Courtesy of the BBC, here’s a wonderful image of the Pillars of Creation in the Serpens constellation, taken by the Webb space telescope. Click either image for a much larger view. And here’s a comparison between the Hubble space telescope’s view of the Pillars (on the left) and the Webb’s greatly improved and much… Continue reading Wow! The Webb space telescope images the Pillars of Creation
Tag: Space
Is NASA’s Space Launch System doomed because of obsolete components?
The Silicon Graybeard argues that they’re a major factor in the problems the SLS is currently experiencing – particularly in the prototype’s fuel system. The persistent issues that have been arising with trying to fuel Artemis I for its maiden flight are drawing attention to an awkward conclusion. Either the contractors for Artemis and whoever… Continue reading Is NASA’s Space Launch System doomed because of obsolete components?
Whackadoodle, much? Florida Man strikes again!
I had to laugh at this report. A Florida man has been arrested after he was accused of stealing a pickup truck and driving to a Space Force base to warn the government about extraterrestrial and mythical creatures. Corey Johnson, 29, was arrested Friday at Patrick Space Force Base by local deputies after he… Continue reading Whackadoodle, much? Florida Man strikes again!
Doofus Of The Day #1,089
Today’s award goes to a group of rather… weird… German feminists with an interest in space. A German feminist art group has revealed a vulva-shaped spaceship concept, which it is encouraging the European Space Agency to help realise in order to better represent humanity in space and “restore gender equality to the cosmos.” The… Continue reading Doofus Of The Day #1,089
Heh
Yesterday’s XKCD cartoon made me laugh. Click the image to be taken to a larger version at its Web page (and don’t forget to move your cursor over the image there to see the mouseover text). I suspect a lot of contact between civilizations has been along those lines, on Earth as much as… Continue reading Heh
Saturday Snippet: Surfboarding down to Mars
John Varley is a well-known science fiction author, with many books to his credit. I like the way he uses his imagination to conjure up scenarios for his novels. In “Red Lightning“, second in the four-volume “The Thunder and Lightning” series, he has his teenaged protagonist surfing the atmosphere of Mars (such as it… Continue reading Saturday Snippet: Surfboarding down to Mars
We may be standing on part of another planet
I was a bit mind-boggled to read this article. Scientists seeking to explain a series of seemingly inexplicable formations deep within the Earth’s surface may have found an explanation: They came from outer space. Researchers with Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space Exploration said in a recently published paper that the “continent-sized… Continue reading We may be standing on part of another planet
A blast from the (fashionable) past
Australian reader Snoggeramus, who’s contributed many candidates for our Doofus Of The Day award, drew my attention to this 1997 report. George Alexander of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory reports that attorneys for Oleg Cassini phoned, saying how dare JPL put the fashion designer’s name on its Saturn probe without permission. JPL’s lawyers replied that the… Continue reading A blast from the (fashionable) past
A voyage in a vacuum produces a different sort of vacuum
I didn’t know that the Dustbuster was the fruit of the Apollo moon landing program, but it seems it is, along with several other iconic products. The Dustbuster was only made possible thanks to Black & Decker’s work with NASA on developing a lightweight and power-efficient tool for the Apollo Lunar Surface Drill. The same… Continue reading A voyage in a vacuum produces a different sort of vacuum
That was an “Oopsie!” moment, all right . . .
Last week’s failed test of the SpaceX Dragon 2 capsule has been conspicuous for the absence of any comments from SpaceX or NASA about what went wrong. Until recently, all that was known was that, from several miles away, smoke was seen drifting from the launch pad. It now appears that the failure was pretty… Continue reading That was an “Oopsie!” moment, all right . . .