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| Image credit: NASA |
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| New Research Confirms Einstein |
| Dec 17, 2003 - Einstein's General Theory of Relativity got another confirmation this week thanks to research by an astronomer from NASA. Some theorists believed that particles popping into and out of existence in space would slow light down, as if it was moving through air or water. Scientists measured the total energy of gamma rays emitted by a distant gamma ray bursts and found that they were interacting with particles on their way to the Earth in such a way that precisely matched predictions by Einstein. |
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| Image credit: NASA |
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| Stardust is Set for Comet Encounter |
| Dec 17, 2003 - NASA's Stardust spacecraft has nearly arrived at its first destination, Comet Wild 2. On January 2, 2004, the spacecraft will buzz through the comet's tail and collect interstellar particles and dust. The particles will be captured on a tennis racket-shaped grid that will ensure they aren't damaged. Stardust will return the sample to Earth in 2006 so that scientists can analyze it on the ground. It's believed that comets are as old as the solar system, so analyzing these particles will reveal valuable information about our origins. |
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| Image credit: ESA |
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| Mars Express Needs to Aim Carefully |
| Dec 17, 2003 - Mars Express has got just one chance to get this right. In two days the Beagle 2 lander will separate from the spacecraft; next stop, Mars. Beagle 2 has to be traveling at exactly the right trajectory so that it hits the Martian atmosphere at the right angle so that it doesn't burn up or skip off into deep space. This trajectory would crash Mars Express into the Red Planet, so after it lets go of Beagle 2, it has to change its own trajectory to go into a safe orbit. |
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| Image credit: NASA |
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| No Moon Announcement Today |
| Dec 17, 2003 - United States President George Bush disappointed space optimists today when he failed to announce any grand plans to return to the Moon or send humans to Mars. Some believed that Bush would announce a revitalized goal as part of the 100th anniversary celebrations for the first flight of the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Some believe that the 2004 budget deficit of $500 billion makes any additional spending difficult for the President to justify. Some are hopeful that Bush will still make an announcement at the State of the Union address in January 2004. |
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