Posted on by Ian O'Neill

What Happens When Three Black Holes Collide?

A computer simulation of two black holes colliding, what happens if three collide? (credit: EU Training Network)

The consequences of two black holes colliding may be huge, the energy produced by such a collision could even be detected by observatories here on Earth. Ripples in space-time will wash over the Universe as gravitational waves and are predicted to be detected as they pass through the Solar System. Taking this idea one step further, what would happen if three black holes collide? Sound like science fiction? Well it’s not, and there is observational evidence that three black holes can cluster together, possibly colliding after some highly complex orbits that can only be calculated by the most powerful computers available to researchers…

Caltech/EPFL)
Back in January 2007, a quasar triplet was observed over 10 billion light years away. Quasars are generated by the supermassive black holes eating away at the core of active galaxies. Using the powerful W. M. Keck Observatory, researchers from Caltech were able to peer back in time (10 billion years) to see a period in the Universe’s life when active galaxies and black hole mergers would have been fairly common events (when compared to the calmer Universe of today). They observed three tightly packed quasars, an unprecedented discovery.

Now, scientists Manuela Campanelli, Carlos Lousto and Yosef Zlochower, all working at Rochester Institute of Technology’s Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation, have simulated the highly complex mechanisms behind three interacting and merging supermassive black holes, much like the situation observed by Keck in 2007. The same group have worked on calculating the collision of two black holes before and have written a code that is powerful enough to simulate the collision of up to 22 black holes. However, 22 black holes probably wouldn’t collide naturally, this simply demonstrates the stability of the code, “Twenty-two is not going to happen in reality, but three or four can happen,” says Yosef Zlochower, an assistant professor. “We realized that the code itself really didn’t care how many black holes there were. As long as we could specify where they were located – and had enough computer power – we could track them.”

These simulations are of paramount importance to the gravitational wave detectors such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). So far there has been no firm evidence to come from these detectors, but more time is needed, the LIGO detector requires several years of “exposure time” to collect enough data and remove observational “noise”. But what do gravitational wave astronomers look for? This is the very reason many different cosmic scenarios are being simulated so the characteristics of events like two or three black holes mergers can be identified from their gravitational wave signature.

Gravitational wave astronomers “need to know what to look for in the data they acquire otherwise it will look like just noise. If you know what to look for you can confirm the existence of gravitational waves. That’s why they need all these theoretical predictions.” – Manuela Campanelli, director of RIT’s Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation.

Source: RIT University News

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Next Eclipse Dates

Wondering when the next eclipse is going to be? Book these dates into your calendar now so you won’t miss them.

Next Lunar Eclipse
The next lunar eclipse is going to be on August 16, 2008, the second eclipse of the year. Unfortunately, this will only be a partial eclipse, with the Moon passing only partly through the Earth’s shadow. The entire eclipse will be visible from Africa and Europe, and partially visible from viewers in South America, Asia and Australia.

There will be another partial eclipse on February 9, 2009. We’ll have to wait until December 21, 2010 for the next total lunar eclipse.

Next Solar Eclipse
The next solar eclipse will be on August 1, 2008. Fortunately, this will be a total solar eclipse, where the Moon passes directly in front of the Sun. Unfortunately, the path of totality passes through very northern regions. It starts in Arctic Canada, sweeps through Greenland into Northern Russia. Only in the end does it dip down into Mongolia and China.

Posted on by Ian O'Neill

Space Station Sacrifices Progress Module to Dump Trash into Pacific

Goodbye Progress 28 - the Russian supply vehicle begins its re-entry (credit: NASA TV)

After all the excitement about last week’s successful docking of the European ATV “Jules Verne”, it’s time to spare a thought for its Russian predecessor. The Progress 28 module was filled with rubbish and unneeded equipment, quietly severed from its docking bay and steered toward Earth. On Monday at 0850 GMT, the selfless module dropped through the atmosphere, burned and eventually reached the Pacific Ocean, sinking into the satellite graveyard 3000 km east of the New Zealand coast…

On February 5th, a Russian Soyuz rocket launched the Progress 28 cargo ship to the International Space Station (ISS) to ferry supplies to the astronauts in orbit. This mission started a very busy period for space traffic controllers. Soon after Progress 28 was sent on its way, Space Shuttle Atlantis blasted off to take the Columbus module to be installed on the station. Then at the start of this month, ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) sat patiently in an orbital holding pattern until the shuttle undocked and flew back to Earth. Then on April 3rd, the ATV carried out a flawless approach and docking procedure with the ISS.

