Mixing nature with space exploration

Sometimes the results are hilarious.

NASA/Wallops/Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport

Go, frog! Go!

(More on this at Universe Today.)

Best headline of the day

"Why Is Our Solar System Such a Cosmic Weirdo?"

(from Space.com)

What I just finished reading

Dragon's Egg
Robert L. Forward
1980

I read this book on a recommendation from Alan at Blogonomicon. It's a work of hard science fiction, which means it portrays situations based on real scientific principles and theories rather than "soft", magic-like science that gives you convenient plot devices such as transporters, warp drives, and midichlorians. Hard science books don't always make for the best of stories, but they are usually very interesting anyway. As long as they are well written and don't read like textbooks.

Dragon's Egg certainly doesn't read like a text book, but it is also not the most exciting of tales. It tells the story of a neutron star upon which life has formed. The dominant animal species on Dragon's Egg (the name of the star) is the cheela, and they live at a highly accelerated rate compared to humans.

As the neutron star approaches our solar system in 2050, a human science expedition is launched to study it. As the humans map the the star they make the startling discovery that there is a civilization on the surface, one that is capable of building large structures. The cheela take notice of the human space craft in the sky, and eventually they work out a system of messaging that allows them to communicate in a clunky way. (The human messages appear very slow and drawn out to the cheela, and the cheela messages have to be slowed down by a computer for the humans to understand them.)

The humans transmit as much information as they can to the cheela, including the entire contents of an encyclopedia. Even though it takes the humans dozens of hours to transmit all this data, to the cheela it is several lifetimes. In the course of one day, the humans observe the cheela as they absorb human knowledge, grow from a clan society to one of empire, and fianlly  take to the stars, surpassing even the humans in their knowledge of the universe. The cheela even give back some of what they have learned, which proves to be beyond the comprehension of their human friends.

Very heady stuff. But it's easy to read, too. You don't need a degree in astrophysics to appreciate the theories explored in this book (though it might help), and many of the cheela characters are interesting in their own right, despite being little blobs with twelve eyes. But, in all, the story is not compelling, and the human characters are virtually faceless despite the author's attempt to flesh them out. We see many generations of development in the cheela, but nothing really happens on board the science ship except the gathering of data and the transmission of information. There's a bit of drama involving some equipment work outside the ship, but it doesn't last long, and there's no real sense of urgency in the episode. In short, this is a story of the cheela, and the humans are there just as a framework.

If you are interested in how the universe works (as I am), you will probably enjoy reading this book (as I did). But if your sci-fi fare tends to run toward Star Wars or Battle Star Galactica (either incarnation will do), you might want to steer clear of Dragon's Egg.

Slinging space junk

Space just above earth is crowded with junk. How cool would it be to have a spacecraft that could fling that junk back down to Earth and do it in a cost-effective and fuel efficient manner?

It would be way cool, that's what. And the Aggies are proposing just that as a way to declutter Earth's orbits. And they are calling it TAMU Sweeper with Sling-Sat.

(from Space.com)
 

Saturn view

I watched all those videos of that meteor exploding over the Russian landscape, and I was suitably giddy, awed, and a bit frightened, all at the same time. I didn't do a blog post about the event right away, and when I finally got a chance to sit down here and think about it, I thought that everything that could have been said about the event had already been said, and in a better way than I could phrase it. And those images and videos have already made all the rounds and stirred up excitement across the globe.

But I have seen something that is just as spectacular as a meteor mushroom cloud, and it hasn't received nearly as much media attention. It's this incredible image returned to us by the Cassini spacecraft.

Image courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute.

That deserves at least as much attention as a meteor over Russia. Dontcha think?

The Mouse's Conquest

Yes, you've heard about the takeover. Now it's complete, and official. I have gathered the proof today.

The Empire has fallen. To the ---- uh, Evil Empire.

Soooo, ---- maybe it won't be so bad?

Martian spring

It happens, and it does some weird stuff that can only be seen on the Red Planet.


