December 2007 - Posts
ESO |
An image from the European Southern Observatory
shows a three-galaxy merger known as the Cosmic
Bird or the "Tinker Bell Triplet." Click on the image
for a bigger view, or click here for more from ESO.
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When historians look back at 2007 - the 50th anniversary of the start of the first space race - they may well pick this date as the start of a second international space race.
The past year's developments may not have brought one event as dramatic as Sputnik's launch back in 1957. But when you start looking at the highlights, the big picture points to a complex international effort aimed at pushing forward on the final frontier.
The past year provided plenty of examples of scientific cooperation as well as strategic competition in space. Which trend will dominate in 2008? That's one of the big questions ahead.
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In recent years, the holiday season has sparked plenty of reflection on the interplay between religion and science. We’re also heading into the prime political season, with science-related issues ranging from climate change to stem cell research. So you’d think scientific discourse would play a role on both those fronts this season. That’s not the case this year – and some of the people who think deep thoughts about science and society are wondering why not.
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Viking |
Controversial genomics pioneer
J. Craig Venter tells his story
in "A Life Decoded" (and a
Cosmic Log Q&A session).
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It's been almost seven years since dueling teams of scientists unveiled the first draft of the human genetic code, but the implications of that achievement are only now beginning to kick in. And it's also been only recently that the most colorful players in the great genome race have had their stories told, in more ways than one.
One one side, there's James Watson, the co-discoverer of DNA's double helix, who got the ball rolling for the Human Genome Project in the early '90s. On the other, there's J. Craig Venter, who turned the quest into a real race with his privately backed DNA decoding effort.
Watson had his full genome deciphered this year, as did Venter. Both scientists published their memoirs this year as well. Watson's life may have had more drama lately, thanks to his comments about race and intelligence. But when it comes to dramatic life stories, it's hard to top the tale Venter tells in "A Life Decoded."
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NASA / ESA / STScI |
This month, Mars has been more than ready for its close-up - and fortunately, the Hubble Space Telescope was ready as well, snapping pictures of the Red Planet during its orbital approach. If the skies are clear, you can have your own close encounter with Mars tonight - the closest encounter possible until the year 2016.
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Between the radiation-proof underwear and the glow-in-the-dark kitties (yes, yes, I know they're actually UV-fluorescent kitties), 2007 has been a banner year for weird science tales. That's fantastic for Cosmic Log - which, after all, was created to chronicle "the follies and mysteries of mankind." But which stories belong in the top 10 for weirdness? To resolve that question, we're going to need your help - so keep reading, then register your vote for the year's weirdest science story.
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Earlier in the week, we talked about children's books on scientific topics - but of course, science isn't just for kids. In fact, there are so many science-oriented volumes out there that it'd be unfair to give you a top-10 list. Instead, we'll start out with seven pairs of recently published books that address topics ranging from climate science to space history to ghost hunting. Then you can chime in with your own favorites for holiday giving (and anyday reading). You might even win a prize.
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AFP / Getty Images |
CLICK FOR VIDEO: Photos from South Korea's Ministry of Science and Technology
show cats with a gene for producing red fluorescence protein. The cats appear
normal in visible light, at left, but their skin glows red under ultraviolet light, at
right. Click here or on the image to watch the video from NBC's TODAY show.
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South Korean scientists say they have cloned cats whose genes have been altered so that they glow in the dark - taking advantage of a technological twist that could someday be used to make more dramatic genetic changes in all sorts of creatures.
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Houghton Mifflin |
Science-oriented books for
kids include "Prehistoric
Actual Size" (not shown
here at actual size).
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In the old days, a kid’s prime source for science information was the "How and Why Wonder Book" series, or maybe a bookshelf’s worth of encyclopedia volumes. Today, the printed word has to compete with computers – and that’s led to a new generation of children’s books on science that follow fresh formats. Check out some of the freshest goodies in this week's special report from the journal Nature, then tell us about your own favorite science books for children.
In Nature's roundup, Harriet Coles observes that publishers have gone to gimmicks ranging from pop-up pages to companion CD-ROMs in order to keep young readers engaged - and keep the grown-ups buying books.
