Mel's Arecibo Adventure Oct 16, 2009
Even though an affirms that the observatory provides "unmatched precision and accuracy" in detecting asteroids or comets that could hit the Earth, as things stand now there'll be no more money to fund Arecibo's unique radar capability after fiscal year 2010 ... She helps visiting astronomers get the most from their runs, and when time permits she studies the surface compositions of asteroids by observing their visible and near-infrared spectra. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
Asteroid Is Actually A Protoplanet, Study Of First High-resolution Images Of Pallas Confirms Oct 14, 2009
Pallas, like its sister asteroids Ceres and Vesta, was that rare thing: an intact protoplanet ... "We think of these large asteroids not only as the building blocks of planets but as a chance to look at planet formation frozen in time." ... The massive body is unique, she said, partly because "its orbit is so much different from other asteroids. It's highly inclined.". (Science Daily)
Less Ado About Apophis Oct 11, 2009
The problem is that when asteroids rotate, their orbits change due to a subtle phenomenon, called the whose consequences for impact predictions have only recently been appreciated. Spin an asteroid one way, and its orbit gets bigger; spin it the other way, and the orbit gets smaller. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
2nd largest asteroid in Solar System protoplanet Oct 11, 2009
"We think of these large asteroids not only as the building blocks of planets but as a chance to look at planet formation frozen in time." ... They were unable to determine if it was a crater, but the depression did suggest something else important: that it could have led to Pallas' small family of asteroids orbiting in space. (Xinhuanet, China)
Water Discovery on Moon Surface Spurs India's $2.5 Billion Lunar Ambition Oct 9, 2009
The U.S. plans to return to the moon by 2020, although President is considering other options such as landings on asteroids. NASA today plans to crash a rocket into a crater near the moons south pole in the search for frozen water. (Bloomberg -- Australia & New Zealand)
New Aluminum-water Rocket Propellant Promising For Future Space Missions Oct 9, 2009
Findings from spacecraft indicate the presence of water on Mars and the moon, and water also may exist on asteroids, other moons and bodies in space, said Son, who also has a courtesy appointment as an associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics. The tiny size of the aluminum particles, which have a diameter of about 80 nanometers, or billionths of a meter, is key to the propellant's performance. (Science Daily)
NASA downgrades threat of asteroid Oct 8, 2009
The science of predicting asteroid orbits is based on a physical model of the solar system which includes the gravitational influence of the sun, moon, other planets and the three largest asteroids. NASA detects and tracks asteroids and comets passing close to Earth using both ground and space-based telescopes. (Xinhuanet, China)
> read more Oct 7, 2009
3 crashed into Earth one year ago. But they've made the most of the strange black fragments of it that fell to the ground that day. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
Dirty Stars Make Good Solar System Hosts Oct 7, 2009
6, 2009) Some stars are lonely behemoths, with no surrounding planets or asteroids, while others sport a skirt of attendant planetary bodies ... 20, 2009) Astronomers have found that at least 1 in 100 white dwarf stars show evidence of orbiting asteroids and rocky planets, suggesting these objects once hosted solar systems similar to our. (Science Daily)
Rocket Smash Could Find Moon’s Water Ice, Expert Says Oct 7, 2009
The cratered surface of the Moon shows it has a history of violent collisions with asteroids and comets. Such collisions frequently occur, but the difference is that this time we know precisely where and when to look. (Science Daily)
Water Lust: Why All the Excitement When H2O Is Found in Space? Oct 5, 2009
Observational evidence suggests that water as a solid, liquid or gas is present at the poles of Mercury, within the thick clouds of Venus, on , inside asteroids and comets, and on Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Scientists also have speculated that Jupiter's moons , Ganymede and Callisto have vast subsurface oceans of liquid water. (Scientific American)
SARS spurs China to act on AIDS Oct 5, 2009
A major new telescope to spot dangerous asteroids and comets, called Pan-STARRS, is being taken offline to fix image-quality problems. 18:00 01 October 2009. (Yahoo News -- SARS)
On moonless nights, look for the not-so-bright sights among stars Oct 3, 2009
With this setup, the telescope can image selected bright objects, such as asteroids and double stars, almost as sharply as Hubble can do from space. Near the 100-inch telescope, astronomers have also built a cutting-edge new instrument for much sharper measurements. (Boston Globe)
