Elizabeth Howell, Author at Universe Today

July 23, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

‘Weak’ New Meteor Shower Due To Fragile Comet Dust

A Camelopardalid seen frame-by-frame in a recording taken May 24, 2014 at 1:58:08 a.m. UT (9:58:08 p.m. ET). Credit: Original recording by Peter C. Slansky; compilation by Jim Albers and Peter Jenniskens.

While the Camelopardalid shower only produced a few meteors, the lack of flashy disintegrations showed astronomers something new, a new study reveals: the dust from its parent comet (Comet 209P/Linear) was much more fragile than the usual. The reasons are still being investigated, but one theory is that after a century in space, there wasn’t much left to run into.

“Some mechanism was at work that efficiently fragmented the larger meteoroids,” stated Peter Jenniskens, a meteor astronomer with the SETI Institute who, along with colleague Esko Lyytinen, first predicted the existence of the shower a decade ago.

“Our best meteor was no more luminous than the star Vega,” added Jenniskens, “but it gave us a clue as to why there were few bright ones: It was so fragile that the meteoroid suddenly dispersed into a cloud of dust at the end of its trajectory.”

This ‘weak” shower stands in contrast to two meteor showers that took place out of interactions with comet 21P/Giacobinni-Zinner. This produced meteor “storms” in 1933 and 1946 during the Draconids. That comet was more active and the dust grains that left it likely had a lot of ice in them. Comet 209P/Linear did not have that type of ejection, nor was it very active.

You can read more Universe Today observations of the new shower in this past story.

Source: SETI Institute

July 22, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Watch Live As Underwater Astronauts Drill Into The Ocean Floor

Two unidentified divers participating in a past NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) increment. Credit: NEEMO/Facebook

How do we send humans to asteroids or Mars? While the answer is complex, one part of it is to say “a simulation mission at a time.” That’s one of the roles of the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) project, which now is seeing its 18th crew temporarily live in a habitat 62 feet beneath the Atlantic Ocean’s waves.

Astronauts spend time in the small Aquarius habitat and every so often, venture outside — including right now that goes until about 1 p.m. EDT (5 p.m. UTC). Luckily for us virtual aquanauts, there are six possible livestreams to choose from — so have fun figuring out which is the best view! You can catch all the action at this web page.

And if you miss today’s, another one is scheduled for tomorrow around 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT (1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. UTC).

The NEEMO 18 crew includes Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps and Mark Vande Hei, and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet.

“Today, during EVA tasks, Aki and Jeanette will deploy the boom, set up the core drill, and use it to collect samples from the ocean floor,” the NEEMO Facebook page stated.

Learn more about the mission on the NEEMO website.

July 22, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Cosmic Fireworks: A Supernova Feast And Google+ Hangout For Chandra’s 15th Anniversary

A collection of images from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory marking its 15th anniversary in space. Top, from left: the crab Nebula, supernova remnant G292.0+1.8 and the Crab Nebula. At bottom, supernova remnant 3C58. Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO

It’s well past the Fourth of July, but you can still easily find fireworks in the sky if you look around. The Chandra X-Ray Observatory has been doing just that for the past 15 years, revealing what the universe looks like in these longer wavelengths that are invisible to human eyes.

Just in time for the birthday, NASA released four pictures that Chandra took of supernova (star explosion) remnants it has observed over the years. The pictures stand as a symbol of what the telescope has shown us so far.

“Chandra changed the way we do astronomy. It showed that precision observation of the X-rays from cosmic sources is critical to understanding what is going on,” stated Paul Hertz, NASA’s Astrophysics Division director, in a press release. “We’re fortunate we’ve had 15 years – so far – to use Chandra to advance our understanding of stars, galaxies, black holes, dark energy, and the origin of the elements necessary for life.”

The telescope launched into space in 1999 aboard the space shuttle and currently works at an altitude as high as 86,500 miles (139,000 miles). It is named after Indian-American astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar; the name “Chandra” also means “moon” or “luminous” in Sanskrit.

And there’s more to come. You can learn more about Chandra’s greatest discoveries and its future in this Google+ Hangout, which will start at 3 p.m. EDT (7 p.m. EDT) at this link.

