Nancy has been with Universe Today since 2004, and has published over 6,000 articles on space exploration, astronomy, science and technology. She is the author of two books: "Eight Years to the Moon: the History of the Apollo Missions," (2019) which shares the stories of 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make landing on the Moon possible; and "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos" (2016) tells the stories of those who work on NASA's robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond.
Follow Nancy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Nancy_A and and Instagram at and https://www.instagram.com/nancyatkinson_ut/
The galaxy cluster Cl 0024+17 (ZwCl0024+1652) as seen by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. Credit: NASA, ESA, M.J. Jee and H. Ford (Johns Hopkins University)
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The first stars to light the early universe may have been powered by dark matter, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor call these very first stars “Dark Stars,” and propose that dark matter heating provided the energy for these stars instead of fusion. The researchers propose that with a high concentration of dark matter in the early Universe, the theoretical particles called Weakly Interacting Massive Particles(WIMPs), collected inside the first stars and annihilated themselves to produce a heat source to power the stars. “We studied the behavior of WIMPs in the first stars,” said Katherine Freese and her team in their paper, “and found that they can radically alter the stellar evolution. The annihilation products of the dark matter inside the star can be trapped and deposit enough energy to heat the star and prevent it from further collapse.”
The philosophy behind this research is that 95% of the mass in galaxies and clusters of galaxies is in the form of an unknown type of matter and energy. The researchers say, “The first stars to form in the universe are a natural place to look for significant amounts of dark matter annihilation, because they form at the right place and the right time. They form at high redshifts, when the universe was still substantially denser than it is today, and at the high density centers of dark matter haloes.”
The concentration of dark matter at that time would have been extremely high meaning that any ordinary stars would naturally contain large amounts of dark matter.
Dark stars would have been driven by the annihilation of dark matter particles releasing heat but only in stars larger than 400 solar masses. That turns out to be quite feasible since stars containing smaller amounts of dark matter would naturally grow as they swept up dark matter from nearby space.
The stars continued, and may still continue to be powered by dark matter annihilation as long as there is dark matter for fuel. When the dark matter runs out, they simply collapse to form black holes.
If they exist, Dark Stars should be able to be detected with future telescopes, and if found, would enable the study of WIMPs, and therefore be able to prove the existence of dark matter.
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The HiRISE Camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is keeping an eye on the Phoenix lander, and took the above image of the landing site on Dec. 21, 2008. Phoenix, its heatshield, parachute and backshell are still visible on the Martian arctic plains, providing evidence that the spacecraft hasn’t been covered with ice as of yet. Via the HiRISE Blog, scientists say the conditions are hazy and dark because northern winter summer is turning to autumn on Mars. They will keep imaging the site as long as there is enough light to see the lander. Compare this image to previous photos of the Phoenix site, below.
Phoenix and accoutrements from May 2008. Credit: NASA/JPL/UA
This color image was taken just after Phoenix landed in late May 2008. Insets show the backshell, parachute and heatshield. Phoenix site July 08. Credit: NASA/JPL/UA
In these images, top one taken in July of 2008, and bottom taken in October 2008, you can compare the lighting conditions between late summer and early fall, and now winter (first image) in the northern arctic regions on Mars. Phoenix September 08. Credit: NASA/JPL/UA
Source: HiRISE Blog, HiRISE site
Just wanted to wish all the Universe Today readers a happy 2009, and invite all of you to listen to the first episode of the 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast. The first voice you’ll hear will be … me! (well, after Pamela Gay’s introduction and George Hrab’s incredibly rockin’ theme song!) I’m part of the group of folks working behind the scenes, “making sure audio makes it from our community to your computer everyday of 2009” — to quote Pamela’s part of the podcast. The 365 Days of Astronomy podcast will publish one podcast per day, for all 365 days of 2009. The podcast episodes are written, recorded and produced by people around the world. There are still dates open if you’d like to participate. Check out the website! If you’ve never done a podcast before, don’t worry — everything you need to know on how to get started is on the website. But if you choose to participate by just listening, that’s OK, because we need listeners, too! If you need a reminder to listen every day of 2009, you can follow the podcast’s Twitter, which will send out a tweet each day of the day’s topic, inviting you to listen in. And make sure you check out all the other International Year of Astronomy events, too. If you can’t find any near you, consider organizing an event, whether it be a star party or an informational event. The sky is the limit!