(from Space.com)

Preparing to read

I finally received that book that I ordered on recommendation from Alan at Blogonomicon. I've just started on it, so I don't have any opinion to share, yet. But here's what the book looks like: 

Dragon's Egg
Robert Forward
1980

 This book must be out of print, because I could not find any copies on Amazon labeled "new" that were less than $19.00, and all of the other copies available were from third-party sources (with new paperbacks starting at $10.49). So I found a hardcover from some obscure book seller that came out to only $5.09, including shipping, and I ordered it.

Here's what I got in the mail:

 Look like any particular kind of book to you? Like, maybe a library book? Awesome, because that's what it is! An old library book!

















My copy of Dragon's Egg by Robert Forward is a discard from the public library in Manchester, Connecticut. That's kind of cool, I guess. I've never gotten such a deal on a hardcover book that didn't come from a yard sale or from Half Price Books, and I'm glad I got this one. But I wasn't expecting to see a library book show up on my front porch.

And, bonus surprise? The branch library's name:

Yep, the colonial city of Manchester apparently has all of two branches in its library system, and one of them happens to be named after Dick Cheney's daughter, Mary.

No real connection to anything the book is about, but something quite interesting to notice, anyway.

Now, on to the reading ......

What I just finished reading

Dune
Frank Herbert
1965

Well, I finally finished Dune. It took me a while, not because it was a long book (though it is) but rather because I've just been so durned busy I've found it hard to find any time at all for recreational reading. But when I could carve out a little time here and there I read it with gusto because it is such a great book.

But you know what? I didn't quite remember how it had ended, and when I finally got to the end I was a little disappointed. For all of the superb writing that Frank Herbert puts into this masterpiece the last couple of pages seem rather anti-climactic. There's no real denouement to the story. It just builds to the final duel with Feyd-Rautha, and then it just kinda ends. That's it. Just, the story's over. This epic space drama has been unfolding for 794 pages, and then the final confrontation takes place and ---- roll credits. No real resolution for the grand tale, no tidying up of loose ends, no release of pent up tension. Just a quick "The End", and that's it.



But I can forgive this abruptness. This is a wonderful tale, and definitely the best of Herbert's works. If you are any fan of science fiction and you haven't yet read Dune, well, get busy! You won't be sorry.


Next up: Dragon's Egg. When I can get to the book store. Alan assures me it's a good read.

Pondering an unusual absence on Dune

Well, I'm in the midst of re-reading Dune, one of my favorite books of all time. It has been a while since I last read it, so I'm finding I didn't remember it as well as I thought I did. Some of the scenes I don't remember, and some of them are playing out differently than I recall. Which makes for a very good read. I'm having a ball.

Frank Herbert was at the height of his talents while producing this work, and I appreciate the intricacies of the plot and the focus in his style. I also love the richness of the universe he has created, and the hard purpose of the characters as they struggle for existence on a barely habitable planet.

But for all of Herbert's grand concepts that he sets forth in Dune (terraforming, galactic politics, the metaphorical and literal power of language, etc.), as well as the barely workable ideas he explores (ornithopters, glow globes, still tents, and the like), I find that he left out one very important detail, one that seems as obvious as it is absent.

I'm talking about sunglasses.

They are not to be found anywhere in Dune. It seems almost a given that people on Arrakis would protect their eyes from the ruthless sun, but instead Herbert goes to great pains to show how exposed everyone's eyes are. The eyes -- and their colorations -- even become a dominant theme in the story. A prolonged existence on the planet and the resultant exposure to the all-present and all-important spice causes a physical change that results in a blue color throughout the scleras and irises of the eyes. The native Fremen have deep blue-on-blue eyes, and newcomers to the planet have traditional eye colorings that eventually become bluer with the passage of time on the planet.


Herbert exposes the characters' eyes to show how the amount of blue can be seen as an indication of status. In fact, that's often the only body part showing on the Fremen, who are covered in stillsuits, masks, and robes. The deep blue of the Fremen eyes shows that this is a people who have consumed spice in their diet for all of their lives. In contrast, the lightly tinged blue eyes of the smugglers show these people are supplementing their food with off-world fare. And the stark white scleras of Stilgar's prisoners alert him to the possibility that they may be dangerous, that they might be spies or assassins from off world.

And I would think it would be newly arrived spies and assassins that would want to cover their eyes most of all, to not stand out in a crowd. And what's the easiest way to do that? Sunglasses.

 And I can't see how anyone on Arrakis would begrudge anyone else the habit of wearing shades on such a bright planet.

But Herbert didn't see it that way, apparently. He relishes his descriptions of the eyes, and he treasures the way characters respond to each others gazes. Perhaps he did think about including eye coverings but then thought better of it to show how important it was to see the variations in colorings. Perhaps he thought true desert people don't need shades. Or perhaps the thought never even occurred to him. I'm not sure what it is, but I found it a bit jarring when I suddenly realized that all these people on this desert planet were squinting for no good reason. All they needed was a pair of shades.


Later, when I finish the book, I might give a little review. But, for now, sunglasses.

Possibly the best headline written

At least in a very long time, by an outfit that's not known for publications in supermarket check-out lines.



"Nazi-Acquired Buddha Statue Came From Space"

It sounds like a mash-up of Indiana Jones' plots, but German researchers say a heavy Buddha statue brought to Europe by the Nazis was carved from a meteorite that likely fell 10,000 years ago along the Siberia-Mongolia border.

This space Buddha, also known as "iron man" to the researchers, is of unknown age, though the best estimates date the statue to sometime between the eighth and 10th centuries. The carving depicts a man, probably a Buddhist god, perched with his legs tucked in, holding something in his left hand. On his chest is a Buddhist swastika, a symbol of luck that was later co-opted by the Nazi party of Germany.

...

The iron man first came to Germany after a 1938-1939 Tibet expedition by zoologist and ethnology [sic] Ernst Schäfer, who was sent to the region by the Nazi party to find the roots of Aryan origin. The statue then passed into the hands of a private owner.

Stuttgart University researcher Elmar Bucher and his colleagues first analyzed the statue in 2007, when the owner allowed them to take five miniscule samples of it. In 2009, the team had the opportunity to take larger samples from the inside of the statue, which is less prone to contamination by weathering or human handling than the outside where the initial samples were taken.

They found that the statue is carved from a rare class of space rocks known as ataxite meteorites.

(from Space.com)

Very strange and cool. And I like how the headline sounds overblown but isn't at all. This is meteorite material we're talking about, after all. Who wouldn't want a chunk of it?

Self-portrait morning

 
Escher has nothing on a Japanese astronaut.

(NASA/JAXA image. Hat tip: NBC News Photoblog. Original caption: "Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide's self-portrait, taken during a Sept. 5 spacewalk, shows the International Space Station and Earth mirrored in his helmet visor.")

R.I.P. Neil Armstrong

One of the bravest men ever to walk this planet has died.

 Neil Armstrong was a quiet self-described nerdy engineer who became a global hero when as a steely-nerved pilot he made "one giant leap for mankind" with a small step on to the moon. The modest man who had people on Earth entranced and awed from almost a quarter million miles away has died. He was 82.

Now, go take on the universe.

Beginning a new rover era

Absolute bad-ass.

NASA

Not just the image, but also knowing how that thing got down to the surface of Mars. I tried to stay up to watch the landing live (well, really, to watch the NASA and JPL guys live; there was a bit of a fourteen minute delay on the landing), but I just couldn't hang. I fell asleep at around 11:30 p.m., and when I woke up, the Curiosity rover had already made it. Heat shield, brake parachute, rocket platform, sky crane ---- all worked perfectly.

And now, there's a mountain to check out.

Happy exploring, rover. And good job, rocket scientists.

