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The War on Science

2012-05-10T02:56:20Z

Everything is a war these days: Actual wars in various regions of the world, the war on drugs and even wars on various social issues. But there is another war going on, one that doesn't get nearly as much press: The war on science.

In this most recent economic downturn the recent trend of cutting funding for pure science has been exacerbated. The argument, naturally, is that when things are tight we can't afford such extravagances. But is science an extravagance, or is it a fundamental driver of economic growth?

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The War on Science originally appeared on About.com Space / Astronomy on Thursday, May 10th, 2012 at 02:56:20.

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What is the Higgs Boson?

2012-04-26T17:05:42Z

Unless you live under a rock, you are undoubtedly aware of the work being carried out at the Large Hadron Collider. There, researchers are attempting to find a particle known as the Higgs Boson.

But what is the Higgs? I could try and explain it in this space, but here is an entertaining video from Jorge Cham over at PhD Comics that explains it pretty well. Enjoy!

Image Credit: CERN

What is the Higgs Boson? originally appeared on About.com Space / Astronomy on Thursday, April 26th, 2012 at 17:05:42.

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Shuttle Arrives at Smithsonian

2012-04-19T21:13:36Z

The Space Shuttle Discovery was shown off at the Smithsonian earlier today. NASA has posted a photo gallery of the preparation, journey and ceremony; it's worth checking out.

Here in Indianapolis, Indiana, we may not have gotten the coveted Discovery, but we recently acquired a shuttle of our own. Pretty cool. Though, frankly, it's not as big as I thought it would be...

LEGO Shuttle located at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Photo Credit: Melissa Millis.

Shuttle Arrives at Smithsonian originally appeared on About.com Space / Astronomy on Thursday, April 19th, 2012 at 21:13:36.

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Space Shuttle Discovery on its Way to D.C.

2012-04-17T07:45:22Z

One of the iconic machines of the 20th century is on its way to Washington D.C. to be displayed at the Smithsonian.

The event, including the flight to Dulles, can be seen on NASA's website. They'll have video of the shuttle preparation and interviews about the program and the future of manned space flight. If you just want to catch the landing - which is really impressive as it involves being piggybacked on a modified 747 - tune in around 10:00 am EDT today.

Space Shuttle Discovery on its Way to D.C. originally appeared on About.com Space / Astronomy on Tuesday, April 17th, 2012 at 07:45:22.

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Giant Stars

2012-04-09T15:07:12Z

Our Sun absolutely dwarfs the planets of our solar system, accounting for nearly 99.9% of the mass in our little corner of the cosmos.

And while recent studies have found that our Sun is actually above average in size, it is, well, puny, compared to some of the behemoths out there in our galaxy.

Our central star will one day become a Red Giant, growing significantly in size compared to its current state. But even then, it will not even begin to approach the largest and most massive stars around.

The largest stars, by diameter, tend to be the Red Hypergiant stars. These glowing balls of fury are thought to simply be the largest of the Red Supergiants, however they get their own designation because of the different properties that come along with being so large; things like their incredibly high mass-loss rate.

The most massive stars are usually the Blue Supergiants. These are smaller, denser and hotter than the Red Supergiants and Hypergiants.

Interestingly, researchers believe that all of these stars are related. Specifically, they all began life as very similar objects: very high mass stars. As they evolved and left the main sequence they exhausted their hydrogen fuel, and as the fusion rate varies - specifically that of helium, carbon, oxygen and heavier elements - they oscillate between Red and Blue Supergiant phases until eventually they explode in a brilliant supernova, leaving behind either a black hole or a neutron star.

Typically such events occur from the Red Supergiant phase, but at least one event observed in 1987 was found to happen when the star was in a Blue Supergiant phase.

These incredible objects are still a source of study, as we are constantly learning more about them. But the simply facts about their size and mass are mind bending to think about.

Giant Stars originally appeared on About.com Space / Astronomy on Monday, April 9th, 2012 at 15:07:12.

