Dave Reneke's

'WORLD of SPACE and ASTRONOMY'

Weird, Wild & Breaking News Stories in Space and Astronomy from around the World 24/7 delivered free every week with regular updates as they happen.

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Here’s a selection of Astronomy/Space related stories you may find interesting. Be sure to sign up for your own copy of Astro Space News. I absolutely do not disclose your address to anyone! There is no cost and no obligation for this service. Anyone can subscribe by completing the opt in form just over there on the right … see it, do it now! We work 24/7/365 to report the most relevant ‘Astro-Space’ news back to you … virtually as it breaks. Bookmark this page and check back regularly.

For The Media

If you are interested, an interview with astronomer, writer, educator and public lecturer representing Australasian Science Magazine and Editor of Astro Space News, Dave Reneke(Astro-Dave) can be arranged by contacting Dave by Phone/Fax(02) 65 85 2260 Mobile: 0400 636 363 or email Dave for an instant reply to davereneke@gmail.com. David is well experienced talking to the media and presents information in an easy to understand, up to date and informative manner. Interviews can be on any subject, tailored to your requirements.

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                                              AUSTRALASIAN SCIENCE MAGAZINE

Get your science news straight from the scientists themselves. No hype, no spin, no bull: just the facts.Australia’s most inspiring scientists choose to write about their world-class discoveries in Australasian Science, Australia’s only monthly science magazine.

Australasian Science is dedicated to Australian and New Zealand science, providing a unique local perspective on scientific developments and issues that other science magazines can’t match. Australasian Science boasts Australia’s most experienced team of science journalists, including Australia's only two international Science Journalism Laureates.

Its Patrons are Nobel Laureate Prof Peter Doherty and renowned science broadcaster Robyn Williams, representing excellence in science and its communication. Written in simple language, Australasian Science is a unique and independent source of news and commentary on local scientific developments.

Check out the latest issue NOW: http://www.australasianscience.com.au/  For school & institution rates please contact Control Publications on 03 9500 0015. Fax: (03) 9500 0255 Email science@control.com.au

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 LETTERS TO DAVE

 Your letters are welcome on any subject covered by the scope of this newsletter or any aspect of astronomy/space in general. All letters requesting help or advice will be answered personally by me.

 

 Dear David Reneke

I really enjoyed the presentation you gave at Young a little while ago!  I've been teaching myself to recognise the stars eg Orion and it is such a buzz.  I sometimes write a bit in our local newsletter "Murringo Matters"  once a month so people get a chance to find out about what is in the night sky. I'm only a beginner, and learning all the time, so I really appreciate your website etc.  I love Sydney Observatory's website too. I'd like to write to you on various interests, eg archaeoastronomy, from time to time, if I may.
Just this morning I listened to ABC Radio National's "Ockham's Razor" and it was astronomer Ray Norris on aboriginal astronomy.  He and his wife Cilla have a new book, "Emu Dreaming".  www.abc.net.au/rn/ockhams

Sincerely from Tiiu Vanamois 

Thanks very much Tiiu. Glad you enjoyed my lecture and its nice to hear from you with your ideas. yes, I'd be more than happy to hear back from you from time to time. All the best. 

Dave

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 Dear Dave

We are long time listeners but have not noted down the details of the lunar eclipse – is it tonight (really 5am on New Years Day?) Thanks for any time you can spare at such a busy time of year

Marg and Colin.  Deniliquin

Hi Marj and Colin

Nice to hear from you and thanks for the enquiry. Yes, the eclipse is due BUT don’t expect too much OK? This is a partial eclipse with one edge of the Moon just moving into the full shadow of the Earth. This minor partial lunar eclipse will be difficult to see with the naked eye. The moon’s southern limb barely tickles the earth’s central shadow. Here is the animation of this partial lunar eclipse for December 2009. http://www.shadowandsubstance.com/ Hope this helps. 

Dave

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Dave 

I lately came across your blog and have been learning along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Respectable blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Markus T.

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Dear David,

I enjoyed reading your article in the "Manning Great Lakes Extra" of Thursday December 24 on Solving the Mystery of the Christmas Star. As one of Jehovah's Witnesses, our organisation prints the worldwide magazines The Watchtower and Awake. Our recent Awake issue of December included an article which I thought you might find interesting on the star. I've attached a scanned copy for you to read. We also have many more articles on the Magi (or wise men) and Jesus birth that have been thoroughly researched and quoted, but our most reliable source is the bible itself which is our constant source. Like you we are in constant awe of the creation and majesty of the heavens which you as an astronomer get to study more closely, it must be a really wonderful experience to see. Thank you for your time.

