Ian O'Neill, Author at Universe Today

June 10, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Space Station Astronauts Could Get Stranded in Kibo

This could be a bit of a tricky (and amusing) situation for astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS). Space Shuttle Discovery astronaut Mark Kelly mentioned a minor technicality with the new Kibo laboratory during an in flight interview last Friday: It might be too spacious. Surely this is a good thing right? It is, and it isn’t. On the one hand the lab provides a large volume for four astronauts to work in comfortably, but on the other hand, if you get stuck in the middle, you may not be able to reach the sides. This could result in a rather frustrating situation where one of the astronauts may become “stranded” in zero-G…

The brand new Japanese Kibo laboratory was successfully delivered to the ISS last Tuesday (June 3rd) by Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-124). After successfully attaching the large module to the station using the onboard robotic arm, the station astronauts connected the electrical, water and air supply, pressurized the module ready for use. This was all being done whist cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko carried out some essential plumbing on the station toilet pump.

So all is going well on board the ISS, especially with the prospect of carrying out some exciting new science activities inside the largest module of the station. However, the astronauts will have to be careful when inside Kibo, they might become stranded. As observed by STS-124 commander Mark Kelly last Friday, “You have to be a little extra careful, you can get out in the middle of it and you can’t reach a handrail and you could possibly get stuck there for a little while.”

The Kibo module is the largest module attached to the ISS. The laboratory measures 37 feet (11 meters) long by over 14 feet (4.3 meters) wide, should an astronaut drift into the middle of Kibo, he or she may not be able to reach the handrails or the sides. Kelly obviously had first-hand experience of this during the setup of Kibo as he said that he and his crew had little time for orbital antics, like flailing around in the middle of Kibo when work needed to be done.

This isn’t a serious issue as there will likely be more than one astronaut inside Kibo to assist should their crewmate get stranded. It also seems easy enough to stretch lengths of cord from one side of Kibo to the other (or one down the axis) so astronauts can quickly right themselves. But I’m sure that the station astronauts will be happy to have such a volumous space to float around in rather than being too worried about getting stuck in the middle…

Source: Reuters

June 10, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Listen to Paranormal Radio Live Tonight: The 2012 Controversy

The second live show in response to the 2012 articles (“No Doomsday in 2012” and “2012: No Planet X“) is scheduled for tonight at 9pm US Eastern Time. This time, I will be joining Captain Jack over at Paranormal Radio for the two and a half hour event. There will be a live broadcast across the web and it will be aired across the Seattle airwaves on 106.9 FM HD Channel 3. If you miss it, there will be a recorded version you can listen to at your leisure.

Time: Tuesday June 10th, 9pm Eastern Time
Listen Live via Contact Radio or download the .pls file to listen on your audio player »
More information on tonight’s show »

I am still astounded by the response to these 2012 articles, so thanks to Captain Jack for inviting me on his show, it will hopefully be an interesting discussion! Cheers, Ian

June 10, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

What Do You Do If Someone Blows Up Your Satellite? Call a Space Lawyer

Artist impression of an anti-satellite missile (Jeremy Cook/Popular Mechanics)

As space travel becomes routine and private enterprise gets a foothold in low Earth orbit, it is becoming clear that specialists in the field of space law are required. Until now, lawyers here on the surface have extended their knowledge into space, but there will be a time when terrestrial lawyers will need to be superseded by a space equivalent. For example space lawyers could wrangle who is accountable for the space debris left behind after a satellite gets shot down. What happens if a nation accidentally (or deliberately) destroys another nation’s spy satellite? Does this cause retaliation with global consequences or can the dispute be easily settled in “Space Court” with the help of space lawyers? These are extreme examples, but space lawyers may eventually become a part of everyday life for manned excursions into the cosmos. To mark the beginning of this new era of law, the first space law student graduated from the University of Mississippi on Saturday…

Michael Dodge from Long Beach, Mississippi, graduated last weekend with a special distinction with his degree from the National Center for Remote Sensing, Air and Space Law, University of Mississippi. This marks the beginning of a new era for the legalities in the space travel as Dodge is the first ever US space lawyer.

The university is unique in that it offers the only dedicated aerospace law curriculum in the US which is accredited by the American Bar Association. The degree requires courses in US space and aviation law, international space and aviation law, and remote sensing. Dodge also had to carry out independent research, contributing to the publication of the Journal of Space Law.

“Once I came to the law school, I read that there was an attorney here that specialized in space law. After that, I became curious as to why space needed regulation, and how legal regimes could be constructed to govern such an expanse.” – Michael Dodge

The future promises to be good business for Dodge, as more and more technology and private corporations are launched into orbit, disputes will be commonplace. Recently, the Chinese and US shoot down of satellites caused international condemnation; the left-over debris is considered to be a huge risk to the future of space travel. In this case, what would happen if a multi-million dollar satellite were damaged by an orbiting piece of space junk? Could the satellite owner take legal action against the organization that littered low Earth orbit? Even mundane disputes such as confrontations on the International Space Station would require a specialist’s knowledge in the laws of space.

Many people would argue that there are already too many lawyers here on Earth, but it looks like space lawyers will be a necessary part of mankind’s big step into a new legal frontier…

Source: Space.com

June 9, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Can Light be “Squeezed” to Improve Sensitivity of Gravitational Wave Detectors?

Visualization of a massive body generating gravitational waves (UWM)

The search is on to detect the first evidence of gravitational waves travelling around the cosmos. How can we do this? The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) uses a system of laser beams fired over a distance of 4 km (2.5 miles) and reflected back and forth by a system of mirrors. Should a gravitational wave pass through the volume of space-time surrounding the Earth, in theory the laser beam will detect a small change as the passing wave slightly alters the distance between mirrors. It is worth noting that this slight change will be small; so small in fact that LIGO has been designed to detect a distance fluctuation of less than one-thousandth of the width of a proton. This is impressive, but it could be better. Now scientists think they have found a way of increasing the sensitivity of LIGO; use the strange quantum properties of the photon to “squeeze” the laser beam so an increase in sensitivity can be achieved…

LIGO was designed by collaborators from MIT and Caltech to search for observational evidence of theoretical gravitational waves. Gravitational waves are thought to propagate throughout the Universe as massive objects disturb space-time. For example, if two black holes collided and merged (or collided and blasted away from each other), Einstein’s theory of general relativity predicts that a ripple will be sent throughout the fabric of space-time. To prove gravitational waves do exist, a totally different type of observatory needed to be built, not to observe electromagnetic emissions from the source, but to detect the passage of these perturbations travelling through our planet. LIGO is an attempt to measure these waves, and with a gargantuan set-up cost of $365 million, there is huge pressure for the facility to discover the first gravitational wave and its source (for more information on LIGO, see “Listening” for Gravitational Waves to Track Down Black Holes). Alas, after several years of science, none have been found. Is this because there are no gravitational waves out there? Or is LIGO simply not sensitive enough?

The first question is quickly answered by LIGO scientists: more time is needed to collect a longer period of data (there needs to be more “exposure time” before gravitational waves are detected). There is also strong theoretical reasons why gravitational waves should exist. The second question is something scientists from the US and Australia hope to improve; perhaps LIGO needs a boost in sensitivity.

To make gravitational wave detectors more sensitive, Nergis Mavalvala leader of this new research and MIT physicist, has focused on the very small to help detect the very big. To understand what the researchers are hoping to achieve, a very brief crash course in quantum “fuzziness” is needed.

Detectors such as LIGO depend on highly accurate laser technology to measure perturbations in space-time. As gravitational waves travel through the Universe, they cause tiny changes in the distance between two positions in space (space is effectively being “warped” by these waves). Although LIGO has the ability to detect a perturbation of less than a thousandth of the width of a proton, it would be great if even more sensitivity is acquired. Although lasers are inherently accurate and very sensitive, laser photons are still governed by quantum dynamics. As the laser photons interact with the interferometer, there is a degree of quantum fuzziness meaning the photon is not a sharp pin-point, but slightly blurred by quantum noise. In an effort to reduce this noise, Mavalvala and her team have been able to “squeeze” laser photons.

Laser photons possess two quantities: phase and amplitude. Phase describes the photons position in time and amplitude describes the number of photons in the laser beam. In this quantum world, if the laser amplitude is reduced (removing some of the noise); quantum uncertainties in laser phase will increase (adding some noise). It is this trade-off that this new squeezing technique is base on. What is important is accuracy in the measurement of amplitude, not the phase, when trying to detect a gravitational wave with lasers.

It is hoped that this new technique can be applied to the multi-million dollar LIGO facility, possibly increasing LIGO’s sensitivity by 44%.

“The significance of this work is that it forced us to confront and solve some of the practical challenges of squeezed state injectionâ€”and there are many. We are now much better positioned to implement squeezing in the kilometer-scale detectors, and catch that elusive gravitational wave.” – Nergis Mavalvala.

