astro
catdynamics | September 18, 2006The third Pale Blue Dot meeting is underway at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.
It is fun.
If you're in the Chicago area you should come down for the public event, tuesday 19 Sep, 7-9 pm at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance.
Some distinguished astronomer will give you a song and dance...
So what do we know:
the first elements of the Allen Array are up and running, Jill Tarter showed a very cute movie of the synchronised pointing of the currently installed elements. Someone YouTube it will you!
Here is the movie - very cute - almost eerie
catdynamics | September 15, 2006I heard it from a man who,
heard it from a man who,
heard it from another...
ok, it was an e-mail, but it confirmed the strange tale I had been told.
NASA is about to do a Mad Max on its Science Missions.
Five missions enter, one mission leaves. Literally.
NASA has many houses. Within one is the Science Mission Directorate, which does space science, including Earth observations, Solar/Magnetosphere, Solar System Planets and "Astrophysics" (formerly known as the "Universe" division).
Space Science missions are housed within the divisions, and not always where you'd think.
Within Astrophysics…
catdynamics | September 15, 2006A cool friday, and we stay on theme as we ask the mighty iPod:
oh Mighty iPod, what is with the puffy planets we're finding...
The Covering: Somewhere Only We Know - Keane
The Crossing: Homecoming - Green Day
The Crown: Söngur Bakardrengsins - Thorbjorn Egner
The Root: Cancion - Julian Bream
The Past: Miss Brown to You - Billie Holliday
The Future: Lover, Come Back to Me - Billie Holliday
The Questioner: USA - Pogues
The House: Take A Chance With Me - Roxy Music
The Inside: Prodigal Daughter - Michelle Shocked
The Outcome: Dance of the Reed Pipes - Tchaikovsky
Hm Covering start well. The…
catdynamics | September 14, 2006Hrmph. If they must be dwarf planets, should they not at least have dwarf names?
Instead of Eris and Dysnomia couldn't they have gone with Ori and Nori or Þráinn & Þórinn, or go with the real classics Nýi and Niði!
Dwarf names for dwarf planets!
Andvari is a classic...
catdynamics | September 14, 2006Xena is renamed ...
Eris after its demotion, and its sidekick become Dysnomia
Eris
Interesting choice of namespace, I blame the Illuminati.
see here and here
Is a Harvard special...
Praise Eris!
catdynamics | September 13, 2006disturbingly interesting item on NASAwatch
short version - the human spaceflight budget crunch is headed for open conflict with space science and it ain't pretty
catdynamics | September 12, 2006NASAwatch reports more rumours of Science Directorate turmoil
I can not overemphasise how potentially important the top tree of SMD administration is for space science. The fine graining of science priorities, advising and solicitation is done at the level from head of the divisions (at least two of which are vacant or have temps in place) to the AA for science and her deputy.
These positions determine which areas get supported in the next few years, within the overall SMD budget constraints, they decide which priorities rank and who gets a say.
Likely that big changes are coming, again.
catdynamics | September 7, 2006No, not that authority, silly.Us.
And quite right too.
My response in the Achenblog comments is below the fold...
"I think that even scientists sometimes in the thrill of announcing discoveries overstate the degree of certainty. This may be then exaggerated by journalists. No?" - Achenblog response in comments
My comment left in Achenblog:
Joel - I'm shocked. Or do I mean thrilled.
I can't believe you'd say journalists exaggerate.
I think you're spinning "think" to be synonymous with "know"...
We do not as of right now, know very much about extrasolar terrestrial planets (the exception…
catdynamics | September 7, 2006More than one-third of the giant planet systems recently detected outside our
solar system may harbor Earth-like planets, according to a new study by
scientists associated with NASA's Astrobiology Institute. Many of these planets
may be covered in deep global oceans, with abundant potential for life.
PS: Seed Magazine news story on this
see WaPo's Achenblog for perspective:
Question Authority! Why?
Good BBC article on it here
Actual paper is up on Science's web site now (subscription)
Also Cool paper by Squyres' et al on water on Mars
Click here for hi-res version© Nahks
The study focuses…
catdynamics | September 5, 2006Official word out of DC - associate administrator for the Science Directorate, Dr Mary Cleave is retiring in spring 2007.
