Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Stephen Hawking Reveals Greatest Mystery in the Universe Women

I have to admit, I didn't see this one coming.

When New Scientist Magazine asked the famed physicist what he thinks about most his response was simple. "Women. They are a complete mystery."

While most of us aren't world renowned astrophysicists, credited with furthering our understanding of black holes and the Universe in general, it seems there is at least one trait that most of us share with the famed cosmologist.

Space Shuttle Discovery on its Way to DC

One of the iconic machines of the 20th century is on its way to Washington D.C. to be displayed at the Smithsonian.

The event, including the flight to Dulles, can be seen on NASA's website. They'll have video of the shuttle preparation and interviews about the program and the future of manned space flight. If you just want to catch the landing - which is really impressive as it involves being piggybacked on a modified 747 - tune in around 10:00 am EDT today.

Should We Continue to Fund the James Webb Telescope

When most people think about astronomy they almost immediately picture beautiful images of nebulae, galaxies and star clusters. The primary reason they are able to visualize these objects is because of the amazing work of the Hubble Space Telescope.

The detail with which we can appreciate the heavens has increased significantly in the last couple decades since the commissioning of that historic observatory.

Hubble is now entering the final stages of its operational life; there are no more repair missions, no more upgrades. Once this orbiting telescope fails, it is done forever.

Anticipating this, NASA has been hard at work to have a replacement ready. The James Webb Telescope was intended to pick up where Hubble left off, too peer deeper into the Universe, to see with greater detail what lay around us in this great expanse.

But such advanced technology comes at a price. A big price. Estimated to cost about $2.5 billion and be launched around 2013, the cost has ballooned to nearly $9 billion with a launch date likely in 2018.

And with a completion date so distant the cost could yet again rise. This begs the question, is it worth it?

I have to admit that I am conflicted on this one. Generally I am all for pure scientific research; it is in our nature as humans to seek to understand the Universe around us and to seek discovery, even when a practical application isn't readily obvious.

On the other hand this project was been plagued by mismanagement and waste. And I am certainly not in favor of rewarding such actions with additional funding, especially in this economic climate. Not to mention that the project trajectory is still uncertain and could, yet again, spiral out of control.

A quandary then. I am going to open this up to you all. Read here for more details on this topic and share your thoughts in the comments below.

Engineers working on the mirrors for the James Webb Space Telescope; Credit: NASA

The Colorado Fires from Space and Some Summer Reading

I'm actually out in the Colorado Springs area visiting family for a week, and it certainly hasn't been the visit that we planned.

As you are probably aware, wild fires have sprung up across the state and some of them have resulted in the loss of life and homes.

While searching around I stumbled across the above image from NASA taken with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite on June 23, 2012.

You can clearly see the smoke from the wild fires (note that the white puffy things are clouds, the smoke is gray and more diffuse). This was early in the evolution of the fires outside Colorado Springs in Waldo Canyon, so the smoke from there is still relatively faint in this natural color image.

It may take several more weeks to extinguish the fires, but they are certainly making progress.

More Pictures of Earth from Space

Since I will only be able to sporadically update the blog during the next few weeks, I thought I would leave you all with some summer reading until I can get back to regular updates. Enjoy the articles below!

• Is There Sound in Space?
• Is it Possible to Balance an Egg on the Equinox?
• What is the Cosmological Constant?
• What is Hubble's Law?
• Are There Aliens in our Galaxy?
• What is the Speed of Light?
• Are Sex and Pregnancy in Space Possible?

Andromeda Galaxy on Collision Course with Milky Way

A team with the Hubble Space Telescope have now confirmed what has long been suspected: The Andromeda Galaxy is on a collision course with the Milky Way.

Now before you begin making travel arrangements to the other side of the Universe, you should know that this is not going to happen for another 4 billion years.

But even then, there is little to suggest that Earth would be in any danger as there is a lot of empty space in galaxies, so unless we happened upon the central bulge of Andromeda we would probably be ok. (I should note that this is all academic anyway; as the Sun increases in brightness - as it has done, and will continue to do over its life time - the radiant energy will eventually make Earth too hot to support life; most likely before this collision occurs.)

These spiral galaxies - along with possibly the Triangulum Galaxy - will merge to form a new galaxy. Initially the new object would probably be classified as either a Peculiar or Irregular Galaxy. But researchers suggest that eventually the combination could form into an elliptical galaxy as it approaches a gravitational equilibrium of sorts.

