This time lapse footage was taken by astronaut Don Pettit — of Saturday Morning Science and the Zero-G coffee cup fame — during his time on the International Space Station. It shows Earth from day to night and back to day again. Pettit was on the ISS from November 23, 2002 to May 3, 2003, so he was in space when the Columbia accident happened. Pettit is one of the most interesting and quirkier astronauts and I hope he gets to return to the ISS. is scheduled to return to the ISS in 2011 (thanks to Ben H. for clarifying — see comments). This video provides some great views of Earth, especially at night, that can’t be captured with a regular video shot. Stunning.
The Antennae Galaxies in Collision Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration
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How were the Universe’s first supermassive black holes formed? A new model of the evolution of galaxies and black holes show collisions show that colliding galaxies likely spawned black holes that formed about 13 billion years ago. The discovery fills in a missing chapter of our universe’s early history, and could help write the next chapter — in which scientists better understand how gravity and dark matter formed the universe as we know it.
Following the recent discovery that galaxies formed much earlier in the Universe’s history than previously thought, Stelios Kazantzidis from The Ohio State University and his team created new computer simulations that show the first-ever super-massive black holes were likely born when those early galaxies collided and merged together. This likely happened during the first few billion years after the Big Bang.
“Our results add a new milestone to the important realization of how structure forms in the universe,” Kazantzidis said.
Previously, astronomers thought galaxies evolved hierarchically, where gravity drew small bits of matter together first, and those small bits gradually came together to form larger structures.
But the the new models turn that notion on its head.
“Together with these other discoveries, our result shows that big structures — both galaxies and massive black holes — build up quickly in the history of the universe,” he said. “Amazingly, this is contrary to hierarchical structure formation. The paradox is resolved once one realizes that dark matter grows hierarchically, but ordinary matter doesn’t. The normal matter that makes up visible galaxies and super-massive black holes collapses more efficiently, and this was true also when the universe was very young, giving rise to anti-hierarchical formation of galaxies and black holes.”
So, that means that big galaxies and super-massive black holes come together quickly, and smaller bits like our own Milky Way galaxy — and the comparatively small black hole at its center — form more slowly. The galaxies that formed those first super-massive black holes are still around, Kazantzidis said.
The new simulations done on supercomputers were able to resolve features that were 100 times smaller, and revealed details in the heart of the merged galaxies on a scale of less than a light year.
Because of this, the astronomers were able to see two things: First, gas and dust in the center of the galaxies condensed to form a tight nuclear disk. Then the disk became unstable, and the gas and dust contracted again, to form an even denser cloud that eventually spawned a super-massive black hole.
The implications for cosmology are far-reaching, Kazantzidis said.
“For example, the standard idea — that a galaxy’s properties and the mass of its central black hole are related because the two grow in parallel — will have to be revised. In our model, the black hole grows much faster than the galaxy. So it could be that the black hole is not regulated at all by the growth of the galaxy. It could be that the galaxy is regulated by the growth of the black hole.”
In the image, the panel illustrates the complexity of dynamical evolution in a typical collision between two equal-mass disk galaxies. The simulation follows dark matter, stars, gas, and supermassive black holes, but only the gas component is visualized. Brighter colors indicate regions of higher gas density and the time corresponding to each snapshot is given by the labels. The first 10 panel images measure 100 kpc on a side, roughly five times the diameter of the visible part of the Milky Way galaxy. The next five panels represent successive zooms on the central region. The final frame shows the inner 300 pc of the nuclear region at the end of the simulation. Credit: Ohio State University
This new model could also help astronomers who are searching the skies for direct evidence of Einstein’s theory of general relativity: gravitational waves.
According to general relativity, any ancient galaxy mergers would have created massive gravitational waves — ripples in the space-time continuum — the remnants of which should still be visible today.
New gravitational wave detectors, such as NASA’s Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, were designed to detect these waves directly, and open a new window into astrophysical and physical phenomena that cannot be studied in other ways.
Scientists will need to know how super-massive black holes formed in the early universe and how they are distributed in space today in order interpret the results of those experiments. The new computer simulations should provide a clue.
