mY liFe mY waY:TODAY UNIVERS

Endeavour’s Cross-Country Final Piggyback Ride Arrives at Kennedy

The clock is rapidly ticking down on the final days of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) as the proud home of NASA’s Space Shuttle Endeavour.

On Tuesday, Sept. 11, the modified 747 Jumbo Jet that will ferry shuttle Endeavour piggy-back style cross-country to her new eternal home in California arrived at KSC.

The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, touched down at the shuttle landing strip at KSC at about 5:05 p.m. EDT. See the gallery of approach and landing photos. [click to continue…]

Sputtering: How Mars May Have Lost Its Atmospher

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Why is Mars cold and dry? While some recent studies hint that early Mars may have never been wet or warm, many scientists think that long ago, Mars once had a denser atmosphere that supported liquid water on the surface. If so, Mars might have had environmental conditions to support microbial life. However, for some reason, most of the Martian atmosphere was lost to space long ago and the thin wispy atmosphere no longer allows water to be stable at the surface. Scientists aren’t sure how or why this happened, but one way a planet can lose its atmosphere is through a process called ‘sputtering.’ In this process, atoms are knocked away from the atmosphere due to impacts from energetic particles.
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50 Years Ago Today, We Chose to Go to the Moon

“We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people.”
– John F. Kennedy, September 12, 1962

On this day, 50 years ago, on a warm, sunny morning in Houston, Texas, President John F. Kennedy delivered a now-famous speech to 40,000 spectators at Rice University, a speech that supported the United States’s commitment to step beyond the boundaries of our world, to go beyond low-Earth orbit and eventually, successfully (and indeed before the decade was out!) land men on the Moon and return them safely to Earth.

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It was an inspiring speech, both for the nation’s newly-developed space industry as well as for the entire country. (Would that we saw more overt dedication to space exploration from our leaders today!) This video from Rice University, itself celebrating its 100th anniversary in October, gives some insight into the events of that day in September of 1962, the small moments that led up to it and the large ones that followed.
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A Cosmic Flying Pencil — with Hair!

Pencil Nebula (NGC 2736) captured by ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. Credit: ESO

This odd-shaped cloud of gas and dust is nicknamed the Pencil Nebula, as the brightest part resembles a pencil. But this pencil looks like it has hair, flying off into the breeze! But that’s no simple breeze: these glowing filaments in NGC 2736 were created by a supernova explosion that took place about 11,000 years ago, and they are moving through the interstellar medium at about 650,000 kilometers (403,000 miles) per hour.
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A Jodrell Odyssey – Part 2 – The Observatory

Caption: The original Jodrell Bank Control Desk with view of the Lovell telescope. Credit: Anthony Holloway.

 we took a look at the public face of the Jodrell Bank Observatory, the Discovery Centre. But this week we get a behind-the-scenes tour of the heart of this impressive and historic observatory.

Dr. Tim O’Brien is Associate Director of the Jodrell Bank Observatory and a Reader in Astrophysics in the School of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Manchester. As we begin our tour of the telescopes, control room and computers he explains the role of Jodrell in the historical development of radio astronomy. The Lovell telescope at the heart of the observatory, is today a Grade 1 listed building as well as being at the cutting edge of current, and indeed future, scientific research. [click to continue…]

It Only Happens on Mars: Carbon Dioxide Snow is Falling on the Red Planet

Observations by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have detected carbon-dioxide snow clouds on Mars and evidence of carbon-dioxide snow falling to the surface. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

In 2008, we learned from the Phoenix Mars lander that it snows in Mars northern hemisphere — perhaps quite regularly – from clouds made of water vapor. But now, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter data has revealed the clearest evidence yet of carbon-dioxide snowfalls on Mars. Scientists say this is the only known example of carbon-dioxide snow falling anywhere in our solar system.

“These are the first definitive detections of carbon-dioxide snow clouds,” said Paul Hayne from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, lead author of a new study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research. “We firmly establish the clouds are composed of carbon dioxide — flakes of Martian air — and they are thick enough to result in snowfall accumulation at the surface.”
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Watch Jupiter Get Hit in the Original HD Video

Caught on webcam by amateur astronomer George Hall in Dallas, Texas, the impact on Jupiter that occurred yesterday at 6:35 a.m. CT can be clearly seen in the brief video above as a bright flash along the giant planet’s left side.

According to Hall on his website the video was captured with a 12″ LX200GPS, 3x Televue Barlow, and Point Grey Flea 3 camera using Astro IIDC software.

Great catch, George! Currently this is the only video footage we’ve seen of this particular event. Also, tonight at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT the SLOOH Space Camera site will broadcast a live viewing of Jupiter to search for any remaining evidence of an impact. Tune in here.

