Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Could a ‘Death Star’ Really Destroy a Planet?

Could a ‘Death Star’ Really Destroy a Planet?:

The Death Star. Image Credit: Wookieepedia / Lucasfilm

Countless Sci-Fi fans vividly remember the famous scene in Star Wars in which the Death Star obliterates the planet Alderaan.

Mirroring many late night caffeine-fueled arguments among Sci-Fi fans, a University of Leicester researcher asks the question:

Could a small moon-sized battle station generate enough energy to destroy an Earth-sized planet?

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A New Look at the Helix Nebula — a Giant “Eye” in Space

A New Look at the Helix Nebula — a Giant “Eye” in Space:

This comparison shows a new view of the Helix Nebula acquired with the VISTA telescope in infrared light (left) and the more familiar view in visible light from the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope (right). The infrared vision of VISTA reveals strands of cold nebular gas that are mostly obscured in visible light images of the Helix. Credit: ESO/VISTA/J. Emerson. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit

Who is looking at who here? A brand new image of the Helix Nebula (breathlessly called the “Eye of God” in viral email messages) was taken by ESO’s VISTA telescope, at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. In infrared light — compared previous images of the Helix Nebula taken in visible light — the “eye” appears to have put on a colored contact lens, changing the color from blue to brown. What infrared really reveals are strands of cold gases within the nebula, as well as highlighting a rich background of stars and galaxies.
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Who Will Be the Next Astronomy Photographer of the Year?

Who Will Be the Next Astronomy Photographer of the Year?:

'Blazing Bristlecone' by Tom Lowe of the USA, winner of the 2010 years Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.

Attention all astrophotographers (as well as those of us who just enjoy looking at great astronomy images!): The Royal Observatory Greenwich is launching its annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition, and is searching for the most beautiful, dramatic and spectacular images of the cosmos. Anyone from around the world can enter and the winning images will be showcased at the Royal Observatory.

This is the 4th year of this competition, which began as part of the International Year of Astronomy in 2009.

“Astronomy is becoming increasingly popular with the public which is reflected in the big rise in entries we saw in 2011,” said Dr. Marek Kukula, Public Astronomer at the ROG. “Every year the competition has brought new surprises, I love the fact that we receive entries from people all around the world and from complete beginners as well as seasoned experts. All the judges are excited about what we’re going to see this time around.”
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British TV Audience Discovers Potential New Planet

British TV Audience Discovers Potential New Planet:

Artist concept of the new planet. Credit: BBC

A public “mass participation” push initiated on a UK television program to find planets beyond our Solar System has had an immediate result! On Monday, January 16, 2012 “BBC Stargazing LIVE” began its first of three nights of television programs live from Jodrell Bank Observatory in the UK. The series was hosted by Professor Brian Cox, comedian Dara O’Briain along with a number of other well known TV personalities, astronomers and scientists. There was even a guest appearance via satellite link from Captain Gene Cernan, the last man on the Moon.

As well as the main TV program, there were numerous local events across the UK and the viewers could “mass participate” in activities such as looking for extra solar planets with the citizen science project, Planethunters.org.

The website hosts data gathered by NASA’s Kepler space telescope, and asks volunteers to sift the information for anything unusual that might have been missed in a computer search. People are especially adept at seeing things that computers do not and the BBC Stargazing Live event was a golden opportunity to get many people looking. During the event, over a million classifications were made and 34 candidate planets found on the website in 48 hours.

On the last show of the series on Wednesday 18th January it was announced, that in particular, one planet candidate looks extremely promising, as it has been identified multiple times by PlanetHunter participants. (...)
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I Thought I Saw A UFO! Mystery Triangle On STEREO Image Explained…

I Thought I Saw A UFO! Mystery Triangle On STEREO Image Explained…:

Mystery diamond-shape “object” entering the field-of-view of the HI2 telescope on STEREO Behind around December 26, 2011. Credit: NASA

The STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) is a two-year mission conducted by NASA. It employs nearly identical twin telescopes – one positioned ahead of Earth’s orbit and the other behind – designed to study the Sun’s activities spectroscopically. However, it can sometimes pick up some very unusual findings! On December 26, 2011, the STEREO Behind Observatory’s HI2 telescope captured an ambiguous triangle entering the field of view and moving from right to left just above the trapezoidal occulter as seen in the above movie. Just what is this “thing”?! (...)
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ISS Caught Between the Moon and New York City

ISS Caught Between the Moon and New York City:

The ISS passes across the face of a daytime Moon. © Alan Friedman.

