Aurora over Cumbria 5/6th August 2011 Credit: Raymond Gilchrist
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On the evening of the 5th of August 2011 the Aurora Borealis, Northern Lights were seen as far South as Southern England! At approximately 18:00 Universal Time (19:00 BST) the Earth’s magnetosphere was hit by a coronal mass ejection from the sun, triggering a powerful geomagnetic storm and Aurora.
This storm measured 8 on the K index (aurora richter scale) which ranges from 0 – 9 so this was a big storm.
It is quite common to see Aurora in Northern Scotland, but at approximately midnight, aurora was seen as far south as Berkshire, Wiltshire and Hampshire in Southern England. It is incredibly rare to see aurora this far south — the last time I remember was in 2003.
I was incredibly lucky to briefly see the pale greenish hue of the aurora through clouds from my back garden in West Berkshire.
Unfortunately a lot of people in England and Scotland were under thick cloud and missed this fantastic display, but thanks to fantastic astrophotographers such as Raymond Gilchrist (@RayGil on twitter) we are able to see the aurora through his images.
Did you see any aurora activity in your location? Geomagnetic activity remains high as I write this article, so I hope the sky clears and we are given another fantastic display of this rare phenomenon soon. Aurora on the River Tay, Newburgh, Fife, Scotland Credit: photosbyzoe
Using data from the VISTA infrared survey telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory, an international team of astronomers has discovered 96 new open clusters hidden by the dust in the Milky Way. Thirty of these clusters are shown in this mosaic. The images are made using infrared light in the following bands: J (shown in blue), H (shown in green), and Ks (shown in red). Credit: ESO/J. Borissova
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“Ninety-six clusters of stars in the sky…. Ninety-six clusters of stars… You take one down and pass it around…” Do you need ninety-six new reasons to love astronomy? Then you’re going to want to hear about all the new discoveries the VISTA infrared survey telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory has made. Read on…
An international team of astronomers has taken observations to the next level with their discovery of 96 new star clusters which have been hidden behind the dusty cloak of interstellar matter. By utilizing sensitive infrared detectors and the world’s largest survey telescope, the intrepid crew set a new record for finding so many faint and small clusters at one time.
“This discovery highlights the potential of VISTA and the VVV survey for finding star clusters, especially those hiding in dusty star-forming regions in the Milky Way’s disc. VVV goes much deeper than other surveys,” says Jura Borissova, lead author of the study.
As astronomy enthusiasts well know, there’s more to a galactic cluster than just a pretty grouping of stars. Age, relation and motion all play a role. Some are loose groupings – held together by mutual gravitational attraction. Others are torn apart through interactions. Still others are in the process of formation, caught in the act with their gases showing. Yet all share a common denominator: they are around few hundred million years old and they are the by-product of a galaxy with active star formation.
“In order to trace the youngest star cluster formation we concentrated our search towards known star-forming areas. In regions that looked empty in previous visible-light surveys, the sensitive VISTA infrared detectors uncovered many new objects,” adds Dante Minniti, lead scientist of the VVV survey.
Once the grouping has been discovered, classification comes next. Through the use of specialized computer software, the team was able to separate foreground stars from genuine cluster components. Observation then came into play as stellar members were counted, sizes estimated, distances computed and extinction taken into consideration.
“We found that most of the clusters are very small and only have about 10–20 stars. Compared to typical open clusters, these are very faint and compact objects — the dust in front of these clusters makes them appear 10,000 to 100 million times fainter in visible light. It’s no wonder they were hidden,” explains Radostin Kurtev, another member of the team.
Since antiquity only 2500 open clusters have been found in the Milky Way, but astronomers estimate there might be as many as 30,000 still hiding behind the dust and gas. That means these new 96 open clusters could be only the very beginning of a host of new discoveries. “We’ve just started to use more sophisticated automatic software to search for less concentrated and older clusters. I am confident that many more are coming soon,” adds Borissova.
Until then we’ll just “Take one down and pass it around… 29,999 clusters of stars in the sky.”
JUNO blasts off for Jupiter on Aug. 5 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 12:25 p.m. EDT. Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com)
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NASA’s solar powered Juno spacecraft blasted off today (Aug.5)from Cape Canaveral today to begin a 2.8 billion kilometer science trek to discover the genesis of Jupiter hidden deep inside the planet’s interior.
Upon arrival at Jupiter in July 2016, JUNO will fire its braking rockets and go into polar orbit and circle the planet 33 times over about one year. The goal is to find out more about the planets origins, interior structure and atmosphere, observe the aurora, map the intense magnetic field and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core.
