, is
good worldwide.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 8:29 p.m. EST.
FEB. 8 -- FRIDAY
* Jupiter's Moon Europa reappears from eclipse out of the planet's
shadow around 9:31 p.m. EST. A small telescope will show it gradually
swelling into view a little east of the planet.
FEB. 9 -- SATURDAY
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 10:08 p.m. EST.
============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY and VENUS are hidden in the glare of the Sun.
MARS (magnitude +1.0, in Pisces) is the brightest "star" in the
west-southwest during twilight, glowing orange. It sinks lower in the west
later in the evening and sets around 10 p.m.
JUPITER (magnitude -2.6, in Gemini) is the brightest point of light in the
sky. It blazes high in the east at dusk, higher in the south by 9 p.m., and
in the west after midnight.
SATURN (magnitude 0.0, in Taurus) shines far to Jupiter's upper right in
early evening and directly to Jupiter's right by about 8 p.m. Look for the
star Aldebaran sparkling just 4 degrees (two or three finger-widths at
arm's length) from Saturn -- to its lower left in early evening, and
directly left later at night. Compare their colors. Saturn is pale yellow;
Aldebaran is more orange.
URANUS and NEPTUNE are hidden in the glare of the Sun.
PLUTO (magnitude 14, in Ophiuchus) is in the southeast before dawn.
(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including the
words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's midnorthern
latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are for North
America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time [GMT] minus 5
hours.)
More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our Web site and astronomy bookstore
at . Clear skies!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 725 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Feb 4, 2002 (16:08) * 107 lines
==================================================================
This Is SKY & TELESCOPE's AstroAlert for Comets
==================================================================
COMET IKEYA-ZHANG, C/2002 C1
The 9th-magnitude comet spotted last week in the constellation
Cetus should continue to brighten as it approaches the Sun.
In early March, Comet Ikeya-Zhang could be 5th or even 4th
magnitude, but it will then be very low in the western evening
sky after sunset and difficult to locate. After mid-March the
comet skirts north of the Sun and enters the predawn sky,
where strong moonlight will hamper observations. Prospects
get better during April as it draws away from the Sun and
makes its way across Cygnus, but by then the comet will have
started to fade.
That's the upshot of the preliminary orbital elements
calculated by Brian G. Marsden and published on IAU
Circular 7813. The comet is expected to reach perihelion
on March 8th at 0.49 astronomical unit from the Sun, which
puts it midway between the orbits of Venus and Mercury. (For
further details, and for information on how to subscribe to
the International Astronomical Union's telegram service,
visit http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/cbat.html )
The ephemeris below, based on Marsden's elements, gives the
comet's coordinates at 0h Universal Time on selected dates
along with its distance from the Earth (Delta) and Sun (r)
in astronomical units, elongation from the Sun, predicted
magnitude, and constellation. Since these computations are
based on a very short observation interval, don't be surprised
if the comet drifts off a bit after a few weeks. But the
ephemeris should still give a fair idea of how the apparition
will unfold.
Be sure to check the observing section of SkyandTelescope.com
in coming weeks for more about this object.
As we reported in last Friday's AstroAlert, this comet was
picked up visually on February 1st by Kaoru Ikeya of Shizuoka
prefecture, Japan, and by Daqing Zhang in Henan province, China.
Both observers described it as a small glow about 2' or 3'
across, with no mention of a tail. Ikeya was using a 25-cm
(10-inch) reflector, Zhang a 20-cm.
If the name "Ikeya" rings a bell, it should. During the 1960s,
Kaoru Ikeya discovered or codiscovered no less than five comets.
One of them, Comet Ikeya-Seki, became the famous naked-eye
sungrazer of 1965. But little had been heard from Ikeya, at least
outside Japan, until he made his sixth comet discovery last week.
"He is the phoenix!" says astrophotographer Shigemi Numazawa
of Niigata, who adds that Ikeya, now age 58, is manager of the
Ikeya Optical Lab, supplier of telescope mirrors to Japan's
discriminating observers.
Roger W. Sinnott
Senior Editor
Sky & Telescope
-----------------------------------------------------------------
COMET IKEYA-ZHANG, C/2002 C1
2002 RA (2000) Dec Delta r Elong Mag Const
0h UT h m o ' au au o
Feb 1 0 08.3 -17 50 1.335 0.951 45 8.9 Cet
Feb 4 0 13.2 -16 22 1.293 0.899 44 8.6 Cet
Feb 7 0 18.3 -14 46 1.249 0.847 42 8.3 Cet
Feb 10 0 23.5 -13 04 1.202 0.796 41 7.9 Cet
Feb 13 0 28.7 -11 13 1.153 0.746 40 7.5 Cet
Feb 16 0 33.8 -09 12 1.101 0.698 38 7.1 Cet
Feb 19 0 38.7 -07 01 1.046 0.651 37 6.7 Cet
Feb 22 0 43.2 -04 36 0.988 0.608 36 6.3 Cet
Feb 25 0 46.9 -01 58 0.929 0.570 34 5.9 Cet
Feb 28 0 49.4 +00 57 0.868 0.537 33 5.5 Cet
Mar 3 0 50.2 +04 09 0.806 0.512 31 5.1 Psc
Mar 6 0 48.7 +07 38 0.746 0.496 29 4.8 Psc
Mar 9 0 44.1 +11 21 0.689 0.491 27 4.6 Psc
Mar 12 0 35.9 +15 14 0.638 0.497 25 4.5 Psc
Mar 15 0 23.8 +19 09 0.594 0.513 24 4.5 Psc
Mar 18 0 07.9 +22 56 0.559 0.539 24 4.6 Peg
Mar 21 23 48.5 +26 25 0.532 0.572 26 4.7 Peg
Mar 24 23 26.4 +29 27 0.513 0.611 30 4.9 Peg
Mar 27 23 02.6 +31 56 0.501 0.654 35 5.2 Peg
Mar 30 22 38.0 +33 52 0.494 0.700 40 5.4 Peg
Apr 2 22 13.3 +35 15 0.492 0.749 46 5.7 Peg
Apr 5 21 49.3 +36 09 0.493 0.799 52 6.0 Cyg
Apr 8 21 26.1 +36 41 0.497 0.850 58 6.3 Cyg
Apr 11 21 03.9 +36 52 0.503 0.902 64 6.6 Cyg
Apr 14 20 42.7 +36 48 0.510 0.954 70 6.8 Cyg
Apr 17 20 22.5 +36 31 0.519 1.006 75 7.1 Cyg
Apr 20 20 03.1 +36 02 0.528 1.058 81 7.4 Cyg
Apr 23 19 44.6 +35 23 0.539 1.110 86 7.6 Cyg
Apr 26 19 26.8 +34 34 0.551 1.161 92 7.9 Cyg
Apr 29 19 09.8 +33 37 0.564 1.213 97 8.1 Lyr
May 2 18 53.5 +32 32 0.579 1.263 102 8.3 Lyr
---------------------------------------------------------------
==================================================================
AstroAlert is a free service of SKY & TELESCOPE, the Essential
Magazine of Astronomy (http://SkyandTelescope.com/)
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 726 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Feb 7, 2002 (23:06) * 13 lines
Hubble Space Telescope Observations Reveal
Coolest and Oldest White Dwarf Stars in the Galaxy
Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have detected
five optical companion stars orbiting millisecond pulsars. Only two other such systems are known. Three
of the companions are among the coolest and oldest white dwarf stars known. Interpretation of the
properties of these systems has provided insight into the final fate of stars in binary systems and may
eventually set limits on the age of the Milky Way galaxy. Drs. Scott C. Lundgren and Roger S. Foster of
NRL in Washington, D.C., and Dr. Fernando Camilo of the University of Manchester at Jodrell Bank,
England, reported these findings at the 187th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society on January
15, 1996.
much more... http://www.pao.nrl.navy.mil/rel-96/2-96r.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 727 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Feb 7, 2002 (23:15) * 5 lines
The Chandler Wobble
The century old mystery of Earth's "Chandler wobble" has been solved by a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The Chandler wobble, named for its 1891 discoverer, Seth Carlo Chandler, Jr., an American businessman turned astronomer, is one of several wobbling motions exhibited by the Earth as it rotates on its axis, much as a top wobbles as it spins.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0007/18earthwobble/
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 728 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Feb 15, 2002 (15:55) * 30 lines
This should be stunning to watch in the sky considering ho brilliant each is by itself:
p Science and Health News
Hubble Space Telescope Set to Get New Prescription
Reuters
Feb 15 2002 4:45PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Hubble Space Telescope, which has
produced breathtaking images from the distant reaches of the universe
since its early "vision" problems were corrected in 1993, is getting an
even stronger pair of glasses, scientists said on Friday.
Later this month, the space shuttle Columbia will carry astronauts to
upgrade the orbiting telescope, NASA said in a series of briefings.
One main piece of equipment will be the Advanced Camera for Surveys,
which scientists say will have 10 times the power of the camera it will
replace.
"If you had two fireflies six feet apart in Tokyo, Hubble's vision with ACS
will be so fine that it will be able to tell from Washington, D.C., that they
were two different fireflies instead of one," Holland Ford, an astronomer at
Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore who led the team that built the
camera, said in a statement.
The phone booth-sized camera might even be able to see planets in
other solar systems, Ford said. Right now astronomers can only guess at
their presence based on indirect evidence, such as their gravitational pull
on other bodies.
The new camera, to be installed by spacewalking astronauts, will replace
the Faint Object Camera, the last of the instruments originally launched
on Hubble in 1990.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 729 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Fri, Feb 15, 2002 (18:14) * 1 lines
oooh, and finally solve the question: is there a flag on the moon!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 730 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Feb 15, 2002 (19:21) * 4 lines
"Planetary Camera" is full of possibilities. If it's focal length is for the solar system, why bother? We sent voyager and a whole lot of others up to look at them. I guess advanced technology would tell us much more than we could gain from the early probes. If this is so, we might well see that elusive flag. Could it be for other planets? Those around other star systems?
I'll be intersted in either case.
Does anyone still believe we did not go to the moon? You are going to tell me I had dinner with the astronauts and guarded a moon rock (and studied it Very carefully) - and they were all just pretending? I am doubly convinced of the opposite.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 731 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Sat, Feb 16, 2002 (21:55) * 1 lines
oh marcia, i'm just trying to prove that we did (remember the discovery show i watched where there were questions about it?)
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 732 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Feb 17, 2002 (17:28) * 5 lines
That was such a arudience-grabbing show, that Discovery lost me. I have endured "Whomever looks for Atlantis and doesnot find it"
"Whomever looks for the Loch Ness monster and does not find it"
"Whomever looks for the Lost Ark of the Covenant and does not find it"
Add Bermuda Triagle, Yeti and alien life to the list plus crop circles. The Universe is fascinating enough with REAL science. I prefer to concentrate on that. Those who want to be deceived will continue to disbelieve any proof we offer - as in "NASA faked the photos from Hubble" *sigh*
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 733 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos (tsatsvol) * Mon, Feb 18, 2002 (10:14) * 5 lines
“Those who want to be deceived will continue to disbelieve any proof we offer”. This is big true Marcia. I will repeat what I wrote in someone else topic recently. We believe easily on what we hope. This is by our nature.
Any research needs time and deep analysis, as much as it is possible. Solutions maybe were in front of our eyes and we cannot found them for years. We live in the epoch when all things are too fast. Under the cataclysm of information, the imagination rides fast in the shadow of science. Unfortunately, law cannot follow the jumps of technology and knowledge. This is big problem and big danger for the oncoming generations. I cannot see any solution. Perhaps they are oncoming changes, which we cannot imagine.
John
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 734 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Feb 18, 2002 (19:15) * 3 lines
(John):Perhaps there are oncoming changes, which we cannot imagine.
I fear you are right about this. Something has to happen or we the civilization we have nurtured for thousands of years will have to be regained the hard way. I do not want to he around when these cataclysms happen. Has anyone read H G Wells' "Time Machine" ??
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 735 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Mon, Feb 18, 2002 (19:21) * 1 lines
indeed, larger changes than anyone can imagine (i've not read it, marcia, but i'll put it on my list)
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 736 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Feb 19, 2002 (18:32) * 5 lines
* Newly Spotted Comet Will Soon Grace Night Skies
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/anew_comet_020219.html
A newly discovered comet, now approaching the Sun and Earth, could develop into a relatively bright naked-eye object in coming weeks, researchers say. The best views of the comet may be reserved for those under dark skies far from bright lights, but even city dwellers should be able to spot it.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 737 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Feb 19, 2002 (18:34) * 1 lines
Wolfie, go see the movie. The Rod Sterling old one was scary enough. I'll not tell you the ending. If you do like H.G. Wells, by all means, read it. It's a classic. A new version is at your movie theaters soon!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 738 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Feb 22, 2002 (17:24) * 65 lines
SCIENTISTS TRACK "RECENT" FLOOD ON MARS
For decades, the "Top 10" list of Martian features has included famous
places like the towering Olympus Mons volcano and the vast Valles
Marineris canyon system. But if recent spacecraft observations are borne
out, a winding channel named Athabasca Vallis should be added right away.
Detailed images from Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) show that Athabasca may be
where a torrent of floodwater raced across the red planet's surface in the
recent geologic past -- perhaps within the last 10 million years....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_502_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CROWDS FLOCK TO BRITISH ASTRO-GATHERING
February is eagerly awaited by British and western European astronomers,
since it brings the AstroFest convention to London's social calendar. For
many years the capital's borough of Kensington has hosted AstroFest at the
well-equipped and spacious Town Hall venue. This year's event followed the
familiar two-day theme -- Friday and Saturday, February 8-9 -- bringing a
broad mix of telescope manufacturers and suppliers, lecturers, and
exhibitors to an eager public.
Keen to emphasize astronomy and space science as a fun hobby for all,
major groups like the British Astronomical Association and the Society for
Popular Astronomy had a prominent show presence....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_483_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASTRO NEWS BRIEFS
Sun Spews Massive Bubble Into Space
Our star unleashed a titanic coronal mass ejection, or CME, on February
18th. Containing billions of tons of matter, the superheated blast was
captured by an extreme-ultraviolet camera aboard the orbiting Solar and
Heliospheric Observatory. Fortunately, the outburst was directed away from
Earth.
NASA to Webcast Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission
When the Space Shuttle Columbia launches on February 28th to make a
service call on the Hubble Space Telescope, people around the world will
be able to keep close tabs on the mission's progress thanks to NASA and
the Exploratorium in San Francisco. What's more, astronaut John Grunsfeld
will be keeping an in-flight journal throughout the mission. Visit
SkyandTelescope.com to read his daily dispatches.
Mars Odyssey Begins Mapping Mission
Mars Odyssey has completed its aerobraking maneuvers and has positioned
itself to map the red planet's near-surface water and chemistry. The
craft's instruments will undergo diagnostic tests over the next week.
During the check-up, scientists will also begin to look at the
problem-plagued Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE). MARIE was
to measure how dangerous the interplanetary space between Earth and Mars
is, in the hopes of better understanding the radiation hazards future
crews would endure. However, the instrument failed in August 2001 and was
subsequently shut off. The first set of science images from the mapping
orbit will be released on March 1st.
Global Warming Can Slow Earth's Rotation
What would happen to Earth's angular momentum, if the carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere were to increase by one percent every year until the
concentration is double its present-day value? Scientists led by Olivier
de Viron (Royal Observatory of Belgium) think they have the answer. The
added atmospheric carbon dioxide would slow Earth's rotation by 11
microseconds per decade, resulting in a 0.11 second longer day over the
course of a century. The research appears in Geophysical Research Letters.
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_497_1.asp
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 739 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Feb 28, 2002 (17:08) * 69 lines
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY WATCH
ISSUED: 22:00 UTC, 28 FEBRUARY 2001
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
VALID BEGINNING AT: EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
VALID UNTIL: 19:00 UTC (2 pm EDT) ON 01 MARCH
HIGH RISK PERIOD: 28 FEB - 01 MAR (UTC DAYS)
MODERATE RISK PERIOD: 28 FEB - 01 MAR
PREDICTED ACTIVITY INDICES: 24, 13, 10, 10 (28 FEB - 03 MAR)
POTENTIAL MAGNITUDE OF MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY: MODERATE
POTENTIAL DURATION OF THIS ACTIVITY: MAIN BELT = 06 TO 12 HOURS
MINOR BELT = 12 TO 24 HOURS
ESTIMATED OPTIMUM OBSERVING CONDITIONS: NEAR LOCAL MIDNIGHT
EXPECTED LUNAR INTERFERENCE: HIGH
OVERALL OPPORTUNITY FOR OBSERVATIONS FROM MIDDLE LATITUDES: FAIR TO POOR
AURORAL ACTIVITY *MAY* BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...
NORTHERN WASHINGTON STATE TO MONTANA TO NORTHERN SOUTH DAKOTA TO CENTRAL
MINNESOTA TO CENTRAL WISCONSIN TO MICHIGAN TO DARK SKY SITES OF NEW YORK
STATE, VERMONT, NEW HAMPSHIRE AND SOUTHERN MAINE.
ACTIVITY *MAY* ALSO BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...
NORTHERN UNITED KINGDOM TO EXTREME NORTHERN NETHERLANDS TO EXTREME
NORTHERN GERMANY TO EXTREME NORTHERN POLAND TO NORTHERN LITHUANIA TO
LATVIA TO NORTHERN RUSSIA. SOUTHERN REGIONS OF NEW ZEALAND MAY ALSO SPOT
PERIODS OF ACTIVITY.
SYNOPSIS...
A sustained southward turning of the IMF has been observed over the last
several hours. High latitude European regions have already observed a few
periods of substantial substorm activity. Additional substorming (perhaps not
particularly frequent, but potentially strong) is expected to continue at
least over the next several hours. Middle latitudes may be able to spot
periods of activity despite the near-full phase of the moon.
This watch will remain in effect until 19:00 UTC (2 pm EST) on 01
March. It will then be updated or allowed to expire. For updated
information, visit: http://www.spacew.com/aurora/forum.html
PLEASE REPORT OBSERVATIONS OF AURORAL ACTIVITY TO:
http://solar.spacew.com/www/auroras.html
* OR *
Version 3.0 of the popular STD AURORA MONITOR Software
to monitor conditions, report sightings, etc., is now available at:
http://www.spacew.com/aurora
(We now support secure on-line ordering of this software)
For Real-Time News and Discussions with Experienced Aurora Enthusiasts:
http://www.spacew.com/irc
and join the #aurora channel (type /join #aurora)
** End of Watch **
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 740 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Feb 28, 2002 (17:20) * 10 lines
SFI:204 | A:15 up from 13 | K:4 up from 3 at 0000 on 1 March.
SAF: low to moderate, GMF: unsettled to active
Stratwarm Alert exists Thursday..
Aurora Level: 9
Solar Wind: 400.9 km/s at 11.0 protons/cm3
Support: http://hfradio.org/notice.html
More Info http://hfradio.org/propagation.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 741 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 1, 2002 (17:57) * 19 lines
My 14th comet is currently visible in binoculars:
NEW" COMET HAS AN INTERESTING PAST AND A BRIGHT FUTURE
Comet Ikeya-Zhang, discovered on February 1st by Kaoru Ikeya and Daqing
Zhang, turns out to be the return of a comet first seen in 1661. It's
currently a 5th magnitude object in Pisces but is difficult to see low in
the west after sunset. Skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere will likely
get their best views of the comet in late April as it moves through
Cassiopeia and brightens, possibly to 3rd magnitude. More details, plus a
chart showing the path of Comet Ikeya-Zhang, are available on our Web site
at:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/comets/article_477_1.asp
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 742 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 1, 2002 (18:05) * 5 lines
For a really GREAT chart:
http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/images/02C1/c2002c1chart.jpg
The entire comet website of note http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 743 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 1, 2002 (18:18) * 77 lines
NASA Detects Problem With Shuttle
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - The space shuttle Columbia blasted into
orbit Friday on a flight to overhaul the Hubble Space Telescope, but a
cooling system problem raised concerns the mission might have to be
cut short.
NASA stressed that engineers were looking into the problem in hopes of
finding ways around it and keeping the 11-day mission on track. The
seven astronauts stuck to their schedule and slept as mission managers
met to discuss the matter.
The shuttle and its repair team should catch up to the telescope on
Sunday. Five grueling days of spacewalking will follow to replace faltering
parts and install the camera that should boost Hubble's discovery
capability by tenfold.
With Hubble soaring nearly overhead at an altitude of more than 350
miles, Columbia lifted off amid the high security that has become typical
since Sept. 11.
It was a balmy 60 degrees, considerably warmer than the previous
morning when near-freezing temperatures forced a one-day delay.
``Hubble's up there ready for us and we're ready to go to work,''
commander Scott Altman called out.
Shortly after Columbia's arrival in orbit, a reduced flow of Freon was
detected in the radiators on the payload bay's left door.
A team of engineers immediately was formed to look into the problem.
For now, the situation was considered acceptable: The radiators were
dispelling heat from shuttle systems, despite an apparent blockage in the
coolant loop by debris.
Mission managers met Friday evening to go over the problem. If the
problem is considered serious enough, they could cut the mission short.
``We're all hoping that we can rendezvous with the Hubble and fix it,''
Mission Control assured the astronauts.
Columbia ducked in and out of clouds on its way to space but was still
visible for as long as seven minutes after liftoff, leaving a contrail tinted
pink, peach and white by the rising sun.
It was Columbia's debut following a 2 1/2-year overhaul even more
extensive than the one awaiting Hubble. NASA's oldest shuttle was
stripped apart, checked for damaged wiring and modernized following its
last launch, which was marred by a frightening short-circuit.
Astronauts have conducted five spacewalks on previous Hubble repair
missions, including the first one in 1993 to correct the telescope's blurred
vision. But each of next week's spacewalks is packed with even more
work and every bit of it is critical, making this the most complicated
service mission yet.
The four designated spacewalkers will replace Hubble's damaged solar
wings and original power-control unit, which is faulty and in danger of
becoming worse. The telescope will need to be powered completely off -
for the first time ever in orbit - for the power-unit swap.
Scientists are nervous, even scared: The telescope could be rendered
useless if major systems failed to come back on.
``I'm more concerned about this mission than I was about 1993,'' said Ed
Weiler, NASA's space science chief. ``As a car gets older and older, it
gets tougher and tougher and each time we've asked the astronauts to do
tougher and tougher things for which the telescope was not designed.''
The spacewalkers also will put in a spare steering mechanism to replace
one that malfunctioned in November, hook up a refrigeration system for a
disabled infrared camera and install the camera capable of widening and
refining Hubble's view of the universe.
On the Net:
NASA: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 744 of 1087: Lucie (alyeska) * Fri, Mar 1, 2002 (18:21) * 1 lines
I watched it go. It was beautiful, they reflection on the lake and the way it lit up the sky.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 745 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 1, 2002 (20:07) * 1 lines
Lucie, how wonderful! I was going to ask you if you had managed to see the launch. I guess you even heard it, perhaps. I cannot imagine it growing old. Each time my heart goes with them.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 746 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 1, 2002 (21:06) * 3 lines
WATCH NASA TV for 24/7 coverage of the space mission on your computer
http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/countdown/video/video45m.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 747 of 1087: Lucie (alyeska) * Fri, Mar 1, 2002 (22:05) * 1 lines
It sounds tonight like they might have to return to fix a problem.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 748 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 1, 2002 (23:09) * 1 lines
Apparently not. I was watching NASA TV and news on the television and they are deciding to stay up there. We'll see what the overnight engineers can do.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 749 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar 2, 2002 (19:12) * 64 lines
NASA: Shuttle Columbia Can Finish Mission
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - The space shuttle Columbia can
complete its 11-day mission to the Hubble Space Telescope despite a
faulty coolant line that had threatened an early end to the flight, NASA said
on Saturday.
A top-level review by ground controllers and mission planners found the
problem was stable and there was no reason to believe the orbiter's flight
systems might overheat during re-entry into Earth's atmosphere,
something that could have devastating consequences for the seven
astronauts aboard.
"The team decided we could press on with the nominal mission and not
make any changes," said Ron Dittemore, the shuttle program manager.
The astronauts were all asleep when the announcement came from
Mission Control in Houston, but they will get the good news when they
wake up on Saturday evening.
Columbia's mission to the Hubble telescope involves extensive
modifications and repairs that should improve its performance tenfold.
Within minutes of liftoff on Friday, NASA discovered a low flow rate in a
Freon coolant loop that prevents heat from building up in the orbiter's
electronics systems, especially during re-entry when temperatures are at
their peak.
NASA revealed on Saturday that the flow of Freon through the loop actually
was below the safety margin prescribed by flight rules, but mission
managers thought they could bypass the problem by turning off some
heat-generating electronics during re-entry.
DEBRIS LIKELY TO BLAME
Engineers did not believe there was a leak in the line.
Instead, the most likely culprit was debris that could be clogging a filter.
That debris may have been introduced during a 2 1/2-year, $164 million
overhaul Columbia has undergone since it last flew in 1999.
NASA would not speculate what the debris might actually be.
Astronaut Scott Altman, the mission commander, told reporters during a
round of Earth-to-orbit interviews that the crew did not really understand
the seriousness of the problem when it was first discovered.
"It got our attention at first, although I thought it might just be a minor
problem. It wasn't apparent right at first just what the impact would be,"
Altman said.
"We're just hopeful we can square everything away and perform what we
came here to space to do."
Columbia is scheduled to rendezvous with the four-story Hubble
telescope early on Sunday and astronaut Nancy Currie will use the
shuttle's robotic arm to snatch the observatory from its own orbit and
secure it to a platform in the shuttle's payload bay.
What follows is five very demanding, very long spacewalks on five
consecutive days as two teams of astronauts will add new solar-power
arrays, install a new phone-booth sized imaging camera, repair an
existing camera and install a new power control unit with dozens of power
couplings to feed all the
satellite's systems.
That last task is the real nail-biter because it requires NASA to cut power
to the satellite for the first time since it was launched in 1990, and the
astronauts will have to remove an old power unit that was not designed to
be worked on by astronauts.
If any part of that operation goes foul, there is a good chance the Hubble
would have to be abandoned in space, only to eventually fall to Earth and
burn in the atmosphere.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 750 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar 2, 2002 (19:15) * 3 lines
Watching NASA TV - listening to their discussions and comments - choose Channel 2
http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/countdown/video/video45m.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 751 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar 2, 2002 (23:23) * 78 lines
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY WATCH
ISSUED: 02:35 UTC, 03 MARCH 2002
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
VALID BEGINNING AT: 00:00 UTC 04 MARCH
VALID UNTIL: 19:00 UTC (2 pm EDT) ON 07 MARCH
HIGH RISK PERIOD: 04 MAR - 06 MAR (UTC DAYS)
MODERATE RISK PERIOD: 04 MAR - 07 MAR
PREDICTED ACTIVITY INDICES: 10, 20, 20, 15 (03 MAR - 06 MAR)
POTENTIAL MAGNITUDE OF MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY: LOW TO MODERATE
POTENTIAL DURATION OF THIS ACTIVITY: MAIN BELT = 24 HOURS
MINOR BELT = 24 TO 72 HOURS
ESTIMATED OPTIMUM OBSERVING CONDITIONS: NEAR LOCAL MIDNIGHT
EXPECTED LUNAR INTERFERENCE: HIGH
OVERALL OPPORTUNITY FOR OBSERVATIONS FROM MIDDLE LATITUDES: FAIR TO POOR
AURORAL ACTIVITY *MAY* BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...
NORTHERN WASHINGTON STATE TO MONTANA TO NORTHERN SOUTH DAKOTA TO CENTRAL
MINNESOTA TO CENTRAL WISCONSIN TO MICHIGAN TO DARK SKY SITES OF NEW YORK
STATE, VERMONT, NEW HAMPSHIRE AND SOUTHERN MAINE.
ACTIVITY *MAY* ALSO BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...
NORTHERN UNITED KINGDOM TO EXTREME NORTHERN NETHERLANDS TO EXTREME
NORTHERN GERMANY TO EXTREME NORTHERN POLAND TO NORTHERN LITHUANIA TO
LATVIA TO NORTHERN RUSSIA. SOUTHERN REGIONS OF NEW ZEALAND MAY ALSO SPOT
PERIODS OF ACTIVITY.
SYNOPSIS...
A recurrent high velocity solar wind stream is expected to begin
impinging on the Earth's magnetosphere over the next 48 hours. During the
last solar rotation, periods of activity were strong enough to be observed
rather dramatically over the high latitude European regions. A corotating
shock structure is predicted to have formed ahead of the high velocity solar
wind stream. If this holds true, activity may intensify rather abruptly
following the arrival of the shock front. Although no significant auroral
storming is anticipated, activity has the potential to become sporadically
enhanced sufficiently to produce periods of visible activity over dark-sky
middle latitude regions. Middle latitude observers are therefore encouraged
to keep a watchful eye on conditions during the next 3 to 4 days. The most
intense phase of activity is expected to occur either on 04 or 05 March.
During this time, even the near-full phase of the waning moon may not be
sufficient to drown out all visible activity from some dark-sky middle
latitude regions.
This watch will remain in effect until 19:00 UTC (2 pm EST) on 07
March. It will then be updated or allowed to expire. For updated
information, visit: http://www.spacew.com/aurora/forum.html
PLEASE REPORT OBSERVATIONS OF AURORAL ACTIVITY TO:
http://solar.spacew.com/www/auroras.html
* OR *
Version 3.0 of the popular STD AURORA MONITOR Software
to monitor conditions, report sightings, etc., is now available at:
http://www.spacew.com/aurora
(We now support secure on-line ordering of this software)
For Real-Time News and Discussions with Experienced Aurora Enthusiasts:
http://www.spacew.com/irc
and join the #aurora channel (type /join #aurora)
** End of Watch **
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 752 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Mar 5, 2002 (22:25) * 76 lines
==================================================================
This Is SKY & TELESCOPE's AstroAlert for Novae
==================================================================
Issued March 5, 2002 as part of AAVSO Alert Notice 294:
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF VARIABLE STAR OBSERVERS
25 Birch Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
INTERNET: aavso@aavso.org
Tel. 617-354-0484 Fax 617-354-0665
AAVSO ALERT NOTICE 294 (March 5, 2002)
0538-71 NOVA IN THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD 2002
We have been informed by the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (IAU
Circular 7841) that W. Liller, Vina del Mar, Chile, photographically
discovered an apparent nova in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) at
magnitude 10.5 on two images taken on March 3.1 UT, using a 0.2-m Schmidt
camera, Tech Pan film, and no filter.
Using the CCD at the Schmidt's Newtonian focus on March 4.066 UT, Liller
measured the following position for the object:
R.A. = 05h 36m 46.64s Decl. = -71o 35' 34.4" (2000)
Spectra obtained by Liller using a low-dispersion objective-prism CCD
spectrogram on March 4.09 UT showed the object to have H-alpha emission.
H-beta emission was also present.
Liller's photographic magnitudes (IAU Circular 7841) include: February
21.063 UT, <15.0; 27.064, 12.5: (through clouds and a full moon); March
3.066 UT, 10.5; and CCD(V) magnitude 10.98 on March 4.066.
Additional observations reported to the AAVSO include: March 4.9199 UT,
10.8 CCD, L. Monard, Pretoria, South Africa; 5.5380, 11.1, A. Pearce,
Nedlands, Australia.
A CCD image of the field containing the nova taken by P. Nelson on March
3.4792 UT can be seen on the AAVSO web site (http://www.aavso.org).
Accompanying is an AAVSO "d" scale chart of N LMC 02 prepared by M.
Simonsen. Please use this chart to observe the nova, and report your
observations of 0538-71 N LMC 02 to AAVSO Headquarters, making sure to
indicate which comparison stars you used. Please note that a "d" reversed
chart is also available from the AAVSO web site or on request.
Also note that the LMC is a crowded field and can be difficult to observe.
The AAVSO chart is a provisional one and may be updated as we receive
feedback from observers. If you have trouble with the chart, please e-mail
us at charts@aavso.org with your comments.
Congratulations to Bill on his latest discovery!
CHARTS AVAILABLE ON AAVSO WEB AND FTP SITES
Electronic copies of the N LMC 02 charts mentioned in this Alert Notice
are available through our web site at the following address:
http://www.aavso.org
The charts may also be obtained directly from our FTP site:
ftp.aavso.org/alerts/alert294
We encourage observers to submit observations via our web site (online
data submission tool WebObs), or by email in AAVSO format to
observations@aavso.org. If you do not have AAVSO Observer Initials,
please contact Headquarters so we may assign them to you. The answering
machine at AAVSO Headquarters is on nights and weekends; use our
charge-free number (888-802-STAR = 888-802-7827) to report your
observations, or report them via fax (617-354-0665).
Many thanks for your valuable astronomical contributions and your efforts.
Good observing!
Janet A. Mattei
Director
Kerriann H. Malatesta
Technical Assistant
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 753 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Wed, Mar 6, 2002 (16:53) * 3 lines
marcia, i found this article today:
Click Here
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 754 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Wed, Mar 6, 2002 (16:54) * 3 lines
didn't work so here's the whole thing again:
second try
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 755 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Wed, Mar 6, 2002 (16:55) * 1 lines
oh heck, i'm just gonna paste it hang on!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 756 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Wed, Mar 6, 2002 (16:56) * 28 lines
from Reuters today:
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - A retired Canadian farmer has accidentally discovered the second largest meteorite ever found in Canada, researchers said on Tuesday.
"I feel good that I found it," said Tom Wood, the Manitoba man who stumbled across what he first thought was just a big rock back in September 1997 while operating a road grader.
"I don't know why I stopped, but the stone was there so I stopped. And when I picked it up it seemed to be a different kind of stone. It seemed to be awfully heavy for the size of it," said Wood.
That 18-pound souvenir became a astronomical coup after Wood brought his booty into a rock identification clinic at a nearby rural store last summer.
"I don't know anything about them except I found one. It was more a fluke that it turned out to be one. It was just a stone in the garage. Then it was a meteorite," said Wood.
Canadian researchers believe the meteorite, found about 65 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of Manitoba's capital, Winnipeg, likely crashed to earth about 10,000 years ago.
Researchers said the meteorite was well weathered, with most of its fusion crust worn off, revealing an interior that showed cracks from the shattering of its parent asteroid.
Scientists, who look to meteorites to discover more about the origins of our solar system, say there is another piece of this meteorite embedded in the ground, but the recovery of the remainder is in doubt as Wood cannot remember exactly where he found it.
The discovery was made as part of the Prairie Meteorite Search Project, a campaign that encourages western Canadian farmers to have suspect rocks identified.
"This shows that this technique of asking farmers and others to bring rocks in they suspect to be meteorites, will produce meteorites," said Dr. Alan Hildebrand, one of the project leaders who is based at the University of Calgary.
"I'm sure people in Manitoba have lots more sitting on their window sills," said Hildebrand.
There have been 61 meteorites discovered in Canada. This is the first found with a road grader.
"Frankly I think most people would have just chucked it off the road, rather than stopping to think, well gee, this seems unusual. To me that's pretty remarkable," said Hildebrand.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 757 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar 6, 2002 (18:17) * 1 lines
Oooh!!! I've always dreamed of finding a bit of meteorite. One night I was absolutely certain one had landed on the roof above the bedroom. In the morning I dashed outside and found a dead branch had been eliminated by my big tree. How disappointing! Thanks for the article. How lovely for him. $1000.00 US per pound makes that a real treasure.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 758 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar 6, 2002 (18:18) * 1 lines
Of course, if that had been mine, my mother would have thrown it out and that would be that. *Sigh*
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 759 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Mar 7, 2002 (14:14) * 75 lines
The New Hubble telescope is installed. It will take us further back in time to earlier eims in the creation of the Univserse, not closer views of the planets and moons in our Galaxy
Shuttle Astronauts Add Powerful Camera to Hubble
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Astronauts from the space shuttle
Columbia added a new camera the size of a phone booth to the Hubble
Space Telescope's array of scientific instruments on Thursday, potentially
extending the telescope's
optical reach to the ends of the universe.
Since it takes billions of years for light from distant galaxies to reach
Hubble, the telescope photographs faraway sights as they existed eons
ago.
Garth Illingworth, a Hubble astronomer from California State University at
Santa Cruz, said Hubble's new camera should take scientists back to
what he calls "the dark ages of the universe," the first billion years or so
after the Big Bang, when the first stars and galaxies were formed.
"Hubble, with its time-machine-like capabilities, will allow us to take
another step into these areas," Illingworth said.
On Wednesday, the most critical day of Columbia's 11-day mission,
spacewalking astronauts performed a complicated and risky operation
that NASA compared to a heart transplant, replacing its power control unit
to increase the satellite's electrical capacity.
On two earlier spacewalks, astronaut teams added two new solar-power
arrays, the wing-like structures on either side of Hubble, capable of
delivering 20 percent to 30 percent more power to the station.
Thursday's spacewalk by Jim Newman and Mike Massimino was the
payoff, adding the largest of several instruments that will take advantage
of Hubble's new electrical muscle.
From Columbia's flight deck, astronaut Rick Linnehan radioed his
congratulations.
"You guys have paved the way for a lot of Ph.D.s in the years to come,"
Linnehan said.
Newman, making the sixth spacewalk of his career, secured himself to
the end of the shuttle's 50-foot robotic arm, where he was moved about by
astronaut Nancy Currie, operating the arm from inside the shuttle.
Newman carried the new camera to the telescope while riding the arm.
"Good to be back on the arm, Nance. It looks like a beautiful night for a
spacewalk," Newman said to Currie.
The spacewalk lasted about an hour longer than planned -- 7 and-a-half
-- but lead flight director Bryan Austin said that was no reason for concern.
"We didn't really have that much in the way of failures. We know we can
expect things to run a little ahead some days and a little behind some
days," Austin said.
A PRICELESS TOOL
The $75 million Advanced Camera for Surveys will give astronomers 10
times the optical power they now have using Hubble's Wide
Field-Planetary Camera, itself a priceless tool in helping cosmologists
rewrite their textbooks on the age, composition and destiny of the
universe.
To make room for the new camera, the astronauts removed the last
original science instrument remaining aboard Hubble, the Faint Object
Camera.
The Hubble was carried aloft in 1990 and has been visited four times
now by shuttle crews making repairs and upgrades.
One more service mission is planned for 2004, and there are tentative
plans to return Hubble to Earth aboard a shuttle in 2010, NASA said.
Scientists also hope for some insight into the mysterious nature of dark
energy, which seems to be accelerating the expansion of the universe,
long assumed to be slowing down.
Hubble has been secured to Columbia's cargo bay since Sunday. Once
the last of five ambitious spacewalks planned for this mission is
complete, Hubble will be released back into its own orbit, more than 350
miles above Earth.
