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| RSS Feed Updated |
Jul 25, 2005 - After some hacking into the wee hours last night, I was able to update my publishing system to generate RSS 2.0 for my syndication feed. So, for those of you who understood what I just said, please check to make sure the feed looks good in your RSS reader - it's got pretty pictures now.:-)
If that last paragraph was total gibberish, please keep reading, this is still important. RSS is a great way to get news from a bunch of sites that you enjoy - including Universe Today. There are many tools that let you read these subscription feeds, but my current favorite is Bloglines, which lets you maintain all your subscriptions in your web browser. Check it out, and make sure you add the Universe Today feed to your list: http://www.universetoday.com/universetoday.xml
Please email me directly if you're having any problems or suggestions.
Thanks!
Fraser Cain
Publisher, Universe Today |
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| What's Up This Week - July 25 - July 31, 2005 |
Jul 25, 2005 - Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! This week will begin a series of studies of some of the oldest formations in our galaxy - globular clusters. The Moon will visit with Mars and lucky viewers in Australia will have a chance to see it occult the Pleiades! Not enough? Then hang on as we have not one - but two - meteor showers this week. So grab your binoculars, take out your telescopes and head for dark skies because...
Here's what's up! (Full Story) |
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| Tuesday will Be Launch Day for Discovery |
| Jul 25, 2005 - NASA began the countdown for launch of the space shuttle Discovery on July 23. If all goes well, and there are no further delays, Discovery will blast off on Tuesday, July 26 at 1439 UTC (10:39 am EDT). They still have no resolution for the malfunctioning fuel gauge, but managers have said they'll be willing to let the shuttle fly, even if the problem resurfaces, because of redundant systems. (Full Story) |
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| Post-impact observations of comet Temple-1. Image credit: Caltech/JPL/NASA. Click to enlarge |
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| Deep Impact: Before and After |
| Jul 25, 2005 - The powerful Palomar observatory has released its before and after images of Comet Tempel 1 after it was struck by Deep Impact. In the earliest images taken after impact, the photos show a plume of material extending 320 km (200 miles) from the comet's centre. This dust plume lasted for several nights, and allowed astronomers to measure its rotation. Two days later another, smaller plume was visible, which could have vented from an outburst of gas and dust coming from the impact site. (Full Story) |
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| Saturn appears as a bright object to the left of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO. Click to enlarge |
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| Saturn Disappears Behind the Sun |
| Jul 25, 2005 - Saturn is about to go behind the Sun. For a few days, NASA won't be able to communicate with Cassini since it's currently in orbit the planet. As Saturn neared the edge on July 24, radio distortion from the Sun made communications with Cassini impossible. NASA expects to reacquire a signal from Cassini on July 27. This situation gives scientists an opportunity to probe the Sun's corona, since communications will have to pass through it. This photograph was taken by SOHO, which is parked in a gravitationally stable spot between the Earth and Sun. (Full Story) |
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| Why Are There Smooth Spots on Eros? |
| Jul 25, 2005 - By creating a detailed map of Asteroid 433 Eros, a researcher from Cornell University has helped answer questions about its interior. Even though Eros is largely pockmarked from thousands of meteor strikes, it does have a few puzzling smooth parts. The smooth parts appear to have been caused by seismic waves that passed through the asteroid's interior and shook the ground smooth after it was hit by large impacts. This means that Eros' interior is cohesive enough to transmit these seismic waves. (Full Story) |
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