Starspots and Exoplanets

This image is way too cool! It looks like it's from a page of a comic book or graphic novel but it was not drawn by an artist. A supercomputer made this simulation of a sunspot in striking scientific detail.
Here's a little trivia:
Did you know that most sunspots are bigger than Earth? Sunspots can be up to several times larger than the diameter of the Earth. And sunspots are really "cool", cooler than the surrounding region of the Sun's surface.
Now this pretty model of a sunspot may be similar to the spots on the surface of other stars. And so we call them Starspots.
Starspots may be pretty but it's not really appealing to planet-hunters. The reason is that starspots may interfere with the transit method of finding planets.
The transit method relies on measuring the slight dimming of starlight as the planet passes across our field of view of the star. But huge starspots of an active star may be mis-interpreted as a planet since it also dims the light as the spots move across the star, often in the same direction as the planets.
That is why planet-hunters hoping to bag a new exoplanet discovery are wary of starspots when trying to interpret their data. They use all sorts of noise-reduction techniques to normalize the figures and avoid the confusion.
But here's the interesting part: because of starspots, known exoplanets are given a chance to help astronomers study the surface of other stars. Because the lightcurves of known exoplanets are supposed to be smooth, any irregular dips along the lightcurves may be attributed to starspots (if proven that it was not another planet that caused the dips). Thus exoplanets allow astronomers to approximate the size of the starspot, it's speed of movement, and it's rotational period around the parent star.
And consequently, the spots tell a lot about it's parent star such as the "solar-like" activity cycle, and the star's speed of rotation.
And there you have it! The unexpected relationship between Starspots and Exoplanets is actually a bitter-sweet engagement that poses a challenge to planet-hunters at first, but eventually brings us greater knowledge in the long run.

Fireflies in the Sky

If you are enthralled by the sight of fireflies then you should definitely see Iridium Flares. They're like fireflies in the sky. It's my way of describing it after I saw a moving flash of light from a firefly just the other night. It made me remember the first time I saw an Iridium Flare months ago while I was randomly stargazing. It was an amazing treat! It was quite different from a 'falling star' so it ticked my curiosity. And i was able to verify that it was an Iridium flare using an online tool from NASA.
Iridium Flares are bright flashes of sunlight reflected by the satellites. But the light from Fireflies are produced via Bioluminiscence. The wonders that these two marvels provide is a great way to get inspired by nature and technology: Fireflies and Satellites, what a tandem!
So how do you get to see Iridium Flares? Head to Heavens Above and check when the next flare will be visible from your area. And if you have a gPhone or iPhone, there is an app that extends the data from the Heavens Above website to provide you with a list of the next occurence of a flare visible from your current location. These mobile apps goes by the same name, "Iridium Flares".
Summer's here, look down and the sparks from fireflies will definitely bring you to an eerie magical world. Look up and the stars and flares will treat you to an exoplanetary sight.
Fireflies and Satellites are two marvels from different realms, yet these "fireflies in the sky" signify an important synthesis: Biology and Technology, Nature and Astronomy, Earth and Space. They all go well together. Just take a look.

