Sunday, October 6, 2013

Overnight Aurora Sets Sky On Fire, More Possible Tonight

Overnight Aurora Sets Sky On Fire, More Possible Tonight:
At around 10 p.m. last night, the northern sky was alive with colorful auroral patches and arcs. Details: 15mm lens at f/2.8, ISO 800 and 25 second exposure. Credit: Bob King
At around 10 p.m. last night, the northern sky was alive with colorful auroral patches and arcs. Details: 15mm lens at f/2.8, ISO 800 and 25 second exposure. Credit: Bob King
I’m writing this at 1:30 a.m. running on what’s powering the sky over northern Minnesota right now – auroral energy. Even at this hour, rays are still sprouting in the southern sky and the entire north is milky blue-white with aurora borealis. Frankly, it’s almost impossible to resist going out again for another look.
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This Planetary Nebula Comes With a Twist

This Planetary Nebula Comes With a Twist:
This Planetary Nebula Comes With a Twist
Planetary nebulae imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope.
From the Cat’s Eye to the Eskimo, planetary nebulae are arguably among the most dazzling objects in the Universe. These misnamed stellar remnants are created when the outer layers of a dying star blows off and expands into space. However, they can look radically different from one another, revealing complicated histories and structures.
But recently, astronomers have argued that some of the most exotic shapes are the result of not one, but two stars at the center. It is the interaction between the progenitor star and a binary companion that shapes the resulting planetary nebula.
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Keck Spots A Galaxy Fueled With Ancient Gas

Keck Spots A Galaxy Fueled With Ancient Gas:
Image of a galaxy with rendering showing a stream of inflowing gas, as rendered in a supercomputer. Credit: MPIA (G. Stinson / A.V. Maccio)
Image of a galaxy with rendering showing a stream of inflowing gas, as rendered in a supercomputer. Credit: MPIA (G. Stinson / A.V. Maccio)
“Primordial hydrogen” sounds like a great name for a band. It’s also a great thing to find when you’re looking at a galaxy. This ancient gas is a leftover of the Big Bang, and astronomers discovered it in a faraway star-forming galaxy that was created when the universe was young.
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Double Star Fomalhaut May Actually Be A Triplet!

Double Star Fomalhaut May Actually Be A Triplet!:
This false-color composite image, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, reveals the orbital motion of the planet Fomalhaut b. Credit: NASA, ESA, and P. Kalas (University of California, Berkeley and SETI Institute)
This false-color composite image, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, reveals the orbital motion of the planet Fomalhaut b. Credit: NASA, ESA, and P. Kalas (University of California, Berkeley and SETI Institute)
Fomalhaut is a really cool place to study. The naked-eye star (the brightest star in the constellation Piscis Austrinus) has a planet, Fomalhaut b, that once appeared dead but rose again in science circles. It is the site of a comet massacre. Now it’s getting even more interesting: Scientists have believed for years that Fomalhaut is a double star, but a new paper proposes that it is actually a triplet.
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Here’s Your Chance To Help Blend Earth And Mars Rocks

Here’s Your Chance To Help Blend Earth And Mars Rocks:
The official poster of the World Space Week Association 2013 campaign. Credit: World Space Week Association
The official poster of the World Space Week Association 2013 campaign. Credit: World Space Week Association
The organizers of the World Space Week Association are working to create an “Earth Master Sample”, and they want your help. Anyone worldwide can send the association a fist-sized rock from their locale.
Next will come the interplanetary recipe magic: Once the samples arrive, a tiny bit of each rock will be procured and ground into a powder. The powder will be mixed together, with a dash of Mars meteorite added in. Next, a crystal company (Swarovski) will melt down the combination into 100 crystals.
(...)
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LADEE Set to Enter Lunar Orbit on Oct. 3 in Midst of Government Shutdown

LADEE Set to Enter Lunar Orbit on Oct. 3 in Midst of Government Shutdown:
NASA’s LADEE lunar orbiter will firing its main engine on Oct. 6 to enter lunar orbit in the midst of the US government shutdown. Credit: NASA
NASA’s LADEE lunar orbiter will firing its main engine on Oct. 6 to enter lunar orbit in the midst of the US government shutdown. Credit: NASA

NASA’s trailblazing LADEE lunar spacecraft is set to ignite its main engine and enter lunar orbit on Sunday morning, Oct. 3 – if all goes well – following the spectacular Sept. 6 night launch from NASA’s Virginia spaceport.
And in a happenstance no one could have foreseen, the critical engine firing comes smack in the midst of the political chaos reigning in Washington D.C. that has shut down the US government, furloughed 97% of NASA’s employees, and temporarily threatened the upcoming launch of NASA next mission to Mars – the MAVEN orbiter.
However, orbital mechanics waits for no one!
A source indicated that LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer) mission operations are continuing.(...)
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Awesome Photo: Aurora, Airglow, City Lights and Shining Stars

