Arsenic-based life and Astrobiology

It’s been some time since the controvertial announcement that “arsenic-based life” had been discovered on planet Earth. With time, however, the less-sensational reality of the discovery has been made more clear, and I think it is sensible to review the current state of the research as it relates to the biochemistry of life and the idea of […]

Science outreach, crossing the mainstream divide, and “Chasing UFOs”

I know there will be quite a lot on this here at the Astrowright blog in the coming weeks and months, but to begin very briefly, I’m excited to report that I’m set to appear on/host a National Geographic series next month (somewhat sensationally) entitled, “Chasing UFOs.” The project zeroed in on the “top 5%” – the […]

Cycloidal Ridges on Europa: A Xenoarchaeological Analogue

When seriously considering the possibility of xenoarchaeology as a practicable science, I’ve proposed (as have others) the endeavor to be deeply interdisciplinary. Solid archaeological methodologies will need to be complemented with and modified by a strong foundation in planetary science. I also often suggest that the practice of xenoarchaeology will find its most frequent utility in “debunking” rushed, […]

Xenoarchaeology: Reality and Fantasy

Cultural Xenoarchaeology For reasons I can’t immediately explain, (the recent rash of technical publications addressing the concept of “xenoarchaeology” or “non-terrestrial artifacts” nonwithstanding,) there is a tantalizing idea cropping up in a number of recent and upcoming films and television programs. (See: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Prometheus, Ancient Aliens.) This concept, simply, involves the […]

H.G. Wells, Crichton, and Planetary Protection

Much of the challenge of communicating scientific concepts to the public at-large comes in attempting to find ways to make ideas easily digestible. When talking about human space exploration, the possibility of finding extraterrestrial life, or the recovery of cultural artifacts from non-terrestrial sources, the concept of planetary protection is key. Basically, planetary protection stresses the […]

Xenoarchaeology Critical Mass

Xenoarchaeology Rising 2011 has been a good year for the nascent pursuit of xenoarchaeology as serious science. After beginning a conversation with a 2010 Viewpoint article I authored in the journal Space Policy, which was intended as a broad, conceptual justification for the further development of xenoarchaeology as a field, I was rewarded with a generally favorable review […]

Summer Hits: Martian Water, Asteroid Nukes, Orbital Antimatter!

Here’s a recap of some of this summer’s greatest hits in space news that you might have missed: Water on Mars In an utterly tantalizing development, scientists analyzing imagery from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) have announced what appears for all the world to be direct evidence of water on Mars! Because the MRO has […]

New ideas on the altar of science

How are ideas that had once been considered speculative best adopted into the practice of serious scientific investigation? How are speculative ideas most effectively graduated from the realm of science fiction and introduced into scientific discourse? By what benchmarks of conceptual “distance” are speculative concepts evaluated before being considered too fringe for serious consideration? These are questions with which I find myself […]

Introducing Astrowright Spaceflight Consulting LLC

This has been nearly impossible for me to keep under my hat for so long, but after nearly a year of preliminary work, I am thrilled to announce that Astrowright Spaceflight Consulting LLC is open for business (www.astrowright.com). So, what is the venture specifically? The firm offers a suite of spaceflight-related services, including orbital and […]

Resurrecting Astro-paleontology

A quick note today pointing to an interview with astro-paleontology pioneer John Armitage that was recently published on the Space Archaeology blog. In short, Armitage pioneered research (see: Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, vol. 30, pp. 466-9, 1976) that was quite nearly lost to the sands of time until rescued by Steve Wilson and posted […]