Hubble managers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland
expect to complete their tests of all the new equipment in about three
weeks, with the first images ready for release in April or May.
Columbia, skippered by veteran astronaut Scott Altman and carrying a
crew of seven, is to land at the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 760 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 8, 2002 (20:13) * 99 lines
This topic really needs John's help. he has all sorts of splendid ideas for making sky watching more fun and more easily accomplished. Stay tuned - probably a new topic (I hope!) Until then:
HUBBLE UPGRADE COMPLETE
Astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia have successfully completed
all their planned repairs and upgrades to the Hubble Space Telescope. The
orbiting observatory now has more electrical power -- and more discovery
power -- than at any time since its launch 12 years ago.
For astronomers, the climax of this fourth Hubble house call was the
installation on Thursday of the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), a
state-of-the-art imager with a wider field of view and higher sensitivity
than any of the telescope's earlier instruments....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_525_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MARS ODYSSEY PAYS EARLY DIVIDENDS
After a six-month flight from Earth and three months of tricky aerobraking
to settle into a low orbit, NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft has begun
bringing the agency some much-needed Martian success. On March 1st project
scientists proudly showed off images and other data acquired by the craft
since kicking off its 2½-year science mission two weeks ago.
One picture, taken through filters at nine infrared wavelengths,
inaugurated the assaying of Martian surface minerals by the Thermal
Emission Imaging System. THEMIS will map the entire planet at 100-meter
resolution, 30 times more sharply than ever before, with a particular
emphasis on minerals that can form only in the presence of water. Other
infrared pictures shown on Friday, taken both in daylight and in the dark
of night, sharply distinguish rocky from sandy terrain....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_518_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASTRO NEWS BRIEFS
A Universe of a Different Color
The "color of the universe," widely reported in January to be
turquoise-green, is actually a pale cream-yellow very close to pure white.
"We found a bug in our code!" say Karl Glazebrook and Ivan Baldry, who
averaged the light of 200,000 galaxies. Their original announcement was
roundly criticized by color scientists and astronomers for arriving at the
hue too arbitrarily and then greatly exaggerating its saturation
(intensity). The new color still depends on some judgment calls.
Stellar Sunscreen
Astronomers have wondered for years about what causes the dramatic dimming
seen in the red giants called Mira variable stars. How might these stars
hide up to 99.9 percent of their brightness? As was first reported in the
November 2001 issue of Sky & Telescope, Mark Reid and Joshua Goldston
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) think they have found the
answer. While it was clear that the pulsing stars are darkest when they
are largest because they cool as they expand, Reid and Goldston found that
while they cool, the stars produce many metallic oxides. Included in this
is titanium oxide (TiO), a common ingredient in sunscreen. TiO is quite
opaque to visible sunlight and therefore is responsible for the dramatic
dimming and expansion we see in Mira variables.
Reigniting FUSE
NASA's Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite is back
from the dead. The highly productive observatory lost critical guidance
components in December, but it has now been returned to full operations by
an engineering team on the ground. The team developed an innovative
guidance technique to aim the observatory accurately at stars using the
push and pull of the Earth's magnetic field on electromagnets inside the
craft. Now FUSE can return to its scientific program: measuring the
composition and physical properties of materials as diverse as the Martian
atmosphere and intergalactic gas clouds.
Spanish Amateur Finds Earth-Crossing Asteroid
Late on the evening of March 2nd, Rafael Ferrando, an accomplished amateur
astronomer in Castellon, Spain, discovered an Earth-crossing asteroid
using a 10-inch telescope equipped with a CCD camera. At the time the
18th-magnitude blip (roughly 130 meters across) was sailing across eastern
Leo. A preliminary orbit suggests that the asteroid, designated 2002 EA,
will come within 8.5 million kilometers of Earth on March 15th. According
to Mark Kidger (Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias), this is the first
near-Earth object ever discovered by a Spanish observer.
Pioneer 10 Lives On
Last Friday engineers at NASA's Ames Research Center placed a call to
Pioneer 10, currently 11.9 billion kilometers (80 astronomical units) from
Earth, hoping to hear from the far-flung craft for the first time in seven
months. After a round-trip light time of 22.1 hours, the radio response
came in "loud and clear" on March 2nd -- 30 years to the day after the
spacecraft was launched toward Jupiter. The three-hour communication
session included data from Pioneer's last operating instrument, the
Geiger-tube telescope built by space "pioneer" James A. Van Allen.
Lawrence Lasher, the project manager, doesn't know when the next contact
will be attempted. The long round-trip requirement makes scheduling very
difficult, Lasher explains. "We can only hope for more time in the future."
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_522_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S SKY
* Saturn shines nearly midway between Jupiter and Mars.
* New Moon on March 13-14.
* Jupiter remains the brightest object in the sky.
* Venus is very low above the west horizon shortly after sunset.
For details, see This Week's Sky at a Glance and Planet Roundup:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance/
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 761 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 8, 2002 (20:15) * 31 lines
COMET IKEYA-ZHANG CONTINUES TO BRIGHTEN
Comet Ikeya-Zhang is now a naked-eye object visible low in the west as
twilight fades for Northern Hemisphere observers. More information about
the comet, including a graphic illustrating the comet's location after
sunset and a chart showing the path of Comet Ikeya-Zhang, is available on
our Web site at:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/comets/article_477_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE GREAT SPRING PLANET LINEUP OF 2002 HAS BEGUN
Three planets form a great diagonal line high in the southwest to west at
dusk in March -- and now a fourth is rising to join them. Look for Jupiter
near the zenith as you face southwest, Saturn (with dimmer Aldebaran) far
to its lower right, and Mars far to the lower right of Saturn. Venus is
now emerging from the twilight low above the western horizon to join them,
and beginning on the 15th the Moon will sweep past all four planets in 6
days. For more tips on what you can see in the heavens, see This Week's
Sky at a Glance & Planet Roundup:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LONG-PERIOD VARIABLE AT ITS PEAK
Chi Cygni, a long-period variable star, should be at maximum brightness
this week. Normally Chi Cygni peaks around 5th magnitude, but reports
indicate that it may peak at 3rd magnitude. There's still time to catch
this variable before it starts to fade. Chi Cygni is in the long part of
the Northern Cross (in Cygnus, the Swan), rising in the northeast several
hours before dawn. Further information, plus a finder chart to help you
locate the star, can be found here:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/variablestars/
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 762 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Sun, Mar 10, 2002 (12:24) * 1 lines
ok, i'm having trouble determining which star is sirrius (dog star)--i've located orion's belt but the adjacent stars are all pretty bright to me....which direction should i look?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 763 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Mar 10, 2002 (15:22) * 3 lines
Orion usually rises as a retangle with one point downward. As Orion rises higher, look below and to the south of him and a brilliant scintillating white star will immediately capture your eyes. It is the only star that flashes all colors of the spectrum. It is indeed the "diamond in the sky." This is Sirius.
Just below and to the side of Sirius is his companion, Canopus which is the second brightest star in the night sky. Sirius is by far the brightest. Together with their constellations, they comprise Orion's hunting dogs, Canus Major and Canus Minor.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 764 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Mar 10, 2002 (15:22) * 1 lines
JOHN!!! We really need your sky charts!!!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 765 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Mon, Mar 11, 2002 (16:59) * 1 lines
yes we do!!! (thanks marcia! and now i know why they're called dog stars)
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 766 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Mar 11, 2002 (19:14) * 1 lines
..and now you know why they called them the Dog Days - in honor of the first sighting of the rising of Sirius. It was usually in the hottest days of summer.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 767 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Mar 11, 2002 (19:44) * 13 lines
Shuttle landing tomorrow - sighting possibilities
Weather permitting, southern US observers will have a nice chance to watch the
trail produced by the Shuttle reentry tonight. First landing opportunity is at
03:32 CST (09:32 UTC) with deorbit burn at 02:22 and second opportunity is for
landing at 05:13 CST with the burn at 04:05. Columbia will cross Central Texas
on the first attempt and will pass over the southern tip of the state on the
second.
For maps of the reentry tracks, see
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/groundtracs/
It will be worth waking up very early.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 768 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Mon, Mar 11, 2002 (20:52) * 1 lines
nope, don't think i'm gonna try for this one (won't see it here anyway) and to think that the time it crossed over my louisiana sky, the film got torn up in the camera---it was one of the neatest things i've ever seen!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 769 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Mar 11, 2002 (22:17) * 1 lines
I think it will be too far around the horizon from the sun to be illuminated in Hawaiian skies - and VERY early indeed. I've seen it - and it definitely is worth getting up early to see it.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 770 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 15, 2002 (22:54) * 11 lines
Astronomers see the most distant galaxy yet
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/6/3/12
Astronomers have detected the most remote galaxy ever observed, 15.5
billion light years from Earth. Light from the galaxy provides a snapshot
of the universe when it was just 780 million years old. An international
team led by Esther Hu of the University of Hawaii used a cluster of
galaxies as a `gravitational lens' to amplify the weak signal from galaxy
MCM 6A. The discovery should provide valuable insights into the evolution
of galaxies in the early universe (E Hu et al 2002 Astrophys. J. Lett.
568 L75).
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 771 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Mar 21, 2002 (14:25) * 80 lines
A s t r o A l e r t
Sun-Earth Alert
Solar Terrestrial Dispatch
http://www.spacew.com
20 March 2002
AURORA WATCH FOR MIDDLE LATITUDES EXTENDED
OTHER NEWS OF POSSIBLE INTEREST:
NASA TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE BULLETIN AVAILABILITY
NEW SOFTWARE TOOL AVAILABLE FOR SOLAR & SPACE WEATHER FANATICS
AURORA WATCH FOR MIDDLE LATITUDES EXTENDED
Two additional coronal mass ejections are currently enroute toward the
Earth. The first, launched on 18 March, is expected to impact the Earth later
on 20 March (UTC time) and has the potential to produce additional periods of
minor auroral activity from some dark-sky middle latitude regions. The second
coronal mass ejection has a trajectory that is less directly toward the Earth
and is not expected to impact the Earth until sometime on 22 March (the mid
to late UTC hours of 22 March, probably). For these reasons, the Middle
Latitude Auroral Activity WATCH has been extended through 23 March
inclusive.
The sunspot complex that has produced all of this activity is in a state
of decay as it rotates closer to the western limb of the Sun. There is still
a slight chance this spot group may produce a major solar flare before it
rotates behind the western limb of the Sun in about 3 days.
NASA TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE BULLETIN AVAILABILITY
Fred Espenak (of NASA) recently made the following announcement, which we
feel is appropriate to quote as an announcement here.
"On Wednesday, 2002 December 04, a total eclipse of the Sun will be visible
from within a narrow corridor which traverses the Southern Hemisphere. The
path of the Moon's umbral shadow begins in the South Atlantic and crosses
southern Africa. After traversing the southern Indian Ocean, the path sweeps
through southern Australia where the eclipse ends at sunset. A partial
eclipse will be seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral
shadow, which includes most of Africa (excluding the north), parts of
Indonesia, Australia and eastern Antarctica.
A new NASA solar eclipse bulletin covering this event is now available.
"Total Solar Eclipse of 2002 December 04" (NASA TP 2001-209990) is a 77 page
publication containing detailed predictions and includes besselian elements,
geographic coordinates of the path of totality, physical ephemeris of the
umbra, topocentric limb profile corrections, local circumstances for about
400 cities, maps of the eclipse path, weather prospects, the lunar limb
profile and the sky during totality. Tips and suggestions are also given on
how to safely view and photograph the eclipse. NASA's eclipse bulletins are
prepared in cooperation with the IAU's Working Group on Eclipses and are
provided as a public service to both the professional and lay communities,
including educators and the media.
Single copies of the bulletin are available at no cost and may be ordered by
sending a 9 x 12 inch SASE (self addressed stamped envelope) with sufficient
postage (12 oz. or 340 g). Use stamps only; cash or checks cannot be
accepted. Requests within the U. S. may use the Postal Service's Priority
Mail for $3.95. Please print the eclipse date (year & month) in the lower
left corner of the SASE. Requests from outside the U. S. and Canada may send
ten international postal coupons to cover postage. Exceptions to the postage
requirements will be made for international requests where political or
economic restraints prevent the transfer of funds to other countries.
Professional researchers and scientists may order the bulletins directly (no
SASE is necessary).
An order form for this publication can be found on the web at:
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEpubs/RPrequest.html "
NEW SOFTWARE TOOL AVAILABLE FOR SOLAR AND SPACE WEATHER FANATICS
Although designed more specifically for the professional space weather
community, a new software package is now publically available that could
redefine the way amateurs watch for and receive notification of auroral
activity. It may be worth a visit: http://www.spacew.com/swim.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 772 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Mar 21, 2002 (18:23) * 84 lines
Asteroid Buzzes Earth, Highlighting Cosmic Blind Spot
By Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
An asteroid large enough to have flattened a city buzzed
Earth earlier this month and was not seen until after if flew
harmlessly by.
The space rock approached Earth in the glare of the Sun, a
blind spot that made it impossible to see during the day or
night from any terrestrial vantage point. The event illustrates
the potential of a surprise hit by an asteroid, astronomers
said.
The object, now named 2002 EM7, was probably between 40
and 80 meters (130-260 feet) in diameter, said Gareth
Williams, associate director of the International Astronomical
Union's Minor Planet Center.
On March 8, the asteroid passed within 298,400 miles
(480,200 kilometers) of our planet, or about 1.2 times as far
away as the Moon -- considered a relatively close shave by
cosmic yardsticks. It was not discovered until March 12,
however. After the rock was detected, scientists calculated
its orbit and determined the path it had taken.
No way to see it
In a telephone interview, Williams explained there was no way
to see the asteroid until it moved out of the Sun's glare and to
the opposite side of Earth in relation to the Sun -- Earth's
night side.
To spot such an object earlier would require a telescope
elsewhere in space, he said. Ideas have been floated to put
an observatory in orbit around Mercury, where it could observe
the portion of sky that is not visible to terrestrial telescopes or
even to Earth-orbiting observatories like the Hubble Space
Telescope.
But a telescope at Mercury, given the likely limitations to its
budget and size, would not be able to see asteroids as small
as 2002 EM7. It could, however, spot large asteroids that
might cause global destruction.
No firm plans exist for a Mercury-orbiting telescope.
Meanwhile, few asteroids this large have ever been known to
pass so close to Earth. Asteroid 2002 EM7 is the ninth
closest brush known, said Williams, who helps with the Minor
Planet Center's task of cataloguing all data on asteroids.
"Of the objects that have come closer, only one is bigger," he
said.
Months or years of warning have sometimes preceded close
passes in the past. Other times, rocks have been found just
days before they zoomed past.
Williams adds that there have no doubt been many, many
other close shaves by small asteroids that went entirely
unnoticed because the objects zipped back out into the solar
system without ever being detected.
Telescopes devoted to asteroid tracking scan just portions of
the sky on any given night.
Asteroid 2002 EM7 carves an elliptical path around the Sun. It
has a remote chance of hitting Earth on a future pass, odds
that will likely be reduced even further as researchers
continue to track the object and refine their orbital
calculations.
Another blind spot
Researchers have used similar close brushes in the past as
opportunities to remind politicians that many potentially
threatening asteroids remain undiscovered and more money
is needed to find them. About 1,000 asteroids larger than 1
kilometer (0.6 miles) are thought to lurk in orbits that might
one day threaten Earth with planet-wide chaos. About 500 of
them have been found.
more... http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/asteroids_miss_020319.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 773 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Mar 21, 2002 (18:58) * 49 lines
Measuring Asteroid Threats
Used to categorize the threat of asteroids, the Torino Scale is named after
the city in Italy in which it was adopted during a workshop in June, 1999. The
scale uses numbers and colors to indicate risk of collision, all based on
complicated analysis of an asteroid's path and calculations of how that path
might change as it's affected by gravity from Earth and other bodies.
Overall risk
Specific categories
Events having no likely consequences
0. The likelihood of a collision is zero, or well below the chance that a
random object of the same size will strike the Earth within the next few
decades. This designation also applies to any small object that, in the event
of a collision, is unlikely to reach the Earth's surface intact. Events
meriting careful monitoring
1. The chance of collision is extremely unlikely, about the same as a random
object of the same size striking the Earth within the next few decades.
Events meriting concern
2. A somewhat close, but not unusual encounter. Collision is very unlikely.
3. A close encounter, with 1% or greater chance of a collision capable of
causing localized destruction. 4. A close encounter, with 1% or greater chance
of a collision capable of causing regional devastation.
Threatening events
5. A close encounter, with a significant threat of a collision capable of
causing regional devastation. 6. A close encounter, with a significant threat
of a collision capable of causing a global catastrophe. 7. A close encounter,
with an extremely significant threat of a collision capable of causing a
global catastrophe.
Certain collisions
8. A collision capable of causing localized destruction. Such events occur
somewhere on Earth between once per 50 years and once per 1000 years. 9. A
collision capable of causing regional devastation. Such events occur between
once per 1000 years and once per 100,000 years. 10. A collision capable of
causing a global climatic catastrophe. Such events occur once per 100,000
years, or less often.
space.com . Source: Richard Binzel, MIT
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/torino_scale.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 774 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 22, 2002 (16:20) * 37 lines
Comet Ikeya-Zhang Streaks Across Northern Sky
Reuters
Mar 22 2002 5:47PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Comet Ikeya-Zhang, discovered by two
amateur astronomers in February, can be seen streaking across skies
over the Northern Hemisphere for the next several weeks, scientists said
on Thursday.
No telescope is needed, but binoculars are recommended to see the
comet, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics said in a
statement.
To find Comet Ikeya-Zhang, look in the western sky shortly after sunset
and locate the planet Mars -- that will be a red point of light about 18
degrees up from the horizon. (An outspread hand at arm's length covers
about 15 degrees, so Mars is a bit higher than one hand-span.)
To the right of Mars are two bright stars in a nearly vertical line. The comet
is at the same height as Mars, to the right of the two bright stars about as
far again as the distance from Mars to the stars.
Observers should be able to see the comet's bright, star-like nucleus
surrounded by a fuzzy cloud of dust and gas called the coma. The comet's
tail streaks points nearly straight up from the horizon.
The comet should be visible in the west-northwestern sky for several
hours after sunset for the next few weeks, according to The Planetary
Society, which seeks to encourage exploration of the solar system.
First detected on Feb. 1 by amateurs in Japan and China, respectively,
Ikeya-Zhang was last seen in 1661, according to the Harvard center's
Brian Marsden.
On this trip, the comet came closest to the sun on March 18 and now is
headed back into deep space.
An image of the comet taken by the MicroObservatory telescope in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, is available online at
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/press/comet-image.html.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 775 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Fri, Mar 22, 2002 (17:13) * 1 lines
oh no, i can't see the western sky from my vantage point! (at least not at the 15 degree mark)
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 776 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 22, 2002 (21:20) * 1 lines
you need to take a sunset ride on a clear late-afternoon and your kids with you. Take binoculars, too. Be prepared for a real treat! I think I am going to get to see it tonight...!!!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 777 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 22, 2002 (21:35) * 1 lines
*sigh* The entire sky is clear except over Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea - as usual. I will not see the comet tonight!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 778 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar 23, 2002 (15:14) * 84 lines
UPDATE ON COMET UTSUNOMIYA
New Comet Utsunomiya, whose discovery was announced March
20th, should brighten to about 6th magnitude in the coming
weeks. But it lingers near the Sun throughout this period,
so observations will be difficult. That's the indication of
Brian G. Marsden's orbit calculations published in Minor
Planet Electronic Circular 2002-F39. (Visit the Minor Planet
Center Web site at http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/mpc.html
for information on subscribing to those circulars.)
Comet Utsunomiya reaches perihelion in the third week of
April, when it will be between the orbits of Mercury and
Venus. By then it will have crossed from the morning
to the evening sky for observers in the Northern Hemisphere.
The comet will be easier to observe from the Southern
Hemisphere after mid-May, but soon thereafter it will fade
rapidly as it departs the inner solar system.
The following ephemeris, based on Marsden's preliminary
orbit, gives the comet's right ascension and declination
(equinox 2000.0) at 0 hours Universal Time on each date.
Also given are its distances from the Earth (Delta) and
Sun (r), elongation, predicted magnitude, and the
constellation through which it is passing.
Watch the observing section of SkyandTelescope.com for
further updates on this object. (For example, the
ephemeris may change slightly as the orbit is improved
in the coming days.)
Roger W. Sinnott
Senior Editor
Sky & Telescope
Comet Utsunomiya, C/2002 F1
Date R.A. (2000) Dec. Delta r Elong. Mag. Const.
(0h UT) h m o ' (au) (au) o
Mar 22 21 57.0 +08 05 1.548 0.889 32.6 8.9 Peg
Mar 23 22 01.2 +08 59 1.526 0.871 32.6 8.8 Peg
Mar 24 22 05.6 +09 54 1.505 0.853 32.5 8.7 Peg
Mar 25 22 10.1 +10 50 1.484 0.835 32.4 8.6 Peg
Mar 26 22 14.8 +11 48 1.464 0.817 32.2 8.5 Peg
Mar 27 22 19.7 +12 47 1.444 0.799 32.1 8.3 Peg
Mar 28 22 24.8 +13 47 1.424 0.782 31.9 8.2 Peg
Mar 29 22 30.1 +14 48 1.405 0.764 31.7 8.1 Peg
Mar 30 22 35.6 +15 50 1.387 0.746 31.4 7.9 Peg
Mar 31 22 41.4 +16 53 1.369 0.729 31.1 7.8 Peg
Apr 01 22 47.4 +17 56 1.352 0.712 30.8 7.7 Peg
Apr 02 22 53.7 +19 01 1.336 0.695 30.5 7.5 Peg
Apr 03 23 00.3 +20 05 1.320 0.678 30.1 7.4 Peg
Apr 04 23 07.2 +21 10 1.305 0.661 29.7 7.3 Peg
Apr 05 23 14.4 +22 15 1.291 0.645 29.3 7.1 Peg
Apr 06 23 21.9 +23 19 1.278 0.628 28.9 7.0 Peg
Apr 07 23 29.8 +24 23 1.266 0.613 28.4 6.9 Peg
Apr 08 23 38.1 +25 25 1.255 0.597 27.9 6.8 Peg
Apr 09 23 46.7 +26 26 1.244 0.582 27.4 6.6 Peg
Apr 10 23 55.7 +27 25 1.235 0.568 26.9 6.5 Peg
Apr 11 00 05.1 +28 21 1.227 0.554 26.4 6.4 Peg
Apr 12 00 14.8 +29 14 1.220 0.541 25.9 6.3 And
Apr 13 00 25.0 +30 03 1.214 0.528 25.3 6.2 And
Apr 14 00 35.4 +30 48 1.210 0.517 24.8 6.0 And
Apr 15 00 46.2 +31 29 1.206 0.506 24.3 5.9 And
Apr 16 00 57.3 +32 04 1.204 0.496 23.8 5.9 Psc
Apr 17 01 08.6 +32 33 1.203 0.487 23.3 5.8 Psc
Apr 18 01 20.1 +32 55 1.203 0.479 22.9 5.7 Psc
Apr 19 01 31.7 +33 11 1.204 0.472 22.4 5.6 Tri
Apr 20 01 43.4 +33 21 1.207 0.467 22.0 5.6 Tri
Apr 21 01 55.1 +33 23 1.210 0.463 21.7 5.6 Tri
Apr 22 02 06.6 +33 18 1.215 0.460 21.3 5.6 Tri
Apr 23 02 18.0 +33 07 1.221 0.459 21.1 5.5 Tri
Apr 24 02 29.2 +32 50 1.228 0.459 20.8 5.6 Tri
Apr 25 02 40.2 +32 26 1.235 0.460 20.6 5.6 Tri
Apr 26 02 50.8 +31 56 1.244 0.463 20.5 5.6 Per
Apr 27 03 01.0 +31 22 1.253 0.467 20.4 5.7 Per
Apr 28 03 10.8 +30 43 1.263 0.473 20.3 5.8 Ari
Apr 29 03 20.3 +30 00 1.273 0.479 20.3 5.8 Ari
Apr 30 03 29.3 +29 14 1.285 0.487 20.3 5.9 Ari
May 01 03 37.9 +28 25 1.296 0.496 20.3 6.0 Tau
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 779 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar 23, 2002 (21:29) * 20 lines
ASTRONOMY
* Gemini Observatory Captures Multi-Dimensional Movie of Active
Galaxy's Core
* Dark Age Galaxy
* Geologist Recreates "Life on Mars" Evidence in Her Laboratory
* Height Ices Mars on Top
* Six Telescopes Act as One
* Martian Spots Warrant a Close Look
* The VLT Unravels the Nature of the Fastest Binary Star
* Distant Planet Is Blue and Beautiful
* Asteroid Buzzes Earth From "Blind Spot"
* Far Away Stars Light Early Cosmos
* Churning Whirlpool Stars in Ultraviolet Jupiter Movie
* VIMOS - a Cosmology Machine for the VLT
References
1. http://www.sciquest.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/sci_level3.d2w/report?nav_banner=bio&resource=articles&gateway=S-astron
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 780 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos (tsatsvol) * Sun, Mar 24, 2002 (08:53) * 10 lines
This is what you can see in your sky at 21:00 local time this night (24th of March) Marcia. It shows planets and stars with visible magnitude greater than 2.
How you can use this map? First, print it. Then go outside and stand in order to see at the south. Keep the map upwards of your head in order that you can see it correctly but with East point to the East direction. Now all are in the correct position.
Let me know if somebody of you needs the corresponding map for his horizon. I will make it. I need your local coordinates and the local time of the observation.
John
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 781 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Mar 24, 2002 (17:49) * 6 lines
Yes, Thank you, John! I do know how to read maps like that since I learned in college to make my own and to see them as reversed like it was held over my head - just as the night sky is. I think we must share the same thought wave-length. I was just at S&T printing out that very star chart! Please check your sky chart at this URL http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/skychart/
add your location and it will make a sky chart just for your location so you do not miss the comet or anything else up there. Lots of brightest stars and planets are visible in early evening plus a comet or two.
While I was outside last evening, I watched the ISS chasing Hubble across the sky while another much dimmer satellite eased it's way past them. The sky is a fascinating place - enjoy it!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 782 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Mar 24, 2002 (19:48) * 8 lines
The first comet report - from Central Pennsylvania:
With the directions you sent, I found the comet with binoculars last evening.
Its length (with tail) was about equal to a finger's width at arm's length.
Put another way; the size through binoculars was smaller than the
more showy comets were with the unassisted eye.
It was a completely clear evening, and I was surprised how long after sunset the western sky remained light. It wasn't dark enough until after 7:00 p.m.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 783 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Mar 24, 2002 (20:04) * 121 lines
COMET IKEYA-ZHANG AT ITS BRIGHTEST?
As Comet Ikeya-Zhang (C/2002 C1) begins the outbound leg of its journey
around the Sun, questions remain as to how bright it will ultimately
become or whether it has already peaked. The coming week will be a crucial
one in determining its brightness during the remainder of March and the
first half of April....
If it follows the path of a power-law formula, Comet Ikeya-Zhang will rise
only a couple of tenths more in magnitude to attain a brightness plateau
of about 3.5 that will last almost through the end of the month. However,
if it exhibits an asymmetric light curve then the comet will go right on
brightening and by next Friday could be brighter than magnitude 3.0 with
no peak in sight....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/comets/article_477_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLOSE-CALL ASTEROID CAUSES MORE WORRIES
Billed as the "blind-spot" asteroid, a building-size space rock passed the
Earth unnoticed two weeks ago. An automated sky survey detected minor
planet 2002 EM7 on March 12th. Subsequent orbital calculations determined
that the asteroid had come closest to the Earth four days earlier at a
distance of about 464,000 kilometers (288,000 miles), slightly more than
the distance from the Earth to the Moon. Prior to the flyby, 2002 EM7 was
too close to the Sun, hence the "blind-spot" moniker....
Despite the media attention in the wake of 2002 EM7's passage, such
"close" flybys are not uncommon. According to Jim Scotti (University of
Arizona), "Simply put, objects the size of the Tunguska impactor pass
within the distance that 2002 EM7 did about 25 times every year." Rocks
the size of 2002 EM7 come by nearly 100 times a year....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_545_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OGLEING POSSIBLE NEW PLANETS
For the first time, astronomers have discovered a bunch of new extrasolar
planets -- and perhaps other small, dark objects as well -- by detecting
the slight dimming they cause when passing across the face of a star.
The OGLE-III experiment monitored 5 million Milky Way stars toward the
galaxy's center for 32 nights. Andrzej Udalski (Warsaw University
Observatory) reports that out of this vast sample, 52,000 main-sequence
stars roughly similar to the Sun met the study's key criterion: their
brightnesses were measured many times with high (1.5 percent) precision.
Of these stars, 46 clearly showed signs of smaller objects transiting
across their faces. And 43 displayed more than one transit event, thereby
revealing the companion object's orbital period - generally 1 to 6
days....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_538_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW AMATEUR COMETS
In the seven weeks since the discovery of Comet Ikeya-Zhang, two more
comets have been discovered visually by amateur astronomers. While neither
is expected to rival Ikeya-Zhang's brightness this spring, these new finds
show that the era of backyard comet hunting is far from over.
The first of the new comets was bagged on March 11th. Douglas Snyder swept
up the faint object in Aquila while scanning the predawn skies with a
20-inch f/5 Dobsonian telescope at his backyard observatory in Palominas,
Arizona. Seven hours later, as dawn approached Japan, Shigeki Murakami in
Matsunoyama, Niigata Prefecture, picked up the interloper with his 18-inch
f/4.5 reflector. Designated Comet Snyder-Murakami, C/2002 E2, the object
is currently visible in medium-size telescopes as a 10th-magnitude glow
moving north-northeast in the morning sky, from Aquila to Sagitta and then
to Vulpecula....
Just one week after the Snyder-Murakami find, in the early morning
twilight of March 18th, Japanese observer Syogo Utsunomiya discovered
another comet with a pair of 25x150 binoculars. Experts have yet to
calculate the orbit of the new object (dubbed C/2002 F1), but for the past
couple of days, the fuzzy ball has shone at 11th magnitude in Pegasus....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_540_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BINARY QUASAR IS NO ILLUSION
Astronomers who thought they'd found a 100-trillion-Sun mass of pure dark
matter have come up empty handed. A pair of quasar images that looked like
an unusual case of gravitational lensing by such a mass has turned out to
be simply a pair of quasars.
Researchers put lots of effort into finding cosmic gravitational lenses.
These are special alignments where a very distant object appears multiple
or distorted, because its light is bent by the gravitational field of a
foreground mass. One promising prospect was the close pair of quasars
Q2345+007A and B in Pisces. These two faint specks, 7.3 arcseconds apart,
show spectra with the same large redshift (2.15, corresponding to a
distance of about 11 billion light-years) and other spectral features that
match very closely. They certainly seemed like two images of a single
object....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_539_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S SKY
* The Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and Venus form a huge, diagonal line
across the sky early in the evening of March 23.
* Venus is very low above the western horizon shortly after sunset.
* Jupiter remains the brightest object in the sky.
* Saturn shines near the Hyades star cluster in Taurus.
* The Moon is full March 28.
For details, see This Week's Sky at a Glance and Planet Roundup:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance/
COMET UPDATES
* Comet Ikeya-Zhang is easily visible in binoculars right at the end of
evening twilight, very low in the west-northwest.
* For Northern Hemisphere observers with telescopes, three other faint
comets are also visible.
For details, see the comets section of Celestial Objects:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/comets/
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 784 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar 30, 2002 (19:42) * 74 lines
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY WATCH
ISSUED: 03:40 UTC, 30 MARCH 2002
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
VALID BEGINNING AT: EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
VALID UNTIL: 19:00 UTC (2 pm EDT) ON 31 MARCH
HIGH RISK PERIOD: 30 MAR (UTC DAYS)
MODERATE RISK PERIOD: 30 - 31 MAR
PREDICTED ACTIVITY INDICES: 23, 18, 18, 15 (30 MAR - 02 APR)
POTENTIAL MAGNITUDE OF MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY: MODERATE
POTENTIAL DURATION OF THIS ACTIVITY: MAIN BELT = 06 TO 12 HOURS
MINOR BELT = 12 TO 36 HOURS
ESTIMATED OPTIMUM OBSERVING CONDITIONS: NEAR LOCAL MIDNIGHT
EXPECTED LUNAR INTERFERENCE: HIGH
OVERALL OPPORTUNITY FOR OBSERVATIONS FROM MIDDLE LATITUDES: POOR
AURORAL ACTIVITY *MAY* BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...
NORTHERN WASHINGTON STATE TO MONTANA TO NORTHERN SOUTH DAKOTA TO CENTRAL
MINNESOTA TO CENTRAL WISCONSIN TO MICHIGAN TO DARK SKY SITES OF NEW YORK
STATE, VERMONT, NEW HAMPSHIRE AND SOUTHERN MAINE.
ACTIVITY *MAY* ALSO BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...
NORTHERN UNITED KINGDOM TO EXTREME NORTHERN NETHERLANDS TO EXTREME
NORTHERN GERMANY TO EXTREME NORTHERN POLAND TO NORTHERN LITHUANIA TO
LATVIA TO NORTHERN RUSSIA. MOST PROBABLE OBSERVATION SITES WILL BE
LOCATIONS NORTH OF THIS LINE GIVEN THE FULL PHASE OF THE MOON. SOUTHERN
REGIONS OF NEW ZEALAND MAY ALSO SPOT PERIODS OF ACTIVITY.
SYNOPSIS...
An interplanetary disturbance in the solar wind impacted the Earth near
22:37 UTC on 29 March. Conditions may become mildly favorable for the
development of auroral substorm activity capable of producing periodic
(probably fairly infrequent) episodes of visible activity over some dark-sky
middle latitude locations. Upper-middle latitude (central to southern
Canadian provinces and perhaps some extreme northern U.S. states) and high
latitude regions are preferred locations for observing this activity.
This watch will remain in effect until 19:00 UTC (2 pm EST) on 31
March. It will then be updated or allowed to expire. For updated
information, visit: http://www.spacew.com/aurora/forum.html
PLEASE REPORT OBSERVATIONS OF AURORAL ACTIVITY TO:
http://solar.spacew.com/www/auroras.html
* OR *
Use a significant new space weather monitoring tool
to submit your observations.
See: http://www.spacew.com/swim
* OR *
Use the popular STD AURORA MONITOR Software
to monitor conditions, report sightings, etc. It is available at:
http://www.spacew.com/aurora
For Real-Time News and Discussions with Experienced Aurora Enthusiasts:
http://www.spacew.com/irc
and join the #aurora channel (type /join #aurora)
** End of Watch **
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 785 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr 5, 2002 (15:27) * 7 lines
I still have yet to see it:
* Comet Ikeya-Zhang Thrills Skywatchers
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/ikeya_zhang_020405-1.html
Skywatchers throughout the Northern Hemisphere report that comet Ikeya-Zhang, the brightest since Hale-Bopp five years ago, is a remarkable sight even under city lights. The comet, described in glowing terms by many observers, should be visible to the naked eye throughout most of April.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 786 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Fri, Apr 5, 2002 (15:33) * 1 lines
is this the one that you can see in the western sky?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 787 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr 5, 2002 (15:42) * 1 lines
Yes... for the moment. Soon it would swing around the sun and become a pre-dawn object. That will be best for me since we have far more clear mornings than evenings. Has anyone seen it? Reports? Please!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 788 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr 6, 2002 (18:22) * 105 lines
=========================================================================
* * * * SKY & TELESCOPE's WEEKLY NEWS BULLETIN - April 5, 2002 * * * *
=========================================================================
Welcome to S&T's Weekly News Bulletin. Images, the full text of stories
abridged here, and other enhancements are available on our Web site,
SkyandTelescope.com, at the URLs provided below. Clear skies!
=========================================================================
THREATENING ASTEROID AIDS PLANETARY PROGNOSTICATORS
A kilometer-size asteroid, whose whereabouts have been unknown since just
after its discovery 52 years ago, has suddenly reemerged as an object that
may pose a significant threat to Earth in the distant future. Astronomers
at Lowell Observatory rediscovered the wayward object, known as 1950 DA,
by accident on New Year's Eve 2000, and three months later teams of radar
astronomers pinged it from Goldstone, California, and Arecibo, Puerto
Rico. When orbital dynamicists combined the high-precision radar tracks
with the half-century-long photographic record, they realized that 1950 DA
is likely to make three close brushes with Earth in the centuries ahead.
One of those, on March 16, 2880, could result in a direct hit....
However, notes coauthor Steven R. Chesley (JPL), "The impact risk is not
the story here, because we can say almost unequivocally that it's not
going to hit Earth." The real story, he says, is how having such a precise
orbit has allowed dynamicists to push the realm of impact prediction so
far into the future....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_567_1.asp
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A DAILY DOSE OF MARS
Move over Astronomy Picture of the Day! As of last week, you can now take
your morning coffee break with the latest picture of Mars.
At 10 a.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday, a fresh view of the red
planet taken by the Mars Odyssey 2001 spacecraft's Thermal Emission
Imaging System (THEMIS) will be posted to the Web site of the instrument's
investigators....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_564_1.asp
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FAINTER FAINT FUZZIES
As amateur telescope users well know, star clusters in our Milky Way come
in two basic types: open clusters and the much richer, denser globulars.
But astronomers surveying other galaxies have found that some of them
contain a third kind: "faint extended clusters" somewhat like globulars
but larger, dimmer, and more spread out....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_561_1.asp
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ASTRO NEWS BRIEFS
Asteroid Population Doubles
Observations made in 1996-97 by the European Space Agency's Infrared Space
Observatory show that the asteroid belt contains about twice as many
objects as previously thought. The new census involved tallying up the
main-belt asteroids spotted in selected locations, then extrapolating
those counts to include the entire sky. The result, says Edward Tedesco
(TerraSystems), suggests that the main belt (between Mars and Jupiter)
contains 1.1 to 1.9 million minor planets at least 1 kilometer across.
Previous studies in 1998 and 2001 had estimated the count of 1-km or
larger objects at 860,000 and 740,000, respectively.
Hubble Ready to Resume Operations
After three weeks of intensive checks and testing, engineers both at
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and at the Space Telescope Science
Institute have declared that the Hubble Space Telescope is ready to resume
its mission. The spacecraft's new solar-cell arrays, installed early last
month by Columbia's spacewalking astronauts, are delivering 27 percent
more electricity than their predecessors. The powerful new Advanced Camera
for Surveys, also delivered by Columbia, is now undergoing its final
alignment and focusing checks. Astronomers hope to unveil the ACS's first
images in about a month.
