Featured Posts
Urban Astronomer
14 Jun 2013, 22:16 UTC
The Andromeda Galaxy One of the stranger concepts in modern astronomy is Dark Matter. Developed to explain certain discrepancies in the motions of stars within galaxies, it says that there must be a significant mass of material distributed widely through and around galaxies which we cannot detect from here on Earth - it's "dark". There is another theory, though, called Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND). The idea is that Newton's laws of gravity, accurate and reliable as they are, are only useable within a range of conditions that we consider normal. Albert Einstein had already offered an alternative physics which continued to work at extremely high speeds and masses, and MOND suggests a similar change for extremely long distances. As we all know, under Newtonian physics, gravity follows an inverse square law, meaning that if you double the distance between the centres of gravity of two objects, the gravitational attraction becomes only a quarter as strong. This makes sense because it's based on simple geometry and applies to anything dispersing through 3D space. The light from a star, for example, also appears a quarter as bright if you double your viewing distance. But MOND suggests that the weakening might happen slightly ...
MOND theory gets a boost
14 Jun 2013, 22:16 UTC
The Andromeda Galaxy One of the stranger concepts in modern astronomy is Dark Matter. Developed to explain certain discrepancies in the motions of stars within galaxies, it says that there must be a significant mass of material distributed widely through and around galaxies which we cannot detect from here on Earth - it's "dark". There is another theory, though, called Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND). The idea is that Newton's laws of gravity, accurate and reliable as they are, are only useable within a range of conditions that we consider normal. Albert Einstein had already offered an alternative physics which continued to work at extremely high speeds and masses, and MOND suggests a similar change for extremely long distances. As we all know, under Newtonian physics, gravity follows an inverse square law, meaning that if you double the distance between the centres of gravity of two objects, the gravitational attraction becomes only a quarter as strong. This makes sense because it's based on simple geometry and applies to anything dispersing through 3D space. The light from a star, for example, also appears a quarter as bright if you double your viewing distance. But MOND suggests that the weakening might happen slightly ...
AARTScope
14 Jun 2013, 21:46 UTC
Please support this weekend's Hangout-a-Thon in support of Citizen Science. This is important, see my previous editorial about getting more from more. Join us for this 32 hour mega-science event, be part of history. I'll be doing a live outside broadcast into the Hangout from Melbourne Australia, where a Learning in the Laneway event doing Citizen Science will be broadcast into the hangout. Please consider donating!
CosmoQuest Hangout-a-Thon
14 Jun 2013, 21:46 UTC
Please support this weekend's Hangout-a-Thon in support of Citizen Science. This is important, see my previous editorial about getting more from more. Join us for this 32 hour mega-science event, be part of history. I'll be doing a live outside broadcast into the Hangout from Melbourne Australia, where a Learning in the Laneway event doing Citizen Science will be broadcast into the hangout. Please consider donating!
Astro Bob
14 Jun 2013, 20:10 UTC
The ambling moon is one day shy of first quarter phase tonight lights up the sky near the star Regulus in Leo the Lion. Closer to the horizon, Venus and Mercury couple up with Gemini’s brightest stars Pollux and Castor, … Continue reading → Face west-northwest tonight to see the moon near the star Regulus as well as a tight group of four bright sky objects – two stars an two planets. Created with Stellarium The ambling moon is one day shy of first quarter phase tonight lights up the sky near the star Regulus in Leo the Lion. Closer to the horizon, Venus and Mercury couple up with Gemini’s brightest stars Pollux and Castor, with bright Capella glimmering alone in the north. Mercury and Venus join up for a conjunction (close pairing) on the 19th and 20th, while the moon passes near Saturn on June 18-19. Mars and Jupiter are both too close to the sun to see, but will soon return to morning twilight in the next several weeks. A recent image from the Mars Odyssey spacecraft showing dark-bordered streaks caused by winds blowing around the dual craters’ walls. The dark areas are scoured of surface dust; the ...
