My Sooper Sekrit Project: REVEALED! | Bad Astronomy

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Yes, you read that right.

Finally, at last, after many months, I can now officially reveal the project that has kept me so busy over all this time. I think you’re gonna like this… so why not just jump right in to the teaser trailer posted online by a small TV network you may have heard of called THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL!

[evil laugh]

[UPDATE: D'oh! There was a problem with the video, and Discovery is in the process of fixing it. It should be back up soon.]

How ’bout that?

I’ve been working with the Discovery Channel on hosting a new TV science show called "Phil Plait’s Bad Universe". It’s a three-part program where I dissect issues in astronomy and science, putting claims to the test. There’s no air date yet, but I’m hoping it’ll be on your TV sets this fall.

As you can see in the trailer, the first episode is about asteroid impacts, and we tackle the issue in a way that I don’t think has been done on TV. I get right into the mix, blowing things up, flying in a jet, going where the action is so that I can participate in experiments with scientists and try to find out what works and what doesn’t. The idea here is not to have some dry, narrated documentary. Instead I will show you what’s going on, take you along, so that you can see how these things work and what we’re doing to investigate these issues.

I’ve been having a tremendous time filming this, flying around the country, seeing things I ordinarily would never get to see. And the beauty is, you can come too!

Eventually I’ll post some pictures I’ve taken on this adventure, and we’ll be posting more video online as well as more information about the show soon. I’d like to thank everyone at Discovery Channel and Morningstar Entertainment for giving me this chance to fulfill a long-standing dream of mine. We’ve worked very hard on this program, and I hope you like it.

Yay!


A Headset that Reads Your Brainwaves

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From Geeks are Sexy Technology News:

Tan Le's astonishing new computer interface reads its user's brainwaves, making it possible to control virtual objects, and even physical electronics, with mere thoughts (and a little concentration). In the following video, she demos the headse

FCC: "Broadband" Now Means 4 Mbps Down [Broadband]

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The FCC has re-defined the minimum requirements of broadband to 4 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream. That's a huge jump up from the previous minimum of 200Kbps but is fitting given our video streaming, downloading and cloud living times. As for myself, I could barely live with 4 Mbps down but then the FCC reminds me that 24 million people lack access to high speed internet, so I shut up. [FCC via ExtremeTech] More »


Scientists Use Google Earth to Spot a Meteor Crater in Egypt | 80beats

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meteor-crater1Kamil crater, at only about 150 feet wide and 50 feet deep, may not break any size records–but what the Egyptian crater lacks in range it makes up for with cleanliness. In an paper published yesterday in Science, researchers say that its “pristine” impact, spotted in 2009 during a Google Earth survey, makes the crater an ideal model to understand similar impacts.

The best place to see a clean crater? Rocky or icy planets without an atmosphere. Earth’s weather quickly erodes a crater’s structures, making it difficult to determine how exactly a meteorite struck. The Kamil crater, study leader Luigi Folco says, has avoided this fate:

“This crater is really a kind of beauty because it’s so well-preserved that it will tell us a lot about small-scale meteorite impacts on the Earth’s crust…. It’s so nice. It’s so neat. There is something extraordinary about it.” [Space.com]

meteor-crater2The crater rises above its desert surroundings, and during visits to the site over the past two years researchers have collected around 5,000 iron meteorites (the dark rocks pictured at right). They estimate that the original meteorite weighed between 5 and 10 tons and smacked the site at 7,800 miles per hour, giving the crater its characteristics, including “rays” that are visible in satellite photos.

These rays, which emanate from the impact site like spokes from the hub of a wheel, are what drew researchers’ attention to the crater, says Folco. While such “rayed craters” are common on the moon and other airless bodies of the solar system, they are exceedingly rare on Earth because erosion and other geological processes quickly erase such evidence. [Science News]

Researchers estimate that the site is relatively young, only about 5,000 years old, given that it must have struck at a time when Egypt’s deserts were in their current arid state.

Related content:
80beats: Latest Mercury Pics Reveal Massive Craters & Possible Volcanic Vents
80beats: Asteroid Photo Session: Rosetta Spacecraft Snaps Pics of Battered Lutetia
80beats: Disappointing News: No Icy Patches in the Lunar Craters
80beats: Nano-Diamond Discovery Suggests a Comet Impact Killed the Mammoths

Images: Museo Nazionale dell’Antartide Universita di Siena


Keeping Our Eyes On The Prize

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What will inspire tomorrow's rocket scientists?, CNN

"President Barack Obama's NASA proposal currently being scrutinized by Congress focuses on researching propulsion for deep space and asteroid landings. It scraps the Constellation Project, which was launched six years ago with the aim of sending humans to Mars and back to the moon. The proposal would also halt NASA shuttle launches to the International Space Station. Instead, federal funds would be used to help send U.S. commercial shuttles to the station. Clark Moody, who remembers watching NASA videos with his dad in the 1980s, is a graduate student in aerospace engineering at Texas A&M University. He worries that NASA's other feats could be lost on the general public without the highly visible human spaceflight endeavors."

‘Doubters’ of Climate Change Lack Scientific Expertise | The Intersection

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Now there’s data–actual data–showing how few climate scientists doubt the existence of climate change. From Science Daily:

The small number of scientists who are unconvinced that human beings have contributed significantly to climate change have far less expertise and prominence in climate research compared with scientists who are convinced, according to a study led by Stanford researchers.

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Expertise was evaluated by the number of papers on climate research written by each individual, with a minimum of 20 required to be included in the analysis. Climate researchers who are convinced of human-caused climate change had on average about twice as many publications as the unconvinced, said Anderegg, a doctoral candidate in biology.

Prominence was assessed by taking the four most frequently cited papers published in any field by each scientist — not just climate science publications — and tallying the number of times those papers were cited by other researchers. Papers by climate researchers convinced of human effects were cited approximately 64 percent more often than papers by the unconvinced.

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“I never object to quoting opinions that are ‘way out.’ I think there is nothing wrong with that,” said Stephen Schneider, professor of biology and a coauthor of the paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “But if the media doesn’t report that something is a ‘way out’ opinion relative to the mainstream, then how is the average person going to know the relative credibility of what is being said?”

“It is sad that we even have to do this,” said Schneider. “[Too much of] the media world has just folded up and fired its reporters with expertise in science.”

The Stanford team is prepared for the doubters of anthropogenic climate change to object to their data.

Unfortunately, I am too. Carry on…

(H/T Philip)


Compressor selection

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I need to size a compessor purchase for an upcoming project. The demand for the instrument air I'll need is;

10 liters/min @ 3 barG +

20 liters/min @ 3 barG +

1 liter/min @ 2 barG

How many CFM @ 50 psi should I shop for?

Thanks.

Loss of Credibility

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Once a person has lost credibility, is it possible for that person to regain credibility in a different area? Example: A scientist makes a statement that is later proven to be false. Is his scientific life over?

Honda ATV 2000 Foreman Starting Problem Electric shift

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Starter won't engage. I have been spraying chemical from a 14 gal tank using ATV. I assumed that I had run the battery down more that it was capable of charging. I have put on a charger and no luck. The start button works, I can hear the starter relay kicking in but not engaging the starter. Any adv

What Will Inspire Tomorrow's Astronauts?

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From CNN.com - Technology:

Chris Ferguson remembers being 9 years old, watching astronaut Neil Armstrong take man's first steps on the moon on July 20, 1969. Like thousands in his American generation, Ferguson dreamed in his childhood of becoming an astronaut.

Read the