Are there many small galaxies, like the
Are there many small galaxies, like the one just discovered just outside our own, orbiting the larger visible galaxies?
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kottke.org posts about astronomy
Three trillion years from now, the universe
Three trillion years from now, the universe will be observably static, the Milky Way alone, and scientists of the day likely won’t be able to “infer that the beginning involved a Big Bang”.
Closeup videos of the sun. The bottom
Closeup videos of the sun. The bottom one is especially mesmerizing.
How to survive a black hole. If
How to survive a black hole. If you’re in a rocket ship about to fall into a black hole, you might live a bit longer if you turn on your engines. “But in general a person falling past the horizon won’t have zero velocity to begin with. Then the situation is different — in fact it’s worse. So firing the rocket for a short time can push the astronaut back on to the best-case scenario: the trajectory followed by free fall from rest.”
Scientists have found an Earth-like planet orbiting
Scientists have found an Earth-like planet orbiting one of the closest stars to our solar system. “On the treasure map of the universe, one would be tempted to mark this planet with an X.”
For next time around, how to photograph
For next time around, how to photograph a lunar eclipse. Here’s a list of upcoming eclipses. (via inmyallstars)
Nice composite photo of the lunar eclipse
Nice composite photo of the lunar eclipse last night. We missed it because it was a bit cloudy and tall buildingy in NYC last night. (thx, ajit)
Update: Here’s another, another, and one more.
On tonight’s to-do list: total lunar eclipse.
On tonight’s to-do list: total lunar eclipse. Totality occurs at 5:44pm ET and will last about an hour. On the east coast of the US, the moon will already be eclipsed when it rises. Best bet for seeing it is Africa, Europe, and the Middle East (see map).
Astronomers are tracking a 250-meter-wide asteroid called
Astronomers are tracking a 250-meter-wide asteroid called Apophis which will come within 30,000 km of earth in 2029. However, it’s too soon to tell if that near-miss will pull the asteroid into a collision course with the earth 7 years later. “Lu says the best way to deflect an asteroid is with a ‘gravity tractor’ — a spacecraft displacing about 1 metric ton that simply hovers near an asteroid and gently tweaks its orbit.”
Top 100 photos taken by the Hubble Space
Top 100 photos taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, a singularly talented photographer.
Woo, NASA finally decides to fix the
Woo, NASA finally decides to fix the Hubble, repairs that will keep it working until at least 2013. “Scientists expect an upgraded Hubble to continue to make groundbreaking discoveries.”
They shut all the lights off in
They shut all the lights off in Reykjavik last Thursday so that residents might see the stars without light pollution. What a lovely idea.
Is “dwarf planet” an ironym? “Pluto is
Is “dwarf planet” an ironym? “Pluto is a dwarf planet, but we are now faced with the absurdity that a dwarf planet is not a planet.” (thx, adriana)
Pluto mnemonic device contest results
After hearing the news that Pluto had been demoted from its full planetary status in the solar system, Meg and I decided to hold a contest to find a new mnemonic device for the planets, replacing the old “My very elegant mother just served us nine pizzas” (among others). The mnemonic could work for either the new 8 planet line-up, the 8 major + 3 dwarf planets, or the old 9 planet arrangement in protest of Pluto’s demotion. Thanks to everyone who entered; we received a bunch of great entries and it was hard to choose a winner. But first place goes to Josh Mishell for:
My! Very educated morons just screwed up numerous planetariums.
Josh’s protest mnemonic is memorable, topical, and goes beyond a simple description of the shameful proceedings in Prague to real-world consequences. As the winning entrant, Josh will receive a print from HistoryShots…we’re suggesting Race to the Moon. Congratulations to Josh.
Now, some runners-up. These came very close to winning:
Many Very Earnest Men Just Snubbed Unfortunate Ninth Planet (Dave Child)
“My vision, erased. Mercy! Just some underachiever now.” (Delia, as spoken by Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh)
Most vexing experience, mother just served us nothing! (Bart Baxter)
There were several entries that referenced vegetarianism and veganism; this haiku by Evan Norris was my favorite:
most vegans envy
my jovian silhouette,
not usually
Update: A reader noted that Evan’s haiku incorrectly swaps the positions of Neptune and Uranus. Happily, “usually not” works just as well. (thx, peter)
The honorary mention for lack of sophistication goes to Andrea Harner and Jonah Peretti for:
Molesting Very Excitedly, Michael Jackson Sucks Underage Nipples
Best foreign language award goes to Bernardo Carvalho for his Portuguese mnemonic (remember, “Earth” is something like “Terra” in Portuguese so the t fits. And we’ll ignore the e too…):
minha velha, traga meu jantar: sopa, uva, nozes e pão (Translated: “Old woman, bring me dinner: soup, grapes, nuts and bread”)
And here are some of the best of the rest:
Mollifying voluminous egos means judiciously striking underappreciated named planetoid (Bruce Turner)
Most Virgins Eventually Marry Jocks So Unscrupulously Naughty (Aaron Arcello)
Morons Violate Every Map Just So UFOs Navigate Poorly (Sean Tevis)
My violin emits minimal joy since union nixed Pluto (C.D.)
