Category Archives: Planetary Science

Pioneer Anomaly is no longer anomalous

Thanks to funding from the Planetary Society, of which I am a proud member, the “Pioneer Anomaly” has been definitively resolved. Physics has prevailed over speculation. Over the past 20 years, some people, including a few scientists, have looked at … Continue reading

Posted in Physics, Planetary Science, Space and Astronomy, Technology | 2 Comments

James Webb Space Telescope on Chopping Block

URGENT from Heidi Hammel: “The House Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Subcommittee has proposed termination of the James Webb Space Telescope. Now is the time to contact your representatives in Washington, as well as members of the Appropriations Subcommittees, if … Continue reading

Posted in Blog Entry, Planetary Science, Science, Science and Public Policy, Science Technology and Society, Space and Astronomy | 5 Comments

Discover Janet’s Planet

I just learned about a TV production that is sure to excite young viewers about the universe. Even though I’m not blogging much due to a fast-track book commitment, I decided to share this news release. (Source: http://www.seig-pr.com/janetsplanet.pdf)

Posted in media, Planetary Science, Space and Astronomy | Leave a comment

Review of First Contact: Scientific Breakthroughs and the Hunt for Life Beyond Earth

Review of First Contact: Scientific Breakthroughs and the Hunt for Life Beyond Earth by Marc Kaufman Simon & Schuster, $26.00, 224 pages, April 2011 Reviewed by Dr. Fred Bortz

Posted in Astrobiology, Book Reviews, Life Science and Evolution, Planetary Science, Science Books, Space and Astronomy | Leave a comment

Track Kepler’s Candidate Exoplanets with a new app

I’m not an app person, but when I got an e-mail from Hanno Rein of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University suggesting that I look at a new iPhone/iPad app called “Kepler” to track the ever-increasing list of … Continue reading

Posted in Astrobiology, Blog Entry, Planetary Science, Space and Astronomy, Technology | 1 Comment

Out of this world children’s science books

It’s been a while since I used this platform to toot my own horn, so I hope you don’t mind this pointer to an on-line profile.

Posted in about, Astrobiology, Planetary Science, Science, Science Books, Space and Astronomy | 1 Comment

Searching for Martian DNA

I recently began giving a school visit talk called “The Truth About Space Aliens: What We Know and What We Don’t Know About Life on Other Worlds based on my “Cool Science” book, Astrobiology. This news release will certainly give … Continue reading

Posted in Astrobiology, Life Science and Evolution, Planetary Science, Science, Science Books | 1 Comment

Jim Elliot, discoverer of rings of Uranus, 1943-2011

One of the themes in my writing for young readers has been that a scientist’s achievements flow from the richness of his or her life, that s/he is more than his/her discoveries. So I share this obituary of Jim Elliot, … Continue reading

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Europa serves as guide star for Keck adaptive optics view of Jupiter

One of my greatest writing pleasures has been getting to know Heidi Hammel when I wrote her biography, Beyond Jupiter for the Joseph Henry Press “Women’s Adventures in Science” series. Among the many things we have discussed is the advance … Continue reading

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ET’s home planet?

NASA’s Kepler spacecraft has discovered an extraordinary planetary system with six rocky worlds capable of supporting life about 2000 light years from Earth.

Posted in Astrobiology, Book Reviews, Planetary Science, Science Books, Space and Astronomy | 1 Comment