Wow, busy day in the world of space and science today. There’s lots to cover, so let’s dive right in:

• Friday, January 29 will bring us the biggest and brightest full moon of the year, and this article explains WHY it’s so much bigger and brighter than all the others. We also learn that the first full moon of the year is called the Wolf Moon, and that anyone with clear skies over their head tonight will be able to see it.
• Speaking of the moon… according to several published reports, President Obama is expected to end NASA’s plan to return to the moon. But that doesn’t mean that he’s backing away from funding space travel. In fact, early estimates say that he’s committing $100 billion dollars to space exploration through the year 2015 — but where and how that money is spent looks to be drastically changing.
• India, the world’s second most populous country and a rapidly-growing world power, is planning a manned space mission for the year 2016. The proposal, which still needs final approval, would send two astronauts into orbit for seven days.
• And last but not least, construction is underway in New Mexico on the runway to space. Expect this to become a much bigger story in the months and years ahead.

Ever heard the one about the mysterious face that’s been carved into the Martian surface? Or that the world’s going to end in the year 2012? Or that more crimes occur during full moons than at any other time?

The reality is that astronomy, just like every other subject that influences our lives, has more than its share of myths and urban legends out there. And once a few people start to believe a myth and pass it around, it becomes hard to know what’s true and what isn’t.

It’s a good thing for us that the fine folks at Astronomy magazine have taken the time to debunk some of these tall tales. Here’s the link to a treasure trove of information about what’s true and what’s not — mostly what’s not. For instance: did you know that there IS gravity in space, that the changing of seasons has nothing to do with how far Earth is from the Sun, or that watching Jersey Shore on MTV will make you 25% dumber?

Okay, we made that last one up. But that doesn’t mean it’s not true.

We at Club Galahad have never been big UFO buffs. Some people devote their entire lives to the search for extraterrestrial life in the form of alien beings zipping around in flying saucers, and that’s fine. Who knows… maybe, as they used to say on the hit TV show X-Files, the truth is out there. We probably wouldn’t be shocked either way.

What we can say for certain is that the phenomenon of UFO sightings, which dates back thousands of years, is at least interesting. In some cases, it’s actually pretty educational. As this fun little slideshow from our friends at MSNBC shows us, UFO sightings have even led the U.S. government to information about Russian missile programs and improving our own communications systems.

And let’s not forget: UFOs have changed the way some of us look at mashed potatoes.

There’s a wealth of information out there on UFO sightings, theories, and even hoaxes. Not surprisingly, they range from somewhat credible to downright laughable. If you feel tempted to start falling down that rabbit-hole, it might be wise to start with Wikipedia and go from there. Whatever you do, please go easy on the mashed potatoes.

The morning of Friday, January 15 brought with it a rare treat for millions in the Eastern hemisphere: an annular solar eclipse that lasted more than 11 minutes. It is the longest solar eclipse visible from Earth until the year 3043.

Onlookers from Central Africa to China watched in amazement, many observing cultural traditions or superstitions that date back centuries, while those of us on the other side of the world have to settle for video clips like this one.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon travels directly between Earth and the Sun. Partial solar eclipses (when a sliver of the Sun is obscured by the moon) are not as rare, but the term ‘annular solar eclipse’ refers to the annulus, or ‘ring of fire’, that appears when the shadow cast by the moon is smaller than the visible disc of the sun. Which, as you can imagine, doesn’t happen every day.

Not surprisingly, NASA has a comprehensive solar eclipse web site with all sorts of cool links, charts, data and more.

It used to be true that calling someone a ’slug’ was a real insult. But after a recent discovery regarding this magnificent creature, perhaps we all should start paying slugs just a bit more respect.

After all, can YOU steal genes from algae that allow you to carry out photosynthesis?

Neither can we, but you know who can? The green sea slugs known as Elysia chlorotica, which live in the coastal northeast. Scientists have known about them for years, but one very persistent biologist named Sidney Pierce spent the better part of 20 years studying the Elysia, and his hard work paid off late last year when he made a major discovery: that these sea slugs have the ability to convert sunlight into energy, the same way that plants do.

This is a major find for a couple reasons. The most obvious reason is that no one has ever seen a multicellular animal that can do this, and up until now it seemed improbable (or outright impossible). Beyond that, the implications are fascinating, because these slugs are living proof that DNA from one species can work its way into another species… even if we don’t yet know how they do it. Think of the possibilities if that ability to co-opt some other animal’s DNA is ever harnessed.

We also took note of this story because it reminded us that here on Earth — and for that matter, up among the stars where Triana and the rest of her crew are blazing a trail to a new world — you just never know what new mystery might reveal itself on any given day.

Greetings, Galahad fans. We want to be sure to get 2010 off on the right foot here at Club Galahad headquarters, so we’re cramming two very cool stories into one Space & Science blog post. Let’s dig in!

The first story that got our attention this morning was this gem from Space.com about the rocky planet CoRoT-7b, which orbits a star roughly 480 light years away. CoRoT-7b (catchy name for a planet, right?) is Earth-like in the sense that it is rocky instead of gaseous, but as it turns out, the climate is not so hospitable. Astronomers speculate that temperatures on CoRoT-7b range from 4000 degrees to minus-350 degrees Fahrenheit, and that various volcanoes may be in a state of continuous eruption. Yikes.

Also on our radar today (and also courtesy of our friends at Space.com) is this short video series on black holes. Each of the videos runs about five minutes, and each is jam-packed with good information that makes us simultaneously excited and frightened. Black holes really are amazing.

Thanks for your continued support of Club Galahad. Be sure to bookmark us and to keep coming back for all the great new things we’ll be rolling out as 2010 marches on.