Future News and Interview with space artist, Don Davis about art and the James Webb Space Telescope

Listen Now to Future News and Space Artist Don Davis

Future News this episode includes a discussion on space junk, a Virginal plan to print an entire neighborhood with 3D printers, a 17-year in advance blood test for Alzheimer’s, a 105-mile long skycraper plan in Saudi Arabia, and a caller with the water district discussing problems and potential solutions to our water shortage issues.

Our guest, Don Davis, is a space artist known for his accurate portrayals of what is he painting, such as the surfaces and atmosphere of distant exo-planets. You can imagine his excitement at having thousands of new images of the cosmos to play with, thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope and its ability to see far beyond what has been seen before. Enjoy!

Future News - Drone Cliff Rescue, Electric Solar Protein not from Plants, Animals or Insects, Money Laundering for your Health, Don Davis on the Strange Behavior of Beutelgeuse, Viewing Starlink Light Trains, Finding E.T.'s Technosignature, Covid-19 Update, Local Measures Gatherings

Listen Now to Future News 2.18.2020

What a roller coaster Valentines Day weekend!  Big winds tossed our hot tub cover down a cliff, stranded 150 feet below us. Undeterred, Mrs. Future mounted an expedition to retrieve it, resulting in an epic video posted here.

In terms of Future News, a new solar protein derived from the sun, air, electricity and bacteria has been created in Finland, another potential solution to feeding the planet and reducing global pollution. Space artist and amateur astronomer Don Davis gives us an update on the erratic behavior of Betelgeuse, once one the brightest stars in the night sky, now on the road to becoming the brightest, as a supernova! He also shares some info on viewing one of the prettiest new sky attractions, the Starlink ‘light trains.’

Our science corresponent Bobby Wilder checks in with an update on the Corona Virus situation and comments on E.T.’s ‘technosignature.’  And Monica McGuire calls us with info on how we can meet and hear the candidates for local elections, coming up next month.  Enjoy!

The Star System Betelgeuse is destined to Supernova some time soon.

A Lively Debate on Orbital Space Art with Kit Galloway and Don Davis

Listen Now to Debate on Orbital Space Art

With the advent of cheap space flight we are poised with the opportunity to create amazing art in space that can be seen by millions of people. But will it be good art or schock? And who decides what is seen by millions fo people at the same time?

The latest project along these lines, simply known as “The Orbital Reflector,” is a reflective, inflatable sculpture affixed to a small satellite that, once ejected, will orbit the earth for several weeks before disintegrating upon re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. The artistic vision of Orbital Reflector, according to their website, “encourages all of us to look up at the night sky with a renewed sense of wonder, to consider our place in the universe, and to reimagine how we live together on this planet.”

Or will this new art just create space junk, a showboating  stunt that could start a precedent  for invasive and uninvited intrusion into the celestial canopy of all the people of the world? To help us evaluate this new kind of art, we speak with Kit Galloway, early high tech artist, and co-founder of the orginal Electronic Cafe, and Don Davis, long time NASA space artist and animator.  We have quite a lively debate which we believe you will enjoy!