X-citing

We're heading to the coast now, so I shouldn't be blogging, but this is just cool. The X Prize Foundation is at it again, with $30 million in the kitty for whoever can put a robot on the moon. Note for the day: Incentives work, and they're especially positive things when there's no hint of government involvement about them.

Hat tip: Futurismic

And You Thought Hubble Was Impressive...

Over the years, we have seen some amazing, incredible, astounding, superlative-laden images coming from our valuable space friend, the Hubble Telescope. Hubble's had a few struggles, and has needed the occasional repair job, but it's also shown us things in space that have made us "ooh" and "aah" with childlike delight. One of the last missions of the soon-to-be-retired space shuttle will be to go out and give Hubble another much-needed tune-up. Thank you NASA, and keep the pictures coming. NASA, however, isn't resting on Hubble's laurels, and has bigger and better things in mind. The James Webb Space Telescope will someday be sending us pretty pictures from farther out in space than Hubble can peer, because NASA has figured out how to send up a mirror in folding segments, segments that will unfold once they get to their new home and outshine Hubble in the process. This, however, is just the beginning.

NASA has some even bigger plans, due to the development of a new rocket, the Ares V, which will be able to take payloads of 284,000 pounds off this pretty blue ball we call home. With the Ares V, NASA could send mirrors (the main part that makes all that telescoping possible) of over 8 meters into space--no folding required. The mere mention of 8-meter-mirrors may not convey much information to us non-scientist types, but all those jaw-dropping pictures from Hubble come courtesy of a mirror that's only 2.4 meters wide. According to NASA, we're looking at the possibility of telescopes with three times the resolution of Hubble, and the ability to see things that are eleven times fainter than what Hubble can detect right now, because the mirror's surface area will be eleven times greater. I'm not sure how that works mathematically, or scientifically, or any other kind of "ically," but since that won't stop me from enjoying the pictures and the knowledge we gain from the new super space-viewing toy, I'm prepared to forgo any concern I might have at being so dependant upon Smart People for all the really cool space stuff, and simply to be grateful that Smart People exist.

Follow the link to the NASA article to read all about their plans. If you want to expand your brain a bit, click on this "Lagrange point" link for an explanation of 18th-century mathematician Josef Lagrange's discovery of "parking" spots in space, spots where the pull of the Sun and the pull of the Earth conspire together to keep satellites firmly in place. NASA intends to use these spots to the fullest, and fill up the parking lot with various and sundry telescopes, all searching the heavens for new and vital spacey information, and more jaw-dropping pictures. The information is cool and all, and I'm glad that the Smart People have ways to collect and use it, but if you ask me, the best part is the pictures.

The Space Plane

Europe's biggest aerospace company, EADS, is looking to ferry tourists out into space, for brief little jaunts that will take an hour-and-a-half round trip, and give passengers the thrill of about a minute-and-a-half of weightlessness. Peter B. de Selding, at MSNBC, says that EADS has spent a couple of years designing the vehicle that they hope will take passengers up, up and away--100 kilometers up to be exact. They've got the combination rocket-plane all planned out, and they're looking for investors to get the ball rolling, hoping to start with a fleet of five and go on from there. Once the money's on board the fun can begin.

If you've got big hopes about your own future space travel, here's a way to indulge that dream. Now, the trip could cost somewhere in the $267,000 range per person, so there's a couple ways you could go about it. The first is by saving every penny, foregoing home ownership, higher education, dinners out, high speed Internet, car maintenance (you can make this possible by not owning a car in the first place), electricity, heating oil, new socks, toothpicks, etc, etc. The second way is a bit simpler; you could just start out rich in the first place. It's your call, of course, but I suspect the latter plan has a better chance of succeeding.

For those of us who don't think it would be worth sacrificing our whole lives for a minute-and-a-half of dream fulfillment, this rocket-plane plan is still actually a pretty cool potential development. Private space tourism may start out as something fit for a segment on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, but it's all that rich-people money that will make the Technological Law of Gravity kick in, so that the price comes down and someday the rest of us can go for a ride. Even better, by the time that the average Joe can afford it, the technology will have improved dramatically, and it won't be just a quick trip out to lose your lunch, followed immediately by a return to Terra Firma. By the time the rich people have all payed for the R&D on space planes, there could very possibly be space hotels and giant space stations and the like, and lunar colonies might even be making their debut, making the trip into space much more destination-oriented. The well-to-do are really doing us a favor on this one. They'll go ride on the kiddie coaster, 100 kilometers up, all the while funding the Colossus for the rest of us--space proper. I say, "Go for it, Rich People. Go twice, even. Have fun, and tell us all about it." After all, didn't passenger trains and automobiles and airplanes all start out as rich-people-only clubs? Just wait. The rest of us will get our shot, as long as companies like EADS meet with success in these early ventures. Here's wishing them high flights and higher profits!!

Hat tip: Instapundit

Fun With Fungi

"There's noothin' more I cen do, Cap'n. Ahv tried everthin'. Radiation levels are at critical, and soon our skin will begin meltin' froom ahr boohns. I'm sorey, Cap'n, yer gunta havta fire me." Scotty hung his head in shame as he finally admitted the unthinkable. He really didn't have a magical solution to the radiation that was flooding the ship from the ruptured nuclear-coolant-injector. He had nothing involving a revolutionary new matter/anti-matter mixture, or reversing polarity on the containment fields, or even an alien technology he could graft into the Enterprise's systems on short notice which would somehow just happen to have a compatible operating system and a nuclear-coolant-injector-failure failsafe button. No, this time there was truly no hope.

Scotty wasn't alone in his inability to pull a routine miracle out of his engineer's hat. The rest of the crew was failing just as spectacularly. The red-shirts had already gone the way of all red-shirts. Sulu, Uhura, Chekov and O' Reilly had all gone mad from the radiation exposure, so they were equally useless, having already dismantled the ship's navigational and communication systems in an insane attempt to simulate a fifteenth-century karaoke bar. (The first thing that goes with radiation-induced madness apparently being awareness of the historical time-line.) Despite all his protestations that he was a doctor, not a lounge singer, Bones didn't have a miraculous injection to inoculate the crew from the radiation leak using a quadrotriticale-based tribble-blood extract, and even Spock, after a brief but disastrous attempt at a mind-meld with the nuclear-coolant-injector, had receded into an impotent lump, content to stroke tribbles and listen to Chekov's rendition of "Back in the USSR," while Rand tried to get everyone to look at her legs.

