Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

New “Map” Could Help Solve Ancient Mysteries of Our Galaxy

Milky Way. Image Credit: Atlas of the Universe

An international team of astronomers from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey unveiled a new detailed map of the chemical composition of more than 2.5 million stars in the Milky Way. This new map could help reveal the unknown ancient history of our galaxy. “With the new SDSS map, astronomers can begin to tackle many unsolved mysteries about the birth and growth of the Milky Way,” said Zeljko Ivezic, a University of Washington astronomer, and leader of the study.

Astronomers use the term “metals” to describe all elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, including the oxygen we breathe, the calcium in our bones, and the iron in our blood. Although hydrogen, helium and traces of lithium were created at the beginning of the Universe in the Big Bang, all other elements (such as iron and carbon) were forged in the cores of stars or during the explosive deaths of massive stars.

As a result, stars that formed early in the history of the Galaxy (some 13 billion years ago) were made of gas that had few metals created by the generations of stars that came before. These “metal-poor stars” provide astronomers with a chemical fingerprint of the origin and evolution of the elements. As subsequent generations of stars formed and died, they returned some of their metal-enriched material to the interstellar medium, the birthplace of later generations of stars, including our Sun.

Previous chemical composition maps were based on much smaller samples of stars and didn’t go as far as the distances surveyed by SDSS-II — a region extending from near the Sun to about 30,000 light years away. The construction and first implications of the map are described in a paper titled “The Milky Way Tomography with SDSS: II. Stellar Metallicity,” slated to appear in the August 1 issue of The Astrophysical Journal.

“By mapping how the metal content of stars varies throughout the Milky Way, astronomers can decipher star formation and evolution, just as archaeologists reveal ancient history by studying human artifacts,”explained University of Washington graduate student Branimir Sesar, a member of the research team.

Sources: ArXiv, Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Buzz Lightyear Joins Space Shuttle Crew

Buzz Lightyear will be on the next space shuttle mission, set to launch on Saturday, May 31. No kidding. “We are thrilled that Buzz’s lifelong dream of space travel finally will come true thanks to NASA,” said Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “This launch fulfills his dream, and we hope it will inspire countless children to stay interested in science and believe in their own dreams.” NASA announced today a new educational initiative partnership with Disney theme parks, which will kick off with space shuttle Discovery’s launch. A 12-inch-tall Buzz Lightyear action figure will be carried aboard the shuttle as part of the partnership to encourage students to pursue studies in science, technology and mathematics, one of NASA’s main educational goals.

Beginning on May 31, new online games will be available on NASA’s Kids Club which will feature Buzz Lightyear. And it sounds like NASA’s “Toys in Space” program might be dusted off or revived.

Disney’s Youth Educational Series and NASA have developed an online program known as the Space Ranger Education Series. It includes educational games for students, as well as materials for educators to download and integrate into their classroom curriculum.

“NASA is excited to help students understand the science and engineering currently underway on the International Space Station,” said Joyce Winterton, NASA assistant administrator for Education.
“The educational games and resources from this partnership will allow students to explore the science and math behind space exploration with a beloved character.”

Source: NASA

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Europe Unveils Concept for Manned ATV

Here’s a futuristic-looking concept for a manned vehicle of the not-so-distant future. Buoyed by the success of the Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle, the European space company EADS Astrium unveiled their plans to evolve the ATV – currently a cargo carrier for the International Space Station – to a manned vehicle. There’s just one little hurdle to overcome: currently, the ATV isn’t capable of returning to Earth without burning up in the atmosphere. But Astrium says the cost for the upgrade would be reasonable, and an additional crew-capable vehicle would certainly come in handy for the ISS when the shuttles are retired in 2010.

Jules Verne successfully docked to the space station in April of this year using its sophisticated navigation, rendezvous and docking technologies. Astrium believes a crewed version of the ATV is the logical next step.

The idea is to use the current avionics and propulsion systems of the Jules Verne, but insert a crew compartment in place of the current cargo section.

