ESA’s new Vega launcher completed another milestone this week with the test firing of its Zefiro 23 second stage solid motor. The test was done at the Italian Ministry of Defence’s test centre on Sardinia. The 7.5 metre (25 foot) engine delivered more than 100 metric tonnes (220,000 pounds) of thrust, consuming its fuel in 75 seconds. Vega is designed to launch smaller payloads into lower orbits, and will serve the small satellite launch market.
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Book Review: The Cosmic Landscape
When you think you have all the answers, it’s time to stretch boundaries. Physicists get to do this all the time, and their boundaries seem to have no end. Leonard Susskind in his book The Cosmic Landscape takes the reader along to share his perceptions of the ultimate boundary; the one about our universe. However, rather than stretching the boundary, it’s about the existence of a boundary itself that keeps that makes this book well strung together.
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Sun’s Corona Simulated
A new simulation by NASA and the National Science Foundation accurately predicted what the Sun’s corona should look like during a recent solar eclipse. The corona is a turbulent region around the Sun which is shaped by twisting magnetic fields. Billions of tonnes of plasma are ejected into space as these fields suddenly snap to new configurations. The simulation too 4 days to complete on a supercomputer with 700 processors.
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Progress 22 Docks with the Station
A new Progress cargo ship docked to the International Space Station today, carrying more than 2.5 tonnes of fuel, water and other supplies. Progress 20 was recently detached from the station to make room for this new arrival; it will burn up in reentry shortly. Progress 22 might actually remain permanently attached to the station, though, serving as extra closet space for the astronauts.
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What’s Up this Week: June 26 – July 2, 2006
Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! As warm nights and later sky dark hours descend on the northern hemisphere, it’s time to begin our studies along the incredible arm of the Milky Way galaxy. What better way to begin than with a swim in the “Lagoon Nebula”! Enjoy the beautiful nights and get out your binoculars and telescopes, because…
Here’s what’s up!
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SMART-1 Prepares for the End
ESA’s SMART-1 has been orbiting the Moon for 16 months, but it’s out of fuel, so its life is almost over. On September 3, 2006, it will crash into the Moon’s surface in a final act of science. If its orbit was to decay naturally, the spacecraft would impact on the far side of the Moon; however controllers have devised a strategy to help it impact on the near side, in view of Earth-based telescopes.
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Astronauts Prepare for New Supply Ship
Astronauts on board the International Space Station have had a busy week preparing for their next Progress cargo ship. On Monday they detached Progress 20 from the station, which will now burn up through the Earth’s atmosphere. If all goes well, Progress 22 will blast off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on June 24, and link up with the station on June 26. It’ll be carrying 2.5 tonnes of equipment and supplies.
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MESSENGER Flips Over to Get Some Shade
As NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft gets closer to Mercury, it’s also flying closer to the Sun. And temperatures are rising. The spacecraft rotated 180-degrees on June 21, pointing its sunshade towards the Sun. This will keep temperatures to safe levels within the spacecraft. MESSENGER will keep this shade between itself and the Sun for the remainder of its mission. The spacecraft’s next big event will be its flyby with Venus on October 24.
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Artificial Solar System Could Search for Extra Dimensions
The concept of extra dimensions, that there are whole other regions of reality that we can’t perceive, has tantalized physicists for years. Although the math looks good (if you like that kind of thing), scientists want physical evidence they can measure. And how do you test for 4 dimensions of space when you’ve only got a 3-dimensional ruler? One idea is to use gravity, a force that might actually reach across an extra dimension and give scientists the evidence they’re looking for. In order to run this experiment, a pair of physicists think the best strategy is to start from scratch and build a whole new solar system… in miniature.
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Four Planets Shine in the Evening
Linger outside after dark and you’ll be in for a treat next week. Four of our solar system’s bright planets will be arranged in the western skies at the end of June. Jupiter, the brightest “star” in the sky is the easiest to see, but Mercury, Mars and Saturn are there too. The waxing crescent Moon will pass right through the region over several days, pointing the way to these other planets. The best nights to see the planets are on June 27th and 28th, about 45 minutes after sunset.
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