The latest on the search for planets in other planetary systems. . //
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Where Should We Look for Alien Artefacts?
There is a problem with our approach at the moment when looking for alien civilisations. SETI looks for signals that are sent by the electromagnetic spectrum and their are a lot of frequencies to search. If you pair this with the size of the universe you can see how SETI is really looking for a [...]
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How to Talk to Aliens
Lots of signals have gone into space such as TV, radar and radio. The signals have been betraying our presence for 60 years and have passed over about 6000 star systems and are reaching new systems every day. This would seem to be enough, even though we haven’t received anything back yet, but what if [...]
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A Debate on the Existence of Intelligent Life
The great debate is held at Berkley university and this one is on SETI, it’s worth a listen. SETI debate //
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Flying Telescope Takes to the Skies
Nasa’s stratospheric Observatory for infrared astronomy (SOFIA) or if you don’t want to be smart airborne telescope, took its first flight yesterday. As you can see from the image a door opens in the 747 so that the telescope can see the sky. It may sound odd to be flying around with a telescope hanging [...]
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The Meaning of Life Discovered, No Just a Little Step Closer
When the universe was made it was not made equal however it was made. It should have consisted of matter and antimatter in equal quantities but this would have meant annihilation for our wonderful universe. Luckily for us there is just matter to worry about. The Fermilab (obviously trying to beat the LHC to the [...]
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Evidence for the Theory That Half the Normal Matter in the Universe Is Found in a Gas
Scientist’s embarrassment may have been spared by the discovery of a large amount of gas lying along the edge of some galaxies about 400 million light years from Earth. Results were needed to support a prediction that about half of the normal matter in the universe is found in a gas. There is no point [...]
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Best Of The Week Podcast- SETI and the Universe
Fifty years ago, a young astronomer named Frank Drake pointed a radio telescope at nearby stars in the hope of picking up a signal from an alien civilization. Thus began one of the boldest scientific projects in history: the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). A great lecture with slides from the Royal Society. // Join [...]
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Best of the Week Podcast- Why Don’t Supernovas Explode When They Should Do?
Supernovas don’t explode. Why is that? The nuclear fuel runs out and it begins a collapse under its own weight and there should be a massive blast, but nothing happens. Something is being missed but a new space telescope should resolve this problem. //
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Carnival Of Space #123
Normally I write an article on physics or space but sometimes I will be going through a few links of a few blogs that are quite good for all sorts of things about space and physics. This is called a carnival and if you look on the Internet you’ll find a lot of other links [...]
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Are There Other Universes Just Beyond Our Fingertips?
Parallel universes have always been used in science fiction as a great tool, but, as science fiction has a funny way of turning into fact (see Arthur C. Clark’s predictions) having parallel universes is getting very close to being a fact although they are theory at the moment. But how can our universe (or the [...]
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Does Something Unknown Lurk at the Galactic Center?
It may be a bit of a long way away (26,000 ly) but it is an interesting place to go. At 26,000 light years away it would take 26,000 years as measured by clocks on Earth at the speed of light, and no time at all as measured by your watch. Time is relative, not fixed. [...]
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Blow Up Your Brain With Quantum Physics, Or Perhaps Not?
Quantum theory is bizarre and daft and if somebody told me about this in the pub then I would laugh them outside, and then drown myself in beer. In order to try and understand, we need to forget everything we know about what causes things to happen and what effects are caused. You also need to [...]
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A New Human Race To Explore The Stars?
In an earlier post we talked about robots doing our dirty work and exploring the universe, relaying images back to us allowing us to see what they have found without actually risking our own necks. If you fancy a look then the post is here ”Is Humanity A Space Fairing Race?” . I have a funny [...]
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Is Nothing Nothing Or Something?
I was tempted just to post a blank page, but that still wouldn’t have been nothing and would have been cheating. So here we go… Let’s say you walk into a room and there is “nothing in it” — no objects of any kind, no furniture and no people. It’s just four walls, a ceiling [...]
