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December 23, 2014December 23, 2015 by David Dickinson

The Top 101 Astronomical Events to Watch for in 2015

Phew! It’s here.

Now in its seventh year of compilation and the second year running on Universe Today, we’re proud to feature our list of astronomical happenings for the coming year. Print it, bookmark it, hang it on your fridge or observatory wall. Not only is this the yearly article that we jokingly refer to as the “blog post it takes us six months to write,” but we like to think of it as unique, a mix of the mandatory, the predictable and the bizarre. It’s not a 10 ten listicle, and not a full-fledged almanac, but something in between.

A rundown of astronomy for 2015: There’s lots of astronomical action to look forward to in the coming year. 2015 features the minimum number of eclipses that can occur, two lunars and two solars. The Moon also reaches its minimum standstill this coming year, as its orbit runs shallow relative to the celestial equator. The Moon will also occult all naked eye planets except Saturn in 2015, and will occult the bright star Aldebaran 13 times — once during every lunation in 2015. And speaking of Saturn, the rings of the distant planet are tilted an average of 24 degrees and opening to our line of sight in 2015 as they head towards their widest in 2018.

Finally, solar activity is trending downwards in 2015 after passing the sputtering 2014 maximum for solar cycle #24 as we now head towards a solar minimum around 2020.

Our best bets: Don’t miss these fine celestial spectacles coming to a sky near YOU next year:

– The two final total lunar eclipses in the ongoing tetrad, one on April 4^th and September 28^th.

– The only total solar eclipse of 2015 on March 20th, crossing the high Arctic.

– A fine dusk pairing of the bright planets Jupiter and Venus on July 1^st.

– Possible wildcard outbursts from the Alpha Monocerotid and Taurid meteors, and a favorable New Moon near the peak of the August Perseids.

– Possible naked eye appearances by comet Q2 Lovejoy opening 2015 and comet US10 Catalina later in the year.

– The occultation of a naked eye star for Miami by an asteroid on September 3^rd.

– A series of fine occultations by the Moon of bright star Aldebaran worldwide.

The rules: The comprehensive list that follows has been lovingly distilled down to the top 101 astronomical events for 2015 worldwide. Some, such as lunar eclipses, are visible to a wide swath of humanity, while others, such as many of the asteroid occultations or the sole total solar eclipse of 2015 happen over remote locales. We whittled the list down to a “Top 101” using the following criterion:

Meteor showers: Must have a predicted ZHR greater than 10.

Conjunctions: Must be closer than one degree.

Asteroid occultations: Must have a probability ranking better than 90 and occult a star brighter than magnitude +8.

Comets: Must reach a predicted brightness greater than magnitude +10. But remember: comets don’t always read prognostications such as this, and may over or under perform at whim… and the next big one could come by at any time!

Times quoted are geocentric unless otherwise noted, and are quoted in Universal Time in a 24- hour clock format.

These events are meant to merely whet the appetite. Expect ‘em to be expounded on fully by Universe Today as they approach. We linked to the events listed where possible, and provided a handy list of resources that we routinely consult at the end of the article.

Got it? Good… then without further fanfare, here’s the top 101 astronomical events for 2015 in chronological order:

January

01- Comet C/2012 Q2 Lovejoy may reach naked eye visibility.

04- The Quadrantid meteors peak at 02:00 UT, favoring northern Europe with an expected ZHR of 120.

04- The Earth reaches perihelion at ~8:00 UT.

14- Mercury reaches greatest evening elongation 18.9 degrees east of the Sun at ~16:00 UT.

17- The moons Io and Europa cast a double shadow on Jupiter from 3:53 to 4:58 UT.

20- Mars passes 0.2 degrees from Neptune at ~20:00 UT.

24- A triple shadow transit of Jupiter’s moons occurs from 6:26 to 6:54 UT.

29- The Moon occults Aldebaran at ~17:31 UT for the Arctic, marking the first of 13 occultations of the star by the Moon in 2015.

The view at 6:40 UT. — The view at 6:40 UT on January 24th, as 3 of Jupiter’s moons cast shadows on to the Jovian cloud tops simultaneously. Created using Starry Night Education software.

February

01- Venus passes 0.8 degrees south of Neptune at ~17:00 UT.

05- Earth crosses through Jupiter’s equatorial plane, marking the middle of occultation and eclipse season for the Galilean moons.

06- Jupiter reaches opposition at ~18:00 UT.

18- A “Black Moon” occurs, in the sense of the third New Moon in a season with four.

22- Venus passes 0.4 degrees south of Mars at 5:00 UT.