Awesome Photo: Aurora, Airglow, City Lights and Shining Stars:
Photo taken by ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano on Sept. 5, 2013 (ESA/NASA)
Photo taken by ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano on Oct. 5, 2013 (ESA/NASA)
Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano shares a lot of fantastic photos taken from his privileged position 260 miles up aboard the Space Station, orbiting the planet 16 times a day. This is his latest, a stunning view of nighttime city lights spread out beneath a glowing dome of ghostly airglow and shimmering aurorae, with a backdrop of brightly shining stars. The dark silhouette of a solar array is in the foreground at right.
And in case you were wondering, yes, astronauts certainly can see stars while in space. A lot of them, in fact. (Except up there, they don’t twinkle.)
“Every time we look into the sky and we admire the same stars, we share the same experience with all those who still know how to dream.”
– Luca Parmitano
(...)
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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Could Cassini See You On “The Day The Earth Smiled?”

Could Cassini See You On “The Day The Earth Smiled?” :

The face of Earth aimed toward Cassini during imaging on July 19, 2013
The face of Earth aimed toward Cassini during imaging on July 19, 2013
So along with the rest of the world, you smiled. You waved. You went outside on July 19, wherever you were, and looked upwards and out into the solar system knowing that our robotic representative Cassini would be capturing a few pixels’ worth of photons bouncing off our planet when they eventually reached Saturn, 900 million miles away. But did Cassini actually capture any photons coming from where you were? The image above will tell you.
Assembled by the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo (where the enormous 305-meter radio telescope is located) this image shows what side of Earth was facing Cassini when its “pale blue dot” images were obtained, at approximately 22:47 UTC (Cassini time.)
Didn’t make it into Cassini’s photo? That’s ok… maybe MESSENGER had already caught you earlier that very same day:
(...)
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Comet ISON is Spewing Out Carbon Dioxide and Dust

Comet ISON is Spewing Out Carbon Dioxide and Dust :

These images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope of C/2012 S1 (Comet ISON) were taken on June 13, when ISON was 310 million miles (about 500 million kilometers) from the sun. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/JHUAPL/UCF
These images from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope of C/2012 S1 (Comet ISON) were taken on June 13, when ISON was 310 million miles (about 500 million kilometers) from the sun. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/JHUAPL/UCF
As part of the Comet ISON Observing Campaign, the Spitzer Space Telescope was used to “stare” at the comet for 24 hours on Jun 13, 2013. Images from Spitzer’s “ISON-a-thon” indicate that carbon dioxide and dust are spewing out of the comet at a fairly large rate.
“We estimate ISON is emitting about 2.2 million pounds (1 million kilograms) of what is most likely carbon dioxide gas and about 120 million pounds (54.4 million kilograms) of dust every day,” said Carey Lisse, leader of NASA’s Comet ISON Observation Campaign and a senior research scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
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Near-Earth Asteroid 2003 DZ15 to Pass Earth Monday Night

Near-Earth Asteroid 2003 DZ15 to Pass Earth Monday Night :

The currnet orbital position of asteroid 2003 DZ15. (Created by the author using JPL's Small-Body Database Browser).
The current orbital position of asteroid 2003 DZ15. (Created by the author using JPL’s Small-Body Database Browser).
The Earth will get another close shave Monday, when the 152 metre asteroid 2003 DZ15 makes a pass by our fair planet on the night of July 29th/30th at 3.5 million kilometres distant.  This is over 9 times the Earth-Moon distance and poses no threat to our world.(...)
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Russian Meteorite Bits Will Be Used In Some 2014 Olympic Medals

Russian Meteorite Bits Will Be Used In Some 2014 Olympic Medals:

The two main smoke trails left by the Russian meteorite as it passed over the city of Chelyabinsk. Credit: AP Photo/Chelyabinsk.ru
The two main smoke trails left by the Russian meteorite as it passed over the city of Chelyabinsk. Credit: AP Photo/Chelyabinsk.ru
Going for gold in the Sochi Winter Olympics could earn athletes some out-of-this-world rocks.
Athletes who top the podium on Feb. 15, 2014 will receive special medals with pieces of the Chelyabinsk meteor that broke up over the remote Russian community on that day in 2013, according to media reports.
(...)
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Pretty Picture from Space: Thunderstorms Over Southern California

Pretty Picture from Space: Thunderstorms Over Southern California :

