Astronomy Folk | Planets, Meteors, Comets, Telescopes

NASA Mission Suggests Sun and Planets Constructed Differently

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000

PASADENA, Calif. - Researchers analyzing samples returned by NASA's 2004 Genesis mission have discovered that our sun and its inner planets may have formed differently than previously thought.

Data revealed differences between the sun and planets in oxygen and nitrogen, which are two of the most abundant elements in our solar system. Although the difference is slight, the implications could help determine how our solar system evolved.

"We found that Earth, the moon, as well as Martian [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art26049/nasa-mission-suggests-sun-and-planets-constructed-differently.html

Expendable Launch Vehicle Status Report

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Spacecraft: Juno
Launch Vehicle: Atlas V-551 (AV-029)
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
Launch Pad: Space Launch Complex 41
Launch Date: Aug. 5, 2011
Launch Time: 11:39 a.m. EDT

At the Astrotech payload processing facility near Kennedy Space Center, Juno's flight software is being installed into the spacecraft's primary computer.

At Launch Complex 41, the last of five solid rocket boosters was attached to the Atlas booster on June 21. The Centaur upper stage will be [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art26053/expendable-launch-vehicle-status-report.html

Russian Resupply Vehicle Docks to Station

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000

The ISS Progress 43 spacecraft docked to the International Space Station at 12:37 p.m. EDT Thursday delivering three tons of fuel, air and supplies to the Expedition 28 crew. The unpiloted Russian resupply vehicle docked automatically to the aft port of the station?s Zvezda service module via the Kurs automated rendezvous system.

Flight Engineers Alexander Samokutyaev and Sergei Volkov monitored the docking of Progress 43 while at the controls of TORU, the Russian telerobotically operated [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art26056/russian-resupply-vehicle-docks-to-station.html

Opening the lid on Pandora?s Cluster

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000

The largest structures in the Universe are superclusters: not just clusters of galaxies, but clusters of clusters. They can stretch for millions of light years and be composed of thousands of galaxies.

Abell 2744, at a distance from Earth of about 3.5 billion light years, is one such megastructure (if you want to sound fancy, astronomers call it "large-scale structure"). Astronomers have been studying Abell 2744 with an arsenal of telescopes, and have discovered that it’s actually the result of the ongoing collision of four galaxies clusters. If you’ve ever wondered what 400 trillion solar masses of material slamming into each other looks like, well, it’s more than a bit of a mess:

[Click to enclusternate.]

Yeah, like I said, it’s a mess.

First off, this picture is a combination of observations from Hubble (in visible light, colored blue, green, and red), the Very Large Telescope (also blue, green, and red), and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (X-rays, colored pinkish). In visible light you can see literally hundreds of galaxies, probably more, dotting the supercluster. The pink glow is from very hot gas between galaxies; it started its life ...

Full story at http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BadAstronomyBlog/~3/hbnr-yQG9Qs/

ESA?s high-thrust engine takes next step

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000

The new main engine to power Europe?s successor to its Ariane 5 space launcher was brought a step closer today when ESA signed a ?60 million contract with a propulsion consortium at the Paris Air & Space Show.

ESA is preparing the NGL Next-Generation Launcher to meet Europe?s institutional needs and safeguard its guaranteed access to space into the long term, ensuring it will continue to have effective and economic launchers at its disposal.

The work is being performed under [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art26032/esa-s-high-thrust-engine-takes-next-step.html

Cassini samples the icy spray of Enceladus' water plumes

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000

The NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini-Huygens mission has directly sampled the water plumes jetting into space from Saturn?s moon Enceladus. The findings from these fly-throughs are the strongest evidence yet for the existence of large-scale saltwater reservoirs beneath the moon?s icy crust.

Enceladus? water plumes shoot water vapour and tiny grains of ice into space. They originate from the ?tiger stripe? surface fractures at the moon?s south pole, and create the faint E-ring, which traces th [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art26035/cassini-samples-the-icy-spray-of-enceladus-water-plumes.html

Station Crew Prepares for Progress, Looks Ahead to STS-135

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000

A new Progress resupply vehicle launched Tuesday from Kazakhstan and will dock to Zvezda Thursday morning. The Progress 43 replaces Europe?s Automated Transfer Vehicle ?Johannes Kepler? (ATV-2).

The ATV-2 undocked Monday and fired its deorbit engines for the last time Tuesday afternoon. Loaded with trash and discarded gear, the ATV-2 entered the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean for a fiery destruction.

