NASA postponed today’s launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis after problems emerged during the activation of one its electricity-producing fuel cells. During preparations for launch, controllers detected a voltage spike in the fuel cell’s cooling pump, and decided it posed enough of a risk to push back the launch. Managers will be meeting on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the issue, and determine when the shuttle will be ready for launch again.
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Book Review: Deep Sky Objects
Seekers need to know everything about their quarries. Their appearance, lifestyle and mannerisms all provide clues as to their whereabouts. Fishermen know the haunts, the lures and the time of day that give the best chance of success. Comet hunters are an equally avid group of seekers and some would say that their quarry is much more elusive. In both situations, seekers eagerly seek out the experienced master to learn their tricks. David Levy, a master at comet finding, simplifies the seeker’s search by presenting his tricks in his book Deep Sky Objects. Many secrets to finding the elusive comet await within.
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New Horizons’ Telescope Sees First Light
Although New Horizons is still more than 9 years away from reaching Pluto, it’s ready to do some science along the way. The spacecraft passed an important milestone this week when it opened the protective cover on its Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) and took a photograph of the Messier 7 star cluster. Stars were visible in this cluster down to 12th magnitude, which matches the instrument’s pre-launch calibration. New Horizons will start imaging Jupiter with LORRI as it approaches a Feb. 28, 2007 flyby.
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Hubble Sees a Rare Transit on Uranus
The Hubble Space Telescope recently captured a very rare event: the transit of its moon Ariel across the surface of Uranus. On Earth we call this an eclipse, when the Moon’s shadow falls upon the surface of our planet. This situation is rare on Uranus; however, because the blue-green planet is tilted over on its side. The Sun, the moons and Uranus only line up once every 42 years. The last time a transit like this could have been seen was 1965, but Earth-based telescopes weren’t powerful enough to image the event at the time.
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Spitzer’s View of the Large Magellanic Cloud
NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope recently captured this image of the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of a handful of dwarf galaxies that orbit the Milky Way. This single image, containing about a third of the entire galaxy, is actually made up of 300,000 individual frames captured by Spitzer, and then stitched together on computer to create a gigantic mosaic. Because Spitzer’s infrared view allows it to pierce through obscuring dust and gas, this new research has revealed nearly a million never-before-seen objects – mostly stars.
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What’s Up this Week: September 4 – September 10, 2006
Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! It’s big. It’s bright. It’s the Moon and the impact of SMART 1! I hope some lucky observers had a chance to see the impact on September 2. For now, the Moon will continue to be our study area of choice (or not!) this week as we continue our lunar features and double star studies. Get out your telescopes, because…
Here’s what’s up!
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SMART-1 Smashed into the Moon
ESA’s SMART-1 spacecraft ended its productive mission on September 3, 2006 when it crashed into the lunar soil in the “Lake of Excellence” region of the Moon. The impact took place on the near side of the Moon, in full view of Earth and space-based telescopes; even amateurs captured a tiny flash in their telescopes as the spacecraft obliterated, and carved out a small crater. This final act of science will hopefully give researchers some insights into the minerals that lie underneath the lunar surface, which were briefly excavated by the impact.
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Crater Melanthius on Tethys
Cassini took this photograph of the 245-km (150-mile) crater Melanthius on the surface of Saturn’s moon Tethys. The central mountains at the heart of Melanthius are left over from when the crater first formed millions of years ago. Cassini took the photo on July 23, 2006 when it was 120,000 kilometers (75,000 miles) from Tethys.
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Did the Earth Flip Over in the Past?
Scientists have found evidence that the Earth might have flipped over in the past, completely shifting the orientation of its poles. The theory has been around for years; that a large mountain range or supervolcano might unbalance the spinning Earth. Over the course of millions of years, the Earth would change the orientation of its axis until the object was balanced at the equator again. The scientists found evidence of magnetic grains in layers of rock sediment on the ocean floor that maintain a record of the Earth’s magnetic field over millions of years.
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Magnetar Crackles with Radio Waves
Astronomers have discovered a rapidly spinning pulsar with a powerful magnetic field – called a magnetar – that’s demonstrating some brand new tricks. Located about 10,000 light years from Earth, this magnetar is sending out powerful pulses of radio waves at regular intervals; normally magnetars are only seen in the X-ray spectrum. The discoverers think that the magnetic field around the star is twisting, causing huge electric currents to flow – these currents are generating the radio pulses.
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