Detail from a panorama taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on sol 1,366-1,369 (November 6-9, 2007). Credit: NASA / JPL / Cornell
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Some urban legends just won’t die, and sometimes, unfortunately, they are given new life. We’ve already discussed and dismissed the rock on Mars that looks like a Bigfoot – a teeny, tiny little Bigfoot (Jan. 25, 2008). And now it’s back. And it’s completely ridiculous. Amazingly, this guy thinks a publication like National Geographic will take him seriously. Here’s an excerpt from the press release:
“A lawyer in the United States has written the National Geographic Society, asking it to publish in National Geographic his discovery that a photograph taken and beamed back to Earth by NASA’s Mars Rover Spirit contains evidence of life on Mars. In his letter, Andrew D. Basiago, 47, wrote that his analysis of the NASA photograph of the Red Planet captioned PIA10214 has revealed images of human and animal life forms, as well as statues and other structures built by advanced, intelligent beings. “This image is the most significant photograph ever taken by human beings from Earth,” Basiago wrote.
If you take the time to download and look at this “expose” you’ll see what Basiago does is take a large panoramic image from the Spirit rover (the original large panorama can be found here) which is a very high resolution image, and crop out small portions and zoom in so incredibly close that the images become blurry. He then claims these blurry images of rocks on Mars are things like humanoids, animals, statues and other objects.
For example, in this image, this is what Basiago claims he sees:
“Throughout the photograph, the beings with bald, bulbous heads can be seen interacting with a variety of species. On a hillside beneath the mountain ridge in the far upper right quadrant, two of them sit in the Lotus position surrounded by animal species which resemble the penguin and ibis-like figures found in Egyptian hieroglyphics.”
Seriously?
Or this one: Blown up small piece of West Valley Panorama
“At the back of The Rock Garden is a large statue or skeleton of a humanoid with a pointy head and large, elephantine ears (right). His skull, arms, and hands are evident on the surface. He is reaching out from the depths of Mars with his hands. This skull may be the fossilized head of a giant primate in Martian history or simply the statue of a demon.”
This entire 41-page treatise is chock full of blurry, blown-up and stretched crops of incredibly small pieces of the large image, complete with incredible tales of humanoids in body suits and plesiosaurs co-existing together, along with features like Egyptian-like hieroglyphics and a sarcophagus.
The “Bigfoot on Mars” rock is actually just a few inches high and a few yards from the camera. The other rocks are in about the same location, although some are farther, some closer – it’s a big panorama. The thing about the color images from Mars is that each color image consists of three photos, taken with different filters to create the color. The three images are taken at different times, which means if something is moving, the image won’t be crisp and clear, as the original large panoramic image is. Emily Lakdawalla explains it very well at the Planetary Blog. She explains that Spirit took several images of the same location, showing the same rock over three different days, and it never moved.
Here’s all the pictures Emily found and put together:
Phoenix's descent captured by HiRISE. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
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I’ve been meaning to put together an article highlighting the best space and astronomy pictures of 2008, but I see time is slowly slipping away from me to get this out before 2008 turns into 2009. However, I’m in luck! A few people have already done the work for me, and so I’ll just link to them. First, of course, is Phil Plait over at the Bad Astronomy Blog, who does his annual Top Ten Astronomy Pictures, and this year’s choices by the BA were excellent. Next, Dave Mosher over at Discovery Space has just put together a slideshow of his picks for the Best Space and Astronomy Pictures of 2008. Nice job, Dave! And this just in (update 8:10 pm) — Emily Lakdawalla at the Planetary Society Blog has a great selection of The Year in Pictures 2008. Thanks Emily!
