Elizabeth Howell, Author at Universe Today

June 13, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Hubble Hubba: Stars Are Being Born Around A Black Hole In Galaxy’s Center

Hubble Space Telescope picture of galaxy NGC 3081. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA; acknowledgement: R. Buta (University of Alabama)

Let’s just casually look at this image of a galaxy 86 million light-years away from us. In the center of this incredible image is a bright loop that you can see surrounding the heart of the galaxy. That is where stars are being born, say the scientists behind this new Hubble Space Telescope image.

“Compared to other spiral galaxies, it looks a little different,” NASA stated. “The galaxy’s barred spiral center is surrounded by a bright loop known as a resonance ring. This ring is full of bright clusters and bursts of new star formation, and frames the supermassive black hole thought to be lurking within NGC 3081 — which glows brightly as it hungrily gobbles up in-falling material.”

A “resonance ring” refers to an area where gravity causes gas to stick around in certain areas, and can be the result of a ring (like you see in NGC 3081) or close-by objects with a lot of gravity. Scientists added that NGC 3081, which is in the constellation Hydra or the Sea Serpent, is just one of many examples of barred galaxies with this type of resonance.

By the way, this image is a combination of several types of light: optical, infrared and ultraviolet.

Source: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

June 13, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

NASA’s Saucer-Shaped Mars Vehicle Idea Loses Flight Test ‘Window’ Due To Weather

Artist's impression of NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA has lost its reserved time at a range in Hawaii to test a saucer-shaped vehicle that one day could help spacecraft get on the Red Planet safely.

The Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) was supposed to take to the air this month, but bad weather means that officials won’t get to test the vehicle’s flight and landing abilities before their range time expires tomorrow (Saturday).

The plan had been to test LDSD’s new inflatable technology, which would put a buffer around its heat shield to slow the speed down when it was still high in the atmosphere. NASA wanted to send the test device up on a weather balloon to 120,000 feet (36,600 meters) before releasing it for a short powered flight to 180,000 feet (54,900 meters). LDSD would then inflate the device and subsequently, open up a large parachute for the drop to Earth. Now it looks like that won’t happen until later this month.

“There were six total opportunities to test the vehicle, and the delay of all six opportunities was caused by weather,” stated Mark Adler, the Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) project manager. “We needed the mid-level winds between 15,000 and 60,000 feet [4,500 meters to 18,230 meters] to take the balloon away from the island. While there were a few days that were very close, none of the days had the proper wind conditions.”

A timeline of events for a test of NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech — A timeline of events for a test of NASA’s Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

While officials don’t know when they will next get time at the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range in Kauai, Hawaii, they’re hoping to start the testing near the end of June. NASA emphasized that the bad weather was quite unexpected, as the team had spent two years looking at wind conditions worldwide and determined Kauai was the best spot for both the wind and also doing the test over the ocean, away from where people live.

If the technology works, NASA says it will be useful for landing heavier spacecraft on the Red Planet. This is one of the challenges the agency must surmount if it launches human missions to the planet, which would require more equipment and living supplies than the rover missions currently roaming the Martian surface.

For more information on LDSD, check out this past Universe Today article and the NASA website.

June 12, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

3-D Printer To Fly To Space In August, Sooner Than Planned

A 3-D printer from Made In Space Inc. gets put through its paces during a simulated microgravity flight on a Zero G airplane. Credit: Devin Boldt

A 3-D printer intended for the International Space Station has passed its NASA certifications with flying colors — earning the device a trip to space sooner than expected. The next Dragon spacecraft, scheduled to launch in August, will carry the Made In Space printer on board.

“Passing the final tests and shipping the hardware are significant milestones, but they ultimately lead to an even more meaningful one – the capability for anyone on Earth to have the option of printing objects on the ISS. This is unprecedented access to space,” stated Made In Space CEO Aaron Kemmer.

The device was originally supposed to launch not on this next Dragon flight, but the one after that. But it recently completed several tests looking at everything from vibration to human design to electromagnetic interference, and was deemed enough of a “minimal risk” to get moved up a slot.

