Karen sent a link to an article at Space.com about a bizarre new nova-like star that is expanding and cooling in a way astronomers didn’t expect. At the same time, it’s giving us a show: a light echo, which is light that bounced off larger and larger regions of dust around the star as the star got brighter.
All posts by Karen
Panda pr0n
The San Diego Zoo has streaming video (requires RealOne player) of Bai Yun and her new suitor Gao Gao… er… gettin’ it on. You just have to play Barry White when you watch it.
Apparently this is a great success for the Zoo. They’re hoping that Bai Yun will conceive naturally this time, even though artificial insemination worked well with Hua Mei.
War and pleas
If you know me at all, you probably know that I’m not in favor of attacking Iraq. You probably also know that I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I like my science skeptical, and I like my arguments backed up by data.
So you can imagine how much this page rattled me. If you can’t tell why, read the statement of principles on that page. Then read the names at the bottom. Then read the date.
Continue reading
Mars in our own backyard
I didn’t realize just how in-depth the Mars Desert Research Station mission was. Two rovers, a full hab, eight international crew and some brand-new space suit designs from Australia. Nice stuff!
Continue reading