SPACE
& SCIENCE NEWS: September 2009
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Widespread water may cling to Moon's
surface
(Sep 24, 2009)
A large portion of the Moon's
surface may be covered with water. That is the surprising finding
of a trio of spacecraft that have turned up evidence of trace
amounts of the substance in the lunar soil.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Found: 62 meteor showers new to science
(Sep 23, 2009)
Researchers in Canada report finding an incredible 62 new meteor
showers that recur every year when Earth passes through the
trail of debris left behind by a comet or asteroid. Team leader
Peter Brown of the University of Western Ontario He credits the
wealth of discoveries to the nature of his survey, which detects
incoming debris about 10 times as small as can generally be seen
by eye, catching objects about 0.1 millimeters across.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Cassini reveals new ring quirks, shadows
during Saturn equinox
(Sep 22, 2009)
NASA scientists are marveling over the extent of ruffles and dust
clouds revealed in the rings
of Saturn during the planet's equinox last month. Scientists
once thought the rings were almost completely flat, but new images
reveal the heights of some newly discovered bumps in the rings
are as high as the Rocky Mountains. NASA released the images Monday.
Read
more. Source: NASA/JPL |
Artificial cloud created at the edge
of space
(Sep 21, 2009)
The study of Earth's mysterious noctilucent clouds got a boost
on Saturday, when a rocket was launched to create an artificial
cloud at the edge of space. "Noctilucent", or night-shining, clouds
float dozens of kilometres higher than other clouds, at an altitude
of about 80 km. Because of their height, they can be seen glowing
before sunrise or after sunset as the sun illuminates them from
below the horizon.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Wind, not water, may explain Red Planet's
hue
(Sep 20, 2009)
Mars'
distinctive red hue may be the result of thousands of years of
wind-borne sand particles colliding with one another – and
not rust, a new study argues. Scientists generally agree that
Mars' red color is caused when a dark form of iron called magnetite
oxidises into reddish-orange hematite.
Just how the transformation came about is a matter of debate.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Moon is coldest place in the solar
system
(Sep 19, 2009)
Poor Pluto. First
it gets kicked out of the planet club, now it's not even the coldest
place in the solar system. Dark craters near the Moon's
south pole have snatched that title – which is good news
for the prospects of finding water ice on Earth's companion.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Station grabs Japanese freighter
(Sep 18, 2009)
Japan's new unmanned space freighter has been safely berthed to
the International Space
Station (ISS). The H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) moved itself
to within 10m of the ISS to allow itself to be grabbed by the
platform's robotic arm. The arm, operated from inside the station
by astronauts Nicole Stott and Bob Thirsk, then moved the freighter
to a docking port to lock it in place.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Planck telescope's first glimpses
(Sep 17, 2009)
The European telescope sent far from Earth to study the oldest
light in the Universe has returned its first images. The Planck
observatory, launched in April, is surveying radiation that first
swept out across space just 380,000 years after the Big
Bang. The light holds details about the age, contents and
evolution of the cosmos.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
First rocky planet found outside solar
system
(Sep 17, 2009)
Scientists have discovered the first confirmed Earthlike planet
outside our solar system, they announced Wednesday. "This is the
first confirmed rocky planet in another system," astronomer Artie
Hatzes told CNN, contrasting the solid planet, which is known
as CoRoT-7b, with gaseous ones like Jupiter and Saturn.
Read
more. Source: CNN |
Ear to the Universe starts listening
(Sep 17, 2009)
A large array of radio telescopes has begun its first sustained
search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) and at rates faster
than ever before. Even so, the project has scrambled to find money
to stay open and reach its planned size. The ATA
has 42 six-meter dishes swivelling in the high desert, far fewer
than the 350 dishes planned.
Read
more. Source: Nature |
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