Universe Today

July 29, 2008April 26, 2016 by Tammy Plotner

Coronado PST – Personal H-Alpha Solar Telescope

[/caption]Are you interested in taking an in-depth look at our nearest star in a specific wavelength of light? H-alpha has a wavelength of 656.281 nanometers and is visible in the red part of the electromagnetic spectrum. A hydrogen-alpha filter is an optical filter designed to transmit a narrow bandwidth of light generally centered on the H-alpha wavelength. These special filters are great, but they are difficult to use because of temperature and f-ratio requirements… not to mention expense! If you’ve ever been curious as to whether or not a Coronado PST was worth the price, then follow along.

At around $500, the Coronado Personal Solar Telescope isn’t an investment you take lightly for such limited use. Because almost all telescopes and binoculars can be outfitted with a relatively inexpensive white light solar filter, it’s almost an extravagance to view in this manner – or is it? For those who are able to afford specific Ha filters to fit their existing refractor telescopes, the luxury provides an incredible wealth of details unseen in white light – but also opens up a world of over-heating and sensitive adjustments. It’s a scary thought to trust your permanent vision to a tiny piece of glass, but human curiosity is what it is. There are those of us who want and need more…

So enter the Coronado H-Alpha Personal Solar Telescope. For years I’ve wanted to get my hands on an h-alpha solar filter and the thought of having a dedicated solar telescope was simply too good to pass up. The refractor telescopes I own were meant for nighttime viewing and I knew this milled aluminum beauty was meant for only one thing – the Sun. But would this amazingly small little gold telescope give me everything that I had hoped for? All I needed was a sunny day…

Setting up a Coronado PST was everything it was promised to be. It is no more difficult to use than a spotting scope and the built-in “Sun Finder” is definitely a bit easier than using the shadow-aim method. Happy as a little clam, I draped a black towel over my head and bent to the eyepiece. I kept sliding the focus up and down, but was met with nothing but a rotten, blurry image. Where’s this great solar telescope, huh? Where’s the excitement? I was disapointed at first.

But it wasn’t the telescope’s fault… It was mine.

What I had forgotten about was using an h-alpha telescope wasn’t the same as using an astronomical refractor. Because solar features that are visible in h-alpha light are moving at high velocities, you “tune” rather than focus the image. Duh! Once I caught on to sensitive adjustments, a whole new world opened up right before my eyes. Where I had once seen the Sun with a crisp, razor sharp edge, I now saw the soft glow of the chromosphere. White light (depending on which filter I used) gave the Sun a blue-white or flat yellow appearance – but now it glows vibrant red and the chromosphere is like a network of fine lace that covers the entire surface! Tiny streamers of material would show here and there and the appearance of looking at something “living” was incomparable. There’s clouds of gas up there!

Over a period of several months, the Coronado PST and I have done a lot of exploring. I’ve learned to identify plages and fibrils. I’ve seen prominences and filaments. What sunspots there are have taken on a whole new dimension. The PST has awakened my curiosity to what can be observed with even more sophisticated equipment! Was it worth what it cost?

Every last cent…

Note to Readers: The Coronado Personal Solar Telescope used for this review was purchased at Oceanside Photo and Telescope – an exclusive Coronado dealer.

July 28, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

US Signs International Deal to Collaborate on Lunar Missions

Astronaut Eugene Cernan from Apollo 17, the last mission to the Moon (NASA)

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NASA has signed a landmark agreement to collaborate with emerging space-faring nations for the exploration of the Moon. This collaboration will include Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Britain and France in the aim to work with NASA developing new technologies and send a series of robotic exploratory missions to pave the way for a manned return mission. The director of NASA’s planetary science division points out that these eight member states are keen to send their first astronauts to the lunar surface. Whilst some may view this collaboration as an attempt by NASA to ‘spread the cost’ of space travel (especially in the current climate of budget cuts), the main point of this deal is to make manned missions to the Moon more of an international effort. This will give smaller space agencies more opportunities, boost the quality of the science that can be achieved and possibly lead us to some answers about how life formed on Earth 4 billion years ago…

The deal was brokered at NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, last Thursday, and it is expected to be finalized tomorrow. The meeting took place during the largest Moon-specific conference since the US Apollo missions, highlighting the recent drive to get man back to the lunar surface. NASA had already allocated significant funding toward four manned landers, but scientists have asked for eight, so an international collaboration is required so adequate science can be carried out.

