tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44104452696158483282024-03-13T02:50:49.668-07:00Humble PlanetIn honor of exploration and discoveryTom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-28189794843961433122009-09-24T14:00:00.000-07:002009-09-24T14:17:33.296-07:00Moon Water Discovery opens FloodgatesWe know more about the moon than, ..... wait,... this just in, .... what??It turns out that we don't know as much about the moon as we thought. Data provided by three different space probes confirms the spectral signature of water. But the water isn't localized to just the poles as scientists expected. It was found throughout the surface apparently locked up among minerals in the lunar soil. WhatTom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-45330329618558747492009-09-21T12:47:00.000-07:002009-09-21T12:54:43.707-07:00Beware the EquinoxWow. And here I thought the Equinox was a celestial phenomenon whereby the day and night were split into equal halves. You know pretty much 12 hours of day and 12 of night. And the equinox starting on Septemeber 22nd allows us on the northern hemisphere to see the daylight whittling away minute by minute each night until we are at the winter solstice. As I came by this video I was shocked and Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-40327286761290518842009-09-18T19:43:00.000-07:002009-09-18T20:06:27.290-07:00Ares I NASA Test VideoThis is the Ares I rocket motor test. It is one powerful rocket motor and is at the core of the Constellation program designed to get us back to the moon. Unfortunately, missions to the moon aren't cheap and NASA is facing some major changes without adequate funding. Have to keep an eye on that. I found this video hiding out at Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy site. Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-89517780458427857852009-09-17T16:17:00.000-07:002009-09-17T19:01:59.186-07:00Move over Kepler, Rocky Earth-like Exoplanet DiscoveredNews just in indicates the discovery of the first rocky planet outside of our own solar system. It is unlikely enough to harbor life. So much so that we may as well say, "It has no life". The temperature range is something like 3200 degrees F to minus 320 degrees. It is very close to its home star with a locked rotation (like our moon)and a year on this planet would be less than a day on Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-85061782257907700862009-09-16T14:20:00.000-07:002009-09-16T18:24:55.660-07:00Near Space Photos on a BudgetA few students from MIT created a plan to shoot some photo's from pretty high up in the sky. About 17 miles high that is. They launched a helium ballon with the camera and a prepaid cell phone to serve as a GPS tracking unit. The rest was basically duct tape. Kidding aside, here is a list of the equipment and prices paid for them. The whole project cost less than $150!!In addition to this Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-51014867750488756862009-09-10T13:10:00.000-07:002009-09-11T14:30:08.696-07:00New Deep Space Images ala HubbleDo the images from the Hubble Telescope ever cease to amaze?? Check out some of the newest "Hubble Refurbished" images here.Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-4290917922390873502009-09-10T12:59:00.000-07:002009-09-14T11:53:17.452-07:00Space Junk Averted AgainSpace junk is becoming more and more of a problem these days. Littered areas of low Earth orbit put multi-million dollar satellites and even more important crafts like the Space Shuttle at risk. This time the astronauts had to fire the engines to miss the debris.I'm not exactly sure what, if anything, is being done to address this problem. But as astronauts accidentily, if not clumsily, lose Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-21833783394323553502009-09-03T19:06:00.000-07:002009-09-07T19:14:56.958-07:00Can We Afford to Leave Earth??NASA has recently said they were a bit short on cash when it comes to picking up the tab for a few dudes to get to the Moon or Mars. About 3-4 billion dollars a year that is. Obama's presidency hasn't been able to help much in this matter either. So for the time being, we won't be suiting up anyone to take the venture upward and onward. And this is a tad troubling.It's troubling because my Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-82047538760996464232009-09-03T14:22:00.000-07:002009-09-03T14:43:28.400-07:00The Next 100 Years of Space ExplorationKeep in mind this video was filmed in 2003 at MIT. Some of the things discussed, while in their infancy then, are happening now. It's pretty amazing to look back in time just a few years at the things NASA was considering and what they actually ended up doing. This video is very interesting and I do wonder where we will be as far as space exploration is concerned in the next 100 years.Any guessesTom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-91072900082743545032009-08-27T19:21:00.000-07:002009-09-03T14:44:19.510-07:00GalileoScope : Enlighten a KidI recently heard about this fantastic deal of a telescope while listening to AstronomyCast. I have to and am going to buy one. The deal is they are $20 plus s/h, unless you want to go for over a hundred of these things. Then they are $15. Out of all the money that was ever spent on me and my public education, I would have certainly requested that one of these was given to me, ... .. to keep. Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-16865534886453681472009-08-17T12:16:00.000-07:002009-08-25T20:12:10.162-07:00Recently Extinct : A Photo AlbumMany factors can be responsible for the obliteration of a species. Even subtle ones. While we, as humans, haven't been responsible for the extinction of even several decimals of a percent of all the past species, I would say that even one extinction at our hands is enough. Overhunting is the chief factor in many of these extinctions.At worst it should have us evaluate our effect on the Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-79168572632887836522009-08-13T19:50:00.000-07:002009-08-21T12:22:54.242-07:00Roger Ebert: Quantum Mechanics & ReincarnationRoger Ebert on quantum mechanics. Yes, that Robert Ebert. And not just quantum mechanics, but the idea of reincarnation as well. A thought experiment if you will. Because as strange as things get in the purple haze of subatomic behavior you may find yourself neither here nor there, but BOTH here and there, ... and then entirely nowhere.http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/07/Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-79712862424250869942009-08-06T19:51:00.000-07:002009-08-21T12:22:54.277-07:00Photo of the Day - ShuttleOne of the Space Photos of the Week from National Geographic.Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-32634455541510129612009-07-30T09:27:00.000-07:002009-08-21T12:22:54.288-07:00Twitter: Asteroid WatchI'm not a fan of Twitter really for the mere fact that "tweeting" isn't something I want to admit being involved with. It just seems, well, ... I don't know. That word, .. "TWEET!!". I guess I just need to get over it. Either way Twitter is terribly popular and is for the most part the ultimate time-waster. But it has room for some items of interest.Lately I've come across a new Twitter feed fromTom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-86261356247613009852009-07-30T09:09:00.000-07:002009-08-21T12:22:54.298-07:00Lasers, Aluminum, and New States of MatterHow many states of matter are there??http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/scientistsclaimnewstateofmattercreatedBy using lasers focusing on atoms of Aluminum scientists have made the atoms of the metal transparent. While we won't be at the helm of invisible starships any time soon, the research seems to open avenues that may lead us to better energy sources. And while we have a "we know it all" Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-19976946323634630542009-07-25T08:13:00.000-07:002009-09-03T20:08:13.537-07:00Your Ad Here : The Moon, Who has the Rights??Wh owns the moon?? Who owns it??From what I can tell nobody owns it, but then again, .. sort of, ... everybody owns it. It seems the "law" concerning the moon is a bit complicated. The US has plans to go back and establish a base. Other countries have plans as well. When the Moon Treaty was written only two space faring nations, the US and Russia had space plans. But now there are more nations Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-33234252177269780732009-07-21T20:19:00.000-07:002009-08-21T12:22:54.323-07:0040 Years and Counting, .... we goin back??It's been 40 years now since this photo was taken. I can't begin to imagine the emotion involved in looking back onto our home planet. Everything we know, love, hate, and experience is there. Well, .. except for those moments in space. Michael Collins said that he wished all the world leaders were able to go to the moon to look back on our planet. To look back at that magnificent blue pearl Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-54073981041207462842009-07-02T13:01:00.000-07:002009-08-21T12:22:54.333-07:00Ali G - Science"Does you use a toilet or does you just drop it in a hole??" - Ali GFor reasons unknown I am finding this funny at this moment. At least Kent Hovind doesn't get to rant too much about evolution.Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-26207752795946746752009-06-12T09:30:00.000-07:002009-08-21T12:22:54.343-07:00The Real Search for ETTalk about searching for ET and you might get a few giggles. We have this strange duality when it concerns aliens. Usually when anyone speaks of finding ET it concerns UFO's or groups like SETI. There is still a curtain of laughter surrounding the issue for a number of reasons. But one look at a galaxy dotted Hubble image and the laughter begins to wane and a sobering question lingers. Out of theTom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-46721223334439592592009-05-03T12:22:00.000-07:002009-08-21T12:22:54.353-07:00Invisibility Cloakhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090501154143.htmScience or magic??Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-34273017611757089732009-05-01T20:10:00.000-07:002009-08-21T12:22:54.363-07:00The Virus BatteryI missed this story awhile back but it may turn out to be an important one. Scientists at MIT have developed a battery where the anodes and cathodes are built by specially engineered viruses. There is currently more research being done on the technology to develop higher voltages. It may be early to say that this could cause a battery revolution, but the potential may be there. The production of Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-24757783333951890402009-04-23T20:16:00.000-07:002009-08-21T12:22:54.374-07:00Majenta is not a color.Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-85867938117213920762009-04-10T20:19:00.000-07:002009-08-21T12:22:54.396-07:00Did you Learn about Him in School??More information about the guy you never learned about in school than you could imagine. Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-82747415332568787232009-04-10T20:03:00.000-07:002009-08-21T12:22:54.385-07:00Encyclopedia of LifeI can't believe I hadn't come by this site by now. Talk about a wealth of scientific knowledge.http://www.eol.org/ "The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is an ambitious, even audacious project to organize and make available via the Internet virtually all information about life present on Earth. At its heart lies a series of Web sites—one for each of the approximately 1.8 million known species—that Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410445269615848328.post-66716114831890734032009-04-05T08:42:00.000-07:002009-08-21T12:22:54.406-07:00ADAM- The Robot ScientistWe rely on machines to collect data. We rely on them to interpret the data and to construct models. We rely on machines heavily in the course of scientific advancement. But on more rung has been added to the ladder. In fact, perhaps it is altogether another ladder. For the first time, and certainly not the last, a hunk of machinery, called ADAM, has developed scientific hypotheses and tested Tom Claeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09369798291856080120noreply@blogger.com0