Thursday, September 18, 2014

Taken Under the "Wing" of the Small Magellanic Cloud

Taken Under the "Wing" of the Small Magellanic Cloud:

NGC 602

The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is one of the Milky Way's closest galactic neighbors. Even though it is a small, or so-called dwarf galaxy, the SMC is so bright that it is visible to the unaided eye from the Southern Hemisphere and near the equator. Many navigators, including Ferdinand Magellan who lends his name to the SMC, used it to help find their way across the oceans.

Modern astronomers are also interested in studying the SMC (and its cousin, the Large Magellanic Cloud), but for very different reasons. Because the SMC is so close and bright, it offers an opportunity to study phenomena that are difficult to examine in more distant galaxies.

New Chandra data of the SMC have provided one such discovery: the first detection of X-ray emission from young stars with masses similar to our Sun outside our Milky Way galaxy. The new Chandra observations of these low-mass stars were made of the region known as the "Wing" of the SMC. In this composite image of the Wing the Chandra data is shown in purple, optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope is shown in red, green and blue and infrared data from the Spitzer Space Telescope is shown in red.

Astronomers call all elements heavier than hydrogen and helium - that is, with more than two protons in the atom's nucleus - "metals." The Wing is a region known to have fewer metals compared to most areas within the Milky Way. There are also relatively lower amounts of gas, dust, and stars in the Wing compared to the Milky Way.

Taken together, these properties make the Wing an excellent location to study the life cycle of stars and the gas lying in between them. Not only are these conditions typical for dwarf irregular galaxies like the SMC, they also mimic ones that would have existed in the early Universe.

More at http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2013/ngc602/

Carnival of Space

-Megan Watzke, CXC



Posted by Nelio Inacio at 4:39 AM 0 comments

X-Ray View of A Thousand-Year-Old Cosmic Tapestry

X-Ray View of A Thousand-Year-Old Cosmic Tapestry:

SN 1006

This year, astronomers around the world have been celebrating the 50th anniversary of X-ray astronomy. Few objects better illustrate the progress of the field in the past half-century than the supernova remnant known as SN 1006.

When the object we now call SN 1006 first appeared on May 1, 1006 A.D., it was far brighter than Venus and visible during the daytime for weeks. Astronomers in China, Japan, Europe, and the Arab world all documented this spectacular sight. With the advent of the Space Age in the 1960s, scientists were able to launch instruments and detectors above Earth's atmosphere to observe the Universe in wavelengths that are blocked from the ground, including X-rays. SN 1006 was one of the faintest X-ray sources detected by the first generation of X-ray satellites.

A new image of SN 1006 from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory reveals this supernova remnant in exquisite detail. By overlapping ten different pointings of Chandra's field-of-view, astronomers have stitched together a cosmic tapestry of the debris field that was created when a white dwarf star exploded, sending its material hurtling into space. In this new Chandra image, low, medium, and higher-energy X-rays are colored red, green, and blue respectively.

The Chandra image provides new insight into the nature of SN1006, which is the remnant of a so-called Type Ia supernova . This class of supernova is caused when a white dwarf pulls too much mass from a companion star and explodes, or when two white dwarfs merge and explode. Understanding Type Ia supernovas is especially important because astronomers use observations of these explosions in distant galaxies as mileposts to mark the expansion of the Universe.

The new SN 1006 image represents the most spatially detailed map yet of the material ejected during a Type Ia supernova. By examining the different elements in the debris field -- such as silicon, oxygen, and magnesium -- the researchers may be able to piece together how the star looked before it exploded and the order that the layers of the star were ejected, and constrain theoretical models for the explosion.

More at http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2013/sn1006/

-Megan Watzke, CXC

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 4:39 AM 0 comments

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory Finds Planet That Makes Star Act Deceptively Old

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory Finds Planet That Makes Star Act Deceptively Old:

Puppis A

A new study using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has shown that a planet is making the star that it orbits act much older than it actually is, as explained in our latest press release. The artist's illustration featured in the main part of this graphic depicts the star, WASP-18, and its planet, WASP-18b.

WASP-18b is a "hot Jupiter," a giant exoplanet that orbits very close to its star, located about 330 light years from Earth. Specifically, the mass of WASP-18b is estimated to be about ten times that of Jupiter, yet it orbits its star about once every 23 hours. By comparison, it takes Jupiter about 12 years to complete one trip around the Sun from its great distance.

The new Chandra data of the WASP-18 system show that this huge planet is so close to its star that it may be causing a dampening of the star's magnetic field. As stars age, their X-ray and magnetic activity decreases. Astronomers determined that WASP-18 is only between 500 million and 2 billion years old, a relatively young age for a star. Given this age, astronomers expect that WASP-18 would be giving off copious amounts of X-rays.

Surprisingly, the long Chandra observations reveal no X-rays being emitted from WASP-18, as seen in the lower inset box. The same field-of-view in the upper inset box shows that in optical light WASP-18 is a bright source. Using established relations between the magnetic activity and X-ray emission of stars and their age, the researchers concluded that WASP-18 is about 100 times less active than it should be at its age.

The low amount of magnetic activity from WASP-18 is shown in the artist's illustration by the lack of sunspots and strong flares on the surface of the star. The weak X-ray emission from the star has relatively little effect on the outer atmosphere of the nearby planet, giving it a symmetrical appearance. By contrast, much stronger X-rays from the star CoRoT-2a are eroding the atmosphere of its nearby planet, producing a tail-like appearance.

More information at http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2014/wasp18/index.html

-Megan Watzke, CXC
Posted by Nelio Inacio at 4:38 AM 0 comments

NASA's Wind-Watching ISS-RapidScat Ready for Launch

NASA's Wind-Watching ISS-RapidScat Ready for Launch: Artist's rendering of NASA's ISS-RapidScat instrument (inset) Artist's rendering of NASA's ISS-RapidScat instrument (inset), which will launch to the International Space Station in 2014 to measure ocean surface wind speed and direction and help improve weather forecasts, including hurricane monitoring. It will be installed on the end of the station's Columbus laboratory. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Johnson Space Center.
› Larger image


September 12, 2014

The fourth SpaceX cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS) under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract, carrying the ISS-RapidScat scatterometer instrument designed and built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, is scheduled to launch Saturday, Sept. 20, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The one-day adjustment in the launch date was made to accommodate preparations of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and was coordinated with the station's partners and managers.