The Living Rings of an Exoplanet

An idea came to my mind immediately after I learned that one of the rings of Saturn is being replenished by ejected material from Enceladus.
What if on a distant exoplanetary system, life manages to spark and thrive within the sub-surface ocean of an Enceladus-like exomoon? And if that exomoon spews out material the same way Enceladus does, then microscopic lifeforms may get ejected along with the salty nutrients, perhaps by piggybacking on ice crystals or water droplets of the plumes. If they survive the trip outward through the vents, what comes next is fascinating: Life on Exoplanetary rings! They will then thrive off the minerals and nutrients of the rings as it is replenished by the exomoon.
We call these resilient organisms as Extremophiles. They are those that thrive in harsh environments where we don't expect life to flourish.
Do you remember the water bear that survived in outer space? Remember the recently-discovered species of bacteria that live in Earth's Stratosphere? We can almost say that with extremophiles, anything is possible! Therefore, this conjecture of life on planetary rings is worth pondering upon.
What will these "Living Exoplanet Rings" look like? Well, if it exists then it would provide a spectacular sight to behold.
Imagine a multi-colored band of rings, each band occupied by different species adapted to the properties of each ring. If this scenario happened on Enceladus, it would not just be the E-rings that would be populated by micro-organisms. As they feed, evolve and grow in size, some species would migrate to another orbit or band of ring.
And if these living ring ecosystem evolves with enough complexity, they may even pulsate, sparkle or glitter. Imagine all the colors and beauty that a "living ring" of a planet would exhibit. It would be like a flat coral reef in space. The beauty of an artificial Planetary Ring Art Installation is no match for the primeval art created by Nature and Life.
And what would these microscopic "ring organisms" look like? Well, perhaps it may look just like any other cellular lifeform but in this scenario it may develop a crytal-like structure in it's membrane to enable itself to link and separate with other crystals. Or perhaps they may exploit the ionized particles in the rings to use magnetism for 'locomotion'. I am simply postulating a mechanism by which they can increase or decrease their size and mass in order to migrate to other rings of orbit. They may utilize crystals for other purposes as well, bending and focusing light for cellular communication, and perhaps for chemical synthesis--in other words--for cooking!
I speculate that once a migration loop occurs between those thriving on the rings and those living on the exomoon, then the rate and diversity of evolution of these ring-lifeforms may be boosted, along with hastened mutations caused by cosmic rays. Those that get swept back onto the orbiting moon would reproduce to create another set of species that is already adapted to live on the planetary rings, plus some random extra qualities of the next generation. All they need to do is ride on the jet stream from the sub-surface ocean through the vents and out into space and onto the rings, and the cycle goes on.
If we further take into account the possibility that the ring organisms may eventually end up on the planet itself, then a diverse ecosystem will be created that encompasses a moon, a planet, and it's rings.
You see, the presence of life makes things a little bit more exciting. And for planetary rings, it may be true as well--even when it is within the confines of conjecture and imagination.

Links:
ESA: Sodium salts point to subsurface ocean on Enceladus

Starspots and Exoplanets

This image is way too cool! It looks like it's from a page of a Comic Book or Graphic Novel but it was not drawn by an artist. A supercomputer made this simulation of a sunspot in striking scientific detail.
Here's a little trivia:
Did you know that most sunspots are bigger than Earth? Sunspots can be up to several times larger than the diameter of the Earth. And sunspots are really "cool", cooler than the surrounding region of the Sun's surface.
Now this pretty model of a sunspot may be similar to the ones on the surface of other stars somewhere. And so it is called a Starspot.
Starspots may be pretty but it's not really appealing to planet-hunters. The reason is that starspots may actually interfere with the readings of the transit method of finding planets.
The transit method relies on measuring the slight dimming of starlight as the planet passes across our field of view of the star. But planet-sized starspots of an active star may be mis-interpreted as a planet since it also dims the light as the spots move across the star, often in the same direction as the planets.
That is why planet-hunters are wary of starspots when trying to interpret their data. They use all sorts of noise-reduction techniques to normalize the figures and avoid the confusion.
But here's the interesting part: because of starspots, known exoplanets are given a chance to help astronomers study the surface of other stars. Because the lightcurves of known exoplanets are supposed to be smooth, any dips along the lightcurves may be attributed to starspots. Thus exoplanets allow astronomers to find out the size of the starspot, it's speed of movement, and it's rotational period around the parent star.
And consequently, the spots tell a lot about it's parent star such as the "solar-like" activity cycle, and the star's speed of rotation.
And there you have it. The unexpected relationship between starspots and exoplanets is actually a bitter-sweet engagement that poses a challenge to planet-hunters but eventually brings greater knowledge in the long run.