As Expedition 28 awaits the new resupply vehicle, it continues international sc [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art26041/station-crew-prepares-for-progress-looks-ahead-to-sts-135.html

Betelgeuse?s sandy belch

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000

For one of the brightest stars in the sky, Betelgeuse still has some surprises up its sleeve. We’ve known for a couple of years it’s surrounded by a cloud of gas, but new observations show that nebula is far larger than previously thought!

[Click to enorionate.]

This new image is care of the Very Large Telescope, and shows a very deep and very high-resolution shot of Betelgeuse in the infrared. The inner black circle is the 2009 shot of the star and its surrounding gas — what we knew about before — and the big image shows all the gas around it just discovered. At the very center is a red circle indicating the actual size of Betelgeuse on this scale — it’s a red supergiant, and nearly two billion kilometers in diameter.

This structure is actually a wind of material blown off of the star itself. The exact mechanism behind this is unclear, though. Red supergiants are so big that gravity on their "surface" (they don’t really have a surface; they just kinda fade away into space) is very weak, and they can barely hold on to ...

Full story at http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/06/23/betelgeuses-sandy-belch/

ATV-2 Undocks; Spacewalk Preps, Science, Maintenance for Station Crew

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Filled with trash and unneeded cargo, the "Johannes Kepler" Automated Transfer Vehicle-2 (ATV-2) undocked from the aft port of the International Space Station?s Zvezda service module at 10:46 a.m. EDT Monday and will be deorbited for a destructive re-entry in Earth?s atmosphere. The European Space Agency supply ship delivered seven tons of cargo when it docked on Feb. 24.

The undocking makes room for the ISS Progress 43 cargo ship which is scheduled to launch Tuesday at 10:38 a.m. from t [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art26020/atv-2-undocks-spacewalk-preps-science-maintenance-for-station-crew.html

ESA reentry vehicle on track for flight in 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000

ESA and Thales Alenia Space Italia announced an agreement today at the Paris Air & Space Show to begin building the IXV Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle for its mission into space in 2013.

Europe?s ambition for a spacecraft to return autonomously from low orbit is a cornerstone for a wide range of space applications, including space transportation, exploration and robotic servicing of space infrastructure.

This goal will be achieved with IXV, which is the next step from the Atmosph [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art26023/esa-reentry-vehicle-on-track-for-flight-in-2013.html

Russian Cargo Craft Launches

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000

The ISS Progress 43 spacecraft, loaded with three tons of fuel, air and supplies for the Expedition 28 crew aboard the International Space Station launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at at 10:38 a.m. EDT Tuesday. The unpiloted Russian vehicle will dock automatically to the aft port of the station?s Zvezda service module Thursday via the Kurs automated rendezvous system.

The European Space Agency cargo ship that previously occupied Zvezda?s aft port until 10:46 a.m. Monday [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art26029/russian-cargo-craft-launches.html

An observatory that?s bigger on the inside

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Duncan Kitchin is an amateur astronomer in Oregon. Like many of us, he has a telescope that’s kind of a pain lugging outside (my old ‘scope was the same size and shape as a water heater, leading to much hilarity as it sat in the living room). Duncan got tired of dragging it out when it was clear, then hauling back inside when the observing was done.

What’s a guy to do?

Well, if you’re an astronomer and a Doctor Who fan, the solution is obvious: pour a concrete pad, install the permanent mount for the ‘scope, and then make yourself a protective shell around the whole thing… shaped like the TARDIS!

FanTAStic. How flippin’ cool is this? It’s an excellent replica, and it’s functional (hmmmm). The side with the handles comes off, revealing the mount; the rest of the TARDIS is on wheels and can be rolled back, leaving just the ‘scope itself to bring out and install:

That makes for a much easier night of observing. Duncan notes it’s designed to keep water out. I hope it keeps water in as well, in case of any mishaps with the Doctor’s pool.

I ...

Full story at http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/06/22/an-observatory-thats-bigger-on-the-inside/

Station?s Orbit Raised; Crew Prepares ATV-2 for Undocking

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000

The ?Johannes Kepler? Automated Transfer Vehicle-2 (ATV-2) fired its engines for nearly 27 minutes Friday raising the International Space Station?s altitude over 3 statute miles. The reboost, the last in a series of four, sets up the proper phasing for the undocking of ATV-2 Monday, the docking of the ISS Progress 43 cargo ship Thursday and the docking of space shuttle Atlantis in July.

