Posted on by Fraser Cain

ExoMars Rover on Track for 2013 Launch

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There are only two rovers operating on the surface of Mars right now, but over the next few years, the Red Planet is going to be crawling with robots from Earth. From NASA, we’ll see the Mars Phoenix Lander, and the Mars Science Laboratory, but one of the most interesting missions occurs in 2013 with the European ExoMars mission. This week, its funding agencies renewed their commitment to the mission, and amazingly, encouraged designers to think even bigger.

On the surface, the ExoMars rover looks similar to NASA’s Spirit and Opportunity rovers, with a six-wheeled design and outstretched solar wings. It also has a set of cameras on a raised boom, giving it the ability to look around. It will be equipped with a suite of scientific instruments designed to search for life on the surface of Mars.

Project teams were recently given the authorization to design a version of the rover with a weight of 205 kg (450 pounds); so massive that it can only be launched on a heavy-lift vehicle like the Ariane 5 rocket. This is a larger, and much more expensive version than what was originally approved by the space agency’s members in 2005.

If all goes well, ExoMars will arrive on the surface of Mars in September, 2014, landing with a vented airbag system similar to what was used by Spirit and Opportunity. Unlike the Mars rovers, which were looking for past evidence of water, ExoMars is primarily looking for life, with a suite of instruments designed to detect the chemical traces of life in the Martian soil.

Here’s a link to the ExoMars homepage.

Original Source: STFC News Release

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Hidden Planet Disturbs a Ring of Dust

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You can’t see it, but there’s a Neptune-sized planet hidden in a ring of dust around the star Fomalhaut. At least, this is according to new research from the University of Rochester. A recent photograph taken by Hubble shows that this ring around Fomalhaut is slightly off-centre, and nobody knew why, until now.

Protoplanetary rings have been discovered around many newly forming stars. As the star matures, its powerful solar wind kicks in, blowing out all the remaining dust and gas that helped form the planets. In the case of Fomalhaut, this ring is elliptical, with the parent star off to one side.

To give the ring this elliptical shape, researcher Alice Quillen determined that a Neptune-sized planet must be tucked up right against the inner side of this ring. Its gravity is tossing dust in the area out of orbit. How this planet got into an elliptical orbit is a bit of a mystery, though. Usually planets form in nice circular disks, which translate to circular orbits.

Original Source: University of Rochester News Release

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Three Gorges Dam from Space

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When it’s finally completed in 2009, China’s Three Gorges Dam will be a colossal man made structure. But even partially completed, it’s already a dramatic change to the region; it’s even visible from space with the unaided eye. NASA’s space satellites have been tracking the construction since it began in 1994, and NASA has released an animation that shows both the dam today, and the changes over time.

The Yangtze River is the third largest river in the world, reaching 6,200 km (3,900 miles) across China. The river is prone to flooding, and overflows its banks every 10 years or so. The dam is designed to control this flooding, protecting inhabitants down river, as well as producing a tremendous amount of electricity.

When it’s fully operational, the dam will produce 20 times the electricity of the Hoover Dam, and allow huge freighters to travel into the Chinese interior, delivering supplies and retrieving manufactured goods.

The construction of the dam has also had a serious impact on the local environment, flooding out residents, changing rainfall patterns, and concentrating pollution.

Original Source: NASA News Release

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Astrosphere for June 13, 2007

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Welcome back to the astrosphere, so glad you could make it.

I’ve been a busy little writer, contributing to Wired Science Blog, and now Earth & Sky‘s blog. I’m about to learn the limits of human writing endurance. But I’m having fun. My latest article for them is about a challenge from astrophotographer Mike Salway. Can you build a better Jupiter?

Today’s astrophoto from the Bad Astronomy/Universe Today forum is from member “reckless”. It’s a great photograph of M51, aka, the Whirlpool Galaxy. Nicely done. Follow the link for other images of the galaxy, and technical details.

Ian Musgrave at the Astroblog calls your attention to a surprise comet that smashed into the Sun. Easy come, easy go.

