SPACE
& SCIENCE NEWS: August 2004
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Socialites unite dolphin groups
(Aug 12, 2004)
Dolphin groups, or "pods" rely on socialites to keep them together,
scientists have claimed. Without these individuals, the cohesion of
the dolphin group falls apart, researchers have discovered. The finding
may mean that capturing wild dolphins or killer whales for marine
parks could have a serious impact on their companions left behind.
Details of the study, by a UK and US research team, are outlined in
New Scientist magazine.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
First space test for solar sailing
(Aug 11, 2004)
A delicate material that could let spacecraft reach distant planets
by harnessing the Sun's rays has been unfurled successfully in space
for the first time. The Japanese Institute of Space Astronautical
Science tested two solar sail deployments launched aboard an S-310
rocket (image is of deployment from anboard camera) on 9 August. It
is the first time a solar sail deployment has ever been tested in
space. By reflecting photons from Sun, the metallic solar sails should
theoretically receive momentum in the opposite direction to propel
a spacecraft forward. By gliding along, building up ever more speed,
spacecraft should be able to reach distant space targets in record
time.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Chances of aliens finding Earth disappearing
(Aug 10, 2004)
A pioneer of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) has
warned that for any intelligent aliens trying to search for us, "the
Earth is going to disappear" very soon. Frank Drake's point, made
at a SETI workshop at Harvard University on Friday, is that television
services are increasingly being delivered by technologies that do
not leak radio frequencies into space. But he added that in some ways
the observation is good news for SETI, as it means that the failure
of Earth-based observers to detect aliens so far may be less worrisome
than it would otherwise seem.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Fossilized - or even present-day - alien
bacteria?
(Aug 9, 2004)
Several lines of evidence have been put forward over the past couple
of weeks suggesting that colonies of bacteria once lived – and
may still live on Mars and elsewhere beyond Earth. David McKay, chief
of astrobiology at the Johnson Space Center, argues the possibility
that the strange wrinkling of the surface soil produced when the Mars
Rover airbags were retracted may point to fossilized remains of a
biological mat (see space.com
article). Meanwhile another NASA scientist, Richard Hoover, presented
microphotographs of the Orgueil meteorite (shown here) at the recent
SPIE conference in Denver, which appear to show fossilized traces
indistinguishable from those left by cyanobacteria on Earth (see panspermia.org).
Finally, and most importantly, there is the tantalizing discovery
of methane and ammonia in the Martian atmosphere, most easily (but
not necessarily) explained by the presence of microorganisms on or
below the surface. |
Erratic 'superbolts' of lightning seen
on Saturn
(Aug 8, 2004)
"Superbolts" of lightning burst in erratic
thunderstorms on Saturn, reveals new data from the Cassini spacecraft,
challenging previous observations of static storms. The orbiting spacecraft
has observed unpredictable storm patterns, not observed by Voyager
more than 20 years ago. Cassini has also revealed a new radiation
belt just above the planet’s cloud tops – far closer than any
previously observed radiation belts around the ringed planet. Lightning
produces radio emissions as well as visible light, and in 1980 and
1981, NASA's two Voyager spacecraft each spent a few days listening
to Saturn's storms during flybys. The storms seemed eerily unchanging,
firing off the same number of lightning bursts as they whipped around
the planet every 10 hours.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
New ocean species discovered
(Aug 7, 2004)
Scientists exploring the depths of the mid-Atlantic ridge were excited
to uncover a wealth of new species, including a bright red squid.
The two-month long, Norwegian-led expedition is part of the international
Census of Marine Life. The 10-year census, which began in 2000, aims
to record all known marine life, in an aquatic "Doomsday Book". The
latest study used deep-sea probes to explore the undersea mountain
ridge, running between Iceland and the Azores.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Second team goes for space prize
(Aug 6, 2004)
A Canadian team has said it will challenge SpaceShipOne for the Ansari
X-Prize by sending its privately-funded craft to space on 2 October.
The da Vinci Project is vying with Burt Rutan's craft, and 23 other
teams, to win the $10m (£5.7m) prize. It rewards the first team to
send a non-government, three-person craft over 100km into space, and
repeat the feat in the same craft in two weeks. The da Vinci team
publicly unveiled its spacecraft, Wild Fire VI, in Toronto.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Red Planet had 'recent' volcanism
(Aug 5, 2004)
Mars appears to have been volcanically active more recently than previously
supposed, according to growing evidence from Europe's Mars Express
orbiter. New estimates suggest volcanoes could have been active between
one million years ago and 20 million years ago, but more work is needed
to refine the dates Previous spacecraft data suggested that volcanism
on Mars ceased some time around 600-500 million years ago. Some researchers
even speculate Mars could be volcanically active today.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Solar system may be exception not rule
(Aug 5, 2004)
Although many more planets are being discovered outside the solar
system, none of them looks anything like our own planets. And it is
possible that they formed in a completely different way, making our
planetary system rather unique. In the traditional model of planet
formation, the dust in a disc of gas around a star gradually clumps
together into rocks, which eventually merge to make planetary cores.
The cores then accumulate gaseous atmospheres. In this model, gas
giants such as Jupiter form in the relatively cooler outskirts of
the system. But this model does not fully explain the formation of
the 110 or so extrasolar planets that have been discovered in the
past decade.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
ESA's Integral detects closest cosmic gamma-ray
burst
(Aug 5, 2004)
A gamma-ray burst detected by ESA's Integral gamma-ray observatory
on 3 December 2003 has been thoroughly studied for months by an armada
of space and ground-based observatories. Astronomers have now concluded
that this event, called GRB 031203, is the closest cosmic gamma-ray
burst on record, but also the faintest. This also suggests that an
entire population of sub-energetic gamma-ray bursts has so far gone
unnoticed.
Read
more. Source: European Space Agency |
Cassini peers into Titan's haze
(Aug 4, 2004)
The Cassini spacecraft in orbit around Saturn has peered closer at
the moon Titan to reveal two thin, outer layers of haze high in its
atmosphere. Mission scientists say observations like this one will
help them understand how the murky haze around Titan forms. Cassini
will release its piggybacked Huygens probe on to Titan in December.
The haze has long hindered scientists in their understanding of the
surface of this large Saturnian moon, which could harbour oceans of
hydrocarbons.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Space probe blasts off to Mercury
(Aug 3, 2004)
The Mercury Messenger probe, which will conduct a detailed investigation
of the first planet from the Sun, has launched successfully. The spacecraft
blasted off just before 0616 GMT on Tuesday from Cape Canaveral in
Florida, US, aboard a Boeing Delta 2 rocket for a seven-year journey.
It is the first US mission to Mercury for more than 30 years. After
arriving in 2011, the probe will orbit Mercury for a year to explore
its atmosphere, composition and structure.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
NASA's new space hot rod
(Aug 2, 2004)
To send astronauts back to the moon, NASA is planning to begin by
making maximum use of existing U.S. and foreign rockets as launching
systems. Vehicles under consideration may use updated propulsion systems
that could blast a flotilla of spacecraft from the Earth to the vicinity
of the moon. For voyages of longer duration, however – to Mars
and possibly even more distant destinations – NASA is designing
a whole new system for both space propulsion and space power.
Read
more. Source: Space Daily / UPI |
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