24- Mercury reaches greatest morning elongation at 26.7 degrees west of the Sun at 19:00 UT.

25- The Moon occults Aldebaran for northern Europe at 23:26 UT.

Credit: Eclipse-Maps — The path of the only total solar eclipse of 2015, occurring on March 20th. Credit: Michael Zeiler/Eclipse-Maps.

March

01- Geostationary satellite & Solar Dynamics Observatory eclipse season begins on the weeks leading up to the March Equinox.

04- Venus passes 0.1 degrees north of Uranus at ~18:00 UT. This is the closest planet-planet conjunction of 2015.

05- A Minimoon occurs, marking the most distant Full Moon of 2015 at 18:07 UT, just 10 hours from apogee.

11- Mars passes 0.3 degrees north of Uranus at ~16:00 UT.

20- A total solar eclipse occurs over the Arctic centered on 9:47 UT.

20- The March northward equinox occurs at 22:45 UT.

21- The Moon occults Mars for South America at ~22:14 UT.

25- The Moon occults Aldebaran for northwestern North America at ~7:17 UT.

Neith lives… the close passage of Uranus near Venus on March 4th. Credit: Stellarium.

April

04- A total lunar eclipse occurs, centered on 12:01 UT and visible from eastern Asia, the Pacific and the Americas.

08- Mercury passes 0.5 degrees from Uranus at ~11:00 UT.

21- The Moon occults Aldebaran for northern Asia at ~16:57 UT.

22- The Lyrid meteors peak at 24:00 UT, favoring northern Europe with a ZHR of 18.

May

05- The Eta Aquarid meteors peak (time variable), with an estimated ZHR of 55.

07- Mercury reaches greatest evening elongation at 21.2 degrees east of the Sun at 4:00 UT.

19- The Moon occults Aldebaran for northern North America at ~2:53 UT .

20- Comet C/2014 Q1 PanSTARRS may reach binocular visibility.

21- Io and Ganymede both cast shadows on Jupiter from 00:04 to 00:33 UT.

21- Callisto and Europa both cast shadows on Jupiter from 13:26 to 13:59 UT.

23- Saturn reaches opposition at ~1:00 UT.

24- Asteroid 1669 Dagmar occults the +1st magnitude star Regulus at ~16:47 UT for the Arabian peninsula,

the brightest star occulted by an asteroid for 2015.

28- Ganymede and Io both cast shadows on Jupiter from 02:01 to 04:18 UT.

30- Comet 19P/Borrelly may reach binocular visibility.

June

01- The International Space Station reaches full illumination as the June solstice nears, resulting in multiple nightly passes favoring northern hemisphere observers.

04- Io and Ganymede both cast shadows on Jupiter from 4:54 to 6:13 UT.

05- Venus reaches greatest eastern (dusk) elongation for 2015, 45 degrees from the Sun at 16:00 UT.

10- Asteroid 424 Gratia occults a +6.1 magnitude star at ~15:10 UT for northwestern Australia.

15- The Moon occults Mercury for the South Indian Ocean at ~2:26 UT.

15- Moon occults Aldebaran in the daytime for the high Arctic at ~11:33 UT.

16- Comet C/2014 Q1 PanSTARRS may reach naked eye visibility.

21- The June northward solstice occurs at 16:38 UT.

24- Mercury reaches greatest (morning) elongation at 22.5 degrees west of the Sun at 17:00 UT.

July

01- Venus passes 0.4 degrees from Jupiter at 9:00 UT, marking the closest conjunction of two naked eye planets for 2015.

02- Comet C/2013 US10 Catalina may reach binocular visibility.

06- Earth reaches aphelion at 13:00 UT.

06- Pluto reaches opposition at 15:00 UT, just a week prior to New Horizons’ historic flyby of the distant world.

12- The Moon occults Aldebaran for northeastern Asia ~18:17 UT.

19- The Moon occults Venus for the South Pacific at ~1:07 UT.

25- Asteroid 49 Pales occults a +6.6 magnitude star at 10:55 UT for Mexico.

28- The Delta Aquarids peak (time variable) with a predicted ZHR of 16.

31- A “Blue Moon” occurs, in the sense of the second Full Moon in a given month.

August

07- Mercury, Jupiter and Regulus pass within a degree of each other over the next few evenings.

08- The Moon occults Aldebaran for central Asia at ~23:45 UT.

13- The Perseid meteors peak from 06:30 to 09:00 UT, with a maximum predicted ZHR of 100 favoring North America.

19- Mars crosses the Beehive Cluster M44.

