The huge storm churning through the atmosphere in Saturn's northern hemisphere overtakes itself as it encircles the planet in this true-color view from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI
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It’s five hundred times bigger than any anything like it observed by the Cassini Mission in the last two years. It’s encompassing approximately 2 billion square miles (4 billion square kilometers) of Saturn’s surface. It’s releasing lightning bolts at a rate of ten per second and it’s happening ten times more frequently than other storms monitored since 2004. It’s so intense that’s it’s even visible in larger amateur telescopes. Just what is it? A Saturn Super Storm…
“Last December, a remarkable thing happened at Saturn. A massive, hissing, lightning-producing storm violently erupted in the northern mid-latitudes of Saturn’s atmosphere and grew to gargantuan proportions.” says Carolyn Porco. “By the end of January, it had wrapped itself entirely around the planet, developing an enormous degree of wavy, even sensuous, details, reminiscent of the clouds on Jupiter.”
Known as “Great White Spots”, these huge storms aren’t new to Saturn – they are common each Saturnian year. While they are common to the ringed planet’s northern summer, right now it’s northern spring. This makes the Saturn Super Storm an early – and unexpected – arrival.
“Prior to the planet’s August 2009 northern vernal equinox, when the sun was shining in the southern hemisphere, the location of all observed storm activity on Saturn was a band encircling the planet at 35 degrees south latitude that imaging scientists had dubbed `Storm Alley’. Well, to our great puzzlement, this new storm — now 500 times larger than any previously seen by Cassini at Saturn and 8 times the surface area of Earth — has erupted at 35 degrees /north/ latitude.” says Ms. Porco. “The shadow cast by Saturn’s rings has a strong seasonal effect, and it is possible that the switch to powerful storms now being located in the northern hemisphere is related to the change of seasons and the changing position of Saturn’s ring shadow. But why the obvious hemispheric symmetry in storm eruption exists is not yet known.”
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft was listening to the sounds of the storm, too. Much like our terrestrial lightning causes a static effect on an AM radio, Saturn creates a phenomena known as Saturn electrostatic discharges. Check out this audio file of the action!
“The storm is also a prodigious source of radio noise, which comes from lightning deep in the planet’s atmosphere. As on Earth, the lightning is produced in the water clouds, where falling rain and hail generate electricity. The mystery is why Saturn stores energy for decades and releases it all at once. This behavior is unlike that at Jupiter and Earth, which have numerous storms occurring at any one time.” explains Dr. Porco.
NASA's Cassini spacecraft captures a composite near-true-color view of the huge storm churning through the atmosphere in Saturn's northern hemisphere. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI
Violent, yes… But incredibly beautiful. This false color image reveals clouds at different altitudes as seen by the Cassini spacecraft from a distance of approximately 1.5 million miles (2.4 million kilometers). Blue represents high and semi-transparent. Yellow and white are optically thick at high altitudes. Green is intermediate, while red and brown are low altitude unobscured by high clouds. Last, but not least is dark blue – a thin haze with nothing but Saturn below it. Scientists theorize the lightning is formed at the base cloud layer where water ice is covered by crystallized ammonia.
“This storm is thrilling because it shows how shifting seasons and solar illumination can dramatically stir up the weather on Saturn,” said Georg Fischer, a radio and plasma wave science team member at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Graz. “We have been observing storms on Saturn for almost seven years, so tracking a storm so different from the others has put us at the edge of our seats.”
Areas within Eberswalde crater (left) and Gale crater (right) are the two finalists for the landing site of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Credit: NASA
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Although a rumor came out about a week and a half ago that Gale Crater was the scientists’ preferred landing site for the Mars Science Laboratory, officially NASA says the finalists are now down to two: Gale and Eberswalde craters. The final selection will likely be made sometime this month, no earlier than July 11. As of now, MSL, a.k.a Curiosity scheduled to head to Mars during a Nov. 25 to Dec. 18, 2011 launch window.
