Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
Even among tech companies, whose product announcements are geared to be grandiose, Elon Musk’s Mars-colonization rollout feels like something new. In a video shared Tuesday at a space exploration conference in Guadalajara, Musk outlined his plan: Before this century is out, a small team of humans will open a spacecraft door, step onto red ground…
I admit it: I’m an optimist. I wanted Elon Musk to show me a strong Mars plan with real finances and real life-support design. I was hoping he’d talked some of his billionaire friends into financing this Mars dream. I wanted the dream to be real. Optimists, of course, are frequently disappointed, which is why…
Although the planet, lost in the glare of the star, cannot be viewed by current telescopes, astronomers hope to see it when the next generation is built a decade from now. Photo Proxima Centauri, which is in the constellation of Centaurus 4.2 light-years from Earth. Credit ESA/Hubble & NASA And the planet’s proximity to Earth…
John Maynard Keynes wrote in 1930 that “if economists could manage to get themselves thought of as humble, competent people on a level with dentists, that would be splendid.” Almost a century later, he’s getting his wish. Economists tend to be a grandiose bunch. They advise presidents and billionaires. They are generally unashamed about offering…
SpaceX has finally landed its Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship at sea, after launching the vehicle into space this afternoon. It’s the first time the company has been able to pull off an ocean landing, after four previous attempts ended in failure. Today’s success is a crucial milestone for SpaceX, as it shows the…
:32 A killer planet is rapidly heading towards earth Scientists believe that they have discovered an as-of-yet unnamed planet, currently being referred to as Planet 9. Unfortunately, this might not be great news, since the planet’s orbit might cause asteroids to come shooting at the Earth. :35 Cop body slams 12-year-old girl on camera A…
If you’re a woman in science you are probably aware of what seems like a recent outbreak of harassment scandals in the scientific community. There was the shocking outspoken misogyny of Noble laureate Tim Hunt in June of last year, the two extremely alarming cases, nearly one right after the other, of male astronomers harassing…
So, remember 2013 TX68? That 100-foot wide asteroid that was set to zip past Earth at a distance of something between 15,000 and 3 million miles? Sometime Tuesday in fact? Turns out, that already happened on Monday morning, NASA scientists revealed today. At around 8:42 a.m. EST, 2013 TX68 passed Earth about 2.54 million miles…
Any space-enthused kid has endured the crumbly, chalky agglomeration of flavors known as “astronaut ice cream.” We deal with it because of the supposed connection to the lives of real space explorers. The only problem is that astronaut ice cream is a lie. As the above video shows, this legendary children’s treat has a surprisingly…
All about asteroids All about asteroids – Asteroid Day, a day organized by a group of notable scientists, astronauts and citizens, was held in June and aims to educate the global community on the potential threat of asteroids. Click through the gallery to learn more about these Near-Earth Objects. All about asteroids All about asteroids…