28- Asteroid 16 Psyche occults a +6.4 magnitude star at ~9:49 UT for Bolivia and Peru.

29- Supermoon 1 of 3 for 2015: The Moon reaches Full at 18:38 UT, 20 hours from perigee.

Lunar eclipse — The path of the Moon through the Earth’s shadow on September 28th. Credit: Fred Espenak/NASA/GSFC

September

01- Neptune reaches opposition at ~3:00 UT.

03- Asteroid 112 Iphigenia occults a +3rd magnitude star for Mexico and Miami at ~9:20 UT. This is the brightest star occulted by an asteroid in 2015 for North America.

02- Geostationary satellite and SDO eclipse season begins as we approach the September equinox.

04- Mercury reaches its greatest elongation for 2015, at 27 degrees east of the Sun at 8:00 UT in the dusk skies.

05- The Moon occults Aldebaran for northeastern North America at ~5:38 UT.

13- “Shallow point” (also known as the minor lunar standstill) occurs over the next lunation, as the Moon’s orbit reaches a shallow minimum of 18.1 degrees inclination with respect to the celestial equator… the path of the Moon now begins to widen towards 2025.

13- A partial solar eclipse occurs, centered on 6:55 UT crossing Africa and the Indian Ocean.

23- The September southward equinox occurs at 8:20 UT.

25- Mars passes 0.8 degrees from Regulus at ~4:00 UT.

28- A total lunar eclipse occurs centered on 2:48 UT, visible from the Pacific, the Americas and eastern Europe.

28- Supermoon 2 of 3 for 2015: The Moon reaches Full at 2:52 UT, approximately an hour from perigee. This marks the closest Full Moon of the year.

October

01- Comet C/2013 US10 Catalina may reach naked eye visibility.

02- The Moon occults Aldebaran for the northern Pacific at 13:14 UT.

02- Io and Callisto both cast shadows on Jupiter from 12:26 to 13:35 UT.

08- The Moon occults Venus for Australia at ~20:32 UT.

11- The Moon occults Mercury for Chile at ~12:00 UT.

12- Uranus reaches opposition at ~3:00 UT.

16- Mercury reaches greatest elongation (morning) 18.1 degrees west of the Sun at 10:00 UT.

17- Mars passes 0.4 degrees from Jupiter at 22:00 UT.

18- Io and Ganymede both cast shadows on Jupiter from 10:45 to 12:10 UT.

21- The Orionid meteors peak (time variable) with a projected ZHR of 15.

25- Venus passes 1 degree from Jupiter ~19:00 UT.

25- Io and Ganymede both cast shadows on Jupiter from 12:37 to 14:51 UT.

27- Supermoon 3 of 3 for 2015: The Moon reaches Full at 12:06 UT, 23 hours from perigee.

29- The Moon occults Aldebaran for Europe at ~23:07 UT.

November

01- Io and Ganymede both cast shadows on Jupiter from 17:36 to 17:47 UT.

02- Venus passes 0.7 degrees south of Mars at 00:30 UT.

12- Will the 7 year “Taurid fireball meteor shower” produce?

18- The Leonid meteor shower peaks at 04:00 UT, with an estimated ZHR of 15 favoring Europe.

22- Are we in for a once per decade Alpha Monocerotids outburst? The 2015 peak arrives at 4:25 UT, favoring Europe… with a max ZHR = 400+ possible.

26- The Moon occults Aldebaran for North America at ~9:56 UT.

29- Comet C/2013 X1 PanSTARRS may reach binocular visibility.

Occultation — The daytime occultation of Venus by the Moon over North America on December 7th. Credit: Occult 4.1.0.11.

December

01- The International Space Station reaches full illumination as the December solstice nears, resulting in multiple nightly passes favoring the southern hemisphere.

04- Mercury occults the +3.3 magnitude star Theta Ophiuchi for South Africa at 16:16 UT prior to dusk.

06- The Moon occults Mars for central Africa at ~2:42 UT.

07- The Moon occults Venus in the daytime for North America at ~16:55 UT.

14- The Geminid meteor shower peaks at 18:00 UT, with a ZHR=120 favoring NE Asia.

22- The December southward solstice occurs at 4:48 UT.

23- The Ursid meteor shower peaks at 2:30 UT with a ZHR variable from 10-50 favoring Europe and the Middle East.

23- The Moon occults Aldebaran for Europe and central Asia at ~19:32 UT.

29- Mercury reaches greatest evening elongation at 19.7 degrees east of the Sun at 00:01 UT.

Didn’t see your favorite event on the list? Let us know, and be sure to send in any images of these fine events to Universe Today’s Flickr forum.

Enjoy another exciting year of space and astronomy… we’ll be expounding on these events and more as 2015 unfolds.

Sources:

– Occult 4.0

-Kevin McGill’s outstanding astronomical simulations.

-Greatest Elongations of Mercury and Venus.

–Stellarium

–Starry Night Pro

–Orbitron

-Steve Preston’s asteroid occultation predictions for 2015.

-The USNO forecast of phenomena for 2015.

-Seiichi Yoshida’s Weekly Information About Bright Comets.

-Fred Espenak’s NASA Eclipse web page.

-The American Meteor Society’s 2015 predictions.

-The International Meteor Organization’s 2015 page.

-Fourmilab’s lunar perigee and apogee calculator.

December 8, 2014December 23, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Meet the New Horizons Team in a Live Google+ Hangout

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft just woke up from its long nap, and now it’s on final approach towards its next destination: Pluto. Over the next few months, Pluto will be getting bigger and bigger in the front window; we’ll finally get our first close-up look at this mysterious icy world on July 14, 2015.

In order to celebrate this momentous occasion, the New Horizons science team will be doing a live Google+ Hangout with Universe Today on Wednesday, December 10th at 1 pm PST / 4 pm EST.

Universe Today publisher Fraser Cain will moderate a discussion with New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern, and other members of the science team: Jason Cook, Alex Parker, Simon Porter, Kelsi Singer, and Amanda Zangari.

We’ll be talking about the status of New Horizons, the science objectives of the mission, and answering questions from viewers.

Want to watch?

Click here to go to the Hangout page on Google+. Click “Yes” on the Event page and you’ll get a reminder in your calendar when we’re about to begin.

Recent Universe Today articles on New Horizon:
Pluto Spacecraft Wakes Up For An Exciting Close Encounter Next Year
Pluto’s Closeup Will Be Awesome Based On Jupiter Pics From New Horizons Spacecraft
New Horizons Sights Tiny Pluto Moon As Spacecraft Races Toward Dwarf Planet

December 7, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Pluto Spacecraft Wakes Up For An Exciting Close Encounter Next Year

Artist's conception of the New Horizons spacecraft at Pluto. Credit: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute (JHUAPL/SwRI)

Pluto, humanity is getting ready to change your image. The New Horizons spacecraft is awake once more after emerging from hibernation as planned yesterday (Dec. 6). And after a decade of sailing through space, there will be a historic first encounter with the dwarf planet in July.

The story may not end there, either. Mission managers are working hard to make the case that since New Horizons is way “out there” anyway, it would be a great idea to put the spacecraft past another object later in the mission. That hope rides heavily on the success of the Pluto encounter July 14.

“Technically, this was routine, since the wake-up was a procedure that we’d done many times before,” said Glen Fountain, New Horizons project manager at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, in a statement. “Symbolically, however, this is a big deal. It means the start of our pre-encounter operations.”

The New Horizons spacecraft takes off on Jan. 19, 2006 from the Kennedy Space Center for its planned close encounter with Pluto. Credit: NIKON/Scott Andrews/NASA

It’s been a neat few years for the mighty machine, even before getting to the main event. New Horizons launched from the Kennedy Space Center in 2006 and made a close pass by Jupiter and its moons in 2007, doing some science en route — including catching a huge explosion from Io, a volcanic moon.

Since then, the spacecraft has dutifully been sending back pictures from across the Solar System, including a picture of Neptune’s moon Triton, and several of Pluto — the first time a spacecraft will venture that far. In between the science work and checking out systems, New Horizons spent two-thirds of the journey sleeping to conserve energy for the big show.

Up next for the spacecraft will be several weeks of checkouts and also putting together the commands to make sure New Horizons is successfully guided past Pluto and its moons (a process that got complicated over the years as more moons were discovered.) After that, if the spacecraft holds out and the budget is approved, managers want to swing it past a Kuiper Belt Object.

The Kuiper Belt is a collection of icy bodies past Neptune’s orbit. These small worlds are believed to be building blocks of the Solar System, showing off a time billions of years ago when there were no planets or moons — just chunks of rocks and ice, which slowly collided and coalesced over millions of years to form the familiar landscape we see today.

New Horizons team members plan to ask for more money for this mission in late 2016, as they gather information via the Hubble Space Telescope and other sources to make their case. (They already have some targets in mind.) But the focus will definitely be on Pluto in the coming months.