Gale Crater contains ancient lakebed deposits and sitting in the middle of the crater is an enticing 5-kilometer-tall mound of rock, stacked with layers. This could provide the rover a study a variety of environments that produced clay deposits near the mountain’s base to later environments that produced sulfate deposits partway up the slope.
Eberswalde is the site of what scientists think is a former river delta, where organic materials could be waiting to be analyzed. NASA says that as a clay-bearing site where a river once flowed into a lake, Eberswalde crater offers a chance to use knowledge that oil industry geologists have accumulated about where in a delta to look for any concentrations of carbon chemistry, a crucial ingredient for life.
Officially out of the running are Mawrth Vallis and Holden Crater, the other two finalist sites.
The spacecraft will arrive at Mars in August 2012, and land via its unusual “sky crane” landing system. (See a video of it here.) Researchers will use the rover’s 10 science instruments for at least two years to investigate whether the landing area has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life.
This isn’t space and astronomy-related, but this video of the massive dust storm that swept through the Phoenix area yesterday is just amazing, if not apocalyptic! Mike Olbinski, a photographer from the area shot this timelapse, and on his website says, “There are really not many words to describe this dust storm, or what we call it here (and they also do in places like the Sahara Desert)…a haboob. This was a haboob of a lifetime. I’ve lived in Phoenix for my entire 35 years of existence and have never seen anything like this before. It was incredible.” Continue reading “Apocalyptic Time-Lapse Video of Massive Phoenix Dust Storm”
Artist impression of the James Webb telescope. Image credit: NASA
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The US House Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee has proposed a NASA spending bill that would put NASA’s budget at pre-2008 levels and cancel the $6.5 billion James Webb Space Telescope. Space News reports that the proposal would cut $1.6 billion from NASA’s current budget, which is nearly $2 billion less than President Obama’s 2012 budget request for NASA, giving the space agency just $16.8 billion to work with.
This news is not sitting well with scientists and researchers, with one astrophysicist saying this move could “kill US space science for decades.” Dr. C. Megan Urry, Director of the Yale Center for Astronomy & Astrophysics and the Chair of the Yale Physics Department said she has already written her congressmen and representatives to stand against this bill, “for the good of science, STEM education, and the nation.”
“I think this is an extremely serious situation,” Urry told Universe Today, “and I think the James Webb Telescope is an extraordinarily important mission. It was recommended in the 2000 Decadal Survey and was strongly endorsed in the 2010 Decadal Survey, so the science community has supported this mission for a long time.”
The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) quickly responded with a statement objecting to the axing of JWST, saying “Over the past year, NASA managers and the science community have undertaken a concerted effort to establish a budget and technology plan that allows the launch of JWST by 2018. The proposal by the Congress to terminate the program comes at a time when these efforts are coming to fruition.”
The press release that came out along with the draft states that that the bill terminates funding for the James Webb Space Telescope because it is “billions of dollars over budget and plagued by poor management.”
Space News reports that the draft appropriations bill, which the subcommittee is scheduled to vote on July 7, also includes $1.95 billion for the Space Launch System — the heavy-lift rocket Congress ordered NASA to build for deep space exploration. The proposed 2012 funding level is $150 million more than the heavy lifter got for 2011, but some $700 million below the amount recommended in the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, which became law in October. The bill would trim $431 million from NASA science, compared to 2011 enacted levels.
“Killing the JWST is not the answer to budget woes,” said astrophysicist Brooke Simmons via Twitter.
It should be noted that JWST is the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, and there is nothing else even remotely in the works that could replace what JWST is designed to do.
On the proposed JWST cancellation, Dr. William S. Smith, President of AURA said “Against a backdrop of widespread discussion over the future of NASA and the human spaceflight program, it is tragic that the Congress is also proposing to curtail NASA’s science program. JWST is NASA’s premier science facility, unsurpassed by any other telescope now or in the future.”