Early morning lightning storms, inland of LA and San Diego, on July 21, 2013, as seen from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
Early morning lightning storms, inland of LA and San Diego, on July 21, 2013, as seen from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
Astronaut Karen Nyberg shared this image on her Twitter feed, showing the view from the International Space Station on July 21, 2013 with thunderstorms brewing over Los Angeles and San Diego, California. City lights are peering through the clouds, while lightning brightens the dark storm clouds. A solar array from a Russian spacecraft docked to the ISS appears at the bottom of the image.
Incredible view.
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Watch for the Delta Aquarid Meteors This Weekend

Watch for the Delta Aquarid Meteors This Weekend :

The Southern Delta Aquarid radiant, looking southeast at 2AM local from latitude 30 degrees north on the morning of July 30th. (Created by the author in Starry Night).
The Southern Delta Aquarid radiant, looking southeast at 2AM local from latitude 30 degrees north on the morning of July 30th. (Created by the author in Starry Night).
The meteor shower drought ends this weekend.
The northern summer hemisphere meteor season is almost upon us. In a few weeks’ time, the Perseids — the “Old Faithful” of meteor showers — will be gracing night skies worldwide.
But the Perseids have an “opening act”- a meteor shower optimized for southern hemisphere skies known as the Delta Aquarids.(...)
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Isotopes May One Day Aid In Planet Search

Isotopes May One Day Aid In Planet Search 

Modeling results show where the injected gas and dust ended ups only 34 years after being injected at the disk’s surface. It was injected 9 astronomical units from the central prostar and is now in the disk’s midplane. The outer edge shown is 10 astronomical units from the central prostar. Mixing and transport are still underway and the underlying spiral arms that drive the mixing and transport can be seen. Image courtesy of Alan Boss.
Modeling results show where the injected gas and dust ended ups only 34 years after being injected at the disk’s surface. It was injected 9 astronomical units from the central prostar and is now in the disk’s midplane. The outer edge shown is 10 astronomical units from the central prostar. Mixing and transport are still underway and the underlying spiral arms that drive the mixing and transport can be seen. Image courtesy of Alan Boss.
When we consider samples from the solar nebula, we think about comets and meteorites. These materials come from our solar system’s beginning, but the clues they give to formation don’t always mesh neatly. Thanks to a new study done by Carnegie’s Alan Boss, we’re now able to take a look at the Sun’s formation through a set of theoretical models. This work could not only help explain some of the differences we’ve discovered, but could also point to habitable exoplanets. (...)
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Another Possible Bright Supernova Discovered In Spiral Galaxy M74

Another Possible Bright Supernova Discovered In Spiral Galaxy M74:

One of the first photos of the possible new supernova in the nearby galaxy M74 taken by the Italian Supernova Search Project. The object is located 93
One of the first photos of the possible new supernova (at tick marks) in the nearby galaxy M74 taken by the Italian Supernova Search Project. The object is located 93″ east and 135″ south of the galaxy’s center. Click to learn more about the search group. Credit: Fabio Martinelli
I love this galaxy. Not only does M74 display a near perfect spiral form but if this latest supernova is confirmed, it will be the third to “go boom” in the galaxy in just 11 years. The new object, designated PSN J01364816+1545310, was discovered blazing near 12.4 magnitude by the Lick Observatory Supernova Search at Lick Observatory near San Jose, Calif. “PSN” stands for “possible supernova” and the long string of numbers give the object’s position in the sky using the celestial equivalents of latitude and longitude.
(...)
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Astronomers See Snow … In Space!

Astronomers See Snow … In Space! :

Artist's conception of the snow line in TW Hydrae. Credit: Bill Saxton/Alexandra Angelich, NRAO/AUI/NSF
Artist’s conception of the snow line in TW Hydrae. Credit: Bill Saxton/Alexandra Angelich, NRAO/AUI/NSF
There’s an excellent chance of frost in this corner of the universe: astronomers have spotted a “snow line” in a baby solar system about 175 light-years away from Earth. The find is cool (literally and figuratively) in itself. More importantly, however, it could give us clues about how our own planet formed billions of years ago.
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Whimsical and Beautiful New Timelapse: Borrego Stardance

Whimsical and Beautiful New Timelapse: Borrego Stardance :

A still from the new timelapse, 'Borrego Stardance' by Gavin Heffernan/Sunchaser Pictures.
A still from the new timelapse, ‘Borrego Stardance’ by Gavin Heffernan/Sunchaser Pictures.