Next year, by the way, will see another planned close encounter with a dwarf planet when NASA’s Dawn spacecraft gets to Ceres in the spring.

December 2, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Pluto’s Closeup Will Be Awesome Based On Jupiter Pics From New Horizons Spacecraft

A montage of images taken of Jupiter and its moon Io (foreground) by the New Horizons mission in 2007. Jupiter is shown in infrared wavelengths while Io is close to true-color. On top of Io is an eruption from the volcano Tvashtar. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

New Horizons, you gotta wake up this weekend. There’s so much work ahead of you when you reach Pluto next year! The spacecraft has been sleeping quietly for weeks in its last great hibernation before the dwarf planet close encounter in July. On Saturday (Dec. 6), the NASA craft will open its eyes and begin preparations for that flyby.

How cool will those closeups of Pluto and its moons look? A hint comes from a swing New Horizons took by Jupiter in 2007 en route. It caught a huge volcanic plume erupting off of the moon Io, picked up new details in Jupiter’s atmosphere and gave scientists a close-up of a mysterious “Little Red Spot.” Get a taste of the fun seven years ago in the gallery below.

An eruption from the Tvashtar volcano on Io, Jupiter's moon, in several different wavelength images taken by the New Horizons spacecraft in 2007. The left image from the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) shows lava glowing in the night. At top right, the Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC) spotted sulfur and sulfor dioxide deposits on the sunny side of Io. The remaining image from the Linear Etalon Imaging Spectral Array (LEISA) shows volcanic hotspots on Io's surface. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute — An eruption from the Tvashtar volcano on Io, Jupiter’s moon, in several different wavelength images taken by the New Horizons spacecraft in 2007. The left image from the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) shows lava glowing in the night. At top right, the Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC) spotted sulfur and sulfor dioxide deposits on the sunny side of Io. The remaining image from the Linear Etalon Imaging Spectral Array (LEISA) shows volcanic hotspots on Io’s surface. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

Jupiter's "Little Red Spot" seen by the New Horizons spacecraft in 2007. The spot turned red in 2005 for reasons scientists were then unsure of, but speculated it could be due to stuff from inside the atmosphere being stirred up by a storm surge. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute — Jupiter’s “Little Red Spot” seen by the New Horizons spacecraft in 2007. The spot turned red in 2005 for reasons scientists were then unsure of, but speculated it could be due to stuff from inside the atmosphere being stirred up by a storm surge. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

A "family portrait" of the four Galilean satellites around Jupiter taken by the New Horizons spacecraft and released in 2007. From left, the montage includes Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute — A “family portrait” of the four Galilean satellites around Jupiter taken by the New Horizons spacecraft and released in 2007. From left, the montage includes Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

A composite of Jupiter's bands (and atmospheric structures) taken in several images by the New Horizons Multispectral Visual Imaging Camera, showing differences due to sunlight and wind. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute — A composite of Jupiter’s bands (and atmospheric structures) taken in several images by the New Horizons Multispectral Visual Imaging Camera, showing differences due to sunlight and wind. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

In February and March 2007, a huge plume erupted from the Tvashtar volcano on Jupiter's moon Io. The image sequence taken by New Horizons showed the largest such explosion then viewed by a spacecraft -- even accounting for the Galileo spacecraft that examined Io between 1996 and 2001. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute — In February and March 2007, a huge plume erupted from the Tvashtar volcano on Jupiter’s moon Io. The image sequence taken by New Horizons showed the largest such explosion then viewed by a spacecraft — even accounting for the Galileo spacecraft that examined Io between 1996 and 2001. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

The New Horizons flyby of Io in 2007 (right) revealed a changing feature on the surface of the Jupiter moon since Galileo's image of 1999 (left.) Inside the circle, a new volcanic eruption spewed material; other pictures showed this region was still active. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute — The New Horizons flyby of Io in 2007 (right) revealed a changing feature on the surface of the Jupiter moon since Galileo’s image of 1999 (left.) Inside the circle, a new volcanic eruption spewed material; other pictures showed this region was still active. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

December 1, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Probing Pluto’s Paltry Atmosphere Using A Solar Eclipse And Spacecraft

Artist's conception of the Pluto system from the surface of one of its moons. Credit: NASA, ESA and G. Bacon (STScI)

Pluto is so far away from us and so tiny that it’s hard to glean even basic facts about it. What is its tenuous atmosphere made of? And how to observe it during NASA’s New Horizons very brief flyby next July? A recent Johns Hopkins blog post explains how a careful maneuver post-Pluto will let investigators use the Sun to examine the dwarf planet’s true nature.

