Monday, January 29 – Tonight we will return again to the lunar surface to have a look through binoculars or telescopes at another tremendous impact region.
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Book Review: Science, Society, and the Search for Life in the Universe
Where is our search for life taking us? Or, even simpler, why are we searching? Bruce Jakosky in his book Science, Society and the Search for Life in the Universe considers these questions and many others. However, he shows that searching for answers is almost as difficult as the search itself for life off of Earth.
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Tiny Shutters in the James Webb Telescope Improve its Vision
NASA has a new article on their site describing one of the technologies going into the mighty James Webb Space Telescope; the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. They’ve created an array of microshutters which will allow the telescope to dynamically block the light from nearby objects to make distant objects easier to see.
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New Views of LCROSS the Moon Smasher
NASA artists have released new images of the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission. This is a secondary payload that will travel to the Moon with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Remember the Deep Impact mission, which smashed a probe into an asteroid? Same thing, except this time the target is the Moon.
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First Images of the Sun from STEREO
Remember the recent launch of the STEREO spacecraft? These are two identical solar observing spacecraft which will give astronomers a thrilling 3-D view of the Sun. Officially, they’re the Solar TerrEstrial RElations Observatories (STEREO… get it?), and they were lofted into orbit on October 25.
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What’s Up this Week: January 22 – January 28, 2007
Monday, January 22 – Be out early tonight to catch the slender crescent Moon as we begin our journey designed to acquaint you with specific craters. Around midway on the terminator, you will spot a conspicuous old crater called Langrenus. Named for Belgian engineer and mathematician Michel Florent van Langren, this handsome old crater stretches out over 132 kilometers in diameter. Look closely at its walls, they rise above the surface by 1981 meters and the deepest part of the floor drops down below 4937 meters – deeper than Mount Cotacachi in Ecuador is tall. Is the Sun rising over its brilliant east wall? If so, look closely and see if you can spot Langrenus’ central mountain peak rising up 1950 meters. Then get out your skis, because that’s as high as the base elevation in Jackson Hole, Wyoming!
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Podcast: What We Learned from the American Astronomical Society
It’s astronomical society get together time, and we send Pamela to investigate and record. Hear the latest news that will make your text books out of date. Find out where all the dark matter is collecting, the identity of Kepler’s supernova, and new insights into the closest, brightest supernova in recent memory.
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All Was Quiet in the Galactic Centre
For a brief time in April 2006, the active region surrounding the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way settled down. Ten different sources of high energy rays all faded away temporarily, and ESA’s Integral probe was able to capture images of less bright regions, which weren’t completely obscured by the bright objects in their vicinity.
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New Horizons Bearing Down on Jupiter
Although New Horizons’ main target is Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, it’ll have plenty of opportunities to do some science along the way. Next up, Jupiter. The spacecraft is now just a few weeks away from its closest approach to the gas giant, where it’ll capture some images but also receive a much needed speed boost.
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Dwarf Planet Could Become a Comet
A small dwarf planet out past the orbit of Neptune could eventually become one of the brightest comets ever seen. Caltech professor Mike Brown – the discoverer of Eris – presented his calculations during the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society held in Seattle in early January.
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