For those of you bummed that Hubble’s one millionth observation didn’t include an eye-popping image, Daniel Pendick from the Geeked on Goddard Blog has put together a video of over 200 classic Hubble images, with the funky music from the “Planets” album by the band One Ring Zero. “Planets” is a collection of new compositions to represent the solar system and beyond. Gustav Holst its not, but it is “an eclectic and quirky journey from Mercury to Pluto, with influences as diverse as gypsy violin, Pink Floyd and David Bowie, Electric Light Orchestra, and even klezmer,” said Pendick on the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. Enjoy!
Orange-colored coolant covers the mirror surface of the Subaru Telescope. Credit: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
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A “serious hardware incident” has shut down the Subaru Telescope indefinitely. A leak allowed orange-colored coolant to spill over the primary mirror and into the main camera, as well as into other instruments and the structure of the telescope. The damage is still being assessed. During the clean-up and recovery of equipment, nighttime observations have been suspended, as well as daytime summit tours of the telescope.
An announcement posted on the Subaru telescope website said that operators detected an error signal while shutting down the observation system at the end of the night shift during the early morning of Saturday, July 2, 2011.
When engineers arrived to assess the situation, they found extensive leakage of coolant (ethylene glycol) over most of the entire telescope. The leak originated from the “top unit” of the telescope, which is located at the center of the top ring and includes the Subaru Prime Focus Camera (Suprime-Cam) and auxiliary optics.
Although they promptly shut off the supply of coolant, a significant amount of leakage had already occurred, from the top unit itself down to the tertiary mirror, the primary mirror and some of its actuators, the Faint Object Camera and Spectrograph (FOCAS, a Cassegrain instrument) and its auxiliary optics, and the telescope floor.
The engineers attempted to clean up and remove as much coolant as possible. However, such areas as optics, control circuits, and the inside of Suprime-Cam and FOCAS were inaccessible during the initial clean-up.
The coolant consists of a mixture of water and ethylene glycol, a liquid commonly used in a vehicle’s radiator for cooling. The coolant is not corrosive and does not damage the primary mirror, which has a foundation of glass.
The Subaru Telescope is located on the Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii, with offices in the town of Hilo. The Subaru website said they will post updates on the status of the telescope and its recovery.
Space Shuttle Atlantis awaits Blastoff on July 8, 2011 from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer
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The countdown to NASA’s 135th and final shuttle launch began today (July 5) with no technical issues blocking liftoff at this time. But upwards of 750,000 spectators may be disappointed because the weather on launch day, July 8, is looking decidedly dicey. Storm weather and stormy seas lie ahead for NASA.
At today’s press briefing, Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters projected that the chance of favorable weather is only 40% for Friday’s 11.26 a.m. liftoff of Atlantis because of the likely threat of rain at the Kennedy Space Center.
The 12 day STS-135 mission will loft about 9500 pounds of supplies and equipment that NASA shuttle managers state are absolutely “mandatory” in order to keep the International Space Station operating at full capacity for the next year.
“I wish I had a better weather briefing for you, but it does look like we are going to have some weather, at least potential for weather, in the area at launch time,” said Winters. “Right now, we’re going with a 60 percent chance of KSC weather prohibiting launch due to the potential for showers and isolated thunderstorms in the area.”
In the event of a one day delay to Saturday, the chances for favorable weather increases considerably to 60%. For a two day delay to July 10, the chances of acceptable weather climbs to 70%.
After July 10, the liftoff of the STS-135 mission would have to be delayed to July 16 because NASA would be forced to stand down shuttle launch operations in order to allow the Air Force to launch a military navigation satellite on July 14 from Cape Canaveral. That is unless the Air Force relents – out of consideration for the three quarters of a million folks expected to jam the Florida space coast beaches, highways and hotels – and offers NASA the opportunity to launch Atlantis for several days starting on July 11 – in case of a launch delay.
STS-135 crew at base of Launch Pad 39A, Kennedy Space Center. From left; Mission Specialists Rex Walheim and Sandy Magnus; Pilot Doug Hurley and Commander Chris Ferguson. Credit: Ken Kremer
Space fans need to be patient and plan for undesired contingencies just like NASA by packing extra provisions like food, water and clothing and also should consider extended accommodations.
