Blogs
Blog Archive
Staring into Saturn's baleful eye
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/11/27 11:12 CST | 12 comments
Amazing photos have just come back from Cassini, of swirling clouds surrounding Saturn's north pole.
Alan Stern Returns to Planetary Radio
Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2012/11/27 04:08 CST
The New Horizons Pluto mission PI provides an update, and introduces his new public project called Uwingu.
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2012/11/26 04:44 CST
MSL Curiosity left the Earth one year ago today. This is my experience of the launch.
Pretty Picture: Curiosity on the edge of a geologist's paradise
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/11/26 03:11 CST | 1 comments
On Saturday, while parked for the Thanksgiving holiday at the edge of Glenelg, Curiosity took a lovely panorama pointed to the east and into Glenelg.
Two beautiful space picture books by Michael Benson
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/11/26 12:03 CST | 1 comments
Michael Benson's Planetfall and a children's edition of his earlier book Beyond put the gorgeous pictures returned from space front and center.
Orion service module, Ariane development highlight new ESA budget
Posted by Jason Davis on 2012/11/26 06:00 CST | 1 comments
Representatives from the ESA approved a 10 billion euro budget for 2013-2017 during their Ministerial Council last week in Naples, Italy.
Free access to Springer journal PDFs through November 30!
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/11/23 11:52 CST | 10 comments
Springer has made online access to PDF copies of several of their journals free through November 30. One of them, Space Science Reviews, is the one that publishes the canonical papers on most spacecraft instruments. It's a bonanza!
A Gift of Support for Planetary Science
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2012/11/23 06:19 CST
This is a perfect time of the year to give a gift of membership to the Planetary Society to someone you care for.
Cosmoquest Science Hour, Wednesday: Curiosity update with Emily and Fraser
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/11/21 05:30 CST | 6 comments
This week's Cosmoquest Astronomy Hour Google+ Hangout at 1600 PST / midnight UTC on Wednesday will feature me and Fraser Cain talking about what Curiosity's been up to, and answering your questions.
Nifty animation: Dust in the air for Curiosity
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/11/21 11:21 CST
An animation of Curiosity photos shows changes in the weather.
Planetary Radio Live--Celebrating Curiosity
Leaders of the Mars Science Laboratory mission join Bill Nye and others on stage.
Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2012/11/20 04:28 CST
Bill Nye and Planetary Society colleagues welcome mission leaders Richard Cook and John Grotzinger to a live discussion about the Mars Science Laboratory Rover.
Planetary Radio: A Dawn MIssion Update
And a Video Tour of Marc Rayman's Space Collection
Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2012/11/20 12:36 CST
A Planetary Radio status report from the Dawn mission's Marc Rayman, accompanied by a fascinating video tour of Marc's at-home collection of space information and memorabilia.
Curiosity news that's not news (or maybe it is), and some thoughts on art and science
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/11/20 12:24 CST | 5 comments
This morning while driving to work I heard a terrific story about Curiosity on National Public Radio from Joe Palca, NPR's science correspondent. It was a great story despite the fact that it contained virtually no news. The nugget of non-news is that SAM's analysis of Mars soil has yielded some unspecified, exciting, but not-yet-confirmed result. But that's not really what Palca's story is about.
Calling (Really Serious) Asteroid Hunters
New Shoemaker NEO Grant Call for Proposals
Posted by Bruce Betts on 2012/11/19 10:06 CST | 9 comments
I am happy to announce a new call for proposals for The Planetary Society’s Gene Shoemaker Near Earth Object (NEO) grant program, which is celebrating its 15th Anniversary. Proposals are due Feb. 4, 2013.
Curiosity sol 102 update: Eppur si muove
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/11/19 06:36 CST | 2 comments
Curiosity is a rover again at last! She was parked at the dune named Rocknest for 40 sols, from sol 60 through 99. On sol 100, she drove right on top of the dune, obliterating her five scoop marks. Then on sol 102 she took a good long, 35-meter drive so that she's now right on the edge of the "high thermal inertia unit" that attracted her to the spot the team has named Glenelg.
The latest issue of Planetary Report is available online!
Posted by Donna Stevens on 2012/11/17 05:57 CST | 2 comments
The September Solstice 2012 issue of The Planetary Report is now available online for members who prefer to get their magazine electronically. I’m especially proud of this issue because of its broad scope—it celebrates our past and peers into our future as a spacefaring species.
Dawn Vesta Data is publicly available (for real this time!)
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/11/16 07:08 CST | 2 comments
After a false start earlier this year, the first chunk of Dawn Framing Camera data from Vesta has finally made it to the Planetary Data System. As a first step to understanding the data set, I've built some index pages to these cool images.
Save Our Science: November Update
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2012/11/15 01:05 CST | 5 comments
We've sent over sixteen thousand of emails to the president, but we need more.
Visiting Viking at Seattle's Museum of Flight
Posted by Tom Dahl on 2012/11/14 03:03 CST
One of the nicest aerospace museums in the United States is the Museum of Flight, outside Seattle, Washington. I traveled cross-country in order to visit the "Flight Capsule 3" Viking lander, a backup unit that was never completed. Its partially built state exposes its internal structures, making it a boon to study.
A Night To Remember: Celebrating Carl Sagan
The Planetary Society's glorious tribute to Dr. Sagan, with some of his best friends.
Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2012/11/13 10:02 CST | 1 comments
On the evening of November 9, which would have been Carl Sagan's 78th birthday, the Planetary Society brought together some of his best friends to share their memories. We were also joined by four young scientists whose career choices were influenced by Car.
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