A whole bunch of interesting science and technology has been in the news over the past few days. I’d love to blog about all of it, but have no chance of finding the time to do it in any depth, so here’s a quick overview of some interesting topics to get you started on your own explorations:
Apollo 8 — the 40th anniversary
40 years ago this past Sunday (the 21st), three astronauts were launched on their way to circumnavigate the moon. This was the first time that the feat had been attempted, much less with humans on board, and resulted in some really iconic moments.
Astroprof’s Page » Apollo 8, 40 years ago
NASA celebrates Apollo 8′s moon mission 40 years on
Apollo 8 astronauts remember historic voyage – CNN.com
Forty years ago, three men left for the Moon | The Once and Future Moon
WhiteNightTwo test flight
The carrier aircraft for the upcoming SpaceShipTwo commercial suborbital space plane made its first test flight Sunday. This is another incremental, but important, step forward toward commercial (suborbital) space tourism — if you’ve got the $200,000 for a seat!
SpaceShipTwo Mothership Makes First Test Flight | Wired Science from Wired.com
Space Tourism: Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo Flies For the First Time
WhiteKnightTwo flies! – Hyperbola
SPACE.com — SpaceShipTwo Carrier Craft Makes Successful First Flight
Evolution and Creationism
The January issue of Scientific American is devoted to evolution, and its stirring up some discussion of the old creationism vs. evolution meme.
A Blog Around The Clock : Scientific American – special evolution issue
The Latest Face of Creationism in the Classroom: Scientific American
Dispatches from the Culture Wars: The Evolution of Creationism Redux
John Holdren
President-elect Obama’s pick for Science Advisor was hardly announced when the “usual suspects” opened up on him with a broad assortment of smears. I think the pick is encouraging for three reasons — (1) it’s made before Obama even enters office (vs. Bush, who didn’t pick anybody with a science bent until 8 months after his inauguration), (2) the position is just shy of a cabinet-level seat, (3) Holdren is “a climate guy.”
Obama’s picks underline climate focus : Nature News
The Intersection: The Attacks on John Holdren Are Beginning
Deltoid: John Tierney’s Easterbrook number is one
The Island of Doubt : The smears begin
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