Gamma-Ray Bursts and Supernovae: One More Link
Astronomers have found yet more evidence that gamma-ray bursts are closely
associated with supernova explosions of massive stars. James Reeves
(University of Leicester, England) and colleagues found hot gas containing
magnesium, silicon, sulfur, argon, calcium, and other elements streaming
from the source of a gamma-ray burst at a tenth of the speed of light.
This is just the kind of mix expected from a Type II supernova. The gamma
burst itself is believed to be directed along a narrowly collimated jet of
much faster debris coming from right around a newborn black hole in
certain supernova cores.
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_566_1.asp
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HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S SKY
* Comet Ikeya-Zhang is still visible at the end of twilight low above the
the horizon.
* Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and Venus form a long diagonal line across the
western sky in late twilight.
* New Moon is on April 12-13.
* Jupiter is the brightest object high in the west-southwest sky.
For details, see This Week's Sky at a Glance and Planet Roundup:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance/
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 789 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr 6, 2002 (18:35) * 8 lines
Dawn AND twilight the same day???
For the next couple of weeks, Comet Ikeya-Zhang will remain very low in the
northwest to north after dusk. However, starting today it can be seen a little
higher before dawn than in the evening. Go out just before your local
morning twilight begins (find this time by putting your date and location into
our custom almanac!) and scan with binoculars low in the northeast.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 790 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Apr 9, 2002 (20:16) * 71 lines
I would really like to see this:
Doze-Proof Show Unveiled at Washington Doze-Proof Show Unveiled at Washington Planetarium Reuters
Apr 9 2002 3:21PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The moon hurtles overhead, appearing close
enough to touch, before the view shifts to a stomach-churning swoop into
a deep gorge on Mars in a new planetarium show that few will be
tempted to doze through.
"Infinity Express," a 20-minute excursion of the universe previewed on
Tuesday at the National Air and Space Museum, is the first planetarium
exhibit to use 12 digital projectors that can put images on every bit of the
70-foot dome, instead of losing space near the edges.
But what makes it compelling -- even if it induces a touch of nausea for
some viewers -- is the rapid, high-definition movement displayed over an
area greater than the huge IMAX screens used for large-format films.
"A lot of people say it's 3-D, but it's not really 3-D," said Steve Savage,
president of Sky-Skan Inc., the New Hampshire-based company that
designed the projection system.
It happens all around you, so it gives the impression of 3-D."
The show opens with a pink and blue blur, darkening to dusk amid the
sounds of birds chirping, car doors slamming, a party quieting down and
observers setting up a telescope.
The dome dims and the stars come out, projected by the planetarium's
27-year-old Zeiss VI-a star projector.
As actor Laurence Fishburne narrates, the crescent moon that has hung
quietly near the dome's zenith zooms into close-up, followed by a fast
dash through the solar system in which planets appear to just miss
viewers as they go by.
The Zeiss instrument is still the best device for projecting a star field, but
the 12 digital projectors make possible a vertiginous rocket trip through
the planets, into the Milky Way and then out into a slice of sky dense with
jewel-toned smudges -- distant galaxies detected by astronomers as they
peer back in time toward the theoretical Big Bang.
PILOT'S EYE VIEW
The movement and color is made possible by the new 12 projectors, in
six pairs.
As in movie theaters, all seats are angled toward a common point in the
Einstein Planetarium, instead of placed in concentric circles in the classic
configuration of the New Hayden Planetarium in New York.
"The pictures are made purposely to have a front, a back, a left, a right
and a top, and those cues, those eye cues, are working on you," Savage
told Reuters.
Producers want audiences to see the show right side up. If half the
audience is in the front of the theater, then half the audience is seeing the
show upside down. So that (seating system) fixes that problem."
The projectors are ideal for taking astronomical data from the Hubble
Space Telescope and the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft and making
them into almost tactile images.
One of the most eye-catching was the view of the gigantic Valles
Marineris on Mars, the largest canyon in the solar system, which is five
times deeper than the Grand Canyon.
John Stoke of the Space Telescope Science Institute said the new tools
will help bring fresh information to the public.
"This is an opportunity to present the universe a bit more truthfully, on a
very big screen that's very immersive," Stoke said.
The museum's Andrew Johnston said the planetarium uses authentic
data:
When we're flying through the galaxies, those galaxies are not made
up, you're actually flying through their actual positions."
And Savage said there was one sure sign of the exhibit's appeal.
"We've not heard any snoring yet. ... Usually it's cool and dark and
comfortable seats and everybody's dozing off in no time," Savage said.
That hasn't been happening."
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 791 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Apr 9, 2002 (20:20) * 1 lines
Sorry about that. My cut and paste usually works better than that. perhaps it was due to sympathetic vertigo?!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 792 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Wed, Apr 10, 2002 (19:00) * 1 lines
sounds really neat!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 793 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Apr 10, 2002 (19:41) * 1 lines
They also did one on Kilauea when it was having high lava fountains which I would also have liked to have seen. At least you are on the same land mass with an IMAX theater. I, alas, am not.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 794 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr 12, 2002 (20:09) * 5 lines
* Viewer's Guide: Moon Joins the Great Planet Alignment
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/planets_moon_020412-1.html
What is now being hailed as the finest gathering of all five bright planets in almost two decades is finally coming together in the western evening sky. The gap between the planets will noticeably contract with each passing night.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 795 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Apr 14, 2002 (17:23) * 23 lines
Comet Dawn
Space Weather News for April 14, 2002
http://www.spaceweather.com
COMET DAWN: Comet Ikeya-Zhang, which has delighted evening sky watchers
since March, is now a morning comet, too. It is climbing higher in
northern skies as it recedes from the Sun and approaches our planet.
Visit spaceweather.com for finder charts and details.
MEANWHILE ON THE SUN: The sunspot number has soared this month. Nearly a
dozen sunspot groups are crossing the Earth-facing side of our star, and
some of them pose a threat for strong solar flares.
EARTHSHINE: Sky watchers with a clear view of the western horizon should
be alert just after sunset on April 14 and 15 for a slender crescent Moon
illuminated by Earthshine. It's one of the loveliest sights in the
heavens -- and astronomers have learned that it's most intense during the
months of April and May.
Visit SpaceWeather.com for more information.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 796 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Apr 17, 2002 (17:46) * 72 lines
Dust settles over Kerala's `red rain'
Vinson Kurian
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, July 31, 2001
IT'S official. The coloured rain in some parts of Kerala was
caused by the fine dust thrown up by a disintegrating
meteorite. The celestial body, passing at great speed,
deposited the dust in the monsoon clouds, causing the
downpour of colour.
Tracing the origin to meteorite dust -- and not the ``washing
of dirty linen by Marxists beaten blue and black in the
Assembly elections'' as joked by an intrepid Congress Member
to the collective amusement of Parliament -- scientists S.
Sampath and V. Sasi Kumar, however, said they were still at a
loss to explain the loud bang which reportedly accompanied
the rain.
According to a Centre for Earth Sciences Studies (CESS)
statement, a eastward-bound meteor exploded over
Changanassery town in central Kerala around 5.30 a.m. on
July 25. The burning meteorite is estimated to have spewed
out some 1,000 kg of fine dust into the atmosphere. This
triggered a chain of events, involving yellow, green and even
black rain in Palakkad, Kottayam, Ernakulam and
Pathanamthitta districts. Yellow rain was reported from Chittar
in Pathanamthitta district.
The CESS Director, M. Baba, said the initial findings were
based on the physical analysis of the sediments found in the
rain water sample obtained from Changanassery and
information culled from the residents. The chemical analysis,
expected to shed more light into the quirky episode, is in
progress.
According to available information, the rain was normal on the
previous day. But residents were jolted out of their sleep by
``a very loud noise'' in the wee hours of July 25. A few of
them also saw a flash of light.
The red showers started three hours later, fading towards the
end of the 15-minute spell. The subsequent spell was normal
though. According to Baba, the sound of thunder was unusual
as thunderstorms do not accompany rains during this time of
the year.
Coming as it did after a series of quake-related rumble,
collapsing wells, swirls in well waters, cracking walls, fuming
hills, sinking earth, floods, landslides and what not, the
oddities that befell the verdant greens were such that the
State risked being mistaken for the ``odds on country'' over
the past seven months.
Scientist teams from leading institutions have been virtually
scouring the earth trying to explain the strange happenings by
proffering what seem to be largely credible but discomfortingly
divergent findings.
The fear of the ground slipping away from under their feet, if
not the skies falling on the heads, have rendered the people
circumspect and seeking far more reassuring words from the
people concerned. The freak developments are a sign of much
worse things to come, they fear.
After having heaved a collective sigh of relief that no more
such incidents have been reported, the authorities are buying
time before they find themselves faced with a truant Nature
yet again.
http://www.blonnet.com/businessline/2001/08/01/stories/180125rn.htm
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 797 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Apr 17, 2002 (22:58) * 63 lines
APRIL 20th IS ASTRONOMY DAY
One day each year, astronomy clubs, planetariums, and other groups of sky
lovers band together to expose the general public to the wonders and
excitement that astronomy has to offer. Learn more about this annual event
at:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/resources/calendar/article_472_1.asp
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ASTRONOMY DAY CELESTIAL EVENTS
For observers in northeastern North America, the first quarter Moon will
occult the 4.7-magnitude star Gamma Cancri at approximately 9:58 p.m. EDT
on the 20th. The star will disappear on the lunar dark side near the
Moon's southern tip.
Visible to all on Astronomy Day (and for several weeks to come) is a fine
array of planets in the west after sunset. Read all about this gathering,
and preview how these five worlds will form and reform new patterns as
they move against the background stars.
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_572_1.asp
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AURORA ALERT
A solar flare observed on April 15th produced a coronal mass ejection
(CME) that is currently passing Earth. Increased auroral activity has been
reported in Europe, and the northern lights may be visible this evening
over some North American dark-sky middle-latitude locations. Updates by
observers can be found by clicking on the discussion forum hot link within
this site:
http://www.spacew.com/astroalert.html
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NOVA DISCOVERED IN SAGITTARIUS
The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) announced
yesterday that William Liller, the most successful photographic nova
hunter in the last decade, photographically discovered an apparent nova in
Sagittarius at magnitude 9.2 on April 15th. This possible nova (N SGR 02)
is situated near Gamma Sagittarii at:
R.A. = 17h 59m 59.6s
Decl. = -30deg 53' 20" (2000.0)
Electronic copies of a chart showing the position of this object can be
found on the AAVSO Web site at:
http://www.aavso.org/charts/SGR/N_SGR_02/
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LYRID METEOR SHOWER PEAKS
If you're observing before dawn on April 22nd, keep an eye out for a few
extra meteors. The Lyrid meteor shower is a weak one with an average rate
of less than 20 meteors per hour.
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/meteors/article_558_1.asp
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COMET IKEYA-ZHANG IN THE MORNING SKY
The comet remains well placed in the dawn sky (for Northern Hemisphere
skywatchers) as it makes a slow trek from Cassiopeia into Cepheus and then
Draco. For a table and chart showing the comet's current location, click
here:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/comets/article_477_1.asp
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 798 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr 19, 2002 (22:20) * 5 lines
Happy Astronomy Day 2K2
Comet Ikeya Zhang and the Andromeda Galaxy
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 799 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr 20, 2002 (20:06) * 19 lines
A RARE DANCE OF PLANETS
A grand and beautiful lineup of all the bright naked-eye planets --
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn -- is taking shape in the
western sky at dusk. Throughout April and May these five worlds will form
and reform new patterns as they move against the background stars. There
is no single date of a "great planetary alignment," though all five of
them (plus the Moon) will be clustered within 33 degrees of sky on the
evening of May 14th.
Such gatherings of the naked-eye planets are relatively rare, occurring
roughly every 20 years when slow-moving Jupiter and Saturn appear close
together from Earth's perspective. A similar grouping occurred in May
2000, though it was hidden in the Sun's glare. The last compact and widely
visible five-planet array was in February 1940, and astronomers calculate
that another good one won't take place until September 8, 2040....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_572_1.asp
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 800 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Sat, Apr 20, 2002 (21:16) * 1 lines
last night, our sky was perfect for star-gazing (even within the confines of my teeny back yard). i was looking for these five planets but didn't know what to look for though i found the moon *laugh* have the planets already formed a line and now they'll start moving around?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 801 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr 20, 2002 (23:34) * 1 lines
Yes they will move. I went out just now, and except for the mountain hiding Marcury, from west to zenith you could see them strung up the ecliptic like jewels on an invisible cord. They are brilliant and beautiful nowm, but they will continue to be so for weeks to come. The way you can tell they are plants is to see the position change from night to night aganist the bacground stars.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 802 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Apr 21, 2002 (00:01) * 13 lines
How to see the gathering:
Just look west, about 30 minutes after sunset, from
April 17 through mid-May. Also, make sure that
nothing blocks your view of the west….no buildings
or hills, for example. Mercury is very low, and any
hills could block your view of it.
You do not need a telescope to see this gathering.
However, if you have a pair of binoculars, you may
be able to catch Venus, Mars and Saturn all the same
view, if you look at those planets around May 5.
Great stuff and how to see... http://www.bishopmuseum.org/planetarium/PG.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 803 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Apr 21, 2002 (00:06) * 20 lines
Comet Ikeya-Zhang:
This comet is not visible in the evening sky at the latitude of Hawai‘i but should be visible in the morning sky for much of April.
On April 9, it rises in the Northeast at 4 AM. Dawn begins at 5:30 AM, washing out the comet. By dawn, the comet will be
about 13 degrees above the Northeast horizon. The comet is 4th magnitude. This is a little brighter than the faintest of the Little
Dipper’s 7 stars.
The comet is in the constellation of Cassiopeia until the middle of April, when it passes into
Cepheus.
By April 15, the comet will rise by 2:15 AM in the North northeast and will be 22 degrees above the horizon by 5 AM, when
dawn begins.
The comet will dim considerably by the end of April. After April 24, the moon will be in the sky at the same time as the comet,
which will make the comet much harder to see.
If you want to go looking for the comet, find the darkest sky you can.
If you can see all seven stars in the Little Dipper, viewing conditions should be good enough for a good view of the comet.
http://www.bishopmuseum.org/planetarium/
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 804 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Apr 21, 2002 (00:09) * 27 lines
What Is The Green Flash?
by Peter Michaud
Gemini Observatory Information Manager
Lots of people talk about it, but how many have actually seen the much coveted green flash? If
you haven't seen or heard of the green flash, it's simply a fleeting spot of intense green light on the
horizon an instant after sunset or immediately before sunrise. Since Hawai'i is one of the best
places to see this phenomena, let's explore why the green flash happens and how to improve
your chances of glimpsing it safely.
First of all, when trying to spot the Green Flash don't be fooled by what I call, "The Fool's
Flash". This is simply the greenish after-image burned into your retina by looking directly at the
setting sun. (If you're lucky, this condition will only be temporary.) Remember, even when it's
rising or setting it's still dangerous to look directly at the sun's disk. While awaiting the green flash
at sunset, look away until only the very top of the sun's disk is about to disappear below the
horizon - it's only during this last instant that the green flash will be visible anyway.
Secondly, the green flash is best seen when the sun sets or rises over the ocean and only when it
is absolutely clear all the way to the horizon. While this might seem common in Hawai'i, distant
clouds often linger on the horizon, making the green flash much less frequent than one might
imagine.
In order to understand what to expect from the green flash, it helps to know how our atmosphere
effects sunlight. Coincidentally, the phenomenon responsible for the green flash is also the one
that paints rainbows across Hawaii's sky.
more and photos... http://www.bishopmuseum.org/planetarium/greenflash.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 805 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Apr 21, 2002 (00:35) * 24 lines
April Lyrid Meteor Shower
April has one major meteor shower, the Lyrids. This year the Lyrids
are scheduled to peak on Monday morning, April 22nd and the best
viewing time for this shower will be between the hours of moonset and
dawn.
The radiant of the shower is still fairly low at midnight and it will
rise higher in the northeastern sky as dawn approaches. With this
shower, you will want to skip observing on Sunday night and arise two
or three hours before dawn on Monday. Find yourself a comfortable
chair and look toward the northeastern sky. Although Lyrids can
appear anywhere in the sky, most of the activity from this shower
will probably be concentrated in the northeast.
2002 is a fairly good year for the Lyrids despite the phase of the
Moon. The Moon will be 74% illuminated and it will not set until a
few hours before dawn, but the radiant for this shower rises late and
it is only at its best during the few hours before dawn anyway and by
that time the Moon will have set.
Shortcut URL to the group page:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MeteorShowers
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 806 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Apr 21, 2002 (18:17) * 26 lines
A big solar blast, a little meteor shower, and auroras in Calif
Space Weather News for April 21, 2002
http://www.spaceweather.com
A BIG SOLAR BLAST: An explosion on the Sun today sparked a powerful
X-class solar flare and hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME) into space.
Although the CME was not squarely Earth-directed, the expanding cloud will
likely deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetosphere on April 22nd or
23rd. Sky watchers should remain alert for renewed geomagnetic activity
and auroras.
A LITTLE METEOR SHOWER: The annual Lyrid meteor shower peaks on April
22nd. Early-rising northern sky watchers could see 10 or so meteors per
hour shooting from the vicinity of the bright star Vega before local dawn
on Monday.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AURORAS: A pair of coronal mass ejections swept past
Earth last week and ignited several days of geomagnetic activity.
Although the most intense Northern Lights were concentrated above
high-latitudes, photographers recorded auroras as far south as Arizona and
Southern California in the United States.
Visit spaceweather.com for images and more information about all these
events.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 807 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Apr 22, 2002 (17:46) * 17 lines
NEW SCIENTIST - NEWSFLASH
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cosmic ray mystery solved
Astronomers believe they have uncovered the source of the highest
energy cosmic rays - retired quasars. Cosmic rays are tiny,
energy-packed particles and, although very rare, are the only sample
of matter from outside the Solar System.
To read the full story go to:
http://www.prq0.com/apps/redir.asp?link=XbddbefjCG,ZbccedehecCJ&oid=UcjjbCB
Read more daily science and technology news at
http://www.newscientist.com
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 808 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Apr 24, 2002 (19:41) * 11 lines
Relax, it's only April
NASA Science News for April 24, 2002
It's in the news: The five brightest planets are converging in the western
sky. They are a pleasing sight in April ... but the best is yet to come in
May.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/24apr_relax.htm?list89800
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 809 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Apr 24, 2002 (22:46) * 58 lines
Faded Stars Show Universe Is 14 Billion Years Old
Reuters
Apr 24 2002 3:48PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The dimmest, most faded old stars, glimpsed
by the Hubble Space Telescope, offered confirmation that the universe is
just under 14 billion years of age, scientists said on Wednesday.
That is an estimate, scientists at NASA headquarters told reporters, with
an error margin of 500 million years either way.
But because it was calculated by a completely different method than
earlier estimates, it offers independent verification that astronomers are
on the right track.
"It's almost as if we were saying, you always thought you knew how old
you were, but you never had proof," Bruce Margon of the Space Telescope
Science Institute explained. "One day, you open a drawer and there's your
birth certificate, and you get the same answer. That's a real triumph."
To get this confirmation, astronomers aimed the orbiting Hubble
telescope at a globular cluster of stars in the constellation Scorpio, some
7,000 light-years from Earth. A light-year is the distance light travels in a
year, about 6 trillion miles.
Such clusters are thought to be the oldest structures in the universe,
coming into being about a billion years after the theoretical big bang.
Within these clusters are scores of so-called white dwarfs, burned-out
stars that have spent all the nuclear fuel at their cores and are simply
fading slowly into darkness.
"They're about the most boring stars you can think of, they're just cinders
cooling off," Margon said. "It's just the glowing ember of a fire that is
gradually cooling down at a predictable rate."
That predictable cooling rate is the key to calculating the age of the
universe, Margon and other astronomers said. Since they knew how fast
these old stars were cooling, they could figure how old they were by how
bright they were.
That number turned out to be just under 13 billion years; the astronomers
-- led by Harvey Richer of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver,
Canada -- added 1 billion years to account for the billion years that they
believe had elapsed before the globular cluster formed, and got their
universe age estimate.
PREVIOUS ESTIMATES
Previously, scientists had calculated the age of the universe by
measuring how fast galaxies were speeding away from each other as the
universe grew. Many scientists have long believed that the universe is
expanding at a predictable rate, but there was disagreement over just
what this rate was.
In 1997, the Hubble telescope gave a precise measurement for the
expansion rate, and a reliable age for the universe of around 15 billion
years.
This estimate got complicated in recent years when astronomers using
Hubble and other observatories encountered a strange force they called
dark energy, which was making the universe expand more rapidly.
With dark energy factored into the equation, astronomers put the
universe's age at 13 billion to 14 billion years -- in the same cosmic
ballpark as the figure reached by tracking the fading out of the oldest
stars.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 810 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Thu, Apr 25, 2002 (17:42) * 1 lines
wait what happens in may?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 811 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr 25, 2002 (20:18) * 30 lines
This what happens in May:
The best is yet to come ... in May.
That's when Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn will form an eye-catching cluster in the
constellation Taurus. Jupiter will hover above them in Gemini, just one constellation away. No
binoculars or telescopes are required to see them. All you need are your eyes and a clear view of
the western horizon.
Between now and April 30th, Jupiter (half-way up the western sky) and
Venus (closer to the horizon) are the attention-getters. Giant Jupiter is
bright, and Venus is even brighter. The cloud-covered second planet from
the Sun is so dazzling that it is often mistaken for a UFO or a landing
airplane. A line drawn between Venus and Jupiter will pass, more or less,
through dimmer Mars and Saturn.
Sky watchers who dash outside just after sunset this week can spot
Mercury, too. It's that "star" below Venus shining through the glow of the setting Sun. Mercury is
climbing higher in the sky each night and, by May 1st, it will remain visible for more than one hour
after sunset.
I plan to go outside every night after dinner between May 1st and 7th. Throughout that week, the
red star Aldebaran, Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Mars will fit within a circle about 10 degrees
across. (Ten degrees is about the width of your fist held at arm's length.) Each night will offer
something different and beautiful: On May 3rd, for example, Mars and Saturn will lie a scant 2.5
degrees apart. On May 4th, Mercury reaches its greatest apparent distance from the Sun and
makes its closest approach to the other planets. On May 5th, Mars, Saturn and Venus will form a
triangle just 3 degrees on each side. And so on....
Diagrams and more information http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/24apr_relax.htm?list89800
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 812 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr 25, 2002 (20:20) * 3 lines
Go out and watch them move from night to night. These planets are bright enough to see even in the Vog or Smog of the cities. Get your kids to graph them night to night to see just how much they do move.
I'm planning to do just that! Now, if only the weather gods cooperate...
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 813 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Thu, Apr 25, 2002 (20:56) * 1 lines
we've got some clouds in the way tonight but i did spot a bright star in the western sky (45 deg or so up from the horizon)
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 814 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr 25, 2002 (21:38) * 2 lines
Planet, NOT star. Planet shine by reflected sunlight. Stars shine on their own.
You likely saw Venus. It is brilliant even in daylight at this stage of her orbit.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 815 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr 25, 2002 (23:43) * 76 lines
Out with the Big Bang, and in with Cosmic Crunch
Reuters
Apr 25 2002 2:11PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - What if the big-bang theory is wrong? What if
the universe never began and will never end, driven forever to expand in a
series of monster explosions and contract every eon or so in a cosmic
crunch?
Princeton University physicist Paul Steinhardt suggested just that in a
report published on Thursday that even he called "mind-bending."
The big-bang theory, accepted by many scientists for decades, holds that
the universe was born some 14 billion years ago when an unimaginably
small, dense entity blew up, sowing the seeds of every bit of matter and
energy.
Soon after that first explosion, the universe expanded rapidly, in a
phenomenon astronomers call inflation, and then continued to spread
out at varying speeds until the present day, according to the big-bang
theory. Under this theory, time would begin but never end.
But the model of the universe envisioned by Steinhardt and Neil Turok of
Cambridge in the journal Science sees the big bang as merely a turning
point on an infinite road: an endless series of big bangs make the
universe expand and an equally endless series of subsequent crunches
make it contract.
The current estimated age of the universe according to the big-bang
theory would seem like the blink of an eye under the cyclic universe
theory, which assumes the universe waxes and wanes in cycles lasting
as long as trillions of years.
"Time does not have to have a beginning," Steinhardt said in a telephone
interview. He said that what scientists theorize as the dawn of time might,
in fact, be "only a transition or a stage of evolution from a pre-existing
phase to the present expanding phase."
EXOTIC DARK ENERGY
Scientists who favor the big-bang model see the expansion of the
universe as governed by the amount and kinds of energy that comprise it.
If the energy is the kind earthlings know -- gravitationally self-attractive
energy that clumps into galaxies, stars and planets and also makes a set
of keys fall off a table -- it tends to slow down the expansion.
But if it is a mysterious kind of gravitationally self-repulsive energy, known
as dark energy, that would tend to speed expansion up.
Astronomers and others who ponder this question have been at pains in
recent years to explain why the universe's expansion has been
accelerating over the last several billion years after a long slowdown.
Dark energy's strange ways could be responsible.
"We can see, both directly and indirectly, that most of the stuff in the
universe is not composed of ordinary matter, nor of dark matter, but of
some third species," he said. "And we can see that the ratio is roughly
70-30 -- 70 percent exotic stuff, 30 percent ordinary stuff."
What Steinhardt calls ordinary stuff is what allows the slower expansion
of the universe, which permits gravity to create galaxies, stars and
planets, including Earth. The accelerated expansion driven by dark energy
would blow all that away before it could coalesce.
"This stuff, once it takes over the universe, it pushes everything away at an
accelerating pace," he said. "So the universe will double in size every 14
to 15 billion years so long as there is this gravitationally self-repulsive
energy that dominates the universe."
The big crunch comes when dark energy changes its character,
according to Steinhardt. He likened it to a ball rolling down a hill that picks
up speed as it goes along.
"This field of dark energy is picking up more and more energy as it rolls
down the hill, the nature of the force that controls it causes it to rebound
and go back to where it started, back and forth in a very irregular fashion,"
he said.
"When it's changing slowly, it's gravitationally self-repulsive and when it's
changing fast, it picks up speed, it's gravitationally self-attractive,"
Steinhardt said.
Steinhardt admitted this made dark energy sound capricious.
"It is capricious but it's no more capricious than the standard picture," he
said. "It's just different."
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 816 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr 26, 2002 (16:33) * 40 lines
Today in Science/Astronomy:
* Mercury Joins Great Planet Alignment
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/planet_align_020426.html
We are yet another week closer to the climax of the Great Planet Alignment of 2002, and now the final element of the mix is in place.
* Last Chance to See Bright Comet Ikeya-Zhang
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/ikeya_zhang_020426.html
It's time to bid farewell to the brightest comet to appear in five years. Ikeya-Zhang, discovered Feb. 1, will soon end its run as a naked-eye object. It will then zoom to the outer reaches of the solar system, not to return for another 341 years.
* X Prize Lands in New York; Rocket at Rockefeller Center
http://www.space.com/news/x_prize_020425.html
A Canadian spaceship rolled into Rockefeller Plaza Thursday as Erik Lindbergh, the grandson of aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh, came to Manhattan to promote space tourism with plans to follow his family legacy across the Atlantic Ocean.
* In New Theory of Universe, Time Never Ends
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/new_universe_020425.html
Paul Steinhardt's universe is a lot like the workaday world of many people, a cycle of early vigor, spent energy, exhausted return, and new beginnings. However, in Steinhardt's universe, there is absolutely no end to the cycle.
-----------------------------------
Today in Missions/Launches:
* Soyuz Rocket Launches Shuttleworth into Orbit, Space Station Next Stop
http://www.space.com/spacetourism/
The world's second space tourist lifted off Thursday on a Russian rocket from the Baikonur launchpad in Central Asia, heading for the International Space Station.
* Weekend Wallpapers
http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/downloads/wallpapers/
Enjoy these wonderful new wallpaper downloads from Space Artist Michael Eaton.
* Aqua Satellite Planned to Examine Changing Earth
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/aqua_satellite_020423.html
NASA officials said yesterday that the planned launch later this spring of the Aqua satellite would mark a major milestone in understanding Earth, and its water cycles, and the changing global climate.
------------------------------------
Today in Business/Industry:
* SES Global Seeks Approval for DBS Service in the U.S.
http://www.space.com/spacenews/index.html
SES Global, operator of the world's largest fleet of commercial telecommunications satellites, is asking U.S. regulators for approval of a direct-broadcast television service that ultimately will also provide high-speed Internet connections to U.S. consumers.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 817 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr 26, 2002 (23:40) * 140 lines
FADING WHITE DWARFS CONFIRM THE AGE OF THE UNIVERSE
Ever since the theory of the Big Bang came to the fore, astronomers have
known that the universe had a beginning, and thus, a birth date. But
figuring out just how many candles to put on the universe's birthday cake
has proven tricky.
In recent years, thanks to the worldwide efforts of astronomers using the
Hubble Space Telescope and other instruments, the age of the universe has
been narrowed down to 13-14 billion years. This week, an independent study
led by Harvey Richer (University of British Columbia), confirmed that
result and put a strong lower bound of 12-13 billion years on the age....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_586_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MAKING MILLISECOND PULSARS
Using NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer satellite, astronomers have found
definitive proof that low-mass X-ray binary stars are the precursors of
millisecond pulsars. New observations of two X-ray binaries provide
convincing evidence that neutron stars are, indeed, whipped up to high
spin rates by mass transfer from a lower-mass companion star.
About 150 low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) are known. In all cases, the
X-rays are due to gas from the companion star falling toward the neutron
star. Some systems also show brief bursts of X-rays, produced by
thermonuclear fusion of piled-up hydrogen and helium on the neutron star's
surface.
Millisecond pulsars (MSPs), on the other hand, do not emit X-rays, but are
instead detected as very rapid radio pulsars, spinning hundreds of times
per second... To firmly establish an evolutionary link between LMXBs and
MSPs, though, astronomers would need to prove that the accreting, X-ray
emitting systems have also high spin rates....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_583_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ARE DORMANT QUASARS THROWING "BASEBALLS" AT US?
Point your backyard telescope in and around the bowl of the Big Dipper and
you may find sources of the most energetic particles ever observed in
nature. According to a team of astronomers led by Diego Torres (Princeton
University), these ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are produced by
spinning supermassive black holes in relatively nearby giant elliptical
galaxies. Four UHECR particles detected by a Japanese observatory seem to
come from NGC 3610, NGC 3613, NGC 4589, and NGC 5322.
While accelerators on Earth can produce particles with energies up to a
trillion electron volts (1 TeV), nature somehow succeeds in accelerating
protons (hydrogen nuclei) to energies a hundred million times greater. The
highest-energy cosmic ray on record packed a 2 x 10^20 electron volt
wallop (200 million TeV) -- as much energy in a single atomic particle as
a baseball thrown at 50 miles per hour....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_582_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMET BORRELLY: DRY AND HOT
Scientific intuition tells us that a comet's nucleus should be a frozen
mountain of ice and dust. But that's not what Deep Space 1 discovered when
it flew past Comet 19P/Borrelly last year. A recently released analysis of
spacecraft spectra finds that Borrelly's "icy heart" exhibits no trace of
water ice or any water-bearing minerals. Moreover, the nucleus is actually
quite hot -- ranging from 300 degrees to 345 degrees Kelvin (80 degrees to
160 degrees F).
What this means, according to Laurence Soderblom (U.S. Geological Survey),
who led the analysis team, is that virtually all of the comet's surface
has become inactive -- ice is present on too little of it to be detected
spectroscopically....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_579_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLOSING IN ON NEUTRINO PROPERTIES
Neutrinos have mass, they change identity when passing through matter, and
the Standard Model of particle physics is wrong. New results from the
Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) in Canada leave no room for other
conclusions. The results, announced on April 20th at a joint meeting of
the American Physical Society and the American Astronomical Society in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, confirm initial measurements presented last June
(Sky & Telescope: September 2001, page 18), but the new findings are even
more convincing....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_581_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASTRO NEWS BRIEFS
McDonald Observatory Opens New Visitor Center
About 130,000 visitors annually come to McDonald Observatory in Fort
Davis, Texas, to attend the popular star parties and constellation tours
and to enjoy some of the darkest night skies in the continental U.S.
Unfortunately, the observatory, a research unit of the University of Texas
at Austin, was geared to handle only about 20,000 guests per year. But
that's no longer a problem with the April opening of a new
12,000-square-foot Visitor Center, featuring interactive exhibits in
English and Spanish, a 90-seat theater, a cafe, and a gift shop. The
facility also offers a lab-style classroom, a 300-seat outdoor
amphitheater, and a public astronomy park with a half-dozen telescopes
including 16- and 22-inch reflectors.
Mystery Meteorite with a Molten Past
Planetary scientists suspect that many primordial asteroids must have
grown large enough to melt completely, yielding iron-rich cores and
silicate crusts before being shattered to pieces. After all, the iron
meteorites reaching Earth comprise dozens of unique compositional types.
Yet, among the thousands of known meteorites, only a relative handful
consist of basalt, the igneous rock type that would be most common in
those asteroidal crusts -- and until recently all of them seemed to have
come from a single source, 4 Vesta. In the April 12th issue of Science,
Akira Yamaguchi (National Institute of Polar Research, Tokyo) and nine
colleagues argue that a 40-gram stone called Northwest Africa 011 is a
basaltic meteorite entirely unlike those from Vesta. Its parent body is
unknown; one candidate is 1459 Magnya, an outer-belt object that was found
to have a basalt spectrum two years ago. Still, though lacking a pedigree,
NWA 011 is a significant find. As asteroid expert Richard P. Binzel (MIT)
explains, "Yamaguchi's results (and those for 1459 Magnya) are the
'eureka' that complement what the iron meteorites have been telling us:
there must have been other Vestas out there."
Comet Probe Shipped for Launch
Snuggly sealed in its climate-controlled shipping container, the Contour
spacecraft left the Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland on April 23rd
for Cape Canaveral, Florida, where it will be readied for a July 1st
launch. Contour (a contraction for Comet Nucleus Tour) is a drum-shaped,
eight-sided craft designed to fly within 100 kilometers of at least two
comet nuclei. It carries a camera, an imaging spectrometer, and
instruments to analyze the composition of dust and gas in each comet's
coma. The first planned encounter, in November 2003, is with an "old"
comet, 2P/Encke. Then, after a long "backflip" across the inner solar
system and a series of Earth flybys, the spacecraft will brush past a
relatively "fresh" comet, 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, in June 2006. A
third target might be 6P/d'Arrest in 2008 -- but the mission design is so
flexible that, given enough lead time, the spacecraft can be redirected to
intercept an unexpected cometary visitor passing through the inner solar
system.
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_585_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S SKY
* This week the western sky continues to display all five naked-eye
planets in twilight.
* Comet Ikeya-Zhang is fading. Find it in the morning twilight low in the
north-northeast sky.
* Comet Utsunomiya will be very low in the west-northwest twilight at the
end of the week.
For details, see This Week's Sky at a Glance and Planet Roundup:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance/
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 818 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr 26, 2002 (23:43) * 11 lines
Cosmic rays reveal their roots
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/6/4/18
Two groups of scientists have shed light on the origin of the streams of
high-energy particles known as cosmic rays that continually bombard the
Earth. Ryoji Enomoto of the University of Tokyo and co-workers have found
the first strong evidence that cosmic rays with energies up to 10^15 eV
are produced by remnants of supernovas (R Enomoto et al 2002 Nature 416
823). Meanwhile, a team of researchers from NASA and Princeton University
has proposed that cosmic rays with energies of over 10^20 eV are made by
black holes in ancient quasar galaxies.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 819 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr 27, 2002 (01:13) * 11 lines
Cooperation to answer cosmic questions
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/6/4/16
The three main US funding agencies must cooperate if scientists are to
answer fundamental questions about the universe, concludes the latest
report from the National Research Council (NRC). The committee on the
physics of the universe - set up by the NRC - last year identified eleven
such questions that it hopes will be answered by the joint efforts of
astrophysicists and particle physicists. The new report recommends six
major scientific projects to answer the questions, and says that a
cross-disciplinary funding body should be set up to support them.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 820 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr 27, 2002 (02:42) * 55 lines
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF VARIABLE STAR OBSERVERS
25 Birch Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
INTERNET: aavso@aavso.org
Tel. 617-354-0484 Fax 617-354-0665
AAVSO ALERT NOTICE 295 (April 16, 2002)
1753-30B NOVA SAGITTARII 2002
We have been informed by the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (IAU
Circular 7878) that W. Liller, Vina del Mar, Chile, photographically
discovered an apparent nova in Sagittarius at magnitude 9.2 on two images
taken on April 15.354 UT, using Technical Pan film and an orange filter.
P. Cacella, Brasilia, Brazil, measured the position of the object from a
CCD image obtained with a 0.25-m reflector on April 16.093 UT (V magnitude
10.1) as:
R.A. = 17h 59m 59.63s Decl. = -30o 53' 20.5" (2000)
Observations reported to the AAVSO are as follows: April 11.3999 UT, Less than 11.5
PTG, W. Liller, Vina del Mar, Chile; 15.3539, 9.2 PTG, Liller; 16.1290,
9.5, R. Shida, Ariente, Brazil; 16.4854, 9.8, M. Linnolt, San Francisco,
CA; 16.6060, 9.8, A. Pearce, Nedlands, Australia.
Accompanying is an AAVSO "d" scale chart of N SGR 02 prepared by A. Price,
AAVSO Headquarters, with the sequence prepared by M. Simonsen and M. Morel.
Please use this chart to observe the nova, and report your observations of
1753-30B N SGR 02 to AAVSO Headquarters, making sure to indicate which
comparison stars you used. Please note that a "d" scale reversed chart is
also available from the AAVSO web site or on request.
Congratulations to Bill on his latest discovery!
CHARTS AVAILABLE ON AAVSO WEB AND FTP SITES
Electronic copies of the N Sgr 02 charts mentioned in this Alert
Notice are available through our web site at the following address:
http://www.aavso.org/charts/SGR/N_SGR/02
The charts may also be obtained directly from our FTP site:
ftp://ftp.aavso.org/charts/standard/SGR/N_SGR_02
We encourage observers to submit observations via our website (online data
submission tool WebObs), or by email in AAVSO format to
observations@aavso.org. If you do not have AAVSO Observer Initials, please
contact Headquarters so we may assign them to you. The answering machine
at AAVSO Headquarters is on nights and weekends; use our charge-free number
(888-802-STAR = 888-802-7827) to report your observations, or report them
via fax (617-354-0665).