Planetary Recession

Planetary Recession is defined as the decline of the rate at which new planets are discovered, which may be attributed to an economic recession--resulting in the lack of funds for planet-hunting efforts.
I whimsically coined "Planetary Recession" after I noticed that the number of exoplanet discoveries this year are so few compared to last year. As the graph shows, one would think that since we're already half-way of 2009 we should now have at least 30 new exoplanet discoveries, yet we only have a handful.
Also this concept comes after I learned that TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) was not selected by the NASA Small Explorer (SMEX) Program.
Considering the fact that there are billions of planets out there, and that planet-hunting (dare i call it Exoplanetology?) may become a recognized profession someday, one would think that there would be a positive rate or upward curve at which new exoplanet discoveries would trickle in every year.
It's just sad that a slowdown of exoplanet discoveries may be somehow related to the lack of funding due to economic recession. Thus coining the term "Planetary Recession" is an attempt to playfully soften the blow, or inject a sense of humor at least.
On the bright side, Kepler will soon bring a sudden surge of exoplanet count within two or three years from now. And hopefully it comes with the recovery of the economy of our planet as well.

Aren't You Glad You're Not on Daxam?

I still remember the time when i looked at Orion's belt, the big and small Dipper and the Pleiades when I was a young child. Looking back, I now appreciate even more those times as a teenager when I spent countless hours laying on our roof just gazing at the stars.
Imagine if someone stopped you from looking up. Imagine if it was against the law to look at the stars. What a terrible world that would be!
Believe it or not, but that world exists. It's called Daxam. It's the home planet of Sodam Yat, the Daxamite member of the Green Lantern Corps.
As a young child, Sodam was prohibited from exploring the stars. His father shattered his telescopes and lenses to keep his eyes from the skies.
Fiction as it may be, this story is worth mentioning to inspire others to look up. No one is stopping us from looking up but ourselves. Each of us is only here for a moment to walk the earth and taste the immensity and infinity of the cosmos by simply gazing at the night sky. It's a precious moment and a wonderful privilege to be able to look at the stars!

Bizarre New Worlds

This issue is simply too interesting for me to go unnoticed. Imagine the core of worlds made of diamonds. With enough pressure, it's possible! And there's plenty of ways that pressure is generated in the universe.
Now the cover art is also worth taking a look. Do you notice anything unusual with the ringed planet in the background? Aside from the beauty of it, take a look at how many rings that huge planet has. It has got 3 rings! Multi-layered rings? Is that possible? I hope some Astrophysicist writes up an ArXiv article about the possibility of it because it's beautiful! Or perhaps is it too good to be true?

The Extremophile Zone (EZ)

Any point outside the Habitable Zone (HZ) can potentially be an Extremophile Zone (EZ)

Judging from the fact that the Habitable Zone (HZ) is such a narrow region around a star or a galaxy, the difficulty in searching for planets and life around such areas calls for an alternative route:
I simply propose that we "consider" life in a region that we can call, The Extremophile Zone (EZ).
Any area that lie outside the Habitable Zone can potentially be an Extremophile Zone. Introducing this concept will expand the venue of our efforts in the search for life.
You see, we are at a kind of stand-still right now in where we aim to find life: Liquid water at the Goldilocks Zone. It is a major guide in the search for life but it is out-of-reach for those who do not have the specific instruments, or the right kind of telescopes.
Perhaps a different approach may prove to be fun and imaginative at the same time. Instead of snobbing exoplanets that are not within the habitable zone, we could instead appreciate them more and then postulate the "extreme" forms of life that may thrive on each new-found world (small "bubbles" of Habitable Zones may even exist within extremophile zones).
A web-based system can be built that stores updated exoplanetary data and then also accept ideas from enthusiasts, amateurs and professionals about what type of extreme life could survive on each world if it did manage to start up. This "proactive" system would then be a mix of crowdsourcing, web2.0/social media, gaming, and an expert system, or AI. (See how the Fold.It, and GalaxyZoo is facilitated).
It's somewhat of a different flow than the usual search for life. This method will bank on sheer numbers of factual data, plus a massive input of theory and imagination, a creative dose of fun, and an ingenious system to crunch it all into 'diamonds'. In time, with some fuzzy logic and Science, perhaps it may produce useful insights regarding life on future exoplanet discoveries.
Imagine a database of a thousand exoplanets each with a hundred ideas--honed via web2.0, social media, or even peer review--on how life may thrive on it. And then imagine a system that will mix-and-match ideas with the properties of the newest exoplanet discovery. I think it will produce a valid insight and might give Astrobiologists some new biomarkers to look for. It may even form another loop in scientific research.
A thousand exoplanet count is not too far off (we have a total of 349 as of this writing). Perhaps next year we'll reach that milestone.
Now imagine ten thousand worlds and the brain of a HiveMind+AI thinking about life on those worlds. The possibilities are enormous. And if such a system ever materializes in the future, then it will make every exoplanet discovery as precious and important as the ones that lie in the Habitable Zone.