This isn’t space news, but it’s still pretty cool. A Chinese farmer built a solar-powered hot water heater out of beer bottles.

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Journey to the Centre of the Earth’s Position in Space

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NASA researchers have developed a new technique that gives them a precise measurement for the position of the centre of the Earth, to the closest millimetre. This is harder than it sounds, since the centre doesn’t stay in one position.

As the Earth rotates in space, its centre of mass ranges over a distance of 2 to 5 millimetres (.08 to .20 inches) a year. Until now, the best calculations differed by 1.8 millimetres a year. That doesn’t sound like much, but its actually important for very precise measurements. For example, the rise in global sea level due to increasing temperatures is measured in a handful millimetres. In other places, the Earth is rebounding after the weight of glaciers during the last ice age, 20,000 years ago.

The researchers combined 4 different space-based techniques to get this accurate measurement: the global positioning system, laser stations that track orbiting satellites, radio telescopes that measure the position of the Earth against quasars, and a French network of tracking satellites called DORIS.

Original Source: NASA/JPL News Release

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Arctic Explorers are Getting Some Help from Above

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A duo of Belgian adventurers are receiving some guidance from the heavens during their 2,000 km (1,200 mile) trek across the Arctic Ocean. Okay, it’s nothing magical, they’re just received detailed observations from ESA’s Envisat Mission, which is providing readings on sea ice.

The explorers, Alan Hubert and Dixie Dansercoer, are collecting snow depth data which will help calibrate the upcoming CryoSat-2 mission. They’re used to dealing with the harsh and rapidly changing Arctic environment, but they were caught off guard when a portion of the ice in the Lincoln Sea broke up. Thanks to observations from Envisat, they were able to avoid the rapidly disintegrating ice pack, and steer to safer conditions further to the east.

Their Arctic Arc expedition is part of the International Polar Year 2007-2008. They started in March 1, 2007, and have already traveled 1,600 km (1,000 miles) taking snow depth measurements along the way. When CryoSat-2 finally launches in 2009, scientists will compare the satellite’s observations against these measurements, to better calibrate its data on snow levels.

Original Source: ESA News Release

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Gamma Ray Bursts Eject Matter at Nearly the Speed of Light

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Gamma ray bursts are the most powerful explosions in the Universe, emitting more energy in an instant than our Sun can give off in its entire lifetime. But they don’t just blast out radiation, they also eject matter. And it turns out, they eject matter very very quickly – at 99.9997% the speed of light.

This discovery was made by a large group of European researchers. They targeted the European Southern Observatory’s robotic La Silla Observatory at two recent gamma ray burst explosions. The observatory receives its targets automatically from NASA’s Swift satellite, and it autonomously zeros in to capture as much data as possible during the first few seconds after the explosion is detected.

In two cases, La Silla observed the light curve of the explosion, and measured the peak. And measuring the peak is the key, since it allowed them to calculate the velocity of matter ejected from the explosion. In the case of these two explosions, the matter was calculated to be traveling 99.9997% the speed of light.

That’s fast.

Original Source: ESO News Release

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Astrosphere for June 12, 2007

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Back out to the astrosphere. Let’s see what’s out there.

Today’s amateur astrophoto is from Bad Astronomy/Universe Today forum member clop. It’s a beautiful shot of the globular cluster Omega Centauri. You can see this and a photo of M83 in the forum.

First off, Emily Lakdawalla from the Planetary Society debunks the discovery of puddles on Mars. Apparently, they were on the side of a cliff.

We think we know what life looks like, but would we recognize non-carbon life if we saw it? The Daily Galaxy has an interesting story on this.

It’s time to go to school. First, the Astroprof explains how magnitudes work. And then Dr. Pamela Gay describes what a sidereal day is.

Now this is just crazy. Space entrepreneur Rick Tumlinson is working on a company that will let people skydive from space. Well, from 36,000 metres (120,000 feet). Alan Boyle has the details.