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 821 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr 27, 2002 (22:57) * 11 lines
Cyclic universe bounces back (Apr 26)
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/6/4/21
The universe undergoes an endless series of big bangs and cosmic
crunches separated by periods of expansion and contraction, according to
the latest cosmological theory. Paul Steinhardt of Princeton University
and Neil Turok of Cambridge University claim to have solved the problems
that have plagued theories of a `bouncing' universe since the 1930s.
According to the pair, we are about 14 billion years into the current
cycle of cosmic expansion (P Steinhardt and N Turok 2002 Science to
appear).
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 822 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr 27, 2002 (22:58) * 1 lines
Pardon me for saying so, but this is the "steady state" universe to which I have adhered since the beginning! Read back and see - it's in here somewhere!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 823 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, May 1, 2002 (21:16) * 37 lines
A GREAT TIME FOR PLANET WATCHERS
If you haven't yet seen the great planetary gathering that's unfolding in
the west at dusk, the first half of May brings your best opportunity. On
the 3rd Mercury is at its greatest elongation from the Sun, and to the
upper right of Saturn, you'll find Mars only 2 1/4 degrees away. Faint
Saturn, fainter Mars, and brilliant Venus form a nearly equilateral
triangle on the 5th. The next evening this trio of planets fit within a 3
degree field of view as Saturn moves to within 2 1/2 degrees of Venus.
More information about this ongoing dance is available here:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_572_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ETA AQUARID METEOR SHOWER PEAKS
Peaking on the morning of May 5th, the Eta Aquarid meteor shower is a fine
one for Southern Hemisphere observers who may see up to 50 meteors per
hour. Northern Hemisphere skywatchers can see it too, but because the
radiant is low in the east before dawn, they're likely to spot only 20
meteors per hour.
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/meteors/article_577_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMET AND PLANET
On May 3rd Comet Utsunomiya will pass within 0.1 degree of Mercury around
the time of twilight for eastern North America, and they'll appear only a
little farther apart in twilight for the western side of the continent.
This is likely to be a tough observation, however; they're very low in the
west-northwest in late twilight, and the comet is predicted to be about
6th magnitude. You'll definitely need a telescope to see it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMET IKEYA-ZHANG IN THE MORNING SKY
Although becoming fainter, the comet remains well placed in the dawn sky
(for Northern Hemisphere skywatchers) as it makes a slow trek through
Draco and on toward Hercules. For a table and chart showing the comet's
current location, click here:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/comets/article_477_1.asp
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 824 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, May 4, 2002 (11:46) * 23 lines
Planets and Meteors on May 5th
Space Weather News for May 4, 2002
http://www.spaceweather.com
A TRIANGLE OF PLANETS: As the Sun sets on May 5th, the planets Venus,
Saturn and Mars will pop out of the darkening twilight in an eye-catching
pattern: a near-perfect triangle measuring 3 degrees on each side. Just
below the trio lies elusive Mercury. Be sure to see the innermost planet
before it sinks back toward the Sun next week!
SOUTHERN METEORS: Northern sky watchers have been favored lately with a
great view of the ongoing planetary "alignment" in the western evening
sky. This weekend, sky watchers in the southern hemisphere can enjoy a
show of their own: the eta Aquarid meteor shower. Early risers on Sunday
could spot as many as 50 meteors per hour when bits of debris from
Halley's comet streak through Earth's atmosphere.
Visit spaceweather.com for sky maps and more information about both
events.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 825 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, May 7, 2002 (18:23) * 36 lines
* * * SKY & TELESCOPE's SKYWATCHER'S BULLETIN - May 7, 2002 * * *
=========================================================================
Welcome to S&T's Skywatcher's Bulletin. More information on the items
below is available on our Web site, SkyandTelescope.com, at the URLs
provided. Clear skies!
=========================================================================
PLANETS CONTINUE TO SHINE IN WEST
Don't miss the great planetary gathering that's unfolding in the west at
dusk. On the 10th Mars is only 1/4 degree to the lower left of Venus. Two
days later the five planets are 33 degrees apart -- their minimum angular
separation during this gathering. Then on the 13th the crescent Moon joins
the gathering for the next 3 nights. More information about this ongoing
dance of the planets is available here:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_572_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MOON OCCULTS THREE PLANETS IN ONE DAY
On May 14th the waxing crescent Moon hides three major planets as seen
from different parts of the Earth (all times are approximate). At 8 hours
Universal Time Saturn is occulted for observers in the United Kingdom,
western Scandinavia, and parts of northeast Alaska. At 19 hours UT Mars
disappears behind the Moon as seen from nearly all of South America.
Finally, Venus is occulted at 23 hours UT for anyone who happens to be in
the South Pacific Ocean.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMET IKEYA-ZHANG IN THE MORNING SKY
The comet is now between 5th and 6th magnitude as it continues its trek
from Draco to Hercules. For a table and chart showing the comet's current
location, click here:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/comets/article_477_1.asp
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 826 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, May 10, 2002 (23:58) * 9 lines
The Truth about the 2002 Leonid Meteor Storm
Experts say another Leonid meteor storm is due in 2002. Rumor has it that
a glaring full Moon will ruin the display ... but perhaps there's hope for
a marvelous show, after all.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/10may_leonids-2002.htm?list89800
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 827 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, May 11, 2002 (14:04) * 13 lines
Geomagnetic Storm Warning
Space Weather News for May 11, 2002
http://www.spaceweather.com
An unexpected interplanetary shock wave swept past Earth at 1000 UT on May
11th and triggered a moderate geomagnetic storm. High-latitude sky
watchers -- i.e., those in northern Europe, Canada and across the northern
tier of US states -- should be alert for auroras after local nightfall on
Saturday. Although the shock wave was not a particularly strong one, it
stimulated a geomagnetic storm because the interplanetary magnetic field
near Earth is pointing south -- a condition that weakens our planet's
magnetic defenses against solar wind disturbances. Visit spaceweather.com
for updates.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 828 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, May 11, 2002 (18:19) * 16 lines
ASTRONOMY
* A Dusty Haze around Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies
* NASA's Global Surveyor Adds to Its Martian Photo Album
* Diamond Grains Waft Among Stars
* Infrared Images of an Infant Solar System
* Venus Pillars and Dogs
* Mars Global Surveyor Aging Gracefully in Mars Orbit
* Journey to the Farthest Planet
* Dusty Disks May Reveal Hidden Worlds
* Grid Helps Science Go Sky-High
* Chandra: The Journey to Success
References
1. http://www.sciquest.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/sci_level3.d2w/report?nav_banner=bio&resource=articles&gateway=S-astron
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 829 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, May 13, 2002 (20:43) * 28 lines
Daytime meteor shower strikes county
No reports of damage from rare event
By JAYETTE BOLINSKI
STAFF WRITER
Sangamon County authorities received more than a dozen calls Thursday afternoon of brilliant, firelike streaks in the eastern
sky — a daytime meteor shower that is rare but not unheard of, according to a local astronomer.
"It’s certainly possible to see a meteor during the day if it’s large enough or bright enough," said Charles Schweighauser,
professor of astronomy and physics at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
"I have seen one during the day, in the evening, years ago. It’s not terribly common, but certainly it’s not impossible."
Reports of the meteors flooded the 911 dispatcher’s office about 4:15 p.m. The calls came primarily from residents of
Springfield’s east side and eastern Sangamon County, according to Springfield police Sgt. Kevin Keen.
"At first they thought it was a joke until more and more calls began coming in," he said. "We’re keeping our eye out for
anything. None have been confirmed yet."
A spokesman for the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office said there were no reports of damage from the falling space dust.
Commonly referred to as shooting stars, meteors are tiny particles that orbit the sun and typically are no larger than a grain of
sand.
The particles are called meteoroids once they enter the Earth’s atmosphere. They become visible, rarely for more than a few
seconds, because friction between the particle and air molecules creates a blue or white glow.
http://www.sj-r.com/news/Friday/f.htm
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 830 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, May 15, 2002 (23:34) * 5 lines
* Hubble's 'Pillars of Creation' are fading *
New observations suggest the most famous picture ever taken by the Hubble Space Telescope is not what it seems.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1987000/1987449.stm
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 831 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos (tsatsvol) * Fri, May 17, 2002 (13:49) * 15 lines
I will give you some mathematic expressions:
1). (?) 1*a
2). (?) 10*a-1*e
3). (?) 100*a-11*e
4). (?) 1000*a-111*e
5). (?) 10000*a-1111*e
6). (?) 100000*a=11111*e
7). (?) 1000000*a=111111*e
Can you see some harmony there? It is not really scientific but it shows something real.
Who can answer? Perhaps Lu I think. But I will give you enough time.
John
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 832 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Fri, May 17, 2002 (17:11) * 1 lines
well, everyone know's i'm not a math genius. the only harmony i see is that all the numbers extend out just enough to make a nice slope up the right side!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 833 of 1087: S B Robinson (SBRobinson) * Fri, May 17, 2002 (17:20) * 1 lines
numbers dont like me -so i have no clue.....
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 834 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos (tsatsvol) * Fri, May 17, 2002 (23:41) * 4 lines
Please see it as a logical drawing and what it contents. Perhaps you see the harmony of our Solar System.
(For those who are familiar with mathematics, the numbers are in binary form).
John
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 835 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, May 18, 2002 (17:46) * 12 lines
Bode's Law, as I recall is stated above by John
Bode's Law
The Titius-Bode Law is rough rule that predicts the spacing of the planets in the Solar System. The relationship was first pointed
out by Johann Titius in 1766 and was formulated as a mathematical expression by J.E. Bode in 1778. It lead Bode to predict the
existence of another planet between Mars and Jupiter in what we now recognize as the asteroid belt.
The law relates the mean distances of the planets from the sun to a simple mathematic progression of numbers.
Calculations and the planets involved:
http://astrosun.tn.cornell.edu/courses/astro201/bodes_law.htm
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 836 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Sun, May 19, 2002 (10:33) * 1 lines
wow!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 837 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, May 19, 2002 (22:36) * 3 lines
For this lady, Bode's Law was a chicken-skin experience. If there is a Divine Architect of the Universe, surely this was the prime example of his work. I was stunned to discover its reality and how incredibly sensible it was. My humility grows as I learn more.
(Bode is pronounced in the German style as BODE - ah )
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 838 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos (tsatsvol) * Tue, May 21, 2002 (03:57) * 9 lines
What amiable surprise Marcia! I was not expected you know it. Congratulations again. I am sure that Wolfie is equally clever.
I present you this easy explanation of Titius - Bode Law with only one notation. It looks like a harmony order. Impressive is that this law has formulated before the discovery of Uranus and the small asteroid (or planet) Demeter.
(I don't know if Demeter is correct name but in Greek language it is the name of Goddess Demetra that was the Goddess of agriculture).
John
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 839 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, May 21, 2002 (14:26) * 5 lines
John, there is much about me that you will learn. I know many things but only a little. College astronomy introduced me to Bode's Law. I have since taught it because of the very nature of the regularity of the spacing of planets.
I searched for your elusive Demeter and did not come up wiht anything which made much sense in atronomical terms. I did find this site which seems to have recreted the entire Solar System using alternate names for the planets we know so well. Could Demeter be what we call Pluto? A planetoid at best, or an escaped moon from Uranus, it is does not fit in to the other parts of the Solar System and the theories of creation of it. Astroid would be my guess for Demeter.
http://curriculum.calstatela.edu/courses/builders/planets02/JAVS/JSYSTEM.HTM
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 840 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, May 21, 2002 (14:29) * 1 lines
Now that I look again at your statistics, with the asteroid belt occupying the space where you have Demeter, it is also what we call this. Depending on who is making the table of distances. Pluto still does not fit correctly as you have shown. Thank you, John. I am delighted to see your graphics.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 841 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Tue, May 21, 2002 (17:17) * 3 lines
i suppose if i looked at it longer, john, i would've guessed binary (having learned it a long time ago) but it looked too much like math and i got spooked!
thank you for explaining it (in one of your neato graphs)!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 842 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, May 21, 2002 (22:59) * 1 lines
Wolfie, the man has a veritable plethora of the most inspired graphs. I was happy the data had not changed since I was in college. (We used slate and chalk and candles back then...)
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 843 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, May 23, 2002 (00:37) * 13 lines
Aurora Warning
Space Weather News for May 23, 2002
http://www.spaceweather.com
A coronal mass ejection (CME) that billowed away from the Sun on May 22nd
is heading toward Earth. The expanding cloud could trigger a geomagnetic
storm at middle latitudes when it arrives on Thursday, May 23rd or (more
likely) Friday, May 24th. Sky watchers should remain alert for auroras on
both nights. Our planet will also encounter a solar wind stream flowing
from a coronal hole during the days ahead. Solar wind gusts could stir up
additional geomagnetic activity. Stay tuned to spaceweather.com for
updates.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 844 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Thu, May 23, 2002 (18:31) * 1 lines
marcia, you're so funny!!! *HUGS*
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 845 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos (tsatsvol) * Fri, May 24, 2002 (23:54) * 3 lines
It is not funny Wolfie. Our life in the past years had difficulties but more colours. I prefer that not automatic life.
John
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 846 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, May 27, 2002 (17:35) * 5 lines
* South Pole light show *
Dramatic images of the Southern Lights have been taken in the long Antarctic night.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_2004000/2004525.stm
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 847 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, May 30, 2002 (22:09) * 33 lines
=========================================================================
* * * SKY & TELESCOPE's SKYWATCHER'S BULLETIN - May 29, 2002 * * *
=========================================================================
VENUS AND JUPITER APPROACH CONJUNCTION
The two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, are shining in the western
sky after dusk and drawing closer together day by day. By month's-end
they'll have closed to within 2 1/2 degrees of each other. Conjunction
occurs on the evening of June 3rd when they'll be less than 2 degrees
apart (that's less than the width of a finger held at arm's length).
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_572_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LAST CHANCE TO VIEW JUPITER
This giant planet is becoming difficult to observe as it sinks lower into
the western twilight each evening. While watching the conjunction, why not
also take a telescopic tour of Jupiter? A list of times when the Great Red
Spot crosses Jupiter's central meridian can be found at the address below.
For European observers, a double shadow transit begins at 23:05 Universal
Time on May 31st and for the next 2 1/2 hours, the shadows of Europa and
Ganymede will drift across Jupiter's face.
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_107_1.asp
Copyright 2002 Sky Publishing Corp. S&T's Skywatcher's Bulletin is
provided as a free service to the astronomical community by the editors of
SKY & TELESCOPE magazine. This bulletin may not be redistributed or
republished in any form without written permission from Sky Publishing;
send e-mail to permissions@SkyandTelescope.com or call +1 617-864-7360.
More information about astronomical observing is available on our Web site
at http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 848 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Jun 1, 2002 (16:10) * 181 lines
=================================================================
This Is SKY & TELESCOPE's AstroAlert for Sun-Earth Interactions
=================================================================
http://www.spacew.com/astroalert.html
SAFELY VIEWING THE NAKED-EYE SUNSPOT & THE JUNE 10 ANNULAR SOLAR ECLIPSE
When I was a youngster, there was a near total solar eclipse near my
home. Although we were not in the path of totality, almost 90 percent of the
Sun was blocked by the moon. I remember looking outside while in school and
seeing the light of the Sun near mid-morning change to a strange yellow hue.
Unfortunately, those were during the days when our teachers were warned by
the uneducated media and others that observing a solar eclipse was dangerous
and should not be done. As a result, all of the students in our class were
kept in-doors and were only allowed to watch the progress of the eclipse from
a television set in the library. I was severely disappointed. One of my first
experiences in solar astronomy was from a windowless library in front a
television screen - the result of false education. To this day, I regret that
my parents and my school teachers did not receive the facts about the safety
of observing the Sun.
There are very safe ways to observe the Sun, both directly and through
projection methods. Commercial filters have even been developed that allow
you look at the Sun through binoculars or telescopes.
This AstroAlert is prompted by the occurrence of two relatively rare and
closely spaced events: a naked eye sized sunspot and the occurrence of an
annular solar eclipse on 10 June. Unfortunately, by 10 June the naked-eye
sunspot will have rotated to the west limb of the Sun and will not be visible
except perhaps through telescopic means. Nevertheless, this may make an
interesting target for experienced solar observers with the appropriate
telescopic and photographic equipment.
First, don't attempt to look at the Sun directly without some form of
filter that has been approved to filter out the harmful components of solar
radiation. Even the briefest exposure to the focused light of the Sun on our
eyes retina can produce irreparable damage. Remember that your eyes can be
damaged by radiation that is invisible. Just because the Sun appears dark in
an object that you are looking through does not mean that it is safe to use
if it is not also filtering out the invisible radiation. Don't be paranoid
about observing the Sun. Be careful.
Do not allow children to observe the Sun directly through filters that
you hold to your face - particularly young children who are not old enough to
understand the risks involved. Studies have shown that eye damage occurs
dominantly to younger children. Damage to childrens eyes may last a
life-time and could have a strong impact on their ability to learn. It would
also affect what professions they are able to enter. Young children should
instead be shown the Sun through projection techniques (discussed below)
where they are not required to look directly at the Sun itself.
Filters that can be held directly up to your eyes, allowing you to see
the Sun directly should NEVER be placed in front of binoculars or telescopes
to help magnify the Sun. Binoculars and telescopes greatly concentrate and
focus the energy of the filtered radiation. The focused radiation may still
be harmful to your eyes. Commercial filters exist that have been designed
specifically for attaching to the front ends of binoculars or telescopes. Use
those devices if you are interested in observing the Sun through a telescope
or binoculars. For example, DON'T look at the Sun through binoculars that are
placed behind welders glasses.
Never place naked-eye filters at the back-end of a telescope or
binocular either. The focused heat may damage the optics and (worse) crack
or burn the filter to allow unimpeded and unfiltered sunlight to enter your
eye. The point is this: Leave your binoculars or telescope inside your house
unless you have an approved commercial solar filter to attach to the FRONT
end of your telescope or binocular, or unless you plan on using these
instruments to project an image of the Sun (see below).
Before using ANY filter (whether made of glass, mylar, film, or anything
else), ALWAYS (repeat *ALWAYS*) carefully inspect the filter for cracks,
pinholes, scratches, or other forms of damage that may allow sunlight to pass
through the filter unhindered. You may need to hold the filter up to a bright
light to inspect for defects. To prevent damage, store your filter (even if
it's a cheap pair of 3D-style glasses with solar filtering mylar as the
"lenses") in a protected location like a box with padding. Anything to help
prevent breakage or scratching.
To safely observe the Sun with the naked-eye, use one of the following
types of filters. Number 14 welders glass is a common and safe filter for
observing the Sun. Solar filters made of mylar are also acceptable for
observing the Sun (the mylar contained in "space blankets" and the aluminized
mylar used in gardens are NOT safe!). Several layers of completely exposed
black and white film (developed to maximum density) containing metallic
silver are also acceptable for observing the Sun with the naked-eye. But make
certain the film contains metallic silver. Many newer forms of film contain
dyes instead of metallic silver - these are NOT safe. DON'T use color film!
Even multiple layers of exposed color film are NOT safe. We do not recommend
the use of floppy disks or CD's to view the Sun. Differences in manufacturing
methods and differences in the types and thicknesses of the deposits placed
on the CD render them unreliable and potentially unsafe for use in observing
the Sun. Additionally, they may distort the solar image to the point where
resolving naked-eye sunspots becomes impossible.
Do NOT use neutral density or polarizing filters, color film or black
and white film lacking metallic silver, sunglasses (even multiple pairs
placed together), or off-the-shelf items that appear dark. In short, DON'T
EXPERIMENT! Most of these devices may appear black, but do not contain the
appropriate types of metallic deposits to filter out the invisible
near-infrared component of solar radiation. Observing the Sun with these
devices may appear black to your eyes, but may still cause retinal burn and
permanently damage your eyes.
Young children can (and should) view the Sun through projection methods.
These methods allow children to view the Sun without risk of eye damage.
Projection is simple, but may be a bit finnicky to perfect with instruments
like binoculars or telescopes.
The simplest safe projection method (which is, by the way, a GREAT way
for showing even young children the annular solar eclipse on 10 June) can be
performed by anyone. The method involves poking a pin through a piece of card
stock, cardboard, or some other material that will only allow a
pin-hole-sized beam of sunlight through. Hold the card-stock so sunlight
shines through the pin-hole. Then, hold a piece of white card-stock or a
white sheet of paper several feet (no more than about a meter) away from the
card-stock with the pin-hole so that the beam of light shining through the
card-stock hits the white paper. A naturally focused image of the Sun will
appear on the white paper. During the annular eclipse, you will be able to
see the moon move in front of the Sun as the eclipse progresses.
To project an image of the Sun using binoculars or a telescope, keep the
following in mind: Binoculars and telescopes concentrate sunlight by focusing
it to a point. The heat given off in this process is sufficient to burn
through objects like paper and plastic. It may also crack glass if
point-heated long enough. If binoculars or telescopes are aimed at the sun
for too long a time, damage may occur to the optics or the optical support
components of these instruments. So be careful. Don't use projection for
prolonged periods of time.
Projecting an image of the Sun using binoculars or telescopes requires
that an image of the Sun be focused (or projected) onto a white sheet of
card-stock or paper a few feet away from the eyepiece. Do this by having
someone hold the white paper or card-stock behind the eyepiece of the
binoculars or telescope while you point the instrument toward the Sun (NEVER
look through the instrument toward the Sun! - this is an "eye's-off"
exercise). When you have pointed it at the Sun, a blurred image of the Sun
will appear on the paper. Without changing the distance of the paper from the
eyepiece, slowly focus the binoculars or telescope until the image projected
on the paper becomes sharp. Depending on the magnification of the instrument,
you may now be able to see sunspots that are not visible to the naked eye!
During the annular eclipse of 10 June, you may even be able to glimpse uneven
edges (mountains) on the moon.
While projecting images of the Sun, NEVER allow anyone to look into the
beam of light shining through the eyepiece - even at a distance.
You may find it useful to devise some method of mounting and supporting
your binoculars while they are pointed at the Sun. Relying on your own
hand-held stability may result in a rather shakey image on the projected
paper. But a shakey image is still more rewarding than no image at all!
Remember that the Earth is a rotating sphere, so the projected solar image
will gradually move out of the field of view of your telescope or binoculars
(unless your telescope is on a motorized mount).
Michal Svanda and John McConnell were the first to confirm a visual
sighting of the naked-eye sunspot. Today, I too confirmed that this object is
visible to the naked-eye. It will be most visible over the next several days,
provided the sunspots associated with it maintain their size. If the
sunspot complex decays, it will become increasingly difficult to see the
sunspot with the naked eye.
The annular (partial for North America) solar eclipse on 10 June begins
in the late afternoon over western North America and is visible throughout
all but the far eastern United States. Up to about 80% of the sun is obscured
by the moon over portions of California, while lesser amounts of the sun are
obscured the further north and east you travel. A good source of information
for this event (including maps of visibility) is available at Sky & Telescope
at: http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/eclipses/article_580_1.asp.
Additional information is available from the Goddard Space Flight Center at:
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/ASE2002/ASE2002.html
Finally, an excellent summary for safely observing the Sun can be found
at: http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEhelp/safety2.html
A link to a source for commercial solar filters is available here:
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEhelp/filters.html
Enjoy the views!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 849 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Wed, Jun 5, 2002 (06:28) * 7 lines
An international team, using NASA's Odyssey spacecraft, say they have collected compelling evidence that a huge amount of water is locked underground in a Martian version of permafrost. Or "buried treasure," as William Boynton, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona, describes it.
"We were hopeful that we could find evidence of ice, but what we have found is much more ice than we ever expected," says Prof. Boynton, one of the leaders of the international team that detected the ice. The Russian, European and U.S. scientists detail the findings in the journal Science this week.
http://www.nationalpost.com/tech/story.html?f=/stories/20020531/404543.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 850 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Jun 5, 2002 (14:35) * 1 lines
Indeed. The NASA reports are referenced in Geo 34. Thanks Terry! I had not seen this article!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 851 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Wed, Jun 5, 2002 (18:32) * 1 lines
the same thing on one of jupiter's moons---there is a veritable ocean underneath....
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 852 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Fri, Jun 14, 2002 (07:04) * 12 lines
Solar System That Looks Like Ours Finally Found
After 15 years of observation and a lot of patience, the world's premier planet-hunting team has finally found a planetary system that reminds them of our own home solar system.
Dr. Geoffrey Marcy, astronomy professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and astronomer Dr. Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C., today announced the discovery of a Jupiter-like planet orbiting a Sun-like star at nearly the same distance as the Jovian system orbits our Sun.
"All other extrasolar planets discovered up to now orbit closer to the parent star, and most of them have had elongated, eccentric orbits. This new planet orbits as far from its star as our own Jupiter orbits the Sun," said Marcy. NASA and the National Science Foundation fund the planet-hunting team.
During the NASA Space Science Update on June 13, the planet-hunting team of Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler announced their latest discovery beyond our Solar System.
http://unisci.com/stories/20022/0614022.htm
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 853 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Jun 14, 2002 (12:36) * 1 lines
It's nice to know we are not alone. I wonder what sort of security check hill be involved with a flight there?!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 854 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos (tsatsvol) * Mon, Jun 24, 2002 (02:19) * 25 lines
TODAY
Near-Earth Flyby of the Asteroid 2002 LZ45
1 AU = 1 Astronomical Unit = 149,597,871 kilometers
The planets are white lines, and the asteroid/comet is a blue line. The bright white line indicates the portion of the orbit that is above the ecliptic plane, and the darker portion is below the ecliptic plane. Likewise for the asteroid/comet orbit, the light blue indicates the portion above the ecliptic plane, and the dark blue the portion below the ecliptic plane.
PHYSICAL PARAMETERS
GM (km^3 s^-2): unknown
Radius (km): unknown
H (absolute magnitude): 22.860
G (magnitude slope parameter): 0.15
Color Index (B-V): unknown
Rotation Period (h): unknown
Geometric Albedo: unknown
Spectral Class: unknown
Orbit Solution Data Arc: 8 days
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/db?name=2002+LZ45
Enjoy also the beautiful animation in the above site.
John
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 855 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Jun 24, 2002 (13:48) * 1 lines
I wonder if my satellit-hunting son wil be able to see it with his telescope. Thanks, John! I'll try to send him the information!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 856 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos (tsatsvol) * Tue, Jul 2, 2002 (15:12) * 46 lines
Farewell look at Jupiter's burning moon
June 26, 2002 Posted: 11:29 AM EDT (1529 GMT)
By Richard Stenger
CNN
(CNN) -- The Galileo spacecraft took the closest pictures yet of Jupiter's moon Io, a final photo shoot that captures molten lakes and crumbling cliffs on the most volcanic body in the solar system.
The ailing probe, preparing for a fatal flight into Jupiter, took the photos when skimming to within about 121 miles (181 kilometers) of Io's south pole in October.
After months of study, NASA scientists released the images in late May. The portraits, which include infrared and optical pictures, reveal 13 previously unknown volcanoes, according to project researchers.
"Io is a weird place. We've known that even before Voyager. And each time Galileo has given us a close look, we get more surprises," said Torrence Johnson, a Galileo scientist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
The Galileo finds raise the total of identified volcanoes on Io to 120, most of them spotted by the bus-sized craft, which has swung by Io six times during its nearly seven-year residency in the Jupiter system.
The first direct visual evidence of Io volcanism came from photos taken by the Voyager spacecraft in 1979 and 1980, but astronomers had little idea how active the Jovian moon really was.
Io was originally thought to have about a dozen lava pits, Johnson said. Since then, astronomers have been surprised not only by the number but diversity of the volcanoes.
"The volcanoes on Io have displayed an assortment of eruption styles, but recent observations have surprised us with the frequency of both giant plumes and crusted-over lakes of molten lava," said Alfred McEwen, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
The eerie landscape displays evidence of Io's twisted tectonics. Molten cauldrons have blasted plumes of sulfur hundreds of miles high, leaving trails of debris on the surface extending hundreds of miles.
Most of Io's volcanoes are in flat regions, but a few rare specimens resemble crater-topped volcanic peaks like those on Earth, including one jutting up almost 20,000 feet (6,000 meters).
Galileo made its closest pass in January, approaching to within 62 miles (100 kilometers) of Io, the innermost of Jupiter's four major moons.
But passing so close to the dangerous radiation belts of Jupiter, Galileo went into safe mode and could no longer take pictures.
The probe has show increasing signs of wear and tear in the radiation-soaked environment near Jupiter. Its camera remains shuttered and its fuel is nearly exhausted. Last month, its onboard data storage device went on the blink.
The mottled surface of Io, seen on an earlier Galileo flyby
Nevertheless, the probe has proved remarkably resilient. It has other working instruments that detect dust, study ultraviolet emissions and take magnetic readings, helping scientists understand the turbulent interactions between Jupiter and its moons.
And in early June, mission scientists coaxed Galileo's tape player back into service.
In November, the $1.4 billion probe will make its last pass over a Jovian satellite. Its flyby over the tiny moon Amalthea will help position it for one final mission.
In September 2003, Galileo will plunge into the crushing atmosphere of Jupiter. The death dive is to ensure the probe does not strike and contaminate the moon Europa, which scientists speculate could harbor microbial life.
http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/06/26/galileo.io/index.html
John
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 857 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Jul 3, 2002 (18:14) * 1 lines
Lovely photos! Thank you for keeping us updated on what is happening in the space surrounding us. Here, I see mosly summer haze and big city pollution. Lovely people living in terrible air.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 858 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Jul 20, 2002 (20:38) * 64 lines
* * * * SKY & TELESCOPE's WEEKLY NEWS BULLETIN - July 19, 2002
A LOCAL SOURCE FOR DIAMOND DUST?
Crack open a primitive, carbonaceous meteorite, and you'll likely find
countless microscopic flecks of diamond -- sometimes numerous enough to
represent 0.1 percent of the meteorite's mass. Ever since their discovery
in 1987, these meteoritic diamonds have been thought to be, quite
literally, stardust, tiny crystals of high-density carbon forged in the
expanding shock waves of supernova explosions....
However, a new study suggests that most of these "nanodiamonds" didn't
come from the stars after all but instead were cooked up in the nebula
that surrounded the infant Sun and its forming planets....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_669_1.asp
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ALL EYES ON PLUTO
On the evening of July 19th, when Pluto and Charon pass in front of a
12th-magnitude star, the track for Pluto itself sweeps directly across
South America. However, the exact path is uncertain. Only in 1985 and 1988
has Pluto been seen to cover a star, and only in 1980 has Charon done
so....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_612_1.asp
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A RARE LOOK AT A DYING STAR
On Thursday European astronomers released an image taken by the Hubble
Space Telescope that shows a dying star, 10,000 light-years away,
surrounded by one of the most elongated planetary nebulae ever seen.
Looking like a tube pinched in the middle, the nebula designated Henize
3-401 represents a short-lived phase -- perhaps lasting only a few
thousand years -- as the star evolves into a white dwarf.
The dark area around the pinch includes a ring or disk of obscuring dust.
The whole object is tilted with its left side slightly closer to us,
allowing us to see past the near edge of the ring to the central star....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_666_1.asp
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NAKED-EYE SUNSPOT
A giant sunspot complex is marching across the Sun's face this week, much
to the delight of avid skywatchers. The spot group is so large it is
visible without magnification -- all you need to see it is a sunny day and
a safe solar filter....
The spot group, designated active region 10030 by the U.S. National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is one of the largest of
the current solar cycle. It features a complex, twisted magnetic field and
has spawned numerous solar flares, including a very energetic ("X-class")
flare....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_665_1.asp
=========================================================================
HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S SKY
* Watch the sky for aurora. A good display of northern lights may occur
between the 19th and 21st; aurora may be visible for observers in
mid-northern latitudes.
* Venus is brilliant and low in the western sky at twilight.
* Hawaiians can watch the Moon occult a 2.9-magnitude star on July 21st.
* Full Moon is on July 23rd.
For details, see This Week's Sky at a Glance and Planet Roundup:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance/
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 859 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Jul 20, 2002 (20:39) * 5 lines
Article about a proposal to use black boxes to study the break-up of
satellites at re-entry:
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/reentry_blackbox_020610.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 860 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Jul 23, 2002 (13:03) * 81 lines
Iborrowed this from SeeSat
I have learned that by international agreement, the decision whether or
not to insert a leap second is made by the organization International
Earth Rotation Service (IERS). Its web site provides lots of
information:
http://www.iers.org
The relevant information is found among the four standard bulletins
issued by the IERS, which can be accessed here:
http://www.iers.org/iers/publications/bulletins/
Bulletin C "contains announcements of the leap seconds in UTC".
Following the URLs leads me to:
http://hpiers.obspm.fr/eop-pc/products/bulletins.html
The last Bulletin C, issued on 2002 Jan 14, announces that no leap
second will be introduced at the end of June 2002:
http://hpiers.obspm.fr/eoppc/bul/bulc/bulletinc.dat
The history of UTC offsets, provided at the following URL, reports that
the last leap second insertion was on 1998 Dec 31:
http://hpiers.obspm.fr/eop-pc/earthor/utc/UTC-offsets_tab.html
Now, to answer Russell's question, I went back to the bulletins page,
and found that Bulletin A "contains rapid determinations for earth
orientation parameters". This sounded promising, so I followed the URLs
to:
http://maia.usno.navy.mil/
The URL labelled, "IERS Bulletin A -- Rapid Service/Prediction of Earth
Orientation" leads to:
ftp://maia.usno.navy.mil/ser7/ser7.dat
The table of COMBINED EARTH ORIENTATION PARAMETERS informs that on 2002
Jun 27, UT1-UTC = -.228762 s. Since the purpose of the leap second is to
maintain the difference between UT1 and UTC to within 0.9 s, it is now
clear that a leap second will not be issued because it is not necessary.
Judging by the table of PREDICTIONS on the same page, it appears that
UT1-UTC will be -0.37118 s one year from now, so no leap second is
likely to be required through at least Jun 2003.
How is this relevant to visual satellite observation? By convention, the
time of positional observations is reported as UTC. Experienced
observers regularly achieve timing accuracy of 0.1 s or better. The
analysts who produce updated orbits from these observations find that
errors of 1 s tend to stick out like a sore thumb. Depending upon the
circumstances, errors that large may result in the observation being
assigned a rather low statistical weight or being rejected outright.
To an analyst attempting to fit an orbit to a set of observations
spanning 30 Jun or 31 Dec, the insertion of a leap second on those dates
results in an apparent 1 second error in the UTC positional timings,
when comparing observations made before and after the insertion.
A practical solution is to subtract 1 s from the observations made prior
to the insertion of the leap second. This eliminates the 1 s error, and
results in an epoch that is accurate going forward from the date of the
leap second insertion.
Here is an exercise. The first elset was issued about 19 h before the
leap second insertion at the end of 1997 Jun 30; the second one about
three after the insertion:
1 00271U 62010A 97181.18205596 +.00000006 +00000-0 +10000-3 0 09014
2 00271 086.6536 054.4864 0329540 060.7273 302.6159 09.41297471210592
1 00271U 62010A 97182.13850598 +.00000006 +00000-0 +10000-3 0 09063
2 00271 086.6543 054.3470 0329535 059.5568 303.7463 09.41297490210680
Compare predictions made using both elsets on 1997 Jun 30 and 1997 Jul
01.
g
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 861 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Jul 26, 2002 (19:18) * 127 lines
OUR STORMY SUN
The current solar-activity cycle peaked in May 2000, but someone
apparently forgot to tell the Sun. As one giant sunspot complex prepares
to rotate off our star's face, another has already swung into view. Both
are currently visible to the unaided eye and are nothing short of
spectacular in a telescope -- provided you use safe solar filters, of
course.
Last week Sunwatchers kept an eye on the active region designated 10030 by
the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This
complex flared repeatedly as it crossed the solar disk. It was (and still
is) one of the largest spot groups in recent years. But active region
10039, which has now rotated into full view, looks like it may be even
more stormy.
Even before this second sunspot complex became visible, astronomers
suspected it packed a strong punch, because they detected ionized gas
leaping up thousands of miles from behind the Sun's limb....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_672_1.asp
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ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
It seems another comet is dissolving into nothingness, right in front of
astronomers' eyes. On July 13th, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Near
Earth Asteroid Tracking program (NEAT) reported finding a peculiar object
with a faint coma. Calculations at the Minor Planet Center soon revealed
that the small body had the same motion as the periodic comet 57P/du
Toit-Neujmin-Delporte but was separated from its nucleus by some 0.2
degree.
Alerted by those observations, a team of astronomers from the University
of Hawaii led by Yanga R. Fernández examined the comet with the
university's 2.2-meter telescope atop Manua Kea. Their images revealed 18
additional fragments that ranged in brightness from magnitude 20 to 23.5.
While the bulk of the comet's nucleus apparently remains intact, its
castoffs have already spread across a half degree of sky, roughly
1,000,000 kilometers....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_674_1.asp
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HEFTY ASTEROID TO SWEEP NEAR EARTH
Next month a newly discovered asteroid will pass close enough to Earth to
be easily spotted in small telescopes and even binoculars. According to
calculations by Gareth V. Williams, associate director of the Minor Planet
Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the asteroid's August 18th flyby
should bring it to within 530,000 kilometers (330,000 miles) of Earth,
just outside the Moon's orbital distance....
Still quite faint at magnitude 18, 2002 NY40 is making a very tight loop
around the star Beta Aquarii. During the next few weeks it will brighten
tremendously and yet remain almost motionless in the sky -- the eerie
signature of an asteroid hurtling right toward Earth! On the night of
Saturday, August 17th, 2002 NY40 should reach magnitude 9.3 when well
placed for viewing from North America. At that time its angular velocity
will exceed 4 arcminutes per minute, a motion easily perceptible in small
telescopes. SKY & TELESCOPE plans to issue detailed observing
instructions, through AstroAlerts and SkyandTelescope.com, in the days
leading up to this rare event....
While there is no danger of 2002 NY40 striking Earth during this flyby, a
future impact has not been ruled out. Both NEODyS, operated by the
University of Pisa, and NASA's Near-Earth Object Program have identified a
number of very close encounters in the years to come. These occur either
around August 18th as the asteroid heads in toward the Sun, or near
February 14th when on its way out. Both agencies are focusing on a flyby
just 20 years from now (on August 18, 2022), when there appears to be a
1-in-500,000 chance of an impact -- extremely unlikely, but worrisome just
the same....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_670_1.asp
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ASTRO NEWS BRIEFS
High-speed camera probes exotic stellar objects
Using a new CCD camera capable of simultaneously taking 1,000 images per
second in three colors, British astronomers have gleaned valuable insights
into the inner workings of white dwarf-stars -- and have high hopes of
doing the same for neutron stars and black holes. ULTRACAM was developed
by scientists at the Universities of Southampton and Sheffield in
conjunction with the U.K. Astronomy Technology Centre at the Royal
Observatory, Edinburgh. The instrument saw "first light" in May 2002 on
the 4.2-meter William Herschel Telescope (WHT) on La Palma, the largest
optical telescope in Europe.
