|
|
| Chinese Human Launch Pool |
Sep 16, 2003 - Alright speculators, let's put our brains together and predict when the Chinese will put a human into space. I've added a new thread into the Universe Today forum. Go ahead and add the date and time you think the first yuhangyuan (Chinese astronaut) will launch into space. You have to pick a one-hour block and I'm assuming that everything is in Greenwich Mean Time (hint: the launch facility is at GMT+8, so if it's noon in London, it's 8:00pm in China). I'll maintain the list up at the top of the thread as new people post their replies.
Since it's my website, I get to go first. :-) So, I'm guessing October 22 between 11:00-12:00 GMT. I'd love to hear your justification for your guess as well. Night launch? Day launch? If enough of you join in, maybe I'll hand out a prize for the closest guess.
Click here to access the forum.
This might be a great opportunity to come join the forum and participate in the hundreds of conversations going on right now. We'd love to have you join us.
Fraser Cain
Publisher
Universe Today
P.S. Errata: I should have said "one-half billionth of a degree", not "half billion" in yesterday's issue. There's a big difference. |
|
|
|
 |
| Image credit: Chandra |
|
| Chandra Images the Bright Side of the Moon |
| Sep 16, 2003 - Although it's usually peering into deep space, Chandra looked a little closer to home and inspected the Moon in the X-ray spectrum. Although the Moon doesn't produce X-rays of its own, it does reflect the radiation of the Sun; various atoms such as oxygen, magnesium, aluminum and silicon fluoresce when the Sun's X-rays bombard the Moon's surface. Measuring the quantity and location of these elements will help test the theory that the Moon was formed when a Mars-sized object slammed into the Earth 4.5 billion years ago. |
|
|
|
 |
| Image credit: NASA |
|
| Red Giant Spotted Swallowing its Planets |
| Sep 16, 2003 - A team of astronomers believe they've figured out the explanation for an unusual object V838 Monocerotis - it's a red giant star consuming its planets as it nears the end of its life. The object recently flared up to become the brightest cool supergiant in the Milky Way - 600,000 times more luminous than our own Sun. Detailed observations showed that the object flared up three times with similar peaks; they believe this is when the star consumed three gas giants in tight orbits - one after the other. This research could help astronomers find more subtle evidence of this happening to smaller planets in other star systems. |
|
|
|
 |
| Image credit: Chinese Space Agency |
|
| Chinese Space Launch Could be Only Weeks Away |
| Sep 16, 2003 - China is preparing to launch its first astronauts some time in October, according to people in Hong Kong. Both the Shenzhou-5 capsule and the Long March 2F launcher arrived at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in late August, and the two vehicles have been undergoing vehicle testing. The crew selection has been secretive, but it's believed that officials will choose three candidates when the launch nears and then the person in best condition on launch day will get to go into space. |
|
|
|
 |
| Image credit: NASA |
|
| Astronauts Photograph Hurricane Isabel |
| Sep 16, 2003 - Astronauts on board the International Space Station captured several images of Hurricane Isabel on Saturday as they flew over at an altitude of 386 kilometres. At the time, it was a category 5 storm but it has since weakened to category 2. It still packs a punch, though, and East Coast residents of the United States are preparing the for the storm's landfall some time on Thursday. |
|
|
|
|
