Cosmic Log

Start your X Prize engines

Alan Boyle — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:04:00 GMT

PIAXP / X Prize Foundation

SSI Racing's 2SSIC, the ZAP Alias electric car and Aptera's three-wheeler were
among the X Prize entrants on display at last month's Detroit Auto Show.

The Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize program has added a few twists to its $10 million competition for energy-efficient motor vehicles. The competitions that matter the most won't be held in public view, but will be conducted instead behind closed doors.

...(read more)

Wonder and whimsy on the Web

Alan Boyle — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:39:00 GMT

Road to Endeavour: Mars' Chocolate Hills in color and 3-D N.Y. Times: Will 'measured' approach let spaceflight soar? Boing Boing: Hydrogen power solution? | ENN: Not so fast! Onion: The David Bowie space mission | 'Bowie's in Space' Lights in the Dark: Carnival of Space 140 ...(read more)

Tour space, inside and out

Alan Boyle — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Submitted by Matt Shields / UGC

The shuttle Endeavour's launch at 4:14 a.m. ET Monday creates a false dawn in
this photo, taken by Matt Shields at the Kennedy Space Center's visitor complex.

The night launch of a space shuttle is a wonderful sight. Sadly, it's a sight we may never see again. But the view gets even better when you're in space, and anyone with an Internet connection can take a virtual tour.

...(read more)

Daily dose of science on the Web

Alan Boyle — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:56:00 GMT

'Nova' on PBS: 'Extreme Cave Diving' Science News: Studying how things fall apart National Geographic: A Traveler's Guide to the Planets Universe Today: Will NASA send a Robonaut to the moon? Popular Mechanics: Why the new NASA is a WIN, not a FAIL ...(read more)

Super science for Super Bowl

Alan Boyle — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 02:51:00 GMT

Discovery.com: Spaced-out Super Bowl ads New York Times: Will science take the field? Wired: How biometrics can improve Super Bowl ads NOLA.com: 'Sport Science' measures Super Bowl QBs ...(read more)

Boosters flare in space debate

Alan Boyle — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:45:00 GMT

Brian Lockett / Air-and-Space.com

SpaceShipOne pilot Mike Melvill holds a sign reading "SpaceShipOne, Government
Zero" after the rocket plane's first spaceflight in June 2004. NASA's latest plans
have raised fresh questions about government-run vs. commercial space ventures.
Check Air-and-Space.com for more pictures of aerospace milestones.

First NASA laid out its new vision for human spaceflight, putting the moon on hold and focusing instead on new technologies and space commercialization. Then Congress weighed in. Now former astronauts, an aerospace guru and Hollywood's hottest director are boosting the debate to a higher level.

...(read more)

Buying into predictions

Alan Boyle — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:30:00 GMT

Who’ll win the Super Bowl? There’s a market for that. The Oscars? There’s a market for that. How well will Apple’s iPad do? Yep, there’s a market for that, too. Prediction markets, which started out as a political phenomenon, are becoming routine.

...(read more)

Pluto maps raise new questions

Alan Boyle — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:30:00 GMT

M. Buie / SwRI / NASA / ESA

Click for video: Hubble Space Telescope images, taken in 2002-2003, were
combined to produce these maps of Pluto. Click on the image to watch Pluto spin.

Pluto hasn't been getting much respect lately, but today the Hubble Space Telescope's team unveiled maps of the dwarf planet that are just a foretaste of the extreme close-up to come.

The maps spark fresh questions about the icy world that was discovered 80 years ago this month: Why has Pluto's northern hemisphere brightened so quickly over the course of just a few years? What's causing darker spots in the south? And why is Pluto getting redder all over?

"We think these changes are actually driven by seasonal changes," said Marc Buie, a planetary scientist at the Colorado-based Southwest Research Institute.

Huge amounts of methane and nitrogen ice appear to be moving from one part of the world to another through Pluto's wisp of an atmosphere. One particularly bright spot appears to be rich in frozen carbon monoxide.

So what's the precise mechanism for the shift? "That's a mystery," Buie said. The complete answers might well have to wait until 2015, when NASA's New Horizons probe swings past Pluto and its moons.

...(read more)

10 history-makers in science

Alan Boyle — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:45:00 GMT

TheGrio

TheGrio's "100 History Makers in the Making" include 10 scientists, engineers and
environmentalists. Clockwise from top left are Charles Bolden, Tony Hansberry,
Derrick Pitts, Lisa Jackson, James McLurkin, Agnes Day, Shelton Johnson, Robert
Bullard, Beverly Wright and Jerome Ringo.

Black History Month is an occasion for looking back at the past achievements of African-Americans - including the discoveries made by George Washington Carver and Benjamin Banneker. But it's also an occasion for looking ahead to future achievements - and that's what TheGrio is doing this month with its list of "100 History Makers in the Making."

The list includes 10 scientists, engineers and environmentalists who are making an impact even now.

...(read more)

Wonder and whimsy on the Web

Alan Boyle — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:25:00 GMT

Sciencedude: Q&A about the case for Pluto xkcd on Spirit rover | The real story | The real, real story Via @MarsRoverDriver: Spirit and kittens on Mars Cracked: Proof that Leonardo da Vinci was a super-villain The Onion: World's physicists complete study of physics Mama Joules: Carnival of Space 139 ...(read more)