Space

'Many eyes' is a better approach to image recognition than algorithms.  When looking at real-universe galaxy merger remnants, and comparing them with simulations, it's better to just have lots…

The first large black holes in the universe likely grew deep inside gigantic, starlike cocoons that smothered their powerful x-ray radiation and prevented surrounding gases from being blown away,…

EMBARGOED until: 24 November 2009 00:01 GMT ‘COSMIC SLOT MACHINE’ MATCHES GALAXY COLLISIONS A new website will give everyone the chance to contribute to science by playing a ‘cosmic slot machine’ and…

I'm a reasonable man, but there's a laxness in cyberspace I just can't abide with. And I'm talking to you, space.com. I'll say it straight, you may know science but you ain't giving your readers any…

RuBisCo Stars, Frank Drake and the "Riddle of Life" December 4, 2009. One of the great advantages of Scientific Blogging is the immediate feedback that is possible, and even a kind of conversation…

Our satellite hits the road-- even before it gets built!  I will be presenting a short talk on "Project Calliope: Science and Social Media" at the winter AAS meeting in Washington DC on January…

The word on the street is that Jesus is pretty t'd off at NASA.1 What mortal sin2 did the space agency allegedly commit? The non-biological reproduction of an RNA component in a laboratory, of course…

While today we're pretty darned certain there is no intelligent life on Mars, in the early 20th century, it was still an open question.  So-- about four decades before the publically known…

1571 was also interesting. Galileo Galilei was then seven years old. Johannes Kepler was born on December 27. There were two solar eclipses, a total on January 25 and an annular on July 21-22. …

An elevator to space? No, this isn't a reprise of Charlie and Chocolate Factory. As I mentioned in a blog back in January, an elevator into space is the end goal - a 100,000 km long tether anchored…