Posted on by David Dickinson

Spotting Juno: NASA’s Jupiter-bound Spacecraft Gets a Boost from Earth on October 9th, 2013

An artist's conception of Juno's October 9th flyby of the Earth. (Credit: NASA/JPL -Caltech).

Psst! Live in South Africa and read Universe Today? Then you might just get a peak at the Juno spacecraft as it receives a boost from our fair planet on the evening of October 9th, 2013.

Launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on August 5th, 2011 atop an Atlas 5 rocket in a 551 configuration, Jupiter-bound Juno is approaching the Earth from interior to its orbit over the next month. Its closest approach to the Earth during its October 9th flyby will occur at 19:21 Universal Time (UT) which is 3:21 PM Eastern Daylight Saving Time. The spacecraft will pass 559 kilometres over the South Atlantic to a point 200 kilometres off of the southeastern coast of South Africa at latitude -34.2° south & longitude 34° east.

For context, this is just about 25% higher than the International Space Station orbits at an average of 415 kilometres above the Earth. The ISS is 108.5 metres across on its longest dimension, and we wouldn’t be surprised if Juno were a naked eye object for well placed observers watching from a dark sky site around Cape Town, South Africa. Especially if one of its three enormous 8.9 metre long solar panels were to catch the Sun and flare Iridium-style!

Two minutes before closest approach, Juno will experience the only eclipse of its mission, passing into the umbra of Earth’s shadow for about 20 minutes. Chris Peat at Heavens-Above also told Universe Today that observers in India are also well-placed to catch sight of Juno with binoculars after it exits the Earth’s shadow.

Juno passed its half-way mark to Jupiter last month on August 12th when the “odometer clicked over” to 9.464 astronomical units. Juno will enter orbit around Jupiter on July 4th, 2016. Juno will be the second spacecraft after Galileo to permanently orbit the largest planet in our solar system.

The passage of Juno through the Earth's shadow on October 9th, 2013. (Credit and Copyright: Heavens-Above, used with permission).
The passage of Juno through the Earth’s shadow on October 9th, 2013. (Credit and Copyright: Heavens-Above, used with permission).

Catching a flyby of Juno will be a unique event. Unfortunately, the bulk of the world will miss out, although you can always vicariously fly along with Juno with Eyes on the Solar System. Juno is currently moving about 7 km/s relative to the Earth, and will move slightly faster than the ISS in its apparent motion across the sky from west to east before hitting Earth’s shadow. This slingshot will give Juno a 70% boost in velocity to just under 12km/s relative to Earth, just slower than Pioneer 10’s current motion relative to the Sun of 12.1km/s.

At that speed, Juno will be back out past the Moon in about 10 hours after flyby. There’s a chance that dedicated imagers based along North American longitudes could still spy Juno later that evening.

Juno approaches the Earth from the direction of the constellation Libra and will recede from us in the direction of the constellation Perseus on the night of October 9th.

The ground track covered by Juno as it passes by the Earth. (Credit & Copyright: Heavens-Above, used with permission).
The ground track covered by Juno as it passes by the Earth. (Credit & Copyright: Heavens-Above, used with permission).

There’s also a precedent for spotting such flybys previous. On August 18th, 1999, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft made a flyby of the Earth at 1,171 kilometres distant, witnessed by observers based in the eastern Pacific region. Back then, a fuss had been raised about the dangers that a plutonium-powered spacecraft might posed to the Earth, should a mis-calculation occur. No such worries surround Juno, as it will be the first solar-powered spacecraft to visit the outer solar system.

And NASA wants to hear about your efforts to find and track Juno during its historic 2013 flyby of the Earth. JPL Horizons lists an ephemeris for the Juno spacecraft, which is invaluable for dedicated sky hunters. You can tailor the output for your precise location, then aim a telescope at low power at the predicted right ascension and declination at the proper time, and watch. Precise timing is crucial; I use WWV shortwave radio broadcasting out of Fort Collins, Colorado for ultra-precise time when in the field.

As of this writing, there are no plans to broadcast the passage of Juno live, though I wouldn’t be surprised if someone like Slooh decides to undertake the effort. Also, keep an eye on Heavens-Above, as they may post sighting opportunities as well. We’ll pass ‘em along if they surface!

Late Breaking: And surface they have… a page dedicated to Juno’s flyby of Earth is now up on Heavens-Above.

