Category Archives: Space

Free-floating planets

This is a recurring nightmare of mine, though not so vivid that it was easy to figure out at first. Sounds awful. Icy, for sure, and dark. Yet, if the populace was far-enough advanced to have developed their own renewable heat sources, they might continue to thrive underground. Or so I imagine.

The dragon of Lake Travis

Well, as you can see, this Texas dragon is obvious from space.

Spock violates the Prime Directive

Shocka, right? But Spock’s alter ego, Leonard Nimoy, is obviously less prudent than the pointy-eared one when it comes to not interfering in the internal development of other civilizations.

Hence his Hollyweird-esque meddling in Israeli domestic policy. Nimoy, who cribbed his split-fingers “live long and prosper” from Israel’s ancient high priests (without, natch, any attribution), should know better.

The marijuana laws are a terrible injustice

Great quote on the subject from Ann Druyan, the widow of Carl Sagan:

I really believe that the marijuana laws are a terrible injustice. They make no sense scientifically, ethically, legally, or any way. They cost a fortune to enforce and we incarcerate hundreds of thousands of people who have done nothing else, but possess or distribute marijuana. Maybe it’s because I’m a child of the 60’s and marijuana has been such a positive part of my life. I have never seen it as being addictive, having spent weeks, and months, and days of my life (and years) without using marijuana in any form.For me, it’s a kind of a sacrament, something that should be used wisely and in the context of a loving family existence. There’s a place for alcohol too, but there’s no reason why adults shouldn’t be allowed to do something which not only doesn’t add harm to themselves or others, but is a way to enhance the beauty of life, the beauty of eating, of listening to music, of being with friends and family, of being with the one you love.

—Ann Druyan in the video podcast At Home in the Cosmos with Annie Druyan.

SpaceX expanding Texas op

MCGREGOR, TEXAS – Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and the City of McGregor have signed a lease agreement allowing SpaceX to expand the size of its rocket development facility in McGregor—between Austin and Dallas.

Under the deal, SpaceX will lease 631 acres — the equivalent of almost 500 football fields — for its test facility. The new lease will more than double the size of the current 256 acre site on the Western edge of the City of McGregor, and will last roughly 10 years, from February 2011 to January 31, 2021.

“Our Texas rocket development facility is critical to our operations,” said Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and Chief Technology Officer.  “This lease will allow us to move forward on the growth we have planned for Texas. SpaceX already has more than $2.5 billion in launch contracts for us to carry out over the next few years – McGregor is going to be a very busy place.”

Light decoder

het_primarybHobby-Eberly Telescope, a spectroscopy giant, in the Fort Davis Mountains.

Hot rain

On good old Sol, where else? It’s an impressive video of plasma on the sun.