Quick Rebound From Marine Mass Extinction Oct 3, 2009
(June 16, 2008) If you are curious about Earth's periodic mass extinction events such as the sudden demise of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, you might consider crashing asteroids and sky-darkening super. (Apr. (Science Daily)
The Humid Moon Sep 30, 2009
Usually cosmic chemists invoke the comets and water-rich asteroids that occasionally strike the Moon. Some of the resulting water vapor becomes infused in the dusty lunar regolith, the thinking goes, with most of it ending up at the dark, cold poles. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
MESSENGER Spacecraft Prepares For Final Pass By Mercury Sep 30, 2009
28, 2009) NASA's Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging spacecraft known as MESSENGER will fly by Mercury for the third and final time on Sept. 29. The spacecraft will pass less than 142 miles above the planet's rocky surface for a final gravity assist that will enable it to enter Mercury's orbit in 2011. (Science Daily)
New moons on the horizon Sep 30, 2009
Then there are 104 moons associated with asteroids and 58 with various objects beyond Neptune, mostly in the Kuiper Belt. Since 2000, 47 new moons of Jupiter and 43 of Saturn have been discovered. (India Times, India -- Health/Science)
Scientists Plan Against Asteroid Attacks Sep 25, 2009
Rapid-survey telescopes discover thousands of asteroids every year, but there's something very particular about this one ... The exercise, which took place in December 2008, exposed the chilling dangers asteroids pose ... We have barely begun to track down the millions of skyscraper-sized asteroids zipping around Earth's neighbourhood, any one of which could unleash as much destructive power as a nuclear bomb on impact. (Newsmax)
Spitzer spots swirling clump of planetary stuff Sep 25, 2009
This is known as a transitional disc and over time is replaced by a disc made up of debris resulting from more dramatic collisions between asteroids, comets and planets. The warm glow of the transitional discs can be detected by Spitzer and used to map out their morphology. (Astronomy Now Online)
Water Found on Moon, Probes Report Sep 25, 2009
Pieters figures there are three possibilities: It came from comets or asteroids that crashed into the moon, those crashes freed up trapped water from below the surface, or the solar wind carries hydrogen atoms that binds with oxygen in the dirt ... If it is the solar wind, that also means that other places without atmosphere in our solar system, such as Mercury or asteroids, can also have bits of water, Sunshine said. (CBS News)
Water on moon, Mars exceeds forecast Sep 25, 2009
If the solar wind hypothesis is true, Sunshine said, it suggests that the same process might form water on other oxygen-rich bodies without atmospheres in the inner solar system, including Mercury and many asteroids. Later Thursday, scientists reported discoveries made with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which launched from Cape Canaveral in August 2005. (Florida Today)
Twin Keck Telescopes Probe Dual Dust Disks Sep 25, 2009
"Our new observations suggest 51 Ophiuchi is a beautiful protoplanetary system with a cloud of dust from comets and asteroids extremely close to its parent star," said Marc Kuchner, an astronomer at Goddard and a member of the research team ... Much of the dust in our solar system forms inward of Jupiter's orbit, as comets crumble near the sun and asteroids of all sizes collide. (Science Daily)
Clump Of Swirling Planetary Material Spotted Sep 24, 2009
Over time, this disk fades and a new type of disk emerges, made up of debris from collisions between planets, asteroids and comets. Ultimately, a more settled, mature solar system like our own forms. (Science Daily)
Cosmic Ninjas: In Search Of Dark Asteroids Sep 22, 2009
In Search Of Dark Asteroids (And Other Sneaky Things) ... In Search Of Dark Asteroids (And Other Sneaky Things) ... WISE will scan the entire sky at infrared wavelengths, creating the most comprehensive catalog yet of dark and dim objects in the cosmos: vast dust clouds, brown dwarf stars, asteroids -- even large, nearby asteroids that might pose a threat to Earth. (Science Daily)
Individuals In Vegetative States Can Learn Sep 21, 2009
A NASA mission to two asteroids, one formed of lava and the other potentially containing water, will help find clues about the formation of our solar. . (Science Daily)
Chinks In ISS Armour Deliver Data On Space Junk Impacts Sep 18, 2009
Asteroids and comets leave trails of fine dust behind them while solid rocket boosters often used to transfer satellites into higher orbits spray out fine droplets of aluminium oxide. Second in the DEBIE series. (Science Daily)
Jupiter Captured Comet For 12 Years In Mid-20th Century Sep 16, 2009
