Ian O'Neill

Meteor Explodes Over Canada

Only a month ago, a series of all-sky cameras in the Canadian region of southern Ontario captured a long-lasting meteorite fireball as it streaked across the skies. Last night it was the turn of the central province of Saskatchewan to see the spectacular fireball of a meteroid dropping through the atmosphere. According to eye witnesses, the intense light lit up the dark skies and a series of thunderous booms shook the ground.

Another day living in the interplanetary shooting gallery I suppose…
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Dust Really IS a Problem for Spirit

The ninja rover, NASA's answer to creeping up on Martian lifeforms...

Talk about having a bad dust day. Only last night on Astroengine Live I was discussing the near-death experience Mars Exploration Rover Spirit survived a few days ago. Much to NASA’s (and the science-loving world’s) relief, the Sun-blocking dust storm in Gusev Crater couldn’t beat down this tough wheeled warrior. Even though her solar panels are coated in a thick layer of red dust, she battles on to see another sol. According to NASA, Spirit will remain in a recovery mode until next month at least, giving the batteries some time to recharge…
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Astroengine Live Notes #1 (Nov. 19th)

Astroengine Live is officially launched!

If you were listening to last night’s show, you might have noticed the slight (8 minute) delay to the proceeds, but let’s just say Jack (my wingman, covering me from all angles at WPRT Radio) and I have uncovered a compatibility gremlin hiding inside Windows Vista. I’m not about to start a Vista-bashing tirade (as, in all honesty, this is the only “major” flaw I’ve come across in the last 10 months of using the OS), but it was annoying nonetheless.

However, I think we won in the end. Although the whole two hours were filled with my chatter about the International Space Station, Kuiper Belt Objects, lost space spiders and the awesome Spirit rover, the one thing I forgot to do was click the “record” button in the broadcast software… bummer. So Astroengine Live #1 will be forever known as the “Lost Show”…
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Astroengine Live Launches Today at 7pm EST

Today is the day.

The system is running, everything appears to be working as it should. The Astroengine Live satellite studio is ready to roll… all I need now is some content! (I’m only half joking!) I’ve got an awesome theme tune with some great, sultry voice-over audios by Selene (WPRT Radio Producer)… plus I have some awesome tracks lined up for you.

Today’s show will be starting at 4pm PST (7pm EST), right before your daily dose of Paranormal Radio with Captain Jack, so you have a big night of radio pleasure ahead of you!

To Listen Live:

Use your standard streaming audio player »
Or visit WPRT Radio for more information »

Contact Me:

Send any emails about any space/science related news to: astro@wprtradio.com and I’ll try to give it a mention!

Sci-Fi Space Robots: Top Five

Update (Nov 18th): OK, it looks like this article just hit the front page of Digg. Whilst cool, I’ve made a very quick deduction that people from Digg must not read the text of an article before commenting. Please read the opening paragraph before shouting “OMFG! This guy should really understand what sci-fi means!.” Perhaps the title could be improved (read: “Top 5 Space Robots that Look Like Science Fiction“), but I think all this can be remedied by simply reading the text and not just looking at the pictures. Thanks!

I love science fiction, I always have. In fact, it was the main motivational factor for me to begin to study science in the early 90’s. Although sci-fi is outlandish, futuristic and seemingly impossible, there is actually a high degree of science fact behind the TV shows, movies and video games. So when I was young, sci-fi fuelled my enthusiasm for physics; more specifically, astrophysics.

Many years after these first forays into trying to understand how the Universe really worked, I now find myself drawn to real space missions doing real science only to find the divide between sci-fi and sci-fact is getting smaller and smaller. However, to ignite the imagination and build an enthusiasm for the “futuristic” science being carried out right now, it helps if the robotic embodiment of the satellite, rover, probe or lander looks futuristic itself (possibly even a bit “sci-fi”). This way we not only do great science, but we ignite the imaginations of men, women and children who would have otherwise ignored the science behind space exploration.

So, here are my top five missions to ignite the imagination, past and future…
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What Would You Do with the International Space Station?

The International Space Station (ISS) is the epitome of human ingenuity. Through the collaboration of seven space agencies (representing 17 nations), the modular orbital outpost has been undergoing construction since 1998 and it is projected to be completed in 2011. By 2016, the ISS is expected to be retired.

The ISS has proven itself to be a long-term answer for manned habitation in space, where astronauts and cosmonauts are able to enjoy the relative comfort the spacious modules provide, often up to six months at a time. A vast array of experiments have been carried out on the station; from studying effects of weightlessness on the human physiology to understanding how plants and animals evolve in a microgravity environment; from observing the human impact on Earth’s environment to studying zero-gravity fluid dynamics. Pretty much every discipline has been investigated.

All of the experiences on the ISS go toward understanding how mankind can function in space, helping us understand where we fit into the Solar System. The work being carried out by the various expeditions being flown to the station will all be used when we make the great push to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

This all sounds amazing, but is it worth it? Is the ISS really living up to all its expectations? After all, the ISS will be bypassed if we do eventually make the trip the Moon (if the ISS hasn’t already been retired by then), it has never been a “stepping stone” beyond Earth orbit. Also, has the ISS done anything different? Surely other space stations such as Mir and Skylab aided mankind’s study on how zero-G affects the human body, how many biological tests do we need?

Astroengine Live Discussion
I am interested as to what people have to say about this issue. Is the ISS a worthy endeavour, worth the billions of dollars ploughed into it every year? Or should the station be re-vamped? Perhaps there is another application for the ISS beyond carrying out microgravity experiments in orbit?

