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Universe Today
18 Apr 2014, 22:28 UTC
A mighty SpaceX rocket carrying the firms commercial Dragon resupply ship loaded with nearly 2.5 tons of NASA science instruments and critical supplies thundered to space this afternoon on a journey bound for the International Space Station. The Dragon vessel launched atop the upgraded Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral […] The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 18, 2014. Credit: NASA TV A mighty SpaceX rocket carrying the firms commercial Dragon resupply ship loaded with nearly 2.5 tons of NASA science instruments and critical supplies thundered to space this afternoon on a journey bound for the International Space Station. The Dragon vessel launched atop the upgraded Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida precisely on time at 3:25 p.m. EDT (1925 GMT), Friday, April 18.(...)Read the rest of SpaceX Commercial Dragon Resupply Ship Thunders to Space Bound for ISS and Easter Sunday Berthing (387 words) © Ken Kremer for Universe Today, 2014. | Permalink | No comment | Post tags: commercial cargo, commercial resupply services (CRS), CRS-3, Elon Musk, ISS, NASA, SpaceX, SpaceX-3 Feed enhanced ...
SpaceX Commercial Dragon Resupply Ship Thunders to Space Bound for ISS and Easter Sunday Berthing
18 Apr 2014, 22:28 UTC
A mighty SpaceX rocket carrying the firms commercial Dragon resupply ship loaded with nearly 2.5 tons of NASA science instruments and critical supplies thundered to space this afternoon on a journey bound for the International Space Station. The Dragon vessel launched atop the upgraded Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral […] The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 18, 2014. Credit: NASA TV A mighty SpaceX rocket carrying the firms commercial Dragon resupply ship loaded with nearly 2.5 tons of NASA science instruments and critical supplies thundered to space this afternoon on a journey bound for the International Space Station. The Dragon vessel launched atop the upgraded Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida precisely on time at 3:25 p.m. EDT (1925 GMT), Friday, April 18.(...)Read the rest of SpaceX Commercial Dragon Resupply Ship Thunders to Space Bound for ISS and Easter Sunday Berthing (387 words) © Ken Kremer for Universe Today, 2014. | Permalink | No comment | Post tags: commercial cargo, commercial resupply services (CRS), CRS-3, Elon Musk, ISS, NASA, SpaceX, SpaceX-3 Feed enhanced ...
Above the Clouds
18 Apr 2014, 20:15 UTC
Now that Spring has sprung, which is up for debate. Our temps here in Vermont have been up and down this week. On Monday, we had sunny skies,and high temps near 80 degrees F. By Wednesday,those temps were seemingly a long ago memory,with high temps of 32 Degrees F. Might I also add that we had received 1″ of fresh snow,and a low Wednesday morning of 16 degrees. Note: Our temps have rebounded and is now a balmy 48 degrees. Sorry, that was just a little bit of venting!. Ok,back to the post. As everyone knows, Mars is putting on quite a show in the early evenings,and with clear skies is not disappointing. I have imaged every planet in our solar system over the years,and most have been easy imaging except for one. That’s right…… Mars!. It seems that the Roman God of war doesn’t like it photo taken!. I have made attempts many times,with the same results. The fuzzy blob blues!. Being in a climate that is transitioning from Winter to Spring, having clear,clean skies is a novelty. Last night was just that novelty,even for a short period of time. I stepped out early last night,and noticed clearing skies. ...
A Better Mars?!
18 Apr 2014, 20:15 UTC
Now that Spring has sprung, which is up for debate. Our temps here in Vermont have been up and down this week. On Monday, we had sunny skies,and high temps near 80 degrees F. By Wednesday,those temps were seemingly a long ago memory,with high temps of 32 Degrees F. Might I also add that we had received 1″ of fresh snow,and a low Wednesday morning of 16 degrees. Note: Our temps have rebounded and is now a balmy 48 degrees. Sorry, that was just a little bit of venting!. Ok,back to the post. As everyone knows, Mars is putting on quite a show in the early evenings,and with clear skies is not disappointing. I have imaged every planet in our solar system over the years,and most have been easy imaging except for one. That’s right…… Mars!. It seems that the Roman God of war doesn’t like it photo taken!. I have made attempts many times,with the same results. The fuzzy blob blues!. Being in a climate that is transitioning from Winter to Spring, having clear,clean skies is a novelty. Last night was just that novelty,even for a short period of time. I stepped out early last night,and noticed clearing skies. ...
SPACE.com
18 Apr 2014, 19:38 UTC
SpaceX's unmanned Dragon spacecraft blasted off at 3:25 p.m. EDT today from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, riding into space atop the company's Falcon 9 rocket. Dragon is scheduled to rendezvous with the orbiting lab on Sunday.
SpaceX Launches Robotic Cargo Mission to Space Station
18 Apr 2014, 19:38 UTC
SpaceX's unmanned Dragon spacecraft blasted off at 3:25 p.m. EDT today from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, riding into space atop the company's Falcon 9 rocket. Dragon is scheduled to rendezvous with the orbiting lab on Sunday.
Astro Watch
18 Apr 2014, 18:27 UTC
For the first time, astronomers have seen a double star brighten rather than fade when one star passes in front of its companion. Predicted decades ago, the phenomenon arises from gravitational microlensing as the great surface gravity of a white-dwarf star magnifies its partner's light. The discovery by US researchers raises the hope that we will someday catch a neutron star or black hole doing the same thing, which would lend new insight into these extreme objects. Many star systems are double, having two stars that orbit each other. In some cases, the orbit aligns edge-on to our line of sight, so that one star periodically eclipses the other and dims the light that we see. Astronomers have known of these eclipsing binaries for centuries. The best example is Algol – Arabic for "the ghoul" – which medieval astrologers considered to be the most dangerous star in the sky, probably because they knew that its light flickers. In 1782 British astronomer Edward Pigott correctly explained why Algol dims.It was not unitl 1973 that Swiss astronomer André Maeder predicted that some binaries should exhibit the opposite phenomenon. According to both Newton's theory of gravity and Einstein's general theory of relativity, mass ...
