New Year's Eve Sky Show

Source - Space Weather News for Dec. 29, 2008: http://spaceweather.com

NEW YEAR'S EVE: What a way to end the year. On Dec. 31st, Venus and the slender crescent Moon will gather together high in the southwestern sky for a beautiful conjunction visible for hours after sunset. The two brightest objects in the night sky can be seen through city lights and even fireworks--so everyone can enjoy the show. Meanwhile, closer to the horizon, Mercury and Jupiter are converging for their own Dec. 31st conjunction. This one is not so easy to see, but rewarding for those who make the effort to find the two planets shining through the rosy glow of sunset.

Visit http://spaceweather.com for sky maps and photos of the converging planets.

BONUS: Is Venus really bright enough to cast shadows? The answer is yes, and the proof may be found on today's edition of Spaceweather.com. A French photographer has captured rare images of Venus casting a shadow and he has even made a movie of the shadow in motion.

Are We Alone for 12/29/08 - Nerds

Are We Alone - Encore Presentation "Nerds"
There are two kinds of people: those who are unstylish, socially inept, yet academically gifted, and those who tease them. Being a nerd is rough; it's no fun to sit alone in the cafeteria or be forced to dine on beach sandwiches. But revenge is sweet: the world depends more than ever on the witty and gifted to keep it technologically and scientifically turning. So who gets the last laugh? Just ask Bill Gates. Then again, have attitudes towards eggheads really matured? Just ask Al Gore.

Hear why America has contempt for nerds, while other countries treat them as rock stars. Also, how to solve a Rubik's Cube in seconds, and a Geeksta Rap sing-along.
Guests:

• David Anderegg - Author of Nerds: Who They Are and Why We Need More of Them
• Jessica Fridrich - Electrical and computer engineer at Binghamton University in New York
• Sun Kwok - Physicist and astronomer at the University of Hong Kong
• Peter Hartlaub - Pop Culture Critic for the San Francisco Chronicle
• Christian Ternus - Sophomore at MIT
• Fred Hall - Space Physicist

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

NASA's Gift to Mr. Claus

Source - NASA Science News for December 24, 2008

True story: NASA technology saves Claus from a disaster at sea! Christmas (and the sport of fishing) may never be the same.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/24dec_sport.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml

Are We Alone for 12/22/08 - Science and Art: Worlds Apart?

Are We Alone - Encore Presentation "Science and Art: Worlds Apart?"
Leonardo da Vinci is considered a genius for combining art and science. But how usual is this for us mere mortals? Can science and art sucessfully inform each other?

We'll hear how the insights of French writer Marcel Proust anticipated modern neuroscience. Also, a debate over the evolutionary function of art. Does it have survival value? We meet a robot whose painting talents have garnered it a job in one of America's top museums. And, hear - or don't hear - why some of our relatives don't monkey around with music.
Guests:

• Jonah Lehrer - science journalist, editor-at-large, Seed magazine and author of Proust Was a Neuroscientist
• David Sloan Wilson - evolutionary biologist at Binghamton University, and author of Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin's Theory Can Change the Way We Think About Our Lives
• Ellen Dissanayake - independent scholar and author of Art and Intimacy: How the Arts Began
• Leonel Moura - conceptual artist

Find out more about RAP, including a picture, at the American Museum of Natural History website! Whip up some madeleines (click here for a recipe) and savor your own remembrance of things past.

You can listen to this and other episodes at: http://radio.seti.org/ and be sure to check the Are We Alone Profile and Blog on MySpace.

Saturn's Crazy Christmas Tilt

Source - NASA Science News for December 22, 2008

The planet Saturn is doing something rare and beautiful this holiday season. Find out what in today's story from Science@NASA.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/22dec_crazytilt.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml

Solstice Meteor Shower

Source - Space Weather News for Dec. 21, 2008: http://spaceweather.com

URSID METEORS: Earth is passing through a stream of debris from comet 8P/Tuttle and this is causing the annual Ursid meteor shower. Forecasters expect the Ursids to peak on Dec. 22nd with 8 to 10 meteors per hour flying out of the constellation Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper) not far from the north star. The display is usually mild, but outbursts of Ursids occasionally surprise observers with rates many times normal. The last time this happened was in 2006.

Standing outdoors to watch Ursids in December can be a chilling experience. So why not stay inside and listen? Spaceweather.com is broadcasting live audio from the Air Force Space Surveillance Radar in Texas. When a meteor passes over the facility--"ping"--there is an echo. Because the Ursid radiant is circumpolar (always up) over the radar, the echoes may be heard at any hour, night or day. Tune in to http://spaceweather.com to try the audio feed, which can support 1000 simultaneous listeners.

UNIQUE CHRISTMAS GIFT: For less than the cost of a night at the movies, you can give someone the heavens for Christmas. Send them a gift subscription to Spaceweather PHONE: http://spaceweatherphone.com

You are subscribed to the Space Weather mailing list, a free service of Spaceweather.com.

New subscribers: To sign up for free space weather alerts, click here: http://spaceweather.com/services/

Giant Breach in Earth's Magnetic Field Discovered

Source - NASA Science News for December 16, 2008

NASA's five THEMIS spacecraft have discovered a breach in Earth's magnetic field ten times larger than anything previously thought to exist. The size of the opening and the strange way it forms could overturn long-held ideas of space physics.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/16dec_giantbreach.htm?list894285

For more information about space and space exploration, visit our Home page: http://science.nasa.gov

Solar Flare Surprise

Source - NASA Science News for December 15, 2008

Solar flares are supposed to obliterate everything in their vicinity, yet one of the most powerful flares of the past 30 years has done just the opposite, emitting a beam of pure and unbroken hydrogen atoms. Researchers think this strange event could yield vital clues to the inner workings of solar flares.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/15dec_solarflaresurprise.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml

Are We Alone for 12/15/08 - Skeptical Sunday: Ghost of a Chance

Are We Alone - "Skeptical Sunday: Ghost of a Chance"
Half of all Americans believe in ghosts - despite any compelling evidence of their existence. Find out why we believe in what we can't see, and why loneliness may increase our chances of a poltergeist experience. Hear the tale of the Toys R Us ghost, and scope out the latest in haunted real estate.