Juno is slated to perform a one year science mission studying the gravity and magnetic field of Jupiter as well as the polar magnetosphere of the giant planet. During this time, Juno will make 33 orbits of Jupiter to complete its primary science mission. Juno will study the environs of Jupiter from a highly inclined polar orbit, which will unfortunately preclude study of its large moons. Intense radiation is a primary hazard for spacecraft orbiting Jupiter, especially one equipped with solar panels. Juno’s core is shielded by one centimetre thick titanium walls, and it must thread Jupiter’s radiation belts while passing no closer than 4,300 kilometres above the poles on each pass. One run-in with the Io Plasma Torus would do the spacecraft in. Like Galileo, Juno will be purposely deorbited into Jupiter after its primary mission is completed in October 2017.

If you live in the right location, be sure to check out Juno as it visits the Earth, one last time. We’ll keep you posted on any live broadcasts or any further info on sighting opportunities as October 9th draws near!

– Got pics of Juno on its flyby of the Earth? Send ’em in to Universe Today!

– You can also follow the mission on Twitter as @NASAJuno.

Posted on by Elizabeth Howell

Rainbow Pictures Of Milky Way Show Off Galaxy’s Structure

A colorful view of the Milky Way based on a new 3-D structure created by astronomers. "Due to our position within the disk it is difficult to identify the detailed structure of the inner galaxy," the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics said in a statement. Credit: MPE

Thanks to a new analysis of pictures obtained by a telescope in Chile, astronomers are gaining a better understanding of how the Milky Way formed and how our home galaxy has changed over the years.

Here’s how the project worked:

– The European Southern Observatory’s Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) 4.1-meter telescope took near-infrared pictures of the bulge of the Milky Way during the Variables in the Via Lactea public survey.

– Using the public data, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) created a three-dimensional star map of the inner regions of the Milky Way.

Milky Way. Image credit: NASA
Milky Way. Image credit: NASA

– Their findings were that the bulge in the center is shaped like a box or a peanut, with characteristics such as an “elongated bar”. It’s the first time such an accurate 3-D map of the inner universe was constructed, the science team said.

“This indicates that the Milky Way was originally a pure disk of stars, which then formed a thin bar, before buckling into the box/peanut shape seen today,” MPE stated. “The new map can be used for more detailed studies of the dynamics and evolution of our Milky Way.”

Among other conclusions, this helps confirm the fairly recent finding that the Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy, rather than just a spiral galaxy.

More pictures and details are available at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics’ website.

Posted on by Elizabeth Howell

This Is What It Looks Like Hovering Above An Asteroid

An atlas of the asteroid, Vesta, created from mosaics of 10 000 images from Dawn’s framing camera (FC) instrument, taken during the Dawn Mission’s Low Altitude Mapping Orbit (LAMO) an altitude of around 135 miles (210 kilometres). Credit: European Space Agency

Now’s your big chance to get up close and personal with Vesta, one of the largest asteroids in the solar system.

A new atlas has been released based on 10,000 images from the Dawn mission‘s framing camera instrument, which took the pictures from an average altitude of about 131 miles (210 kilometers). Each map has a scale of 1 centimetre to 2 kilometres (roughly a scale of 0.4 inches : 1.2 miles).

“Creating the atlas has been a painstaking task – each map sheet of this series has used about 400 images,” stated Thomas Roatsch, who is with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Planetary Research and led the work.

This image from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft shows a close up of part of the rim around the crater Canuleia on the giant asteroid Vesta. Canuleia, about 6 miles (10 kilometers) in diameter, is the large crater at the bottom-left of this image. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/PSI/Brown
This image from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft shows a close up of part of the rim around the crater Canuleia on the giant asteroid Vesta. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/PSI/Brown

“The atlas shows how extreme the terrain is on such a small body as Vesta. In the south pole projection alone, the Severina crater contours reaches a depth of 18 kilometres [11 miles]; just over 100 kilometres [62 miles] away the mountain peak towers 7 kilometres [4.3 miles] above the … reference level.”

You can check out the raw atlas images at this website. The research was presented at the European Planetary Science Conference and also published Sept. 1 at Planetary and Space Science.

Interested in getting involved in Vesta asteroid mapping yourself? A initiative called AsteroidMappers is open to amateur enthusiasts; check out more details in this past Universe Today story.

Source: European Planetary Science Conference

Posted on by Jason Major

This Company Wants To Send Robots Into Lunar Caves

Astrobotic's model rover explores a mine on Earth to train for lunar lava tunnels (Video screenshot)

Ever since (and most likely long before) the first tantalizing glimpses of a lunar lava tube and skylight were captured by Japan’s Kaguya spacecraft in 2009, scientists have been dreaming of ways to explore inside these geological treasures. Not only would they provide valuable information on the movement of ancient lunar lava flows, but they could also be great places for future human explorers to set up camp and be well-protected from dangerous solar and cosmic radiation.

