SPACE
& SCIENCE NEWS: January 2004
home > space
& science news > space & science news: January 2004: 1
| 2 | 3
| 4 | 5
| 6 | 7
Suns of all ages possess comets, maybe
planets
(Jan 6, 2004)
In early 2003, Comet Kudo-Fujikawa (C/2002 X5) zipped past the Sun
at a distance half that of Mercury's orbit. Astronomers Matthew Povich
and John Raymond (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) and
colleagues studied Kudo-Fujikawa during its close passage. Today at
the 203rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Atlanta,
they announced that they observed the comet puffing out huge amounts
of carbon, one of the key elements for life. The comet also emitted
large amounts of water vapor as the Sun's heat baked its outer surface.
When combined with previous observations suggesting the presence of
evaporating comets near young stars like Beta Pictoris and old stars
like CW Leonis, these data show that stars of all ages vaporize comets
that swing too close. Those observations also show that planetary
systems like our own, complete with a collection of comets, likely
are common throughout space.
Read
more. Source: Harvard-Smithsonian |
Spirit rover sends back color photos; NASA
has direct link
(Jan 5, 2004)
The U.S. robotic probe Spirit beamed panoramic color images of unprecedented
clarity back to Earth Sunday after establishing direct contact with
NASA scientists guiding its search for ancient signs of life on Mars.
The successful deployment of the rover's lollipop-shaped main antenna
cuts the delay in communications between the rover and NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena to about nine minutes from the hours
needed to relay signals through two Mars orbiters, flight director
Jason Willis said. At 9:20 p.m. PST, the control room at JPL erupted
in cheers as test signals showed that the rover had correctly located
Earth in the Martian sky and had positioned the main, "high gain"
antenna correctly.
Source: Reuters |
Spirit rover lands safely on Mars
(Jan 5, 2004)
A Nasa space probe has sent back its first images of Mars within hours
of arriving on the planet. The Spirit rover survived the perilous
plunge through the Martian atmosphere after a seven-month voyage from
Earth. The six-wheeled robot will seek signs that Mars was once capable
of supporting life. A second rover, named Opportunity, is expected
to land on the other side of the planet at the end of January. The
pictures show the barren, rock-strewn landscape around the rover,
including a large, sharp boulder that it narrowly missed hitting.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
One-tenth of stars in our Galaxy may support
life
(Jan 4, 2004)
One tenth of the stars in our galaxy might provide the right conditions
to support complex life, according to a new analysis by Australian
researchers. And most of these stars are on average one billion years
older than the Sun, allowing much more time, in theory, for any life
to evolve. The concept of a "galactic habitable zone" (GHZ) for the
Milky Way was first proposed in 2001. Now Charles Lineweaver of the
University of New South Wales and colleagues have defined a life-friendly
GHZ using a detailed model of the evolution of the Milky Way to map
the distribution in space and time of four major factors thought essential
for complex life.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Spirit rover begins final approach to Mars
(Jan 3, 2004)
In a perfect world, or in this case two perfect worlds – Earth
and Mars, the first of NASA's two robot geologists will bounce over
rocks and roll to a safe stop on the martian surface shortly after
8:35 p.m. PST this Saturday, January 3, 2004. NASA's twin rovers,
named Spirit and Opportunity, have been cruising through the frigid
temperatures of space toward Mars for seven months, traveling about
300 million miles. Spirits of the engineers and scientists who have
worked on this mission for the last three years will likely heat up
around 7:04 p.m. PST when the Spirit spacecraft rotates to face its
heat shield forward for final approach. The first step the rover will
take in shedding more than half of the spacecraft it has been traveling
in should occur at 8:14 p.m. PST, when the entry vehicle is scheduled
to separate from the cruise stage. The rover should come screaming
into the Martian atmosphere going 12,000 mph at 8:29 p.m. PST.
Read
more. Source: NASA/JPL |
Stardust makes successful flyby of Comet
Wild
(Jan 2, 2004)
The US space agency probe Stardust has made a dramatic flyby of Comet
Wild-2, passing just 230 km from the object. The craft has imaged
the 5.4-km-wide "dirty ice-ball" (see picture) and grabbed particles
streaming away from its nucleus for return to Earth in two years'
time. The encounter took place in deep space 389 million km from Earth
at 1944 GMT. Scientists believe the returned samples will tell them
not only about the construction of comets but also about the early
history of the Solar System. Nasa said the telemetry from Stardust
indicated the spacecraft survived the potentially hazardous rendezvous
and all the collection and analysis equipment onboard the probe worked
perfectly.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Bacteria found in 4,000 feet of rock hint
at Mars life
(Jan 1, 2004)
A team of scientists has discovered bacteria in a hole drilled more
than 4,000 feet deep in volcanic rock on the island of Hawaii near
Hilo, in an environment they say could be analogous to conditions
on Mars and other planets. Bacteria are being discovered in some of
Earth's most inhospitable places, from miles below the ocean's surface
to deep within Arctic glaciers. The latest discovery is one of the
deepest drill holes in which scientists have discovered living organisms
encased within volcanic rock, said Martin R. Fisk, a professor in
the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University.
Read
more. Source: Space Daily |
Earth's magnetic field fading
(Jan 1, 2004)
Scientists have known for some time that the Earth's magnetic field
is fading. Like a Kryptonite-challenged Superman, its strength has
steadily and mysteriously waned, leaving parts of the planet vulnerable
to increased radiation from space. Some satellites already feel the
effects. What is uncertain is whether the weakened field is on the
way to a complete collapse and a reversal that would flip the North
and South Poles. Compasses pointing North would then point South.
It is not a matter of whether it will happen, but when, said scientists
who presented the latest research on the subject at a recent meeting
of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. Picture: supercomputer
model of poles flipping.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
1 | 2
| 3 | 4
| 5 | 6
| 7
BACK TO TOP
|
You
are here:
Home
> Space & Science news
> January 2004:
1 | 2
| 3 | 4
| 5 | 6
| 7
Other news sections
Latest science news
Archeo news
Eco news
Health news
Living world news
Paleo news
Strange news
Tech news
Also on this site:
Encyclopedia of Science
Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy
and Sustainable Living
News archive
Bookshop
Contact
|