The company's Falcon 9 rocket, carrying its Dragon cargo spacecraft loaded with more than 5,000 pounds (2, 270 kilograms) of scientific experiments and supplies, will lift off at 11:16 p.m. PDT Sept. 19 (2:16 a.m. EDT Sept. 20). NASA Television coverage of the launch begins at 10:15 p.m. PDT (1:15 a.m. EDT). If for any reason the launch is postponed, the next launch opportunity is Saturday, Sept. 20, at approximately 10:53 p.m. PDT (Sunday, Sept. 21, at approximately 1:53 a.m. EDT).

The mission, designated SpaceX CRS-4, is the fourth of 12 SpaceX flights NASA contracted with the company to resupply the space station. It will be the fifth trip by a Dragon spacecraft to the orbiting laboratory.

The spacecraft's 2.5 tons of supplies, science experiments, and technology demonstrations include critical materials to support 255 science and research investigations that will occur during the station's Expeditions 40 and 41.

Science payloads include the ISS-Rapid Scatterometer to monitor ocean surface wind speed and direction; new biomedical hardware that will help facilitate prolonged biological studies of rodents in microgravity; and a study of a small flowering plant related to cabbage that allows scientists to study plant growth and adaptations in space.

New technology demonstrations aboard the Dragon spacecraft include the Special Purpose Inexpensive Satellite, or SpinSat, to test how a small satellite moves and positions itself in space using new thruster technology and the 3-D Printing In Zero-G Technology Demonstration, the first 3-D printer in space.

NASA will host a series of prelaunch news conferences Thursday, Sept. 18, and Friday, Sept. 19, at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which will be carried live on NASA TV and the agency's website.

During panel discussions Sept. 18 at 6, 7 and 8 a.m. PDT (9, 10 and 11 a.m. EDT), scientists and researchers will discuss the various science and research studies, including RapidScat, 3-D printing in Zero-G, technology to measure bone density, and model organism research using rodents, fruit flies and plants.

NASA senior leaders will host a briefing Sept. 19 at 6 a.m. PDT (9 a.m. EDT), followed by a prelaunch news conference at 7 a.m. PDT (10 a.m. EDT), at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. All these briefings, which are subject to a change in time, will be carried live on NASA TV and the agency's website. A post-launch briefing will be held approximately 90 minutes after launch.

If launch occurs Sept. 20, NASA TV will provide live coverage Monday, Sept. 22, of the arrival of the Dragon cargo ship to the International Space Station. Grapple and berthing coverage will begin at 2:30 a.m. PDT (5:30 a.m. EDT) with grapple at approximately 4:30 a.m. PDT (7:30 a.m. EDT). Berthing coverage begins at 6:30 a.m. PDT (9:30 a.m. EDT).

The Dragon will remain attached to the space station's Harmony module for more than four weeks and then splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California with almost two tons of experiment samples and equipment returning from the station.

ISS EARTH SCIENCE: TRACKING OCEAN WINDS PANEL

Thursday, Sept. 18 (L-2 days): A panel titled ISS Earth Science: Tracking Ocean Winds will be held at Kennedy's Press Site at 6 a.m. PDT (9 a.m. EDT). NASA Television will provide live coverage, as well as streaming Internet coverage.

Participants in the panel will be:

- Steve Volz, associate director for flight programs, Earth Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters

- Howard Eisen, ISS RapidScat project manager, NASA JPL

- Ernesto Rodriguez, ISS RapidScat project scientist, NASA JPL

ISS RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY PANEL

Thursday, Sept. 18 (L-2 days): An ISS Research and Technology Panel will be held at Kennedy's Press Site at 7 a.m. PDT (10 a.m. EDT). NASA Television will provide live coverage, as well as streaming Internet coverage.

Participants in the panel will be:

- Duane Ratliff, Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS)

- Mike Yagley, COBRA PUMA Golf, Director of Research and Testing

- Dr. Eugene (Gene) Boland, Techshot chief scientist

- Niki Werkheiser, 3D Printing in Zero-G project manager

ISS SCIENCE PANEL: MODEL ORGANISMS

Thursday, Sept. 18, (L-2 days): An ISS Science Panel on model organisms will be held at Kennedy's Press Site at 8 a.m. PDT (11 a.m. EDT). NASA Television will provide live coverage, as well as streaming Internet coverage.

Participants in the panel will be:

- Marshall Porterfield, division director, Space Life and Physical Sciences, NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD)

- Ruth Globus, project scientist, Rodent Habitat/Rodent Research-1

- Sharmila Bhattacharya, principal investigator, Ames Student Fruit-Fly Experiment

- Shiela Neilson-Preiss, principal investigator, Micro-8

- John Kiss, principal investigator, Seedling Growth-2, University of Mississippi

NASA 'VIEW FROM THE TOP' BRIEFING

Friday, Sept. 19 (L-1 day): A NASA "View from the Top" briefing will be held at Kennedy's Press Site at 6 a.m. PDT (9 a.m. EDT). NASA Television will provide live coverage, as well as streaming Internet coverage.

Participants in the briefing will be:

- Sam Scimemi, International Space Station division director, HEOMD

- Jeff Sheehy, senior technologist for the Space Technology Mission Directorate

- Ellen Stofan, NASA chief scientist

PRELAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE

Friday, Sept. 19 (L-1 day): The prelaunch news conference will be held at Kennedy's Press Site at 7 a.m. PDT (10 a.m. EDT). NASA Television will provide live coverage, as well as streaming Internet coverage.

Participants in the prelaunch news conference will be:

- Hans Koenigsmann, VP of Mission Assurance, SpaceX

- Dan Hartman, International Space Station Program

- Kathy Winters, launch weather officer, U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron

POST-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE

A post-launch news conference will be held at approximately 90 minutes after launch. NASA Television will provide live coverage, as well as streaming Internet coverage.

Participants in the post-launch news conference will be:

- Dan Hartman, International Space Station Program, Johnson Space Center, Houston

- Gwen Shotwell, SpaceX president

NASA TV LAUNCH COVERAGE

Saturday, Sept. 20 (Launch day): NASA TV live coverage will begin at 10:15 p.m. PDT Friday, Sept. 19 (1:15 a.m. EDT Saturday, Sept. 20) and conclude at approximately midnight PDT (3 a.m. EDT). For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA "V" circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, -1260 or -7135. On launch day, "mission audio," the launch conductor's countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135 starting at 10 p.m. PDT (1 a.m. EDT). Launch audio also will be available on local amateur VHF radio frequency 146.940 MHz heard within Brevard County on the Space Coast.

IN-FLIGHT NASA TV COVERAGE

If launch occurs Sept. 20, NASA TV will provide live coverage Monday, Sept. 22, of the arrival of the Dragon cargo ship to the International Space Station. Grapple and berthing coverage will begin at 2:30 a.m. PDT (5:30 a.m. EDT) with grapple at approximately 4:30 a.m. PDT (7:30 a.m. EDT). Berthing coverage begins at 6:30 a.m. PDT (9:30 a.m. EDT).

