astro
catdynamics | September 27, 2010We are now just 12 hours from the release of the National Research Council Data Based Assessment of Graduate Programs.
The tension is just overwhelming...
An interesting thing about the 2010 NRC rankings is the methodology, and a final version seems to have been settled upon.
As you know, Bob, the primary purpose of the new methodology is to make sure Princeton wins, and Harvard is suitably humbled provide a robust and objective ranking of US graduate programs, for the ages, which is not a subjective grossly lagging metric.
The complaints about the methodology have already started to bubble…
catdynamics | September 26, 2010 The National Research Council releases its data based ranking of US graduate programs on Tuesday September 28th.
NRC website with methodology and FAQ on rankings
The rankings are much perused and much abused, by anyone from prospective grads, to axe-wielding provosts.
The last rankings were done in 1995, and used the classic "reputational" method.
Basically NRC grandees called their old muckers back at the unis and asked them who was any good, starting, please, with Harvard, Princeton and Yale...
It worked, though the methodology was somewhat criticized and the results were most definitely…
catdynamics | September 18, 2010A few years ago Ball Aerospace pulled a cute stunt
Ball Aerospace logo - from telestarlogistics blog (click to embiggen)
Using the QuickBirdcommercial imaging satellite, they took a picture of Ball Aerospace parking lot, with some employees dressed in white standing on a blue tarp, spelling out Ball's logo.
0.6m telescope.
Note the white dashed lines on the tarmac on the road are resolved.
Not bad.
(cf here the later WorldView-2 first light image of Dallas airport)
catdynamics | August 27, 2010Extraordinarily good video visualizing the last three decades of asteroid discovery
It is a bit slow to start with, but really picks up in the last minute.
Worth the wait.
Nice one.
And not done yet.
About time to do a similar visualization of the Kuiper belt objects and outer asteroids.
h/t Bulent via fb
catdynamics | August 26, 2010Kepler has a new discovery, coming out in Science tomorrow.
Press conference is currently underway.
Discovery is 2 Saturn size planets in 2:1 resonance in 19 and 38 day orbits.
In addition there is a third signal suggesting 1.5 Earth radii planet in 1.6 day orbital period.
Star is "sun like" [sic]. Paper comes out tonight.
- Physical plant wants to put in my desk now, and my desktop is down and I have to clear out in a minute - - done, that was fast. No desktop till tomorrow tough.
Transit Timing Variation should give the planetary masses soon, and few more orbits should confirm the third…
catdynamics | August 24, 2010so, er, anyone hear of any new exciting results?
y'know: loads o'planets, measurements of dark energy EOS, burpy black holes?
and wtf will Kepler announce on thursday, eh?
- or, y'know, be considerate and stop publishing exciting new stuff when the rest of us are trying to get term started!
oh, and the NRC rankings of grad programs come out in 5 weeks...
catdynamics | August 13, 2010
"The priority science objectives chosen by the survey committee for the decade 2012-2021 are searching for the first stars, galaxies, and black holes; seeking nearby habitable planets; and advancing understanding of the fundamental physics of the universe."
Ok, but the recommended priority mission to fulfill the goal is to piggyback exoplanet microlensing on a dark energy wide field imaging mission.
That is neat mission concept with interesting discovery space and will leverage our understanding of low mass planets in longer period orbits.
But, "nearby"? - sweet spot is several kpc away!
I…
catdynamics | August 13, 2010Decadal eTownhall meeting is about to start, and apparently some astronomy departments "forgot" to sign up for a webcast slot, so, like modern finance, those of us with the millisecond time advantage will leverage the advantage.
For the rest, here is the liveblog of the webcast, or find a tweet with no delay
(Derek is tweeting).
First question, no doubt, will be: "Roger, WHO chose the Muzak for the people waiting on hold...?"
and we're off...
apparently proceeds of the popcorn sales at the webcast sites will fund the new projects... hah!
Oh, that was not a joke.
We start off by emphasizing…
catdynamics | August 10, 2010Something Wicked This Way Comes
Friday, August 13th the Astronomy Decadal Survey Report is released...
Good thing we're not superstitious, eh?
The Decadal Survey is a clever thing, that Astronomy invented.
Every 10 years, natch, a panel of astronomers, and sub-panels, and sub-sub-panels, and ad-hoc-sub-sub-sub-panels, get together under the leadership of a senior and unimpeachable scientist, and prioritize US national efforts for the field for the next decade.
Last year was a decadal year, and Roger Blandford (Stanford) chaired it.
