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LunarPhase Pro Affiliate Commission Increased To 50% (Night Sky Observer Astronomy Blog)

Night Sky Observer Astronomy Blog — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 18:34:23+0100

The Night Sky Observer has teamed up with Clickbank and now offers LunarPhase Pro through Clickbank, one of the premier digital download networks in the world. Because of Clickbank's low administration fees, affiliate can now earn a 50% (up from 40%) commission (approx. $18) on sales of the digital download version of LunarPhase Pro. Becoming an affiliate is free. All the information you need to

Where In The Universe Challenge #10 (Universe Today)

Next TEGA "Bake" Could Be Last for Phoenix — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:29:39+0100

I've been enjoying a few lazy days of summer relaxing by a lake. The weather has been perfect, the lake is clear and warm, the food and drinks plentiful; a perfect vacation. But I finally realized (late in the day) today is Wednesday, and its time for another "Where In The Universe" challenge. So, here's an image, and your mission is to guess where in the universe this picture was taken. You get extra points for guessing the spacecraft that is responsible for the image, too. So take your time, maybe put your feet up and grab a cold beverage on this warm day and ponder this image for awhile. No peeking below for the answer until you've made your guess.

(...)Read the rest of Where In The Universe Challenge #10 (257 words)

© Nancy Atkinson for Universe Today, 2008. | Permalink | 26 comments | Add to del.icio.us digg Who's linking ? Technorati BlogPulse Google Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Where In the Universe?.

WeekEnd SkyWatcher's Forecast: July 4 - 6, 2008 (Universe Today)

"Starlight Zone" Interview Now Online — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:36:34+0100

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! If you're enjoying a holiday weekend where you live, then start the fireworks off as we begin by remembering Deep Impact and journey towards a nearby star approaching the supernova phase. As things heat up towards one of the most spectacular conjunctions of the year, we'll also take a look at another globular cluster study, lunar features and a binocular deep sky treat! Are you ready to step in the realm of a Barnard dark nebula? The grab your optics and let's head out into the night…

(...)Read the rest of WeekEnd SkyWatcher's Forecast: July 4 - 6, 2008 (1,287 words)

© Tammy Plotner for Universe Today, 2008. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us digg Who's linking ? Technorati BlogPulse Google Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Astronomy, Observing, Skywatching.

Theory of Relativity Passes Another Test (Universe Today)

WeekEnd SkyWatcher's Forecast: July 4 - 6, 2008 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:57:29+0100

Einstein's theory of General Relativity has been around for 93 years, and it just keeps hanging in there. With advances in technology has come the ability to put the theory under some scrutiny. Recently, taking advantage of a unique cosmic coincidence, as well as a pretty darn good telescope, astronomers looked at the strong gravity from a pair of superdense neutron stars and measured an effect predicted by General Relativity. The theory came through with flying colors.

(...)Read the rest of Theory of Relativity Passes Another Test (470 words)

© Nancy Atkinson for Universe Today, 2008. | Permalink | 21 comments | Add to del.icio.us digg Who's linking ? Technorati BlogPulse Google Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Astronomy.

The Weekend SkyWatcher's Forecast: June 27-29, 2008 (Universe Today)

Cassini Primary Mission Complete; Ready to Tackle New Assignments — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:27:57+0100

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! It's that time again and darker skies are in our favor for this weekend. Are you working towards Astronomical League studies? Then tag along as we seek out one of the most difficult of all targets - Palomar 5. But don't despair - there's just slightly easier ones to study, too! Come along for the double galaxy ride and the peak of two minor meteor showers as we head out into the night…

(...)Read the rest of The Weekend SkyWatcher's Forecast: June 27-29, 2008 (1,260 words)

© Tammy Plotner for Universe Today, 2008. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us digg Who's linking ? Technorati BlogPulse Google Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Astronomy, Astronomy For Kids, Observing.

Solar Sail To Launch This Summer (Universe Today)

Aldrin Warns that NASA will fall Behind Russia and China in Space Exploration — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:46:09+0100

NASA?s Marshall and Ames Research Centers will team up with the commercial space company SpaceX to launch and deploy a solar sail this summer. A bread-box sized payload called NanoSail-D will travel to space onboard a SpaceX Falcon 1 Rocket and if all goes well, it will be the first fully deployed solar sail in space, and the first spacecraft to use a solar sail as a primary means of orbital maneuvering. The first launch window is from July 29th to August 6th, with a back-up window extending from August 29th to September 5th. Weighing less than 4.5 kilograms (10 pounds) the aluminum and plastic sail has about 9.3 m� (100 square feet) of light-catching surface which researchers hope will successfully propel the spacecraft.