NASA WEB PRELAUNCH AND LAUNCH COVERAGE

Prelaunch and launch day coverage of the SpaceX CRS-4 flight will be available on the NASA website. Coverage will include live streaming and text updates beginning at 10:15 p.m. PDT (1:15 a.m. EDT) as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video, podcast and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. You can follow countdown coverage on our launch blog and learn more about the SpaceX CRS-4 mission by going to the mission home page at:

http://www.nasa.gov/SpaceX

TWITTER

The NASA News Twitter feed will be updated throughout the launch countdown. To access the NASA News Twitter feed, visit:

http://www.twitter.com/NASAKennedy

FACEBOOK

The NASA News Facebook feed will be updated throughout the launch countdown. To access the NASA Facebook feed, visit:

http://www.facebook.com/NASAKennedy

RECORDED STATUS

Recorded status reports on the launch of SpaceX CRS-4 and associated prelaunch activities will be provided on the Kennedy media phone line starting Wednesday, Sept. 17. The telephone number is 321-867-2525.

WEB ACTIVITIES UPDATES AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For updates to these SpaceX CRS-4 prelaunch activities, go to:

http://www.nasa.gov/SpaceX

For video b-roll and other International Space Station media resources, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/stationnews

For further information about the International Space Station, research in low-Earth orbit, NASA's commercial space programs and the future of American spaceflight, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

For more information about SpaceX, visit:

http://www.spacex.com

For more information about ISS-RapidScat, visit:

http://winds.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/RapidScat/

Alan Buis
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
818-354-0474
alan.buis@jpl.nasa.gov

George Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-867-2468
george.h.diller@nasa.gov

Stephanie Schierholz
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov

Dan Huot
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
daniel.g.huot@nasa.gov

2014-309

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 4:37 AM 0 comments

'J' Marks the Spot for Rosetta's Lander

'J' Marks the Spot for Rosetta's Lander: Image depicts the primary landing site on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko Image depicts the primary landing site on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko chosen for the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission. Image credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA
› Full image and caption


September 15, 2014

The European Space Agency's Rosetta's lander, Philae, will target Site J, an intriguing region on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko that offers unique scientific potential, with hints of activity nearby, and minimum risk to the lander compared to the other candidate sites. The 220-pound (100-kilogram) lander is scheduled to reach the surface on November 11, where it will perform in-depth measurements to characterize the nucleus. Rosetta is an international mission spearheaded by the European Space Agency with support and instruments provided by NASA.

Site J is on the "head" of the comet, an irregular shaped world that is just over 2.5 miles (four kilometers) across at its widest point. The decision to select Site J as the primary site was unanimous. The backup, Site C, is located on the "body" of the comet.

"As we have seen from recent close-up images, the comet is a beautiful but dramatic world - it is scientifically exciting, but its shape makes it operationally challenging," says Stephan Ulamec, Philae Lander Manager at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne. "None of the candidate landing sites met all of the operational criteria at the 100-percent level, but Site J is clearly the best solution."

Over the weekend, the Landing Site Selection Group of engineers and scientists from Philae's Science, Operations and Navigation Center at the National Center of Space Studies of France (CNES), the Lander Control Center at DLR, and scientists representing the Philae Lander instruments and ESA's Rosetta team, met at CNES, Toulouse, France, to consider the available data and to choose the primary and backup sites.

A number of critical aspects had to be considered, not least that it had to be possible to identify a safe trajectory for deploying Philae to the surface and that the density of visible hazards in the landing zone should be minimized. Once on the surface, other factors come into play, including the balance of daylight and night-time hours, and the frequency of communications passes with the orbiter.

The descent to the comet is passive and it is only possible to predict that the landing point will be within a "landing ellipse" (typically a few hundred meters) in size. For each of Rosetta's candidate sites, a larger area -- four-tenths of a square mile (one square kilometer) -- was assessed. At Site J the majority of slopes are less than 30-degrees relative to the local vertical, reducing the chances of Philae toppling over during touchdown. Site J also appears to have relatively few boulders, and it receives sufficient daily illumination to recharge Philae and continue science operations on the surface beyond the initial battery-powered phase.

Provisional assessment of the trajectory to Site J found that the descent time of Philae to the surface would be about seven hours, a length that does not compromise the on-comet observations by using up too much of the battery during the descent.

Both Sites B and C were considered as the backup, but C was preferred because of a higher illumination profile and fewer boulders. Sites A and I had seemed attractive during first rounds of discussion, but were dismissed at the second round because they did not satisfy a number of the key criteria.

A detailed operational timeline will now be prepared to determine the precise approach trajectory of Rosetta in order to deliver Philae to Site J. The landing must take place before mid-November, as the comet is predicted to grow more active as it moves closer to the sun.

"There's no time to lose, but now that we're closer to the comet, continued science and mapping operations will help us improve the analysis of the primary and backup landing sites," says ESA Rosetta flight director Andrea Accomazzo from the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany. "Of course, we cannot predict the activity of the comet between now and landing, and on landing day itself. A sudden increase in activity could affect the position of Rosetta in its orbit at the moment of deployment and in turn the exact location where Philae will land, and that's what makes this a risky operation."

All commands for Philae's descent will be uploaded prior to the lander's separation from the Rosetta orbiter. Once deployed from Rosetta, Philae's descent will be autonomous, with the lander taking images and other observations of the comet's environment.

Philae will touch down at the equivalent of walking pace and then use harpoons and ice screws to fix itself onto the comet's surface. It will then make a 360-degree panoramic image of the landing site to help determine where and in what orientation it has landed. The initial science phase will then begin, with other instruments analyzing the plasma and magnetic environment, and the surface and subsurface temperature. The lander will also drill and collect samples from beneath the surface, delivering them to the on-board laboratory for analysis. The interior structure of the comet will also be explored by sending radio waves through the surface toward Rosetta.

"No one has ever attempted to land on a comet before, so it is a real challenge," says Fred Jansen, the ESA Rosetta mission manager from the European Space Research Technology Center, Noordwijk, the Netherlands. "The complicated 'double' structure of the comet has had a considerable impact on the overall risks related to landing, but they are risks worth taking to have the chance of making the first ever soft landing on a comet."

The landing date should be confirmed on September 26 after further trajectory analysis and the final Go/No Go for a landing at the primary site will follow a comprehensive readiness review on October 14.

