January/February Shows

January 13, 2012

We’re staving off the winter blues with some indoor festivities, including a return of the Pajama Jam.

Jan 13 & 14 – Mysterytrain @ Pajama Jam (Tipton, PA)

Feb 4 – Mysterytrain @ All Night Show (Tipton, PA)

Feb 18 – Mysterytrain @ All Night Show (Tipton, PA)

We’ve been getting some good practice in during the off weekends, too. I’ve even managed to start writing some new songs, so stay tuned!

Artifacts in the Solar System

January 11, 2012

One way that astronomers and astrobiologists search for life in the galaxy is observation of rocky planets orbiting other stars. Such planets may contain an atmosphere, liquid water, and other ingredients that are required for biological life on Earth. Once a number of these potentially inhabited planets have been identified, the next logical step in exploration is to send remote exploratory probes to make direct observations of these planets. Present-day study of other planetary systems is so far limited to remote observation with telescopes, but future plans for exploration include the design and deployment of small robotic exploratory spacecraft toward other star systems.

If intelligent, technological extraterrestrial life exists in the galaxy, then it is conceivable that such a civilization might embark on a similar exploration strategy. Extraterrestrial intelligent (ETI) civilizations may choose to pursue astronomy and search for planets orbiting other star systems and may also choose to follow-up on some of these targets by deploying their own remote exploratory spacecraft. If nearby ETI have observed the Solar System and decided to pursue further exploration, then evidence of ETI technology may be present in the form of such exploratory probes. We refer to this ETI technology as “non-terrestrial artifacts”, in part to distinguish these plausible exploratory spacecraft from the flying saucers of science fiction.

In a recent paper titled “On the likelihood of non-terrestrial artifacts in the Solar System”, published in the journal Acta Astronautica, myself and co-author Ravi Kopparapu discuss the likelihood that human exploration of the Solar System would have uncovered any non-terrestrial artifacts. Exploratory probes destined for another star system are likely to be relatively small (less than ten meters in diameter), so any non-terrestrial artifacts present in the Solar System have probably remained undetected. The surface and atmosphere of Earth are probably the most comprehensively searched volumes in the Solar System and can probably be considered absent of non-terrestrial artifacts. Likewise, the surface of the moon and portions of Mars have been searched at a sufficient resolution to have uncovered any non-terrestrial artifacts that could have been present. However, the deep oceans of Earth and the subsurface of the Moon are largely unexplored territory, while regions such as the asteroid belt, the Kuiper belt, and stable orbits around other Solar System planets could also contain non-terrestrial artifacts that have so far escaped human observation. Because of this plenitude of nearby unexplored territory, it would be premature to conclude that the Solar System is absent of non-terrestrial artifacts.

Although the chances of finding non-terrestrial artifacts might be low, the discovery of ETI technology, even if broken and non-functioning, would provide evidence that ETI exist elsewhere in the galaxy and have a profound impact on humankind. We do not argue that the search for non-terrestrial technology should be given priority over other astronomical missions; however, as human exploration into the Solar System continues, we may as well keep our eyes open for ETI technology, just in case.

Shape of the Tropopause

December 16, 2011

Earth’s atmosphere includes several distinct layers that can be identified from one another by differences in temperature, chemical composition, density, and other properties. Most of Earth’s weather occurs in the lower layer of the troposphere, with the layer of the stratosphere residing above. The boundary between these two layers is known as the tropopause and shows variation at different latitudes on Earth. A characteristic tropopause shape shows low heights near the poles, high heights near the equator, and a significant jump (or discontinuity) at about 30 degrees latitude. This variation in tropopause height contributes to variations in weather and climate at different latitudes.

We propose an explanation for the shape of the tropopause in our paper published in Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences. Using a computer climate model (a three-dimensional general circulation model), we create a series of climate states that systematically isolate contributions such as moisture or large-scale weather systems. Although differences in moisture have often been cited as the reason for tropopause variation with latitude, we find that large-scale weather systems (known as eddies in fluid dynamics) alone are necessary to create the characteristic tropopause shape. This leads us to suggest that circulation patterns in the stratosphere may actually be a significant contributor to the troposphere. Or to put it another way: weather patterns on the surface of Earth are significantly influenced by processes in the atmospheric layers above.

November/December Shows

November 17, 2011

We’ve moved indoors for the year, but there’s still plenty of chances to catch the train.

Nov 5 – Mysterytrain @ PPG Pavilion (Tipton, PA)

Nov 19 – Mysterytrain @ Benefit for the Rex Foundation (Tipton, PA)

Dec 3 – Mysterytrain @ PPG Pavilion (Tipton, PA)

Dec 10 – Mysterytrain @ Shaw’s Tavern (Altoona, PA)

Dec 31 – Mysterytrain @ New Year’s Eve w/the 7 Walkers (Reading, PA)

I’m totally psyched for New Year’s Eve, too, when we open for 7 Walkers and New Riders of the Purple Sage!

Cold Oceans on Early Mars

October 26, 2011

Billions of years ago, the planet Mars appears to have been covered by a liquid water ocean. Geologic evidence of riverbeds, deltas, canyons, and other features in the Martian landscape all suggest that a flowing liquid once meandered on the surface of the red planet. Even so, the fainter young sun at the time, combined with Mars’ orbital distance from the sun, suggests that even a wet early Mars was probably quite chilly.

In a recent paper published in Nature Geoscience, on which I am a co-author, we examine the idea that early Mars featured a cold glacial ocean on its northern hemisphere. This study combines some theoretical climate calculations (which was my contribution) along with a mineralogical analysis to reach this conclusion. In particular, the formation of minerals known as phyllosilicates would have been prevented in a cold ocean, which may explain the scarcity of phyllosilicates observed in the northern martian hemisphere today.

And if oceans did exist on Mars billions of years ago, then perhaps the processes of life also could have arisen in the early history of the red planet. Mars today appears barren and lifeless, but signs of past or present life could very well be lurking beneath the soil. Future Mars missions, and possibly human exploration, will eventually help to uncover this mystery.