Now as the theme from Arthur plays in your head you can enjoy this GIF animation of the ISS passing across the face of a daytime Moon, photographed by Alan Friedman from his location in upstate New York.

I know it’s crazy, but it’s true.

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Astrophoto: Approaching Mars by Efrain Morales

Astrophoto: Approaching Mars by Efrain Morales:

Astrophoto: Approaching Mars by Efrain Morales

Approaching Mars. Image Credit: Efrain Morales

This is an amazing image of Mars as it approaches the Earth captured by Efrain Morales on January 9, 2012. In this image, Mars shows off its largest volcano, Olympus Mons, which also happens to be the largest in the Solar System under orographic clouds and at the Tharsis Montes region at the limb.

Efrain used the following equipment and specs in taking this photo:
LX200ACF 12 in. OTA, F30, CGE mount, PGR Flea3 Ccd, TeleVue 3x barlows, Astronomik Ir, RGB filter set.

Check out Efrain’s website and Flickr page for more astrophotos.


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Astrophoto: Stunning Alaskan Sun Pillar

Astrophoto: Stunning Alaskan Sun Pillar:

A brilliant Sun pillar in Fairbanks, Alaska on January 17, 2012. Credit: Jason Ahrns

Cold enough for you? Jason Ahrns captured this brilliant Sun pillar, “reaching down into the trees just below the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks on a nice -40 C (or F — its all the same) day,” Jason said.

A Sun (or solar) pillar is a vertical shaft of light extending upward or downward from the Sun, and are typically seen in cold weather when sunlight reflects off the surfaces of falling ice crystals associated with thin, high-level clouds.

Jason used a Nikon D7000 camera.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.


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NOAA: Largest Solar Radiation Storm Since 2005 Now in Progress

NOAA: Largest Solar Radiation Storm Since 2005 Now in Progress:

X-Ray image from a GOES satellite at 14:12 UTC on January 23, 2012. Credit: NOAA

Earth’s magnetic field is already full of activity from an Earth-directed Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) last week. But all indications are another blast is headed our way from the strongest solar radiation storm since September, 2005. NOAA says the storm is currently in progress and continues to get stronger, with a very fast CME headed towards Earth. Sunspot 1402 erupted, producing a long-duration M9-class solar flare. “Geomagnetic storming is a near certainty from this event,” reported NOAA. The associated solar flare peaked at about 0400 UTC on January 23 (11pm Jan 22 EST).”

A computer model just released by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center forecasts the storm will arrive sometime on January 24, at about 14:18 UT (+/- 7 hours), as the CME is traveling at approx. 2,200 km per second. Click here to see the animated model.

We’ve already shown you a video of the auroral activity going on yesterday and will soon post a gallery of beautiful aurorae from around the world. And it looks like we’ll likely have more photos to share in the coming week! And NASA says skywatchers should be on the lookout for aurora in lower than normal latitudes. Scientists are also predicting that Mars will get hit too, several hours after Earth. At this point, there’s no way to predict the possible effect on Earth-orbiting satellites for communications, GPS, etc, or the effect on Mars spacecraft.

These kinds of events can cause problems for spacecrafts in geosynchronous, polar and other orbits passing could be affected by the cloud’s arrival. In addition, strong geomagnetic storms are possible, so high-latitude sky watchers should be alert for aurorae.

Below is a video from the Solar Dynamics Observatory of the event:
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Stunning Auroras From Around the World (January 22-23, 2012)

Stunning Auroras From Around the World (January 22-23, 2012):

This photo was taken on January 22, 2012 in Fairbanks North Star Borough County, Alaska, US, using a Nikon D5000. The 'explodey' look is due to perspective from looking right up the magnetic field lines. The aurora in the middle of the explosion is pointing straight down at the camera. Credit: Jason Ahrns -- and 'regular' view of Jason's image of the aurora is below.

On January 22nd 2012, skywatchers in the northern hemisphere were rewarded with amazing displays of aurora. The cause of these displays was a Kp level 5.67 geomagnetic storm originating from solar activity on the 19th of January, produced visible aurorae throughout the northern hemisphere and viewers as far south as northeast England had great auroral views.

Here is a selection of aurora images and videos taken during the event.

More below!
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Carnival of Space #233

Carnival of Space #233:

This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by Bill Dunford at Riding with Robots on the High Frontier.

Click here to read the Carnival of Space #233, a variety of space news and images from around the web.

And if you’re interested in looking back, here’s an archive to all the past Carnivals of Space. If you’ve got a space-related blog, you should really join the carnival. Just email an entry to carnivalofspace@gmail.com, and the next host will link to it. It will help get awareness out there about your writing, help you meet others in the space community – and community is what blogging is all about. And if you really want to help out, sign up to be a host. Send and email to the above address



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Voyager Mission Is Cooling Its Jets

Voyager Mission Is Cooling Its Jets:

Artist's concept of NASA's Voyager spacecraft. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Or, more appropriately, Voyager 1 is cooling its instruments. To help conserve power, the mission managers at NASA have decided to cut the electricity to a heating element – one that’s part of the nearby infrared spectrometer that’s not been in operation for some 14 years. This power cut will lower the temperature of the ultraviolet spectrometer by about 23 degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit)… a temperature that’s mild compared to the below minus 79 degrees Celsius (minus 110 degrees Fahrenheit) that the instrument has dropped to in previous times. It’s not a drastic measure, however, but all part of a crucial plan to manage electrical power to keep the spacecraft operational and transmitting data for another 13 years. (...)
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Young Magnetic Star Possesses Precise Carbon Dioxide Ring

Young Magnetic Star Possesses Precise Carbon Dioxide Ring:

Artist's conception image of a young star surrounded by a disk (made up of rings) (Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Catching a ring – or accretion disk – around a star isn’t unusual. However, catching a sharply defined carbon-dioxide ring around a young, magnetic star that’s precisely 1 AU away with a width 0.32 AU or less might raise a few eyebrows. This isn’t just any disk, either… It’s been likened as a “rope-like structure” and there’s even more to the mystery. It’s encircling a Herbig Ae star. (...)
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Can Solar Flares Hurt Astronauts?

Can Solar Flares Hurt Astronauts?:

Expedition 29 astronaut Ron Garan looks down on the coast of Australia from the safety of the ISS. (NASA)

Solar flares, coronal mass ejections, high-energy photons, cosmic rays… space is full of various forms of radiation that a human wouldn’t want to be exposed to for very long. Energized particles traveling into and through the body can cause a host of nasty health problems, from low blood count to radiation sickness to cataracts and cancer… and potentially even death. Luckily Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere protects us on the surface from much of this radiation, but what about the astronauts aboard the Space Station? How could events such as today’s powerful near-X-class solar flare and last week’s CME affect them, orbiting 240 miles above Earth’s surface?

Surprisingly, they are safer than you might think.

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Russia Opens Talks With NASA And ESA With Plans For Manned Lunar Base

Russia Opens Talks With NASA And ESA With Plans For Manned Lunar Base:

Multiple images of the International Space Station flying over the Houston area have been combined into one composite image to show the progress of the station as it crossed the face of the moon in the early evening of Jan. 4. (Lauren Harnett)

On January 19, 2012, Roscosmos, the Russian Space Agency began talking to the United States and Europe about the stuff dreams are made of… a manned research base on the Moon. The agency’s chief, Vladimir Popovkin, led off the discussion with officials from NASA and the European Space Agency for a permanent facility. “We don’t want man to just step on the Moon,” Popovkin told Vesti FM radio station, according to the Ria Novosti news agency. “Today, we know enough about it, we know that there is water in its polar areas … we are now discussing how to begin [the Moon's] exploration with NASA and the European Space Agency.” (...)
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Astrophoto: The Milky Cow

Astrophoto: The Milky Cow:

'The Milky Cow,' a composite of two images taken on the same day. Credit: César Cantú

The Milky Way + cows = The Milky Cow! A great composite of two photographs, both taken the same day by César Cantú of the Chilidog Observatory in Monterrey, Mexico. César says the images were reduced to couple the brightness in the one image with the dark skies showing the Milky Way in the other. Both were taken with a Canon 20Da camera. To see a larger version of this image, see César’s website.


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StarFighters, Inc. – The Supersonic Research Fleet Expands

StarFighters, Inc. – The Supersonic Research Fleet Expands:

The StarLab rocket hangs beneath the wing of a Starfighter jet recently during taxi testing. The rocket, about the size of an air-to-air missile, was built by the 4Frontiers company to launch experiments into space. Photo credit: NASA/Gianni M. Woods

Move over, Buck Rogers… The time has come for StarFighters, Inc.! Just a few days ago, the exclusive contingent’s final forces assembled at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ready to go on duty with a private company which will deploy them for research and microgravity training. Purchased from the Italian Air Force, these five new aircraft began their life as F-104 fighters, but as part of StarFighters, Inc. will pursue different venues as members of a nine plane squadron… One with a more peaceful goal. (...)
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Few Details in ESA’s Report on Phobos-Grunt Re-Entry

Few Details in ESA’s Report on Phobos-Grunt Re-Entry:

The map above shows the predicted trajectory of the Fobos-Grunt probe upon reentry. Russian space officials initially said the probe landed at one of the red dots, but later acknowledged that it could have touched down anywhere along the area indicated by the red line segment. Credit: Robert Christy, www.zarya.info

A week and a half after the re-entry of Russia’s Phobos–Grunt probe, experts have now made an official statement on their determination of where the spacecraft entered Earth’s atmosphere. But their report offers no information regarding if any pieces of the craft made it to Earth and where any remaining debris might be. Consequently, recovery of any pieces, including the Phobos-LIFE biomodule is highly unlikely.

“While this was an uncontrolled reentry, the location of the potential impact area was largely over ocean, with a correspondingly low probability of any detrimental effects,” said Prof. Heiner Klinkrad, Head of ESA’s Space Debris Office in Darmstadt, Germany.
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New Comet Discovered by Amateur Astronomer

New Comet Discovered by Amateur Astronomer:

Image of Comet C/2012 C2 (Bruenjes) made from ten 60 sec. exposures on Feb. 11, 2012. (Fred Bruenjes)

“Friday, February 10th 2012 just felt like the perfect night for a comet to be discovered by an amateur astronomer,” writes Fred Bruenjes on his astronomy blog. And, this past Friday night, that’s exactly what Fred did.

Here’s how he did it:

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Scientists Find New Clues About the Interiors of ‘Super-Earth’ Exoplanets

Scientists Find New Clues About the Interiors of ‘Super-Earth’ Exoplanets:

Artist's conception of "Super-Earth" exoplanet Kepler-22b, which is about 2.4 times larger than Earth. Credit: NASA

As we learned in science class in school, the Earth has a molten interior (the outer core) deep beneath its mantle and crust. The temperatures and pressures are increasingly extreme, the farther down you go. The liquid magmas can “melt” into different types, a process referred to as pressure-induced liquid-liquid phase separation. Graphite can turn into diamond under similar extreme pressures. Now, new research is showing that a similar process could take place inside “Super-Earth” exoplanets, rocky worlds larger than Earth, where a molten magnesium silicate interior would likely be transformed into a denser state as well.

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‘Stealth Merger’ of Dwarf Galaxies Seen in New Images

‘Stealth Merger’ of Dwarf Galaxies Seen in New Images:

NGC449 and its smaller, fainter companion (upper right). Credit: Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ)

Space may be vast, but accidents can still happen, like when galaxies “collide,” usually resulting in the smaller one having its stars scattered by the larger one. New high-resolution images of two dwarf galaxies merging together have now been obtained by astronomers, providing a more detailed look at something which could only barely be seen before. While the larger galaxy of the two, NGC 4449, is easily visible, its smaller companion was little more than just a faint smudge until now.

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A Swirling Oasis of Life

A Swirling Oasis of Life:

A 150-km (93-mile) - wide eddy in the southern Indian Ocean. (NASA/Terra-MODIS)

A serpentine eddy swirls in the southern Indian Ocean several hundred kilometers off the coast of South Africa in this natural-color image, acquired by NASA’s Terra satellite on December 26, 2011.

The blue color is created by blooms of phytoplankton, fertilized by the nutrient-rich deep water drawn up by the 150-km-wide eddy.

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Kuiper’s Color Close-Up

Kuiper’s Color Close-Up:

MESSENGER color image of Mercury's Kuiper crater

The pale-orange coloration around the 39-mile (62-km) -wide Kuiper crater on Mercury is evident in this image, a color composition made from targeted images acquired by NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft on September 2, 2011.

The color may be due to compositional differences in the material that was ejected during the impact that formed the crater.

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Starbursts May Actually Destroy Globular Clusters

Starbursts May Actually Destroy Globular Clusters:

The Galactic globular cluster M80 in the constellation Scorpius contains several hundred thousand stars. Credit: HST/NASA/ESA

It seems logical to assume that long ago, the amount of globular clusters increased in our galaxy during star-making frenzies called ‘starbursts.’ But a new computer simulation shows just the opposite: 13 billion years ago, starbursts may have actually destroyed many of the globular clusters that they helped to create.

“It is ironic to see that starbursts may produce many young stellar clusters, but at the same time also destroy the majority of them,” said Dr. Diederik Kruijssen of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics. “This occurs not only in galaxy collisions, but should be expected in any starburst environment”
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NASA’s Picture of the Future of Human Spaceflight

NASA’s Picture of the Future of Human Spaceflight:

NASA infographic on the future of human spaceflight. Credit: NASA. Click for larger pdf poster version.

NASA released a new interactive infographic that attempts to give a picture of future of human spaceflight activities and where NASA might be going. The new Space Launch system and the Orion MPCV figure prominently in going to future destinations such as the Moon, Mars, Near Earth Asteroids and even LaGrange Points. It would be awesome to go to all those destinations, but – call me pessimistic — in reality, we’ll be lucky if we even get to one of them in the next 30 years. But since human spaceflight received favorable funding nods in the new NASA budget proposal, we can hopefully look forward to the first un-crewed test flight of the MPCV in 2013 or 2014.
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Beginner’s Guide to Seeing the International Space Station (ISS)

Beginner’s Guide to Seeing the International Space Station (ISS):

The International Space Station Credit: @VirtualAstro

Most readers of Universe Today are familiar with the International Space Station or “ISS” as it’s often referred to. But just in case you are visiting our site for the first time, the ISS is a huge space station orbiting Earth that serves as an orbital laboratory, factory, testing ground and home; crew members conduct experiments from biology to astronomy, including experiments for prolonged exposure to life in space for future missions to the Moon and beyond.

The ISS is major accomplishment for NASA (US), ESA (Europe), JAXA (Japan) CSA (Canada) and all the countries involved (16 in all). The space station is just over 72 m long by 108 m wide and 20 m high; it is maintained at an orbital altitude of between 330 km (205 mi) and 410 km (255 mi) and travels at an average speed of 27,724 kilometres (17,227 mi) per hour, completing 15.7 orbits per day.

One of the best things about the ISS is that you can see it with your own eyes from Earth! It’s very easy to watch the International Space Station pass over your own backyard! (...)
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‘Dark Markings of the Sky’ are Hiding Star Formation

‘Dark Markings of the Sky’ are Hiding Star Formation:

This image from the APEX telescope, part of the Taurus Molecular Cloud, shows a sinuous filament of cosmic dust more than ten light-years long. Credit: ESO/APEX (MPIfR/ESO/OSO)/A. Hacar et al./Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin.