Launched in March 2004, Rosetta was reactivated in January 2014 after a record 957 days in hibernation. Composed of an orbiter and lander, Rosetta's objectives since arriving at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko earlier this month are to study the celestial object up close in unprecedented detail, prepare for landing a probe on the comet's nucleus in November, and track its changes through 2015, as it sweeps past the sun.

Comets are time capsules containing primitive material left over from the epoch when the sun and its planets formed. Rosetta's lander will obtain the first images taken from a comet's surface and will provide comprehensive analysis of the comet's possible primordial composition by drilling into the surface. Rosetta also will be the first spacecraft to witness at close proximity how a comet changes as it is subjected to the increasing intensity of the sun's radiation. Observations will help scientists learn more about the origin and evolution of our solar system and the role comets may have played in seeding Earth with water, and perhaps even life.

Rosetta is an ESA mission with contributions from its member states and NASA. Rosetta's Philae lander is provided by a consortium led by the German Aerospace Center, Cologne; Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Gottingen; National Center of Space Studies of France (CNES), Paris; and the Italian Space Agency, Rome. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, a division of the California Institute of Technology, manages the U.S. participation in the Rosetta mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

For more information on the U.S. instruments aboard Rosetta, visit:

http://rosetta.jpl.nasa.gov

More information about Rosetta is available at:

http://www.esa.int/rosetta

DC Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-9011
agle@jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

Markus Bauer
European Space Agency, Noordwijk, Netherlands
011-31-71-565-6799
markus.bauer@esa.int

2014-310

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 4:37 AM 0 comments

Pulse of a Dead Star Powers Intense Gamma Rays

Pulse of a Dead Star Powers Intense Gamma Rays: Powerful, Pulsating Core of Star The blue dot in this image marks the spot of an energetic pulsar -- the magnetic, spinning core of star that blew up in a supernova explosion. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SAO
› Full image and caption


September 16, 2014

Our Milky Way galaxy is littered with the still-sizzling remains of exploded stars.

When the most massive stars explode as supernovas, they don't fade into the night, but sometimes glow ferociously with high-energy gamma rays. What powers these energetic stellar remains?

NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, is helping to untangle the mystery. The observatory's high-energy X-ray eyes were able to peer into a particular site of powerful gamma rays and confirm the source: A spinning, dead star called a pulsar. Pulsars are one of several types of stellar remnants that are left over when stars blow up in supernova explosions.

This is not the first time pulsars have been discovered to be the culprits behind intense gamma rays, but NuSTAR has helped in a case that was tougher to crack due to the distance of the object in question. NuSTAR joins NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, and the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) in Namibia, each with its own unique strengths, to better understand the evolution of these not-so-peaceful dead stars.

"The energy from this corpse of a star is enough to power the gamma-ray luminosity we are seeing," said Eric Gotthelf of Columbia University, New York. Gotthelf explained that while pulsars are often behind these gamma rays in our galaxy, other sources can be as well, including the outer shells of the supernova remnants, X-ray binary stars and star-formation regions. Gotthelf is lead author of a new paper describing the findings in the Astrophysical Journal.

In recent years, the Max-Planck Institute for Astronomy's H.E.S.S. experiment has identified more than 80 incredibly powerful sites of gamma rays, called high-energy gamma-ray sources, in our Milky Way. Most of these have been associated with prior supernova explosions, but for many, the primary source of observed gamma rays remains unknown.

The gamma-ray source pinpointed in this new study, called HESS J1640-465, is one of the most luminous discovered so far. It was already known to be linked with a supernova remnant, but the source of its power was unclear. While data from Chandra and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton telescopes hinted that the power source was a pulsar, intervening clouds of gas blocked the view, making it difficult to see.

NuSTAR complements Chandra and XMM-Newton in its capability to detect higher-energy range of X-rays that can, in fact, penetrate through this intervening gas. In addition, the NuSTAR telescope can measure rapid X-ray pulsations with fine precision. In this particular case, NuSTAR was able to capture high-energy X-rays coming at regular fast-paced pulses from HESS J1640-465. These data led to the discovery of PSR J1640-4631, a pulsar spinning five times per second -- and the ultimate power source of both the high-energy X-rays and gamma rays.

How does the pulsar produce the high-energy rays? The pulsar's strong magnetic fields generate powerful electric fields that accelerate charged particles near the surface to incredible speeds approaching that of light. The fast-moving particles then interact with the magnetic fields to produce the powerful beams of high-energy gamma rays and X-rays.

"The discovery of a pulsar engine powering HESS J1640-465 allows astronomers to test models for the underlying physics that result in the extraordinary energies generated by these rare gamma-rays sources," said Gotthelf.

"Perhaps other luminous gamma-ray sources harbor pulsars that we can't detect," said Victoria Kaspi of McGill University, Montreal, Canada, a co-author on the study. "With NuSTAR, we may be able to find more hidden pulsars."

The new data also allowed astronomers to measure the rate at which the pulsar slows, or spins down (about 30 microseconds per year), as well as how this spin-down rate varies over time. The answers will help researchers understand how these spinning magnets -- the cores of dead stars -- can be the source of such extreme radiation in our galaxy.

NuSTAR is a Small Explorer mission led by Caltech and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The spacecraft was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, Virginia. Its instrument was built by a consortium including Caltech, JPL, the University of California, Berkeley, Columbia University, New York, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, the Danish Technical University in Denmark, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California, ATK Aerospace Systems in Goleta, California, and with support from the Italian Space Agency (ASI) Science Data Center.

NuSTAR's mission operations center is at UC Berkeley, with the ASI providing its equatorial ground station located in Malindi, Kenya. The mission's outreach program is based at Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, California. NASA's Explorer Program is managed by Goddard. JPL is managed by Caltech for NASA.

Whitney Clavin 818-354-4673
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
whitney.clavin@jpl.nasa.gov

2014-311

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 4:36 AM 0 comments

NASA Mars Spacecraft Ready for Sept. 21 Orbit Insertion

NASA Mars Spacecraft Ready for Sept. 21 Orbit Insertion: NASA's MAVEN spacecraft NASA's MAVEN spacecraft is quickly approaching Mars on a mission to study its upper atmosphere. When it arrives on September 21, 2014, MAVEN's winding journey from Earth will culminate with a dramatic engine burn, pulling the spacecraft into an elliptical orbit.

› Larger image


September 17, 2014

NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft is nearing its scheduled Sept. 21 insertion into Martian orbit after completing a 10-month interplanetary journey of 442 million miles (711 million kilometers).

Flight Controllers at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Littleton, Colorado, will be responsible for the health and safety of the spacecraft throughout the process. The spacecraft's mission timeline will place the spacecraft in orbit at approximately 6:50 p.m. PDT (9:50 p.m. EDT).

