"Lucky" Pictures of Sky May Reveal Design

1/1/2008
by Dr. David Rogstad

Scientists don't take kindly to the notion that luck plays a large role in achieving good results. It is well-thought-out experiments and plain hard work, not unpredictable luck that produce the best repeatable science. But even scientists might admit that with a new technique for taking high-resolution pictures of the sky, luck is the whole ballgame.

A "house Of Cards" Gets A Foundation

7/1/2006
by Dr. David Rogstad

Measurement of the universe's expansion (essential for knowing its size and age) critically depends on what astronomers call the cosmic distance scale. Distances to the farthest objects in the heavens cannot be measured directly but must be built up through a sequence of steps that some people have characterized as a "house of cards"-so dubbed because if the shorter distances are proven incorrect then the whole distance scale falls apart.

A New Telescope "Almost" in Space

7/1/2008
by Dr. David Rogstad 

At 16,000 feet and in the rain shadow of the Andes Mountains, northern Chile's virtually cloudless, extremely arid Atacama Desert provides an ideal location for large telescopes. Free from light pollution and radio interference, this desolate area is home for a new radio astronomy facility called the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, or ALMA.

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

4/1/2006
by Dr. David Rogstad

Sometimes scientific instruments themselves are quite remarkable. Take, for example, modern telescopes. Their amazing measuring capacities and the stunning images they provide buoy astronomers' hopes for solving mysteries about the nature of the cosmos. Such understanding also presents powerful new evidence for RTB's biblical creation model.

Angling For Better Measurements

4/1/2008
by Dr. David Rogstad

Triangulation may sound like a horrible way to die (on par with the rack), but in fact the term refers to a method for measuring distances to faraway objects. As far back as 600 BC, the Greeks used the technique to determine astronomical measurements such as the size of the earth and the distance to the Moon and to the Sun.

Beating The Odds In Monte Carlo

10/1/2006
by Dr. David Rogstad

What does science have in common with games of chance? Is RTB now hooking up with gamblers to establish its creation model? You may be surprised to learn that many of the most difficult problems facing the scientist can be solved using the same approach a gambler takes in trying to improve his odds at the craps table or the roulette wheel. This technique is known as the Monte Carlo method and was invented in the late 1940s by mathematicians Stan Ulam and Nicholas Metropolis.

New Telescope Promises Greater Evidence For Design

11/27/2007
by Dr. David Rogstad

Why would anyone want to build a large telescope for use in space? The cost is prohibitive (about $2.4 billion) and, if repairs are needed, it almost takes an act of Congress to fix one. Critics have claimed that a better ground-based telescope could be built for a fraction of the cost.

Searching For Earths

10/1/2007
by Dr. David Rogstad

I once saw a toy that served as a visual example of the saying "one in a million". It consisted of a clear plastic ball about 4 inches in diameter filled with literally a million little plastic cubes. All were painted silver but one, which was painted red. The object was to find the red cube! Needless to say, finding it was no mean task.

Small Effect Sheds Light On Dark Energy

10/1/2008
by Dr. David Rogstad

A new tool for examining the nature of the universe’s enigmatic dark energy may yield clues to the future of the cosmos.