Saturday, March 17, 2012

Radar Prototype Begins Tracking Down Space Junk

Radar Prototype Begins Tracking Down Space Junk:

Simulation of how Space Fence will track orbital space debris. Image courtesy Lockheed Martin
Several times a year, the International Space Station needs to perform Debris Avoidance Maneuvers to dodge the ever-growing amount of space junk hurtling around in Earth orbit. Additionally, our increased dependence on satellites for communications and navigation is threatened by the risk of potential collisions with space debris. The existing system for finding and tracking objects, the Air Force Space Surveillance System, or VHF Fence, has been in service since the early 1960s, and is sorely out of date. But a prototype system called Space Fence has now been tested in a series of demonstrations, and successfully tracked more and smaller pieces of debris than the current system.
“The current system has the ability to track about 20,000 objects,” Lockheed Martin spokesperson Chip Eschenfelder told Universe Today, “but there millions of objects out there, many of which are not being tracked. Space Fence will find and catalog smaller objects than what are not being tracked now.”


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 12:09 PM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Astrophoto: Stunning Detailed Look at the Whirlpool Galaxy by John Chumack

Astrophoto: Stunning Detailed Look at the Whirlpool Galaxy by John Chumack:

A 17.5 hour exposure of M51, The Whirlpool Spiral Galaxy also known as NGC-5194. Credit: John Chumack
Wow! Astrophotographer John Chumack has done it again with a spectacular, long exposure view of the Whirlpool Galaxy, M51. “This is my best and most detailed image of M51 to date, and now my longest exposure on a single object,” John said. “Definitely a lot of work, but I now feel it was worth all the processing time, which actually exceeded the 17.5 hours of imaging time!”
Visible are faint tidal tail structure details. “I can see several dust lane structures running through the tidal tail as well as faint background galaxies behind the tidal tail!” John said.
This long exposure image was taken over seven separate nights in early 2010, 2011 with John’s homemade 16″ F4.5 Newtonian Scope. See more details below, or on Flickr. You should also check out John’s website, Galactic Images, where you can see all his beautiful handiwork.


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 12:06 PM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Active Region Is Still Active!

Active Region Is Still Active!:

Aurora over Faskrudsfjordur, Iceland on March 8, 2012. © Jónína Óskarsdóttir.
Even though the CME unleashed by active region 1429 initially hit Earth a bit softer than expected yesterday (read why here), it ended up gaining some extra “oomph” once the magnetic fields lined up right… enough to ignite some amazing displays of aurorae like the one shown above over Iceland, photographed by Jónína Óskarsdóttir!
And that wasn’t the last we’d hear from AR1429 either; at around 10:30 pm EST on March 8, the region lit up again with an M6.3 flare… although smaller than the previous X5.4-class flare, it produced a temporary radio blackout and released another Earth-directed CME, which is expected to arrive in the coming hours.


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 12:03 PM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

ALPHA Closes in on Antimatter

ALPHA Closes in on Antimatter:

What matter and antimatter might look like annihilating one another. Credit: NASA/CXC/M. Weiss
We live in a universe made of matter. But at the moment of the Big Bang, matter and antimatter existed in equal amounts. That antimatter has all but disappeared suggests that nature, for some reason, has a strong preference for matter. Physicists want to know why matter has replaced its antimatter twin, and this week the ALPHA collaboration at CERN got a step closer to unraveling the mystery. (...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 12:01 PM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Valuable Space Rock Crashes Into Oslo Cabin

Valuable Space Rock Crashes Into Oslo Cabin:

This meteorite struck the Thomassen family's cabin in Oslo. (Photo: Rune Thomassen)
A family in Oslo got a surprise when they visited their allotment garden cabin for the first time this season and found that a 585-gram (20 oz.) meteorite had ripped a hole through the roof. The space rock was discovered “lying five or six metres away,” the cabin’s owner, Rune Thomassen, told the local newspaper VG.
Such an event is rare in Norway; since 1848 the country has noted only 14 meteorite discoveries.


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:59 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Does Mars Still Shake, Rattle and Roll?

