“Astronaut Politics” Meme

One of the universally-championed benefits of human space exploration is not actually related to any physical activities performed while in space. Instead, an important aspect of leaving our world is the change in perception that space exploration has upon astronauts themselves, and the societies that receive them, upon their return. Irrespective of country of origin, […]

Solar System’s “Planet X” lost in space?

Well, the intriguing possibilities affecting the likelihood of a mysterious companion in our Solar System continue to blossom. First, the actions of comets suggested that there may be a large “Planet X” named Tyche beyond the Oort Cloud. Then, we discovered planets around distant stars with highly elliptical, highly inclined orbits, giving us more potential […]

“Planet X” lost in space?

Researchers at the University of Kansas and the Smithsonian Institute have performed one of the most extensive analyses of Earth’s past extinction patterns to date. So, what did researchers Adrian Melott and Richard Bambach conclude? Planet X cannot exist. Planet X, also known as Nemesis, is a proposed “dark” (i.e. dim) companion star to the […]

Two small asteroids bulls-eye between Earth and Moon tomorrow!

Note: Two asteroids, roughly 30-feet-across and 60-feet-across, will zing between the Earth and the Moon sometime tomorrow, as reported by AstronomyNow. Nothing to be alarmed about, as these guys are small enough that if they hit Earth, they’d burn up and become a “shooting star.” However, it is noteworthy that the two ancient rocks, named […]

Solar System has more than one “Planet X”?

Recent observations of the nearby (44 light-years away) multi-planet star system Upsilon Andromedae have kindled in my mind an intriguing question: Namely, can our own solar system have one or perhaps many “Planet Xs” hiding in oblique orbits? Allow me to explain. It has been known for quite some time that the Upsilon Andromedae star […]

CSI: Extinction Event…

Penn State geoscientists have just made the first true bio-geospatial analysis of extinction patterns caused by the Yucatan impact 65 million years ago. What does this mean, exactly? -They managed to make the first determinations about where, how badly, and for how long specific places on Earth were devastated by the impact. Let me tell you, it […]