24. July 2010 by RC Davison.

NASA’s Kepler mission was launched in March of 2009 with the purpose of simultaneously studying about a 100,000 stars located within a 10 degree field in the direction of the constellation Cygnus.  Kepler is looking for the dimming of the light from these stars to indicate a planet passing, or transiting in front of the star. To label a detection a possible planet, Kepler needs to see the transit at least 4 times.

Within a little over a year’s worth of operation, Kepler has found over 700 possible planets!  Since we’ve been turning telescopes to the sky we’ve only managed to find about 400 exoplanets, and these discoveries have only come in the last 5 -10 years!  But, just think about this for a moment.  Kepler only sees planets that pass between the stars and Earth (in our line of sight), and only those that have passed in front of the stars at least 4 times since it has been watching.  What about those planets that are orbiting perpendicular to our field of view, and what about those planets that have orbital periods of 3, 5, 10, or 20 years or more?

There are a lot more planets out there than we are seeing and I think a lot more that we may have ever imagined!  The more planets, the greater the chances of extraterrestrial life.  What wonders await us in the cosmos?!

(Check out Kepler’s web site for much more great info about this mission.)

Till next time

RC Davison

Posted in Astronomy | 1 Comment »

19. July 2010 by RC Davison.

Thanks to the efforts of California’s Representative, Dana Rohrabacher, a bill (H.R. 5587) has been introduced to Congress to study the threat of asteroid impacts on Earth.  The bill, titled: “To establish a United States Commission on Planetary Defense, and for other purposes.” is to spend not more than $2 million on establishing the commission for the purpose of:

• (1) determine capabilities of United States Government entities, nongovernment organizations, foreign governments and entities, and international bodies to detect, characterize, and neutralize potentially dangerous Near Earth Objects (in this Act referred to as `NEOs’);

• (2) identify and evaluate roles and responsibilities of United States Government entities to detect, characterize, and neutralize potentially dangerous NEOs;

• (3) determine United States effectiveness in leading international efforts to detect, characterize, and neutralize potentially dangerous NEOs;

• (4) build upon United States Government and foreign analyses, studies, and assessments, without duplicating efforts, to determine current and required NEO characterization and mitigation capabilities;

• (5) identify and report on technology development required to provide effective planetary defense from dangerous NEOs; and

• (6) investigate and report to the President and Congress on its findings, conclusions, and recommendations for corrective measures that can be taken to provide planetary defense.

While this is not funding for an actual search, it is funding that should allow us to understand what our capabilities are, what the threat is, and how to organize a united world-wide effort.  It’s a start!

The bill has been referred to the Committee on Science and Technology for review.   Check out the link above to view the complete bill, or this link for a more complete discussion.

Remember, every journey starts with one step…

Till next time,

RC Davison

Posted in Solar System | No Comments »

16. July 2010 by RC Davison.

If you’ve checked out the site, and the blog, you’ll know my passion for science.  So, for me, writing science fiction is a natural extension of that passion.  As far as I’m concerned science and science fiction go hand-in-hand.  And, I firmly believe they drive each other in a convoluted closed loop.

The more that science advances, the larger the base of material a writer has to build upon.  Applying their imagination, and pushing the boundaries of what we can dream of. In turn, that stimulates the minds of the readers, (especially the young ones) laying the ground work they will use when they contribute to society by conducting research and pushing the boundaries of what is possible.  The cycle continues.

Where am I going with this? Well, I just wanted to bring to your attention a few podcast sites that I’ve been following for a while: The Drabblecast, Escape Pod, and PodCastle.

Drabblecast and Escape Pod are Sci-Fi sites, while Podcastle is mainly a Fantasy site, but sometimes that line is not too clear.  The people behind these sites typically put up an audio version of a short story, sometimes  with multiple voice actors, sound effects and music.  They typically run about 30 minutes, but occasionally may run longer. Some of these stories are Hugo Award winners/nominees, and some of the authors are very well know in the publishing world.  You might be amazed at some of the work that comes from people who are new to the industry.

I have no affiliation with these sites, so there is nothing in it for me to promote them other than the pleasure of knowing that I’ve turned someone else on to some great story telling. The bottom line is that there are some really great Sci-Fi short stories  being written and nicely produced.  Of course, not every story will be meet your expectations, but that’s life.  I’ve found that even if I didn’t care for the story, the narration or production makes for an entertaining listen.

Check them out if you get a chance.  I think you’ll be glad you did.  There are extensive archives on each site, so you’ll have a lot to listen to.  (The links to these sites are also on the side of the page under Links.)

Till next time,

RC Davison

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »