Very brief descriptions, with appropriate links, of current or recent news items.
Kepler had found a solar system with two Saturn-sized planets, plus a possible third planet 1.5 times the diameter of the Earth, with a mass three to four times as big.
How to repeal the first amendment. . .
More than 3 million seniors will be required by the government to change drug plans next year, despite Obama’s repeated promise during the healthcare debate that if people like their plan they will be able to keep it.
After a short four day stretch with no sunspots — the first time in months — two new sunspots appeared today. It is very possible that this will be the last time the Sun will be blank for years as it continues to ramp up to its next solar maximum.
The Russian news agency ITAR-TASS reports that all the “i”s have been dotted on the plans to build a new spaceport in the far east of Russia. Construction is set to begin next year.
Chile asks NASA for advice on keeping the 33 trapped miners alive in the weeks to months required to dig a rescue shaft.
Our government in action: The EPA is considering a ban on lead in ammunition.
The publication of the results of the material found within the Hayabusa capsule has been delayed until December. The researchers have found that the particles in the capsule are smaller than expected, and they need more time to study them properly.
Amateurs tracking the X-37B military test shuttle have discovered that it has made two orbital maneuvers. Since the Air Force refuses to discuss the flight program, the reasons behind these maneuvers remains unknown.
Two Danish inventors are about to test fly their own privately financed suborbital rocket, designed to eventually carry humans. Key quote:
It is due to launch from a submarine in the Baltic Sea on August 30th and, if successful, they will repeat it with a human passenger on board as soon as possible.
Not only have amateur skywatchers photographed the X-37B military space plane presently in orbit, they use a smart phone app for tracking satellites and available to all to tell them when to look.
More information on the recently discovered fireball that impacted Jupiter on August 20, including images.
For the third time in the last year, Jupiter has been hit by a large previously unknown object.
Pressure testing NASA’s Orion capsule is about to begin, despite the space war about its future.
The thirty-three Chilean miners presently trapped underground face a months-long effort before a new tunnel can reach them.
Why bother with research when all we need to do is ask our politicians? Scientist Hillary Clinton studies the floods in Pakistan and the forest fires in Russia and declares them both proof that global warming is happening!
Oh boy! Doesn’t this sound exciting! The FAA is teaming up with seven universities to lay out the regulation of private space travel.
Today we hiked almost ten miles around Mt. St. Helens, walking down to the shore of Spirit Lake (see below) as well as tromping about on the debris field just below the crater. I will have a long post on the experience tomorrow.
For the first time in months, the Sun is blank, with no sunspots. This lull should be very temporary, and might very well be the last time we see the Sun so quiet for a long time, as it ramps up to its next solar maximum (even if that solar maximum is very weak).
The sun was out, the sky was clear, and so today we did a short 6.5 circuit hike below Mt. Rainier, following the Lakes trail.
More details about the drop test by SpaceX of its Dragon capsule.
Is the space war over NASA’s future ending? I wonder, reading this report in which NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver confidently announces that a compromise between Congress and the administration is pending. More importantly, she said the following:
Many things are still uncertain, but one thing is not uncertain. Marshall [Space Flight Center] will lead the heavy-lift launch program.
Considering Garver’s previously strong opposition to Constellation, this statement indicates that she and the administration have backed down, and are willing to accept the heavy-lift part of Constellation, once called Ares V, as long as no one uses those Bush-era names.
Why I drive rather than fly, as much as possible: TSA guards rummage through woman’s purse, inspect her receipts, commandeer her checkbook, and call her husband. Key quote:
“I understand that TSA is tasked with strengthening national security but [it] surely does not need to know what I purchased at Kohl’s or Wal-Mart.”
Want to see what the Earth-Moon double planet looks like from 114 million miles away? Take a look at this image taken recently by the Messenger spacecraft on its long journey to Mercury.
Bad news for space tourism! One of WhiteKnightTwo’s landing gears collapsed as the plane landed at the end of a test flight yesterday. Here’s a statement from Scaled Composites, the builder of the suborbital rocket system.
Images from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have proven that as the Moon cooled and solidified, it shrunk, leaving behind a network of cliffs, called thrust faults, across its entire face.
Astronomers have discovered the first star/neutron star binary system where the normal star is eclipsing the neutron star several times each week.
The cooling system on ISS is finally running normally again after the three spacewalks to replace the system’s failed pump.
Despite increasing use by humans, the plastic pollution floating in the North Atlantic ocean has not increased over the last two decades,and scientists don’t know why. From the Science press notice:
The authors propose a handful of possible explanations for why more discarded plastic is not appearing out in the open Atlantic Ocean. It may break up into pieces too small to be collected by the nets, or it might be sinking beneath the surface. Or, it might be consumed by marine organisms. More research will be necessary to determine the likelihood of each scenario.
The Obama administration has blocked South Korea from selling over a hundred thousand American-made surplus rifles to American gun collectors.
