Fifty years ago, human beings first stepped on the Moon.
It’s past time we went back. And stayed for good.
One small step for (a) man…
July 20, 2019
No, the “golden asteroid” will NOT make you rich
June 27, 2019
I wrote about this a couple of days ago (based on an article from two weeks prior), but it’s interesting to see random websites suddenly jumping on the “we’ll all get rich!” asteroid mining band wagon. Hey, everybody, let’s copy-paste stuff and not use our brains!
A new article by rt.com even includes two click-bait links to “how gold was formed” that have nothing whatsoever to do with NASA’s probe to (16) Psyche. Of course, we shouldn’t expect any less from an obvious Russian “news” distributor. But in the interests of calling out the bad reporting in this and similar “news” articles spread online recently, let’s give this a hearty smack-down.
Vulcan does not exist — but 40 Eridani does
June 13, 2019
As a kid I remember reading about “Vulcan,” which people used to think existed between Mercury and the Sun but always orbited on the opposite side.
Completely fictional, of course.
But…
Vulcan made a comeback as the fictional home of Spock in Star Trek. It was said by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry to be orbiting around 40 Eridani (also called HD 26965), a triple star system in the constellation of Eridanus “the river” in the southern hemisphere just 16 light years distant. In September 2018, astronomers at the University of Florida in Gainesville found a “super-Earth” exoplanet orbiting exactly where Vulcan was said to be.
There is only one logical conclusion…
The Moon is a Shining Ball of…uh…Nickel?
June 11, 2019
“Imagine taking a pile of metal five times larger than the Big Island of Hawaii and burying it underground…”
Uh. OK. That’s a LOT of metal. Nickel and iron? Ancient asteroid impact? 300 kilometers deep?
Sounds like a “golden” mining opportunity…
…even enough to totally justify “the Moon is a part of Mars“?
Interstellar Travel Tech — oh, Really?
April 27, 2019
“It is time to venture beyond the known planets, on toward the stars.”
Yes, I agree, but I don’t see how any of the ideas in this article will help us achieve that goal. I think the problem is the reliance on conventional means of propulsion. Clearly some sort of bending of space/time is needed to leave the solar system faster than, say, a decade, let alone reach other star systems.
Dawn already used an ion engine (way too slow). The solar gravitational lens is neat but it won’t take us there physically. The “space-based laser” idea is funky but impractical.
Getting off Earth should help (Moon Base, Mars, somewhere else like Triton). Escaping our own planet’s gravity well takes way too much effort. But after that, it’s time to forget about rockets and start thinking of truly “wacked out” ideas.
For starters, Discover, how about dumping your absolutely awful page design? Yeesh, this page is hard to read.
— http://discovermagazine.com/2019/apr/new-technologies-could-let-us-explore-beyond-the-solar-system
No “Planet McPlanetface” option. Sorry.
April 15, 2019
The three choices fit IAU naming regulations and are associated with mythological creatures and figures that reflect aspects of 2007 OR10’s physical properties, which include rock, water ice, possibly methane ice, and a surface that’s red in color.
Your three choices?
Gonggong (共工, the bringer of floods 洪 and chaos)
Holle (which I always thought was Hulda or Holda)
Vili (which I knew as Wela in English class)
At least these scientists learned an important lesson from our recent past…
Info here: www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/scientists-launch-public-vote-for-the-name-of-a-distant-world/
Vote here: https://2007or10.name
On to Triton. With Trident. Finally.
March 29, 2019
We’ve learned a lot about Neptune’s largest moon, Triton, since it was first discovered in 1846. Some scientists believe it could be an “ocean world” with liquid water — and maybe even harbor life.
And now, pending approval, we might soon get our best glimpse yet. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory proposed on Tuesday [19 March 2019] at a conference in Texas to send a spacecraft called “Trident” to Triton — with the goal of sussing out whether it’s a habitable world.
A low-cost mission that would give us decent photos and even video of Triton, Io, and even Venus. Let’s do this.
Bennu’s Intergalactical Glitterspray Show!
March 27, 2019
OK, not actually glitterspray. Lots of tiny moons. Micromoons?
Exploding out of Bennu, which is an asteroid circling way out near Pluto right now, but will intersect Earth’s orbit in September 2060. And in 2135. And in 2175. And maybe soon again after that.
Doomsayers, prepare yourselves!
(Cumulative 1 in 2700 chance it’ll hit Earth by then. Too bad Bruce Willis won’t be around to save us.)
www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/03/nasa-bennu-osiris-rex-asteroid/585256/
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