Universe Today - August 4, 2000 |
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the U N I V E R S E T O D A Y Space Exploration News From Around the Internet, Updated Every Weekday. August 4, 2000 - Issue #285 http://www.universetoday.com info@universetoday.com An HTML version of this newsletter including pictures is available at: http://www.universetoday.com/html/misc/today.html ************************************** A note from the publisher, NASA will be broadcasting live coverage of Sunday's launch of a Russian Progress supply ship on board a Soyuz rocket. The Progress will launch on Sunday, and then catch up with the International Space Station on Tuesday to provide fresh supplies. The launch begins on Sunday, August 6th at 6:26pm GMT and the docking should happen on Tuesday, August 8th around 8:00pm GMT. If you don't get NASA TV on your satellite dish, you can also watch the launch live on the web. If you have the time to spare, I recommend that you watch a launch - it's fascinating. Here are a couple of links: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/nasatv/index.html http://www.broadcast.com/learning_and_education/science/space/nasa/nasa_television/ Fraser Cain Publisher Universe Today P.S. Thanks to everyone who responded to the survey, I got a great turnout, and only a couple of you caught the jokes. For those of you who missed them, one of the countries was "Alpha Centauri", and one of the languages was "Martian". ************************************** -- UNIVERSE TODAY STORY SUMMARY -- * Astronomers Discover Nearby Extrasolar Planet * New Report Proposes that Carbon Dioxide Caused Features on Mars * NASA Costs Rise Significantly ASTRONOMERS DISCOVER NEARBY EXTRASOLAR PLANET ------------------------- Astronomers at the University of Texas McDonald Observatory have discovered a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting nearby star Epsilon Eridani - only 10.5 light years away from the Earth. This is an exciting discovery, because it's theoretically possible that such a nearby planet could be imaged using the Hubble Space Telescope. Until now, astronomers have only been able to detect extrasolar planets using indirect methods, such as looking for a gravity wobble in the star. Internet Coverage: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_865000/865365.stm http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/08/04/new.planet.reut/index.html http://www.discovery.com/news/briefs/20000804/sp_planet.html http://www.chron.com/content/interactive/space/astronomy/news/2000/ds/20000804.html Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/extrasolar.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/extrasolar.html NEW REPORT PROPOSES THAT CARBON DIOXIDE CAUSED FEATURES ON MARS ------------------------- The discovery of recent erosion of the Red Planet has let researchers to speculate about possible causes; liquid water is the common theory, but another alternative theory suggests that it could be liquid carbon dioxide released from underground reservoirs, and forming gas/ice/rock landslides. NASA scientists think the theory could be a possible explanation for the strange surface features recently discovered. Original Source: http://irian.geology.latrobe.edu.au/~nhoffman/Mars/Enter.html Internet Coverage: http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/08/04/white.mars/index.html Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/mars.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/mars.html NASA COSTS RISE SIGNIFICANTLY ------------------------- After the recent back-to-back Mars mission failures, budgets on proposed NASA missions are rising sharply - some as high as 40%. These rising budgets are based on more conservative decisions by mission planners, as well as underestimations and unforseen problems. Increased budgets on some missions could have serious implications for other missions, which may fall victim to the budget ax. No missions have been officially cancelled, but the rumours are fully airborne. Internet Coverage: http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/08/04/us.nasacosts.ap/index.html http://www.discovery.com/news/briefs/20000804/sp_nasa.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/441615.asp http://www.chron.com/cgi-bin/auth/story.mpl/content/interactive/space/news/2000/20000804.html Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/nasa.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/nasa.html ************************************** A few more astronomy clubs, web pages and space societies. Fraser Valley Astronomers Society - http://www.fvas.net An active group, that involve themselves not only with Astronomy. But the art of telescope making, mirror making, viewing sessions, lectures and slide presentations. They have also just recently established a "Community" Dark Sky Park in Abbotsford British Columbia. Kudos to the FVAS for their efforts in the fight against light pollution. http://www.meteor.dotstar.net - Escambia Amateur Astronomers' Association This is a user-friendly site for amateur astronomers of all ages. A unique feature of the site is, "Ask the Astronomers," for anyone with astronomical or space-related questions. The site also features an astrophoto gallery, astronomical share/freeware, tips for buying 'scopes and accessories, educational information, a Kids' Stuff section, and much more. The 150mm Reflector - http://www.geocities.com/the_150mm_reflector A site aimed at those who want to find out what can be seen through a small telescope (beginners and observers alike). The site publishes observing reports from other astronomers who use equipment that is 150mm in aperture or below - including binoculars. astronomylinks.com - http://astronomylinks.com/ the source for astronomy and space related links on the web. Review the topics, or add your own link and surf the universe. ------------------------- To unsubscribe from this newsletter, just reply with only the subject line "UNSUBSCRIBE !*EMAIL*!". All contents copyright (c) 2000 Universe Today |