The First Exoplanet of Astrometry: VB 10b

The planet-hunting technique called Astrometry has finally snagged it's first catch -- a Jupiter-like planet called VB 10b, orbiting a small star.
Astrometry involves measuring the motions of a star as an unseen planet tugs the star back and forth. This technique has been in the list of planet-hunting methods for quite a while now. Actually, since around 1950's that several claims of exoplanets discoveries were made using this technique. But only now has it's first discovery been verified.
It has taken 12 years for VB 10b's discoverers, Pravdo and Shaklan--to finally announce the existence of an exoplanet orbiting a dim M-Dwarf star located 20 light-years away in the constellation Aquila.
This finding may mean that astrometry could be a powerful planet-hunting technique for both ground- and space-based telescopes. It may also enliven the amateur planet-hunting community involved with this technique using CCDs.
The discovery is very exciting. It has elicited wonderful remarks from the scientists active in the field. The chief scientist for NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program at JPL said that this "is a hint that nature likes to form planets, even around stars very different from the Sun". And Steven Pravdo himself says that "this could mean planets are more common than we thought."
And it continues to ring in my ears: Nature likes to form planets, they are more common than we thought.

Links:
Astronomy.com

The Long Shot: What Do You See?

My printed copy of Seed Magazine's web-only feature article "The Long Shot" signed by the author himself, Lee Billings.

"What do you see?"
It's great when someone asks you that question. Rorschach may disagree, or you may be unwilling to answer at all, like the captain of Icarus 2 in "Sunshine" who faced solar flares.
I just wanted to share what I saw after I read an article from Seed Magazine: The Long Shot by Lee Billings.
If you read the first and last sentence of that article, what do you see?
For me, I see two "long shots": One from the person searching for Earth-like worlds around Alpha Centauri, and the other from the visiting journalist.
"What I see" already began from the first sentence of that article. The descriptions of the scene made me close my eyes to see it all with my mind.
Why all this drama? Because it is my dream to visit all the great observatories and telescopes around the world. Just being there would have been part of the culmination of my long shot. Meeting actual planet-hunters would have made it sweeter.
Closely following and writing about the ongoing saga of the quest to answer "Are We Alone?" is another long shot. I've heard it said that there is no money in Journalism. But it is especially in this kind of topic that I learn that fact first-hand with this blog. People are fairly oblivious to what it means if we ever find life on other worlds. I've heard it so many times, "people just don't care". The public's attitude towards space exploration takes it's toll on the lack of funding for these kinds of projects. It is apparent in the struggle of Debra Fischer to keep the project afloat. I feel her description of "being in a sinking ship, throwing everything overboard just to keep moving forward".
However, for those who see something magnificent in the quest for knowledge about life on other worlds, it is well worth the ride. This is true also for those who are not directly involved in the actual frontier of Scientific endeavor, like me.
I am in it for a piece of the journey and adventure. And if stories are what the universe is made of, then I want to share in this particular story. I want to see through a planet-hunter's eyes, through their massive telescopes. I want to see the Milky Way from the mountaintops overlooking the domes and then feel the wind in my face gazing skyward.
To have a drink with someone who stood in that spot that I dream about, is to share in the joy of that experience. In my life, I've never really bothered much to look at the name of the author of an essay or article, but Lee changed all that as i've come to realize that journalists have that sense of adventure as well.
It is a great moment in history to be alive and to take part in the saga to answer perhaps Mankind's greatest question: Are we alone?
So if you happen to look up to the night sky from the mountaintops, please tell me, what do you see?