Clocks began ticking backwards today at 1p.m.EDT at the T Minus 43 hour mark towards the final blastoff of Space Shuttle Atlantis.
NASA Test Director Jeremy Graeber said at today’s briefing that Atlantis is ready to fly.
“Our teams here at the Kennedy Space Center and all the NASA centers across the country have been working for over a year to prepare Atlantis, the external tank our solid rocket boosters, the payload and all of our ground systems for the STS-135 mission,” Graeber stated. “All of our vehicle and ground systems are ready, the STS-135 crew, Atlantis and the launch team are all ready to proceed and we’re looking forward to a spectacular launch on Friday morning.”
STS-135 payload manager Joe Delai said the payloads and the Raffaello cargo carrier module are ready to go as well. “The primary objective of Atlantis is to resupply the ISS for one year. About 9500 pounds are going up. This is the largest payload in terms of volume.”
Delai said that Raffaello was specially modified to increase its cargo carrying capacity by several hundred pounds.
The STS-135 mission will bring NASA’s 30 year long shuttle program to a definite close and simultaneously mark the termination of the US capability to launch humans to space for at least several years.
Space Shuttle Atlantis perched on top of Pad 39A for the Grand Finale of the shuttle program.
Credit: Ken KremerNASA KSC shuttle managers brief media about the payload and launch status of the STS-135 mission to the International Space Station. From left: NASA Test Director Jeremy Graeber, Payload Mission Manager Joe Delai and Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters
Within our own lives, one of the most powerful forces is that of the Sun. Directly or indirectly, it provides all of the energy we use on a daily basis. Yet this mass of incandescent plasma is often a mere afterthought. But not to be forgotten, writer for Astronomy magazine, Bob Berman makes the Sun the focus of a new book, The Sun’s Heartheat which explores how our parent star affects our lives in ways more direct than we might expect. The book is due to be released July 13th, but I got a review copy to tell everyone about.
The book is a short read clocking in at a quick 20 chapters. Roughly the first third of them is a brief history of solar astronomy. Most of this is concentrated on the history of observations of sunspots. It goes through the initial discoveries, the waxing and waning of popularity of sunspots thanks to the Maunder minimum, and Schwabe’s discovery of the cycles.
Once that’s ironed out, we get to what I consider to be the main theme of the book: How does the Sun affect us here on Earth? The first topics addressed are rather germane: The sun brings life, but too much of it can kill you. But after that, the topics are a bit more interesting. There’s a fantastic chapter on the importance of getting adequate supplies of vitamin D which your body produces naturally from exposure to the Sun. Another chapter deals with the way the Sun doesn’t affect us: Astrologically. The book discusses our ability to see colors and the impressiveness of total solar eclipses and auroras.
The second to last chapter covers just how much peril we face from a large coronal mass ejection. I was familiar with nearly everything in the book, including this chapter, but I think this chapter was my favorite. Sadly, most people are disinterested in science, but more than any other, this one was tangible enough to be rather alarming.
It closes with a preview of the future Sun, describing how its slow increase in brightness will make life on Earth unfavorable in a billion years or so and how it will eventually expand into a red giant.
If you’re an experienced astronomy enthusiast, this book will likely offer little new information on the Sun itself, although it does have lots of good backstories on some of the discoveries and those involved. It is engaging thanks to a friendly tone, even if Berman does have an odd fascination with anachronisms (17th century HMO’s?). The book lacked several of the deeper topics that I feel could have been more inviting for advanced readers such as a more thorough description of our knowledge of the innards of the Sun thanks to helioseismology. I suspect this is because it didn’t relate strongly enough to the main thesis aside from a general, how the Sun works which doesn’t focus on how it affects us.
But if you know a young astronomer, or someone older just getting into the field, or someone that’s stared only at deep sky objects and never thought much about the closest star to home, this book would likely be of some interest.
A local famer from Afghanistan looks at the night sky through a telescope. Credit: Saeid Aghaei.