Investigators will use an instrument called Alice, an ultraviolet spectrometer, to look at the atmosphere around Pluto and its largest moon, Charon. Alice is capable of examining the gases in the atmosphere using a large “airglow” aperture (4 by 4 centimeters) and also using the Sun for observation with a smaller, 1-mm solar occultation channel.

“Once New Horizons flies past Pluto, the trajectory will conveniently (meaning, carefully planned for many years) fly the spacecraft through Pluto’s shadow, creating an effect just like a solar eclipse here on Earth,” wrote Joel Parker, New Horizons co-investigator, in a blog post.

“So we can (and will) just turn the spacecraft around and stare at the Sun, using Alice as it goes behind Pluto to measure how the Sun’s ultraviolet light changes as that light passes through deeper and deeper parts of Pluto’s atmosphere. This technique lets us measure the composition of Pluto’s atmosphere as a function of altitude.”

And guess where the technique was used not too long ago? Titan! That’s a moon of Saturn full of hydrocarbons and what could be a precursor chemistry to life. The moon is completely socked in with this orange haze that is intriguing. Scientists are still trying to figure out what it is made of — and also, to use our understanding of it to apply to planets outside our solar system.

When a huge exoplanet passes in front of its star, and it’s close enough to Earth, scientists are starting to learn how to ferret out information about its chemistry. This shows them what temperature the atmosphere is like and what it is made of, although it should be emphasized scientists are only starting on this work.

A composite image of Titan's atmosphere, created using blue, green and red spectral filters to create an enhanced-color view. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute — A composite image of Titan’s atmosphere, created using blue, green and red spectral filters to create an enhanced-color view. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

The goal of performing these transit observations of Titan was to understand how haze on an exoplanet might blur the observations. From four passes with the Cassini spacecraft, the team (led by Tyler Robinson at NASA’s Ames Research Center) found that haze would make it difficult to get information from all but the upper atmosphere.

“An additional finding from the study is that Titan’s hazes more strongly affect shorter wavelengths, or bluer, colors of light,” NASA stated at the time. “Studies of exoplanet spectra have commonly assumed that hazes would affect all colors of light in similar ways. Studying sunsets through Titan’s hazes has revealed that this is not the case.”

The nature of Pluto will better come to light when New Horizons makes its pass by the planet in July 2015. Meanwhile, controllers are counting down the days until the spacecraft emerges from its last hibernation on Saturday (Dec. 6).

Source: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

November 13, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Wake Up, Pluto Spacecraft! New Horizons Emerges From Nap Next Month

It’s not quite the cryogenic sleep featured in Interstellar, but all the same, NASA’s New Horizons probe has spent most of its long, long journey to Pluto in hibernation. So far it’s been asleep periodically for 1,873 days — two-thirds of its journey in space since 2006 — to save energy, money and the risk of instrument failure.

But it’s just about time for the probe to wake up. On Dec. 6, seven months before New Horizons encounters Pluto, the spacecraft will emerge from its last long nap to get ready for humanity’s first flight past the dwarf planet.

“New Horizons is healthy and cruising quietly through deep space – nearly three billion miles from home – but its rest is nearly over,” stated Alice Bowman, New Horizons mission operations manager at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) in Maryland. “It’s time for New Horizons to wake up, get to work, and start making history.”

Hibernation periods have lasted anywhere from 36 days to 202 days. Controllers usually rouse the spacecraft about twice a year to make sure all is well, and to do a little bit of science (such as taking distant pictures of Pluto of its moons). This means the next wakeup will be a new phase for the mission — a sustained effort instead of a burst of activity.

Confirmation of the wakeup should come six hours after it takes place, around 9:30 p.m. EST (2:30 p.m. UTC). This will be after the light signal takes an incredible 4.5 hours to reach Earth from New Horizons. What’s next will be a very busy few days — checking out navigation, downloading new science data, then getting the spacecraft ready for Pluto’s big closeup July 2015.

“Tops on the mission’s science list are characterizing the global geology and topography of Pluto and its large moon Charon, mapping their surface compositions and temperatures, examining Pluto’s atmospheric composition and structure, studying Pluto’s smaller moons and searching for new moons and rings,” JHUAPL stated.

Source: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

October 17, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

‘Death Star’ Ocean? Seven Moons That Could Host Huge Hidden Liquid Reservoirs

A view of Mimas from the Cassini spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Could there be an ocean hidden somewhere in that Death Star-like picture? This is an image of Mimas, a moon of Saturn, and just yesterday (Oct. 15) newly released data from the Cassini spacecraft suggests there are big liquid reservoirs underneath its surface.