Maximum velocity earns many joyous shouts, unless not planetary (Scott Tadman)
Thanks again to everyone who entered!
You’ve got about 4 hours left to enter
You’ve got about 4 hours left to enter the Pluto mnemonic device contest. We’re getting some great entries, but I know you will come up with something better.
Pluto not a planet anymore
Boo, astronomers, boo!!!
Astronomers meeting in the Czech capital have voted to strip Pluto of its status as a planet. About 2,500 experts were in Prague for the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) general assembly. Astronomers rejected a proposal that would have retained Pluto as a planet and brought three other objects into the cosmic club. Pluto has been considered a planet since its discovery in 1930 by the American Clyde Tombaugh.
Screw this, what about all of Pluto’s mindshare? Now we’re going to need a new mnemonic device.
Update: Meg and I came up with a mnew mnemonic device in protest of the Pluto decision:
Man, very erroneous! Moronic jerks shouldn’t uninclude neat Pluto.
And you know what that means! Mnemonic device contest! Send in your best mnew mnemonic device for remembering the planets (either for the old 9 planets or the new 8 planets) and you’ll be entered to win an as-yet-unspecified prize. All entries must be sent with the subject line “Pluto mnemonic device contest” and must be received by 5pm ET today. I’ll publish the winners sometime soon. Contest update: Ok, pencils down, it’s 5pm and the contest has concluded. Judging will take place soon and the still-as-yet-unspecified prize will be awarded directly following.
A star is “on the brink” of
A star is “on the brink” of going type 1a supernova, something modern scientists have never witnessed. BTW, when you’re dealing with stars, “on the brink” could refer to a period of time up to 100,000 years from now. Oh, and if you’re the type of person who likes to be a smart ass in the back of the room, you’ll note that since the star is nearly 2000 light years away, we may have already missed it. Nerd.
Jupiter is growing another big red spot.
Jupiter is growing another big red spot. The gas giant has been told by solar system pals to “keep an eye on it” and “have it checked out” if it gets any bigger.
How do you find extra-solar planets? “I
How do you find extra-solar planets? “I think the techniques employed by planet-hunters are pretty cool so the following is a brief primer on how the techniques work and the pros and cons of each.”
A relativistic examination of gravity in the
A relativistic examination of gravity in the galaxy may indicate that the invention of dark matter may not be necessary to solve the not-enough-matter problem. “The motions of stars in galaxies is realized in general relativity’s equations without the need to invoke massive halos of exotic ‘dark matter’ that nobody can explain by current physics.”
Update: mjt has doubts about the paper referenced here and notes that there’s other evidence for dark matter that is not questioned by the above study.
Scientists want to build an array of
Scientists want to build an array of submillimeter telescopes across the whole earth to peer “inside” the massive black hole at the center of the galaxy.
Update: Many people wrote in to correct me in saying that “submillimeter” referred to the size of the telescopes…it of course referred to the EM wavelength. Me brain not working right.
A couple of guys calculated the average
A couple of guys calculated the average color of the universe to be turquiose. Then it turned out they had made an error and the actual color of the universe is beige.
Odd story of one astronomer possibly “stealing”
Odd story of one astronomer possibly “stealing” another astronomer’s discovery of a large trans-Neptunian object. The original discoverer alleges that the usurper looked at a couple of Web sites that detailed the discovery and where the discover’s telescopes were pointed…the astronomy equivalent of stealing signs.
Astronomers have determined the precise location and
Astronomers have determined the precise location and time that Ansel Adams took a famous photograph of the moon in Yosemite National Park and are going to attempt to recreate the shot in September. The same forensic team has previously determined when Van Gogh painted “White House at Night”.
Suggestions for the name of our solar
Suggestions for the name of our solar system’s tenth planet from New Scientist readers. Neither Matt Webb’s suggestion (Daes) nor this suggestion on LJ (America) are on the list.
Fun new book from O’Reilly’s Hacks series: Astronomy Hacks
Fun new book from O’Reilly’s Hacks series: Astronomy Hacks. “This handy field guide covers the basics of observing, and what you need to know about tweaking, tuning, adjusting, and tricking out a ‘scope.”
Check out the moon illusion for yourself
Check out the moon illusion for yourself this week; it’s the lowest-hanging full moon in 18 years.
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