Misc. – Page 27 – astroengine.com

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…
Continue reading “Sci-Fi Space Robots: Top Five”

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…

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!

Got It! Aftermath of Asteroid 2008 TC3 Impact Spotted

The long-lasting persistent train of the 2008 TC3 re-entry on October 7th (NASA)

At long last, we have visual evidence of the 2008 TC3 impact over the remote Sudanese skies. Admittedly, it’s not a video of the dazzling fireball ploughing though the upper atmosphere, before detonating with the energy of a small nuclear weapon, but it is a great picture of the smoky remnant after the explosion.

A noctilucent cloud after the launch of a Delta rocket (Flickr)

The meteorite train seen in the image above has been sheared and twisted by high altitude winds, leaving the snake-like pattern suspended in the air. The tenuous debris reflects the dawn sunlight, in a not-so-dissimilar way to the noctilucent cloud produced after a rocket launch (pictured left).

For more on today’s uncovering of the October 7th image (above), check out my Universe Today article. For more information on the first ever predicted asteroid impact, check out my collection of articles on Astroengine.com (tag: “2008 TC3”).

Tonight’s Paranormal Radio Show Postponed

Tonight for my monthly Paranormal Radio slot, Captain Jack and I will be having a discussion about the threat of asteroids and comets to the Earth. It’s not a question of if we’ll get hit by an extinction-level event, it’s a question of when…

Due to technical problems with the “voice of darkness” in the depths of Texas, tonight’s show about asteroids and interplanetary shooting galleries will have to be postponed for a couple of days. I hope it’s got nothing to do with those damn aliens or 2012 activists… Anyhow, for some reason Jack had to drive to Dallas, breaking all sorts of land-speed records, to buy a server…?!

Watch this space, I’ll update you with news as I get it…

In the mean time, check out the breadth of news items about space, politics, conspiracies, big foot and ghostly happenings at WPRT Radio…

I Stand Corrected…

Forget Planet X, a rogue comet, geomagnetic reversal and killer solar flares… this could be what the Mayans were talking about:

OK, I’ll stop with the humour now. Time to get on with some serious science stuff…

Update: Isn’t that a bit disrespectful of Palin to be signing her name against McCain’s head? Lol.

I really am getting back to the science now…

Source: Bad Astronomy

4 – 1 Odds That God Exists

Q: What does God, Russell Brand and the Higgs boson all have in common?
A: Unsurprisingly, not a lot.

The candidates (from left to right): 'Eye of God' (a.k.a. the Helix Nebula), Russell Brand (with Kristin Bell on the set of the excellent movie, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and my Higgs boson (from the Particle Zoo)

OK, so it’s been a “stupid news day” today. First I find out that 52% of voters in the great state of California believe that same-sex marriage is a bad thing, voting in the draconian Proposition 8. And then I read that a UK betting company has taken the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) search for the “God particle” literally.

So, that’s why The Eye of God (Helix Nebula as taken by Hubble) and my Higgs particle plushie are in the picture above… but where does Russell Brand and Kristin Bell come into it? Actually, there’s no reason for Bell to be in the picture at all (apart from being the first ever bikini-wearing actress to grace pages of Astroengine – don’t get used to it!), but it appears that Brand has some “god-like” qualities himself, coming a close second to old Higgsy…

Hold on to your muon detectors, this is about to get silly…
Continue reading “4 – 1 Odds That God Exists”