Thoughts

I’ve been quiet on the TMT controversy not through choice but because it erupted while I was traveling, and because it’s an important topic that needs more than a tweet to discuss. Let me begin by saying that I love astronomy and science—but I also understand the heritage and cultural importance of Maunakea to the people of Hawaii. As a POC (Malagasy-Indian, and from Reunion island), I question the way we have, and are currently, handling this situation. True, the people behind the TMT have been patient, taken lots of time, and gone to enormous pains to complete all the paperwork necessary... read more ❯

August 31: See update at the end of this post Several readers have contacted me recently about reports that a group of international astronomers have detected a strong signal coming from a distant star that could be a sign of a high-technology civilization. Here’s my reaction: it’s interesting, but it’s definitely not the sign of an alien civilization—at least not yet. Here’s why: The signal was first detected in May 2015 and has not repeated since. Unfortunately, although international protocols call for alerting the astronomical community to the detection of a mysterious signal, the... read more ❯

NASA made a request for input to name the new NASA Science and Exploration Institute.  You can propose your own name on this web site. I just submitted a proposed name for this virtual institute, which will include other destinations beyond the Moon, stemming from NASA’s flexible path strategy for human exploration. I propose to name this new NASA center the "NASA-Armstrong Space Exploration Institute" (or NASEI). Here why... Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the Moon, was also a hero for several generations of American... read more ❯