Father and Son Conjunction

A photo overlooking NYC (captured from Hoboken, New Jersey) during the close conjunction of Mars, Venus and the crescent Moon shortly before sunrise on May 21, 2009. By the time this photo was taken, Mars is already drowned out by the oncoming sunlight, but still barely visible in binoculars.
Although not included in the upper-right side of the frame, Jupiter and three of it's Galilean moons were a nice binocular treat as tiny pinpoints of light.

A Review of Google Sky Map for Android

What was the first app I installed on my Android GPhone? Google Sky Map! Could it be one of the reasons why I got the gPhone instead of iPhone? Yes! It's the only one of it's kind that seems to let me "see" through walls to survey the stars from anywhere at anytime.
Google Sky Map almost transforms your Android gPhone into a kind of "Augmented Reality" device. Here's how it works: When you hold or move your phone at any direction, the screen shows the stars, planets, constellations and other celestial objects in that area of the sky. They are correctly labeled for your convenience. It also shows the grid of the Right Ascension (RA) and Declination.
The thing I can share is that ever since I used it, it seems to have expanded my Astronomical Sense of Awareness(tm), well in aspects of orientation at least. Now I can tell you exactly where the Polaris is from my bedroom, or cubicle. Also I can point where the Southern Celestial Pole is even while sitting at my favorite toilet seat! Is this the glimmerings of a heightened sense of awareness?
With continued use, I will soon be able to answer anyone who asks me where Cygnus is, at any time of the day.
Another great thing about it is that it allows me to look at the Southern constellations as well. I point it on the ground of course, and it gives me an eerie feeling that I'm actually floating in space.
Below are some notes that I've compiled regarding it's features.

Zoom.
Great. It resolves some notable Double/Binary Systems.
Search.
Awesome. I'm always looking out for Jupiter, and Cygnus--where Kepler is staring at. You just input the object's name and an arrow will guide you to which direction you should hold your phone. The arrow changes color as you sweep closer to the target, and turns yellow as you "lock-in" on the object.
Sometimes I look like a "pervert spinning around trying to photograph a fly" during my sweeping motions to home in on the target. One time, I didn't realize the object I was searching for happened to be in the direction of another person. So when I finally managed to lock on the target, my gPhone was directly in front of a lady's face. Don't ask me what happened next.
Tip: Do not use the search feature when around other people.
Responsivity.
Fast. Provided you don't run other memory-intensive apps in the background, it is smooth when you sweep across the sky. (But it jitters a bit even when you hold the phone completely still) Tip: Close other apps to maximize performance. Also, turn off the Sky Gradient in the settings to improve responsiveness.
Multi-Tasking/Multi-Threading.
It performs well running in parallel with Twidroid and Twitta. But it sucks with Last.FM. It starts to jiggle wildly.
Accuracy.
Excellent. Stars and Constellations are where they are supposed to be. :) Tip: If you notice a misalignment, wave the phone (using your wrist) in a figure-eight, zen-like manner to re-calibrate, and the constellations will fall into their rightful place!
User Experience.
Excellent. If it overlayed graphics over real image, it would be the ultimate Amateur Astronomer's Augmented Reality system, similar to Wikitude.
The GPS+Compass+Gyroscope sensor combo is a real killer. Google Sky Map managed to leverage that by implementing it to my favorite subject, Astronomy.

Exogazing Use.
This App will be indispensable for Exogazing now that it can show me the Right Ascension (RA) and Declination of the sky. I used to find an exoplanet's location in the sky via constellation, but now i know which part of the sky it is when given the RA/Dec values. The Planetary Society gives this info in their Catalog of exoplanets so I'll be using both in tandem. I just count a few lines on the Declination grid to get an estimate, though.

Other Fun Tricks
Using velcro, I attached my Android on top of my binocular and the experience is amazing! While holding the whole contraption sweeping across the sky, after I lock-in on an object using the search feature of Sky Map, I then just simply look through the eyepiece and the object is there! It works swell specially when the zoom, calibration and orientation is perfectly matched between the App and the binocular.
Oh, now i wish my binocular has this graphics overlay directly inside of it's field-of-view!