Regards,Elisa A.

Taree

Hi Elise 

Thank you for the story. Yes, I am aware that the watchtower had this story. Thanks for sending it to me anyway. The thought was wonderful.

Dave

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David

Hi Dave just to let you know that ‘Astronomy 2010’ book came Christmas eve and my son really liked it. Apparently he was told that that was the book he needed so your choice for me was spot on. Thanks for all your help.
Regards Rhonda

Many thanks for letting me know that Rhonda, glad I could help. Much appreciated. Have a great New Year.

Dave

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Re: The Blue Moon. Very informative report. I didn't know the history behind the "once in a blue moon" phrase. Now I do. What great timing for this to happen. New Years Eve will be an even extra special night. I'll be looking out for it. Just to clarify, the moon isn't actually going to appear blue on New Year's Eve?

Inspector Gadget

Errr…No

Dave

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 Dear Mr. Reneke

I read your article about the star of Bethlehem. Regardless of whether there is any truth or otherwise in the whole story is of no concern to me here. However there is one thing that has always intrigued me. If the Maji came from the area now known as Iraq, and followed the 'star of the east,' surely they would be travelling away from Bethlehem, not towards it. Can you explain this anomaly?
Aan Phillips

Hi Aan

Thanks for the interesting question. I thought it needed extra input so I consulted my US friends Barry and Helen Setterfield from Genesis Science Research, the people who put out the 'Christmas Star' DVD we're advertising on my website at the moment. www.davidreneke.com Here's their reply: The first thing is that objects in the heavens move systematically westward because of the movement of the earth around the sun. Second, the Star appeared in the first rays of the dawn, which is literally what the phrase “star in the east” means. In May, June and August of 3 B.C. there were a series of conjunctions of planets involving Jupiter and Venus in the first rays of the dawn. By mid-November, Jupiter had moved up the sky and was past the zenith. It was at this point the Magoi started their trip and followed Jupiter as it moved progressively westward for about six weeks. It reached its most westward point on December 25 of that year, 2 B.C. At that point, because of the way Jupiter revolves around the sun in comparison to the earth’s orbit, Jupiter appeared to ‘stand still’ for six days until the first of January (the entire feast of Hannukah that year) and then start back up the sky and then to the east . So when the Magoi followed the Star, they followed Jupiter in its path west.

Dave

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 Hi Dave,

Thanks for the (return) email. I stumbled across your site recently and found it very interesting. I'm fascinated all things space related. Hope you didn't mind me making that comment on your site. Could you add me to the mailing list for your newsletter please?

Cheers
Andrew

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Hello Dave:

Good to talk to you and thanks for the reply. I appreciate all the points that you have made and for the length of your reply to me, when you are obviously a busy man. Regards and all the best for 2010.

Terry

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 Hi Dave

Merry Christmas and all the best for 2010. I have had a few weeks off as we go through some line up changes at 2HD. However I start back on air from January 11th, 2010 doing breakfast 5.30 to 9.00 am. I look forward to using your skills on a regular basis throughout 2010 as part of my breakfast show, so when we get back into gear in the next couple of weeks I’ll have my people call your people and see what we can work out. Talk to you in the New Year.

Cheers
Brent Bultitude Radio 2HD

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How do you do,

I just needed you to know I have added your site to my Google bookmarks because of your extraordinary blog layout. But seriously, I think your site has one of the freshest theme I’ve came across. It really helps make reading your blog a lot easier.

Japanese garden tools

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   Advertising Opportunities

I have been approached by a number of people on this issue: 'Astro-Space News' is always willing to accept ads and sponsors for this site.  Please note that any ads posted on this site must be relevant to the subject matter of the pages on which they will be placed.  Ads that contain adult content or that are in poor taste will not be accepted.  If you have an idea talk to us. And no, it won't cost you the earth!

If you are interested in placing an ad on this site or are interested in sponsoring the site, please contact Dave at this email address: davereneke@gmail.com
 

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      THIS WEEK'S TOP STORY

Russia in Secret Plan to Save Earth From Asteroid: Official

The head of Russia's space agency has called for a massive planetary effort to deflect a massive asteroid as it skips by Earth in 2029. "People's lives are at stake," Anatoly Perminov told Voice of Russia radio Wednesday. 

"We should pay several hundred million dollars and build a system that would allow us to prevent a collision, rather than sit and wait for it to happen and kill hundreds of thousands of people."

