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22 July 2010
Europa Analog Deep-Sea Vents Discovered in the Caribbean
White sand, blue water, sunny skies, pina coladas. When you think of “extreme environments” I doubt the Caribbean is high on your list. But a team of scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic institute and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, exploring the 68-mile-long Mid-Cayman rise deep beneath the surface of the Caribbean, have discovered the deepest known [...]
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03 July 2010
Astronomy Without A Telescope – Animal Astronomy
In the 1950s, the Sauer research team locked some birds in Olbers planetarium and started messing with them. First they projected a northern hemisphere autumn sky and the birds flew 'south' – away from Polaris and keeping Betelgeuse to the left ('east'). Then they projected a spring night sky and the birds flew 'north' towards [...]
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29 June 2010
Zapping Titan-Like Atmosphere with UV Creates Life Precursors
From the University of Arizona The first experimental evidence showing how atmospheric nitrogen can be incorporated into organic macromolecules is being reported by a University of Arizona team. The finding indicates what organic molecules might be found on Titan, the moon of Saturn that scientists think is a model for the chemistry of pre-life Earth. [...]
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21 June 2010
Maybe ET's Calling, But We Have the Wrong Phone
To date, SETI (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence) has focused on ETs who 'phone home' using the radio part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and even a very small region within that. But what if ET's phone doesn't use radio waves? Sure the xkcd comic, is funny, but maybe it points to a deep flaw in our [...]
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09 June 2010
Ice Caves Possible on Mars
New results published in the journal Icarus suggest that caves on Mars may provide future astronauts with more than just shelter. In many locations, even far from the poles, the caves may actually trap water ice. Ice caves are made of rock, but they contain ice year-round. (Not to be confused with glacier caves, which are [...]
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07 June 2010
Alien Life on Titan? Hang on Just a Minute…
Two papers released last week detailing oddities found on Titan have blown the top off the 'jumping to conclusions' meter, and following media reports of NASA finding alien life on Saturn's hazy moon, scientists are now trying to put a little reality back into the news. "Everyone: Calm down!" said Cassini imaging team leader [...]
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04 June 2010
New Discovery Supports Possibility of Microbial Life on Mars
The discovery of methane-eating bacteria in a very unique region of Canada's extreme north supports the theory that similar organisms could be on Mars. Researchers have found methane-eating bacteria in a cold, methane filled spring located on Axel Heiberg Island in Canada, and say the spring is similar to possible past or present [...]
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29 May 2010
Astronomy Without A Telescope – Life In Cosmic Rays
We all know that astronomy is just plain awesome – and pretty much everything that's interesting in the world links back to astronomy and space science in one way or another. Here I'm thinking gravity, wireless internet and of course ear thermometers. But wouldn't it be great if we could ascribe the whole origin of [...]
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04 May 2010
Will Aliens Be Hostile?
Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking caused a bit a of buzz last week when he warned that we shouldn't attempt to contact aliens because the outcome probably wouldn't be good (for us, anyway). But once again, Neil deGrasse Tyson is a voice of reason about the whole thing. Watch a clip from the Discovery Channel's "Stephen Hawking's [...]
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28 April 2010
Are We Contaminating Mars?
With Mars seemingly the destination of choice in NASA's future, researchers are taking a look at what kinds of things we want to bring with us when we go to Mars. But also, just as important is what we don't want to take with us. A new study by the University of Central [...]
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11 April 2010
Life on Titan Could Be Smelly and Explosive
Could there be life in Titan? If so, one astrobiologist says humans probably couldn't be in the same room with a Titanian and live to tell about it. "Hollywood would have problems with these aliens" said Dr. William Bains. "Beam one onto the Starship Enterprise and it would boil and then burst into [...]
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18 March 2010
Unexpected Life Found Under Antarctic Ice (Video)
Researchers in Antarctica got a surprise visit from a creature in a borehole 185 meters (600 feet) below the Antarctic ice, where there is usually no light. A Lyssianasid amphipod, a shrimp-like creature can be seen swimming in this video. A NASA team had lowered a small video camera to get the [...]
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24 February 2010
Nailing Down Goldilocks: What's "Just Right" for Exo-Earths?
For Goldilocks, the porridge had to be not too hot, and not too cold … the right temperature was all she needed. For an Earth-like planet to harbor life, or multicellular life, certainly temperature is important, but what else is important? And what makes the temperature of an exo-Earth "just right"? Some recent studies have concluded that [...]
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20 February 2010
ESA's Tough Choice: Dark Matter, Sun Close Flyby, Exoplanets (Pick Two)
Key questions relevant to fundamental physics and cosmology, namely the nature of the mysterious dark energy and dark matter (Euclid); the frequency of exoplanets around other stars, including Earth-analogs (PLATO); take the closest look at our Sun yet possible, approaching to just 62 solar radii (Solar Orbiter) … but only two! What would be your [...]
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20 February 2010
Ozone on Mars: Two Windows Better Than One
Understanding the present-day Martian climate gives us insights into its past climate, which in turn provides a science-based context for answering questions about the possibility of life on ancient Mars. Our understanding of Mars' climate today is neatly packaged as climate models, which in turn provide powerful consistency checks – and sources of inspiration – for [...]
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