Monday, November 06, 2006

Most energetic magnetic stellar explosion ever detected, hunting for meteorites on Moon and spacecraft caution and warning system in our homes

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Scientists using NASA's Swift satellite have spotted a stellar flare on a nearby star so powerful that, had it been from our sun, it would have triggered a mass extinction on Earth. The flare was perhaps the most energetic magnetic stellar explosion ever detected. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0611/06monster/.
g Abodes - In this interview, Monica Grady talks about hunting for meteorites on the Moon in order to learn more about the ancient Earth. She also explains why it took so long for us to find a meteorite originating from Mars. See article.
g Life - A rise in the Earth’s temperature could lead to an increase in the number of insects worldwide, with potentially dire consequences for humans, a new study suggests. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/061104_gb_insects.html.
g Cosmicus - Do you feel like an astronaut when you go to the grocery store? How about when you set your watch? The next time you reset the smoke detector in your home, take a minute to imagine it as part of your own spacecraft's caution and warning system. Because before they saved lives on Earth, that's where smoke detectors were found on spacecraft designed and built by NASA. See http://www.stars4space.org/Benefits.html.

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