Tag: NASA

Watch out for that Sun!


I’m not sure this is really a comet (mostly made of ice and dust – but I really don’t know what I am talking about here), but we do have video of something small crashing into the Sun thanks to the Solar Dynamics Observatory. And that is cool.

If you are having trouble seeing the object in the video, the picture below will help you figure out where to look.

*Hat tip to io9.

Best letter response. . .EVER

Charles Bennett has a beef with the wording of an article title in Science: “At long last, Gravity Probe B satellite proves Einstein right”.

I find myself frequently repeating to students and the public that science doesn’t “prove” theories. Scientific measurements can only disprove theories or be consistent with them.

Instead of going on about the philosophy of science at length, let’s just quote the spot-on quote from their response:

Bennett is completely correct. It’s an important conceptual point, and we blew it.

Bravo!