SPACE
& SCIENCE NEWS: October 2006
home > space
& science news > space & science news: October 2006: 1
| 2 | 3
Probe peers into Venusian secrets
(Oct 13, 2006)
Venus
is an enigma, wrapped in a mystery, inside a dense cloud of carbon
dioxide. But a suite of orbiting instruments is proving its ability
to penetrate the thick atmosphere and create a new and dynamic picture
of Earth's sister planet. Scientists at the Division of Planetary
Sciences meeting in Pasadena, California, this week said that data
streaming from the Venus
Express probe had provided unprecedented detail of the Venusian
atmosphere and the first-ever peek at its lower strata.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Bizarre "string of pearls" adorns Saturn
(Oct 12, 2006)
A mysterious "string of pearls" has been imaged in Saturn's
atmosphere by NASA's Cassini
spacecraft. These and other features indicate that the Ringed Planet's
atmosphere is much more active than expected. Before Cassini arrived
at Saturn, scientists thought the planet was a relatively placid place
compared to Jupiter, where giant storms race through its atmosphere.
Since then, infrared images that cut through Saturn's high-altitude
haze have revealed that the planet is seething with activity lower
down.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Fresh look at dwarf planet Ceres
(Oct 11, 2006)
First impressions count – unless you're Ceres.
Last month, the asteroid was re-classified as a dwarf
planet by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), and now
new images of its surface reveal a surprisingly diverse surface terrain,
scientists say. "We thought Ceres had a flat surface," said Benoit
Carry, from the Observatoire Paris-Meudon, "but our images show that
it is rich in surface features."
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Cosmic rays could power icy moon's plumes
(Oct 10, 2006)
Space particles could trigger chemical explosions on Saturn's icy
moon Enceladus that
could help create its remarkable plumes, a new study suggests. Scientists
were astonished when NASA's Cassini
spacecraft revealed water vapour spewing from a surprisingly warm
region around Enceladus's south pole in July 2005.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Debris strike left hole in shuttle Atlantis
(Oct 9, 2006)
A hole has been revealed in the space shuttle Atlantis
– one of the largest debris hits ever experienced by a space
shuttle. The impact was caused by a micrometeoroid or piece of space
junk during its September flight to the International Space Station,
though there was little danger to the crew. The discovery was made
during a ground inspection. Three in-orbit inspections had found Atlantis's
heat shield to be free of damage. However the small round hole was
not in the orbiter's heat shield, but on the radiator on the inside
of the right-hand payload bay door.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Star Trek sale stuns auctioneers
(Oct 8, 2006)
A model of the Starship
Enterprise has sold for $576,000 (£308,000) at an auction of memorabilia
from 40 years of the science fiction television series. Before the
sale, Christie's auction house in New York estimated the model would
sell for about $30,000 (£16,000). The 78-inch-long (198cm) miniature
of the Enterprise-D, used in the title sequences of Star
Trek: The Next Generation, made its TV debut in 1987.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Mars orbiter looks down on rover
(Oct 6, 2006)
NASA's new orbiter at Mars
has taken a spectacular picture of the Opportunity rover sitting on
a crater's rim. The Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter arrived at the Red Planet in March and
has only recently taken up a prime position to begin science investigations.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Astronomers complete mighty map
(Oct 6, 2006)
Astronomers have produced their biggest 3D map yet of the "local"
Universe. They have detailed the positions of all the galaxies, and
galaxy groupings, out to a distance of about 600 million light-years
from Earth. The work by US, UK and Australian scientists is reported
in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS).
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Hubble spots planets whose years hurtle
by
(Oct 5, 2006)
The Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered a crop of 16 possible planets
circling stars near the bustling centre of the Milky Way. Five are
whipping around their stars in less than a day, giving them the shortest
“year” on record. Unlike the vast majority of extrasolar planets found
to date, the new ones are also very distant, lying 26,000 light years
away – well beyond our own galactic suburb.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Huge 'launch ring' to fling satellites
into orbit
(Oct 4, 2006)
An enormous ring of superconducting magnets similar to a particle
accelerator could fling satellites into space, or perhaps weapons
around the world, suggest the findings of a new study funded by the
US air force. Proponents of the idea say it would be much cheaper
than conventional rocket launches. But critics warn that the technology
would be difficult to develop and that the intense g forces experienced
during launch might damage the very satellites being lofted into space.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Hubble discovers dark cloud in the atmosphere
of Uranus
(Oct 3, 2006)
Just as we near the end of the hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean,
winds whirl and clouds churn 2 billion miles away in the atmosphere
of Uranus, forming
a dark vortex large enough to engulf two-thirds of the United States.
Astronomers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison used NASA's Hubble
Space Telescope to take the first definitive images of a dark spot
on Uranus.
Read
more. Source: Space Telescope Science Institute |
Armstrong 'got Moon quote right'
(Oct 2, 2006)
For nearly 40 years Neil Armstrong
has been accused of fluffing his lines during his first steps on the
Moon. On tapes of the
Moon landings, he appears to drop the "a" from the famous quote: "That's
one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." But new analysis
of the tapes has proved Mr Armstrong right after all. Computer programmer
Peter Shann Ford used audio analysis software to show that the missing
"a" was blotted out by transmission static.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
NASA's new Mars camera gives dramatic
view of planet
(Oct 2, 2006)
Mars
is ready for its close-up. The highest-resolution camera ever to orbit
Mars is returning low-altitude images to Earth from NASA's Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter. Rocks and surface features as small as
armchairs are revealed in the first image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter since the spacecraft maneuvered into its final, low-altitude
orbital path.
Read
more. Source: NASA |
Solar flares will disrupt GPS in 2011
(Oct 1, 2006)
Navigation, power and communications systems that rely on GPS
satellite navigation will be disrupted by violent solar activity in
2011, research shows. A study reveals Global Positioning System receivers
to be unexpectedly vulnerable to bursts of radio noise produced by
solar flares,
created by explosions in the Sun's atmosphere.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
1 | 2
| 3
BACK TO TOP
|
You
are here:
Home
> Space & Science news
> October 2006:
1 | 2
| 3
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
|
