Steinn Sigurðsson
Professor of Astrophysics at Pennsylvania State University. Science Editor at Astrophysical Journal. Icelandic. Herder of Cats.
catdynamics
Posts by this author
April 30, 2008
Crucio!
Ok, here is a crappy photoshop with hat...
Here is the video
Cheney mastrubation joke is around minute #5, band conduction is at the end
April 30, 2008
Chad he says: Scientists Don't Have To Do Everything
Do as he says.
This is another episode of linking: because linking is an inherent public good.
April 29, 2008
Gorgeous Spitzer Space Telescope Image of Ω Centauri
Martha Boyer at the University of Minnesota got Spitzer images of Omega Cen, combines with ground based imaging from the Blanco 4m.
The goal was to find dust rich red giant stars, those are the red/yellow stars in the image, with the main…
April 28, 2008
Physics used to be simple: the universe was eternal, static and predictable...
but there were dark clouds on the horizon.
First there was uncertainty, evidence of decay. Lack of conservation.
Then all became relative. Transmutable, interchangable, in a revolutionary way.
There was sudden change,…
April 28, 2008
Is APOD for the iPod.
Seriously. A neat little web accessible archive of the public subset of the APOD archive, continuosly updated, bundled for a quick iPod upload.
With an index, please.
April 26, 2008
After the revelations about Syria's plausible secret nuclear project, destroyed by an Israeli air raid, speculation is turning back to Iran
Arms Control Wonk and Whirled View have info, and interesting discussion in comments; and Nuclear Mangos has sprung back to life, which is a worrying sign to…
April 25, 2008
The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group is being reinforced.
That is not good.
It is generally true that aircraft carriers to not launch air strikes while in harbour.
I believe it has been done, probably by a UK carrier at Malta, but generally not a good idea.
So, if one were to worry that intemperate…
April 25, 2008
Friday, at last, and just one more week to go.
So... lets be scientific today and ask the Mighty Inscrutable iPod One: have seasonal modulation of WIMPy Cold Dark Matter really been detected, as reported?
Whoosh goes the randomizer.
Whoosh.
The Covering: So Am I - Alison Moyet
The Crossing: II -…
April 24, 2008
I was discussing the "Landscape" in string theory, as it relates to modern cosmology in class, and the students first reaction was: "what is all the fuss about"?
It seemed a bit mystifying to them that the community was having such angst over the issue.
So... I was trying to explain the…
April 24, 2008
the mystery of the "box" in Syria that was bombed by the Israelis was claimed to be a North Korean design nuclear reactor
the LA Times originally leaked the news of the briefing, claiming there was video evidence showing the interior and the top of a Yongbyon type reactor, and presence of "Korean…
April 24, 2008
Carnival of Space #51 at Astro Engine now.
Next week is the big one year anniversary edition...
April 24, 2008
Happy first day of summer!
Today is the first day of Harpa, the first of the summer months.
Enjoy.
In other news,
two black swans were found in Iceland. Really. Click through for picture.
Economists all around the world swoon.
Icelandic birders are now looking for a pair of white ravens, for…
April 23, 2008
Someone is getting lucky and the laser is getting hot
from the Hotel Mauna Kea folks
April 23, 2008
Another one bites the dust
Ok, this is only because I like the OINK and couldn't find "vote for we" on youtube.
Consider it a commentary on local politics.
April 22, 2008
the blog belongs to me
and Patti Smith on the Old Grey Whistle Test, live, has embedding blocked
But Sam the Sham is there for posterity.
April 22, 2008
people changing their votes
Question is: does this count as a political song that doesn't suck
April 21, 2008
I was just pondering the appalling lack of interesting science news the other day, and then I got back home and found these: CSI Ambleside...
The DAMA collaboration is claiming strong evidence for WIMPy Cold Dark Matter, based on an annual modulation in their scintillator experiment.
Ah, I was…
April 21, 2008
Welcome to classical football 101.
This class will cover classical football from a historical perspective, starting with 17th century english village contests.
We will then cover the development of association football and rugby football, through to the emergence of the modern conceptualization of…
April 17, 2008
It is a beautiful warm day in the Bay as we contemplate our flight home.
So how will we fare in this fair round?
Whoosh goes the randomizer.
Whoosh.
The Covering: She Moves On - Paul Simon
The Crossing: La Glace Au Citron - Henri Des
The Crown: Girlfriend is Better (Live) - Talking Heads
The Root…
April 17, 2008
The 2008 Astrobiology Science Conference is over.
There were six plenary sessions and six parallel topical sessions with typically 8-9 sessions each. Plus townhall meetings, public events and receptions.
I made it to only five topical sessions, including the two I was co-chair of and the one my…
April 17, 2008
It is, I gather National Poetry month...
This one is a little over a thousand years old:
Það mælti mín móðir
að mér skyldi kaupa
fley og fagrar árar
fara á brott með víkingum
standa upp í stafni
stýra dýrum knerri
halda svo til hafnar
höggva mann og annann
I learned it when I was eight
I still…
April 17, 2008
The Astrobiology Science Conference sponsors a student poster competition,
this year the top four posters got cash prizes, thanks to a generous donation.
Fourth prize was $250...
third prize was $750 and second prize was $1250, if I caught the numbers rattled off correctly. There were more and…
April 17, 2008
GLAST was due to be launched next month.
Apparently the launch is on hold, they hope to have the issues resolved soon and a new launch date scheduled.
April 17, 2008
The "Super-Earth" topical session at the Astrobiology Science Conference wasn't quite the "Woodstock" of astrobio, but it was pretty good.
There were many a famous pundit sitting on the floor between rows of seats or crammed standing up against the wall when came in to the room thinking they could…
April 16, 2008
the Earth is oxidized, not just because there is free oxygen in the atmosphere, but also because the rocks are predominantly silicon oxides
there has been some speculation about "carbon planets", but not much detailed modeling
now we're getting there.
There were several presentations on carbon…
April 16, 2008
Weather forecasting is a tricky business.
It is a lot better than it used to be, but most of the time, for most places, you can't put much faith in forecasts much beyond 3-5 days.
Which is a big improvement on how it used to be, but one could still hope for better.
So... I was chatting to a met…
April 15, 2008
I love going to meetings where I can learn totally new stuff.
One of the joys of astrobiology is that I can wander into a session on some research way outside my specialty and learn something new and interesting.
It is like being a student again.
I also like disciplinary workshops, and big in-…
April 15, 2008
Here is an astronomy ranking for the US
CA 46
MD 20
AZ 14
MA 11
NY 7
PA 7
TX 6
WA 6
DC 5
HI 5
MI 5
NJ 5
FL 4
TN 4
IL 3
OH 3
CO 2
GA 2
IN 2
MN 2
NM 2
VA 2
CT 1
MO 1
NV 1
SC 1
WI…
April 15, 2008
The number of the CAN is 38
38 is the number of the CAN.
Second largest. Not as many as I feared.
Good luck everyone.