There are more links below, but I know if I would have done a list myself, the image above would have been my #1 pick. This shot by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’sHiRISE Camera of the Phoenix lander descending through Mars’ atmosphere is truly outstanding. It’s an unbelievable shot, and I’ll always remember how my jaw dropped in disbelief when I first saw it.
And now back to everyone else’s best pics of 2008 lists:
I recently came across this site from and television station in India that put together a list of the 50 (wow! 50!) Best Astronomy Pictures of 2008.
The Boston Globe’s The Big Picture put together an “Advent Calendar” of 25 pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope that is well worth the trip if you haven’t already browsed through the nice and roomy images. I think my favorite is #9.
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If you’re certain the Universe revolves around you, I have some bad news for you. Researchers from the University of British Columbia say Earth’s location in the Universe is utterly unremarkable, despite recent theories that propose Earth is at the center of a giant void in space. A decade ago, it was discovered the Universe’s expansion was accelerating. This continually expanding Universe was attributed to dark energy, the highly repulsive and mysterious stuff that has yet to be detected. But some scientists came up with an alternate theory where Earth was near the centre of a giant void or bubble, mostly empty of matter. But new calculations solidify the case that dark energy permeates the cosmos.
While dark energy sometimes seems pretty far-fetched – with its mysterious and so far undetectable properties – the alternate “void” theory of why the Universe is ever-expanding contains a problem, in that it violates the long held Copernican Principle.
Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus’s 1543 book, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, moved Earth from being the center of the Universe to just another planet orbiting the Sun. Since then, astronomers have extended the idea and formed the Copernican Principle, which says that our place in the Universe as a whole is completely ordinary. Although the Copernican Principle has become a pillar of modern cosmology, finding conclusive evidence that our neighborhood of the Universe really isn’t special has proven difficult. Nicolaus Copernicus
In 1998, studies of distant explosions called “type Ia supernovae” indicated that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating, an observation attributed to the repulsive force of a mysterious “dark energy.” But some cosmologist proposed that Earth was at the center of a void, and that gravity would create the illusion of acceleration, mimicking the effect of dark energy on the supernova observations.
Now some advanced analysis and modeling performed by UBC post-doctoral fellows Jim Zibin and Adam Moss and Astronomy Prof. Douglas Scott is showing that this alternate “void theory” just doesn’t add up.
The researchers used data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe satellite, which includes members from UBC on its international team, as well as data from various ground-based instruments and surveys.
“We tested void models against the latest data, including subtle features in the cosmic microwave background radiation – the afterglow of the Big Bang – and ripples in the large-scale distribution of matter,” says Zibin. “We found that void models do a very poor job of explaining the combination of these data.”
The team’s calculations instead solidify the conventional view that an enigmatic dark energy fills the cosmos and is responsible for the acceleration of the Universe. “Recent advances in data collection have brought us to the era of precision cosmology,” says Zibin. “Void models are terrible at explaining the new data, but the standard dark energy model works very well.
“Since we can only observe the Universe from Earth, it’s really hard to determine if we’re in a ‘special place,'” says Zibin. “But we’ve now learned that our location is much more ordinary than the strange dark energy that fills the Universe.”
We’ll squeeze in one more WITU Challenge for 2008! The goal of this challenge is to test your skills and knowledge of the cosmos. Guess where in the Universe this image is from, and give yourself extra points if you can guess which spacecraft is responsible for the image. Post your guess in the comment section (no links to hints please!) and check back tomorrow for the answer. Good luck, and Happy New Year!
UPDATE (1/1/09): The answer has now been posted below. If you haven’t made your guess yet, no peeking before you do!!
This beautiful image shows the setting sun glinting off the Amazon River and numerous lakes in its floodplain, taken by an astronaut on board the ISS in August 19, 2008. About 150 kilometers of the sinuous Amazon is shown here; the area is about 1,000 kilometers inland from the Atlantic Ocean. A member of Expedtion 17 took the image with a Nikon D2Xs digital camera fitted with a 400 mm lens. This image is part of the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment. The original image can be seen at NASA’s Earth Observatory website.