Perminov said Russia will consider building a spacecraft designed to nudge the Apophis asteroid away from the Earth, and invited NASA, the European Space Agency and the Chinese space agency to join in.

Pic: This 2001 picture taken by the Galileo spacecraft shows asteroid 243 Ida. Russian scientists will soon meet in secret to work on a plan for saving Earth from a possible catastrophic collision with a giant asteroid in 26 years, the head of Russia's space agency said last Wednesday.

The Apophis asteroid, around three football fields in size, was first spotted heading toward Earth five years ago.  It was suggested then there was a 2.7 per cent chance it would strike our planet in 2029.  That alarming estimate has been seriously downgraded since, but it continues to hold the attention of expert observers. Apophis will first pass us at close range in just under 20 years.  It may almost graze the Earth, missing by only 30,000 kilometres, less than the distance between Earth and the moon.  At this point, astronomers have ruled out the possibility that it will hit us.

However, there is a very small chance that it will pass through a 600 metre-wide "gravitational keyhole" as it swings by.  That would alter its course and cause it to slingshot back and hit the Earth in 2036.  New NASA calculations released in October rate the chance of impact during the second pass at 1 in 250,000. That still doesn't sound terribly alarming, but as Dr.  William Ailor, of California's Aerospace Corporation, said Wednesday, "That's a pretty high probability if you're betting the planet."

In April, Ailor chaired the biannual Planetary Defense Conference of the world's leading asteroid experts. "There are still issues around how great does the risk have to be before you start planning a (defence) mission like this.  But ultimately, everyone agrees that we will have to do this sooner or later," Ailor said.

Donald K.  Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office, says the time to make a decision on Apophis will be in late 2012 and early 2013, when it makes another close approach, within about 14 million kilometres of Earth. "The additional optical and radar data taken then will almost certainly remove any possibility of an Earth collision in April 2036. 

To my mind it would make sense to wait until 2013, refine the orbit and in the very unlikely event that the impact probability increases, then begin planning possible deflection options," Yeomans said. "While Apophis is almost certainly not a problem, I am encouraged that the Russian science community is willing to study the various deflection options that would be available in the event of a future Earth-threatening encounter by an asteroid."

A variety of deflection methods have been suggested in the past: gravitational tractors; landing a manned mission on Apophis; knocking it off target by ramming it or striking it with nuclear weapons.  There is no broad consensus on what might work best. "There's also the question of how you design the `campaign' to attack the asteroid.  You'd probably have to launch multiple vehicles, in case some failed," Ailor said.

Five years ago, Ailor said, the Aerospace Corp.  ballparked the cost of such a mission at $80 billion (U.S.).  NASA's current annual budget is a little over $17 billion.  Perminov, sounding less than expert on the grasp of details, got the year of impact wrong (2032), couldn't cite the latest estimates accurately and seriously underestimated the potential cost.  But he's right about the risk. Watch this short YouTube video:

Ailor points out that the 1908 asteroid that exploded over Tunguska in Siberia was only 30 metres across.  It devastated more than 2,000 square kilometres of forest.  Apophis is 270 metres in diameter. What if it hit the Earth directly?"That'd be a very bad day," Ailor said. "Probably not the end of all life as we know it.  But a bad day."

The star.com

 

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     MORE ASTRO-SPACE NEWS   

  Clear Aussie Skies for 2010

Summer in the Australia is great for sky gazers. We have some of the best skies in the world. The sky is full of bright stars, prominent constellations and fascinating celestial sights. Lots of budding astronomers get their start in January, using telescopes they got for a Christmas present.  

Maybe you’re one of them, or perhaps you just want something to do on a warm, clear summer night. Here’s a great suggestion, what about checking out the night sky? Really! 

“Stargazing need not be complicated,” said internationally recognised Australian astronomer Dave Reneke. “If you can find the Moon, you're on your way to becoming a backyard astronomer” David is an astronomy lecturer, teacher, author and a feature writer for major Australian newspapers and magazines.

Nothing in the night sky is easier to study than the Moon. With no equipment, you can make out the ‘face’ and see subtle colour differences on the surface. Binoculars or a small telescope will reveal stunning views of craters, especially on nights when the Moon is not full. Many of these craters formed more than 3 billion years ago when asteroids and comet impacts were more common. Study the region where light and dark meet and shadows are deepest.

Equally as stunning and hard to miss at the moment is Venus shining brilliantly in our eastern Australian sky, just before sunrise. Venus was called the ‘goddess of love’ in Greek mythology, but we know it better as the ‘morning star’.

A small telescope, one that can magnify 60x or more, will reveal an even more dazzling sight. Jupiter and its moons. You could see one, two, three or four pinpricks of light lined up in a row, very near the planet. They’re the moons of Jupiter. Jupiter is readily visible as an oval disc in binoculars, and is an amazing sight in a small telescope. Look for it as a brilliant bright ‘star’ setting in the west about 9pm EDT.

Mars is easy to find during January too. It's one of the brightest points of light in the sky right now, appearing as a red coloured ‘star’ in the north-east just after sunset.  Yellowish coloured Saturn rises a few hours later and has always been a telescopic favourite. Disappointingly, you can’t see Saturn’s rings anymore. “They’ve closed up because the planet tilts over in its 29 year journey around the Sun,” said Dave. “They will return though, but not until 2014.”

Whether you view the night sky with your naked eye, binoculars, or a telescope Dave said, there are a few tips to enhance the experience. A dark location is always helpful. No matter how much light surrounds you, more is always worse. Turn off any lights you can. Also, allow 15 minutes or more for your eyes to adapt to the darkness; you'll soon see more.

If you’re having a little trouble using your telescope, don’t worry. It takes a bit of practice to point the telescope at objects you want to see. So before you give up, head to Dave’s website www.davidreneke.com for some help and free advice.

Oh, and if you get this silly urge to wave up at the astronauts when you are watching the International Space Station pass over you … give in. I do it every time. How do you see it? Just visit www.heavens-above .com. Heavens Above is a fantastic site for the amateur astronomer. Just choose your city from the database, and you'll be able to get all the information you need to spot the space station and a few satellites zooming over your yard. 

Dave Reneke

 Google Earth confirms Dreamtime meteor legend

Indigenous Australians might have been some of the earliest astronomers, a Sydney-based scientist has found. Duane Hamacher, a PhD candidate at Macquarie University in Sydney, found a bowl-shaped crater in Palm Valley – about 130km south-west of Alice Springs – by searching for it on Google Earth after being tipped off by Aboriginal Dreamtime stories.

"Indigenous Australians tell lots of stories about stars falling out of the sky with a noise like thunder – and one of the stories gave a location in the Northern Territory," the astronomer told the Northern Territory News.

"I searched for it on Google Earth, but when I really found something looking like a crater I couldn't believe it."I was very hesitant with excitement as I thought I would look like an idiot if it was just something simple – but it wasn't.  It was a crater."

When visiting the site with a team of geophysicists and astrophysicists, Mr Hamacher and his team found evidence of Palm Valley being an ancient meteorite crater.Mr Hamacher said the discovery of a connection between Dreamtime stories and reality was an exciting one.

"Lots of Aboriginal Dreamtime stories are associated with craters, meteorites and cosmic impacts and although some craters are millions of years old and people would not have been able to witness the impact, it seems as if traditional dreaming stories know about the crater's origin."

One of the stories – which tells of a star that fell into a waterhole called Puka in the valley, where Kulaia the serpent lived – had led to the discovery of the ancient crater, but there were "many, many more", Mr Hamacher said. Read more about Google Earth and the Dreamtime meteor craters at the Northern Territory Times

Herald Sun.com

 Space Probe Gets Halfway to Pluto in Record Time

The fastest man-made object ever built, the Pluto-bound New Horizons probe, is now closer to the former planet than Earth, just a little under four years after its launch. It’s currently traveling at about 31,000 miles an hour and is located about 1.527 billion miles from Earth.

“Today, 29 Dec 2009, New Horizons crossed a milestone boundary– henceforth we’re now closer to Pluto than to Earth.  Go New Horizons!” the mission’s controllers tweeted Tuesday.

The spacecraft will be the first to fly by Pluto, the planet or dwarf planet or plutoid, and on to the other objects lurking in the Kuiper Belt at the edge of the solar system.

While the craft is hibernating most of the time while it awaits its July 2015 rendezvous with Pluto, it was roused for a Jupiter flyby that yielded some gorgeously detailed images of that planet and its satellites.

Unlike an orbiter, much of the New Horizons activity will come in an action-packed nine day period around July 14, 2015 when the craft approaches and then passes by Pluto.  During that time, the probe will capture 4.5 gigabytes of data, which it will keep sending on the four-and- a-half-hour trip back home for months.

