astronomy

The final frontier is yours to explore on your iPad

Wonders of the Universe -- based on the BBC series of the same name from HarperCollins -- is an elegant and visually gorgeous app that lets you explore our known universe on your iPad. The app comes with more than 2.5 hours of HD video, dazzling 3D graphics of everything from subatomic particles to galaxies, and tons of information to read as you explore, and it offers an excellent use of the iPad's touch-screen interface to browse all the content.

We got a sneak peak at the app, but Wonders of the Universe will not be available until tomorrow in the iTunes App Store. HarperCollins says the app will be at the discounted price of $6.99 initially, but will go up to $9.99 sometime after the launch.

The app starts you off by explaining the touch-screen interface and how to navigate through all of the content.… Read more

A flying telescope? Observing NASA's SOFIA airborne observatory

NASA this past weekend offered up tours of its recently souped up airborne telescope, built inside a modified Boeing 747 aircraft. The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, is the world's largest airborne observatory.

SOFIA carries a telescope with a 100-inch reflecting mirror that conducts astronomy research not possible with ground-based telescopes, NASA said. It's normally housed at NASA's Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., but CNET got to see it Friday at a press event at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif.

Ames Research Center Director Pete Worden said SOFIA is … Read more

Canon's giant image sensor gets a job

A huge image sensor that Canon showed off last year turns out to have more of a purpose in life than touting the company's manufacturing prowess. It's being used to help a Japanese observatory hunt for meteors.

Canon's 202x205mm sensor dwarfs the 24x36mm "full-frame" sensors that are used commercially in the company's high-end SLR cameras. When Canon touted the giant sensor last year, it said, "Potential applications for the new high-sensitivity CMOS sensor include the video recording of stars in the night sky and nocturnal animal behavior."

Well, it looks like those … Read more

The 404 863: Where we're broadcasting live from outer space (podcast)

Anthony David Adams joins us on today's episode in hopes that one of our listeners has the next object that will allow him to trade his way into space. He started with a toy spaceship and five trades later, he already has a ticket for a One Zero G Space Flight, so hit him up if you want to make him an offer.

While he's trading his way up, Anthony's also looking to build space exploration kits replete with Space HD Video Exploration Modules for at least 100 school districts, so sign up your local school at the Students in Space Project Web site. If you'd like to donate to the SpaceKits Project, PayPal donations are accepted at donate@onetoyspaceship.com.

On top of all that, Anthony brings our listeners a chance to win a free Nook and a watch from Nooka, the company designing the packaging for the Students in Space kits! The contest is simple:

Like OneToySpaceship.com Leave a comment on this blog post that answers this question: I want to go to outer space because________ and I am willing to trade ____________. Send out a tweet linking to the contest, and that's it!

Thanks again to Anthony for coming in today, and be sure to listen to the full episode to hear how he got started with the space project, why it's necessary to make redundant backups of our intergalactic hard drive, and how he plans to be the first member of the Parsec High Club.

Episode 863 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Scientist: We'll meet aliens within 20 years

Just as Bigfeet tend to emerge during the summer period, so it is with UFOs.

It is natural to be skeptical. If these strange phenomena really did exist, why haven't their captains exposed themselves on our streets? Why haven't they sat down with Katie Couric and Oprah?

And yet two events have conflated to, yet again, send a frisson of excitement through the bones of those who seek extraterrestrial contact.

First, as reported by Reuters, a top Russian astronomer, Andrei Finkelstein, director of none other than the Russian Academy of Sciences' Applied Astronomy Institute, declared that we would … Read more

Your iPhone as a window to the night sky

SkyView lets you use your iPhone camera view to create an augmented-reality view of the sky complete with constellations, planets, and satellites. Simply launch the app and point your iPhone camera skyward to see constellations and other celestial bodies where they are in real time. You also can touch planets, stars, and constellations to get more info and history at the bottom of the screen.

While you can spend plenty of time simply pointing in different directions and viewing celestial bodies, SkyView offers a few more handy features for finding what you want. You can use the search tool to … Read more

Gaze at the stars and play the arcade classics: iPhone apps of the week

In a CNET News story yesterday, our very own Josh Lowensohn explored Apple's recent patent application for an interesting touch-screen concept. The patent details separate smaller displays outside of the regular iPhone touch screen. According to the patent filing, these separate displays could be used in tandem with the main iPhone touch screen or used by developers to show added information in apps and games. Josh is careful to point out that patent applications don't necessarily mean a company will use an idea in a future product, but they are nonetheless interesting to consider.

Obviously, adding separate screens would open up all kinds of options for apps, but I wonder if these areas would be used by Apple for showing things like battery life, current time, camera information, or other more generic smartphone-related uses. But if these added touch-screen areas could be used by app developers, it would open up a huge number of possibilities for more interesting on-screen controls and other information widgets related to what's happening on-screen.

Even without knowing whether this will come to light, what sort of uses can you envision for extra displays around the main iPhone screen? Let me know your ideas in the comments.

This week's apps include an app for star gazing that uses augmented-reality technology and an app that lets you play classic arcade and console games from the golden age of gaming.… Read more

Shooting for the super perigee moon

On Saturday, the world was treated to a super perigee moon, a rare sight that happens only every 18 years or so. The moon has an elliptical (oval) orbit around the Earth; when it seems smaller and more distant, it's on the farthest side (apogee) of its orbit, while the perigee side is about 31,000 miles closer to Earth. What made Saturday special was the fact that it was a full moon on the perigee side, resulting in our lunar friend appearing 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than normal.

Our friends on Flickr snapped some incredible … Read more

SETI app taps your smartphone to hunt for E.T.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Move over, Twitter. Drop dead, Angry Birds. There's a new mobile app that does more than let people play around on their smartphones--it allows them to join the quest for signs of intelligent life in the universe.

The SETI Institute is launching a private beta test beginning today of SetiQuest Explorer in the hopes that hobby astronomers will help with tasks that can't be done well by computers. The app runs on Android 2.2 but will be available on the iPhone this summer. There is also a desktop version for any computer running Flash … Read more