Several years ago when I was invited to pitch stories for the Star Trek: S.C.E. series, one of the ideas I tossed out was a story in which the crew of the USS da Vinci have to repair a space elevator damaged during the Dominion War. Thus was Ring Around the Sky born. The conceptContinue reading “On Japanese Space Elevators”
Category Archives: Astronomy
On Obama and Space Policy
For some time, I’ve had one great reservation with Barack Obama as a potential President. Obama wanted to gut NASA, taking the funds for Constellation, the successor to the space shuttle, and channel them into funding education. One analysis of Obama’s education plan likened it to Hernando Cortez burning his boats when he landed inContinue reading “On Obama and Space Policy”
On the Tunguska Incident
Today, June 30th, 2008, is the hundredth anniversary of the Tunguska Incident. In Siberia, on June 30th, 1908, an asteroid exploded and flattened 800 square miles of forest. A strange anniversary to commemorate, true. 🙂
On a Place in the Universe
I went looking for pictures of Saturn today. Last week I spent some time on redesigning my website, and taking the Vertigo theme for WordPress, I combined it with a header and stylesheet I had put together a year before based on Saturn. Why Saturn? I wanted something dark — and Tarski was a lightContinue reading “On a Place in the Universe”
On Upcoming Asteroid Impacts
The asteroid Apophis, which NASA had rated as having a 1 in 45,000 chance of colliding with the Earth in the April 2029, in actuality has a 1 in 450 chance. And if the asteroid collides with a satellite in Earth orbit in its 2029 pass, then the asteroid will hit the Earth in 2036.Continue reading “On Upcoming Asteroid Impacts”
On Carl Sagan Stamps
A little more than a year ago, author Kevin Lauderdale suggested that the United States needs to issue a commemorative Carl Sagan stamp. Sagan had done so much to educate the public on the wonders of science and the cosmos, and watching his television series COSMOS was very much a defining moment in my ownContinue reading “On Carl Sagan Stamps”
On “Across the Universe Day”
On Tuesday the DVD of Across the Universe hits stores. I needed to see that film the way I need oxygen, and for the most part I enjoyed the film. The soundtrack, at the very least, is one of the rare Beatles covers albums worth owning. It turns out that Tuesday, February 5th, is almostContinue reading “On “Across the Universe Day””
On Angering the Red Planet
Astronomers have rated an asteroid as having a 1 in 75 chance of striking Mars on January 30, 2008. The asteroid, known as 2007 WD5, was discovered in late November and is similar in size to the Tunguska object that hit remote central Siberia in 1908, unleashing energy equivalent to a 15-megaton nuclear bomb thatContinue reading “On Angering the Red Planet”
On Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan died eleven years ago today. The world’s been a quieter place without him. When I was young, I watched COSMOS with my father. I avidly read Sagan’s books, from Broca’s Brain to The Cosmic Connection — and let me tell you, The Cosmic Connection was a fucking bitch to find. I looked forwardContinue reading “On Carl Sagan”
On the First Space Traveller
Last month was the fiftieth anniversary of the launch of Sputnik I, which propelled humanity into the Space Age. Today, November 3rd, is the fiftieth anniversary of the launch of Sputnik II, the first space craft to carry a living creature — the dog, Laika. Laika died a few hours into her flight due toContinue reading “On the First Space Traveller”