Clipmarks | rmowery's Astronomy collection

Russian Refuses to Accept Math Prize

Tue, 22 Aug 2006 14:58:29 GMT

clipped by: rmowery
clipper's remarks: I don't think the world realizes how valuable this proof really is yet. A million bucks is just chump change.

Clip Source: abcnews.go.com

MADRID, Spain Aug 22, 2006 (AP)— A reclusive Russian won an academic prize Tuesday for work toward solving one of history's toughest math problems, but he refused to accept the award a stunning renunciation of accolades from the top minds in his field.

By DANIEL WOOLLS

Grigory Perelman, a 40-year-old native of St. Petersburg, was praised for work in the field known as topology, which studies shapes, and for a breakthrough that might help scientists figure out nothing less than the shape of the universe.

But besides shunning the medal, academic colleagues say he also seems uninterested in a separate, $1 million prize he might be awarded for his feat, which proved a theorem about the nature of multidimensional space that has stumped people for 100 years.

The Fields Medal was announced at the International Congress of Mathematicians, an event held every four years, this time in Madrid.

Tags: math, russian, perelman, st petersburg, topology

What's Really out There?

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 04:02:31 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Out There

Three days after learning that he won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics, George Smoot was talking about the universe. Sitting across from him in his office at the University of California, Berkeley, was Saul Perlmutter, a fellow cosmologist and a probable future Nobelist in Physics himself. Bearded, booming, eyes pinwheeling from adrenaline and lack of sleep, Smoot leaned back in his chair. Perlmutter, onetime acolyte, longtime colleague, now heir apparent, leaned forward in his.

“Time and time again,” Smoot shouted, “the universe has turned out to be really simple.”

Perlmutter nodded eagerly. “It’s like, why are we able to understand the universe at our level?”

“Right. Exactly. It’s a universe for beginners! ‘The Universe for Dummies’!”

Tags: space, universe, dark matter, life, cosmos

Carved stone still mystifies scholars

Thu, 20 Jul 2006 05:05:34 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Carved stone still mystifies scholars

CONCORD, New Hampshire (AP) -- In 1872, so the story goes, workers digging a hole for a fence post near Lake Winnipesaukee in the central part of this New England state found a lump of clay that seemed out of place.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006; Posted: 12:19 p.m. EDT (16:19 GMT)

No one knows for sure who made this stone (discovered in 1872), why, how, or when it was made.

There was something inside -- a dark, odd-looking, egg-shaped stone with a variety of carvings, including a face, teepee, ear of corn and starlike circles.

And there were many questions: Who made the stone and why? How old was it? How was it carved?

To date, no one has been able to say for sure, and the item has come to be known as the "Mystery Stone." Seneca Ladd, a local businessman who hired the workers, was credited with the discovery.

Tags: mystery stone, space, science, geology, carvings, carved stone

NASA Announces Dark Matter Discovery

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 13:59:28 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.nasa.gov

Erica Hupp/Dwayne Brown Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1237/1726 Megan Watzke Chandra X-ray Center, Cambridge, Mass. 617-496-7998	Aug. 14, 2006
MEDIA ADVISORY: M06-128

NASA Announces Dark Matter Discovery

Astronomers who used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Monday, Aug. 21, to announce how dark and normal matter have been forced apart in an extraordinarily energetic collision.

Reporters must call Megan Watzke at the Chandra Press Office at: 617- 496-7998 or e-mail: mwatzke@cfa.harvard.edu for participation information. Shortly before the start of the briefing, images and graphics about the research will be posted at:

http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2006/1e0657/

Briefing participants:
- Maxim Markevitch, astrophysicist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Mass.
- Doug Clowe, postdoctoral fellow, University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz.

- Sean Carroll, assistant professor of physics, University of Chicago, Ill.

A video file about the discovery will air on NASA TV at noon, Aug. 21. Audio of the event will be streamed live on the Web at:

http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio

For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/home

- end -

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Tags: nasa, dark matter discovery, web cast, astronomy, space

Feeling romantic? Send a love letter -- into space

Thu, 06 Jul 2006 15:49:24 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

Feeling romantic? Send a love letter -- into space

Once upon a time it was a letter in a bottle. Now a Japanese company is offering the chance to buy a personal satellite to launch a love letter or personal treasures into space.

For a mere 100 million yen (880,000 dollars), you can now buy a small satellite to orbit the earth at an altitude of about 600-800 kilometers (372-496 miles), said Astro Research Corp., a space development company.

"Until now, a satellite was something ordinary people could not afford to buy," company executive Ichiro Koike told a press conference Thursday.

"But space has always been mysterious and pure. That is why people feel romantic about it," he said, suggesting a husband might send a love letter into space in the capsule instead of buying expensive jewelry.