Part of me wishes that this event was going to happen much sooner; it would be amazing to see the Andromeda galaxy hanging so brilliantly in the night sky.

Above Image: The Andromeda Galaxy dominates the night sky about 3.75 billion years from now. Image Credit: NASA; ESA; Z. Levay and R. van der Marel, STScI; T. Hallas; and A. Mellinger.

Awesome Time Lapse Video of VERITAS Operating

A few months ago I was out in southern Arizona observing on the VERITAS experiment. While there a colleage and good friend of mine, Daniel Gall, set up his camera to capture the gamma-ray observatory in action.

Shot over several nights with a Nikon D5100, the images are 30 second exposures spaced 30 seconds apart. If you have having trouble viewing the video above, you can see the original here.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Stephen Hawking Reveals Greatest Mystery in the Universe Women

I have to admit, I didn't see this one coming.

When New Scientist Magazine asked the famed physicist what he thinks about most his response was simple. "Women. They are a complete mystery."

While most of us aren't world renowned astrophysicists, credited with furthering our understanding of black holes and the Universe in general, it seems there is at least one trait that most of us share with the famed cosmologist.

Space Shuttle Discovery on its Way to DC

One of the iconic machines of the 20th century is on its way to Washington D.C. to be displayed at the Smithsonian.

The event, including the flight to Dulles, can be seen on NASA's website. They'll have video of the shuttle preparation and interviews about the program and the future of manned space flight. If you just want to catch the landing - which is really impressive as it involves being piggybacked on a modified 747 - tune in around 10:00 am EDT today.

Should We Continue to Fund the James Webb Telescope

When most people think about astronomy they almost immediately picture beautiful images of nebulae, galaxies and star clusters. The primary reason they are able to visualize these objects is because of the amazing work of the Hubble Space Telescope.

The detail with which we can appreciate the heavens has increased significantly in the last couple decades since the commissioning of that historic observatory.

Hubble is now entering the final stages of its operational life; there are no more repair missions, no more upgrades. Once this orbiting telescope fails, it is done forever.

Anticipating this, NASA has been hard at work to have a replacement ready. The James Webb Telescope was intended to pick up where Hubble left off, too peer deeper into the Universe, to see with greater detail what lay around us in this great expanse.

But such advanced technology comes at a price. A big price. Estimated to cost about $2.5 billion and be launched around 2013, the cost has ballooned to nearly $9 billion with a launch date likely in 2018.

And with a completion date so distant the cost could yet again rise. This begs the question, is it worth it?

I have to admit that I am conflicted on this one. Generally I am all for pure scientific research; it is in our nature as humans to seek to understand the Universe around us and to seek discovery, even when a practical application isn't readily obvious.

On the other hand this project was been plagued by mismanagement and waste. And I am certainly not in favor of rewarding such actions with additional funding, especially in this economic climate. Not to mention that the project trajectory is still uncertain and could, yet again, spiral out of control.

A quandary then. I am going to open this up to you all. Read here for more details on this topic and share your thoughts in the comments below.

Engineers working on the mirrors for the James Webb Space Telescope; Credit: NASA

The Colorado Fires from Space and Some Summer Reading

I'm actually out in the Colorado Springs area visiting family for a week, and it certainly hasn't been the visit that we planned.

As you are probably aware, wild fires have sprung up across the state and some of them have resulted in the loss of life and homes.

While searching around I stumbled across the above image from NASA taken with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite on June 23, 2012.

You can clearly see the smoke from the wild fires (note that the white puffy things are clouds, the smoke is gray and more diffuse). This was early in the evolution of the fires outside Colorado Springs in Waldo Canyon, so the smoke from there is still relatively faint in this natural color image.

It may take several more weeks to extinguish the fires, but they are certainly making progress.

More Pictures of Earth from Space

Since I will only be able to sporadically update the blog during the next few weeks, I thought I would leave you all with some summer reading until I can get back to regular updates. Enjoy the articles below!

• Is There Sound in Space?
• Is it Possible to Balance an Egg on the Equinox?
• What is the Cosmological Constant?
• What is Hubble's Law?
• Are There Aliens in our Galaxy?
• What is the Speed of Light?
• Are Sex and Pregnancy in Space Possible?

Andromeda Galaxy on Collision Course with Milky Way

A team with the Hubble Space Telescope have now confirmed what has long been suspected: The Andromeda Galaxy is on a collision course with the Milky Way.