At the centre of this renewed vigour is the quest to understand how life was kick-started on Earth. From recent analysis of Apollo rocks brought back to Earth in the 1970’s, it is thought that the early Solar System was a violent place. Scientists believe this planetary chaos may be the root cause of life on Earth; analysing the lunar surface is critical so a better picture may be created of the Earth-Moon system billions of years ago.

“What’s happening right now is that a revolution in planetary science is going on. We are taking these small pieces and we are starting to put together the puzzle, and we are surprised by what we find.” – James Green, Director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division.

Why is the Moon so special anyway? Surely most of the answers can be found down here on Earth? Well, that’s not entirely correct. The Moon is an open history book of the Solar System’s evolution. Its surface has not been altered by plate tectonics, volcanoes or atmospheric erosion processes (unlike the terrestrial surface); ancient events are etched in its rock, waiting to be read by future lunar explorers. This was the conclusion reached by National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences last year. From the evidence stored in lunar rock, it is hoped that the “terminal cataclysm hypothesis” may be proven or disproved. This theory suggests that Uranus and Neptune once orbited within the orbit of Jupiter. The cataclysm occurred when the powerful Jovian gravitational field flung the smaller gas giants to the outer reaches of the Solar System.

But where is the Earth-Moon connection? This turmoil in the Solar System will have displaced huge numbers of asteroids and comets, scattering them toward the inner planets. This event may have been the trigger of the “late heavy bombardment” between 3.8 to 4 billion years ago which coincided with the formation of life on Earth. This period of time can be studied in great depth on the Moon.

This increased interest in lunar science and the emergence of Japan, China and India create an opportunity NASA will not want to miss. This new international collaboration may be exactly what NASA needs to invigorate funding and help us understand how life was sparked on our blue planet.

Source: Mercury News

July 28, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Friday’s Total Solar Eclipse can be Watched on the Internet

A solar eclipse at totality (NASA/F. Espenak)

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If you’ve ever wanted to see a solar eclipse, this might be the time to do it. It is a very rare chance to see an eclipse at totality because the Moon’s shadow is so small and, more often than not, it falls on sparsely populated regions of the planet. Often eclipse hunters are resigned to planning expensive trips to these locations, sometimes only to be disappointed by poor weather. But there’s an answer. This Friday’s eclipse will swing over Canada, the tip of Greenland, parts of Russia, China and Mongolia, including the Gobi desert, although nothing can replace actually travelling to one of these locations to witness this celestial event, NASA will transmit the eclipse live over the Internet. Excellent, now we can do some eclipse-chasing without leaving our armchairs…

Back in 1999, the south of the UK was fortunate to witness a total solar eclipse. I remember the excitement this caused on August 11th during that short British summer. Totality could be experienced in the southern-most county of Cornwall, but my hometown, Bristol, would see more than 90% totality. Although it wasn’t perfect, I decided to stay at home as the weather forecast for Cornwall wasn’t good, Bristol was better. Ultimately I wanted to see the “diamond ring” of the edge of the Sun peaking over the limb of the Moon. So, I kitted myself out. I constructed a rudimentary eclipse projector with a pair of binoculars and purchased a new tripod for my camera so I could photograph the projected image via the binocular set-up. I was good to go. But as with all British summers, I couldn’t rely on the weather. It turned out the weather front that was forecast for Cornwall had blown north ahead of schedule, blanketing my city and most of Cornwall. Alas, the eclipse was wasted on most of mainland Britain…

That’s the problem with trying to view the eclipse, often it will be in the wrong location at the right time, or the right location at the wrong time. Of course many eclipse hunters have luck on their side and are able to enjoy totality with clear skies, but for most of us have to make do with photos and videos taken by other people after the event. Not quite the same.

This Friday’s eclipse will be like most others, but this time it will start in Canada, pass over Greenland, Russia, China and Mongolia. If you are based in the USA, you might catch a glimpse of the event at sunrise in northeastern Maine. However, dedicated eclipse chasers like NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak will be travelling to northern China to witness the event. But it hasn’t been easy. As the Olympics are starting next week in Beijing, travel expenses have sky-rocketed, plus fuel prices can only make things worse. Many Chinese eclipse tours can cost $3,000-$6,000 and if you fancied a trip to the High Arctic on a Russian icebreaker, expect to pay $23,000.

