Archives for January 2007
The Latest Hubble Malfunction
Published on 31 Jan 2007 at 1:37 pm.
3 Comments.
Filed under space telescopes.
I had heard about this a couple days ago, but I held off posting until I was more sure of the issue. It appears that the Hubble Space Telescope has had another instrument failure. The malfunctioning instrument is the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), which is one of the main cameras.
It […]
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Sea Launch Failure Today
Published on 30 Jan 2007 at 5:47 pm.
2 Comments.
Filed under rockets, space businesses.
I am a strong proponent of private space ventures. This includes the private companies springing up to launch payloads into space. One such company that I’ve watched with interest for several years is Sea Launch. They have an interesting concept. Rather than building a costly launch facility somewhere on land, and […]
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Just a second
Published on 29 Jan 2007 at 2:50 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under time.
Right at the beginning of first semester physics, we discuss the meaning of various units. One of those units is the second. So, just what is a second?
That turns out not to be so easy to answer. We need to stop and think. A second is 1/60 of minute, and a minute is 1/60 of […]
Hyperion
Published on 28 Jan 2007 at 2:04 pm.
No Comments.
Filed under extraterrestrial moons.
I saw that today’s Astronomy Picture of the Day was Hyperion, so I thought that I’d say a bit about this moon. In September, 2005, the Cassini spacecraft flew by Saturn’s moon Hyperion, providing us our best view of this enigmatic body. And, enigmatic it certainly is. Discovered in 1848, little […]
99942 Apophis
Published on 27 Jan 2007 at 12:50 pm.
17 Comments.
Filed under asteroids.
In June of 2004, Roy Tucker, David Tholen, and Fabrizio Bernardi discovered an asteroid. This particular asteroid was give the provisional designation 2004 MN4. Asteroids are discovered all the time, and normally, while cool for the ones discovering them, they don’t make much in the way of news. This one was different. […]
Dark antimatter?
Published on 26 Jan 2007 at 12:56 pm.
5 Comments.
Filed under dark matter, physics.
Every particle of matter had a corresponding particle of antimatter. When a particle of matter and a particle of antimatter come together they annihilate one another, creating two gamma rays traveling in opposite directions. So, when an electron and a positron (an anti-electron) meet, they produce two gamma rays having 511keV of energy. […]
Internet Explorer 7 Problems?
Published on 25 Jan 2007 at 1:03 pm.
5 Comments.
Filed under Uncategorized.
Hmm. Maybe someone out there knows more about this than I do. However, I suspect that Internet Explorer 7 does not work well with Astroprof’s Page. Actually, it seems to have a number of issues that I’ve found. And, I suspect that IE7 is seizing up my web site sometimes.
Personally, […]
