The Science of Space

Well, that didn’t take long. The Dept of Defense is already planning a new initiative to cut down on new space debris. I guess they took that report seriously. The new initiative would work by launching new satellites without heavier parts readily available from defunct satellites (like antennas). This would allow satellites to be launched with less weight, reducing transportation costs, materials costs, and the amount of stuff going into space. While this doesn’t solve the problem of all the stuff that’s up there now, at least we’re reducing the number of new things we’re sending up.

Scientists also managed to figure out an 2,000 year old mystery this week. The mystery centered around a supernova (the explosion resulting from a giant star) witnessed 2,000 years ago by the Chinese. When modern scientists went to look for this supernova they found the remnant was much bigger than it should have been. Supernovas usually only occur from the deaths of larger stars after they collapse in on themselves. Smaller stars become extremely dense and turn into white dwarfs which burn small and hot for a long, long time. In this particular instance, the star had become a white dwarf. However, after it stole material from a nearby star, it destabalized and exploded violently, causing the huge remnant.