Watching over all this action on the station was the Progress 28 module attached patiently to the Russian-built Pirs docking compartment. After astronauts had salvaged reusable parts from the Progress module and filled it full of trash, the time came on April 7th to say Spokojnoj Nochi (Russian for “Good Night”) to the ill-fated supply ship to make room for the two Russians and one South Korean to arrive after the Soyuz launch yesterday.

Dropping supply modules into the Pacific may sound unsavoury, but it remains the only viable option to dispose of rubbish and unwanted material when in space. Simply jettisoning it into space cannot be done, there must be a controlled disposal, dumping trash into a used module and blasting it into a re-entry trajectory. Littering Earth orbit is a critical problem, so space agencies are doing the best they can to send potential debris to Earth where most of it can burn up in the atmosphere. Anything left over falls into a predetermined “satellite graveyard” in the worlds largest ocean.

NASA)

Some interesting objects have been dropped from the station into the atmosphere. To mention the most humorous, in 2006 the Russian crew on board the station stuffed an old spacesuit with rubbish and launched “Ivan Ivanovich” into orbit. Ivan lasted for 216 days and set a lifetime record for ISS space debris. The suit eventually succumbed to gravity and burned up in the atmosphere.

“The drop zone for spaceship fragments, which did not burn in dense layers of the atmosphere, was located away from navigation routes, about 3,000 kilometers east of the New Zealand capital city of Wellington.” – Russia’s Federal Space Agency spokesperson Valery Lyndin.

Don’t think the sparkling new ATV is being let off either, in six months this hi-tech vehicle will be stuffed with garbage and thrown to a fiery death above the Pacific. Sad really…

Source: Space.com, New Scientist

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Amazing Image of the Martian Moon Phobos

Martian moon Phobos

I think this will easily capture the prize for the best space photo of the month. Check out this amazing picture of Mars’ moon Phobos, captured in colour (and 3D) by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The spacecraft snapped the picture on March 23, 2008 during a flyby. It took two separate images of the moon within 10 minutes of each other, which scientists later merged together into a stereo view.

“Phobos is of great interest because it may be rich in water ice and carbon-rich materials,” said Alfred McEwen, HiRISE principal investigator at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

Previous spacecraft, like Mars Global Surveyor, have actually flown closer to Phobos, and taken higher resolution images, but according to the researchers, “the HiRISE images are higher quality, making the new data some of the best ever for Phobos.”

When MRO took the first picture, Phobos was 6,800 km (4,200 miles) away, and it was able to resolve features as small as 20 metres (65 feet) across. For the second image, the spacecraft was 5,800 km (3,600 miles) away, and could resolve features down to 15 metres (50 feet) across.

Phobos itself is only 22 km (13.5 miles) in diameter. Since it’s so small, it doesn’t have the gravity to pull itself into a sphere, so it has an oblong shape.

Planetary scientists are hoping to understand if there are reserves of water on the surface of the Martian moon, and to get more clues about its history. Did Phobos form with Mars, or was it captured later on?

If you have a pair of red-blue glasses, you can take a look at the 3D view of Phobos on the HiRISE site. Here’s a link.

Original Source: NASA/JPL/HiRISE News Release

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Help Move An Asteroid and Other Space-Related Opportunities

Asteroid Deflection Techniques. Image Credit: British National Space Center

If you’ve got some ideas about how to deflect an asteroid or comet heading towards Earth, there’s an opportunity out there to have your concept reviewed by some of the world’s top astronomers and physicists. The only restriction is that you must be a student or a young professional under the age of 33. This announcement comes on the heels of notices of other opportunities for young people to get involved with space missions. The space sector must be listening to recent complaints that the younger generation feels a disconnect to space-related activities. At any rate, these are great opportunities.

Here’s more on the asteroid competition, as well as more ways for students to get involved with space missions:

The “Move An Asteroid 2008” competition is sponsored by the Space Generation Advisory Council. It’s an international technical paper competition looking for unique and innovative concepts for how to deflect an asteroid or comet that may impact the Earth. The competition is open to individuals or teams, and they must write and submit a 3-10 page original technical paper on their innovative concept. The 1st place award is a trip to present the winning paper at this year’s Space Generation Congress (SGC) and International Astronautical Congress (IAC) which take place in Glasgow, Scotland from late September until early October 2008. The 2nd place award is a trip to present at the SGC. Entries are due on June 9, 2008 and winners will be announced on June 30, 2008, the 100th anniversary of the Tunguska Event, the largest asteroid/comet impact event in Earth’s recent history.

