Dave Reneke’s
‘WORLD of SPACE and ASTRONOMY’
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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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Letters To Dave
Dave,
My son (Isaac) would love to receive your regular email about space, also thanks for the info regarding Jupiter and Venus over the phone. Next time we are in Sydney we will drop in for a visit.
Jamie
Dear David,
T hank-you so very much for your excellent astronomy presentation. The community is indeed privileged to have the benefit of your knowledge and expertise and I commend you sincerely for your interest in promoting this awareness throughout the schools and making science such an ‘alive’ and interesting feature. These students, and their offspring, are “the future” and will take our current information to a whole new ‘dimension’. Co ngratulatons, and thank-you, for sharing your passion with us all.
Warmest Regards, Joy-Elaine Lewis
Dear Dave
Thanks for Saturday night. The kids (and us) really enjoyed it – they are still talking about it. It seems they were a bit apprehensive at first because they thought it was going to be like school (boring), but were really surprised because you made it soooo interesting, and you talked to them at their level (and dealt with blonde questions really well!!
Sandy c/o St Josephs High School Wauchope NSW
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OUR TOP STORY
Are Sunspots Disappearing?
The sun is in the pits of the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century. Weeks and sometimes whole months go by without even a single tiny sunspot.
The quiet has dragged out for more than two years, prompting some observers to wonder, are sunspots disappearing?
Some astronomers are betting that sunspots are coming back,” says researcher Matt Penn of the National Solar Observatory (NSO) in Tucson, Arizona. But, he allows, “there is some evidence that they won’t.” Penn’s colleague Bill Livingston has been measuring the magnetic fields of sunspots for the past 17 years, and he has found a remarkable trend. Sunspot magnetism is on the decline.
“Sunspot magnetic fields are dropping by about 50 gauss per year,” says Penn. “If we extrapolate this trend into the future, sunspots could completely vanish around the year 2015.”
This disappearing act is possible because sunspots are made of magnetism. A sunspot is not matter but rather a strong magnetic field that appears dark because it blocks the upflow of heat from the sun’s interior. The trend that they have discovered appears to be real. The drop in magnetic fields could be a normal aspect of the solar cycle and not a sign that sunspots are permanently vanishing.
Our technique is relatively new and the data stretches back in time only 17 years. We could be observing a temporary downturn that will reverse itself.
If sunspots do go away, it wouldn’t be the first time. In the 17th century, the sun plunged into a 70-year period of spotlessness known as the Maunder Minimum that still baffles scientists. The sunspot drought began in 1645 and lasted until 1715; during that time, some of the best astronomers in history (e.g., Cassini) monitored the sun and failed to count more than a few dozen sunspots per year, compared to the usual thousands.
Whether the current downturn is an omen of long-term sunspot decline, analogous to the Maunder Minimum, remains to be seen. Other indications of solar activity suggest that sunspots must return in earnest within the next year. Whatever happens, the sun is behaving in an interesting way and astronomers believe we’re about to learn something new.
NASA
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MORE ASTRO-SPACE NEWS
Space Junk Hurtles Toward Space Station
NASA is preparing contingency plans in case a large piece of orbital debris is deemed a threat to the International Space Station.The chunk of space junk measures about 19 square meters, large enough to do significant harm to the ISS in the event of a collision. As a precaution, NASA mission controllers are preparing a plan that would see the ISS fire its booster rockets in order to escape the path of the debris, which is circling the earth in an elliptical orbit.
NASA currently estimates that the space junk will come within 3 kilometers of the ISS on Friday morning. The agency did not state the origin of the debris, but the Earth is encircled by countless particles of refuse from spent satellites, industrial waste, dust, and other sources.
The ISS is equipped with shielding that offers some protection from space junk. Meanwhile, a pair of astronauts from the space shuttle Discovery changed out a 1,300 pound holding tank from the ISS during a six and a half hour spacewalk that began Tuesday night and ended Wednesday morning. Astronauts Danny Olivas and Nicole Stott removed the bulky ammonia tank from the ISS and will replace it with a new module during a follow-up spacewalk later in the week.
Discovery launched in the pre-dawn hours Saturday morning from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Discovery crew members are slated to perform three space walks during the mission. The shuttle is expected to land back at Kennedy on September 10.
Information Week USA
What Happens When an Astronaut Sneezes in Space?
Best to do the sneezing inside a shuttle or the space station, not on a spacewalk, when it can get real messy, with goo sprayed all over the inside of the helmet’s “windshield.”
Lately astronauts have been complaining about stuffy heads up there on the International Space Station. NASA doesn’t think they have colds, though. Rather, the effects have more to do with pockets of carbon dioxide generated when they gather in groups, space station flight controller Heather Rarick said.
Astronauts have been sick in space before, even though NASA puts them through a rigorous quarantine before each launch in an effort to prevent colds and flus from being launched.
Thing is, microgravity is thought to weaken the immune system. Oh, and as we all know, you don’t have to have a cold to generate a good, gooey sneeze.
On Earth, health experts recommend you sneeze into your elbow to keep viruses to yourself. On a spacewalk, that’s not an option. Here’s what you want to do: “Aim low, off the windshield, because it can mess up your view and there’s no way to clear it,” said six-time spacewalker Dave Wolf. “That’s how you do it.”
Astronauts Instal $5 Million Tradmill on Space Station
Discovery lifted off in a midnight launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida after days of postponements due to a questionable valve on the shuttle’s external fuel tank and poor weather.
The planned 13-day mission is designed to transport new equipment and experiments to the space station. The shuttle also carries a $5-million treadmill named for television comedian Stephen Colbert, who egged on his viewers to vote for him in a NASA naming contest. The treadmill will be installed Tuesday.
Living in space is indeed a dream come true, but over time it can cause an astronaut’s bones to deteriorate. As NASA prepares to send humans back to the moon and eventually beyond, researchers are looking for new ways to keep astronauts’ bones healthy and strong.
The information they gather will help NASA design better exercise equipment and develop exercise routines for astronauts. It also could help doctors treat and prevent osteoporosis, a disease that threatens 44 million Americans.
In the absence of gravity, human bones don’t have to perform their primary function of supporting the body’s weight. As a result, space station astronauts experience disuse osteoporosis, a type of bone loss common in immobile patients. Astronauts work out on their equipment up to two hours a day but they still can lose as much as 1.5 percent of their bone mass per month. That’s the same amount of bone a post-menopausal woman can lose in a year.
In space, just like on Earth, walking or running is an important way to keep bones healthy. That’s why space station astronauts use their treadmill nearly every day.
Moon Rock Turns Out to be Fake
The Dutch national Rijksmuseum made an embarrassing announcement last week that one of its most loved possessions, a moon rock, is a fake – just an old piece of petrified wood that’s never been anywhere near the moon. Yikes!
The Rijksmuseum is famous for its fine art collections, especially paintings by Rembrandt and other masters. One of its lesser known objects, the “moon rock”, was first unveiled in October 2006 as the centerpiece of a “Fly me to the moon” exhibition. At that time, the museum said the rock symbolized the “exploration of the unknown, colonization of far-away places and bringing back of treasures.
The rock was given as a private gift to former prime minister Willem Drees Jr in 1969 by the U.S. ambassador to The Netherlands, J. William Middendorf II, during a visit by the Apollo 11 astronauts, Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin, soon after the first moon landing. Drees had been out of office for 11 years, but was considered an elder statesman.
When Drees died in 1988, the rock was donated to the Rijksmuseum, where it has remained ever since. According to a museum spokeswoman, Ms Van Gelder, no one doubted the authenticity of the rock because it was in the prime minister’s own collection, and they had vetted the acquisition by a phone call to NASA. According to an article published by the Rijksmuseum, at one time the rock was insured for approximately half a million dollars, but its actual value is probably no more than around $70.
It is known that NASA gave lunar rocks to over 100 countries in the 1970s, but when the rock was displayed in 2006 a space expert told the museum he doubted any material would have been given away so soon after the manned lunar landing. Researchers from the Free University of Amsterdam immediately doubted the rock was from the moon, and began extensive testing.
