Space

Dead Galaxies In Coma Cluster May Be Packed With Dark Matter, According To A Computer, Anyway

Galaxies in a cluster roughly 300 million light years from Earth could contain as much as 100 times more dark matter than visible matter, according to an Australian study. The research used computer simulations to study galaxies that have fallen into the ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 24 2015 - 6:54am

Kepler 452b- Things That Could Go Wrong With Habitability & If It Is- Could We Detect Intelligent Life There?

There is so much over enthusiastic hype about this planet today, I thought could do with a bit of more sober reporting of the results, interesting though they are. Much of that speculation derives from just one phrase in the press release I think, where t ...

Article - Robert Walker - Jul 25 2015 - 5:43am

It's Misleading To Compare Exoplanet Kepler-452b To Earth

NASA’s announcement of the discovery of a new extrasolar planet has been met with a lot of excitement. But the truth is that it is impossible to judge whether it is similar to Earth with the few parameters we have – it might just as well resemble Venus, o ...

Article - The Conversation - Jul 24 2015 - 9:21pm

Pluto, Stígandr, Omoo?

What do you say to Pluto’s demotion to “dwarf planet” status?  I did not approve of the demotion, but a few days ago our BBC Sky at Night team did give a reasonable reason why it does require a new category.  With Neptune, one can say “planets end here”, ...

Blog Post - Robert H Olley - Jul 28 2015 - 3:37pm

Spaceflight May Increase Susceptibility To Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Prolonged spaceflight may give you a nasty case of diarrhea, at least if you are a mouse. Specifically, when mice were subjected to simulated spaceflight conditions, the balance of bacteria and the function of immune cells in the gut changed, leading to i ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 7 2015 - 9:00am

Self Replicating Robots- Safer For Galaxy (and Earth) Than Human Colonists- Is This Why ETs Didn't Colonize Earth?

Most people, when they think about exploring the galaxy, think about sending out human colonies. It's natural to think we would explore it just as we do the Earth, it's the only way we know. To send machines instead of humans, especially machine ...

Article - Robert Walker - Oct 29 2015 - 11:34am

The Universe Is Dying- But Don't Panic

We know that our universe has already lived through great number of exciting phases. But new research released overnight shows the universe has long passed its peak and is slowly but surely dying. The research was presented at the year’s largest gathering ...

Article - The Conversation - Aug 11 2015 - 2:00pm

51 Eridani B: Young, Jupiter-like Planet Discovered

A team of researchers has discovered a Jupiter-like planet within a young system that could provide a new understanding of how planets formed around our sun. The new planet, called 51 Eridani b, is the first exoplanet discovered by the Gemini Planet Image ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 18 2015 - 7:00am

Could Another (small) Satellite Orbit The International Space Station?

This is just a fun question someone asked on Quora. It leads into a few interesting topics.  First the ISS just isn't heavy enough for a satellite to enter into a true gravitational orbit around it.  But, in theory at least, you can put a satellite i ...

Article - Robert Walker - Oct 15 2015 - 12:19pm

Is The International Space Station The Most Expensive Single Item Ever Built?

Is the ISS the most expensive single human artifact ever, after adjusting for inflation? Well, to start with, it's a whole lot more expensive than a medieval cathedral anyway. First we need an estimate of the cost of the ISS, and this article in the ...

Article - Robert Walker - May 6 2017 - 4:12pm