An Age of Magic

How much does it cost to insure a spaceship?

Have you ever wondered about that…? we were looking around for cheap auto insurance the other day when I raised the question with Arnold and asked him if NASA really do insure their equipment for when things go horribly wrong. Who would they insure with – and what conditions would be imposed…?

I suppose the age of the astronauts – they are all well over 25 so that should be relatively cheap then; the speed of travel – very fast I’d say so are there extra rates for that…?; what area will the spaceship be travelling in…? a long way from earth – so what cost for that? one thing is certain though, there would be no third-party needed because who are they going to bump the spaceship into!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Baby planet found!

Astronomers have discovered the youngest planet orbiting a solar-type star outside our solar system. The giant planet is 35 million years old and six times the mass of Jupiter, according to astronomers. Our planet is more than 100 times more ancient at 4.5billion years old. Named BD+20 1790b and situated 83 light years away from Earth, it is the youngest planet orbiting a star of a similar size to our Sun.

Only one young planet, aged 100 million years, was previously known but the newly-discovered planet is about three times younger. University of Hertfordshire astronomer Dr Maria-Cruz Galvez-Ortiz, who was among the international team which identified the planet, described it as ‘an exciting discovery’. Young stars are usually excluded from planet searches because they have intense magnetic fields that generate a range of phenomena known collectively as stellar activity, including flares and spots. This can make it difficult to disentangle the signals of planets and activity.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Ready, aim, fire!

Earth could be in peril from a large asteroid and a spacecraft may be needed to knock it off its path, the head of Russia’s space agency claimed today. Anatoly Perminov said the space agency will soon hold a meeting to assess a mission to Apophis, in a bid to stave off the end of the world. He told Golos Rossii radio that it would invite Nasa, the European Space Agency, the Chinese space agency and others to join the project once it is finalised.

The news may come as something of a surprise to the U.S space agency, who down-scaled the threat of the 885ft rock hitting Earth in 2029 from one in 37 to virtually non existent. Nasa predicts the asteroid will peacefully pass us by, coming no nearer than 18,000miles away. There is a tiny possibility that Apophis could hit Earth in 2035 however, although again the odds of this happening have been lowered from 1 in 45,000 to 1 in 250,000.

Scientists have long theorised about asteroid deflection strategies. Some have proposed sending a probe to circle around a dangerous asteroid to gradually change its trajectory. Others suggested sending a spacecraft to collide with the asteroid and alter its momentum, or using nuclear weapons to hit it.

Popularity: 45% [?]