"So far, so good with the performance of the spacecraft and payloads on the cruise to Mars," said David Mitchell, MAVEN project manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "The team, the flight system, and all ground assets are ready for Mars orbit insertion."

The orbit-insertion maneuver will begin with the brief firing of six small thruster engines to steady the spacecraft. The engines will ignite and burn for 33 minutes to slow the craft, allowing it to be pulled into an elliptical orbit with a period of 35 hours.

Following orbit insertion, MAVEN will begin a six-week commissioning phase that includes maneuvering the spacecraft into its final orbit and testing its instruments and science-mapping commands. Thereafter, MAVEN will begin its one-Earth-year primary mission to take measurements of the composition, structure and escape of gases in Mars' upper atmosphere and its interaction with the sun and solar wind.

"The MAVEN science mission focuses on answering questions about where did the water that was present on early Mars go, about where did the carbon dioxide go," said Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator from the University of Colorado, Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. "These are important questions for understanding the history of Mars, its climate, and its potential to support at least microbial life."

MAVEN launched Nov. 18, 2013, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying three instrument packages. It is the first spacecraft dedicated to exploring the upper atmosphere of Mars. The mission's combination of detailed measurements at specific points in Mars' atmosphere and global imaging provides a powerful tool for understanding the properties of the Red Planet's upper atmosphere.

"MAVEN is another NASA robotic scientific explorer that is paving the way for our journey to Mars," said Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Together, robotics and humans will pioneer the Red Planet and the solar system to help answer some of humanity's fundamental questions about life beyond Earth."

The spacecraft's principal investigator is based at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at University of Colorado, Boulder. The university provided two science instruments and leads science operations, as well as education and public outreach, for the mission.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the project and also provided two science instruments for the mission. Lockheed Martin built the spacecraft and is responsible for mission operations. The Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley provided four science instruments for MAVEN. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, provides navigation and Deep Space Network support, and Electra telecommunications relay hardware and operations. JPL manages the Mars Exploration Program for NASA.

To learn more about the MAVEN mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/maven and http://mars.nasa.gov/maven/

Izumi Hansen and Elizabeth Zubritsky

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 4:35 AM 0 comments

Saturday, September 13, 2014

WONDERFUL PHOTOS Guide to Tonight’s Big Harvest Moon

Guide to Tonight’s Big Harvest Moon:



"The Harvest Moon", a circa 1833 oil painting by Samuel Palmer. Closely spaced moonrises meant extra light to bring in the crops in the days before electric lighting.

“The Harvest Moon”, a circa 1833 oil painting by Samuel Palmer. Closely spaced moonrises meant extra light to bring in the crops in the days before electric lighting.
Tonight, September 8, the Harvest Moon rises the color of a fall leaf and spills its light across deserts, forests, oceans and cities. The next night it rises only a half hour later. And the next, too. The short gap of time between successive moonrises gave farmers in the days before electricity extra light to harvest their crops, hence the name.

The Harvest Moon is the full moon that falls closest to the autumnal equinox, the beginning of northern autumn. As the moon orbits the Earth, it moves eastward about one fist held at arm’s length each night and rises about 50 minutes later. You can see its orbital travels for yourself by comparing the moon’s nightly position to a bright star or constellation.

This full Moon is also a Proxigean or Perigee Full “Supermoon” (find out more about that here), which means the Moon is in a spot in its elliptical orbit where it is closer to Earth near the time it is full, making it look up to 15% larger than average full Moon.



Around the time of Harvest Moon, the full moon's path is tilted at a shallow angle to the eastern horizon making with successive moonrises only about a half hour apart instead of the usual 50 minutes. Source: Stellarium

Around the time of Harvest Moon, the full moon’s path is tilted at a shallow angle to the eastern horizon making with successive moonrises only about a half hour apart instead of the usual 50 minutes. Source: Stellarium
50 minutes is the usual gap between moonrises. But it can vary from 25 minutes to more than an hour depending upon the angle the moon’s path makes to the eastern horizon at rise time. In September that path runs above the horizon at a shallow angle. As the moon scoots eastward, it’s also moving northward this time of year.

This northward motion isn’t as obvious unless you watch the moon over the coming week. Then you’ll see it climb to the very top of its monthly path when it’s high overhead at dawn. The northward motion compensates for the eastward motion, keeping the September full moon’s path roughly parallel to the horizon with successive rise times only ~30 minutes apart.

The angle of the moon’s path to the horizon makes all the difference in moonrise times. At full phase in spring, the path tilts steeply southward, delaying successive moonrises by over an hour. In September, the moon’s path is nearly parallel to the horizon with successive moonrises just 20+ minutes apart. Times are shown for the Duluth, Minn. region. Illustration: Bob King

The angle of the moon’s path to the horizon makes all the difference in moonrise times. At full phase in spring, the path tilts steeply southward, delaying successive moonrises by over an hour. In September, the moon’s path is nearly parallel to the horizon with successive moonrises just 30+ minutes apart. Times are shown for the Duluth, Minn. region. Illustration: Bob King
Exactly the opposite happened 6 months earlier this spring, when the moon’s path met the horizon at a steep angle. While it traveled the identical distance each night then as now, its tilted path dunked it much farther below the horizon night to night. The spring full moon moves east and south towards its lowest point in the sky. Seen from the northern hemisphere, that southward travel adds in extra time for the moon to reach the horizon and rise each successive night.

If all this is a bit mind-bending, don’t sweat it. Click HERE to find when the moon rises for your town and find a spot with a great view of the eastern horizon. You’ll notice the moon is orange or red at moonrise because the many miles of thicker atmosphere you look through when you gaze along the horizon scatters the shorter bluer colors from moonlight, tinting it red just as it does the sun.

A series of photos of the full moon setting over Earth's limb taken by from space by NASA astronaut Don Pettit on April 16, 2003. Refraction causes a celestial object's light to be bent upwards, so it appears higher than it actually is. The bottom half of the moon, closer to the horizon, is refracted strongest and "pushed" upward into the top half, making it look squished. Credit: NASA

A series of photos of the full moon setting over Earth’s limb taken by from space by NASA astronaut Don Pettit on April 16, 2003. Refraction causes a celestial object’s light to be bent upwards, so it appears higher than it actually is. The bottom half of the moon, closer to the horizon, is refracted strongest and “pushed” upward into the top half, making it look squished. Credit: NASA
The moon will also appear squished due to atmospheric refraction. Air is densest right at the horizon and refracts or bends light more strongly than the air immediately above it. Air “lifts” the bottom of the moon – which is closer to the horizon – more than the top, squishing the two halves together into an egg or oval shape.

