Universe Today » Nicholos Wethington

Going Up? Top Floor, Space Elevator Games 2009

Nicholos Wethington — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:56:08 +0000

BREAKING NEWS: LaserMotive successfully qualified for the $900,000 prize! Their official speed was 3.72 m/s. Way to go! See more below.

Though it's unlikely that anyone will be pressing the elevator button labeled 'Space' on one of the competitors' vehicles this year at the 2009 Space Elevator Games, there is hope that a winner will walk away with the $1.1 million prize. Three different teams will compete to see if any can send a laser powered vehicle up a thin but strong ribbon 1km (.6 miles) into the sky.(...)
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Mars Explorers May Use AI to Become 'Cyborg Astrobiologists'

Nicholos Wethington — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:46:04 +0000

Ever heard of a 'Cyborg Astrobiologist'? Probably not. But I bet you'll want to be one after learning that future exploration of Mars (and other planets, for that matter) may employ the use of artificial intelligence integrated into spacesuits to enhance the ability of astronauts in taking scientific data while exploring. The AI assistance could help future astronauts exploring planets to recognize differences in their surroundings as being due to the presence of life. Does this sound like something from 50 years from now? Well, a prototype model has already been tested, and has shown the principle behind this idea to be sound.

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Post tags: Astrobiology, Exploration, Mars

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Rosetta to Make Final Earth Flyby Nov. 13th

Nicholos Wethington — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:44:33 +0000

The comet chasing spacecraft Rosetta will make its third and final swing by the Earth on November 13th to pick up more speed for the last part of a 10-year journey that lies ahead. Its mission is to place a lander on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and chase the comet for an entire year on its orbit around the Sun. The spacecraft will be visible to observers from the ground in certain locations on the Earth. This last flyby will increase the spacecraft's speed by 3.6 km/s (2.2 miles/s) with respect to the Sun, giving Rosetta the energy it needs to boost it to the outer regions of the Solar System.(...)
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Masten wins $1 million X-Prize on Last Possible Day

Nicholos Wethington — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:22:27 +0000

The X-Prize competition for building a lander vehicle capable of making a simulated landing and liftoff on the Moon has come to a close, with the 1st place, $1 million award going to Masten Space Systems for their vehicle, Xoie (pronounced like the name 'Zoey'). Armadillo Aerospace came in a close second, and received $500,000 for their Scorpius rocket. The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X-Prize challenge was initiated to spur development of lunar landing vehicle by a privately funded institution. The last of the challenge flights occured Friday, October 30th, and the competition came down to the wire, as Masten encountered problems on Wednesday and Thursday challenge windows that delayed their final flight to the last day of the challenge.(...)
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New CMB Measurements Support Standard Model

Nicholos Wethington — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:31:10 +0000

New measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) – the leftover light from the Big Bang – lend further support the Standard Cosmological Model and the existence of dark matter and dark energy, limiting the possibility of alternative models of the Universe. Researchers from Stanford University and Cardiff University produced a detailed map of the composition and structure of matter as it would have looked shortly after the Big Bang, which shows that the Universe would not look as it does today if it were made up solely of 'normal matter'.(...)
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Two ESA Satellites Launch Successfully

Nicholos Wethington — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:47:11 +0000

UPDATE: Information about both SMOS and the Proba-2 satelite are on ESA Television. The program loop is embedded at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!

Last night at 2:50 am Central European Time, two European Space Agency (ESA) satellites were successfully launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Northern Russia. The Rockot launch vehicle was carrying both the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite, and the Proba-2 satellite. SMOS will monitor the moisture exchange of the Earth between the ocean, air and land as well as the salinity of the oceans and the moisture of the soil in an effort to better understand how these factors influence the climate of our planet. Proba-2 will test out various instruments, including a small wide angle optical camera, and instruments for monitoring the plasma environment in orbit and the Sun's corona.(...)
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Asteroid Explosion over Indonesia

Nicholos Wethington — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:49:30 +0000

This has taken awhile to filter into the Western press, but an asteroid exploded over the town of Bone,Indonesia on October 8th at around 11am local time. Initially, locals called the police to report that a plane had crashed, or that an earthquake shook the ground, as reported in the Jakarta Globe. The Jakarta Post quoted Thomas Djamaluddin, head of the Lapan Center for Climate and Atmosphere Science Implementation as saying that the explosion was due to a meteorite or bit of space junk that had entered the Earth's atmosphere. As it turns out after further analysis, the explosion was due to an asteroid about 5-10 meters (15-30 feet) in diameter exploding in the air between 15 and 20 km (nine to 12 miles) above sea level. Nobody was injured as a result of the explosion, but it evidently caused quite a scare with the local population!(...)
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Post tags: Asteroids, Earth asteroid tracking

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Bacteria Could Survive in Martian Soil

Nicholos Wethington — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:57:02 +0000

