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Monthly Archives: September 2011
Lunar Grail
Sep 30, 2011 A new mission to map the gravity field of the Moon. On September 10, 2011 NASA launched the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) satellites on a mission to the Moon. GRAIL-A and GRAIL-B are nearly identical … Continue reading
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Tagged charge sheath, GRAIL, lunar gravity, lunar maria, Lunar Prospector, magnetic anomalies, mass anomalies
Dark Satellites
Sep 29, 2011 Are there dark matter galaxies orbiting the Milky Way? Sometimes, clues can be hidden in plain site. The key to solving a particular puzzle might simply be clouded by a layer of presumptions that obscure its true … Continue reading
Cassini-Solstice Titan Flyby
Sep 28, 2011 A recent close encounter with Titan uncovered more surface anomalies on the haze-shrouded moon. On October 15, 1997 NASA launched the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft atop a Titan IV-Centaur rocket. The six ton payload was the largest deep … Continue reading
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Tagged Cassini-Solstice, liquid methane, methane, surface anomalies, Titan
Nox Aeterna
Sep 27, 2011 Do so-called “accretion disks” around presumptive black holes generate gamma-rays? “Now it is quite clear to me that there are no solid spheres in the heavens, and those that have been devised by the authors to save … Continue reading
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Tagged accretion disk, black hole, Cygnus X-1, expulsion disk, gamma-ray, INTEGRAL, ionized particles, jets, radio jet
Doomsday Delayed
Sep 26, 2011 Comet Elenin, despite fear mongers and media hype, has vanished. Leonid Elenin discovered C/2010 X1 (subsequently named after him) on December 10, 2010. The comet reached perihelion on September 11, 2011 but does not seem to have … Continue reading
New Kid on the Block
M101 (NGC 5457), the Pinwheel Galaxy. Image credit: Donald E. Scott Sep 23, 2011 A new supernova explosion highlights the same old gravity problems. On August 24, 2011 astronomers from the Palomar Transient Factory discovered the first type 1A supernova … Continue reading
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Tagged charge separation, dark energy, dark matter, double layer, expansion, M101, NGC 5457, Pinwheel Galaxy, supernova, z-pinch
Damp Stars
Sep 22, 2011 Some stars are said to be surrounded by haloes of hot water mixed with carbon dust. According to a recent European Space Agency (ESA) press release, the Herschel infrared space observatory discovered a cloud of hot … Continue reading
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Tagged anode glow, Birkeland current, carbon star, filament, fusion, IRC+10216, Marklund convection, plasma sheath, red giant
Old Stories, New Testimonies
Sep 21, 2011 Were the myths and legends of ancient peoples entertaining fantasies comparable with Harry Potter stories? Or were they efforts to make sense of the world, comparable to the Big Bang and evolution? Or were they e) … Continue reading
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Tagged axis mundi, Aztecs, diocotron instabilities, filaments, gravity, hourglass, Io, Joshua, Jupiter, legends, moons, myth, Newton's law, ouroboros, planetary catastrophe, planetary nebulae, plasma, plasma focus, volcanic plumes, world mountain
Shots in the Dark Part Two
Sep 20, 2011 The previous Picture of the Day described several of the many myths that refer to a celestial chain of arrows or a celestial ladder. It asked, how is this theme to be explained? A significant pointer is … Continue reading
Back from the Grave
Sep 19, 2011 The telescope that was once thought to be canceled has escaped mothballs and is on track for launch. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), formerly The Next Generation Telescope, is scheduled to be launched sometime in … Continue reading
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Tagged brown dwarf, infrared, James Webb telescope, JWST, L2 LaGtange point