July 22, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

‘Lopsided’ Ghostly Galactic Halo Has Some Starry Surprises

An image of Centaurus A. The halo goes across four degrees in the sky, about eight times the apparent width of the moon seen with the naked eye. The image was taken with the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2), the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope, and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA, Digitized Sky Survey, MPG/ESO

Centaurus A — that popular target for astrophotographers in the southern hemisphere — has a much wider halo than expected, astronomers revealed. Turns out the galaxy’s ghostly glow is about eight times the apparent width of the full moon in the sky. Examining this halo in more detail could reveal much about how galaxies come together, astronomers said.

It’s relatively easy for scientists to spot the halo around the Milky Way since we are a part of it, but it’s much harder to observe them in other galaxies because they are so faint. Looking at Centaurus A (10 million to 16 million light-years away) required the power of two Hubble Space Telescope instruments: the Advanced Camera for Surveys and the Wide Field Camera 3.

“Tracing this much of a galaxy’s halo gives us surprising insights into a galaxy’s formation, evolution, and composition,” stated lead author Marina Rejkuba of the European Southern Observatory in Germany. “We found more stars scattered in one direction than the other, giving the halo a lopsided shape — which we hadn’t expected.”

The Centaurus A Extreme Deep Field. (Image Courtesy of Astrophotography byRolf Oslen. Used with Permision).

The astronomers examined a region that is about 295,000 light-years across — more than double the diameter of the Milky Way’s 120,000 light years. The stars inside the glow appeared to have abundant heavier elements, even in the fringes of the galaxy — a contrast to the much lighter hydrogen and helium that are found in the fringes of the Milky Way and nearby spiral galaxies.

It’s possible the heavier stars arose because Centaurus A merged with a spiral galaxy long ago, removing stars from the intruder and sticking in Centaurus A, the astronomers said.

“Even at these extreme distances, we still haven’t reached the edge of Centaurus A’s halo, nor have we detected the very oldest generation of stars,” stated co-author Laura Greggio of Italy’s INAF (Istituto Nzaionale de Astrofisica, or National Institute for Astrophysics).

“This aged generation is very important. The larger stars from it are responsible for manufacturing the heavy elements now found in the bulk of the galaxy’s stars. And even though the large stars are long dead, the smaller stars of the generation still live on and could tell us a great deal.”

The results are available in Astrophysical Journal Letters and in preprint version on Arxiv.

Source: Hubble European Space Agency Information Centre

July 22, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Threatened Spitzer Telescope Gets NASA Nod For Extension, Subject To Congress Funding

Artist's concept of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope surrounded by examples of exoplanets it has looked at. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

After NASA recommended in May that Spitzer space telescope officials send in a revised budget or face possible termination of operations, in a turnaround, the agency’s science mission directorate has now agreed to extend the mission for another two years.

The news broke on Twitter yesterday when the NASA Spitzer account shared the news. An update posted on its website said the decision is “subject to the availability of Congressional appropriations in FY [fiscal year] 2015”, but added that there will soon be a call out for observing time in that period.

Previously, NASA informed Spitzer officials that due to “constrained budget conditions” that their initial request to extend operations past fiscal 2015 was not approved, in line with recommendations from the NASA senior astrophysics review. While the mission was not terminated at that time, officials were asked to “respond with a request for a budget augmentation to conduct continued operations with reduced operations costs.”

The mission was being reviewed at the same time as other astrophysics missions, such as the Kepler planet-hunting space telescope that was asking for (and received) a new mission that would allow it to do useful science despite two busted reaction wheels, or pointing devices. The review said Spitzer was the most expensive of the missions reviewed, and that the telescope’s abilities were “significantly reduced” after it ran out of coolant in 2009.

The bow shock of Zeta Ophiuchi, another runaway star observed by Spitzer (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

In an update on the Spitzer website, officials shared more details but did not say if the budget had been reformulated in response to NASA’s suggestion.

We are very happy to report that Spitzer operations have been extended by the NASA Science Mission Directorate for two more years! The letter of direction states: “The Science Mission Directorate has made the decision to extend Spitzer operations for the next two years. The Spitzer observatory is an important resource for on-going infrared observations for research programs across the Science Mission Directorate, and, subject to the availability of Congressional appropriations in FY 2015, it will be continued. Both the Astrophysics and the Planetary Science Divisions have requested observing time commitments for FY 2015, and both Divisions have committed funding to support their observations.” We are working hard to get a call for observing proposals issued by the end of July. And thank you to all the people at NASA Headquarters and in the community that have worked so hard to support science with Spitzer.