So we don’t miss out, NASA will be transmitting the live eclipse (presumably via their homepage www.nasa.gov) starting well before its peak at 7:09 am EDT. Also, museums like the Exploratorium in San Francisco have special eclipse events scheduled so we can all have the chance of seeing the event as it happens. Again, it’s not the same as experiencing it yourself, but at least you can guarantee clear skies via the Internet…

Source: AP

July 28, 2008December 24, 2015 by Tammy Plotner

Summer Showers: The Delta Aquarid and Capricornid Meteors Sparkle This Week’s Skies

FireBall at Ayres Rock - Credit: Joe Brimacombe

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“A drop fell on the apple tree, Another on the roof; A half a dozen kissed the eaves, And made the gables laugh. A few went out to help the brook, That went to help the sea. Myself conjectured, Were they pearls, What necklaces could be!” As you drink in the words of Emily Dickinson, get ready for two showers of another type this week: meteor showers.

Beginning this evening, July 27, the Delta Aquarid meteor shower will peak with an average of 25 “shooting stars” per hour for maximum activity with many of them leaving yellowish trails. While there is no specific parent comet for the shower, many believe they are the product of periodic Comet 96P/Machholz 2 – which disintegrated in 1994. Will this cause the activity to be stronger or not? No one really knows for sure. Fall rate activity is always dictated by the precise moment the Earth turns into the meteoroid stream and no specific location or time can ever be precise.

But don’t be discouraged if it’s cloudy tonight. This whole week will be a grand time to watch for meteors as the Capricornid meteor shower peaks on July 29. This time we’re looking at about 15 to 20 meteors per hour, but a shower that also has a reputation for bolides. Who among us doesn’t get a thrill at watching a bright fireball pass overhead!

“Dazzling and clear shooting over our heads, A moment, a moment long it sail’d its balls of unearthly light over our heads, Then departed, dropt in the night, and was gone.”

Numerous astronomers have tried to identify the object responsible for the formation of the Alpha Capricornid stream, but no definitive parent has ever really been chosen because the stream is so broad. It may be Denning-Fujikawa, or it could be Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova, but I like to think it might be possible that Apollo asteroid Adonis is the case. Although there is radio evidence to support that, I still find something dreadfully romantic about spending an evening watching for meteors and what more romantic figure than Adonis?

“As I flit through you hastily, soon to fall and be gone, what is this chant, What am I myself but one of your meteors?” Over time, meteor showers have inspired poets and artist alike, just like these words from Walt Whitman. How long has it been since you read a poem, or contemplated the evening sky? With the Moon far gone from the early evening, why not take children or grandchildren out with you? Let them catch fireflies in a jar, like captured meteors to take their fancy. Try the words of May Justus: “One night a little firefly, Was looking at a star, And said – but no one heard him – “I wonder what you are.” Then, eager for adventure, And brave as he could be, He trimmed his little lantern, And flew away to see!”

Even if you don’t take such fanciful notions to viewing a meteor shower, there’s still no harm enjoying a pleasant summer evening outdoors and adding to your scientific studies. For the most part, activity will take place in the south/southeast, so face in that general direction. As always, around midnight is a preferable time to begin – but there could always be early arrivals. Make your evening comfortable by bringing a blanket to lay on, or a reclining chair. Little things like a thermos of lemonade, cookies, insect repellent and binoculars are always welcome. If you live near city lights, why not make it a special event and take a drive to the countryside? And take along the words of Melville: “Of thee we think, in a ring we link; To the shearer of oceanâ€™s fleece we drink, And the Meteor rolling home.”

July 28, 2008December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Behind the Power and Beauty of Northern Lights

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The Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights are stunningly beautiful. But they can also disrupt radio communications and GPS signals, and even cause power outages. What’s behind the ethereal Northern Lights that causes them to shimmer and dance with colorful lights while sometimes wreaking havoc with electrical systems here on Earth? Using a fleet of five satellites, NASA researchers have discovered that explosions of magnetic energy a third of the way to the moon power substorms that cause sudden brightenings and rapid movements of the aurora borealis, called the Northern Lights. “We discovered what makes the Northern Lights dance,” said Dr. Vassilis Angelopoulos of the University of California, Los Angeles. Angelopoulos is the principal investigator for the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms mission, or THEMIS.

The cause of the shimmering in Northern Lights is magnetic reconnection, a common process that occurs throughout the universe when stressed magnetic field lines suddenly snap to a new shape, like a rubber band that’s been stretched too far.