Feature Requests:
1) Search via Right Ascension (RA) and Declination (Dec). I need to find some objects given the RA and Dec coordinates. Also, it would be great if the Declination were labeled so i didn't have to count lines?!
2) Zoom feature must at least reveal the fainter stars when you zoom in at a closer Field-of-view (FOV).
3) FOV scale. I need an easy way to match my binocular's 4.5 degree FOV with the current zoom setting of Sky Map. Right now I resort to calibrating using two guide stars of the big dipper. It would be awesome if it shows the zoom level in the interface.
4) Satellite tracking/search. I'd like to see Iridium flares on demand. Is that too much to ask?
5) Option to use camera and over-lay graphics on the image in real-time. This would make it truly an Augmented Reality device!

Conclusion
Over-all, the Sky Map is a great tool for Astronomy enthusiasts. It's a great learning tool and a wonderful teaching instrument. Now you can do astronomy in broad daylight and see stars and constellations from the other side of the hemisphere.
And yes, it is fun!

The Sense of Wonder at the Crossroads

Definitely, the Crossroads was the best conference I have ever attended in my life. The danger of driving sleepy through foggy roads overnight from Jersey to Cambridge was well worth it. If I was a real journalist, I would have written numerous science topics from that event because all speakers were excellent in their presentations. Every single one of them provided plenty of ideas to write about.
Gerrit Verschuur gave a nice warm-up with the Drake Equation. Dimitar Sasselov mentioned "Life as a Planetary Phenomenon", an idea put forward by Andy Knoll--which is the best phrase I ever heard in years. Maria Zuber's presentation about landing humans on Mars was detailed, and she gave a very informed account of the challenges that a human would undertake on a round-trip mission to Mars. Craig Venter gave an overview about synthetic life which made me very curious how these artificial lifeforms would provide insights to Astrobiologists looking for alien biomarkers on other worlds. Juan Enriquez gave a mesmerizing tour of exciting research brewing around a corner in Cambridge that gave hints of the Singularity, and the coming of Homo Evolutis. Then Peter Ward gave an eye-opening account of his Medea Hypothesis, urging us to stop CO2 and engineer our way out of Global Warming to become true anti-Medeans. David Charbonneau spoke with utmost clarity and eloquence that for a moment I saw Carl Sagan in him. I also think Charbonneau owned the *best* slide ever--Welcome to the Era of Comparative Exoplanetology. He also gave a very positive note about the role of Amateur Astronomy in contributing to Science specially in the field of Planet-hunting. I was delighted to know that the future of Citizen Astronomy is brighter than ever before.
At that point however, the moderator David Aguilar--an Astronomer who's ever so keen, promptly noticed that the conference had already taken an unexpected turn. And it was punctuated by Freeman Dyson who was the last speaker.
Dyson opened his talk with the story about William Herschel who was a dedicated Amateur Astronomer that made excellent contributions to Science and Astronomy. I was moved when Dyson said, "Amateurs, do not be discouraged!"
Thus when I was picked by David Aguilar to have the privilege of asking the last question, I worked hard to contain myself in front of Dyson. "Sir, I am touched by your opening story about Herschel, and how you encouraged Amateurs. And I would like to hear it all over again. May I ask that you inspire us all once more?"
Dyson then proceeds to mention the meeting of Worlds, intersection of Cultures, melding of Disciplines, and the reconnection of Poetry, Science, Art, and the role that technology will play. He then goes on to recommend an upcoming book "The Age of Wonder", by Richard Holmes. It is a tale about the sense of wonder, a common trait among the Romantic Poets and Scientists during Herschel's era.
Finally Dyson concludes the conference saying that we will soon witness the coming of a new Age of Wonder.
Indeed we are on the Crossroads, at the intersection of exciting new worlds where we shall see wondrous things in the coming years.
As I drove back home through the rain, I was mesmerized all the way. I went to Cambridge seeking adventure and inspiration, and I truly found it, with a sense of Wonder.

