Two Earth-sized Oxygen-Rich Stars Nov 13, 2009
(June 21, 2007) The world is abuzz with the discovery of an extrasolar, Earthlike planet around the star Gliese 581 that is relatively close to our Earth at 20 light years away in the constellation Libra. Scientists. (Science Daily)
Middleweight Black Hole: Swift, XMM-Newton Satellites Tune Into X-ray Source Nov 11, 2009
8 million light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. Using the European Space Agency's orbiting XMM-Newton observatory, Strohmayer and Mushotzky studied the source -- known as NGC 5408 X-1 -- in 2006 and 2008. (Science Daily)
Wild solar system spotted around distant star Nov 11, 2009
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope captured this infrared image of a giant halo of very fine dust around the young star HR 8799, located 129 light-years away in the constellation Pegasus. The brightest parts of this dust cloud (yellow-white) likely come from the outer cold disk similar to our own Kuiper belt (beyond Neptune's orbit). (MSNBC -- Technology)
Supernova Mystery Solved Nov 11, 2009
The object in questions is Cas A (rhymes with pass) a glowing wreath of energized gas that was discovered years ago in the constellation Cassiopeia. Cas A was created when a massive star reached the end of its nuclear rope about three centuries ago and proceeded to blow itself to smithereens. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
It's All Semantics: Searching for an Intuitive Internet That Knows What Is Said--And Meant Nov 10, 2009
I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN: Rensselaer Polytech Tetherless World Constellation researchers are working on a software development tool kit they hope will help usher in the Semantic Web, an approach proposes to create a more intelligent Internet infrastructure that can assign meaning to the concepts being searched and, to some degree, have an understanding of the researcher's intent. ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/ANDREY PROKHOROV. (Scientific American)
A Non-Traditional View Nov 9, 2009
Issue date: 11/4/09 Section. This week, Frank Weld, a non-traditional student at the University of North Carolina Wilmington offers readers his unique take on life on campus. (The Seahawk, NC)
Star Birth In The Southern Pinwheel Nov 8, 2009
Located 15 million light-years away in the constellation Hydra, M83 is two times closer to Earth than M51. Adapted from materials provided by. (Science Daily)
Gigantic, chilly Jupiter has its peers across the universe Nov 7, 2009
Exit door for souls We see Jupiter this year against the foreground of the constellation Capricornus, which is as dim as Jupiter is bright ... Capricornus is one of the earliest known constellations ... Actually, the Platonists picked this spot for the fact that Capricornus was (at the time) the southernmost constellation of the zodiac. (Boston Globe)
Ares I test docket ramped up at KSC Nov 7, 2009
"What we, of course, are trying to do is craft a flight-test program that gives us the most value and retires as much risk as we can," NASA Project Constellation Manager Jeff Hanley said Thursday. NASA would "build up a cadence of flying that would inform what we are doing, but is not so late in the development," he said. (Florida Today)
Repaired Hubble showcases Southern Pinwheel Nov 7, 2009
M83 is located 15 million light-years away in the southern constellation Hydra. 2010 Yearbook. (Astronomy Now Online)
> read more Nov 7, 2009
Look low in the east around 9 or 10 p.m., and you'll see the bright winter constellation Orion already on the rise ... The waning Moon, meanwhile, is shining well to Orion's left in the middle of the constellation Gemini, as shown at right ... Learn your way around the constellations. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
Rapid Supernova: New Class Of Exploding Star? Nov 6, 2009
The supernova was detected in 2002 in the galaxy NGC 1821, in the constellation Lepus, by Filippenko's Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope (KAIT) at Lick Observatory near San Jose as well as by amateur astronomers ... (June 27, 2007) In just the past six weeks, two supernovae have flared up in an obscure galaxy in the constellation Hercules. (Science Daily)
Study reveals identity of a puzzling star Nov 5, 2009
Cassiopeia A, a remnant of the explosion of a star that once shone brightly, is thought to be just 330 years old based on observations of the constellation in which it sits by Britain's first Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed, in 1680. Astronomers didn't get their first actual up-close glimpse of the core remnant, which lies about 11,000 light-years away, until 1999, when the imaged. (MSNBC -- Technology)
Counting downNASAs uncertain future Nov 5, 2009