“As they capture and store energy from the solar wind, the Earth’s magnetic field lines stretch far out into space. Magnetic reconnection releases the energy stored within these stretched magnetic field lines, flinging charged particles back toward the Earth’s atmosphere,” said David Sibeck, THEMIS project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “They create halos of shimmering aurora circling the northern and southern poles.”

An explosion of energy increases in the brightness and movement of Northern Lights. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

The data was gathered by five strategically positioned Themis satellites, combined with information from 20 ground-based observatories located throughout Canada and Alaska. Launched in February 2007, the five identical satellites line up once every four days along the equator and take observations synchronized with the ground observatories. Each ground station uses a magnetometer and a camera pointed upward to determine where and when an auroral substorm will begin. Instruments measure the auroral light from particles flowing along Earth’s magnetic field and the electrical currents these particles generate.

See animation of magnetic reconnection.

During each alignment, the satellites capture data that allow scientists to precisely pinpoint where, when, and how substorms measured on the ground develop in space. On Feb. 26, 2008, during one such THEMIS lineup, the satellites observed an isolated substorm begin in space, while the ground-based observatories recorded the intense auroral brightening and space currents over North America.

These observations confirm for the first time that magnetic reconnection triggers the onset of substorms. The discovery supports the reconnection model of substorms, which asserts a substorm starting to occur follows a particular pattern. This pattern consists of a period of reconnection, followed by rapid auroral brightening and rapid expansion of the aurora toward the poles. This culminates in a redistribution of the electrical currents flowing in space around Earth.

Solving the mystery of where, when, and how substorms occur will allow scientists to construct more realistic substorm models and better predict a magnetic storm’s intensity and effects.

More about Themis.

Original News Source: NASA press release

July 28, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo Sees Sunlight for the First Time (Gallery)

Sir Richard Branson and designer Burt Rutan walk aside the Virgin Mothership "Eve" (VMS EVE) in Mojave, CA. on the eve of its official rollout on July 28, 2008 (Virgin Galactic)

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Early this morning in the Californian Mojave Desert, Richard Branson and Burt Rutan unveiled the completed Virgin Galactic Mothership “Eve,” the first time this highly secretive project has seen the light of day. This is a significant moment for both Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites, the company that built Eve, as it shows space tourism is only a heartbeat away. Now we await the completion of SpaceShipTwo that is expected to begin test flights with Eve by 2009.

The rollout represents another major milestone in Virgin Galactic’s quest to launch the world’s first private, environmentally benign, space access system for people, payload and science. – Virgin Galactic rollout press release (July 28th).

Eve is towed onto the airstrip at Mojave Air and Space Port (Virgin Galactic)

Eve is a large aircraft, with a wing span of 140 feet (42.7 meters), constructed from the world’s longest single carbon composite aviation component ever manufactured. Eve is basically a flying wing with two fuselages plus four efficient Pratt and Whitney PW308A engines attached. During operational flight sometime late 2009 or early 2010, it is hoped the mother ship will fly four times a day, carrying SpaceShipTwo up to 50,000 ft (9.5 miles) high. Once the aircraft reaches 50,000 ft, the spaceship will detach and ignite its rocket engines, blasting six fee-paying space tourists and two pilots to an altitude of around 360,000 feet (68 miles). This is considered to be the edge of space, allowing the SpaceShipTwo occupants five minutes of weightlessness before starting their journey back to Earth.

Today’s rollout onto the airstrip of Mojave Air and Space Port was witnessed by government officials, business partners and the future Virgin Galactic space tourists. Eve, named in honour of Branson’s mother, is the first WhiteKnightTwo aircraft of two that are on order with Scaled Composites. A total of five SpaceShipTwo’s are expected to complete the fleet.

Today’s press release also states: “Driven by a demanding performance specification set by Virgin Galactic, WhiteKnightTwo has a unique heavy lift, high altitude capability and an open architecture driven design which provides for maximum versatility in the weight, mass and volume of its payload potential. It has the power, strength and maneuverability to provide for pre space-flight, positive G force and zero G astronaut training as well as a lift capability which is over 30% greater than that represented by a fully crewed SpaceShipTwo.”

