Universe is Older than Previously Thought!

The Universe has added about 100 million years to its speculated age, but we're still not quite sure how old she really is. It's almost as if she's trying to keep it a secret! The age we think The Universe is now stands at 13.82 billion years old.

CREDIT: ESA and the Planck Collaboration

The Planck mission, which the Europeans are responsible for, produced an all new sky map of what they call "cosmic microwave background". This is the most detailed map of it's kind than any produced before it, and scientists are able to more clearly distinguish theories of how The Universe started. 

Currently, the evidence suggests that a theory that is named the "Standard Model" is being supported, although it is too early to confirm anything. The map is a fulmination of the Planck's images taken over the first 15 months of it launch. Some believe that as the satellite continues to travel, more will be revealed about how The Universe began, it's expansion rate, and what it looked like when the Big Bang was taking place.

This has the potential to be a very significant discovery for astronomy and human kind in general. The more we know about how everything in existence came into being, the more we will appreciate our lives, or at least that is the hope.

Canadian Chris Hadfield Take Control of the ISS!

International Space Station

On March 13th, 2013, a historic moment in Canadian history has been written. For the first time, a Canadian  has taken command of the International Space Station. Canadian Commander Chris Hadfield has taken control of the 35th expedition crew aboard the ISS. 

Chris Hadfield had this to say about the event, "It is a huge honor and a privilege to me but also for all the people at the Canadian Space Agency ... and for my entire country. So, for the International Space Station Program, all the international partners, thank you very much for giving me the keys to the 'family car.' We're going to put some miles on it but we'll bring it back in good shape." Hadfield is taking over command from Kevin Ford. 

This is also not the first time Hadfield has made history, back in 2001, Hadfield became the first Canadian to walk in space, and was also given the title of first Canadian to visit the ISS on that same mission. 

This is a tremendous achievement for Canada, and all Canadains should feel proud that we have progressed so far to reach this current point. As the space program continues to grow, Canada will defiantly have a significant role to play in its future.

Mars Confirmed To Once Have Fresh Water!

On March 12th, 2013, an announcement was made from scientists that Mars was once capable of supporting microbial life. This news came to the scientists from the Curiosity rover which launched last year and is currently canvasing the Martian surface. The rover has instruments on-board it's main unit that allows it to analyze different specimens of rock and other materials that the rover collects. When analyzing samples taken from a rock NASA named John Klein, the found traces of sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and carbon. In addition to these, the sample also had clay minerals mixed in with those elements, which proves that the rock was once in an environment which once contained water. Due to the pH levels that must of have been present in order for these clay minerals to form, the water in question would have been perfectly safe for humans to drink, today.

Although scientists speculated that water has flowed on Mars in the past, the evidence in these findings suggest that the water was much more habitable to life as we know it than what was previously thought. 


This could mean, that once upon a time, billions of years ago, Mars once inhabited life of all sorts, maybe even human life. And to them, at the time, it was Earth which was the uninhabitable planet. Only time will tell what will come out of this new discovery, however there is no doubt that this has been a huge step in the search for extraterrestrial life. 

Double Dose of Meteor and Asteroid!

On February 15th 2013, two extraordinary events happened. One of which was expected, and one which caught many people off guard.

The expected event was the pass by from an asteroid closer than any of its size before. The asteroid, which was about half the size of a football field, came within 27, 000 kilometers of the Earth around 2:30 PM. This distance was also closer than many communication satellites currently orbiting Earth. No satellites were hit, and the event came and went with no problems or concerns. The fly by provided with an excellent chance for scientists to study and observe the rotation, size and trajectory of the big space rock.

However, the event which stole the spotlight from this extraordinary historical event, was something that nobody was expecting. In eastern Russia a meteor streaked across the sky and exploded in the Earth's atmosphere causing damage to thousands of buildings and injuring some people.

This blast is the biggest in over a century according to some, which is an historical event in its own right. It is reported that this event is not linked in any way to the flyby of the asteroid which happened on the same day. The meteor is believed to come from asteroid belt which is in between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.


This unexpected event has some worried. Scientists say that the meteor was not foreseen because of it's small size, however some were under the impression that all imminent threats to the Earth from celestial bodies were known of. It just goes to show how unprepared and at the mercy of the cosmos we really are.

