Big Picture Science for 07/01/13 - Meet Your Replacements

Big Picture Science - Meet Your Replacements

There’s no one like you. At least, not yet. But in some visions of the future, androids can do just about everything, computers will hook directly into your brain, and genetic human-hybrids with exotic traits will be walking the streets. So could humans become an endangered species?

Be prepared to meet the new-and-improved you. But how much human would actually remain in the humanoids of the future?

Plus, tips for preventing our own extinction in the face of inevitable natural catastrophes.

Guests:

• Robin Hanson – Associate professor of economics, George Mason University
• Luke Muehlhauser – Executive director of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute
• Stuart Newman – Professor of cell biology and anatomy, New York Medical College
• Annalee Newitz – Editor of io9.com, and author of Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Meet_Your_Replacements

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

Geomagnetic Storm on June 28-29

Source - Space Weather News for June 28, 2013: http://spaceweather.com

GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A moderate (Kp=6) geomagnetic storm is in progress on June 28-29 as Earth passes through a region of south-pointing magnetism in the solar wind.  High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras. In the northern hemisphere, solstice twilight will sharply reduce visibility; southern hemisphere observers may have better luck. 

Details and updates @ http://spaceweather.com

Voyager 1 Approaches Interstellar Space

Source - NASA Science News for June 27, 2013

Three papers published in today's issue of Science suggest that Voyager 1, now more than 18 billion kilometers from the sun, is closer to becoming the first human-made object to reach interstellar space.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/27jun_voyager/

Ten Thousandth Near-Earth Object Discovered

Source - NASA Science News for June 25, 2013

The count of known asteroids and comets that can come close to Earth continues to climb. The 10,000th near-Earth object, asteroid 2013 MZ5, was detected on June 18, 2013, by the Pan-STARRS-1 telescope.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/24jun_neo/

Is Arctic Permafrost the "Sleeping Giant" of Climate Change?

Source - NASA Science News for June 24, 2013

Arctic permafrost soils contain more accumulated carbon than all the human fossil-fuel emissions since 1850 combined. Warming permafrost, poised to release its own gases into the atmosphere, could be the "sleeping giant" of climate change.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/24jun_permafrost/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZSM8GcmJKg




License: Standard YouTube License

Big Picture Science for 06/24/13 - Skeptic Check: Mummy Dearest

Big Picture Science - Skeptic Check: Mummy Dearest

Shh …mummy’s the word! We don’t want to provoke the curse of King Tut. Except that there are many curses associated with this fossilized pharaoh – from evil spirits to alien malevolence. So it’s hard to keep know which one we’d face.

We’ll unravel secrets about the famous young pharaoh, including the bizarre events that transpired after the discovery of his tomb in the Valley of the Kings, and learn what modern imaging reveals about life 3,000 years ago.

Plus, we dispel myths about how to make a mummy, while learning the origin of that notorious mummy curse. Also, discover why superstitions have survival value.

Guests:

• Jo Marchant – Author of The Shadow King: The Bizarre Afterlife of King Tut’s Mummy
• Andrew Wade – Physical anthropologist, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
• Salim Ikram – Professor of Egyptology, American University, Cairo
• Stuart Vyse – Professor of psychology, Connecticut College, New London, Connecticut, author of Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition
• F. DeWolfe Miller – Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Skeptic_Check_Mummy_Dearest

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

Chinese Space Station Crosses the Sun

Source - Space Weather News for June 21, 2013: http://spaceweather.com

SPACE STATION TRANSIT: China's Tiangong-1 space station, now crewed by three taikonauts, passed in front of the sun over the south of France this week.  Astrophotographer Thierry Legault captured must-see images of the transit, featured on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com

SOLSTICE SOLAR FLARE:  The first day of summer in the northern hemisphere began with a long-duration M2-class solar flare.  The source was active sunspot AR1777.  The blast was not Earth-directed, but future flares from AR1777 could be as the active region turns toward our planet this weekend.  Check http://spaceweather.com for images and updates.

Cassini to Photograph Earth From Saturn

Source - NASA Science News for June 19, 2013

One month from now, on July 19, 2013, NASA's Cassini spacecraft will photograph Earth through the rings of Saturn.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/18jun_bluedot/

Strange Flames on the International Space Station

Source - NASA Science News for June 18, 2013

Researchers experimenting with flames onboard the International Space Station have produced a strange, cool-burning form of fire that could help improve the efficiency of auto engines.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/18jun_strangeflames/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxxqCLxxY3M



License: Standard YouTube License

Big Picture Science for 06/17/13 - Exoplanets

Big Picture Science - Exoplanets

You may be unique, but is your home planet? NASA’s Kepler spacecraft has uncovered thousands of planetary candidates, far far beyond our solar system. Some may be habitable and possibly even Earth-like. But now a failure in its steering apparatus may bring an abrupt end to this pioneering telescope’s search for new worlds.

But Kepler has a massive legacy of data still to be studied. Many new worlds will undoubtedly be found in these data. Hear why the astronomer who has discovered the greatest number of exoplanets is hopeful about the hunt for alien life, and meet the next generation of planet-hunting instruments.

