News Updates
Thursday 5th February 2009
Comet Lulin Approaches Earth
Comet Lulin (C/2007 N3) is approaching Earth for a 38 million mile close encounter in late February. At that time, the comet could brighten to naked eye visibility (5th magnitude). Meanwhile, it's a nice target for backyard telescopes:
Feb. 6th: Comet Lulin glides by Zubenelgenubi, a double star at the fulcrum of Libra's scales. Zubenelgenubi is not only fun to say (zuBEN-el-JA-newbee), but also a handy guide.
Feb. 16th: Comet Lulin passes Spica in the constellation Virgo. Spica is a star of first magnitude and a guidepost even city astronomers cannot miss. A finderscope pointed at Spica will capture Comet Lulin in the field of view, centering the optics within a nudge of both objects.
Feb. 24th: Closest approach! On this special morning, Lulin will lie just a few degrees from Saturn in the constellation Leo. Saturn is obvious to the unaided eye, and Lulin could be as well. If this doesn't draw you out of bed, nothing will!
Saturday 17th January 2009
ASTEROID FLYBY: NASA's Goldstone Radar in the Mojave Desert is trained on asteroid 1998 CS1. The 1.3 km-wide space rock is flying past Earth today only 2.5 million miles away.
(That's close in astronomical terms!!!!!) Radar images should reveal much about the asteroid including its shape, spin, and precise location. This information will help astronomers better forecast future encounters with the asteroid, which is considered potentially hazardous.
Friday 16th January 2009
The Red Planet is Not a Dead Planet
Jan. 15, 2009: Mars today is a world of cold and lonely deserts, apparently without life of any kind, at least on the surface. Indeed it looks like Mars has been cold and dry for billions of years, with an atmosphere so thin, any liquid water on the surface quickly boils away while the sun's ultraviolet radiation scorches the ground.
The situation sounds bleak, but research published today in Science Express reveals new hope for the Red Planet. The first definitive detection of methane in the atmosphere of Mars indicates that Mars is still alive, in either a biologic or geologic sense, according to a team of NASA and university scientists.
New Discoveries at Mercury
4/7/08
Mercury's magnetic field is "alive." Volcanic vents ring the planet's giant Caloris Basin. And Mercury has shrunk in on itself more than previously suspected.
Pluto's position decided: It is a Plutoid!
11th June 2008 IAU announce:
2 Plutoids in our Solar System
Pluto and Eris
1 Dwarf planet (for now)
Ceres.
Sunday 1st June 2008
Discovery has lifted off safely: (early Sunday morning Aust time)
Bound for the International Space Station with Commander Mark Kelly and seven astronauts on board,
Also on board is a Japanese laboratory to be installed.
Read all about it by clicking here - compliments NASA
26th May 2008
Phoenix lands safely on Mars
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter photographs Phoenix landing on Mars
Photographs from Phoenix are already beaming back to Earth.
This is another first for NASA - a photographed landing on another planet.
Congratulations NASA
Friday 16th May 2008
Phoenix is about to land on Mars
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Phoenix is due to land on Mars about the 25th May.
(Artist impression of Phoenix)
Friday 18th April 2008
This week NASA announced that it is extending the Cassini-Huygens mission for another two years.
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Cassini will photograph Saturn and it moons for another two years.
Comet 17P/Holmes - see details under this heading.
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Left: Comet 17P/Holmes and the California Nebula.
Fifty Years of Space Exploration:
On October 4 1957 Sputnik (meaning fellow traveller or satellite in Russian) was the first man-made object or satellite put into orbit around the Earth. Sputnik I circled Earth about every 98 minutes, sending out a bleep bleep signal. Sputnik I weighed only 183 pounds and contained a battery and a radio transmitter, as well as instruments to measure conditions in space such as temperature.
The launch took the Americans by surprise and marked the start of the "space race" between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. The Americans had also planned to launch a satellite, Vanguard, but were beaten by the Russians. Before Vanguard could be launched the Russians struck again. On November 3, Sputnik II was launched, carrying a much heavier payload, including a dog named Laika.
On January 31, 1958, the tide changed, when the United States successfully launched Explorer I. This satellite carried a small scientific payload that eventually discovered the magnetic radiation belts around the Earth, named after principal investigator James Van Allen. The Explorer program continued as a successful ongoing series of lightweight, scientifically useful spacecraft. The Sputnik launch also led directly to the creation of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).