Although Kirk found it difficult to focus on anything but Rand's lower appendages, he knew that with the rest of the crew so incapacitated by inadequacy, it was up to him to save the ship. Again. (He also thought that when he got back to Star Fleet he ought to look into hiring some more competant officers, but that was only a fleeting notion.) Back to the task at hand--saving the ship. Again. (He started to play the mental tape about finding some new officers, but then he realised he had just done that.) Okay, really back to the task at hand now. He spent a few minutes looking conflicted and dramatic, ocassionally putting some very strong emphasis into his ongoing monologue. For some reason, dramatic monologues were the best way to kick-start his thought processes. He wasn't sure why, but he just seemed to be wired that way.

After a particularly lengthy and dramatic monologue, during which Uhura had enough time to give a stirring rendition of "Endless Love", and the trio of Chekov, Sulu and O'Reilly managed to throw together a fair performance of "Born to be Wild," suddenly, it came to him. Of course, why hadn't he thought of this before? He took just a moment for a manly pose, and then called down to his defeated engineer, "Scotty, release the fungi!" "Ehr yeh shoor, Cap'n? Ah dunna know what that'll doo." "Just do it, man," the Captain cried, "We've got no choice. It's the fungi, or death." "Aye Cap'n," Scotty said resignedly, and slowly his hand reached out and pressed the fungi-release-button.

What nonsense, you must be thinking (and if you're not, maybe you should go back and read the part about fifteenth-century karaoke.) Of course it's nonsense. Well, most of it anyway. Can you guess which part of our Star Trek adventure has any basis in the non-nonsensical world? I bet you can. It's the radiation-eating fungi, of course!! Believe it or not, there are actually three known forms of fungi that convert radiation to energy the same way plants convert sunlight to energy. The main difference between them is that plants use chlorophyl for the process of photosynthesis, while the fungi use melanin (you know, the stuff that determines your skin color) to perform what I suppose I must call "radiosynthesis."

David Ewing Duncan, at Technology Review (an MIT publication), explains that this radiation-eating fungi could prove a boon in many ways, including as a nuclear clean-up crew, a food source in space, and a new form of biofuel. Versatile little critters, eh? Who would've thought of fungi as a potential source for alternative energy? It'll be fun to watch where this one goes.

I probably should wrap up our space adventure now. Using the radiation-eating fungi, Kirk managed to stave off the imminent destruction, although not in time to avoid a very bad rendition of "Bitter Dregs," performed by Spock and the tribbles. Uhura is now headlining on Wriggley's Pleasure Planet, whenever the Enterprise heads into that region of space. Stay tuned for our next episode with Kirk and his crew (who do manage to hold onto their jobs, by the way), in which we will probably have to deal with what happens when the fungi, fed by massive amounts of radiation, grow to sentience and try to take over the Enterprise. For now, let's just say there won't be karaoke, but there will probably be lots of monologues, and Kirk will have to save the ship. Again.

Pics In Space: Focus On Technology

Good grief, guys, how did you let me get all the way to June 5th without reminding me that I hadn't coughed up these month's MSNBC Space Slide Show?! I repent in sackcloth and ashes (hereafter designated "repenting in S&A"), and can only claim the weekend as any kind of excuse. Truth is I just forgot. Bad Kat. Okay, now that I've grovelled in S&A, let's move on to something more interesting.

This month's slide show is very tech heavy, with lots of shots of rockets and telescopes, launchpads and landers. If you are into the gadgets of space, you'll like this focus on the technology that makes it possible for humans to reach out and touch the stars (figuratively, of course.) There are a few snaps of the people who use that technology, as well, with even the Queen of England sneaking her way into the photo journal, as she chats with some space station dwellers. Not all the people who grace this month's show are still among the living. The passing of astronaut Walter M. Schirra is noted with a photo of him suited up and seated in Gemini 6, and the ashes of actor James Doohan, of Star Trek fame, get a ride aboard a rocket from Spaceport America, in New Mexico.

My favorite photos this time around are, as usual, the ones that glow. There's a fine shot of a spiral galaxy, and an impressive rocket launch to light things up, as well as an observatory in Los Angeles that's glowing for a not-so-happy reason. It's back-lit by a rather vivid brush fire. The best pic of the lot, though, in my opinion, was the gorgeous infrared image of Saturn and her rings. Absolutely stunning. It made me want to climb aboard a rocket, fly out and perch right there in that spot, in a lawn chair, with a cold drink and some barbeque, and just watch the show, like it was a fireworks display. I'll have to find some way to switch my vision to infrared, but that should be a minor problem, especially given all the trouble it will have taken me to get there in the first place. While I'm out that far, I might as well take a gander at Jupiter's moons. The Slide Show has a montage all set up, where we can get a preview. It will make planning the trip a bit more complicated, since I'll have to make sure it's timed so that the two planets are somewhere in the same vicinity when I head out. It'll be worth the extra effort, though, don't you think? Hey, anybody want to come with?

Oooh, Pretty!!

I just had to post this gorgeous photo from NASA's Image Of The Day Gallery, of The Snowflake Cluster and the Cone Nebula:


Here's NASA's caption:

Strange shapes and textures can be found in the neighborhood of the Cone Nebula. These patterns result from the tumultuous unrest that accompanies the formation of the open cluster of stars known as NGC 2264, the Snowflake Cluster. To better understand this process, a detailed image of this region was taken in two colors of infrared light by the orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope.

Bright stars from the Snowflake Cluster dot the field. These stars soon heat up and destroy the gas and dust mountains in which they formed. One such dust mountain is the famous Cone Nebula, visible in the above image on the left, pointing toward a bright star near the center of the field. The entire NGC 2264 region is located about 2,500 light years away toward the constellation of the Unicorn (Monoceros).