Multiple missions have been sent to Mars with the hopes of testing the surface of the planet for life – or the conditions that could create life – on the Red Planet. The question of whether life in the form of bacteria (or something even more exotic!) exists on Mars is hotly debated, and still requires a resolute yes or no. Experiments done right here on Earth that simulate the conditions on Mars and their effects on terrestrial bacteria show that it is entirely possible for certain strains of bacteria to weather the harsh environment of Mars.(...)
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Planet-Forming Disk Discovered Orbiting Binary System

Nicholos Wethington — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:42:19 +0000

Science fiction is lousy with examples of planets that orbit a system of two suns. Tatooine, in the Star Wars saga, is endowed with a pair of suns to light up the sky, as is the planet Magrathea in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It would indeed be quite a spectacle to wake up to more than one Sun every day for us who have only one. This sight may entirely be possible to view around the young binary star system V4046 Sagittarii, as new images from the Smithsonian's Submillimeter Array (SMA) have confirmed the existence of a molecular cloud – which could harbor, or later produce planets - orbiting the twin stars. This is the first time that evidence of planetary formation around a binary system of stars has been uncovered.

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50th Anniversary of Historic Space Monkey Flight

Nicholos Wethington — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:03:20 +0000

Able in her capsule. Image Credit:NASA

The image to the left is not a primate astronaut from "Planet of the Apes." It is, in fact, a real space monkey. Today marks the 50th anniversary of the first flight into space of a living being that survived the expedition. On May 28th, 1959, one rhesus monkey, named Able, and one squirrel monkey named Miss Baker became the first "astronauts" to survive a return flight into space.(...)
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Crew of Six Begins 105-day Mars Mission Simulation

Nicholos Wethington — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 03:31:16 +0000

Earlier today in Moscow, six people were locked inside a hermetically sealed living space, where they will remain for the next 105 days. They will eat dehydrated food, have limited contact with the outside world and will be constantly monitored. No, it's not another season of 'Big Brother', but a joint experiment by the European Space Agency and the Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP) of the Russian Academy of Sciences to study the effects a mission to Mars would have on a human crew.

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The Milky Way Could have Billions of Earths

Nicholos Wethington — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:18:42 +0000

With the upcoming launch in March of the Kepler mission to find extrasolar planets, there is quite a lot of buzz about the possibility of finding habitable planets outside of our Solar System. Kepler will be the first satellite telescope with the capability to find Earth-size and smaller planets. At the most recent meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Chicago, Dr. Alan Boss is quoted by numerous media outlets as saying that there could be billions of Earth-like planets in the Milky Way alone, and that we may find an Earth-like planet orbiting a large proportion of the stars in the Universe.(...)
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The Switch to Digital Switches off Big Bang TV Signal

Nicholos Wethington — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:19:37 +0000

The switch to digital will eliminate the Big Bang channel.

The switch from analog to digital television broadcasting signals in the United States , which was originally scheduled for February 17th, has been postponed until June 12th, 2009. To those anticipating the higher-quality picture and more reliable signal that this switch will afford, the delay is surely a downer, though some stations may begin broadcasting digital signals before this date. You may be surprised, though, that the change in signal may no longer allow you to see leftover radiation from the Big Bang in the static on your television screen.(...)
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Supersonic Bubbles Blown By Black Holes Regulate Size

Nicholos Wethington — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 05:52:06 +0000

A composite image of M84. X-ray is in blue and a radio in red. Credit: A.Finoguenov et al.

Apparently, black holes can walk and chew gum at the same time. Or at least they can chew up gas and dust and blow supersonic bubbles with it at the same time. Analysis into the formation of large bubbles of plasma formed by supermassive black holes reveals that creating the bubbles may stunt the growth of the black hole, as well as curb star formation in elliptical galaxies.(...)
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NASA Satellites 'To Serve' in Africa Disaster Warnings

Nicholos Wethington — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 23:50:38 +0000

Real-time imagery of this flood-prone region near Lake Victoria will provide information in case of disaster. Image Credit: NASA

Outside of the scientific understanding of our Universe that comes from being a spacefaring civilization, there are many benefits to our continued presence in space. Satellites, besides their obvious benefits like research and communication, also can help keep an eye on the Earth, and are valuable tools in case of disasters such as hurricanes and floods. In other words, satellites can save lives, not to mention allow you to find your own house using Google Earth.