How we perceive the moon's size may have much to do with what's around it. In this illustration, most of us seen the bottom moon as smaller, but they're both exactly the same size. Crazy, isn't it? Credit: NASA

How we perceive the moon’s size may have much to do with what’s around it. In this illustration, most of us seen the bottom moon as smaller, but they’re both exactly the same size. Crazy, isn’t it? Credit: NASA
You may also be entranced Monday night by the Moon Illusion, where the full moon appears unnaturally large when near the horizon compared to when viewed higher up. No one has come up with a complete explanation for this intriguing aspect of our perception, but the link above offers some interesting hypotheses.

Can you see craters with your naked eye? Yes! Try tonight through Wednesday night. Plato is the trickiest. Credit: Bob King

Can you see craters with your naked eye? Yes! Try tonight through Wednesday night. Plato is the trickiest. Credit: Bob King
Finally, full moon is an ideal time to see several lunar craters with the naked eye. They’re not the biggest, but all, except Plato, are surrounded by bright rays of secondary impact craters that expand their size and provide good contrast against the darker lunar “seas”. Try with your eyes alone first, and if you have difficulty, use binoculars to get familiar with the landscape and then try again with your unaided eyes.

In contrast to the other craters, Plato is dark against a bright landscape. It’s a true challenge – I’ve tried for years but still haven’t convinced myself of seeing it. The others are easier than you’d think. Good luck and clear skies!

Tagged as:
full moon,
harvest moon,
Moon Illusion,
refraction
Posted by Nelio Inacio at 6:15 AM 0 comments

Gliese 15Ab: The Closest Known Super-Earth?

Gliese 15Ab: The Closest Known Super-Earth?:



An artist’s rendering of the newly discovered exoplanet OGLE-2013-BLG-0341LBb (far right) orbiting one star (right) of a binary red dwarf star system, from an Earth-type distance of approximately 0.9 Astronomical Units away. Image Credit: Cheongho Han, Chungbuk National University, Republic of Korea

An artist’s conception of the view from an exoplanet orbiting one star in a binary red dwarf system. Image Credit: Cheongho Han, Chungbuk National University, Republic of Korea
Our solar neighborhood is rich with planetary systems. Within 20 light-years we’ve detected sizzling gas giants and rocky planets orbiting closer to their host star than Mercury orbits the Sun.

Astronomers have now added one more to the list, and this one — a super-Earth dubbed Gliese 15Ab — ranks as one of the closest known exoplanets, circling its host star only 11.7 light-years away.

Gliese 15 is a binary system, with two cool, dim red dwarfs orbiting each other. Although red dwarfs are the most common type of star in the galaxy, they’re so intrinsically faint that not a single one (including the closest star to the Sun, Proxima Centauri) is visible to the naked eye.

Although Gliese 15A might appear faint from Earth, it is overwhelmingly bright compared to its barely reflective exoplanet. So unfortunately we can’t easily see the exoplanet directly. But it does leave an imprint on its host star. Its small gravitational tug makes Gliese 15A wobble ever so slightly as both orbit a mutual center of mass, known as the barycenter.

The star’s movement is then imprinted on its spectrum. As Gliese 15A moves away from the Earth, its spectral lines stretch to redder wavelengths. But as it moves toward the Earth, its spectral lines compress to shorter wavelengths.

Screen Shot 2014-09-08 at 3.52.34 PM

The radial velocities for Gliese 15Ab. Image Credit: Howard et al.
The change is minute. But the Keck 10-meter telescope, with an extremely high-resolution detector, can see such small changes. And from this tiny wobble, Andrew Howard and colleagues calculated that the planet is 5.35 times the mass of Earth and orbits its star in only 11.44 days, making it a hot super-Earth. And remember, it’s only 11.7 light-years away.

A handful of other planet candidates have been found that are closer, but all — including Gliese 15Ab — have yet to be confirmed by other research teams. In the long run, it may turn out that this hot super-Earth is the closest planet to our pale blue dot. Then again, it may not. That’s how science works.

Nonetheless, Gliese 15Ab might prove to be an exciting target for one of the new planet imagers that came online within the past year.

The findings will be published in the Astrophysical Journal and are available online.

Tagged as:
Gliese 15,
super earth
Posted by Nelio Inacio at 6:13 AM 0 comments

How Dark Matter Could Reduce The Fleet Of Galaxies Following The Milky Way

How Dark Matter Could Reduce The Fleet Of Galaxies Following The Milky Way:



On either side of the white line in the picture are two models of how dark matter is distributed in a galaxy similar to the Milky Way. At left, non-interacting cold dark matter creates satellite galaxies. At right, dark matter interacting with other particles makes the number of observed satellite galaxies smaller. Credit: Durham University

On either side of the white line in the picture are two models of how dark matter is distributed in a galaxy similar to the Milky Way. At left, non-interacting cold dark matter creates satellite galaxies. At right, dark matter interacting with other particles makes the number of observed satellite galaxies smaller. Credit: Durham University
Funny how small particle interactions can have such a big effect on the neighbors of the Milky Way. For a while, scientists have been puzzled about the dearth of small satellite galaxies surrounding our home galaxy.

They thought that cold dark matter in our galaxy should encourage small galaxies to form, which created a puzzle. Now, a new set of research suggests the dark matter actually interacted with small bits of normal matter (photons and neutrinos) and the dark matter scattered away, reducing the amount of material available for building galaxies.

“We don’t know how strong these interactions should be, so this is where our simulations come in,” stated Celine Boehm, a particle physicist at Durham University who led the research. “By tuning the strength of the scattering of particles, we change the number of small galaxies, which lets us learn more about the physics of dark matter and how it might interact with other particles in the Universe.”

Artist's conception of the Milky Way galaxy based on the latest survey data from ESO’s VISTA telescope at the Paranal Observatory. A prominent bar of older, yellower stars lies at galaxy center surrounded by a series of spiral arms. The galaxy spans some 100,000 light years. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech, ESO, J. Hurt

Artist’s conception of the Milky Way galaxy based on the latest survey data from ESO’s VISTA telescope at the Paranal Observatory. A prominent bar of older, yellower stars lies at galaxy center surrounded by a series of spiral arms. The galaxy spans some 100,000 light years. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech, ESO, J. Hurt
Dark matter is a poorly understood part of the Universe, which is frustrating for scientists because it (along with dark energy) is believed to make up the majority of our Cosmos. There are several postulated types of it, but the main thing to understand is dark matter is hard to detect (except, in certain cases, through its interactions with gravity.)

This isn’t the only explanation for why the galaxies are missing, the scientists caution. Perhaps the universe’s first stars were so hot that they affected the gas that other stars formed from, for example.