Source: Physorg.com

June 8, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Listen to Terra Chat Live Tonight: 2012 and the Mayan Prophecy (Updated)

Update (Monday, June 9th):
Listen to the recorded show from last night (June 8th) with Colin Knight and myself.

In response to my Universe Today 2012 articles (“No Doomsday in 2012” and “2012: No Planet X“), I’ve been invited by two radio shows to chat about the fuss surrounding the 2012 doomsday prophecies. I had no idea these articles would cause such a stir! I’ve taken the view that there is very little scientific evidence for many of the different “end of the world” scenarios, and I remain highly sceptical of any theory that proclaims to predict the future (especially the much-hyped Planet X). There are a few more articles in the pipeline, so watch this space.

If you are interested and want to listen in to Colin Knight’s Terra Chat show, with me as his guest, go to the Blog Talk Radio: Terra Chat homepage and you’ll find the live radio feed. Looks like fun!

Time: Sunday June 8th 2008, 10pm Eastern Time

More information on tonight’s show Â»

I have another show on Tuesday night, so I’ll post that information closer to the time. Cheers, Ian

June 7, 2008April 26, 2016 by Ian O'Neill

Can a Wormhole Generate its Own Magnetic Field?

Artist impression of what it could look like when entering a wormhole (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:FY221c15.png)

Wormholes are a strange consequence of Einstein’s theory of general relativity. These “shortcuts” through the fabric of space and time may link two different locations in the universe; they may even connect two different universes together. This also leads to the possibility that wormholes can allow travel between two points in time. These strange entities have provided science fiction stories with material for many years, but there is credible physics behind wormholes. Now it seems that in theory slowly-rotating wormholes may be able to generate their own magnetic field. Could this be used to detect the presence of wormholes in our observable Universe?

In a previous Universe Today article, I found some interesting research about the possibility of observing a wormhole using sensitive radio telescopes. What’s more, an observer may be able to see the light from another part of the Universe that has travelled along the wormhole and then emitted through the wormhole’s mouth. An observer could expect to see a bubble-like sphere floating in space, with emitted light intensifying around the rim.

In a publication last month, Mubasher Jamil and Muneer Ahmad Rashid from the National University of Sciences and Technology in Pakistan investigates the properties of a slowly rotating wormhole and the effect this would have on a surrounding volume of space. Their calculations assume a cloud of charged particles (i.e. electrons) are gravitationally attracted to the entity, and as the wormhole rotates, it drags the cloud of electrons with it. This approach had already been carried out when considering the effects of a slowly rotating compact star on surrounding stellar plasma.

This gravitational effect is known as “frame-dragging”. As the wormhole is predicted to have a gravitational influence on the space surrounding it, Einstein’s general relativity predicts that space-time will be warped. The best way to visualize this is to imagine a heavy ball on an elastic sheet; the ball causes the sheet to stretch downward, in a cone-shape. If the ball is spun on the sheet, friction between the ball and elastic will cause the sheet to distort in another way, it will begin to twist out of shape. If you apply this idea to space-time (the elastic sheet), and you have a slowly rotating wormhole (the ball), distortions in space-time will have a dragging effect on the surrounding particles, causing them to spin with the wormhole.

This is where Jamil and Rashid’s paper steps in. If you have a rotating mass of charged particles, a magnetic field may be generated (as a consequence of Maxwell’s equations). Therefore, in theory, a slowly-rotating wormhole could have its own magnetic field as a consequence of the electromagnetic field set up by the motion of charged particles.

So could a wormhole be detected by instrumentation? That depends on the magnitude of the warping of space-time a rotating wormhole has on local space; the smaller the wormhole, the smaller the density of rotating charged particles. As theorized natural wormholes are expected to be microscopic, I doubt there will be a large magnetic field generated. And besides, you’d have to be very close to the mouth of a wormhole to stand the chance of measuring its magnetic field. The possibility of detecting a wormhole may remain in the realms of science-fiction for a while yet…

Source: arXiv preprint server

June 7, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Possible Solution to Solar Flare Damage to Satellites

Powerful solar flares can cause charge build-up on satellites (NASA)

When a solar flare blasts energetic particles and magnetic flux at Earth, our satellites are on the front line. As coronal mass ejections (CMEs) interact with the Earth’s magnetosphere, there is a huge injection of energetic electrons into the Earth’s radiation belts. This can have dire consequences for the satellites that we depend on for communications around the globe. All is not lost however. An international team of scientists have stumbled upon a possible, innovative solution to discharge these troublesome electrons into the atmosphere: bathe the skies in radio waves.