Now before you begin making travel arrangements to the other side of the Universe, you should know that this is not going to happen for another 4 billion years.

But even then, there is little to suggest that Earth would be in any danger as there is a lot of empty space in galaxies, so unless we happened upon the central bulge of Andromeda we would probably be ok. (I should note that this is all academic anyway; as the Sun increases in brightness - as it has done, and will continue to do over its life time - the radiant energy will eventually make Earth too hot to support life; most likely before this collision occurs.)

These spiral galaxies - along with possibly the Triangulum Galaxy - will merge to form a new galaxy. Initially the new object would probably be classified as either a Peculiar or Irregular Galaxy. But researchers suggest that eventually the combination could form into an elliptical galaxy as it approaches a gravitational equilibrium of sorts.

Part of me wishes that this event was going to happen much sooner; it would be amazing to see the Andromeda galaxy hanging so brilliantly in the night sky.

Above Image: The Andromeda Galaxy dominates the night sky about 3.75 billion years from now. Image Credit: NASA; ESA; Z. Levay and R. van der Marel, STScI; T. Hallas; and A. Mellinger.

Awesome Time Lapse Video of VERITAS Operating

A few months ago I was out in southern Arizona observing on the VERITAS experiment. While there a colleage and good friend of mine, Daniel Gall, set up his camera to capture the gamma-ray observatory in action.

Shot over several nights with a Nikon D5100, the images are 30 second exposures spaced 30 seconds apart. If you have having trouble viewing the video above, you can see the original here.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Stephen Hawking Reveals Greatest Mystery in the Universe Women

I have to admit, I didn't see this one coming.

When New Scientist Magazine asked the famed physicist what he thinks about most his response was simple. "Women. They are a complete mystery."

While most of us aren't world renowned astrophysicists, credited with furthering our understanding of black holes and the Universe in general, it seems there is at least one trait that most of us share with the famed cosmologist.

Space Shuttle Discovery on its Way to DC

One of the iconic machines of the 20th century is on its way to Washington D.C. to be displayed at the Smithsonian.

The event, including the flight to Dulles, can be seen on NASA's website. They'll have video of the shuttle preparation and interviews about the program and the future of manned space flight. If you just want to catch the landing - which is really impressive as it involves being piggybacked on a modified 747 - tune in around 10:00 am EDT today.

Should We Continue to Fund the James Webb Telescope

When most people think about astronomy they almost immediately picture beautiful images of nebulae, galaxies and star clusters. The primary reason they are able to visualize these objects is because of the amazing work of the Hubble Space Telescope.

The detail with which we can appreciate the heavens has increased significantly in the last couple decades since the commissioning of that historic observatory.

Hubble is now entering the final stages of its operational life; there are no more repair missions, no more upgrades. Once this orbiting telescope fails, it is done forever.

Anticipating this, NASA has been hard at work to have a replacement ready. The James Webb Telescope was intended to pick up where Hubble left off, too peer deeper into the Universe, to see with greater detail what lay around us in this great expanse.

But such advanced technology comes at a price. A big price. Estimated to cost about $2.5 billion and be launched around 2013, the cost has ballooned to nearly $9 billion with a launch date likely in 2018.

And with a completion date so distant the cost could yet again rise. This begs the question, is it worth it?

I have to admit that I am conflicted on this one. Generally I am all for pure scientific research; it is in our nature as humans to seek to understand the Universe around us and to seek discovery, even when a practical application isn't readily obvious.

On the other hand this project was been plagued by mismanagement and waste. And I am certainly not in favor of rewarding such actions with additional funding, especially in this economic climate. Not to mention that the project trajectory is still uncertain and could, yet again, spiral out of control.

A quandary then. I am going to open this up to you all. Read here for more details on this topic and share your thoughts in the comments below.

Engineers working on the mirrors for the James Webb Space Telescope; Credit: NASA

The Colorado Fires from Space and Some Summer Reading

I'm actually out in the Colorado Springs area visiting family for a week, and it certainly hasn't been the visit that we planned.

As you are probably aware, wild fires have sprung up across the state and some of them have resulted in the loss of life and homes.

While searching around I stumbled across the above image from NASA taken with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite on June 23, 2012.

You can clearly see the smoke from the wild fires (note that the white puffy things are clouds, the smoke is gray and more diffuse). This was early in the evolution of the fires outside Colorado Springs in Waldo Canyon, so the smoke from there is still relatively faint in this natural color image.

