Science

Has the Guardian been caught out by a BBC April fool?

Pete Baker on April 1, 2009, 4:53 pm

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At least I’m assuming it’s an April fool.. The Guardian has put online, without much commentary, a BBC video from this site – Last Chance to See – purporting to show the first images of a shark-whale, “a half shark, half whale creature that has never been photographed”. That would be not just a cross-species, but a cross-class pairing – half-fish and half-mammal. Stephen Fry lends it an air of authority. Which was apparently enough for the Guardian.. If they’d …

“to actually see this object before it gets to the Earth’s atmosphere and then to follow it in..”

Pete Baker on March 26, 2009, 2:45 am

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As I mentioned at the time, there was very little warning before asteroid 2008 TC3 slammed into the Earth’s atmosphere and exploded around 37km above Sudan. But, as the BBC reports, there was enough time for some fortuitously placed astronomers from Queen’s University and the Armagh Observatory to use the William Herschel Telescope on La Palma to capture, according to the BBC report, “the only spectrum” [of reflected sunlight] from the asteroid before it entered the atmosphere. Hmm.. Anyway, spectra …

“They will crash into each other in a few million years”

Pete Baker on March 17, 2009, 2:51 am

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As the NASA caption to the larger image says, “This [wondrous] image of a pair of colliding galaxies called NGC 6240 shows them in a rare, short-lived phase of their evolution just before they merge into a single, larger galaxy.” The image was constructed from infrared light taken by Spitzer’s infrared array camera showing cold dust and radiation from star formation; visible light from Hubble (green and blue) showing hot gas and stars. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/STScI-ESA. From the NASA press …

STS-119 From T -1 to MECO

Pete Baker on March 16, 2009, 6:21 pm

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After numerous delays Space Shuttle Mission STS-119 has finally reached orbit after a spectacular night-time launch. Pete Baker

Shuttle delayed, Station still there..

Pete Baker on March 13, 2009, 2:06 am

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The much delayed Space Shuttle Mission STS-119 is now scheduled to launch on Sunday *fingers crossed* – the plan this time had been for a Wednesday night launch. Meanwhile, there was an alert today on the International Space Station when a piece of space debris was spotted heading towards the station. There was only a low risk of impact, and the alert was described as precautionary, but there will be concern that it was identified by surveillance facilities too late …

“We certainly won’t find ET but we might find ET’s home..”

Pete Baker on March 7, 2009, 10:36 pm

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After previous launch problems there were undoubtedly sighs of relief at NASA this morning when the Kepler mission – a search for habitable planets – got off the ground and safely entered its sun-centred orbit, trailing 950 miles behind Earth. And, via the Professor, here’s CosmicBlog’s Alan Boyle on the search for exo-planets. And a wondrous online catalogue of the exo-planets found to date – some of which have been noted on Slugger, including some potential ones. [Don’t forget to …

“That could propagate a Constitutional crisis.”

Pete Baker on March 6, 2009, 9:23 pm

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You might have thought, after its 2006 annus horribilis, that Pluto’s downfall was complete. The arguments over, a plutoid from here on in. But no. Illinois legislators are still honking – and I don’t mean about Blagojevich nor even Roland Burris. Discoblog notes that the Illinois Senate, having nothing better to do, has resolved that “as Pluto passes overhead through Illinois’ night skies, that it be reestablished with full planetary status, and that March 13, 2009 be declared “Pluto Day” …

And now the science bit..

Pete Baker on February 25, 2009, 3:06 am

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Nasa will meet tomorrow to decide whether to set a new launch date for Space Shuttle Mission STS-119, postponed again, this time due to valve problems. They’re also trying to figure out why the launch of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory failed to reach, erm, orbit – it’s believed to have crashed into the ocean near the Antarctic. Fingers crossed, then, for the Kepler mission – A Search for Habitable Planets – due to launch on March 5. Named in honour …