(...)Read the rest of Solar Sail To Launch This Summer (472 words)

© Nancy Atkinson for Universe Today, 2008. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us digg Who's linking ? Technorati BlogPulse Google Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Satellites, Science.

STEREO Maps Far Reaches of Solar System (Universe Today)

GLAST Powers Up — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:36:59+0100

NASA's twin STEREO spacecraft have been studying the sun since their launch in 2006. But the mission made a surprising and unexpected discovery by detecting particles from the edge of the solar system, and for the first time, scientists have now been able to map the region where the hot solar wind meets up with the cold interstellar medium. However, this wasn't done with optical instruments imaging in visible light, but by mapping the region by means of neutral, or uncharged, atoms. This breakthrough is a "new kind of astronomy using neutral atoms," said Robert Lin, from the University of California Berkeley, and lead for the suprathermal electron sensor aboard STEREO. "You can't get a global picture of this region, one of the last unexplored regions of the heliosphere, any other way because it is too tenuous to be seen by normal optical telescopes." The findings also help clear up a discrepancy in the amount of energy in the region found by the Voyager 2 spacecraft as it passed through the edge of the solar system last year.

(...)Read the rest of STEREO Maps Far Reaches of Solar System (473 words)

© Nancy Atkinson for Universe Today, 2008. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us digg Who's linking ? Technorati BlogPulse Google Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Satellites, Solar Astronomy.

SOHO the Comet-Finder ? And You Can Help (Universe Today)

The Weekend SkyWatcher's Forecast: June 27-29, 2008 — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:03:58+0100

On June 25th, the ESA/NASA SOHO spacecraft discovered its 1,500th comet, making it more successful than all other comet discoverers throughout history, combined. But wait a minute, SOHO is the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, designed to study solar physics. What?s it doing looking for comets? SOHO just happens to have a great vantage point to see comets as they approach the sun. Since its orbit is situated between the Sun and Earth, it has a unique view of the regions close to the sun that we can rarely see from Earth. But SOHO?s comet-finding success is just an added benefit to the extraordinary revelations this spacecraft has provided in its 13 years in space, observing the Sun and the near-Sun environment. ?Catching the enormous total of comets has been an unplanned bonus,? said Bernhard Fleck, ESA SOHO Project Scientist.

(...)Read the rest of SOHO the Comet-Finder — And You Can Help (340 words)

© Nancy Atkinson for Universe Today, 2008. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us digg Who's linking ? Technorati BlogPulse Google Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Comets.

Proposed Mission Could Study Space-Time Around Black Holes (Universe Today)

STEREO Maps Far Reaches of Solar System — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:57:12+0100

What do black holes, magnetars and supernovae have in common? They all emit X-rays. But it's difficult, if not impossible to study certain aspects of the X-ray emissions from these powerful objects. And there's much we don't understand about how black holes distort space-time around them, or how magnetars affect their surroundings, or how cosmic rays are accelerated by shocks in supernova remnants. A proposed new NASA mission called Gravity and Extreme Magnetism (GEMS), will use a new technique to study what has been unattainable until now. GEMS won't study the X-ray emission of these objects directly, but will build up a picture indirectly by measuring the polarization of X-rays emitted from these violent regions.

(...)Read the rest of Proposed Mission Could Study Space-Time Around Black Holes (373 words)

© Nancy Atkinson for Universe Today, 2008. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us digg Who's linking ? Technorati BlogPulse Google Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Missions.

President Sarkozy and the French (Space) Revolution (Updated) (Universe Today)

Canada to build World's First Asteroid-hunting Satellite — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:11:02+0100

It seems to be the week for big politics and space exploration. Yesterday, the Universe Today reported that Buzz Aldrin was worried about the future of the politically-driven US space policy; he is currently lobbying US President hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain to increase NASA funding. On the other side of the pond, French President Nicolas Sarkozy also wants NASA's European counterpart, ESA, to do better. However, Sarkozy wants to change the face of the ESA into the NASA model by making it politically driven, rather than leaving European bureaucrats to decide ESA priorities. ESA has operated independently from political pressures that often weigh down on space agencies, but Sarkozy is a huge advocate of the US system and believes space exploration should be politically motivated. This is bound to raise a few eyebrows, as the very agency he is promoting is facing some serious political uncertainty…

(...)Read the rest of President Sarkozy and the French (Space) Revolution (Updated) (661 words)

© Ian O'Neill for Universe Today, 2008. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us digg Who's linking ? Technorati BlogPulse Google Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Space Exploration.