I wasn't content to just tell you about the pretty picture this time, and send you off with a link and a nod to go there if you were in the mood. I just had to show you. (Although, I have to say, the image at the NASA site is better resolution, and if you click on the link to the full resolution 3.03 Mb picture, you find that this one has been cropped. The bigger photo is even more spectacular, if you ask me.) Forgive me if posting the picture made the page a little slower than usual, but wasn't it worth it? Since right now none of us get to head off into space to see such sights for ourselves, all we can do is take the opportunities afforded us to enjoy the beautiful things in the universe vicariously, through such blessings of technology as the Spitzer Space Telescope. Fortunately, since NASA is taxpayer funded, its images are ours to enjoy. What a happy thing to think about when we're all paying our share to Uncle Sam.

Hat tip: Futurismic

Hey, I Was Right!!

It's not often that I feel the need to quote myself, but I predicted something scientific and space-related that might actually turn out to be true, and now I have to revel in my brief moment of rightness. Back in July of 2006, I read a report from NASA that the Cassini spacecraft had found evidence for lakes of liquid methane on Titan, one of Saturn's moons. I took a mental leap--not a huge one for the real sciency types, but a respectable leap for me:

Scientists will continue to observe the areas, looking for evidence like changes in size, or surface roughness stirred by winds, to indicate whether they've guessed correctly. If they're right, Titan is "the only body in the solar system besides Earth known to possess lakes." Not exactly the place you'd want to go for a summer vacation. One usually heads to a lake for fresh air and exercise, but Titan's not really a fresh air environment, is it? All that methane and ethane might make it a little hard to head out for a hike, or row a canoe, wouldn't you say? What a shame; it would be such an adventure to head to a lakeside cabin off-world. Oh well, there's got to be a bright side, right? Hmmm, liquid methane...liquid methane...sounds like a possible built-in fuel depot to me. That's it!! Titan can be the gas station on the way to some other cool vacation spot that we'll discover any day now. It's not quite as fun as finding Shangri-La on some other planet, but it will have to do.

My big prediction, somewhat flippantly expressed, was that someday Titan's lakes could fuel our journeys to other exciting destinations. Guess what? NASA thinks I'm right!! Well, okay, NASA doesn't know anything about me and my little bloggy predictions, but I can at least say that NASA agrees with me. NASA is testing a methane rocket engine, hoping to take advantage of the abundance of methane just waiting to be harvested from our neighboring planets. Patrick Barry, writing at NASA's Science website, says that methane engines "could eventually be key to deep space exploration."

Some of the advantages to the methane engine include the fact that liquid methane can be stored at a higher temperature than liquid hydrogen (the current fuel of choice for the soon-to-be-retired space shuttle.) This would mean less insulation, and thus less weight to haul off of planet Earth. Liquid methane, according to Barry, is also denser than liquid hydrogen, which would make the fuel tanks smaller, lighter and, ultimately, cheaper. Barry quotes project manager Terri Tramel of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center as adding safety to the list of methane's perks:

Methane also gets high marks for human safety. While some rocket fuels are potentially toxic, "methane is what we call a green propellant," Tramel says. "You don't have to put on a HAZMAT suit to handle it like fuels used on many space vehicles."

Here's the gravy, though, as far as the NASA-proving-me-right part of this little self-congratulatory post goes. In our solar system, methane is basically ubiquitous, so rockets wouldn't have to carry fuel for the whole journey along with them. They could pick some up along the way:

But the key attraction for methane is that it exists or can be made on many worlds that NASA might want to visit someday, including Mars.

Although Mars is not rich in methane, methane can be manufactured there via the Sabatier process: Mix some carbon dioxide (CO2) with hydrogen (H), then heat the mixture to produce CH4 and H20--methane and water. The Martian atmosphere is an abundant source of carbon dioxide, and the relatively small amount of hydrogen required for the process may be brought along from Earth or gathered in situ from Martian ice.

Traveling further out in the solar system, methane becomes even easier to come by. On Saturn's moon Titan, it is literally raining liquid methane. Titan is dotted with lakes and rivers of methane and other hydrocarbons that could one day serve as fuel depots. Imagine, a methane-powered rocket could allow a robotic probe to land on the surface of Titan, gather geological samples, refill its tanks, and blast off to return those samples to Earth. Such a sample-return mission from the outer solar system has never been attempted.

The atmospheres of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune all contain methane, and Pluto has frozen methane ice on its surface. New kinds of missions to these worlds may become possible with methane rockets.

So, Titan may well turn out to be an interplanetary gas station, as well as a geological destination-of-interest in its own right. Speaking of destinations-of-interest, head over to the NASA article if you want to watch the video of the new rocket in action in the Mojave desert. It's way cool, and downright pretty, with this really impressive blue flame. They're still working on the project, with tweaks to be done before a methane-fueled rocket can blast off the launchpad, heading for fabulous holiday destinations like the Lakes of Titan, but the pretty blue test was a promising start.

The best part of all this scientific and spacey advancement, from my perspective? I got to be right! (Hey, cut me some slack. It doesn't happen that often.)

Pics In Space--The Bonus Edition

Okay, okay, I admit it, I wanted space photos today of space. The pics of Earth from space that MSNBC provided were way cool and all, and I really enjoyed them, but I really love to see pictures from "out there." I wasn't pouting or anything, just a little wistful. I missed the planets and stars, and knew I didn't want to wait another month for my space photo fix. Well, it turns out I didn't have to--NASA to the rescue!! I just got an email with a link to images just released from the swing the New Horizons spacecraft made past Jupiter a while back. Remember the slingshot maneuver that New Horizons performed around Jupiter to add some speed and cut 3-5 years off the trek out to poor demoted Pluto? Remember how LORRI--the eight-inch telescope hitching a ride on NASA's spacecraft--took that really cool picture of little volcanic moon Io erupting for all she was worth? If you don't, go here and read all about it. Then come back and we'll finish talking about New Horizon's photo gallery.

So anyway, NASA's got a few more photos to show off from that little detour, including a "close-up color scan of the Little Red Spot," which is a storm that's been brewing on Jupiter since late 2005. They call it "little" because there's an even bigger system, equally uncreatively called the Great Red Spot, that's dominated Jupitorial weather for the last century, but the little guy is 70% the size of Earth. That's a storm that's the size of a planet. Thing is, it's amazingly pretty. It looks like art, all swirling purples and golds. Most of the rest of the pictures are in black and white, but still well worth seeing, from Jupiter's rings to the multiple moons. There's even a color image of Io's Tvashtar volcano erupting, red lava glowing and blue dust aloft. Here's the link to the article explaining the mission and what scientists are learning, and here's the direct link to the photo gallery. Be sure to click on "More Details" for the pics that interest you. You'll go to a larger image with a full detailed description of what you're seeing.

