Category Archives: Astronomy

The quest to find more Earth-like exoplanets can really start rolling with this new probe sent up by NASA today. Currently there are around 300 discovered worlds according to AstronomyCast but they’re all crappy candidates for exploration because they’re gas giants … Continue reading →

Now I have to accelerate my reading of Dr. Plait’s latest book Death from the Skies after learning about the confirmed black hole at the center of our galaxy. Chapter five explains them and what would happen (based upon what scientists … Continue reading →

It was also the first space probe to send back information on interstellar space which remains very impressive for a craft built with the best tech of the early Seventies. It was only designed to get the scoop on Jupiter … Continue reading →

I was on pins and needles for this today since the last landing attempt failed and from the other things I’ve read, NASA has been batting .500 since the Viking missions when it comes to Mars. Somara and I caught … Continue reading →

Another awesome site courtesy of Dr. Plait of Bad Astronomy fame. At Heavens-Above you can find out when ISS (Int’l Space Station) will be passing over your house, within a 10-day window plus other semi-known satellites. I will need to get … Continue reading →

It’s early August which means the annual Perseid Meteor shower is visible again and according to Dr. Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy fame, tonight is the best evening to watch it. These are his tips to get an optimal view. He … Continue reading →

Firstly, I only thought Saturn had around 16 moons and since the Cassini probe was launched in 1997, NASA, ESA and ASI (Italian NASA) have found another 44, including the one in this article. I’m no astronomer but when an object … Continue reading →

Somara mentioned this discovery while I was half awake watching a throwaway episode of Enterprise on the DVR. I went with Dr. Plait’s site because he gives the best no-nonsense explanation about the possible planet. The American Media tends to fumble or … Continue reading →

We are so doomed if the UN’s plan entails anything from the movies Armageddon, Deep Impact or Meteor (from 1979). Actually, I think we’ll prefer extinction should lawyers and the insurance industry get involved in the plan. The lawyers know the NEO doesn’t … Continue reading →

His discovery of the belts named after him was pretty critical for the manned and unmanned space missions, especially the Apollo series. With their locations and intensities calculated out, all equipment is hardned against the radiation and spacecraft have trajectories … Continue reading →

Thanks to the great Dr. Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy I caught the cool news about today being the day that Pluto’s two recently confirmed satellites receiving their official names by the International Astronomical Union.    The two additional satellites were discovered last Fall … Continue reading →

I was checking out Dr. Plait’s Bad Astronomy site earlier and saw that he had to debunk another false alarm about a comet hitting the Earth in May. I hadn’t been to his site for a while because his clarification … Continue reading →