I really will provide the answer and a link to the original picture when it is time. There’s really no need to provide links to the answer in the comments.
Happy New Year, and check back again next week for another Where In The Universe Challenge.
This mosaic combines 30 images -- 10 each of red, green and blue light -- taken over the course of approximately two hours as Cassini panned its wide-angle camera across the entire planet and ring system Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
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The Cassini Equinox Mission released new images of Saturn, revealing stunning detail of the planet’s rings. As Saturn advances in its orbit toward equinox and the sun gradually moves northward on the planet, the motion of Saturn’s ring shadows and the changing colors of its atmosphere continue to transform the face of Saturn as seen by Cassini. While the Cassini spacecraft will always have good views of the rings, during 2009, Saturn’s rings will disappear from view on Earth. As Saturn approaches its equinox, the rings will be “on edge” from our vantage point, meaning that Saturn’s rings will appear thinner and thinner until on September 4th, 2009 the rings will seem to vanish! But don’t worry, they will reappear about three months later. But during that time, Cassini will track the changing light effects on the rings. Above, Cassini snapped a series of images during two hours in July that have been put together to create a full, natural color view of the planet, its rings, and six of its moons: Titan, Janus, Mimas, Pandora, Epimetheus and Enceladus. The image was taken over the course of approximately two hours as Cassini panned its wide-angle camera across the entire planet and ring system on July 23, 2008
But most impressive is a sweeping panorama of nearly the entire ring system, shown in natural color. See below!
Details of Saturns icy rings are visible in this sweeping view from Cassini of the planets glorious ring system. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Click to “embiggen” (stolen phrase from the Bad Astronomer) to get the full glory and splendor of Saturn’s rings!
This natural color mosaic, taken from 10 degrees below the illuminated side of the rings, shows, from left to right, radially outward from Saturn, the C ring (with its Colombo and Maxwell gaps); the B ring and the Cassini division beyond, with the intervening Huygens gap; the A ring (with its Encke and Keeler gaps); and, on the far right, the narrow F ring. The total span covers approximately 65,700 kilometers (40,800 miles).
The photograph is a combination of 45 images taken over the course of about 4 hours on Nov. 26. The F ring and outer edge of the A ring. Credit: NASA/JPL
The F ring and outer edge of the A ring can be seen in this image. A kink feature is visible in the F ring, probably caused by Prometheus or Pandora, the F ring’s shepherd moons.
Another moon, Daphnis, can be seen in the Keeler gap near the outer edge of the A ring, along with the waves Daphnis raises on that gap’s edges. Waves like these allow researchers to locate new moons in gaps and also estimate their masses.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Nov. 7, 2008 at a distance of approximately 992,000 kilometers (616,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 48 degrees. Image scale is 6 kilometers (3 miles) per pixel.
And if you haven’t seen this one yet, this artwork was created by the Cassini Equinox Mission to wish everyone a happy holidays. Happy New Year from all of us here at Universe Today, too!
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NASA released a detailed and sometimes graphic new report outlining what happened during the break-up of the Columbia space shuttle on Feb. 1, 2003. The purpose of the report is to specify what was learned from the Columbia accident in regards to crew safety and survivability for future spaceflight. The extensive 400 page report contains information that had already been released over the years, but also includes a new minute-by-minute timeline describing what happened to the vehicle as it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, and revealing the commander and pilot attempted to troubleshoot a cascade of problems in the final moments before the shuttle went out of control. As the report states, “This report is the first comprehensive, publicly available accident investigation report addressing crew survival for a human spacecraft mishap, and it provides key information for future crew survival investigations. The results of this investigation are intended to add meaning to the sacrifice of the crew’s lives by making space flight safer for all future generations.”
The report is actually quite interesting to read, and it vividly brings back the events of the Columbia accident which happened almost six years ago.
The key information in the report reveals what actually killed the astronauts and how future vehicles and flight should be approached as far as astronaut suits, helmets and body restraints. The facts are that the astronauts were not properly restrained. The lower body restraints held the astronauts in their seats, but the upper body restraints did not hold the astronauts bodies in place, and as the vehicle lost control and was spinning — which the report calls a dynamic rotating load environment — the astronauts’ upper bodies were thrown around, and were subject to blunt force trauma. The helmets also did not protect their heads properly.
However, the forces acting on the shuttle’s crew module in the final minute or so before it broke apart subjected the astronauts to a sudden loss of air pressure that occurred so rapidly they did not have time to close their helmet visors. One astronaut had not yet put on their helmet, and three were not wearing gloves.
The timeline shows that at about 227,000 feet above Earth, hot gases entered a hole in Columbia’s left, created by foam from the external fuel tank striking the wing during launch. Alarms started going off, such as in the wheel well, and then pieces of debris started coming off the shuttle. When the wing had broken up enough that it was no longer functional and the ship’s computers could no longer compensate for the unequal forces on the vehicle, Columbia went out of control.
At 180,000 feet, the crew compartment was disengaged from the shuttle, and the module broke apart within a few moments due to thermal stress and aerodynamic forces. The crew died from hypoxia and blunt force trauma.
With current technology available, the breakup would not have been survivable.
Ground based images of the break-up of Columbia.
But had the crew been able to survive, and were merely unconscious, they were wearing parachutes. However, the problem with these parachutes is that they require manual activation. The report recommends new parachutes which would be deployed automatically in the event an astronaut was thrown from the vehicle. Additionally, the current ACES (Advanced Crew Espace Suit) suits worn by the astronauts are certified to operate at a maximum altitude of 100,000 feet, and certified to survive exposure to a maximum velocity of 560 knots equivalent air speed. The operating envelope of the orbiter is much greater than this. The recommendation to strengthen the weak areas of the suit system will increase the probability of survival.
Those are just a couple of examples of recommendations in the report of what could be done in the future when a vehicle is not savable, but how the lives of the astronauts could possibly be saved. NASA has already made some changes to harnesses and restraints, and they want to incorporate those changes in the next vehicle, to make space travel safer and more survivable in the future.
Other recommendations from the report:
“Future spacecraft suits and seat restraints should use state-of-the-art technology in an integrated solution to minimize crew injury and maximize crew survival in off-nominal acceleration environments. Inertial reels should be evaluated for appropriateness of design for off-nominal scenarios.
• Helmets should provide head and neck protection in off-nominal dynamic load conditions. The current space shuttle inertial reels should be manually locked at the first sign of an off-nominal situation.
• Future spacecraft should be evaluated while still in the design phase for dynamics and entry thermal and aerodynamic loads during a vehicle LOC for adequate integration into development, design, and crew training.
• Future crewed spacecraft vehicle design should account for vehicle LOC contingencies to maximize the probability of crew survival.” Recovered flight deck video from Columbia.
The report also includes images taken from a middeck and flight deck video recovered from the accident, as well as from infrared images taken from the ground during the shuttle’s rentry.
The loss of the shuttle occurred rapidly, and there was nothing the crew could have done. A detailed moment by moment timeline shows that at GMT 13:58:48, a partial transmission was received, which the Commander Rick Husband said, “And, uh, Hou…” At that point the vehicle and crew were still performing nominally.
The last audio transmission from Columbia, “Roger, …” was cut off at 13:59:32.
Complete loss of control of the vehicle is listed as no earlier than 13:59:37.
The report lists several courses of action for more study in the future including completing an analysis on the Challenger debris to compare and contrast with the Columbia findings.
A teleconference to discuss the study is scheduled for 4 p.m. EST. This post will be updated with any pertinent information.
January 1 of 2009 brings with it the International Year of Astronomy, a worldwide celebration commemorating Galileo Galilei’s first astronomical observation through a telescope. 135 nations are collaborating to promote astronomy and its contribution to society and culture, with events at regional, national, and global levels, to bring the Universe closer to more people on Earth. Events and activities will take place over the coming 365 days and beyond. How can you participate? Here’s a list of several IYA activities events taking place during the next year. If you or a group you are affiliated with are hosting an IYA event, feel free to post it in the comments section. The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) has been launched by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). With so many events, the IYA is sure to make “The Universe, yours to discover.”