The magnetosphere (protective layers of geomagnetic field lines) traps energetic particles in a volume of space known as the Van Allen belt. Our satellites are constantly travelling through this high radiation environment. Most satellites are shielded from all but the worst the Van Allen belt can throw at them, but should the Sun send a high concentration of energetic particles at the Earth after a solar flare, the environment in the magnetosphere becomes a very dangerous place. Should the delicate circuitry on board the spacecraft be hit by energetic particles (a situation that possibly caused Mars Odyssey to be switched to “safe-mode”), the satellite could be irreversibly damaged.

Now, a chance discovery by French and New Zealand scientists indicate that magnetospheric electrons can be discharged into the atmosphere by using ground-based radio transmitters. This finding comes from a new paper to be published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Rory Gamble, a PhD student of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, and his colleagues were analysing the data from DEMETER (Detection of Electro-Magnetic Emissions Transmitted from Earthquake Regions), a satellite sensitive to radiation changes in the magnetosphere. As the satellite passed over a military transmitter in Western Australia, they noticed that magnetospheric electrons were discharged into the atmosphere, thereby removing them from the magnetosphere.

“We were able to determine that this transmitter has a direct effect on the electrons in the radiation belts [in the magnetosphere], it caused those electrons to crash into the top of the atmosphere and be removed from the radiation belts.” – Rory Gamble

This finding is a very exciting development for the human-influenced manipulation of the levels of radiation in the magnetosphere. During periods of high solar activity, when energetic electrons are expected to populate the radiation belts in higher densities, there could be a system in place to bathe the sky in radio waves, allowing safer passage for satellites. This phenomenon has been known to exist when transmitting radio waves in space, but this is the first example of electron discharge from a ground-based transmitter.

Source: ABC

June 7, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Phoenix Suffers Unknown Problem with Sample Analysis Oven

Mars dirt doesn't make it to the oven for testing (NASA/UA)

The first sample for scientific analysis dug from the surface of the Mars has failed to make it to the onboard oven used to test for organic compounds and water. Mission scientists have been overviewing a picture taken by the lander after Phoenix’s 8-foot long robotic arm dropped the sample on-target, but a sensor inside the chamber has reported seeing nothing falling into the oven. The regolith sample can be clearly seen scattered over the oven doors (pictured), and the vibration plate appears to be functioning. Mission control is currently trying to understand what went wrong, so sample analysis has been postponed, possibly for a few days…

Everything was looking fine as the robotic arm reached out and dug into the Martian top layer of regolith on Sol 11 (June 5th) of the Phoenix Mars Mission. The Martian dirt was excavated from a little patch known as “Baby Bear” and then lifted above the open doors of the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA – a hi-tech oven used to bake the samples and analyze the gases emitted). The robotic arm then released the sample on to the vibrator above the open TEGA hatch. The vibrating plate, used to shake the sample into the oven chamber, was registered as working as it should. It all seemed fine, even the picture taken of the dropped regolith on the top deck of Phoenix fell in the right place. Unfortunately, the electronic “eye” inside the chamber did not detect any falling grains of dirt.

University of Arizona mission scientists are understandably concerned about this complication. “We think everything is working correctly, although we don’t really know for sure,” William Boynton, UA Tucson researcher who is overlooking the oven experiments, said in a news briefing today (Saturday). “We’re a little bit concerned about this but we have some other things to check out.”

If the regolith was dropped in the right place, and the vibrating plate appears to be working as it should, why have no particles been registered as entering the open chamber? The problem could lie in the screen at the top of the TEGA. The screen will only allow small particles into the chamber for analysis. If the regolith is too compacted, or is composed of larger-than-expected particles, none may be able to enter the oven. On the other hand, the instrument readings from the vibrator are in fact wrong, meaning it is not working and particles are not being fed into the chamber.

But do not be alarmed. If the oven is broken, Phoenix has come prepared. This oven is one of eight on board, so whilst scientists try to understand the problem, at least they know they have another seven ovens to take over the mission’s primary objectives. In the mean time, mission control will send commands to the lander to analyse the area it excavated with its robotic arm and cameras.