Does Mars Still Shake, Rattle and Roll?:

Boulders on the floor of Cerberus Fossae. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Compared to Earth, Mars is a relatively quiet planet, geologically speaking. Actually, very quiet, as in pretty much dead. While it has volcanoes much larger than any here, they have been inactive for a very long time; the latest studies suggest however that volcanic activity may have continued until only a matter of millions of years ago. That seems like an eternity to our human sense of time, but geologically, it is quite recent.
There is also the massive canyon system Valles Marineris, much larger than the Grand Canyon here on Earth, and evidence for ancient hot springs, glaciers, etc. which also show that Mars was once much more active than it is today.
Now, there is also evidence that marsquakes (as in earthquakes here) continued to shake the planet until only a few million years ago, and may even still happen today.


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:58 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Why Does the “Man in the Moon” Face Earth?

Why Does the “Man in the Moon” Face Earth?:
The two sides of the Moon. Image credit: LRO
The two sides of the Moon. Image credit: LRO

When we look at the Moon, we see these amazing variations of light and dark. And depending on your orientation on Earth, you might see the famous “Man in the Moon”, or maybe the “Rabbit in the Moon”. The darker areas are known as maria, smooth lava fields created by ancient volcanic eruptions on the Moon.
But why do we see this face of the Moon, and not a different side?


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:57 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Next Chinese Mission Might Include Some Women

Next Chinese Mission Might Include Some Women:

Long March rocket launching the Shenzhou 5. Credit: Wikimedia


Officials from the Chinese Space Agency announced today that they’ve completed crew selection for their next team of spacefarers – called taikonauts – and this time, the team includes some women.
The next major mission for China will be the first manned docking mission to the Tiangong-1 space station. This station was launched in September 2011, and was successfully docked with the unmanned Shenzhou-8 spacecraft back in November.
And so the next major step in the Chinese plans is for Shenzhou-9 to perform a manned docking with the station. Three taikonauts will be on board, and that crew might include some women – the first time the Chinese will have sent women to space.
This mission is already progressing nicely. The Shenzhou-9 spacecraft and its Long March-2F rocket have been completed. And if everything goes as planned, they’ll launch and perform the manned docking some time between June and August 2012.
The final composition of the Shenzhou-9 crew hasn’t been announced yet, so it might still be a few more years before the Chinese women finally get their chance to fly to space.
Original Source: Xinhua



Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:56 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Venus-Jupiter Conjunction, March 15th, 2012

Venus-Jupiter Conjunction, March 15th, 2012:
The two conjunctions. Image credit: Stellarium
The two conjunctions. Image credit: Stellarium

In case you’re the only person on Earth who hasn’t heard about it yet, Venus and Jupiter will be in conjunction on March 15th, 2012, passing within 3° of each other. The two planets have been getting closer and closer in the sky for the last month, and now it’s time to see them side-by-side. Venus is the higher, brighter object, and Jupiter is the lower dimmer one.
Of course, Venus and Jupiter aren’t actually close to one another in the sky. They’re really separated by millions of kilometres. But from our perspective here on Earth, we see the two objects closely lined up. That’s a conjunction.
On March 15th, 2012 at 10:37 UTC, Venus and Jupiter reach 3° distance from one another. That’s approximately 6 times the width of the full Moon.


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:55 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Those Rings in Rocket Exhaust are Shock Diamonds

Those Rings in Rocket Exhaust are Shock Diamonds:
Shock diamonds in an exhaust plume.
Shock diamonds in an exhaust plume.

I recently reported on Chinese plans to launch Shenzhou-9, and used a stock image of a Long March-2F rocket blasting off the launch pad. Nafin wanted to know what that diamond pattern trailing behind the rocket was, and ivan3man_at_large posted the answer: they’re called shock diamonds.
Shock diamonds? That term had somehow slipped past me, so I thought I’d dig into it some more.