365 Days of Astronomy Podcast. This one is near and dear to my heart, as I’ve been part of the group of great folks working behind the scenes to launch this project. This project will publish one podcast per day, for all 365 days of 2009. The podcast episodes are written, recorded and produced by people around the world. And what great topics people are submitting! Tips for using your first telescope, celebrating 5 years of the Mars Exploration Rovers, Top Ten Reasons Stargazing is Cool, and the link between space and beer are just a few of the titles from the first few weeks. Listen every day, and if you’d like to participate by contributing a podcast of your own (less than 10 minutes in length) check out the 365 Days of Astronomy website on how to record and submit a podcast. You’ll be hearing my voice a few times during the year (in fact, listen to the January 1 podcast!) as well as the voices of Fraser Cain and Ian O’Neill, too, and many others. So you don’t miss a single one of the 365 podcasts, subscribe via RSS, or iTunes. And here’s the 365 Days of Astronomy trailer, reminding you to listen every day.
Opening Ceremonies: Many nations are holding their own Opening Ceremonies in January and February, showing their dedication to the Year. The official opening ceremonies take place in France on Jan. 15 and 16, but is not open to the public. Check out this website for opening ceremonies in your country.
Solar Physics. Don’t be surprised to see telescopes on the streets on New Year’s Day. The IYA2009 Solar Physics Group have been busy planning a grand worldwide campaign, with over 30 countries involved at more than 150 venues, which will see amateur stargazers set up their telescopes on pavements as well as in science centers, letting passers-by observe the Sun using special safety equipment.
The Cosmic Diary is an example of a global activity occurring during 2009, with the release of its official website on New Year’s Day. The project concerns the daily lives of full-time astronomers. More than 50 bloggers, professionals from over 35 countries and employed by organisations such as ESO, NASA, ESA and JAXA have already begun producing content, writing about their lives, the work they conduct and the challenges they face. The public can see what being an astronomer is really like, and how ground-breaking research is conducted.
100 Hours of Astronomy: April 2-5, 2009. Includes a wide range of public outreach activities such as live webcasts, observing events and more. One of the key goals of 100 Hours of Astronomy is to have as many people as possible look through a telescope, just as Galileo did for the first time 400 years ago. Check out 100 Hours of Astronomy’s website.
From Earth to the Universe. This is exhibition that will bring large-scale astronomical images to a wide public audience in non-traditional venues such as public parks and gardens, art museums, shopping malls and metro stations. Over 30 countries around the world are currently in the development phase of FETTU projects, many with multiple locations. Some 15 countries plan to begin FETTU exhibitions within the first month of 2009, ranging in size from 25 to over 100 images on display. FETTU will be introduced to the global community at the Opening Ceremony at UNESCO headquarters in January 2009. Find out more at their website.
The World at Night. Brings to the public a collection of stunning photographs and time-lapse videos of the world’s landmarks with the sky in the background. The World at Night is preparing more than 30 exhibitions and educational events around the world.
Dark Skies Awareness. One of IYA2009’s aims is to raise awareness of light pollution, and how the beauty of the night sky is progressively being drowned out, particularly over urban areas. The project Dark Skies Awareness is tackling these issues head-on in a practical, inclusive manner. One way in which it is doing this is by holding star-counting events, where the public are encouraged to see how many stars in a particular area of the sky are actually visible from their location. When compared with data from truly dark sites, the results are often very surprising! The “How Many Stars” event will run from January 2009.
IYA2009 wants to involve the public at many events, and amateur astronomers are organizing events. Known for their enthusiasm, this army of helpers is growing every day, preparing to promote astronomy in a stunning variety of ways. In fact, so many thousands of people across the globe are already involved, they have formed the world’s largest ever astronomy network. Please feel free to add info in the comments section for any events you know of. Thanks!