Artist impression of Eve dropping SpaceShipTwo at an altitude of 50,000 ft (Virgin Galactic)

Fights with Virgin Galactic currently cost a hefty $200,000, but this ticket price is likely to fall in time. Over 200 tickets have already been sold. Initially, the company is offering sub-orbital space flights, but eventually Branson wants to push one stage further and begin offering tourists orbital space flight. The entrepreneur has even more optimistic ideas for his future space tourist empire including sending people into space during an aurora, space hotels and trips to the Moon. To be honest, I’d be excited to try out that rocket ride into space after the leisurely flight attached to WhiteKnightTwo…

Sources: Virgin Galactic, ITWire

July 28, 2008December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Unusual Exoplanet Dances in Sync With Its Sun-Like Star

Artist's impression of COROT. Credit: ESA

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The European Space Agency’s COROT spacecraft has discovered an unusual exoplanet orbiting a star slightly more massive than our Sun. The planet, currently called COROT-exo-4b, is about the same size as Jupiter, and it takes 9.2 days to orbit its star. Most peculiar however, is that the planet and the star are in sync: the star rotates at the same pace as the planet’s period of revolution. Astronomers feel the planet is too low in mass and too distant from the star for the star to have any major influence on the planet’s rotation. But they are trying to understand the special interaction between this star and planet.

COROT stands for Convection, Rotation and planetary Transits. Launched in 2006, the mission has now observed more than 50,000 stars. The spacecraft is designed to detect rocky exoplanets almost as small as Earth. The satellite uses transits, the tiny dips in the light output from a star when a planet passes in front of it, to detect and study planets. This is followed up by extensive ground-based observations.

COROT-exo-4b is the fifth exoplanet found by the COROT spacecraft. Monitoring continuously over several months, the team tracked variations in its brightness between transits. They derived its period of rotation by monitoring dark spots on its surface that rotated in and out of view. It takes 9.2 days for the planet to orbit its star, which so far, is the longest period for any transiting exoplanet ever found.

It is not known whether COROT-exo-4b and its star have always been rotating in sync since their formation about 1000 million years ago, or if the starâ€™s rotation synchronized later. Studying such systems with COROT will help scientists gain valuable insight into star-planet interactions.

This is the first transiting exoplanet found with such a peculiar combination of mass and period of rotation. Astronomers believe there must be something unique about how it formed and evolved.

Original News Source: ESA

July 28, 2008April 26, 2016 by Tammy Plotner

A Midsummer Night’s Dream: NGC 4618 and NGC 4625 by Martin Winder/Dietmar Hager

NGC 4625/18 - Credit: Winder / Hager

“Night’s swift dragons cut the clouds full fast, And yonder shines…” Another galactic pair? Discovered by Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel in 1787, this particular galactic pairing known as Arp 23 find its home in Canes Venetici, and the duo most certainly has a colorful history. The smaller of the pair – NGC 4625 is a distorted dwarf galaxy formally classified as Sm, a structure which resembles spiral galaxies – especially the Magellanic clouds. So what does a single arm galaxy have to say for itself? Continue reading “A Midsummer Night’s Dream: NGC 4618 and NGC 4625 by Martin Winder/Dietmar Hager”

July 28, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

By 2020, Droids Could Explore Space For Us

Rendering of the Phoenix Mars Lander with robotic arm working on the Mars surface (NASA)

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All the best sci-fi films have them, and they may become our future automated space explorers. Currently, one of the biggest drawbacks for using robots in space is that they depend on human input (i.e. commands need to be sent for every robotic arm motion and every rover wheel rotation). This means that, especially with missions operating far from Earth (such as the Phoenix Mars Lander and Mars Expedition Rovers), very simple and mundane tasks can take hours or even days to complete. One of the main reasons supporting manned exploration of space is that very complex science can be carried out very rapidly (after all, astronauts are human and many robotic operations that take weeks can be completed in seconds). But say if our robotic explorers had a high degree of automation? Say if they could sever the requirement for human input and carry out tasks with intelligent reasoning? As robotic and computer technology increases in sophistication, one Caltech scientist believes space exploration by artificial intelligence is closer than we think…

I remember watching the start of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back thinking it was so unfair that Darth Vader and his ilk had access to intelligent space exploration droids that could fly around the galaxy, land on alien worlds and automatically seek out the rebels on Hoth (directing the battle fleet to the icy moon, creating one of the most famous and atmospheric sci-fi battle sequences in movie history. In my opinion at least). But say if we were able to build such “droids” (in fact, droid is a good description of these space explorers, defined as ‘self-aware robots’) that could be sent out into space to explore and report back to mission control without depending on instruction from Earth?