“The amount of the to-and-fro motion indicates that Mimas’ interior is not uniform. These wobbles can be produced if the moon contains a weirdly shaped, rocky core or if a sub-surface ocean exists beneath its icy shell,” said Cornell University in a press release. More flybys with the Cassini spacecraft will be required to learn more about what lies beneath.

You can read more about the study (led by Cornell astronomy research associate Radwan Tajeddine) in Science, where it was published. Below, learn more about other worlds in the Solar System that could host oceans under their surface.

Enceladus

After nearly a decade of speculation, this year the Cassini spacecraft returned gravity data suggesting Enceladus (another moon of Saturn) does have a large subsurface ocean near its south pole, if not a global ocean. If confirmed, that could help explain why scientists see water gushing out of fractures in that area. As this recent paper by Cassini scientists shows, Enceladus is a promising location for habitability.

Titan

By the way, anyone noticed that we still haven’t even left Saturn’s system? Titan is usually high on astrobiology wish lists for researchers because its hydrocarbon chemistry could be precursors to how life evolved. What’s not talked about as much, though, is at least two research findings pointing to evidence of a hidden ocean. Evidence comes from Titan’s tidal flexing from interacting with Saturn — which is 10 times more than what would be expected with a solid core — and the way that it moves on its own axis as well as around Saturn.

Europa

That Minecraft-looking object floating beside Europa there is a rendering showing where water vapor erupted from the Jovian moon, spotted by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2013. We were lucky enough to have a close-up view of Europa in the 1990s and early 2000s courtesy of NASA’s Galileo spacecraft. What we know for sure is there’s thick ice on Europa. What’s underneath is not known, but there’s long been speculation that it could be a subsurface ocean that may have more water than our own planet.

Jupiter's volcanic moon Io , imaged by the Galileo spacecraft in 1997. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona — Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io , imaged by the Galileo spacecraft in 1997. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Still flying around Jupiter here, we now turn our attention to Io — a place that is often remarked upon because of its blotchy appearance as well as all of the volcanoes on its surface. A newer analysis of Galileo data in 2011 — looking at some of the lesser-understood magnetic field data signatures — led one research team to conclude there could be a magma ocean lurking underneath that violence.

Triton

Little is known about Triton because only one spacecraft whizzed by it — Voyager 2, which took a running pass through the Neptune system in August 1989. An Icarus paper two years ago speculated that the world could host a subsurface ocean, but more data is needed. The energy of Neptune (which captured Triton long ago) could have melted its interior through tidal heating, possibly creating water from the ice in its crust.

Charon

We don’t have any close-up pictures of this moon of Pluto yet, but just wait a year. The New Horizons spacecraft will zoom past Charon and the rest of the system in July 2015. In the meantime, however, findings based on a model came out this summer in Icarus suggesting Charon — despite being so far from the Sun — might have had a subsurface ocean in the past. Or even now. The key is its once eccentric orbit, which would have produced tidal heating while interacting with Pluto. The science team plans to look for cracks that could be indicative of “the structure of the moon’s interior and how easily it deforms, and how its orbit evolved,” stated Alyssa Rhoden of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, who led the research.

October 16, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Pluto Planning: Hubble Spots 3 Objects NASA Spacecraft Could Visit Next

Where could New Horizons visit after it flies by Pluto next year? NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope is on the case. In a program that pushed the limits of the 24-year-old observatory, Hubble found three potential Kuiper Belt Objects for the spacecraft to visit.

The wrinkle is there is no money approved yet for New Horizons to do an extended mission yet, but team members (including Alex Parker from the Southwest Research Institute, who is quoted from Twitter below) are celebrating the milestone. To them, the most promising target (PT1) is the one on the left of the images you see above. Read more about it below the jump.

The Kuiper Belt is a zone of icy objects about four billion miles (6.4 billion kilometers) from the Sun, considered to be leftovers of the building blocks that put together the Solar System billions of years ago. It’s an area that Pluto itself drifts through from time to time on its elliptical orbit around the Sun. Roughly 1,000 objects there have been cataloged, although many more are believed to exist.

The team used Hubble from June 16 to 26 in a test program to look at 20 sky zones for evidence of KBOs, finding two that had never been spotted before by ground-based telescopes. More searching between July and September revealed one object that is “definitely reachable”, NASA stated, and two others that require more scrutiny.

