When NASA’s Viking 1 Orbiter sent its first pictures back from Mars in 1976, one feature caught the eye – the famous “Face on Mars” in the Cydonia region. Other NASA orbiters have returned higher resolution images showing that it’s just a naturally forming rock structure. And now ESA’s Mars Express has revealed even higher resolution images, showing a new perspective view of the face.
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Atlantis Back on Earth, Safe and Sound
Atlantis and its astronaut crew returned safely back to Earth this morning after 12 days in space. The shuttle touched down at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1021 GMT (6:21am EDT). During its mission, the shuttle and astronauts delivered and installed the P3/P4 truss segment to the International Space Station, dramatically increasing its solar panels and power generation.
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Aerobraking Mars Orbiter Surprised Scientists
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has completed the intricate job of aerobraking and its primary science phase will soon begin in earnest. MRO’s Project Scientist and members of the Navigation Team discussed the intricacies and challenges of aerobraking in Mars’ ever-changing atmosphere.
Podcast: In Search of Other Worlds
Look down at your feet. There – you’re looking at a planet. Now look into the night sky and you should be able to spot a few more. After that, spotting additional planets becomes really hard, especially when you’re trying to find them orbiting other stars. This week we discuss the techniques astronomers use to locate distant worlds.
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Angry Astronomy and Centauri Dreaming
I wanted to take a moment and point your browsers at a few websites that I really enjoy, and I think you will too. You’ve probably heard of the Bad Astronomer, but do you know of the Angry Astronomer? Jon Voisey is an astronomy major at the University of Kansas. Jon has recently been journaling the battle against intelligent design and antiscience movements, but if you dig a little deeper into his archives, you’ll see some great articles explaining concepts in astronomy.
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What’s Up this Week: September 18 – September 24, 2006
Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! As the week opens, we’re treated to several lovely views of the waning Moon and the bright winter objects just before dawn. Early evening dark skies mean an opportunity to galaxy hunt and study planetary nebulae. Mark your calendar to enjoy a weekend meteor shower, too! It’s time to dust off the scopes and head out, because…
Here’s what’s up!
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The Location of the Oldest Recorded Supernova Discovered
Ancient Chinese astronomers recorded the occurence of a bright star in the sky in 185 AD; probably a supernova explosion. And now modern astronomers think they’ve found that explosion’s corpse: supernova remnant RCW 86. New calculations have found that RCW 86 is about 2000 years old, making it the best candidate for this ancient supernova. This new data was gathered using the XMM-Newton and Chandra X-Ray observatories.
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Brown Dwarf Discovered in Planetary System
NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has directly imaged a small brown dwarf star orbiting a larger star – the first time this has ever been seen. The brown dwarf, HD 3651, is classified as a “T dwarf”, has about 50 times the mass of Jupiter, and orbits about 10 times the distance from the Sun to Pluto. Astronomers theorized that the system contained a brown dwarf, because a Saturn-sized planet had a strangely elliptical orbit; something was tugging on it.
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Burning Smell Fills the Station
The crew of the International Space Station had a bit of a scare today when they smelled a noxious odor in the air of the confined station. It turned out the smell was coming from a malfunctioning oxygen generator. NASA now believes a rubber gasket in the generator overheated, creating smoke and an odor. The event won’t cause any problems with the upcoming crew change.
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Expedition 14 Launches in Russian Soyuz
A Russian Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome early Monday, carrying a new team to the International Space Station. On board are Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, as well as space tourist Anousheh Ansari. The crew of Expedition 14 will remain on board the station, while Ansari will remain on board for a week, and then return with the crew of Expedition 13. They’re expected to arrive at the station early Wednesday.
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