Papaver rhoeas
Eclipse from Space
There are two main kinds of eclipses we are accustomed to seeing from the Earth’s surface: In a solar eclipse, the moon covers the disk of the Sun, and we see the darkened near side of the Moon in silhouette as the Moon blocks the Sun from view. In a lunar eclipse, on the other hand, the Earth moves between the Moon and the Sun, and we see the Earth’s shadow move across the Moon’s surface. In the video above, you will see a third type of eclipse, visible only from space. In this view, from the International Space Station, we see the Moon’s shadow move across the surface of the Earth. Viewed from the ground, this was last week’s annular solar eclipse. From the station, it appears as an eclipse or shadow covering part of the surface of the Earth.
Filed under Astronomy
Dragon Berthed
SpaceX’s privately-owned Dragon capsule was succesfully berthed (the term used for externally maneuvering an unmanned craft into position to attach to the station, as opposed to docking, in which the ship powers itself into position) to the ISS this morning, making the craft the first commercial capsule to succesfully reach the space station. Read more here.
Filed under Uncategorized
Jurassic Microbes
Buried under the sea for eons, forgotten … but they lived on. Popular Science reports on a new study of microbe colonies apparently buried in seafloor sediment 86 million years ago. Researchers found that the microbes survived by carrying out respiration at an incredibly slow rate, entering a state of unthinkably slow animation:
“These organisms have not had access to a fresh food supply since their burial, 70 to 86 million years ago.
It takes the microbes about 1,000 years to double their biomass, which could also mean it takes them 1,000 years to divide, Røy and his colleagues found. E. coli, by contrast, takes 17 to 30 minutes. Put another way, to be sure these things were actually living — meaning undergoing metabolic processes and growing biomass — you would have to wait 1,000 years.
Røy and colleagues believe these microbial communities are living at the absolute limit — they have the bare minimum energy required to keep their DNA intact and their proteins functioning. “
Filed under Biology
New Issue of Faith Magazine
The latest issue of Faith, the U.K.-based Catholic magazine, is now available online. I’d like to call your attention to just a couple of things: first, the new issue has a reprint of my essay for First Things on Richard Dawkins’ recent claim that the notion of Creation detracts from the beauty of scientific explanation; and second, I also recommend Fr. Mackenzie’s editorial on Fr. Jack Mahoney’s new book and claims that core Catholic doctrine needs to be rejected in light of the findings of modern science. I hope to write some more on this latter topic soon. Suffice it to say for now that, like a mistake in a game of Jenga, I think that the core pieces that Fr. Mahoney wants to remove from Catholicism might lead to the collapse of more than he intends…
Shake Down the Thunder…
A couple of months ago, I participated with others in an alumni-led effort to call out our alma mater for its lack of a strong stance in the midst of recent efforts by the government to compel Catholic institutions to participate in actions which contradict moral law. Given that my exhortation to Fr. Jenkins was public, I want to take this opportunity to equally publicly express my gratitude to Fr. Jenkins and the University of Notre Dame for uniting with other Catholic institutions in an effort to protect the vibrant exercise of Catholic religion and social action in the nation. I continue to pray that the University will strengthen her stance and adopt a position of principled and charitable leadership in the American Catholic community, especially in a time when the free practice of Catholic moral life, principled education, and charitable enterprise is under threat from the secularist ideology of the temporal powers that be.
Filed under Politics
SpaceX Launch Update
After Saturday’s launch abort, SpaceX is attempting another launch early tomorrow of its Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Dragon capsule on the first-ever visit of a commercial spacecraft to the ISS. Launch is scheduled for 3:44 a.m. EDT. Live updates and video coverage are available from Spaceflight Now.
UPDATE:
Filed under Space Exploration