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:54 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Jupiter’s Jet Streams Get Thrown Off Course

Jupiter’s Jet Streams Get Thrown Off Course:
Jupiter's jet streams. Image credit: NASA/JPL/SSI
Jupiter's jet streams. Image credit: NASA/JPL/SSI
Both Earth and Jupiter have jet streams; fast-moving winds that circle the globe. On Jupiter, those jet streams are constrained to very specific bands of the planet, while they meander around the Earth. We can see huge variations of weather when Earth’s jet streams move around – like unusually cold weather in Florida.
These strange weather patterns can occur on Earth when the jet streams interact with another atmospheric phenomenon called Rossby waves. We have them here on Earth, and they were first identified on Jupiter about 20 years ago.


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:53 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Huge Coronal Hole Is Sending Solar Wind Our Way

Huge Coronal Hole Is Sending Solar Wind Our Way:

SDO AIA 211 image showing a large triangular hole in the Sun's corona on March 13
An enormous triangular hole in the Sun’s corona was captured earlier today by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, seen above from the AIA 211 imaging assembly. This gap in the Sun’s atmosphere is allowing more charged solar particles to stream out into the Solar System… and toward Earth as well.


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:52 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

3D Printer Make a Microscopic Car

Watch This 3D Printer Make a Microscopic Car:
3D printing of a microscopic race car. Image credit: TU Vienna
3D printing of a microscopic race car. Image credit: TU Vienna

3D printers let you manufacture any 3-dimensional object out of plastic. You just download the design, fire up the old 3D printer, fill the hopper with plastic, and it’ll slowly print out the object. It sounds cool, and hackers are having a great time playing around with them, but it still doesn’t compare to the scale, quality and cost of traditional manufacturing. It’s still a toy for hackers… right?
As you know, technology has a way of creeping up and then dramatically changing everything. And once you watch this mind-bending video of an ultra-high-resolution 3D printer creating a tiny race car, I think you’ll agree with me that 3D printing technology is improving in leaps and bounds.


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:50 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Satellite Photo of Vancouver and the Fraser River

Satellite Photo of Vancouver and the Fraser River:
Fraser River seen from space
Fraser River seen from space

I just had to post this satellite photograph of Vancouver with the sediment plume streaming out of the Fraser River. Not just because it’s beautiful, which it is, but also because so much of my life is tied together with that city and river.
I was born in Vancouver, and spent half my time there and half my time over on Vancouver Island which is on the left-hand side of this image. I currently live on Vancouver Island, but I have to commute to Vancouver quite a bit, which involves taking a ferry ride across the Straight of Georgia. When you take the route that carries you from Nanaimo (on the island) over to Tsawassen (the ferry terminal that juts out), you have to cross this plume.


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:48 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

How Did Comet Lovejoy Survive Its Trip Around The Sun?

How Did Comet Lovejoy Survive Its Trip Around The Sun?:

Comet C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy) re-emerging from behind the Sun on Dec. 15, 2011. (NASA/SDO)
It was just about three months ago that the astronomy world watched in awe as the recently-discovered comet Lovejoy plummeted toward the Sun on what was expected to be its final voyage, only to reappear on the other side seemingly unscathed! Surviving its solar visit, Lovejoy headed back out into the solar system, displaying a brand-new tail for skywatchers in southern parts of the world (and for a few select viewers above the world as well.)
How did a loosely-packed ball of ice and rock manage to withstand such a close pass through the Sun’s blazing corona, when all expectations were that it would disintegrate and fizzle away? A few researchers from Germany have an idea.


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:45 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

The Care And Feeding Of Teenage Galaxies

The Care And Feeding Of Teenage Galaxies… And By The Way, They Need Gas:

Teenage Galaxies - Credit: ESO/VLT
Got a teenager? Then you know the story. Go to look for your favorite bag of chips and they’re gone. You eat one portion of meat and they need three. If you like those cookies, then you better have a darn good place to stash them. And, while you’re at it, their car needs gas. Apparently there’s a reason for the word “universal”, because teenage galaxies aren’t much different. Thanks to some new studies done by ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have been able to take a much closer look at adolescent galaxies and their “feeding habits” during their evolution. Some 3 to 5 billion years after the Big Bang they were happiest when just provided with gas, but later on they developed a voracious appetite… for smaller galaxies! (...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:43 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

