Researchers have detected the first signs of proof that a planet outside of our solar system is capable of sustaining life. The evidence was obtained by the Hubble Space telescope, and captured what appears to be methane on a planet residing in another solar system.

HD 189733b is the name of the planet where the methane has been detected. While the planet might not have a sexy name, it is in the constellation Vulpecula which definitely sounds like something from Star Trek.

To most people, the detection of methane might not sound too exciting. But what might not be known is it’s one of the key components of sustaining life on Earth. Methane is one of the ingredients necessary for chemical reactions to occur that make living possible. It was also discovered that HD 189733b was housing water as well, reported by Mark Swain, a NASA specialist, “With this observation there is no question whether there is water or not - water is present”

So if HD 189733b has water, and methane, two of the biggest components of sustaining human-like life, then could there possibly be aliens living on it? The collective answer is “no”, atleast for life as we know it. The reason being is that, although HD 189733b has water and methane, it is roughly the size of Jupiter and is closer to its’ sun than Mercury is here. HD 189733b rests at a sweltering 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit. So if there’s life, they either have alot of sunscreen or would feel right at home in your oven.

Another big breakthrough of the discovery of methane on HD 189733b, is not the discovery itself, but the fact we were able to discover it. With Hubble’s ability to detect methane, it’s proof that the telescope and future telescopes could detect life providing elements on other planets.

For as much as we know about science and space there’s just as much if not more that we don’t know to counter it. If there’s one subject that still has scientists scratching their craniums over, it’s dark matter.

If you haven’t looked into dark matter, I suggest that you do as it’s some real freaky stuff. Be forewarned as a lot of the jargon and “big words” that scientists use can be confusing. This problem is being resolved by, Perimeter Institute For Theoretical Physics, who instead of hording all their knowledge to themselves, is releasing it to the masses.

They are using high school classrooms as a springboard for getting such theories as dark matter out to the public. I’ve been visiting a few sites relating to dark matter this morning, and a migraine has begun to form. What the Perimeter Institute is doing, is making learning about such complex theories as dark matter, fun and engaging.

(Photo Credit: Perimeter Institute)

They are offering a curriculum for science teachers, who wish to use their findings for their class. They have released a DVD series about the history, and theories of dark matter. The series spans 7 DVDs, and their site on dark matter, also has oodles of information on the subject.

Fun Facts About Dark Matter:

- Physicists have observed many galaxies and most are now convinced that, on average, dark matter accounts for 90% of the mass of every single galaxy in the universe.

- Although no one knows what dark matter is made of, physicists currently have a number of theories.One of the earliest theories of dark matter was that it consists entirely of compact celestial objects such as planets, dwarf stars, and blackholes. Careful observations have ruled out this theory.

-Most physicists today think that dark matter is made of a type of subatomic particle that, to date, has never been detected in the laboratory. The two leading candidates are weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) and axions.

If you’re a teacher who happens to be reading this article, then you can find the teacher’s kit here.

It was reported in an earlier article, that the International Space Station would be receiving a robotic upgrade. NASA has now released that Dextre has been fully assembled.

After a 6 hour and 53 minute space walk, mission specialists Rick Linnehan, and Bob Behnken finished installing Dextre to the space station. Tomorrow they will begin robotics work with Dextre.

(Rick Linnehan On His Space Walk)
(Photo Credit: NASA)

I can’t wait to watch some video of Dextre in action. Now only if they could dress it up to make it look like Mega Maid from Spaceballs.

(Photo Credit: BotCollector.com)

When talks about the most influential people in the past 20 years come up, Sir Tim Berners-Lee is usually at the front. You would not be reading this article on Tech Believes right now if it weren’t for Sir Tim.

If you want to catch a brief synopsis on the history of the WWW (world wide web), then a visit to Berners-Lee’s Wiki Page should suffice. I could write an entire month’s worth about the history of the internet. This article though is about Sir Tim’s recent comments on net tracking that put him in the spotlight.

