entire Web this site SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS: September 2005 home > space & science news > space & science news: September 2005: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 Cassini pictures spongy Hyperion Sep 30, 2005 Gorillas branch out into tool use Sep 30, 2005 Space mission aims to crack mystery of Earth's twin Sep 30, 2005 Did oxygen boost fuel rise of large mammals? Sep 30, 2005 Probe set for asteroid touch down Sep 29, 2005 Massive young galaxy surprises astronomers Sep 29, 2005 Cassini flyby of Hyperion reveals tortured world Sep 29, 2005 Ice explorer readies for launch Sep 29, 2005 Plans for Euro-Russian spaceplane Sep 28, 2005 Live giant squid caught on camera Sep 28, 2005 Cassini spots huge “spear” on Saturn moon Sep 27, 2005 'Milky seas' detected from space Sep 27, 2005 Supernova explosion may have caused mammoth extinction Sep 27, 2005 Voyager 1: Messages from the Edge Sep 27, 2005 China set for second space shot Sep 26, 2005 Physicists measure tiny force that limits how far machines can shrink Sep 26, 2005 When is a planet not a planet? Sep 23, 2005 Out-of-body or all in the mind? Sep 22, 2005 Mysterious ring of stars guards Andromeda’s heart Sep 21, 2005 Mars 'more active than suspected' Sep 21, 2005 Cassini sees dusty ‘spokes’ in Saturn’s rings Sep 20, 2005 'Better' DNA out of fossil bones Sep 20, 2005 NASA to unveil vision for return to Moon Sep 19, 2005 Titan's long-sought sea revealed by radar Sep 18, 2005 Birthplace of famous Mars meteorite pinpointed Sep 17, 2005 Space cycle makes artificial gravity Sep 16, 2005 Black hole in search of a home Sep 15, 2005 Japanese probe parks near asteroid target Sep 14, 2005 Most distant cosmic blast sighted Sep 13, 2005 Hubble reveals new map of Pluto Sep 13, 2005 Ant logic makes sense in space Sep 12, 2005 Study suggests Titan may hold keys for exotic brand of life Sep 12, 2005 Could Earth survive the Sun’s demise? Sep 10, 2005 Titan moon occupies 'sweet spot' Sep 9, 2005 Flying reptiles just got bigger Sep 9, 2005 Comet’s minerals hint at liquid water Sep 9, 2005 'Proof' our brains are evolving Sep 9, 2005 Distant solar system body may be cigar-shaped Sep 8, 2005 Ice belt 'encircled Mars equator' Sep 8, 2005 Martian methane probe in trouble Sep 8, 2005 Liquid drop takes big nano step Sep 8, 2005 Deep Impact collision ejected the stuff of life Sep 7, 2005 Martian volcanoes 'may be active' Sep 7, 2005 Martian dunes hide water secret Sep 6, 2005 Aerobot aims for Titan Sep 6, 2005 Saturn ring particles 'fluffy' Sep 6, 2005 Rover's image from Mars hill peak Sep 5, 2005 Dark matter highlights extra dimensions Sep 4, 2005 Design choices may hurry humans to Mars Sep 2, 2005 Fastest pulsar set to escape the Milky Way Sep 1, 2005 Robotic space penguin to hop across the Moon Sep 1, 2005 First chimpanzee fossils found Sep 1, 2005 Cassini pictures spongy Hyperion (Sep 30, 2005) It may have the look of a giant sponge, but this is Saturn's moon Hyperion, as pictured by the Cassini spacecraft. The US-European probe has just made a flyby of the satellite, crossing its surface at a distance of just 50 0km. The surface is speckled with impact craters which scientists say have been modified by some process, not yet understood, to create the strange look. Much of the interior of Hyperion is empty space, suggesting it is little more than a pile of space rubble. Read more. Source: BBC Gorillas branch out into tool use (Sep 30, 2005) Gorillas have been spotted using tools in the wild for the first time, after decades of observation. Researchers in the Congolese jungle saw one of the great apes using a branch to test the depth of a pond, and another using the trunk of a small shrub as an improvised bridge. Unlike chimpanzees, which use a range of tricks to get food, gorillas rely more on size and strength: they shell nuts with their teeth, or smash open termite mounds with their fists. Read more. Source: Nature Space mission aims to crack mystery of Earth's twin (Sep 30, 2005) European scientists are preparing to monitor the neighbour from hell. Venus Express, a robot spacecraft little bigger than a fridge, is to be the first mission to the second rock from the sun in 15 years. Venus is 4.6bn years old, of similar diameter and mass to the Earth, and made of the same rocks. It occupies the same neighbourhood and should be warm and welcoming, like Earth. But it is not. Fred Taylor, of the University of Oxford, said: "It's very disturbing that we do not understand the climate on a planet so much like the Earth. It is telling us that we really don't understand the Earth. We have ended up with a lot of mysteries." Venus Express will take off on October 26, from Baikonur in Kazakhstan, aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket. Read more. Source: Guardian Did oxygen boost fuel rise of large mammals? (Sep 30, 2005) A sharp increase in the Earth's atmospheric oxygen levels about 50 million years ago was responsible for the rise of the large mammals, a new study claims. "We argue that the rise in oxygen content allowed mammals to become very, very large – mammals like 12-foot-tall sloths and huge sabre-toothed cats," says Paul Falkowski at Rutgers University in New Jersey, US, who led the study. Higher oxygen levels means animals can grow larger and still maintain the supply of oxygen to their muscles. Read more. Source: New Scientist Probe set for asteroid touch down (Sep 29, 2005) Japan's Hayabusa spacecraft will soon move into place for an historic attempt to collect a sample from an asteroid. During its encounter with asteroid Itokawa, Hayabusa will touch down twice and send a small robot to the surface. This could have great scientific value; the sample could help researchers learn more about the raw materials that made up the early Solar System. Read more. Source: BBC Massive young galaxy surprises astronomers (Sep 29, 2005) A massive galaxy has been discovered early in the history of the universe, a time when such mature galaxies were not thought to exist. The find calls into question current thinking on galaxy formation. The galaxy, HUDF-JD2, is one of the most distant ever observed. Its light, captured by the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, began its journey towards Earth a mere 800 million years after the Big Bang. Read more. Source: New Scientist Cassini flyby of Hyperion reveals tortured world (Sep 29, 2005)> Just two days after Cassini visited Saturn's moon Tethys, it has flown past Hyperion, one of the smaller and odder moons of the ringed planet. Hyperion is potato-shaped: 360 km long, but only about 250 km across. Its rotation is chaotic, tumbling unpredictably under the influence of Saturn's and Titan's gravity. And it is exceptionally dark for a Saturnian moon, reflecting only 30% of the light that falls on it, with a distinctly red tint. The biggest question for Cassini to answer is why Hyperion is so misshapen when other asteroids and moons of about this size are much more spherical. Read more. Source: New Scientist Ice explorer readies for launch (Sep 29, 2005) Europe's Cryosat spacecraft is about to launch on a three-year mission to study the Earth's ice caps. The satellite's main objective is to test and quantify the prediction that global warming is causing ice to thin at the poles. Scientists hope the data will give a clearer picture of the impact of rising temperatures on ice and, ultimately, global sea levels. Climate models suggest that as the Earth gets warmer, the planet's ice cover will shrink. But while there are already some signs this is under way, scientists want conclusive evidence. Read more. Source: BBC Plans for Euro-Russian spaceplane (Sep 28, 2005) The European Space Agency is proposing joining forces with Russia to develop a new vehicle for human spaceflight, the Clipper. The six-person spaceplane would give European astronauts autonomous access to the space station and the Moon. Esa will ask its member states to fund a 30-40m-euro (£20-27m) preparatory study at its next ministerial meeting. Russia is planning to replace its ageing Soyuz capsule with the Clipper and is seeking international partners. Read more. Source: BBC Live giant squid caught on camera (Sep 28, 2005) A live, adult giant squid has been caught on camera in the wild for the very first time. Japanese researchers took pictures of the elusive creature hunting 900m down, enveloping its prey by coiling its tentacles into a ball. The images show giant squid, known as Architeuthis, are more vigorous hunters than has been supposed. Read more. Source: BBC 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 BACK TO TOP

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