Filled with trash and unneeded cargo, ATV-2 is scheduled to undock from the aft port of the Zvezda s [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art26015/station-s-orbit-raised-crew-prepares-atv-2-for-undocking.html

This Week On The Space Show

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000

The Space Show, hosted by David Livingston under www.TheSpaceShow.com, will have the following guests this week:

1. Monday, June 20, 2011, 2-3:30 PM PDT (21-22:30 GMT)
Dr. Robert D. Hienz and Dr. Peter Roma come to the program to discuss Neurobehavioral and Psychosocial Factors for crew safety.

Dr. Robert D. Hienz, who has been conducting research for NSBRI since 2001, is the associate team leader for the NSBRI Neurobehavioral and Psychosocial Factors (NBPF) Team. As associate team leader [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art26018/this-week-on-the-space-show.html

ATV-2 Undocks; Spacewalk Preps, Science, Maintenance for Station Crew

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art26020/atv-2-undocks-spacewalk-preps-science-maintenance-for-station-crew.html

Summer solstice 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Click here to view gallery

Full story at http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/06/21/summer-solstice-2011/

Michele Bachmann needs to check her ID

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000

On Friday, Michele Bachmann (R-MN) — incredibly, a Presidential front-runner for the Republicans — said this:

I support intelligent design [...] What I support is putting all science on the table and then letting students decide. I don’t think it’s a good idea for government to come down on one side of scientific issue or another, when there is reasonable doubt on both sides.*

Terrific. But then, in a sense, I agree. That is, when Intelligent Design proponents actually have any science, they should speak up. And if there were any reasonable doubt that would be fine too. But they don’t, and there isn’t.

And ID isn’t science, it’s religion. It was even ruled to be religion by a judge — a conservative Republican judge — so teaching it would be in violation of the Constitution that Representative Bachmann is sworn to uphold.

Just sayin’.

*Incidentally, this quote from her is in response to a question asking her to name Nobel Laureates who support Intelligent Design; she previously made the claim that many do. Note that in her answer quoted above she totally dodges the actual ...

Full story at http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/06/20/michele-bachmann-needs-to-check-her-id/

Expendable Launch Vehicle Status Report

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000
Spacecraft: Aquarius
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7320 (Delta 354)
Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Pad: Space Launch Complex 2
Altitude/Inclination: 408.2 statute miles/98 degrees

At Vandenberg Air Force Base, the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket with Aquarius/SAC-D was successfully launched from NASA's Space Launch Complex 2 on June 10 at 7:20:13.572 a.m. PDT. The first telemetry data showed the observatory to be in excellent health. The initial checkout phase no [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art26010/expendable-launch-vehicle-status-report.html

Kepler Spacecraft Status Report

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000
At the May 23 press event, held at the 218th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Boston, the team provided a progress report on the mission. This Mission Manager Update will focus on flight segment performance of the Kepler spacecraft. In other words, how is Kepler performing while trailing Earth around the sun?

The health of the spacecraft and photometer, the instrument used to measure changes in the brightness of distant stars, is excellent and has recorded more than two months [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art26012/kepler-spacecraft-status-report.html

Station?s Orbit Raised; Crew Prepares ATV-2 for Undocking

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000
The ?Johannes Kepler? Automated Transfer Vehicle-2 (ATV-2) fired its engines for nearly 27 minutes Friday raising the International Space Station?s altitude over 3 statute miles. The reboost, the last in a series of four, sets up the proper phasing for the undocking of ATV-2 Monday, the docking of the ISS Progress 43 cargo ship Thursday and the docking of space shuttle Atlantis in July.

Filled with trash and unneeded cargo, ATV-2 is scheduled to undock from the aft port of the Zvezda s [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art26015/station-s-orbit-raised-crew-prepares-atv-2-for-undocking.html

Calamities of (super)nature

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Calamities of Nature is a webcomic that frequently has skeptical and scientifiic themes. A recent one deals with ghosts and the soul, and it hits on a message I’ve said many times: there’s no such thing as the supernatural. Either something is natural — that is, part of the Universe — or else it doesn’t exist.

If you posit some thing that has no perceivable or measurable effect, then it may as well not exist. And as soon as you claim it does have an effect — it can be seen, heard, recorded, felt — then it must be in some way testable, and therefore subject to science. You can’t claim ghosts are supernatural, beyond the realm of science, but also claim they show up on a freaking thermal camera!

Well, you can claim that, but you’d be wrong. So there you go.

[NOTE: In a funny coincidence, after I drafted this post but before I published it, my fellow Hive Overmind blogger Sean Carroll posted a link to this same cartoon using almost exactly the same post title! COINCIDENCE? Well, yeah, actually. Great minds and ...
Full story at http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/06/19/calamities-of-supernature/

Alpha Herculis

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 07:30:00 +0000

Alpha Herculis(? Herculis) este un sistem stelar multiplu din constelatia Hercules. A fost denumita Rasalgethi, nume provenit din limba araba si denumirea Flamsteed 64 Herculis.