Gabrielle Giffords an Arizona Democrat who is married to an astronaut and chairs the House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee said the report confirmed her view that the Ares rocket project and other aspects of NASA's Constellation program were "well-managed" and "executable" as long as enough resources were provided. Giffords cited last week's Ares I-X prototype test flight as further confirmation that NASA was "on track with its human space exploration program.". (MSNBC -- Technology)
Shuttle launch dress rehearsal wraps up amid uncertainty Nov 4, 2009
The most important thing we can do to ensure we have a promising future is to continue to deliver on what we've said we are going to do now: to continue to safely fly the Shuttle, to complete the International Space Station, to procure expendable rockets for NASA science missions, and to meet our commitments to the Exploration Mission Directorate and Constellation Program by delivering a quality product, on time and under budget. We are on the right track. (Florida Today)
This Week's Sky at a Glance Nov 4, 2009
Look low in the east around 9 or 10 p.m. (depending on where you live in your time zone), and you'll see the bright winter constellation Orion already on the rise ... Learn your way around the constellations ... For an easy-to-use constellation guide covering the whole evening sky, use the big monthly map in the center of each issue of , the essential magazine of astronomy. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
MORE JOBS FROM CAREERBUILDER.COM Nov 4, 2009
com - CareerBuilder - Jobs. Email Address or Password is Invalid Email Address. (Florida Today)
New images proof of moon landing Nov 3, 2009
That looks unlikely as NASA's Constellation Project to land astronauts on the Moon suffers from delays and cutback due to the US recession. Source. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Technology)
NASA's Fermi Telescope Detects Gamma Rays From 'Star Factories' In Other Galaxies Nov 3, 2009
Located 170,000 light-years away in the southern constellation Dorado, the LMC is the largest of several small satellite galaxies that orbit our own ... He is also a member of the science team for VERITAS, an array of gamma-ray telescopes in Arizona that detected M82, which lies 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. (Science Daily)
Skywatch: Leonid meteor shower Nov 3, 2009
Along with the mythologically related constellations of Pegasus, Andromeda, Perseus and Cassiopeia, all of which appear high in the eastern and northeastern sky during the evenings, November features prominent planets and a famous meteor shower ... Leonids may appear in any part of the sky, but seem to radiate out of the constellation Leo, which is in the east before sunrise. (AZCentral -- Travel)
Strong Leonid meteor showers expected Nov 3, 2009
The Leonid radiant is within the so-called "Sickle" of Leo; a backwards question-mark pattern of stars that outlines the head and mane of the constellation Leo, the Lion. Hence the meteors are known as "Leonids.". (MSNBC -- Technology)
Origin Of Cosmic Rays: VERITAS Telescopes Help Solve 100-year-old Mystery Nov 3, 2009
VERITAS has found new evidence for cosmic rays in the "Cigar Galaxy," also known as Messier 82 (M82), which is located 12 million light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Ursa Major. "This discovery has been predicted for almost 20 years, but until now no instrument was sensitive enough to see it," said Wystan Benbow, an astrophysicist at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. (Science Daily)
Looking Up: Answer the quiz, you might win a free star chart Nov 2, 2009
Here s your opportunity to win a rotating star map, which shows the evening sky for different seasons and will aid you in identifying the constellations ... The star chart is a planisphere containing a disc with all the constellations printed, and the North Star right by the center ... Which winter constellation is known for its three stars making up its belt. (Belmont Citizen Herald, MA)
Leonids meteors light up November skies Nov 1, 2009
Meteors usually appear to come from one specific point in the sky, something astronomers call the "radiant." Because of this, meteor showers are named for the constellation in which the radiant lies. In the case of the Leonids, the radiant is in the constellation Leo the Lion ... During November, Jupiter is clearly visible in the south in the constellation Capricornus. (Casper Star-Tribune, WY)
Faulty Chutes Led to Ares Moon Rocket Damage Oct 31, 2009
Ares I, part of NASA's Constellation program, is currently under review by the White House. The test rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a six-minute fact-finding flight. (Fox News)
Halloween sky will offer its own Great Pumpkin Oct 31, 2009
It's also unusual in that it shines brighter than any of the individual stars in the its constellation, Cancer ... It is Latin for "manger" and relates to an alternate version of the constellation Cancer, where two nearby stars, Asellus Borealis and Asellus Australis, are named for donkeys, gathered around the central manger. (MSNBC -- Technology)