The panel is run by the National Research Council and…
catdynamics | July 22, 2010Where do you rank in the constellation of stellar astronomers?
The Astronomy Blog is inspired!
This is brilliant.
Brilliant, but a little bit scary.
The Astronomy Blogger ranked astronomers on a H-R diagram:
that is log(google Hits) vs log(refereed Research papers)
Below I shamelessly plagiarize copy fair use an edited version of the key figure.
click to embiggen
Yes, I cruelly edited out the Really Interesting Names at the top and left - you'll just have to click through to the Astronomy Blog to read them, won't you...
That is Me! in blue... just under 100 papers, and google says "…
catdynamics | June 28, 2010This is what can be done when the political will to do so is there
Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope
100x110m fully steerable, off-axis, active surface radio telescope.
Very nice, very productive.
catdynamics | June 22, 2010So, it appears that Le Bleus were ill-starred in the World Cup.
There may have been some lions in defence, but not enough water carriers and too many goats...
Yes, Domenech, the french coach, uses astrology to select the team...
"...few took Domenech seriously. It was discovered that he consulted the Zodiac in squad selection. Robert Pires was supposedly rejected owing to his mistrust of Scorpios, while William Gallas is among those challenged by perhaps his most infamous remark: "When I have a Leo in defence, I've always got my gun ready." "
I guess Anelka was in opposition.
Maybe you…
catdynamics | June 15, 2010Kepler released most of the first little bit of data today.
306 new candidate exoplanets, with 5 multiple transiting systems - ie stars with more than one planet transiting them.
The really interesting systems though are the 400 objects that the Kepler team got permission to withhold, and the data on which will be released later.
Statistically 100+ of those ought to be real planets, and probably the most interesting of all the exoplanets they found.
There is a story there.
More later.
Characteristics of Kepler Planetary Candidates Based on the First Data Set: The Majority are Found to be…
catdynamics | June 4, 2010The Falcon 9 launch was successful!!!
Video below.
Damn cool stage separation!
The Falcon 9 - heavy expendable launch vehicle developed privately by SpaceX launched successfully from Cape Canaveral today!
This is BIG news.
catdynamics | June 3, 2010A pair of papers just out show a mysterious absence of acetylene on Saturn's moon Titan.
Combined with a net flux of molecular hydrogen to the surface, this provides a tantalizing hint that there might be biochemistry taking place, with methane as the working fluid and hydrogen and acetylene as the primary energy source in a reductive metabolism.
Such a metabolic cycle was suggested five years ago by Chris McKay at NASA Ames.
The data, from NASA's Cassini Mission shows two hints of peculiarities.
C2H2 - acetylene is missing from the mix of nitrogen, methane and hydrocarbons seen in Titan's…
catdynamics | June 3, 2010Bad Astronomer reports another possible Jupiter impact
Get on it if you're on a mountain tonight.
Bad Astronomer reports another possible Jupiter impact
Phil has details and links.
Get on it if you're on a mountain tonight.
if confirmed, that is one heck of an impact rate.
YouTube video is up.
catdynamics | June 2, 2010Carleton College, MN is one of the very good Small Liberal Arts Colleges in the US.
It houses the Goodsell Observatory and has produced many excellent astronomers, some of whom retain the famous Carleton sense of humour, still.
Goodsell Observatory then
This week, the Observatory got dressed
click to embiggen
With sound effects.
I predict these students will do very well indeed in grad school.
Awesome.
Carleton: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - A Capella
catdynamics | May 19, 2010Graduate student at the University of California at Santa Barbara finds edge on transiting binary white dwarf system, with self-microlensing!
Ok, this is just way too cool...
artist conception - click for full res version
The modestly named NLTT 11748 is a dim helium white dwarf about 500 light years away.
Helium white dwarfs are the partially burned out cores of moderate mass stars, whose final stages of evolution as giants were interrupted, generally by a companion stars ripping off the giant envelope, leaving the partially burned core, typically at about 0.2 solar masses, composed…
catdynamics | May 18, 2010The KISS is running a mini-workshop at KITP on doing Exoplanet Science Measurements from Solar System probes.
There are a bunch of spacecraft up there, with a lot of instruments.
Many of them, especially the solar system probes, spend a fair amount of time in a quiet cruise phase, where instruments are powered down or in passive mode.
Some missions also have a finite time prime mission, but the spacecraft continues to function and may take more observations.
There is considerable interest to make use of this capability, to use the spacecraft more efficiently, and to use the people more…