In recent months, some of Spitzer’s work has included searching for targets for NASA’s asteroid mission, helping to find the coldest brown dwarf ever discovered, and assisting in challenging views about star cluster formation.

July 21, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Insta-Mars: Crew Wraps Up Mock Mission With Pictures Of Their Hawaiian Adventure

Casey Stedman, commander of the 2014 HI-SEAS mission, points towards its habitat module and Maunea Kea during the Hawaiian mission. Credit: Casey Stedman/Instagram

It’s the final countdown for a hardy group of people who have been on “Mars” for the past four months. On Friday (July 25), the HI-SEAS crew will make their return after simulating Red Planet exploration in Hawaii. And you can bet there are certain things they are missing about the outside world, or “Earth”.

“I haven’t seen a tree, smelled the rain, heard a bird, or felt wind on my skin in four months,” said Casey Stedman, the commander of the latest Hawai’i-Space Exploration and Analog Simulation, said in a statement on Instagram’s blog yesterday (July 20). Added chief technologist Ross Lockwood, “We’ve basically been subsisting on mush. Flavorful mush, but mush nonetheless.”

Despite the sacrifices, there’s a certain excitement to doing four solid months of experiments and “spacewalks” and other Martian activities. Luckily for us, the crew has been liveblogging their adventures on social media! Below the jump is some of their best Instagram photos from the trip.

HI-SEAS aims to closely simulate Mars exploration. The University of Hawaii runs the site, and every field season volunteers apply to participate in the missions. The first mission took place in 2012 and lasted 118 days. This mission is taking place in the same location, high on the slope of the Mauna Loa volcano.

Besides Instagram, some of the crew members are also accessible on Twitter. You can follow them at @rosslockwood, @Space_Chicken_, @TSwarmer and @casey_stedman. You can also read more about HI-SEAS on its official site.

Edit, July 24: Angelo Vermeulen (the commander of the first HI-SEAS mission last year) has just opened an Instagram account of his own where he is uploading pictures of the mission.

Full disclosure: I am a classmate of Tiffany Swarmer’s in the Space Studies department at the University of North Dakota. She and the department have not asked me to write this article, nor were they aware of its publication before it went online.

Sunset over Maui from Mauna Loa, as seen from the #HISEAS habitat #Mars #Space #Hawaii #NASA #NoFilter

Chicken tortilla soup with freshly baked corn bread. #HISEAS

The #HISEAS crew learns about Hawaiian vulcanism during their geology field lessons

May the Fourth Be With You – From your #HISEAS crew.

The 3 Americans of the 2nd #HISEAS crew celebrate #IndependenceDay #Mars #Hawaii #Space #NASA

Commander @casey_stedman and I are heading out on a sample collecting EVA. #HISEAS

Volcanic tephra from Kilauea Iki eruption- could similar deposits be found on #Mars? #HISEAS #Planetary

Just a little reading to learn about the responsibilities of commanding a space mission #HISEAS #Spaceflight #Astronaut #Science #ISS #NASA

Fresh lettuce on sMars courtesy of Lucie Poulet (@Space_Chicken_)! #HISEAS

It’s a good day to record sMars’ first podcast. #HISEAS

Crew quarters inside of the#HISEAS habitat module

Multitasking at its finest. #HISEAS

Simulating an EVA during the #HISEAS analog mission #Mars #Hawaii #Space #NASA

sTent accomplished. #HISEAS

The things I put up while while out on EVA. #HISEAS

The Kilauea Caldera as seen by the #HISEAS crew during their geology field lessons in Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park

July 21, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Dwarf Galaxies That Dance? Andromeda Observations Reveal A Larger Cosmic Mystery

Astrophoto: Andromeda Galaxy by Fabio Bortoli — Andromeda Galaxy. Credit: Fabio Bortoli

What is up with these dwarf galaxies? A survey of thousands of galaxies using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey reveals something interesting, which was first revealed by looking at the massive Andromeda Galaxy nearby Earth: dwarf galaxies orbiting larger ones are often in disc-shaped orbits and not distributed randomly, as astronomers expected.

The finding follows on from research in 2013 that showed that 50% of Andromeda’s dwarf galaxies are in a single plane about a million light-years in diameter, but only 300,000 light-years thick. Now with the larger discovery, scientists suspect that perhaps there is a yet-to-be found process that is controlling gas flow in the cosmos.