It may take several more weeks to extinguish the fires, but they are certainly making progress.

More Pictures of Earth from Space

Since I will only be able to sporadically update the blog during the next few weeks, I thought I would leave you all with some summer reading until I can get back to regular updates. Enjoy the articles below!

• Is There Sound in Space?
• Is it Possible to Balance an Egg on the Equinox?
• What is the Cosmological Constant?
• What is Hubble's Law?
• Are There Aliens in our Galaxy?
• What is the Speed of Light?
• Are Sex and Pregnancy in Space Possible?

Andromeda Galaxy on Collision Course with Milky Way

A team with the Hubble Space Telescope have now confirmed what has long been suspected: The Andromeda Galaxy is on a collision course with the Milky Way.

Now before you begin making travel arrangements to the other side of the Universe, you should know that this is not going to happen for another 4 billion years.

But even then, there is little to suggest that Earth would be in any danger as there is a lot of empty space in galaxies, so unless we happened upon the central bulge of Andromeda we would probably be ok. (I should note that this is all academic anyway; as the Sun increases in brightness - as it has done, and will continue to do over its life time - the radiant energy will eventually make Earth too hot to support life; most likely before this collision occurs.)

These spiral galaxies - along with possibly the Triangulum Galaxy - will merge to form a new galaxy. Initially the new object would probably be classified as either a Peculiar or Irregular Galaxy. But researchers suggest that eventually the combination could form into an elliptical galaxy as it approaches a gravitational equilibrium of sorts.

Part of me wishes that this event was going to happen much sooner; it would be amazing to see the Andromeda galaxy hanging so brilliantly in the night sky.

Above Image: The Andromeda Galaxy dominates the night sky about 3.75 billion years from now. Image Credit: NASA; ESA; Z. Levay and R. van der Marel, STScI; T. Hallas; and A. Mellinger.

Awesome Time Lapse Video of VERITAS Operating

A few months ago I was out in southern Arizona observing on the VERITAS experiment. While there a colleage and good friend of mine, Daniel Gall, set up his camera to capture the gamma-ray observatory in action.

Shot over several nights with a Nikon D5100, the images are 30 second exposures spaced 30 seconds apart. If you have having trouble viewing the video above, you can see the original here.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Stephen Hawking Reveals Greatest Mystery in the Universe Women

I have to admit, I didn't see this one coming.

When New Scientist Magazine asked the famed physicist what he thinks about most his response was simple. "Women. They are a complete mystery."

While most of us aren't world renowned astrophysicists, credited with furthering our understanding of black holes and the Universe in general, it seems there is at least one trait that most of us share with the famed cosmologist.

Space Shuttle Discovery on its Way to DC

One of the iconic machines of the 20th century is on its way to Washington D.C. to be displayed at the Smithsonian.

The event, including the flight to Dulles, can be seen on NASA's website. They'll have video of the shuttle preparation and interviews about the program and the future of manned space flight. If you just want to catch the landing - which is really impressive as it involves being piggybacked on a modified 747 - tune in around 10:00 am EDT today.

Should We Continue to Fund the James Webb Telescope

When most people think about astronomy they almost immediately picture beautiful images of nebulae, galaxies and star clusters. The primary reason they are able to visualize these objects is because of the amazing work of the Hubble Space Telescope.

The detail with which we can appreciate the heavens has increased significantly in the last couple decades since the commissioning of that historic observatory.

Hubble is now entering the final stages of its operational life; there are no more repair missions, no more upgrades. Once this orbiting telescope fails, it is done forever.

Anticipating this, NASA has been hard at work to have a replacement ready. The James Webb Telescope was intended to pick up where Hubble left off, too peer deeper into the Universe, to see with greater detail what lay around us in this great expanse.

But such advanced technology comes at a price. A big price. Estimated to cost about $2.5 billion and be launched around 2013, the cost has ballooned to nearly $9 billion with a launch date likely in 2018.

And with a completion date so distant the cost could yet again rise. This begs the question, is it worth it?

I have to admit that I am conflicted on this one. Generally I am all for pure scientific research; it is in our nature as humans to seek to understand the Universe around us and to seek discovery, even when a practical application isn't readily obvious.

On the other hand this project was been plagued by mismanagement and waste. And I am certainly not in favor of rewarding such actions with additional funding, especially in this economic climate. Not to mention that the project trajectory is still uncertain and could, yet again, spiral out of control.