A New Comet’s SWAN Dive Into the Sun

A New Comet’s SWAN Dive Into the Sun:

SOHO animation of the latest sun-diving comet (LASCO/NRL SOHO team)
A new comet has been discovered by the SOHO team, and it — like Lovejoy before it, almost three months to the day — is headed directly toward the Sun. Discovered by SOHO’s SWAN instrument, the comet has been dubbed Comet SWAN… making this a real swan dive (or, perhaps more appropriately, its swan song.)
The animation above has a lot of random noise in it from recent solar outbursts… can you spot the comet? If not, read on…


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:41 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Space Travel Is Bad For Your Eyes

Space Travel Is Bad For Your Eyes:

From "Mars Attacks" © 1996 Warner Brothers. All rights reserved.
Microgravity — or “zero-g” as it’s sometimes called — is not a natural state for the human body to live in for prolonged periods of time. But that is what today’s astronauts are often expected to do, whether while on expedition aboard Space Station or during a future voyage to the Moon or Mars. A host of physical issues can result from the space environment, from bone loss and muscle atrophy to the risks associated from increased exposure to radiation.
Now, there’s another downside to long-term life in orbit: eye and brain damage.


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:39 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

NASA Will Improve its Telescopes’ Vision

How NASA Will Improve its Telescopes’ Vision:

The zodiacal light captures from Earth. Credit: ESO.
Most of us have experienced the frustration of pollution, fog, or clouds turning a night of stargazing into an exercise in frustration. Turns out, NASA has been dealing with the same problems since it started launching large telescopes. Even in orbit, telescopes can’t see too well through the dust that litters the inner Solar System. But a team of NASA scientists have come up with a way to lift astronomy out of this cosmic fog. (...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:38 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Zoom Into the Entire Infrared Sky from WISE

Zoom Into the Entire Infrared Sky from WISE:

This is a mosaic of the images covering the entire sky as observed by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), part of its All-Sky Data Release. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA
Love all the great things you can see in infrared? Then zoom on into the big view of the entire sky from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission. WISE has collected more than 15 trillion bytes of data with 2.7 million images of the sky at infrared light. It’s captured everything from nearby asteroids to distant galaxies, finding “Y-dwarfs,” a Trojan asteroid sharing Earth’s orbit, and stars and galaxies that had never been seen before, as well as showing astronomers that there are significantly fewer mid-size asteroids than previously thought.
Today NASA released a new atlas and catalog of the entire sky in infrared, and now even more discoveries are expected since anyone can have access to the whole sky as seen by the spacecraft.


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:36 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Revisiting The First Rover

Revisiting The First Rover:

LROC image of Lunokhod 1 at rest in Mare Imbrium (NASA/GSFC/ASU)
Before there was Curiosity, before Spirit, and Opportunity, and even long before Sojourner, there was Lunokhod 1, the Soviet Union’s lunar rover that explored Mare Imbrium from November of 1970 to September the following year. It was a curious-looking machine, a steampunk fantasy reminiscent of something out of a Jules Verne novel. But until the Mars Exploration Rovers nearly 40 years later, Lunokhod 1 held the record for the longest-operating robotic rover on the surface of another world.
These images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) are the most detailed yet of the now-silent Soviet rover and its lander, Luna 17.


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:36 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Skydiver Baumgartner Takes Test Jump from 21,000 Meters

Skydiver Baumgartner Takes Test Jump from 21,000 Meters:

Felix Baumgartner as he prepares to jump from over 21,000 meters on March 15, 2012. Credit: Red Bull Stratos
Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner took a practice jump today, (March 15, 2012) to help him prepare for his leap from the edge of space later this year where he hopes to not only break the sound barrier with his body, but also break the record for the longest freefall. In preparation for his Red Bull Stratos mission, Baumgartner rode his specially-made pressurized capsule via a helium balloon and jumped from an altitude of 21,818 meters (71,581 feet, 21 kilometers, 13.5 miles) from the skies near Roswell, New Mexico.
“Felix can consider himself part of a very exclusive club today,” said a spokesperson from the Red Bull Stratos mission, “joining Joe Kittinger and Eugene Andreev (USSR) all who have jumped from above 70,000 feet.”


