31.03.10- S.E.T.I. Turns 10!

 
   Tired of waiting for E.T. to call? Late last year, the distributed computing program that started it all, http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/, turned ten. One of the most scientifically ambitious programs run before bedtime, SETI@Home showed us that computers could do more than display flying toasters in their spare time.  In fact, word of the first SETI@Home way [...]

Astro-Challenge:Spy a White Dwarf!

This week, I’m going to introduce you to a unique but fascinating multiple star system, and one that’s definitely worth seeking out as it’s a good study in comparative stellar evolution; Omicron Eridani. This one will require a telescope of about 4′ aperture or greater, a go-to scope or a good finder chart, and patience. [...]

A Voyage to the Inner-Most Planet

Mercury Revealed. (Credit: NASA/JPL).
The Solar System has just become a little more known. This year our view of Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, has changed as the Messenger spacecraft completes its first flyby of the little known world. Late in the afternoon last week, I braved the January cold to peer west. There, [...]