Sci-Fi Storm

Better start rewriting those science books. The International Astronomer’s Union (IAU) have kicked Pluto out of the planetary club [Doc: Old link no longer works], in the process making our solar system consist of only eight planets.

I thought I heard that this had already been decided in Pluto’s favor, but tons of new articles abound about the upcoming decision of the IAU regarding what constitutes a planet – and therefore whether Pluto will lose status. Pluto has had questionable status for years when it was learned it was far smaller than believed – and the discovery several years ago of 2003 UB313 “Xena”, further out and slightly larger – is pressing the IAU to decide what really should be called a planet. Most likely Pluto will remain a “planet”, but be lumped into a different class of planet, such as “dwarf planet”. We probably won’t find out until the end of the month – a vote is scheduled on Aug. 24th.

Seems someone thinks a “warp drive” is within the realm of reality. The theory, first proposed by the late Burkhard Heim in the 1950s and would require a change in current physics models, involves a large magnetic field which in turn generates a gravity field that can be used for propulsion – and if large enough, slip the engine into another dimension. It seems to be totally unproven at this point, but the Z Machine at Sandia National Laboratories could possibly produce the magnetic fields to test the theory. Just be sure that when you slip in and out of those extra dimensions you don’t bring something back…

On the science fact side of things, recent research using the Spitzer Space Telescope peered into the Milky Way with an infrared eye, and discovered that our galaxy isn’t a pure spiral after all as long believed (and written in many text books), but rather it is a “barred” spiral, where a “bar” of stars passes through the core, and the arms of the spiral swirl off the bar instead of the traditional “whirlpool” with the core at the center. This isn’t unexpected news – its been suspected for several years.

The International Astronomers Union announced that they have named the asteroid 2001 DA42 after the late Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy author Douglas Adams. When the IAU asked for suggestions for future namings, one person mentioned Mr. Adams, the IAU found an asteroid that seemed proper – it was found the year of his death, and already bore his initials, and the Answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything, 42. He was semi-immortalized previously with another asteroid named Arthurdent.

Seems the Earth may have third natural moon. The object, dubbed J002E2 (or J002E3, depending on the report), may have arrived recently, and is currently in a 50-day orbit. It still is undecided if it truly is a natural body or perhaps a piece of terrestrial space junk. The Earth’s second “moon”, called Cruithne, is apparently a Trojan asteroid scribing a horseshoe-like path.

Update 9/12: Looks like it could just be a Saturn V S-IVB stage, likely from Apollo 12.

Concerned Scientist writes “It’s not science fiction any more, scientists can take advantage
of your spare BRAIN power over the internet to advance science. Two heads are
better than one, and in the case of online, Internet-based psychology experiments,
many thousands of heads can rapidly speed the pace of science. The
American Psychological Society
is currently sponsoring a variety of quick and easy
online experiments
that range from simple and anonymous surveys to
interactive, graphical
experiments. Online experiments can provide an entertaining
way to spend a coffee break but can also teach you about the human brain;
each experiment provides a scientific explanation of the study once completed.
Donate your spare brain power today!”

Sir Fred Hoyle, a British astronomer and author (including some SF novels), died August 20th in England. Hoyle came up with the phrase “Big Bang”, even though he did not believe in the theory.

tcgardner writes “Dennis Tito is being allowed to go on a tourist trip to the space station. What do you think about this? Is he someone with no business being who just caught the Russians in a hard place for cash? Or, is he a pioneer for the “rest of us” getting into space?

Here’s some background on the debate.”

tcgardner writes “NASANews is reporting the testing of their new scramjet technology. The first of three tests will drop the X-43A test plane from a B-52 and accelerate it to Mach 7 with a Pegasus booster rocket. At that point the scramjet will engage and hold the plane at Mach 7. Other tests will take the plane to Mach 10.

The potential here is enourmous. In the future we may be able to launch,fly, and land our spacecraft as easily as conventional aircraft of today.

This is part of NASA’s Hyper-X Program.”