NASA moon rocket completes first test flight Oct 30, 2009
"Oh, man. Well, how impressive is that," said Jeff Hanley, manager of NASA's space frontier program, known as Constellation. "You've accomplished a great step forward for exploration," he told launch controllers. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Science)
Opening Up A Colorful Cosmic Jewel Box Oct 30, 2009
One of the most spectacular nestles deep in the southern skies near the Southern Cross in the constellation of Crux. See also. (Science Daily)
NASA Launches Ares I-X Test Flight Oct 29, 2009
"Oh, man. Well, how impressive is that," said Jeff Hanley, manager of NASA's space frontier program, known as Constellation ... It was also the first launching in NASA's post-Columbia Constellation program, which calls for development of manned and unmanned Ares rockets, Orion crew capsules and landers designed to support Antarctica-style moon bases in the 2020s, Harwood reports ... But the Obama administration is re-evaluating NASA's manned space program and whether it makes sense to return to... (CBS News)
Show Transcript: October 29 Oct 29, 2009
We're talking about NASA and its Constellation program, which includes the new Ares I-X rocket. That's the one. (CNN -- US)
NASA tests next-generation rocket Oct 29, 2009
Ares and Orion are part of Constellation, NASA's grand program to send astronauts back to the Moon by 2020, and then perhaps to Mars and other destinations. Wednesday's launch represented the first step in NASA's effort to return astronauts to the moon. (Xinhuanet, China)
Clouds break; NASA launches rocket Oct 29, 2009
Critics have criticized the Ares I, which would be the first Constellation rocket to fly, as too expensive and technically flawed. Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company. (Boston Globe)
NASA's Ares I-X Rocket Completes Successful Flight Test Oct 29, 2009
The Ares I-X efforts are led by the Ares I-X mission management office of the Constellation Program, based at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, and NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate in Washington. NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland designed and built the vehicle's upper stage mass simulator. (Science Daily)
The Ares Liftoff: Learning from Space Shuttle Mistakes Oct 29, 2009
Ares I is part of a family of new rockets in NASA's Constellation program, which was propelled by former President George W. Bush's 2005 space initiative to go to Mars or back to the moon ... A report delivered to the White House on Oct. 22 from the Human Space Flights Plan Committee said the Constellation program's goals were underfunded. (Time.com)
Does the Final Frontier Have a Future? Debating America's Next Steps in Human Space Flight Oct 29, 2009
The afternoon's second panel, "Heavy Lift and Exploration Beyond Low Earth Orbit," will be moderated by Roger D. Launius, senior curator for the division of space history at the Smithsonian Institute's National Air and Space Museum, and will feature Stephen Metschan, co-founder of the DIRECT shuttle derived heavy-lift vehicle team; Douglas Stanley, principal research engineer, Georgia Institute of Technology; and a representative from NASA's Constellation program office. Edward Crawley, Ford... (NASA Watch)
NASA launches test rocket on second try Oct 29, 2009
The president is currently reviewing the report and is expected to make a decision soon about whether to proceed with the Constellation program, which includes Ares I, or take the agency in a new direction. The report suggested that President Obama consider giving up on Ares I and instead urging private industry to step in and design a low-earth orbit vehicle for humans. (MSNBC -- Technology)
NASA launches Ares rocket Oct 29, 2009
It was the first flight test for the Constellation Program, NASA's next-generation spacecraft and launch vehicle system ... The Constellation Program has been developing new vehicles to replace space shuttles, which will be phased out in 2010. (CNN -- Tech)
NASA rocket launch advances Moon mission dream Oct 29, 2009
Ares and Orion are part of Constellation, NASA's grand program to send astronauts back to the Moon by 2020, and then perhaps to Mars and other destinations in the solar system ... The test flight comes at a crucial time as the White House is considering a report ordered by President Barack Obama's administration that raises concerns about the whole Constellation project ... The initial budget for the Constellation program was set at 28 billion dollars, but has swollen to at least 44 billion. (Yahoo! Asia News)
I-X marks the start Oct 29, 2009