Dawn’s Parting Shots of Vesta

Dawn’s look at asteroid Vesta as the spacecraft heads off to Ceres. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCAL/MPS/DLR/IDA

As Dawn says goodbye to Vesta — where the spacecraft has been orbiting for over a year — here are two final views of the giant asteroid, which are among the last taken by the spacecraft, NASA said.

“Dawn has peeled back the veil on some of the mysteries surrounding Vesta, but we’re still working hard on more analysis,” said Christopher Russell, Dawn’s principal investigator at UCLA. “So while Vesta is now out of sight, it will not be out of mind.”
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mY liFe mY waY:PSLV

PSLV operational launch vehicle of ISRO. PSLV is capable of launching 1600 kg satellites in 620 km sun-synchronous polar orbit and 1050 kg satellite in geo-synchronous transfer orbit. In the standard configuration, it measures 44.4 m tall, with a lift off weight of 295 tonnes. PSLV has four stages using solid and liquid propulsion systems alternately. The first stage is one of the largest solid propellant boosters in the world and carries 139 tonnes of propellant. A cluster of six strap-ons attached to the first stage motor, four of which are ignited on the ground and two are air-lit.

The reliability rate of PSLV has been superb. There had been 21 continuously successful flights of PSLV, till September 2012 . With its variant configurations, PSLV has proved its multi-payload, multi-mission capability in a single launch and its geosynchronous launch capability. In the Chandrayaan-mission, another variant of PSLV with an extended version of strap-on motors, PSOM-XL, the payload haul was enhanced to 1750 kg in 620 km SSPO. PSLV has rightfully earned the status of workhorse launch vehicle of ISRO.

Typical Parameters of PSLV  Lift-off weight 295 tonne  Pay Load 1600 kg in to 620 km Polar Orbit, 1060 kg in to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO)  Height 44 metre

PSLV Milestones

PSLV-C21 launched SPOT 6 and PROITERES on September 09, 2012 (Successful) PSLV-C19 launched RISAT-1 on April 26, 2012 (Successful) PSLV-C18 launched Megha-Tropiques, SRMSat, VesselSat-1 and Jugnu on October 12, 2011 (Successful) PSLV-C17 launched GSAT - 12 on July 15, 2011 (Successful) PSLV-C16 launched RESOURCESAT - 2, YOUTHSAT and X-SAT on April 20, 2011 (Successful) PSLV-C15 launched CARTOSAT-2B, ALSAT-2A, NLS 6.1 & 6.2 and STUDSAT on July 12, 2010 (Successful) PSLV-C14 launched Oceansat - 2 and Six Nanosatellites on September 23, 2009 (Successful) PSLV-C12 launched RISAT-2 and ANUSAT on April 20, 2009 (Successfully) PSLV-C11 launched CHANDRAYAAN-I, on October 22, 2008 (Successful) PSLV-C9 launched CARTOSAT-2A, IMS-1 and Eight nano-satellites on April 28, 2008 (Successful) PSLV-C10 launched TECSAR on January 23, 2008 (Successful) PSLV-C8 launched AGILE on April 23, 2007 (Successful) PSLV-C7 launched CARTOSAT-2, SRE-1, LAPAN-TUBSAT and PEHUENSAT-1 on January 10, 2007 (Successful) PSLV-C6 launched CARTOSAT-1 and HAMSAT on May 5, 2005 (Successful) PSLV-C5 launched RESOURCESAT-1(IRS-P6) on October 17, 2003 (Successful) PSLV-C4 launched KALPANA-1(METSAT) on September 12, 2002 (Successful) PSLV-C3 launched TES on October 22, 2001 (Successful) PSLV-C2 launched OCEANSAT(IRS-P4), KITSAT-3 and DLR-TUBSAT on May 26, 1999 (Successful) PSLV-C1 launched IRS-1D on September 29, 1997 (Successful) PSLV-D3 launched IRS-P3 on March 21, 1996 (Successful) PSLV-D2 launched IRS-P2 on October 15, 1994 (Successful) PSLV-D1 launched IRS-1E on September 20, 1993 (Unsuccessful)

mY liFe mY waY:TODAY UNIVERS

Moon and Venus still close in September 13 predawn  

sky

 

The brightest and second-brightest orbs of nighttime – the moon and the planet Venus, respectively – have been glorious in our sky the past few days and still adorn the eastern predawn sky on Thursday, September 13. They are visible throughout the world. Both thewaning crescent moon and Venus will be shining brightly in front of the constellation Cancer the Crab

Here is Wednesday morning’s sky – September 12, 2012 – as seen by EarthSky Facebook friend Annie Lewis in Madrid. Notice the moon next to Venus. By Thursday morning, the moon will be below Venus in the east before dawn. Thanks, Annie! Click here to expand this image.

