A large object, possibly an asteroid or a meteor, hit the planet Jupiter on Thursday, resulting in a large fireball. The fireball was seen on June 3 at 2031 UTC by two independent amateur astronomers, Christopher Go in the Philippines and Anthony Wesley in Australia. Wesley, who is known for having also spotted last July’s Jupiter impact event. He caught this latest impact on video, which showed a fireball the size of Earth after the object hit. It could be … Continue reading →
A crew of 6 men were sealed into their ‘spacecraft’ today in a simulated mission to Mars. For the next 520 days they will be living in close proximity, physically isolated from the outside world. They will live and work like astronauts, eat special food and exercise in the same way as crews aboard the International Space Station. The first 250 days of the mission will simulate travelling to Mars, followed by a month of exploring their surroundings and another … Continue reading →
Every great leap forward, whether technological or social, stems from a number of smaller steps and events. A revolution first needs a spirit of discontent, oppressive leadership, and a spreading philosophy which allows the masses to think about means to freedom. The inventor of the internal combustion engine needed to know about mechanics, metallurgy, chemistry, and these technologies all came from previous inventions. In the same way, we need to develop a foundation of bridging technologies before mankind can become … Continue reading →
It’s a great pity that I was unable to make ScopeX this year, but by all accounts it was a great success and has continued the tradition of raising the standard every year. As usual, a number of prizes were awarded in various categories, and for a full breakdown you can visit the updated ScopeX page. Congratulations to all the winners! http://www.scopex.co.za/
Continue reading →The Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) is a project based at the University of Arizona which is scanning the Solar System to find and catalogue all asteroids and comets with orbits that might bring them in close proximity to Earth. Such a catalogue is essential if we are ever to have an early warning system to detect large objects which might collide with the Earth, such as the Chicxulub impact which is generally believed to have been responsible for the extinction … Continue reading →
