SPACE
& SCIENCE NEWS: August 2009
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New planet displays exotic orbit
(Aug 13, 2009)
Astronomers have discovered the first planet that orbits in the opposite
direction to the spin of its star. Planets form out of the same swirling
gas cloud that creates a star, so they are expected to orbit in the
same direction that the star rotates. The new planet is thought to
have been flung into its "retrograde"
orbit by a close encounter with either another planet or with a passing
star.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Earth could be blindsided by asteroids,
panel warns
(Aug 12, 2009)
Existing sky surveys miss many asteroids smaller than 1 kilometer
across, leaving the door open to damaging impacts on Earth with little
or no warning, a panel of scientists reports. Doing better will require
devoting more powerful telescopes to asteroid hunting, but no one
has committed the funds needed to do so, it says.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Rovers rev up for Google's moonshot jackpot
(Aug 12, 2009)
It's been 36 years since NASA's last Apollo lander left the moon's
surface. But while the agency's plans to return humans to the moon
remain confused, a pack of private teams are racing to send robots
to kick up lunar dust and claim the $20-million Google Lunar X Prize
announced nearly two years ago.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Planet smash-up sends vaporized rock,
hot lava flying
(Aug 11, 2009)
NASA's Spitzer
Space Telescope has found evidence of a high-speed collision between
two burgeoning planets around a young star called HD 172555. Astronomers
say that two rocky bodies, one as least as big as our moon and the
other at least as big as Mercury, slammed into each other within the
last few thousand years or so. The impact destroyed the smaller body,
vaporizing huge amounts of rock and flinging massive plumes of hot
lava into space.
Read
more. Source: Spitzer Space Telescope |
Equinox to reveal Saturn secrets
(Aug 11, 2009)
Planetary scientists are keenly observing an equinox on Saturn
on 11 August, in a bid to learn more about the gas giant's ring system.
A planet's equinox comes twice a year when the Sun crosses its equator,
making day and night the same length. It takes Saturn nearly 30 Earth
years to orbit the Sun, so this is the first equinox since 1994.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Perseid shower to produce 'shooting stars'
(Aug 10, 2009)
Sky watchers could catch a dazzling treat on Tuesday and Wednesday,
with the peak of the annual Perseid
meteor shower. The Perseid shower occurs each year when the Earth
passes through a stream of debris shed by the comet
Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun once every 130 years or so.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Fast-spinning black holes might reveal
all
(Aug 9, 2009)
It is the ultimate cosmic villain: space and time come to an abrupt
end in its presence and the laws of physics break down. Now it seems
a "naked" black hole
may yet emerge in our universe, after spinning away its event
horizon.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Giant moon Titan resembles Earth
(Aug 8, 2009)
Saturn's smog-ridden moon Titan
bears a striking resemblance to Earth despite its alien environment,
a study has revealed. Scientists have now mapped a third of Titan's
surface using radar to pierce the planet-sized moon's thick atmosphere.
The probe has revealed mountain ranges, dunes, numerous lakes and
suspected volcanoes.
Read
more. Source: The Independent |
Triple asteroid system triples observers'
interest
(Aug 8, 2009)
Radar imaging at NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar on June 12 and
14, 2009, revealed that near-Earth
asteroid 1994 CC is a triple system. Asteroid 1994 CC encountered
Earth within 2.52 million kilometers (1.56 million miles) on June
10. Prior to the flyby, very little was known about this celestial
body.
Read
more. Source: NASA/JPL |
Kepler spacecraft sees its first exoplanets
(Aug 7, 2009)
The planet-hunting Kepler
space telescope has found its first extrasolar planets: three alien
worlds that had been previously discovered with ground-based telescopes.
The finds confirm that Kepler's instruments are sensitive enough to
detect Earth-like planets around sun-like stars – but they might
also be unexpectedly sensitive to charged particles in space that
can zap circuitry.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Large Hadron Collider to restart at half
its designed energy
(Aug 7, 2009)
The world's most powerful particle smasher will restart in November
at just half the energy the machine was designed to reach. But even
at this level, the Large
Hadron Collider has the potential to uncover exotic new physics,
such as signs of hidden extra dimensions, physicists say.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Martian methane mystery deepens
(Aug 6, 2009)
Methane
on Mars is produced and destroyed far faster than on Earth, according
to analysis of recent data. Scientists in Paris used a computer climate
model for the Red Planet to simulate observations made from Earth.
It shows the gas is unevenly distributed in the Martian atmosphere
and changes with the seasons.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
'Crazy quilt' of moves may free stuck
Mars rover
(Aug 5, 2009)
After a month of spinning their wheels in a sandbox, NASA engineers
have settled on a strategy to free the rover Spirit
from a sand trap on Mars:
just wing it. The geriatric rover slid into soft terrain in early
May, burying its wheels halfway into the flour-like soil.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Five snacks that are shaped like the universe
(Aug 4, 2009)
It's one of the biggest questions of science: what shape is the universe?
From Ptolemy onwards, physicists thought of the cosmos as a sphere,
but this may not be correct. Many alternative shapes have been proposed.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Possible meteorite imaged by Opportunity
rover
(Aug 3, 2009)
The Opportunity rover has eyed an odd-shaped, dark rock, about 0.6
meters (2 feet) across on the surface of Mars,
which may be a meteorite. The team spotted the rock called "Block
Island," on July 18, 2009, in the opposite direction from which it
was driving.
Read
more. Source: NASA/JPL |
Comets 'not cause of extinctions'
(Aug 3, 2009)
Comet strikes are an unlikely cause of past mass
extinctions on Earth, according to computer simulations. Scientists
used the simulations to model the paths of long-period
comets, to determine the likelihood of these "dirty snowballs"
striking our planet. The University of Washington, Seattle, research
appears in Science journal.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Experts puzzled by spot on Venus
(Aug 2, 2009)
Astronomers are puzzled by a strange bright spot which has appeared
in the clouds of Venus.
The spot was first identified by an amateur astronomer on 19 July
and was later confirmed by the European Space Agency's Venus
Express spacecraft. Data from the European probe suggests the
spot appeared at least four days before it was spotted from Earth.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Space shuttle touches down safely
(Aug 1, 2009)
The space shuttle Endeavour
has safely landed at Florida's Kennedy Space Center, ending a 16-day
mission to the International
Space Station (ISS). The seven-strong crew touched down at 1548
BST (1048 EDT) in near perfect weather conditions. During the mission,
the combined shuttle and ISS crews set a new record of 13 people on
the orbiting outpost.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
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