With its main mission accomplished, the craft will continue moving away from the sun, following in the extrasolar footsteps of the earlier Pioneer and Voyager missions, drifting ever farther away from us. Instead of the plaques attached to the earlier ships, which presumably identify the spacecraft as artifacts of Earthly civilization, New Horizons carries a DVD inscribed with 450,000 names of supporters and some of the ashes of Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto in 1930.

Wired Science

 1924: US Navy Ordered to Listen for Martian Radio Broadcasts

It seems that a SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) experiment happened decades before Project Ozma -a pioneering SETI project started in 1960 by Cornell University astronomer Frank Drake (left), at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Green Bank, West Virginia.

The object of the experiment was to search for signs of life in distant solar systems through interstellar radio waves.The historians at the blog "Letters of Note" uncovered a telegram sent in 1924 by the Chief of Naval Operations, Edward W.  Eberle instructing the United States Navy to listen for radio transmissions from the planet Mars.

The telegram read:

“NAVY DESIRES COOPERATE ASTRONOMERS WHO BELIEVE POSSIBLE THAT MARS MAY ATTEMPT COMMUNICATION BY RADIO WAVES WITH
THIS PLANET WHILE THEY ARE NEAR TOGETHER THIS END ALL SHORE RADIO STATIONS WILL ESPECIALLY NOTE AND REPORT ANY
ELECTRICAL PHENOMENON UNUSUAL CHARACTER AND WILL COVER AS WIDE BAND FREQUENCIES AS POSSIBLE FROM 2400 AUGUST
TWENTY FIRST TO 2400 AUGUST TWENTY FOURTH WITHOUT INTERFERRING WITH TRAFFIC.

During the three day period, during which Mars was in opposition to Earth, nothing but static was detected by Navy radio stations.

 Daily Galaxy

Ali Larter in Talks For New Sci Fi Movie – The Old TV Series 'UFO'

Heroes actress Ali Larter seems set to join Joshua Jackson in the new $130 million adaptation of Gerry Anderson's 1970s UK sci-fi series UFO, announced last July.  In an exclusive interview with forbiddenplanet.com, UFO director Matthew Gratzner discussed the casting of Col.  Virginia Lake, played in the original series by British actress Wanda Ventham.

"For the character of Virginia Lake we've talked to Ali Larter, who's very interested." Gratzner told us.  "I've actually met with her, and I think she would be a great addition to the picture.  Lake is very strong and obviously also very feminine, and Ali Larter definitely encompasses that."

Gratzner, a visual effects veteran who has contributed to a string of Hollywood blockbusters including The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Hancock, Superman Returns, and War Of The Worlds, also revealed that that the new UFO film is set to kick off a trilogy.  "There are three movies planned.  The first script is completed, and number two and number three are treatments – and numbers two and three are even more spectacular!."

The original series was puppet-master Gerry Anderson's initial foray into live-action SF TV Iin the wake of 'Supermarionation' series such as Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and Joe 90), and ran in the UK and US for one season in 1970-71. 

The show was set 'ten years in the future' and dealt with a typical Anderson-esque secret military organisation dedicated to defending the world from alien invaders determined to harvest us for our internal organs. 

It's probably best remembered by casual viewers for the distinctive purple wigs of the 'moonbase' personnel that hold a vigil against alien incursions, but the series has built up a strong and loyal global fan-base over four decades (and numerous failed attempts to revive UFO – including the second season that eventually morphed into the unrelated Space:1999).

Examiner.Com

Astronomers discover 'tilted planets'

University of Exeter, UK, research has added to a growing evidence that several giant planets have orbits so tilted that their orbits can be perpendicular or even backwards relative to their parent star’s rotation.

Known as ‘extrasolar planets’, because they are located outside our solar system, these planets orbit very closely to their star. Planets are formed from a swirling disk of gas and dust that surrounds young stars.  Because the disk rotates in the same direction as the star, the planets spawned by the disk should revolve in the same direction. 

In an overcrowded planetary system, however, planets can push one body outward while flinging the other inward, elongating and tilting the inner planet’s orbit.

The research involved examining the orbit of the first extrasolar planet discovered by the European satellite COROT.  Known as COROT-Exo-1b, the planet can periodically be seen from Earth by telescope, as it passes across the face of its star.  The research team observed the spectra of the star with the Keck telescope in Hawaii and discovered that its orbital axis was tilted at an angle of around 77 degrees.

The University of Exeter had already participated in the detection of two of these tilted planets in the past year, including the first know case, a planet known as “XO-3b”.