Also, “Weird worlds? That was our idea!” Sci-fi writers lay claim to the first musings on exotic planetary locales. And a biographer of Magellan and Columbus describes the dangerous hunt for new worlds five centuries ago.

Guests:

• Charlie Sobeck – Engineer, deputy project manager, Kepler Mission, NASA Ames Research Center
• Geoff Marcy – Astronomer, University of California, Berkeley
• Dan Clery – Deputy news editor, European office of Science
• Laurence Bergreen – author of Voyage to Mars, Columbus: The Four Voyages, 1492-1504, Over the Edge of the World: Magellan’s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe (P.S.)
• Robert J. Sawyer – Hugo Award-winning author; most recently of Red Planet Blues

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Exoplanets

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

Dry Ice "Snowboards" on Mars

Source - NASA Science News for June 11, 2013

New research suggests that some of the famous gullies on Mars are caused by slabs of dry ice gliding down sand dunes on cushions of gas similar to miniature hovercraft.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/11jun_snowboards/

Possible Meteor Shower on June 11

Source - Space Weather News for June 10, 2013: http://spaceweather.com

METEOR SHOWER: Sky watchers in North America might see an outburst of meteors during the early hours of June 11th when Earth passes through a stream of cometary debris last seen in 1930. Forecasters predict the return of the gamma Delphinid meteor shower this Tuesday morning around 08:30 UT (04:30 am EDT). The shower is expected to last about 30 minutes with an unknown number of bright, fast meteors.  

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

Big Picture Science for 06/10/13 - This Land Is Island

Big Picture Science - This Land Is Island

There are many kinds of islands. There’s your iconic sandy speck of land topped with a palm tree, but there’s also our home planet – an island in the vast seas of space. You might think of yourself as a biological island … until you tally the number of microbes living outside – and inside – your body.

We go island hopping, and consider the Scottish definition of an island – one man, one sheep – as well as the swelling threat of high water to island nations. Also, how species populate islands … and tricks for communicating with extraterrestrial islanders hanging out elsewhere in the cosmos.

Guests:

• Edward Chamberlin – Professor emeritus of English and comparative literature at the University of Toronto; fellow of the Royal Society of Canada; author of Island: How Islands Transform the World
• Bill McKibben – Writer, activist and professor of environmental studies, Middlebury College, founder of 350.org
• Justin Sonnenburg – Microbiologist, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University
• Guy Consolmagno – Astronomer, Vatican Observatory
• Margaret Race – Ecologist, SETI Institute

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/This_Land_Is_Island

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

Noctilucent Clouds Get an Early Start

Source - NASA Science News for June 7, 2013

Noctilucent clouds have surprised researchers by appearing early this year. The unexpected apparition of electric-blue night-shining clouds hints at a change in the "teleconnections" of Earth's atmosphere.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/07jun_nlcs/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohQzHz9gy6c




License: Standard YouTube License

Asteroid Moon Movie

Source - NASA Science News for June 7, 2013

Scientists working with NASA's 70-meter Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, Calif., have released a new and improved movie clip of near-Earth asteroid 1998 QE2 and its moon.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/07jun_asteroidmoon2/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssYnC90U0mM



License: Standard YouTube License

Northern Lights in the USA

Source - Space Weather News for June 7, 2013: http://spaceweather.com

GEOMAGNETIC STORMS: Last night, Earth passed through a region of south-pointing magnetism in the solar wind. This triggered a G2-class (Kp=6) geomagnetic storm. At its peak, the storm spawned Northern Lights in the USA as far south as Kansas. More auroras are in the offing as a CME is set to deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field on June 8-9.  Check http://spaceweather.com for photos and updates.

Big Picture Science for 06/03/13 - Cosmos: It's Big, It's Weird

Big Picture Science - Cosmos: It's Big, It's Weird

ENCORE: It’s all about you. And you, and you, and you and you… that is, if we live in parallel universes. Imagine you doing exactly what you’re doing now, but in an infinite number of universes.

Discover the multiverse theory and why repeats aren’t limited to summer television.

Plus, the physics of riding on a light beam, and the creative analogies a New York Times science writer uses to avoid using the word “weird” to describe dark energy and other weird physics.

Also, people who concoct their own theories (some would say fringe) of the universe: is all matter made up of tiny coiled springs?

Guests:

• Brian Greene – Physicist and mathematician, Columbia University, and author of The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos
• Dennis Overbye – Reporter, New York Times
• Simon Steel – Science educator at University College London
• Margaret Wertheim – Science writer, author of Physics on the Fringe: Smoke Rings, Circlons, and Alternative Theories of Everything

This encore podcast was first released on January 9, 2012.

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Cosmos_It_s_Big_It_s_Weird

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

Aurora Surprise: Northern Lights in the USA

Source - Space Weather News for June 1, 2013: http://spaceweather.com

AURORA SURPRISE:  Last night, Northern Lights spilled across the Canadian border and descended into the contiguous United States as far south as Colorado and Nebraska.  The display was caused by the unexpected arrival of an interplanetary shock wave on May 31st.  Check http://spaceweather.com for pictures of the display and the odds of a repeat performance tonight.

DID YOU MISS THE STORM?  Next time get a wake-up call.  Aurora and solar flare alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).