Astrium says the work to upgrade the vehicle would be done in two stages. The first would be to give the freighter a means of returning non-human items to Earth safely – something it currently can’t do.
Astrium says this stage could be flying by 2013 and would cost “well below one billion euros” to achieve.

If all goes well, the re-entry freight capsule could then be upgraded to carry three astronauts in a second stage of development.

Astrium estimates maiden voyage of a crewed capsule would be 2017 at the earliest. While the US’s new Orion spacecraft is scheduled to be ready by 2014, its always nice to have a back-up.

A model of a proposed European manned spaceship was on display at the Berlin Air Show.

Original News Source: BBC

Posted on by Ian O'Neill

Eta Carinae and the “Cosmic Cauldron” in Unprecedented Detail – New Images from the VLT

Eta Carinae. Taken with the NACO near-infrared adaptive optics instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope (ESO/VLT)

To celebrate the Very Large Telescope’s (VLT) 10th birthday on Tuesday, it was us who received the gifts. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) released two magnificent astronomical images of two nebulae, both very different, but spectacular all the same. One is the iconic scene of Eta Carinae (a.k.a. Homunculus, “little man” in Latin, pictured), the nebula produced by a single dying star just before it goes supernova. The second is of the large nebula NGC 3576, setting the scene for the “Cosmic Cauldron”, where the clouds are constantly churned up by the birth of newborn stars. These new images have applied some of the most advanced astronomy techniques to remove atmospheric blurring, bringing us the most detailed look into these nebulae we have ever experienced…

The VLT is located high on the Chilean mountain of Cerro Paranal, over 2.5 kilometres (1.5 miles) above sea level. The Atacama desert in northern Chile provides ideal, stable observation conditions to resolve the fine structure of astronomical objects four billion times fainter than what can be observed with the naked eye. The observatory consists of a group of four 8.2 metre telescopes, and an astronomical interferometer. For the last ten years the VLT has produced some of the most iconic images in the history of astronomy. The VLT was one of the first observatories to capture infrared images of extrasolar planets 2M1207b and GQ Lupi b. It also discovered the most distant gamma-ray burst and possibly the farthest observed (and therefore youngest) galaxy ever discovered, Abell 1835 IR1916. It has also uncovered evidence that there may be a supermassive black hole sitting in the centre of our galaxy. Still, it captures some of the deepest images of space we have ever seen.

Star forming NGC 3576, a gigantic region of glowing gas about 100 light-years across (ESO/VLT)

Probably the most familiar image is of the twin bulges of the clouds of hot matter being blown from the dying bright star of Eta Carinae (pictured top). This is one of the finest examples of a star going through the last phase of its life as a “luminous blue variable”. The hot gas forming the “Homunculus” originates from a great outburst observed in 1843 and some time in the next 100,000 years, the star will die, exploding as a supernova. This new image is 6 to 7 times better resolved than previous images of Eta Carinae as the VLT has applied some of the most advanced adaptive optical technology (called NACO) to remove the blurring effect of the atmosphere. Now, the fine scale of Eta Carinae can be seen, clearly showing the jets blasting from the central star and the bipolar structure.

A second (bigger) nebula can also be found in the direction of the constellation of Carina, it is called NGC 3576. This vast region (stretching 100 light-years across) is located in a volume of space far beyond Eta Carinae, some 9,000 light-years from the Earth. The image of NGC 3576 (pictured above) shows, in awesome detail, the violent nature of the cradle for newborn stars. The nebula is thought to be very young, only 1.5 million years old, with massive stars emitting intense radiation and stellar winds, ejecting the clouds from where they grew up.

Researchers from the University of Cologne in Germany are studying NGC 3576 using the VLT to deduce the number of young stars that still have protoplanetary disks. From this study, astronomers hope to understand the lifetime of these planet-forming disks, how the star’s radiation influences lifetime and how stellar collisions will affect disk evolution.