A close-up of the 3-D printer made by Made In Space Inc. Credit: Made In Space

This 3-D printer will be the first to be used in orbit. Officials have already printed out several items on the ground to serve as a kind of “ground truth” to see how well the device works when it is installed on the space station. It will be put into a “science glovebox” on the International Space Station and print out 21 demonstration parts, such as tools.

“The next phase will serve to demonstrate utilization of meaningful parts such as crew tools, payload ancillary hardware, and potential commercial applications such as cubesat components,” Made In Space added in a statement.

Once fully functional, the 3-D printer is supposed to reduce the need to ship parts from Earth when they break. This will save a lot of time, not to mention launch costs, the company said. It could also allow astronauts to manufacture new tools on the fly when “unforeseen situations” arise in orbit.

Check out more about the project in this past Universe Today story. Another NASA 3-D printer contract, given to the Systems & Materials Research Cooperation, could lead to a device to manufacture food for crew members.

Source: Made In Space

June 12, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Jill Tarter Video: From Searching For Aliens To Helping Hollywood Stars, And Back Again

Imagine you’re a researcher at a cocktail party. You meet Carl Sagan (Carl Sagan!) and he hands you a novel. And it turns out that you are the inspiration for the major character in that book.

What was SETI researcher Jill Tarter’s reaction when this actually happened and she heard about Ellie, the protagonist in Contact?

“I said, ‘Look. Here’s the deal. As long as she doesn’t eat ice cream cones for lunch, nobody’s going to think it’s me.’ That was the thing that was sort of my most peculiar habit of the time,” Tarter recalls in this new video for PBS.

If you can think of all the media attention that surrounded the reboot of Cosmos, imagine that it’s 1997 and Contact has just been made into a movie. Tarter became a celebrity overnight, and describes the impact on her life. But she also explains why searching for life beyond Earth has relevance.

Tarter’s video is just one of several featured in the show “”The Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers.” To get the full story on Tarter’s links to Contact, check out this Universe Today story from 2012 where she reflected on the 15th anniversary of the movie.

June 12, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Abstract Art? Nope, It’s The World Cup Countries From Space!

The Sarychev Volcano in Japan erupting in 2009. On an asteroid, volcanoes would not form these types of domes and would likely be more like seepages. Credit: NASA/JSC/Image Science and Analysis Laboratory

And we have kickoff! As the fever of the 2014 FIFA World Cup takes over the world, NASA has shared images of all of the participating countries from space. And it shows that no matter what team you’re cheering for, our entire Earth is a darn beautiful place.

We’ve posted some of our favorite art-like shots below, and as a bonus, we’ve added a video and Twitter picture of astronauts playing soccer/football on the International Space Station a few days ago.

To collect the complete set of country pictures, head over to NASA’s Flickr album. And best of luck to all the teams!

Iran's Dasht-e Kevir, or Great Salt Desert. It is the largest desert in Iran. Picure taken by Landsat 7. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory — Iran’s Dasht-e Kevir, or Great Salt Desert. It is the largest desert in Iran. Picure taken by Landsat 7. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

Sao Simao Reservoir in Brazil. Picture taken by an Expedition 16 crew member on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/ISS

The Parana River in Argentina. Picture taken from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

At left, Australia at night. At right, the Cupola on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/ISS

South Korea photographed from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

Greetings from #ISS MT @Astro_Alex: ISS crew is warming up for the #worldcup http://t.co/tOyQmt3nmJ pic.twitter.com/uKZhnEhk6Q

— Reid Wiseman (@astro_reid) June 12, 2014

June 12, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Incredible Underwater Shots Of Astronauts Pretending To Be In Space

NEEMO 15's Shannon Walker (NASA astronaut) does a little dance during a simulated asteroid mission. Credit: NASA

Bust a move! Astronauts make regular trips into a shallow part of Key Largo to simulate asteroid missions and learn about procedures that could be used in space.

The new crews for NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) were just named, which means we have more of these neat photos to look forward to. Check out some of the past crews’ activities below the jump.