A quandary then. I am going to open this up to you all. Read here for more details on this topic and share your thoughts in the comments below.

Engineers working on the mirrors for the James Webb Space Telescope; Credit: NASA

The Colorado Fires from Space and Some Summer Reading

I'm actually out in the Colorado Springs area visiting family for a week, and it certainly hasn't been the visit that we planned.

As you are probably aware, wild fires have sprung up across the state and some of them have resulted in the loss of life and homes.

While searching around I stumbled across the above image from NASA taken with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite on June 23, 2012.

You can clearly see the smoke from the wild fires (note that the white puffy things are clouds, the smoke is gray and more diffuse). This was early in the evolution of the fires outside Colorado Springs in Waldo Canyon, so the smoke from there is still relatively faint in this natural color image.

It may take several more weeks to extinguish the fires, but they are certainly making progress.

More Pictures of Earth from Space

Since I will only be able to sporadically update the blog during the next few weeks, I thought I would leave you all with some summer reading until I can get back to regular updates. Enjoy the articles below!

• Is There Sound in Space?
• Is it Possible to Balance an Egg on the Equinox?
• What is the Cosmological Constant?
• What is Hubble's Law?
• Are There Aliens in our Galaxy?
• What is the Speed of Light?
• Are Sex and Pregnancy in Space Possible?

Andromeda Galaxy on Collision Course with Milky Way

A team with the Hubble Space Telescope have now confirmed what has long been suspected: The Andromeda Galaxy is on a collision course with the Milky Way.

Now before you begin making travel arrangements to the other side of the Universe, you should know that this is not going to happen for another 4 billion years.

But even then, there is little to suggest that Earth would be in any danger as there is a lot of empty space in galaxies, so unless we happened upon the central bulge of Andromeda we would probably be ok. (I should note that this is all academic anyway; as the Sun increases in brightness - as it has done, and will continue to do over its life time - the radiant energy will eventually make Earth too hot to support life; most likely before this collision occurs.)

These spiral galaxies - along with possibly the Triangulum Galaxy - will merge to form a new galaxy. Initially the new object would probably be classified as either a Peculiar or Irregular Galaxy. But researchers suggest that eventually the combination could form into an elliptical galaxy as it approaches a gravitational equilibrium of sorts.

Part of me wishes that this event was going to happen much sooner; it would be amazing to see the Andromeda galaxy hanging so brilliantly in the night sky.

Above Image: The Andromeda Galaxy dominates the night sky about 3.75 billion years from now. Image Credit: NASA; ESA; Z. Levay and R. van der Marel, STScI; T. Hallas; and A. Mellinger.

Awesome Time Lapse Video of VERITAS Operating

A few months ago I was out in southern Arizona observing on the VERITAS experiment. While there a colleage and good friend of mine, Daniel Gall, set up his camera to capture the gamma-ray observatory in action.

Shot over several nights with a Nikon D5100, the images are 30 second exposures spaced 30 seconds apart. If you have having trouble viewing the video above, you can see the original here.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Stephen Hawking Reveals Greatest Mystery in the Universe Women

I have to admit, I didn't see this one coming.

When New Scientist Magazine asked the famed physicist what he thinks about most his response was simple. "Women. They are a complete mystery."

While most of us aren't world renowned astrophysicists, credited with furthering our understanding of black holes and the Universe in general, it seems there is at least one trait that most of us share with the famed cosmologist.

Space Shuttle Discovery on its Way to DC

One of the iconic machines of the 20th century is on its way to Washington D.C. to be displayed at the Smithsonian.

The event, including the flight to Dulles, can be seen on NASA's website. They'll have video of the shuttle preparation and interviews about the program and the future of manned space flight. If you just want to catch the landing - which is really impressive as it involves being piggybacked on a modified 747 - tune in around 10:00 am EDT today.

Should We Continue to Fund the James Webb Telescope

When most people think about astronomy they almost immediately picture beautiful images of nebulae, galaxies and star clusters. The primary reason they are able to visualize these objects is because of the amazing work of the Hubble Space Telescope.

The detail with which we can appreciate the heavens has increased significantly in the last couple decades since the commissioning of that historic observatory.

Hubble is now entering the final stages of its operational life; there are no more repair missions, no more upgrades. Once this orbiting telescope fails, it is done forever.

