Category: Astrosphere

Here’s what’s happening in the astrosphere…

Alan Boyle has some stories of harrowing space scares. Space madness for real?

astropixie explains why some people had a blue moon yesterday, others will have one in June, and still others will have one in July.

The Space Elevator Reference describes Liftport’s difficult attempts to stay in business.

Space Prizes points the way towards a new lunarpedia, a place for all things lunar.

A Babe in the Universe talks about some new rides; a space shuttle simulator and a forthcoming Harry Potter ride.

Oh… and Happy Birthday Dad.

Let’s see what’s happening in the astrosphere.

First, I’m happy to report that the 5th Carnival of Space is up, including a post from Universe Today. Check it out, and participate next week.

Pity poor Pluto, kicked out of the planet club.

Seed Magazine has an interesting article from Chris Mooney about how science needs to be able to get its message across effectively.

And Deborah Byrd from Earth Sky Blogs explains why people resist science.

Astroprof has an analysis of space tourism safety.

Sentient Development thinks the Drake Equation is obsolete.

Here’s what’s going around the astrosphere.

First, I’d like to remind you that the 5th Carnival of Space is happening tomorrow. Get your entries in!

Spacescan has some interesting details on India’s plans to send a mission to the Moon.

The Astroprof spoke with Mars Society’s Bob Zubrin about going directly to Mars.

Pamela Gay is still at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Hawaii. She’s finding that scientists are surprised at how much we’re all following their research.

Space Politics has an analysis of Paul Spudis’ speech at ISDC about how the Vision for Space Exploration is progressing.

Wandering Space has some cool links to new animations of the Mars Science Laboratory.

Time for another turn around the astrosphere.

I know I went on and on yesterday about how I’m not able to attend the International Space Development Conference. Well, I’m going to continue living vicariously through the attendees.

And the busiest of the bunch is Space Prizes. Here are a torrent of posts, including: X-Prize Cup details, Armadillo Aerospace, and an Automotive X-Prize (100 mpg cars anyone?).

One of my favourite sites is The Space Review. Each week they’ve got a handful of really interesting articles and opinion pieces about space exploration. Here’s an example from this week’s issue, how the CIA was monitoring the Soviet manned lunar program by Dwayne Day.

And finally, here’s a nice picture of the M57, the Ring Nebula, one of my favourite telescope targets. Thanks to Vern’s Weblog.

It may be Memorial Day in the US, but it’s just a regular working day here in Canada. So, here’s today’s fine list of finds.

First, I’d like to point you towards the 5th Carnival of Space. It’s out of my hands this time, but I’ll be submitting an article. You should too.

If there was one conference I wish I could attend, it’s the International Space Development Conference going on in Houston. Unfortunately, I don’t pay me enough to attend conferences, but lots of people are there. I’ll just live vicariously through them.

Here’s a report from Spaceflight Sandbox.

More from ISDC, this time Space Liberates Us! is talking about Rick Tumlinson’s plans to create the sport of spacediving. That’s skydiving… but from space.

And Jeff Faust from Personal Spaceflight has news on Jim Benson’s new Dream Chaser spacecraft.

But that’s not the only conference I’m missing. This week is the American Astronomical Society’s meeting in Hawaii. Pamela Gay is there, and blogging all about it. Get ready for a hailing storm of space news.

Centauri Dreams is dreaming big.

In case you missed it, I hosted the 4th Carnival of Space yesterday here at Universe Today, so no astrosphere. But today is a new day, and there’s an astrosphere:

First, Skymania News takes us on a tour of the new planetarium which is part of the restoration of the Royal Observatory in London.

Really Rocket Science considers the Planetary Society’s challenge of tagging an asteroid. How hard would it really be?

Space Prizes has a quick note about some new scholarships announced by the American Astronomical Society. $10,000 would go a long way to paying off tuition fees.

Alan Boyle joins other space bloggers in Houston for the International Space Development Conference.

A telescope made from rotating liquid is an old idea, but now people want to put one on the Moon.

The Astroprof gives you a detailed explanation of nebulae.

Once again, it’s time to see what’s happening on other space-related blogs.

Ever wonder what goes into making up a meal for astronauts? Here’s a link to a cool video called “Food in Space”.

I know you enjoy Astronomy Cast, but did you know there are dozens of space-related podcasts now? There’s a great tool called the Astronomy Media Player, which lists them all, and lets you play recent episodes.

Colony Worlds has an interesting analysis of Ceres as a future target for human exploration.

Want to find your planets? Softpedia has an article pointing the way to finding 4 of them with the unaided eye this week.

Centauri Dreams discusses an interesting way to sail through space, propelled by a magnetic field.

Once again, let’s see what’s happening around the astrosphere.

First, I’d like to remind you that I’ll be hosting the 4th Carnival of Space here at Universe Today. Write a space-related story, submit it to me, and I’ll link to it from the Carnival. You’ll get lots of new readers coming to your blog. Here’s a link to the instructions on how to participate.

There’s a bit of a frenzy going on with a certain presidential candidate’s blog. Apparently, somebody doesn’t think the Sun is the centre of the Solar System. Both astropixie and Cocktail Party Physics have the scoop on this.

Vern’s Weblog has another list of things you can see in the night sky this week, as well as a few pictures captured through his telescope.

Astroblog has a nice picture of the Moon and Venus together in the sky.

Remember when I mentioned that May 19 was International Sidewalk Astronomy night? Top of the Lawn blog has a report of how the night went in New York City.

Did an exploding comet wipe out the large mammals of North America 13,000 years ago? Skymania News has a story on this interesting research.

I didn’t do the astrosphere yesterday because of the Carnival of Space yesterday. But here we are again, with a whole new collection of stories.

But first, I’m going to be hosting the 4th Carnival of Space one more time next week, before passing the torch along. If you want to get involved this week, email me a link to a blog post that you’ve written, and I’ll link to it.

NASA has released new images showcasing their Constellation Program. Now you can get a better idea of what the spacecraft and landing systems are going to look like. Thanks to the Rocketry Blog for the tip.

I’m eyeing a Celestron SkyScout as a potential gadget to buy. The Astroprof, has a review.

Astroblog has a nice graphic put together for what you’ll see if you head outside on Sunday, May 20 and look to the West: Venus and the Moon close together.

Alan Boyle at the Cosmic Log is reporting that James “Scotty” Doohan’s ashes have been recovered, after the memorial spacecraft carrying them went missing for 2 weeks.

Bad Astronomy’s Phil Plait has stepped up and made a public apology after acting insensitive on his blog to a woman who suffered an internal decapitation, and survived.

PBS ran a demonstration of 3 different science shows last Fall, letting people vote for the one they like best. The clear winner to me was Wired Science, based on the magazine. Well, PBS thought so too, and is going to go ahead with it. Woohoo! Thanks to the Scientific American blog for the tip.

Follow me around the astrosphere. Here we go:

One of the most important extrasolar planetary discoveries of the year was announced yesterday – a new Neptune-sized planet. Since there wasn’t an official press release, the news has been gathering slowly. A few bloggers have already jumped on the story and have some analysis. systemic, and Centauri Dreams both have great articles. I’ll get mine done in a few hours.

Missed NASA’s Lunar Regolith challenge? Well, you can see some videos of the hardy diggers trying to win the prize. Jim, and his All Over the Map Blog has the links. Thanks to Hobbyspace for the find.

The Internet works so well because computers can talk to each other, regardless of platform, hardware, software, or operating system. That’s not the case in space, and Space Pragmatism thinks that’s going to be a problem. What happens when an astronaut on the Moon needs to send an emergency message, but the only satellite in view can’t relay the signal?