Briefly, here’s a rundown of the next two missions:

– NEEMO 18 (July 21, nine days): ” Behavioral health and performance, human health issues, and habitability,” says NASA. Crew members: Akihiko Hoshide (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Jeanette Epps (NASA), Mark Vande Hei (NASA) and Thomas Pesquet (ESA)

– NEEMO 19 (Sept. 7, seven days): “The evaluation of tele-mentoring operations for ESA. Telementoring is when a crew member is given instruction for a task by an expert who is located remotely but is virtually present via a video and voice connection,” NASA says. Crew members: Randy Bresnik (NASA), Jeremy Hansen (Canadian Space Agency), Andreas Mogensen (ESA), and non-astronaut Herve Stevenin, ESA’s head of extra-vehicular activity training.

To read more about NEEMO, check out the project’s webpage.

A NEEMO crew descends to its base about 20 meters (65 feet) below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. Credit: ESA–H. Stevenin

European Space Agency astronaut Jean-François Clervoy recreates the first moon landing mission underwater. Credit: Alexis Rosenfeld — European Space Agency astronaut Jean-François Clervoy recreates the first moon landing mission underwater. This was not a NEEMO mission, but still looks neat. Credit: Alexis Rosenfeld

NEEMO 16 during a simulated asteroid mission. From left, Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger (NASA astronaut), Andrew Abercromby (NASA deputy project manager for the multi mission space exploration vehicle) and Timothy Peake (ESA). Credit: ESA / Herve Stevenin

NEEMO 16 astronauts do a simulated astronaut mission. Credit: NASA

Shannon Walker (NASA) and David Saint-Jacques (Canadian Space Agency) using a small boom during NEEMO 15. Credit: NASA

Takuya Onishi (JAXA) places seismic instruments during NEEMO 15. Credit: Mark Widick

An unidentified member of NEEMO 14 bends down to pick up a rock. The crew included astronauts and non-astronauts. Credit: NASA

June 11, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom: Gorgeous Warp Ship Design Delights The Internet

Artist's impression of the IXS Enterprise, a warp ship. Credit: Mark Rademaker

“Let me take you on a little trip … we’re gonna travel faster than light,” the Kinks sang 42 years ago. Well, maybe this was the warp ship they were dreaming of.

Howard White (who we can confirm was a NASA employee as late as 2013) has a vision for a warp-drive ship that he’s been working on for a few years. White, whose biography describes him as the advanced propulsion theme lead for NASA’s engineering directorate, recently released his new vision of the spaceship in collaboration with artist Mark Rademaker. The result is gorgeous. More pictures below the jump.

As for how realistic his concept is, as non-physicists it’s tough for us to evaluate. Essentially, White is proposing some modifications to this warp drive concept by Miguel Alcubierre, which would create a zone of warped space time in front of and behind the spaceship to get it to move quickly. But White has been making the professional and media circuit in recent years touting his theories, and they are getting attention.

For more information on White’s theories, check out this research paper on NASA’s Technical Reports Server and this 2012 story in io9, where he was interviewed and explained his thinking back then. Also view the video below the pictures. Let us know what you think in the comments!

(h/t io9)

Artist's impression of the IXS Enterprise, a conceptual warp ship. Credit: Mark Rademaker — Artist’s impression of the IXS Enterprise, a conceptual warp ship. Credit: Mark Rademaker

Artist's impression of the IXS Enterprise, a conceptual warp drive ship. Credit: Mark Rademaker — Artist’s impression of the IXS Enterprise, a conceptual warp drive ship. Credit: Mark Rademaker

June 11, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Could Asteroids Solve The Fuel Problem In Space? Planetary Resources Video

A screenshot from Planetary Resources' "The Trillion Dollar Market: Fuel in Space From Asteroids." Credit: Planetary Resources/YouTube (screenshot)

While we as a community love exploring space, we also recognize it can be expensive. Launch costs, manufacturing and keeping a mission going all take money, which is why NASA (for example) runs reviews every couple of years to figure out which ongoing missions are providing the best return.

Planetary Resources — one of the companies that wants to mine asteroids, and is searching for them with NASA — has produced a new video envisioning a solution to that problem: harvesting fuel from asteroids. Leaving the legal concerns aside, the company points out this could be a way of better opening up exploration of the solar system.

“In space one resource above all others is extraordinarily expensive and without cheap access to it, growth is limited…FUEL,” Planetary Resources wrote. “The catalyst for rapid expansion into every frontier in history has been access to cheap, local resources. And in space, access to rocket fuel is currently neither cheap, nor local.

