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3I/Atlas coming to a planet near you!

December 19, 2025
MThomas

3I/Atlas. Not a real photo. Also, not aliens. Sorry.

https://www.space.com/news/live/interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-closest-to-earth-flyby-week-dec-18-2025

Discovered on July 1 by the NASA-funded ATLAS telescopes in Chile, 3I/ATLAS is only the third confirmed interstellar object known to have passed through our cosmic neighborhood, following 1I/‘Oumuamua in 2017 and comet 2I/Borisov in 2019. Its trajectory shows that it originated from beyond our solar system and will eventually travel back into interstellar space.

https://www.space.com/astronomy/comets/interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-makes-its-closest-approach-to-earth-on-dec-19-heres-what-you-need-to-know

Of course, Avi Loeb has already claimed (once again) that an interstellar comet is an “alien probe.”

And naturally, other astrophysicists immediately refuted him. Again.

It’s fast. REAL fast. So fast that even as it entered the solar system it was traveling the distance from the Earth to the Sun in only a month, and then it began to pick up even more speed (from the Sun’s gravity, NOT from “jets out the back” or whatever else unscientific SF fans say online).

Of course, we can assume that the aliens’ spaceship will detach from it precisely during its approach to Mars, or during its passage through perihelion when we cannot see it. In this case, it will have to slow down by more than 20 km/s.

And even so, this will not help the aliens much, because the trajectory will remain retrograde relative to the direction of the planets’ rotation around the Sun. So, if the aliens who flew to us billions of years ago have a plan that is a little more complicated than becoming kamikaze pilots, they will have to slow down again, spending a lot of energy on it. And the aliens still need to get that energy from somewhere.

So, most likely, we should not expect any extraterrestrial visitors at the end of the year. And we will not be able to admire the interstellar comet itself. By the time it emerges from behind the Sun, its brightness will already be approximately 11 stellar magnitudes, meaning it will be inaccessible even to small amateur instruments, let alone the naked eye.

So, nah. Sorry.

–> LIVESTREAM from 11 p.m. EST December 19th here: https://www.space.com/astronomy/comets/watch-interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-make-its-closest-approach-to-earth-in-free-livestream-on-dec-18

(FWIW, the last two sentences are NOT supposed to be quotes, but wordpress is quite frankly broken.)

Life on Trappist 1e?

September 12, 2025
MThomas

In two separate papers published Monday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, astronomers zeroed in on the TRAPPIST-1 system, which consists of seven rocky planets that orbit a single star. Both studies outlined initial results from observations by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, suggesting that one planet in particular, known as TRAPPIST-1e, may have a nitrogen-rich atmosphere like Earth’s, though follow-up studies are needed to confirm the discovery.
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/trappist1e-atmosphere-extraterrestrial-life-planet-earth-conditions-rcna229839

Trappist 1e is in the “Goldilocks zone” in orbit around its star (i.e., not too cold, not too hot, just right). However, the Webb telescope can’t determine whether its atmosphere has any carbon dioxide, hydrogen, or oxygen, only nitrogen. Yet nitrogen is a clear sign that life is possible, because without nitrogen, DNA and other proteins are not possible. Of course, it could be simply a whole lot of microbes. Or even just ammonia.

Closer to home, the Mars rover Perseverance has found evidence of life in the distant past. Maybe. It found evidence that certain rock features may have happened because of microbes.

May.

That’s how science works, folks. A whole lot of maybes.

(I still think we need more catchy names for the Trappists. I mean, come on.

How Star Trek helped NASA make better shuttle names

August 8, 2025
MThomas

Gorog summarised in the memo:

This group comprises millions of individuals who are deeply interested in our space programme

The name “Enterprise” is tied in with the system on which the Nation’s economic structure is built.

Use of the name would provide a substantial human interest appeal to the rollout ceremonies scheduled for this month in California, where the aeronautical industry is of vital importance.

It is really too bad that the shuttle looked nothing at all like the Enterprise (Constitution class).

And an odd coincidence that the original name chosen by NASA was…

…Constitution…

Long time, no…

August 5, 2025
MThomas

Hi, everyone. I haven’t written a blog post in a very long time.

For various reasons.

I’ll see if I can start posting a few entries on recent science events in a few days (for starters, four astronauts finally arrived at the ISS, the first replacements following the Boeing Starliner fiasco).