While the common perception of asteroids is that they are giant rocks lumbering about in orbit, a new study shows they actually are constantly changing “little worlds” that can give birth to smaller asteroids that split off to start their own lives as they circle around the sun.
Astronomers have known that small asteroids get “spun up” to fast rotation rates by sunlight falling on them, much like propellers in the wind. The new results show when asteroids spin fast enough, they can undergo “rotational fission,” splitting into two pieces which then begin orbiting each other. Such “binary asteroids” are fairly common in the solar system.
An international team of astronomers led by Petr Pravec of the Astronomical Institute in the Czech Republic found that many of these binary asteroids do not remain bound to each other but escape, forming two asteroids in orbit around the sun when there previously was just one. The study appears in the Aug. 26 issue of Nature.
The researchers studied 35 so-called “asteroid pairs,” separate asteroids in orbit around the sun that have come close to each other at some point in the past million years — usually within a few miles, or kilometers — at very low relative speeds. They measured the relative brightness of each asteroid pair, which correlates to its size, and determined the spin rates of the asteroid pairs using a technique known as photometry.
“It was clear to us then that just computing orbits of the paired asteroids was not sufficient to understand their origin,” said Pravec. “We had to study the properties of the bodies. We used photometric techniques that allowed us to determine their rotation rates and study their relative sizes.”
The research team showed that all of the asteroid pairs in the study had a specific relationship between the larger and smaller members, with the smallest one always less than 60 percent of the size of its companion asteroid.
The conclusion fits a theory of binary asteroid formation originated by co-author Daniel Scheeres, from the University of Colorado, Boulder. His theory predicts that if a binary asteroid forms by rotational fission, the two can only escape from each other if the smaller one is less than 60 percent the size of the larger asteroid. Of all the asteroid pairs in the study, the smallest of each pair was always less than 60 percent of the mass of its companion asteroid.
Scheeres’ theory predicts that if a binary asteroid forms by rotational fission, the two can only escape from each other if the smaller one is less than 60 percent of the size of the larger asteroid. When one of the asteroids in the pair is small enough, it can “make a break for it” and escape the orbital dance, essentially moving away to start its own “asteroid family,” he said. During rotational fission, the asteroids separate gently from each other at relatively low velocities.
“This is perhaps the clearest observational evidence that asteroids aren’t just large rocks in orbit about the sun that keep the same shape over time,” said Scheeres. “Instead, they are little worlds that may be constantly changing as they grow older, sometimes giving birth to smaller asteroids that then start their own life in orbit around the sun.”
Screenshot of a new exoplanet app for iPhone and iPad.
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Just in time for the announcement yesterday of the multi-planet solar system discovery, and an upcoming exoplanet announcement by the Kepler team comes a new version of a free exoplanet app for iPhone and iPad. We got a note from Hanno Rein, who developed “Exoplanet,” and who just finished his PhD in astrophysics at the University of Cambridge. “It lists all discovered extrasolar planets with a lot of background information, many visualizations and animations,” he said. Other highlights include an easy search and filter for the database, real telescope images of the host star, visualizations of the orbits and the habitable zone, interactive 3D size comparison to our own solar system and much more.
With all the exoplanet news lately, “Exoplanet” is updated daily and push notifications are sent out whenever a new planet is discovered (although they can be turned off if you don’t want to get notifications). Pretty much everything known about any exoplanet is included, such as physical parameters, along with various visualizations and background information, which make this exciting subject accessible for a wider audience.
New for version 3.9 are direct links to planets and planetary systems, links to other planets of the same multi-planetary system have been added, and you can now link from any e-mail or website directly to this application by using a URL form of the exoplanet, for example, ://Fomalhaut
Rein developed this app while a student, and wanted to keep it free (knowing how hard it is to be a poor student!) so there are ads on the app. But a non-ad version is available for only $.99 USD.
I don’t have an iPhone or iPad (yet!) but Fraser does, and he said the Exoplanet app is very cool!
More than 3,300 solar panels have been erected on a vacant five acres at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Credit: NASA/Jim Grossman
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Today, the total oil and natural gas production provides about 60 percent of global energy consumption. This percentage is expected to peak about 10 to 30 years from now, and then be followed by a rapid decline, due to declining oil reserves and, hopefully, sources of renewable energy that technologies that will become more economically viable. But will there be the technology breakthroughs needed to make clean and exhaustible energy cost effective?