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:34 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Astrophotos: Venus and Jupiter Conjunction

Astrophotos: Venus and Jupiter Conjunction:
Astrophotos: Venus and Jupiter Conjunction
Jupiter and Venus. Image Credit Kevin Jung
Though the skies may be a bit cloudy in some parts of the world, it did not prevent our awesome readers from taking a shot of the wonderful view of the conjunction of planets Venus and Jupiter. Here are some amazing photos of the planetary conjunction.
Above is a close-up image of the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter as seen by Kevin Jung in West Michigan on March 12, 2012. The image was shot using a Canon 40D DLSR, a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens at 200mm, f/5.0. It was a 2.5 second exposure. The camera was just on a tripod. Here’s a link to Kevin’s Flickr page.
More images below!(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:33 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Neutrinos Obey The Speed Limit

Neutrinos Obey The Speed Limit, After All:

Inside the LHC's underground tunnel. (Credit: CERN)
Neutrinos have been cleared of allegations of speeding, according to an announcement issued today by CERN and the ICARUS experiment at Italy’s Gran Sasso National Laboratory. Turns out they travel exactly as fast as they should, and not a nanosecond more.


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:29 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Solving the Puzzle of Apollo 12′s Mysterious Magnetic Moon Rocks

Solving the Puzzle of Apollo 12′s Mysterious Magnetic Moon Rocks:

The moon's largest grouping of magnetic anomalies, on the left, is near the northern rim of the South Pole-Aitken basin, which scientists believe was created by the impact of a massive asteroid about 4.5 billion years ago. Image Credit: NASA/LRO/Science/AAAS
Ever since their discovery by the Apollo 12 crew, scientists have been puzzled by strongly magnetized rocks found on the Moon. Most Moon rocks that were brought back by the Apollo missions have very little iron, and therefore lack the ability to be strongly magnetized. At first, the magnetic oddities didn’t appear to be related to any lunar geology such as craters or lava flows. Over time, additional lunar missions have provided more data showing that only some portions of the Moon’s crust have magnetic fields. A team of scientists now theorize that the magnetized “patches” on the lunar surface may be the remains of an asteroid that crashed into the Moon shortly after its formation nearly 4.5 billion years ago. The impact crater, known as the South Pole-Aitken basin is one of the largest known in our Solar System.
Mark Wieczorek, (Paris Institute for Global Physics) describes the South Pole-Aitken basin as, “this huge, whopping crater that’s roughly half the size of the U.S,” and says it may hold the answers to the mystery of the Apollo 12 rocks.
(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:28 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Astrophoto: Conjunction Symmetry

Astrophoto: Conjunction Symmetry by Rick Ellis:

Multiple images of the Venus-Jupiter conjuction on Mar. 13, 2012 from Toronto, Canada. Credit: Rick Ellis.
It’s poetry in motion! Rick Ellis from Toronto, Canada created this 27 frame-composite of the conjunction between Venus and Jupiter on March 13, 2012, with 6 second exposures five minutes apart. Rick used a Canon A460, ISO 80.
Beautiful!


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 11:27 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Friday, March 16, 2012

FLICKR PHOTO : Príncipe Negro By Fernando Paoliello

Príncipe Negro:
FernandoPaoliello postou uma foto:

Príncipe Negro

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 6:50 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Light Echoes: The Re-Run Of The Eta Carinae “Great Eruption”

Light Echoes: The Re-Run Of The Eta Carinae “Great Eruption”:

The color image at left shows the Carina Nebula, a star-forming region located 7,500 light-years from Earth. The massive double-star system Eta Carinae resides near the top of the image. The star system, about 120 times more massive than the Sun, produced a spectacular outburst that was seen on Earth from 1837 to 1858. The three black-and-white images at right show light from the eruption illuminating dust clouds near the doomed star system as it moves through them. The effect is like shining a flashlight on different regions of a vast cavern. The images were taken over an eight-year span by the U.S. National Optical Astronomy Observatory's Blanco 4-meter telescope at the CTIO. Credit: NASA, NOAO, and A. Rest (Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.)

