Blog Profile / Planetary Society Weblog
| URL : | http://www.planetary.org/blog/ | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed Under: | Academics / Astronomy | |
| Posts on Regator: | 2753 | |
| Posts / Week: | 10 | |
| Archived Since: | March 16, 2008 | |
Blog Post Archive
No NASA Operating Plan Yet
NASA has still not sent its operating plan to Congress. Rumors of the agency reprogramming away all of the additional funding to Planetary Science remains just rumors.
Planetary Society Hangout: Advocacy Update
The Planetary Society just returned from a major political advocacy trip out to D.C. what did we do and what did we achieve? What's going on with the current funding situation regarding Planetary Science and NASA at large? How does the asteroid retrieval mission help or hurt planetary exploration goals? What's the larger plan and what are the consequences if cuts continue?
How radar tracking of asteroids helps us know where they are
No description available
Report from the Starship Century Conference: Tuesday
This week Jon Lomberg is attending the Starship Century conference, which brings together scientists, writers, and futurists to imagine the future of interstellar travel. Here he reports on presentations by Freeman Dyson, Peter Schwartz, Robert Zubrin, Geoff Landis, Neal Stephenson, and Patti Grace Smith.
India's Mars Orbiter Mission update: six months from launch
A couple of articles on India's Mars Orbiter Mission were published on the news website The Week yesterday, and they're much more in-depth and insightful than the norm.
Planetary Science Echoes Through the Halls of Congress
The Planetary Society just returned from a big trip to Washington, D.C. to advocate for continued planetary exploration. Here's what happened.
Opportunity and Curiosity updates: Rolling and drilling and a little wear on the wheels
For most of April, while Mars scuttled behind the Sun as seen from Earth, both Mars rovers were pretty inactive. Now that conjunction has ended, both are doing what rovers should be doing: roving and exploring. As of sol 3312 Opportunity had moved more than 300 meters southward toward Solander Point, while on her sol 279 Curiosity drilled at a second site, Cumberland.
Many More Colors than Red: Exploring Mars with Spectroscopy
Mars gives up its secrets through the unseen colors of its rocks.
New Horizons: Encounter Planning Accelerates
Back in 2005 and 2006, when Pluto’s second and third moons (Nix and Hydra) were discovered, searches by astronomers for still more moons didn’t reveal any. So the accidental discovery of Pluto’s fourth moon by the Hubble Space Telescope in mid-2011 raised the possibility that the hazards in the Pluto system might be greater than previously anticipated.
Speaking engagements next week: Spacefest V and Society for Astronomical Sciences symposium
Next week I'm traveling to speak at two events. Registration is still open for both, so I hope some of you can come. I also have some commentary on women being invited to speak at public events.
A serendipitous observation of tiny rocks in Jupiter's orbit by Galileo
A look at an older paper describing Galileo's possible sighting of individual ring particles orbiting Jupiter as companions to its inner moon Amalthea.
Connecting scientist mentors with students who have the desire to learn
Caleph Wilson provides examples and guidance to scientists wishing to mentor students in science, technology, engineering, and math outreach programs.
Brief update with good news on Kiera Wilmot
Two weeks ago I wrote about Kiera Wilmot, a teen girl who was expelled from her school and charged with two felonies for unsupervised messing around with a chemical reaction on school grounds. Yesterday the Orlando Sentinel reported that no charges are being filed against her, which removes the greatest threat to her future.
ISIS: Blasting a Crater on Asteroid Bennu
An exciting new option to enhance NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid mission has been proposed by Steve Chesley at JPL. The ISIS spacecraft would impact asteroid Bennu to expose its interior structure to OSIRIS-REx.
NASA Robs Planetary Science
NASA's leaked operating plan suggests that the agency is raiding money restored to the planetary program this year by Congress.
Mimas and Pandora dance
I've been out of town for a couple of days and am overwhelmed with work and an overflowing email box. So what do I do about that? I ignore what I'm supposed to be doing and play with Cassini raw image data, of course. Here is a "mutual event" of Mimas (the bigger moon) and Pandora (the outer shepherd of the F ring).
Doing a science on Titan
A tale from the scientific trenches: laboratory work to simulate Titan's rich atmosphere.
Soyuz capsule carrying Hadfield and company lands safely in Kazakhstan
A Soyuz capsule carrying Roman Romanenko, Chris Hadfield and Tom Marshburn landed safely in Kazhakstan after 146 days in space.
Dueling Desolations: Mercury vs. the Moon
They look so similar they can be hard to tell apart, but each hides its own mysteries.
Station suffers ammonia leak; Saturday spacewalk likely
Following an ammonia leak reported Thursday morning, NASA is planning a spacewalk to investigate a radiator on the P6 truss.