There aren't any photos of nebulas and galaxies to sparkle at us, and no close-up shots of the alien terrain on Mars from the rovers, but these views of other worlds from New Horizons went a long way toward satisfying my urge for new scenes from space. My bit of self-indulgence for the day is to share them with you. Enjoy.

Pics In Space--The Sights Of Home

Hey, Space Fans! It's space slide show time again, and this month's offering brings a twist to our favorite pictorial pastime. In the lovely month of May, Earth is taking center stage. MSNBC takes us through the photographic archives to see what astronauts have been privileged to see over mankind's several decades of space flight: views of the home world from space, as seen from the Moon, space shuttles, the International Space Station, Gemini 7 and more. Right off the bat on this month's image adventure I learned something new about the astronaut experience that I had never considered before. Did you know that the astronauts that go into low Earth orbit, to the ISS for example, don't travel far enough away from the planet to get the whole "big blue marble" effect? The caption on the first beautiful image presented for our enjoyment says that, "...only two dozen men have seen Earth's full, round disk with their own eyes: the astronauts who travelled beyond low Earth orbit to the Moon." So everybody else who's been up into orbit have all had to be satisfied with a closer, and thus less complete view of the la Terre.

I can't bring myself to feel sorry for the ones who have "only" made it to LEO. Judging from this month's slide show experience, they've gotten enough of a thrill by getting as far away from home as they did. They've seen volcanoes erupting and hurricanes forming, northern lights spreading across the horizon, and sunrise as most of us never have, and never will see in our lifetimes. Anousheh Ansari, the Iranian-American woman who went vacationing to the ISS in 2006, was so overwhelmed by her first look at Earth from space that she started crying from the beauty of it. Now, I grant you, the astronauts from the Moon missions were especially blessed--they got to see Earthrise--but still, crying from overwhelming beauty isn't really getting the short end of the stick, now is it?

For those of you who are disappointed that this month we aren't photographically flying out into the farther reaches of space, to see nebulas and galaxies, and distant planets with rings and moons casting stark shadows to punctuate their shining brilliance, I will offer something a little different to let you dwell on the wonder of the stars. In the book of Job, God talks about the morning stars singing together. It sounds like poetry, doesn't it? Imagine, choirs of suns, each with their own voice to add to the symphony--beautiful, but, of course, not to be taken seriously in this age of science, right? Last week, though, I read something at Futurismic that made me remember that line from Job:

UK astronomers have recorded magnetic sound waves produced by the churning of our sun's fusion-powered corona - which, although way below the audible threshold of human hearing, are (apparently) produced in the same way that a plucked guitar string makes a note. Who says science and poetry are incompatible?

That's a wonder to me--something written so long ago, but only now confirmed by science. The heavens make music. Somehow, that makes my heart glad. While this month's pictures don't take us far afield, I hope they'll gladden your heart as well. Earth may not be a singing morning star, but she does make a lovely melody all her own.

One More For The Space Destination Wish-List

European astronomers, star-gazing from the European Southern Observatory's telescope in La Silla, Chile, have found another space address for us astronaut wannabes to add to our destination wish-list. They've found a planet, a mere 120 trillion miles away, that could potentially be habitable, boasting balmy temperatures in the 32 to 104 degree range, with 1.6 times Earth's gravity (just right for promoting strong muscles and bones), and maybe even liquid water. The planet, dubbed 581c, by astronomers who clearly need to get some creative influences in their lives, circles a red dwarf star once every 13 days, likely without rotating, so the same side faces the star all the time. That lack of spinning is sad news for any inhabitants of the newly-discovered planet who would like to take time out of their busy day to watch a nice sunset, since no turning means there aren't any sunsets. It's a shame, really--they would have been spectacular. The star is much closer to 581c than the Sun is to Earth, on the order of 14 times closer, which, according to Seth Borenstein of the Associated Press, would make the red star "hang in the sky at a size 20 times larger than our moon." (Oooh, pretty.) Don't worry about getting too toasty at that proximity, though. Even at that distance things wouldn't heat up too much, since the red dwarf is much cooler than our Sun. All in all, this planet looks like it's got some potential, the kind of planet that scientists speculate could support life--ours, or some other totally alien species that we could finally confront about those crop circles and invasive medical probes in the mother ship.

Before we start packing for a nice long space voyage, though, we're still going to have to deal with the enormous distances. Even though the planet is circling a star that counts as one of our 100 closest neighbors, it's still 20.5 light years away. That's way too far for us to reach at our present level of technology, unless we wanted to do the generational ship thing, and die in space so that our great-great grandkids can inherit the as yet unexplored planet. The big problem with that (besides dying in space without ever reaching the big other-worldly destination) is that scientists really don't know what we would find once we got there. It could be a rocky planet such as our own, or it could be a big old ball of ice. Right now, it's best guess. You see, these astronomers have determined all of this information about the red dwarf and 581c by examining light wobbles that they can detect from their fancy telescope down in Chile. They are applying their extra-smart physics-savvy brains to exactly what these light wobbles mean, and this possibly-able-to-sustain-life planet is what they've come up with. Do not ask me how, because I don't have a clue. I'm sure it's something to do with gravity's effect on light, and Einstein probably comes in for a bit of the action, but that's as far as my non-physics-savvy brain can get me without going back for another college degree. The one I have in English Lit simply isn't very helpful in extrapolating how they know there's a possibly habitable planet circling this red dwarf, based on the wobbling of a little light. (Actually, that is something that frustrated me about both the articles I read about this planet. They both mentioned the light wobbles, but neither of them told me more of the science in detail. I will probably have to quest more to have that curiosity satisfied.)