This stunning new image shows a sinuous filament of cosmic dust more than ten light-years long. The makeup of filamentary cloud structures like this used to be a mystery, and in the early 20th century, Edward Emerson Barnard compiled a photographic atlas of these features, calling them “dark markings of the sky,” as these regions appeared as dark lanes, with no stars visible. Barnard correctly argued that this appearance was due to “obscuring matter in space.” Today we call segments in this particular cloud Barnard 211 and Barnard 213, or the Taurus Molecular Cloud. And we now know that these are clouds of interstellar gas and dust grains. But also, within these clouds, newborn stars are hidden, and dense clouds of gas are on the verge of collapsing to form yet more stars.
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NEOShield: a Preemptive Strike Against Asteroids

NEOShield: a Preemptive Strike Against Asteroids:

What an asteroid hitting the Earth might look like. Image credit: NASA/Don Davis.

Scientists aren’t entirely sure when the last major asteroid hit the Earth, but it’s certain to happen again. Alan Harris, asteroid researcher at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR), is hoping to head the next one off. Last month, Harris established an international collaboration of 13 researchers to investigate methods of shielding the Earth from near Earth objects (NEOs). The project is, appropriately, called NEOShield.(...)
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Astrophoto: Near-Earth Asteroid Eros by Efrain Morales

Astrophoto: Near-Earth Asteroid Eros by Efrain Morales:

Astrophoto: Near-Earth Asteroid Eros by Efrain Morales

Near-Earth Asteroid Eros. Image Credit: Efrain Morales. Click on the image to see animation.e.

Efrain Morales captured this image of four sequences of the NEA Eros (Asteroid) from the night of February 1, 2012.

Eros, also known as 433 Eros, is the second-largest near-Earth asteroid. The orbit of asteroid Eros is known to cross that of Mars. It was visited by the NEAR-Shoemaker space probe twice in 1998 and 2000.

Check out Efrain’s website for more photos.


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Young Star Cluster In Disintegrated Galaxy Reveals First-Ever Intermediate Mass Black Hole

Young Star Cluster In Disintegrated Galaxy Reveals First-Ever Intermediate Mass Black Hole:

This spectacular edge-on galaxy, called ESO 243-49, is home to an intermediate-mass black hole that may have been stripped off of a cannibalized dwarf galaxy. Credit: NASA, ESA, and S. Farrell (Sydney Institute for Astronomy, University of Sydney)

Score another first for NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope! Along with observations taken with the Swift X-ray telescope, a team of astronomers have identified a young stellar cluster of stars pointing the way towards the first verified intermediate mass black hole. This grouping of stars provides significant indication that black holes of this type may have been at the center of a now shredded dwarf galaxy – a finding which increases our knowledge of galaxy evolution. (...)
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Sunday, February 12, 2012

Blue Marble 2012: Amazing High Definition Image of Earth

Blue Marble 2012: Amazing High Definition Image of Earth:

A 'Blue Marble' image of the Earth taken from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA's most recently launched Earth-observing satellite - Suomi NPP. This composite image uses a number of swaths of the Earth's surface taken on January 4, 2012. Credit: NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring. Click on image for access to larger versions.

A new high-definition version of the ‘Blue Marble’ has been taken from the newest Earth observation satellite. The just-renamed Suomi NPP satellite took numerous images on January 4, 2012 and this composite image was created from several “swaths” of Earth. It is a stunningly beautiful look at our home planet, with the largest versions of the image showing about 1.6 km (1 mile) per pixel. This Sun-synchronous Earth-orbiting satellite is 824 kilometers (512 miles) above Earth, and it gets a complete view of our planet every day. It is the first of a new generation of satellites that will observe many facets of how our Earth may be changing.

Originally launched as the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP), it was just renamed ‘Suomi NPP’ on to honor a pioneer in the use of satellites, the late Verner E. Suomi.

See below for an image showing these “swaths” from global images taken on November 24, 2011.
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Astrophoto: Purple Orion

Astrophoto: Purple Orion:

The Orion Nebula imaged on January 25, 2012 by Marco T. in Italy.

This beautiful photo of the Orion Nebula was taken by Marco T. in Italy on January 25, 2012. It was taken with a Canon 500d, and a Skywatcher Black Diamond ED80 Pro
“Sum of 32 shots of 85 seconds at 800 iso and 10 darks,” Marco says. “From Rome so light pollution is high as always, temperature 2 degrees.”


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:23 PM 0 comments
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Cold Plasma Flourishes In Earth’s Upper Atmosphere

Cold Plasma Flourishes In Earth’s Upper Atmosphere:

A rendering of the Cluster satellite, designed to measure electric fields, which Andre and Cully used to detect low-energy ions high above the Earth. (Credit: European Space Agency)

Thousands of miles above Earth, space weather rules. Here storms of high-energy particles mix the atmosphere, create auroras, challenge satellites and even cause disturbances with electric grids and electronic devices below. It’s a seemingly empty and lonely place – one where a mystery called “cold plasma” has been found in abundance and may well have implications with our connection to the Sun. While it has remained virtually hidden, Swedish researchers have created a new method to measure these cold, charged ions. With evidence of more there than once thought, these new findings may very well give us clues as to what’s happening around other planets and their natural satellites. (...)
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Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:21 PM 0 comments
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8-Meter-Wide Asteroid Will Pass Close to Earth January 27

8-Meter-Wide Asteroid Will Pass Close to Earth January 27:

Orbital parameters of Asteroid 2012 BX34 from JPL's Small Body Database.

A small asteroid will pass extremely close to Earth tomorrow (January 27, 2012). Named 2012 BX34, this 11 meter- (36 feet-) wide 8 meter- (26-foot-) space rock (astronomers have updated their estimates of the size) will skim Earth less than 60,000 km (37,000 miles, .0004 AU)>, at around 15:30 UTC, (10:30 am EST) according to the Minor Planet Center. The latest estimates have this small bus-sized asteroid it traveling at about about 8,900 meters/second (about 20,000 miles per hour). 2012 BX34 has been observed by the Catalina Sky Survey and the Survey Mt. Lemmonin Arizona, and the Magdalena Ridge Observatory in New Mexico, so its orbit is well defined and there is no risk of impact to Earth.

Via the @AsteroidWatch Twitter feed, scientists from JPL said “It wouldn’t get through our atmosphere intact even if it dared to try.”

Amateur astronomers in the right place and time could view this object, as it should be about magnitude 14 at the time of closest approach. Click here to see a current orbit diagram, and here to view the ephemeris data. Nick Howes, with the Faulkes Telescope Project said his team is hoping to observe and image the asteroid, — although they aren’t sure if they will be able — but we hope to share their images later.
(...)
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Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:19 PM 0 comments
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New Research Suggests Fomalhaut b May Not Be a Planet After All

New Research Suggests Fomalhaut b May Not Be a Planet After All:

The Fomalhaut b photograph. Credit: NASA, ESA, and P. Kalas (University of California, Berkeley, USA)

When the Hubble Space Telescope photographed the apparent exoplanet Fomalhaut b in 2008, it was regarded as the first visible light image obtained of a planet orbiting another star. The breakthrough was announced by a research team led by Paul Kalas of the University of California, Berkeley. The planet was estimated to be approximately the size of Saturn, but no more than three times Jupiter’s mass, or perhaps smaller than Saturn according to some other studies, and might even have rings. It resides within a debris ring which encircles the star Fomalhaut, about 25 light-years away.

Another team at Princeton, however, has just announced that they believe the original findings are in error, and that the planet is actually a dust cloud, based on new observations by the Spitzer Space Telescope. Their paper has just been accepted by the Astrophysical Journal.

(...)
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Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:18 PM 0 comments
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