en-us http://planetary.org/blog/ A guide to interesting stuff going on in space science, space exploration, and space advocacy. 15 Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:32:26 GMT Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:32:26 GMT http://www.planetary.org/_img/rss/logo.jpg 127 111 http://planetary.org/blog/ blog@planetary.org (Emily Ladakawalla) Copyright © 2012 by The Planetary Society. http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003371/ http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003371/ As I've mentioned before, it's amateur astronomers, not professionals, who are shouldering the burden of constant monitoring of the weather on Jupiter and Saturn. What's going on these days in the outer solar system? Well, as Damian Peach shows us, Jupiter's belt has definitely returned, and the clouds are very, very turbulent to the west of the Red Spot, which, to be honest, is really not looking all that red. And OMG look how much detail he .... Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:51:36 GMT http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003370/ http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003370/ By Mat Kaplan You are invited to another live lecture by our friends with the big telescopes high atop Mauna Kea. CalTech Professor of Physics Tom Soifer directs the Spitzer Science Center. He'll be at the Kahilu Theater on the Big Island of Hawaii to take us on a journey "filled with beauty, drama, mystery and surprise." The lecture begins at 9:00pm Pacific Standard Time tonight. This webcast has now over. .... Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:46:43 GMT http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003369/ http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003369/ On Tuesday, Bill Nye was privileged to attend the second White House Science Fair. Click to enlarge >President Obama shakes Bill Nye's hand at the 2012 White House Science FairPresident Barack Obama shakes hands with Bill Nye, The Science Guy, during an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012, for the White House Science Fair. Obama hosted the second White House Science Fair celebrating the student winners .... Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:17:09 GMT http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003368/ http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003368/ A week ago, the New Horizons team announced an effort to gather signatures in support of a petition to the U.S. Postal Service to commemorate the historic flyby of Pluto on a stamp. "Commemorate?" you may ask. "It's not even close to Pluto yet." You'd be right to say so, but the proposal must happen now because it can take three years from proposal to printing of a new postage stamp. (Yay for bureaucracy.) I, for one, would be thrilled to be .... Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:26:23 GMT http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003367/ http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003367/ Planetary scientist Susan Niebur passed away on February 6, 2012, of inflammatory breast cancer. While I did not know Susan very well personally, I knew her professionally as a staunch supporter of and passionate organizer for young people, women, and families in planetary science. She organized community breakfasts and lunches at meetings like the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, helping young women, students and postdocs, meet mentors .... Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:47:09 GMT http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003366/ http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003366/ You are invited to another live lecture by our friends with the big telescopes high atop Mauna Kea. CalTech Professor of Physics Tom Soifer directs the Spitzer Science Center. He'll be at the Kahilu Theater on the Big Island of Hawaii to take us on a journey "filled with beauty, drama, mystery and surprise." Come back here to the blog at 9:00pm Pacific Standard Time on Thursday, February 9. We'll save you a seat. Mahalo. .... Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:42:45 GMT http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003365/ http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003365/ There's been a bit of buzz on the Web this week regarding an ESA press release titled "ESA's Mars Express radar gives strong evidence for former Mars ocean." I don't ordinarily write about press-released science papers, but am making an exception for this one because no one has really explained the science behind the Mars-ocean conclusion, probably because everybody is scared to utter the words "dielectric constant." Boo! Are you scared? The .... Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:46:27 GMT http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003364/ http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003364/ At the center of the Milky Way, a monster awaits. Known as Sagittarius A, this turbulent region of space is believed to contain a black hole four million times more massive than our own sun. Within the black hole -- known as Sagittarius A* (pronounced "A-star") -- space and time lose their conventional meanings, as surrounding matter is pulled to inescapable oblivion. A new NASA spacecraft called NuSTAR will study this singularity, along with .... Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:14:34 GMT http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003363/ http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003363/ By Mat Kaplan This week's Planetary Radio episode includes a great update on the James Webb Space Telescope from Eric Smith, the Deputy Program Director for the JWST at NASA headquarters. The controversy over the budget for this magnificent new instrument surfaces in the discussion. Some scientists fear that billions of dollars to complete and operate the Webb will squeeze out smaller, yet very worthy projects. Eric wants planetary .... Tue, 07 Feb 2012 04:46:19 GMT http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003362/ http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003362/ Well, this is exciting! Tomorrow, Bill Nye has an invitation to the White House to attend the second White House Science Fair. The first was in 2010, and Bill attended that one too. Here he is with the POTUS, the Mythbusters, Steven Chu, and several very smart and driven kids.Click to enlarge >Bill Nye at the 2010 White House Science FairPresident Barack Obama shakes hands with students as Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Bill Nye, of .... Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:32:21 GMT