Astronomy News Feeds
Astronomy Picture of the Day: August Moons
August 21, 2008
This August was eclipse season. The month's first New Moon and Full Moon were both seen in darkened skies during a solar and lunar eclipse. Blocking the Sun, the left panel's New Moon was captured during the total solar eclipse of August...
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Universe Today (Top 5 items)
- Ride a Maglev Rocket to Space Hotel in 2012 (Thu Aug 21 5:01 pm)
The space tourism company Galactic Suite already has 38 reservations made by tourists who, the company says, in 2012 will travel on board a magnetically levitated spacecraft to an orbiting luxury hotel, complete with a floating spa, pictured... - Sunspot Pair Observed Today - Is Solar Cycle 24 Waking Up? (Thu Aug 21 4:52 pm)
Amateur astronomers have observed the first sunspots to appear on the solar surface for weeks. This period of extreme magnetic calm has made some scientists believe that Solar Cycle 23 might be a quiet affair. This comes in stark contrast to... - Real Hitchhiker's Guide to the Solar System on the Way (Thu Aug 21 3:27 pm)
Thinking about trekking across Titan or meandering around Mercury? Along with your backpack and towel, you'll also want to pack one of Robert Gaskell's maps. Gaskell, a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, is working... - Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Changing How Scientists ?and the Public - Do Astronomy (Thu Aug 21 1:45 pm)
Recently we've had articles on Universe Today that have discussed the outer Milky Way Galaxy, dark matter, and the discovery of a new minor planet. These articles have a common thread: The discoveries all come from the Sloan Digital... - Phoenix Lander: The Digging Continues (Thu Aug 21 11:12 am)
Scientists and engineers from NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander continue with digging operations around the lander with the spacecraft's robotic arm. They are looking for new materials to analyze and are examining the soil and ice subsurface...
EurekaAlert Space News (Top 5 items)
- Forward planning release from the BA (Wed Aug 20 11:00 pm)
(The BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science)) The BA Festival of Science will be in Liverpool Sept. 6-11, bringing over 350 of the UK's top scientists and engineers to discuss the latest developments in science with the public.... - Hubble sees magnetic monster in erupting galaxy (Tue Aug 19 11:00 pm)
(ESA/Hubble Information Centre) The Hubble Space Telescope has found the answer to a long-standing puzzle by resolving giant but delicate filaments shaped by a strong magnetic field around the active galaxy NGC 1275. It is the most striking... - National Academies advisory: Technology development at NASA (Tue Aug 19 11:00 pm)
(National Academy of Sciences) A new report from the National Research Council, "A constrained space exploration technology program: A review of NASA's exploration technology development program," looks at the quality of technological research... - Space age engineers to verify control software for future robotic interplanetary missions (Tue Aug 19 11:00 pm)
(University of Leicester) An international team of engineers is to develop mission-critical control software for future European robotic space missions. - Drier, warmer springs in US Southwest stem from human-caused changes in winds (Mon Aug 18 11:00 pm)
(University of Arizona) Human-driven changes in the westerly winds are bringing hotter and drier springs to the American Southwest, according to new research from the University of Arizona in Tucson. Since the 1970s the winter storm track in...
Bad Astronomy Blog (Top 5 items)
- Volcanoes! (Thu Aug 21 4:52 pm)
For some brilliant reason, The Boston Globe has started a new online feature called The Big Picture, which showcases incredible hi-res images of different topics. They just ran one on volcanoes, and it’s, well, incredible. Like I said.... - Enceladus writ large (Thu Aug 21 2:30 pm)
Cassini had the temerity to pass close to Saturn’s active moon Enceladus while I was in the Galapagos, so I couldn’t blog about it. Ever vigilant, however, Emily got the goods, including this incredible mosaic. Emily’s post... - Hubble’s impact (Thu Aug 21 12:13 pm)
Over at Cosmic Variance, my fellow astronomy blogger Julianne Dalcanton is looking for opinions. She’s writing an article about the scientific impact of Hubble, and she’s looking to see what others come up with. Webrainstorming,... - The Presidential candidates on space policy (Thu Aug 21 9:50 am)
The Planetary Society has posted both Obama’s and McCain’s statements on space policy. Both sound good, I’ll admit. Obama’s is a lot more thorough, with more specifics (which I had to chuckle over, given that many of... - Science Idol cartoon winner announced (Wed Aug 20 8:00 pm)
Science Idol was a contest sponsored by the Union of Concerned Scientists to find the best political cartoon dealing with science. They just announced the winner: Justin Bilicki, for this cartoon: It’s a good cartoon: funny, pithy, and...
Space.com News (Top 5 items)
- Parachute Test Fails for NASA's New Spaceship (Thu Aug 21 6:21 pm)
A parachute test for NASA's Orion space shuttle successor went awry. - How Stars Form Amid Black Hole Chaos (Thu Aug 21 6:21 pm)
Scientists have discovered how the stars near the massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way could have formed. - Dress Rehearsal for Mars (Thu Aug 21 6:21 pm)
Life-searching instruments are tested in Rio Tinto for an mission to Mars. - Report: More Support, Testing Needed for NASA Exploration (Thu Aug 21 6:21 pm)
Proper funding and testing plan are needed for NASA's tech development program. - Iran Hopes to Send an Astronaut into Space (Thu Aug 21 6:21 pm)
State TV says Iran aims to launch an astronaut within 10 years.
Science@NASA (Top 5 items)
- Living with a Star (Tue Aug 19 1:00 am)
What if you woke up one morning and found your whole planet had been swallowed by the atmosphere of a star? Don't laugh, it could happen to you, and NASA has a special program to deal with it. Please vote for this podcast at PodcastAlley!... - The Realm of Earthworms: NASA Gets Down to the Nitty-Gritty (Fri Aug 15 1:00 am)
NASA scientists are preparing to launch a "flying tractor" with microwave sensors to explore the nitty-gritty realm beneath your feet. Please vote for this podcast at PodcastAlley! Get this podcast story. - A Flash of Insight: LCROSS Mission Update (Mon Aug 11 1:00 am)
There are places on the Moon where the sun hasn't shined for millions of years, inky-dark places that may harbor a treasure of great value. NASA's is about to light one of them up. Please vote for this podcast at PodcastAlley! Get... - A Brief History of Solar Sails (Thu Jul 31 1:00 am)
Have you ever stared up at the night sky, felt a gentle breeze, and wished you could set sail for the stars? Get in line. Many great thinkers from history have had the same idea. This long-held fancy could soon become reality with one solar... - Partial Eclipse, Total Fun (Tue Jul 29 1:00 am)
This Friday, August 1st, millions of people in China will witness a well-publicized total eclipse of the sun. Less widely reported is the partial eclipse, which *billions* of people across a quarter of the globe can observe and enjoy. ...