You are browsing the archive for Not Mars.
18 July 2008
Moon Transits Earth!
If you know me, you know that I can’t get enough of pictures of our planet from space. I have the Pale Blue Dot quote posted above my desk, and the famous “Earthrise” picture on my office door. So maybe that’s why I find the two new videos posted on the EPOXI (formerly known as Deep Impact) mission website, so amazingly cool. The top one depicts infrared light as red, …
16 July 2008
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Dearest readers, sometimes I see something on the internet so awesome that I feel that I must share it with you, despite the fact that it has nothing to do with Mars. This is one of those times. You need, NEED to set aside fifteen minutes and go watch the first episode of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. Here’s why: it stars Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser) as the struggling super …
14 July 2008
Recipe for a Planet
So you have a big dinner party coming up, and you really want to impress your guests? Apple pie from scratch too difficult? (who has time to create the universe these days?) This recipe for a delicious Planet can be scaled to fit any crowd and the planet is as much a conversation piece as a culinary treat. Makes ~2-10 planets Serves: billions You will need: 1 Star (Population I …
12 July 2008
iPhone 3G Space and Science Apps
There really are too many cool apps for the new iPhone 3G to list, but here’s a sampling of some awesome scientific apps from Wired – check out the space section! My favorite is Star Map, which acts as a “pocket planetarium” by using the GPS feature of the phone to give you all the info on the night sky over your head! Now if only the data plan wasn’t …
11 July 2008
X-Prize Blog
Hey, remember the X-Prize? Now that the first X-prize has been won, the X-prize foundation is broadening its scope. The next X-prizes include a privately funded mission to the moon, a car that can get 100 miles per gallon, and the ability to sequence 10 human genomes in a day. Even better, there is a new X-Prize blog, where you can keep up with everything X-prize related! Check it out!
The Largest Star
I was giving a public talk a couple days ago and one of the kids asked: “What is the biggest star?” The question reminded me of this awesome gif animation. I just wish it kept going past the largest star, comparing the star with clusters, the clusters with nebulae, the nebulae with galaxies, etc.
8 July 2008
This is your future – Why the Moon?
With all my moon-related posts, you’d think it was Monday!* I just got this in my email, and thought I would share it with all of you space enthusiasts: What would YOU like to ask of young people that work at NASA? On July 20, 2008, members from the younger generation from four NASA Centers will discuss the future of space exploration as part of the Lunar Science Conference at …
4 July 2008
Happy 4th!
A little patriotism from Phoenix: And, from the edge of human exploration: It’s the USA’s spirit of exploration and innovation that has gotten us to these distant places, and let’s keep that spirit alive in the years to come!
3 July 2008
What shape is the solar system?
A cool bit of news from beyond Mars this week: Voyager 2 has relayed new info on the shape of the solar system! New data from the spacecraft, published yesterday in Nature, indicates that Voyager 2 passed through the termination shock in the heliosphere back in August/September of last year. Without the jargon, that means that Voyager 2 reached the location where the solar wind goes from super-sonic to sub-sonic, …
2 July 2008
Spore
Have you heard of the game Spore? It is a computer game being released this fall and is the first game in quite a while that I am considering buying, despite the fact that I have no time to play games anymore. Here is an old video of an early version of the game: Here’s the gist of it (paraphrased from the wiki article): The game begins with a comet …