In any case, now that they've found a planet just right for adding to the exploration-worthy list (is there any planet not worthy of inclusion on such a list?), there's still a lot for us to learn before we can head out to see it for ourselves and swap recipes with the local alien inhabitants. We still need to learn the basics of long distance space travel and colonization. We have to lick the problem of cosmic radiation and we need propulsion systems that can shorten the journey for us. We also need truly self-sustainable habitats and recycling systems that conserve every bit of air and water, so that a long journey without restocking our provisions with supplies from Earth is even possible. We need efficient energy generation systems, strong, lightweight ship designs, and thousands of other things that will have to be developed and perfected. Sadly, we're not even close. Don't give up hope, though. Our Smart People are working on all these things, and we'll start getting more familiar with how to overcome the problems of space by sending people out into our own solar system. Once we get the whole establishing colonies thing down, by practicing on the Moon and Mars, we're going to gain the expertise to head farther afield, and then we'll get to go exploring, maybe even to 581c. Hopefully by then they'll have come up with a better name.

Note: For a little more reading on the topic, here's a link to NewScientist.com.

Hat tip: Su

Pics In Space--The Saturn Series

Hey, Space fans. It's time for our monthly cruise around the heavens, courtesy of MSNBC's Space Slide Show! I'll tell you in advance; this trip starts out a little slowly, with a computer simulation of a dying star, and a snapshot of an empty spacesuit. Not the most thrilling launch of all time. Seeing these images first, I was afraid the ride had lost its magic. Neither of them made me long to head out into space, especially in that rather cumbersome-looking space getup, but I should have known better than to fret. Once the slide show made it off the home-world, things got a lot more interesting. You'll see. If you come with me this time, we'll shift as quickly as we can to a higher gear and speed off to explore some of the wonders of the universe, so take your Dramamine and let's go for a ride!

Among the other planetary spectacles we'll encounter this time around, our tour will feature a photo spread of pretty pastel Saturn, rings aglow and looking fabulous. I don't think I ever appreciated before how picturesque a planet the ringed beauty really is. I've always seen Saturn in black and white, but this time we get treated to color images. They reveal that the Designer used a lovely and soft set of spring hues, and since we have the opportunity, we really ought to pause to admire the view before we fly further out into space. For Saturn these days, it's all about looking good, with rings spread just so, and an ornamental moon or two, to add a little extra style. As part of this month's planetary fashion shoot, the Saturnine moon called Mimas makes a shy and retiring appearance in the distance, not one to mug for the camera, but still willing to add something of a decorative touch. Rhea is less shy, but still understated, providing some flair, but not looking to steal Saturn's thunder. They work well together. It's a nice ensemble.

Now that we've given Saturn's moons their moment in the Sun, let's move on to more distant wonders, shall we? The beautiful Crab Nebula isn't shy at all, and, posing for Japan's Subaru Telescope, shows off all its full color glory. Here's an interesting history tidbit for you--this sight has been wowing space observers here on Earth since the year 1054. I don't think astronomers got this good a look way back then, though, and they certainly didn't get to preserve the image for anybody with a computer and a modem to see and enjoy. We really do live in amazing times. Speaking of amazing times, you can judge for yourself whether a photo recently released by the French space agency is evidence of alien life, or some sort of freaky lighting. You can also make up your own mind whether the sand dunes of Mars look more like snake or alligator skin. I'm leaning toward snake, but I'm open to other interpretations. Closer to home, we'll visit a couple of terrestrial locations, including an ancient Peruvian solar observatory--now 2,300 years old--the oldest in the Americas. I wonder whether the Peruvians of yesteryear saw that Crab Nebula? For their sake. I hope they did, but I bet they didn't get to witness "cosmic bullets" piercing through the Orion Nebula the way we can on this month's space jaunt, or see a distant galaxy tearing apart at the seams. Those poor ancient Peruvians really missed out! You don't have to miss a thing, though, so head on over and climb aboard the Space Slide Show!

More Odds And Ends On A Sunny Day

It's a fine sunny day in Meowville, so it's out to the back yard to dig a trench and put up gutters. I sincerely hope so, anyway. It would be really wonderful if we could get both those things done in the short time allotted before the rain kicks back in--supposedly tomorrow. So, since I'm playing gopher again today, I'll just toss a few quick links your way to keep you entertained and address a few of life's more nagging questions. Such as:

Do dogs know they are dogs, and that you're not? New Scientist has the scoop.

What happens to food and medicine exposed to six-plus months of space travel? NASA's investigating as we prep to head for Mars.

What's happening on the ground in Iraq? Michael Yon is there, and as usual, is reporting what he sees. No sugar coating, no axe to grind.

Do geometric patterns occur in nature outside of snowflakes? They do on Saturn. There's a weather hexagon on Saturn's north pole. New Scientist has a link to a video.

That should keep you busy for awhile. I am now thoroughly caffeinated and ready to go wield my trusty shovel. As I dig, I must keep reminding myself, "People pay money for this kind of workout. This is good for me. It could be worse. It could be raining." Hopefully this will keep my attitude in check as I comply with the City of Portland's drainage codes. I'll try to spare you the anti-City rant today. It really could be worse. It really could be raining.

Falcon 1 Liftoff

Here's the video of the Falcon 1 rocket launch that I wrote about yesterday. It's about five minutes long. Watch it through the more boring bits where all you see is water condensation as the rocket passes through the clouds. The stages separating and the Earth falling into the distance and taking shape as a ball in space is way neato.

Hat tip: Futurismic

The Sun In Action

It's turning into Space Day at the Meow. You gotta go watch the video NASA has posted of the eruption of a giant solar flare. When I say giant, I mean giant. According to Dr. Tony Phillips, a production editor for NASA's Science website, this particular flare that Japan's Hinode spacecraft captured on video is almost as big as Earth! Dr. Phillips has some interesting things to say about what Hinode is teaching scientists about the Sun, and why it's important. Have a look. It's good learning. Besides that, the video is just plain cool.