The tests concluded the rock was petrified wood. U.S. embassy officials were unable to explain the findings, but are investigating. Even though the tests found the piece is not of lunar origin, the Rijksmuseum curators say they will keep it anyway … as a curiosity.
PhysOrg.Com
The MilkyWay’s Not Too Distant Cousin
ESO has released a striking new image of a nearby galaxy that many astronomers think closely resembles our own Milky Way. Though the galaxy is seen edge-on, observations of NGC 4945 suggest that this hive of stars is a spiral galaxy much like our own, with swirling, luminous arms and a bar-shaped central region. These resemblances aside, NGC 4945 has a brighter centre that likely harbours a supermassive black hole, which is devouring reams of matter and blasting energy out into space.
As NGC 4945 is only about 13 million light-years away in the constellation of Centaurus (the Centaur), a modest telescope is sufficient for skygazers to spot this remarkable galaxy. NGC 4945’s designation comes from its entry number in the New General Catalogue compiled by the Danish–Irish astronomer John Louis Emil Dreyer in the 1880s.
NGC 4945 appears cigar-shaped from our perspective on Earth, but the galaxy is actually a disc many times wider than it is thick, with bands of stars and glowing gas spiralling around its centre. With the use of special optical filters to isolate the colour of light emitted by heated gases such as hydrogen, the image displays sharp contrasts in NGC 4945 that indicate areas of star formation.
Other observations have revealed that NGC 4945 has an active galactic nucleus, meaning its central bulge emits far more energy than calmer galaxies like the Milky Way. Astronomers have come to suspect that supermassive black holes cause the turmoil in the centre of these sort of galaxies. Most large, spiral galaxies, including the Milky Way, host a black hole in their centres, though many of these dark monsters no longer actively “feed” at this stage in galactic development.
China, U.S. May Cooperate on World’s Biggest Telescope
Astronomers from China and the United States may cooperate on building the world’s largest telescope aimed at providing deeper insight into the very early stages of the universe, Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.
The Thirty-Meter-Telescope (TMT), conceived and headed by the University of California and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), is expected to be completed in 2019, the official Chinese news agency said.
“It is a big undertaking and it will define the future of astronomy and astrophysics for about 60 or 70 years, so it will automatically involve a large international community,” said Caltech President Jean-Lou Chameau in an interview with Xinhua.
Xinhua said the university and Caltech are talking to Chinese astronomers and scientists about cooperation on funding and technology, although no final decision has been made. Canada and Japan have signed up to the project, which needs total financing of $1 billion, it said.
The telescope, with a mirror 30 meters in diameter, will have the sharpest view possible of the universe and will pick up images of galaxies and stars forming 13 billion light years away. It will be located on top of Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
ABC News
NASA Heading For Jupiter’s Moon Europa
NASA is planning to send an orbiter to Europa as part of an international fleet of probes -the Europa Jupiter System Mission- slated to launch around 2020 to explore Jupiter’s environs and may even include a landing on the potentially life-bearing moon.
The overall plan includes a NASA spacecraft dubbed the Jupiter Europa Orbiter, which would settle into orbit around Europa after conducting a broader tour of the Jovian environs. Also, a European Space Agency (ESA) orbiter, launched separately, will target the planet’s largest moon Ganymede, while a Japanese probe would monitor Jupiter’s magnetosphere.
A more distant possibility is that a separately launched Russian spacecraft would be sent to land on Europa. This probe might be timed to arrive soon after JEO has gathered data about possible landing sites, with the lander’s precise target to be programmed en route. The lander would be separately launched by a Soyuz-class launcher relying on the ESA and/or NASA-orbiters to relay its data to Earth. A combination of a grinder on a robotic arm, or even a drill/thermal penetration system is in planning stages to determine whether Europa’s subsurface-ocean harbors life.
