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| Image credit: NASA |
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| Farewell Galileo |
Sep 19, 2003 - On Sunday, September 21, the Galileo spacecraft will crash into Jupiter and end its 14 years of service to NASA - 8 of which were spent in the Jovian system. If you're interested in learning more about the spacecraft and counting down its final minutes, why don't you check out the Galileo homepage. Another useful link is the Galileo webcast page. On Sunday, they will have live coverage of the event starting at 1700 GMT (2:00pm EDT).
Just get you more in the spirit, I've got a new wallpaper of Jupiter's Great Red Spot. Now, this isn't exactly where Galileo is headed, but you can imagine what the spacecraft might be seeing in the last few minutes before it smashes into the planet. (Once you have the image in your browser, right-click and then pick "Set as Wallpaper").
Click here to download the image. (77 kb)
Thanks Galileo!
Fraser Cain
Publisher
Universe Today |
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| Image source: CfA |
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| Early Supernovae Seeded the Universe With Elements |
| Sep 19, 2003 - According to cosmologists, the early Universe only had a mixture of hydrogen, helium and other lighter elements, but none of the heaver elements required for life - like carbon. From the original gasses, giant stars formed - some were 200 times larger than our Sun - lived for a brief time, often just a few million years. These giant stars converted up to 50% of their material into heaver elements, mostly iron, before exploding violently as supernovae. The James Webb telescope, due for launch after 2011 will be so sensitive it should be able to look back to watch these supernovae happening. |
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| Image credit: ESA |
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| SMART-1 Launch Date Set |
| Sep 19, 2003 - The launch date for the European Space Agency's SMART-1 spacecraft has been set for early morning of September 28. Earlier this week the spacecraft was attached to the top of an Ariane 5 rocket at the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. When it finally does get into space, SMART-1 will use its ion engine to slowly spiral away from the Earth until it gets captured by the gravity of the Moon. Once its in orbit around the Moon, it will map the chemical composition of the surface with greater detail than ever done before. It will also search for evidence of water ice at the Moon's south pole. |
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