Another opportunity is the Cassini Scientist for a Day contest. The contest is open to all students in the U.S. between grades 5 and 12, working alone or in groups of up to four students. This is a competition for the privilege of deciding where to point the cameras onboard the Cassini spacecraft on June 10, 2008. There will be 55 minutes of time where the winners will control of spacecraft, plenty of time to turn it as needed and point the cameras at pretty much any target you’d like. In case you’re not sure what targets would be best, the Cassini team has narrowed the field of possible targets. Deadline for submission is Noon, Pacific Daylight Time on May 8, 2008 (3:00 p.m. Eastern time).

Next, there’s the NASA Quest LIMA Challenge for Students in Grades 4-8. In this challenge, students become scientists and propose Antarctic research. The Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica is the first true-color high-resolution satellite view of the Antarctic continent. Using this view of Antarctica, students must develop a research question and debate the value of studying the chosen feature. Registration is currently open and educational resources are available online. This is going on right now, with the deadline for preliminary proposals due on April 20, 2008, so check this one out soon.

Also, there’s a chance for U.S. students to involved working with the mission operations associated with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and specificially the CRISM (Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars) on board MRO, currently orbiting Mars. The project is called Mars Exploration Student Data Teams. This is an ongoing program for high school students, and one adult facilitator is required. This program is facilitated through a cooperative effort by NASA and Arizona State University. Another similar program is the Mars Student Imaging Project that works with the Mars Odyssey orbiter. You can find more info on that program here.

Also ongoing is the ISS EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students)program, a NASA education program which gives students teachers the chance to choose targets on Earth for pictures to be taken from the International Space Station. Learn more about that program here.

Original News Source: Space Generation Advisory Council

Posted on by Ian O'Neill

Intel to Protect Microchips from Cosmic Rays

A simulation of the impact a cosmic ray has on entering the atmosphere (credit: AIRES package/Chicago University)

As computers become more advanced, the microprocessors inside them shrink in size and use less electrical current. These new, energy efficient chips can be crammed closer together, increasing the number of calculations that can be done per second, therefore making the computer more powerful. But even the mighty supercomputer has its Achilles heel: an increased sensitivity to interference from charged particles originating beyond your office. These highly energetic particles come from space and may cause critical hardware to miscalculate, possibly putting lives at risk.

Foreseeing this problem, microchip manufacturer Intel has begun devising ways to detect when a shower of charged particles may hit their chips, so when they do, calculations can be re-run to iron out any errors…

Cosmic rays originate from our Sun, supernovae and other unknown cosmic sources. Typically, they are very energetic protons that zip through space close to the speed of light. They could be so powerful that on impact with the upper atmosphere of the Earth it has been postulated that they may create micro black holes. Naturally these energetic particles can cause some damage. In fact, they may be a huge barrier to travelling beyond the safety of Earth’s magnetic field (the magnetosphere deflects most cosmic radiation, even astronauts in Earth orbit are well shielded), the health of astronauts will be severely damaged during prolonged interplanetary flight.

But what about on Earth, where we are protected from the full force of cosmic rays? Although a small portion of our annual radiation dose comes from cosmic rays (roughly 13%), they can have extensive effects over large volumes of the atmosphere. As cosmic rays collide with atmospheric molecules, a cascade of light particles is produced. This is known as an “air shower”. The billions of particles within the air shower from a single impact are often highly charged themselves (but of lesser energy than the parent cosmic ray), but the physics behind the air shower is beginning to grow in importance, especially in the realms of computing.

It seems computer microprocessor manufacturer Intel has been pondering the same question. They have just released a patent detailing their plans should a cosmic ray penetrate the atmosphere and hit one of their delicate microchips. The problem will come when computing becomes so advanced that the tiny chips may “misfire” when a comic ray impact event occurs. Should the unlucky chip be hit by a cosmic ray, a spike of electrical current may be exerted across the circuitry, causing a miscalculation.

This may sound pretty benign; after all, what’s one miscalculation in billions? Intel’s senior scientist Eric Hannah explains:

“All our logic is based on charge, so it gets interference. […] You could be going down the autobahn [German freeway] at 200 miles an hour and suddenly discover your anti-lock braking system doesn’t work because it had a cosmic ray event.” – Eric Hannah.

After all, computers are getting smaller and cheaper, they are being used everywhere including critical systems like the braking system described by Hannah above. As they are so small, many more chips can occupy computers, increasing the risk. Where a basic, one processor computer may only experience one cosmic ray event in several years (producing an unnoticed calculation error), supercomputers with tens of thousands of processors may suffer 10-20 cosmic ray events per week. What’s more, in the near future even humble personal laptops may have the computing power of today’s supercomputer; 10-20 calculation errors per week would be unworkable, there would be too high a risk of data loss, software corruption or hardware failure.