Europa -no larger than Earth’s Moon- is one of the most interesting locations in the solar system. Never mind ice and occasional methane lakes, this moon has entire oceans – and where there’s water, we can’t help but hope there’s life. Recent results show that there are heat sources to drive evolution of such as well, but there’s still debate over what’s actually going on in there.
Europa has been of interest since we started to suspect it hid water under its frozen crust, attracting the interest of everyone from NASA to Arthur C. Clarke.
Daily Galaxy
China To Begin Construction Of Orbital Space Station In 2020
China will begin the construction of its own orbital space station in 2020, the Sina news service said on Monday, citing a top official with the country’s manned spaceflight program. Gu Yidong said that China would sent two or three space labs into orbit in 2010-2015, while the basic module of the space station is to be orbited by 2020.
The spacecrafts will “form the basic orbital complex of the Chinese space station” when docked together, he said.
According to earlier Chinese media reports, China plans to send a manned mission to the Moon by 2030 and subsequently build a lunar base to send missions to other planets in the Solar System, such as Mars.
By 2050, China plans to develop and launch a research probe to space bodies outside the Solar System.
A Chinese astronaut conducted the country’s first spacewalk last September, making China the third country in the world after Russia and the United States to send a man into open space.
Space Daily
Local Students Win Space Contest
Recently, your editor and publicist for Australasian Science Magazine, Dave Reneke, ran a contest in his area newspapers asking local school kids the question, “What’s Cool About Space?” The idea was to offer a prize during Science Week for the best or most creative answer received in 50 words or less.
“The number of entries I received was remarkable,” Dave said. “The level of thought and effort that went into each entry just goes to show kids these-days are really space savvy. We found our winners but it wasn’t easy”
Dave runs a state-wide schools program called Astronomy Outreach sponsored by Austar for Schools, the Discovery Channel Science Channel and Kookaburra Educational. Now in its sixth year it takes the Observatory into the classroom by teaching kids about astronomy and giving teachers the skills to carry it on.
A science package of books, DVDs and lesson prep material worth over $300 is donated to each school Dave visits. He is currently booked out 12 months in advance.
The entries all came from Port Macquarie. “Three stood out above the rest, and received their prizes last Sunday” Dave said. “As it turned out, two of the winners came from the same family.”
Through contacts at the overseas International Astronomical Union and in recognition of the International Year of Astronomy Dave presented Port Macquarie New South Wales school students Mitchell Treeves and his brother Christopher with a prize package containing DVDs, astronomy books, space stickers, bookmarks, astronaut pictures and more.
Chris wrote, “Space is cool because there is no oxygen and there is this big vacuum where there is no gravity. It’s cool when astronauts appear to float easily in their space capsule. Meteorites and comets are unreal because they move so fast and quickly and then the Ozone layer melts them before they can hit earth. Stars are interesting to our solar system and it’s great when the moon is out because they glitter in the night sky.”
His brother Mitchell said, “Space is so cool because there is so much mystery about space. Even though we study space through telescopes and send rockets into space and have space stations there is still so much we don’t know. Is there really life in outer space? Who knows? How cool!!!” He also added a well presented PowerPoint show as well. A nice touch!
The other winner, Port Macquarie student Jordan Clark age 10 also received a similar prize pack with his entry, “Space to me is absolutely fascinating because it never ever ends, and is still growing. There is so much information we still have not discovered. It amazes me how big the earth looks to me but compared to rest of the universe, it’s only a little speck.”
STOP PRESS: First new Hubble Servicing Mission Images Released This Week
After thirteen intense days of space surgery in May and more than three months of calibration and testing, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is ready to show off its new capabilities.
Ten stunning new main Hubble images (accompanied by supplemental images and videos) that represent the observatory’s renewed vitality will be revealed on Wednesday, 9 September 2009.
Hubble Anniversary
April 2010 will mark the 20th anniversary of the launch of the iconic telescope. A project that took more than 13 years from final approval to get to the launch pad, Hubble is responsible for many of the most recent fundamental cosmic discoveries, including a more accurate estimation of the age of the Universe and the characterisation of black holes.