Since then astronomers worldwide have added their observations of tilted planets, making this one of the most talked-about phenomena of the year in astronomy.  Currently between 25 and 50 percent of all extrasolar planets whose angles of inclination have been measured have tilts exceeding 30 degrees.  Of the planets in the solar system, Earth has the greatest orbital tilt relative to the sun’s axis of rotation, at an angle of 7.1 degrees.

Frédéric Pont of the University of Exeter's School of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, said: “The presence of advanced life on Earth may be contingent on our planetary system having avoided the brunt of planet-planet scatter, keeping Earth on a circular orbit—neither too hot nor too cold for life as we know it.  In this scenario, the solar system may have been unusually lucky.  Either it avoided catastrophic gravitational encounters between massive planets or it suffered such interactions so long ago that most of the planets had the chance to resettle into nearly circular orbits with little or no tilt.”

 University of Exeter 

Video: Cigar UFO over Nevada's Rail Road Valley

An Ely, Nevada, witness driving to work toward the Rail Road Valley watched a cigar-shaped UFO, according to testimony reported by Nevada Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) State Director Mark Easter. (Pic: Descriptive only)

Easter said the case is associated with MUFON Case # 19777. That story was previously reported on here as Nevada UFO witnesses give video testimony.

The witness stated that fellow employees at an oil field and refinery had seen the same object in the sky earlier that evening, making it another case with multiple witnesses from Nevada.

Easter is also MUFON's International Director of Public Relations and maintains the official Youtube web site for MUFON where other important witness video can be seen.

Secret UFO file from China released

Another fascinating UFO event (image right) that was studied by the Chinese government has come to light, thanks to the recent Kunming UFO exhibition.  The event took place five years ago on 12 December 2004.  A group of students walking through the streets of the Northern city of Jiayuguan noticed a classical saucer-shaped UFO hovering in the sky.

One of the students managed to film the UFO for around six seconds before it started to gain altitude and eventually shot off into space.  The UFO was emitting a bright, luminous, white light and the students reported feeling unwell after the sighting.  The students estimated that the UFO was at least the size of a large passenger plane.

This UFO event has been studied by Chinese astronomers and the object filmed has never been explained.  Chinese UFO researchers have referenced this particular sighting as credible proof suggesting that earth is being visited by alien or extraterrestrial visitors.  UFOs are seen on a daily basis in China, although most are eventually identified and not regarded as extraterrestrial in origin.

Until now this particular sighting has not been reported outside of China at all.  Many UFO researchers have suggested that there is an organised international cover-up of this phenomena, and a strategy in place that leads, say, Americans to believe UFOs are only seen in America and the Chinese to believe that alien spacecraft are only seen in China.

 All Web News

  The Year in Space 2009

As 2009 draws to a close, it is time to list some of the greatest developments in things space. We have already discussed the greatest scientific discovery, the confirmation of water on the Moon. The following is not a comprehensive list, but just what the author thinks is of most importance.

The greatest public policy development is, of course, the publication of the Augustine Report, which laid out some options for the future direction of US space exploration. The Augustine Report is a kind of mixed bag, with some good things (i.e., the recognition that so far we are not spending what space exploration costs) and some bad, such as the “Look But Don’t Touch” option.

Speaking of space exploration, the flight of the Ares 1-X test vehicle was conducted, with several anomalies found, as happens often in tests. Meanwhile, NASA scientists think they have solved the vibration problem for the Ares-1 design. These may be moot, since it is rumored that the White House may cancel the Ares-1 program.

The greatest development in space journalism is the advent of former CNN science reporter Miles O’Brien to the Internet. His This Week in Space video magazine looks good in its debut. It shows that in the modern age, talent will find a way to be seen and heard.

2009 was also the year of Apollo nostalgia, it being the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing. With every passing anniversary there seems to be a greater appreciation of what human beings can do if they set their will to it, coupled with a difficulty in understanding how it could be done again. If we can put a man on the Moon, why can’t we put some men (and women) on the Moon?

2009 also saw the final servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope, which has so revolutionized the science of astronomy. After the Columbia disaster there seemed to be a reluctance to send another space shuttle mission to any place besides the International Space Station, which could be used as a life boat in case of damage to the space shuttle orbiter. There was even contemplation of a robotic servicing mission. Fortunately saner heads prevailed, the servicing mission was a complete success, and Hubble has a few more years of bringing us wonders of the universe.

