On Another World

Forty years ago, man set foot on another world. The Moon. It is a great triumph for humanity. A symbol of man's inherent boldness for discovery and adventure.
How does it feel like to step on another world? Buzz Aldrin recounts a weird experience upon kicking moon dust which briefly flashes the shape of a petal on the trajectory back to the moon's airless surface. It must have felt something like walking on water.
It's been 40 years since man felt an other-worldy experience. The Moon may have truly felt like "another world" forty years ago, but the moon is not an "other" planet (at least not in the way we defined what a 'planet' is).
Landing on the moon has been a giant leap for mankind, but now it's time for the next step. A step into another world.
Mars.
What could be in store for us on a red planet? The only way to find out is to get our foot on it's surface. Then it will be the first terrestrial planet to dip our feet other than earth. Who knows what mysteries lay hidden on another planet?
Let us celebrate the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 with the hope of a bold move to a brave new world.
In another time, in another place, I could have chosen to root for Alpha Centauri. But the time is now. And so I choose Mars.

Out into Space with Kepler

Exoplanetology is going to outer space. Yes, hitchin' a ride to space with the Kepler spacecraft. Haven't been able to take off and yet I already have the certificate to prove it. So what the heck is Kepler? Who the heck is Kepler?

Johannes Kepler was a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, and key figure in the 17th century Scientific revolution.

The Kepler Mission is a space photometer being developed by NASA to search for Earth-like planets orbiting other stars. It will be launched on March 5, 2009. So you can expect Earth's "twin" to make waves in the news shortly after that date, when Earth-like planets finally get discovered. Until then I will continue to stare at my certificate framed on the wall of my bedroom.

By the way, did I mention that you can get your name out into space, too and get your certificate as well? All the space-bound names will be stored on a DVD and rocketed into space on board the Kepler spacecraft. Just head over to this page and write a very good message or reason why Kepler is important. A copy of the DVD with all of the names and messages will be given to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum. I sure hope they don't put it on Blu-ray because i dont have a blu-ray DVD player yet. I'm sure the aliens do. So make sure you write your hello message in good Klingon. Below is the message I wrote. Can anyone please translate it into Klingon:

"To discover the origin and future of life, and to find out mankind's place in the universe. Knowledge worth knowing within one's own lifetime, a simple truth worth knowing by an entire civilization."

Sweet.



Links:
Messages of Kepler
Kepler Official Website

EXOPLANET FORUM 2008

The Third Annual Forum on Exoplanet Science by NASA is on its closing day. (My apologies; should've posted it much earlier; will do so next time) This year it focuses on seven measurement techniques: astrometry, direct imaging - optical coronagraphy, direct imaging - mid-IR interferometry, exozodiacal disks, radial velocity, transits, and microlensing.
The results of the Forum will be published in book form, as a record of the presentations and discussion, in a format that will be accessible to a broad range of scientists and helpful to science policy makers. The publication target date is fall 2008. This event is sponsored by the NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program, with organizational and logistics support provided by the Center for Exoplanet Science at JPL.

Congratulations NASA: Phoenix Mars Lander Team

The Phoenix Mars Lander has touched down on Martian regolith after successfully carrying out the entry, descent and landing (EDL) phase of the mission.
Congrats!

Links:
Phoenix Mission Website
Mars Foundation

List of Exoplanet Catalogues

Below is a list of Exoplanet Catalogues. A list of lists, a Meta-Catalogue of Exoplanets. Very handy for cross-referencing exoplanet data. I will continually update this particular post as I come across new ones. You may come back to this post by clicking on the keyword "catalogue" from the tag-cloud on the lower right column.


EXOPLANET LISTS AND CATALOGUES

Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia
URL: http://exoplanet.eu/catalog.php
Description: The most updated one, and has the most options for interactive filtering and sorting. And its the oldest one too, i think.

New Worlds Atlas
URL: http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/atlas/atlas_search.cfm
Description: This one has a nice visual interface and a cool website. It has some nice filters for you to extract the relevant data that you need from the dataset.

California and Carnegie Planet Search
URL: http://exoplanets.org/planets.shtml
Description: This one has features a Sortable Table by clicking on the table headers.

Planetary Biology
URL: http://www.planetarybiology.com/exoexplorer_planets/
Description: This is the most interesting catalogue since it ranks planets according to the likelihood of life. Though it also uses data from the Exoplanet Encyclopedia.

Geneva Observatory
URL: http://obswww.unige.ch/~naef/who_discovered_that_planet.html
Description: I dont know what to say yet.

Working Group on Extrasolar Planets
URL: http://www.dtm.ciw.edu/boss/planets.html
Description: A simple list of exoplanets. No interface.

Transiting Planets
URL: http://www.inscience.ch/transits/
Description: List of transiting planets

List of Stars with Confirmed Exoplanets
URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stars_with_confirmed_extrasolar_planets
Description: A good reference list.

Paris Observatory Catalog of Exoplanets
URL: http://media4.obspm.fr/exoplanets/base/index.php
Description: A catalogue maintained by the French-led Paris Observatory group. A good up-to-date list.

NStED
URL: http://nsted.ipac.caltech.edu
Description: A good source of data about Stars and Exoplanets. Combo is good!

Exoplanetology on Freebase
URL: http://www.freebase.com/view/user/metapsyche/exoplanetology/exoplanet
Description: A new entry on freebase that opens up an open collaborative effort for maintaining the list. Data that would not have been included in the dataset are taken into account and organized. Another advantage is that freebase has an API which opens up the data set for more robust interactive applications. Anyone with a serious interest in exoplanets may contribute to this list, but you need to sign up for a freebase account.

Web-Based Google Sky: A Great Tool !

Google's Browser-based Sky launched. Now you don't need to install any software for a quick marvel at the heavens! Google Sky comes default with some known objects, such as M1 and Andromeda, and see them in x-ray, infrared, microwave and ultraviolet modes. Perfect for amateur astronomy. You can also see some showcases of Hubble, Spitzer and other telescopes images and overlay your own information with KML content like in Google Earth. At the top left, there's a link to Google Moon and Google Mars.
This is a wonderful start! I can foresee the day when exoplanets are marked out in sky just like the currently known objects catalogued in there. It'll give us a sense of where they are in the sky. With the launch of new telescopes, we will see an explosion of hi-res images in the next few years. And we'll definitely see them in Google Sky. Gee, thanks Google! Thanks NASA!