But for right now, I want to follow up this short post with some analysis I got from our friend ChatGPT…

…about Adam’s Stepsons and Bringer of Light. Stay tuned!

New study of moons of Uranus suggests life

November 14, 2024
MThomas

Note: this is artwork and not an actual image

The planet Uranus and its five biggest moons may not be the dead sterile worlds that scientists have long thought.

Instead, they may have oceans, and the moons may even be capable of supporting life, scientists say.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgk1333k0ypo

Cue the jokes in five…four…three…

“So, you mean there really is life in…ah…”

Note that this is not from new data. It’s a re-analysis of what Voyager 2 sent back decades ago. Basically, it just had a bad day, with magnetic storms screwing up the scan.

Still…

There could be moons there that could have the conditions that are necessary for life, they might have oceans that below the surface that could be teeming with fish!

I think this is a bit of an exaggeration…

That’s no mo…why, yes, it is…

October 7, 2024
MThomas

The scientists hope to learn about the asteroid’s surface composition and how fast it rotates, he said. Those observations could help researchers figure out its origin, which in turn could shed light on other asteroids, including ones that could be dangerous to Earth.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/mini-moon-asteroid-to-orbit-earth-temporarily-rcna172264

This is of course not the first “mini-moon” to have been discovered. These are wandering asteroids that get trapped briefly by Earth’s gravity well before being flung back into space.

Read the article for more information about the “school-bus sized” 2024PT5!

Interstellar! If only…

September 26, 2024
MThomas

According to Thorne, who served as a consultant on the science of Interstellar, quantum mechanics could hypothetically explain a way to time travel via wormhole. So far, it’s a thought experiment that leads to the conclusion that you’d lose information along the way—not very practical.

First off, I’m incredibly annoyed at the way WordPress has screwed up the “quotation” function. It seems they are more focused on encouraging bloggers to use AI to write.

Uh. I don’t need AI. I blog. The end. WTH is the point of using AI to write my thoughts? It’s already being trained to USE my blog in the first place! Idiots.

OK. Second, the Popular Mechanics article I’m linking to is entitled “Interstellar travel is possible if we break into a higher dimension, scientists say.”

Only, that is NOT what scientists say. It’s still a thought experiment!

Chinese scientists “create” water from lunar soil

September 4, 2024
MThomas

Using the new method, one metric tonne of lunar soil will be able to produce about 51 to 76 kilograms of water, equivalent to more than a hundred 500-millileter bottles of water, or the daily drinking water consumption of 50 people, the state broadcaster said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/chinese-scientists-use-lunar-soil-produce-water-rcna167951

The soil was from the 2020 expedition, which was the first in 44 years to bring back soil from the Moon.

Considering all of NASA’s problems, it looks like China will have a moon base years before the US does…and probably in prime resource locations as well.

And don’t forget that the hydrogen in the soil can also be used for rocket fuel. It would be a lot easier to launch ships to Mars and beyond without having to deal with Earth’s gravity…

Sorry for the long absence…

September 2, 2024
MThomas

Haven’t posted anything in about five or six weeks. Sorry!

I was going to initially post something about the Boeing crew that got stranded on the ISS, but NASA kept delaying their decision to use SpaceX. It was a given that they’d have no choice.

Boeing, quite obviously, cannot be trusted to spend millions of taxpayer’s dollars and make a proper spacecraft.

Anyway, I’ll start posting something more interesting soon.

In the meantime, here’s a Star Trek TOS selfie by Catwoman. I mean Lee Meriwether. (S3:14, That Which Survives)

Time to see the Perseid Meteor shower! ☄️

July 18, 2024
MThomas

The Perseids get their name because the shooting stars appear to stream from a point in the sky where the constellation of Perseus is located…The constellation rises in the northeast, but meteors should be visible all over the sky if conditions are clear.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/perseid-meteor-shower-begins-see-shooting-stars-rcna161911

The best time to watch is after midnight in the northern hemisphere. The meteors are actually debris leftover from the Swift-Tuttle comet, discovered in the early 1860s.

The annual celestial event started this past Sunday and lasts for about two months, but the peak this year is around August 12th.

Perseus looks like this:

See https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/perseus-constellation/ for more information about this group of constellations as well as the famous Greek myth behind them…

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