The 20 kilogram (44 pounds) satellite contains a smaller cubic box made of aluminum alloy to protect the personal objects -- until the satellite falls and burns out in the atmosphere after about 20 or 30 years in orbit.

Tags: love letter, space love letters, japan, letters in space, satellite

Relationship between the universe and our brains?

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 16:34:23 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Tags: neuroolgy, space, universe, micrometer, evolution, connections, astronomy

Water Found in Extrasolar Planet's Atmosphere

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 20:54:43 GMT

clipped by: rmowery
clipper's remarks: Amazing how fast a civilizations perspective on things can change with each new discovery.

Clip Source: www.space.com

Water Found in Extrasolar Planet's Atmosphere
By Ker Than
Staff Writer
posted: 10 April 2007
12:21 pm ET

Astronomers have detected water in the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system for the first time.

The finding, to be detailed in an upcoming issue of Astrophysical Journal, confirms previous theories that say water vapor should be present in the atmospheres of nearly all the known extrasolar planets. Even hot Jupiters, gaseous planets that orbit closer to their stars than Mercury to our Sun, are thought to have water.

The discovery, announced today, means one of the most crucial elements for life as we know it can exist around planets orbiting other stars.

“We know that water vapor exists in the atmospheres of one extrasolar planet and there is good reason to believe that other extrasolar planets contain water vapor,” said Travis Barman, an astronomer at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona who made the discovery.

Tags: planets, space, water, nasa, life

Photo reveals Star Trek-like Human-posing Extraterrestrials who visited U.S. capital in 1957

Thu, 22 Mar 2007 02:33:58 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.agoracosmopolitan.com

Photo reveals Star Trek-like Human-posing Extraterrestrials who visited U.S. capital in 1957

by David Stein

"Exoscience", as the study of Extraterrestrials reveals that certain elements of the science fiction series Star Trek, may have been inspired by actual cosmic awareness by its creators. The most notable similarity seems to be that a "Galactic Federation" of ethical planetary civilizations according to representation by contactees and researchers does exist, that is governed by "constitutionalism” including the rights of sentient beings, and social justice. This apparent Galactic Federation like “the Federation” in Star Trek appears to be governed by a ‘prime directive’ when dealing with civilizations outside of a “voluntary association of ethical planetary civilizations”.

"Jill", "Donn", and "Valiant Thor" were documented human-posing Extraterrestrials which landed on alien spacecraft in U.S. capital.

Tags: alien, space, rodenberry, et

What are the chances of aliens sniffing us out?

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 20:34:43 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.newscientistspace.com

What are the chances of aliens sniffing us out?

12:05 24 October 2006
NewScientist.com news service
Jeff Hecht

Beaming signals into space to find ET could potentially be risky for Earth and its inhabitants. So researchers are developing a Richter-like scale to assess the chance that extraterrestrials could detect – and potentially react to – such signals.

Decades of passively monitoring microwave frequencies have failed to find any evidence of signals from extraterrestrial civilisations. Frustrated by the long silence, some researchers want to start transmitting signals towards nearby stars with possible habitable planets in a plan called "active SETI".

However, others warn that this would be the equivalent of "shouting in the jungle", and that it is better to keep quiet for the time being. "Concerns range from worries about potential existential danger all the way to a desire for consensus about what should be said in such messages," says astrophysicist and science fiction writer David Brin, a leading voice of caution on an International Academy of Astronautics committee considering the issue.

To give the debate a "modest analytical basis", Iván Almár of Konkoly Observatory in Hungary and Paul Shuch of the SETI League in Little Ferry, New Jersey, US, have written a study proposing a way to rate the chance that aliens might detect terrestrial signals.

Called the San Marino Scale because it was first proposed in Europe's tiny Republic of San Marino, it rates the chance of a detection from 1 to 10 based on the strength and type of the transmission. The scale is split into two halves, each worth between 1 and 5. One part is based on signal intensity (compared to solar noise), the is other based on the type of signal.

Decades of monitoring the skies for signals from extraterrestrial life have turned up nothing (Image: NAIC/Arecibo Observatory/NSF)

Tags: aliens, e, seti, radio waves, space, astronomy

String Theory Web Site

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 03:10:02 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Gravity, relativity, theoretical physics, particles, quantum, black holes and more... Both "basic" and "advanced" explanations. Exploring the source site is highly recommended.

Clip Source: superstringtheory.com

It's the 21st century! Time to feed your mind
Basics So what is string theory? For that matter, what the heck are elementary particles? If this all sounds totally confusing, try this section first.
Experiment What progress are physicists making towards experimental tests of string theory predictions?	Mathematics What kinds of math do string theorists use and why? And how has string theory changed mathematics?
Black Holes Personal safety issues aside, when black holes are tied up in strings, they get even more interesting.	Cosmology Was there a String Bang before the Big Bang, or did the Universe simply unwind?
History Find out how string theory outlasted the Vietnam War, Mrs. Thatcher and grunge music, in our Timeline section	People So who are the people who work on string theory? Check them out in our People section.
Links Send us email! Sign our guestbook! Here are a few links to our sympathizers, co-marketers and even the competition.	Theatre Now playing in the String Theatre: a Real Audio physics colloquium by Prof. John Schwarz.
Bookstore Looking for books on string theory or other topics in modern theoretical physics?	Forum Discuss string theory and the legacy of Albert Einstein in our community forum.