Orbital space stations, satellites and interplanetary spacecraft also come to mind. Space technology embraces advanced computing as you get far more processing power in a smaller package, reducing weight, size and cost. What happens when a calculation error occurs when a cosmic ray hits a satellite’s circuitry? A single miscalculation could spell the satellite’s fate. I’d dread to think what could happen to future manned missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

It is hoped that Intel’s plan may be the answer to this ominous problem. They want to manufacture a cosmic ray event tracker that would detect a cosmic ray impact, and then instruct the processor to recalculate the previous calculations from the point before the cosmic ray struck. This way the error can be purged from the system before it becomes a problem.

There will of course be many technical difficulties to overcome before a fast detector is developed; in fact Eric Hannah admits that it will be hard to say when such a device may become a practical reality. Regardless, the problem has been identified and scientists are working on a solution, at least it’s a start…

Source: BBC

Posted on by Tammy Plotner

Moon for Kids

New Moon Schedules
Moon Phases

Right now, while the sky still gets dark early, is a great time to enjoy looking at the Moon with your small children or grandchildren. Even if you don’t have a telescope or binoculars, there are lots of fun ways that you can both enjoy our mysterious Moon together. Each evening as it gets dark, go outside and take a look at where the Moon is. There are nights when it will be cloudy, so it makes the game even more fun!

Having the Moon in the sky is something that we noticed all our lives, but most of us don’t think very much about it. When was the last time you saw the Moon? What did it look like? If you went outside, where would you find it? By learning to keep a “Moon Journal” you will soon learn much more about Earth’s nearest neighbor.

Keeping a Moon Journal is easy. All you need is a pencil and paper, and to understand where the cardinal directions are outside. If you have a compass, that’s great. But if you do not, remember to watch where the Sun sets. Next you need to choose a place! Look for an area that you can see most of the southern sky. Use your compass to find south or keep your right shoulder to the direction the Sun set. Don’t worry if there are things in the way, because trees, houses and even power wires will help with what we’re going to do. Mark the spot you chose by drawing an X on the pavement with a piece of chalk, or poking a stick into the ground. You must remember to return to this same spot each time.

Simple sketches make for lunar fun!Now you are ready to begin observing! The most important part about keeping a Moon Journal is to look for the Moon the same time each night. Right now about 8:30 or 9:00 will do very well. Go outside and look for the Moon. Do you see it? Good! Make a very simple picture of where you see the Moon in the sky and be sure to include things like a house or tree in your picture. It doesn’t have to be any more difficult than what you see here. Try your observations for several nights and see if you can learn to predict where the Moon will appear and what it will look like!

Now, let’s experiment with why the Moon has phases. All it takes is a bright flashlight and a ball on a stick. (Even an apple on a fork makes a great Moon, and you can eat it, too!) Whoever is holding the flashlight becomes the Sun and the Earth is your head. If you hold the ball out at arm’s length just above the flashlight while facing the Sun, you can’t see it. This is New Moon. The Moon is still in the sky, but we can’t see it because of the bright sunlight. Now keep the ball at arm’s length and turn slowly counterclockwise and watch what happens. That’s right! You see the ball go through phases, just like our Moon. When your back is towards the Sun, you see the ball as whole, and it will be Full Moon. The Moon will rise on the opposite side of the Earth at the same time the Sun goes down. Keep turning and you’ll see the phases reverse as the Moon moves back towards the Sun again.

Ask your child if he or she has ever seen the Moon during the daytime. Where in the sky do they think the Sun and the Moon needs to be for this to happen? What would happen if the Moon was in front of the Sun? How about the Earth?

Simple experiments like this are a great way to teach children more about astronomy!

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Soyuz Launches With South Korea’s First Astronaut

Soyuz TMA- 12 launch. Image credit: NASA TV

South Korea’s first astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today and are on their way to the International Space Station. So-Yeon Yi, a 29-year-old female engineer joined incoming Expedition 17 commander Sergei Volkov and flight engineer Oleg Kononenko in the three-seat Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft, which lifted off at 7:16:39 a.m. EDT. Besides conducting some scientific research Yi has said she will sing to her crewmates and prepare some Korean cuisine for them as well.

Yi, the youngest woman to ever launch into space, is flying under a commercial agreement between the Russian space agency and South Korea’s ministry of science and technology. The Soyuz will catch up with the ISS in two days, and dock at the Pirs airlock module around 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 10.

Yi will spend nine days aboard the space station and return to Earth on April 19 with outgoing Expedition 16 commander Peggy Whitson and flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko, currently on board the ISS. The other astronaut on the space station, and the third member of the Expedition 16 crew, NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman, will remain aboard the lab complex with Volkov and Kononenko and become a member of Expedition 17. Reisman came to the station aboard the shuttle Endeavour in March. He will be relieved in early June by astronaut Gregory Chamitoff, scheduled to launch May 31 aboard the shuttle Discovery.