The spacecraft is healthy and the solar panels successfully deployed.
Check out the photo album of Juno’s launch from the Universe Today team of Alan Walters and Ken Kremer.
“Jupiter is the Rosetta Stone of our solar system,” said Scott Bolton, Juno’s principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. “It is by far the oldest planet, contains more material than all the other planets, asteroids and comets combined and carries deep inside it the story of not only the solar system but of us. Juno is going there as our emissary — to interpret what Jupiter has to say.”
Juno was launched atop a powerful Atlas V rocket augmented by 5 solid rocket boosters – built by United Launch Alliance JUNO blasts off for Jupiter on Aug. 5. Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com)
“Today, with the launch of the Juno spacecraft, NASA began a journey to yet another new frontier,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. “The future of exploration includes cutting-edge science like this to help us better understand our solar system and an ever-increasing array of challenging destinations.”
Juno Launch - View from the VAB Roof
Atlas V liftoff with JUNO to Jupiter on Aug. 5 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Credit: Ken Kremer Juno Launch - View from the VAB Roof
Atlas V liftoff with JUNO to Jupiter on Aug. 5 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Credit: Ken Kremer (kenkremer.com)Juno Launch - View from the VAB Roof
JUNO blasts off for Jupiter on Aug. 5 atop an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 12:25 p.m. EDT.
Credit: Ken Kremer (kenkremer.com)
Send Ken your Juno launch photos to post at Universe Today
Artst concept of the Kepler telescope in orbit. Credit: NASA
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Hot on the heels of confirming one Kepler planet, the Hobby-Eberly Telescope announces the confirmation of another planet. Another observatory, the Nordic Optical Telescope, confirms its first Kepler planet as well, this one as part of a binary system and providing new insights that may force astronomers to revisit and revise estimations on properties of other extrasolar planets.
The first reported of these planets was the announcement from the Nordic Optical Telescope of the confirmation of Kepler 14b. The team estimates the planet to be eight times the mass of Jupiter. It orbits its parent star in a short 7 days, putting this object into the class of hot Jupiters. As noted above, the star is in a binary system with the second star taking some 2,800 years to complete one orbit.
In the announcement the team analyzed the data taking into consideration an effect that has been left out of previous studies of extrasolar planets. The team found that the glare from the nearby star in the binary orbit spilled over onto the image of the star around which the planet orbited. This extra light would dilute the eclipse caused by the planet and subsequently, changed the estimations of the planets properties. The team reported that not correcting for this light pollution, “leads to an underestimate of the radius and mass of the planet by 10% and 60%, respectively.” While this consideration would only apply for planets orbiting stars that were in binary systems, or line of sight double stars, the Kepler 14 system did not appear to be a binary system without high resolution imaging from the Palomar Observatory. This begs the question of whether or not any of the other 500+ known extrasolar planets are in similar systems that have not yet been resolved and whether their parameters may need revision.
The next planet, reported at the end of July, has been dubbed Kepler 17b. Again, this planet falls into the category of Hot Jupiters, although this one is only two and a half time times the mass of Jupiter. It orbits a star very similar the Sun in mass and radius, although expected to be somewhat younger. The observations of the star outside of planetary transits revealed a good deal of activity with temporary dips that did not persist on a regular basis like the signal from the planet. Such variance is likely due to stellar activity and Sunspots and allowed the team to reveal more information about the planet.
Because the planet could also eclipse starspots, it created a stroboscopic effect and the team confirmed the planet orbits in the same direction as the star spins. This is notable since several planets are known to have retrograde orbits.
While at the 2011 Lunar Forum last month, which was sponsored by the NASA Lunar Science Institute, I had the chance to talk with NASA astronaut Dr. Yvonne Cagle. I asked her how she sees NASA’s future without the space shuttle as well as her view of commercial space companies providing access to the ISS. We also talked about the challenges of doing medical procedures in zero-g and more.
You can listen to the podcast on today’s episode on the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. Here’s the link to the website where you can listen, or you can download the episode here.
Comet Garradd on Aug. 1. 2011 as seen from Australia. Credit: Peter Lake.
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If you haven’t already, it’s time to start looking for Comet Garradd! This comet, with the nomenclature C/2009 P1, is now coming into small telescope/binocular view so here’s your chance to see the brightest comet in the current night sky. You can find it in the late evening sky in the constellation Pegasus. Viewing it now, Garradd is just coming out the “fuzzball” stage, and its tail is just coming into view. Some say it’s much better looking than that other comet, Elenin, that has been needlessly grabbing some headlines. Comet Garradd was discovered two years ago by Gordon Garradd from the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia, and is currently visible through a small telescope at about magnitude nine.
