Step Out Tonight

December 01, 2008

What are you doing this evening, right around sunset? Have a minute to step outside? Should be more than worth your time.

Face south and look up. No matter where you live, no matter how bright your cities' lights. As long as it's not cloudy, you will see a beautiful and inspiring sight: two bright planets and the crescent moon. That'd be Venus and Jupiter, for those of you who like to name names.

"People in New York and Hong Kong will see it just as clearly as astronomers watching from remote mountaintops," reports Spaceweather.com. "Only cloudy weather or a midnight sun (sorry Antarctica!) can spoil the show."

Europeans may be pinned in place longer than the rest of us. For more than an hour, the sliver of moon will eclipse Venus.

"Venus emerging from the dark edge of the Moon is a remarkably beautiful sight," says Spaceweather.com.

NASA Mars Probe Wins Reprieve

October 10, 2008

NASA is gambling more money will resolve problems with its next Mars mission and keep it on track for launch next year.

But exactly where the extra cash to keep the Mars Science Laboratory on schedule -- and how much will be needed -- officials with the U.S. space agency would not say.

“If we’re going to launch in 2009 or 2011 additional budget resources are going to be necessary. The sources of that we cannot release until we get approval from the Office of Management and Budget and Congress,” Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA headquarters, said during a conference call with reporters.

Costs for the roving chemistry station, which is designed to assess Mars' suitability for life, already have swelled from $1.6 billion to $1.9 billion. The probe, which is about the size of a SUV, is slated for launch between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15, 2009, when Earth and Mars are favorably aligned. The planets sweep into optimal position every two years.

NASA has been launching probes at every opportunity in an attempt to learn if life ever took hold beyond Earth.

Mars Science Lab is an ambitious follow-on program to the two small rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, currently exploring the equatorial regions of Mars for signs of past water.

“This is a really important scientific mission,” McCuistion said. “This is truly the push into the next decade for the Mars program and for the discovery for the potential for life on other planets.

“I fully believe that Congress will support us as we go forward on this because they recognize the importance of the mission as well,” he added.

In an attempt to make up time lost due to a host of technical challenges, including actuators, materials and parachutes, Mars Science Lab contractors are working multiple shifts to deliver components so that testing can begin in late November or early December.

NASA plans to reassess the mission’s progress in January. If the probe has to miss its 2009 launch date, keeping the contractor and science teams employed for another two years is estimated to cost $300 million.

In addition to seeking additional funding from Congress, NASA will assess other science programs to see if any money can reallocated for Mars Science Lab, said NASA’s lead scientist Ed Weiler.

Hello, World

September 16, 2008

We are so accustomed to portrayals of reality from artists and computer technology that the startle-factor provoked by this image may have been muted. That’s a STAR, you’re looking at, very similar to our sun, which of course we cannot see from the perspective in the picture, and off in the upper left, that’s a PLANET, albeit a big one, locked in orbit much the same way Earth and the sister planets of the our solar system circle our mother star.

Scientists and engineers are developing tools to more finely dissect light streaming in from all over the universe in hopes, I mean, hard work, of finding out if Earth alone bears life, of the intelligent variety or otherwise.

We hear lots about the Hubble Space Telescope, from NASA, scientists and journalists, myself included, but it’s important to remember that the war against ignorance is being fought on many fronts. This image, which is believed to be the first picture of planet around a sun-like star, was taken by one of the Gemini telescopes on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. The star is 1RXS J160929.1-210524, located about 500 light years from Earth.

The companion planet is about eight times bigger than Jupiter and located about 330 times farther away from star than Earth is from the sun. (The press release about the discovery notes that the most distant planet in our solar system, Neptune, orbits the sun about 30 times the Earth-sun distance.)

Notes University of Toronto’s David Lafrenière, lead author of a paper submitted to the Astrophysical Journal Letters about the discovery,” If we confirm that this object is indeed gravitationally tied to the star, it will be a major step forward.”

(Credit: Gemini Observatory)

Carnival of Space - Universe from A to Z

September 04, 2008

Welcome to Carnival of Space No. 69, the Universe from to A-Z. Seatbelts on? Visors down? 3-2-1 blastoff. Have fun!

A is for Aliens and their apparent British invasion,

B is for Breakdown of political persuasion.

C is for Commercial, the new way to space,

D is for Dark Matter, an admittedly acquired taste.

E is for Energy that comes from deep within,

F is for Federation, an alliance of future space kin.

G is for Green, which apparently does exist in space,

H is for History and how to preserve the human race.

I is for Inspirational space art,

J is for Jupiter, where astronomers often start.

K is for Knowledge and some tips to find your way,

L is for Library, which can save a teacher's day.

M is for Mother Star, a collection of solar views,

N is for Next-Generation, a telescope NASA has yet to choose.

O is for Observe and some suggestions to blow your mind,

P is for Party, of the star-watching kind.

Q is for Quantum, though I didn't find anyone writing on this,

R is for Rocky Worlds, as in Earth and her three sis.

S is for Star Trek, and the space show in Las Vegas,

T is for Travels, the Mars probes latest.

U is for Unspotted, which describes our sun in August,

V is for Volcanoes and what that means for Mars rust.

W is for Watch as Cygnus flies above,

X is for eXpedition, a Lewis and Clark tale you'll love.

Y is for Youngsters, their space toys all a'clutter,

and Z is for Zettaflops, carbontubes and exotica I can only mutter.

Happy travels, my friends.

(Did I miss anyone? Please leave comment below. Thanks!)

Where in the Universe?