By Friday, September 14, the moon will pass out of Cancer, but rather close to Regulus, the constellation Leo’s brightest star. Venus, on the other hand, will remain in front of the constellation Cancer until the September 22 equinox.

Regulus is the Lion’s Heart

On or around September 22, Venus will straddle the border of the constellations Cancer andLeo. After that, Venus will continue to move eastward in front of the constellation Leo, finally to meet up with the star Regulus in the predawn hours on October 3. Be sure to circle this date on your calendar. This will be the closest conjunction of a planet and a first-magnitude star for all of 2012.

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you should be able to see Regulus near the horizon an hour or so before sunrise. If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, you may miss Regulus altogether because this star still sits low in the glare of morning twilight at southerly latitudes. However, in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, Regulus rises about four minutes earlier with each passing day. So by October 3, the Venus/Regulus conjunction should be visible in the predawn sky from all around the world.

And don’t forget the planets in the evening sky! Saturn and Mars can still be seen low in the west after sunset. Here’s an image from EarthSky Facebook friend Duke Marsh in New Albany, Indiana. It’s looking west on Tuesday evening, September 11, 2012, at around 9 p.m. Thanks, Duke! Click here to expand this image.

Bottom line: Enjoy the predawn sky in the first week of September 2012, as the waning crescent moon passes the dazzling planet Venus in the east. Look east in the hours before sunrise

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A Story of Astronomical Importance

The most distant galaxies ever seen, from the Hubble telescope. (Photo: NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith – STScl, HUDF team)

This is an incredible time to be an astronomer. Actually, it’s an incredible time for anybodywho is interested in our place in the universe. The last few decades have seen the advent of technologies that have allowed us to see further into space than ever before.

One of the advantages of looking further away is that in astronomy, this also means looking further back in time. Light travels extremely quickly from point to point, but the distances between celestial objects are so vast that the time their light takes to reach us is significant. Start close to home, with the Sun, for example. Its light takes eight minutes to reach us here on Earth. Spacecraft operating in the distant reaches of the outer solar system – like NASA’s Cassini probe, currently exploring Saturn and its amazing family of moons – must be autonomous, because signals from Earth can take more than an hour to reach them. The nearest star is four light years away, and so we see it as it was in 2003. The center of the Milky Way is 25,000 light years away, and the nearest large galaxy, Andromeda, is 2.2 million light years away, and this immense distance takes us no further than our local neighbourhood.

Instruments like the Very Large Telescope at the Paranal Observatory in Chile have been responsible for many cosmic discoveries. (Photo: European Southern Observatory)

Looking back in time in this way, we see a universe that looks different from the one around us. Galaxies, for example, tend to look smaller than they are now, because when the light we see left them, they were still in the process of assembling. Star formation was more rapid back then; the universe of today is, perhaps depressingly, past its peak, and the rate at which new stars are being born is declining. This evolving universe provides the most straightforward evidence that there really is a cosmic story, with a beginning many billions of years ago.

In fact, analysis of this early universe, together with a lot of work and many other observations besides, has allowed us to conclude that our universe began in an almost unimaginably hot, dense state some 13.7 billion years ago. The sophistication of modern cosmological measurements can be breathtaking; we know the age of the universe more accurately than we know the age of the Earth. We also know what the major constituents of the universe are, but this raises more questions. Ordinary matter, made of atoms of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and all the rest, turns out to account for only a sixth of the mass in the universe, the rest being a mysterious substance which we call ”dark matter.” The expansion of the universe is not, as once was expected, slowing down under the pull of gravity, but rather accelerating under the influence of an antigravity force that remained undetected until just 10 years ago.

View of Earth from Saturn, from Cassini spacecraft. (Photo: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute)

We have made progress in other areas too. The search for life beyond our own planet, and beyond our own solar system, is something that has inspired scientists, artists and authors for centuries. There is still no sign of little green men, bug-eyed monsters or bacteria on Mars, but we are getting somewhere. The detection of planets beyond our solar system is now routine; more than 200 of these extra-solar planets, or exoplanets, are now known. All are large – probably because large planets are easy to detect – but it would not be surprising if the first Earth-sized worlds known to orbit another star were detected in the next year or two. The first measurement of the composition of the atmosphere of two of these planets was announced just a few weeks ago, and the pace of discovery is rapid.

With so much going on – we haven’t mentioned the exploration of Mars, or the grandstand view we have of merging galaxies and much, much else – it is difficult to know where to look next. In this column, we hope to show you around our universe. After all, the story belongs to all of us, insignificant though our place in it must be.