Nobel prize winner Walter Kohn, Ph.D., from the University of California Santa Barbara said that the continuous research and development of alternate energy could soon lead to a new era in human history in which two renewable sources — solar and wind — will become Earth’s dominant contributor of energy.
“These trends have created two unprecedented global challenges”, Kohn said, speaking at the American Chemical Society’s national meeting. “One is the threatened global shortage of acceptable energy. The other is the unacceptable, imminent danger of global warming and its consequences.”
The nations of the world need a concerted commitment to a changeover from the current era, dominated by oil plus natural gas, to a future era dominated by solar, wind, and alternative energy sources, Kohn said, and he sees that beginning to happen.
The global photovoltaic energy production increased by a factor of about 90 and wind energy by a factor of about 10 over the last decade. Kohn expects vigorous growth of these two energies to continue during the next decade and beyond, thereby leading to a new era, what he calls the SOL/WIND era, in human history, in which solar and wind energy have become the earth’s dominant alternative energies.
Kohn noted that this challenge require a variety of responses. “The most obvious is continuing scientific and technical progress providing abundant and affordable alternative energies, safe, clean and carbon-free,” he said.
One of the biggest challenges might be leveling off global population, as well as energy consumption levels.
Baumgartner during a test flight. Credit: Red Bull Stratos
Want to know what it is like to bail out in near space and freefall 37 km (23 miles) to Earth? You’re about to find out. While no date has been announced yet for Felix Baumgartner’s attempt at breaking the speed of sound during freefall, when it does occur, everyone will be able to watch. The Red Bull Stratos mission team announced today there will be a live television broadcast and online stream of the activities. In-flight cameras will be mounted on the capsule that brings him to 36,500 meters (120,000 feet) altitude via stratospheric balloon, as well as on Baumgartner’s space suit. If successful, this will be the first time in history a freefalling human body will reach supersonic speeds.
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There will also be microphones inside the capsule and inside Baumgartner’s helmet. Those on the capsule will record sound only as long as there is air to carry the soundwaves. When Baumgartner depressurizes the capsule (just before he jumps), those ambient microphones in the capsule will stop picking up sound, but his helmet mic should keep working.
The final launch date, location and live stream details will be announced in the coming weeks on www.redbullstratos.com, on Twitter (@RedBullStratos), and on Facebook.
The current record-holder, USAF Col. (Ret.) Joe Kittinger jumped from 102,800 feet 50 years ago this month. He did not break the speed of sound, although he probably came close. There have been several attempts to surpass Kittinger’s record, but none have succeeded, and people have given their lives for the quest. There are some movies and images from Kittinger’s jump, and his team used spring-wound motion picture cameras warmed by hot-water bottles to document his freefall. Red Bull Stratos will use high-definition video cameras and ultra-high-definition 4K digital cinematography cameras. The challenge will be keeping them cool in an environment where the air is too thin to wick away their heat.
The footage is being taken by FlightLine Films, who will be making a documentary about the jump, so it’s not clear how much will be live on the webcast, although the press release by Red Bull Stratos says the camers will “provide viewers of the worldwide broadcast with perspectives of the capsule, the skyscape and Baumgartner himself.”
And of course there is the main reason to record everything that happens in the jump: for the benefit of scientific research.
We’ll provide an update on the date of the Baumgartner’s jump when it is announced.
The first quarter moon is actually the third phase of the moon each cycle. In the Northern Hemisphere during this phase, the right hand 50% of the moon is visible during the afternoon and the early part of the night. In the Southern Hemisphere the left hand 50% of the moon can be seen. This lunar phase follows the new moon and the waxing crescent.
A lunar phase is the appearance of an illuminated portion of the moon as seen by an observer. For this article the observer is always on Earth. The lunar phases vary in a definite cycle as the moon orbits the Earth. The phases change based on the changing relative positions of the Earth, moon, and Sun. Half of the moon’s surface is always illuminated by the Sun, but the portion of the illuminated hemisphere that is visible to an observer can vary from 100%(full moon) to 0%(new moon). The only exception is during a lunar eclipse. The boundary between the light and dark portions of the moon is called the terminator.