“We were surprised to find that a large proportion of pairs of satellite galaxies have oppositely directed velocities if they are situated on opposite sides of their giant galaxy hosts,” stated lead author Neil Ibata of Lycée International in France.

“Everywhere we looked, we saw this strangely coherent coordinated motion of dwarf galaxies,” added Geraint Lewis, a University of Sydney physicist. “From this we can extrapolate that these circular planes of dancing dwarfs are universal, seen in about 50 percent of galaxies. This is a big problem that contradicts our standard cosmological models. It challenges our understanding of how the universe works, including the nature of dark matter.”

The astronomers also speculated this could show something unexpected in the laws of physics, such as motion and gravity, but added it would take far more investigation to figure that out.

The findings were published in the journal Nature.

Source: University of Sydney

July 21, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

What Does The Apollo 11 Moon Landing Site Look Like Today?

The Apollo 11 landing site imaged by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's camera in 2012. Visible is the LM (lunar module), Lunar Laser Ranging RetroReflector (LRRR), its discarded cover and the Passive Seismic Experiment Package (PSEP). The image was taken from 15 miles (24 kilometers) above the surface. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

Forty-five years ago yesterday, the Sea of Tranquility saw a brief flurry of activity when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin dared to disturb the ancient lunar dust. Now the site has lain quiet, untouched, for almost half a century. Are any traces of the astronauts still visible?

The answer is yes! Look at the picture above of the site taken in 2012, two years ago. Because erosion is a very gradual process on the moon — it generally takes millions of years for meteors and the sun’s activity to weather features away — the footprints of the Apollo 11 crew have a semi-immortality. That’s also true of the other five crews that made it to the moon’s surface.

In honor of the big anniversary, here are a few of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s pictures of the landing sites of Apollo 11, Apollo 12, Apollo 14, Apollo 15, Apollo 16 and Apollo 17. (Apollo 13 was slated to land on the moon, but that was called off after an explosion in its service module.)

The Apollo 12 and Surveyor 3 landing sites in the Ocean of Storms on the moon. Visible is the descent stage of Intrepid (the lunar module) and the robotic craft Surveyor 3, which the astronauts took a sample from while they were on the surface. Also labelled are craters the astronauts visited. Credit: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University

The Apollo 14 landing site imaged by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2011. At right is the descent stage of Antares, the lunar module. At far left, beside the cart tracks and marked by an arrow, is the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University — The Apollo 14 landing site at Fra Mauro, imaged by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2011. At right is the descent stage of Antares, the lunar module. At far left, beside the cart tracks and marked by an arrow, is the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

The Apollo 15 landing site at Hadley plains, taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter from an altitude of 15.5 miles (25 kilometers) in 2012. Visible is the descent stage of Falcon (the lunar module), the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) and the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package (ALSEP). The site is marked by rover tracks. Credit: NASA Goddard/Arizona State University

The Apollo 16 landing site in the Descartes Highlands, taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2010. Visible is the descent stage of Orion, the lunar module (LM), the "parking spot" of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), the Apollo Lunar Science Experiment Package (ALSEP), a radioisotope generator (RTG) and the geophone line, which is part of the mission's Active Seismic Experiment. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University — The Apollo 16 landing site in the Descartes Highlands, taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2010. Visible is the descent stage of lunar module (LM) Orion, the “parking spot” of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) and its tracks, the Apollo Lunar Science Experiment Package (ALSEP), a radioisotope generator (RTG) and the geophone line, which is part of the mission’s Active Seismic Experiment. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University

The Apollo 17 landing site at Taurus-Littrow taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2011. Visible is the descent stage of the lunar module Challenger, the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) and its tracks, the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package (ALSEP) and Geophone Rock. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/ASU — The Apollo 17 landing site at Taurus-Littrow taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2011. Visible is the descent stage of the lunar module Challenger, the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) and its tracks, the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package (ALSEP) and Geophone Rock. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/ASU

July 18, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

How Humanity’s Next Moon Explorers Could Live In Lunar ‘Pits’

Images from the Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter showing pits on the lunar surface. The images are each 222 meters (728 feet) wide. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

Just look at that new video from NASA showing the first moon landing site in three dimensions. It’s tempting to touch on the surface nearby the Eagle lander there in the center and do some prospecting.