What I just finished reading

Ringworld
Larry Niven
1970

I first read this book several years ago, and though I found it very enjoyable at the time it was a little difficult to get my head wrapped around it at first. The story is loaded with fantastical aliens, technological wonders, and gargantuan concepts, and Larry Niven's writing style is full of subtlety. (Just when you've unraveled an elaborate description of an alien form and gotten a mental image of what it's supposed to look like, you've already read over a character's head nod or grunting comprehension of something that happened a few pages back. And many times, just to make sure you know what's going on, you have to back up and re-read a paragraph or ten.)

I did a lot of re-reading the first time around.

This time, though, I already knew the story line, and I was already familiar with the characters and their quirks, so I could relax and enjoy the story itself.

And it's a great read. Niven's subtleties are wonderful once you know what's happening, and I was able to grasp much more without having to go back over what I had already read.

If you've never heard of this book -- or never read it -- here's a brief synopsis:

It's many years in the future, and humanity has made contact and established relationships with several sentient and sapient species. Louis Wu is a man of advanced age (still healthy because of boosterspice) who grows bored with the world and travels space from time to time. He's approached by an alien of odd appearance from a species called the Pierson's Puppeteers. These beings are highly advanced, but they value cowardice above all other traits. Louis is convinced by this Puppeteer (named Nessus) to embark upon an exploration trip with a young human woman and an alien named Speaker to Animals, a member of a savage, warlike species called the Kzin (picture Klingons as giant, humanoid cats).

Louis, the woman (named Teela Brown), Nessus, and Speaker travel to explore the Ringworld, a massive structure discovered by the Puppeteers. It is an artificial world encircling a star at about the distance of a planet's orbit. It rotates around the sun, providing artificial gravity to anything on its surface.

It's huge. Very, very huge.

In the course of their exploration, the team's ship suffers a failure and crash-lands on the surface of the Ringworld, damaged so badly they cannot take off again.

Adventures ensue.

This is the first in a series of four books, and I've read them all. It's a very good story cycle, though a bit bizarre at times with subtle humor and understated terror. I plan on reading the next book, The Ringworld Engineers, very soon now. If and when I do, I will let you know my impression of that one the second time around.

Now that I know what's going on.

Taking on space -- privately

I've been busy lately, but I certainly haven't missed out on following this story, which is probably the most significant advancement in space exploration since the moon landings.

The SpaceX Dragon capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean Thursday at 11:42am ET in a momentous end to the California company's test mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

"Splashdown successful!! Sending fast boat to Dragon lat/long provided by P3 tracking planes," wrote SpaceX founder Elon Musk on Twitter.

...

Dragon will be shipped to the Port of Los Angeles and will then go to SpaceX's McGregor, Texas, facility, about 100 miles (160km) south of Dallas, where its 1,000 pounds (450kg) of cargo will be processed and handed over to NASA.

“This is a really huge step in restoring the supply line to the space station that we lost,” former astronaut Tom Jones told Fox News.

“More important, it restores a return link,” he added, notably for scientific samples returning from space but also for the day to day gear and waste that is created by the astronauts working aboard the orbiting station.

(from Fox News)

And, more importantly, it was a private venture. We need more of these, and I hope the success of the Dragon capsule speeds things up significantly.

Spirals on Mars

I'm not one to credit extra-terrestrials for anything unusual here on Earth or out in space.

But this is pretty darned weird.






















NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

But really, there's nothing that unusual here. Mars is known to have had a hot, volcanic past, and the spirals you see here actually have their parallel here on Earth

"This is the first time lava coils have been identified on an extraterrestrial setting," study lead author Andrew Ryan at Arizona State University told SPACE.com. "The most surprising thing about these features when I first saw them was how well-preserved they are."

Ryan spotted all these coils, ranging from 16 to 98 feet wide (5 to 30 meters), by eye.

"You can't see them unless you zoom in really close, and even then they're really subtle — it's pretty dusty there, so the images are just a pale gray color, and they don't really jump out until you boost the contrast, so it's not surprising at all to me that they've been overlooked before," Ryan said.

(from Space.com)

Still pretty weird-looking, though.

Iapetus's ridge explained

Perhaps.