New Asteroid Threat
Astronomers are paying especially close attention to a newly discovered
asteroid, which they've calculated to have a higher probability of
striking Earth than any known body. Designated 2002 NT7, the wayward
object was first spotted on July 9th by the LINEAR telescope in New
Mexico, so its orbit is still uncertain. Future observations -- or its
discovery on archived sky images - will refine the chance of a collision.
But it's already clear that on Friday, February 1, 2019, this
2-kilometer-wide asteroid will pass quite close to our planet. According
to NASA's orbital specialists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the impact
probability is about 1 in 250,000, whereas Italian dynamicists put the
odds nearer to 1 in 90,000. Both teams agree that the threat from 2002 NT7
warrants a 1 on the 1-to-10 Torino impact-hazard scale. Were it to
actually strike, it would deliver the kinetic-energy equivalent of 12 to
14 million megatons of TNT, enough to decimate much (or most) of a
continent.
Arrests Made in Moon-Rock Theft
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, working with NASA officials, has
arrested four people and charged them with stealing samples of the Moon
and Mars from the Johnson Space Center in Houston. A NASA press release
states, "The employees -- Thad Roberts, Tiffany Fowler, and Shae Saur --
were summer employees and have been dismissed from their respective
student employment programs based on their involvement in the case."
Roberts had also been serving as president of the University of Utah
Astronomical Society. The fourth person arrested was Gordon McWorter.
Investigators say that on July 13th the group somehow made off with a
600-pound safe containing 218 lunar and meteoritic samples totaling about
10 ounces. Roberts, Fowler, and McWorter were apprehended one week later
as they attempted to sell some of the precious bits of extraterrestrial
rock to undercover agents in Orlando, Florida. Two days later Saur, still
in Houston, was taken into custody.
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_675_1.asp
=========================================================================
HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S SKY
* The morning of July 29th is peak time for the Delta Aquarid meteor
shower.
* Last-quarter Moon is on August 1st.
* Neptune is at opposition on August 1st.
* Two large naked-eye sunspot groups continue to spawn flares and other
energetic explosions on the Sun. Look for possible auroral displays as low
as the middle latitudes.
For details, see This Week's Sky at a Glance and Planet Roundup:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance/
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 862 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Jul 28, 2002 (17:24) * 5 lines
* Astronomy's next big thing *
Scientists discuss building a giant, 100-metre telescope with a resolution 40 times better than the Hubble Space Telescope.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_2116000/2116605.stm
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 863 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Aug 1, 2002 (07:07) * 76 lines
NEW COMET HOENIG (C/2002 O4)
A comet discovered last week by Sebastian Hoenig from near
Heidelberg, Germany, should become a fairly easy target
for small telescopes during the next three months.
Currently magnitude 10 and crossing the Andromeda-Cassiopeia
border, the nearly tailless object is expected to
brighten to magnitude 9 by mid-August as it enters the
north circumpolar sky. Thereafter it remains accessible
to Northern Hemisphere observers before dawn, eventually
working its way south across the galaxy-rich sections of
Coma Berenices and Virgo in late October.
At the end of this message is a day-by-day ephemeris for
telescope users. It is based on the preliminary orbital
elements calculated by Gareth V. Williams and issued on
IAU Circular 7941 last night. (To subscribe to that
service, visit http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/cbat.html .)
According to Williams, the comet will reach perihelion
(its closest point to the Sun) on October 1st, when it lie
between the orbits of Venus and the Earth. It is traveling
in a near-parabolic orbit inclined 73 degrees to the plane
of the ecliptic.
With this find, Sebastian Hoenig apparently becomes the
first amateur astronomer to discover a comet from German
soil since June 1946, when Anton Weber in Berlin was a
codiscoverer of Comet Pajdusakova-Rotbart-Weber (C/1946
K1). Hoenig is no stranger to comets, however; he is also
credited with locating 20 comets in SOHO spacecraft images
of the Sun's vicinity.
Congratulations, Sebastian!
It was just more than a week ago, during the predawn hours
of July 22nd, that Hoenig spotted what appeared to be a
12th-magnitude glow near the Pegasus-Andromeda border with
his 10-inch (25-cm) Meade LX-200 telescope. But he didn't
have a star chart with him, for he was simply out to enjoy
the first clear night after a week of bad weather. He
didn't even have a piece of paper on which to make notes
until he found an empty water bottle in his car. The
bottle's small white label was just large enough for him to
make a sketch of the bright stars in the vicinity of his
comet suspect. He estimated it to be moving due north
at about 3 arcminutes per hour. (To read the discoverer's
own fascinating account, visit his Web site at
http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~shoenig/2002o4.html ).
Even after reporting the find to the Central Bureau for
Astronomical Telegrams, Hoenig could not rest easy. Owing
to a very bright Moon and the uncertainty in the comet's
position, neither he nor anyone else could confirm the
find for another five days. Finally on July 27th, Ken-ichi
Kadota (Saitama, Japan) secured a CCD image of the comet,
which by then had traveled a full 8 degrees north of
Hoenig's initial position.
The ephemeris below, calculated from Williams's preliminary
orbital elements, gives the comet's right ascension and
declination (equinox 2000.0) at 0 hours Universal Time on
selected dates. Also listed are the comet's distance from
the Earth (delta) and Sun (r) in astronomical units (where
1 a.u. is about 149,600,000 kilometers), its elongation
angle from the Sun in degrees, predicted magnitude, and the
constellation though which it is passing. (If the numbers
in the columns don't line up properly, reset your e-mail
program to a fixed-width type font like Courier.)
Roger W. Sinnott
Senior Editor
Sky & Telescope
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 864 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos (tsatsvol) * Mon, Aug 12, 2002 (12:27) * 9 lines
Much of the area around the Moon's south pole is within the South Pole-Aitken Basin (shown at left in blue on a lunar topography image), a giant impact crater 1,550 miles (2,500 kilometers) in diameter and 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) deep at its lowest point. Many smaller craters exist on the floor of this basin. Many of those craters never see sunlight and are thought to contain water ice. Credit: NASA/National Space Science Data Center
Source: http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/robotic_moon_020801.html
John
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 865 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Aug 15, 2002 (16:25) * 5 lines
Oooh !!!
This graphic image you posted of the moon is remarkable, John. You have been wonderful in making Geo wonderful for everyone!
I see that I missed the Perseid meteor shower last weekend. Did anyone have better success than I did? I am convinced that no one in the north temperate zone will able to see anything astronomical. The air is perpetually full of a white particulate material that obscures everything but the moon and Venus. It is very discouraging.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 866 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Aug 23, 2002 (21:12) * 12 lines
Amazing Magnetic Fluids
NASA Science News for August 23, 2002
Astronauts onboard the International Space Station are preparing to study
strange fluids that might one day flow in the veins of robots and help
buildings resist earthquakes.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/23aug_MRfluids.htm?list89800
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 867 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Sat, Aug 24, 2002 (09:02) * 1 lines
we're getting closer to The Terminator! strange fluids? hmmmmm......
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 868 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Aug 24, 2002 (11:18) * 1 lines
Now, I am humming the theme from the X-Files. Strange, indeed.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 869 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Aug 25, 2002 (00:33) * 75 lines
Nacreous and Noctilucent Clouds
by Bill Giles OBE
One of the most wonderful pastimes
in meteorology is observing the
weather in all its moods, and my
long held belief is that all weather
forecasters should have had an
apprenticeship as weather
observers.
Clouds are one of my all time fascinations, with over
200 different types to look for, but two of the rarest and
most beautiful, nacreous and noctilucent, form not in
the part of the atmosphere in which we live, but much
higher up, in the stratosphere and mesosphere. Both
are rare clouds and can only be seen, briefly, at
sunrise and sunset when all the other lower clouds are
in shadow.
The lowest of these clouds is nacreous which normally
forms between 10 and 20 miles above the Earth
(compared with the ice cloud cirrus at around 6 miles)
and with them not appearing to move, are probably as
a result of rapid uplift of air over a mountain range.
There is some speculation that they form more readily
after large volcanic eruptions as the resulting dust
particles combine with the ice crystals. It appears that
the temperature has to be below minus 80 degrees
Celsius, so these clouds are seen mainly from
Scotland northwards during the northern winter. They
are also seen in high latitudes in the southern
hemisphere winter with some particularly good
displays over the Antarctic. These clouds are
commonly known as ‘mother of pearl clouds’ due to
the beautiful colours, and are at their most brilliant
when the sun is some 5 to 10 degrees below the
horizon.
Noctilucent clouds are the highest clouds in the sky at
a height of about 50 miles, which puts them at the top
of the mesosphere. These can only be seen during the
summer between about 50 and 65 degrees north and
south. At any higher latitude it doesn’t get sufficiently
dark enough to see them.
These clouds look very similar to high cirrus but are
bluish or silver in colour and, like the nacreous clouds,
are illuminated when the sun is below the horizon, in
this case some 6 to 12 degrees.
There has been a lot of speculation on what they are
made up of and how they are formed, but most
scientists now believe that they are made of water ice.
But how do these ice particles exist in what should be
the warmest part of our atmosphere, and how do they
get there in the first place? The answer is probably
gravity waves. The jetstream or mountains that transfer
the lower level momentum upwards often form these
waves. These gravity waves can change the local
temperature fields, as well as transport water vapour
from below, and can actually produce some of the
lowest temperatures in the atmosphere for a short
period of time. Although, of course, temperature and
heat has a totally different concept in this very rarified
atmosphere than we experience at the surface of the
Earth.
So this is why observing the weather can be so much
fun. It’s not just looking for the obvious or the common
sights, but keeping an eye out, after dark, for those
illusive but beautiful clouds that look down on all but
the satellites.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/alphabet42.shtml
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 870 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Sep 2, 2002 (16:41) * 15 lines
This long weekend has been spent visiting scenic places in Central California and watching satellites. Both were great successes. The latter was not as successful as the one below, but we did see a few very difficult-to-find passes plus a goodly number of incidental meteors.
Bright Spaceship
Space Weather News for Sept. 2nd, 2002
http://www.spaceweather.com
The International Space Station (ISS) flew over western Texas this
weekend--right in front of the Moon. A sky watcher recorded the event on
video. His movie shows the Moon, the ISS and the planet Saturn; it
illustrates just how bright the ISS can be. If you live in North America,
there's a good chance you can see the ISS for yourself this week when the
space station is due to materialize in the pre-dawn sky over many major US
cities. Visit spaceweather.com to see the video and to learn more about
the coming flybys.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 871 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Sep 3, 2002 (16:42) * 6 lines
ECLIPSE ALERT: Place yourself between the Earth and the Sun as daylight is replaced by the darkness of night in the Australian Outback!
http://www.spaceadventures.com/terrestrial/eclipse/index_space.html
-
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 872 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Sep 3, 2002 (22:39) * 66 lines
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY WATCH
WATCH ISSUED: 03:00 UTC, 04 SEPTEMBER 2002
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
VALID BEGINNING AT: IMMEDIATELY
VALID UNTIL: 19:00 UTC (3 pm EDT) ON 04 SEPTEMBER
HIGH RISK PERIOD: 04 SEPT (UTC DAYS)
MODERATE RISK PERIOD: 04 SEPT
PREDICTED ACTIVITY INDICES: 23, 15, 15, 12 (04 SEPTEMBER - 07 SEPTEMBER)
POTENTIAL MAGNITUDE OF MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY: LOW TO MODERATE
POTENTIAL DURATION OF THIS ACTIVITY: MAIN BELT = 12 HOURS
MINOR BELT = 12 TO 24 HOURS
ESTIMATED OPTIMUM OBSERVING CONDITIONS: NEAR LOCAL MIDNIGHT
EXPECTED LUNAR INTERFERENCE: LOW TO NIL
OVERALL OPPORTUNITY FOR OBSERVATIONS FROM MIDDLE LATITUDES: FAIR TO POOR
AURORAL ACTIVITY *MAY* BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...
NORTHERN WASHINGTON STATE TO CENTRAL IDAHO TO SOUTHERN MONTANA TO NORTHERN
SOUTH DAKOTA TO SOUTHERN MINNESOTA TO WISCONSIN TO MICHIGAN TO NORTHERN
NEW YORK STATE TO VERMONT TO NEW HAMPSHIRE TO SOUTHERN MAINE.
ACTIVITY *MAY* ALSO BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...
NORTHERN SCOTLAND TO NORTHERN DENMARK TO SOUTHERN NORWAY TO SOUTH-CENTRAL
SWEDEN TO SOUTHERN FINLAND TO NORTHERN RUSSIA. EXTREME SOUTHERN REGIONS OF
NEW ZEALAND MAY ALSO SPOT PERIODS OF ACTIVITY.
SYNOPSIS...
A solar disturbance is producing enhanced solar wind conditions that may
be capable of producing periods of middle latitude auroral activity over
the next 12 hours. A sustained southward turning of the IMF is currently in
progress that may result in moderately strong substorm activity. Activity is
not expected to be continual in duration, but will probably come in spurts in
the form of isolated substorms. However, the substorms that occur could cover
relatively large spatial regions and may at times be rather strong.
Observations from middle latitudes may be possible during these substorm
intervals. The waning phase of the moon will also provide optimally dark
skies for much of the night. No significant auroral storming is anticipated
with this disturbance. However, the potential for occassional strong
substorms is sufficient to justify this watch.
This watch will remain valid through 19:00 UTC (3 pm EDT) on 04 Sept.
It will then be updated or allowed to expire. For updated information, visit:
http://www.spacew.com/aurora/forum.html
PLEASE REPORT OBSERVATIONS OF AURORAL ACTIVITY TO:
http://solar.spacew.com/submitsighting.html
Observations reported here are permanently recorded for future study and
are immediately made available in real-time to a large network of observers
world-wide via the Internet, e-mail and pager. If you observe activity, your
assistance to contribute to this database would be appreciated.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 873 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Sep 8, 2002 (20:42) * 57 lines
NASA scientists determined to unearth origin of the Iturralde Crater
NASA scientists will venture into an isolated part of the Bolivian Amazon to try and
uncover the origin of a 5 mile (8 kilometer) diameter crater there known as the
Iturralde Crater. Traveling to this inhospitable forest setting, the Iturralde Crater
Expedition 2002 will seek to determine if the unusual circular crater was created by a
meteor or comet.
Organized by Dr. Peter Wasilewski of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, Md., the Iturralde Crater Expedition 2002 will be led by Dr. Tim Killeen of
Conservation International, which is based in Bolivia. Killeen will be assisted by Dr.
Compton Tucker of Goddard.
The team intends to collect and analyze rocks and soil, look for glass particles that
develop from meteor impacts and study magnetic properties in the area to determine
if the Iturralde site, discovered in the mid-1980s with satellite imagery, was indeed
created by a meteor.
If a meteorite is responsible for the impression, rocks in the area will have shock
features that do not develop under normal geological circumstances. The team will
also look for glass particles, which develop from the high temperatures of impact.
The Iturralde Crater Expedition 2002 team will extensively analyze soil in the impact
zone for confirmation of an impact. One unique aspect of the Iturralde site is the 4-5
km deep surface sediment above the bedrock. Thus the impact was more of a
gigantic "splat" rather than a collision into bedrock.
The large crater is only 1 meter lower in elevation than the surrounding area. Water
collects within the depression, but not on the rim of the crater, which is slightly higher
than both the surrounding landscape and the interior of the crater. These subtle
differences in drainage are reflected in the forest and grassland habitats that
developed on the landscape. It is precisely these differences in the vegetation
structure that can be observed from space and which led to the identification of the
Iturralde Crater in the 1970s when Landsat Images first became available for Bolivia.
Impact craters can also be confirmed through the magnetic study of the impact zone.
Dr. Wasilewski's team will conduct ground magnetometer surveys and will examine
the area through an unmanned aerial vehicle plane fitted with a magnetometer, an
instrument for measuring the magnitude and direction of magnetic field. The resulting
data will be analyzed by associating the magnetic readings with geographical
coordinates, to map magnetic properties of the area. The magnetometer data could
provide conclusive evidence as to whether or not the Iturralde feature is an impact
crater.
The Iturralde Crater Expedition 2002 expedition also contains an education
component. Teachers from around the world who are involved with the teacher
professional development program, called Teacher as Scientist, have helped to
design the expedition. One teacher will actually be on-site assisting with data
collection.
University students from Bolivia will also be involved in the expedition. The
educational element of the expedition is just as important as the science results,"
said Goddard engineer Patrick Coronado. "This is one of those experiments that stirs
the imagination, where science and technology come head-to-head with nature in an
attempt to unlock its secrets."
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 874 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Sep 10, 2002 (19:13) * 60 lines
A s t r o A l e r t
Sun-Earth Alert
Solar Terrestrial Dispatch
http://www.spacew.com/astroalert.html
10 September 2002
STRONG AURORAL STORM OF 07-08 SEPTEMBER, AND A NEW LARGE SUNSPOT COMPLEX
On 07 and 08 September, a strong auroral storm was observed across a
good portion of northeastern and central eastern North America. Activity was
observed well down into the central and southern regions of the United
States, including North Carolina, Kentucky and even Georgia. Although the
"northern lights" put on a show many will remember for the rest of their
lives, the activity paled in comparison to many other auroral storms observed
over the last few years. A benchmark for many people was the great storm of
March 1989, where activity was observed across Europe and all of North America and into
Mexico, including New Zealand and southern portions of Australia.
Information concerning the source of this storm (a fairly strong hyder
flare, illustrated with a short movie), as well as highlights of some of the
better images associated with the auroral storm, are available at:
http://www.spacew.com/astroalert.html. Many other images taken by people who
witnessed this auroral event (some which were posted only minutes after
taking them), are available at: http://www.spacew.com/gallery.
Unfortunately, eastern North America observed the tail end of the
disturbance. By the time nightfall occurred for central and particularly
western North Americans, the show had died down to a dull glow in the sky.
Activity was also observed over Europe, although observers noted that the
activity wasn't as strong as conditions suggested it should have been. The
best place in Europe to observe activity was probably Finland, where strong
coronal formations (auroral activity directly overhead produces very
interesting and sometimes brilliantly colorful patterns in the sky) were
observed. However, activity was also observed into Germany, and the U.K. as
well.
People who missed this show shouldn't despair. Although the sunspot
maximum has passed, the maximum in the occurrence of geomagnetic storm
activity (which is most closely tied to auroral storm activity) has not yet
passed. As a result, the occurrence of auroral storm activity should continue
to be prevalent over the next couple of years, with numerous expected future
episodes of strong auroral storming. Any of these future events may even
rival the activity of 1989.
Also of interest today is the return of a large sunspot complex to the
eastern solar limb. Formerly known as active Region 10069, this spot complex
has been renamed as Region 10105 and has been identified (by John C.
McConnell) as a large spot group visible to the unaided (but protected) eye.
This spot complex is a proven X-class flare producer and has already produced
several brief but moderately bright x-ray flares since rotating into view a
few days ago. The spot complex appears to have retained some magnetic
complexity and may be capable of supporting an isolated major solar flare
sometime during the next week or two.
Region 10105 will be monitored closely over the next two weeks.
** End of the AstroAlert Bulletin **
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 875 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Oct 10, 2002 (17:13) * 13 lines
Leonid Meteor Storm Forecast
NASA Science News for October 9, 2002
Scientists at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center have just released new
predictions for the 2002 Leonid meteor storm. Their forecast covers 58
cities around the world and the International Space Station. Where's the
best place to be when the storm arrives on Nov. 19th? Read the full story
and find out.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/09oct_leonidsforecast.htm?list50172
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 876 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos (tsatsvol) * Fri, Nov 15, 2002 (03:00) * 19 lines
Close up on sunspots
Left:The Sun's surface in unprecedented detail, Right: Catching the Sun's rays
By Dr David Whitehouse
BBC News Online science editor
These are the most detailed pictures ever taken of the surface of the Sun. They have been described as a breakthrough in observational solar physics.
They were obtained by the new Swedish 1-metre solar telescope on the Canary Island of La Palma. The images show new solar features and hitherto unknown details in sunspots.
A striking feature in the images of sunspots is the existence of dark cores within bright filaments. This is an unexpected discovery and astronomers are uncertain what it signifies.
Published in the journal Nature, the new observations realise a long-stated goal for solar observers to see the solar surface at a resolution better than 100 kilometres.
It is believed that fundamental processes in the Sun's atmosphere take place on such scales.
Source and complete document: BBC NEWS, Science/Nature
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 877 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Sat, Nov 16, 2002 (15:08) * 1 lines
what an excellent pic! thanks john!!!!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 878 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Nov 18, 2002 (18:08) * 69 lines
LEONID METEOR SHOWER
The Leonids, is probably the most famous meteor shower of all. In
some years, including 2002, the Leonids will have an unusually large
peak. While this shower normally peaks at about 10 meteors per hour,
or about one every six minutes on average, in some years the Leonids
peak rate reaches into the hundreds or even thousands per hour. In
years with this exceptionally high peak, the display is not termed a
meteor shower but rather a meteor storm! These storms are the result
of the Earth's passage through the dust and debris left by the comet
55P/Tempel-Tuttle. Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle returns to the inner solar
system every 33 years. Each time it passes through our part of the
solar system, it leaves a trail of dust along its path. These small
grains of dust are what become such bright and beautiful meteors in
our skies.
This year represents the last chance to see a Leonid storm for a few
decades. The Earth will be passing through 2 distinct dust trails.
Our first chance for increased activity happens when the Earth passes
through the dust trail of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle's passage through
the Solar System in 1767. The second chance for heavy meteor activity
occurs when the Earth passes through the 1866 trail. Western Europe
and western Africa are favored for meteor sightings as we pass
through the 1767 trail. A few hours later, the Americas are favored
for the 1866 trail.
Europe:
The peak for the 1767 trail will occur between 03:48 UT and 04:04 UT
on Tuesday the 19th. As mentioned above, western Europe is favored
for this peak, but observers in the north eastern portion of North
America may catch some of this activity.
The Americas:
The peak for the 1866 trail will occur between 10:23 UT and 10:47 UT
on Tuesday the 19th.This translates to the following local times:
Eastern Standard time: 5:23 am and 5:47 am
Central Standard time: 4:23 am and 4:47 am
Mountain Standard time: 3:23 am and 3:47 am
Pacific Standard time: 2:23 am and 2:47 am.
The bright Moon will obscure the fainter meteors, but since the rate
for North America is so much higher than last year, this should still
be a great year for the Leonids. Just get a comfortable chair and
view anywhere in your sky during the times mentioned above.
I strongly urge you to try to observe this shower. It's our last
chance for a Leonid meteor storm for many years to come.
If you have any questions please send them to
MeteorShowers-owner@yahoogroups.com
I'll do my best to answer these as quickly as possible.
Community email addresses:
Subscribe: MeteorShowers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: MeteorShowers-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
List owner: MeteorShowers-owner@yahoogroups.com
Shortcut URL to the group page:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MeteorShowers
Shortcut URL to the Meteor Showers in 2002 page:
http://www.geocities.com/~starwanderer/meteor.htm
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 879 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Nov 18, 2002 (18:11) * 12 lines
Leonid Observing Tips
The 2002 Leonid meteor storm is due on Tuesday, Nov. 19th. A NASA expert
offers practical advice to meteor watchers who wish to observe the
display.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/14nov_leonidtips.htm?list89800
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 880 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Nov 18, 2002 (18:12) * 3 lines
Amazing photos, John! I never thought to get that close to the sun!
Everyone, get outdoors and look up and make notes. It is far too smoggy here to see anything.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 881 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Wed, Nov 27, 2002 (21:51) * 1 lines
i completely missed that shower AGAIN!!!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 882 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Nov 28, 2002 (07:37) * 1 lines
Me too, darn.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 883 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Dec 10, 2002 (13:03) * 15 lines
Here's another for you:
Meteors from the Twilight Zone
NASA Science News for December 9, 2002
The Geminid meteor shower, which peaks this year on Saturday morning, Dec.
14th, has begun. Unlike the recent Leonids, which were nearly overwhelmed
in some places by moonlight, the Geminids of 2002 will not be dimmed by a
glaring moon. These meteors come from a curious object--a "Twilight Zone"
cross between a comet and an asteroid--called 3220 Phaethon.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/09dec_geminids.htm?list89800
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 884 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Dec 10, 2002 (13:23) * 37 lines
Today in Science/Astronomy:
* Cyber Planets: Building Virtual Worlds to Explore Signs of Real Life
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/cyber_planets_021210.html
Somewhere between reality and the unknown, science fiction has always flourished. The best sci-fi authors rigidly adhere to one principle: Make it as real as possible, given what's known. Now, as if lifting a chapter from an Isaac Asimov novel, NASA plans to create hundreds of "synthetic planets" that might represent real worlds orbiting faraway stars.
* Swiss Cheese Moon: Jovian Satellite Full of Holes
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/almathea_update_021209.html
Galileo's close flyby of Jupiter's small moon Amalthea earlier this month shows that the rocky satellite is riddled with holes and probably contains more empty space than solid rock, scientists said today.
* Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Quasar
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/quasar_light_021209.html
Some very distant galaxies called quasars are lit up dramatically by powerful black holes. Oddly, their radio emissions shimmer and twinkle when detected from Earth, even though radio waves are barely scrambled by Earth's atmosphere the way visible light is.
-----------------------------------
Today in SpaceFlight:
* Astronotes: Largest Communications Satellite, Astra-1K, Plunges Into Ocean
http://www.space.com/news/astronotes-1.html
The world's largest communications satellite was sent plunging into the Pacific Ocean Tuesday two weeks after a Russian booster rocket failed to put it into the correct orbit, Russia's space forces said.
* Sea Launch Rocket Selected To Launch Apstar 5
http://www.space.com/spacenews/spacenews_businessmonday_021209.html
APT Satellite Co. Ltd. and Loral Space & Communications Ltd. have picked a Sea Launch rocket to launch their Apstar 5 telecommunications satellite in late 2003, according to industry sources.
* Shuttle Endeavour Safely Returns Home to Florida
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/sts113_land_021207.html
Shuttle Endeavour finally returned to Earth on Saturday, successfully concluding what turned out to be a two-week International Space Station assembly and crew rotation mission.
------------------------------------
Today in Business/Industry:
* Intelsat Makes Bid for Eutelsat
http://www.space.com/news/intel_eutel_021210.html
Intelsat is offering to buy 100 percent of satellite operator Eutelsat S.A. for a combination of cash and stock in a deal that, if it goes through, could lead to a stock offering from the combined company by early 2004, Intelsat Chief Executive Conny Kullman said.
------------------------------------
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 885 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Dec 10, 2002 (13:39) * 20 lines
This awaits me if the weather clears:
Be advised that a modified Minuteman II missile will be launched from
Vandenberg AFB on California's central coast several hours from now.
The vehicle is scheduled to leave northwest Vandenberg on Wednesday
morning,
December 11 at 00:01 PST (right after midnight), the start of a four-hour
launch window. This translates to DEC 11 08:01 to 12:01 UTC.
Following launch, the vehicle will fly a ballistic trajectory and send an
unarmed warhead and decoys to the central Pacific as part of a missile
defense test. Several minutes later, an interceptor launched from the
Marshall Islands will attempt to kill the warhead.
The Minuteman launch should be visible at least as far away as Phoenix,
Arizona; Saint George, Utah; and Reno, Nevada. Look for a bright orange
"star" in the direction of Vandenberg. If you have binoculars or an
astronomical telescope, you might want to use it to view the launch (the
view could be impressive).
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 886 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Dec 10, 2002 (22:21) * 10 lines
Proxima Centauri comes into focus (Dec 10)
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/6/12/6
An international team of astronomers has succeeded in accurately
measuring the size of a small star for the first time. Damien Ségransan
and colleagues at the European Southern Observatory in Chile and the
Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) have studied Proxima Centauri --
the nearest star known after the Sun. The star, which is about 4.2 light
years away, was found to be just one-seventh the diameter of our Sun (D
Ségransan et al. 2002 Astronomy and Astrophysics to appear)
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 887 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Wed, Dec 11, 2002 (07:34) * 1 lines
How did it come to be called the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope? Collaborative project?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 888 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Dec 11, 2002 (17:54) * 1 lines
It was, indeed, a collaborative project. It is managed by astronomical staff at the University of Hawaii at the main campus in Manoa (near Honolulu) on another island, but some of the astronomers shared war stories with me last Christmas. I hope for more of the same this year.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 889 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Dec 11, 2002 (23:17) * 7 lines
NEW ARIANE 5 ROCKET FAILS ON MAIDEN FLIGHT
------------------------------------------
Arianespace was hit by a massive setback Wednesday night when the upgraded Ariane 5 rocket failed minutes into its debut flight, plummeting into the Atlantic Ocean with two communications satellites aboard.
http://spaceflightnow.com/ariane/v157/
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 890 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec 13, 2002 (20:22) * 56 lines
MYSTERY TRAINS
When the Leonid meteor shower peaked on the morning of November 19th, bits
of debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle came shooting into Earth's atmosphere
at a speed of 71 kilometers per second. The result was a fine
shooting-star show that will remembered for years to come. But what makes
the Leonids unique is that an unusual number of them leave lingering
trains in their wake -- snaking white glows that can last from a second up
to 20 minutes.
Jack D. Drummond (Starfire Optical Range) and a team of astronomers have
been analyzing these trains since 1998. What he's gathered shows us just
how mysterious this phenomeon is.
Drummond's group rapidly slewed a 3.5-meter telescope at the Air Force
Research Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to a train, then
illuminates it with pulses of light from a powerful sodium laser....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_808_1.asp
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
DOUBLE BUBBLE
The Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered another magnificent sight -- a
peanut-shaped cocoon of dust resting comfortably in the heart of a
dazzling nebula. The "Double Bubble" is otherwise known as N30B, and its
billowy blanket is called DEM L 106....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_809_1.asp
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ASTRO NEWS BRIEFS
Was Ancient Mars Sometimes a Sauna?
Like all the inner planets, Mars took a heavy beating early in
solar-system history, enduring dozens of collisions with asteroids 100 to
200 kilometers across. But a team of researchers now suggests that these
titanic impacts did more than just rattle the red planet to its core --
their energy may have briefly vaporized huge deposits of buried water and
repeatedly enveloped Mars in a hot, vapor-charged atmosphere that drenched
the surface with rain. By modeling the aftermath of an asteroid's impact
with Mars, Teresa L. Segura (NASA-Ames Research Center) and three
colleagues found that superheated debris would cover the entire planet to
depths of up to 100 meters. As they describe in the December 6th issue of
Science, this cocoon of hot rock would drive any near-surface ice into the
atmosphere as water vapor that would eventually rain out onto the
landscape. The result is not the warm, clement Mars that biologists would
prefer. Instead, they conclude, "We envision a cold and dry planet, an
almost endless winter broken by episodes of scalding rains followed by
flash floods."
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_813_1.asp
=========================================================================
HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S SKY
* Geminid meteor shower peaks on the morning of December 14th. Moonlight
will compromise the view until about 2:00 a.m., but after that, expect to
see about a meteor a minute.
* Saturn is at opposition (opposite the Sun in the sky) on December 16th.
* Full Moon on December 19th.
For details, see This Week's Sky at a Glance and Planet Roundup:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance/
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 891 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Dec 26, 2002 (21:50) * 13 lines
Space Scents
Researchers hunting for new and profitable fragrances have discovered that
roses in Earth orbit don't smell the same as they do on Earth.
Microgravity alters their aroma. Soon a pair of flowers--a miniature rose
and an Asian rice flower--will blast off on board the space shuttle where
they will participate in the continuing search for exotic space scents.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/18dec_scents.htm?list89800
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 892 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Dec 26, 2002 (21:53) * 82 lines
Today in Science/Astronomy:
* Top 10 Space Mysteries for 2003
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/topmysteries_2003_021226-1.html
The funny thing about discoveries is that they often produce new mysteries, too. This year was no exception, as many remarkable space science findings generated puzzling problems for astronomers to look into.
* Astronotes: Moon, Mars Rock Thieves Plead Guilty
http://www.space.com/news/astronotes-1.html
On December 17, Tiffany B. Fowler and Shae L. Saur appeared before a United States Magistrate Judge, Middle District of Florida, and pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit theft and interstate transportation of stolen property. The following day, Thad R. Roberts pled guilty to the same charges.
* Top 10 Space Science Images of 2002
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/top10_2002_021224-1.html
In several ways, 2002 was a year in which space came down to Earth.
-----------------------------------
* A Year Of Tremendous Change For NASA
http://www.space.com/spacenews/spacenews_businessmonday_021216.html
With the arrival of NASA's first new administrator in a decade, 2002 was a year of remarkable change for the U.S. space agency.
* NASA's New Challenge: Space Plane Plan Will Test Limits of Agency's Budget
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/ft_spaceplane_budget_021223.html
The people who will build the new orbital space plane say the system will not require the kind of technological mountain-climbing necessary when NASA put men in space, landed on the moon, designed the shuttles and built the International Space Station in orbit.
* Hoaxers vs. Rocket Scientists: Even NASA Unsure How to Counter Claims of Faked Moon Missions
http://www.space.com/news/oberg_hoaxes_021221.html
Is that the moon or a studio in the Nevada desert? How can the flag flutter when there's no wind on the moon? Why can't we see stars in the moon-landing pictures?
------------------------------------
Today in Business/Industry:
* NASA Extends Orbimage SeaWiFS Data Deal One Year
http://www.space.com/spacenews/
NASA made this holiday season a little merrier for Orbital Imaging Corp. (Orbimage) and a host of oceanographers by renewing a data purchase agreement that was due to expire by the end of December.
------------------------------------
* SpaceTV:
http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/spacetv/
* SpaceWatch:
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/
* Space Age Jobs
http://www.spacejobs.com/
* Uplink: Share your opinion!
http://uplink.space.com/
-------------------------------------
SOLAR and SPACE WEATHER (December 26, 2002)
3-Day Solar Forecast
Solar activity is expected to be at low to moderate levels through wednesday. Regions 226, 229, and 230 all are capable of producing M-class flares.
3-Day Aurora Forecast
The geomagnetic field is expected to be at predominantly quiet to unsettled levels through the forecast period. Due to a slightly elevated solar wind speed there may be isolated active periods observed mostly at high latitudes into day one of the period.
Solar Data
The current sunspot number is168, and the solar wind speed recently clocked in at 521 kilometers per second.
The solar wind density was 4.5 protons per cubic centimeter.
(Speed and density values are snapshots in time and change during the day.)
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/space_weather.html
-------------------------------------
Sign up to become part of the greatest search in history! Join TeamSETI:
http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_science_page.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 893 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec 27, 2002 (00:50) * 23 lines
INDICATIONS FOR LIFE OUTSIDE EARTHM
Is it possible to find living creatures outside Earth? How could be
the way of living on Earth in the future? These were some of the
questions in which scientists were called to answer during an
international conference on astrobiology, which took place in
Chania in the island of Crete during October 2002. The
conference was co-organized by the Cretan Institute of
Technology and NATO's and NASA's astrobiology laboratories.
The viewpoint that once upon a time life was existed in other
orbs or it is very likely to still exist carries on and on according
to troves coming to light after long lasting researches. To this
end, as the professor of the Cretan Institute of Technology Mr.
Markopoulos branded, in the dust coming from outer space
together with the meteorites we found the same chemical
particularity and a lot of genetic characteristics occurred in
Earth. Supporter of the opinion that there is life outside Earth
was the representative of NASA's laboratory Mr. Hoover. Other
scientists pointed out that the theory that life exists outside
Earth becomes stronger from the fact that the fossils appeared
in the photos taken from Mars correspond by a long shot to
some Earth fossils.
http://www.greekproducts.com/cgi-bin/news.cgi?db=news&temp=news&icn=none&begin=1&display=10&sort_d=date&category=Cultural_Scientific_General_News
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 894 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Jan 2, 2003 (09:20) * 4 lines
I'm posting on the new site for the first time. Test, test,tst.
Anyone see this yet?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 895 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Jan 7, 2003 (11:55) * 1 lines
Yes!!! It looks amazing but why is my typing in bold?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 896 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Jan 7, 2003 (11:56) * 1 lines
Hmmmm only looks bold when I am typing and not when it is submitted.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 897 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 21, 2003 (22:30) * 10 lines
Gamma-ray after-glow reveals new secrets
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/7/3/13
An international team of astronomers, led by Derek Fox of the California
Institute of Technology, has analyzed the light from a gamma-ray burst in
greater detail than ever before. Fox and co-workers used data from 33
telescopes around the world to study how the optical emission varied with
time within minutes of the burst event. The data provide the first
complete optical light curve of a gamma-ray burst "afterglow" and confirm
that the bursts announce the death of the most massive stars in the
Universe (D W Fox et al. 2003 Nature 422 284)
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 898 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, May 4, 2003 (00:16) * 18 lines
Space Weather News for May 3, 2003
http://spaceweather.com
METEOR SHOWER: Right now Earth is gliding through a stream of dusty debris
shed long ago by Halley's Comet. This encounter is causing the annual eta
Aquarid meteor shower. The best time to watch is just before local dawn on
Tuesday, May 6th. Sky watchers in the southern hemisphere, where the
shower will be most intense, could see more than 30 meteors per hour.
Visit spaceweather.com for sky maps and observing tips.
MERCURY TRANSIT: On Wednesday, May 7th, the planet Mercury will pass
directly between the sun and Earth. Observers in Europe, Asia, and Africa
will have a good view of Mercury's tiny silhouette creeping across the
face of the sun. (Note: never look directly at the sun without suitable
eye protection.) No matter where you live, you can tune in to
spaceweather.com on May 7th for live webcasts and images of the event.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 899 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, May 14, 2003 (21:03) * 11 lines
Space Station Star Trail Pictures
Just before ISS science officer Don Pettit left the space station this
month, he captured a remarkable picture of red auroras and star trails.
Swirling star trails are well-known to amateur astronomers on Earth; the
ones Pettit photographed from orbit are a little different.
PICTURE AND INFO at
http://science.nasa.gov/ppod/y2003/13may_startrails.htm?list89800
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 900 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Jun 23, 2003 (00:24) * 13 lines
'Asteroid impact could have prompted Constantine's conversion'
An asteroid which exploded like a nuclear bomb may have converted the Roman emperor Constantine to Christianity it is now being claimed.
Scientists have discovered an impact crater dating from the fourth of fifth century in the Italian Apennine mountains.
They believe the crater in the Sirente mountains, which is larger than a football field, could explain the legend of Constantine's conversion.
