SPACE
& SCIENCE NEWS: March 2004
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| Enigma of Namibia's 'fairy circles' |
Mar 31, 2004 |
| Ocean waves forecast for Saturn's
moon Titan |
Mar 31, 2004 |
| Evolved DNA stitches itself up |
Mar 31, 2004 |
| Andromeda yields cache of stellar
black holes |
Mar 30, 2004 |
| Private space race nears finish
line |
Mar 29, 2004 |
| Methane on Mars: coverage continues |
Mar 29, 2004 |
| Earth on the 'WIMP highway' |
Mar 29, 2004 |
| Possible signs of life detected
on Mars |
Mar 28, 2004 |
| NASA Mach 7 mission accomplished |
Mar 27, 2004 |
| Martian spiral mystery at poles
explained |
Mar 26, 2004 |
| Radio search
for ET draws a blank |
Mar 25, 2004 |
| Theory of
matter may need rethink |
Mar 25, 2004 |
| Life on Mars
- but 'we sent it' |
Mar 25, 2004 |
| Whales' sound
fishing trick |
Mar 25, 2004 |
| NASA considers
impact alert plan |
Mar 24, 2004 |
| Mars rover
sits on ancient beach |
Mar 23, 2004 |
| NASA's rover
climbs out of Martian crater |
Mar 23, 2004 |
| Io's clues
to early life on Earth |
Mar 22, 2004 |
| Microsoft
man funds ET search |
Mar 22, 2004 |
| New imagery
of comet released from Stardust |
Mar 21, 2004 |
| Mars rovers
to embark on final mission |
Mar 20, 2004 |
| Lunar mountain
has eternal light |
Mar 19, 2004 |
| 'Life chip'
ready for 2009 Mars missions |
Mar 19, 2004 |
| Space rock
makes closest approach |
Mar 18, 2004 |
| UFO streaks
through Martian sky |
Mar 18, 2004 |
| No Moon, no
life on Earth, suggests theory |
Mar 18, 2004 |
| Rover inspects
Martian dune |
Mar 18, 2004 |
| Mystery of
Milky Way's gamma rays solved |
Mar 18, 2004 |
| Martian soil
is 'same everywhere' |
Mar 18, 2004 |
| Plenty of
icy water at Mars south pole, scientists say |
Mar 17, 2004 |
| Mystery of
the Martian 'blueberries' solved |
Mar 17, 2004 |
| Mars mission
criticized by watchdog |
Mar 17, 2004 |
| Sun's massive
explosion upgraded |
Mar 16, 2004 |
| Early human
marks are 'symbols' |
Mar 16, 2004 |
| New planet
may have a moon |
Mar 16, 2004 |
| Plan to melt
through Europa's ice |
Mar 15, 2004 |
| Astronomers
find new planet or planetoid |
Mar 15, 2004 |
| Clumps seen
in Saturn's rings |
Mar 14, 2004 |
| Mystery of
Uranus and Neptune magnetic fields solved? |
Mar 13, 2004 |
| Asteroid targets
picked for Rosetta |
Mar 12, 2004 |
| Opportunity
views Martian eclipses |
Mar 12, 2004 |
| NASA rover
looks into the abyss |
Mar 11, 2004 |
| Super telescope
to probe deep space |
Mar 11, 2004 |
| 'God particle'
may have been seen |
Mar 10, 2004 |
| X-rays from
Saturn pose puzzles |
Mar 10, 2004 |
| Hubble's deep
view of the cosmos |
Mar 9, 2004 |
| Mars rovers'
lifetime boosted |
Mar 9, 2004 |
| Rover fails
to dent Martian rock |
Mar 9, 2004 |
| Beagle descent
possibly too fast |
Mar 8, 2004 |
| The great
'bunny' chase at Mars rover landing site |
Mar 8, 2004 |
| How the little
green men met their makers |
Mar 7, 2004 |
| Did a comet
trigger the Great Chicago Fire of 1871? |
Mar 7, 2004 |
| Another Mars
rover finds more evidence of water |
Mar 6, 2004 |
| How much water
on Mars? |
Mar 5, 2004 |
| Mars volcano
shows 'water flow' |
Mar 5, 2004 |
| Scientists
lobby on 'Beagle pups' |
Mar 4, 2004 |
| The chemistry
of Mars |
Mar 3, 2004 |
| NASA: Liquid
water once on Mars |
Mar 2, 2004 |
| Rosetta heads
for comet |
Mar 2, 2004 |
| Dinosaur impact
theory challenged |
Mar 1, 2004 |
| VLT smashes
record for farthest known galaxy |
Mar 1, 2004 |
Enigma of Namibia's 'fairy circles'
(Mar 31, 2004)
South African botanists say they have failed to explain the mysterious
round patches of bare sandy soil found in grassland on Namibia's coastal
fringe. They looked into possible causes of the "fairy circles" –
radioactive soil, toxic proteins left by poisonous plants, and termites
eating the seeds. But tests failed to support any of these theories
for the rings which are 2-10 metres in diameter. For now, they say,
they are left with "fairies" to explain the phenomenon.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Ocean waves forecast for Saturn's moon
Titan
(Mar 31, 2004)
When the European Huygens probe on the Cassini space mission parachutes
down through the opaque smoggy atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan early
next year, it may find itself splashing into a sea of liquid hydrocarbons.
In what is probably the first piece of "extraterrestrial oceanography"
ever carried out, Dr Nadeem Ghafoor of Surrey Satellite Technology
and Professor John Zarnecki of the Open University, with Drs Meric
Srokecz and Peter Challenor of the Southampton Oceanography Centre,
calculated how any seas on Titan would compare with Earth's oceans.