For now, I’ll leave the science to the researchers and enjoy the beauty of these striking VLT images…

Source: ESO

Posted on by Ian O'Neill

What is the Fastest Spinning Object in the Solar System? Near-Earth Asteroid 2008 HJ

The asteroid Eros, it might be big but it doesnt spin as fast as 2008 HJ (NASA)

A British astronomer has discovered a strange spinning object. The fact that it is spinning in itself is not strange, but the speed it is doing so has raised some eyebrows. The near-Earth asteroid 2008 HJ has been spotted spinning at a rate of one rotation every 42.7 seconds, breaking the record for the fastest rotating natural object in the Solar System. It is so fast that it has been designated as a “super-fast rotator”. What makes this discovery even more interesting was that it was spotted by an amateur astronomer when using the Australian Faulkes Telescope South observatory, operating it remotely over the Internet, in his Dorset home in the south of the UK…

Asteroid 2008 HJ smashes the previous record for fastest rotating object by 35 seconds. The previous record holder was asteroid 2000 DO8 (discovered eight years ago) with a rotational period of 78 seconds. This new discovery comes from a new project funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), which gives UK schools and colleges access to the world-class Faulkes Telescopes based in Australia and Hawaii. This finding is one of four recent successes in the search for small near-Earth asteroids under 150 meters in diameter. In April this year, the first significant discovery by the project was of asteroid 2008 GP3 with a measured rotation period of 11.8 minutes.

The orbit of NEO 2008 HJ (NASA/JPL Small Body Database)

Perhaps even more exciting than the discovery itself is who spotted asteroid 2008 HJ in the first place. This isn’t a news release from the Australian observatory, it isn’t even an announcement from an academic institution; the discovery was made by retiree Richard Miles from the comfort of his own home. Miles is an amateur astronomer and vice-president of the British Astronomical Association (BAA). He was able to carry out his research via a remote connection to the Faulkes Telescope South on the other side of the planet, in the UK. This charity based program enables enthusiasts and students to control the research-grade two-metre diameter telescopes, and the discoveries are coming thick and fast.

“A discovery like this demonstrates the capabilities of amateur astronomers and school students to produce exciting scientific results if given the right tools. By providing Richard with access to a big telescope we have smashed the previous record, and opened up the search for even faster objects to UK amateur astronomers and school students. This helps to put all that classroom science, maths and IT to real use!” – Dr Paul Roche, Director of the Faulkes Telescope Project at Cardiff University, Wales

The finding of the 12×24 metre asteroid appears to be consistent with near-Earth asteroid theory, and many sub-minute period asteroids can be expected. It’s just that not very many have been discovered as yet, so with the help of UK schools and amateur astronomers, more can be expected to be found.

Near-Earth asteroids are a concern for the future of the planet as there are many Earth-crossing rocky bodies that could cause significant damage to us on the ground should one come our way. Although the skies appear clear for now, our knowledge of these rogue objects is very limited. It is generally understood that these spinning pieces of rock (often weighing in at thousands of tonnes) are fragments from ancient collisions in the early Solar System. Projects such as Faulkes have an obvious advantage in increasing our knowledge in that it opens up observation time to a vast number of astronomers.

For more information on the Faulkes Telescopes, go to the project website »

Source: SpaceRef.com

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

“Where In The Universe” Challenge #7

With all the excitement of Phoenix’s successful landing and subsequent activities, I almost forgot that its time for another “Where In The Universe” challenge. So, I’ve been blazing across the internet, trying to shoot off another version of this challenge without causing a conflagration or bursting into spontaneous human combustion (OK, I know that doesn’t really happen, but it fits here.)

I have to admit this image is really unusual. It almost looks like something found painted on a cave wall, but this is an actual image taken of the surface of a planetary body. It’s time to make your guesses, and no peeking below before you do…..

This image was chosen in honor of Phoenix. Still puzzled?

These are fire scars in an Australian desert. This image was taken in November of 2002 by a crew member on board the International Space Station. These unusual bright orange fire scars show up on the underlying sand dunes in the Simpson Desert, 300 kilometers east of Alice Springs. The background is an intricate pattern of sand cordons that angle across the view from lower left to upper right. These cordons are mostly green in this image, showing that, although they were once shifting, they have become more or less static—“tied down” by a vegetation mat of desert scrub.