Tags: string theory, theoretical physics, science

Stephen Hawking Says Universe Created from Nothing

Thu, 15 Mar 2007 01:00:58 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: science.slashdot.org

"Speaking to a sold out crowd at the Berkeley Physics Oppenheimer Lecture, Hawking said yesterday that he now believes the universe spontaneously popped into existence from nothing. He said more work is needed to prove this but we have time because 'Eternity is a very long time, especially towards the end.' There is also a Webcast available (Realplayer or Real Alternative required)."

Stephen Hawking Says Universe Created from Nothing

Tags: astronomy, universe, hawking, creation

Mock lunar landers to go head-to-head in X Prize Cup

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 21:35:11 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.newscientistspace.com

Mock lunar landers to go head-to-head in X Prize Cup

20:46 13 October 2006

NewScientist.com news service

Kelly Young

Mock moon landers are set to compete for millions of dollars in prize money at next week's Wirefly X Prize Cup in Las Cruces, New Mexico, US.

As the US prepares to return humans to the Moon, ambitious young companies are trying to build their own versions of a Moon lander for the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, a NASA-backed contest. It will be one of the headline events at the competition promoting private spaceflight on 20 and 21 October.

There are actually two levels to the competition. In Level 1, the mock landers will launch up to 50 metres high, hover for 90 seconds and then land vertically on a concrete pad 100 metres away.

For Level 2, entrants will launch their rockets, hover for 180 seconds and then land on an uneven simulated Moon surface 100 metres away. For both levels, the rockets can refuel before making the return launch back to the first pad.

Time will present a big challenge. Teams have just two and a half hours to drive from a staging area to the launch pad, pressurise and fuel their vehicles, and complete the challenges.

One company in particular has emerged as the frontrunner. Armadillo Aerospace of Mesquite, Texas, US, is run by John Carmack, creator of the hugely successful Doom video games. He was also a contender in the $10 million Ansari X Prize, a contest for the first private group to send a reusable crewed spacecraft to the edge of space twice within two weeks.

Tags: private space flight, lunar landers, space

Network of Small Telescopes Find a Big Planet

Sun, 10 Sep 2006 01:56:37 GMT

clipped by: rmowery
clipper's remarks: Cool!

Clip Source: www.universetoday.com

Network of Small Telescopes Find a Big Planet

A network of amateur astronomers has discovered an extrasolar planet located 500 light years away. This incredible discovery was made using a technique that measures the brightness of thousands of stars, watching for a periodic dimming. In this case, the Jupiter-sized planet, TrES-2, orbits its host star every 2.5 days, dimming it by 1.5%. Although the planet was discovered by a 10cm telescope, followup observations were made using the 10 metre W.M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea in Hawaii.

Our home solar system may be down by a planet with the recent demotion of Pluto, but the number of giant planets discovered in orbit around other stars continues to grow steadily. Now, an international team of astronomers has detected a planet larger than Jupiter that orbits a star 500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Draco.

Unlike the mythological names associated with the solar system’s planets, the newly discovered planet is known by “TrES-2″ and passes in front of the star “GSC 03549-02811″ every two and a half days.

Tags: new planet, tres-2, astronomy, amateur astronomy

Why US feels the heat to keep its shuttles flying

Wed, 05 Jul 2006 21:16:31 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.csmonitor.com

from the July 06, 2006 edition

Why US feels the heat to keep its shuttles flying

HOUSTON

When the space shuttle Discovery docks with the International Space Station Thursday, some of the loudest cheers will be overseas.

That's because the shuttle is the only vehicle able to deliver key components of the station over the next four years. Its success will determine whether the station becomes a fully functional international laboratory - or a useless, partially built curiosity circling Earth. It may also determine whether the United States remains a player in future international efforts in manned spaceflight.

Europe, Russia, and Japan are watching closely to see if NASA can deliver on its promises - and NASA seems to be feeling the pressure.

America's partners "understand the loss of Columbia and are sympathetic," says Roger Launius, who chairs the space history department at the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum in Washington. "But they are also saying: It's time to get back to business."

In the end, he adds, a fundamental reason other countries signed up to take part in the space-station project was to hone their own aerospace skills.

"In the 20 years since we've been trying to build the space station, those countries have made enormous progress in advancing their aerospace technology. They may not need us in the future."

Tags: space, space shuttle, nasa, space exploration