Monthly Archives: March 2010

Radio 101

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Invader Xan

My brain is a bit fried. As one would well expect after two days worth of conference talks and a morning, so far, of a radio astronomy data reduction workshop. All seems to be going pretty well so far though, … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, Imported from Livejournal | 4 Comments

Array of Hope

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Invader Xan

It’s an interesting thing in astronomy that we tend to have a number of sub-communities, and those sub-communities don’t tend to interract that much. One thing that happens to a fair amount of people is to end up working exclusively … Continue reading →

Posted in Imported from Livejournal | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

One year plan

Posted on March 19, 2010 by Invader Xan

Over the course of the past year, I’ve been immersed primarily in theoretical chemistry. Perhaps unusually, I discovered that actually find it rather enjoyable. The calculation of molecular energies and using those to find the stability of a molecule and … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, Imported from Livejournal | 4 Comments

Open your eyes, SOFIA

Posted on March 18, 2010 by Invader Xan

Today, I was very lucky to meet Bob Gehrz, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Minnesota and principal investigator for a rather exciting telescope project. SOFIA (short for Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) is a project being … Continue reading →

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The quiet voice of interstellar glycine

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Invader Xan

So I’ve been sitting in on an online NASA astrobiology conference, The Organic Continuum from the ISM to the Early Solar System. Unfortunately I’ve missed most of it already, having only heard it was happening this evening when I was … Continue reading →

Posted in astrobiology, Imported from Livejournal | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Stars Born as Planets

Posted on March 1, 2010 by Invader Xan

Planets are resilient things. They can survive a lot of punishment from their host stars, with some planets having survived being broiled and others even having survived being engulfed as their parent star swells into a red giant. Amazingly, the … Continue reading →

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