Space Quote: An Odd Solar System

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by AstroGraphix_Visuals from Pixabay

“The paradigm of planet formation is that we have rocky inner planets very close to the stars, like in our solar system…This is the first time in which we have a rocky planet so far away from its host star, and after these gas-rich planets.”

-Statement by Thomas Wilson, an assistant professor in the department of physics at the University of Warwick in England, as quoted by KLS.com. He was referring to the findings in his recent paper about a solar system 116 light-years away with four exoplanets orbiting a red dwarf star – an inner rocky exoplanet, two gaseous exoplanets second and third from the parent star, and a final rocky exoplanet. Of course, that’s what we had here until 2006 when some wise guy decided to make Pluto a dwarf planet. It’s all in the definition.

Space Quote: More Space Cuts, This Time in the United Kingdom

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by Sibling Yonten Phuntsok from Pixabay

“The UK punches above its weight in scientific impact and in space-related industry. This should be a national success story, but instead we are facing the possibility of unsettling and destabilizing threats to funding for cutting-edge science. STFC, the research council responsible for astrophysics, along with particle physics and nuclear physics, is expecting future budgets supporting facilities like our observatories to be just 70% of the current level, a potentially devastating cut at a time where costs are increasing. The resulting loss of jobs and reduction in roles could easily amount to hundreds of roles, spread around the country, let alone the loss of scientific opportunity as telescopes, missions and laboratories are shut down. These harms will last decades, but are imposed to make short-term budgets balance.”

-Statement by Chris Lintott, Professor of Astrophysics at Oxford’s Department of Physics, in a University of Oxford publication. This follows actions last year that folded the independent UK Space Agency back into the government bureaucracy. None of this portends well for the future of the space industry in Europe. However, similar planned cuts to the US space program – in particular the space science programs – were later reversed by Congress. One can only hope down the line the UK might similarly reverse some of these draconian cuts.

Space Quote: Are We Ready for Extended Space Travel by Humans?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by Olena from Pixabay.

“As an astronaut, I believe our current technology may not have solutions for critical situations we are bound to face moving away from low Earth orbit, and this incident illustrates exactly that. NASA needs to address some urgent and sometimes uncomfortable questions. For example, should a doctor always be on the crew? Should a spaceship heading to Mars have high-tech medical capabilities and facilities — not just a ‘med kit’? A kit consisting of only medications, saline solution, a defibrillator and a few basic instruments places a crew at a serious disadvantage if things really go south.”

-Statement for former NASA astronaut Clayton Anderson in a Washington Post editorial published after this week’s return of four crew members who needed to be evacuated from the International Space Station due to a medical emergency. Had the health issue occurred six months into a trip to Mars the circumstances would have been dire without sufficient health resources. This is more evidence that acquiring the necessary hardware for space travel may be the easy part compared to the software, also known as humans.

Space Quote: Should We Worry About Space Monopolies?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by Jim Cooper from Pixabay

“The comparison I often like to make is with the East India Company: a private British enterprise that became so powerful it could shape the politics of nations and at times had an army twice the size of Britain’s. It began as trade; it ended in domination. Could a similar dynamic unfold locally in our solar system, where a handful of today’s tech giants and billionaires control access to orbit, communications, and eventually, extraterrestrial resources? A monopoly in space would be dangerous for humanity. The challenge is to encourage innovation and investment without ceding ownership of the cosmos to a few individuals or organisations.”

-Taken from a Guardian article titled “There’s a New Space Race – Will the Billionaires Win?” by Maggie Aderin-Pocock. One only needs to read the book series by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, starting with Leviathan Wakes, or watch the televised version, The Expanse, to have some idea of what the future may hold.

Space Quote: Another Theory Accounting for the Star of Bethlehem

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by Vicki Hamilton from Pixabay

“A comet could stay in one place if it was basically on a ‘collision course’ with Earth,…That’s exactly what you would expect of an object that’s going to pass very, very close to the Earth.”

-Statement by Mark Matney, a planetary scientist at NASA, as quoted in Scientific American. He has proposed in his paper that the Star of Bethlehem cited in the Bible may have been a “broom star,” or comet, spotted by Chinese astronomers in 5 B.C.E. In his paper, he concludes “…it is no longer justifiable to claim that ‘no astronomical event’ could possibly have behaved in the manner described by Matthew.”