Space

If Mars Is For Hardy Explorers Only, Where Is The Best Place In The Solar System For First Time Colonists?

This is part 3 of my series on  Mars, planet of surprises, great to explore, not so great to colonize. In "Is it as good a place to live as a desert? we saw that Mars is a more inhospitable place than the coldest driest deserts on Earth, and has seve ...

Blog Post - Robert Walker - Feb 8 2018 - 2:37pm

Space Habitats For Colonists- And Contamination Free Boots On Mars- With Telerobotic Avatars

This is part 3 of my series on  Mars, planet of surprises, great to explore, not so great to colonize. In "Is it as good a place to live as a desert? we saw that Mars is a more inhospitable place than the coldest driest deserts on Earth, and has seve ...

Blog Post - Robert Walker - Oct 3 2013 - 7:23pm

Would Microbes From This Astronaut Make It Impossible For Anyone To Terraform Mars- Ever?

Supposing we do eventually decide to terraform Mars, and know how to do it, will it be possible at all if humans visit the surface of Mars first? Could aerobes and other microbes introduced by humans work against all our attempts to terraform the planet? ...

Blog Post - Robert Walker - Jan 19 2014 - 9:48am

Fomalhaut Star Stretches A Double Into A Triple

The nearby star system Fomalhaut has been discovered to be not just a double star, as astronomers had thought, but a really wide triple star-   a previously known smaller star in its vicinity is also part of the Fomalhaut system.  ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 3 2013 - 5:13pm

Telerobotic Avatars On Mars With Super-Powers ("Teleporting" from orbit)- Search For Life- And Long Term Exploitation

This is part 5 of my series on  Mars, planet of surprises, great to explore, not so great to colonize. It seems that a human mission to the surface of Mars significantly increases the risk of irreversibly contaminating Mars. If that's right, the best ...

Blog Post - Robert Walker - Dec 18 2013 - 8:56am

"Ten Reasons Not To Live On Mars, Great Place To Explore"- On The Space Show

This special edition of the Space Show may be of special interest if you read my recent science20.com articles about Mars and space colonization. I was asked great questions by David Livingston, and listeners to his live show. Could Mars One comply with t ...

Blog Post - Robert Walker - Sep 7 2015 - 8:42am

Low-Aspect-Ratio Layered Ejecta: New Type Of Impact Crater On Mars

Unusual impact craters formed on Mars feature a thin outer deposit that extends many times beyond the typical range of ejecta. Nadine Barlow, professor of physics and astronomy at Northern Arizona University, calls these craters Low-Aspect-Ratio Layered E ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 9 2013 - 5:30am

The Red Giant That Powers The Toby Jug Nebula

The Toby Jug Nebula, formally known as IC 2220, is an example of a reflection nebula- a cloud of gas and dust illuminated from within by a star called HD 65750.  The Toby Jug Nebula is located 1,200 light-years from Earth in the southern constellation of ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 9 2013 - 3:33pm

Magnetic Waves Clue To Decades-Long Coronal Heating Mystery

Researchers have found evidence that magnetic waves in a polar coronal hole contain enough energy to heat the corona and that they also deposit most of their energy at sufficiently low heights for the heat to spread throughout the corona. The observations ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 15 2013 - 10:37pm

Dense Neutron Stars Power Super-Luminous Supernovae

You wouldn't think the brightest exploding stars ever discovered in the universe could need some light shed on them, but they got it anyway. A new paper proposes that the most luminous supernovae – exploding stars – are powered by small and incredibl ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 17 2013 - 7:00am