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Night Sky Delight
(Which is not a thing like Afternoon Delight, but now I’ve got that song running through Shadow’s head so my work here is done.) Scienceray has a neat roundup of some very cool interactive animated astronomy Websites, including a solar system visualizer, history of NASA, and a Mars explorer. I especially like the Amazing Space…
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Five Years of Mars Exploration
Spirit landed safely on January 3, 2004, and Opportunity followed on the 24th. None of the NASA researchers who cheered at their landing expected them to still be sending back data five years later. And they’ve still got plans for the rovers’ future. Link
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It’s Probably the Old Ones Snoring
Researchers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center have discovered a strange “roar” coming from distant space that’s six times more powerful than all other space radio sources combined. They have no idea what it is, and say that “something new and interesting going on in the universe.” This makes me unaccountably nervous. Link (via BoingBoing)
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Best Astronomy Photos of 2008
Itv News has a roundup of the 50 best astronomy photos of 2008, some based on the science behind the picture and some based on the fact that they’re just freaking gorgeous. Link (via The Presurfer)
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Space Exists in Your Shoes
No, really. The space program is responsible for giving us a lot more than Tang. The NASA site has a neat little Flash application that illustrates some of the ways that space exploration impacts our daily life. You can view various rooms in “NASA @ Home” and see everyday products which were developed as spinoffs…
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But Mom, it’s a Documentary!
Tomorrow the History Channel will air a very special episode of “The Universe” exploring the subject of sex in space. As man moves to colonize the cosmos, the realities of sexual relationships and reproduction need to be addressed. Probe the physiological, psychological and cultural challenges of sex in space. From the sex act through birth,…
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Is Science Fiction Responsible for the Lack of Public Interest in Space Exploration?
Buzz Aldrin says it is. “Q: Astronaut Buzz Aldrin said fantastic space science fiction shows and movies are partly responsible for the lack of interest in real-life space exploration among young people. Do you agree with this assessment? Why?” And look at all the SF authors who answered him :-) http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/007350.html
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“Naked Eye” Solar System Discovered
Astronomers have discovered a solar system around a star that’s close enough to Earth to be seen with the naked eye. At least one and possibly three planets are orbiting Epsilon Eridani, the ninth-closest star to our own. It’s much, much younger than our own system–only around 850 million years old–giving researchers a glimpse of…
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How is the Weather Up There?
Most of the 300 extrasolar planets so far discovered are too distant to discern much about them, but we can infer temperature changes on a few of them by looking at the way their brightness varies. Some of the weather is officially described as “weird,” with unusually high nighttime temperatures suggesting an unknown heat-transport mechanism…
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Happy Birthday NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration began operation on October 1, 1958. The Washington Post has an article on its history which includes a photo gallery of some NASA highlights. If we could travel back to 1958 and tell the people who were founding the organization what it would accomplish in the next 50 years,…