Fraser Cain, Author at Universe Today

June 11, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

NASA Working on a Folding Tether System

Science@NASA has a cool article about how US and Japanese researchers are working on a folding tether system that could help keep satellites in their proper orbits, and return spent rocket stages to Earth.

Space tethers were first demonstrated on the Gemini 11 and 12 missions, showing how spacecraft could be connected by a cable. Possible applications include artificial gravity, spacecraft stabilization, and even raising a spacecraft into higher and higher orbits through a series of tether slingshots.

The new design is nicknamed Fortissimo, and provides a new method for unfolding a tether system. Instead of unraveling a cable from a spool, this tether would look like a thin strip of aluminum foil. It would be folded up using a clever origami technique so that it unravels quickly; similar to a firefighter’s hose.

Under this design, a 1km tether could deploy in just a few minutes.

Original Source: Science@NASA

June 11, 2007March 24, 2012 by Fraser Cain

Israeli Spy Satellite Launches

Here’s a launch that went almost unnoticed. An Israeli military spy satellite blasted off on Monday morning from the Palmachim Air Force Base. This is a locally-designed and built rocket and satellite, launched completely unannounced. There isn’t much known about the satellite, Ofeq-7, except that it’s in low-Earth orbit, and will replace the aging Ofeq-5 spy satellite. Coy military officials implied that the satellite could be used to keep an eye on Iran’s military ambitions.
Continue reading “Israeli Spy Satellite Launches”

June 11, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Podcast: American Astronomical Society Meeting, May 2007

Once again, Pamela does her duty as an astronomer and joins her colleagues at the American Astronomical Society’s meeting, held in May, 2007 on Honolulu, Hawaii. With all that sand, surf and sun, how did anyone get any science done? Pamela tracked down the interesting stories, and brought them back so we could analyze them.

Click here to download the episode

American Astronomical Society Meeting, May 2007 – Show notes and transcript

Or subscribe to: astronomycast.com/podcast.xml with your podcatching software.

June 11, 2007January 24, 2021 by Fraser Cain

Astrosphere for June 11, 2007

Before we head into the astrosphere, I’ve got a few things to catch you up on. First, another reminder about The Universe on The History Channel. The next episode is called The End of the Earth, and it’s all about the ways the Universe can kill us. My favourite topic.

Next up, I’m going to start highlighting cool photographs from the Bad Astronomy/Universe Today forum here, for now. There are so many great photos there, and now that I’ve got a little time on my hands, I’d like to help get the word out. My favourite for today is this cool picture of crescent Mercury, taken by Kyle Edwards.

According to Aviation Week, China has pushed back its lunar mission 5-6 months. Did you even know they had a lunar mission? Thanks to Space Pragmatism for the link.

Bad Astronomy dismantles a trailer for The Invasion. Oh Hollywood, will you ever learn?

Sentient Developments has a great clip from Michio Kaku on the future of civilizations.

Does the Moon make people crazy? No. But UK police are staffing up during full moons. That’s lunacy!

I hate cords. And now, researchers are figuring out how to transfer power without cords. But will it actually, ever be practical? Thanks to Alan Boyle from MSNBC’s Cosmic Log for the writeup.

June 9, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Atlantis Blasts Off for the Station

After a three-month delay, the space shuttle Atlantis finally lifted off from Cape Canaveral on Friday, beginning mission STS-117. The shuttle blasted off at 7:38 pm EDT, and reached orbit just a few minutes later.

If everything goes well, Atlantis will spend the next 11 days in orbit, delivering a new set of solar arrays to the International Space Station, increasing its ability to generate power. The shuttle is also carrying a longer-staying visitor to the station; mission specialist Clayton C. Anderson will remain on board, and Atlantis will carry Suni Williams back down after 6 months in space.

The long delay started back in March, when a freak hailstorm pounded the shuttle’s external fuel tank, chewing up the delicate foam insulation. Workers brought the shuttle back to the Vehicle Assembly Building and repaired it, before returning it to launch Pad 39-A.

Atlantis is currently matching orbits with the International Space Station, and the two spacecraft will link up on Sunday.