Just outside of Borrego Springs, California monsters lurk. Life-size metal statues of dinosaurs, dragons, and wooly mammoths stand among giant insects, birds and several other creatures. But the 600,000 acrea Anzo-Borrego State Park is also an astronomer’s dream, since it is one of four communities in the world to be classified a “Dark Sky Community” by the International Dark Sky Association.
Timelapse maven Gavin Heffernan from Sunchaser Pictures has now combined these monsters and the beautiful dark sky for his latest astronomical timelapse video, Borrego Stardance. It’s an unusual and fanciful look at the night sky –- where else can you see dragons and star trails at the same time? Watch below — and crank the volume for added effect!
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Solar Cycle #24: On Track to be the Weakest in 100 Years

Solar Cycle #24: On Track to be the Weakest in 100 Years :

Projected vs observed sunspot numbers for solar cycles #23 & #24. (Credit: Hathaway/NASA/MSFC).
Projected vs observed sunspot numbers for solar cycles #23 & #24. (Credit: Hathaway/NASA/MSFC).
Our nearest star has exhibited some schizophrenic behavior thus far for 2013.
By all rights, we should be in the throes of a solar maximum, an 11-year peak where the Sun is at its most active and dappled with sunspots.
Thus far though, Solar Cycle #24 has been off to a sputtering start, and researchers that attended the meeting of the American Astronomical Society’s Solar Physics Division earlier this month are divided as to why.(...)
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“Blue” Exoplanet Now Seen in X-rays for the First Time

“Blue” Exoplanet Now Seen in X-rays for the First Time :

This graphic depicts HD 189733b, the first exoplanet caught passing in front of its parent star in X-rays. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Poppenhaeger et al; Illustration: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss.
This graphic depicts HD 189733b, the first exoplanet caught passing in front of its parent star in X-rays. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Poppenhaeger et al; Illustration: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss.
In the medical field, X-rays are used for finding and diagnosing all sorts of ailments hidden inside the body; in astronomy X-rays also study obscured objects like pulsars and black holes. Now, for the first time, X-rays have been used to study another object in space that tends to be difficult to spot: an extra solar planet. The Chandra X-ray Observatory European Space Agency’s XMM Newton Observatory combined their X-ray super powers to look at an exoplanet passing in front of its parent star.
This is not a new detection of an exoplanet – this same exoplanet, named HD 189733b has been one of the most-observed planets orbiting another star, and was recently in the news for Hubble confirming the planet’s ocean-blue atmosphere and the likelihood of having glass raining down on the planet.
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Stunning Astrophoto: The Milky Way Over Death Valley

Stunning Astrophoto: The Milky Way Over Death Valley :

The Milky Way Over Death Valley. Image Credit: Jeff Moreau
The Milky Way Over Death Valley (Click to embiggen). Image Credit: Jeff Moreau
High School Physics teacher and photographer Jeff Moreau took this incredible photo of the Milky Way over Death Valley. Jeff planned his photo on a night where the Moon had already set, arriving in Badwater Basin at Death Valley around 3:30 am.
Regarding his image, Jeff says, “As a high school physics teacher, I love astronomy. I frequently am showing my students current astronomy news and images as there is so much that is so easily fascinating going on out in space.”
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Rumors of Comet ISON ‘Fizzling’ May be Greatly Exaggerated

Rumors of Comet ISON ‘Fizzling’ May be Greatly Exaggerated :

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope provides a close-up look of Comet ISON (C/2012 S1), as photographed on April 10, when the comet was slightly closer than Jupiter’s orbit at a distance of 386 million miles from the sun. Credit:NASA, ESA, J.-Y. Li (Planetary Science Institute), and the Hubble Comet ISON Imaging Science Team.
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope provides a close-up look of Comet ISON (C/2012 S1), as photographed on April 10, when the comet was slightly closer than Jupiter’s orbit at a distance of 386 million miles from the sun. Credit:NASA, ESA, J.-Y. Li (Planetary Science Institute), and the Hubble Comet ISON Imaging Science Team.
A press release out yesterday about a recent paper on Comet ISON has caused a mild uproar across the astronomy-minded social media outlets and some websites. The article issued from the Physics & Astrophysics Computation Group (FACOM) at the University of Antioquia in Medellin, Colombia is titled “Comet Of The Century? Not Yet! Comet C/2012 S1 ISON Has Fizzled Completely And May Disintegrate At Or Before Reaching Perihelion.”
The article had professional astronomers and comet enthusiasts alike shaking their heads in disbelief.
For one, any current determination of ISON’s ultimate fate when it gets close to the Sun later this year is speculation at best, (as is the case with almost any other sun-grazing comet) and since no one on planet Earth has seen ISON since it entered the Sun’s glare in June, there is absolutely no way to determine the comet’s current state. The almost unanimous shout from the astronomy internets was “we just have to wait and see what happens with ISON.”
But the press release also had this journalist (and others) wondering if Ferrin’s views were taken out of context for the sake of a dramatic press release.
(...)
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Watch Live Webcast: Oldest Light in the Universe from Planck