"It's a sense of validation that the course that we had laid out is executable," Jeff Hanley, manager of NASA's Constellation program, said after the flight. "We have a design that will do the country service if it is put into service.". (Florida Today)
NASA scrubs Ares rocket launch Oct 28, 2009
The Constellation Program, of which Ares I-X is a part, has been developing new vehicles that would replace space shuttles, which will be phased out in 2010 ... If the Constellation Program moves forward, the Orion capsule atop the Ares rocket will not be ready to take astronauts into space until at least 2015, leaving a gap of at least five years in which the only way the United States would be able to put humans in orbit would be by hitching a ride with the Russians. (CNN -- Tech)
NASA's Ares rocket set for test flight Oct 28, 2009
Ares rockets could one day lift NASA crew capsules under Constellation program. But future of Constellation uncertain, with U.S. space plans under review ... The Constellation Program, of which Ares 1-X is a part, has been developing new vehicles that would replace the space shuttle. (CNN -- International)
New Nasa rocket prepares to fly Oct 27, 2009
Although the panel supported the Ares I-X test flight, it questioned the need to develop the Ares I rocket, part of the Constellation programme commissioned by the previous administration and intended to return the US to the Moon by 2020 ... However, the decision on the future of the Ares I and the rest of the Constellation programme now rests with President Barack Obama who is expected to give a response in the coming weeks. (BBC News -- Americas)
Son of Shuttle? Or Rocket to Nowhere? Oct 27, 2009
This new-generation program is called Constellation, and Jeff Hanley is the man in charge. "Physics hasn't changed much (since Apollo); it still takes big rockets to do these big missions," said Hanley. (ABC News)
NASA counts down for Mars rocket test Oct 27, 2009
The initial budget for the Constellation program, which includes Ares rockets, was set at 28 billion dollars, but has swollen to at least 44 billion. Augustine Commission member Ed Crawley said last week that Ares I was "not the right ship" for post-shuttle space flight. (Yahoo! Asia News)
Nasa's Mars rocket to blast off in key test flight Oct 27, 2009
The initial budget for the Constellation program, which includes Ares rockets, was set at 28 billion dollars, but has swollen to at least 44 billion ... The commission's review of the Constellation program proposed several alternatives, including sidestepping the rocket and going straight to the Ares V family of launch vehicles, which would take astronauts back to the moon and eventually on to Mars. (India Times, India)
A boyhood dream nears reality Oct 27, 2009
Davis is deputy manager of the Ares I-X mission management office for NASA as part of its Constellation Program, developing the next generation of rocket that will carry astronauts, exploration vehicles and cargo to the International Space Station, the moon and Mars. Its first space station flight is scheduled for 2015 and lunar mission for 2020. (Albany Times Union)
Weather threatens historic Ares I-X test flight Oct 27, 2009
The $445 million Ares I-X test flight is a first for NASA's Project Constellation, which is developing two Ares rockets and the Orion crew capsule for missions to the moon, Mars and beyond. (2 of 2). (Florida Today)
Night Sky Viewing for November 2009 Oct 27, 2009
Deep Sky Objects and Constellations to Observe This Month ... It can be found in the Taurus constellation, high in the southeastern sky around 8:00 p.m., a few degrees to the right of Orion's "shield" ... The Orion Constellation. (Suite101.com)
Will space station keep flying? Oct 25, 2009
That shuttle funding was to be used instead for NASA's next great endeavor -- the Constellation Program, which would take astronauts back to the moon. But that means NASA would no longer have its own spacecraft to ferry astronauts to the space station. (CNN -- Tech)
Looking Up: Double Cluster is double the fun Oct 24, 2009
The next clear night, before the moon gets very bright, look north for the five easily seen stars of the W, the constellation Cassiopeia ... The Double Cluster is among the myriad stars of the Milky Way Band, which passes through the constellations Perseus and Cassiopeia ... You can easily find your own constellations, which are known as asterisms. (Belmont Citizen Herald, MA)
Nebulae & Galaxies Oct 24, 2009
5 light years and is about 650 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius ... 27 spiral galaxy lying about 3 million light-years away in the constellation Triangulum ... The Lagoon Nebula is a giant interstellar cloud in the constellation Sagittarius. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
Volunteers wanted for simulated 520-day Mars mission... Oct 23, 2009
Volunteers wanted for simulated 520-day Mars mission. Volunteers wanted for simulated 520-day Mars mission. (The Drudge Report)
