spaceship “Gagarin” arrives at ISS.
Newly discovered asteroid orbits in union with Earth
Newly discovered asteroid follows the Earth as it orbits the Sun, and has been doing it for a quarter million years.
Currently, three other horseshoe companions of the Earth are known to exist but, unlike 2010 SO16, these linger for a few thousand years at most before moving on to different orbits. Also, with an estimated diameter of 200–400 metres, 2010 SO16 is by far the largest of Earth’s horseshoe asteroids. The team has already used the Las Cumbres Observatory’s Faulkes Telescope in an on-going campaign to track the object and refine its orbit further. “It is not that difficult to spot with a medium-sized professional telescope”, says Dr Asher. “It will remain as an evening object in Earth’s skies for many years to come.”
A galaxy eats a star
Nyiragongo Crater: Journey to the Center of the World
Walking in Nyiragongo Crater in Africa. The pictures are stupendous.