by Samuel Factor | Nov 7, 2018 | Daily Paper Summaries
Yes, ‘Oumuamua is weird; and no, it is probably not a probe sent by an alien civilization. Sometimes scientists (and journalists) should be a little more careful when making (and reporting on) extraordinary claims, especially when the word “alien” is involved.
by Samuel Factor | Sep 21, 2018 | Daily Paper Summaries
Extremely accurate measurements of the position of β Pictoris from the Hipparcos and Gaia satellites allow the direct measurement of the mass of the imaged planet β Pic b.
by Samuel Factor | Aug 3, 2018 | Current Events, Personal Experiences
This week about 500 astronomers met in Boston, MA for the 20th Cambridge Workshop on Cool stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun (Cool Stars) meeting.
by Samuel Factor | Jun 25, 2018 | Personal Experiences
Continuing on the thread from Friday’s post, I also attended the recent SPIE meeting. Here are my thoughts, as someone who is on the science side of the field, on the engineering and instrumentation conference.
by Samuel Factor | May 16, 2018 | Daily Paper Summaries
Radio observations of the diffracted shadow cast by an asteroid can be used to nail down its location and determine its size and shape.