Tag Archives: science

Back to Betelgeuse, Methenium in Orion, TRAPPIST-1 Update

Scientists found methenium, a simple organic compound, in a protoplanetary disk. I’ll talk about that this week, and why it’s a big deal. The planet TRAPPIST-1c is about the same size as Venus, but it’s very likely airless. Betelgeuse may … Continue reading →

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Good Nutrition, Radioactive Breakfast Cereal

I’d prefer living in an America where doctors never used kids as lab animals, and “feeble-minded” folks who were already locked up were not feared by the powers that be. But I live in a very real America. We had … Continue reading →

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NASA, UAPs, UFOs and a Bart Simpson Balloon

It’s been two and a half weeks since NASA’s “Public Meeting on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena” aired on YouTube. Or is that streamed on YouTube? Never mind. The NASA panelists did not announce contact with an extraterrestrial diplomat, or admit that … Continue reading →

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WASP-18 b and Other Wonderfully Weird WASP Worlds

When I started writing this, I’d planned on talking about WASP-18 b, a hot Jupiter: how we’ve found water in its atmosphere, and something odd about the planet’s temperature on the edge of its sunlit side. Down the Rabbit Hole: … Continue reading →

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Super-Duper Super Earths and the Search for Life

This week, I’ll talk about Professor Ethan Siegel’s view that “the myth of the super-habitable super-Earth planet” is “a scientific catastrophe”, other non-catastrophes; and a problem with “super-Earths” as a label. Along the way I’ll look at science, news, headlines … Continue reading →

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