March 13, 2020

On This Day in Triskaidekaphobia

Friday the 13th does not necessarily bode ill.

For example, on March 13th 1781, William Herschel discovered Uranus!



"March 13, 1781 was a Tuesday, not a Friday, thus invalidating this whole post."

Details...
Besides, the seventh planet from the sun is actually quite interesting despite the tedious jokes revolving around its name. 


 The planet and its moons have surprising potential. In fact, here is a long post by Matter Beam on how to colonize Uranus!


"...."
What? 




The planet has an anomalously large percentage of helium 3 in its clouds and a bunch of cool icy moons which seem quite comparable to Ceres. 

The system is far enough out to keep the pesky tourists at bay. 
 
Interestingly though, Matter Beam's article has an idea for a potentially interesting "killer app" that could make the the two "ice giants" quite useful in the far future. 

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 09:10 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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March 08, 2020

An Unusual Source of Protein

Scientists examining a meteorite think they have discovered a protein inside it. This is significant because, while amino acids have been found in space rocks, proteins had not. The researchers are reasonably sure that the protein is not due to terrestrial contamination due to its isotope signature and the fact that the protein is like nothing ever seen before. 

The hemolithin protein found by the researchers was a small one, and was made up mostly of glycine, and amino acids. It also had oxygen, lithium and iron atoms at its ends—an arrangement never seen before. 


"Hemolethin appears to be a new word invented just for this protein. but that's not NEARLY as important as the validating fact that one actually CAN find protein in space!"



Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 07:19 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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