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Astronomy

music

For Those About To Grok

"I'm your superluminal lover, baby, emission beamed into the night. Check out my relativistic jet, my love's faster than the speed of light." Ok, so Alan Marscher, Professor of Astronomy at Boston University, isn't exactly Bob Dylan. Or even LL Cool J. But he does write dope lyrics about astrophysics, and really, how many people can you say that about?" The latin rhythms of "Superluminal Love" are not all that the multi-talented Professor Marscher has to offer. More »

moon colony

Moonflowers Grow On Lunar Surface With Bacterial Boost

The first lunar colonists will grow their own vegetables directly in the soil of the moon, while Earthbound romantics will order moonroses for their sweethearts. Researchers now claim that instead of carting tons of Earth soil to the moon for agriculture, moonfarms will use the dirt, rock and dust already present. The secret to growing plants on the seemingly infertile lunar surface? Just add bacteria. More »

martian geography

Mars in the Nineteenth Century

Using telescopes, astronomers have been mapping the surface of Mars in surprising detail for over 100 years. This map of the entire Martian globe, showing everything from Mare Australe to Mare Boreum, was made in 1890. Now you can check a satellite photo to see how accurate it really was. More »

exoplanets

Almost Earth 2: Small Rocky Planet is Closest Yet

Okay, so it's not G889 that humans colonized in the TV series, but it's the closest astronomers have found yet. Weighing in at around 5 Earth masses and 1.5 times Earthly diameter, GJ 436c (which orbits the star GJ 436) is the smallest rocky exoplanet ever discovered. It still has many of the wonky traits of other exos like a 3-week long day and a 5.2 day-long year, but preliminary calculations suggest the toasty planet could be nice and balmy at the poles — perfect for an extended beach vacation in the Leo constellation. More »

space porn

Dunes of Mars

In yet another cool image from the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter near Mars, we see these dunes on the planet's surface. This image comes from the Hellespontus region of Mars, where sand from local mesas has been molded into these shapes by high intensity winds. No word yet on whether the famous canals of Mars are actually wormsign. You can learn more about Martian sand dunes here. Photo via AP, HO, and NASA.

space colonization

Earthlings' Next Home: Phobos?

NASA scientists have been arguing for years that Martian moons Phobos and Deimos may be the best place to in the solar system for humans to colonize. Some would argue even better than our own Moon. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE camera snapped two awesome color shots of what might be humanity's next home during a flyby on March 23rd. Why do NASA geeks think the Martian moons might be the best real estate investment of the 21st century? More »

space porn

Magnetic Structures Larger Than the Sun

We've long seen the results of solar flares on Earth, but haven't been able to predict when they'll strike next. New research released last week has given us a better understanding of solar weather. The massive, looping jets of superheated gas that erupt from the sun are driven by giant magnetic structures that extend out beyond the sun itself. More »

planet hunting

Mirror Solar System Found. Evil Spock Not Amused.

Astronomers didn't need a transporter mishap to find a mirror solar system, just new gravitational lensing techniques. They spotted two gas giants analogous to Saturn and Jupiter orbiting a star in Sagittarius that's about 5,000 light years away. Getting there would involve a five-year trip at Warp 8, in case you were wondering. This mirror solar system is like a mini-version of our own, with a star half the mass of our sun and tighter orbits than our own gas giants. More »

space porn

Ultracold Polar Telescope Searches for Dark Energy

Is an invisible, undetectable force tearing the universe apart? The South Pole Telescope is scanning the skies for signs of dark energy to help pinpoint the cause of cosmic expansion. The answers it provides could allow us to better explain the origin of the universe and its ultimate fate. More »

space porn

A Vector Map of the Unnamed Methane Sea on Titan

Peter Minton is a California teacher who loves to make vector maps in his spare time. His favorite places to map are islands and coastlines, and so when the Cassini-Huygens probe sent back images from Saturn's moon Titan he was happy to discover the geographical features he loves most. There, on the pole of Titan, was a sea full of islands. An unnamed methane sea, but still mappable using vectoring software. This is the map he created, with longitude and latitude lines. More »

chart

Meet the First Realistic Martian Woman

What would we have to do to our bodies if we wanted to live on Mars? io9 consulted scientists, our imaginations, and a designer, and came up with the most realistic-possible portrait of a Martian colonist who might truly exist on the Red Planet in 100 years. She's really tall, doesn't have to wear a bra, and has some pretty awesome photosynthesis and water-reclaiming implants in her exosuit. It's time to meet the first Martian woman. Click through for full frontal. More »