Their results predict that waves driven by the wind would be up to
7 times higher but would move more slowly and be much farther apart.
Read
more. Source: Spaceflight Now/RAS |
Evolved DNA stitches itself up
(Mar 31, 2004)
Researchers have managed to create bits of DNA that can stitch themselves
together without a helping hand from other molecules. By contrast,
natural DNA needs enzymes to stitch itself up, correct mutations,
or make copies of itself. The creation of this super-capable DNA suggests
that rare bits of natural DNA might have evolved the same capability
in the past. That could alter our thinking about how life began.
Read
more. Source: Nature |
Andromeda yields cache of stellar black
holes
(Mar 30, 2004)
Astronomers have discovered ten previously unknown likely black holes
in the Andromeda Galaxy by means of a powerful new search technique
they have devised. The Andromeda Galaxy is the nearest neighbouring
spiral galaxy, 2.5 million light years away. Drs Robin Barnard, Ulrich
Kolb and Carole Haswell of the Open University and Dr Julian Osborne
of The University of Leicester used the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton
orbiting X-ray observatory to find what are probably black holes lurking
in double star systems known as low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs).
Read
more. Source: Spaceflight Now/RAS |
Private space race nears finish line
(Mar 29, 2004)
The reward is high, but so is the risk as some of the 27 teams pursuing
a $10 million prize for the first privately funded manned spaceflight
near a goal that once seemed outlandish. Organizers of the X Prize
believe that teams could attempt the space trip as early as this summer.
When the competition was announced just eight years ago, many were
skeptical that any privately financed team could meet the requirements
to collect the prize: Build a spacecraft capable of taking three passengers
62.5 miles (101 kilometers) above the planet, then make a second successful
suborbital trip within two weeks. "It's going to happen in 2004. Someone
will win it," said Gregg Maryniak, director of the St. Louis-based
X Prize Foundation, a group created to spark development of reusable
spacecraft that can take average citizens into space.
Source: CNN/AP |
Methane on Mars: coverage continues
(Mar 29, 2004)
Methane has been found in the Martian atmosphere which scientists
say could be a sign that life exists today on Mars. It was detected
by telescopes on Earth and has recently been confirmed by instruments
onboard the European Space Agency's orbiting Mars Express craft. Methane
lives for a short time in the Martian atmosphere so it must be being
constantly replenished. There are two possible sources: either active
volcanoes, none of which have been found yet on Mars, or microbes.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Earth on the 'WIMP highway'
(Mar 29, 2004)
Mysterious subatomic particles from another galaxy could be raining
down on Earth, according to a collaboration of astronomers. If so,
it could explain controversial results from a particle-detection experiment
deep inside mountains to the east of Rome. The story concerns WIMPs
– standing for weakly interacting massive particles –
which astronomers think may make up the bulk of the Universe. For
every kg of material made up from atoms like the ones we have in our
bodies, or which make up the stars, there are up to 20kg of something
completely different, whose principle quality is that it has never
been actually observed directly by scientists. Which is why they call
it dark matter. But they know it is there because its effect on the
movements of galaxies can be weighed. If WIMPs exist, they would fill
the spaces between the stars, and would interact with normal matter
so weakly that they would pass right the way through the Earth.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Possible signs of life detected on Mars
(Mar 28, 2004)
A strong signal of life on Mars has been detected by scientists at
NASA and the European Space Agency. Each group has independently discovered
tantalizing evidence of methane in the Martian atmosphere. Methane,
a waste product of living organisms on Earth, could also be a by-product
of alien microbes living under the surface of the Red Planet.The detection
of methane has been the holy grail of scientists studying the Martian
atmosphere, as its presence could provide unequivocal proof that there
is life beyond Earth. Neither NASA nor the European Space Agency (ESA)
has publicly announced the findings, but specialists who have seen
the data believe the discovery is genuine - although they are unsure
what it means in terms of confirming the presence of life. The discovery
comes weeks after NASA and ESA announced new findings relating to
the presence of huge bodies of water on Mars which could have supported
life.
Read
more. Source: The Independent |
NASA Mach 7 mission accomplished
(Mar 27, 2004)
NASA has successfully flown an experimental hypersonic plane over
California for the first time. The unpiloted X-43A aircraft used a
scramjet engine that could one day usher in a new generation of space
shuttle propulsion systems. It flew for 10 seconds under its own power,
before gliding into the ocean. Scramjets burn hydrogen but take their
oxygen from the air, which is forced into the engine at very high
speed. The technology could eventually pave the way for faster long-distance
air travel and cheaper access to space.
Read
more. Source: NASA |
Martian spiral mystery at poles explained
(Mar 26, 2004)
The spiral troughs of Mars' polar ice caps have been called the most
enigmatic landforms in the solar system. The deep canyons spiraling
out from the Red Planet's North and South poles cover hundreds of
miles. No other planet has such structures. A new model of trough
formation suggests that heating and cooling alone are sufficient to
form the unusual patterns. Previous explanations had focused on alternate
melting and refreezing cycles but also required wind or shifting ice
caps. "I applied specific parameters that were appropriate to Mars
and out of that came spirals that were not just spirals, but spirals
that had exactly the shape we see on Mars." Said Jon Pelletier, an
assistant professor of geosciences at the University of Arizona in
Tucson. "They had the right spacing, they had the right curvature,
they had the right relationship to one another."
Read
more. Source: Space Daily |
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