catdynamics | May 19, 2009"Vaccine" is the title of a book by Arthur Allen
It has languished far too long on my review pile, and recent events spurred me to read through it:
Vaccine
by Arthur Allen
W.W. Norton
ISBN-13: 978-0-393-05911-3 (hardback)
ISBN-13: 978-0-393-33156-1 (paperback)
A primarily historical account, it starts with the random experiments on smallpox inoculation, and then rapidly moves onto the account of Jenner's discovery of cowpox vaccination.
The story recounts the ups-and-downs of vaccination against various major diseases, including both failures of science, industry and regulation; and the…
catdynamics | May 19, 2009Spitzer is out of cryogen.
Cold mission is dead.
Long live the warm mission!
It is official, as of this weekend, the Spitzer Space Telescope is out of coolant (liquid helium), right on schedule.
This will basically end mid-IR observing, MIPS will not be taking data, as I understand it,
nor will IRS.
So no mid-infrared imaging and no infrared spectroscopy now.
IRAC will continue to provide 3.6 and 4.5 μm imaging on 5'x5' field as an extended "warm mission".
Lots of interesting observations in the pipeline, and more to come in the next 2-3 years, funding permitting.
h/t Astro Dyke
catdynamics | May 19, 2009Bob Rutledge and colleagues are blogging the:
Defining the Neutron Star Crust '09 workshop in Santa Fe.
Right now.
X-ray bursts, superbursts and giant flares. Oh my.
Some good stuff, interesting talk summaries.
catdynamics | May 18, 2009Atlas Hedged
Bankrupt Icelandic gazillionaires
and Woe Is Academia
Atlas Hedged
updating a classic for the modern age - recommended
Peek-a-boo - the Economist explains why Astronomers should have lots of new toys.
Check Out new SciBling "Confessions of A Science Librarian"
PhysioProf's Handy Dandy Guide to D00dly D00d's - how fuckin' not to fuck up in comments on some peoples' blogs
FSP explains why you should read the backlog of student e-mails before going to the last faculty meeting
- have to get into the right frame of mind.
Iceland:
Lára Hanna interviews Michael Hudson on where…
catdynamics | May 18, 2009Hubble repairs are done.
FGS replaced and blankets installed.
Now it just need to be dropped off in orbit - presumably with as good a reboost as they can manage, and then get Atlantis home safely.
Phew.
The wait for orbit verification, first light and calibration.
catdynamics | May 18, 2009Rumours are that a new Administrator for NASA may be named this week
h/t NASAwatch (comments are interesting)
General Charles Bolden (USMC)
Annapolis grad. 100+ sorties in an A6 Intruder in Vietnam.
Test pilot; shuttle pilot and commander - 4 trips including HST launch.
Assitant Deputy Administrator of NASA under Goldin.
Annapolis deputy; 1 MEF general in Kuwait during Desert Thunder ('98 air campaign);
wing commander.
He testified to the Senate subcommittee on Science and Space in 2006
He reportedly will meet with Obama today.
Could be nominated as early as this week, if all goes well.…
catdynamics | May 17, 2009Good progress on the first four days of Hubble Servicing
The Atlantis servicing mission to Hubble has really highlighted some uses of social media: the NASA twitter channel has provided near live and accurate updates, providing key points and pointers as things happen - first actual interesting use of twitter I have seen;
facebook has also provided interesting information, mainly celebratory wall scribbles from instrument team members.
So, four spacewalks are done, just in case you missed it all:
The old WF/PC2 camera has been removed and replaced with the brand new WFC3 all purpose camera,…
catdynamics | May 16, 2009why are The Jonas Brothers trying to become The Monkees of this decade
and how come I know this?
catdynamics | May 14, 2009Astonishing photo of the shuttle Atlantis and Hubble passing in front of the Sun
taken from Vero Beach Florida
click to embiggen
bottom left hand corner - really.
not sunspots
ok, here is the blowup
UPDATE: here is a second shot before HST rendevouz of Atlantis alone
click to embiggen
nice solar granulation
catdynamics | May 14, 2009first spacewalk extended - sounds like stiction on the bolts and nuts
now with bonus EVA video!
catdynamics | May 14, 2009First spacewalk wrapping up, WF/PC2 out, WFC3 in.
Command and Data Handling Unit swapped out.
WF/PC2 removed
Live updates on NASA twitter
WFC3 was installed successfully and signaled it was alive.
SIC&DH is installed.
John is putting on the external attachment for grapples to grab, in case NASA decides to robotically deorbit HST in the future.
Almost done. Gone put on rapid open kits for the HST access doors so future spacwalks can get on with things.
Remarkably successful so far.
catdynamics | May 14, 2009another successful launch of a major astro mission
Successful launch and payload separation of the far infrared telescope Herschel and the microwave background observatory Planck by the European Space Agency
Ariane 5 launch carrying Herschel and Planck
click to embiggen
catdynamics | May 13, 2009Obama's commencement address at Arizona State University
"Now, before I begin, I'd like to clear the air about that little controversy everyone was talking about a few weeks back. I have to tell you, I really thought it was much ado about nothing, although I think we all learned an important lesson. I learned to never again pick another team over the Sun Devils in my NCAA bracket. And your university President and Board of Regents will soon learn all about being audited by the IRS.
In all seriousness, I come here not to dispute the suggestion that I haven't yet achieved enough in my life. I…
catdynamics | May 13, 2009Another topical colloquium here at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics...
"Money, It's a Gas"
New Developments in Statistical Mechanics of Money, Income, and Wealth (podcast, video, slides)
by Victor Yakovenko, University of Maryland.
Paper in Rev. Mod. Phys. (arXiv:0905.1518)
Money, of course, is not conserved.
It can be created, with some work,
and, famously, it can be destroyed.
Makes for interesting statistical mechanics, eh?
It turns out that putting a lower bound on net money per person was unphysical...
there is some interesting literature out there on the instability of…
catdynamics | May 13, 2009Atlantis has Hubble...
Lookin' good.
From NASA TV
leading edge of the right wing got dinged by tank foam, apparently,
shallow 50cm line of gashes on the high T tiles
should be ok, expect they'll check it out...
catdynamics | May 12, 2009ouch
Daily Show takes on ASU Commencement
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
M - Th 11p / 10c
Arizona State Snubs Obama
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes
Economic Crisis
Political Humor
classic
cruel but classic
Tom Hanks interview on antimatter later in the show is also good
Yes, CERN had some
Yes, they dropped it
Boom
catdynamics | May 12, 2009Iceland made it to the Eurovision final round...
not bad
as Eurovision entries go
catdynamics | May 11, 2009The Wide Field/Planetary Camera-2 on the Hubble Space Telescope is being decommissioned, since the servicing mission is putting all the nice new toys on the telescope.
To commemorate the occasion, the Space Telescope Science Institute took one last "pretty picture"
Planetary Nebulae K 4-55
click to embiggen
Starts With A Bang is doing a Favourite WF/PC2 photos series, starting with the Hubble Deep Field.
I need to put up a "favourite WF/PC2 images" from papers I co-authored...
not as famous, but we got some pretty cool images over the years.
I hope it will be a long time before I have to…