Awhile back, Facebook tried to implement a form of net tracking called, Beacon. With Beacon, Facebook could track your browsing, and provide personalized ads on the site. If we don’t want our own government to track us, then it’s safe to assume we don’t want Facebook to either.

Berners-Lee shares the same sentiment as most of the web surfers around the world. He recently spoke with BBC, about his views concerning ISPs tracking customer’s surfing habits for personalized ad usage.

Phorm, an ISP in England is using such tracking services, which looks to have sparked some disapproval from the king of the internet. Berners-Lee speaks out against net tracking and browsing history, “It’s mine - you can’t have it. If you want to use it for something, then you have to negotiate with me. I have to agree, I have to understand what I’m getting in return.”

Phorm has defended its’ tracking system, allowing users to opt-out of the service, “We believe Phorm makes the internet a more vibrant and interesting place. Phorm protects personal privacy and unlike the hundreds of other cookies on your PC, it comes with an on/off switch.”

It’s safe to say that one of the ideas that people value most is their privacy. We like to think that when we are home, surfing the web we are doing so without someone looking over our proverbial shoulder. Let’s hope that some backing by Sir Tim will put some needed pressure on ISPs and the like to think twice about such net tracking policies.

Today is 03/14, and to most of the civilized this means probably nothing. Other than it being Friday, I’d say the general public is just waiting for the much beloved weekend to start. Well, I say there’s another reason to look forward to 03/14, as today is the 20th anniversary of Pi Day. Math geniuses, and pocket protector wearing nerds (I’m sure there’s still some out there) will be getting crunk or drunk depending on what generation you belong to, as 1:59 PM rolls around.

At 1:59 PM today, is when the date and time match up to represent the first six digits of Pi (3.14159). The official celebration will be taking place at San Francisco’s Exploratorium, where all kinds of number loving students, teachers, and all around math lovers will be getting down.

(Larry Shaw starts off the celebration as the first digit, 3
Photo Credit: Exploratorium.edu)

Larry Shaw (pictured above), is the founder of Pi Day, and started the extravaganza 20 years ago. Shaw is a renowned physicist, and started Pi Day after discovering a direct relation between his research on different dimensions and the befuddling number, Pi.

If you one day are able to make it out to San Francisco and join in on the festivities, you’ll find a pretty big celebration. What started out with Shaw and a few colleagues, creating the Pi shrine has turned into a pretty large event. The Pi Shrine which was constructed on the original Pi Day, is a small brass plate, with the engraving of Pi to a hundred places wrapped around it. Party goers at 1:59 pm will circle the shrine in reverence of the infinite number. There is also pizza pie, and dessert pies to provide refreshments at the celebration

If you didn’t already know, Pi is the representation of a circle’s circumference to its’ diameter. An interesting fact about Pi, is that it’s just an approximation, the actual measurement is infinite, therefore there will never be an exact number.

For more information about Pi day and its’ festivities, you can visit the official site, here.

Tonight I will be raising my pint glass to you Pi. The number that no matter how technologically advanced we become will ever be able to be pinned down. (raises metaphoric glass)

3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510582097494459230
78164062862089986280348253421170679
82148086513282306647093844609 (Pi to 130 places)

As space shuttle launches go, the Endeavour had a very successful one. All engines were go at 2:28 AM, March 11th. There were a few problems with the launch, but so far nothing too extreme to cause alot of concern.

Before docking, Dominic Gorie, the commander of the Endeavour mission, had to maneuver the shuttle into a 360 back flip. The back flip was needed in order for pictures to be taken of the entire shuttle. The pictures will be sent back to Earth and be analyzed by engineers, so that future shuttle launches and missions will be made more safe.

Nearly one hour after the photo shoot, at 11:49 p.m EDT, the Endeavour safely docked with the space station. The docking is beginning of the 16 day space station mission, the longest ever.

Here are few interesting Mission Assignments to Look Out For:

March 14th - Linnehan and Reisman make the first space walk. Installation of the Japanese Kibo Lab begins

March 16th - Construction of the exterior Robot “Dextre” begins

March 25th - Endeavour undocks from space station

March 27th - Endeavour lands at Kennedy Space Center