Accounts from the 4th century describe how barbarians stood at the gates of the Roman empire while a Christian movement threatened its stability from within.
It is said the emperor saw an amazing vision in the sky, converted to Christianity on the spot, and led his army to victory under the sign of the cross.
More... http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_791768.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 901 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Jul 10, 2003 (19:53) * 15 lines
Ancient Planet
Some 13 billion years ago in a distant cluster of stars, a planet formed.
Remarkably it's still there, according to astronomers using the Hubble
Space Telescope. The confirmation of this ancient world means planets
formed very early in the history of our universe--only one or two billion
years after the Big Bang itself. Orbiting a pair of burned-out stars in
the crowded globular cluster "M4", the planet is too small to see from
Earth. Backyard sky watchers can, however, see the star cluster in which
it lives. Read today's story for sky maps and more information.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/10jul_psrplanet.htm?list89800
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 902 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Fri, Jul 11, 2003 (12:01) * 1 lines
In which it lives orbiting two burned-out stars. Can it be living, with those two dead stars?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 903 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Jul 11, 2003 (16:10) * 3 lines
It sounds like a remake of "Sunset Boulevard" Doesn't it? (Yes, I know,it is tacky of me to say that.)
Orbiting two stars sets up a whole new set of parameters, not to mention life forms. Or are they death forms. Fossils?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 904 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Jul 11, 2003 (20:01) * 94 lines
Report Observations, Please!
=================================================================
This Is SKY & TELESCOPE's AstroAlert for Sun-Earth Interactions
=================================================================
A s t r o A l e r t
Sun-Earth Alert
Solar Terrestrial Dispatch
http://www.spacew.com
11 July 2003
MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORA WATCH
The "northern lights" may become sporadically visible over middle
latitude regions of North America and Europe tonight. Effects of a well
placed solar coronal hole have resulted in increasing solar wind velocities
in space that are supporting the development of occasional auroral substorms.
A middle latitude aurora watch has been issued and is valid through
tonight and tommorrow. Details follow below.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY WATCH
WATCH ISSUED: 06:05 UTC, 11 JULY 2003
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
VALID BEGINNING AT: EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
VALID UNTIL: 23:00 UTC (7 pm EDT) ON 12 JULY
HIGH RISK PERIOD: 11 - 12 JULY (UTC DAYS)
MODERATE RISK PERIOD: 11 JULY - 12 JULY
PREDICTED ACTIVITY INDICES: 25, 25, 20, 15 (11 JULY - 14 JULY)
POTENTIAL MAGNITUDE OF MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY: MODERATE
POTENTIAL DURATION OF THIS ACTIVITY: MAIN BELT = VARIABLE
MINOR BELT = 24 TO 48 HOURS
ESTIMATED OPTIMUM OBSERVING CONDITIONS: NEAR LOCAL MIDNIGHT
EXPECTED LUNAR INTERFERENCE: MODERATE TO HIGH
OVERALL OPPORTUNITY FOR OBSERVATIONS FROM MIDDLE LATITUDES: FAIR TO POOR
AURORAL ACTIVITY *MAY* BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...
NORTHERN WASHINGTON STATE TO SOUTHERN MONTANA TO SOUTH DAKOTA TO CENTRAL
MINNESOTA TO NORTHERN WISCONSIN TO CENTRAL MICHIGAN TO NORTHERN NEW YORK
STATE TO MAINE.
ACTIVITY *MAY* ALSO BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...
NORTHERN UNITED KINGDOM TO NORTHERN DENMARK AND POSSIBLY EXTREME NORTHERN
GERMANY TO SOUTHERN SWEDEN TO SOUTHERN FINLAND AND POSSIBLY LATVIA AND
ESTONIA TO NORTH-CENTRAL RUSSIA.
NEW ZEALAND AND SOUTH EASTERN REGIONS OF AUSTRALIA MAY ALSO OBSERVE
PERIODS OF ACTIVITY.
SYNOPSIS...
A strong and sustained southward turning over the IMF has been observed
over the last 10 hours that has resulted in periods of destabilized higher
latitude auroral activity. Low solar wind velocities are minimizing the
impact of these favorable solar magnetic fields. However, a higher velocity
solar wind stream is expected to begin influencing the Earth over the next 24
hours. If the fields remain southward, the strengthening solar wind velocity
could promote the production of periods of moderately strong auroral
substorming over the next 12 to 24 hours. As a result, a middle latitude
auroral activity watch has been issued.
UPDATE: The high velocity solar wind stream from the anticipated coronal hole
disturbance are being observed now. Auroral activity has become sporadically
strengthened. Some equatorward migration of the auroral oval has also been
observed that may help promote middle latitude sightings.
This watch will remain valid through 23:00 UTC (7 pm EDT) on
12 July. It will then be updated or allowed to expire. For updated
information, visit: http://www.spacew.com/aurora/forum.html. For real-time
plots of current activity, visit: http://www.spacew.com/plots.html
PLEASE REPORT OBSERVATIONS OF AURORAL ACTIVITY TO:
http://www.spacew.com/submitsighting.html
** End of Watch **
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 905 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Jul 23, 2003 (23:12) * 11 lines
M E T E O R S
Earthgrazing meteors. The Moon and Mars. The dependable Perseid meteor
shower. It all happens on August 12th and 13th. Mark your calendar and
don't miss the show.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/17jul_perseids2003.htm?list89800
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 906 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Jul 31, 2003 (16:44) * 34 lines
Gigantic impact of a planet the size of Mars created the Moon
The "Giant Impact" theory has been known and
accepted by scientists for more than a decade
because it provides an explanation for the low density
of the moon and the angular momentum of the
earth-moon system.
The theory states that, about 50 million years after the
birth of the solar system, a planet of the size of Mars --
called Theia after the mother of the Greek moon
goddess, Selene -- collided with the proto-earth.
At this time the earth was in the latter stages of its
formation and had about 90% of the mass it has today.
Due to the enormous mass involved the collision must
have been very energetic. Most of the mass of the earth
probably melted and major portions may have
evaporated.
The debris from the collision formed a ring around the
earth, out of which the moon was formed.
Subsequently, the moon moved further away from the
earth and slowed down the rotation of the earth. These
processes are still on-going.
On the one hand, the results now published in Science
fit the "Giant Impact" theory very well. On the other, the
virtually identical composition of oxygen isotopes are a
strong indication that proto-earth and Theia were
formed from the same mixture of components and that
they probably orbited the sun at very similar distances
-- like twin planets.
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/lunar-01g.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 907 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Jul 31, 2003 (17:37) * 20 lines
That brilliant object in the night sky is something very special:
We have been racing toward the Red Planet all year. Our closest approach occurs on August 27, at 9:51 Universal Time (UT), when we pass
just over 55.7 million kilometers or 34.6 million miles from Mars. At that moment, Mars will appear five times larger and fifty-eight times
brighter than it did on January 1. The actual moment of opposition occurs thirty-two hours later. Mars will shine all night long, gleaming like a
brilliant ember set among the faint stars of the constellation Aquarius.
The last time Mars came this close, Neanderthals flourished and humans had not yet
occupied Australia.
By any measure, 2003 will be the best year for Mars observing this decade. Because Mars follows a more eccentric orbit around the sun than
the Earth, all Mars oppositions are not created equal. Those that occur when Mars lies nearest the sun, at perihelion, bring it almost twice as
close to us as oppositions that occur when Mars lies farthest from the sun, or at aphelion (furtherst from the sun in its orbit).
http://www.spaceweather.com/delights/mars2003_View.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 908 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Jul 31, 2003 (17:40) * 1 lines
Please read the rest of that article on M A R S Even in binoculars it should be a great sight. I am going to try to convince my son to set up his 7 inch Meade reflector. I want to see the polar ice caps.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 909 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Jul 31, 2003 (18:28) * 4 lines
Please print out a sky chart for the time and location where you are
http://www.heavens-above.com/
Then report back, please!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 910 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Tue, Aug 19, 2003 (20:12) * 3 lines
i registered. thought i saw a very dim mars in the western sky this morning around 6.
remember a couple of years ago seeing mars and antaries opposite each other! this year, mars should be a real treat to see!!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 911 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Sep 3, 2003 (20:56) * 3 lines
Oh Wolfie! I missed it entirely since it is so smoggy here this time of year. I did get to see it in Tennessee last month, though. Brilliant!!!
Hugs! I miss you!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 912 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Sep 3, 2003 (20:58) * 2 lines
Oh another thing. About constllations from space or at what altitude do they become distorted... I noted as we were landing in Oakland,California, that at about 1500 feet or less the "big dipper" went into recognizable configuration.
I hope I do not fly again any time soon again, but if I do,I'll try to get better percision on the altitude.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 913 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Wed, Sep 3, 2003 (21:35) * 3 lines
marcia, i miss you too!!!!
guys, mars really did look like the moon through our telescope. will have to consider investing in a better (stronger) model for clearer images though (and change out the tripod we have as you can't make the scope stay in one place)
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 914 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Sep 4, 2003 (10:52) * 1 lines
I am so envious! My son's telescope would do it justice, but mine is too much of a terrestrial one to matter much. In my next life I want a better telescope!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 915 of 1087: _cosmo_ (aa9il) * Thu, Sep 4, 2003 (11:10) * 5 lines
Hi Marci!
Welcome Back!
73 de Mike
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 916 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Sep 4, 2003 (13:23) * 3 lines
Hi Mike! I really missed Geo and the denizens therein!
I hope you northerners get to see some aurora this week. I have too little latitude and too much smog for good seeing here.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 917 of 1087: _cosmo_ (aa9il) * Thu, Sep 4, 2003 (14:03) * 10 lines
Hi Marci
Yea, its just not the same to look at the posting history
and not see stuff from you so very glad you are back on line.
Might have to look to the north tonight as it is clear - I
heard there was a CME last week. Mars is still very visible
though.
73 de Mike
radio-cosmo-international
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 918 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Sep 4, 2003 (15:46) * 2 lines
It is strange. Always glad when Marci comes back from one of her breaks.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 919 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Sep 4, 2003 (16:46) * 6 lines
Don gets on my case if I seem neglectful of Geo lately. Now that things are settling down I can be on more. As soon as I get the computers networking, I can be on ALL the time.
Mike, what is the status of your slavaged radio telescope? I suspect it is keeping weeds company, but one can always hope. Our skies cleared here, too. I might actually SEE something up there other than sky glow tonight!!
Guys, thanks for telling me you missed me. It means a lot!
*Hugs*
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 920 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Oct 13, 2003 (14:05) * 37 lines
==================================================================
This Is SKY & TELESCOPE's AstroAlert for Variable Stars
==================================================================
1509-61 Nova Circinus 2003 Number 1
AAVSO Newsflash Special Notice (October 10, 2003)
We have been informed by the IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical
Telegrams (IAU Circular 8219) of the discovery of a possible nova
in Circinus by W. Liller, Vina del Mar, Chile, at approximate mag
7.7 on Technical Pan film with a 85-mm Nikon camera lens (with red
filter) on Oct. 9.004. Nothing was visible to magnitude 11.5 on
his films from Sept 26.004 and magnitude 11.0 on Oct. 4.010. The
new object is reported by Liller to be located at:
R.A. = 15h17m.8, Decl. = -61o58' (equinox 2000.0).
Peter Nelson, Victoria, Australia, estimated the location at R.A.
= 15h17m52.8s, Decl. = -61o57'17.6" from USNOA2 with 0.6 arc sec
plate residuals under poor viewing conditions on CCDV and CCD clear
images.
The AAVSO finder chart for this object is available at this URL:
http://www.aavso.org/cgi-bin/searchcharts3.pl?name=n%20cir%2003
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 921 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Oct 13, 2003 (14:06) * 10 lines
The 2003 Leonid Meteor Shower
An unusual double Leonid meteor shower is going to peak next month over
parts of Asia and North America.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/10oct_doubleleonids.htm?list89800
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 922 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Mon, Oct 13, 2003 (16:47) * 9 lines
"Space Is Seen As Finite, Shaped Like a Soccer Ball" Or you might call it a dodecahedron.
The new study, led by Jean-Pierre Luminet of the Paris Observatory, suggests the universe is a dodecahedron -- a complex pattern of 12 pentagonal shapes -- with opposite faces connected up in pairs, like the opposite edges of the sheet of paper described above. A traveler exiting the dodecahedron through any face returns from the opposite face.
The dodecahedron is geometrically tweaked so that it makes a spherical universe -- one that can be likened to the look of a soccer ball.
Here's the link for the entire article.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/universe_soccer_031008.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 923 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Tue, Oct 14, 2003 (21:59) * 1 lines
oohhh marcia's back! *HUGS*
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 924 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Oct 23, 2003 (18:00) * 1 lines
I'll be looking forward to seeing the Nova about space - eagerly. String theories and such elegant ideas seem far too abstruse for me. I need the child's version of space physics or John Tsatsaragos to explain it to me.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 925 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Oct 23, 2003 (18:01) * 3 lines
Hi Wolfie, Sweetie!
Did anyone see any meteor showers? Last night was the Geminids. We had clouds.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 926 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Thu, Oct 23, 2003 (18:04) * 1 lines
no, i haven't been looking at all.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 927 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Oct 23, 2003 (18:16) * 19 lines
Space Weather News for Oct. 22, 2003
http://spaceweather.com
Sunspot 484, which first appeared this past weekend, has grown into one of
the biggest sunspots in years. Now about the size of the planet Jupiter,
it's easy to see. But never look directly at the sun! Visit
Spaceweather.com for safe solar observing tips.
Meanwhile, say forecasters, another big sunspot could soon appear near the
sun's southeastern limb. The active region is not yet directly visible,
but the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) has seen material being
blasted over the sun's limb from the approaching spot.
Major eruptions are possible from these active regions as they rotate
across the face of the sun over the next two weeks.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 928 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Oct 23, 2003 (18:18) * 1 lines
I expect the SW propagation to be altered unfavorably for the foreseeable future. That is bad news to us who look forward to winter listening to short wave broadcasts.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 929 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Fri, Oct 24, 2003 (16:31) * 3 lines
Oh yes, the special on Nova, isn't titled something like "The Elegant Universe". I do think, though, that when a physicist uses the word "elegant" it has a something of a different meaning than when the rest of us use the word.
Sorry to hear about the disruption of winter short-wave broadcasting for you, Marcia and anyone else here who is a short-wave enthusiast. It is good to see posting again, Marcia. I think I speak (virtually, of course) for all of us here when I state that you've really been missed. Hope that you're recovering from your carpal tunnel.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 930 of 1087: _cosmo_ (aa9il) * Mon, Nov 17, 2003 (16:41) * 10 lines
Hi Marci
Best wishes on a speedy recovery from me as well - I have been
very infrequent as of late but do look for your postings. Shortwave
is kind of hit or miss - sometimes the bands are hot 7MHz down
and sometimes its nil. Still plenty of fun things to listen to.
73 de Mike
AA9IL
rci
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 931 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Tue, Nov 18, 2003 (20:26) * 6 lines
Same here Marci. Hope you get back online soon!
Mike, did you catch the currently running Nova about the earths changing
magnetic field?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 932 of 1087: Marshall Smyth (marshallsmyth2) * Wed, Nov 19, 2003 (14:18) * 1 lines
meteor showers should be good again tonight too
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 933 of 1087: _cosmo_ (aa9il) * Wed, Nov 19, 2003 (14:46) * 4 lines
No - that would be interesting though. I have heard
some stuff about a pole shift that could happen but
that is a catastrophe of biblical proportions (according
to the fringe science folks)
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 934 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Nov 29, 2003 (16:36) * 1 lines
Ok, please tell me how wondeful the auroras were/are and where you were. I did not even see meteors or eclipses, but that is ok. I have seen many, and it is snow time for me. I like snow !!!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 935 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Nov 29, 2003 (16:40) * 3 lines
There have been lots of interesting Novas lately. I did not quite grasp the intricacies of the string theory no matter how elegant, but I did find the magnetic field reversals interesting. I wonder if that means all the magnets fall off our refrigerator doors?
Marshall, what did you see and where are you? Meteors were good? I am so envious!!!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 936 of 1087: _cosmo_ (aa9il) * Sat, Nov 29, 2003 (17:41) * 12 lines
Hi Marci and Geoites
Happy Turkey day and VERY nice to see you back on the list.
You can tell when auroras are appearing because we usually
have cloud cover appear. Even missed the eclipse due to
bad wx. Currently down in Tx right now - plans are to go
out and look at the milky way since we are far from light
pollution. Should see satellites and any meteors.
73 de Mike
AA9IL
r-c-i
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 937 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Nov 29, 2003 (17:45) * 1 lines
Look up your location on http://www.heavens-above.com/ then look for the satellites for your area. Great fun! Some look like disco balls. Our weather has been just as bad, Did you have snow, too?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 938 of 1087: Mike Kana (aa9il) * Sat, Nov 29, 2003 (17:53) * 7 lines
Hi Marci (waving in your direction...)
Yep, dusting of snow around the great lakes - it was 60 degrees
here in south TX tho...
Mike
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 939 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sun, Nov 30, 2003 (20:10) * 2 lines
Where is S Texas are you Mike. I'm now hanging out on 443.75, which is
echolinked. Try calling me there on Echolink ok? That would be a hoot.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 940 of 1087: _cosmo_ (aa9il) * Sun, Nov 30, 2003 (21:11) * 8 lines
Hi Terry
Ok, thanks for the frequency - west of Houston but
will be returning to Chi town tomorrow afternoon.
But can dial in to echolink when I get home.
73 de Mike
p.s. I guess George was happy the Horns beat the Aggies
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 941 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Mon, Dec 1, 2003 (08:33) * 2 lines
We'll be going to Houston for my birthday tomorrow. We're going to see
the big Art Exhibit of American Masters.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 942 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Wed, Dec 3, 2003 (17:03) * 3 lines
Happy Birthday Terry!!! Okay, I'm a day late.
That is an interesting question as to whether the magnets will fall off our refrigerators during a magnetic pole shift. I don't think that they will fall off, but will just spin in rotation.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 943 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Wed, Dec 3, 2003 (17:57) * 1 lines
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TERRY!!!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 944 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Dec 4, 2003 (07:11) * 4 lines
The American Masters exhibit was great.
Magnets will get very confused during the magnetic turmoil what with 4 or
8 magnetic poles. Compasses will be useless.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 945 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Dec 4, 2003 (13:24) * 4 lines
Compasses are useless on over the pole flights to Europe from Hawaii even now!
Happy Birthday Terry
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 946 of 1087: _cosmo_ (aa9il) * Thu, Dec 4, 2003 (16:24) * 11 lines
Happy Birthday Terry
Re the pole shift - I have been seeing hints about this
in some magazine reviews - I think when that happens,
make sure you are on high ground for the tidal waves.
I might get a chance to see some seismic activity in
CA soon but would rather not - just go visit the electronics
surplus stores.
73 de Mike
AA9IL
rci
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 947 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Dec 4, 2003 (18:04) * 3 lines
Where are you visiting in CA cosmo? Are you there now?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 948 of 1087: _cosmo_ (aa9il) * Fri, Dec 5, 2003 (14:50) * 7 lines
Howdy Terry
San Jose area to do some IP telephony work. Not there yet - trip
is upcoming. Get to then hit all the surplus electronic stores.
73 de Mike
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 949 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Mon, Dec 15, 2003 (13:11) * 1 lines
Not to mention Fry's, right Mike?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 950 of 1087: _cosmo_ (aa9il) * Wed, Dec 17, 2003 (21:39) * 5 lines
Oh man - Fry's is THE NERD SUPERSTORE.
I could have spent hours looking around. Ah, to have
more petty cash...
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 951 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Dec 18, 2003 (06:29) * 1 lines
It's the ultimate geek cash black hole.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 952 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Dec 22, 2003 (16:31) * 1 lines
MY laptop came from Fry's in Sacramento! So did my Zip drive... my LAN card...I know all about the temptations of that store. They even have food there!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 953 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Mon, Dec 22, 2003 (16:49) * 1 lines
What kind of food?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 954 of 1087: _cosmo_ (aa9il) * Mon, Dec 22, 2003 (16:54) * 1 lines
Real nerd grub like Jolt, Mountain Dew, Red Bull, Cheetoes. Nuke and serve pizza.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 955 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Mon, Dec 22, 2003 (17:42) * 1 lines
How would computer nerds ever survive without Jolt and pizza, with the obligatory Cheetos appetizer?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 956 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Dec 22, 2003 (18:13) * 1 lines
They also have chocolate cookies! Cookies of any sort are my FRIENDS *;)
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 957 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Wed, Dec 24, 2003 (08:48) * 5 lines
They have some pretty decent cappucino milkshakes at Frys.
Can't go there right now. Too broke!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 958 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Thu, Dec 25, 2003 (15:15) * 1 lines
the one here is always super crowded but we love to walk up and down the aisles
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 959 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Dec 25, 2003 (18:36) * 1 lines
Wow! Lots of Fry's addicts here. I wonder if Louisville has one...
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 960 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Fri, Dec 26, 2003 (12:17) * 2 lines
Any news on the Mars landers, Marci?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 961 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Jan 23, 2004 (19:08) * 1 lines
I guess everyone knows that the UK's lander is missing and ours has had a few glitches but is actively sending data again. I KNOW where it is. It looks just like those photographs at the Kilauea summit !!!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 962 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sun, Jan 25, 2004 (16:12) * 17 lines
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/video/movies/RoverAnimPart2.mov
is a video of the bouncy landing. Very cool.
And check this one out too:
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/video/movies/RoverAnimPart3.mov
Do you need a Mars clock?
http://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/download.html
Maestro is the tool that NASA geeks use to control the rovers, you can
have your own scaled down copy but don't expect to do any actual back seat
driving with it. It's just a simulation:
http://mars.telascience.org/home
And some of the newest photos:
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/opportunity_n001.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 963 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Feb 10, 2004 (19:37) * 1 lines
OOOH, I NEED the Mars clock. None of my terrestrial ones keep good time (I am hooked on WWV and insist on setting all the clocks to the precise second...) Thanks, Terry. The photos from the second lander are truly amazing.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 964 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Fri, Feb 27, 2004 (16:31) * 1 lines
What are those little spheres the second lander found buried in the Martian strata?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 965 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Thu, Mar 4, 2004 (07:26) * 56 lines
Mars Could Once Support Life, Scientists Now Say, but Did It?
By KENNETH CHANG
The New York Times: March 3, 2004
ater is the elixir of life, and scientists reported almost certain evidence yesterday that the tiny crater that holds the Mars rover Opportunity was once soaked by it.
The finding greatly increases the likelihood that Mars was a much more hospitable planet early in its history, possibly even amenable to the rise of life.
The scientists do not know what kind of wet environment existed at the Opportunity landing site: perhaps groundwater percolating up through volcanic ash, perhaps a lake, perhaps something else.
Nevertheless, "we believe at this place on Mars for some period in time, it was a habitable environment," said Dr. Steven W. Squyres, an astronomy professor at Cornell and the mission's principal investigator.
"This is the kind of place that would have been suitable for life," Dr. Squyres went on, but quickly added: "Now that doesn't mean life was there. We don't know that."
Dr. Squyres, at a news conference in Washington yesterday to announce the findings, said he could not say when the area had been wet or how long it remained that way, except that the period was not recent.
Dr. Edward J. Weiler, NASA's associate administrator for space science, said: "Our ultimate quest at Mars is to answer the age-old question, `Was there life, is there life on Mars?' Today's results are a giant leap toward achieving that long-term goal."
Dr. Robert Zubrin, founder of the Mars Society, a space advocacy group, agreed. "If liquid water still exists underground, and there is ample evidence from more than this mission that it does," said Dr. Zubrin, who is not part of the mission, "then astronauts could reach it and then culture it to see if there is any Mars life there. Then we could see if it follows the pattern of life as we know it on Earth."
When people do go to Mars, he said, existing water would make greenhouse agriculture possible to sustain a base and also provide raw materials for fuel.
The surface of Mars is now cold and arid, and ice still exists at its poles. But persistent speculation, based on huge canyons and channels carved in parts of the surface, is that the atmosphere was once thick and warm enough to allow liquid water to exist on the surface. Another possibility is that Mars has always been cold, and liquid existed only for brief episodes following volcanic eruptions or meteor impacts.
The mission of the two rovers that NASA landed on Mars in January is to search for signs of past water. At least in a small crater on the flat plains of Meridiani Planum, the landing site of the Opportunity, scientists have succeeded.
Since its arrival on Jan. 25, the Opportunity has spotted hints of past water — fine layers in bedrock that might be sedimentary rock deposited at the bottom of a lake or sea and an iron mineral that usually forms in the presence of water. In both cases, however, there are plausible alternative explanations: the layers could be volcanic ash or sediments carried by wind, or the iron could have formed directly from lava.
But close examination of the bedrock, exposed along the rim of the crater that the Opportunity has been scooting around in, provided four lines of evidence.
The most compelling is large quantities of jarosite, a mineral that contains iron, sulfur and trapped water. "This is a mineral that you've got to have water around to make it," Dr. Squyres said.
Instruments also measured high levels of sulfur in the rocks, probably in the form of sulfur salts.
"The only way you can form such large concentrations of salt on Earth normally is to dissolve it in water and have the water evaporate," said Dr. Benton C. Clark III, chief scientist of space exploration at Lockheed Martin Space Systems and a member of the science team.
Photographs also show holes in the rocks roughly the shape and size of pennies. The scientists believe these are where minerals carried by water formed crystals that subsequently dissolved or fell out.
The final evidence is the curious round pebbles, nicknamed blueberries, that are scattered around the surface and are also embedded in the bedrock. The blueberries, the scientists said, are objects known as concretions that form within sedimentary rocks.
Dr. John P. Grotzinger, professor of earth sciences at M.I.T., said other explanations were ruled out because the pebbles did not displace the layers around them, indicating that they formed within the rock, and they were evenly distributed throughout the rock. Had the pebbles been, for instance, glass beads formed from molten rock from a volcanic eruption of a meteor impact, the pebbles would have pressed down the layers where they struck and be found only in certain layers, he said.
The discoveries make Meridiani Planum a promising candidate for a future robotic mission, probably a decade away, that would bring pieces of Mars back to Earth for closer examination.
Dr. Christopher Chyba, an astrobiologist at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif., who is not involved in the mission, said it was exciting to have solid evidence that water in liquid form once flowed on Mars.
"People have been talking about wet Mars for a long time," Dr. Chyba said. "There's nothing like actually having data. It's one thing to talk about it based on models and photographs. It's another thing to be on the surface and have evidence on the surface that Mars was wet. That's an exciting step."
Next, the Opportunity will cozy up to a section of the bedrock nicknamed Big Bend where scientists may find evidence that the rocks not only sat in water but also formed in water. Low-resolution photographs already show ripples and angled layers that might indicate sediment that was pushed around by flowing water.
"We don't have an answer to that one yet," Dr. Squyres said. "We may have something for you in another week to two weeks."
Warren E. Leary contributed reporting for this article.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 966 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Mar 4, 2004 (09:09) * 3 lines
I'll drink to that! (raises glass of spring water to toast this momentous
revelation)
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 967 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Fri, Mar 5, 2004 (07:07) * 1 lines
I'll join you in that toast, Terry. Indeed, what better to toast the indication that there may well have been water on Mars, than with water.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 968 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sat, Mar 6, 2004 (07:15) * 16 lines
NASA: Liquid water once on Mars
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/03/02/mars.findings/
NASA scientists say the Mars rovers have found what they were looking
for: Hard evidence that the red planet was once "soaking wet."
"We have concluded the rocks here were once soaked in liquid water,"
said Steve Squyres of Cornell University. He's the principal
investigator for the science instruments on Opportunity and its twin
rover, Spirit.
"The second question we've tried to answer: Were these rocks altered
by liquid water? We believe definitively, yes," said Squyres.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 969 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Mar 18, 2004 (20:34) * 10 lines
Spooky Atomic Clock
Einstein called it "spooky action at a distance." Now NASA-funded
researchers are using an astonishing property of quantum mechanics called
"entanglement" to improve atomic clocks--humanity's most precise way to
measure time.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/23jan_entangled.htm?list89800
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 970 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Mar 18, 2004 (20:35) * 1 lines
I have a very cute cartoon of a diving board over an empty Martian hole in the ground. Yes, evidence of water once there! I join in the toast. All I drink is spring water!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 971 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Mar 18, 2004 (20:36) * 8 lines
Mysterious Object Found Orbiting the Sun
Astronomers have discovered a strange planet-like body in the distant
reaches of the solar system.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/16mar_sedna.htm?list89800
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 972 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Wed, Mar 24, 2004 (12:59) * 14 lines
Politics of Water: Ancient Sea on Mars Begs Human Exploration
The discovery that a salty sea once covered party of the surface of Mars will have lasting effects on the future exploration of the red planet, according to scientists and policy experts inside and outside NASA (news - web sites).
Space agency officials said the briney find by the Opportunity rover has singled out its Meridiani Planum landing site for future robotic exploration and given a timely boost to President George W. Bush (news - web sites)'s recently stated vision of eventually sending humans to take a more personal look around.
During a Tuesday announcement of the finding, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said the ancient sea has "profound implications" for future investigations in which the space agency plans to send "more sophisticated robotic capabilities" to Mars.
"And it's in due course that human explorers will follow," O'Keefe said.
http://www.space.com/news/opportunity_policy_040324.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 973 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Mar 25, 2004 (07:06) * 8 lines
Five planets are spread across the evening sky in a spectacular night
show that won't be back for another three decades.
For the next two weeks, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn -
the five closest planets - should be easily visible at dusk, along
with the moon.
What a splendid display!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 974 of 1087: Karen (KarenR) * Thu, Mar 25, 2004 (10:11) * 1 lines
Where is your message, asking for contributions, on this conference?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 975 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Fri, Mar 26, 2004 (11:24) * 3 lines
I'll post it!
Thanks for reminding me!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 976 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Thu, Apr 1, 2004 (07:15) * 7 lines
The Origins of Oxygen on Earth
Summary - (Mar 17, 2004) Oxygen is one of the most important elements on Earth to life, and it comprises a fifth of our atmosphere. It's a volatile element, so it can't exist in large quantities unless something, like life, is continually producing it. The mainstream view is that plants evolved oxygen photosynthesis early on, and then produced large amounts of oxygen. Another view, tested under laboratory conditions, is that when volcanic rocks weather, they release oxygen into the atmosphere. Perhaps it's a combination of these factors that built up our oxygen.
Christopher Chyba is the principal investigator for The SETI Institute lead team of the NASA Astrobiology Institute. Chyba formerly headed the SETI Institute's Center for the Study of Life in the Universe. His NAI team is pursuing a wide range of research activities, looking at both life's beginnings on Earth and the possibility of life on other worlds. Astrobiology Magazine's managing editor, Henry Bortman, spoke recently with Chyba about several of his team's projects that will explore the origin and significance of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere.
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/origin_oxygen_earth.html?1732004
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 977 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Thu, Apr 1, 2004 (07:22) * 15 lines
Mars methane from biology or geology?
By Tariq Malik
SPACE.com
Scientists believe methane on the Red Planet could have originated from geological or biological sources.
(SPACE.com) -- A trio of research teams independently probing the martian atmosphere for signs of methane have confirmed the presence of the gas and raised a host of explanations for how it got there.
Among the most tantalizing, if unlikely, scenario is the possibility that the Mars methane could be the byproduct of some form of microbial life, said scientists. But a safer bet, they say, is that geological activity on Mars, including anything from volcanic activity to long-ago impacts of methane-carrying comets, may have released methane into the atmosphere.
"It's of course very exciting and quite a surprise," said Augustin Chicarro, project scientist for the European Mars Express mission, which detected methane while orbiting the planet. "Mars seems to be a planet that is always surprising us, one week it's an ocean...now this."
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/03/30/mars.methane/
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 978 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Thu, Apr 1, 2004 (07:25) * 15 lines
A new space race?
To put a man on Mars, US, Europe, and China face a stark choice: cooperate or go solo.
By Peter N. Spotts | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
From the time Sputnik first orbited Earth in 1957 to the fall of the Soviet Union 34 years later, Western cooperation in manned spaceflight was cemented by a common ideology and a common foe. Its capstone was the International Space Station.
But today, the United States and Europe, which built the space station, have reached a crossroads as they search for ways to put astronauts on Mars. One path could lead to tighter cooperation, not only between the US and Europe, but also with Russia, China, and other nations interested in manned spaceflight. The other path could lead to an international space race in which the US may find itself still in the lead but increasingly isolated.
The choice could determine how aggressively the world carries out its next round of human space exploration.
Already, efforts at international cooperation are off to a shaky start, suggests Joan Johnson-Freese, a specialist in space and international security at the US Naval War College in Newport, R.I. She notes that President Bush announced in January his moon-and-Mars plan as a done deal and appointed a commission to lay out options for implementing it. Yet none of the potential partners was brought in at the outset, she says.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0401/p14s02-stss.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 979 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr 8, 2004 (05:23) * 7 lines
Whee! Lots and lots of great spacenews posts.
I have been admiring the planets strung across the ecliptic. Despite city glare and spring fog, they are quite beautiful andeasily visible.
(KarenR... thanks for requesting the addition of the new fund-raising topic. Geo followers are often still college students and not as wealthy as the Firthaholics - of which I am still a memeber.)
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 980 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr 8, 2004 (05:25) * 9 lines
A Gathering of Planets
The five brightest planets are gathering in the evening sky for a rare
after-dark display.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/19mar_planets.htm?list89800
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 981 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr 8, 2004 (05:43) * 9 lines
A Black Box for People
Developed by NASA for astronauts, a mouse-sized device called "the CPOD"
does for people what black boxes do for airplanes.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/07apr_blackbox.htm?list89800
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 982 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Thu, Apr 15, 2004 (13:28) * 16 lines
Riddle of planetoid's missing moon revealed
NewScientist.com news service
New Hubble images of the most distant object ever spotted in the Solar System are perplexing astronomers. They show that the planetoid Sedna does not seem to have a moon as they expected.
"I'm completely baffled at the absence of a moon," says Mike Brown, a planetary scientist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "This is outside the realm of expectation and makes Sedna even more interesting."
Brown and his colleagues discovered Sedna in November 2003, using a telescope at Caltech's Palomar Observatory near San Diego, and revealed the find in March. Follow-up observations showed that the reddish coloured planetoid takes about 10,500 years to orbit, drifting up to 900 times farther from the Sun than the Earth.
Astronomers also noticed subtle changes in the amount of sunlight reflecting from Sedna's mottled surface, and the pattern of these changes suggest Sedna is rotating very slowly, completing a revolution just once every 20 days or so. Most lone objects in the Solar System rotate much faster than that.
Sedna's slow rotation could easily be explained if it has a moonlet, which would brake the planetoid's rotation by exerting tidal forces on it. To see if they could spot a companion moon, Brown's team observed Sedna using the Hubble Space Telescope on 16 March.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994887
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 983 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Fri, Apr 16, 2004 (12:38) * 10 lines
Scientists discover distant planet with 'cosmic magnifying glass'
Beijing researchers have discovered a distant Jupiter-sized planet about 17,000 light years from Earth by putting an Einsteinian theory into practice. The planet orbits much closer to its home star than Jupiter or Saturn do in relation to the sun.
For the first time, gravitational microlensing has been used to peer into another star system and discover a planet. The method is predicated on Einstein's theory of relativity.
One of the implications of the theory is that the gravity of stars and planets can focus light from distant bodies. So far, it is only useful for very large bodies such as stars and large planets.
http://www.shortnews.com/shownews.cfm?id=38825
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 984 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Fri, Apr 16, 2004 (12:42) * 17 lines
Analysis: Mars water past still mysterious
By Phil Berardelli
United Press International
WASHINGTON, April 15 (UPI) -- It is a typical case of one of a pair of siblings breezing along and getting all the glory, while the other slogs away and receives little recognition.
This particular analogy refers not to humans, however, but to the twin robotic landers currently operating on Mars, and to their achievements so far in searching for evidence the red planet once harbored liquid, flowing water.
NASA's late-coming Opportunity, which touched down on Jan. 24, has delivered stunning images of and discoveries at its landing site, an area near the equator called Meridiani Planum.
Early last month, the 150-pound (Martian weight) rover examined the rocks of the shallow crater in which it had landed so serendipitously and determined they had been altered by chemical interaction with water. Then, Opportunity trumped its first discovery with images of rocks that displayed the telltale sculpturing of flowing, lapping liquid -- evidence that Mars once held, if not an ocean, then at least a good-sized lake.
Opportunity's headlines and near-flawless performance have not been matched by its twin, however.
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040415-100606-9017r
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 985 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Apr 20, 2004 (12:05) * 9 lines
Great posts! More from NASA about the Missing moon of Sedna
Astronomers examining Hubble Space Telescope images of distant Sedna say
the planetoid is even more mysterious than they first thought.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/14apr_sedna2.htm?list89800
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 986 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Apr 20, 2004 (12:07) * 20 lines
Comet Bradford Plunges Toward the Sun
Newly-discovered Comet Bradfield (C/2004 F4) is plunging toward the sun.
At closest approach on April 17th it will be well inside the orbit of
Mercury. Comets that get so close to the sun can become very bright and,
sometimes, they break apart.
The sun's glare will hide the encounter from observers on Earth, but not
from the orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). Coronagraphs
onboard SOHO are able to block the glare and reveal sungrazing comets.
Comet Bradfield will enter SOHO's field of view on April 16th. Visit
http://www.Spaceweather.com to view the images.
In the weeks ahead, sky watchers will be able to see some comets for
themselves: Comet NEAT (C/2001 Q4), Comet LINEAR (C/2002 T7) and, if it
survives its flyby of the sun, Comet Bradfield. Details and sky maps are
available at Spaceweather.com.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 987 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Jun 25, 2004 (20:16) * 13 lines
I finally got to see something astronomical after missing all of those solar eclipses. I watched the transit of Venus the diningroom wall. Finally!! Did anyone else see it?
Here is the next good meteor shower:
The 2004 Perseid Meteor Shower
The annual Perseid meteor shower is coming, and forecasters say it should
be unusually good.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/25jun_perseids2004.htm?list89800
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 988 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Jul 6, 2004 (19:38) * 15 lines
Cassini sees the surface of Titan
It's only a first look, and the images are blurry, but scientists are
delighted: an instrument onboard Cassini has peered through Titan's dense
clouds to see what lies beneath. There are regions covered with water-ice,
a possible impact crater, and more. "We're seeing a totally alien
surface," says one researcher. Cassini has also spotted bright methane
clouds near Titan's south pole, and a giant space-cloud enveloping Titan
itself.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/04jul_titanrevealed.htm?list89800
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 989 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Tue, Aug 3, 2004 (08:56) * 24 lines
NASA's Messenger Probe Departs for Mercury
By STEFANO S. COLEDAN
August 3, 2004
APE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA’s Messenger spacecraft streaked into a clear sky early today, beginning a 5 billion-mile journey to Mercury.