Have you ever seen Iapetus? It's a strange moon owned by Saturn. It's got a pale side and a dark side. It's got a strange orbit. And it's got an incredibly bizarre equatorial ridge, its most distinctive feature.





That's right. That moon has a mountain range that reaches over twelve miles high that runs in a straight line right along the equator! Almost all the way around the moon!





The Cassini spacecraft (such a cool, useful little ship) discovered that ridge in 2004, and it has puzzled astronomers since. How could such a feature -- unique in our solar system -- have formed on such a small moon? What forces came into play to form that ridge?

Well, now they think they're on to an explanation.

It might have been a sub-moon.

The giant ridge around the middle of Saturn moon's Iapetus that makes it resemble an oversize walnut may have essentially formed as a "hug" from a dead moon, researchers say.

...

Scientists had been at a loss to explain how this mountain range might have formed. Of all the planets and moons in our solar system, apparently only Iapetus has this kind of ridge — any process that researchers previously suggested to explain its formation should also have led to similar features on other bodies.

Now investigators suggest this ridge could be the remains of a dead moon. Their model proposes that a giant impact blasted chunks of debris off Iapetus at the tail end of the planetary growth period more than 4.5 billion years ago. This rubble could have coalesced around Iapetus, making it a "sub-satellite," a moon of a moon.

Under this scenario, the gravitational pull Iapetus exerted on this sub-satellite eventually tore it back into pieces, forming an orbiting ring of debris around the moon. Matter from this debris ring then rained down, building the ridge Iapetus now sports along its equator fairly quickly, "probably on a scale of centuries," [planetary scientist at the University of Illinois at Chicago Andrew] Dombard said.

(from Space.com)

Did I mention that Cassini was absolutely cool?

"Nebula Photo Looks Like a Giant Human Head"

Well, that's a bit of a stretch.


NASA/JPL-Caltech

A spectacular photo from a NASA telescope has revealed a wispy blue nebula with an odd twist: It looks like a giant human head in deep space.

The head-in-space nebula photo was snapped by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer satellite and shows an ultraviolet view of the so-called Cygnus Loop nebula, which is located 1,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus, the Swan. It was released March 22 and featured this week on NASA's website.

What makes the new Cygnus Loop image striking is its odd shape. The nebula looks like a giant human head and neck, which appear in profile facing the left of the image. A bright star serves as an eye while wispy nebula gas traces the outline of jaw, and close-cropped hair.

(from Space.com)

That's an awesome image, and it's certainly worth reading about. But I just don't see it.

Nope.

Guess the pareidolia ain't working for me today.

The future is now

And the Death Star is one step closer to reality.

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) -- a laser test facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif. -- turned on its 192 laser beams for a brief instant on March 15, unleashing a record-setting 1.875-megajoule blast into a target chamber.

The lasers were combined, gathered and focused through a series of lens into a 2.03-megajoule shot, said Ed Moses, NIF director -- a record for the facility.

That pulse of energy lasted for just 23 billionths of a second, yet it generated 411 trillion watts of power, NIF said -- 1,000 times more than the entire United States consumes at any given instant.

(from Fox News)

Seriously, though, there is a practical application for this.

In fission, atoms are split and the massive energy released is captured. The NIF aims for fusion, the ongoing energy process in the sun and other stars where hydrogen and helium nuclei are continually fusing and releasing enormous amounts of energy. In the ignition facility, beams of light converge on pellets of hydrogen isotopes to create a similar, though controlled, micro-explosion.

...

Because the laser is on for the merest fraction of a second, it costs little to operate -- between $5 and $20 per blast, said spokeswoman Lynda Seaver. But the potential is enormous.

NIF’s managers hope by the end of the year to reach a break-even point, where the energy released is equal to if not greater than the energy that went into the blast.

It's a tricky, dicey endeavor, what they're doing with those lasers, and I'm not sure if it violates the basic principles of physics or not. But the payoffs could be huge, especially in the power-generation industry. And isn't that what science ultimately is for?