The fire scars were produced by a fire in 2002, and are certainly not there anymore, unless a new fire has created new scars like this. According to scientists, the image suggests a time sequence of events: Fires first advanced into the view from the lower left—parallel with the major dune trend and dominant wind direction. Then the wind shifted direction by about 90 degrees so that fires advanced across the dunes in a series of frond-like tendrils. The sharp tips of the fronds show where the fires burned out naturally.

Over time these scars are erased as vegetation grows back.

How’d you do?

And let’s hear it one more time for the latest spacecraft on Mars! Phoenix, you really light my fire!

Image source: NASA Earth Observatory

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Spitzer Spies Ghostly Magnetar

Spitzer Space Telescope Image of Magnetar SGR 1900+14

If only it were closer to Halloween. NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has captured an infrared image showing a ghostly ring extending seven light-years across around the corpse of a massive star, called a magnetar . The collapsed star, called Magnetar SGR 1900+14, is unlike anything ever seen before. Scientists believe this object may have formed in 1998 when the magnetar erupted in a giant flare. They believe the crusty surface of the magnetar cracked, sending out a flare, or blast of energy, that excavated a nearby cloud of dust, leaving an outer, dusty ring. “The universe is a big place and weird things can happen,” said Stefanie Wachter of NASA’s Spitzer Science Center.

Wachter is lead author of a paper about the findings in this week’s Nature. The ring is oblong, with dimensions of about seven by three light-years. It appears to be flat, or two-dimensional, but the scientists said they can’t rule out the possibility of a three-dimensional shell.

Magnetars are formed when a giant star ends its life in a supernova explosion, leaving behind a super dense neutron star with an incredibly strong magnetic field. These are the cores of massive stars that blew up in supernova explosions, but unlike other dead stars, they slowly pulsate with X-rays and have tremendously strong magnetic fields. The ring seen by Spitzer could not have formed during the original explosion, as any material as close to the star as the ring would have been disrupted by the supernova shock wave.

This composite image was taken using all three of Spitzer’s science instruments. The blue color represents 3.6-micron infrared light taken by the infrared array camera, green is 16-micron light from the infrared spectograph, and red is 24-micron radiation from the multiband imaging photometer.

Original News Source: NASA

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Listen to Phoenix Descend

Europe’s Mars Express orbiter picked up the signal that Phoenix was transmitting as it descended to Mars’ surface on May 25. The data from the Mars Express Lander Communication system (MELACOM) tracked Phoenix and the signal was received on Earth soon after the Phoenix landing. The Mars Express Flight Control Team has now processed the signals, and the sounds of Phoenix descending are audible, loud and clear. ESA says the signal was tracked successfully, even during the expected transmission blackout window of the descent, until the lander was out of Mars Express’s view. The transmission blackout window is caused because of ionization around the probe, which builds up as the lander descends through the atmosphere and only very weak signals come through.

The closest Mars Express got to Phoenix was 1550 km. Then, as Mars Express flew away, the lander deployed its parachute, separated from it and landed. Then the signal from the lander was cut off.

Listening to the recording, you’ll notice the Doppler effect, which is very similar to what we hear when listening to the whistle of a passing train, of Phoenix and Mars Express getting closer and then farther away from each other.

Link to the sound recording.

The rest of the recording, the start and the end, contains background noise generated by Mars Express itself.

During the descent, all of the capabilities of Mars Express were focussed on tracking Phoenix with MELACOM. Unfortunately, the science observations carried out during the descent did not lead to the anticipated results.