Also, why our Hollywood skeptic is tired of wild ghost chases and Phil Plait speaks out on lapses in critical thinking. This week: vaccination and autism.

It's Skeptical Sunday... but don't take our word for it!

Guests:

• Phil Plait - Keeper of website, badastronomy.com, and author of Death from the Skies!
• Mary Pope-Handy - Estate Agent, Silicon Valley and keeper of the website hauntedrealestate.com
• Christopher French - Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit, Goldsmiths College, University of London, U.K. and co-editor of The Skeptic magazine
• Nicholas Epley - Behavioral Scientist, University of Chicago
• James Underdown - Executive Director, Center for Inquiry, Los Angeles
• Wayne Thatcher - Geophysicist, U.S. Geological Survey

You can listen to this and other episodes at: http://radio.seti.org/ and be sure to check the Are We Alone Profile and Blog on MySpace.

Weekend Meteor Shower

Source - Space Weather News for Dec. 12, 2008
http://spaceweather.com

WEEKEND METEORS: Earth is entering a stream of debris from extinct comet 3200 Phaethon, and this is causing the annual Geminid meteor shower. The shower is expected to peak on Dec. 13th and 14th. Normally, as many as 100 meteors per hour shoot out of the constellation Gemini, but this year a bright Moon will interfere with the display, reducing hourly counts to only 20 or so. That's could still be a nice show. For best results, watch the sky from 10 pm local time on Saturday night (Dec 13th) until dawn on Sunday morning (Dec. 14th).

BIGGEST FULL MOON OF THE YEAR: The Moon that's causing trouble for the Geminid display happens to be biggest full Moon of 2008, as much as 14% wider and 30% brighter than lesser Moons we've seen earlier this year. An astronomer would say this is a "perigee Moon" because it occurs at perigee, the side of the Moon's elliptical orbit closest to Earth. Go outside tonight and take a look. The meteor rate may be low, but the lunar beauty index is off the charts.

Check http://spaceweather.com for updates and more information.

BONUS: The Dec. 1st Great Conjunction Photo Gallery continues to grow with daily additions from around the world. Start browsing here: http://spaceweather.com/conjunctions/gallery_01dec08_page6.htm

The Incredible Journey of the James Webb Space Telescope

Source - NASA Science News for December 10, 2008

From humble beginnings in a Utah beryllium mine to the most advanced laboratories in the world, the mirrors of NASA's next great observatory are taking an incredible journey to space.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/10dec_mirror.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml!

Biggest Full Moon of the Year

Source - NASA Science News for December 9, 2008

Not all full Moons are the same. This Friday's is the biggest and brightest full Moon of the year.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/09dec_fullmoon.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml!

Are We Alone for 12/08/08 - That's Cosmic!

Are We Alone - That's Cosmic!
What makes up the universe? Lots of tiny particles with strange names: bosons, leptons, quarks and neutrinos. But physicists think there are more members to be discovered in this particle zoo.
From strange particles to dark matter to vibrating strings, find out why you have to think small to understand the physics of the universe. Plus, other cosmic connections: is SETI a religion?

Guests:

• Murray Gell-Mann - Physics Nobel Laureate, Professor Emeritus - California Institute of Technology, Distinguished Fellow at the Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Brian Greene - Mathematician and physicist, Columbia University, author of The Elegant Universe and, most recently, Icarus at the Edge of Time
• Lisa Randall - Physicist, Harvard University, author of Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions
• David Wilkinson - Theologian, University of Durham, U.K.

You can listen to this and other episodes at: http://radio.seti.org/ and be sure to check the Are We Alone Profile and Blog on MySpace.

Meteor Explodes over Colorado

Source - Space Weather News for Dec. 6, 2008: http://spaceweather.com

COLORADO FIREBALL: Last night, a fireball one hundred times brighter than the full Moon lit up the sky near Colorado Springs, Colorado. Astronomer Chris Peterson photographed the event using an all-sky video camera dedicated to meteor studies. "In seven years of operation, this is the brightest fireball I've ever recorded. I estimate the terminal explosion at magnitude -18." Meteors this bright are called superbolides; they are caused by small (meter-class) asteroids and are likely to pepper the ground with meteorites when they explode. Visit http://spaceweather.com to watch the fireball video and contribute sighting reports that could help pinpoint any meteoritic debris.

TUMBLING TOOLBAG: The space station's famous sidekick, the ISS Toolbag, is circling Earth and reportedly producing flashes of light bright enough to record using off-the-shelf digital cameras. The flashes, shown in a photo on today's edition of Spaceweather.com, could be a sign that the bag is tumbling. Both the Toolbag and the ISS will be making a series of evening passes over North America and Europe in the evenings ahead, so now is a good time to look. Check the Simple Satellite Tracker for viewing times: http://spaceweather.com/flybys

BONUS: The Dec. 1st Great Conjunction Photo Gallery continues to grow with daily additions from around the world. Start browsing here: http://spaceweather.com/conjunctions/gallery_01dec08.htm

Visit http://spaceweather.com for photos, webcasts and more information.

Return of the Leonids

Source - NASA Science News for December 4, 2008

Astronomers from Caltech and NASA are predicting a near-storm of Leonids in 2009 based on a surprising outburst of meteors just two weeks ago.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/04dec_leonids2009.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml!