science / Space
How does the Moon make water?A special instrument aboard a space probe has boosted a hypothesis that the Moon generates water thanks to collisions between solar particles and lunar dust.
iol.co.za Friday, October 16, 2009Glitch Delays Rollout of NASA's New RocketNASA's Ares I-X test rocket has been delayed from its launch pad rollout due to a faulty part.
SPACE.com Friday, October 16, 2009How to Get More Bicyclists on the RoadGetting people out of cars and onto bicycles, a much more sustainable form of transportation, has long vexed environmentally conscious city planners. Although bike lanes painted on streets and automobile-free “greenways” have increased ridership over the past few years, the share of people relying on bikes for transportation is still less than 2 percent, based on various studies. An emerging body of research suggests that a superior strategy to increase pedal pushing could be had by asking the perennial question: What do women want?In the U.S., men’s cycling trips surpass women’s by at least 2:1. This ratio stands in marked contrast to cycling in European countries, where urban biking is a way of life and draws about as many women as men--sometimes more. In the Netherlands, where 27 percent of all trips are made by bike, 55 percent of all riders are women. In Germany 12 percent of all trips are on bikes, 49 percent of which are made by women. [More]
Scientific American Friday, October 16, 2009New concept may enhance Earth-Mars communication(European Space Agency) Direct communication between Earth and Mars can be strongly disturbed and even blocked by the Sun for weeks at a time, cutting off any future human mission to the Red Planet. An ESA engineer working with engineers in the UK may have found a solution using a new type of orbit combined with continuous-thrust ion propulsion.
Eurekalert.org Friday, October 16, 2009Cassini helps redraw shape of solar system(Johns Hopkins University) The solar system, as defined by the heliosphere, the region of the sun's influence, may have a quite different shape than
scientists had thought.
Eurekalert.org Friday, October 16, 2009Baja California residents watching for Hurricane Rick(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) Based on computer forecast models, the residents of southern and central Baja California should prepare over the weekend for now Tropical Storm Rick. Rick formed late yesterday, October 15, and is expected to become a major hurricane over the weekend. NASA satellite imagery captured the storm this morning as a strong tropical storm off the western Mexican coast. NASA infrared satellite imagery suggests an eyewall forming indicating the storm is powering up.
Eurekalert.org Friday, October 16, 2009AIAA to present awards at 28th Digital Avionics Systems Conference(American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics) The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics will recognize key contributions to digital avionics and information systems at a noon awards luncheon on Thursday, October 28 as part of the 28th Digital Avionics Systems Conference, being held October 25 at the Florida Hotel & Conference Center, Orlando, Fla.
Eurekalert.org Friday, October 16, 2009Mapping The Boundaries Of The Solar SystemNASA launched the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft last year to investigate the edges of the heliosphere — the insulating bubble the sun creates around the solar system. IBEX principal investigator David McComas reports on the first surprising results.
NPR Friday, October 16, 2009Next Stop: The MoonThe moon has been getting a lot of traffic recently. Missions from the U.S., India, and Japan have all flown by, or into, our lunar neighbor. Planetary scientist Paul Spudis explains how the data collected may help make the moon a pit stop for future planetary missions.
NPR Friday, October 16, 2009Meteorite from Sept. 25 fireball event recovered and presented(University of Western Ontario) A meteorite the size of a golf ball, from a Sept. 25 fireball event has been recovered after a Grimsby, Ontario, family discovered what they thought was a vandal's rock on their car hood. The
university of Western Ontario has been searching for meteorites since the event lit up the skies and was captured by a series of "all-sky" cameras of the
university's Southern Ontario Meteor Network. The meteorite is estimated to be 4.6 billion years old.
Eurekalert.org Friday, October 16, 2009
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