Space

Protecting The Planet Requires Heroes, Money, And Citizen Scientists

Many of us while growing up and listening to our bedtime stories learned to not freak out and run screaming through the streets if we thought that the “ sky is falling.” As little chickens, we were taught at an early age that it was best to be brave, calm ...

Article - Matthew T. Dearing - Apr 12 2011 - 9:57pm

Tendex And Vortex Lines- A New Way To Visualize Warped Space And Time

When black holes slam into each other, the warping of space and time must be so complicated that physicists haven't been sure how to understand the details of what goes on, but by combining theory with computer simulations,  Kip Thorne, Feynman Profes ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 17 2011 - 6:00pm

What's In Calliope For You?

A colleague I respect, Peter Ong Lim, has good points about whether the Project Calliope satellite is citizen science or personal science.  Darlene Cavalier gave the definition of 'citizen scientist' as "people who aren't trained in sci ...

Article - Project Calliope - Apr 26 2011 - 9:28am

A Date With An Eco-Friendly Rocket

My Project Calliope satellite will be launched on an Interorbital Systems (IOS) rocket-- but IOS hasn't yet launched into orbit. Where are they, how close are we to launch, and what's the risk? Ad: Support Calliope-- limited edition flight gear a ...

Article - Project Calliope - May 7 2011 - 12:41pm

Extrasolar Planets- The Orbital Mechanics Mystery Of 'Flipping' Hot Jupiters

With the discovery of so many new extrasolar planets, astronomers have observed that in some of these systems the star is spinning one way but the planet, a 'hot Jupiter', a huge Jupiter-like planet in very close proximity to the central star, or ...

Article - News Staff - May 11 2011 - 1:27pm

Dwarf Planet Haumea May Contain Crystalline Ice

A few years ago, when 2% of astronomers decided Pluto should no longer a planet, the confusion was so great and the definition so arbitrary and so we now have five 'dwarf' planets in our solar system-  Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Haumea and Makemake.   ...

Article - News Staff - May 12 2011 - 3:16pm

Look Inside A 'Spring' Storm On Saturn

Saturn may look like a nice place to visit through a telescope but once each Saturn year (that's 30 years to you and me) 'spring' arrives in the northern hemisphere of the giant planet and things go nuts. ...

Article - News Staff - May 19 2011 - 1:00pm

Saturn in a 24-Inch Dob

Last night I had the pleasure to visit Mauro, a friend of mine and an amateur astronomer. Mauro owns a 24" dobson telescope with a mirror crafted by the superb hands of Romano Zen, the same who made my own 16". The precision of the optics of Roma ...

Blog Post - Tommaso Dorigo - May 19 2011 - 9:06am

How To Create Your Own Mission Patch

For our Calliope picosatellite mission, I want to make it a real space experience.  That means it needs a mission patch.  And first, let me thank you all-- our fans and community-- for ensuring our Kickstarter fundraiser made its goals!  With less than 11 ...

Article - Project Calliope - May 24 2011 - 10:44am

Small Size Of Mars Explained Using Chondrites

The rapid development of Mars, as little as two to four million years after the birth of the solar system (far more quickly than Earth) explains why it is so small by comparison, according to a new paper. Mars probably is not a terrestrial planet like Eart ...

Article - News Staff - May 25 2011 - 3:43pm