SPACE
& SCIENCE NEWS: March 2006
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Very cool brown dwarf discovered near
the Sun
(Mar 26, 2006)
Astronomers have discovered a unique brown
dwarf right in our solar neighborhood. If your city were the galaxy,
it would be like finding someone you didn't know about living upstairs
in your house, one of the discoverers said. The rare object is only
12.7 light years from Earth, circling a primary star that itself was
discovered only recently in the southern hemisphere constellation
Pavo (the Peacock). Only one other brown dwarf system has been found
closer to Earth, and it's only marginally closer.
Read
more. Source: University of Arizona |
Revolutionary jet engine tested
(Mar 25, 2006)
A new jet engine designed to fly at seven times the speed of sound
appears to have been successfully tested. The scramjet
engine, the Hyshot III, was launched at Woomera,
500km north of Adelaide in Australia, on the back of a two stage Terrier-Orion
rocket. Once 35km up, the Hyshot III fell back to Earth, reaching
speeds analysts hope will have topped Mach 7.6 (9,000 km/h).
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter sends first
snaps home
(Mar 25, 2006)
The most powerful camera ever sent into space has relayed its first
batch of detailed test images of the Red Planet. The High Resolution
Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) aboard NASA's Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter sent four photos back to Earth early on
Friday morning. "We're seeing brand new details – things never seen
before," says team member Chris Okubo on a blog kept by HiRISE team
member Loretta McKibben.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
SpaceX rocket fails first flight
(Mar 25, 2006)
The new Falcon 1
rocket has been lost on its maiden flight. The US vehicle, developed
by the Space Exploration Technologies Corp, was destroyed soon after
take-off from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The vision
of Elon Musk, co-founder of the electronic payment system PayPal,
the Falcon was designed to cut the cost of current satellite launches.
An onboard camera appeared to show the rocket rolling out of control
shortly before the video signal was lost.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Tiny tunnels in Mars rock hint at possibility
of life
(Mar 24, 2006)
A study of a meteorite that fell in Egypt [the Nakhla
meteorite] nearly 95 years ago may offer clues as to the search
for possible life on Mars. Researchers studying the meteorite that
originated from Mars found a series of microscopic tunnels within
the object that mimic the size, shape and distribution to tracks left
on Earth rocks by the feeding frenzy of bacteria. The discovery of
the tiny burrows adds intrigue to the search for life beyond Earth.
However, no DNA could be extracted from the meteorite, so it's not
known if the tunnels are of biological origin. The scientists said
the lack of DNA also does not derail the prospect.
Read
more. Source: space.com |
Clandestine comets found in main asteroid
belt
(Mar 24, 2006)
You do not have to look to the outer edges of the solar system, or
even out beyond Neptune to observe a reservoir of comets.
A bevy of the ice-containing bodies lies disguised as main-belt asteroids
between Mars and Jupiter, claim astronomers from the University of
Hawaii. David Jewitt and Henry Hsieh have dubbed the new population
"main belt comets". They describe three objects with near circular,
flat orbits in the asteroid belt that stream volatile materials, producing
an observable tail for weeks and months at a time.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
'Sterile' neutrinos may solve cosmic conundrums
(Mar 24, 2006)
An as-yet undetected type of neutrino
could explain a host of astrophysical conundrums, from the nature
of dark matter to
the ignition of the first stars, a new study suggests. But verifying
the particle's existence could prove difficult. Neutrinos are elementary
particles produced in the nuclear furnaces inside stars and in supernova
explosions. They come in three known types – called electron, muon
and tau. Experiments within the last decade have proven that neutrinos
oscillate from one type to another, something which is only possible
if they have some mass.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
NASA's Space Technology 5 satellites soar
into space
(Mar 23, 2006)
NASA's Space
Technology 5 successfully launched today at 9:04 a.m. EST, from
Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on a Pegasus XL rocket. ST5 is
testing new micro-spacecraft technologies and operations' techniques.
The three spacecraft will conduct science validation using measurements
of the Earth's magnetic field collected by the miniature boom-mounted
magnetometers on each. Initial contact with ST5 was made at 9:27 a.m.
EST, as the spacecraft passed over the McMurdo Ground Station in Antarctica.
Read
more. Source: NASA |
Methane-making microbes appeared early
on Earth
(Mar 23, 2006)
Climate-changing microbes that produced methane may have appeared
on Earth 700 million years earlier than previously thought –
perhaps helping the world to keep warm while life took hold. These
"methanogens" could
have helped regulate the early Earth's climate by providing greenhouse
gases, helping to prevent freezing conditions that would have stifled
the fragile development of life on Earth.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Stardust Part II: Deep Impact comet revisited?
(Mar 22, 2006)
NASA's Stardust spacecraft,
which recently returned samples from Comet Wild 2, could be called
back into action to study the comet hit hard by the Deep
Impact mission in July 2005. Stardust could pick up where the
other craft left off – by imaging the crater produced by Deep
Impact, revealing the comet's interior structure.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
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