Evening moon, popular planets and extreme sports on Mars
14 Jun 2013, 20:10 UTC
The ambling moon is one day shy of first quarter phase tonight lights up the sky near the star Regulus in Leo the Lion. Closer to the horizon, Venus and Mercury couple up with Gemini’s brightest stars Pollux and Castor, … Continue reading → Face west-northwest tonight to see the moon near the star Regulus as well as a tight group of four bright sky objects – two stars an two planets. Created with Stellarium The ambling moon is one day shy of first quarter phase tonight lights up the sky near the star Regulus in Leo the Lion. Closer to the horizon, Venus and Mercury couple up with Gemini’s brightest stars Pollux and Castor, with bright Capella glimmering alone in the north. Mercury and Venus join up for a conjunction (close pairing) on the 19th and 20th, while the moon passes near Saturn on June 18-19. Mars and Jupiter are both too close to the sun to see, but will soon return to morning twilight in the next several weeks. A recent image from the Mars Odyssey spacecraft showing dark-bordered streaks caused by winds blowing around the dual craters’ walls. The dark areas are scoured of surface dust; the ...
The Daily Planet
14 Jun 2013, 18:48 UTC
It’s no longer a surprise, not even remotely — at least not for Americans — when a woman goes into space. NASA took more than 20 years after Alan Shepard’s Mercury flight to launch Sally Ride, but since then dozens of U.S. women have done spacewalks, commanded shuttle missions, and even headed the astronaut corps (Peggy Whitson, until just last year). Not a big deal anymore. China’s new space program is starting off, deliberately, with gender equality in mind. The last two Shenzhou flights have included women astronauts, and Chinese space officials have hinted that this will be the norm. And the Russians? Well…. It was lonely for a female cosmonaut in Valentina Tereshkova's day, and it's lonely still. Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to reach orbit (50 years ago on Sunday) was Russian. So was the second — Svetlana Savitskaya — who flew 19 years after Tereshkova. A decade later came Elena Kondokova, who lived on the Mir space station and flew on NASA’s space shuttle. Since then, though, it’s been all men for Russia. Not a single Russian woman has been on the International Space Station in the 13 years that people (more than 200 so far) have ...
50 Years After Tereshkova
14 Jun 2013, 18:48 UTC
It’s no longer a surprise, not even remotely — at least not for Americans — when a woman goes into space. NASA took more than 20 years after Alan Shepard’s Mercury flight to launch Sally Ride, but since then dozens of U.S. women have done spacewalks, commanded shuttle missions, and even headed the astronaut corps (Peggy Whitson, until just last year). Not a big deal anymore. China’s new space program is starting off, deliberately, with gender equality in mind. The last two Shenzhou flights have included women astronauts, and Chinese space officials have hinted that this will be the norm. And the Russians? Well…. It was lonely for a female cosmonaut in Valentina Tereshkova's day, and it's lonely still. Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to reach orbit (50 years ago on Sunday) was Russian. So was the second — Svetlana Savitskaya — who flew 19 years after Tereshkova. A decade later came Elena Kondokova, who lived on the Mir space station and flew on NASA’s space shuttle. Since then, though, it’s been all men for Russia. Not a single Russian woman has been on the International Space Station in the 13 years that people (more than 200 so far) have ...
Discovery News - Space News
14 Jun 2013, 18:00 UTC
Enjoy some of the most inspiring, beautiful and down-right stunning photos from our adventures in space this past week.
Stunning Space Photos of the Week (June 9-14)
14 Jun 2013, 18:00 UTC
Enjoy some of the most inspiring, beautiful and down-right stunning photos from our adventures in space this past week.
AmericaSpace
14 Jun 2013, 17:04 UTC
Photo Credit: Colorado Space Grant Consortium / NASA WASHINGTON — More than 120 students and educators will delve into the world of rocket science June 15-21 during Rocket Week at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Activities during the week will include a RockOn! workshop for 50 university and community college-level participants, [...]
