Universe Today - July 20, 2000 |
|
the U N I V E R S E T O D A Y Space Exploration News From Around the Internet, Updated Every Weekday. July 20, 2000 - Issue #276 http://www.universetoday.com info@universetoday.com To unsubscribe from this newsletter, just reply with only the subject line "UNSUBSCRIBE !*EMAIL*!". An HTML version of this Newsletter is available at: http://www.universetoday.com/html/misc/today.html ************************************** A quick note: For the next few weeks, I'll be spotlighting various astronomical societies around the world. If you're interested in astronomy at all, I highly recommend you contact your local astronomical society and see what they have to offer. When I was 13 years old, I bought my first telescope - a 4" newtonian - and pointed it a bright star in the sky. The star turned out to be Saturn, and even with the poor optics of my telescope, I could clearly make out the rings. I don't have words to describe what kind of impact this moment had on me - I'd seen Saturn in books, but I'd never seen it with my own eyes. So, if you're interested in space and astronomy, but you've never looked through the eyepiece of a telescope, run to your nearest astronomical society; they'd be happy to give you a peek. So, here's a good example: The North Houston Astronomy Club, one of four active clubs in Houston, Texas has 116 members and has been operating for just over a year. Serving the north side of Houston, and based at Kingwood College, the club meets monthly and is very active. For more information visit their website at http://www.astronomyclub.org For a complete list of astronomical societies: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/astronomicalsocieties.html Fraser Cain Publisher Universe Today P.S. I'll be away from the computer on Friday, so the next edition will come out on Monday. ************************************** -- UNIVERSE TODAY STORY SUMMARY -- * Ultimate Speed Limit Broken * Minotaur Launches MightySat II * Mars Society Gives Green Light for Arctic Mars Station ULTIMATE SPEED LIMIT BROKEN ------------------------- Researchers in Princeton, N.J have sent a pulse of laser light through a chamber filled with cesium vapour so quickly, it seemed to have traveled at 310 times the speed of light. The achievement seems to have no practical application right now, but it's generated tremendous buzz in the community of theoretical and optical physicists. Original Source: http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v406/n6793/full/406277a0_fs.html">Nature Article Internet Coverage: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/light000720.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_841000/841690.stm http://www.discovery.com/news/briefs/20000719/mi_light.html http://www.foxnews.com/science/071900/light.sml MINOTAUR LAUNCHES MIGHTYSAT II ------------------------- A $13 million Minotaur rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California at 4:09pm EDT on July 19th, carrying a MightySat II Air Force Satellite. Minotaur rockets are decommissioned Minuteman II rocket motors supplied by the US Government as a result of arms reduction treaties. The MightySat II hosts a range of advanced technologies, including an imaging instrument, a Fourier Transform Hyperspectral Imager, and a solar array concentrator. Original Source: http://www.orbital.com/Template.php3?Section=News&NavMenuID=32&template=PressReleaseDisplay.php3&PressReleaseID=252 Internet Coverage: http://spaceflightnow.com/osp/msat2.1/status.html http://www.flatoday.com/space/explore/stories/2000b/072000j.htm http://www.spacedaily.com/news/minotaur-00b.html MARS SOCIETY GIVES GREEN LIGHT FOR ARCTIC MARS STATION ------------------------- Although the weather has been miserable and some of their equipment was damaged in a recent air drop, the Mars Society has decided to go ahead with the development of the Arctic Mars habitat located on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic. The alternate plan is to use scaffolding instead of a crane to build the habitat, and to use wood flown in from nearby Resolute to create the floor. The original crane and fiberglass floor were destroyed in the botched air drop. Original Source: http://www.marssociety.org Internet Coverage: http://www.msnbc.com/news/431335.asp ------------------------- To unsubscribe from this newsletter, just reply with only the subject line "UNSUBSCRIBE !*EMAIL*!". All contents copyright (c) 2000 Universe Today |