The construction of the International Space Station continued apace,

2009 was also the year India became a serious space power, with the mission of the Chandrayaan-1 to the Moon. It was Chandrayaan-1 that detected traces of water in lunar top soil, an unexpected and startling discovery.

The Lunar  Reconnaissance Orbiter began its mission in lunar orbit. The LCROSS impactor kicked up a plume of water and other material, confirming water on the Moon.

Commercial space had some developments in 2009, with the rollout of SpaceShipTwo and the winning of several of the Centennial Challenges.

Examiner.com  

 

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 * NASA Has Released a Freebie Calendar

Our friends over at SCP Forum have alerted me to this.But WARNING!  Large file size (10.2MB)

Download at: http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/402659main_2010%20ISScalendar.pdf

 

   TIP: JPL Wallpaper - Our Space Meets Yours
Visit jpl.nasa.gov/wallpaper to snag your view of space and read instructions on how to apply your JPL Wallpaper.

  

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  NEWS SNIPPETS

Massive Mystery Planets Baffle Astronomers

Space is no place for gourmet food

Planets may assemble around stars more quickly than anyone thought possible

 Nasa gadget for closer look at sun

Meteor hunt in Beijing continues

New Video Reveals Secrets of Webb Telescope's MIRI (w/ Video)

NASA's Kepler mission looks for new planets

Did the Universe Have an Infinite Number Of Beginnings? Stephen Hawking Says "Yes"  

Did "Extraterrestrial Rain" Seed the Buiding Blocks for Life on Earth?

New Horizons Crosses a Threshold: Closer to Pluto than Earth

 

                          

  

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 FEATURE STORY  

  NASA AWARDS $3.3 MILLION FOR STUDY FOR MISSION TO VENUS

NASA has awarded the University of Colorado at Boulder $3.3 million for a detailed, one-year concept study for a lander mission to Venus to study the history of its surface, climate and atmosphere and to predict its ultimate fate in the solar system.

The CU-Boulder-led mission would allow scientists to better compare Venus with other terrestrial planets — including Earth, Mars and Mercury — as well as planets recently discovered orbiting stars in other solar systems, said CU-Boulder Professor Larry Esposito, science team leader on the Venus mission proposal.  While Venus and Earth were similar at birth, Venus has since turned into "Earth's evil twin" because of its extremely harsh and inhospitable conditions, said Esposito of CU-Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics.

The concept study by CU-Boulder to land a spacecraft on Venus is one of three space exploration projects selected as finalists by NASA today for a $650 million solar system mission to launch no later than 2018.  The other proposals selected for further study include one led by the University of Arizona to rendezvous with and orbit a primitive asteroid and one led by Washington University in St.  Louis to land near the Moon's south pole and return lunar materials to Earth for study.

"It has been 25 years since a spacecraft last landed on Venus, and our curiosity and scientific capabilities have increased dramatically," said Esposito.  "This mission will be a big step forward in understanding planetary evolution both in our own solar system and in planetary systems around other stars."

As part of CU-Boulder's proposed Surface and Atmosphere Geochemical Explorer, or SAGE mission, the lander would descend onto the flank of an active volcano on Venus known as Mielikki Mons, which is about 200 miles across and 4,800 feet in altitude.  Once the lander was in place, instruments on the spacecraft would dig down about four inches into the surface, then zap the soils with two lasers and a vacuum tube shooting large pulses of neutrons, which would bounce back data to the lander with information on the surface composition and texture, said Esposito.

The lander would be constructed to survive the harsh conditions on Venus for three hours or more, said Esposito, a professor in the astrophysical and planetary sciences department.  "Venus has gone terribly bad since it first formed," he said.  "The surface pressure is 100 times that of Earth and its temperature is similar to that of a self-cleaning oven.  We are very interested in what sent Venus down this hellish path, including its runaway global warming."

Venus also has a toxic atmosphere filled with carbon dioxide gases and acid rain, he said.  "Understanding the physical and chemical reasons for this uncontrolled warming may help scientists better understand the eventual fate of Earth."

Instruments proposed to fly on SAGE include a flyby camera, temperature, pressure, dynamics and wind speed hardware, a tunable laser spectrometer to measure stable isotope ratios and a neutral mass spectrometer to measure gases.  The lander also would carry descent and panoramic cameras, a microscopic camera, a neutron-activated gamma ray spectrometer and a third spectrometer to measure surface and subsurface composition minerals and elements, he said.

"The minerals that make up the Venus upper crust are still unknown," said Esposito.  "The new information would allow our scientific team to better compare Venus to the other terrestrial planets in our solar system and beyond."

