SPACE
& SCIENCE NEWS: November 2005
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NASA tightens its belt, again
(Nov 7, 2005)
NASA administrator Mike Griffin has confirmed speculation that even
more of its science projects would be cut or delayed in an attempt
to keep President Bush's 'vision for space' alive. On 3 November,
Griffin told a US House Committee that NASA is US$3-5 billion short
on funds to finish the space shuttle programme through to its retirement
in 2010. Such shortfalls mean NASA has had to get its priorities in
order and make some serious cuts to close part of this funding gap.
Read
more. Source: Nature |
'Cloudshine' may reveal secrets of star
birth
(Nov 7, 2005)
Astronomers have discovered a new way to probe dark clouds of gas
and dust in space, shedding light on the mysterious conditions that
nurture star birth. Stars condense from giant clouds of molecular
gas and dust that float through space. But these stellar wombs are
difficult to study because they are barely visible at optical wavelengths.
And other methods that probe their structure are not very precise
– for example, estimating how much dust they contain by how red the
stars behind them appear. Now, two researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian
Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass., have imaged the clouds'
structure at a resolution 50 times better than previous techniques.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Volcanoes ruled out for Martian methane
(Nov 6, 2005)
New observations of the Martian atmosphere show no trace of sulphurous
fumes. The finding rules out active volcanoes as the source of the
Red Planet's mysterious methane, but fails to resolve the question
of where the methane comes from. Methane breaks down when exposed
to sunlight, so its discovery in the Martian atmosphere two years
ago meant that something on the planet was continually producing more
of the gas. Most astronomers suspected its presence was the result
of a geological process, while a few suggested the methane was the
signature of past or present life.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Neutron star found where a black hole
was expected
(Nov 4, 2005)
A very massive star collapsed to form a neutron star and not a black
hole as anticipated, according to new results from NASA's Chandra
X-ray Observatory. This discovery shows that nature has a harder time
making black holes than previously thought. Scientists found this
neutron star – a dense whirling ball of neutrons about 12 miles
in diameter – in an extremely young star cluster. Astronomers
were able to use well-determined properties of other stars in the
cluster to deduce that the parent star of this neutron star was at
least 40 times the mass of the sun.
Read
more. Source: Spaceflight Now/Chandra X-ray Center |
Asteroid encounter postponed
(Nov 4, 2005)
The planned touchdown on an asteroid by a space probe has been postponed.
The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency said it had received an
"anomalous signal" from the craft shortly before it was due to make
its descent. The Hayabusa spacecraft was launched in May 2003 on a
mission to find out more about the raw materials that made up the
early Solar System. On Friday, it was due to land a robot on the surface
of asteroid Itokawa.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Burned-up meteors add to Martian atmosphere
(Nov 4, 2005)
A previously unknown layer has been detected in the atmosphere of
Mars, which scientists believe is created when meteors burn up high
above the planet's surface. Scientists in Germany and the US found
the new layer between 65 and 110 kilometres above the Martian surface.
It constitutes a third part of the planet's ionosphere – a region
of ionized particles – and lies just beneath two layers already known
to exist. The new layer was detected all around the planet in 10 out
of 120 observations, and was not spotted during 20 night-time measurements
Martian night.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Scientists see light that may be from
first objects in Universe
(Nov 3, 2005)
Scientists using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope say they have detected
light that may be from the earliest objects in the universe. If confirmed,
the observation provides a glimpse of an era more than 13 billion
years ago when, after the fading embers of the theorized Big Bang
gave way to millions of years of pervasive darkness, the universe
came alive. This light could be from the very first stars or perhaps
from hot gas falling into the first black holes. The science team,
based at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., describes
the observation as seeing the glow of a distant city at night from
an airplane. The light is too distant and feeble to resolve individual
objects. (Image: artist's concept)
Read
more. Source: NASA/Spitzer Space Telescope |
Astronomers zoom in on galaxy’s glittering
heart
(Nov 3, 2005)
Astronomers have obtained the closest glimpse yet of the supermassive
black hole thought to lurk at the centre of our galaxy, the Milky
Way. They focused on radio emissions around the black hole over an
area equal in width to the distance between the Earth and the Sun
(1 astronomical unit). Zhi-Qiang Shen of the Shanghai Astronomical
Observatory in China and colleagues in the US examined the radio source
at the centre of our galaxy, known as Sagittarius A. They used a network
of 10 radio telescopes spanning 5000 miles, known as the Very Large
Baseline Array (VLBA). The radio source is thought to mark the location
of a titanic black hole that is guzzling surrounding light and matter.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
China finds ancient observatory
(Nov 2, 2005)
Archaeologists in northern China have reportedly found one of the
world's oldest observatories. The remains, discovered near the city
of Linfen in Shanxi province, are thought to be about 4,100 years
old. Wang Shouguan, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
told state media that the discovery would help the study of ancient
astronomy. Chinese astronomers are thought to have made some of the
earliest recorded observations of the stars.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
NASA decline to deflect asteroid - for
now
(Nov 1, 2005)
NASA will not mount a mission to deflect an asteroid with a slender
chance of hitting Earth until further radar measurements are taken
to determine whether the object is a true threat. Currently, NASA
estimates that asteroid Apophis (previously known as 2004 MN4) has
a 1 in 5500 chance of hitting Earth in 2036. That depends on whether
the asteroid sneaks through a 600-metre-wide region during its close
swing past Earth in 2029. If it threads through that keyhole, its
orbit could be perturbed, possibly putting it on a collision course
with Earth in 2036. But until radar observations of the asteroid are
taken in 2013, it will remain unclear where Apophis is headed.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
NASA's Hubble reveals possible new moons
around Pluto
(Nov 1, 2005)
Using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to view the ninth planet in our
solar system, astronomers discovered Pluto may have not one, but three
moons. If confirmed, the discovery of the two new moons could offer
insights into the nature and evolution of the Pluto system; Kuiper
Belt Objects with satellite systems; and the early Kuiper Belt. The
Kuiper Belt is a vast region of icy, rocky bodies beyond Neptune’s
orbit. "If, as our new Hubble images indicate, Pluto has not one,
but two or three moons, it will become the first body in the Kuiper
Belt known to have more than one satellite," said Hal Weaver of the
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md.
Read
more. Source: NASA |
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