But before human eyes will ever peer into the darkness of a lava tube on the Moon, robotic rovers will roll along their silent floors — at least, they will if Google Lunar XPRIZE competitor Astrobotic has anything to say about it.

Last month, engineer and Astrobotic CEO Dr. Red Whitttaker talked to NASA about why they want to explore a Moon cave and the history and progress of their project. Check it out below:


“Something so unique about the lava tubes is that they are the one destination that combines the trifecta of science, exploration, and resources.”

– Dr. William “Red” Whittaker, CEO Astrobotic Technology, Inc.

See this and more in-progress Moon plans from various research facilities on the Google Lunar XPRIZE Moon Roundup.

The international Google Lunar XPRIZE aims to create a new “Apollo” moment for a new generation by driving continuous lunar exploration with $40 million in incentive-based prizes. In order to win, a private company must land safely on the surface of the Moon, travel 500 meters above, below, or on the lunar surface, and send back two “Mooncasts” to Earth… all by Dec. 31, 2015.

Astrobotic Technology Inc. is a Pittsburgh-based company that delivers affordable space robotics technology and planetary missions. Spun out of Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute in 2008, Astrobotic is pioneering affordable planetary access that promises to spark a new era of exploration, science, tourism, resource utilization and mining. (Source)

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Absolutely Incredible Photo: Frog Launches With LADEE

An unfortunate frog at the launch of LADEE from the Wallops Island Flight Facility in Virginia on September 6, 2013. Credit NASA/Wallops/Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport

Oh my! We’re not sure to laugh or cry on this one (maybe both). This frog gives new meaning to “flying leap,” (or giant leap). This little guy was obviously startled by the ignition of the Minotaur V rocket that launched the LADEE spacecraft last Friday.

We’ve confirmed this image is in fact an actual photo taken by one of NASA’s remote cameras set up for the launch on September 6, 2013 from the Wallops/Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. Wallops spokesman Jeremy Eggers confirms the picture is legitimate and was not altered in any way.

However, we cannot say with any certainty that no frog was harmed in the making of this picture.

Why would a frog be hanging around a launchpad? The launchpad at the Wallops/Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport has a “pool” for the high-volume water deluge system that activates during launches to protect the pad from damage and for noise suppression, and likely there was a (formerly) damp, cool place that was a nice spot for a frog to hang out.

Also, NASA has noted that like Kennedy Space Center, the Wallops Island Spaceport sits among a wildlife refuge. The 3,000 acre Wallops Island National Wildlife Refuge is comprised mainly of salt marsh and woodlands and is a habitat for a variety of species, including frogs. NASA writes:

“But how is it possible for wildlife to peacefully coexist with space operations and what effects do rocket launches have on wildlife? NASA’s launch facilities, roads, and facilities take up a small percentage of the area. The rest of the area remains undeveloped and provides excellent habitat for wildlife. During launches, short term disturbance occurs in the immediate vicinity of the launch pads, but the disturbance is short-lived allowing space launches and a wildlife habitat to coexist.”

This is not the first animal oddity to be included in a launch. There are several images of birds flying away from space shuttle launches, and in fact, during the STS-114 launch, a turkey vulture ran into the shuttle’s orange fuel tank (see video below). There was the famous space bat from the STS-119 shuttle launch in 2009, and recently the SpaceX Grasshopper test launch startled a herd of cows:

Turkey Vulture meets space shuttle:

Thanks to Karl Hille from NASA Goddard for helping to track down and verify this image.

Update (9/12/13): NASA has now posted the picture on their Solar System Exploration website (I initially found it on imgur with no credit or source info).

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Timelapse: Watch the MAVEN Spacecraft Being Built Before Your Eyes

Artist depiction of the MAVEN spacecraft. Credit: NASA

Watch a year of incredibly detailed work in building the MAVEN spacecraft — sped up to take just 10 minutes. It’s the dance known as ATLO: Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations, set to a jazzy beat. The next spacecraft to Mars, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN or MAVEN began ATLO procedures a year ago on Sept. 11, 2012. It was shipped to Kennedy Space Center’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility on Aug. 2, 2013 to begin preparations for its scheduled launch on Nov. 18, 2013.

Find out more about MAVEN in one of our previous articles about preparations for the mission, or at NASA’s MAVEN website.

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Check Out Some of the Best Space Writing on Google+: Brian Koberlein

Brian Koberlein is a professor at Rochester Institute of Technology. When he’s not teaching, though, he’s communicating science and education on Google+ of all places. Instead of doing a traditional blog, he’s posting article after article directly onto G+. He’s gathered a huge following on the social network, and a level of interaction that would make any blogger jealous.