“But on asteroids,” it continued, “abundant quantities of hydrogen and oxygen can be used to create rocket fuel, the same stuff used by the space shuttle. This allows companies like Vivisat fuel spacetugs that will be used to keep satellites in their Geostationary slots, or fuel up your spacecraft before zooming off to Mars. The possibilities are endless!”

Big Thinking: You Create An X-Prize Contest To Solve A Pressing Problem

The X-Prize winning SpaceShip One (credit: Scaled Composites)

Remember the Ansari X-Prize, when there was a race about a decade ago for the first private spaceship to go into space and then return? The result not only saw Burt Rutan’s SpaceShipOne make it into suborbit, but also launched Virgin Galactic — one of the most talked-about space companies today.

Imagine if you had a burning problem that you wanted to solve. It could be related to space exploration, or astronomy, or climate change, or something else altogether.

In recognition of this, the X-Prize foundation has spun off a new company called HeroX to crowdsource ideas and funding for a prize competition. And Universe Today’s Fraser Cain, who has just joined the organization, wants readers to help him out with the ImagineX challenge! More details below.

“Imagine if a large enough group of people could come together, pool their resources, and issue a challenge that would inspire competitors to solve it,” Fraser wrote on his Google+ page, pointing out the X-Prize organization itself has broadened its scope to contests related to oil cleanup and low-carbon emission vehicles, among others.

“The goal with HeroX is that anyone can come and create a challenge,” he added. “And then anyone can pledge to help fund the prize. And then anyone can compete to solve the challenge and win the prize.”

According to HeroX’s ImagineX website, these are the broad guidelines:

Addresses a problem that people want solved
Is important to a large number of people
Is solvable
Engages people in discussing, competing and solving the challenge
Provides all the required information for a challenge to run on HeroX.com

Submissions will be judged on quality of submission, crowd engagement and influence and crowd appeal, and you can read more detailed guidelines here. Think carefully about your idea and when you’re ready, be sure to contribute before the deadline of Sept. 1, 2014. Winners will receive a cool $10,000.

For more information, read up on ImagineX here.

June 10, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Surprise! The Earth And Moon May Be 60 Million Years Older Than We Thought

Distance Between the Earth and Moon — The Earth rising over the Moon's surface, as seen by the Apollo 8 mission. Credit: NASA

Wondering why a new research team says the Earth and the Moon is 60 million years older than previously believed? Well, it’s a gas. It has to do with the proportion of different gas types that have stuck around since the Earth was formed about 4.5 billion years ago.

Since Earth had no solid surface at the time, traditional geology doesn’t really work — there’s no rock layers to examine, for example. So while the geologists caution we’ll likely never know for sure when the Earth came together, a new dating method for the gases show it was earlier than believed, they said.

To back up a step, the leading theory for how the Moon formed is that a Mars-sized object smashed into our planet, created a chain of debris, and over a long time gradually came together and formed the Moon. There’s been a flurry of news on this event in recent days. Different science groups have found evidence of the crash in Earth and Moon materials, and said it could explain why the Moon’s far side is so rugged compared to the near side.

For this study, Guillaume Avice and Bernard Marty (who are both geochemists from the University of Lorraine in Nancy, France) examined xenon gas in quartz found in Australia (previously believed to be 2.7 billion years old) and South Africa (3.4 billion years old).

64% illuminated waning gibbous Moon on August 26, 2013. Credit and copyright: Themagster3 on Flickr.

“Recalibrating dating techniques using the ancient gas allowed them to refine the estimate of when the Earth began to form,” stated the Goldschmidt Geochemistry Conference in Sacramento, California, where this was presented today (June 10). “This allows them to calculate that the Moon-forming impact is around 60 million years (+/- 20 m. y.) older than had been thought.”

This also affects calculations concerning when the Earth’s atmosphere formed. Since the atmosphere could not have stuck around after the big crash, this means that the previous estimate of 100 million years after the solar system’s formation wouldn’t work. So if the Earth and the Moon are 60 million years older, the Earth’s atmosphere formed about 40 million years after the solar system’s formation.

It’ll be interesting to see if other scientists agree with the analysis.

Source: Goldschmidt Geochemistry Conference