Science

Over at NewScientist.com, someone named Bob Holmes imagines all the wonderful things that would happen to the Earth if all the people disappeared: By some estimates, we now commandeer 40 per cent of all its productivity. And we're leaving quite a mess behind: ploughed-up prairies, razed forests, drained aquifers, nuclear waste, chemical pollution, invasive species, mass … [Read more...] about Earth Without Us

When Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the moon in 1969, everyone heard him say, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." But that doesn't really make much sense, does it? "Man" and "mankind" mean the same thing in this context, so he's saying that mankind took a small step and a giant leap at the same time. That's not very profound, is it? It … [Read more...] about A Slightly Larger Step

Via Jesse Walker at Reason, the coolest thing you'll see today. Astrophotographer Thierry Legault used a telescope and camera to catch a picture of the sun at the exact moment when the International Space Station passed between the sun and his position on the Earth. It was just after the Atlantis shuttle had undocked. Awesome photo. Note that the space station and shuttle … [Read more...] about Solar Transit of ISS and Atlantis

Pluto is not a planet. Despite earlier indications that the International Astronomical Union might adopt a broad definition of a planet that includes Pluto and additional objects in the list of planets, they've decided that Pluto isn't a planet after all, and neither are the other three objects they had been considering: Charon, Ceres, and 2003 UB313. The good news, I … [Read more...] about Bummer

There's some interesting news news from the International Astronomical Union this morning. They may be about to settle on the definition of a planet...and there are more of them than you think. (For those of you who don't remember this stuff, you're supposed to think there are nine of them.) The sticking point has been the most distant planet, Pluto. We've been calling it a … [Read more...] about Pluto and Friends