Ceres - The Dwarf Planet

As NASA's Dawn spacecraft approaches the dwarf planet Ceres - the largest body in the asteroid field between Mars and Jupiter - it continues to send an impressive array of photos back to Earth. Dawn will pass nearest Ceres sometime in February (probably around the 25th) and we will finally get to see detailed photos of this fascinating dwarf planet. After Dawn passes Ceres, NASA will compile the data and map the planet.

Below is the latest composition of photographs:
Ceres spinning!

Mantabot

The University of Virginia has been working with robotic manta, aptly named "Mantabot", in an effort to further their research in the realm of bio-mechanics. I do not know how I missed this article last year but I like the fact the little guy looks a bit like my book cover...

Mantabot Article
Mantabot Video

Latest Rail Gun Update...

Not a lot of new information in this article but I like reading about any technological progress, especially weapons technology, and was encouraged to see this project moving to the next phase.

Navy Awards Rail Gun Contract to BAE

Movie Review: Oblivion

     I watched the new Tom Cruise Science Fiction flick Oblivion  this weekend. I was intrigued by they previews and the film did not disappoint. The story was solid, although I thought the previews/trailers gave up a little too much of the plot, and had some good twists. Tom Cruise's character is a high tech maintenance man for automated drones that protect several massive power plants on a futuristic, post apocalyptic Earth. His nostalgia for old Earth artifacts and history cause him to be, at times, dangerously curious about his hostile surroundings. This curiosity eventually leads him to the discovery that there is a more sinister force behind the Earth's destruction than the remaining aliens that keep attacking his drones. The only cliche' I thought the film could have done without was its singular use of the 'F-bomb' at the end; a phrase that could have been better filled by a clever witticism.
     Oblivion is a suspenseful, action packed and fascinating film with a refreshingly original story. I enjoyed watching it and would go watch it again, if I actually had the time. I cannot quite give Oblivion an 8, so I'll give it an enthusiastic 7 out of 10.

Time is Relative

...to whom, I don't know. But it has gotten away from me this past month. I have been furiously working on a new project that I hope everyone will enjoy and as usual I'm only going to drop a tiny hint of what it is about: concept art. Okay that was a big hint. I'm looking forward to getting some visual references out there for people and heck myself too! Hope to have this project wrapped up by the end of the year.
If there are any artists out there who are interested, send me a Europa concept sketch or other work and I will certainly consider you for the project.

Trojan

Earth has a Trojan...asteroid that is. Trojans are asteroids that reside in the Lagrangian points of a planet's gravitational field. A Lagrange point is a point around a planet where the gravitational pull of the planet and the Sun allow an object to stay in a fixed position; a bit like geosynchronous orbit. There are six Lagrange points around a planet, L1-L6, and Earth's Trojan is located at the Lagrange point forward of her orbit known as the L4. I was very excited when I found this because I studied Trojans over a year ago and have been wondering ever since whether Earth had any. If you notice the illustration (on the link below) of the object's orbit it is obvious why it was difficult to spot the 1,000' wide object 50 million miles away...

www.space.com/earth asteroid discovered

Apocalyptic News - House Fortress

I saw this a few weeks ago and thought it was pretty cool; one might even go so far as to say it's nifty. A great house for the inevitable zombie apocalypse:

http://www.modernman.com/the-best-house-to-own-when-zombies-attack/

I think the pro-Saturn people are getting pushy

These days, no scientist can talk about viable (future) human environments throughout our solar system without mentioning a couple of Jupiter's moons (Europa!) but now those pro-Saturn people are getting in the mix.  Seriously, what's with all the talk about "plumes"?  In all seriousness, I am a big advocate for anywhere but status quo in our "space exploration".  I understand we currently all those satellites orbiting the Earth but if we don't actually go anywhere, shouldn't NASA just change their name to "Manning Cell Phone Satellites for Huge Conglomerates?"  (Would that be MCPSHC?)

I'm happy that Cassini is getting good press.  It looks like scientists believe that it may be a similar environment to Europa.  And here's some specs and a cool pic of Cassini taken in 2009.

Go! Go! Go!  I love America but SOMEONE has got to get there.  (Um, yeah, let's make the first shuttle unmanned please.  Even I'm not that impatient.  See comments)  The answer to this question is a resounding "NO" unless we can unite and explore.

Cool vid on the universe to scale.  Check it out.

Thanks and see ya later.

More cool science news

I saw "Green Lantern" over the weekend.  More on that in a subsequent post.


Otherwise, we got a lot going on over the last week or so.  And of course, your bi-monthly dose of Europa news (did you think I'd forget?).


The reason this piece of news is here, on this blog, is because I'm trying to be a one-man lobby group for NASA (or ESA) to go to Europa, or ANY place within driving distance that might possibly be habitable (or better yet, already be inhabited). One of the many conditions for life?  Geomagnetism.  Oh yes, folks, it's complicated.  But this blog/website does a pretty good job of laying out the basics.