Private Spaceflight--Blasting Off

Hey, if you're interested in privately-funded spaceflight, here's a tidbit from Spaceflight Now you might want to peruse. It's a partial transcript of a post-launch press briefing by Elon Musk. Musk is the founder of SpaceX, a private company contracted by NASA to develop the Falcon 9 rocket for delivering cargo to the International Space Station. According to SpaceX's website, if all goes well with the rocket's development, "At the option of NASA, the Agreement can be extended to include demonstrating transport of crew to and from the International Space Station (ISS). If successful, NASA will have the ability to use the demonstrated capability to resupply the ISS after the 2010 retirement of the Space Shuttle." The goal for SpaceX is to create a line of launch vehicles that will reach anywhere from low Earth orbit to other planets. The company just tested its Falcon 1 rocket as part of developing the Falcon 9, but that is only the beginning of their plans for private spaceflight. Also from their website:

As part of this Agreement, SpaceX will execute three flights of its Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spaceship. These will be the first flights of the Dragon spaceship and the fourth, fifth and sixth flights of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

The missions are scheduled to occur in the late 2008 to 2009 time period and will culminate in demonstrating delivery of cargo to the ISS and safe return of cargo to Earth. The Dragon spaceship is designed from the beginning to have an identical structure for both cargo and crew transport, allowing for a rapid transition from unmanned to manned flight as soon as reliability is proven.

"By stimulating the development of commercial orbital spaceflight, the NASA COTS program will have the same positive effect on space travel as the Air Mail Act of 1925 had on the development of safe and affordable air transportation," said Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO. "Moreover, the requirement for significant private investment and the fact that NASA only pays for objective, demonstrated milestones ensures that the American taxpayer will receive exceptional value for money."

The freshly tested Falcon 1 rocket met with mixed success, making it to space, but failing to establish orbit. However, Musk was quite pleased with the progress nonetheless, and has high hopes for the future. Apparently the most dangerous part is making it off the planet, and the rest will be a fairly straightforward fix, as Musk discussed in his press briefing:

"I feel very confident 10 years from now that we can be putting both satellites and people into orbit, and maybe beyond (Earth) orbit. I feel very confident in the future of commercial spaceflight, private spaceflight and I think this bodes very, very well actually for achieving some of the goals that I mentioned. It is really an excellent indicator that a small company can achieve great things....We had what I would call a relatively minor issue with the roll-control very late in the flight. But all the really big risk items, the ones we were most concerned, have been addressed. If you look at the early history of rocketry, I think they had something like 12 Atlas failures before the 13th one was successful. To get this far on our second launch being an all-new rocket -- new main engine, new first stage, new second stage engine, new second stage, new fairing, new launch pad system, with so many new things -- to have gotten this far is great."

Sounds encouraging. I'm totally on board with the notion that privately funded and developed spaceships can and should be part of humanity's space future. I really like seeing NASA contract with private companies to meet its goals, especially since America's space shuttle is soon to be grounded. Private industry can take financial risks that government agencies shouldn't necessarily be taking, and a commercial spaceflight industry can reap great rewards in the process, both from government contracts and private tourism/commercial transportation. With companies like SpaceX putting private expertise to work, in hopes of making a profit, everyone involved, NASA included, can ultimately benefit, and as Musk pointed out, NASA, and thus the taxpayer, "only pays for objective, demonstrated milestones." Free market meets space. Two of my favorite things taking flight together. Go for launch.

Hat tip: Instapundit, for the press briefing link.

Having A Look At Io And Pluto

I know I've written about some serious Earth-based stuff lately, and it might be a bit jarring to jump back out into space, but this is just so cool and interesting. I had to let you see it too. Dr. Tony Phillips, has the latest from NASA's ventures in space exploration, complete with pictures. For those of you who don't know, NASA has a spacecraft headed out to Pluto. The craft is named New Horizons, and it's carrying an eight-inch telescope called LORRI, short for Long Range Reconnaissance Imager. They're looking to snap some high resolution pics of the recently-demoted dwarf planet and its moons, sometime around 2015. To get her there on schedule, NASA decided that New Horizons needed a speed boost on the way out to the fringes of our solar system, so they swung her by Jupiter, to slingshot around the giant planet and pick up 9,000 mph of extra giddy-up. This will cut five years off the trip--well worth the detour, wouldn't you say?

Now, since New Horizons was doing a flyby of the big guy anyway, of course NASA seized the opportunity to take a few photos of Jupiter and the multiple moons hanging out in the vicinity. In fact, LORRI didn't waste any time, snapping a whole gallery of images of Io, Europa, Callisto and Ganymede. They're all interesting in their own ways, but it's Io that captured the attention of NASA's old hands. LORRI caught Io's Tvashtar volcano in fine form; the erupting plume image is the best "longtime Jupiter experts -- have ever seen." No kidding--the plume rises 180 miles above the surface of the moon! (I almost said "into the air," but that doesn't quite work on Io, now does it?) If you follow the link to the article, the photo is there for your viewing pleasure, along with a link to other pics that LORRI shot in the neighborhood.

One of the rather amazing things about this eruption on Io is what the photo shows happens when the plume gets that high in that environment. Dr. Phillips quotes Andy Cheng, a scientist from Johns Hopkins' Applied Physics Lab:

"The patchy and filamentous structure seen in the Tvashtar plume suggests to me that condensation from gas to solid particulates is occurring," he says. In other words, the gas could be crystallizing in the cold space above Io to form a kind of sulfurous snow.

Volcanoes spewing snow? It is an alien world.

Alien, indeed. In case I haven't mentioned it before (of course I have)--I want to go there!! Things are happening out there, and I'm missing them--or, at least I would be, if it weren't for New Horizons. Fortunately, LORRI was there at the right place at the right time; although, the chances were pretty good that LORRI would catch something interesting no matter when she showed up. Apparently, this kind of action isn't rare on this particular Jupitorial satellite. Io, is a rather volcanically active little guy. According to Dr. Phillips:

Gravitational forces exerted on Io by Jupiter and the other large moons raise tidal bulges in Io's solid crust 30 meters high. This flexing action, like the flexing of a paperclip, makes Io's interior molten hot and, as a result, the moon has hundreds of active volcanoes.

There's a nifty little animated graphic with Dr. Phillips' article which demonstrates all that tidal bulging. It looks a lot like a tennis ball flexing, when a video camera catches it in slow motion after it's been hit with a good strong forehand.

As New Horizons heads out to the farther reaches of our little corner of the galaxy, there are ever more discoveries to be made. Pluto awaits, and NASA plans to closely examine our little dwarf friend, and his immediate family:

"Future LORRI images of Pluto and Charon will have even more detail and higher resolution, because New Horizons will bring us at least a thousand times closer than we came to Io," notes Cheng. Of course, no one has any idea what LORRI will see, because Pluto has never been visited by a space probe. "That's why we're going."