Crossroads: A Real-Time Experience

Writing from Boston at 3am and digging up the experience that I had earlier during the Crossroads conference in Cambridge, I refuse to let any of my experience just slip away into mere memory. So I came up with this first post on the series about what transpired earlier:
As usual, I arrived late. I missed the first speaker, who spoke about the "meaning" of life. And the amateur "Citizen Science Journalist" that I am, had no audio recorder. But I had a thought recorder, in the form of twitter. So I whipped up my laptop and my new Android.
And as soon as my Twhirl and Twidroid loaded up, and my fabled "Citizen Science Journalist" hat was firm on my noggins, the game was on.
But hush now, there is one secret: Nobody knows that I was conducting a personal experiment:
I wanted to know how it felt like, to be in the midst of it all. To engage the speakers, to be in there capturing snippets of thought, and broadcasting them in real-time. Actually, it was more than broadcasting. It was like "thinking out loud" onto a HiveMind. I was a Twitterer incognito (or so i'd like to think)!.
On the part of the twitterer, the experience is exhilarating. I know because I experienced it first-hand: I was listening to very interesting people. And then I tweeted as they spoke about interesting things. I acted like a node. A live human medium to the global community in real-time. I also asked them questions that I was deeply curious about. And then I "compressed" their answers concisely so I can tell the whole world about it quickly. Twittering makes you listen, and tweeting actually makes you think!
Now perhaps the presence of a twitterer is a horror on the part of the speakers. It may be arbitrary, but if I was one of the speakers, I would certainly be terrified knowing that someone in the audience is waiting for me to blunder so he can tell the whole world about it unedited and unscreened...live!
But no one knew what I was up to. So I avoided Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle: With these scientists not knowing that a twitterer was among the audience, it would not affect their behavior.
And here is my initial conclusion about the whole experiment:
This form of "real-time" media journalism will truly take off like never before in the near future. It will make conferences more engaging, more interactive, more exciting and more cerebral. Citizen Science Journalism will explode.
Tell me if a speaker didn't want to be "heard" by a global HiveMind in real time, and then to evoke reactions "as it happens"?
The fact that he is a speaker means he wants to be heard, and heard big time!
And tell me who among any "Citizen Journalists" would not want to be listened to by his or her "followers"? Tell me who would not want the thought that people could be eagerly awaiting for the next tweet?
Why didn't I bring a digital recorder? Perhaps I knew somehow that I will not listen to the recording anyways. Maybe I knew that listening to it all over again would just be a grudging work to me, transcribing would be a pain. For me, what mattered was the "Now" moment, and the "Aha" that comes in the midst of it.
Atop it all, it was an exhilarating experience to stand face to face with the great scientists of our time. And knowing that perhaps I might never get the chance in my life to meet any of them ever again, makes it all the more cherished.
My heart was thumping like drums as I looked into their eyes, and then I asked my questions.
Truly it was proven to me once again that asking questions is one of the greatest experiences of a human being.
It's alright to be afraid to ask questions, but listen to your heart and let it all out: Ask your questions anyway.

The Citizen Science Journalist Hat

I've mentioned my "Citizen Journalist" hat in the past, but then it was metaphorical. But this time however, the hat's for real. I passed by Lids and thought of fashioning my own insignia to be stitched onto the hat. I was very excited when I got the hat and took a snapshot of it while I was twittering in action. This hat is special because it will be the hat that I'm gonna wear in the upcoming "Crossroads" conference in Cambridge. I am gonna play the part of a Citizen Science Journalist and I will approach these great scientists of our time: David Aguilar, David Charbonneau, Freeman Dyson, Juan Enriquez, Andrew Knoll, Dimitar Sasselov, Craig Venter, Gerrit Vershuur, Peter D. Ward and Maria Zuber. I am going to ask them questions and report it all to you via twitter and this blog.
I've never done that before that's why I am nervous. But it is an adventure for me to thicken my face, say hello, and shake the hands of these movers and shakers. Wish me luck, and please do send me any questions you might want me to ask them. Tweet them to me if you like, or write them up via the comment system of this blog. And hopefully, I will be given a chance to throw your difficult questions at these Scientists.
This Citizen Science Journalism thingy has been a great adventure for me. I am learning a lot of things and I am totally thrilled to try it. To share the experience makes it even more wonderful. And it is a great time to do it, because we are on a threshold of discovering something great. Truly we are on the Crossroads of human history. As Carl Sagan said, "somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." And I just can't wait!

