Browsing Archive: November, 2018

InSight Has Landed

Posted by on Tuesday, November 27, 2018, In : Astronomy

Planetary scientists are celebrating today, with the announcement from NASA that the InSight rover has successfully landed on the planet Mars.

The NASA spacecraft is designed to burrow beneath the surface of Mars, and relay back data on the inner structure of the red planet. Previous spacecraft that were sent to Mars were able to dig down a few inches and studied the surface rocks and dust, but this will be the first probe to go deep into the underlying rocks.

InSight has been traveling thr...
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The Edge Of Reality

Posted by on Saturday, November 24, 2018,

Today we have more of an announcement than a scientific article, so I hope you will forgive me for doing a little promotional work for a change.

A couple of my friends from the physics and mathematics community have launched a new online science series, and have asked me to promote it through my website. It is called The Edge Of Reality, and will be using professional scientists and mathematicians to present some very modern and exotic scientific theories to a general audience. The goal is to ...
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The New Kilogram

Posted by on Saturday, November 17, 2018,

A slightly different form of science today, as the international scientific community has today officially changed the definition of the kilogram. And while it may not be the most exciting scientific discovery, it has many ramifications for a number of future research projects and experiments.

In a historic vote, scientists and engineers (and a few politicians) from more than sixty different nations unanimously approved a change to the international measurement system that is the basis for g...
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Remembrance Day

Posted by on Sunday, November 11, 2018,

Remembrance Day

Let us each take a moment out of our busy schedules to remember all of those who sacrificed to protect our freedoms. Lest we forget...

Upgrades at TRIUMF

Posted by on Saturday, November 3, 2018, In : Medical

Normally I would not comment on political stories or news items about funding announcements, but I will be making an exception today as this news item not only concerns a major particle accelerator in Canada, but also the facility where I did a significant portion of my own research when I started out as a graduate student. (Which also means I may be a little biased on this particular item :) )

For those of you who are not familiar with this story, last Thursday the prime minister of Canada ...
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Two Probes Down

Posted by on Friday, November 2, 2018, In : Astronomy

There is some sad news from NASA this week, as two major space probes have both been declared dead within the last few days.

Just two days ago, NASA announced that the 9 1/2 year old Kepler space probe, which has detected thousands of new exoplanets over its near decade long mission, had stopped working. Some readers may remember that earlier in the year the control team were having some trouble with the probe, but managed to get it working again. This time it is more serious and more perman...
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Dr. Christopher Bird