One more interesting thing about Pluto and Charon: Wikipedia says that Pluto may get reclassified again, and Charon may come in for a bigger piece of the spotlight:

Pluto and its largest satellite, Charon, could be considered a binary system because they are closer in size than any of the other known celestial pair combinations in the solar system, and because the barycenter of their orbits does not lie within either body. However, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has yet to formalize a definition for binary dwarf planets, so Charon is currently regarded as a moon of Pluto.

It might be hard for Pluto to face yet another change in status, but then again, maybe not. Pluto and Charon are close, you know, and Pluto may be happy to see his buddy get a little more attention. Besides, being a binary system would make Pluto kind of unique, in our neck of the woods anyway, and it might compensate for getting kicked out of the big boys' club. I'm not saying that Pluto has an ego. He may be perfectly humble, but if I was recently told I couldn't hang with the cool kids anymore, it would probably make me feel better if someone made a fuss over me for awhile, especially if I got to start a new club with my best friend.

Pics In Space--The Eye Of God Edition

I just got back from my monthly tour of space, with the MSNBC Space Slide Show, and I want to go again!! Really, I mean it. The phrase that kept popping to mind as I wandered through the images of planets and nebulas and galaxies (oh my!!) is, "I want to go there!!" I want to jump on a rocket-ship right now, one with time-condensing capabilities, and head out into the galaxy, to explore to my heart's content. Of course, my feet are pretty firmly planted in reality, and I know that the chances of me making it off the planet, while I'm still young enough to enjoy it, are so slim as to be put logically in the "impossible" category, but I'm not giving up hope long-term.

I had a pastor once who used to talk about space, and about the possibilities of intelligent alien life in the universe. When people would say there had to be other life out there, because all of that creation couldn't just be for the view from Earth, and what a waste that would be, his response basically boiled down to, "It's not going to be wasted. That's for later!!" He figured that part of our eternity was going to be spent exploring the vastness of creation, and seeing all the wonders up close that we can only glimpse from afar right now. I've always liked that notion--the idea that I'll get to indulge my passion for space some day, unhindered by physical limitations and time constraints. I don't know whether that pastor was right, but for now I'm going to let myself dream in that direction, and part of that dreaming is enjoying the wonderful pictures provided each month by NASA, the European Space Agency, the Cassini Spacecraft, and all the other contributors to MSNBC's glimpse into the glory that exists "out there."

Let me entice you with a few of the images that await you, should you choose to journey with me into space, via the monthly gift of MSNBC's slide show. You'll be greeted right away by the stunning sight of a Nebula that amateur astronomers have dubbed "The Eye of God." Simply amazing. From there, you'll cruise on to many wondrous places, both far and near. You'll see rockets surging toward the heavens, galaxies swirling in the great beyond, absolutely incredible Martian terrain, frosted in its bitter cold, and etched by the Martian winds. You'll come upon a colorful Supernova, and a true color picture of the planet Mars that will remind you what an artist God is. Our own Earth gets the chance to show her true colors, as well. Banded sand dunes reveal how very alien our own planet can be, and you'll get a look at the power our weather has to transform our world. You'll go flying with an astronaut-in-training, another of the new breed, a paying passenger who is about to travel to the International Space Station for a visit. You could probably go too--anybody have a spare $20 million? My favorite photo this time around is one of right here at home. It's a splendidly colorful image of the Mississippi River Delta that looks like an abstract painting with all the glowing pigment and indefinable motion of the river carving its way through the fertile land to the depths of the sea.

Feel like taking the trip now? Head on over, and then come back and tell me which place you'd most like to go if you got the chance. Personally, I'd visit 'em all. I sure hope my pastor was right!!

Pics In Space--The Late Edition

I must now repent before you all, and seek your forgiveness. I've been so busy vacationing, post-vacationing, and posting my own pictures of Disney World that I forgot all about the traditional monthly Meow diversion of MSNBC's space slide show!! I could spend a lot of your time and mine now, concocting elaborate and flowery apologies, begging for you to overlook my neglect of my Meowly duties, and generally being goofy, but I'm sure you'd rather I simply give you the link and get on with it. This wasn't the most spectacular set of photos, comparative to recent months, which have been outstanding, but this month's slide show has a few gems.

Those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere have mostly missed out on Comet McNaught, but they've been getting a visible-to-the-naked-eyeful down South, and such a sight could hardly escape being caught on film. There's a gorgeous shot of Saturn's rings, all back-lit by the Sun, with a little glimpse of a tiny blue Earth thrown in for good measure. We get to see mission specialist Christer Fuglesang (say that five times fast) taking a space-walk, and the camera angle, catching him suspended above Earth, is enough to make me both happy and very sad that I couldn't swap places with Christer for the mission. There are some false-color images of the Sun that view like a print by Andy Warhol, and of course, Mars and a few distant galaxies get into the act, as usual.

One of the pics that really drew my notice this time around was a very monochrome image of Jupiter, captured by the New Horizons probe's Long Range Reconnaissance Imager. The probe is on it's way out to hook up with poor demoted Pluto sometime in 2015, but on the way it's taking in the sights. There are a couple of Jupiter's moons, Ganymede and Io, that wrangled their way into the spotlight with the largest planet in our solar system, and the cool thing is that you can see where Ganymede's shadow is just a blemish on the surface of the giant planet. What's really amazing about that is that Ganymede is big--big enough that if it were orbiting the Sun, instead of Jupiter, it could be classified as a planet in its own right (unlike the aforementioned Pluto, demoted to dwarf status by the important and powerful people who decide such things), yet the shadow looks completely insignificant on the surface of granddaddy Jupiter. Some of that stuff out there in space is just plain huge.

Well, that's the slide-show run-down for this month. Hope you enjoy it, and I'll try to remember to get it to you on time next month, otherwise I'll have to actually write that flowery apology, and none of us really want that, now do we?

