The home of Mac info for New Zealanders, mac-nz serves daily Mac, iPhone and related news from the world of Apple Inc.
Futurology #124: colonising space
Monday, 21 December 2009
To colonise a new planet: The latest batch of 11 new “exoplanets” includes one, GJ 1214b, that is 2.7 times larger than Earth and is confirmed to be mostly water, the stuff of life as we know it). Smart Planet wonders whether humans will be forced to leave Earth and colonise.
[Comment: I think I'll stay home.]
Most Earth-like planet yet is not too far away: GJ 1214b, not far outside our solar system, is not exactly Earth’s twin. It’s about six times bigger, much hotter and made mostly of water. But compared to the giant gas balls that account for nearly every other extrasolar planet ever found, it’s pretty darn close. And through a fortunate happenstance of cosmic geometry, astronomers will be able to study GJ 1214b in great detail, reports Wired.
[Comment: spacesuit — check. Snorkel — check ... ]
How close are we to colonising space? Colonies on the moon or Mars are still many years off, but there are several serious efforts underway to make it happen, writes IO9, not to mention NASA's Constellation project to put a human colony on the moon.
[Comment: Sounds lunatic.]
India finds matter on the Moon: Surendra Pal, associate director of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Satellite Centre, told news outlet DNA India that the Chandrayaan-1 probe detected chemical signals of what may be organic matter on the moon's surface.
The information is being analyzed by ISRO researchers as well as being peer reviewed. If it turns out that the moon does hold organic matter that wasn't placed there by humans, it could help us better understand how organic matter travels through the universe and could provide yet another natural resource for an eventual lunar colony.
[Comment: yeah – where did the Apollo 9 mission leave their lunches?]
A team of researchers, headed by Dr Ellen Stofan, has submitted a proposal to NASA for a mission that would see some kind of vehicle exploring Ligeia Mare, a lake of liquid methane in the North of Titan. According to Stofan, such a mission wouldn't just help scientists understand the chemical composition of the lake itself, but also the ecosystem of the moon, reports IO9.
[Comment: Welcome to the Love Boat.]
Apophis, a 900-foot asteroid, will come close to Earth: Calculations released on Christmas Eve 2004 appeared to show that there was a greater than 2 per cent chance the asteroid would hit the Earth in 2029, on April 3rd in a couple of decades. The asteroid appeared ready to give the Earth its closest shave since astronomers began looking for such things. It was judged a 4 on the Torino Impact Hazard Scale for a short time, the highest rating any near-Earth object has received.
More precise observations brought the risk of collision down to just 1 in 250,000, but the scare sparked greater interest and study in the fields of asteroid detection and defense.
Even though the asteroid doesn’t look like it’s going to hit Earth (in 2029), it will come closer to Earth than any other near-Earth object that we know of. It will pass just 18,300 miles above the planet’s surface.
Even though the asteroid doesn’t look like it’s going to hit Earth (in 2029), it will come closer to Earth than any other near-Earth object that we know of. It will pass just 18,300 miles above the planet’s surface.
[Comment: that's my birthday. Damn.]
In high-definition video was released last Thursday at the American Geophysical Union meeting. Lava bubbles explode as the eruption’s deep rumble fills the bass end of the spectrum.
The new video is more than just spectacular to look at — it provides scientists with their first look at the geological process that creates the seafloor. The video is embedded at Wired (pic).
[Comment: boiled fish, anyone?]
[Comment: boiled fish, anyone?]