There are 8 moon phases. These phases are: new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter moon, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter moon, and waning crescent. The phases progress in the same manner each month. Earlier, it was mentioned that the lunar phase depends on the position of the Earth, moon, and Sun. During the new moon the Earth and Sun are on the opposite side of the moon. During the full moon the Earth and Sun are on the same sides of the Moon. The occasions when the Earth, Sun, and moon are in a straight line(new and full moon) are called syzygies.
When the moon passes between Earth and the Sun during a new moon, you might think that its shadow would cause a solar eclipse. On the other hand, you might think that during a full moon the Earth’s shadow would cause a lunar eclipse. The plane of the moon’s orbit around the Earth is tilted by about five degrees compared to the plane of Earth’s orbit around the Sun(called the ecliptic plane). This tilt prevents monthly eclipses. An eclipse can only occur when the moon is either new or full, but it also has to be positioned near the intersection of the Earth’s orbital plane about the Sun and the Moon’s orbit plane about the Earth, so there are between four and seven eclipses in a calendar year.
The first quarter moon is only one of eight lunar phases. You should research them all for a better understanding of the Earth/Moon system.
We have written many articles about the phases of the moon for Universe Today. Here’s an article about the 8 phases of the moon, and here’s an article about the moon phases for 2010.
The most detailed sunspot ever obtained in visible light was seen by new telescope at NJIT's Big Bear Solar Observatory. Credit: Big Bear Solar Observatory
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A new type of adaptive optics for solar observations has produced some incredible results, providing the most detailed image of a sunspot ever obtained in visible light. A new telescope built by the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Big Bear Solar Observatory has seen its ‘first light’ using a deformable mirror, which is able to reduce atmospheric distortions. This is the first facility-class solar observatory built in more than a generation in the U.S.
The New Solar Telescope (NST) is located in the mountains east of Los Angeles. It has 97 actuators that make up the deformable mirror. By the summer of 2011, in collaboration with the National Solar Observatory, BBSO will have upgraded the current adaptive optics system to one utilizing a 349 actuator deformable mirror. The telescope has a 1.6 m clear aperture, with a resolution covering about 50 miles on the Sun’s surface.
The NST will be the pathfinder for an even larger ground-based telescope, the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope to be built over the next decade. Philip R. Goode from NJIT is leading a partnership with the National Solar Observatory (NSO) to develop a new and more sophisticated kind of adaptive optics, known as multi-conjugate adaptive optics. This new optical system will allow the researchers to increase the distortion-free field of view to allow for better ways to study these larger and puzzling areas of the Sun, and a 4-meter aperture telescope will be built in the next decade.
We are SOOO looking forward to our friend Phil Plait’s new endeavor, a TV show called “Phil Plait’s Bad Universe,” and here’s a sneak peak at what we can expect, courtesy of Phil and the Discovery Channel. Phil’s show premieres this Sunday night August 29, 2010 on the Discovery Channel. Check your local listings at this link, and prepared to be blown away!
One more thing, if you follow Phil on Twitter (@BadAstronomer), he’s having a contest starting Wednesday to give away free stuff from the show. (And while you’re at it you can follow both Universe Today and Nancy on Twitter, too!)
Can’t get enough of “Avatar?” Now, you can see James Cameron and scenes from the 3-D epic on NASA TV and elsewhere, promoting the many contributions of NASA’s Earth science program that helps enable exploration of our home planet, as well as making the public more environmentally aware. NASA has 14 science satellites in orbit making cutting-edge global observations of the entire global system including the atmosphere, oceans, land surface, snow and ice.
“When NASA ventures into space, it remembers to keep a steady eye on home,” Cameron said. “Its fleet of Earth-orbiting satellites constantly reveals our whole planet: its remotest places, its mysteries and the powerful influence of humans.”
The movie “Avatar,” depicts the fictional planet of Pandora and is coming back to theaters this week. The story centers on a beautiful planet threatened by forces that want to exploit its natural resources.
