Universe Today - November 30, 2000 |
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the U N I V E R S E T O D A Y Space Exploration News From Around the Internet, Updated Every Weekday. November 30, 2000 - Issue #348 http://www.universetoday.com info@universetoday.com An HTML version of this newsletter including pictures is available at: http://www.universetoday.com/html/misc/today.html ************************************** Fraser's Favorite Book (surprise! it isn't about space) Thanks to a reminder from Phil Plait at Badastronomy.com, I'm rereading one of my favorite science books, "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark" by the late Carl Sagan. Beyond just a systematic debunkment all kinds of pseudoscience, he explores why people turn to pseudoscience in the first place and how this dangerous trend is reminiscent of some of our darker periods in history. If you're a skeptic or a scientist, you've probably already got a dog-earred copy of Demon Haunted World, but I recommend this book most to people who are generally interested in science, but don't necessarily understand the underlying methodology that separates it from pseudoscience. Under the scientific method, nothing is true; nothing is proven. All we've got are theories that support the evidence. Gravity, relativity, and evolution are all just theories, with scientists hard at work figuring out ways to disprove them. And it's this constant scrutiny that strengthens the theory, or replaces it with something that better supports the evidence. Pseudoscience avoids scrutiny, and asks its followers to rely on faith. It's an important difference. Like I said, this book is required reading. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345409469/universetoday/ (and if you buy it from Amazon.com, I get money. That would really make it my favorite book.) Fraser Cain Publisher Universe Today P.S If you want to watch the shuttle launch tonight, tune into http://www.nasa.gov/ntv/ntvweb.html to see a list of locations where you can watch on the web - 10:06pm EST (3:06am GMT). ************************************** -- UNIVERSE TODAY STORY SUMMARY -- * Hubble Images Swirling Gas Around Galactic Black Hole * Shuttle is Ready for Tonight's Launch * Hopping Robot Could be the Future of Robotic Explorers HUBBLE IMAGES SWIRLING GAS AROUND GALACTIC BLACK HOLE ------------------------- The Hubble Space Telescope revealed new images of gas swirling into a giant black hole at the centre of a nearby galaxy located in the constellation Circinus. The gas is located mainly in two rings, one at 260 light-years and another at 1,300 light years. It's these rings of gas which are of greatest interest to astronomers because they have found evidence of new star formation. Original Source: http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/2000/37/index.html Internet Coverage: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1048000/1048387.stm http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/11/29/hubble.galaxy.core/index.html Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/hubble.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/astronomy.html Related Books: http://www.universetoday.com/html/books/hubble.html SHUTTLE IS READY FOR TONIGHT'S LAUNCH ------------------------- It's the final day of the countdown, and everything is go for launch of the space shuttle Endeavour up to the International Space Station. The shuttle has on board the largest and most expensive set of solar panels ever attached to a spacecraft. Barring any delays, Endeavour and its 5-astronaut crew will lift off the pad at 10:06pm EST (3:06am GMT) tonight for its 10-day visit to the station. Original Source: http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/status/stsstat/current.htm Internet Coverage: http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/11/30/space.shuttle.ap/index.html http://www.discovery.com/news/briefs/20001130/sp_shuttle.html http://www.chron.com/content/interactive/space/station/stories/2000/20001130.html Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/shuttle.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/nasa.html Related Books: http://www.universetoday.com/html/books/spaceshuttle.html HOPPING ROBOT COULD BE THE FUTURE OF ROBOTIC EXPLORERS ------------------------- NASA engineers are working on a new robotic explorer with the strangest propulsion system - frog legs. The 1.3 kg robot is capable of leaping almost 2 metres, as well as righting and steering itself. On the low gravity of an asteroid, the robot would be able to leap over 6 metres, ideal for moving over extremely rough terrain. Because of their small size, the robots will be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, so several can be released on the surface of an asteroid at the same time. Original Source: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/2000/frog.html Internet Coverage: http://www.cosmiverse.com/space113002.html http://www.spacedaily.com/news/robot-00r.html Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/nasa.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/spaceexploration.html Related Books: http://www.universetoday.com/html/books/spaceexploration.html ************************************************ Space-related sites... Revealing the Star of Bethlehem - http://www.eclipse.net/~molnar Ancient Roman coins help to reveal the Star of Bethlehem Champaign-Urbana Astronomical Society - http://www.prairienet.org/cuas 90 member astronomical society located in central Illinois. The society maintains a 15' observatory with a 16" SCT and a 6" refractor located under fairly dark skies. STARS - http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/sow.html STARS (the Star of the Week) describes a different star each week, giving its lore, its astronomical and astrophysical characteristics, and a photo showing its location. KryssTal - http://www.krysstal.com Astronomy, physics, chemistry, mathematics, and eclipse expeditions UFO Folklore - http://www.qtm.net/~geibdan/framemst.html Award winning UFO Site with a twist, shaken, not stirred. SpaceArt - http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/billwright5 Bill Wright's SpaceArt: Astronomical and Science Fiction Art; including innovative spacecraft hardware, planetary and stellar vistas and the manned exploration of outer space Denver Astronomical Society - http://www.denverastro.org A large amateur astronomy club centered in Denver, Colorado. Rui Rocha - http://geocities.com/rui_miguel_rocha Site with information about what to look in the sky! I have astronomic events too! Everything in Portuguese! Astronomical Club of Tierp - http://home.swipnet.se/tak Homepage of an amateur astronomy club in Sweden. Astronomy Central by Pat Baker - http://www.execpc.com/patrickbaker Universe Of Astronomy Tour, Solar System, Universe, Amateur, Telescopes, etc Jeff MacQuarrie's Astronomy Homepage - http://members.aol.com/tchphysics Astronomy images of galaxies, nebulae, aurorae, comets and star fields obtained through a 16-inch Newtonian telescope. ------------------------- To unsubscribe from this newsletter, just reply with only the subject line "UNSUBSCRIBE !*EMAIL*!". All contents copyright (c) 2000 Universe Today |