Over the next few days, Mars Express will monitor Phoenix using MELACOM 15 more times; at least one of these will be used to demonstrate and confirm that the ESA spacecraft can be used as a data relay station for NASA, receiving data from the surface and transmitting test commands to the lander, which may be important if any issues remain with the communication troubles between Phoenix and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Source: ESA

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Countdown Begins for STS-124; Will Bring Supplies for ISS Toilet Repair

Countdown for the next space shuttle mission, STS-124 will begin today, Wednesday May 28 at 3:00 pm EDT. Launch is scheduled for Saturday, May 31 at 5:02 pm EDT. The mission will deliver Japan’s Kibo pressurized module to the station, as well as some last minute, very important equipment: parts to repair a balky toilet on board the space station. The pump that separates the solids from the gas wastes for the toilet has been working only sporadically. The replacement parts are being flown in from Russia today, hand-carried in a diplomatic pouch, and will be added to the payload on board space shuttle Discovery. “Clearly, having a working toilet is a priority for us,” said NASA’s Scott Higginbotham, mission manager in the International Space Station and Spacecraft Processing Directorate. STS-124 is the 123rd flight of the space shuttle, the 26th flight to the station and the 35th flight for space shuttle Discovery.

Mission managers report everything looks good for launch on Saturday. The flight crew will be arriving today. All systems on the shuttle are in good shape and the Kibo module is securely installed in Discovery’s payload bay. Kibo is the largest pressurized module ever delivered to the ISS, but at 32,000 pounds (14,515 kilograms), it’s not the heaviest payload ever launched on board a shuttle. That was the S3/S4 truss delivered last year, which weighed 35,678 pounds (16,183-kilograms).

10 minute launch window starts at 4:57 pm, and launch is targeted for the middle of window at 5:02 pm. STS-124 is a 14 day mission, with 3 EVAs planned from the ISS airlock. If any launch delays occur, they could continue with four launch attempts in five days, and the only constraint is the GLAST launch planned for June 5.

In addition to the Kibo module and crew, 975 lbs of equipment will be going up on the flight, including the last minute addition of toilet repair parts, which Higginbotham described as “fairly significant pieces of hardware.” For more info on the toilet, see Jim Oberg’s article on MSNBC.

Currently, the weather looks good for a the Saturday launch.

Image: The STS-124 crew members pose for a portrait at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. From the left are astronauts Mark Kelly, commander; Ken Ham, pilot; Karen Nyberg, Ron Garan, Mike Fossum, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and astronaut Greg Chamitoff, all mission specialists. Photo credit: NASA

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Comm Glitch Resolved; New Raw Images from Phoenix

The UHF radio on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter that had gone into standby mode yesterday was successfully restarted. The orbiter was then able to receive information from the Phoenix Mars Lander late Tuesday evening and relay the transmission to Earth, which included images and other data collected by Phoenix during the mission’s second day after landing on Mars. The radio system used by the orbiter to communicate with the lander experienced an undetermined “transient event” early Tuesday and shut itself off. This prevented sending Phoenix any new commands from Earth on Tuesday. Instead, the lander carried out a backup set of activity commands that had been sent Monday, which included taking additional pictures of itself and the landing site. Above is one of the raw, unprocessed image the lander took of itself.


We’ve gotten used to the panoramic images of Mars from the Mars Exploration Rovers, and we can expect more of the same from Phoenix. Above is the beginnings of a panoramic view of the lander and its surroundings. The Surface Stereo Imager is in the process of taking multiple images, which the imaging team will process and piece together to form a a large color panorama.

And how do these raw, black and white images become colorful photos and panoramas? At left is a calibration target on Phoenix. It has grayscale and color dots. Before launch, the calibration targets are imaged and measured very accurately, so that the imaging team back on Earth knows what the colors and different shades of grey are.

Once on Mars, a picture is taken of the target. The picture will be processed through the software they use, and if it comes out looking the same as the pictures taken of the target before launch, the imaging team knows they have processed the picture correctly. They then use the same technique to process the images of Mars surface, and produce images that are as close as possible to the “real” colors on Mars.

Here’s one more raw image, the beginnings the panorama of the entire spacecraft, of the SSI camera looking down on the spacecraft itself.

Image Source: Phoenix Gallery