Yearly Archives: 2013

Government reopens, NASA back on track

Posted on October 19, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

On Wednesday, the US Congress passed a budget deal reopening the government and avoiding the much worse debt ceiling collision by only a couple of hours. Of course, we can expect loads more fun when the short-term deal runs out … Continue reading →

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Confirmed! 9 lost episodes of Doctor Who recovered

Posted on October 12, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

Doctor Who is an excellent British science fiction show about the titular time traveling alien, which has enthralled audiences literally for generations with the help of (depending how you count them) 13 lead actors. It celebrates its 50th anniversary next … Continue reading →

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Movie review: Gravity

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

Well, this is a treat. It’s not often you see such quality hard science fiction on the big screen these days. Gravity is a film about two astronauts trying to survive after the Space Shuttle is destroyed by flying space … Continue reading →

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Government shuts down: now what?

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

By now, you’ve probably heard that the United States government is shut down, having failed to pass a budget, something that last happened in 1996. I’ll spare the annoying political details and just say that neither of the two parties … Continue reading →

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In the sky: Venus

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

Venus, the nearest planet to Earth, has long been an object of interest in the heavens. It is the brightest point-like object in the sky (for now: it only narrowly edges out the International Space Station), and aside from the … Continue reading →

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Welcome to the Future: the year we became an interstellar civilization

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

When the Voyager 1 spacecraft was launched in 1977, it’s mission was to explore Jupiter and Saturn. But 35 years and 122 astronomical units later, the venerable probe entered interstellar space. Read that again: We put a spacecraft in interstellar … Continue reading →

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Book review: Bronze Summer by Stephen Baxter

Posted on September 8, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

1159 BC. The Trojan War has been over for a generation. The Mycenaean Greek kingdoms are crumbling. The Empire of Hatti–known to the modern world as the Hittites–is hanging by a thread, saved from collapse only by gifts of imported … Continue reading →

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A ringed (?) planet (?) with moons (?) far, far away

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

The majestic rings of Saturn are one of the most beautiful sights in our Solar System and a favorite target of stargazers. But all of the gas giant planets in our Solar System have rings, at least very faint ones. … Continue reading →

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In the sky: Nova Delphini 2013

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

A rare event is happening this month–one that only happens once every few years–a naked eye nova is visible in the night sky. This is not a supernova, but what is sometimes called a “classical nova”, literally, a “new” star … Continue reading →

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Kepler Mission officially retires from planet hunting

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

Today, NASA announced that the Kepler Spacecraft has been officially retired from its primary mission of looking for Earth-like planets around other stars. Two of the spacecraft’s four reaction wheels–basically gyroscopes that keep it pointed straight–have failed in the past … Continue reading →

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