Phoenix: Mars Soil Can Support Life (Universe Today)

Launch Pad Repairs to Begin; Hubble Repair Mission Should Go As Scheduled — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:06:48+0100

Another groundbreaking discovery from Mars: Phoenix has analysed martian regolith containing minerals more commonly found in soil here on Earth, and the acidity is not a hindrance for life to thrive. These new and very exciting results come after preliminary analyses of a scoop of regolith by the landers "wet lab" known as the Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer (MECA) instrument. Although more data collecting needs to be done, trace levels of nutrients have already been detected. This, with the recent discovery of water ice, has amazed mission scientists, likening these new results to "winning the lottery."

(...)Read the rest of Phoenix: Mars Soil Can Support Life (637 words)

© Ian O'Neill for Universe Today, 2008. | Permalink | 56 comments | Add to del.icio.us digg Who's linking ? Technorati BlogPulse Google Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Mars.

Next TEGA "Bake" Could Be Last for Phoenix (Universe Today)

Explosive Spacewalk? — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:46:49+0100

The "vibrating" done to get the first Mars arctic soil sample into Phoenix's TEGA (Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer) oven may have caused a short circuit that could happen again the next time the oven is used, perhaps with fatal results. A team of engineers and scientists assembled to assess TEGA after a short circuit was discovered in the instrument, and came to a fairly disheartening conclusion. ?Since there is no way to assess the probability of another short circuit occurring, we are taking the most conservative approach and treating the next sample to TEGA as possibly our last,? said Peter Smith, Phoenix?s principal investigator. Therefore, the Phoenix team is doing everything they can to assure the next sample delivered to TEGA will be ice-rich.

(...)Read the rest of Next TEGA "Bake" Could Be Last for Phoenix (292 words)

© Nancy Atkinson for Universe Today, 2008. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us digg Who's linking ? Technorati BlogPulse Google Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Mars, Missions.

MESSENGER Provides New Insights on Mercury (Universe Today)

Theory of Relativity Passes Another Test — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:49:56+0100

Data from the MESSENGER spacecraft's first flyby of Mercury in January of 2008 are now turning into science results. Several scientists discussed their findings at a press conference today highlighting the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging mission, the first spacecraft to visit Mercury since NASA's Mariner 10 made three flyby passes in 1974 and 1975. Among the findings, scientists discovered volcanism has played a more extensive role in shaping the surface of Mercury than previously thought. MESSENGER data has also identified and mapped surface rock units that
correspond to lava flows, volcanos, and other geological features, showing an apparent planet-wide iron deficiency in Mercury's surface rocks. Additionally, other instruments made the first observations about the surface and atmospheric composition of the closest world to the sun.

(...)Read the rest of MESSENGER Provides New Insights on Mercury (427 words)

© Nancy Atkinson for Universe Today, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us digg Who's linking ? Technorati BlogPulse Google Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Astronomy.

Launch Pad Repairs to Begin; Hubble Repair Mission Should Go As Scheduled (Universe Today)

SOHO the Comet-Finder ? And You Can Help — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:33:00+0100

Work will begin on Friday to repair damaged sections of Kennedy Space Center?s launch pad 39A that was damaged during the last space shuttle launch on May 31. On Thursday, (June 26) NASA managers approved a plan that would complete the repairs by the third week of August. Therefore the mission schedule shouldn?t be impacted. The next space shuttle flight, the high-profile final mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope is scheduled to launch on October 8, and if all goes well with the repairs, space shuttle Atlantis would crawl its way out to the pad on August 29. "We really like the plan," said shuttle Program Manager John Shannon. "We expect to start moving out on it right away."

(...)Read the rest of Launch Pad Repairs to Begin; Hubble Repair Mission Should Go As Scheduled (392 words)

LCROSS Passes Pre-Flight Tests Before Kamakazi Mission to Find Water on Moon (Universe Today)

Phoenix: Mars Soil Can Support Life — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:02:58+0100

The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) is a very exciting mission for lunar exploration. Since the discovery of water on Mars by Phoenix last week, focus is turning on other planetary bodies and natural satellites for the possibility they may hold a supply of water too. First stop for any manned mission will be our return trip to the Moon by 2020, so it would be very advantageous if we could find a frozen reservoir of H2O hiding within the craters of the lunar surface. LCROSS is going to hitch a ride with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) later this year on board an Atlas V rocket. It has just passed some gruelling pre-launch tests before it sets out on a suicide mission that will end in collision with the lunar surface…

(...)Read the rest of LCROSS Passes Pre-Flight Tests Before Kamakazi Mission to Find Water on Moon (370 words)

© Ian O'Neill for Universe Today, 2008. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us digg Who's linking ? Technorati BlogPulse Google Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Moon, Space Exploration.