A paper on the research was published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and is also available in preprint version on Arxiv.

Source: Royal Astronomical Society

Tagged as:
Dark Matter
Posted by Nelio Inacio at 6:12 AM 0 comments

AMAZING PHOTO : Spectacular View of the Rosette Nebula

Astrophoto: Spectacular View of the Rosette Nebula:



The Rosette Nebula, taken on September 9, 2014. A 5 hour exposure, using an Epsilon 180 ED telescope, with filters of 3nm Astrodon combining Hydrogen-alpha, Oxygen and Sulfur II. Credit and copyright: César Cantú.

The Rosette Nebula, taken on September 9, 2014. A 5 hour exposure, using an Epsilon 180 ED telescope, with filters of 3nm Astrodon combining Hydrogen-alpha, Oxygen and Sulfur II. Credit and copyright: César Cantú.
Wow! Here’s a gorgeous view of the Rosette Nebula from astrophotographer César Cantú. The Rosette Nebula is a star-forming region about 5,000 light years from Earth, located in the constellation Monoceros. Winds from the young, hot, blue stars cleared the central hole. The central cluster of stars is also known as NGC 2244.

The image compiles about 5 hours of observing time and César used hydrogen-alpha, oxygen and sulfur filters.

Compare this new view to earlier images of the Rosette taken by César in 2011, and see more at his website, Astronomía Y Astrofotografía..



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.

Tagged as:
Astrophotos,
César Cantu,
Rosette Nebula
Posted by Nelio Inacio at 6:11 AM 0 comments

Will Aurora Strike Tonight? Here’s What to Expect

Will Aurora Strike Tonight? Here’s What to Expect:



A bright arc and pink-topped rays stipple the northern sky and cross the Bowl of the Big Dipper last night around 11:30 p.m. CDT over Caribou Lake north of Duluth, Minn. Credit: Guy Sander

A bright arc and pink-topped rays stipple the northern sky and light up the Bowl of the Big Dipper last night around 11:30 p.m. CDT over Caribou Lake north of Duluth, Minn. Credit: Guy Sander
Auroras showed up as forecast last night beginning around nightfall and lasting until about 1 a.m. CDT this morning. Then the action stopped. At peak, the Kp index dinged the bell at “5” (minor geogmagnetic storm) for about 6 hours as the incoming shock from the arrival of the solar blast rattled Earth’s magnetosphere. It wasn’t a particularly bright aurora and had to compete with moonlight, so many of you may not have seen it. You needn’t worry. A much stronger G3 geomagnetic storm from the second Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME) remains in the forecast for tonight.

Plot showing the Kp index of magnetic activity high in the Earth's magnetic domain called the magnetosphere. The two red bars show the Kp at '5' last night and early this morning (dotted line represents 0 UT or 7 p.m. CDT). Inset is the current detailed forecast in 3-hour increments. Credit: NOAA

Plot showing the Kp index of magnetic activity high in the Earth’s magnetic domain called the magnetosphere. The two red bars show the Kp at ‘5’ last night and early this morning (dotted line represents 0 UT or 7 p.m. CDT). Inset is the current detailed forecast in Universal Time (Greenwich Time) in 3-hour increments. Credit: NOAA
Activity should begin right at nightfall and peak between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. Central Daylight Time. The best place to observe the show is from a location well away from city lights with a good view of the northern sky. Auroras are notoriously fickle, but if the NOAA space forecasting crew is on the money, flickering lights should be visible as far south as Illinois and Kansas. The storm also has the potential to heat and expand the outer limits of Earth’s atmosphere enough to cause additional drag on low-Earth-orbiting (LEO) satellites. High-frequency radio transmissions like shortwave radio may be reduced to static particularly on paths crossing through the polar regions.

Earth’s magnetic bubble, generated by motions within its iron-nickel core and shaped by the solar wind, is called the magnetosphere. It extends some 40,000 miles forward of the planet and more than 3.9 million miles in the tailward direction. Credit: NASA

Earth’s magnetic bubble, generated by motions within its iron-nickel core and shaped by the solar wind, is called the magnetosphere. It extends some 40,000 miles forward of the planet and more than 3.9 million miles in the tailward direction. Most of the time it sheds particle blasts from the sun called coronal mass ejections, but occasionally one makes it past our defenses and we get an auroral treat. Credit: NASA
If you study the inset box in the illustration above, you can see that from 21-00UT (4 -7 p.m. Central time) the index jumps quickly form “3” to “6” as the blast from that second, stronger X-class flare (September 10) slams into our magnetosphere. Assuming the magnetic field it carries points southward, it should link into our planet’s northward-pointing field and wreak beautiful havoc. A G2 storm continues through 10 p.m. and then elevates to Kp 7 or G3 storm between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. before subsiding slightly in the wee hours before dawn. The Kp index measures how disturbed Earth’s magnetic field is on a 9-point scale and is compiled every 3 hours by a network of magnetic observatories on the planet.

A lovely rayed arc reflected in Caribou Lake north of Duluth, Minn. on September 11, 2014. Credit: Guy Sander

A lovely rayed arc reflected in Caribou Lake north of Duluth, Minn. on September 11, 2014. Tonight the moon rises around 9:30 p.m. The lower in the sky it is, the brighter the aurora will appear. Hopefully tonight’s lights will outdo what the moon can dish out. Credit: Guy Sander
All the numbers are lined up. Now, will the weather and solar wind cooperate?  Stop back this evening as I’ll be updating with news as the storm happens.

The auroral oval around 2:30 p.m. CDT this afternoon September 12 shows a southward expansion into the Scandinavian countries. Click for current map. Credit: NOAA

The auroral oval around 2:30 p.m. CDT this afternoon September 12 shows a southward expansion into the Scandinavian countries and Russia and Iceland. Where the sky is dark, auroras are typically seen anywhere under or along the edge of the oval. Click for current map. Credit: NOAA
Tagged as:
aurora,
auroral oval,
Kp index,
magnetosphere,
northern lights
Posted by Nelio Inacio at 6:08 AM 0 comments

How to Take Great Pictures of the Northern Lights

How to Take Great Pictures of the Northern Lights:

A group of amateur photographers set up on a beach on Lake Superior near Duluth to photograph the northern lights. To shoot the aurora you'll need a tripod and middle to high end digital camera. Pocket cameras work well in daylight and can be used to shoot bright northern lights, but the images will be noisy. Credit: Bob King

A group of amateur photographers take pictures of an aurora display from a beach along Lake Superior near Duluth. To shoot the aurora you’ll need a tripod and middle to high end digital camera. Pocket cameras work well in daylight and can be used to shoot bright northern lights, but the images will be noisy. Credit: Bob King
Everybody loves pictures of the northern lights? If you’ve never tried to shoot the aurora yourself but always wanted to, here are a few tips to get you started.

