TED: How we found hundreds of Earth-like planets

Astronomer Dimitar Sasselov and his colleagues search for Earth-like planets that may, someday, help us answer centuries-old questions about the origin and existence of biological life elsewhere (and on Earth). How many such planets have they found already? Several hundreds.

About Dimitar Sasselov
Dimitar Sasselov works on uniting the physical and life sciences in the hunt for answers to the question of how life began

The sun represented by a single pixel

Click on the image above to view it in full size.

Still feel special? Still feel like there is a god out there looking after you, who made you in his image, and just couldn't be bothered with the rest of the universe? Hmmmm

A Sunrise... on Mars

That is all.

Was our universe born inside a black hole in another universe?

The current explanation of the universe's origins relies on clumsy assumptions and can't explain most subatomic particles. A small tweak to general relativity solves these problems - and seemingly proves the universe must have come from a black hole elsewhere.

As it stands right now, the explanation for the universe's beginnings is built around a combination of Einstein's general relativity and observation of the ancient universe. Mixing these two theories together creates some problems - for instance, the universe is impossibly large according to its current rate of expansion, so astrophysicists have to invoke the idea of inflation, in which the early universe expanded at a tremendous rate within the first second after the Big Bang.

General relativity, however, can't explain inflation, so another theory is required to account for it. There's nothing technically wrong with that, but it's an inelegant solution, and physicists tend to prefer an all-encompassing explanation to a bunch of piecemeal solutions. That's not the only issue with the current explanation - it can't deal with many properties of subatomic particles, consigning them entirely to the realm of quantum mechanics.

Nikodem Poplawski of Indiana University thinks solving the latter problem can also solve the former, and that's just the start of the craziness. In a new paper, he explains that the standard version of general relativity totally ignores the intrinsic momentum of subatomic particles like protons and neutrons, but a modified version known as the Einstein-Cartan-Kibble-Sciama theory of gravity solves that problem. The theory states these particles interact repulsively, creating tiny amounts of a force called torsion.

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Earth is younger than previously thought - Spoiler: It's not 6000 years old.

Researchers have calculated that the planet could have taken far longer to form following the birth of the solar system 4.567 billion years ago than scientists have previously believed.

By comparing chemical isotopes from the Earth's mantle with those from meteorites, geologists at the University of Cambridge claim the planet reached its current size around 4.467 billion years ago.

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Carl Sagan: A Universe Not Made For Us

Excerpts from Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space. More specifically, from the chapter titled A Universe Not Made For Us.

TED: Carter Emmart demos a 3D atlas of the universe

For the last 12 years, Carter Emmart has been coordinating the efforts of scientists, artists and programmers to build a complete 3D visualization of our known universe. He demos this stunning tour and explains how it's being shared with facilities around the world.

About Carter Emmart
Carter Emmart uses astronomy and computational modeling to create scientifically accurate, three-dimensional tours of our universe.

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Planck telescope sends back a postcard of the universe

The Guardian Newspaper: This image from the Planck telescope is a first instalment from its survey of the universe's hidden structure

Giant clouds of interstellar gas and dust light up this panoramic view of the sky recorded by the European Space Agency's Planck telescope.

The space telescope was launched in May last year on a mission to survey the "cosmic microwave background" – ancient light left over from the big bang.

The bright streak across the middle of the picture is our own galaxy, the Milky Way, viewed edge-on. The intense light comes not from stars but from the radiation released by the dust and gas clouds that stretch between them.

"We are opening the door to an El Dorado where scientists can seek the nuggets that will lead to deeper understanding of how our universe came to be and how it works now. The image itself and its remarkable quality is a tribute to the engineers who built and have operated Planck," said David Southwood, director of science and robotic exploration at the European Space Agency (Esa).

The blue and white wisps that reach above and below our own galaxy are streamers of cold dust that trace out the "galactic web" where new stars are born.

The speckles at the top and bottom of the image are caused by microwave background radiation, the remnants of the first light that appeared 380,000 years after the big bang flung the universe into being 13.7bn years ago.

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The Stained Earth, Courtesy Of BP

The beautiful and crystalline Blue Marble is now the Stained Blue Marble, created using NASA’s spectacular view of Earth and one of the scenarios for the spreading of BP’s oil, as simulated by the US National centre for Atmospheric Research.

While the NCAR says that their computer simulation shows one of the potential scenarios for the oilpocalypse spread—applying sea currents and typical weather on a neutral dye, not on actual oil—I couldn’t resist overlaying it over the complete image of the Earth. Seeing what could be the extension of this catastrophe in relation to our entire home planet—only 132 days after the start of the deadly flood—gives the whole disaster a complete new dimension.

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Earth - The Pale Blue Dot

This is Carl Sagan reading from his book, "The Pale Blue Dot". Director Michael Marantz shoots the timelapse for this piece, composes the music and edits.

You might just tear up watching this video.

Fifty Years of Exploration

Stephen Hawking's Bedtime Stories

Everyone's got a copy of A Brief History of Time, but few have finished it. If we engage children in science young enough, will this change?

Stephen Hawking:

The book aroused a great deal of interest, although many people found it difficult to understand. But I believe everyone can, and should, have a broad picture of how the universe operates, and our place in it. This is what I have tried to convey in all my popular books.

It is extremely important to me to write for children. Children ask how things do what they do, and why. Too often they are told that these are stupid questions to ask, but this is said by grown-ups who don't know the answers and don't want to look silly by admitting they don't know. It is important that young people keep their sense of wonder and keep asking why. I'm a child myself, in the sense that I'm still looking. Children are fascinated by black holes and ask me questions. I find they soon get the idea if it is explained in simple language. And yes, it is nice to think a few of them might grow up and read A Brief History from cover to cover.

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Darwinian spacecraft engine to last twice as long

The following article from New Scientist is a prime example of what can happen when we don't fight progress for fear of losing our superstitions. Through our acceptance of Evolution and Natural Selection we are able to use its principles to better our own technologies.

SPACE agencies may one day have Charles Darwin to thank for the longevity of their spacecraft. The life expectancy of a popular type of ion engine has been almost doubled using software that mimics the way natural selection evolves ever fitter designs.

Electrostatic ion engines are becoming popular in space missions. Instead of relying on burning large amounts of heavy liquid propellant for thrust, they use solar power to ionise a small supply of xenon gas. A high voltage applied across a pair of gridded electrodes sends the positively charged ions rushing at high speed towards the negative electrode. Most ions pass through the grid, generating thrust.

However, some ions collide with the grid itself, causing it to gradually wear out, says Cody Farnell, a space flight engineer at the University of Colorado in Fort Collins. Simulations suggest grids in a typical NASA engine will last 2.8 years - but Farnell wondered whether changing the grid's design could extend its lifespan.

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The Search For Hidden Dimensions

I'm so glad there are these clever people in the world. This is simply amazing.

Brian Greene explains how extra dimensions may solve several problems in physics, and gives his stance on the possibility of a "multi-verse".

To learn more about String Theory, watch Brian Greene's "The Elegant Universe" on NOVA

Gulf Oil Slick: Visible From Space

Four hundred miles out in space, NASA's Aqua satellite has taken pictures of the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico caused by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. In this image from Sunday, the center of it is about even with the mouth of the Mississippi River. We're told it covers 400 square miles.

Take a look