One Astronomer's Noise

A few fun, fantastic, and important things of note from the weekend:

Duck! An asteroid is going to come whizzing by, as the Bad Astronomer points out. Okay, it’s not coming dangerously close, but astronomers are getting better at detecting approaching asteroids. The pun-master also ends this post with a real side-splitter.

James Randi speaks about Carl Sagan… so cool…

Ian O’Neill wrote up a news story for Universe Today about a Russian probe that aims to send microbes to Mars’s moon Phobos to see if they will survive and flourish upon return. This led to a very interesting Twitter discussion about the regulations and international treaties in place that forbids the contamination of other worlds. (Thanks to gfish3000, pgerak, and sumrtime!) As long as the bugs stay in the spacecraft, they should be alright. Just don’t crash…

Carl Zimmer of The Loom continues his exploration of a a recent Washington Post column that did not properly fact-check on a scientific study involving global coverage of ice. Reading through the whole story as it happens is a fascinating insight into the world of science journalism, and there’s a cautionary tale for scientists and journalists alike. (When in doubt, ASK the people who did the research!)

Mike Simonsen posts a really pretty picture of sundogs! Go look go look go look! I’ve never seen that in person, but would like to. I did get some decent pictures of moondogs a while back, which I’ve added to my brand new Flickr account. Go add me as a contact. I love looking a pretty pictures.

Daylight Atheism has some “action items” for those who are interested in keeping church and state separate. They take just a few minutes of your time. In fact, I was talking recently with a friend who was lobbying with Planned Parenthood. She told me that, contrary to my original belief, the staff of politicians actually tally up the “for” and “against” statements from their constituents and include that when voting, even if they can’t get around to actually reading all the comments.

The big, bad PZ Myers shows his soft side for a touching story animated by Nina Paley. It is called “Sita Sings the Blues” and is billed as “the greatest breakup story ever told.” It puts fantastic visuals with Hindu myth, modern love and pain, and 1920s jazz. It is SO worth a watch. It has also been down intermittently, but be patient, it should be available. It is being made available in other formats, under a Creative Commons License. There are some bitorrents out there, too!

Enjoy! On to the week…