The proposed Venus mission will build on data collected by the European Space Agency's Venus Express Mission, an orbiter launched in 2005 that is carrying a camera, two spectrometers, a radio science experiment and a space plasma and atom-detecting instrument.  Esposito, who is a co-investigator of the European mission, said Venus Express has detected several volcanoes with possible recent lava flows, and data from the mission was used to select the proposed landing site for the CU-Boulder mission.

CU-Boulder would provide the science leadership, data archiving, education and public outreach effort for the proposed SAGE mission. SAGE partners include NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, which would provide the SAGE project management; Lockheed Martin of Denver which would build the carrier spacecraft; the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffet Field, Calif.; NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt Md.; and NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.

SAGE's robotic arm for digging into the surface of Venus would be contributed by the Canadian Space Agency, said Esposito.

In 1983 Esposito used data from a CU-Boulder instrument that flew on NASA's Pioneer Venus spacecraft to uncover evidence that a massive volcanic eruption poured large amounts of sulfur dioxide into the upper atmosphere and was 10 times more powerful than any volcanic eruptions on Earth in the past century.  Esposito also led a team that took the first images of Venus with the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995.

Esposito also is the science team leader for a $12.5 million CU-Boulder Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph that is riding on the Cassini spacecraft now touring Saturn and its moons system. 

 

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ASTRO PIC OF THE WEEK.

    NGC4676 – Showing Now in a Cosmos Near You    

In further proof that the universe can kick our butt at just about anything, the double galaxies of NGC4676 are putting on a great pyrotechnics display.  They're colliding in a process leading astrophysicists describe as "totally awesome".  They've got a sense of cinema style to it too, drawing the stellar spectacular out in extreme slow-motion – a few hundred million years, now showing in a cosmos near you. 

We think astronomers could do a better name these fantastic objects.  NGC4676 might sounds like a sci-fi starship license plate but even the most red- shirted trekkie would admit that the colliding galaxies are cooler than even the shiniest Enterprise model kit.  The colliding cosmic bodies have already ripped through each other, spreading stars and solar systems in the most immense wreckage imaginable, but the action isn't over yet.

When you're a galaxy you can't pull off a hit-and-run, and the two bodies are now caught in each other's gravity and will be drawn back together, continuing to smash together and fly apart until they eventually kiss and make up – forming a new galaxy out of everything that's left.     

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       ASTRONOMY – SPACE PODCASTS   

  

If a piece of the sun the size of a pinhead were to be placed on Earth, you could not safely stand within 100kms of it!

 

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  Story Opportunities from Australasian Science, January 2010

The Birth of Our Solar System (and Life as We Know It)
When the Sun was born, the radioactivity pervading the material around it may have helped to create conditions for life in the rocks that formed the planets. Understanding the origin of this radioactivity could tell us how likely it is that life could exist elsewhere in the Universe. 

Black Holes: The Missing Link
Evidence for the existence of small and very large black holes is quite convincing, and now there is strong evidence for one in the “medium” range.

The Myopia Epidemic
The prevalence of myopia is increasing in children and adolescents, but pharmaceutical intervention is on the horizon. 

Humpback Love Songs
New insights into the context of when humpback whales sing and with whom suggest that a function of the song could be as a courtship display to females. 

Food Security in a Changing World
Increasing levels of atmospheric CO2 will change the nutritional value of food for both people and livestock – and even lead to higher levels of toxic cyanide in some staple foods and pastures.

A Sticky Lunar Problem
A dusty problem for the Apollo astronauts has taken on new significance with US plans to return to the Moon by 2020.

Switches for the Gene Machine
We share the same number of genes as simple roundworms. Newly discovered systems of gene control explain why.

Quantum Memory
New models of human cognition inspired by quantum theory could underpin information technologies that are better aligned with howwe recall information.

The Light Fantastic
By controlling how individual wavelengths of light diffract, researchers are harnessing the power of white light lasers that open up the visible spectrum in optical chips.

Message from a Refugee
One of the least recognised issues faced by refugees is access to technologies enabling them to keep in touch with their families.

Left for Dead
The discovery that a man who had been in a coma for 23 years was still conscious has raised questions over the treatment of people who are in a permanent vegetative state.

Curbing Population Growth Limits Global Warming
Few can have any doubt that halting population growth in developed and developing countries is the greatest challenge now facing our world.

  Please cite AUSTRALASIAN SCIENCE MAGAZINE as the source of these stories    

 

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