An international team led by Dr Katsuhito Ohtsuka modelled the trajectories of 18 quasi-Hilda comets," objects with the potential to go through a temporary satellite capture by Jupiter that results in them either leaving or joining the Hilda group of objects in the asteroid belt. Most of the cases of temporary capture were flybys, where the comets did not complete a full orbit. However, Dr Ohtsuka s team used recent observations tracking Kushida-Muramatsu over nine years to calculate hundreds of... (Science Daily)
House members criticize NASA report, propose boosting agency's budget Sep 16, 2009
In a summary report issued earlier this month, the committee recommended relying on private rocket companies as a cheaper way of reaching the space station, abandoning Ares I and revising NASA's planned Ares V rocket to take humans and cargo to asteroids and eventually Mars. Augustine, who sat calmly as committee members lit into his panel's work, said the group was asked to recommend options and that continuing Constellation was one of them. (Honolulu Advertiser)
Saint-Exupery's Humane Imagination Sep 16, 2009
A prince emerges from a far away planet and tells him about his travels through the asteroids. There the prince met six characters: a king; a conceited individual desperate to be admired; a drunkard who drinks to forget that he is ashamed of drinking; a businessman who claims to own over 501 million stars; a lamplighter; and a geographer who never leaves his office to see the beauty of the world. (The American Conservative)
Largest-ever Collection Of Coins From Period Of Revolt Against Romans Found In Judean Hills Sep 16, 2009
15, 2009) The largest cache of rare coins ever found in a scientific excavation from the period of the Bar-Kokhba revolt of the Jews against the Romans has been discovered in a cave by researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Bar-Ilan University. The coins were discovered in three batches in a deep cavern located in a nature reserve in the Judean hills. (Science Daily)
Gotcha! Jupiter turned comet into a moon Sep 15, 2009
Asteroids and comets can sometimes be distorted or fragmented by tidal effects induced by the gravitational field of a capturing planet, or may even impact with the planet. The most famous victim of both these effects was comet D/1993 F2 (Shoemaker-Levy 9), which was torn apart on passing close to Jupiter and whose fragments then in 1994. (MSNBC -- Technology)
Space: Flying high Sep 15, 2009
This might involve sending people to the moon, but might also involve visiting asteroids and other places of interest. In other words, human exploration of the solar system does not have to be fixed doggedly on the moon first and Mars later. (The Economist)
Expert panel: NASA can't afford moon plan Sep 11, 2009
Instead, the panel emphasized what it called a "flexible path" of exploring near-Earth objects such as asteroids or the moons of Mars, then landing on the moon after other exploration. "There's a lot of places in the neighborhood," Crawley said. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Science)
Human space travel deserves a prepaid ticket Sep 10, 2009
The panel, consisting of aerospace experts, suggests a range of options for long-distance travel in space, such as skipping the planned moon station for landings on asteroids instead ... If that underfunding persists, the panel suggests a "flexible path" of landing first on asteroids or on Mars's moons. (Christian Science Monitor)
Shooting the moon may have to wait Sep 10, 2009
The panel proposed a variety of options to make the cost more manageable, including skipping the moon altogether in favor of a "flexible path" of exploring near-Earth asteroids and the Martian moons. It also suggested bypassing the intermediate Ares I rocket, slated for its initial test launch this fall, and going directly to development of the larger Ares V planned for the moon landing. (Montana Standard, MT)
Presidential panel calls for expanded business role in space exploration Sep 10, 2009
It recommended a strategy of exploring space beyond the moon by choosing objects such as asteroids or Martian moons for astronauts to reach to gain practice at manned and robotic exploration in advance of trying to land on the surface of Mars. gavery@bizjournals. (Denver Business Journal, CO)
4 55 Open Source Apps Transforming Education Sep 10, 2009
When possible, it uses actual photographs of planets, asteroids, and other objects, so that you can see what they really look like. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.. (Datamation)
Our views: The bold course Sep 10, 2009
Members also said Mars should be NASAs ultimate human destination, but the capability doesnt exist to get there, so the near-term focus should be on missions that could result in moon visits or sending crews to land on asteroids. But hanging over those options was the panels inescapable truth. (Florida Today)
Panel: Space goals need $3 billion more a year Sep 9, 2009
It doesn't rule out sustained exploration of the moon but also favors sending astronauts to asteroids and to the moons of Mars. What really bothered the committee, however, was Obama's plan to slash NASA's moon-exploration budget in the coming years. (USA Today -- Tech)
