In the latest Planetary Society Hangout on March 21, 2013 the topics included the ALMA Observatory, and tracking asteroids:
Category Archives: Astronomy
ESA Planck returns sharpest cosmic microwave background view yet
The European Planck orbiting observatory has produced the best map ever of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), which can reveal lots of interesting information about the Big Bang and the early universe;
- Planck probe’s cosmic ‘baby picture’ revises universe’s vital statistics – Cosmic Log
- Planck reveals an almost perfect Universe – Planck/ESA
This ESA animation nicely illustrates “how scientists work to extract the oldest light in our universe from maps of the whole sky taken by the Planck mission.”
House hearing on the NEO threat + John S. Lewis on the Year of the Comets
A Congressional hearing on the threat of asteroid impacts was held on Tuesday. Alan Boyle reports:
Congress got the word from NASA on Tuesday about its options for dealing with the threats posed by asteroids and comets: Lawmakers can either provide adequate funding for detecting and characterizing near-Earth objects, and diverting them if necessary — or they can pray.
- Congress hears options for asteroid defense: Pay now or pray later – Cosmic Log
- Smith: Avoiding Asteroid Threats Requires Innovation, Commitment and Diligence | Committee on Science – U.S. House of Representatives
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John S Lewis writes about comets and about their possible impact threat to earth: The Year of the Comets .
NASA ScienceCasts: Sunset Comet
This episode of NASA ScienceCasts is titled Sunset Comet
Comet Pan-STARRS has survived its encounter with the sun and is now emerging from twilight in the sunset skies of the northern hemisphere. A NASA spacecraft monitoring the comet has beamed back pictures of a wild and ragged tail.
More at Sunset Comet – NASA Science
Planetary Society Weekly Hangout: Asteroids, comets, brown dwarfs, and more
The latest Planetary Society Weekly Hangout deals with “Being WISE about asteroids, comets, and brown dwarfs with Amy Main”:
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