The Universe (Astrobiology)

The next episode of the amazing series The Universe continues tonight. The new episode is called “Astrobiology.” Here’s a preview…

Does life exist on other planets? Astrobiology is a visionary new science that searches for life in space by combining the disciplines of astronomy, biology and geology. How did life evolve on Earth? What will life look like on other planets? These and other pertinent questions will be answered by a diverse group of scientists. Viewers will visit the Pilbara region of West Australia where the oldest evidence of life on Earth has been discovered. Travel to the moons of Jupiter and Saturn to test a theory that life could exist in the clouds of Venus. Finally, watch as experiments are done to see if life exists on exoplanets, earth-like planets beyond our solar system.

Like the old joke states, how do we know there is life on this planet? As usual, check local listings.

An Asteroid Threat to Earth? Not Right Now

Perhaps you have seen or heard of the claims that there is an asteroid out there (2007 TU24) that is going to pass by the Earth on January 29th and put us in danger.

Now, asteroids of all sizes and shapes pass by the Earth all the time, some a lot closer than this one. But the conspiracy theorists and doom sayers are spouting their nonsense about the “great threat to the planet.”

This chunk of rock is about 400 yards wide (give or take), and is passing over 300,000 miles from the Earth at its closest. Now, this is farther than the moon. You read that right. This piece of rock will not get even as close as the moon is to Earth. And the moon is substantially larger.

These wackos are also making outrageous claims about “electrical energy” on the asteroid. It’s pure nonsense, again.

I am going to point you to this YouTube video by Phil Plait, a professional astronomer, author, and the owner of the Bad Astronomy website (where he has an excellent blog, and debunks all this wacko stuff).

I would urge everyone who sees this kind of “out there” outrageous claims to take a minute, realize that the people making these claims never can back them up, and seek out actual science sites like Phil’s Bad Astronomy site. I mean, why panic over nothing?

Now that this is all settled, let’s talk about people seeing what they want to in images. More on that - the “Martian Bigfoot” - later.

January’s Full Moon

The full moon for January happens at 8.34am EST on Tuesday the 22nd. That moment is when the moon, in its journey around the Earth, is exactly opposite the sun in the sky. Now, unless you are very observant, the individual casually looking up at the moon won’t be able to discern the exact moment of the “full” phase, so there is a apparent leeway of time before and after that is referred to as “the full moon.” You may hear the local meteorologists talking about “tonight’s full moon” several days before (or after) the actual event. Are they being lazy in finding out the true time of the moon’s phase, or is there another reason? Only they know, but be assured, most of them are incorrect when they tell you it’s “full moon.”

The full moon for January is called the Full Wolf Moon, as the cold and snowy nights seemed to magnify the howls of the wolves as they gathered for the hunt (wolves and coyotes, can howl for other reasons too, many of them weather related).

So during the hours leading up to that point, listen closely to what’s going on outside. Do you hear any howling? Is it the wind? Is it (like me) the neighbor’s dogs barking? Or is it something wild?