The Arms Race...In Space

Rand Simberg, at TCS Daily, today published an article examining the current state of the space arms race. I know, I know, we're not supposed to have a space arms race, but China sent a rocket up from somewhere near the Xichang Space Center last week and blew one of its own satellites out of low Earth orbit. This was, needless to say, less provoking than blowing up someone else's satellite, but it is causing some concern, nonetheless. Hitting a satellite from Earth was previously believed to be a fairly tough thing to accomplish, but the Chinese made it look pretty easy, so that means they can probably do it again. They don't always have to aim for their own satellites, either. What's more, the Chinese aren't the only nation which will now be feeling the need to own a piece of the sky. What self-respecting 21st-century technological power isn't going to find it in their own best interests to develop the capacity to eliminate the satellites of others while protecting their own technological investments? Simberg points out that America certainly can't afford to ignore this. Have you noticed how dependent our own U.S. military is getting on satellite technology in recent years? A threat to our sats is a threat to our capabilities to defend our interests around the world, including here at home. Yep, the arms race in space is entering a new era--and it might just turn out to be a more visible one.

Okay, as if we don't have enough to worry about now that "my rocket can beat up your satellite" is coming to a space playground near you, there's a more imminent threat posed by the successful use of an anti-satellite weapon (ASAT) than the space arms race heating up. The satellite the Chinese destroyed wasn't exactly eliminated, but rather blown to bits, a good number of those bits large enough pose a danger to other low orbiting Earth satellites--including the International Space Station. They will likely be a space hazard for months, if not years, to come, and they've upped the amount of debris our radar will be tracking by a considerable amount.

Simberg provides some analysis of what the future might bring, with or without anti-ASAT treaties, and predicts some necessary changes. For one thing, he says that we are going to have to develop more maneuverable satellites with decoy capacity (the better to escape an oncoming missile.) Another thing he says would be an important improvement is a stand-by supply of satellite technology, ready to be sent into space at short notice, providing an immediate replacement capacity in "wartime or crisis" (which he says would act as deterrent to potential enemy action, since it would up the cost of eliminating our satellite capacity substantially.) One of the key things Simberg sees as imperative is the development of more flexible, cost-effective launch mechanisms. He predicts some resistance to the latter, but finds it necessary all the same, and not just for the space arms race. We need to develop new, less expensive and more easily adaptable launch systems anyway, if we want to further our presence in space. In that regard, he seems to think that the Chinese may actually have done us a favor in taking the space arms race to this level. It might push along a few of the changes that are important for future space exploration. I hope he's right (about the kick-in-the-butt-getting-us-further-into-space part anyway.)

Promises, Promises

Why do weather reporters always lie? I'm convinced that they know the reports they are making are wrong, and they do it anyway, just to mess with our heads. They keep their jobs, because they're all in on it together, and there's no competition from other, more honest, weather prognosticators, no fear someone else is going to come out with a more accurate prediction. They are also secretly sharing the real weather forecast with their bosses and station owners, and they are all chuckling about it behind everyone else's backs. It's mean. I and countless children in the Portland area were promised snow, and all we're getting is COLD. Where does that get fun? If I sound like I'm whining, it's because I am. It's so anticlimactic. I was all ready to snuggle into the comfy chair, with a big mug of tea, and stare contentedly at the meandering flakes drifting down to nestle into their chilly white beds. Later, I would have bundled up and gone walking with my Kedley in a winter wonderland. It was a good plan!! Hmmph. Good thing I went skiing a few days ago, and plan to go again soon, or this snow thing would really tick me off. As it is, I'm just in whine mode, and will get over it as soon as something interesting catches my attention. I'm sort of like a puppy, or a Kat.

Okay, attention caught. (Wasn't that easy?) Those of you who check in here regularly know that I'm a big fan of the whole Space Elevator idea. Electric elevators climbing a super strong ribbon up and out of the gravity well that keeps matter sucked to our fair planet make a fine alternative to the rockets that require so much fuel to boost them out to space that there's barely any room left for cargo. Not that watching rockets take off isn't fun and all, but someday I'd actually like to take a trip into the outer limits myself, and I just can't see it happening as long as the voyage involves massive amounts of money, and massive amounts of G-forces. I get carsick if the ride involves too much acceleration. I'm pretty sure I would get rocketsick too. Now, I know that a space elevator would have to book it along at a brisk trot as well, but the mph factor and direction would be much more likely to remain fairly constant once it got up to speed, thus eliminating my main motion issues. That's my hope anyway, and I'm sticking to it, as long as no Really Smart People tell me any differently. (I'll think about the whole sickness from free-fall thing later.)

This brings up a pertinent question, though. Where do you go to get your space elevator queries answered? Answer: Really Smart People, of course!! Follow the link I posted above, which will send you to the Elevator 2010 site. Here's what they have to say about themselves:

The dream of a Space Elevator is a monumental one. A vision that will not only further space exploration and knowledge, but has the potential to shape the existential future of the human race for centuries to come.

For the first time since it was initially conceived, this dream is now within our reach.

Elevator 2010 has joined the on-going construction effort, adding energy, resources and new initiatives to the ever-growing number of organizations, companies, websites and enthusiasts focused on the technical, political and economic development of the Space Elevator.

Our goal is to generate enough interest in the project, so that within five years the Space Elevator basic building blocks can be demonstrated as feasible, and full-scale design and construction can begin.

And hence our name. Elevator:2010. we promise to get an answer for you by then.

Elevator 2010 is a project of the Spaceward Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

Here's the link to their Space Elevator Primer, which should give you the gist of the concept. Then, if you still want more Space Elevator fun, you can go on to the FAQ page. It'll provide you with a list of Frequently Asked Questions, and more importantly, answer them. Isn't that exciting? Even better, if you need a little help getting your head around the whole notion of an elevator into space, there's a movie. Well, okay, it's an animation. Since we don't actually have an elevator yet, it would be hard to produce actual footage of the thing in action, but the animation is pretty slick and movie-esque--not up to the standard of today's CGI, but what do you want with a free demo of a cool idea? Popcorn and Milk Duds? Just follow the link to the FAQs and off to the right, under the Elevator 2010 logo is a little "intro movie" link. Go ahead and click on it. It'll be fun. At least I think so. Honest. I wouldn't lie to you about it. After all, I'm not a weather reporter, or any deceptive mean person like that. Hmmph. Promise me snow and not deliver....

Update: We finally got a little token dusting, but only enough to make things inconvenient, and not enough to make things fun. What's more, it came at night, when I couldn't watch it fall. I am not mollified in the least toward the weather prognostication industry. They made a big deal of it all, and I didn't even have a reason to put on boots. I still say they're mean. Waah!!