August 22, 2008

When first spotted back in 1801, scientists thought they had found a planet, but within a year there were so many similar bodies discovered that the classification was dropped. (Cheer up, Pluto .. You're not the first planet to get demoted to the kids' table.) Still, this world, which measures about 590 miles in diameter, bears similarities to rocky planets like Earth. Scientists wouldn't be surprised to find it has an inner rocky core, an icy mantle and possibly even water beneath its frozen surface. Where am I?

Last week's locale: Andromeda

Where in the Universe?

August 13, 2008

If you could move at the speed of light, you’d still need 260,000 years to travel from one edge of this galaxy to the other. Along the way, you’d find an off-center ring of baby stars and a hole running through the galaxy’s spiral arms, scars of a cosmic collision. Astronomers believe the galaxy was punched out by a small companion galaxy a few million years back. Like the mythical princess for which its named, the galaxy survived the ordeal to become a star among stars of the night sky. Where am I?

Last week's locale: Comet Tempel 1

Hubblerrific!

In a not-so-subtle reminder of what's riding on NASA's plans to refurbish the beloved Hubble Space Telescope in a couple of months, the space agency this week released an image as vibrant as a summertime garden in full bloom.

Rather than tomatoes and flowers, this region of space in the Tarantula nebula is brimming with baby stars. The image, taken on the occasion of Hubble's 100,000th orbit, encompasses 100 light years of space. The pillar shaped like a seahorse itself is is 20 light years long -- four times the distance between the sun and the nearest star, Alpha Centauri.

Not to put the pressure on the Hubble servicing crew, but you guys know what you're doing, yes?

Where in the Universe?

August 07, 2008

Three years ago a spacecraft dive-bombed into the ground, sending up a fountain of materials for telescopes to study. Rather than solid rock, the body turned out to be a loosely packed powder containing organic materials and -- surprisingly -- clays and carbonates, which presumably need water to form. That poses a bit of a conundrum since this piece of real estate formed in the deep freeze of the solar system’s back yard. Where am I?

Last week's locale: Phobos

Lake, ahoy!

July 30, 2008

While debate swirls about allocation, taxation and mitigation of Earth’s key energy source -- i.e. oil -- scientists have confirmed the location of a huge, untapped pool of liquid ethane and methane that’s your’s, mine and our’s for the taking.

It’s a bit far though. On a moon of Saturn.

Still, the discovery, announced in this week’s issue of the science research journal Nature, underscores a key reason for undertaking space exploration: so we can learn what’s out there.

What the dazzlingly brilliant and disciplined minds behind the Cassini science mission at Saturn have uncovered is that yes, indeed, Earth is not the only place in the universe that has liquids on its surface. Scientists have long suspected Titan had the goods, but it has taken years of detailed, methodical investigation to deliver the evidence.

Confirmation comes from a team at the University of Arizona charged with operating Cassini’s visual and infrared mapping spectrometer, which can ID chemicals by dissecting and analyzing wavelengths of light. VIMS found spectral fingerprints of liquid ethane pooled together in an area roughly 7,800 square miles (20,000 square km), which is just a bit bigger than Lake Ontario. Hence its name: Ontario Lacus.

Explains UA’s Robert Brown, the lead scientist for VIMS: "We know the lake is liquid because it reflects essentially no light at 5-micron wavelengths. It was hard for us to accept the fact that the feature was so black when we first saw it. More than 99.9 percent of the light that reaches the lake never gets out again. For it to be that dark, the surface has to be extremely quiescent, mirror smooth -- no naturally produced solid could be that smooth."

Observations at 2-micron wavelengths apparently clinched the deal, when the signature of ethane appeared at the precise wavelength that ethane absorbs infrared light. Brown says tiny particles of ethane, small as cigarette smoke, are filtering out of the atmosphere and into the lake. Atmosphere ethane is made when ultraviolet light from the sun zaps methane molecules.

There’s more: Titan’s lake apparently is evaporating, as would be expected since its summer-time on Titan’s southern hemisphere, where the lake is located.

"We can see there's a shelf, a beach, that is being exposed as the lake evaporates," Brown said.

The beach is darker than the shoreline, indicating that it is wet with organics or covered with a thin layer of liquid organics. Scientists know what’s not there: water ice, ammonia, ammonia hydrate or carbon dioxide. And it’s cold -- about 290 below zero Fahrenheit. That’s why the hydrocarbons are in a liquid state, not gas.

Personally, but I don’t mind the extra charge to Uncle Sam’s credit card to keep Cassini flying. Takes the edge off all the other mindless stuff.

Moon Probe Delay, Part 2

July 28, 2008

Got a few more details -- and a lovely spin -- from NASA about the delay of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter launch. George Diller, a long-time happy soul who covers unmanned launches for the Kennedy Space Center press office says International Launch Services, (the Lockheed-Boeing venture that's handling the launch) asked NASA if it would mind swapping launch slots with another customer. (Diller didn't mention who, but it's the aforementioned DoD.)

With a deft hand for making lemonade, Diller explains that slipping LRO's launch three months is really a good thing because 1) there are more opportunities for launching in February than during the previously reserved launch window (18 vs 8); and 2) there's more time to deal with any spacecraft problems that may come up during thermal vacuum testing, which is about to get under way at Goddard Space Flight Center.

Not that there's been any problems, he adds, but just in case.

About the only down-side Diller could see was that the scientists and engineers working on LRO's piggyback payload, LCROSS, which is supposed to crash down into a darkened crater so folks can see if anything interesting (i.e. WATER) pops out during the impact, will have to choose a new target.

"The geometry between Earth, the moon and the sun will be different in February," Diller said. The team needs good lighting, good radio links to Earth AND a nice shadowed crater in the polar regions of the moon.

No word on how much more it'll cost to keep the team going an extra few months, but heck, that's probably downright un-American to even ask.