Liftoff aboard a Delta 2 rocket came at 2:16 a.m. EDT and after a 24-hour weather delay. The bright flame lit up the sky already illuminated by the moon and reflected off the Atlantic Ocean.
Once Messenger arrives in orbit around the planet in 2011, its battery of seven instruments will study Mercury’s heavily cratered surface, the composition of its core, its thin atmosphere, and its magnetic field. The total cost of the mission is $427 million.
Two thirds of the planet is made of iron said Sean C. Solomon of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, the program's principal investigator. But little more is known. Only one other spacecraft, Mariner 10, has visited the planet. During the three quick flybys of Mercury in the mid-1970s, the probe sent enough images to map just half of the planet’s surface.
“We know much about Mercury as we knew about the moon before the Space Age,” said Mark S. Robinson, of Northwestern University, and program co-investigator.
The planet’s other half is still a mystery – just like the other side of the moon was until 45 years ago.
One known fact is that temperatures at the equator reach 800 degrees Fahrenheit, while in the shadow of craters at the poles they drop to minus 300 degrees, Dr. Solomon said. That means water ice could be present -- trapped there for billions of years.
The roundabout, seven-year journey through the inner solar system includes a 2005 close encounter with Earth for a so-called gravity assist, or slingshot effect. That will fling Messenger toward Venus, which in turn will hurl the 1.2-ton craft toward Mercury. Its gravity tug will finally capture Messenger as it performs the third flyby of the planet.
Orbital mechanics aside, the long journey is the result of a compromise between the weight of Messenger (half of which is fuel) and the relatively inexpensive rocket used to launch it. The space probe is part NASA’s low-priced exploration initiative known as the Discovery program.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/03/science/03CND_NASA.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 990 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Aug 10, 2004 (09:31) * 5 lines
They finally got the Mercury Messenger into space. This should prove as interesting as the rest of the planetary probes.
Now, for you late night folks,the Perseid Meteor shower is about to commence.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 991 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Wed, Aug 11, 2004 (05:23) * 1 lines
Any ETA on Messenger, Marci?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 992 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Aug 28, 2004 (20:58) * 1 lines
None that I haveheard recently other than it will take a few months to get there (or was it years?!) I suspect as it nears landing or even orbiting, we will hear a great deal more. I am eager to know what they find.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 993 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Sat, Aug 28, 2004 (21:13) * 3 lines
when is the meteor shower? hope i don't miss it again!
any more news on our probe to Saturn?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 994 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Wed, Sep 1, 2004 (07:15) * 36 lines
New class of planets found
By Deborah Zabarenko
Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new class of planets has been found orbiting stars besides our sun, in a possible giant leap forward in the search for Earth-like planets that might harbour life, scientists say.
"We can't quite see the Earth-like planets yet, but we are seeing their big brothers, and hopefully we will be bearing down on these small-mass planets soon," said Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, the co-discoverer of one of the new planets.
The two new planets are about 15 to 20 times more massive than Earth -- approximately the mass of Neptune -- and have diameters about two or three times the size of our home planet, astronomers said at a news conference at NASA headquarters.
That makes these new bodies different from most of the other so-called exoplanets found in the last decade outside our solar system. These other planets, more than 100 of them, are generally about the mass of Jupiter -- about 318 times Earth's mass -- and are thought to be balls of gas, completely inhospitable to life as Earthlings know it.
But the newly discovered planets indicate that planetary systems around other stars could have the same assortment of planets as in our solar system: big gassy ones like Jupiter, middle-weight rocky ones like Neptune and just possibly, relatively small rocks like Earth.
If scientists find an Earth-mass planet, they could then search for one located just the right distance from its star, making it temperate enough to allow for the presence of water on its surface, considered a requirement for life.
No one has ever seen an extrasolar planet. Most have been detected by looking for a characteristic wobble in a distant star, a sign that a planet's gravity is tugging on the star in a specific way.
ZIPPING AROUND THE STARS
Butler and fellow planet-hunter Geoffrey Marcy of the University of California, Berkeley, discovered one of the Neptune-mass planets around a small star called Gliese 436, some 30 light-years away in the constellation Leo, a stone's throw in cosmic terms.
The other neptunian planet was discovered by Barbara McArthur of the University of Texas, Austin. This one is orbiting the star 55 Cancri in the constellation Cancer, about 40 light-years away. A light-year is about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion km), the distance light travels in a year.
Both zip around their respective stars in three days or less, at a small fraction of the distance that Earth orbits the sun.
The planet around 55 Cancri is the fourth planet detected there, but the others in that system fit the gas-giant mold, the scientists said.
The two new discoveries are the smallest planets found so far around sun-like stars, the American astronomers said. They acknowledged that a European team of astronomers announced last week the discovery of a planet some 14 times Earth's mass, a so-called super Earth.
However, Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution said credit for such discoveries is based on when academic papers are submitted for publication, not on when they are announced to the media. Under this rule, Boss said, the European team would get credit for discovering the third Neptune-mass planet.
"It's a stiff competition but we're quite friendly," Marcy said of the European planet-hunting team. "... We recognize that the best science is done when there's a bit of tension, a bit of competition, but friendly, with science as the ultimate goal."
http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=5185275
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 995 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Wed, Sep 1, 2004 (20:28) * 1 lines
thanks for posting that, Cheryl, i read about it too but forgot to relook it up when i got home and was able to post.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 996 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Thu, Sep 2, 2004 (12:33) * 17 lines
Could Space Signal Be Alien Contact?
LONDON (Reuters) - An unexplained radio signal from deep space could -- just might be -- contact from an alien civilization, New Scientist magazine reported on Thursday.
The signal, coming from a point between the Pisces and Aries constellations, has been picked up three times by a telescope in Puerto Rico.
New Scientist said the signal could be generated by a previously unknown astronomical phenomenon or even be a by-product from the telescope itself.
But the mystery beam has excited astronomers across the world.
"If they can see it four, five or six times it really begins to get exciting," Jocelyn Bell Burnell of the University of Bath in western England told the magazine.
It was broadcast on the main frequency at which the universe's most common element, hydrogen, absorbs and emits energy, and which astronomers say is the most likely means by which aliens would advertise their presence.
The potentially extraterrestrial signals were picked up through the SETI@home project, which uses programs running as screensavers on millions of personal computers worldwide to sift through the huge amount of data picked up by the telescope.
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=6133976§ion=news
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 997 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Sep 2, 2004 (14:28) * 3 lines
Do we want to answer? Do we want to let the Universe know we're here? It's a calculated risk, isn't it?
Lots of unknowns.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 998 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Thu, Sep 2, 2004 (17:18) * 1 lines
dunno, terry, think they already know we're here. or what if it's a wormhole bringing back our own signal? very neat find. i used to run seti on my computer but the AM thought it slowed everything down, then we moved, and alas...i'm gonna post the link in paraspring!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 999 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Fri, Sep 3, 2004 (07:19) * 3 lines
Terry that's an interesting question as to whether or not we want to answer. There are a lot of questions involved. Due to the vast distances in space the senders, or rather, those like them may no longer exist anymore. Maybe what we'll get is some of their old entertainment broadcasts, kind of like the joke that we've been sending "I Love Lucy" out into space for over fifty years. Okay, that's television, not radio.
Wolfie, I do find your suggestion that maybe it might be one our own signals returning to us. That would be ironic.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1000 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Fri, Sep 3, 2004 (13:14) * 15 lines
Now it seems there are no alien signals.
Mystery Radio Signal 'Not Aliens'
BBC News Online is reporting that a radio signal from deep space is not from aliens, according to astronomers. The scientists quelled rumors that spread across the web after New Scientist magazine reported that a signal picked up by a telescope in Puerto Rico might be from an alien civilization.
But the Seti@home project's chief scientist, Dr. Dan Wertheimer, told BBC that, "It's all hype and noise…. We have nothing that is unusual."
The BBC News Online story also cited Dr. Paul Horowitz of Harvard University. "It's not much of anything at all. We're not investigating it further," Horowitz said, according to the story. He reportedly said what the telescope picked up was "not new and definitely not a signal."
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,64818,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_6
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1001 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Fri, Sep 3, 2004 (14:38) * 1 lines
isn't that what they always want us to think--they want us to believe it's nothing because it's something *laugh* (i'm no conspiracy theorist, really)....oh well, back to the drawing board.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1002 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Fri, Sep 17, 2004 (09:01) * 43 lines
Pulsating red giants hide inside deceptive shells
Maggie McKee
NewScientist.com news service
An optical illusion has caused astronomers to overestimate the size of a class of giant stars by a factor of two, according to new observations. The revised size measurements are likely to clear up some mysteries about the strange objects, while deepening others.
Pulsating red giants – called Mira variable stars – have long fascinated astronomers. They brighten and dim by a thousand times or more over periods of 100 to 1000 days. Mira stars are of particular interest as they began life about the same size as the Sun.
However, by the time they become pulsating red giants – between 5 billion and 10 billion years of age – their diameter has grown hundreds of times greater. In another 5 billion years, the Sun will go through a similarly bloated phase.
But gauging the sizes of even such large stars is difficult, as they still look like points of light through telescopes. And Mira stars appear to be different sizes depending on which wavelength of light is used to observe them, looking larger in visible light, for example, and smaller at near-infrared wavelengths.
Vapour shells
Previous observations have also revealed the relatively cool stars to be shrouded in extended cocoons of water, carbon monoxide, and other molecules.
Now, an international team of astronomers has studied six nearby Mira stars using an array of linked infrared telescopes in Mount Hopkins, Arizona. They say that Mira stars are half the size they were thought to be because their vapour shells make them look deceptively large.
Though titanium oxide - a molecule found in the white pigment of sunscreens - makes the shells look opaque in visible light, the shells were transparent to the Infrared-Optical Telescope Array (IOTA) used by the team.
They peered through the shells and found that previous measurements of the stars' sizes were based on the shells' diameters, rather than the stellar surfaces, making the stars just half as wide as previously thought.
"We're finding there's a lot more water than one would expect at high levels of the atmosphere, which gives the peculiar effect of the shell being confused with the surface of the star," says team member Stephen Ridgway of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Tucson, Arizona. The research will be published in an upcoming issue of Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Ridgway says shock waves responsible for the stars' pulsations may lift gas from the star into this shell. And he hopes the new research may help develop models of how Mira stars belch out more than three-quarters of the galaxy's molecules.
"There are so many of these stars and they lose so much material into space, they make a very important contribution to forming new stars," he told New Scientist.
Discrepancies explained
Mark Reid, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, says the results may help explain some discrepancies between theory and observation, while increasing others.
"Theoreticians trying to model why these stars pulsate always come up with much smaller sizes than observers see. If observers were always seeing above the surface, that would explain the inconsistency," he says.
But the problem of how the stars "levitate" that much material high above their surfaces "becomes more serious" for smaller stars, Reid adds.
Ridgway says he has also observed a water layer around young supergiant stars which, unlike Mira variables, do not have shock waves that might explain the molecular levitation. The next step is to look at “considerably less exotic stars" to see how widespread the phenomenon is, he says.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996412
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1003 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Wed, Sep 22, 2004 (11:25) * 29 lines
Mars Rovers' Mission Extends with New Goals, New Funding
By Chris Kridler
CAPE CANAVERAL - The Mars rovers emerged from a communications blackout period and the low point of winter today with new funding and big plans for the journey ahead.
Engineers hope to put Spirit atop Husband Hill so it can get a view all the way to the edge of vast Gusev Crater, in which it landed.
On the other side of the planet, Opportunity will soon leave Endurance Crater, visiting its discarded heat shield along the way, and make a 3-mile journey to Victoria Crater.
"There are things I look forward to, and one of them is getting out of the crater and starting the monumental trek south," project manager Jim Erickson said. "Being able to make that happen is still cool."
Both of NASA's robotic geologists are probing the history of water on Mars. They are back in full communication today with the team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California after several days of the sun blocking communications.
"We got little snippets of data through the noise," Erickson said.
They also marked the winter solstice on Mars, an important landmark because it means that days will get longer and the rovers will get more sunlight, which they use for energy.
Dust collecting on the solar panels has apparently leveled off, Erickson said. Though it may get a little colder before it gets warmer, he said, "the real important factor is how much solar energy we get, and that's looking great."
Spirit's sticky wheel seems to have stabilized, he said, and its instruments appear fine. "We're so happy on Spirit, we're going to see if we can punish these things a little further," Erickson said.
Opportunity's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, which identifies the composition of rocks, so far has survived the cold. The team is keeping an eye on it because a stuck heater forced engineers to shut down the rover's electronics -- including heaters -- in "deep sleep" each night to conserve energy.
The rovers landed on Mars in January, anticipating a 90-day, $820 million mission. The team got a $15 million, six-month extension last spring, then funding for longer-term data analysis.
NASA just authorized an additional $2.8 million a month for six more months of operations, Erickson said.
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/rover_extension_040921.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1004 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Wed, Sep 22, 2004 (20:26) * 1 lines
so glad to hear that the mars expedition is still going on, don't hear about it much anymore. thanks, cheryl!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1005 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Mon, Sep 27, 2004 (11:34) * 26 lines
Branson reaches for the stars
Sir Richard Branson today announced that he had signed a licensing deal to create a fleet of spacecraft offering commercial flights to space by 2007-8.
Speaking at the launch of Virgin Galactic Airways, Sir Richard said he planned to invest £60m in space tourism, making it accessible to the general public.
The Virgin boss this weekend signed a deal with the California-based Mojave Aerospace Ventures (MAV) for craft based on SpaceShipOne, a rocket-propelled reusable space vehicle created by the aerospace designer Burt Rutan.
Sir Richard said he hoped to offer space flights on which five passengers would each pay £115,000.
The tycoon, who has unsuccessfully attempted to circle the world by hot air balloon, said he planned to be on the first Virgin space flight, which could take place in three years time.
Speaking at the launch, held at the Royal Aeronautical Society in central London, Sir Richard said: "Today is a historic day - it will bring the dream of space travel for many millions closer to reality.
"I hope, with the launch of Virgin Galactic and the building of our fleet of spacecraft, that one day children around the world will wonder why we ever thought that space travel was a dream we read about in books."
Flights are planned to leave from a launchpad in the US, and Virgin expects to create 3,000 "astronauts" over a five-year period. Paying passengers will be given three days training.
SpaceShipOne has been tipped to win the Ansari X-Prize of £5m, which will be awarded to the designers of any private three-person craft that travels more than 100km (62miles) into space twice in a fortnight.
Mr Rutan's craft - one of around 20 chasing the X-Prize - reached 100km in June, hitting the headlines as the world's first privately manned space flight. He is expected to begin his bid for the prize with a flight this Wednesday.
"Our June space flight was flown with several new technologies that address both the cost and safety of manned space flight," Mr Rutan said. "These, combined with the lessons learned from our SpaceShipOne research programme, will enable us to develop the finest suborbital operational systems possible."
Two businessmen have already become space tourists after paying around £11m to travel. US businessman Dennis Tito became the first in 2001, and was followed by South African Mark Shuttleworth 12 months later.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,1313933,00.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1006 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Sep 27, 2004 (13:26) * 3 lines
Terry raises a great point on whether or not to let "more advanced civilizations" know we are here. I presuppose that those lesser would not be able to interpert our abilities nor to be a menace to us. In any case, Human kind has always been Far too curious! Like small children, we want to make the most noise and get attention even if it is negative. Personally, I'd let the aliens come to us! We are too busy trying to obliterate one another to have time for quality conferencing with aliens. Just a thought.
Please bear with me. I am currently on a NEW laptop - this time it is on one with a complete keyboard. As far as I can tell, I have a seonc broken hard drive (NOT crashed, BROKEN!!!) on my laptop that had all the files and research on it. I will be trying to get some sort of recovery if that is possible. Last time I had to replace a broken hard drive on that laptop I was not able to recover anything. This gets VERY old. Thanks.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1007 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Mon, Sep 27, 2004 (13:39) * 1 lines
Glad to know that your still out there in the cyberworld, Marcia. I'm sorry to hear about your broken hardrive which had your research files on it. I hope that you can salvage most, if not all of it.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1008 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Tue, Sep 28, 2004 (18:03) * 1 lines
hi marcia *HUGS*
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1009 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Wed, Sep 29, 2004 (08:40) * 2 lines
An idea, if the laptop hard drive is a standard ide drive, you can put it in the desktop you may have and run it as a slave drive. This way you could get the data off it and have it as a second drive.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1010 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Wed, Sep 29, 2004 (17:19) * 1 lines
an asteroid is passing by the earth today - go to space.com to find out more!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1011 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Oct 2, 2004 (22:38) * 25 lines
Interesting thought but it is broken - physically. The reader just bangs around against the houseing sides and refuses to get out of DOS. I am considering another new hard drive for that computer for back up and I will also get it a cooling platform like the one I got for the new laptop. It seems to work very well. Toshibas run hot and that was the difficulty with two of my previous laptops.
Wolfie thanks for mentioning it:
http://spaceweather.com
ASTEROID FLYBY: Asteroid 4179 Toutatis is flying past Earth this week. The
weirdly tumbling space rock is close enough (4 lunar distances) and bright
enough (9th magnitude) to see through backyard telescopes. For the next
few days it will scoot through the constellation Capricornus where amateur
astronomers worldwide can find it. By Sept. 29th, when Toutatis is
closest to Earth, it will be visible mainly from the southern hemisphere.
Observers there can see it passing not far from the bright star Alpha
Centauri. Follow the links at spaceweather.com to sky maps and detailed
ephemerides.
AURORA SEASON: Solar activity is low, and will probably remain so in the
days ahead. Nevertheless, this is the time of year to be extra-alert for
auroras. Studies show that northern autumn, which began on Sept. 22nd, is
the best of all seasons for geomagnetic storms. Visit spaceweather.com
for more information and pictures.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1012 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Oct 14, 2004 (00:21) * 8 lines
Total lunar eclipse
On Wednesday night, Oct. 27th, North Americans can see a total eclipse of
the moon.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/13oct_lunareclipse.htm?list89800
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1013 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Thu, Oct 14, 2004 (15:20) * 1 lines
aaroooooooooo (y'see, i'm howling already)
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1014 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Tue, Oct 26, 2004 (09:23) * 27 lines
Saturn's Titan about to surrender shrouded secrets Cassini spacecraft to begin sending images to Earth
For the first time in the history of astronomy, scientists are about to glimpse the mysterious surface of Titan, Saturn's haze-shrouded moon.
The spacecraft Cassini, flying in orbit around the planet since it first entered Saturn's icy ring system last July, will speed within 745 miles of Titan's unseen surface at precisely 9:44 a.m. Pacific time today, and scientists have readied the most sensitive instruments aboard Cassini for a series of hit-or-miss attempts to gain their first clear understanding of the tantalizing moon.
For Cassini to fly so close to its most challenging target -- after a seven-year voyage across 2.2 billion miles of space -- is clearly a remarkable feat of space navigation.
It will afford the scientists the opportunity to snap sharp images of Titan's surface, seek undiscovered chemicals in its dense atmosphere and to map the site where, in January, a tiny European space probe named Huygens will parachute from Cassini onto the moon's surface and hopefully radio back whatever mysteries it finds there.
"Cassini will see Titan as it has never been seen before," said Charles Elachi, director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena and team leader for the spacecraft's radar team. "We expect our onboard instruments will pierce the moon's dense atmosphere and reveal a whole new world."
"We're in for quite a show," said Carolyn Porco of the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo., who heads Cassini's international imaging operations team.
Although the flyby of Titan takes place this morning, Cassini's antenna will be pointing away from Earth at the time, so the first images will not reach receivers here for processing until at least nine hours later, mission controllers said.
According to Robert H. Brown of the University of Arizona, Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer should gather the very first high- resolution images of Titan's unknown geology.
"We don't really know what we'll encounter there," he said. "I suppose you can assume we'll see common geologic forms like mountains and craters and tectonic forms -- and maybe even volcanism."
And although Earthbound telescopes have already identified at least 19 individual chemicals in Titan's atmosphere, the scientists probing the smoglike clouds believe they will find many more -- perhaps an atmosphere similar in composition to that of the early Earth.
Most intriguing of all is that Titan's atmosphere may be raining methane and that its surface may be dotted with thousands of frigid lakes of liquid ethane, said Roger Yelle, a University of Arizona planetary scientist. Both methane and ethane are hydrocarbons that could hold revealing clues to the very first steps in nature's process of assembling organic molecules that are the precursors to amino acids, Yelle said, which in turn are the building blocks of life.
During its four-year mission around Saturn, Cassini scientists have planned 44 more flybys past Titan, some of which will be even closer to the mysterious moon. None, however, is likely to provide as much information as the Huygens probe does in January -- if it actually reaches the surface, and if its radio actually works once it gets there.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/10/26/MNG659G32F1.DTL
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1015 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Oct 27, 2004 (13:13) * 5 lines
I posted this in Geo 1 but here is good to for Wolfie-people who might want to see
Viewer's Guide: Oct. 27 Total Lunar Eclipse
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/041022_eclipse_guide.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1016 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Oct 27, 2004 (13:13) * 1 lines
I was wondering what happened to Cassini. Excellent article, Cheryl. many thanks for posting it.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1017 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Wed, Oct 27, 2004 (14:12) * 53 lines
You're welcome, Marcia. Like you I was wondering whatever happened to the Cassini probe. Below is another article about its trip to Titan.
A Saturn moon with echoes of Earth
Cassini's historic flyby of Titan reveals clues of Earth's first days.
By Peter N. Spotts
The Christian Science Monitor
Scientists may have rediscovered the Earth - only it's 826 million miles away.
The Cassini spacecraft, in a dramatic flyby of the Saturn moon Titan, has sent back images of an alien expanse that has many of the hallmarks of a young Earth before the rise of organic life some 3 billion years ago.
The initial evidence: an exotic surface enriched with organic goo and an atmosphere that is largely nitrogen with generous helpings of methane tossed in. Now planetary scientists are sifting through the first gigabytes of what promises to be a mother lode of data on Titan following the Cassini mission's brush with the solar system's second-largest moon Tuesday.
The encounter was the first of 45 planned during the mission's four-year run at Saturn, marking a significant moment in solar-system exploration.
"Titan is the last great expanse of unexplored terrain in the solar system," says Carolyn Porco, who heads the mission's imaging team and has actively participated in solar-system exploration missions since the Voyager program in the mid-1970s. Scientists have been trying for decades to peer through the planet's smoggy curtain from millions of miles away, but now "the window's finally been opened" to a clearer, more richly detailed view.
During its inaugural close pass, Cassini has given planetary scientists virtually everything they had hoped for - intriguing images and head-scratching puzzles.
One relatively firm discovery announced during a post-flyby briefing Wednesday: Titan's atmosphere rotates faster than the moon itself. Thus Titan joins the planet Venus as one of the solar system's rare bodies with a super-rotating atmosphere.
The close-up images often look more like patchworks of light and dark areas than they do recognizable terrain. Some hold wispy hints of what might be hills or valleys. Others display sharp boundaries between vast areas of light and dark surfaces.
Such boundaries could represent shorelines or the edge of lava flows, Dr. Porco suggests. Whatever they turn out to be, "people get very excited about sharp boundaries because it means something's going on at the surface," she says.
The full details may take months to tease from multiple exposures taken at various wavelengths of light.
"We can't make heads or tails out of what we're seeing," acknowledges Kevin Blaines, a planetary scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena and member of one of the mission's instrument teams.
So far, the images are fascinating as much for what they don't show as for what they display, researchers say.
For example, no one has spotted craters, suggesting that the moon's surface could be relatively young or that impact structures could have been covered by material falling from the atmosphere.
And at least on Cassini's side of the moon, optical and infrared images so far have failed to turn up lakes or seas of liquid methane, widely held to exist on the surface. One of the key questions surrounding Titan is why it has an atmosphere at all. One thought is that the methane in its atmosphere that gets broken up by sunlight and disappears is replenished from large liquid reservoirs on its surface.
For now, imaging-team members have dubbed the broad, dark region they see as a "mares," the Latin word for seas, because they resemble the mares on the moon and Mars, which are darker than their surroundings.
Some regions within the mares host white patches "that look like islands - they have a kind of Mediterranean feel," Dr. Blaines says.
Yet Jonathan Lunine, a Cassini team member and planetary scientist at the University of Arizona, notes that close-ups of these white spots show that some are stretched out in similar directions, perhaps suggesting wind-shaped features or a shifting crust.
At least initially, it may depend upon radar data to reveal any fluids on the surface. Meanwhile, chemical analyses of the atmosphere from flyby data suggest larger quantities of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide than researchers expected, giving scientists yet another unusual piece of Titan's puzzle. If the moon does have high concentrations, they may show up in the moon's ices as well.
For all the interest in what the flyby reveals, the main purpose for skirting to within 1,174 kilometers (729 miles) of the surface was to scoop up samples of the outer atmosphere to better understand the atmosphere's density. The information is critical to the success of the Huygens probe, a European Space Agency capsule that will parachute through Titan's atmosphere to the surface. Cassini will release Huygens Dec. 24, and the probe will make its trip through Titan's atmosphere in mid-January.
Density information is particularly vital because atmospheric density helps determine how quickly Huygens takes the plunge and the kind of heating it will experience as it falls.
The probe's instruments are triggered by timers whose settings are based on its "fall" through computer simulations of Titan's atmosphere. If Huygens parachutes too quickly or too slowly, it won't be gathering information at the altitudes of most interest to scientists.
"We must verify with observations that the assumptions we made are correct and that Huygens will enter the atmosphere we know," says Jean-Pierre Lebreton, the Huygens project scientist.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1028/p01s01-stss.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1018 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Wed, Oct 27, 2004 (17:20) * 1 lines
y'know i'll be out there baying to the full moon....hope i don't turn into a werewolfie (that's the legend with orange moons *yikes*)
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1019 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Oct 28, 2004 (06:21) * 1 lines
What's the surface temperature of Titan?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1020 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Thu, Oct 28, 2004 (07:56) * 5 lines
Terry, I found this bit of informantion at solarviews.com:
Titan's surface temperature appears to be about -178°C (-289°F).
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1021 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Fri, Oct 29, 2004 (10:38) * 1 lines
Minus! That's way too cool!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1022 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Nov 10, 2004 (13:11) * 1 lines
Has anyone been looking for aurora borealis this week? Huge CMEs caused it all the way south to Louisville, Kentucky. Of course, I can't see it, but please go outside when it gets really dark and look. This time it is red and green!!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1023 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Wed, Nov 10, 2004 (20:32) * 1 lines
are you serious? i didn't know it could be seen any farther south than the northern most states!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1024 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Nov 17, 2004 (15:40) * 3 lines
Oh yes - a truly big CME will envelope most of the world!
Watch for Leonid Meteors tonight. 20 / hour. It is raining here. Wolfie, have you seen sunshine lately? The news shows you having floods!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1025 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Wed, Nov 17, 2004 (16:40) * 1 lines
we finally got some sun this afternoon but it was raining bad last night and this morning (with some funnel clouds spotted).
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1026 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Nov 21, 2004 (19:05) * 1 lines
we are STILL under leaden skies but not much in rain comparatively speaking. It looks better at night!! A few nights ago the planes landing over the house were both invisible and inaudible. That is DENSE fod!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1027 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Nov 21, 2004 (19:05) * 1 lines
fog....
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1028 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Wed, Dec 22, 2004 (15:19) * 48 lines
Mars Volcanoes Possibly Still Active, Pictures Show
By Robert Roy Britt
22 December 2004
Images from a European space probe reveal recent glacial deposits and lava flows on Mars that suggest the red planet is more active than many scientists had thought.
The European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter photographed lava flows that must have occurred within the past two million years and imply, scientists say, that volcanoes on Mars might still pump molten rock to the surface now and then.
And on the flanks of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano on Mars, pictures reveal material left by glaciers that were active within the past four million years or so. The gargantuan volcano -- taller than any in the entire solar system -- may still harbor dust-covered snow and ice at its higher altitudes, researchers conclude.
Age spots
Estimating the age various surface layers on Mars is tricky business. But the new high-resolution, stereo images provide a detailed view not available before. Mars Express sent back its first pictures in January 2004.
Here's what scientists looked for:
Mars has been rattled by asteroids throughout its history, and the resulting craters -- some too small to be seen by other spacecraft -- are like age spots on human skin. Regions that are smooth as a baby's bottom must have been "resurfaced" recently, in geologist's parlance.
The resurfacing can be done by lava, the scraping of glaciers, or even wind erosion. Telltale geologic features reveal the sort of process at work.
Some of the Martian lava fields must have been created very recently in geologic time, because of the very small number of impact craters on them, said study leader Gerhard Neukum of the Free University in Berlin.
But if volcanoes on Mars are still active, as Neukum and his 10 colleagues from institutions in several countries suspect, why has the activity never been spotted?
"Outbreaks happen from time to time over a short period of time," Neukum told SPACE.com. "We would be extremely lucky if it happened while Mars Express is in orbit and we are right over the site where it is happening."
He said the orbiter might get lucky in coming years and "see some action, but the chances are slim."
Evidence of past glacial activity includes features carved into the surface in much the same manner as terrestrial glaciers in Antarctica, along with rocky material transported down slopes. In particular, one high-altitude ridge on Olympus Mons juts more than 1,300 feet (400 meters) above the surrounding terrain. Neukum and his colleagues think it is an ice cap covered by dust.
Other studies have shown that both poles of Mars are packed with water ice, and that ice also persists underground away from the poles.
Similar to Earth
Scientists have long sought to determine how geologically active Mars has been in recent times. A study in 2001 based on images from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft hinted at recent volcanic activity.
The new work, reported in the Dec. 23 issue of the journal Nature, involved five volcanoes: Olympus Mons, Ascraeus Mons, Arsia Mons, Albor Tholus and Hecates Tholus.
Each of the mountains is dominated by a caldera, a depression at the top that is the collapsed remains of eruptions past. Multiple episodes of activity -- up to five in some cases -- were found to have occurred in each caldera.
The lava flows are similar to those that roll out of volcanoes in Hawaii, Neukum said.
By determining various ages of different lava flows, the researchers found that some of the volanoces appear to have been active for roughly 80 percent of the 4.5-billion-year history of Mars. Terrestrial volcanoes, by contrast, typically are born and become extinct within a million years.
"The very long activity of Martian volcanoes implies correspondingly long lifetimes of ‘hot spots’ in the planet’s interior," the researchers write in the journal. One challenge now, they say, is to figure out how these hot spots differ within the two planets.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mars_vulcanism_041222.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1029 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Wed, Dec 22, 2004 (15:23) * 30 lines
Recent galactic births surprise astronomers
Maggie McKee
22 December 2004
Several dozen baby galaxies have turned up in galactic retirement communities near the Milky Way, new observations reveal. The objects resemble primitive galaxies from the early universe and may shed light on what triggers galaxies to form.
Most galaxies blinked into life more than 10 billion years ago, starting as small blobs of gas and stars that gradually merged into larger structures like the Milky Way. But after that initial baby boom, the galactic birth rate dropped significantly. So astronomers must look back through 10 billion light-years of mostly older galaxies to glimpse the small, faint infants from which those galaxies grew.
But now, a space telescope has found about three dozen of these galactic "building blocks" just 2 billion to 4 billion light years away. These relatively nearby finds appear eerily similar to the universe's first galaxies. They have the same mass (equivalent to about 10 billion Suns), the same elemental composition (roughly that of the Sun), and the same age of stars (approximately 1 billion years old).
"It's almost like looking out the window and seeing a dinosaur walking by," says Tim Heckman, an astronomer at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, US.
Ultraviolet glow
Heckman and colleagues made the discoveries with NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), a space telescope that surveys ultraviolet wavelengths. GALEX detected the galaxies by the ultraviolet glow of their newborn stars, which are being formed at rates about a hundred times higher than in mature galaxies.
Team members expect to find more such objects with the telescope, which was launched into Earth orbit in April 2003. But they say the baby galaxies are rare, appearing just once for every 3000 or so sightings of older objects.
"What we're seeing right now is the last few stragglers of galactic birth," Heckman said at a press briefing on Tuesday. "We don't know what's controlling this decline in the formation of galaxies."
Resolving structures
Alice Shapley, an astronomer at the University of California in Berkeley, US, says the objects' nearness will help answer that question and others. The Hubble Space Telescope could try to try to resolve their structures, and observations at longer wavelengths could shed light on "how gas is getting converted into stars".
Future studies could also target the nurseries in which the baby galaxies were born. This would help astronomers understand if an interaction with another object triggered their formation, she says.
And Heckman says infrared observations will be needed to check that the galaxies are genuine infants and are not hiding older, cooler stars.
He adds that the team's discoveries probably resemble the first galaxies better than another nearby baby recently identified by Hubble. This is because that galaxy, I Zwicky 18, is smaller and is forming stars at a much slower rate, he says.
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6823
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1030 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec 24, 2004 (12:59) * 14 lines
Great articles, Cheryl! Many thanks from me and from your Geo fans.
My son managed to find this comet. It is still just a fuzzy ball but I have also tracked comets that I found to be fuzzy balls that eventually developed spectacular tails.
Comet Machholz
Donald Machholz of Colfax, California, an optician who has been interested in astronomy since age eight, discovered nine comets from 1978 through 1994. He has since spent 1,457 hours scanning the skies for other comets, without any luck.
But his luck changed on the morning of Aug. 27, when he swept up his tenth comet.
It could become the fourth comet this year to excite backyard astronomers.
more: http://www.space.com/spacewatch/comet_winter_040917.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1031 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Fri, Dec 24, 2004 (16:30) * 1 lines
that's awesome, my luck would get me excited about a satellite (man-made)!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1032 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Dec 26, 2004 (10:51) * 1 lines
The ISS is a very exciting satellite if that is the one you are excited about. Me too !! For those who still have not watched what is happening up there, please check out NASA TV and enjoy your tax dollars at work.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1033 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Sun, Dec 26, 2004 (15:24) * 1 lines
anyone notice the Christmas Full Moon? it was nice and bright here!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1034 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Dec 27, 2004 (11:11) * 1 lines
YES!!! the smallest moon of the year, but look at the massive earthquake it helped cause!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1035 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Dec 27, 2004 (11:12) * 1 lines
Full moon light is exquisit on freshly fallen snow.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1036 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Mon, Dec 27, 2004 (17:43) * 1 lines
indeed it is..yeah, that EQ was a doozie...
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1037 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Thu, Dec 30, 2004 (09:30) * 3 lines
I saw the full Christmas moon, Wolfie.
The earthquake and tsunami are one of the great (as in massive and extreme) natural disasters in history.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1038 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Thu, Dec 30, 2004 (15:00) * 1 lines
indeed!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1039 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sat, Jan 15, 2005 (21:33) * 11 lines
Canadian company is going to be doing the heavy lifting on the Hubble Telescope.
http://www.space.com/news/hubble_canada_050106.html
http://www.mdrobotics.ca/News_images/pr05012005.html
More information on the Hubble robotic repair mission is available from NASA.
http://hubble.gsfc.nasa.gov/robotic/index.php
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1040 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Jan 27, 2005 (02:51) * 10 lines
Crew spots residue on space station vent
BY TODD HALVORSON
FLORIDA TODAY
CAPE CANAVERAL-- Two spacewalkers spotted a build-up of residue around vent ports outside the International Space Station Wednesday, yielding a potential clue to repeated shutdowns of the outpost's main oxygen generator.
http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/spacestoryMAIN0127SPACEWALK1.htm
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1041 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Jan 27, 2005 (03:02) * 3 lines
Saturn's largest moon contains all the ingredients for life, but senior scientists studying data from a European probe ruled out the possibility Titan's abundant methane stems from living organisms.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apscience_story.asp?category=1501&slug=Europe%20Titan%20Mission
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1042 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Jun 11, 2005 (21:14) * 71 lines
-----------------------------------------------------------------
GEAR UP FOR THE "DEEP IMPACT" COMET CRASH!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Get ready for some celestial fireworks in early July!
NASA's Deep Impact mission will culminate in the crash of a
speeding projectile into comet 9P/Tempel 1. And you can witness
this first-of-its-kind event and its aftermath.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
WHEN
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Impact will occur around 0600 hours Universal Time July 4th,
which is 11 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on July 3rd.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
VIEWING DEEP IMPACT WITH A TELESCOPE
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To get a good look at Comet Tempel 1, a telescope is the way to
go. Any telescope design will do - refractor, reflector, or
Cassegrain, but the bigger its optics, the more vivid the image
will be. From a dark-sky site, a telescope with 4" optics should
begin to reveal the comet's hazy glow. You'll have better luck
with an 8" or larger telescope, which will be a reflector or
Schmidt-Cassegrain.
Moonlight will wash out the comet from June 8 to 23, so plan on
starting your observations on the 24th.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR VIEWING
-----------------------------------------------------------------
*** Allow Time For Your Eyes to Dark-Adapt ***
Good dark adaptation will be important for seeing the "fuzziness"
around what might otherwise look like a plain-old star.
Once your eyes are dark-adapted, avoid looking at bright light
sources as they will instantly spoil your night vision. To see
what you're doing at the telescope or to read your star map, use
a flashlight that emits red light, the dimmer the better.
*** Use Averted Vision and the Jiggle Technique ***
Instead of looking directly at the comet, look off a little to
one side in the eyepiece's field of view. The edge of the eye's
retina is more sensitive to dim light than the center.
Another trick is to tap the side of the telescope tube lightly,
just enough to jiggle the field of view. When you set the whole
starfield in motion this way, the comet's fuzzy form may emerge
from the surrounding stellar pinpoints.
*** Drape a Dark Cloth Over Your Head ***
Block stray light from entering your eye by draping a dark cloth
such as a towel over your head and the eyepiece(s). Or at the
least, cup your hand around your eye and the eyepiece - without
touching the eyepiece.
For the latest information, updated times, finder charts, and
observing tips, visit telescope.com.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1043 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Thu, Aug 4, 2005 (13:37) * 65 lines
Farewell Pluto?
By Alexis Akwagyiram
BBC News
The discovery of a new planet in our Solar System could have an unintended consequence - the elimination of Pluto in the list of planets everyone has in their heads. Is it time to wave this distant, dark piece of rock farewell?
To the casual observer, the announcement that scientists have identified a tenth planet orbiting the Sun is primarily of importance to few people other than science teachers and schoolchildren.
But, on closer examination, the revelation may have more far-reaching consequences for the way in which we think about space.
At around 3,000km across, 2003 UB313 - as it has been named - is the largest object found in our Solar System since the discovery of Neptune in 1846.
