What We're Talking About Sunday, February 12, 2012
Celestial Square One
On Dynamics of Cats, Steinn Sigurðsson flags a few foreboding articles on the future of NASA. Sigurðsson says the orbiting telescope Galex, or Galaxy Evolution Explorer, will be shut down later this year despite continuing to function. And many "2011-12 programs appear effectively suspended pending the 2012-13 budget, to the point where an entire funding cycle will be lost for some lines." Meanwhile, Ethan Siegel conjures up an apt scenario on Starts With a Bang, writing "Let's pretend that, for all of our history on Earth, we had never once bothered to look up with any instruments beyond what our own eyes could offer." From neighboring planets to the stars to extended nebulae and distant galaxies, our existing technology would allow us to peer deeper and deeper into the universe and quickly arrive at a conclusion that historically took centuries: the Big Bang theory. Of course, we've employed every technological advance to improve our view of the stars every step of the way. There's something innately human about keeping an eye on the heavens. And although old habits die hard, they might also run out of money.
Ominous signs for NASA
dynamics of catsFebruary 10, 2012
"There are several signs o'doom for NASA bubbling up out there.
"GALEX is going into standby mode in preparation for shut down. It is working fine, but past its design lifetime, as so many NASA satellites do nowadays, and there is no more money for mission operation and data analysis.
"There is a rumour that Caltech hustled for some private money to extend MODA, but they may not be able to do it anyway, because of liability and ownership issues. So it goes."
The Big Bang for Beginners
starts with a bang!February 9, 2012
"But we can go back even further! Imagine a time that was even hotter and denser than when this plasma existed, to a time where it was so hot that even protons and neutrons -- the constituents of atomic nuclei -- would be blasted apart by the scorching hot radiation of the Universe!
"At some point, the lightest elements in the Universe would have been unable to form. These are some of the consequences of this Big Bang model of the Universe, and these are theoretical predictions that we can test!
"How's that?
"Each of these events will leave observable signatures behind. If we start out in a hot, dense, roughly uniform state and come forward in time, we can predict what we should see today based on the Big Bang model of the Universe! Let's start at the beginning and come forward."
Insight
Video
Adaptive optics allow the Gemini Observatory to see stars as clearly as Hubble on Starts With a Bang!
Video
Alleged global cooling is really noise caused by sporadic weather patterns on Greg Laden's Blog.
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In Conversation
“My favorite part of the 'hoax' myth is that scientists are making up data so they can keep receiving grant money. [...] It's not like we can take grant money and go out and buy a Porsche.”A global warming conspiracy theorist has won 4 states, should we be worried?
Channel Surfing
Life Science
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ScienceBlogs Super Photos
Top Lists
- 1Planning for Irene : Casaubon's Book
- 2'Not responding well to vaccines'-- Separated by a common language : erv
- 3Shrimp on treadmills, laundry-folding robots, and the problem of ridiculing research : The Pump Handle
- 4"Excuse me, there's some food in my bugs!" : Greg Laden's Blog
- 5No place to sit down : Greg Laden's Blog
- 1Periodic Table of Swearing
ERV 11.26.2011
- 2Dr. Suzanne Humphries and the International Medical Council on Vaccination: Antivaccine to the core
Orac 02.16.2011
- 3Zooming in on the Origin of Life Science Foundation
PZ Myers 02.04.2012
- 4The Contraception Kerfuffle
Jason Rosenhouse 02.10.2012
- 5Robert Manne on Monckton's plan for the Australian media
Tim Lambert 02.08.2012
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Ominous signs for NASA
dynamics of cats 02.10.2012
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Wild Mississippi
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Day-to-day Labor: The Hazards of Low-wage Temping in America
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erv 02.09.2012
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