Friday, March 20, 2009

Liquid Water on Mars ,... Today



This recent photo has caused a bit of controversy. But it seems that what it is showing is liquid water on the landing legs of the Phoenix. This evidence suggests that water likely exists on the planet in liquid form in various places. And we all know that it is another piece in finding life there. The salinity of the water must be very high in order to remain a liquid. But with the recent revelation and discovery of methane accompanied with liquid water, the red planet is becoming more and more intriguing. When are we going there??

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090319232438.htm

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Unexpected Particle, again

Just goes to show you, the more we know the stranger it gets. The science of the very small subatomic world is far more bizzare then we ever could imagine.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090318140618.htm

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Educate Yourself for Free

It may be surprising to know that you can educate yourself for free on the internet. Even from outstanding schools like MIT. But be advised, you won't recieve any credentials from the school to put towards a masters degree or anything like that. But if you find knowledge generally important and have the time, you can delve into the principles of astronomy, physics, biology, or any number of subjects.

I'll start to compile a number of sites devoted to free learning and I'll keep them in a tab on the sidebar.

For now, look here.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Transient Lunar Phenomenon

Do they really exist?? And, if so, what the heck are they??

Maybe we'll find out relatively soon.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/03/090302-moon-flashes-missions.html

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Huh??.... an asteroid just missed us??

Phew! Asteroid's passing was a cosmic near-miss

I guess I have this unrealistic expectation that the night sky is being watched for asteroids. And apparently for the really big ones, like a kilometer or bigger, we are. We would see this coming for several years. What we would do about it is another story, but at least we'd see it coming.

We saw this one coming on Friday. And it was closest to the Earth on Monday. No time to send Bruce Willis to save us in that time. It came within 45,000 miles which sounds like a lot, but that is about twice as high as our satellites. Five times closer than the Moon to Earth. Too close.

And a curious thought comes to mind. Why did we not hear about this?? You would think this would be a great story. Another fear mongering and sensationalistic story that typifies current media.

What damage might this have done?? This is a 20-30 yard hunk of rock. We're probably not talking mass extinction, but we are talking serious aftermath. We could very well have had a catastrophe on our hands, depending on where it hit.

More eyes on the skies please.