Universe Today - August 16, 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 16, 2000 - Issue #289 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 brief note... Well, I survived my trip to Toronto, and I've brought back a little news. There weren't too many revelations at the Mars Society's annual convention, but there were some great speeches by Dr. Zubrin, NASA astronauts, and others. Unfortunately, others didn't show up, including Buzz Aldrin (sick) and James Cameron (busy). The Flashline Arctic station has been a tremendous success, and the Mars Society's upcoming plans are to build similar stations in other regions. I also had the opportunity to meet with other members of the space press, including Jeff Foust from SpaceViews (the best online space publication in my opinion), Keith Cowing of Nasawatch/SpaceRef (he doesn't have horns, I checked) and Natasha Eloi from Space: the Imagination Station (our Canadian space/science fiction television channel). Reporters from SPACE.com were lurking around too, but I didn't actually meet with them. So, I'm back in the saddle again. No more interruptions. Just space news every single weekday. Fraser Cain Publisher Universe Today ************************************** -- UNIVERSE TODAY STORY SUMMARY -- * Northern Lights Join Meteor Showers * A Glimpse at the Sun's Future * Twin Rovers Planned for Mars * Survivor Producer Working on Mir Television Show NORTHERN LIGHTS JOIN METEOR SHOWERS ------------------------- A tremendous aurora borealis (aka the Northern Lights) lit up the skies over much of North America last weekend. Reports from those who saw the light show described incredible curtains of blue, green and red light that danced in the night sky. The aurora occurred at the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, with 100 meteors/hour visible at optimal viewing times. If you missed this light show, don't worry, the meteor shower lasts until August 22nd, and we'll probably also see more aurorae too before the year is out. Original Source: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast14aug_1.htm Internet Coverage: http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/08/14/auroras/index.html Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/astronomy.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/meteorshowers.html A GLIMPSE AT THE SUN'S FUTURE ------------------------- Radio astronomers have developed a time-lapse movie of gas being ejected from the surface of a distant, violent star. The astronomers built the movie of the dying star - 1,000 light years away - using images taken by the University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Observatory, and it shows the star going through a phase in its life cycle that our own Sun will also go through, approximately a billion years from now. Original Source: http://www.iau.org/ga24press/pr000815_1.html#1 Internet Coverage: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_881000/881342.stm http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=2398 Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/radio.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/radioastronomy.html TWIN ROVERS PLANNED FOR MARS ------------------------- NASA announced that it will send an additional, and identical, rover to Mars in 2003. Similar in design to the highly successful Mars Pathfinder mission, which reached the Red Planet in 1997, the rovers will weigh 150 kilograms, and be capable of traveling 100 metres a day. The first mission is scheduled to launch on a Delta 2 rocket on May 22, 2003, followed two weeks later by the second on an identical rocket. The total budget for the two missions will be $600 million. Original Source: ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/2000/00-124.txt Internet Coverage: http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0008/10marsrovers/ http://www.discovery.com/news/briefs/20000810/sp_marsrover.html http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/08/10/mars.rovers.reut/index.html http://www.spaceviews.com/2000/08/11a.html Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/mars.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/mars.html SURVIVOR PRODUCER WORKING ON MIR TELEVISION SHOW ------------------------- MirCorp announced that it has signed an agreement with the creators of Survivor to produce a new show based on the Mir space station. Civilian "guest cosmonauts" will undergo intense training in preparation for an actual mission on Mir. As the weeks go by, Russian space officials will remove participants until one person will be selected for a 10-day visit on the station. Businessman Dennis Tito recently paid a reported $22 million for his upcoming visit to Mir. Original Source: http://www.mirstation.com/news_news13.html Internet Coverage: http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0008/10mirsurvivor/ http://www.spaceviews.com/2000/08/09b.html Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/mir.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/mir.html ------------------------- To unsubscribe from this newsletter, just reply with only the subject line "UNSUBSCRIBE !*EMAIL*!". All contents copyright (c) 2000 Universe Today |