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The Most Amazing Fact About the Universe

2012-03-31T19:29:48Z

Weirdly, I don't know that I have ever pondered this question. It seems like such an obvious thing to ask after all.

Anyway, a reader of TIME magazine asked Hayden Planetarium Director and astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson what he felt was the most amazing fact about the Universe.

You can see his response, replete with gorgeous visuals here, but in essence he said that he felt that the most amazing thing about the cosmos was that everything heavier than helium is produced in the cores of stars and then redistributed throughout the interstellar landscape through the evolution of planetary nebulae and supernovae.

In short, we are the stuff of stars.

Now that is an interesting thought to ponder.

The Most Amazing Fact About the Universe originally appeared on About.com Space / Astronomy on Saturday, March 31st, 2012 at 19:29:48.

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Venus Shines Brilliantly Today, Even in Daylight

2012-03-26T14:08:16Z

Over the weekend I was struck by the sheer brilliance of Venus, hanging in the night sky like an evening guest. This relative brightness means that this afternoon, if the sky is clear near you, that Venus will be clearly visible even in daylight.

You will want to make sure that the Sun is blocked from your view. Do not look directly at the Sun; serious injury can occur! Venus should appear roughly due south in the middle of the afternoon.

And if you are out and about this evening, Venus, the Moon and Jupiter will be in conjunction so be sure to check that out as well. Especially if you are in possession of a telescope or binoculars; it should be a pretty amazing sight.

Venus Shines Brilliantly Today, Even in Daylight originally appeared on About.com Space / Astronomy on Monday, March 26th, 2012 at 14:08:16.

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3D Visual Tour of the Universe

2012-03-23T20:31:08Z

The Universe is a mighty big place. So much so that, it is difficult to even get our heads around the scale of its size, and the infinitesimal nature of our existence in it.

To help visualize our cosmic neighborhood, the American Museum of Natural History and the Hayden Planetarium have been working to create a tour of the heavens.

The result of more than a decade of work, the video takes you from the peaks of the Himalayas to the edge of the observable universe and back.

Also, for those of you interested in such things, check out Carter Emmart, one of the principal minds behind the effort, giving a TED talk on this work and the motivation behind the project.

Credit: Hayden Planetarium

3D Visual Tour of the Universe originally appeared on About.com Space / Astronomy on Friday, March 23rd, 2012 at 20:31:08.

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Falling from the Edge of Space

2012-03-17T14:55:47Z

To be completely honest, I'm not entirely sure how I didn't know about this. But in my search for cool space videos I stumbled across the Red Bull Stratos project. If you, like I, was unfamiliar, check out their website.

In short, they are attempting to skydive from incredible altitudes, with the ultimate goal of going beyond 120,000 feet. So far they have made a jump from above 71,000 (check out the video of the attempt here).

This is not all just for fun; there are serious scientific questions underpinning this effort. Very little is known about the effects of edge-of-space survivability.

Therefore with the data gathered rom this experiment, next-generation space suites may be developed, as well as new escape procedures should something go wrong in future space exploration missions.

As this project progresses I'll be sure to update you in the space, so stay tuned.

Image Credit: Jay Nemeth

Falling from the Edge of Space originally appeared on About.com Space / Astronomy on Saturday, March 17th, 2012 at 14:55:47.

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The Orion Nebula

2012-03-08T08:41:03Z

Usually when I give public talks I use the above image on my title slide. It is, just, breathtaking. (Click here for the full sized image.)

The Orion Nebula is a massive star forming region - the closest one to us at roughly 1,500 light-years - containing more than 1,000 new stars. Appearing as the brightest object in Orion's sword, the nebular light is dominated by four massive stars known as the Trapezium.

These stars are producing the stellar winds that are the cause of the beautiful swirls of color (enhanced in the image to show various emission regions and the responsible elements).

What we see in the image is a composite of data taken from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Infrared Telescope.

Simply, the Orion Nebula is one of my favorite images. Enjoy.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/STScI

The Orion Nebula originally appeared on About.com Space / Astronomy on Thursday, March 8th, 2012 at 08:41:03.

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