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ESA / Hubble |
CLICK FOR VIDEO
Joe Liske and Robert
Fosbury discuss the alien
haze. Click on the image
to watch the "Hubblecast."
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Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have spotted evidence of high-level haze in the air of a planet 63 light-years from Earth, by analyzing the starlight shining through the very edge of the alien atmosphere. Scientists even think they know what sunsets on this planet would look like: big and red.
The research team's leader, Frederic Pont of the Geneva University Observatory in Switzerland, says the hazy world is "the first extrasolar planet for which we are piecing together a complete idea of what it really looks like."
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DESY |
Artwork shows the
hypothetical track of the
elusive Higgs boson in a
particle detector.
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The year-in-review season is in full swing - which makes it a fine time to assess how we did with our predictions for the top science stories of 2007.
The year's top two picks - political science and particle physics - turned out to be much in the news, though not always for the reasons we expected.
In particle physics, setbacks for Europe’s super-duper-collider have turned one of science’s most out-there quests into a real horse race. And the scientific world experienced plenty of political twists and turns, including a dramatic upswing in climate change awareness (expected) and a thrilling new twist in stem-cell research (unexpected).
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ESA |
An artist's conception shows a cutaway of the Columbus orbital lab with astronauts
working within. The lab is due to be delivered aboard the shuttle Atlantis.
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The international space station was meant to be the premier facility for research opening the way to the moon, Mars and beyond, plus research aimed at making life back on Earth better. So far, the reality has fallen short of the dream - but scientists hope the dream will come a lot closer with the launch of the European Space Agency's Columbus orbital laboratory aboard the space shuttle Atlantis.
Someday, the research due to be done on Columbus could lead to greenhouse gardens on Mars (as well as more efficient crops on Earth) ... new materials for building habitats in space (as well as super-lightweight, super-strong structures on our home planet) ... and new propulsion methods for interstellar travel (as well as new energy sources for earthly use).
The $2 billion Columbus module will double the amount of lab space on the orbital outpost. Its arrival at the station is the culmination of two decades of planning - but the way ESA's Martin Zell sees it, this is just the beginning of an upsurge for science on the space station.
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Diamond Sky Productions / NASA /
CICLOPS |
This montage features 64 images of Saturn and its moons taken by Cassini.
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The end of the year is prime time for award nominations, and the imaging team behind the Cassini orbiter is getting into the act by offering 73 "People's Choice" nominees in three categories of Saturn imagery, with the winners selected by Internet voting. It’s all part of a months-long buildup to the end of Cassini’s four-year primary mission at the ringed planet – and what everyone hopes will be the start of a years-long extended mission.
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Odyssey Moon, a commercial consortium based on the Isle of Man, is the first official entrant for the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize – and the team’s leader says he hopes to mount more than one private-sector mission to the moon. There'll almost certainly be other teams joining the moon rush, for the prize as well as future profits.
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CNSA via Reuters / Xinhua |
A detail from China's Chang'e lunar orbiter
shows cratered terrain on the moon. A yellow
circle has been added to highlight craters that
show evidence of botched photo retouching.
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Some dogged sleuthing by a fellow space blogger has tracked down the truth behind the controversial first photo from China's moon orbiter.
In the week since the picture was released amid much fanfare in Beijing, there have been widespread rumors that the photo was a fake, copied from an old picture collected by a U.S. space probe.
The good news for the Chinese is that Planetary Society blogger Emily Lakdawalla's clears them of outright fakery. The bad news is, she found evidence that the photo was badly retouched for public release.
Lakdawalla's explanation would be embarrassing for Beijing, but it makes the most sense as the solution to this week's moon photo mystery.
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Flat World Productions |
Mr. and Mrs. Square have a mealtime chat with their granddaughter Hex in Seth
Caplan's version of the two-dimensional mathematical fable "Flatland.""
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It's been more than 120 years since Edwin A. Abbott came out with one of mathematics' best-loved fables, "Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions," but the tale takes on a whole new dimension in animated retellings released direct to DVD. The cartoons turn out to be as much about today's social milieu as about math - just as the original story was back in Abbott's day.
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