Throughout the next couple of months, Comet Garradd will get higher and brighter and cut through the Summer Triangle north of Altair. By September, it will drop lower in the west but remain visible in the evening sky until year’s end for observers at mid-northern latitudes. Comet Garradd will peak in brightness late next February at around 6th magnitude, so it could be visible with the naked eye if you have really dark skies. Closest approach to Earth happens next March 5, when Garradd will be 117.7 million miles away. At that time, the comet will be seen flying though the Little Dipper.
Other comets are also currently falling towards the Sun and brightening as they get closer include C/2010 X1 (Elenin), expected to peak near magnitude six in early September, 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova expected to peak brighten past magnitude eight in mid-August, and C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) which may become visible to the unaided eye during the early months of 2013.
NASA’s new science probe to Jupiter, Juno, will make its first launch attempt on Friday, Aug. 5 at 15:34 UT (11:34 a.m. EDT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Watch it live on NASA TV’s UStream channel.
Atlas V and Juno spacecraft sit poised at Launch Pad 41 after roll out to the launch pad on Aug 4 ahead of Aug. 5 blastoff set for 11:24 a.m.. Credit: Ken Kremer
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The Atlas V rocket that will power NASA’s new Juno science probe to Jupiter was rolled out to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 and now sits poised for blastoff on Friday, Aug. 5 at 15:34 UT (11:34 a.m. EDT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
The Atlas V booster rocket was pushed out of its protective hanger, known as the Vertical Integration Facility, and towards Pad 41 this morning starting at 8:01 a.m. and took about 40 minutes to reach its destination.
Weather forecasters continues to call for a 70 percent chance of favorable conditions at launch time, but the approach of Tropical Storm Emily could throw a wrench in NASA’s plans depending on the track following by the storm over the remaining prelaunch period.
According to continuing weather updates, Emily is dissipating.
Juno Jupiter Orbiter encapsulated inside Payload Fairing atop Atlas V Rocket at Pad 41. NASA’s Juno science spacecraft sits inside the 5 meter diameter payload fairing which is bolted on top of an Atlas V rocket. Credit: Ken Kremer (kenkremer.com)
Managers approved Juno for flight at this morning’s Launch Readiness Review. The 4 ton Juno spacecraft will embark on a five year trek to Jupiter, our solar system’s largest planet and seek to understand the ingredients necessary for planetary formations.
Juno is perched inside a 5 meter diameter payload fairing and mated to the most powerful version of the Atlas V rocket – an Atlas 551 – with 2.4 million pounds of liftoff thrust. The 20 story tall Atlas 551 uses a standard Atlas booster with five solid rocket boosters in the first stage and a single engine Centaur in the second stage.
The launch window extends for 69 minutes.
The Atlas V is built by United Launch Alliance (ULA).
Juno will orbit Jupiter 33 times and search for the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter’s intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet’s auroras. Each orbit lasts 11 days
The spacecraft will provide the first detailed glimpse of Jupiter’s poles via a specially designed camera. The elliptical orbit will allow Juno to avoid most of Jupiter’s harsh radiation regions that can severely damage the spacecraft systems.
See my photo album from the launch pad published here.
Atlas and Juno at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Juno is slated for an Aug. 5 blastoff to Jupiter. 465,000 gallon Liquid Oxygen tank at right. Credit: Ken Kremer A bank of remote cameras set up to record the blastoff of Juno spacecraft. Credit: Ken KremerAtlas V, Juno and the Flame Trench at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer Atlas and Juno begin wheeling out from the Vertical Integration Facilty (VIF) to launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer (kenkremer.com)
The Spektr-R spacecraft. If you are thinking it looks nothing like the Hubble Space telescope, you'd be right.
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This is hardly breaking news, but there’s a new Russian space telescope in town. With a name like an anime character, Spektr R was launched on 18 July 2011 and its 10 metre carbon fibre dish was deployed a week later. It’s a radio telescope and – via a very large baseline array project known as RadioAstron – it will become arguably the world’s biggest radio telescope – and by a very long shot.
Following so closely after the Space Shuttle fleet’s retirement, the media has latched onto the idea that this represents a major step up from the Hubble Space Telescope and a further indication of the USA’s decline from space. But, nah…
Don’t get me wrong, when fully operational RadioAstron will be the biggest ever interferometer and is likely to deliver some great science when it gets up to speed. Well done, Roscosmos. But the various comparisons made between it and Hubble are a little spurious.