Among other things discussed, someone asked a question about life on Europa.  Given the potentially very thick layer of ice, the scientist answering the question is ... shall we say cautiously hopeful?


Speaking of hopeful, I want you guys to know that ... NASA NEEDS TO GET THEIR BUTTS OUT THERE because as Marc Kaufman states, if you're looking for it, you might find it.  But here's the kicker ... you actually have to go look for it.  The likelihood of all of it coming to us is small.


I tweeted this earlier but it bears repeating.  8 wonders of the solar system.


In just a few minutes, Enceladus may be the new Europa.  For more info on that issue, see also this post.  


And I'm done (for now).  Y'all come back now, y'hear?

X-Men: First Class

I watched the latest X-Men film this weekend and must say I was impressed. I particularly enjoyed the portrayals of Professor X by James McAvoy and Magneto by Michael Fassbender. I felt engaged by the characters from the beginning and did not lose the sense of caring what happened to them through the end. There were a few cameo appearances, my favorite was Wolverine's, which were amusing. Warning to parents: Wolverine's appearance contains the only serious language incident in the film (F bomb). There are a few implied adult situations and the rest of the language is minor. I Liked the storyline and thought it contained enough surprises to keep even the most 'that was totally predictable' guy entertained. 
I usually prefer to keep my higher ratings for movies that really impress me to the core, but I liked X-Men: First Class a lot and recommend it to people of all ages and interests.  I give it an 8 out of 10. 

Thor - Movie Review

I watched Thor yesterday. I had to pay extra to see it in 3D, because that was the only time it would fit into my schedule, and I would not recommend bothering with the upgrade. I expected an entertaining film with some nifty special effects and a storyline that merely gave the producers a chance to show off all the cool stuff they dreamed up. I admit my expectations going in were fairly low, but other than the 3D version not enhancing the experience much I was pleasantly surprised. The effects were well done and I was very impressed by the landscape, weapon and armor designs. What impressed me most was that it told a good story. I'm sure many will say it was a bit predictable in places but, unless it is pathetically so and this was not, I do not necessarily see that as a fault. The characters pull you in and have you cheering, silently in my case, for them from the beginning. Chis Hemsworth did a good job of portraying Thor as a likable, but reckless, character in the beginning and carried his ongoing, albeit quick, character transformation well. I would not classify the end of the film as 'happy', ie. everyone gets what they want, but it was a good ending in that it finished the story while leaving it open for a sequel.
Thor is a fun movie and I will recommend it to my friends. I give it a 7 out of a possible 10.

Europa may have just gotten a promotion ...

Seriously!  

Don't take it from me, read the article for better links and the horses mouth type stuff.  Essentially though, scientists (the proverbial "they") think perhaps that MAYBE Europa could have been a rogue planet that got flung out of some other solar system and snatched up by Jupiter.  Hey, it could be a planet considering all the elements for life which might exist (cross your fingers) on this [for now] moon.  But on the other hand, why do we automatically "promote" a moon just because it has some of the elements necessary for life?  Something to think about anyway.

Also, by way of an update and to give special props to Europa, here's an article to follow up the "where in the universe is Jupiter's belt" mystery that was a news story (for us nerds) last year.  Apparently, to quote the article, "Europa became the "guide star" for the adaptive optics to sense atmospheric distortions."  Way to go Europa!  

I will be skiing this weekend so look for pictures on Twitter @authorjas!

Europa in the news

I don't think I do this often enough but here's some linkspam about Europa, not the book, the moon.

Sky and Telescope did another story regarding Europa's visibility at the end of last month.  I also did a blog post on January 23rd which explained the time you could actually see Europa, if you owned a telescope.  This website goes into more detail about what you could have seen.

I think this picture is awesome.  It shows Europa in what they call the Gibbous phase.  You can see a lot of detail in the picture; more than most pictures of this moon.

And finally, a really cool news story about an Antarctic lake which mimics the conditions scientists believe exist on Europa.  Practice, practice, practice!

That's all for now.  Enjoy your weekend!

Paper Airplanes in Spaaaaaaace!

I don't know how I missed this until now, but check out the video:

projectspaceplanes.com

Wicked cool science news

From time-to-time, I see science news that just has to be shared.  A lot of the time, it doesn't necessarily have to do with Jupiter or even this solar system.  But I am always happy to promote (through linkspam) the exploration of space as a whole in the hopes that it will make that much more plausible my own theories of and hopes for space exploration.

First, Voyager I, on the road for more than 30 years and still doing business.  Going where, literally, no human has ever gone before.

Second, every year this guy does a "best of" space pictures.  This years list is a wicked cool (and pardon the pun) out-of-this-world show.  You don't want to miss it.