Here’s an example of a post he did a couple of days ago on black hole thermodynamics.


And here’s one on detecting the atmospheres of extrasolar planets

Oh, Google+ now gives us the ability to embed posts onto our website, so I wanted to see what that looked like too. 🙂

Anyway, check out Brian’s writing, circle him on Google+, and watch his occasional appearances on the Weekly Space Hangout.

For anyone who’s considering a field as a science journalist, I highly recommend you follow in Brian’s footsteps. Don’t wait for someone to give you permission to write and communicate science. Just get writing. People will notice, and with a large enough readership and body of work, you can get a job anywhere.

Posted on by Elizabeth Howell

Astronaut Does A ‘Moon’ Walk In The Sea. Better Yet, It’s Just One Of Many Recent Underwater Missions

European Space Agency astronaut Jean-François Clervoy recreates the first moon landing mission underwater. Credit: Alexis Rosenfeld

The black-and-white tones of this photo evoke a famous Moon walk of 1969, but in reality it was taken in Mediterranean waters just a few days ago.

For the “Apollo 11 Under The Sea” project, European Space Agency astronaut Jean-François Clervoy (pictured above) and ESA astronaut instructor Hervé Stevenin took on the roles of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, the first two men to walk on the moon during Apollo 11.

A major goal was to test the Comex-designed Gandolfi spacewalk training suit (based on the Russian Orlan spacesuits) during the sojourn. The mission was considered the first step (literally and figuratively) to figuring out how Europeans can train their astronauts for possible Moon, asteroid and Mars missions in the decades to come.

“The Gandolfi suit is bulky, has limited motion freedom, and requires some physical effort – just like actual space suits. I really felt like I was working and walking on the Moon,” Clervoy stated.

Even the photos come pretty darn close to the real thing. Compare this picture of Apollo 12 commander Pete Conrad during his Moon walk in 1969:

Apollo 12 commander Pete Conrad on the moon in 1969. The glow is due to the sun being at a low angle, NASA says. Credit: NASA
Apollo 12 commander Pete Conrad on the moon in 1969. The glow is due to the sun being at a low angle, NASA says. Credit: NASA

Water is considered a useful training tool for spacewalk simulations. NASA in fact has a ginormous pool called the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. Inside are duplicate International Space Station modules. Astronauts are fitted with weights and flotation devices to make them “float” similarly to how they would during spacewalks.

With trained divers hovering nearby, the astronauts practice the procedures they’ll need so that it’s second nature by the time they get into orbit. (NASA astronaut Mike Massimino once told Universe Today that one thing he wasn’t prepared for was how spectacular the view was during his spacewalk. Guess it beats the walls of a pool.)

The first tests for the Apollo 11 underwater simulations began at a pool run by Comex, a deep diving specialist in France, before the big show took place in the Mediterranean Sea off Marseille on Sept. 4. The crew members used tools similar to the Apollo 11 astronauts to pick up soil samples from the ground.

ESA astronaut Jean-François Clervoy collecting a rock sample underwater off the coast of Marseille, France. He was simulating the Apollo 11 mission underwater to prepare for future missions to the Moon, Mars or an asteroid. Credit: Alexis Rosenfeld
ESA astronaut Jean-François Clervoy collecting a rock sample underwater off the coast of Marseille, France. He was simulating the Apollo 11 mission underwater to prepare for future missions to the Moon, Mars or an asteroid. Credit: Alexis Rosenfeld

“Comex will make me relive the underwater operations of [Neil] Armstrong on the moon, but with an ESA-Comex scuba suit and European flag,” Clervoy wrote in French on Twitter on June 4, several weeks ahead of the mission.

And ESA promises there is more to come: “Further development for planetary surface simulations in Europe will be co-financed by the EU [European Union] as part of the Moonwalk project,” the agency wrote.

Clervoy isn’t the only European astronaut working in water these days. Starting Tuesday (Sept. 9), Andreas Mogensen and Thomas Pesquet joined an underwater lab as part of a five-person crew. Called Space Environment Analog for Testing EVA Systems and Training (SEATEST), it also includes NASA astronauts Joe Acaba and Kate Rubins, as well as Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi.

JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi underwater during the September 2013 SEATEST mission in the Atlantic Ocean about seven miles from Key Largo, Fla. Credit: Soichi Noguchi (Twitter)
JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi underwater during the September 2013 SEATEST mission in the Atlantic Ocean about seven miles from Key Largo, Fla. Credit: Soichi Noguchi (Twitter)

“The crew will spend five days in Florida International University’s Aquarius Reef Base undersea research habitat, conducting proof-of-concept engineering demonstrations and refining techniques in team communication. Additional test objectives will look at just-in-time training applications and spacewalking tool designs,” NASA stated on Sept. 6.

