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Universe Today
14 Oct 2010, 12:54 UTC
Ready for another Where In The Universe Challenge? Here’s #105! Take a look and see if you can name where in the Universe this image is from. Give yourself extra points if you can name the spacecraft, telescope or instrument responsible for the image. We provide the image today, but won’t reveal the answer until tomorrow. This gives you a chance to mull over the image and provide your answer/guess in the comment section. And Please, no links or extensive explanations of what you think this is — give everyone the chance to guess. (Some folks have been messing that up lately — let’s get it right people!!)© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Where In the Universe? Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh
Where In The Universe Challenge #122
14 Oct 2010, 12:54 UTC
Ready for another Where In The Universe Challenge? Here’s #105! Take a look and see if you can name where in the Universe this image is from. Give yourself extra points if you can name the spacecraft, telescope or instrument responsible for the image. We provide the image today, but won’t reveal the answer until tomorrow. This gives you a chance to mull over the image and provide your answer/guess in the comment section. And Please, no links or extensive explanations of what you think this is — give everyone the chance to guess. (Some folks have been messing that up lately — let’s get it right people!!)© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Where In the Universe? Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh
Centauri Dreams
14 Oct 2010, 12:45 UTC
The recent debate between Jean Schneider (Paris Observatory) and Ian Crawford (University of London) is the sort of dialogue I’d like to see more of in public forums. When I began researching Centauri Dreams (the book) back in 2002, I was deeply surprised by the sheer energy flowing into interstellar flight research. True, it lacked focus and tended to be done by researchers in their spare time, as opposed to being funded by universities or government agencies, but I had not realized that the topic itself was under such serious investigation by so many scientists. All those fascinating concepts, from laser sails to fusion runways, were the catalyst for this site, where keeping an eye on the ongoing discussion is the order of the day. In an era of short-term thinking and instant gratification through one gadget or another, taking a longer look at the human enterprise and where it is going is an imperative. One way to do that is to consider whether our species has a future in deep space, and just what the shape of that future might be. Discussions like Schneider’s and Crawford’s look long-term, at what we might one day accomplish with our technologies, and ...
Dust and Fast Missions
14 Oct 2010, 12:45 UTC
The recent debate between Jean Schneider (Paris Observatory) and Ian Crawford (University of London) is the sort of dialogue I’d like to see more of in public forums. When I began researching Centauri Dreams (the book) back in 2002, I was deeply surprised by the sheer energy flowing into interstellar flight research. True, it lacked focus and tended to be done by researchers in their spare time, as opposed to being funded by universities or government agencies, but I had not realized that the topic itself was under such serious investigation by so many scientists. All those fascinating concepts, from laser sails to fusion runways, were the catalyst for this site, where keeping an eye on the ongoing discussion is the order of the day. In an era of short-term thinking and instant gratification through one gadget or another, taking a longer look at the human enterprise and where it is going is an imperative. One way to do that is to consider whether our species has a future in deep space, and just what the shape of that future might be. Discussions like Schneider’s and Crawford’s look long-term, at what we might one day accomplish with our technologies, and ...
IYA2009 Updates
14 Oct 2010, 09:53 UTC
An Astronomical Images Competition The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is proud to present Hidden Treasures — a free competition for everyone who enjoys making beautiful images of the night sky using real astronomical data. The competition has some extremely attractive prizes for the lucky winners who produce the most beautiful ...
Discover ESO's Hidden Treasures
14 Oct 2010, 09:53 UTC
An Astronomical Images Competition The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is proud to present Hidden Treasures — a free competition for everyone who enjoys making beautiful images of the night sky using real astronomical data. The competition has some extremely attractive prizes for the lucky winners who produce the most beautiful ...
Space Fellowship
14 Oct 2010, 08:54 UTC
Scientists at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) have developed a new system for docking and capturing space satellites based on robotics and computer vision technology to autonomously guide a space vehicle to dock and capture the satellites.Within the framework of this research project, “Acoplamiento y Agarre de Satélites mediante Sistemas Robóticos basado en Visión (Docking and Capture of Satellites through computer vision) (ASIROV)”, the scientists have developed algorithms an [...]
A New System for Locating and Capturing Satellites in Space
14 Oct 2010, 08:54 UTC
Scientists at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) have developed a new system for docking and capturing space satellites based on robotics and computer vision technology to autonomously guide a space vehicle to dock and capture the satellites.Within the framework of this research project, “Acoplamiento y Agarre de Satélites mediante Sistemas Robóticos basado en Visión (Docking and Capture of Satellites through computer vision) (ASIROV)”, the scientists have developed algorithms an [...]
ESA Science & Technology
14 Oct 2010, 08:46 UTC
Astronomers using XMM-Newton and other world-class X-ray telescopes have probed a curious source, which emits flares and bursts just like a magnetar but lacks the extremely high external magnetic field typical of these objects. The detection of this source, which could be powered by a strong, internal magnetic field hidden to observations, may mean that many 'ordinary' pulsars are dormant magnetars waiting to erupt.
XMM-Newton: Are most pulsars really magnetars in disguise?
14 Oct 2010, 08:46 UTC
Astronomers using XMM-Newton and other world-class X-ray telescopes have probed a curious source, which emits flares and bursts just like a magnetar but lacks the extremely high external magnetic field typical of these objects. The detection of this source, which could be powered by a strong, internal magnetic field hidden to observations, may mean that many 'ordinary' pulsars are dormant magnetars waiting to erupt.
The Daily Galaxy
14 Oct 2010, 07:40 UTC
Is Beijing, seen here during a sandstorm in March, a harbinger for Earth's megacities? Carbon pollution and over-use of Earth's natural resources have become so critical that, on current trends, we will need a second planet to meet our needs...
Sprawl! Is It Time to Find a Second Earth?
14 Oct 2010, 07:40 UTC
Is Beijing, seen here during a sandstorm in March, a harbinger for Earth's megacities? Carbon pollution and over-use of Earth's natural resources have become so critical that, on current trends, we will need a second planet to meet our needs...
The Daily Galaxy
14 Oct 2010, 07:14 UTC
Starting with a wide view of the central part of our Milky Way galaxy we zoom in on the tiny constellation of Corona Australis (the Southern Crown), located beside the larger constellation of Sagittarius and towards the centre of our...
A Moment of Zen: The Mystery of Star Birth
14 Oct 2010, 07:14 UTC
Starting with a wide view of the central part of our Milky Way galaxy we zoom in on the tiny constellation of Corona Australis (the Southern Crown), located beside the larger constellation of Sagittarius and towards the centre of our...
21st Century Waves
14 Oct 2010, 06:43 UTC
In the 1950s this might have been called a UFO “Wave”, but today it just appears that interest in extraterrestrials – some of whom might even be coming here – is the rage from China to London and of course to Hollywood. Does our growing global fascination with extraterrestrials suggest the new international Space Age [...] In the 1950s this might have been called a UFO “Wave”, but today it just appears that interest in extraterrestrials – some of whom might even be coming here – is the rage from China to London and of course to Hollywood. Does our growing global fascination with extraterrestrials suggest the new international Space Age is just around the corner? Click A Chinese Astronomer Says Yes Wang Sichao, a veteran astronomer of the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said flat out in August that “extraterrestrial beings do exist and their UFOs have the ability to visit our earth,” (Peoples’ Daily Online, 8/23/10). His statements are as unequivocal as former Apollo Moon-walking astronaut Edgar Mitchell, who has claimed for years that “…we have been visited on this planet and the UFO phenomenon is real … It has been covered up by ...
State of the Wave: ETs Surge to Center Stage
14 Oct 2010, 06:43 UTC
In the 1950s this might have been called a UFO “Wave”, but today it just appears that interest in extraterrestrials – some of whom might even be coming here – is the rage from China to London and of course to Hollywood. Does our growing global fascination with extraterrestrials suggest the new international Space Age [...] In the 1950s this might have been called a UFO “Wave”, but today it just appears that interest in extraterrestrials – some of whom might even be coming here – is the rage from China to London and of course to Hollywood. Does our growing global fascination with extraterrestrials suggest the new international Space Age is just around the corner? Click A Chinese Astronomer Says Yes Wang Sichao, a veteran astronomer of the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said flat out in August that “extraterrestrial beings do exist and their UFOs have the ability to visit our earth,” (Peoples’ Daily Online, 8/23/10). His statements are as unequivocal as former Apollo Moon-walking astronaut Edgar Mitchell, who has claimed for years that “…we have been visited on this planet and the UFO phenomenon is real … It has been covered up by ...
Cosmic Log
14 Oct 2010, 00:37 UTC
NASA is going where no space agency has gone before — the Etsy online crafts market — with a design contest to celebrate the space shuttle era. Ms Premise-ConclusionA 20-inch-high crocheted space shuttle, created by Ms Premise-Conclusion for the Etsy crafts website, has detachable sections "for easy playability." NASA is going where no space agency has gone before — the Etsy online crafts market — with a design contest to celebrate the space shuttle era. Etsy is an e-commerce website specializing in handcrafted goods that blend quality and quirkiness, an "eBay for the artisan crowd," as my colleague Helen A.S. Popkin described it. There are already quite a few space-themed products for sale, ranging from a $5 patterns for a crocheted space shuttle to a $2,000 galaxy quilt. The NASA-backed contest may well add to the selection. NASA is hoping the contest will spark some spacey ideas from Etsy's 5.5 million members, 96 percent of whom are women, with the majority under 35 years old. Word of the contest has already sparked more than 100 responses to Etsy's call for entries. "The contest reaches an important audience NASA would like to better engage to help share the excitement that is ...
A different kind of space craft
14 Oct 2010, 00:37 UTC
NASA is going where no space agency has gone before — the Etsy online crafts market — with a design contest to celebrate the space shuttle era. Ms Premise-ConclusionA 20-inch-high crocheted space shuttle, created by Ms Premise-Conclusion for the Etsy crafts website, has detachable sections "for easy playability." NASA is going where no space agency has gone before — the Etsy online crafts market — with a design contest to celebrate the space shuttle era. Etsy is an e-commerce website specializing in handcrafted goods that blend quality and quirkiness, an "eBay for the artisan crowd," as my colleague Helen A.S. Popkin described it. There are already quite a few space-themed products for sale, ranging from a $5 patterns for a crocheted space shuttle to a $2,000 galaxy quilt. The NASA-backed contest may well add to the selection. NASA is hoping the contest will spark some spacey ideas from Etsy's 5.5 million members, 96 percent of whom are women, with the majority under 35 years old. Word of the contest has already sparked more than 100 responses to Etsy's call for entries. "The contest reaches an important audience NASA would like to better engage to help share the excitement that is ...
Astro Bob
13 Oct 2010, 19:33 UTC
Don’t go looking for Mercury anytime soon. In three days it will be in superior conjunction with the sun. Translation: Mercury, the sun and Earth will all be in a straight line with Mercury on the far side of the … Continue reading → The sun is hidden behind a mask in SOHO's coronagraph in this photo taken today at 12:30 p.m. The rays around the disk are the sun's corona or atmosphere. The line through Mercury is an electronic artifact. Credit: NASA/ESA Don’t go looking for Mercury anytime soon. In three days it will be in superior conjunction with the sun. Translation: Mercury, the sun and Earth will all be in a straight line with Mercury on the far side of the sun. From our perspective, the planet will appear right next to the sun in daylight. Atmospheric glare and intense sunlight will prevent you from seeing it. In the old days, before spacecraft kept a watch on planets near and far, you’d have to wait patiently until Mercury passed the sun and then reappeared in the evening or morning sky. No more. The orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) keeps watch 24 hours a day, looking for solar ...
