SPACE
& SCIENCE NEWS: February 2008
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& science news > space & science news: February 2008: 1
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Black hole defends its heavyweight title
(Feb 22, 2008)
The heaviest black hole
formed from the collapse of a single star weighs as much as 33 Suns
– double the previous record, new measurements confirm. The
star in question is IC
10 X-1.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Martian crater records aftermath of Amazon-like
flood
(Feb 21, 2008)
Billions of yeas ago on Mars,
a river suddenly burst to the surface from underground and flooded
a large crater, only to disappear again within a few decades, according
to a new study. Although the water was short-lived on the surface,
it may have been present for longer underground, potentially creating
conditions favourable to life.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Contract for private space cargo
(Feb 20, 2008)
The US space agency is investing $170m in Orbital
Sciences Corporation to help the firm develop a commercial resupply
ship for the space station. The Cygnus spacecraft would take food,
water, air, fuel and equipment to the orbiting platform. A demonstration
flight is expected in late 2010. Nasa needs logistics support for
the ISS while it produces
a successor to the space
shuttle.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Cassini finds mingling moons may share
a dark past
(Feb 20, 2008)
Despite the incredible diversity of Saturn's
icy moons, theirs is a story of great interaction. Some of them
are pock-marked, some seemingly dirty, others pristine, one spongy,
one two-faced, some still spewing with activity and some seeming to
be captured from the far reaches of the solar system. Yet many of
them have a common thread – black "stuff" coating their surfaces.
Read
more. Source: NASA/JPL |
First stars 'may have been dark'
(Feb 19, 2008)
The first stars to appear in the Universe may have been powered by
dark matter, according
to US scientists. Normal stars are powered by nuclear fusion reactions,
where hydrogen atoms meld to form heavier helium. But when the Universe
was still young, there would have been abundant dark matter, made
of particles called Wimps: Weakly Interacting Massive Particles.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Atlantis undocks for journey home
(Feb 19, 2008)
The Atlantis shuttle
has undocked from the International
Space Station in preparation for its return to Earth. The orbiter
detached from the platform at 0924 GMT on Monday, ending eight days
of operations at the ISS. The crew have performed a final check on
the ship's heat-shield system ahead of Wednesday's scheduled landing.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Many, perhaps most, nearby Sun-like stars
may form rocky planets
(Feb 17, 2008)
Astronomers have discovered that terrestrial planets might form around
many, if not most, of the nearby Sun-like
stars in our galaxy. These new results suggest that worlds with
potential for life might be more common than we thought. University
of Arizona astronomer Michael Meyer and his colleagues used NASA's
Spitzer
Space Telescope to determine whether planetary systems like ours
are common or rare in our Milky Way galaxy.
Read
more. Source: NASA/JPL |
Early Mars 'too salty' for life
(Feb 16, 2008)
The Red Planet was too salty to sustain life for much of its history,
according to the latest evidence gathered by one of the US rovers
on Mars' surface. High
concentration of minerals in water on early Mars would have made it
inhospitable to even the toughest microbes, a leading NASA expert
says. Clues preserved in rocks that were once awash with water suggest
the environment was both acidic and briny.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Titan's surface organics surpass oil reserves
on Earth
(Feb 15, 2008)
Saturn's orange moon Titan
has hundreds of times more liquid hydrocarbons
than all the known oil and natural gas reserves on Earth, according
to new data from NASA's Cassini
spacecraft. The hydrocarbons rain from the sky, collecting in vast
deposits that form lakes and dunes.
Read
more. Source: NASA/JPL |
First multiple planet system found by
microlensing
(Feb 14, 2008)
A promising but labour-intensive technique to find alien worlds has
netted its first multiple-planet system, a new study reveals. The
technique, called microlensing,
can find smaller planets than rival methods, and one day might be
able to find distant counterparts to Earth.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
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