First Discovery of Double Star That Brightens During clipse
18 Apr 2014, 18:27 UTC
For the first time, astronomers have seen a double star brighten rather than fade when one star passes in front of its companion. Predicted decades ago, the phenomenon arises from gravitational microlensing as the great surface gravity of a white-dwarf star magnifies its partner's light. The discovery by US researchers raises the hope that we will someday catch a neutron star or black hole doing the same thing, which would lend new insight into these extreme objects. Many star systems are double, having two stars that orbit each other. In some cases, the orbit aligns edge-on to our line of sight, so that one star periodically eclipses the other and dims the light that we see. Astronomers have known of these eclipsing binaries for centuries. The best example is Algol – Arabic for "the ghoul" – which medieval astrologers considered to be the most dangerous star in the sky, probably because they knew that its light flickers. In 1782 British astronomer Edward Pigott correctly explained why Algol dims.It was not unitl 1973 that Swiss astronomer André Maeder predicted that some binaries should exhibit the opposite phenomenon. According to both Newton's theory of gravity and Einstein's general theory of relativity, mass ...
Ask an Astronomer
18 Apr 2014, 18:16 UTC
Question: I can’t get seem to find a thoughtful yet scientific answer to this question, I was hoping you could help. I hope this doesn’t sound dumb, I don’t mean it to be. When we look at the night sky, we see a blanket of stars. They seem very close together and crowed in the sky. I know some of them may not even still exist, just the light still coming from them over millions of light years away, in some cases. But how is it that we can see stars that appear to be so close together but in fact are at least light years away from one another, with the naked eye from earth, no less? And stars from one side of the night time horizon to the other have to be billions of light years apart, right? How can we see objects so far away with the naked eye? If we use our suns size and scale it to stars we see in the sky, millions of light years away we should not be able to see them at all, right? I just don’t get it! Is there some phenomenon I’m not understanding? – Tim Answer: For ...
Why Can We See Stars That Are Billions of Light Years Away?
18 Apr 2014, 18:16 UTC
Question: I can’t get seem to find a thoughtful yet scientific answer to this question, I was hoping you could help. I hope this doesn’t sound dumb, I don’t mean it to be. When we look at the night sky, we see a blanket of stars. They seem very close together and crowed in the sky. I know some of them may not even still exist, just the light still coming from them over millions of light years away, in some cases. But how is it that we can see stars that appear to be so close together but in fact are at least light years away from one another, with the naked eye from earth, no less? And stars from one side of the night time horizon to the other have to be billions of light years apart, right? How can we see objects so far away with the naked eye? If we use our suns size and scale it to stars we see in the sky, millions of light years away we should not be able to see them at all, right? I just don’t get it! Is there some phenomenon I’m not understanding? – Tim Answer: For ...
Discovery News - Space News
18 Apr 2014, 17:41 UTC
Out of fuel and flying fast, NASA’s LADEE spacecraft crashed into the moon early Friday, three days shy of its expected mission end. Continue reading →
Kamikaze LADEE Moon Mission Ends With a Splat
18 Apr 2014, 17:41 UTC
Out of fuel and flying fast, NASA’s LADEE spacecraft crashed into the moon early Friday, three days shy of its expected mission end. Continue reading →
Scientific American
18 Apr 2014, 17:00 UTC
The "Automated Planet Finder" could make astronomers of us all -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Telescope Apps Help Amateurs Hunt for Exoplanets
18 Apr 2014, 17:00 UTC
The "Automated Planet Finder" could make astronomers of us all -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
SPACE.com
18 Apr 2014, 16:32 UTC
“Ice island B31” is 200 feet thick and 21mi X 12mi. It separated from the Antarctic Pine Island Glacier in Nov. 2013. NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites have been imaging its progress towards open ocean.
Gargantuan Iceberg – 8X Manhattan-Size – Has Left Glacier | Time-Lapse Video
18 Apr 2014, 16:32 UTC
“Ice island B31” is 200 feet thick and 21mi X 12mi. It separated from the Antarctic Pine Island Glacier in Nov. 2013. NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites have been imaging its progress towards open ocean.
Centauri Dreams
18 Apr 2014, 15:42 UTC
We use strategies to weigh the issues around us and maximize our chances for success. Can we create a strategy not just for a specific short-term goal but for the survival and growth of our entire species? In the essay that follows, Michael Michaud looks at the elements of such a vision, one that by necessity takes us out of our own biosphere and into the cosmos. As long-time Centauri Dreams readers know, Michaud is well suited to discussing the resolution of conflict and the attainment of goals. His lengthy career in the U.S. Foreign Service led to posts as Counselor for Science, Technology and Environment at U.S. embassies in Paris and Tokyo, and Director of the State Department’s Office of Advanced Technology. He has also been chairman of working groups at the International Academy of Astronautics on SETI issues, and is the author of the highly regarded Contact with Alien Civilizations: Our Hopes and Fears about Encountering Extraterrestrials (Springer, 2007). By Michael A.G. Michaud We are living amid four revolutions that draw human minds beyond the limits of the Earth. * Astronomical exploration of the cosmos by ground-based instruments, orbiting observatories, and robotic spacecraft brings the rest of our ...