International Group Studies Mars Sample Return Mission (Universe Today)

MESSENGER Provides New Insights on Mercury — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:50:54+0100

Until humans can actually set foot on the Red Planet, the next best thing would be a sample return mission, to bring Martian soil samples back to Earth. A sample return would exponentially increase our knowledge and understanding Mars and its environment. And in order to pull off a mission of this magnitude, international cooperation might be required, and in fact, may be preferred. The International Mars Exploration Working Group (IMEWG), organized an international committee to study an international architecture for a Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission concept. After several months of collective work by scientists and engineers from several countries worldwide, the ?iMARS? group is ready to publish the outcome of its deliberations and the envisioned common architecture for a future international MSR mission, and they will discuss their findings at an international conference on July 9 and 10 in France.

(...)Read the rest of International Group Studies Mars Sample Return Mission (227 words)

Hubble Does Independence Day With Stars and Stripe (Universe Today)

President Sarkozy and the French (Space) Revolution (Updated) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:30:07+0100

Back in 1006 A.D, observers from Africa to Europe to the Far East witnessed and recorded the arrival of light from what is now called SN 1006, a tremendous supernova explosion caused by the final death throes of a white dwarf star nearly 7,000 light-years away. One Egyptian astronomer recorded the object was 2 - 3 times as large as the disc of Venus and about one quarter the brightness of the moon. The supernova was probably the brightest star ever seen by humans, visible even during the day for weeks, and it remained visible to the naked eye for at least two and a half years before fading away. Remnants of this supernova are still visible to telescopes, and the Hubble Space Telescope captured this close-up a filament of the shock wave of the explosion, still reverberating through space, seen here against the grid of background stars. The full image of SN 1006 is pretty impressive, too?

(...)Read the rest of Hubble Does Independence Day With Stars and Stripe (282 words)

© Nancy Atkinson for Universe Today, 2008. | Permalink | 17 comments | Add to del.icio.us digg Who's linking ? Technorati BlogPulse Google Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Hubble.

GLAST Powers Up (Universe Today)

Where In The Universe Challenge #10 — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:51:36+0100

The GLAST (Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope) spacecraft blasted off on June 11, 2008, and after acclimating to the cold reaches of space, the instruments on board are now powering up and have sent back signals to Earth indicating that all systems are operational. Meanwhile back on Earth, several bases of operations for the telescope are gearing up for processing data from the various instruments.

(...)Read the rest of GLAST Powers Up (280 words)

Forget Neutron Stars, Quark Stars Might be the Densest Bodies in the Universe (Universe Today)

Solar Sail To Launch This Summer — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:22:36+0100

So neutron stars may not be the densest exotic objects in the cosmos after all. Recent observations of ultra-luminous supernovae suggest that these explosions may create an even more exotic remnant. Neutron stars can form after a star ends its life; measuring only 16 km across, these small but massive objects (one and a half times the mass of the Sun) may become too big for the structure of neutrons to hold it together. What happens if the structures of the neutrons inside a neutron star collapse? Quark stars (a.k.a. "Strange" stars) may be the result, smaller and denser than neutron stars, possibly explaining some abnormally bright supernovae observed recently…

(...)Read the rest of Forget Neutron Stars, Quark Stars Might be the Densest Bodies in the Universe (342 words)

© Ian O'Neill for Universe Today, 2008. | Permalink | 23 comments | Add to del.icio.us digg Who's linking ? Technorati BlogPulse Google Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Astronomy, Physics.

Explosive Spacewalk? (Universe Today)

International Group Studies Mars Sample Return Mission — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:38:25+0100

Explosive bolts that help detach the Russian Soyuz capsule from the International Space Station may be the source of the problems the spacecraft has encountered during the last two landings. Investigative space journalist and Jim Oberg at MSNBC, who is one of the best experts on the inner workings of the Russian space program recently wrote a very interesting article detailing Russian engineers' plans to fix the problem: have two Russian cosmonauts conduct a spacewalk on July 10 to remove one of the explosive bolts and bring it inside the space station. The bolts, Oberg says, packs twice the explosive force of an M-80 firecracker when ignited, and the cosmonauts will be handling the bolts directly during what will be a very delicate, if not dramatic, operation.

(...)Read the rest of Explosive Spacewalk? (253 words)

© Nancy Atkinson for Universe Today, 2008. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us digg Who's linking ? Technorati BlogPulse Google Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under NASA, Space Station.

Cosmic Mystery: NGC 7008 by Dietmar Hager (Universe Today)

Forget Neutron Stars, Quark Stars Might be the Densest Bodies in the Universe — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:58:11+0100

Over the weeks we've taken a look at some very curious objects which have often raised some wonderful questions. One such question dealt with what could be observed should a supernova event involve a planetary system. In this case, it's not quite the explosive mass destruction scenario - but a planetary nebula that consumed its planets…

(...)Read the rest of Cosmic Mystery: NGC 7008 by Dietmar Hager (1,024 words)

© Tammy Plotner for Universe Today, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us digg Who's linking ? Technorati BlogPulse Google Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Astronomy, Astrophotos.

Cassini Primary Mission Complete; Ready to Tackle New Assignments (Universe Today)

Cosmic Mystery: NGC 7008 by Dietmar Hager — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:13:36+0100

Saturn?s gorgeous rings. Geysers on Enceladus. Methane lakes on Titan. These are just a few of the images that stand out from the Cassini mission?s four year survey of Saturn and its remarkable system of rings and moons. On June 30 the Cassini spacecraft completes its primary mission at the ringed planet, and now will embark on an extended two year mission, with hopes of studying more closely the most intriguing targets, Titan and Enceladus and the interaction between Saturn?s icy moons and rings.

(...)Read the rest of Cassini Primary Mission Complete; Ready to Tackle New Assignments (346 words)

Canada to build World's First Asteroid-hunting Satellite (Universe Today)

"Almost Perfect" Samples are Scraped From Mars Surface For Analysis — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:27:32+0100

Just yesterday (June 30th) was the 100-year anniversary of the Tunguska event, when a small piece of ice or rock exploded in the air near the Podkammenaya Tungus river in Siberia, flattening trees and scaring the heck out of people in the surrounding area. Thankfully, the blast didn't happen in a populated area and nobody was killed, but there are many more pieces of debris floating around out there in space. If we want to do something about an asteroid headed our way, or keep astronauts safe from space debris, knowing is half the battle. Thanks to a new microsatellite being built by the Canadian Space Agency, we will soon have a better map of the objects surrounding the Earth's orbit.

(...)Read the rest of Canada to build World's First Asteroid-hunting Satellite (364 words)

© Nicholos Wethington for Universe Today, 2008. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us digg Who's linking ? Technorati BlogPulse Google Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Asteroids, Satellites.

Aldrin Warns that NASA will fall Behind Russia and China in Space Exploration (Universe Today)

Hubble Does Independence Day With Stars and Stripe — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:56:12+0100

The world knows the huge potential China and Russia have for space exploration. Russia is maintaining a strong presence in space with their sturdy Soyuz program and China has set its sights on having their very first "taikonaut" EVA at the end of this year. But where does this leave NASA? The US space agency has spearheaded the exploration of space for the last 50 years, but amongst all the talk about NASA setbacks, overspending and delays, could the glory days be coming to an abrupt end? In May, the legendary astronaut John Glenn spoke out against Shuttle decommissioning and last week, US Senator Bill Nelson called a meeting at Cape Canaveral to raise concerns about announced job cuts in 2010. Now, the most famous NASA ex-employee and second man on the Moon, Buzz Aldrin has voiced warnings that the US could lose its grip on space and begin to be left behind by Russia and China…

(...)Read the rest of Aldrin Warns that NASA will fall Behind Russia and China in Space Exploration (535 words)

© Ian O'Neill for Universe Today, 2008. | Permalink | 33 comments | Add to del.icio.us digg Who's linking ? Technorati BlogPulse Google Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under NASA, Space Exploration.

"Starlight Zone" Interview Now Online (Universe Today)

Universe Today — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 17:00:01+0100

The interview that I (Nancy) did with the "Starlight Zone" radio show from station 2NUR FM in Newcastle, Australia back on June 19 is now online (or just listen below). It's only five minutes long, so if you need a short diversion to your day…. We talked about the concept of a one-way trip to Mars and the Phoenix mission.

Col Maybury, who does the show was a very fun guy to talk with. Check out all the past interviews he's done with various "spacey" people on 2NUR's "Starlight Zone" website.

G'day!