Diametrul unghiular al gigantei rosii ?� Herculis a fost masurat cu un interferometru, fiind de 0.034 arcsecunde. La o distanta de 110 parseci, acesta corespunde unei raze de aproximativ 280 milioane km sau 400 R? (raze solare) sau 1.87 Unitati Astronomice. Daca Rasalgethi se afla in centrul Sistemului Solar, raza sa s-ar fi extins pana dupa orbita lui Marte, dar nu mai departe de centura de asteroizi.

Vazuta printr-un telescop, Rasalgethi nu este singura, ci mai are inca un companion, denumit ?�. Aceste doua componente se afla la 500 Unitati Astronomice departare una de cealalta, cu o perioada orbitala de 3600 ani. Alpha� este de fapt un sistem dublu, cu prima componenta – o stea galbena giganta si cealalta – o stea alb-galbuie pitica( acestea fiind denumite Alpha Herculis A si alpha Herculis Ba si Bb).

Full story at http://www.astronomy.info.com.ro/2011/04/alpha-herculis/

ptolemy, our wonderful kitty cat

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 07:30:00 +0000

Our twelve year old kitty, Ptolemy, has just been diagnosed with feline diabetes and DKA, which has her in emergency kitty hospital care for the next few days. We hope to be able to stabilize her and then treat her diabetes so that she can have many more years of good times with our family.

Ptolemy, who is named after Claudius Ptolemaeus -- a leading advocate of the geocentric view of the universe (and this kitty is quite sure the universe revolves around her) is a beautiful Siamese cat that we rescued from the Austin Town Lake shelter in August of 1999. She is our first child and I don't even know how to imagine a world that doesn't have her in it.

I'm not a religious person, but I'm reaching out to the universe with all the hope I can muster. If you've spent the 45 seconds to read this far into my blog post, then you're someone that can help and I'm asking you to please send her a prayer or your equivalent. We really appreciate it.

Sunday morning update: Ptolemy's doctor reports that she's really turned a corner. After an appetite-stimulating small dose of Valium, she's eating and so won't need to be tube fed. Her blood sugars are good. They're no longer seeing keytones in her urine. They're going to try out a switch to the long-acting insulin. And if she's still eating well and her electrolytes are good, she'll be ready to come home in the morning.

Thank you all for your warm comments and for your thoughts and prayers.

Monday update: Ptolemy came home today at around noon. Tonight we gave her two shots, insulin and antibiotics. Deanna's mastery with a syringe made it quick and painless for the sick little kitty. We followed that with a small bit of tuna reward. She's awful skinny and frail, but she's eating and she's home and that brings us great happiness.

Thank you all again for your words of encouragement and for putting our little baby in your thoughts and prayers.
Full story at http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/asa/archives/2011/05/ptolemy_our_wonderfu.html

The Square Kilometre Array belongs in Africa

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 07:30:00 +0000
Africa is bidding to host the world's most powerful radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). When constructed, in 2025, it will have 50 times greater sensitivity than any other radio telescope on Earth. The SKA will probe the edges of our universe, even before the first stars and galaxies that formed after the Big Bang. This telescope will contribute to answering fundamental questions in astronomy, physics and cosmology, including the nature of dark energy and dark matter.

South Africa is leading the African bid and has already legislated to create 12.5 million hectares of protected area - or radio astronomy reserve. This area is also referred to as the Karoo Central Astronomy Advantage Area, offering low levels of radio frequency interference, very little light pollution, basic infrastructure of roads, electricity and communication.

The human story began in Africa and it can also be the place where we find answers to the story of our universe.

For more information check out http://skaafrica.com/.
Full story at http://astronomyforeveryone.blogspot.com/2011/04/square-kilometre-array-belongs-in.html

Expendable Launch Vehicle Status Report

noreply@blogger.com (Palapple team) — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000
Spacecraft: Aquarius
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7320 (Delta 354)
Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Pad: Space Launch Complex 2
Altitude/Inclination: 408.2 statute miles/98 degrees

At Vandenberg Air Force Base, the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket with Aquarius/SAC-D was successfully launched from NASA's Space Launch Complex 2 on June 10 at 7:20:13.572 a.m. PDT. The first telemetry data showed the observatory to be in excellent health. The initial checkout phase no [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art26010/expendable-launch-vehicle-status-report.html