We estimate that PT1 is several 10s of kilometers across. Here’s what that looks like next to Cape Cod and #Comet67P: pic.twitter.com/IHUx6uymO7

— Alex Parker (@Alex_Parker) October 15, 2014

Here is where PT1 lies in relation to the rest of the solar system. The yellow path is New Horizons’ trajectory. pic.twitter.com/4aQDEj8oPZ — Alex Parker (@Alex_Parker) October 15, 2014

Here is a gif of the Hubble Space Telescope discovery images of our New Horizons-targetable Kuiper Belt Object PT1. http://t.co/ifw8I4a8Wz

— Alex Parker (@Alex_Parker) October 15, 2014

An important and sobering note: even though New Horizons can reach this Kuiper Belt Object, there is no guarantee of an extended mission. — Alex Parker (@Alex_Parker) October 15, 2014

Each of the three candidates would take a while to reach, as they are all about one billion miles (1.6 billion km) beyond Pluto. They’re also tiny, with two estimated at 34 miles (55 kilometers) across and the third at 15 miles (25 kilometers). This makes them 10 times bigger than the average comet, but only 1-2% the size of small Pluto.

“This was a needle-in-haystack search for the New Horizons team because the elusive KBOs are extremely small, faint, and difficult to pick out against a myriad background of stars in the constellation Sagittarius, which is in the present direction of Pluto,” NASA wrote in a press release.

New Horizons’ team plans to ask for the extended mission in late 2016. Meanwhile, the spacecraft (which has been flying ever outwards since 2006) will finally zoom past its main target of Pluto in July 2015.

September 15, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

New Horizons Sights Tiny Pluto Moon As Spacecraft Races Toward Dwarf Planet

Artist's conception of the New Horizons spacecraft flying past Pluto and Charon, one of the dwarf planet's moons. Credit: Johns Hopkins University/APL

Here’s Hydra! The New Horizons team spotted the tiny moon of Pluto in July, about six months ahead of when they expected to. You can check it out in the images below. The find is exciting in itself, but it also bodes well for the spacecraft’s search for orbital debris to prepare for its close encounter with the system in July 2015.

Most of Pluto’s moons were discovered while New Horizons was under development, or already on its way. Mission planners are thus concerned that there could be moons out there that aren’t discovered yet — moons that could pose a danger to the spacecraft if it ended up in the wrong spot at the wrong time. That’s why the team is engaging in long-range views to see what else is lurking in Pluto’s vicinity.

“We’re thrilled to see it, because it shows that our satellite-search techniques work, and that our camera is operating superbly. But it’s also exciting just to see a third member of the Pluto system come into view, as proof that we’re almost there,” stated science team member John Spencer, of the Southwest Research Institute.

Watch the difference: Pluto’s moon Hydra stands out in these images taken by the New Horizons spacecraft on July 18 and 20, 2014. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

Hydra was spotted using the spacecraft’s Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), which took 48 images of 10 seconds apiece between July 18 and July 20. Then the team used half the images, the ones that show Hydra better, to create the images you see above.

The spacecraft was still 267 million miles (430 million kilometers) from Pluto when the images were taken. Another moon discovered around the same time as Hydra — Nix — is still too close to be seen given it’s so close to Pluto, but just wait.

Meanwhile, scientists are busily trying to figure out where to send New Horizons after Pluto. In July, researchers using the Hubble Space Telescope began a full-scale search for a suitable Kuiper Belt Object, which would be one of trillions of icy or rocky objects beyond Neptune’s orbit. Flying past a KBO would provide more clues as to how the Solar System formed, since these objects are considered leftovers of the chunks of matter that came together to form the planets.

Source: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

August 25, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Watch Live: New Horizons Crosses Neptune’s Orbit En Route To Pluto

Another milestone for the Pluto-bound New Horizons mission — it’s crossing the orbit of Neptune today, as it prepares to fly by Pluto next August. In celebration, NASA is holding two live events at headquarters in Washington, D.C. starting at 1 p.m. EDT (5 p.m. UTC) today, and livestreamed above. More details below the jump.

The panel at 1 p.m. EDT will include:

Jim Green, director, NASA Planetary Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington
Ed Stone, Voyager project scientist, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Alan Stern, New Horizons principal investigator, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado

Between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. EDT, New Horizons team members will recall what happened when Voyager 2 passed by Neptune 25 years ago, and also talk about where they are working today on the Pluto mission. The members will include:

Moderator: David Grinspoon, Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, Arizona
Fran Bagenal, University of Colorado, Boulder
Bonnie Buratti, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Jeffrey Moore, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California
John Spencer, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado