News Briefs: Astronomy, Astophysics & Space Exploration

Post by **Darb** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 5:15 pm

Meteor Strikes Moon

Yeah, yeah, I know ... it's been going on (sans comments from snarky onlookers) for billions of years ... but this is the first time NASA has seen it happen in real time, as it occured.

tollbaby · Post by **tollbaby** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 12:03 pm

hehe I love those idiotic illustrations they always provide "The impact *may* have looked *something* like this..." If you don't have a bloody photo, it's no excuse to make one up LOL

Post by **Kvetch** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 12:09 pm

The dumbing down in that article bothered (amused) me - especially the closing paragraph:

Bill Cooke said that while the odds of a direct hit with a big meteoroid were almost nil for an individual astronaut, they might be shorter for an entire lunar outpost.

I mean, wtf?! Of course the odds will be higher. It isn't as if they could get lower, is it?

*steams*

Post by **Mr. Titanic** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 9:53 pm

Well today I went out to lunch with my father, and my cousin who works for NASA. I am unsure of his position but my father told me he launches shuttles (by being three of the seven departments that have to say 'Go' for the shuttle to launch). We began discussing religion and then got into space and science. The most interesting part of our conversation I though was how NASA is debating whether or not to send a rocket January 17th of this year, to the Pluto mission. You see, this rocket is expected to go to Pluto, and it travels by Russian engine fast enough to make it to space from Earth in three minutes if I recall correctly. The Rocket will first make it's way to Jupiter, slingshot around it using it's gravity and go off to Pluto, arriving in about nine years from January 17th. Delaying this only about three weeks would alter the time and have it arrive in thirteen years, so every second is crucial (providing planetary positioning).

I asked why a Russian engine was being used, they looked to me more powerful (when viewing his tapes of shuttle launches) but less smooth and say, organized than the American ones. It turns out Russian Engines cost about 1 million as opposed to the thirty-five million American engines cost. I didn't know that though I assumed cost was an issue, as it is with everything. Smart deal. Besides, there was a large difference in age (time it was constructed) between the American Engine I saw, and the Russian one, the Russian being newer. He is expecting to take us should they choose to launch it.

[Notice: Edited to fix misunderstanding between rank, 3 of 7 - not 4 of 11]

Post by **Mr. Titanic** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 12:18 pm

Well, it's official, NASA will send the rocket up and out to Pluto the 17th of this month! In fact, this rocket is the fastest ever launched in NASA history, 400 times quicker than a jet liner. The launch will take place at one, and my cousin got my father tickets. My sister and I will not attend, due to the fact that we have school and I have a meteorology exam that day.

The rocket will arrive at Pluto, or is expected to, in 2015.

Post by **Mr. Titanic** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 4:29 pm

Update:

The rocket was not launched yesterday, January 17th, although NASA did decide that day they would launch it. The computer itself recorded gusts on the surface of 37+ MPH, too strong to launch it off, and the same goes for today, as it was their second attempt. NASA will try once again tomorrow.

Post by **wolfspirit** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 5:31 pm

MrT: The whole east coast seems to be in a windy spell.

Today we had teh top recorded gust at 65mph at my house, with a steady wind in teh 25-30mph range.

wolfspirit

Post by **Darb** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 6:14 pm

Kinda ironic that what will become the fastest manmade object ever launched will likely be delayed by the presence of a comparatively piddly windspeed of only 35+ mph.

Post by **Mr. Titanic** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 6:45 pm

You are correct Wolfspirit, though the High Pressure system is expected to move in by tomorrow, so we'll see.

Brad. I know, I was quite curious about that myself. Actually, those strong gusts were experienced here yesterday, which halted the Horizon's launch. Today, the issue is with Maryland, which is meant to control the rocket when it is launched here. Something related to electrical problems, and while they do have backup generators, the Johns Hopkins University - Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel does not want to rely solely on generator power for such crucial aspect of the launch. They operate it in flight. Also, the rocket is plutonium fueled, and the fear of radiation being emitted due to a (not likely) explosion is in effect as of now. Tomorrow, there is only a 20% chance that towering clouds will disturb the mission, but I still have my eye on that front near the panhandle. Though, the high pressure may just arrive at the right time.

At least Nature's influence on such matters is repspected, this object may be the quickest and all that jazz, but always keep in mind the Titanic, and of course, the Challenger.

Edited to fix mistake "High" was meant where "Hig" was stated in last paragraph.

Post by **wolfspirit** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 7:03 pm

MrT: I live around two hours from Johns Hopkins, and they probably will have all sorts of fun trying to get power back. There is something like 150,000 people in Eastern PA, NJ, MD & DE without power right now. Thankfully, I still have mine, although many people around me do not have power.

wolfspiriti

Post by **Mr. Titanic** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 8:17 pm

Oh!? It's a good thing you had power then, this I hear was all due to a lightning storm? Well they likely didn't have much luck restoring power yesterday, but I do have some good news to share today.

Thatâ€™s right, the shuttle was launched today, from Kennedy Space Center at 2:00 PM! I was at school, and didn't get to see it. My name, my sister's name as well as my father's were on the rocket. Tomorrow I'm going out for lunch with my cousin and father, and can't wait to ask some more questions.

Pfft.. I'm still upset, I wanted to go and see it launch anyway. My father got in I believe, I'm not sure if he went though, so I'll have to ask.

Post by **wolfspirit** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 8:38 pm

MrT: We had hellacious thunderstorms for close to 12 hours that night/morning/midday, and then had 40-60mph gusts to back them up. There were all sorts of electrical problems from nature and stupid drivers.

OTOH, I have some nice pictures from camping of the night sky that I'll put up on here whenever I get the chance. I always have better luck with my Nikon EM than a digital camera with the telescope.

wolfspirit

Post by **Mr. Titanic** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 11:17 pm

wolfspirit wrote:MrT: We had hellacious thunderstorms for close to 12 hours that night/morning/midday, and then had 40-60mph gusts to back them up. There were all sorts of electrical problems from nature and stupid drivers.

OTOH, I have some nice pictures from camping of the night sky that I'll put up on here whenever I get the chance. I always have better luck with my Nikon EM than a digital camera with the telescope.

wolfspirit

It was that bad, was it? I would imagine though, and can relate to such situations, during the summer, we are constantly pestered by bands of continuous thunderstorms/showers. Being right off the ocean doesn't help either. Almost nothing gets to me like some powerful lightning-thunder does. Sixty MPH gusts, now they really put on a show..

Hey! I'd be interested in seeing those, whenever you can please feel free to post pictures. I think one of the most creative pictures of space is the one taken at the south pole where the stars were left to draw out the Earth's rotation. Iâ€™ll look into googling it since my description may be a little vague.

Post by **clong** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 2:57 pm

Freezing cold Earth-like planet is discovered

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0, ... 14,00.html

Post by **clong** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 6:50 am

7 myths about the Challenger shuttle disaster

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11031097

Post by **clong** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 12:16 pm

Very cool video of Stardust re-entry taken from chase plane:

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/06 ... sules.html

Post by **clong** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 4:47 pm

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/02/2 ... index.html?

Post mortem on the 16 chunks of foam that fell off the shuttle during the last launch

Post by **Darb** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 4:53 pm

Pretty short article.

Post by **Darb** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 1:21 pm

New NASA budget delays or cancels many upcoming science missions

Telescopes converge on developing supernova, after being clued-in by telltale gamma burst precursor..

Post by **wolfspirit** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 1:45 pm

Well, the college I'm going to has a small radio telescope on the roof, as well as a few engineers and nerds to hack it to make it work better. From what I understood, they got it working to a degree of accuracy several powers of 10 higher than was possible, according to the company. Of course, the fact that there are very few astronomy students would give me a shot at seeing how one of those things worked first-hand.

Brad: I hate the government in it's neutering of NASA. There used to some really brilliant minds there (and there still are some), but I think they will be going elsewhere in the future, the way things are shaping up.

Of course, after running SETI for five years, I always like to take a look up at the stars

wolfspirit

Post by **Darb** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 2:00 pm

I hate the government in it's neutering of NASA. There used to some really brilliant minds there (and there still are some), but I think they will be going elsewhere in the future, the way things are shaping up

The author of this book shares your feelings, and gives some particularly painful inside examples of imbecilic funding cuts, idiotic/petty research grant decisions, and the like. It's a very good book ... I think you'd probably enjoy it, if you're interested in astronomy.

Post by **clong** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 4:56 pm

Ground-based telescopes 'worthless' by 2050

Post by **Ghost** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:57 pm

It would have been more worthwhile to see jet trails effect in the area of telescopes.

My father was the Operations Manager for Kitt Peak National Observatory in Southern Arizona for several years. He was Engineering Manager prior to Operation manager and then was sent back to Engineering manager due to political reasons; when someone in Washington DC wanted a Astronomer to be Operations Manager not some electrical engineer (God, I sound like Brad -

).

We had a house on the mountain for a lot of years and I got to see some fantastic sights (including sunset on the solar telescope with the flash of green â€“ some neat stuff).

IMHO: From my experience city lights are what are going to kill astronomic observations.

Post by **Mr. Titanic** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 6:31 pm

Ghost wrote: We had a house on the mountain for a lot of years and I got to see some fantastic sights (including sunset on the solar telescope with the flash of green â€“ some neat stuff).

IMHO: From my experience city lights are what are going to kill astronomic observations.

Wow, I imagine that was quite an experience. I do know down here we get excellent sunrises and sunsets, and I'm positive an often clear view of the sky. City lights do contribute, but I like to think pollution also has an effect, and with cities such as Los Angeles, it's a clear given.

Post by **Darb** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 4:26 pm

Ok, here's a small and amusing flurry of recent announcements and retractions, regarding possible discovery of life in our solar system, courtesy of Charlie (who clued me in via e-mail):

Drudge Report: NASA'S CASSINI DISCOVERS POTENTIAL LIQUID WATER ON ENCELADUS, Thu Mar 09 2006 11:21:33 ET

Orlando Channel 13: 'Big NASA Announcement Set For Today'... // 'NASA is planning to make a huge announcement today, about possible life in our own solar system' <---- this erroneous announcement has since been yanked {thankfully}

UPDATE: NASA Will Not Announce Life Find; News Station Misinterpreted Agency's Release.

Charlie Pellegrino wrote:Dear Rip, Adam, Roy:

Stoff and I had worked out Enceladus interior 25 years ago for Darwin's Universe, Time Gate, etc. Adam, you were mentioning Dust this morning and you may recall that Enceladus' ice geysers were an intricate part of the novel - "Clasp the monkey, Saturn." Indeed, it was mine and Powell's design of the melt-through probes at Brookhaven National Laboratory that got me sailing with Ballard and the deep-ocean robot Argo in 1985 - and which dropped me into the Titanic saga totally by accident (when it all comes down to bottom, Titanic was just another interesting thing happening on the way to the moons of Saturn and Jupiter). See you later,
- - Charlie P.

BTW: I still have correspondence of what I had pointed out over a year ago (I had CCed you, Brad) of what was clearly a recently erupted cryo-volcanic peak on Enceladus' surface - but it brought only yawns from JPL group (too soon on the heels of the Nesarose incident, I guess).

John: I have a bad cough at the moment (walking pnemonia - the doc. observed last week that it wouldn't be worth wasting his breath telling me to take a break and go to bed) - but this certainly has been an interesting week for Vesuvius and Enceladus news.