Universe Today

The world knows the huge potential China and Russia have for space exploration. Russia is maintaining a strong presence in space with their sturdy Soyuz program and China has set its sights on having their very first "taikonaut" EVA at the end of this year. But where does this leave NASA? The US space agency has spearheaded the exploration of space for the last 50 years, but amongst all the talk about NASA setbacks, overspending and delays, could the glory days be coming to an abrupt end? In May, the legendary astronaut John Glenn spoke out against Shuttle decommissioning and last week, US Senator Bill Nelson called a meeting at Cape Canaveral to raise concerns about announced job cuts in 2010. Now, the most famous NASA ex-employee and second man on the Moon, Buzz Aldrin has voiced warnings that the US could lose its grip on space and begin to be left behind by Russia and China…
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Filed under: NASA, Space Exploration | 36 Comments »

NASA’s Marshall and Ames Research Centers will team up with the commercial space company SpaceX to launch and deploy a solar sail this summer. A bread-box sized payload called NanoSail-D will travel to space onboard a SpaceX Falcon 1 Rocket and if all goes well, it will be the first fully deployed solar sail in space, and the first spacecraft to use a solar sail as a primary means of orbital maneuvering. The first launch window is from July 29th to August 6th, with a back-up window extending from August 29th to September 5th. Weighing less than 4.5 kilograms (10 pounds) the aluminum and plastic sail has about 9.3 m² (100 square feet) of light-catching surface which researchers hope will successfully propel the spacecraft.
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Filed under: Satellites, Science | 16 Comments »

So neutron stars may not be the densest exotic objects in the cosmos after all. Recent observations of ultra-luminous supernovae suggest that these explosions may create an even more exotic remnant. Neutron stars can form after a star ends its life; measuring only 16 km across, these small but massive objects (one and a half times the mass of the Sun) may become too big for the structure of neutrons to hold it together. What happens if the structures of the neutrons inside a neutron star collapse? Quark stars (a.k.a. "Strange" stars) may be the result, smaller and denser than neutron stars, possibly explaining some abnormally bright supernovae observed recently…
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Filed under: Astronomy, Physics | 24 Comments »

Over the weeks we've taken a look at some very curious objects which have often raised some wonderful questions. One such question dealt with what could be observed should a supernova event involve a planetary system. In this case, it's not quite the explosive mass destruction scenario – but a planetary nebula that consumed its planets… Read more…

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After astronauts make the first tentative steps onto the surface of Mars, a big goal will be colonization of the Red Planet. The first trailblazers who try to live on Mars will have their work cut out for them, being in an environment totally hostile to life. What challenges will they face, and how might they overcome them?

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Humans to Mars, Part 2 – Colonists – Show notes and transcript

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Saturn’s gorgeous rings. Geysers on Enceladus. Methane lakes on Titan. These are just a few of the images that stand out from the Cassini mission’s four year survey of Saturn and its remarkable system of rings and moons. On June 30 the Cassini spacecraft completes its primary mission at the ringed planet, and now will embark on an extended two year mission, with hopes of studying more closely the most intriguing targets, Titan and Enceladus and the interaction between Saturn’s icy moons and rings.
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Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! It's that time again and darker skies are in our favor for this weekend. Are you working towards Astronomical League studies? Then tag along as we seek out one of the most difficult of all targets – Palomar 5. But don't despair – there's just slightly easier ones to study, too! Come along for the double galaxy ride and the peak of two minor meteor showers as we head out into the night… Read more…

Filed under: Astronomy, Astronomy For Kids, Observing | 3 Comments »

On June 25th, the ESA/NASA SOHO spacecraft discovered its 1,500th comet, making it more successful than all other comet discoverers throughout history, combined. But wait a minute, SOHO is the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, designed to study solar physics. What’s it doing looking for comets? SOHO just happens to have a great vantage point to see comets as they approach the sun. Since its orbit is situated between the Sun and Earth, it has a unique view of the regions close to the sun that we can rarely see from Earth. But SOHO’s comet-finding success is just an added benefit to the extraordinary revelations this spacecraft has provided in its 13 years in space, observing the Sun and the near-Sun environment. “Catching the enormous total of comets has been an unplanned bonus,” said Bernhard Fleck, ESA SOHO Project Scientist.
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Work will begin on Friday to repair damaged sections of Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39A that was damaged during the last space shuttle launch on May 31. On Thursday, (June 26) NASA managers approved a plan that would complete the repairs by the third week of August. Therefore the mission schedule shouldn’t be impacted. The next space shuttle flight, the high-profile final mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope is scheduled to launch on October 8, and if all goes well with the repairs, space shuttle Atlantis would crawl its way out to the pad on August 29. "We really like the plan," said shuttle Program Manager John Shannon. "We expect to start moving out on it right away."
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Another groundbreaking discovery from Mars: Phoenix has analysed martian regolith containing minerals more commonly found in soil here on Earth, and the acidity is not a hindrance for life to thrive. These new and very exciting results come after preliminary analyses of a scoop of regolith by the landers "wet lab" known as the Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer (MECA) instrument. Although more data collecting needs to be done, trace levels of nutrients have already been detected. This, with the recent discovery of water ice, has amazed mission scientists, likening these new results to "winning the lottery."
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Filed under: Mars | 61 Comments »

The Pantheon.

Click here to read the Carnival of Space #60

And if you're interested in looking back, here's an archive to all the past carnivals of space. If you've got a space-related blog, you should really join the carnival. Just email an entry to carnivalofspace@gmail.com, and the next host will link to it. It will help get awareness out there about your writing, help you meet others in the space community – and community is what blogging is all about. And if you really want to help out, let me know if you can be a host, and I'll schedule you into the calendar.

Finally, if you run a space-related blog, please post a link to the Carnival of Space. Help us get the word out.

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The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) is a very exciting mission for lunar exploration. Since the discovery of water on Mars by Phoenix last week, focus is turning on other planetary bodies and natural satellites for the possibility they may hold a supply of water too. First stop for any manned mission will be our return trip to the Moon by 2020, so it would be very advantageous if we could find a frozen reservoir of H₂O hiding within the craters of the lunar surface. LCROSS is going to hitch a ride with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) later this year on board an Atlas V rocket. It has just passed some gruelling pre-launch tests before it sets out on a suicide mission that will end in collision with the lunar surface…
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Filed under: Moon, Space Exploration | 11 Comments »

Dark matter was theorized to exist relatively recently, and we've come a long way in understanding what makes up a whopping 23% of our Universe. Our own galaxy is surrounded by a halo of dark matter that adds to its mass. A recent paper on the dark matter closer to home – right here in our own Solar System – reveals that it is denser and more massive than in the galactic halo. Read more…

Filed under: Dark Matter | 39 Comments »

For those of us old enough to remember riding on an old fashioned carousel, there was once a quaint custom where the operator would hold a brass ring out and the lucky contestant who captured it could ride again for free. Before you dismiss this astrophotograph as just another colorful look at a Messier, perhaps you better step inside the workings of the merry-go-round to learn more about what you're really seeing here… Because this ring is pure gold. Read more…

Filed under: Astronomy, Astrophotos | 12 Comments »

This incredible image looks like space art, or a trick done with Photoshop, but its an actual image of twin galaxies dancing together in the sky. The image was obtained, appropriately enough by the Gemini South telescope in Chile using GMOS, the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph. These two nearly identical spiral galaxies are in Virgo, 90 million light years distant, in the early stages of a gentle gravitational embrace.
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Filed under: Astronomy | 16 Comments »