Cosmic Log

Summertime science on the Web

2009-07-02T22:07:00Z

I'll be taking a few days off over the Fourth of July weekend, and that means I'll be staying away from the keyboard as much as possible. As always, blog postings may pop up if there are news developments, and if I have enough time and bandwidth to follow through. I'll be resuming the regular schedule on Tuesday, just in time to gear up for the shuttle Endeavour's next launch attempt. In the meantime, here's an extra dose of Web links (some serious, some not) to see you through the...(read more)

New moon vistas revealed

2009-07-02T17:20:00Z

NASA / GSFC / ASU

This image shows a cratered region near the moon's Mare Nubium (Sea of Clouds)
region, as photographed by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera. Click on
the image for a larger version from NASA's Web site.

Today's first images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter provide a fresh perspective on the moon, just weeks before the 40th anniversary of the first manned lunar landing.

...(read more)

Nano-wizard takes the prize

2009-07-01T23:13:00Z

Chad Mirkin / Northwestern University

Click for video: Nanoscale rods of gold can be coaxed to assemble themselves
into spheres, as seen in this photomicrograph. The gold nanospheres, developed
by Northwestern University's Chad Mirkin and his colleagues, are used in medical
testing devices. Click on the image to launch a video about Mirkin and his work.

What do tiny circuits, medical tests and a $500,000 prize have in common? They all fall into the domain of one of the world's foremost nanotech researchers. Last week, Northwestern University chemist Chad Mirkin received this year's $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize for "his revolutionary discoveries and sizable contributions" in the field of nanotechnology.

...(read more)

Must-see science on the Web

2009-07-01T20:50:00Z

ORNL via Newswise: Watch cosmic fireworks ESO: Astronomers unveil new guide to the galaxy PUP Blog: How Albert Einstein was coaxed to America Popular Mechanics: Top 5 Billy Mays infomercial products ...(read more)

Moonshots on your computer

2009-06-30T22:52:00Z

Neil Armstrong / NASA

Electronic equipment and switches surround astronaut Buzz Aldrin in Apollo 11's
lunar module, nicknamed Eagle, before the moon landing in 1969. Over the past
40 years there have been big changes in computers — and in the amount of
information available on computers about the Apollo moonshots.

Forty years ago, the world watched the Apollo 11 moon landing on television sets and giant screens. This year, the tale of the moonshot is being retold on computer monitors and mobile phones. Here's a Top 10 list of online destinations celebrating the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11:

...(read more)

Scientific smorgasbord on the Web

2009-06-30T19:40:00Z

N.Y. Times: Blink twice if you like me Seed Magazine: The extinction oscillator Fermilab: 'Doubly strange' particle detected SpaceWeather.com: Volcanic sunset gallery 'Nova' on PBS: 'Musical Minds' | 'Nova ScienceNow' ...(read more)

How dinosaurs chewed

2009-06-29T21:00:00Z

Natural History Museum

This artist's conception shows a hadrosaur eating. An analysis of tooth wear
suggests that hadrosaurs were more likely to graze on low-growing, silica-rich
plants than on tall bushes. The tooth scratches also reveal how hadrosaurs chewed.

A novel analysis of microscopic scratches on fossilized teeth reveals how plant-eating duck-billed dinosaurs used a now-extinct type of jaw to chew their food. The study also suggests duckbills were more likely to graze on low-lying greenery than chomp on tree leaves like giraffes (or like the dinosaurs in "Jurassic Park").

The researchers behind the study, published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, say the technique they used to uncover the tale of the teeth could be applied to other scientific mysteries as well.

...(read more)

Your daily dose of science on the Web

2009-06-29T18:32:00Z

Twisted Physics: Carnival of Space 109 ScienceDaily: First electronic quantum processor created Wired: NASA wants your help digitizing von Braun's notes Popular Science: Shuttle Endeavour ... seen from outer space Universe Today: Spirit rover makes night observations on Mars ...(read more)

Space in 3-D

2009-06-26T22:45:00Z

Kevin Frank / The Tonight Show / NASA

Apollo 12 astronaut Pete Conrad stands near the southern rim of Surveyor Crater
during a moonwalk on Nov. 19, 1969. Conrad holds a sampling scoop, and a tool
carrier rests by his foot. Put on red-blue glasses for the 3-D effect, which was
added by graphic artist Kevin Frank. Click on the image for a larger version.

Our latest crop of cosmic pictures puts you hundreds of miles above an erupting volcano, sends you zooming over the moon and plunks you down on Mars. But if you really want to feel as if you're in outer space, you'll have to put on your red-blue 3-D glasses. It's the next best thing to being there.

...(read more)

Weekend field trips on the Web

2009-06-26T22:37:00Z

N.Y. Times: Ham radio fans set up weekend of moontalking Lemelson-MIT: Nanotech expert wins $500,000 prize Once and Future Moon: First, nail down the mission The Loom: I hear they're going to make evolution legal ...(read more)