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| Astrophoto: Moon and Venus by Brad Timerson |
Aug 9, 2005 - Brad Timerson took this picture of the Moon and Venus on August 7, 2005. Brad used Olympus C740 camera at 10x zoom with 1/30th second exposure.
Do you have photos you'd like to share? Post them to the Universe Today astrophotography forum or email them to me directly, and I might feature one in Universe Today.
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| Artist illustration of the newly discovered 10th planet. Image credit: NASA/JPL. Click to enlarge. |
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| 10th Planet Controversy |
| Aug 9, 2005 - José Luis Ortiz had no idea that his announcement on July 29th of the discovery of a big Trans-Neptunian Object (TNO) would kickstart one of the most confusing and controversial days for the astronomical community in recent years. The astronomer from Sierra Nevada Observatory, Spain, sent an e-mail detailing his findings with the subject "Big TNO discovery, urgent" to a mailing list for astronomers. A few hours later, reports surfaced on some astronomical websites indicating that the object found by Ortiz, designated as 2003 EL61, was twice as big as Pluto, but they were quickly dismissed by Ortiz. (Full Story) |
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| Book Review: Defining NASA |
| Aug 9, 2005 - One person can harvest a field, many people can move a mountain. This is the power of community. The challenge is to get a consensus on the definition of a mountain, which mountain to move, and where to move it. W.D. Kay in his book, Defining NASA - The Historical Debate Over the Agency's Mission uses his skills in political science to look at the United States government's perception of space flight. Though NASA isn't a mountain, it is the result of the contributions of millions of people. Acknowledging this, Kay ponders on what was and what may be for this government agency. (Full Story) |
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| Discovery Lands Safely at Edwards |
| Aug 9, 2005 - The space shuttle Discovery returned safely back to Earth this morning, landing at Edwards Air Force Base at 1211 UTC (8:11 am EDT). Poor weather over Florida's Cape Canaveral prevented two landing attempts, so managers decided to switch the landing location to California. This safe landing brought mission STS-114 to a successful conclusion, two and half years after the catastrophic destruction of Columbia. The next shuttle, Atlantis, is scheduled to launch September 22, but it all depends on whether they can resolve the foam shedding problems with Discovery's launch. (Full Story) |
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| Delays for the Earth's Oxygen Atmosphere |
| Aug 9, 2005 - Our planet gained its nice, oxygen-rich atmosphere about 2.4 billion years ago thanks to early bacteria. One question that has puzzled researchers, however, is why it took at least 300 million years for oxygen to build up to large levels, even though the bacteria had been working madly to produce it. Researchers from the University of Washington have developed a model that shows how volcanic gasses could have sucked up this available oxygen. Not only that, but a large layer of iron from meteorite strikes would have used it for rusting. Not until those sinks were filled could oxygen build up. (Full Story) |
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| Hills of impact melt breccias. Image credit: Gordon Osinski/CSA Click to enlarge |
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| Heavy Bombardments Make the Best Homes... for Microbes |
| Aug 9, 2005 - The Earth suffered a period of heavy bombardment in its early days when the Solar System was swarming with asteroids. Although it would have been catastrophic for you and I, it might have actually been a nice environment for early microbes. This is according to researchers who spent time at Haughton Impact Crater on Devon Island, in the Canadian Arctic. They found many life-friendly features in this "ground zero", including hydrothermal vents, blasted rocks that make cosy microbe homes, and a nice, protected impact basin. (Full Story) |
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