"T" stands for a terrific aurora seen last winter from near Duluth, Minn. US. Photo taken with a high-end digital camera (Canon Eos 1 Mark III) at ISO 800, 30-second exposure. Credit: Bob King

“T” stands for a terrific aurora seen last winter near Duluth, Minn. U.S. Photo taken with a high-end digital camera (Canon EOS 1-D Mark III) at ISO 800, 30-second exposure. Credit: Bob King
The strong G3 geomagnetic storm expected tonight should kick out a reasonably bright display, perfect for budding astrophotographers. Assuming the forecasters are correct, you’ll need a few things. A location with a nice open view to the north is a good start. The aurora has several different active zones. There are bright, greenish arcs, which loll about the northern horizon, parallel rays midway up in the northern sky and towering rays and diffuse aurora that can surge past the zenith. Often the aurora hovers low and remains covered by trees or buildings, so find a road or field with good exposure.

15-second time exposure of Vega rising taken with a typical digital pocket camera. Notice the grainy texture. Credit: Bob King

15-second time exposure of Vega rising taken with a typical digital pocket camera. Notice the grain or noise throughout. Credit: Bob King
Second, a tripod. You can do so much with this three-legged beast. No better astro tool in the universe. Even the brightest auroras will require a time exposure of at least 5 seconds. Since no human can be expected to hold a camera steady that long, a tripod is a necessity. After that, it comes down to a camera. Most “point-and-shoot” models have limited time exposure ability, often just 15 seconds. That may be long enough for brighter auroras, but to compensate, you’ll have to increase your camera’s sensitivity to light by increasing the “speed” or ISO. The higher you push the ISO, the grainier the images appear especially with smaller cameras. But you’ll be able to get an image, and that may be satisfaction enough.

I use a Canon EOS-1 Mark III camera to shoot day and night. While not the latest model, it does a nice job on auroras. The 16-35mm zoom wide-angle lens is my workhorse as the aurora often covers a substantial amount of sky. My usual routine is to monitor the sky. If I see aurora padding across the sky, I toss the my equipment in the car and drive out to one of several sites with a clear exposure to the north. Once the camera meets tripod, here’s what to do:

A bright, very active aurora. I used my zoom lens at 16mm at f/2.8 and a 15-second exposure at ISO 800.

A bright, active aurora. I used my zoom lens at 16mm at f/2.8 and about a 15-second exposure at ISO 800. Credit: Bob King
* Put the camera in manual mode and make sure my focus is set to infinity. Focusing is critical or the stars will look like blobs and the aurora green mush. There are a couple options. Use autofocus on a cloud or clouds in the daytime or the moon at night. Both are at “infinity” in the camera’s eye. Once focused at infinity, set the camera to manual and leave it there the rest of the evening to shoot the aurora. OR … note where the little infinity symbol (sideways 8) is on your lens barrel and mark it with a thin sharpie so you can return to it anytime. You can also use your camera in Live View mode, the default viewing option for most point-and-shoot cameras where you compose and frame live. Higher-end cameras use a viewfinder but have a Live View option in their menus. Once in Live View, manually focus on a bright star using the back of the camera. On higher-end cameras you can magnify the view by pressing on the “plus” sign. This allows for more precision focus.

* Set the lens to its widest open setting, which for my camera is f/2.8. The lower the f-stop number, the more light allowed in and the shorter the exposure. Like having really big pupils! You want to expose the aurora in as short a time as possible because it moves. Longer exposures soften its appearance and blur exciting details like the crispness of the rays.

My friend Glenn takes a night sky shot silhouetted against the northern lights. Credit: Bob King

A friend takes a night sky shot silhouetted against the glow of the northern lights. Credit: Bob King
*  Set the ISO to 800 for brighter auroras or 1600 for fainter ones and set the time to 30-seconds. If the aurora is bright and moving quickly, I’ll decrease exposure times to 10-15 seconds. The current crop of high end cameras now have the capacity to shoot at ISOs of 25,000. While those speeds may not give the smoothest images, dialing back to ISO 3200 and 6400 will make for photos that look like they were shot at ISO 400 on older generation cameras. A bright aurora at ISO 3200 can be captured in 5 seconds or less.

* Compose the scene in the viewfinder. If you’re lucky or plan well, you can include something interesting in the foreground like a building, a picturesque tree or lake reflection.

* OK, ready? Now press the button. When the image pops up on the viewing screen, does the image seem faint, too bright or just right. Make exposure adjustments as needed. If you need to expose beyond the typical maximum of 30 seconds, you can hold the shutter button down manually or purchase a cable release to hold it down for you.

It’s easy, right? Well then, why did it take me 400 words to explain it??? Have fun and good luck in your photography.

Tagged as:
aurora,
photography
Posted by Nelio Inacio at 6:08 AM 0 comments

Friday, September 12, 2014

Elemental Mystery: Lithium Is Also Rare Outside Of The Milky Way

Elemental Mystery: Lithium Is Also Rare Outside Of The Milky Way:



An image of globular cluster M54 taken by the Very Large Telescope Survey Telescope at the European Southern Observatory's Paranal Observatory in northern Chile. Credit: ESO

An image of globular cluster M54 taken by the Very Large Telescope Survey Telescope at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in northern Chile. Credit: ESO
This new picture of M54 — a part of a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way called the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy — is part of a “test case” astronomers have to figure out a mystery of missing lithium.

For decades, astronomers have been aware of a dearth of lithium in our own galaxy, the Milky Way. This image from the Very Large Telescope’s Survey Telescope represents the first effort to probe for the element outside of our galaxy.

“Most of the light chemical element lithium now present in the Universe was produced during the Big Bang, along with hydrogen and helium, but in much smaller quantities,” the European Southern Observatory stated.

“Astronomers can calculate quite accurately how much lithium they expect to find in the early Universe, and from this work out how much they should see in old stars. But the numbers don’t match — there is about three times less lithium in stars than expected. This mystery remains, despite several decades of work.”

In any case, observations of M54 show that the amount of lithium there is similar to the Milky Way — meaning that the lithium problem is not confined to our own galaxy. A paper based on the research was published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The research was led by Alessio Mucciarelli at the University of Bologna in Italy.

Source: European Southern Observatory

Tagged as:
lithium,
m54,
messier 54,
sagitarrius dwarf galaxy,
very large telescope survey telescope
Posted by Nelio Inacio at 10:05 AM 0 comments
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