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Hosts: Steve Gibson with Leo Laporte Steve responds to criticisms of the OpenID system and offers some issues to consider when you use it. For 16kpbs versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Security Now is brought to you by Astaro Internet Security. Bandwidth for Security Now! is provided by AOL Radio. Running time: 41:33 No comments

Hosts: Steve Gibson with Leo Laporte Steve responds to criticisms of the OpenID system and offers some issues to consider when you use it. For 16kpbs versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Security Now is brought to you by Astaro Internet Security. Bandwidth for Security Now! is provided by AOL Radio. Running time: 41:33 No comments

You can't keep a good mission down. I guess you can. Actually, it seems like most good missions are kept down (Terrestrial Planet Finder, anyone?). But once, it looks like the good guys are going to win. A cool mission to search for black holes has been resurrected, and will fly in space after all. Wise move NASA, send a spacecraft to help solve one of the most puzzling mysteries in modern astronomy. (more…) No comments

You know the cliche, wherever we find water here on Earth, we find life. But what if the environment is really hostile? So hostile that any living creature would almost never see water. And even when there was water, they were constantly being blasted with radiation. Amazingly, there's a microbe out there, Deinococcus geothermalis, that can handle some of the harshest environments on the planet - favoured habitats include nuclear power plants. Scientists once suspected that microbes like this might have evolved on Mars. Nope, they're homegrown. (more…) No comments

The most successful comet hunter is not some dedicated amateur who sacrifices night after night searching for icy bodies from the outer Solar System. It's not a robotic telescope surveying the heavens. Nope, it's SOHO - a space telescope staring at the Sun; and it discovers comets as a happy side benefit. But recently it turned up something new, one of Halley's cousins; a periodic comet. (more…) No comments

The big bad wolf had big eyes to see better. But big eyes are only part of the solution for improving vision. Geoff Andersen in his book, The Telescope – Its History, Technology and Future shows there's so much more to bringing small things into focus. No wolf would have had any problem finding prey if they had some of these ultra-fine instruments to help them do the searching. (more…) No comments

Here on Earth, gravity keeps us firmly on solid ground. But when astronauts set foot on some of the more exotic objects in the Solar System, just walking is going to be a struggle. In the microgravity of an asteroid, every step astronauts take will send him flying up in a long arc, and maybe out into space. It would be almost impossible to get around. Fortunately, MIT researchers have developed a tether system that could keep astronauts firmly anchored to the surface, but still let them walk around. (more…) No comments

Here's your nice space photo for the day. You might not be aware, but when Venus is at its closest and brightest, it actually looks like a crescent. Here's a photo captured two days ago by John Chumack. Got some money to burn? Astronomy.com is reporting that a large metal meteorite is up for sale. Cosmic Variance has some good advice to would-be graduate students. Here's how to survive and thrive that grueling educational period. Popular Mechanics is reporting on a new proposal from Boeing to put a gas station in space. It could make getting to the Moon much easier. I love this blog. Aerospace worker Damaris B. Sarria really really wants to be an astronaut. Her blog chronicles her journey. And look at this, NASA just opened up applications for more astronauts. You remember Wolf 359. Come on Star Trek geeks. It's actually a really close star that you can find in the night sky. Astroprof shows you how. No comments