Universe Today - December 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. December 20, 2000 - Issue #360 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 ************************************** -- UNIVERSE TODAY STORY SUMMARY -- * Landing Spot Chosen for Beagle 2 * Centre of the Galaxy Mapped * Ariane 5 Launches Three Satellites * Brittle Cable May Delay Shuttle Launch LANDING SPOT CHOSEN FOR BEAGLE 2 ------------------------- The European Space Agency announced yesterday that it has chosen Mars' Isidis Planitia as the landing spot for Beagle 2. The probe will land in a basin believed to be the location of an ancient lake, containing layers of sedimentation, and search for evidence of past life in the soil. Beagle 2 is part of the ESA Mars Express, which is expected to reach the Red Planet in 2003 Original Source: http://sci.esa.int/content/searchimage/searchresult.cfm?aid=9&cid=32&ooid=25650 Internet Coverage: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1079000/1079916.stm http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/12/20/beagle.landing.site/index.html Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/mars.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/mars.html Related Books: http://www.universetoday.com/html/books/mars.html CENTRE OF THE GALAXY MAPPED ------------------------- An international team of astronomers have produced the most detailed map ever produced of the centre of our own Milky Way. This stunning photograph shows stellar nurseries, wispy filaments, clouds of gas, and at the very centre is Sagittarius A; an object believed to be a massive black hole. The team produced the map using the Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array, and the 15-metre James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii Original Source: http://www.mrao.cam.ac.uk/projects/galcen/index.html Internet Coverage: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1078000/1078352.stm Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/astronomy.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/astronomy.html Related Books: http://www.universetoday.com/html/books/astronomy.html ARIANE 5 LAUNCHES THREE SATELLITES ------------------------- An Ariane 5 rocket successfully launched yesterday, carrying satellites from three different countries. The launch occurred this morning at 12:26am GMT from the European Space Agency launch centre in Kourou, French Guiana. The rocket carried a British ASTRA 2D television satellite, a US GE-8 telecommunications satellite, and a Japanese LDREX experimental antenna. This is the 8th mission of the new generation Ariane 5 launcher. Original Source: http://press.arianespace.com/cgi-bin/pbcgi60.exe/press/u_ariane/f_pr?00293 Internet Coverage: http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/12/20/rocket.ariane.reut/index.html http://www.spacedaily.com/news/001220011436.38zoy4ca.html http://spaceflightnow.com/ariane/v138/ Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/ariane.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/satellites.html Related Books: http://www.universetoday.com/html/books/satellites.html BRITTLE CABLE MAY DELAY SHUTTLE LAUNCH ------------------------- NASA engineers discovered a brittle cable on the space shuttle Atlantis' left booster over the weekend that may need to be replaced. Originally scheduled for January 18, 2001, Atlantis will carry the US Destiny Lab to space station Alpha. Engineers are debating whether the cable can be repaired or if it needs to be replaced. Space shuttle Discovery's was recently pushed back as well because of damaged thrusters. Original Source: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/index.html Internet Coverage: http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/12/19/shuttle.cable.ap/index.html http://www.discovery.com/news/briefs/20001220/sp_shuttle.html http://www.chron.com/cgi-bin/auth/story.mpl/content/interactive/space/news/2000/20001219.html http://spaceflightnow.com/station/stage5a/001219srb/ Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/shuttle.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/nasa.html Related Books: http://www.universetoday.com/html/books/spaceshuttle.html ************************************************ Space-related sites... Sociedad Astronómica UPAEP - http://www.upaep.mx/nov/astronomica/index.html Sociedad Universitaria de Puebla aficionada a la Astronomía. Stephen Holland - http://www.nd.edu/~sholland/index.html Gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, stellar populations and astronomy links. Danish Mars Project - http://ntserv.fys.ku.dk/mars Magnetic properties experiments on Mars - On Pathfinder and future missions Cernan Earth and Space Center Online - http://www.triton.cc.il.us/cernan/cernan_home.html features planetarium show information, astro links, and current sky information. Network Cybernetics Corporation - http://www.ncc.com/cdroms/as1/as1_sites.html Astronomy Resources page Cooperative Satellite Learning Project - http://joy.gsfc.nasa.gov/CSLP/home.html American Astronautical Society - http://www.astronautical.org dedicated to the advancement of space science and exploration. AAS members are professionals in the space field. National Geophysical Data Center - http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/stp Data archives for numerous space weather databases, including solar, geomagnetic, ionospheric, and cosmic ray station data. Palomar Observatory Public Site - http://www.astro.caltech.edu/palomarpublic/ Information about history, current research, and visiting the observatory. Cosmic Communications - http://members.tripod.com/~CosmicRose/CCC.html Here you will discover a virtual microcosmic domain, where inner space meets outerspace. ------------------------- To unsubscribe from this newsletter, just reply with only the subject line "UNSUBSCRIBE NEWSLETTER. All contents copyright (c) 2000 Universe Today |