For Astroengine Live on Wednesday 19th November, I will allot some time to discuss the International Space Station purely to talk about your views on the subject.

What would you do with/on the space station?

Feel free to leave your answers/discussion below (or email me) including your name/alias and I’ll include your opinion in Astroengine Live’s debut show this Wednesday, starting at 7pm EST (4pm PST).

(Information on how to listen in/phone in to WPRT Radio will be coming soon…)

Carnival of Space Week 79 – One Astronomer’s Noise

"*Ellie, still waiting for E.T. to call?*" Our CoS #79 host Nicole's tribute to Jodie Foster in the movie Contact.

“One astronomer’s noise is another astronomer’s data,” is the quote from Nicole’s One Astronomer’s Noise website and I can’t think of a better way to kick off this week’s superb Carnival of Space. You’ll find international plans to move mankind off-Earth, some impressive terrestrial craters, a singing Saturn and the uses for inflatable solar sails in space.

This week, I felt the need to chat about one of my favourite regions of the Solar System, the Kuiper Belt. The objects in this icy location are a source of mystery, bettered only by the Oort Cloud (which is probably there, but we can’t see it, thereby making Oort Cloud Objects even more mysterious). So I gave a quick run-down of my favourite five Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs), and the number one slot went to a highly unlikely candidate (you’ll be shocked!).

Anyhow, great carnival Nicole! I love your site and your profile’s striking resemblance to a certain Jodie Foster film…

“Politics Has Nothing To Do With Space Exploration” – Debate (Wear Safety Goggles)

Today has been a strange day. Last night was much like any other. I wrote a fairly innocuous article for the Universe Today, about a contractor who allegedly ripped off NASA with faulty goods. I went to bed.

But then I woke up this morning to find a proverbial can of worms ripped open all over my little online world.

When I wrote the NASA article, I was keen to point out the legal proceedings were far from over and I wanted to get as many of the facts into the text as possible. It turns out the 60 year-old contractor could be going to jail for 15 years and face $500,000 in fines, so this is no laughing matter.

However, I flexed my blogging rights and added a little levity to the proceedings with a bit of tongue-in-cheek humour. The humour wasn’t directed at the chap going through the legal system in Houston, it was an article opener I thought would be a fun read… I was wrong.
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Alien Worlds: Extrasolar Planets Imaged for First Time

Two of the three confirmed planets orbiting HR 8799 indicated as “b” and “c” on the image above. “b” is the ~7 Jupiter-mass planet orbiting at about 70 AU, “c” is the ~10 Jupiter-mass planet orbiting the star at about 40 AU. Due to the brightness of the central star, it has been blocked and appears blank in this image to increase visibility of the planets (Gemini Observatory)

The day has finally come. We now have direct, infrared and optical observations of planets orbiting other stars. Yesterday, reports from two independent sources surfaced, one from the Gemini and Keck II observatories and the second from the Hubble Space Telescope. Brace yourself for an awe-inspiring display of planets orbiting two stars…

The Gemini/Keck observations were carried out using adaptive optics technology to correct in real-time for atmospheric turbulence. The stunning images of a multiple planetary star system were then constructed from infrared emissions (the image, top, was constructed by Keck II as a follow-up to to the Gemini observations). The system in question is centred around a star called HR 8799, approximately 130 light years from Earth and in the constellation of Pegasus. The entire press release can be found at the Gemini observatory site, where they give the discovery a full run-down.

On the same day, the Hubble Space Telescope team also released images of one extrasolar planet, only this time in optical wavelengths. Although the exoplanet in Hubble’s images is less obvious than the infrared Gemini/Keck II images, incredible detail has been attained, showing a ring of dust around the star Fomalhaut (located in the constellation of Piscis Austrinus). Fomalhaut is 25 light years away and the star’s daughter planet (Fomalhaut b) is only a little under 3 Jupiter masses.

Estimated to be no more than three times Jupiter's mass, the planet, called Fomalhaut b, orbits the bright southern star Fomalhaut, located 25 light-years away in the constellation Piscis Austrinus (NASA/ESA) — Estimated to be no more than three times Jupiter’s mass, the planet, called Fomalhaut b, orbits the bright southern star Fomalhaut, located 25 light-years away in the constellation Piscis Austrinus (NASA/ESA)

For more news on these discoveries, check out the Gemini/Keck II press release and the Hubble announcement. I’ll leave the ground-breaking announcement to the guys who have spent many years working to achieve this monumental goal.

Wow.

Sources: Gemini, ESA

Astroengine LIVE Touches Down on WPRT Radio!

Astroengine.com is about to branch out into the world of radio…

Starting on Wednesday 19th November at 7pm EST (4pm PST, or midnight GMT), I’ll be hosting my own weekly talk show called Astroengine Live! The show will air for two hours where I will discuss all the best space news, including views, opinions, phone-ins and special guests. If you want to find out everything from the next NASA mission, the status of the International Space Station, progress with the Large Hadron Collider to breaking news from small research institutions around the globe, then Astroengine Live is for you.

Ultimately I want Astroengine Live to work in harmony with Astroengine.com, expanding the reach of the radio world into the vast resources available online. Because of this, all schedules, episode content and additional on-air information will be available through AstroengineLive.com, directing you to the category “Astroengine Live” on this website.

I will announce show specifics closer to Wednesday’s debut, but in the meantime, you can check out the new home of Astroengine Live at WPRT Radio, also the home of Paranormal Radio with Captain Jack!

Cheers, Ian

PS. I’m also getting my own theme tune… now that is the icing on the cake!