RadioAstron’s angular resolution is reported as 7 microarc seconds (or 0.000007 arcseconds) while Hubble’s resolution is generally reported as 0.05 arc seconds – so RadioAstron is reported as having over a thousand times more resolution. Well, sort of – but not really.
Firstly, the 10 metre radio mirror of Spektr R is designed to detect centimetre range wavelength light, while Hubble’s 2.4 metre mirror, is capable of detecting wavelengths in the visible light range of 350-790 nanometre range (and some non-visible infrared light too).
Angular resolution arises from the relationship between the wavelength of light you are observing and the size of your aperture. So, at the single instrument level Hubble rules supreme in the resolution stakes.
The image detail you can gain from arraying radio telescopes. Blobby false colour becomes more detailed blobby false colour (but there's useful science data there). Credit: VSOP.
The resolution assigned to RadioAstron (the telescope array) arises from the ‘virtual’ dish diameter created by Spektr R’s orbit, when arrayed with ground-based radio telescopes – which may eventually include Earth’s largest dish, the 300 metre Arecibo dish and Earth’s largest steerable dish, the 110 metre Greenbank radio telescope.
Spektr R will orbit the Earth via a highly elliptical orbit with a perigee of 10,000 kilometres and an apogee of 390,000 kilometres – so giving an elliptical orbit with a semi-major axis of 200,000 kilometres. That sounds like one big dish, huh… although it isn’t, really – just virtually.
Don’t get me wrong, there is a huge increase in information to be gained from arraying Spektr R’s one data point with other ground based observatories’ data points. But nonetheless, it is just radio light conveyed information – which just can’t deliver the level of detail that nanometre wavelength visible light can carry.
That’s why you can usefully create radio telescope arrays, but you can’t gain much value from arraying visible light telescopes (at least not yet). The information conveyed by radio light is spread widely enough so that you can estimate the information it is carrying from just detecting it at two widely spread detectors – and then superimposing that data. The fine detailed information contained in visible light is just too complex to allow this.
So putting up RadioAstron up as a contender to the beloved Hubble Space Telescope makes no sense. It is a totally different scientific project that will deliver totally different – and hopefully awesome – scientific data. Ad astra. If we want a step up from Hubble, we need to get the James Webb Space Telescope back into production.
An image combining orbital imagery with 3-D modeling shows flows that appear in spring and summer on a slope inside Mars' Newton crater. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
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In a news conference today, NASA announced discoveries that provide additional evidence of seasonal water flows on Mars. Using data collected by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the MRO team presented images of dark lines that form on slopes during the martian spring/summer and fade in winter.
During the news conference, HIRISE principal investigator Alfred McEwen (University of Arizona), discussed that these “finger-like” features were found in Mars’ mid-southern latitudes. “The best explanation for these observations so far is the flow of briny water,” he said.
McEwen based his explanation on several key facts: First, salt lowers the freezing point of water (“plain” water would simply stay frozen on Mars) Secondly, the temperature on Mars during these flows ranges from -23 to +27 degrees Celsius, which rules out CO2. While there is significant evidence of flowing water, the team did state that there is no direct detection of water since it evaporates quickly on Mars.
Regarding the dark color of the flows, McEwen added, “The flows are not dark because of being wet, they are dark for some other reason.” McEwen also mentioned that researchers will need to re-create Mars-like conditions in the lab to better understand these flows, stating, “It’s a mystery now, but I think it’s a solvable mystery with further observations and laboratory experiments.”
MRO Project Scientist Richard Zurek (JPL) offered his thoughts as well. “These dark lineations are different from other types of features on Martian slopes,” he said, “and repeated observations show they extend ever farther downhill with time during the warm season.”
This series of images shows warm-season features that might be evidence of salty liquid water active on Mars today. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona (click to view full animation)
What also proves intriguing to the team is that while gullies are very abundant on colder slopes that face the poles, the dark flows discussed in today’s news conference are found on warmer slopes which face the equator.
During the conference, Philip Christensen (Arizona State University) presented a map showing concentrations of “salts” in the same locations that the dark, “finger-like” flows were found.
McEwen reiterated during the Q&A session that the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), hasn’t detected any signs of water and that laboratory simulations will be necessary to gain a better understanding of these features – basically the team is seeing signs of flowing water, but not the water itself.
If you’d like to learn more about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and today’s announcement, you can visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mro
This map of Mars shows relative locations of three types of findings related to salt or frozen water, plus a new type of finding that may be related to both salt and water. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/UA/LANL/MSSS