Watch Live Webcast: Oldest Light in the Universe from Planck :

This image, the best map ever of the Universe, shows the oldest light in the universe. This glow, left over from the beginning of the cosmos called the cosmic microwave background, shows tiny changes in temperature represented by color. Credit: ESA and the Planck Collaboration.
This image, the best map ever of the Universe, shows the oldest light in the universe. This glow, left over from the beginning of the cosmos called the cosmic microwave background, shows tiny changes in temperature represented by color. Credit: ESA and the Planck Collaboration.
Earlier this year, a new map of the Cosmic Microwave Background from the Planck spacecraft revealed our Universe was a bit older and is expanding a tad more slowly that previously thought. Additionally, there are certain large scale features that cosmologists cannot readily explain. In fact, because of this finding — possible because of the Planck satellite — we may need to modify, amend or even fundamentally change our description of the Universe’s first moments.
Today, July 31, at 19:00 UTC (12:00 p.m. PDT, 3:00 pm EDT) the Kavli Foundation is hosting a live Google+ Hangout: “A New Baby Picture of the Universe.” You can watch in the player embedded below. You’ll have the chance to ask your questions to Planck scientists by posting on Twitter with the hashtag #KavliAstro, or by email to info@kavlifoundation.org. Questions can be sent prior and during the live webcast. If you miss it live, you can watch the replay here, as well.
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Geysers on Enceladus are Powered in Part by Saturn’s Gravity

Geysers on Enceladus are Powered in Part by Saturn’s Gravity :

Dramatic plumes, both large and small, spray water ice out from many locations along the famed
Dramatic plumes, both large and small, spray water ice out from many locations along the famed “tiger stripes” near the south pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Credit: NASA/JPL/SSI.
The geyser jets of Enceladus don’t shoot out in a continuous stream, but are more like an adjustable garden hose nozzle, says Cassini scientist Matt Hedman, author of a new paper about the workings of this fascinating tiger-striped moon. Observations from Cassini found that the bright plume emanating from Enceladus’ south pole varies predictably. The fluctuating factor appears to the how far or close Enceladus is to its home planet, Saturn.
(...)
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Gorgeous Astrophoto: The Blue Milky Way

Gorgeous Astrophoto: The Blue Milky Way :

Fishing Boats Meet the Milky Way on the Isle of Wight (south of England) on May 16, 2013. Credit and copyright: Chad Powell/Chad Powell Design and Photography.
Fishing Boats Meet the Milky Way on the Isle of Wight (south of England) on May 16, 2013. Credit and copyright: Chad Powell/Chad Powell Design and Photography.
We’ve shared featured many images of the Milky Way in our featured photos from astrophotographers, but this might be one of the most vibrant I’ve seen! The blue of the sky and sea is incredible and almost pulsates with its stunning azure color. Photographer Chad Powell explained on Flickr: “Where I live on the Isle of Wight (south of England) is known to have minimal light pollution but I only ever shot the milkyway from my back garden. I decided to finally trek it down to my local beach. The Milky Way was so bright in the sky, it was breathtaking! The lights on the left are from fishing boats tens of miles out to sea.”
Simply beautiful, especially if you are a blue-o-file like I am!
Check out more of Chad’s work on Flickr or his website, IsleOfWightMilkyWay.com
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How Many People Have Walked on the Moon?

How Many People Have Walked on the Moon? :

Astronaut Charles Duke collecting samples during Apollo 16. Credit: NASA.
Astronaut Charles Duke collecting samples during Apollo 16. Credit: NASA.
Ask someone if they know the names of the astronauts who have walked on the Moon, and most people would be able to list Neil Armstrong, and maybe even Buzz Aldrin. But can you name the rest of the Apollo astronauts who made it down to the lunar surface? In total twelve people have walked on the Moon. Besides Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin – who were the first two astronauts to leave their bootprints on the Moon — there were also Pete Conrad, Alan Bean, Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, David Scott, James Irwin, John Young, Charles Duke, Eugene Cernan, and Harrison Schmitt.
Interestingly, none of those who walked on the Moon ever did it more than once.
Here’s some additional information about the men who walked on the Moon and their missions:
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Read the rest of How Many People Have Walked on the Moon? (986 words)
© nancy for Universe Today, 2013. |Permalink |4 comments |
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