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| Image credit: NASA |
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| See the Leonids Tonight! |
Nov 18, 2003 - I mentioned this last week, but I figured it's time for a reminder. The annual Leonid meteor shower should be peaking today, so if you've got some clear skies, why not head outside and see if you can spot some? Astronomers don't think this year is going to be as spectacular as previous years, but you never know, sometimes it can surprise you.
Here's a link to the previous story I included on Universe Today with more details about the Leonid shower.
Good luck!
Fraser Cain
Publisher
Universe Today
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| Image credit: SOHO |
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| Is Iron Causing All the Flares? |
| Nov 18, 2003 - Space scientist Dr. Olivier Manuel from the University of Missouri-Rolla believes that the Sun's core is mostly iron and not hydrogen as most astronomers believe; and this could help to explain how solar flares occur. Dr. Manuel's highly controversial theory proposes that stars like the Sun formed around older neutron stars, and flares are caused by the magnetic interaction between the core and the rest of the star. He believes that trace elements found in meteorites and the clouds of Jupiter support this theory. |
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| Image credit: NASA |
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| Gravity Probe B Launch Delayed |
| Nov 18, 2003 - NASA has decided to push back the launch of its mission to test Einstein's theory of general relativity, Gravity Probe B, until December 6. During recent tests, engineers noticed electronic noise coming from the sensor attached to one of the spacecraft's gyros, so they've extended the launch date to find time to fix it. Once it does launch, Gravity Probe B will detect any distortions on its four spinning gyroscopes to detect the Earth's distortion of spacetime around it - as predicted by Einstein. |
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