** The Hubble ERO images and videos will be posted on http://www.spacetelescope.org/ , the European home for Hubble science, at 17:00 CEST (11 a.m. Eastern) on Wednesday, 9 September 2009.
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The full Moon was Saturday September 5. Mercury starts off easily visible in the western evening twilight below the bright star Spica, but it rapidly lowers towards the horizon, becoming much harder to see. Saturn is just visible in the early evening twilight just above the north-western horizon. During the week it vanishes into the twilight glow. Jupiter is visible the whole night and is easily seen as the brightest object in the sky. While Jupiter is past opposition, where it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, it is still more than big enough to be appreciated through even the smallest telescope. Jupiter’s moons are readily visible in binoculars or a small telescope.
In the morning, Venus and Mars are readily visible in the eastern sky. Red Mars is below the constellation of Orion and forms a elongated triangle with the two bright red stars Aldebaran and Betelgeuse in Orion. Bright white Venus is close to the horizon, but is still readily visible in the dawn twilight. This will be difficult to observe, being close to the horizon, but with good binoculars this should be a splendid sight. During the week Venus comes closer to the horizon.
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ASTRO PIC OF THE WEEK
Trifid Nebula
You’ll have no trouble at all enjoying these stunning new images of the . This massive star factory is so named for the dark dust bands that trisect its glowing heart, and is a rare combination of three nebula types: reflection, emission and dark nebulae. With these new images from ESO’s La Silla Observatory in northern Chile, astronomers are learning more about the early stages of stellar life, from gestation to first light.
Smouldering several thousand light-years away in the constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer), the Trifid Nebula is a favorite target for amateur and professional astronomers alike. These new images shows the heat and “winds” of newly ignited, volatile stars that stir the Trifid’s gas and dust-filled cauldron; in time, the dark tendrils of matter strewn throughout the area will themselves collapse and form new stars.
There is a plethora of events running around Australia in the next few months.
Scinema
Australia’s national science film festival has taken astronomy and space as a theme this year. Events run at venues around the country: see www.scinema.com.au for events near you.
And looking ahead to October …
Internationally for IYA, 23 and 24 October have been designated as the “Galilean Nights” – an occasion, like the 100 Hours of Astronomy in April, for everyone to get out to see the stars and planets.
And on 26 October, the University of NSW is going to run Galileo’s trial all over again. Perhaps this time the result will be different! This is a one-night-only performance, so grab a ticket if you can.
Details are online at www.astronomy2009.org.au.
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BOOK REVIEW
As we descend upon the 40th anniversary of the first humans to stand on the moon, the books, and movies, and DVDs, and websites all seem hell bent on a collision – each one trying to best encapsulate the Apollo experience. While Apollo 11 was the first mission to put people on the moon – other missions followed. And while the experience of walking on the Moon was shared by a precious few, the opinions of the moonwalkers are remarkably diverse so as to allow everyone to identify with what it must have been like to be there.
Once again, in his book “Voices From the Moon: Apollo Astronauts Describe Their Lunar Experiences”, author Andy Chaikin has managed to distill and then capture the essence of Apollo. Indeed, if there is anyone who has lived and breathed Apollo for the past 40 years, it has been Andy. He kept the flame alive when most of us looked at Apollo as old hat. Now, suddenly, it is new again.
Andy did not write this book in the traditional sense. The words are virtually all from the Apollo crews. Nor did he take the pictures – they were also taken by others. Rather, Andy’s artistry is evidenced in how he sat and listened as the crew spoke – sometimes from the grave. He weaved their words and pictures into a narrative about what it was like to go, to live, and then to return from this amazing place.
Many of the images are familiar but many more are not. Often, the images chosen for this book were not what people wanted to see in Life Magazine in 1969, so they were never seen by more than a small few. My favorite in this book is opposite Chapter 9 – “Apollo 13″. I am not certain if it was taken on approach or on return from the Moon. That said, it shows a small grey orb, partially lit in the distance – again it is either a destination or a memory. Across from the image is a quote from Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise which captures the moment when the crew simultaneously knew that their dreams were crushed – and their lives were very much at risk.