“We made it to Aquarius n [sic] did our first “spacewalk” today. From the ocean floor to space: Aquanaut to Astronaut. It is quite the adventure,” Acaba wrote on Twitter on Sept. 10. He walked twice in space on shuttle mission STS-119 in March 2009.

You can follow the livestream here (it runs intermittently until Sept. 17).

And a few days ago, ESA astronauts Alexander Gerst and Reid Wiseman, both bound for the station in 2014, were doing underwater training in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. “Worked with @astro_reid in the pool today, and guess who we met?”, Gerst said on Twitter Sept. 5 while posting this picture below.

"Worked with @astro_reid [ESA astronaut Reid Wiseman] in the pool today, and guess who we met?" joked ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst on Twitter on Sept. 5, 2013. Presumably the joke referred to the protagonist in WALL-E, a 2008 Pixar-animated film that features space exploration. Credit: Alexander Gerst/Twitter
“Worked with @astro_reid [ESA astronaut Reid Wiseman] in the pool today, and guess who we met?” joked ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst on Twitter on Sept. 5, 2013. Presumably the joke referred to the protagonist in WALL-E, a 2008 Pixar-animated film that features space exploration. Credit: Alexander Gerst/Twitter
Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Space Station Expedition 36 Crew Returns to Earth Safely

The Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft with Expedition 36 lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls.

The Expedition 36 crew from the International Space Station have landed safely, touching down in their Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft in Kazakhstan at 02:38 UTC on September 11 (10:58 p.m. EDT Sept. 10). This great overhead image by NASA photographer Bill Ingalls shows the Soyuz’s thrusters firing just before it slams into the ground, ending up on its side. On board were Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineer Alexander Misurkin of the Russian Federal Space Agency and NASA Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy. Vinigradov, age 60, is the oldest person to make the jarring landing in the venerable Soyuz craft.

You can see undocking and landing videos below:

The three completed 166 days in space since launching in late March. Remaining on the ISS are ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano, NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, now comprising Expedition 37. They will be joined by the Oleg Kotov, Sergei Ryazansky and Michael Hopkins, set to launch on September 25.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Win a DVD/BluRay Combo Pack of “Star Trek Into Darkness”

After its theatre debut in May of this year, Star Trek Into Darkness has blasted its way to the small screen with its release today on Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand. The new release features not only a high-definition version of the movie but the “extras” include behind-the-scenes footage, “making-of” details, and other special features.

“I’m excited for viewers at home to check out Star Trek Into Darkness on Blu-ray and DVD,” said the film’s director J.J. Abrams. “They did a great job and I’m thrilled with how everything looks and sounds. … I hope fans enjoy seeing the process that went into making the movie and the truly amazing work of our most spectacular cast and crew.”

Excitingly, Universe Today has three DVD/Blu-ray combo packs available to give away to our readers!

In order to be entered into the giveaway drawing, just put your email address into the box at the bottom of this post (where it says “Enter the Giveaway”) before Friday, September 13, 2013. We’ll send you a confirmation email, so you’ll need to click that to be entered into the drawing.

And then, we’re going to do something new and fun: Fraser will choose the winners and announce it on the Weekly Space Hangout on Friday the 13th (!) at Noon Pacific, 3 pm Eastern. You can watch here on Universe Today (we’ll be posting a live feed), over on our YouTube account, or on Google+.

Here are just some of the great features on this combo pack:

• Creating the Red Planet – Experience the creation of a never-before-seen alien world, as featured in the action-packed opening sequence of the film.

• Attack on Starfleet – Go behind the scenes with the cast and filmmakers and witness the creation of the shocking attack on Starfleet Headquarters.

• The Klingon Home World – Discover the stunning world of Kronos, and see how the filmmakers reinvented the Klingons for a new generation.

• The Enemy of My Enemy – Find out how, and why, the identity of the film’s true villain was kept a mystery to the very end.

• Ship to Ship – An in-depth and thrilling look at the filming of the iconic space jump sequence, which both defied the laws of physics and pushed the limits of visual effects.

• Brawl by the Bay – Sit in with Zachary Quinto and Benedict Cumberbatch as they revisit their intense preparation for the film’s breathtaking climax.

• Continuing the Mission – An inspiring look at the partnership between the film’s crew and the organization that assists returning veterans to find meaningful ways to contribute on the home front.

And yes, you’ll even get JJ Abrams’ trademark lens flares.

If you’d like to purchase Star Trek Into Darkness, check out Paramount Home Media or Amazon.

Check out our “spoiler-free” review of the movie here.