NASA and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) recently announced that they will be putting the tool of satellite monitoring in the hands of African countries, giving them previously inaccessible information related to floods, climate change, and other large-scale environmental factors.(...)
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Mars Express Maps Aurorae

Nicholos Wethington — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 22:02:27 +0000

If you've been lucky enough to ever see the aurorae (or Northern Lights) on Earth, I'm sure you'll remember it as a spectacular sight. Fortunately, this phenomenon is not unique to the Earth: Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars all have their own unique auroae, and none of them would appear to a Martian or Venusian like those of our own planet.The SPICAM instrument aboard Mars Express first observed an auroral emission event in 2004, and has since been training its UV eyes on the planet, observing a total of nine events since.(...)
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The Bow Shock of Betelgeuse Revealed

Nicholos Wethington — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:43:27 +0000

You may be familiar with Betelgeuse, as it is the upper-left star in the constellation Orion, forming what would be his shoulder. But this is an image of Betelgeuse that you wouldn't see with your own eyes or even your own telescope. Images taken with the Akari infrared telescope show that as Betelgeuse travels through the interstellar medium, it creates what is called a "bow shock".(...)
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Final Resting Place of Nicolas Copernicus is Confirmed

Nicholos Wethington — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:08:37 +0000

This is what Copernicus looked like, based on forensic reconstruction from his skull. Image credit: The Kronenberg Foundation

The rightful place of the man who put the Earth in its rightful place has now been confirmed. New DNA analysis confirms that the remains of a 70-year old man found in Frombork Cathedral in Northern Poland are those of Nicolas Copernicus. Discovered three years ago, the remains allowed archaeologists produce a facial reconstruction from the skull, creating a likeness to portraits of Copernicus. But though the placement of the grave and the age of the body corresponded to the details of Copernicus' death, scientists couldn't be sure that the remains were actually those of Copernicus himself.(...)
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Dense Exoplanet Creates Classification Calamity

Nicholos Wethington — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:50:16 +0000

Given all the fervor over the definition of Pluto (planet? dwarf planet? snowball?), let's hope the debate over the discovery of a planet that lies in an equally hazy area of classification is a little calmer. The COROT satellite recently discovered an extrasolar planet named Corot-exo-3b. It's quite a curiosity as far as exoplanets are concerned, and its characteristics – such as a density twice that of lead – may force astronomers to rethink the distinction between massive planets and low-mass brown dwarfs.(...)
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Dusty Disk Evidence of Planetary Collision

Nicholos Wethington — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:45:18 +0000

When exoplanets collide... Credit: Artwork by Lynette Cook

What astronomers had expected to be a run-of-the-mill protoplanetary disk turned out to be evidence of a much more intriguing story. While observing the sun-like star BD 20 307, a team of astronomers noticed a large disk of dust surrounding the star. Usually, this is evidence of planetary formation around younger stars. The 8 planets (and plutoids…) in our own solar system formed out of just such a disk. Disks like this aren't generally found around older stars, though, and when the age of the star was calculated to be several billion years old, the source of the dust appears to come from a rare event: it is the resulting debris of two planets slamming into each other.
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Rosetta Begins Tracking Asteroid Steins for Flyby

Nicholos Wethington — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:01:17 +0000

Since waking up in early July from a brief hibernation, the Rosetta space probe has passed yet another milestone on the long journey to its rendezvous with the comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014: it has begun tracking the asteroid (2867) Steins. The spacecraft will perform a close flyby of the asteroid on September 5th, 2008, and will spend the next month taking images and science data.(...)
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X-Ray Satellite Discovers Overlooked Nova

Nicholos Wethington — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:31:55 +0000

Novae are kind of a big deal in the Universe, so you'd think that when one occurred we would notice, especially if it were visible to the naked eye. A star that exploded in June of 2007 in the constellation of Puppis, though, slipped by the network of professional and amateur astronomers that are dedicated to watching the skies for novel stars. Luckily, the orbiting X-ray telescope XMM-Newton just happened to be observing the area, and discovered the nova that everyone else had missed.(...)
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Canada to build World's First Asteroid-hunting Satellite

Nicholos Wethington — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:27:32 +0000

Just yesterday (June 30th) was the 100-year anniversary of the Tunguska event, when a small piece of ice or rock exploded in the air near the Podkammenaya Tungus river in Siberia, flattening trees and scaring the heck out of people in the surrounding area. Thankfully, the blast didn't happen in a populated area and nobody was killed, but there are many more pieces of debris floating around out there in space. If we want to do something about an asteroid headed our way, or keep astronauts safe from space debris, knowing is half the battle. Thanks to a new microsatellite being built by the Canadian Space Agency, we will soon have a better map of the objects surrounding the Earth's orbit.(...)
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Dark Matter is Denser in the Solar System

Nicholos Wethington — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:24:27 +0000

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 â€“ right here in our own Solar System â€“ reveals that it is denser and more massive than in the galactic halo.(...)
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Homer's "Odyssey" May Chronicle Ancient Eclipse

Nicholos Wethington — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:50:18 +0000

It's likely that sometime in your education career, an English teacher had you enjoy (or suffer through, depending on your tastes) at least part of that classic of classics, Homer's Odyssey. It tells the story of Odysseus, a Greek general, who embarks on a 10-year journey back home after battling in the fall of Troy. The tale is filled with imagery that is referenced often in contemporary films and books. As old as it is, one would think that we've learned pretty much all we can from the book, but a new analysis of celestial events referenced in the Odyssey reveals that Homer may have documented a total solar eclipse.

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