And it is thought to be larger than Pluto, whose status as the furthest planet from the Sun has been enshrined in accepted thought since it was identified in 1930.
But this could all change.
Technological advances have enabled astronomers to find more minor planets, stars, asteroids and comets.
And in the late 1960s scientists found that Pluto's size had been over-estimated.
It was first thought to be around as large as Earth, whereas accepted thought now suggests that the planet's mass is only around a fifth of the moon's.
"Today, the world knows that Pluto is not unique. There are other Plutos, just farther out in the Solar System where they are a little harder to find," says David Rabinowitz of Yale University, who was among the astronomers who discovered 2003 UB313 two years ago.
His point is echoed by Professor Mark Bailey, director of Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland.
"Increasingly, objects are far away and there are objects which are of comparable size to Pluto, so if you think of Pluto as a planet then you should refer to those objects as planets," he says.
He estimates that there could be tens of thousands of objects beyond Neptune in the Solar System region known as the Kuiper belt, many of which may be larger than Pluto.
The discovery of 2003 UB313 comes soon after it was announced that 2003 EL61 had been found.
And a number of distant objects around the same size of Pluto have been found in recent years, including Quaoar (found in 2002) and Sedna (detected in 2004).
It is widely accepted that the struggle to provide an adequate definition of a planet is the crux of the problem.
"Originally a planet was a wandering star. Then it was something that moved across the sky. Then it was something that revolved around the Sun. The criterion about when it should be called a planet is something that is changing over time," says Prof Bailey.
"I'm sure we will continue to discover more and more objects of comparable size which will continue to challenge established thought about planets."
'Size does matter'
Dr Brian Marsden, director of the International Astronomy Union's minor planet centre, believes the simplest way to resolve the confusion is to reject Pluto's claim to being a planet on the grounds that "size does matter".
Instead he says people should accept that "we have eight planets and only an object bigger than Mars could be considered to be a planet in the future".
He argues that the disruption that would be caused to accepted thought would, ultimately, provide a more accurate understanding of space.
"School text books concentrate too much on the idea that Pluto is the ninth planet. Teaching should stress that there are hundreds of thousands of much smaller objects. Knowing a mnemonic and naming the planets is not science."
But not everyone believes science has the right, or influence to turn accepted thought on its head.
"Our culture has fully embraced the idea that Pluto is a planet and scientists have for the most part not yet realised that the term planet no longer belongs to them," says Michael Brown, one of the astronomers who discovered 2003 UB313.
His conclusion is simple: "From now on, everyone should ignore the distracting debates of the scientists. Planets in our solar system should be defined not by some attempt at forcing a scientific definition on a thousands-of-years-old cultural term, but by simply embracing culture. Pluto is a planet because culture says it is.
"It is understandably hard for scientists to let go of a word that they think they use scientifically, but they need to."
He considers 2003 UB313 to be a planet in a "cultural" and "historical" sense, adding: "I will not argue that it is a scientific planet because there is no good scientific definition which fits our solar system and our culture and I have decided to let culture win this one.
"We scientists can continue our debates, but I hope we are generally ignored."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4737647.stm
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1044 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Oct 1, 2005 (17:53) * 1 lines
Oh yes !!! Poor Pluto. Has anyone heard further about this new planet? Has it been named ? Don't book passage quite yet. It is VERY far away!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1045 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Sat, Oct 1, 2005 (21:14) * 1 lines
i just posted something about it in space science news--a moon seems to be orbiting the 10th planet: http://famulus.msnbc.com/famulusgen/ap10-01-170832.asp?t=apnew&vts=10120051827
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1046 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Oct 1, 2005 (22:08) * 1 lines
OOOH great. Thanks !! don't expect a photo of it any time soon. It is WAY out there.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1047 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Mon, Oct 3, 2005 (16:09) * 1 lines
Just think that if you ever can book passage, you really would be "getting away from it all".
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1048 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Oct 3, 2005 (17:29) * 1 lines
I wonder how many collisions happen out there compared with "in here" from planetary debris. There is so much of it.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1049 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Mon, Oct 3, 2005 (20:45) * 1 lines
some american millionaire type blasted off in russia either over the weekend or yesterday.....
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1050 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Oct 3, 2005 (22:45) * 10 lines
Thousands gather to catch glimpse of eclipse
Spain, Portugal get best view of moon-covered sun and resulting fiery rim
Combo of three pictures showing an annul
Updated: 6:10 p.m. ET Oct. 3, 2005
MADRID, Spain - Thousands of people from northern Portugal to the heart of Africa donned protective eyeglasses Monday to watch the moon cover the sun like a black plate in a rare and spectacular eclipse.
Much more and pictures and video http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9576288/
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1051 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Tue, Oct 4, 2005 (21:21) * 1 lines
that is a very nice eclipse!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1052 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Tue, Oct 4, 2005 (23:51) * 1 lines
Nice.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1053 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Wed, Oct 5, 2005 (13:36) * 1 lines
Really good photos of the eclipse!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1054 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Oct 5, 2005 (15:11) * 1 lines
*sigh* They got such good weather because I was not there. This is one of the last sclipses in the cycle that began with the missed Hawaiian total eclipse and continued to California. I can't bear to think of it. I missed it twice for the same stupid reason but he is finally out of my life !
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1055 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Wed, Oct 5, 2005 (18:45) * 1 lines
always a silver lining *HUGS*
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1056 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Thu, Oct 6, 2005 (14:27) * 61 lines
Colliding stars behind 35-year-old mystery
By Robert Roy Britt, Space.com
The most intense explosions in the universe come in two varieties. One type lasts several seconds, and the others are gone in less than a second. Until now, astronomers had not pinned down the sources of the short-duration bursts.
New observations show convincingly that they are created by collisions of two very dense objects, likely neutron stars or a neutron star and a black hole, as theory had predicted.
The results solve a 35-year-old mystery.
Hard to spot
The explosions are called gamma-ray bursts, or GRBs. Several are recorded every day, coming from all directions of the sky.
Most originate in the very distant universe. One nearby could trigger a mass extinction on Earth.
Gamma rays are the most intense form of radiation, more powerful than X-rays. The afterglow of a single burst, measured in X-rays, radio waves and other wavelengths, can be billions of times brighter than the entire galaxy in which it originates.
Long-duration GRBs typically last about 20 seconds. Previous studies revealed one of these is released when the core of a young and very massive star collapses in a supernova event.
"Gamma-ray bursts in general are notoriously difficult to study, but the shortest ones have been next to impossible to pin down," said Neil Gehrels of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. "All that has changed. We now have the tools in place to study these events."
'Smoking gun'
Astronomers have now observed two short-duration bursts in unprecedented detail and determined the likely scenario in which two dense objects collide and coalesce.
"Our observations do not prove the coalescence model, but we surely have found a lady with a smoking gun next to a dead body," said Caltech scientists Shri Kulkarni.
The discovery involved more than 30 researchers at 16 institutions and a host of telescopes on the ground and in space. The results are detailed in the Oct. 6 issue of the journal Nature.
Astronomer Luigi Piro, who was not involved in the discovery, wrote an analysis for the journal.
"The observed characteristics of the short gamma-ray bursts are all consistent with models of the merger of two neutron stars, or of a neutron star with a black hole," says Piro, of the Instituto Astrofisica Spaziale in Rome.
Details of the events
The first burst was detected May 9 by NASA's Swift satellite. Scientists believed that morning that they were seeing, live, the merger of two neutron stars into a single black hole.
Astronomers now know the event took place on the outskirts of a faraway galaxy, a location where old stellar remnants like neutron stars are known to reside.
Neutron stars are the burned-out shells of normal stars. They can be as small as 6 miles (10 kilometers) in diameter yet contain as much mass as the Sun. Other studies have shown they often exist as pairs on the fringes of galaxies, and that they collide frequently. Such setups also sometimes involve one black hole, also a stellar remnant but one that is much more dense.
Another burst on July 9 was noted by the HETE-2 satellite, an international project run by NASA. It lasted just a tenth of a second. Later, an afterglow of optical light from the same location was spotted by other telescopes, representing the first visible light ever associated with a short-duration burst.
The July 9 event is the first for which an accurate distance is known.
At a billion light-years away, it was about 10 times closer than nearly all other recorded GRBs. Calculations also show, however, that it was about 1,000 times less energetic than the others. Too weak, in fact, to have come from a single exploding massive star, helping astronomers determine that it likely involved a merger of two old stars, as theory predicts.
"The mystery of short gamma-ray bursts is largely solved," said Don Lamb, a University of Chicago researcher and co-author of one of four papers describing the observations.
More learned
Another important confirmation that came out of the observations: Short-duration GRBs are seen only when the jets of material that shoot from the merger are pointed at Earth.
For every event we can spot, 30 other mergers go undetected, said Derek Fox of Pennsylvania State University.
Figuring this out helps astronomers properly frame an important prediction of Albert Einstein. His work suggests that when neutron stars collide, a shock of gravitational waves should be released. An observatory called LIGO is ramping up in an effort to detect these waves.
"It's possible now that the first gravitational wave source that LIGO observes will also be a gamma-ray burst source," said Kevin Hurley of the University of California at Berkeley. "Now that would be a spectacular discovery."
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2005-10-05-gamma-mystery_x.htm
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1057 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Oct 6, 2005 (16:26) * 286 lines
Today on SPACE.com --- Wednesday, October 5, 2005 -- http://www.space.com/
-------------------------------------/
In today's issue:
Science/Astronomy:
* Test Equipment Finds Life in Mars-like Conditions
* Delving into Dust Devils
* Image of the Day: East Africa Eclipsed
Spaceflight:
* NASA's Lunar Vision: The Devil's in the Details
* Japan's Asteroid Sample-Return Mission Has Problems
* NASA Official Offers Shuttle Foam Loss Theory
* Rocketeers Rev Up For X Prize Cup
* Space Tourist Greg Olsen Makes First Solo ISS Broadcast
* New Crew, Space Tourist Settle into ISS
* NASA Chief Clarifies Comments on Shuttle, Space Station
* ASTRONOTES: Director of Johnson Space Center Resigns
* NEW! Daily Space Trivia
NEW! LiveScience.com
* Under the Pacific: Images from the Visions 2005 Project
* LiveScience Amazing Images: Upload Your Cool Pictures Now!
* Mystery Ocean Glow Confirmed in Satellite Photos
* Wave Your Hand, Draw in 3D
* Study: Unwed Mothers 'Tend to Not Marry Well'
* New Hurricane Forecast Calls for Busy October
* Schemes to Control the Weather Clouded by Failure
NEW! Cool Stuff:
* Amazing Images: Summer under the Stars Contest
* Mars Madness: A Multimedia Adventure!
* New Gallery: Space Tourist Greg Olsen prepares for launch
* Gallery: Hubble's New Views of the Universe
* Visit Our Collection of Space Wallpapers
* Virtual Space Tour
* Get the weather from anywhere on Earth...with WeatherBug!
* New! Search for Your Next Hi-Tech Job Opportunity Now!
Entertainment: Movies, Television, DVD, Games and much more...
* Joss Whedon's 'Serenity' is Sci-Fi Resurrected
* VOTE NOW: Rate Your Favorite Space Movies
* Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' Returns to Television
* Gallery: Walking on the Moon in 3D
* 'Magnificent Desolation' Brings the Moon Down to Earth
* New Songs Added...Explore the SpaceBox!
Recent Headlines:
* The Space Cycle: New Way to Exercise in Orbit
* Rocket Racing: New League Promotes High-Flying Contest
* Third Space Tourist, Expedition 12 Crew Dock at Space Station
* NASA Propulsion Strategy Reaches Back While Looking Ahead
* Cassini's Journeys: Headquarters for mission news, Saturn and more
* Latest News and Updates on the Mars Rovers
Plus...
* Uplink, SPACE.com TV and NightSky
* Starry Night, TeamSETI
-----------------------------------
Science/Astronomy:
* Test Equipment Finds Life in Mars-like Conditions
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/051004_mars_like.html
In a test of equipment that might one day be used to search for biological activity on Mars, researchers discovered life tucked deep inside a frozen Norwegian volcano.
* Delving into Dust Devils
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/051003_dust_devils.html
Dust devils on Earth and Mars are often likened to tornadoes. But in fact the mechanism behind them is completely different.
* Image of the Day: East Africa Eclipsed
http://www.space.com/imageoftheday/image_of_day_051005.html
The skies over east Africa darkened Monday as the Moon passed in front of the Sun during an annular eclipse.
-----------------------------------
Spaceflight:
* NASA's Lunar Vision: The Devil's in the Details
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/051005_nasa_details.html
NASA's grand plan to revive human exploration beyond Earth orbit relies greatly on utilizing a heritage of hardware from the soon-to-be-scraped space shuttle program.
* Japan's Asteroid Sample-Return Mission Has Problems
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/051005_hayabusa_update.html
Japan's Hayabusa asteroid sample-return spacecraft has lost the use of a second reaction wheel, forcing increased reliance on its chemical-propellant thrusters for attitude control and raising questions about whether it can make its planned asteroid touchdown in November.
* NASA Official Offers Shuttle Foam Loss Theory
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/ap_051005_shuttle_foam.html
Workers may have accidentally cut or crushed the section of foam that broke off Discovery's fuel tank during its launch two months ago—a mishap that threatened the safety of the astronauts and grounded the shuttle fleet.
* Rocketeers Rev Up For X Prize Cup
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/051004_xprize_cup.html
Preparations are in full swing for the Countdown to the X Prize Cup—a celebration of a new generation of private passenger-carrying spaceships built for speed and to foster space tourism.
* Space Tourist Greg Olsen Makes First Solo ISS Broadcast
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/051004_olsen_iss_broadcast.html
Despite a satellite communications glitch, U.S. scientist and entrepreneur Gregory Olsen spoke live from the International Space Station (ISS) briefly Tuesday in the first of three planned solo broadcasts during his orbital spaceflight.
* New Crew, Space Tourist Settle into ISS
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/051004_iss_olsen.html
Two astronauts and U.S. space tourist Gregory Olsen are settling into life aboard the International Space Station (ISS) one day after arriving at the orbital laboratory.
* NASA Chief Clarifies Comments on Shuttle, Space Station
http://www.space.com/news/ft_051004_griffin_shuttle.html
Saying he "didn't handle the situation well," NASA Administrator Mike Griffin sent out an agencywide e-mail Monday to clarify controversial comments on the space shuttle and International Space Station programs.
* ASTRONOTES: Director of Johnson Space Center Resigns
http://www.space.com/astronotes/astronotes.html
The head of NASA's Johnson Space Center is leaving the agency and heading back to a University of Texas classroom.
* NEW! Daily Space Trivia
http://www.space.com/php/trivia/
One of Today's 5 New Questions: How long does it take to fly from Earth to Mars (or Mars to Earth) ?
----------------------------------
NEW! LiveScience.com
http://www.livescience.com/
* Under the Pacific: Images from the Visions 2005 Project
http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/
Live from the seafloor: Explore life in one of the most extreme environments on Earth.
* LiveScience Amazing Images: Upload Your Cool Pictures Now!
http://www.livescience.com/amazingimages/
Upload your cool pictures of exotic locales, nature, weather, creatures and more!
* Mystery Ocean Glow Confirmed in Satellite Photos
http://www.livescience.com/othernews/051004_sea_glow.html
Mariners have long claimed to see a vast "milky sea" glow at night on rare occasions. Turns out they weren't crazy.
* Wave Your Hand, Draw in 3D
http://www.livescience.com/scienceoffiction/051004_3D_hand.html
Pioneer has developed a nifty new way to draw and work with 3D images. We haven't seen creative hand waving like that since the movie Minority Report.
* Study: Unwed Mothers 'Tend to Not Marry Well'
http://www.livescience.com/othernews/051004_unwed_mothers.html
Women who have children out of wedlock are about 30 percent less likely to get married than childless single women, according to a new study.
* New Hurricane Forecast Calls for Busy October
http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/051003_hurricane_forecast.html
A longtime guru of hurricane forecasting said today that October is likely to be another busy month.
* Schemes to Control the Weather Clouded by Failure
http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/051003_weather_control.html
Ideas to control everything from fog to tornadoes and even global warming are on the table. Some have been tried, with mixed results.
----------------------------------
NEW! Cool Stuff:
* Amazing Images: Summer under the Stars Contest
http://www.space.com/amazingimages/summerunderthestars/
Upload your amazing pictures now! You could Win a trip to Mauna Kea in Hawaii, a Nokia 6682 and more!
* Mars Madness: A Multimedia Adventure!
http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/marsmadness/
Take a journey to the Red Planet with this new multimedia adventure!
* New Gallery: Space Tourist Greg Olsen prepares for launch
http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/archive.php?category=se
Imagery of pre-launch training and activities, as Greg Olsen prepares for his historic visit to the ISS.
* Gallery: Hubble's New Views of the Universe
http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/archive.php?category=ds
Check out the latest set of images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope this year.
* Visit Our Collection of Space Wallpapers
http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/downloads/wallpapers/
From the highest quality space art to intergalactic photography, find an image for your desktop every month of the year.
* Virtual Space Tour
http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/virtualspacetour/
Our animated encyclopedia reveals all the secrets of our neighboring worlds. This narrated multimedia presentation features diagrams, animations and the latest photographs.
* Get the weather from anywhere on Earth...with WeatherBug!
http://www.space.com/php/weatherbug/
Type in your ZIP Code and hit "Go" to get your live local weather.
* New! Search for Your Next Hi-Tech Job Opportunity Now!
http://www.space.com/jobs/
Imaginova and CareerBuilder.com have partnered to bring you the best in job searching, resume posting, and online recruiting.
----------------------------------
Entertainment: Movies, Television, DVD, Games and much more...
http://www.space.com/entertainment/
* Joss Whedon's 'Serenity' is Sci-Fi Resurrected
http://www.space.com/entertainment/ap_050930_ent_serenity.html
You can see how “Firefly,” the short-lived TV show that provided the basis for “Serenity,” could have gotten addictive if given the chance.
* VOTE NOW: Rate Your Favorite Space Movies
http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/spacemovies/
Vote Now For Your Favorite Space Movie of All Time!
* Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' Returns to Television
http://www.space.com/entertainment/050927_sagan_cosmos.html
The 13-part science series 'Cosmos' narrated by Carl Sagan returns to television on its 25th anniversary.
* Gallery: Walking on the Moon in 3D
http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/archive.php?category=e
Take a sneak peek at scenes from the new IMAX movie Magnificent Desolation.
* 'Magnificent Desolation' Brings the Moon Down to Earth
http://www.space.com/entertainment/050923_ent_magnificentdesolation.html
A new film hopes to bring the Moon a bit closer.
* New Songs Added...Explore the SpaceBox!
http://www.space.com/entertainment/spacebox/
Explore the SpaceBox! The Best, Worst, and Weirdest Music Inspired by the Cosmos!
----------------------------------
Recent Headlines:
http://www.space.com/news/
* The Space Cycle: New Way to Exercise in Orbit
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/051004_space_cycle.html
* Rocket Racing: New League Promotes High-Flying Contest
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/051003_rocket_racing_league.html
* Third Space Tourist, Expedition 12 Crew Dock at Space Station
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/051003_exp12_olsen_dock.html
* NASA Propulsion Strategy Reaches Back While Looking Ahead
http://www.space.com/spacenews/businessmonday_051003.html
* Cassini's Journeys: Headquarters for mission news, Saturn and more
http://www.space.com/cassini/
* Latest News and Updates on the Mars Rovers
http://www.space.com/marsrover/
-----------------------------
* SpaceTV:
http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/spacetv/
* NightSky:
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/
* Uplink: Share your opinion!
http://uplink.space.com/
-------------------------------------
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1058 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Nov 13, 2005 (20:54) * 14 lines
LEONID METEOR SHOWER
Space Weather News for Nov. 13, 2005
http://spaceweather.com
THE LEONIDS: The most famous of all meteor showers, the Leonids, peaks on Thursday, Nov. 17th. A few years ago, the Leonids were storming, filling the skies with bright meteors. But not this year. The 2005 Leonids are expected to be few (less than 20 per hour) and hard to see because of the glaring full Moon.
Nevertheless, if you're an enthusiast, you might want to go outside before sunrise on Nov. 17th and look up. The sparkling stars of northern winter will be on full display, along with Saturn and the full Moon, and you might spot a few meteors, too.
THE MOON & MARS: This is good: The Moon and Mars are getting together for a beautiful close encounter. You can see them rising in the east, side-by-side, at sundown on Monday, Nov. 14th.
Visit http://spaceweather.com for sky maps, pictures and more information.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1059 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Dec 1, 2005 (15:01) * 5 lines
The Crab Nebula - 6 light years wide - taken by the Hubble.
And they say we don't need the Hubble.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1060 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Dec 1, 2005 (15:02) * 5 lines
More on the above pic. from the nasa site.
This mosaic image, one of the largest ever taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope of the Crab Nebula, is a six-light-year-wide expanding remnant of a star's supernova explosion. Japanese and Chinese astronomers witnessed this violent event nearly 1,000 years ago in 1054, as did, almost certainly, Native Americans.
The orange filaments are the tattered remains of the star and consist mostly of hydrogen. The rapidly spinning neutron star embedded in the center of the nebula is the dynamo powering the nebula's eerie interior bluish glow. The blue light comes from electrons whirling at nearly the speed of light around magnetic field lines from the neutron star. The neutron star, the crushed ultra-dense core of the exploded star, like a lighthouse, ejects twin beams of radiation that appear to pulse 30 times a second due to the neutron star's rotation. The colors in the image indicate the different elements that were expelled during the explosion. Blue in the filaments in the outer part of the nebula represents neutral oxygen, green is singly-ionized sulfur, and red indicates doubly-ionized oxygen
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1061 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Dec 1, 2005 (15:04) * 15 lines
Wait, there's more.
On July 4, 1054 A.D., Chinese astronomers noted a "guest star" in the constellation Taurus; Simon Mitton lists 5 independent preserved Far-East records of this event (one of 75 authentic guest stars - novae and supernovae, excluding comets - systematically recorded by Chinese astronomers between 532 B.C. and 1064 A.D., according to Simon Mitton). This star became about 4 times brighter than Venus in its brightest light, or about mag -6, and was visible in daylight for 23 days.
Some older sources had speculated that this supernova might have been as bright as the Full Moon (or mag -12). The reason for this assumption was probably the intention to fit its 23-day visibility with older model lightcurves.
It was probably also recorded by Anasazi Indian artists (in present-day Arizona and New Mexico), as findings in Navaho Canyon and White Mesa (both AZ, found 1953-54 by William C. Miller) as well as in the Chaco Canyon National Park (NM) indicate; there's a review of the research on the Chaco Canyon Anasazi art online, including the full-size version of our photo, which was obtained by Ron Lussier. A similar photo of this possible Supernova Pictograph was obtained by Paul Charbonneau of the High Altitude Observatory.
As Simon Mitton points out in his book, evidence for the plausibility of this interpretation arises from the fact that on the morning of July 5, 1054 the crescent moon came remarkably close to the supernova, as seen (only) from Western North America.
In 1990, Ralph Robert Robbins of the University of Texas announced the discovery of additional records in pottery of the Mimbres Indians of New Mexico. The plate probably representing the supernova is e.g. shown on page 68 of Robert Garfinkle's book Star Hopping. As the author lines out, the art style of this plate was used only before 1100 A.D., and carbon-14 dating indicates that this plate was created between 1050 and 1070 AD, so that very probably the supernova is depicted, as a 23-rayed star.
http://www.seds.org/messier/more/m001_sn.html
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1062 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec 2, 2005 (14:07) * 9 lines
That is fantastic, Terry. We do need the Hubble or a reasonable replacement.
Sunspot Surprise
EXPANDING SUNSPOT: In a span of only 24 hours, sunspot 826 has grown from a barely-visible speck into a Saturn-sized active region, and it is still growing. This large sunspot is crackling with low-level solar flares and may soon pose a threat for a major eruption. Readers who own a safely-filtered solar telescope will want to monitor this sunspot; it is changing by the hour. Or visit http://spaceweather.com to view up-to-date images and movies.
BRIGHT VENUS: Venus is approaching Earth and reaches its peak brightness during the first weeks of December. It is is visible in broad daylight (if you know where to look) and at night it is actually casting shadows. The next few moonless nights are good times to look for delicate Venus shadows. Visit http://spaceweather.com for observing tips and more information.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1063 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec 2, 2005 (14:12) * 33 lines
Researchers are making a list: Which parts of an astronaut are most sensitive to solar flares?
October 26, 2005: Picture this: An astronaut, on the Moon, hunched down over a rock, hammer in hand, prospecting. Suddenly, over his shoulder, there's a flash of light on the sun.
This is a picture of Pete Conrad on the Moon.The radio crackles: "Explorer 1, come in. This is mission control."
Explorer 1: "What's up?"
Mission Control: "There's been a solar flare, a big one. You need to take cover. The radiation storm could begin in as little as 10 minutes."
Explorer 1: "Roger. I'm heading for the Moon Buggy now. Any suggestions?"
Mission control: "Yes. Make sure you protect your hips."
Protect your hips?
That's right. Protecting the hips may be a key to surviving solar storms. Other sensitive areas are the shoulders, spine, thighs, sternum and skull.
Why this odd list of body parts? The bones in these areas contain marrow -- the "blood factory" of the body. Delicate bone marrow cells are especially vulnerable to solar storms; a major dose of solar protons coursing through the body could wipe them out. And without these blood-forming marrow cells churning out a steady stream of new blood cells, a person would run out of blood in as little as a week. A bone marrow transplant would be required--stat!--but they don't do those on the Moon.
Sign up for EXPRESS SCIENCE NEWS delivery
So to survive a solar radiation storm, your first priority must be to protect your bone marrow.
With NASA sending people back to the Moon by 2018, the issue of surviving solar radiation storms is more important than ever. Outside the protection of Earth's magnetic field and with virtually no atmosphere overhead, an astronaut walking on the lunar surface is exposed to the full brunt of solar storms.
The best solution is to take cover, to get back to a radiation shelter. But if shelter is too far away to reach in time, wearing a spacesuit with extra radiation shielding over these key marrow-rich areas -- shoulders, hips, spine, etc. -- could mean the difference between living and dying.
"Bulking up the entire spacesuit with extra shielding might not be practical," says Frank Cucinotta, NASA's Chief Scientist at the Johnson Space Center, "because then the spacesuit would be too cumbersome." Astronauts have to be able to walk, hop, bend over, reach for objects and tools. Too much shielding would make these simple moves impossible--hence the idea of selective shielding:
A layer of a plastic-like material called polyethylene only 1 cm thick could prevent acute radiation sickness. "For all but the worst flares, this would be enough to keep the astronaut's blood system intact," Cucinotta says. If as few as 5% of those marrow cells survive, the bone marrow will be able to regenerate itself, and the person will survive, no transplant required.
there's more ... http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/26oct_selectiveshielding.htm
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1064 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Mon, Dec 5, 2005 (14:41) * 1 lines
What an extraordinary photo of the Crab Nebula. Thanks Terry.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1065 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Dec 10, 2005 (00:01) * 3 lines
We NEED the Hubble to see stuff like that.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1066 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Tue, Mar 14, 2006 (11:32) * 4 lines
You've heard of google earth?
Try http://www.google.com/mars
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1067 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Tue, Mar 14, 2006 (17:10) * 1 lines
you can map your neighborhood on that, right?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1068 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Wed, Mar 15, 2006 (11:32) * 1 lines
You can keep track of that lot you bought on Mars.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1069 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Wed, Mar 15, 2006 (17:52) * 1 lines
*laugh* yeah, that's what i'm doing with my retirement check---maybe it's better spent on the saturn moon where liquid water was found!
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1070 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Mar 16, 2006 (06:35) * 1 lines
Google will be there soon.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1071 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Mar 26, 2006 (11:54) * 3 lines
The first moonshine still is up and running there, I hear. There was an interesting NOVA about the Mars mission on PBS last night. I am still stunned that we are clever enough to create a complicated machine, program something attached to it, launch it into space, have it land on another planet and deploy all of the machinery it needs to communicate, then it calls home and sends pictures.
Hs anyone seen the aurorae lately? Cosmo?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1072 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, May 3, 2006 (18:21) * 9 lines
This weekend: The eta Aquarid Meteor Shower
METEOR SHOWER: Earth is about to pass through a stream of dust from Halley's Comet, and this will produce the annual eta Aquarid meteor shower. The shower peaks on Saturday, May 6th, with 10 meteors per hour in the northern hemisphere and as many as 60 meteors per hour in the southern hemisphere. The best time to look is during the hours immediately before sunrise on Saturday morning.
PHOTO OP: On May 7th, the biggest fragment of dying comet 73P/Schwassmann Wachmann 3 will glide by the Ring Nebula in Lyra. The view through backyard telescopes should be wonderful. This is an opportunity for astrophotographers to take some rare photos of a comet and a planetary nebula side by side.
Visit http://spaceweather.com for sky maps and more information.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1073 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sat, May 6, 2006 (11:10) * 1 lines
I was watching this movie on tv called Contact with Jodie Foster and there was this scene of incredible flashing lights and stimulation as she traveled through space and time. And just during this site I saw a very, very bright meteor fall out the window next to the tv. I thought it was kind of next juxtaposition.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1074 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, May 8, 2006 (12:25) * 4 lines
Very nice!!! was it a bolide?
The term bolide (from the Greek βολις, bolis, missile) can refer to either an extraterrestrial body that collides with the Earth, or to an exceptionally bright, fireball-like meteor regardless of whether it ultimately impacts the surface.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolide
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1075 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Mon, May 8, 2006 (16:06) * 71 lines
Could cyclic universe explain mystery?
Theorists suggest Big Bangs and Crunches lead to cosmic balance
By Ker Than
One of the biggest mysteries in cosmology could be explained by a controversial theory in which the universe explodes into existence not just once, but repeatedly in endless cycles of death and rebirth.
Called the cyclic universe theory, it could potentially explain why a mysterious repulsive form of energy known as the "cosmological constant," which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, is several orders of magnitude smaller than predicted by the standard Big Bang model.
In the May 5 issue of the journal Science, Paul Steinhardt of Princeton University and Neil Turok of Cambridge University propose that the constant was once much larger, but that its value decayed with each incarnation of the universe.
The cosmological constant, also known as "lambda," is thought to be a form of energy that gravitationally repels itself and causes the expansion of the universe to speed up.
Albert Einstein initially proposed it as a counterforce to the gravitational attraction of matter to explain why the universe appeared static, neither growing nor shrinking. He later discarded the idea, however, when observations by astronomer Edwin Hubble revealed the universe was in fact expanding.
Lambda was revived in the late 1990s when astronomers discovered that the universe was not only expanding, but that it was doing so at an accelerated pace.
Scientists are still not sure what lambda is. According to one popular idea, it is the energy of space itself. According to quantum physics, the seemingly empty vacuum of space actually contains phantom particles that continually blink in and out of existence like flecks of sea foam. These particles are fleeting, but their energies combine to give every cubic centimeter of space a certain amount of energy. According to general relativity, this "vacuum energy" produces an antigravitational force that pushes space — and the matter in it — apart.
But there is a problem: The lambda that scientists have detected is more than a googol (1 followed by 100 zeros) times smaller than what theory predicts. To explain such a large discrepancy, physicists have been forced to come up with ever wilder theories.
Explaining lambda
One idea is that the lambda is not really small, but only seems so because it is being cancelled out by another unknown force with near perfect precision. To date, though, no mechanism has been found that can cause this cancellation.
An alternative solution is that of "anthropic selection," a controversial idea that attempts to explain why so many constants in nature appear to be precisely the right value to produce life. If lambda were too large, for example, the universe would have instantly blown up shortly after the Big Bang.
According to the so-called Anthropic Principle, certain features of the universe are selected by the requirement that observers — in our case, humans — can detect them. In other words, only in a universe where lambda is small can intelligent beings exist who can wonder why it is small.
There are different ideas about how anthropic selection works. One possibility is that there are many parallel universes coexisting together; each would have constants of different values and in our universe, those constants can sustain life.
A similar idea is that there is only one infinite universe, but lambda varies from region to region. We just happen to live in a rare bubble where the constant is just right for galaxies and stars — and us — to form.
Anthropic selection makes many scientists uneasy because it suggests that the laws of physics might work differently in remote parts of the universe. In its strongest form, anthropic selection could also be viewed as support for creationism, since it suggests that the universe is fine-tuned specifically for intelligent life.
"The anthropic idea suggests that, in order to explain the universe that we do see, we must make very strong assumptions about other universes we can never see," Steinhardt told Space.com. "Also, it assumes our universe is atypical. These assumptions are not normal in science, and it's not clear that we must head in such a radical direction."
Cyclic universe
The idea of a cyclic universe, first proposed in 2002 by Steinhardt and Turok, is an alternative to anthropic selection.
"The [value of lambda] is one of the prime mysteries of physics," Steinhardt said. "It's really been so puzzling that it's driven the physics community to this anthropic approach. So it's important to know if a non-anthropic solution might exist."
The researchers' latest tweak to their model is to have the value of lambda decay over time with each passing cycle of the universe and even within a single cycle.
Scientists experimented with a varying lambda before within the context of the standard Big Bang model, but it didn't work because the time required for it to reach its current low value was far longer than the known age of the universe.
Combining a decaying lambda with a cyclic universe potentially solves this problem.
'Ingenious'
Although he expressed other concerns about the cyclic universe theory, Alexander Vilenkin, a cosmologist at Tufts University in Massachusetts who was not involved in the study, said Steinhardt and Turok's solution to the cosmological constant problem was "ingenious."
In a cyclic universe, new matter and energy are created about every trillion years when two sheetlike "branes" collide along an extra dimension of space. Branes are predicted by string theory.
Because there can be endless cycles, the universe would be far older than the 14.7 billion years that scientists currently estimate. This would allow ample time for lambda to shrink to what astronomers see now.
Steinhardt and Turok think lambda decreased in such a way that the rate of decay slowed with time. This means that observers measuring lambda are much more likely to get a small value than a large one.
Because a high lambda prevents the universe as we know it from forming, early cycles of the universe would have been void of galaxies, stars and life; only in later cycles, when lambda had decreased to a much smaller value, could matter coalesce to create the world we inhabit today.
The pair estimates that each cycle lasted about a trillion years. During this time, the universe runs its natural course, but all the while matter and energy fans out through space until they are extremely dilute.
"They are so dilute, in fact, that we would likely see not even a single particle of that early matter and radiation within our horizon — that is, the patch of space we can see," Steinhardt said.
Once the universe is emptied out, a weak attractive force brings our universe's two branes together in a cosmic collision. Each collision is essentially a new Big Bang that infuses the aging universe with new matter and energy.
Steinhardt says their crazy theory can be tested: the inflationary Big Bang theory predicts that gravitational waves produced at the end of inflation leave an imprint on the cosmic microwave background, a diffuse form of electromagnetic radiation that fills the universe.
If future experiments show the polarization pattern produced by such waves, it would disprove the cyclic universe theory, ruling it out as a possible solution for the cosmological constant puzzle.
© 2006 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12690177/
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1076 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Tue, May 9, 2006 (09:15) * 3 lines
*giggle* terry, i love dangling modifiers--the meteor fell out the window? *laugh*
cheryl, isn't lambda a letter from the greek alphabet?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1077 of 1087: Cheryl (CherylB) * Tue, May 9, 2006 (11:34) * 1 lines
Hi Wolfie! Yes, lambda is a letter in the Greek alphabet.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1078 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, May 11, 2006 (15:57) * 6 lines
Astronomical things are noted by using Greek letters.
Has anyone had trouble with radios or cell phones due to the latest rash of very strong solar storms?
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1079 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, May 11, 2006 (17:39) * 1 lines
I just overloaded my cable modem so much I think it started interfering with my high definition tv reception.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1080 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, May 11, 2006 (19:38) * 3 lines
Interesting problem. Has anyone else had this problem? I am expecting some curious things when I visit my son. He has linked an unused laptop to his plasma screen and now uses it for showing digital pictures like we used to do for slide shows.
This sunspot maximum is expected to be one of the quietest in recent years. Good !
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1081 of 1087: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Fri, May 12, 2006 (17:49) * 1 lines
i've not noticed anything unusual.....a few weeks ago someone was talking on his ham radio and our tv was all acting up, almost missed sunday morning (the show, not the time period, *grin*)
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1082 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Jul 11, 2006 (20:16) * 3 lines
Ah you were picking up "skip". Mike will tell you all about it.
Is anyone watching NASA tv and the shuttle docked at the International Space Station? That is still amazing to me. It is a very bright object in the evening sky if you are lucky enough to have it pass overhead.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1083 of 1087: geomancer (cfadm) * Fri, Jul 14, 2006 (15:02) * 3 lines
It was very amazing to watch!
"Skipland. Skipland. Hello skipland!" The cry of the CBer.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1084 of 1087: _cosmo_ (aa9il) * Mon, Jul 17, 2006 (15:14) * 13 lines
Hi all
You can always tell when there are enhanced conditions as channel 2
becomes pretty much unwatchable - that means 6 meters is open (vhf 50mhz).
Saw the shuttle and the ISS - first the bright light (ISS) followed
a few minutes later by the shuttle.
The next night, saw only one light (docked) but listened on my 2m
HT and heard the ISS packet downlink from their ham station - cool beans!
If I had that hooked up to a TNC (data demodulator) could have read
what was being sent.
73 de Mike
r-c-i
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1085 of 1087: Packy O'Brien (historian) * Mon, Jan 15, 2007 (18:04) * 26 lines
Planet Earth & Beyond
All these topics covered at
http://www.jmcl.tn.org/planet_earth__beyond.htm
Day and Night
ALA Planet Earth & Beyond (Animals, Dinosaurs, Zoos & Aquariums, Weather & Environment, Geology & Science, Astronomy & Space)
Wildlife Field Guides (National Audubon Society)
Animals
Animals & Plants (Endangered species, Fish & Wildlife Service site)
Trees
Key to Leaves of Virginia Trees
The Leaf Guide
Trees in North America
Your Gross & Cool Body
KidsHealth
Kids Weather Page (Weather Topics, Natural Disasters)
Nine Planets
Space Is the Place
The World's Biomes
Biomes/Ecosystems
Enchanted Learning (Biomes, Plants, Animals, Astronomy)
Zoom School
Discovery Channel Online
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1086 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Jul 28, 2007 (16:43) * 1 lines
What a great website, Historian O'Brien. We do not compete as far as I can determine. Thank you for your post.
Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
Response 1087 of 1087: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Jul 28, 2007 (16:44) * 1 lines
Mine is a humble product of my way too busy mind combined with a lot of good sense, some research and personal observations. Welcome to Geo
geo conference 
Main Menu
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Hi Wolfie