Volkov, 35, is the son of cosmonaut Alexander Volkov and is the first second-generation cosmonaut or astronaut to fly in space. The elder Volkov spent one expedition on board the Soviet Salyut space station (Salyut 7 in 1985, for 65 days) and two stay on board the Mir space station (Mir 4 in 1988 for 152 days and Mir 10 in 1991 for 175 days.)

In video shown during the Soyuz’ climb to space, Yi, seated to Volkov’s right, could be seen enthusiastically waving a thumbs up at the camera and smiling.

Original News Sources: NASA, NASA TV

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

A Case of MOND Over Dark Matter

According to Newton’s Second Law of Dynamics, objects on the farthest edges of galaxies should have lower velocities than objects near the center. But observations confirm that galaxies rotate with a uniform velocity. Some astronomers believe the orbital behavior of galaxies can be explained more accurately with Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) — a modified version of Newton’s Second Law — than by the rival, but more widely accepted, theory of dark matter. The dark matter theory assumes that a halo of dark matter surrounds each galaxy, providing enough matter (and gravity) that all the stars in a galaxy disc orbit with the same velocity. MOND, however uses a different explanation, and a recent study of eight dwarf galaxies that orbit the Milky Way seems to favor the MOND approach over the dark matter theory.

“MOND was first suggested to account for things that we see in the distant universe,” said Garry Angus, of the University of St Andrews. “This is the first detailed study in which we’ve been able to test out the theory on something close to home. The MOND calculations and the observations appear to agree amazingly well.”

Usually the equation F=ma (force = mass X acceleration) solves your basic acceleration problems. But it doesn’t explain the observed rotation of galaxies. MOND suggests that at low values of acceleration, the acceleration of a particle is not linearly proportional to the force. According to Angus, MOND adds a new constant of nature (a0) to physics, besides the speed of light and Planck’s constant. Above the constant, accelerations are exactly as predicted by Newton’s second law (F=ma). Below it, gravity decays with distance from a mass, rather than distance squared. This constant is so small that it goes unnoticed with the large accelerations that we experience in everyday life. For instance, when we drop a ball the gravity is 100 billion times stronger than a0 and the accelerated motion of the Earth round the Sun is 50 million times stronger. However, when objects are accelerating extremely slowly, as we observe in galaxies or clusters of galaxies, then the constant makes a significant difference to the resulting gravitational forces.

When MOND is applied to nearby dwarf galaxies, one effect is that tidal forces from the Milky Way, which have a negligible effect in classical Newtonian Mechanics, can actually make a big difference. This is particularly significant for the dwarfs orbiting close to our Galaxy.

“In these dwarf galaxies, the internal gravity is very weak compared to the gravity of the Milky Way,” said Angus. “MOND suggests that the Milky Way is a bit like a bank that loans out gravity to nearby dwarf galaxies to make them more stable. However, there are conditions on the loan: if the dwarf galaxies start to approach the bank, the loan is gradually reduced or even cancelled and the dwarfs must pay it back. In two galaxies, we’ve seen what could be signs that they’ve come too close too quickly and are unable to repay the loan fast enough. This appears to have caused disruption to their equilibrium.”

Angus used MOND to calculate the ratio of mass to amount of light emitted by the stars in the dwarf galaxies from the observed random velocities of the stars collected independently. He also calculated the orbital paths of the stars in the dwarf galaxies. In all eight cases, the MOND calculations for the orbits were within predictions. For six of the eight galaxies, the calculations were also a good match to expected values for mass-to-light ratios; however for two galaxies, Sextans and Draco, the ratios were very high, which could well suggest tidal effects. The value for Sextans could also be due to poor quality measurements of the galaxy’s luminosity, which Angus said are improving all the time for these ultra dim objects.

“These tidal effects can be tested by updating the 13 year old luminosity of Sextans and making accurate observations of the orbits of Draco and Sextans around the Milky Way. We also need to carry out some detailed simulations to understand the exact mechanisms of the tidal heating,” said Angus.

If Newton’s gravity holds true, the dark matter needed in the dwarf galaxies has constant density in the center which is contrary to theoretical predictions, which suggest density should rise to the center.

“Even without direct detection, the dark matter theory is difficult to prove or refute and although we may not be able to prove whether MOND is correct, by carrying out these kind of tests we can see if it continues to hold up or if it is definitely ruled out,” said Angus.

Original News Source: Royal Astronomy Society’s National Astronomy Meeting