This implies possible significant policy changes for space science next year, including changes in funding priorities, particularly for the smaller niche missions and sub-fields.
Keep a sharp eye out for who the replacement will be. It may matter a lot.
NASA also has ads out for new Astrophysics and Planetary Science Division Heads. Same applies there.
catdynamics | September 4, 2006I am happy to report, after a scout of the Wunderpalace, that Tom et al have kept up their social panache despite the move and other life changes.
It just figured that I'd be in the Bay Area and there'd be a party at Tom's place...
Good crowd, interesting conversation (I did not know synthetic biology had got to such a stage. Must blog.) met the instigator of the Quantum Diaries and some other notables.
What I did not expect was the social event stretching out over two days, on the water.
Nice breakfast. Nice boat. City looks good from the water.
Social life of the scientists can be more…
catdynamics | August 31, 2006Sometimes one is reminded of why doing science is really rather enjoyable...
I am currently visiting old friends, picking up undone work in an old collaboration.
And for once, everything just clicked together, in two short days we have put together new and old data, and extracted the near definitive results on a hard problem; a problem that has been patiently worked on for over a decade. Actually very close to two decades now.
Data, we worked on the actual data. Figured out actual data collection issues. Did science to 13 significant figures (I just counted)!
We then put together the…
catdynamics | August 30, 2006
Bill Maher - new rules: min 2:51 on
"It is time for the United States to severe its ties with science..."
Defence of Planet Act! Now! Call your congresscritters.
You are either with us, or you are with the scientists...
catdynamics | August 26, 2006Jimmy and the Keyz sing out
now they've done it, the folk singers have risen...
seen on livescienceblogs
catdynamics | August 25, 2006From NASAwatch:
SOFIA taken from Ames and moved to Dryden Research Facility at Edwards
Science Mission Directorate turmoil - who is leaving next?
These are not unrelated.
I do wish certain people in Very Senior Positions would do their job like mature professionals and not like petulant high schoolers with a grudge.
catdynamics | August 24, 2006there'd be eight little planets sitting on the wall
I am so very sorry; despite being a dynamicist with a natural affinity for Resolutions 5A and 6A, demoting Pluto was still bloody foolish.
Ok, here is the actual text
1) A planet1 is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.
(2) A dwarf planet is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its…
catdynamics | August 23, 2006The Pope has fired the Vatican Observatory director, the highly respected Dr George Coyne , and replaced him with Dr Jose Gabriel Funes.
Well, now we know.
Seen on Pharyngula
"...speaking at a conference in Florida, Father Coyne said that "intelligent design isn't science, even if it pretends to be.""
PS: seen independent reports now (see comment section) that Dr Coyne had a medical condition and asked to be replaced.
I'm still worried about the loss of his voice in the debate, and the VOs future stance under the new director, I expect them to be silent on some issues now.
catdynamics | August 23, 2006ScienceNow has more on the NAC firings: NASA Chief Blasts Advisors
Now, you can read this two ways: on the one hand the NAC has a purpose, set by NASA, and its members should stick to their function; on the other hand, the NAC is there to advise, even, or especially, when the advise is unwelcome.
One of the great strengths of democracy, historically, is that it has structures which provide negative feedback and correct political processes gone awry, eventually.
Destroying those structures destroys the functional advantage of the system.
catdynamics | August 23, 2006Ok, time to stop the madness.
I propose consistent, competing definitons of planets; one leave Pluto in, the other not. Up or down vote.
The IAU now has a competing resolution that looks likely to delete Pluto as a planet, and the original IAU resolution is being voted on piecewise - which will likely leave an inconsistent mess.
As opposed to...
So here is a serious proposal; no more messing around, no more pretending to find artificial consistency from some favourite corner of microphysics (much as I like the dynamical definition.... it is actually quite stupid).
Proposal:
1) a planet is…
catdynamics | August 21, 2006As predicted, the NASA telecon on Chandra results was on followup studies of the "bullet cluster".
Press release is here.
Lots of pretty pictures.
"This is the type of result that future theories will have to take into account," said Sean Carroll, a cosmologist at the University of Chicago.
As opposed to the other type of results? ;-)
As I recall there are two types of results: observational and theoretical.
Seriously, the selling point is that they see the baryons in the hot gas (which dominates the normal matter in these clusters - they see the galaxies too, of course, but they don't…