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Pale Blue Dot III: An Astrobiological Field Report
Astrobiology Portal ^
| Monday, November 27, 2006
| David Grinspoon
Posted on 11/27/2006 9:10:05 AM PST by SunkenCiv
In September I participated in "Pale Blue Dot III: Searching for Life on Distant Words" at Chicago's Adler Planetarium. The other two Pale Blue Dot workshops were held in 1996 and 1999, both at NASA Ames Research Center. It is striking how much the world, and the worlds, have changed since then. Over 200 extrasolar planets have been discovered, and the Mars Exploration Rovers have shown evidence of surface water on another planet... The sessions each featured three scientific talks, and then a "media respondent" would present a journalist's perspective. Afterwards there would be a panel discussion, with the scientists and the media respondent fielding questions from the audience... Some used the time to respond to the scientific talks they had just heard, and offer a journalist's perspective on the subject matter or on the language and communication skills of the scientists. Others ignored the science presented in the sessions, and instead gave talks about how journalists work, how science media is changing, or how we might package our science into "stories" to better reach the public. For example, at the end of a session on "Understanding the Distribution of Life in the Universe," Michael Lemonick of Time Magazine said there has been a "dumbing down" of science. Magazines are competing for the eyeballs of a public with an ever-decreasing attention span, and as a result the average length of a Time science story has become much shorter over the last decade... In explaining which scientific developments will, or will not, become a story, Lemonick stressed that they must seem new.
(Excerpt) Read more at astrobio.net ...
TOPICS: Astronomy; Science
KEYWORDS: exobiology; panspermia; xplanets
"Lemonick stressed that they must seem new," which is ironic, because I've already posted a topic with coverage of this conference. This article is much better though.
This false-color composite image, taken at a region of the rock outcrop dubbed "Shoemaker's Patio" near the MER Opportunity's landing site, shows finely layered sediments, which have been accentuated by erosion. The sphere-like grains or "blueberries" distributed throughout the outcrop can be seen lining up with individual layers. This observation indicates that the spherules are geologic features called concretions, which form in pre-existing wet sediments. This image was captured by the rover's panoramic camera on the 50th martian day, or sol, of the mission. Image Credit: NASA/JPL
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posted on
11/27/2006 9:10:07 AM PST
by
SunkenCiv
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posted on
11/27/2006 9:10:17 AM PST
by
SunkenCiv
(I last updated my profile on Thursday, November 16, 2006 https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
To: annie laurie; garbageseeker; Knitting A Conundrum; Viking2002; Ernest_at_the_Beach; mikrofon; ...
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posted on
11/27/2006 9:10:45 AM PST
by
SunkenCiv
(I last updated my profile on Thursday, November 16, 2006 https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
4
posted on
11/27/2006 9:12:54 AM PST
by
SunkenCiv
(I last updated my profile on Thursday, November 16, 2006 https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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