Mystery Mars Cloud: An Aur...

Mystery Mars Cloud: An Auroral Umbrella?
The strange cloud-like protursion above Mars' limb (around the 1 o'clock point). Credit: Wayne Jaeschke. Last week, amateur astronomer Wayne Jaeschke noticed something peculiar in his observations of Mars — there appeared to be a cloud-like structure hanging above the limb of the planet. Many theories have been put forward as to what the phenomenon could be — high altitude cloud?...

Put the Weather Balloon Ba...

Put the Weather Balloon Back In The Box
Really? Sushi and beer "in space"? What's next? What the hell is going on with this weather balloon craze? It seems that everything from beer to sushi is being sent “into space” these days. There’s only one problem… weather balloons don’t go into space! Launching random crap into the stratosphere may be fun and give some companies a fleeting marketing...

On Gingrich’s Moon B...

On Gingrich’s Moon Base Plan (and Why It Won’t Happen)
A base on the Moon? That would be awesome! But it can't be done for profit... yet (ESA). For more on this topic, you can listen to me chat with BBC 5live’s Dotun Adebayo (from “Up All Night” on Jan. 28 — at 1hr 26mins into the show) and check out the Al Jazeera article (“Gingrich promises US ‘moon base’ by 2020“) I was interviewed for. In case you...

The Funky Craters of Mars...

The Funky Craters of Mars
A menagerie of strange divots (NASA/HiRISE/Univ. of Arizona) As 2011 draws to a close, it’s time to reflect on my absenteeism from Astroengine. But it’s not my fault, I’ve been typing like a madman for these guys. But that’s enough excuses, 2012 promises to be a huge year for space, and if I get my time management skills back up to scratch, there will be a whole lot more of...

What Do You See When SETI&...

What Do You See When SETI’s Allen Telescope Array Is Aimed At The Sun?
A comparison between an observation of the sun using the ATA's 2.75 GHz band (left) and SOHO's 195A filter. Both are near-simultaneous observations on Oct. 1, 2009 (Saint-Hilaire et al., 2011). And no, “aliens” isn’t the answer. The Allen Telescope Array (ATA), located near Hat Creek, California, isn’t only used by the SETI Institute to seek out signals from extraterrestrial...

Exoplanet Count Tops 700...

Exoplanet Count Tops 700
An artist's impression of a lone exoplanet transiting its parent star. There are now 700 confirmed alien worlds orbiting other stars (ESO) On Friday, the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopedia registered more than 700 confirmed exoplanets. Although this is an amazing milestone, it won’t be long until the “first thousand” are confirmed. There are now more than 700 confirmed exoplanets...

Some Galaxies Die Young...

Some Galaxies Die Young… Others Recycle
Some galaxies undergo a rapid star formation phase, losing stellar gases to intergalactic space, others choose to recycle, thereby extending their star forming lifespans (NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI)) It sounds like an over-hyped public service announcement: If you don’t recycle, you’ll die a premature death. But in the case of galaxies, according to three new Science papers based on...

When an Astrophysicist Nee...

Stars of the Northern Hemisphere, Ashland Astronomy Studio Imagine the scene: I’m having a romantic walk on a clear night with my wife along the beach. We see a brief flash of light and Deb says, “Hey, a meteor!” I then proceed to tell her that most meteors are actually no bigger than a grain of sand and they originate from comets, even though she already knew that. Feeling quite...

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