![Click here to read NASA: "We've Discovered the First Tatooine-Like Planet"](http://cache.io9.com/assets/images/8/2011/09/small_tatooinishtop.jpg "Click here to read NASA: "We've Discovered the First Tatooine-Like Planet"")
Posts Tagged ‘Astronomy’
NASA: "We've Discovered the First Tatooine-Like Planet" [Video]
15
Sep
Cosmos will hit the air once again!
05
Aug
Carl Sagan revolutionized popular astronomy with his book and TV show "Cosmos", which had an audience of hundreds of millions of people. We’ve learned a lot about our Universe since then, and we’re overdue for a modern version of Sagan’s show. So I’m pleased to find out that Neil Tyson will be hosting a revamped and updated version of "Cosmos"!
He’s working with Ann Druyan (Sagan’s widow and herself a science popularizer), Steve Soter (who also worked on the original show), and Seth MacFarlane, creator of "Family Guy". I know, that may sound weird, but MacFarlane is a big science fan, a friend of Neil’s, and commonly puts a lot of science into his shows.
The new show is being created by National Geographic and Fox, and will air on the latter in prime time. To circumvent the expected comments on this, note that Fox News is separate from Fox TV, so the irony is there but perhaps not as strong as you might think.
I’m looking forward to this new show. "Cosmos" had a profound effect on hundreds of millions of people, but times have changed. I’ll be curious ...
A test for multiple universes finds four . . . maybe [Mad Science]
04
Aug
Space Exploration: 9 Private Sector Companies Ready to Take Off
08
Jul
When Atlantis launched on Friday morning, it was the last of NASA’s space shuttle flights.
The event marks the end of a 30-year program that has put 777 people in orbit.
But it is not the end of space exploration in the United States. Companies have been engaging in a private sector space race alongside and in partnership with NASA for quite some time.
In April, NASA awarded four of these companies $269 million to develop spacecraft, and companies in the private sector have also established expertise in other aspects of space travel, like space suits and climate control. Some are even famously selling tickets for consumer space flights.
Here are what some of them are working on.
1. Armadillo Aerospace
What it does: Builds reusable rocket-powered vehicles.
Claim to fame: An exclusive agreement with Space Adventures, a consumer space travel company. "Eventually, we wish to provide a platform for civilian flights to suborbital space, and ultimately, we plan to reach orbit," reads the site's FAQ.
2. Masten Space
What it does: Designs and builds reusable space vehicles. Unlike most other commercial space companies, Masten specializes in unmanned, suborbital flights.
3. Oribital Outfitters
What it does: makes space suits for commercial and government space travels.
Most interesting project: Orbital Outfitters partnered with a company called SpaceDiver on a project that will demonstrate the capability to dive from a space shuttle and return to Earth safely.
4. Oribital Sciences
What it does: About 3,700 employees help make space launch vehicles, missile defense systems and satellites as well as offer space technical services at this more than 29-year-old company. It's like a department store for space.
Claim to Fame: In 2002, the company signed its largest contract ever: $900 million to develop, build, test and support missile interceptor booster vehicles for the Boeing Company.
5. Paragon Space Development
What it does: Makes environmental controls for extreme and hazardous environments, like space.
Claims to fame: Paragon is responsible for the first full-motion, long-duration video (4 months, 60 total minutes) of plant and animal growth on orbit, the first multigenerational animal experiment in space and the first commercial experiment on the International Space Station.
6. Virgin Galactic
What it does: Sells tickets for consumer space trips. The company has already sold about 430 tickets.
Cost per ticket: $200,000
7. XCOR Aerospace
What it does: Flight vehicles, piston pumps and rocket engines. And of course, consumer sub-orbital space travel. Its two rocket-powered vehicles, the X-Racer and EX-Rocket, have safely completed 67 piloted demonstrations.
Cost per ticket: $95,000
8. SpaceX
What it does: Space transport. Eventually wants to put a man on Mars.
Famous Founder: SpaceX was founded by Elon Musk, the cofounder of PayPal and Tesla Motors.
9. Blue Origin
What it does: Develops vehicles and technologies to lower the cost and increase the reliability of human access to space.
What Amazon and space have in common: Blue Origin is owned by Amazon-founder Jeff Bezos.
10. Bigelow Aerospace
What it does: "Expandable space habitat technology." The company creates space stations that have more breathing room than your everyday "aluminum can" International Space Station by using inflatable components. Eventually it hopes to lease space on one of its stations for experiments and research. Two prototypes are already in orbit.
Great Expectations: "We anticipate construction of our first space station to begin with a Sundancer launched in early 2014, and that by 2015 the station will be available for client use," says Bigelow's website.
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The Moon may have the same proportion of water as Earth does [Video]
26
May
Help Make Better Map of Global Light Pollution
22
Mar
You can help build the best global map of light pollution, the uniquely modern problem that has stolen starlight from most of the urbanized world.
From March 22 through April 6, the GLOBE at Night website will collect the public’s measurements of the night sky. Anyone can participate by comparing their local view of specific constellations with magnitude charts on the site. The event is in its sixth year, and organizers hope to surpass the 17,800 observations they collected in 2010.
“With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will,†says the GLOBE at Night. “This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars.â€
Baby sea turtles attracted by artificial light. (NIH)
Light pollution is caused by stray artificial light from sources that are too bright, poorly aimed or both. Similar to how sunlight makes the sky glow blue, artificial light scatters in the atmosphere to create a dull glow that obscures stars and celestial objects. Airborne pollutants exacerbate the problem.
Aside from the loss of stars from view, light pollution has more quantifiably dangerous sides. One model of Los Angeles suggests it destroys about 7 percent of smog-eating chemicals that build up in the dark, leading to a 5 percent jump in wheeze-inducing ozone pollution during the day. Other studies show artificial light can thwart animal migrations and negatively impact human health.
Satellites can assess artificial brightness from space, but the view is very different from the ground. By crowdsourcing measurements, GLOBE at Night aims to both create the most accurate map of how light pollution hides the stars and raise awareness of the problem. They also hope to spark a push for local artificial light ordinances, such as those passed in Flagstaff, Arizona, and other municipalities.
People living north of the equator can access the organization’s app to report night-sky conditions between March 22 and April 4. In the southern hemisphere, the window of opportunity is March 24 through April 6.
Images: 1) Historic and anticipated increases in artificial night sky brightness in the United States./NIH. 2) Worldwide measurements of light pollution submitted by 17,800 participants in 2010./GLOBE at Night.
See Also:
- A New Push to Turn Off the Lights in 2009
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Light Pollution
- NASA Needs You: 6 Ways to Help an Astronomer
- Calling All Amateur Astronomers: Help Solve a Mystery
- Dim Stars Triple the Universe’s Stellar Tally
You’ve never seen the far side of the Moon like this before [Space Porn]
21
Mar
What happens when two stars fall into each other? [Science]
19
Mar
Our galaxy is home to more than 50 billion planets…and 500 million potentially habitable ones [Astronomy]
20
Feb
Giant ice caverns lead the hunt for exotic particles [Mad Science]
13
Feb