National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Advisory Board Meeting Oct 22, 2009
Global Positioning System (GPS) Constellation and Modernization Plans. U.S. GPS Technological Leadership and Competitiveness. (NASA Watch)
Astronomers Find Organic Molecules Around Gas Planet Oct 22, 2009
Swain and his co-investigators used data from two of NASA's orbiting Great Observatories, the Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope, to study HD 209458b, a hot, gaseous giant planet bigger than Jupiter that orbits a sun-like star about 150 light years away in the constellation Pegasus. The new finding follows their breakthrough discovery in December 2008 of carbon dioxide around another hot, Jupiter-size planet, HD 189733b. (Science Daily)
Holiday Acres Farm provides fun,educational outing for families Oct 21, 2009
In this area, one can gather moon rocks, experience the difference in the weight of objects on earth versus other planets, learn about the history of the Apollo missions and learn about and form constellation patterns. Holiday Acres Farm also offers hayrides, a petting zoo, an indoor hay maze, a fence maze, Fun Town play area, Farm-to-Market Learning Center, gift shop, pumpkins, hardy fall mums and decorations. (Columbia Daily Herald, TN)
Upcoming flight, Ares excite Atlantis crew Oct 21, 2009
Ares I-X looks similar to the rocket astronauts would ride into space after the shuttle is retired, if the Obama administration and Congress stick with NASA's Constellation program. (2 of 2). (Florida Today)
Expo offers foot in door Oct 21, 2009
As NASA winds down its shuttle program, the Ares will be part of the space agency future and play a major role in maintaining the link with the business community when Constellation space program kicks into gear. Up to 7,000 space industry workers will lose their jobs, but millions of dollars still will be spent by NASA.. (Florida Today)
The Milky Way's tiny but tough neighbour Oct 20, 2009
Barnard s galaxy glows beneath a sea of foreground stars in the direction of the constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer). The image was made from data obtained through four different filters (B, V, R, and H-alpha). (Astronomy Now Online)
John Kelly: Stakes high for NASA's moon program Oct 20, 2009
A presidential committee has delivered a report with options for President Obama to consider and the existing program -- called Constellation -- did not fare well in the committee's analysis. People are beginning to speculate the White House will kill Ares. (Florida Today)
Click to read:Ares I-X Rocket: NASA Unveils its New Baby Oct 20, 2009
The Ares test flight is a key element in NASA's post-shuttle Constellation program, which calls for replacing the shuttle with a safer, lower-cost rocket to ferry astronauts to low-Earth orbit and development of a large, unmanned heavy lift rocket - the Ares V - that would support eventual expeditions to the moon ... Only one of the five options includes the Ares I. But in recent hearings, lawmakers expressed reluctance to scrap the Constellation architecture and it's not yet clear what action... (CBS News)
NASA Photos Show Moon Strike Created Plume Oct 18, 2009
Check out artists' renderings, blueprints and test flight photos from the Constellation Program, NASA's upcoming moon mission. Did the U.S. really land on the moon 40 years ago this month. (Click2Houston, TX)
Galactic Magnetic Fields May Control Boundaries Of Our Solar System Oct 18, 2009
(July 19, 2006) The European Space Agency's spacecraft constellation Cluster has hit the magnetic bull's-eye. The four spacecraft surrounded a region within which the Earth's magnetic field was spontaneously. (Science Daily)
Orionids Meteor Shower Starts This Weekend Oct 17, 2009
The Orionids are so named because the meteors appear to radiate from near the constellation Orion, aka the Hunter. This easily spotted constellation "kind of looks like an hourglass with a very recognizable belt of stars," said astronomer Mark Hammergren of the Adler Planetarium in Chicago ... In addition, "the constellation is visible from pretty much anywhere in the world, because it appears along a line of sight close to the Equator," he said. (National Geographic)
Looking Up: Clouds come and go, but stars shine on Oct 17, 2009
They seem to emanate from the constellation Orion, which at this time of year, only begins to be visible on the eastern horizon around midnight. In the wee hours between midnight and dawn, when Orion reaches high, you will see the most meteors darting across the heavens. (Belmont Citizen Herald, MA)
Take a sneak peek at future of space Oct 16, 2009
2 million in modifications to pad 39B, which the shuttle program handed over to NASA's Constellation program in May ... Three lightning masts now surrounding the complex are designed for use throughout the Constellation program, if it survives an ongoing presidential review. (Florida Today)