Astronomer's Worlds

In my previous posts, I've linked to some hypothetical exo-lifeforms as imagined by artists with an inclination to science, or scientist inclined to the arts. As shown in Snaiad and Expedition, those works of art--speculative as they may be--provide a glimpse of what could thrive on other planets. This time, I will take you to these worlds as imagined by an astronomer. Meet Dan Durda, a planetary scientist who paints distant worlds in his spare time while not doing daredevil acts like flying jetplanes or diving in underwater caves. Thus, what he comes up with are absolutely breath-taking worlds.

A Dwarf Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

A few weeks ago, I pleaded that I be added on @sciencebase's list of Scientwists because I love science and the people that make it so. Sometime later, this visualization was created by 2020 Science via IBM's "Many Eyes" interface. Curious, I searched where I was on the bubblechart, and I pleasantly found myself on that yellow spot resting atop giant circles. Happily I said to myself that I am a "dwarf standing on the shoulder of giants."
I don't exactly remember from which book I read that phrase, but for my case I know that it is true. Specially that I have immersed myself in what many calls the Hive Mind. Many great ideas are being shared in this medium called twitter and I am just humbled by the fact that a swarm of scientists is my teacher. I learn profound things because of them.
Although I already subscribe to the interpretation of "standing on the shoulders of giants" as "one who develops future intellectual pursuits by understanding the research and works created by notable thinkers of the past", I would like to think that in the age of Science2.0, the thinkers of the present can have a much greater influence on the current generation than ever before.
Now if only more of them will twitter...

"Bernard of Chartres used to say that we are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants...so that we can see things at a greater distance, not by virtue of any sharpness of sight on our part, or any physical distinction, but because we are carried high and raised up by their giant size."
--John of Salisbury (Metalogicon, 1159)

An Expedition into a World of Science and Imagination

If i wanted to go into an expedition of an alien safari, I would visit this place: Expedition by Wayne Barlowe.
It is speculative biology and Imaginative science at it's best, all rendered with great artistic skill by an artist with a scientific bent, or perhaps a scientist with an artistic inclination.
Whichever is the case, these exo-lifeforms are a feast to my eyes and a tickle to my imagination.
It's amazing how my foray into Astrobiology and Exobiology has taken me to awe-inspiring discoveries such as this one. The worlds opened up by the marriage of Imagination and Science is an endless adventure.
What will the discovery of thousands of exoplanets bring to the fusion of Science and Art? My mind is simply blown away.

Basic Toolkit for Exogazing

Behold an Exogazer's basic toolkit: Binoculars, Planisphere, and Star Finder Chart.
My Binoculars is a Canon 15x50 Image-Stabilized (IS), 4.5° FOV. It provides a great experience for panning across the sky when star-hopping. The image-stabilization feature prevents jittering to help avoid dizziness, and it's great for following a comet, a satellite, a meteor, or an iridium flash across a backdrop of stars.

The Planisphere is a very handy tool for knowing which constellations will be visible to you at a given date and time. In the background are the printed Kepler Star Wheel. It is a customized planisphere that also show the stars with known exoplanets.

Finally, the star finder charts provide some more detailed information about the host star, such as it's magnitude. And it gives more details about the vicinity around the target star. It helps navigate the star field when the view is zoomed in by the binoculars.
Note: The IYA2009 sticker and pin on the binoculars was given to me by @LunarMark when I visited the LVAAS during one of their star parties (Feb 2009). There was a wonderful presentation about exoplanets at that time. And a planetarium session.

What is Exogazing?
Exogazing is gazing at the stars and "spotting" which stars have known exoplanets orbiting around it. It's just like stargazing but you have an added goal: locating which stars have known exoplanets.
More info about exogazing can be found here.

My One and Only

Dear Earth,
You will always be my one and only. Even if we find another planet that looks like you. We love you even more.
--@Exoplanetology