Most amateur astronomers take for granted that they can just go outside and enjoy viewing the night sky without encountering many problems — aside from keeping mosquitoes at bay or fixing equipment malfunctions. But in order for amateur astronomers in Afghanistan to simply set up a telescope in a dark region, they have to deal with more serious complications, such as making sure the area is clear of land mines, not arousing the suspicions the Taliban or the local police, and watching out for potential bombing raids by the US/UK/Afghan military alliance. But amateur astronomers like Saeid Aghaei and Yunos Bakhshi take those risks in stride just so they can share the beauty of the night sky with the Afghani people.
Aghaei is an amateur astronomer and a science and technology columnist from Neyshabur, Iran. For several years, he has been translating Universe Today articles on space and astronomy and publishing them in his local newspaper in Iran. But he is now in Kabul, Afghanistan working with his Afghan friend Yunos Bakhshi, to help establish and nurture the Afghanistan Astronomy Association. Bakhshi is one of the founders and is currently head of the organization.
This organization was initiated during the International Year of Astronomy in 2009, but has faced difficulties; not only from the upheaval the country is experiencing but because of the limited scientific exposure the general public has in Afghanistan. Bakhshi said there is confusion between astronomy and astrology (which, unfortunately happens everywhere) and also, due to limited access to the internet and illiteracy among the majority of Afghanis, many don’t see the practical applications of studying the sciences.
But on their website, the Afghan Astronomy Association says they hope to help make it easier to learn more about astronomy for all Afghans with different levels of knowledge on the subject.
“We believe, that astronomy can solve one of the background problems of Afghanistan; the struggle over the real ownership of this country, which lasts more than three decades. We try by wiping off the gun smoke from Afghanistan sky, to show the beauty and mysterious of Universe to all Afghans; so they will understand that this world, this blue planet and even this sun with its planets are just a tiny point in the Grand picture of Universe that no one is better than other; except by knowledge and moral values.”
Bakhshi said he and Aghaei are “committed to disseminate the astronomy knowledge among ordinary Afghans, mainly school children.” They are helping the cause by doing what they call “Adventure Astronomy” – basically braving dangerous situations to expose more Afghanis to astronomy.
The two shared their experiences from a recent night of skywatching in Afghanistan:
A view of the night sky about 20 km from Kabul, Afghanistan, with light pollution from the Bagram Military Base. Credit: Yunos Bakhshi.
At the end of last week, they traveled about 20 km from Kabul with a group of interested people. Even at that distance they experienced light pollution from the city and the American military base in Bagram. “Our observation site was a small farm not so far from the main highway,” Aghaei told Universe Today in an email. “It was a peaceful and calm place (based on local standards): all land mines are cleared or exploded, no sign of Taliban, because two days before they attacked Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul and based on our experiences and statistics (nonofficial), they would rest for one or two weeks. The only concern of us, even from the start of night was the battery charge (energy supply). But our presence with suspicious equipments triggered the local farmers’ concerns.”
After aligning the telescope, a car slowly approached, shining its lights on Aghaei and his friends, which included scientist Yunos Bakhshi and another amateur astronomer, and several Afghani people who were just interested in seeing the night sky.
“Suddenly we found ourselves surrounded by a group of gunmen,” Aghaei said. “We explained that we are astronomers, but the local police commander approached so to be sure that we are not terrorists and that our telescope had no military application and it is not a rocket launcher. We invited him to watch M4 Star Cluster, but he didn’t like it and said that his own binocular is more powerful. He told us were a group of half-witted and nothing else. One of the police registered our names and listed all our equipment.”
This frightened some of people who had joined the astronomers and many of them left.
“We explained that in most cases national and international forces do not mistake and target civilians, but we couldn’t assure them, and most of them (who for sure were saner than us) escaped and left us three astronomers alone,” Aghaei said.
Just when they finally had a chance to start observing and do some night sky photography, the sky was lit up from bright lights from the Bagram Military Airbase, one of the big bases of US forces in Afghanistan.