Another favorite is a lunar panorama with a telephoto insert showing the Lunar Module “Falcon” utterly dwarfed as it is set against the vast expanse of the Moon. We seem to have forgotten just how awe-inspiring a place the Moon truly is. Maybe it is time to go back and get re-awed all over again.
It is good that these voices were brought back together, perhaps one last time. As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of this grand human adventure, the eyewitnesses have already begun to dwindle in number. A decade hence, that number will be much smaller. Soon there will only be words and pictures. This book will be at the top of the pile. Thanks to Keith Cowling
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A NEW PUBLICATION YOU SHOULD SUBSCRIBE TO
UNIGALACTIC Space Travel Magazine
UniGalactic Space Travel Magazine was launched with the first issue published on May 29, 2009. You’ll find articles on a variety of topics including but not limited to SpaceX’s and Virgin Galactic’s NEW space tourism developments, international space station, Mars missions, future space launches, as well as outer space news. Amazon will ship ANYWHERE in the Globe. Footnote from Dave: I’m so impressed with thi
s magazine and it’s contents that I’ve asked to write for them and have been accepted. I highly recommend this publication for it’s different slant and content we don’t normally get a chance to hear about in Oz.
Subscribe to UniGalactic Space Travel Magazine Website: Click here
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Events & Activities
* Tours: Some exciting news about a serties of New Zealand astronomy tours I’ve been invited to take part in with Grand Pacific Tours P/L and closer to the end of the year I have been asked to take part in and run a couple of back to back astro lectures and sky viewing travelling on Great Southern railway trains – namely the ‘Sourthern Star’. Stay tuned!
* Book Reviews: I’ve recently been given the opportunity to become a book reviewer for some of the most respected publication houses in the world. This offer has been extended to the review and critique of DVDs as well so, in the coming months, I’ll be looking at a few new releases and giving you my impression of them in an impartial and non-biased manner. Any other publishers interested in having me review their material as well as are asked to contact me direct from any of the personal adresses on these pages. The first publication just receieved is the newly released hard cover book ‘The New Race For Space’ from Rosenberg Sales N.Y. followed by another new release ‘Rocket Men – The Epic Story Of The First Men On The Moon by Craig Nelson by the Penguin Group New York. Stay tuned!
Southern Cross Observatory – Tasmania, Australia.
If you are interested in Astro-Photography, at any level, then this is the site for you. Take note and learn from the experts!
Shevill Mathers is recognized as one of the world’se leading amateur astronomers and is a specialist in his field. His regular columns and newspaper articles are now augmented by a wide range of articles including ATM articles, Astro News items and Activities from Tasmania as well as reviewing a wide range of astronomical equipment.
Shevill is a regular contributor to many various magazines including the Tasmania 40 Degrees South magazine, Leatherwood On-Line, Discover Tasmania, Quasar Publishing ‘Astronomy Yearbook’, Universe Today and various overseas scientific forums. He is a local media source for TV, radio and the print media.
Shevill Mathers has been a keen amateur astronomer / telescope and camera builder in the UK since the early 60’s, with a special interest in astrophotography. A member of the BAA, London (Lunar Section), his photographic expertise was greatly encouraged by Patrick Moore, with whom he has maintained a lasting friendship. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1968.
Southern Cross Observatory – IYA – Two special sites have been established at the International ’Macedon Ranges Observatory’, in Victoria, to coordinate and share images, experiences and events around the world, the links are:http://www.southerngalactic.com/andhttp://www.northerngalactic.com/
Contact details:shevill.mathers@southernphone.com.au Shevillm@gmail.com Web:www.shevillmathers.id.au
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Sources: NASA, SKY & SPACE Magazine, Associated Press, Nature, Space.Com, Universe Today, BBC Science News, JPL, European Space Agency, Science Daily, ABC News Online, New Scientist Magazine, Reuters, Astrobiology News, Google Astronomy/Space News Alerts, Cornell University News Service, The Australian, NASA Science News, SpaceRef Interactive Inc. and Associated Affiliates. (E&OE)