In this modern age, we’re used to catching a favorite program at a later time. We use our DVR equipment and, not so long ago, a VCR to record now and watch later. Once upon a great time ago we relied upon a quaint customer called the “re-run” – the same program broadcast at a later date. However, a re-run can’t occur when it comes to astronomy event… Or can it? Oh, you’re gonna’ love this! (...)
Read the rest of Light Echoes: The Re-Run Of The Eta Carinae “Great Eruption” (772 words)



Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:53 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Astrophoto: Swirling Aurora by Jason Ahrns

Astrophoto: Swirling Aurora by Jason Ahrns:

Astrophoto: Swirling Aurora by Jason Ahrns

Swirling Aurora. Image Credit: Jason Ahrns

Jason Ahrns captured this beautiful image of the Aurora from Fort Yukon, Alaska. The aurora was caused by an unexpected geomagnetic storm that took place on February 15, 2012. He used a Nikon D7000 camera in taking this photo. Here’s a link to Jason’s Flickr page for more stunning pictures of the aurora.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum 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.



Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:51 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

This Week’s Carnival of Space (#237) Right Here!

This Week’s Carnival of Space (#237) Right Here!:

Carnival of Space. Image by Jason Major.

It’s been awhile since Universe Today has hosted the Carnival of Space, so we’re happy to be home for this edition of space news from various space blogs and news sites from the past week. Just grab some cotton candy and step inside the Carnival!
(...)
Read the rest of This Week’s Carnival of Space (#237) Right Here! (884 words)



Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:50 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Dramatic Rocket Launch Into an Aurora

Dramatic Rocket Launch Into an Aurora:

A two-stage Terrier-Black Brant rocket arced through aurora 200 miles above Earth as the Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling in the Alfvén resonator (MICA) mission investigated the underlying physics of the northern lights. Stage one of the rocket has just separated and is seen falling back to Earth. Photo by Terry E. Zaperach, NASA.

Over the weekend, a two-stage sounding rocket launched into a sky shimmering with green aurora. On board were instruments that will help shed new light on the physical processes that create the Northern Lights and further our understanding of the complex Sun-Earth connection.

“We’re investigating what’s called space weather,” said Steven Powell from Cornell University. “Space weather is caused by the charged particles that come from the Sun and interact with the Earth’s magnetic field. We don’t directly feel those effects as humans, but our electronic systems do.”
(...)
Read the rest of Dramatic Rocket Launch Into an Aurora (343 words)



Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:49 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

A Beginner’s Guide to Photographing The International Space Station (ISS)

A Beginner’s Guide to Photographing The International Space Station (ISS):

Long Exposure Photograph of the ISS Credit: Mark Humpage


If you have seen the International Space Station (ISS) pass over a few times with your own eyes, (here’s our guide on seeing it) you may want to have a go at photographing it.

Photographing the ISS is very worthwhile and gratifying. There are two basic methods; one being easy and the other being a little more difficult. Both methods are incredibly rewarding and good results can be obtained fairly quickly, once you have mastered the basics. (...)
Read the rest of A Beginner’s Guide to Photographing The International Space Station (ISS) (557 words)



Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:46 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Recent Geologic Activity on the Moon?

Recent Geologic Activity on the Moon?:

Newly detected series of narrow linear troughs are known as graben, and they formed in highland materials on the lunar farside. These graben are located on a topographic rise with several hundred meters of relief revealed in topography derived from LROC stereo images. Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University/Smithsonian Institution


Recent images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera provide evidence that the lunar crust may be pulling apart in certain areas. The images reveal small trenches less than a kilometer in length, and less than a few hundred meters wide. Only a small number of these features, known as graben, have been discovered on the lunar surface.

There are several clues in the high-resolution images that provide evidence for recent geologic activity on the Moon.

(...)
Read the rest of Recent Geologic Activity on the Moon? (315 words)



Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:45 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

More Details from Hubble Reveal Strange Exoplanet is a Steamy Waterworld

More Details from Hubble Reveal Strange Exoplanet is a Steamy Waterworld:

GJ1214b, shown in this artist’s view, is a super-Earth orbiting a red dwarf star 40 light-years from Earth. Credit: NASA, ESA, and D. Aguilar (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)

Would Kevin Costner’s character in the movie “Waterworld” be at home on this exoplanet? The planet GJ 1214b was discovered in 2009 and was one of the first planets where an atmosphere was detected. In 2010, scientists were able to measure the atmosphere, finding it likely was composed mainly of water. Now, with infrared spectra taken during transit observations by the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists say this world is even more unique, and that it represents a new class of planet: a waterworld underneath a thick, steamy atmosphere.

“GJ 1214b is like no planet we know of,” said Zachary Berta of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). “A huge fraction of its mass is made up of water.”
(...)
Read the rest of More Details from Hubble Reveal Strange Exoplanet is a Steamy Waterworld (381 words)



Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:44 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

A Mardi Gras Moon Crossing

A Mardi Gras Moon Crossing:

SDO AIA image of the Sun and Moon at 14:11 UT on Feb. 21, 2012

The Sun seems to be glowing in traditional Mardi Gras colors in this image, made from three AIA channels taken today at approximately 14:11 UT (about 9:11 a.m. EST) as the Moon passed between it and the Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft. Looks like it’s that time of year again!

(...)
Read the rest of A Mardi Gras Moon Crossing (237 words)



Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:41 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Chandra Spots a Black Hole’s High-Speed Hurricane

Chandra Spots a Black Hole’s High-Speed Hurricane:

Artist's impression of a binary system containing a stellar-mass black hole called IGR J17091-3624

Astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory have reported record-breaking wind speeds coming from a stellar-mass black hole.

The “wind”, a high-speed stream of material that’s being drawn off a star orbiting the black hole and ejected back out into space, has been clocked at a staggering 20 million miles per hour — 3% the speed of light! That’s ten times faster than any such wind ever measured from a black hole of its size!

(...)
Read the rest of Chandra Spots a Black Hole’s High-Speed Hurricane (338 words)



Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:39 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

To The Extreme… NASA’s Fermi Gamma-Ray Telescope Gathers In High Energy

To The Extreme… NASA’s Fermi Gamma-Ray Telescope Gathers In High Energy:

This all-sky Fermi view includes only sources with energies greater than 10 GeV. From some of these sources, Fermi's LAT detects only one gamma-ray photon every four months. Brighter colors indicate brighter gamma-ray sources. Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration

It scans the entire visible sky every three hours. Its job is to gather light – but not just any light. What’s visible to our eyes averages about 2 and 3 electron volts, but NASA’s Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope is taking a deep look into a higher realm… the electromagnetic range. Here the energy doesn’t need a boost. It slams out gamma-rays with energies ranging from 20 million to more than 300 billion electron volts (GeV). After three years of space time, the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) has produced its first census of these extreme energy sources. (...)
Read the rest of To The Extreme… NASA’s Fermi Gamma-Ray Telescope Gathers In High Energy (650 words)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:52 PM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Planck Spacecraft Loses Its Cool(ant) But Keeps Going

Planck Spacecraft Loses Its Cool(ant) But Keeps Going:

Artist's impression of the Planck spacecraft. Credit: ESA

After two and a half years of observing the Cosmic Microwave Background, the ESA Planck spacecraft’s High Frequency Instrument ran out of its on-board coolant gases over this past weekend, reaching the end of its very successful mission. But that doesn’t mean the end for Planck observations. The Low Frequency Instrument, which does not need to be super-cold (but is still at a bone-chilling -255 C), will continue taking data.

“The Low Frequency Instrument will now continue operating for another year,” said Richard Davis, of the University of Manchester in the UK. “During that time it will provide unprecedented sensitivity at the lower frequencies.”
(...)
Read the rest of Planck Spacecraft Loses Its Cool(ant) But Keeps Going (489 words)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:51 PM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)