“We were sure that the American forces launched some kind of military training and that is why they simulated the daylight condition.” Aghaei said. “After one hour another issue halted our observation, saving our life: two military helicopters on their way to the Bagram military base, with no light crossed the sky over us. At first we were ready to risk our life but not turn off the telescope remote, because once again alignment could take a lot of time, but finally we preferred to stay alive. We heard that in many occasions by mistake pastors were attacked by these iron birds, and this issue forced us not to play Russian roulette.”
Aghaei quickly looked one last time at M27 and then turned off the telescope, lay down on the ground and didn’t move. The trio realized only later that the military could have had night vision cameras and the astronomers could have been spotted. Aghaei also said with this experience, he is going to propose to telescope companies that they invent a special button to switch off the remote control light in situations like this, at least for Afghan astronomers.
But their adventures weren’t over for the night. Next, a pack of dogs approached and began barking loudly. Aghaei said they dispersed the dogs by inventing a new application for green laser pointers.
Ultimately, the group was able to do what they hoped most, to take some astronomical images from their observations. Here is their image of M27:
Saeid Aghaei’s first experience of deep sky photography in Afghanistan, showing M27, the Dumbbell Nebula. Credit: Saeid Aghaei.
Aghaei and Bakhshi reflected on their experiences.
“Finally the night passed and close to dawn we arrived to the main entrance check point to Kabul city. We were thinking about our adventures and want to say that, no matter what kind of telescope or photography equipment you have, even it is not important you have got the first deep sky photo or TWAN-style (The World At Night) photo of this country (we had such experience that night), but it was important that we saved our life. We realized that for any next observation program, the main challenge is security concern and this factor will determine where ever we want to go for next our observation.”
But – no question — they will be going again, and Aghaei says, “Anyone who wants to experience such adventure we highly appreciate and welcome.”
Find out more about the Afghan Astronomy Association at www.kabulsky.com
Artist's impression of the transiting exoplanet HAT-P-7b. Credit: NASA/ESA
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After 21 years in orbit, the Hubble Space Telescope has reached an historic milestone: the venerable HST has made its millionth observation. The telescope was used to search for the chemical signature of water in the atmosphere of planet HAT-P-7b, a gas giant larger than Jupiter which orbits the star HAT-P-7, about 1,000 light-years away from Earth. The observation was led by Dr. Drake Deming, planetary scientist and astronomer from the University of Maryland and the Goddard Space Flight Center.
With this announcement, however, there is no stunning image or unprecedented view of an exoplanet. The millionth observation will show up as squiggly lines on a graph, since the observation was done with Hubble’s spectrograph.
Spectroscopy is the technique of splitting light into its component colors, and the gases present in a planet’s atmosphere leave a fingerprint in the form of the distinctive color patterns that different gases absorb. Analyzing this data can give precise measurements of which elements are present in the exoplanet’s atmosphere.
“We are looking for the spectral signature of water vapor. This is an extremely precise observation and it will take months of analysis before we have an answer,” said Deming. “Hubble has demonstrated that it is ideally suited for characterizing the atmospheres of exoplanets and we are excited to see what this latest targeted world will reveal.”
“With a million observations and many thousands of scientific papers to its name, Hubble is one of the most productive scientific instruments ever built,” said Alvaro Gimenez, head of science and robotic exploration for the European Space Agency. “As well as changing our view of the Universe with its stunning imagery, Hubble has revolutionized whole areas of science.”
Hubble’s on-orbit history began when it was launched on the space shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990. The HST has collected over 50 terabytes of data, enough to fill more than 10,000 DVDs. While the the data collected in the one millionth observation is now proprietary for the scientists, within a year, it will be released to the public. The huge and varied library of data Hubble has produced is made freely available to scientists and the public through an online archive at his link:
Hubble made the millionth observation using its Wide Field Camera 3, a visible- and infrared-light imager with an on-board spectrometer. It was installed by astronauts during the Hubble Servicing Mission 4 in May 2009.