Original Source: NASA News Release

June 8, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

How Supermassive Black Holes Come Together

Galaxies get bigger and bigger through galactic mergers. Two small galaxies come together, merge their stars, and you get a bigger galaxy. But astronomers have always wondered, what happens with the two supermassive black holes that seem to always lurk at the heart of galaxies. What happens when two compact objects with millions of times the mass of our sun collide? Good question.

An international team of physicists have developed a computer simulation designed to answer this very question. And in a recent article in Science Express, they published the results of the simulation.

It turns out the interaction depends a lot on the amount of hot gas surrounding each black hole. As they start to interact, this gas exerts a frictional force on the black holes, slowing down their spin rate. Once they get within the width of our solar system, they should start emitting gravitational waves, which continues to extract energy from the system. This causes them to continue coming together, and eventually merge.

This simulation is good news for experiments designed to search for gravitational waves. The mergers should be so energetic, they’ll generate gravitational waves detectable across space.

Original Source: Stanford News Release

June 8, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Stable Star Gives the Best Chance for Life

One of the biggest news stories of the year was an Earth-sized planet orbiting Gliese 581. Even more importantly, this terrestrial planet is orbiting within the star’s habitable zone, where any water will likely be in liquid form. But it takes more than just water to encourage life, you need a nice, stable star. And according to a new survey, Gliese 581 fits the bill there too.

The survey was done by Canada’s MOST telescope, nicknamed the Humble Space Telescope. It’s a suitcase-sized space observatory with the ability to watch for changes in brightness with incredible sensitivity. MOST focused on Gliese 581 for 6 weeks, watching for any flareups, or drops in light.

According to University of British Columbia researcher, Jaymie Matthews, the brightness of the star only changed a few tenths of a percent during their observations. That means its radiation output remains very stable over time.

So, Gliese 581c has the possibility of liquid water and stable warming from the star. Good news for potential life on this distant planet.

Original Source: UBC News Release

June 8, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Astrosphere for June 8, 2007

Welcome back to the astrosphere, where I acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, there are other space blogs that you could be reading.

First, I’d like to mention that I’ve got a doppelganger. Some guy named Fraser Cain is over at Wired Science Blogs reporting on their space news. Okay, it’s me. Where do I find the time? I’ve learned to blog in my sleep.

Okay, now on to the actual space blog sphere.

I’d like to draw your attention to Chris Lintott. Those in the UK will know who he is, but for those of outside of the Isles, he’s a renowned astrophysicist and co-presenter on the BBC’s Sky at Night. He and collaborator Harriet Scott have started up a new podcast called Living Space. It’s good listening, pretty slick stuff.

Pamela Gay is blogging about the second episode of The Universe from The History Channel. This time, she’s talking about The Red Planet.

Centauri Dreams has an interesting look at a precursor mission planned by ESA to deflect an asteroid.

Space Law Probe has discovered that a cool career for the 21st century might be a space law lawyer.

June 7, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Tangled Seaweed Viewed From Space

This strange looking photograph is actually the Gulf of Mexico, seen from space by ESA’s Envisat Earth imaging satellite. Specifically, the spacecraft has picked up huge lines of Sargassam seaweed floating in the warm waters off the coast of the US.

To make this observation, Envisat used the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS), which has the ability to see objects with large quantities of chlorophyll – in this case, seaweed. Since marine plants absorb half of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere, being able to track the density of marine vegetation is very important for climate research.

By using a new processing algorithm, researchers are now working to calculate global estimates of Sargassum biomass, to help keep track of its contribution to ocean productivity. This will also give them the ability to spot any changes in biomass, and better fine tune climate models.

Original Source: ESA News Release

June 7, 2007July 31, 2007 by Fraser Cain

Atlas Between the Rings

There’s a moon in this picture. Do you see it? You’re going to want to look at the enlarged image. See the white dot? That’s Saturn’s moon Atlas, measuring a tiny 32 km (20 miles) across. Thanks to its gravity, Atlas has cleared out the space between Saturn’s A and F rings.
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