Anticipating this, NASA has been hard at work to have a replacement ready. The James Webb Telescope was intended to pick up where Hubble left off, too peer deeper into the Universe, to see with greater detail what lay around us in this great expanse.

But such advanced technology comes at a price. A big price. Estimated to cost about $2.5 billion and be launched around 2013, the cost has ballooned to nearly $9 billion with a launch date likely in 2018.

And with a completion date so distant the cost could yet again rise. This begs the question, is it worth it?

I have to admit that I am conflicted on this one. Generally I am all for pure scientific research; it is in our nature as humans to seek to understand the Universe around us and to seek discovery, even when a practical application isn't readily obvious.

On the other hand this project was been plagued by mismanagement and waste. And I am certainly not in favor of rewarding such actions with additional funding, especially in this economic climate. Not to mention that the project trajectory is still uncertain and could, yet again, spiral out of control.

A quandary then. I am going to open this up to you all. Read here for more details on this topic and share your thoughts in the comments below.

Engineers working on the mirrors for the James Webb Space Telescope; Credit: NASA

The Colorado Fires from Space and Some Summer Reading

I'm actually out in the Colorado Springs area visiting family for a week, and it certainly hasn't been the visit that we planned.

As you are probably aware, wild fires have sprung up across the state and some of them have resulted in the loss of life and homes.

While searching around I stumbled across the above image from NASA taken with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite on June 23, 2012.

You can clearly see the smoke from the wild fires (note that the white puffy things are clouds, the smoke is gray and more diffuse). This was early in the evolution of the fires outside Colorado Springs in Waldo Canyon, so the smoke from there is still relatively faint in this natural color image.

It may take several more weeks to extinguish the fires, but they are certainly making progress.

More Pictures of Earth from Space

Since I will only be able to sporadically update the blog during the next few weeks, I thought I would leave you all with some summer reading until I can get back to regular updates. Enjoy the articles below!

• Is There Sound in Space?
• Is it Possible to Balance an Egg on the Equinox?
• What is the Cosmological Constant?
• What is Hubble's Law?
• Are There Aliens in our Galaxy?
• What is the Speed of Light?
• Are Sex and Pregnancy in Space Possible?

Andromeda Galaxy on Collision Course with Milky Way

A team with the Hubble Space Telescope have now confirmed what has long been suspected: The Andromeda Galaxy is on a collision course with the Milky Way.

Now before you begin making travel arrangements to the other side of the Universe, you should know that this is not going to happen for another 4 billion years.

But even then, there is little to suggest that Earth would be in any danger as there is a lot of empty space in galaxies, so unless we happened upon the central bulge of Andromeda we would probably be ok. (I should note that this is all academic anyway; as the Sun increases in brightness - as it has done, and will continue to do over its life time - the radiant energy will eventually make Earth too hot to support life; most likely before this collision occurs.)

These spiral galaxies - along with possibly the Triangulum Galaxy - will merge to form a new galaxy. Initially the new object would probably be classified as either a Peculiar or Irregular Galaxy. But researchers suggest that eventually the combination could form into an elliptical galaxy as it approaches a gravitational equilibrium of sorts.

Part of me wishes that this event was going to happen much sooner; it would be amazing to see the Andromeda galaxy hanging so brilliantly in the night sky.

Above Image: The Andromeda Galaxy dominates the night sky about 3.75 billion years from now. Image Credit: NASA; ESA; Z. Levay and R. van der Marel, STScI; T. Hallas; and A. Mellinger.

Awesome Time Lapse Video of VERITAS Operating

A few months ago I was out in southern Arizona observing on the VERITAS experiment. While there a colleage and good friend of mine, Daniel Gall, set up his camera to capture the gamma-ray observatory in action.

Shot over several nights with a Nikon D5100, the images are 30 second exposures spaced 30 seconds apart. If you have having trouble viewing the video above, you can see the original here.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.

Were As Close to the Sun as Were Going to Get

Literally as I write this the Earth is leaving the point in its orbit known as Perihelion. Simply, this is the point where Earth is closest to the Sun.

Now, many of you in the northern hemisphere may be looking outside at the wintery weather and wondering how that can be.

As it happens, however, the proximity of the Earth to the Sun during its year long trek along its orbit only accounts for very small variations in the surface temperature; at most a few degrees.

The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the orbital plane.

Don't believe me, or want a full explanation? Read here for more details.