Students and Teachers Become Rocket Scientists at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility
14 Jun 2013, 17:04 UTC
Photo Credit: Colorado Space Grant Consortium / NASA WASHINGTON — More than 120 students and educators will delve into the world of rocket science June 15-21 during Rocket Week at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Activities during the week will include a RockOn! workshop for 50 university and community college-level participants, [...]
Universe Today
14 Jun 2013, 16:22 UTC
On the morning of April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin lifted off in his Vostok 1 spacecraft to become the first human in space, spending 108 minutes in orbit before landing in the Saratov region of the USSR. The soft-spoken and well-mannered Gagarin, just 27 years old at the time, became an instant hero, [...] Yuri Gagarin on the way to his historic Vostok launch on April 12, 1961. (NASA Images) On the morning of April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin lifted off in his Vostok 1 spacecraft to become the first human in space, spending 108 minutes in orbit before landing in the Saratov region of the USSR. The soft-spoken and well-mannered Gagarin, just 27 years old at the time, became an instant hero, representing the success of the Soviet space program (Alan Shepard’s shorter, suborbital flight happened less than a month later) to the entire world. Gagarin went on to become a director for the Cosmonaut Training Center and was preparing for another space flight. Tragically, he was killed when a MiG-15 aircraft he was piloting crashed on March 27, 1968. Gagarin’s death has long been shrouded by confusion and controversy, with many theories proposed as ...
Details of Yuri Gagarin’s Tragic Death Revealed
14 Jun 2013, 16:22 UTC
On the morning of April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin lifted off in his Vostok 1 spacecraft to become the first human in space, spending 108 minutes in orbit before landing in the Saratov region of the USSR. The soft-spoken and well-mannered Gagarin, just 27 years old at the time, became an instant hero, [...] Yuri Gagarin on the way to his historic Vostok launch on April 12, 1961. (NASA Images) On the morning of April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin lifted off in his Vostok 1 spacecraft to become the first human in space, spending 108 minutes in orbit before landing in the Saratov region of the USSR. The soft-spoken and well-mannered Gagarin, just 27 years old at the time, became an instant hero, representing the success of the Soviet space program (Alan Shepard’s shorter, suborbital flight happened less than a month later) to the entire world. Gagarin went on to become a director for the Cosmonaut Training Center and was preparing for another space flight. Tragically, he was killed when a MiG-15 aircraft he was piloting crashed on March 27, 1968. Gagarin’s death has long been shrouded by confusion and controversy, with many theories proposed as ...
SPACE.com
14 Jun 2013, 16:12 UTC
Could a small sub help find life under Europa's icy shell?
Tiny Submersible Could Search for Life in Europa's Ocean
14 Jun 2013, 16:12 UTC
Could a small sub help find life under Europa's icy shell?
Universe Today
14 Jun 2013, 14:28 UTC
In a few generations of robotics, we’ll see mighty machines able to fully construct themselves and operate from the surface of asteroids — providing applications for mining, NASA researchers say in a new study. The scientists are convinced that this type of research is not only possible, but also able to support itself financially. (Costs [...] An artist’s conception of a spacecraft designed to pick up an asteroid. Credit: NASA/Advanced Concepts Laboratory In a few generations of robotics, we’ll see mighty machines able to fully construct themselves and operate from the surface of asteroids — providing applications for mining, NASA researchers say in a new study. The scientists are convinced that this type of research is not only possible, but also able to support itself financially. (Costs overruns are a notorious factor in space exploration as it pushes frontiers both literally and engineering-wise.) (...)Read the rest of NASA’s Sci-Fi Vision: Robots Could Help Humanity Mine Asteroids (495 words) © Elizabeth Howell for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Post tags: arkyd telescope, asteroid mining, deep space industries, Planetary Resources, robotic asteroid prospector Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh
