Sarah and I taped the landing show on the Science Channel. Thank god we did: it was the worst live television either of us can remember watching. They had some dude that was apparently Canada’s Wolf Blitzer, dubbed by my wife “Grizzly Blitzer.”

But the good news is: the Phoenix probe is safely down on the Martian polar cap, it’s solar panels are deployed and it is relaying it’s first pictures. This is sooooo cool!:

Phoenix Sends First Photos From Martian Arctic Surface | Wired Science from Wired.com

The Phoenix Lander has successfully transmitted a series of photographs from the arctic surface of Mars.

The pictures show the solar panels have deployed fully. Without the solar panels the lander would have run out of power within a few hours. Other photos show Martian terrain and a lander foot pad.

No, not the Clinton Campaign.  That’s just mean.

NASA discovered the youngest supernova on record within the Milky Way.  Why is that significant?  Well, as one scientist put it, its like seeing the stone as it hits the water, rather than seeing the ripples after the fact.

A poll conducted by Harris and commissioned by Research!America finds that 85% of Americans would like to see a science debate between the candidates for president, discussing the scientific means of solving our nation’s problems:

‘85% of Americans Want a Presidential Debate on Science’ by Science Debate 2008 - RichardDawkins.net

WASHINGTON—May 12, 2008— A new poll (charts, pdf, 3.1mb) shows that 85% of U.S. adults agree that the presidential candidates should participate in a debate on how science can be used to tackle America’s major challenges. The poll found no difference between Democrats and Republicans on this question. A majority (84%) also agree that scientific innovations are improving our standard of living.

I was initially skeptical of this finding, but if Harris did the poll, then even with a margin of error (3.1), this is a strong showing for scientific discourse. One might make the argument that many of those people want to discuss science so they can have it discredited publicly. But I think the really important point here is not so much support for or rejection of science so much as it is a profound desire for intelligent discourse on issues that matter. This one poll - in a bubble, at least - suggests that people are genuinely interested in something more substantive than lapel pins and pastors for this year’s election.

In other words, George Steppenwolf need not apply.

Whoopsies. Every time the petroleum industry apologists come up with a new theory, science is there to bat it down:

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | More doubt on cosmic climate link

The idea that modern global warming is due to changes in cloudiness caused by solar influences on cosmic rays is popular with “climate sceptics”.

But scientists found changes in cosmic ray flux do not affect cloud formation - the second such report in a month.