Wolfgang Fink, physicist and researcher at Caltech, believes robotic exploration of space will always take the lead, and even reverse the need for manned missions. “Robotic exploration probably will always be the trail blazer for human exploration of far space,” he says in an interview with Sharon Gaudin. “We haven’t yet landed a human being on Mars but we have a robot there now. In that sense, it’s much easier to send a robotic explorer. When you can take the human out of the loop, that is becoming very exciting.”

While Fink is encouraged by the progress made by missions such as Phoenix and its robotic arm, he is keen to emphasize that the link between human and robot needs to be removed, thus allowing robots to make their own decisions on what science needs to be carried out. In reference to Phoenix’s robotic arm he said, “The arms are the tools, but it’s about the intent to move the arms. That’s what we’re after. To [have the robot] know that something there is interesting and that’s where it needs to go and then to go get a sample from it. That’s what we’ve after. You want to get rid of the joystick, in other words. You want the system to take control of itself and then basically use its own tools to explore.”

An Imperial probe droid from the film Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back (Lucasfilm)

The key attribute robots need to possess is the ability to recognize something of interest, such as a rock or crater, something that a human mind would see as a scientific opportunity. At Caltech, Fink and others are working on programs that use images for robots to distinguish colours, textures, shapes and obstacles. Once artificial intelligence has the ability to do this, if the programming is complex enough, the robot can notice something that is out of place, or a region worth investigating (such as a strangely coloured patch of Mars regolith that a Mars robot will decide to dig into).

As you’d expect, software is being tested and Caltech scientists are beginning to try it out on a rover’s navigation functions. However, the robotic decision-making is very basic presently, but NASA has taken a keen interest in Fink’s work. For example, in 2017 NASA intends to send a robotic mission to Titan, one of Saturn’s moons. In all likelihood the moon will be explored by a balloon-type vehicle. However, it would be impractical for such a vehicle to depend on commands being sent from Earth (as it would take more than an hour for communications to transmit over that distance), so there would need to be a certain degree of automation built into the craft so fast decisions can be made in a dynamic environment such as Titan’s atmosphere.

Although this is all interesting and necessary, there will still be a basic human desire to explore space via manned missions, although a certain degree of self-awareness may be required of our robotic explorers as they carry out reconnaissance trips before we make the trip…

Source: PC World

July 27, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Bad Idea: Blowing Up Asteroids with Nuclear Missiles

On 4 July 2005, NASA collided a projectile with comet Tempel 1. Should a nuclear warhead be used in the future to deflect asteroids? (NASA)

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The first thing that comes to mind when someone asks: “How do we deflect a near Earth asteroid?” is “Fire some nuclear missiles at it.” However, this might not be the best course of action. Akin to opening a walnut with a sledgehammer, there might be a better, less messy option. This is what Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweickart thinks at least. Last year, NASA issued a report suggesting they were seriously considering a nuclear option should an asteroid threaten Earth. However, the ex-lunar module pilot believes this decision was manipulated by political pressure, possibly indicating the asteroid threat was being used to speed up nuclear proliferation in space…

When ex-Apollo astronauts express an opinion, people tend to sit up and listen. After all, the astronauts throughout the space race years in the latter half of the 20th Century (from the USA and Russia) were the ultimate explorers, going above and beyond the call of duty, putting their lives on the line for their countries. Several of the retired Apollo astronauts have come forward over the years with their opinions on modern NASA, concerns for the future of the US position in space exploration and their belief in extraterrestrial cover-ups (!). And last Wednesday, during a public lecture in San Francisco, legendary astronaut Rusty Schweickart voiced his opinion about NASA’s decision to use nuclear technology when faced with an asteroid threat.

Schweickart has expressed concern with the possibility of using nuclear weapons to destroy, or deflect Earth-bound asteroids, pointing out there are many other less harmful ways of dealing with the asteroid threat. At the moment he points out that we are completely unprepared to deal with asteroids, but by 2015, we should have developed a gentler means of deflection. Simply blowing asteroids up have many knock-on implications. First and foremost, Schweickart believes that NASA may be open to manipulation to put forward the proliferation of space-based nuclear weapons under the guise of international “safety.” Another problem I can see is blowing up a large piece of rock only to create many smaller (but just as deadly) pieces of rock, doesn’t really extinguish the destructive power of an asteroid on collision course, in fact, it might increase it.

Schweickart’s organization, the B612 Foundation examines other, more subtle ways of deflecting dangerous asteroids are examined (nuclear warheads not included). Decisions such as when to take action, how to better track asteroids and how to deflect them should be an international effort and not one nation’s decision to detonate a nuclear bomb in space.

Source: Wired