Google Sky Lets You Browse Nearby Galaxies Last night Google rolled out its latest mapping application, which allows you to browse the night sky and zoom in on nearby galaxies and stars. Called Google Sky, it's just about the most fun I've had with a mapping application since . . . well, Google Earth. But unlike Earth, Sky doesn't require you to download a bunch of software. You can browse the heavens as easily as you browse your neighborhood on Google Maps. And there are no annoying little pushpins — only helpful information boxes about what astronomical objects you're gawking at. You won't be able to look away. [Google Sky]

mad economics

Worried About Interplanetary Trade Agreements?

We may not have interplanetary travel for humans yet, but it's never too early to start dealing with problems related to interstellar trade and solar system stock market crashes. That's why textbook publisher Routledge has a journal called Astropolitics, whose latest issue features an in-depth scholarly article on "problems of interplanetary and interstellar trade." And no, the problems aren't "we don't have warp drive yet." More »

galactic domination

Controlling the Galaxy with Von Neumann Probes

It's time to start controlling the galaxy, and the best tool for the job is a self-replicating probe. Space probes that can go incredibly long distances, replicate themselves, and carry things like surveillance devices or molecular foundries, are the brainchild of mid-twentieth century futurist John Von Neumann. Often called Von Neumann Probes, his invention fuels both science fiction and real-life plans for space colonization. In some ways, the Voyager spacecraft are crude, nonreplicating Von Neumann probes, hurtling through space in the hope of making contact with another civilization. Over at Sentient Developments, George Dvorsky has written a great essay on the seven best ways to control the galaxy with Von Neumann Probes. More »

space colony

Future Site of the Moon's First Domed City

You're looking at the future site of the Earth's first permanent base on the Moon's south pole. This picture was created this week using NASA Jet Propulsion Lab's new, extra-powerful radar antenna dish, 70 meters across, in the California Mojave desert. Says NASA researcher Scott Hensley, "With these data [from the new radar antenna] we can see terrain features as small as a house without even leaving the office." Find out why the Moon's south pole is a great spot for condos and what it would be like to live there below. More »

extraterrestrials

Aliens May Look More Like Us Than We Thought

Scientists have known for a while that the building blocks of Earth life, amino acids, are also found in space. Traces of amino acids have been studied in countless meteorites. But now Arizona State researcher Sandra Pizzarello says Earth amino acids also share the same basic structure with those from distant space. This discovery, announced yesterday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could mean that extraterrestrial life would share other structural similarities with Earth life — like symmetrical bodies, for instance — especially if that life had developed from amino acids the way we did. More »

alternate history

NASA's Secret Mission to Saturn in Nuke-Powered Ships

Back in the mid-twentieth century, a bunch of NASA engineers had a dream — a highly-classified dream — about taking a nuclear-powered rocked to Saturn. They even went so far as to plan the entire device, create design specs and concept art (some of it pictured here), and name it "Project Orion." Now science historian George Dyson has unearthed a bunch of the recently re-classified papers related to Project Orion, which his father Freeman Dyson was involved in, and put them together into a short, entertaining presentation. Essentially he's unearthed an alternate history of the space program that might have been if NASA hadn't canceled it. Check out his entertaining story below. More »

space porn

Titan Rises Behind Saturn's Rings

Haze-covered Titan, a moon of Saturn with a dense, cloudy atmosphere, was mapped extensively by the recent Cassini-Huygens space probe. The probe sent back beautiful space vistas like this one, whereTitan is the glowing globe behind Saturn's rings, and tiny moon Epimetheus is the small body you see floating above it. The space probe also gave up-close view of the surface of this moon, perhaps most famous for being the place where the aliens of 2001 have left a second monolith. What you may not have known is that the surface of Titan is ridged with sand dunes. Want to see them? More »