White House report says return to moon not viable Sep 9, 2009
Another option would start by building up overall capabilities in human spaceflight, and then turn attention to landings on the moon, Mars or other destinations such as near-Earth asteroids and Martian moons (the "Flexible Path" option). The panel tended to emphasize the Flexible Path option. (MSNBC -- Technology)
Panel says NASA can’t afford to go back to moon Sep 9, 2009
Instead, the panel emphasized what it called a flexible path of exploring near-Earth objects such as asteroids, the moons of Mars, and then landing on the moon after other exploration. The panel also said that the space shuttle should continue flying until early 2011 to finish all its space station work and that it can t realistically retire by Oct. 1, 2010 as the Bush administration planned. (Boston Globe)
Full moon Friday: What you can see Sep 5, 2009
The lighter areas are mostly cratered highlands, where relatively recent asteroids have crashed into the moon's surface, exposing bright rock beneath the surface. The on the moon, on the left side, is actually called an "ocean": the Oceanus Procellarum or Ocean of Storms. (MSNBC -- Technology)
Phobos-Grunt Probe to Put Microbial Life in Mars Orbit Sep 2, 2009
Researchers think Phobos and its even smaller companion Deimos started out as asteroids that were gravitationally pulled into Mars's orbit. Space agencies would like to know whether the moons' porous interiors harbor water that could be exploited by future visitors to Mars. (Scientific American)
British plan to tackle asteroids Sep 1, 2009
A team of British scientists are developing plans for a spacecraft that could stop large asteroids from destroying the Earth ... The tractor would steer asteroids away from the Earth ... NASA's Near Earth Object Programme reports on its website that it has recorded 1068 known "Potentially Hazardous Asteroids", however there are thousands more estimated to be present in space. (BBC News -- Technology)
Infrared eye to help search for asteroids Sep 1, 2009
Among its targets: dark asteroids that have slipped beneath the radar of an ongoing project to map objects larger than 1 kilometer that orbit near Earth. Hunting asteroids wasn't in the original plan for the , which arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California this month for launch preparations ... "I was recruited when the team realized they would be seeing a lot of asteroids, some of which may be new," said University of Texas astronomer Robert McMillan who leads Spacewatch, an... (MSNBC -- Technology)
Out of This World Sep 1, 2009
The competition has three categories, including deep space, Earth and space and the solar system, which encapsulates the Sun, the planets, moons, asteroids and comets. Deep spaces images, not surprisingly, are the most difficult to capture. (Fox News)
'Gravity tractor' to save earth from asteroids Aug 31, 2009
Gradually the gravity tractor will be able to change the asteroids path and thus make sure it misses the earth. According to rough estimates of the American space agency NASA, there are more than 100,000 asteroids orbiting near the Earth and have the capacity to destroy cities ... The team believes the craft could successfully divert the course of asteroids up to 430 yards across, which can release 100,000 times more than the Hiroshima bomb. (India Times, India)
A spacecraft that can prevent Armageddon Aug 31, 2009
According to the scientists, the spacecraft could divert asteroids that are up to 430 yards across big enough to release 100,000 times more energy than the nuclear bomb dropped by the US on Hiroshima in 1945 ... These asteroids are hurtling around our solar system at 10km per second, so when you scale that up, you just need a tiny nudge to send it off course, he added. (India Times, India -- Health/Science)
Extrasolar Hot Jupiter: The Planet That 'Shouldn’t Exist' Aug 28, 2009
25, 2007) The traditional belief that Jupiter acts as a celestial shield, deflecting asteroids and comets away from the inner solar system, has been challenged by the first in a series of studies evaluating. (Dec. (Science Daily)
Were Asteroids Born Big? Aug 27, 2009
com - News from Sky & Telescope - Were Asteroids Born Big ... Were Asteroids Born Big ... This tally of all known main-belt asteroids at least 10 miles (15 km) across shows that there's a telltale "hump" in the distribution at diameters near 100 km. A. Morbidelli s / Icarus Morbidelli ackled the question by developing new software to model the outcomes of colliding planetesimals (do they stick together, or shatter and scatter. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
Five Amateurs Win Comet Prize Aug 26, 2009
Robert Holmes, profiled , runs a sophisticated patrol for near-Earth asteroids from his home in Charleston, Illinois. Don't confuse his find with another Comet Holmes the one that literally burst into view in. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
Young Arctic Muskoxen Better At Keeping Warm Than Scientists Thought Aug 25, 2009
25, 2009) A new study finds that young muskoxen conserve heat almost as well as adults, a finding that runs contrary to a longstanding assumption among scientists that young animals should be more vulnerable in extreme cold. The study, by biologist Adam Munn from the University of Sydney, Australia, will be published in the forthcoming issue of Physiological and Biochemical Zoology. (Science Daily)
Stopwatch found for Solar System Aug 25, 2009
"And what is interesting is that they've shown that these building blocks for asteroids, and possibly for planets as well, formed over an extended period of two to three million years.". Bookmark with. (BBC News -- Science)
Seeing The Cosmos Through 'Warm' Infrared Eyes Aug 21, 2009
Warm Spitzer will address many of the same science questions as before, while tackling new projects, such as: refining estimates of Hubble's constant, or the rate at which our universe is stretching apart; searching for galaxies at the edge of the universe; characterizing more than 700 near-Earth objects, or asteroids and comets with orbits that pass close to our planet; and studying the atmospheres of gas-giant planets expected to be discovered soon by NASA's Kepler mission. As was true during... (Science Daily)
LHS student, future astronomer, visits institute Aug 20, 2009
Students were able to study asteroids, solar flares, black holes, and more. Slosar is a junior at Lexington High School. (Lexington Minuteman, MA)
NASA to launch infrared survey explorer in December Aug 18, 2009
Orbiting around Earth, WISE will scan the entire sky at infrared wavelengths, unveiling hundreds of thousands of asteroids, and hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies, according to NASA. ... It will find hundreds of thousands of new asteroids in our main asteroid belt, and hundreds of near-Earth objects, which are comets and asteroids with orbits that pass relatively close to Earth. (Xinhuanet, China)
Space Panel: Moon, Mars Out of Reach Aug 18, 2009
More economical and potentially more galvanizing to the public would be flights to asteroids and other destinations, it said. The ultimate goal of future U.S. endeavors should be excursions to Mars, but the money and technologies needed to do so are not currently available, the panel said. (Newsmax)
Life's Building Block Discovered In Comet Aug 18, 2009
First Discovery Of Life's Building Block In Comet. First Discovery Of Life's Building Block In Comet. (Science Daily)
It's time to re-evaluate NASA missions Aug 17, 2009
The agency's focus on the manned space program should be reoriented toward more pressing needs, such as the deflection of asteroids, and NASA should seriously reconsider leading the search for extraterrestrial life outside our solar system ... Second, NASA's new priorities should include the development of the means to detect and deflect asteroids that might impact Earth ... Since 1994, NASA has funded programs to search for asteroids that might hit Earth, but the effort has been on the back... (Herald Online, SC -- Opinion)
NASA's mission about to change Aug 16, 2009
The agency's focus on the manned space program should be reoriented toward more pressing needs, such as the deflection of asteroids and NASA should seriously reconsider leading the search for extraterrestrial life outside our solar system ... Second, NASA's new priorities should also include the development of the means to detect and deflect asteroids that might impact Earth ... Since 1994, NASA has funded programs to search for asteroids that might hit Earth, but the effort has been on the back... (Juneau Empire)
LOOKING UP: Meteors raining down this week Aug 15, 2009
They come from either disintegrated asteroids or the melt-down of comets. The swarm of meteors follow the old path of the asteroid or comet. (Medfield Press, MA)
NASA Struggles To Protect Earth Fro... Aug 15, 2009
NASA Struggles To Protect Earth From Asteroids. NASA Struggles To Protect Earth From Asteroids ... A congressionally assigned mission given to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration that would protect the earth from dangerously large asteroids is not in use. (Suite101.com)
Binge Drinking Affects Attention And Working Memory In Young University Students Aug 15, 2009
Astronomy students looking for supernovae examined photographs and found asteroids. They used both unaided eyes and computer analysis to identify the. (Science Daily)
NO FOR NASA: PANEL SAYS MAN ON MOON OUT OF REACH FOR 20 YEARS... Aug 15, 2009
NASA's moon plan too ambitious, Obama panel says - Nation - MiamiHerald (The Drudge Report)
SARS spurs China to act on AIDS Aug 14, 2009
Existing surveys are designed to gradually build up a catalogue of potential impactors, not to watch out for asteroids that are days or weeks from a collision. GALLERY: 16:07 12 August 2009. (Yahoo News -- SARS)