You’ll notice a lot of craters in that video, which is based on Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data. Across the moon’s surface, a separate study saw the spacecraft investigate 200 extremely steep-walled craters, known as “pits”.

These would be fascinating places to send astronauts for scientific study. Not only that, they’re actually one of the safest spots possible on the moon, according to a new study.

“Pits would be useful in a support role for human activity on the lunar surface,” stated lead researcher Robert Wagner of Arizona State University.

“A habitat placed in a pit — ideally several dozen meters back under an overhang — would provide a very safe location for astronauts: no radiation, no micrometeorites, possibly very little dust, and no wild day-night temperature swings.”

And if you look at the picture below, you can see at least one of those pits is in the Sea of Tranquility — the approximate landing area where Apollo 11 touched down 45 years ago this week. The pits were found mainly using a computer algorithm that scanned LRO photos, although a few of the craters were previously identified with the Japanese Kaguya spacecraft.

Large craters or lunar “seas” (ancient, solidified lava flows) are the locations where most of these pits are found. How they were formed is being investigated, but there are some hypotheses. Perhaps a meteorite impact caused a collapse, or perhaps molten rock flows under the surface gradually lost their lava, leaving voids.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Image Credit: NASA

To learn more, the researchers say more LRO images would be great (only 40% of the surface imaged had the appropriate lighting conditions for this study) and in the future, we’d need to get much closer-up than pictures taken from orbit.

“The ideal follow-up, of course, would be to drop probes into one or two of these pits, and get a really good look at what’s down there,” added Wagner.

“Pits, by their nature, cannot be explored very well from orbit — the lower walls and any floor-level caves simply cannot be seen from a good angle. Even a few pictures from ground-level would answer a lot of the outstanding questions about the nature of the voids that the pits collapsed into. We’re currently in the very early design phases of a mission concept to do exactly this, exploring one of the largest mare pits.”

You can read more about the research in the journal Icarus.

Source: NASA

July 18, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

‘One Small Step’ Quote On Apollo 11 Briefly Confused Legendary Broadcaster Cronkite

Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong stands on the moon's surface on July 20, 1969, the first human to do so. Credit: NASA/CBS/YouTube (screenshot)

Thanks to NASA putting the video up on YouTube, we’re fortunate enough today to watch the CBS coverage of Apollo 11 landing on the moon, and Neil Armstrong’s first steps, 45 years ago this week.

Legendary broadcaster Walter Cronkite, who died five years ago yesterday amid 40th anniversary celebrations, helmed the moon coverage for CBS. His quotes from that night are so much a part of history that they’ve even appeared in Hollywood; the 1995 movie Apollo 13 had an edited version of his remarks playing over the first steps.

But in the live coverage, Cronkite showed why he was so good — he had the courage to wait to make a statement until all the facts were available. Armstrong’s first words while standing on the moon ended in static. Cronkite, who must have felt pressure to immediately repeat what Armstrong said, waited until he could get confirmation.

Armstrong’s first words on the moon as heard on television were “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” But starting around the word “leap”, static interfered and the word “mankind” was almost unintelligible.

“I didn’t understand,” Cronkite said after a pause. ” ‘One small step for man.’ But I didn’t get the second phrase.”

Cronkite waited, saying he would like to know what the phrase was. Armstrong talked on about the powder on the moon’s surface. About 30 seconds passed, then Cronkite had his answer from somebody: “His quote was, ‘That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.’ ”

CBS broadcaster Walter Cronkite reacts moments after Apollo 11 landed on the moon on July 20, 1969. Credit: NASA/CBS/YouTube (screenshot)

Decades later, Cronkite recalled how he felt on that night in his 1996 biography, A Reporter’s Life:

That first landing on the moon was indeed, the most extraordinary story of our time and almost as remarkable a feat for television as the space flight itself. To see Neil Armstrong, 240,000 miles out there, as he took that giant step for mankind onto the moon’s surface, was a thrill beyond all the other thrills of that flight. All those thrills tumbled over each other so quickly that the goose pimples from one merged into the goose pimples from the next.

Cronkite also poked fun at his own reporting, saying he was speechless when lunar module Eagle landed despite having the same number of years as NASA to get ready for it.

” ‘Oh boy! Whew! Boy!’ These were my first words, profundity to be recorded for the ages. They were all I could utter,” Cronkite wrote.

Do watch the entire broadcast, it’s a joy, but the first steps take place around 22:55.