"Valentine Rose" Nebula Blooms Just in Time for Valentine's Day!

The image released on Feb. 13, of a nebula in deep space looking like some sort of cosmic rose, is actually a collection of gasses of all sorts, giving it distinctive blue and red colors.

It may take some imagination for some to picture a rose when they see the picture, however since most nebula's are named for their shape, nothing fits this one more than a rose.

A nebula is one of the last stages of life most normally sized stars. After the star has collapsed it leaves behind the cloud like gasses. 

Imagine how romantic it would be if you could actually buy that rose nebula and present it to your significant other in the sky. Currently there are way to buy stars, however not entire nebulae  If the day does come however, whoever is the first to pick this one up is going to be one lucky person!

Chris Hadfield to talk to Captain Kirk

Chris Hadfield

Today is going to be a special day for fans of the Canadian astronaut, Chris Hadfield, as well as fans of William Shatner's character on Star Trek, Captain Kirk. The two are scheduled to talk today at 10:30am.

Hadfield, who is currently the commander of the International Space Station which is orbiting Earth right now, has been talking to Shatner for a while though social media outlets like Twitter, and has decided he wants to talk to the former "Captain of the Enterprise" through the phone.

William Shatner
as Captain Kirk

The conversation will be broadcasted live of course, so that people from all over the Earth (and Galaxy) can listen in on what is shaping up to be a witty, and fun back and fourth.

If you wish to watch, here is the link.
http://tinyurl.com/blkq7ht

2013: Year of the Comets

Comets are typically too far from the earth to be seen by the naked eye, or too far from the sun to develop a long, stunning tail, however in 2013 we may be graced with the chance to see two different comets, if the conditions hold up. They will be the brightest comets we've seen in years, with one having a possibility of being the brightest comet in history (seen by the naked eye). 

The sun's role is the most important when it comes to any comet. The heat radiated from the sun causes the ice on the comet to vaporize, and the solar wind coming from the sun develops this vapor into a tail. The tail will always face away from the sun, no matter what direction the comet is going.

The first of the two comets is called "Comet C/2011 L4", and will be visible at first in the southern hemisphere in early February, before moving closer to the sun and becoming visible to people in the Northern Hemisphere on March 10th, when it will be its brightest. The comet will still be visible well into April afterwards.

The second comet is called Comet C/2012 S1 and has potential to be the brightest comet we've ever seen. In both hemispheres, the comet will become visible to onlookers in November, before becoming a "sun-grazer" (a comet that passes very close to the sun) on November 28th. The comet will actually be passing closer than the orbit of Mercury to the sun, and if it survives its journey, it can become brighter than the full moon at night, and even be visible during the day. The comet should be visible until January 2014 afterwards.
 
Although there is no guarantee that any of this will happen due to the unpredictability of comets, I really do hope this prediction holds true. Aside from a few shooting stars (if they even count), I have never seen a comet before and the fact that it could be the brightest one humans have ever seen intrigues me more. Just being around for an event that may not be duplicated again for as long as humans are around sounds kinda special.

White House Shoots Down Death Star Hopes

Since the White House has pledged to respond to any petition that gets 25,000 signatures in 30 days, they were forced to give a response to one that got over 30,000. A petition to build the iconic battle station the "Death Star" from the movie Star Wars by 2016.

Keeping true to their promise, the White house issued a statement and basically said that they would not have enough money in their budget to even think about this idea. It has been estimated to cost about $850 QUADRILLION US dollars, which is $850,000,000,000,000,000.

In addition to the cost, the fact that the United States is not interested in blowing up planets and the fact that it can be taken out by a single X-Wing fighter ship was brought up.

It was cool to see the White House actually respond to this petition, even if it was ridiculous. Also, the fact that they had fun with it by bringing up how it can be taken out by an X-Wing fighter ship was pretty funny as well, I thought. 

The White House also tried to calm the mind of the Death Star petition signers, by telling them that we already live in the future! With a $100 million (what a deal!) orbiting space station, among other things. But all this story does is make me wonder what other kind of petitions people are going to come up with in the future... the petition to build the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek is already at 5,973 signatures.