Source: Associated Press

June 5, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Toilet is Fixed and Kibo is Switched On – A Great Day Aboard the ISS (Video)

Artists impression of the completed ISS - Kibo can be clearly seen (NASA)

It has been a very good day for the crew on board the International Space Station. Not only has the brand new Japanese Kibo science laboratory been activated, much to the crew’s relief, the faulty toilet has also been fixed. Russian flight engineer Oleg Kononenko was able to replace the broken urine collection pump in a 2 hour repair job yesterday (Wednesday) and specialists in Moscow checked his work to verify it was working fine. Although this may sound like a bit of minor news, it was make-or-break time for the ISS as if the repair was unsuccessful, this may have seriously hindered the manned presence on the station (and besides, we haven’t even had time to play with Kibo yet!)…

It looks like the replacement part for the ISS toilet is working as it should after it was delivered by Discovery on June 2nd. Cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko successfully carried out the technical plumbing job and all seems to be flushing as it should. Although a toilet fix in space may not seem like a critical factor, 10-days without a functioning toilet on board the ISS have been difficult for the crew. Until now, all crew members have had to make do with the single toilet facility on board the Russian Soyuz vessel currently docked at the station. It is fortunate the break-down happened when it did, with enough time for the Russian space agency to send replacement parts to the US in time for Space Shuttle Discovery’s launch last weekend.

As Kononenko worked on the unglamorous task of fixing the toilet, the other astronauts were working on installing Kibo. All connections from Kibo to the station had to be made, including water supply, power and air, and today it was pressurized and powered up. The new Kibo science laboratory that was attached to the station on Tuesday following a six-hour spacewalk by two astronauts to prepare for its installation. Everything is looking good and the crew hope to open the hatch, float in and explore the station’s brand new science module some time today.

View the Reuters video report about the plumbing trouble on the ISS »

Source: USA Today

June 5, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Odyssey Possibly Hit by High-Energy Particles; Phoenix Science Run About to Begin

A successful scoop of Martian regolith (NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Max Planck Institute)

NASA’s Mars Odyssey has been switched into “safe-mode” after possibly being hit by energetic particles from the Sun, or by cosmic rays. Acting as one of two relay satellites between Earth and Phoenix, this has hindered commands to be sent to the lander, thereby slowing its progress. Phoenix is just about to start scence digging operations on the surface (Martian regolith is shown in the Phoenix test-run scoop of material, pictured). It seems likely that Odyssey will remain in the protective safe-mode until the weekend whilst operators try to understand what caused the problem. For the time being, the second relay satellite NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) will try to take up the slack and keep the lander in contact with mission control…

This is the second communications error in the otherwise flawless Phoenix Mars mission. The first occurred two days after touch down when the MRO switched its UHF radio into standby mode. Yesterday’s (Wednesday’s) error with another Mars-orbiting satellite, Odyssey, probably won’t be repaired until Saturday. Mission engineers believe the error may have occurred when energetic space particles interrupted Odyssey’s onboard memory. As a safety precaution, the onboard hardware was switched into a low-energy state to protect it from any damage. This event doesn’t seem to be serious, but it does slow down the progress of Phoenix which is currently excavating Mars material from the surface of the red planet, trying to understand the composition of permafrost layers.

Although frustrating, this setback will not cause too many problems to Phoenix, daily commands can still be sent to the MRO and relayed to Phoenix and the first delayed science excavation run is scheduled for today. Test runs over the past few days have revealed a white substance in the fist-sized samples of regolith, so scientists are very excited to “bake” the permafrost material to see if water ice or salt deposits are present. After the preliminary tests, mission scientists believe that Phoenix’s 8-foot robotic arm is up to the task and appears to be functioning excellently.

The following steps will be carried out in the first science run scheduled to start today:

Right of the test-dig area, scientists have identified three “science rich” zones. Phoenix will dig into areas known playfully as “Baby Bear”, “Mama Bear” and “Papa Bear”, after the “Goldilocks” fairy tale. Presumably they are looking for a dig that will be “just right”.
The first dig will cut 3/10 of an inch into the permafrost at the location of “Baby Bear”, and scoop up the material.
With the material safely in the scoop, Phoenix will swing its arm 90 degrees towards the onboard miniature oven. It will then wait for further commands.
Assuming the MRO delivers the commands from mission control, Phoenix will be instructed to drop the sample into the oven so it can be baked. Instruments will be used to look deep into the vapour given off to look for signs of carbon or hydrogen-containing organic compounds. It is at this point that the lander will evaluate the samples to see whether there is in fact current water ice on the surface.

Over the next few days samples from all the Goldilocks sites will be analysed. These are exciting times, let’s hope there are no further communications problems…

Source: Associated Press (printed at Physorg.com)