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News of Astronomy, Space, Science, & Technology

Table of Contents

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Saturn Moon Movie

The Moving Moons of Saturn

Astronomy Picture of the Day Jun 27 2006

The moons of Saturn never stop.

A space traveler orbiting the ringed giant planet would witness a continuing silent dance where Saturn's multiple moons pass near each other in numerous combinations. Like a miniature Solar System, the innermost moons orbit Saturn the fastest.

The above movie was centered on Saturn's moon Rhea, so that the moons Mimas and Enceladus appear to glide by. At 1,500 kilometers across, Rhea is over three times larger than the comparably sized Mimas and Enceladus.

The Sun illuminates the scene from the lower right, giving all of the moons the same crescent phase.

The above time lapse movie was created by the Saturn-orbiting robotic Cassini spacecraft over a period of about 40 minutes.

See Astronomy Picture of the Day for links to further info.

The Space Shuttle

Nasa's space shuttle site - For the latest information see NASA human spaceflight page

For info on the Columbia investigation see the STS-107 Investigation Reference page.

Countdown for Discovery Launch to Begin Tomorrow, June 28

Shuttle Countdown Begins Wednesday

Physics Org Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:52 AM ET

NASA announced Monday the countdown for the next launch of space shuttle Discovery will begin at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday at the "T minus 43 hours" mark. Included in the countdown are nearly 28 hours of built-in holds prior to the targeted launch time of 3:49 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, July 1, with a launch window that extends for about five minutes.

What Happens If Discovery Is Damaged in July Launch

NASA prepared for shuttle emergency

New Scientist - Latest Headlines Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:52 AM ET

If the shuttle is damaged during its planned launch on 1 July, NASA has several options to keep its crew safe — but the orbiter itself would probably be lost

Minor damage - such as a small hole or crack - might be patched on an emergency spacewalk. During the last shuttle flight in July 2005, crew members tested several techniques for repairing a damaged heat shield. NASA would then have to be confident that any repair would survive the intense heat of atmospheric re-entry.

"Hopefully with some video and still pictures they could determine how likely it is that the repair would work for a re-entry," says mission pilot Mark Kelly.

But if the shuttle is damaged critically by a foam impact during launch - as was Columbia in 2003 - it will try to dock with the International Space Station. There, Discovery's seven astronauts would join the two crew members aboard the station in a refuge programme called Contingency Shuttle Crew Support (CSCS).

Shuttle to Carry Plant Growth Experiment

Seeding Space

Astrobiology Magazine Jun 27 2006

When shuttle Discovery launches July 1, it will carry the continuing research of botanist John Kiss to study if and how well plants can be grown in microgravity. Kiss' project is one of only two experiments launched on Discovery that will be performed on the International Space Station at this time.

Lead Engineer for Shuttle Flight Fired

NASA JSC's Head of Engineering Re-Assigned Days Before STS-121 Launch

SPACE.com Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:52 AM ET

Less than a year after his first spaceflight and just one week shy of his helping to lead another from the ground, Charles Camarda has been fired from his position as Director, Engineering at NASA Johnson Space Center.

NASA engineering official reassigned

MSNBC.com: Technology & Science Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:52 AM ET

NASA replaces a key safety official

floridatoday.com - Space Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:51 AM ET

NASA replaces a high-ranking safety official five days before the launch of Discovery.

The International Space Station

Nasa's ISS site

For the latest information see NASA human spaceflight page

Cargo Ship Arrives at Space Station

Progress 22 Docks with the Station

Universe Today Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:52 AM ET

A new Progress cargo ship docked to the International Space Station today, carrying more than 2.5 tonnes of fuel, water and other supplies. Progress 20 was recently detached from the station to make room for this new arrival; it will burn up in reentry shortly. Progress 22 might actually remain permanently attached to the station, though, serving as extra closet space for the astronauts.

Fresh Russian Cargo Ship Docks at ISS

SPACE.com Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:52 AM ET

Two astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) welcomed the arrival of a Russian cargo ship Monday, the first of two spacecraft set to visit the orbital laboratory in upcoming weeks.

See SPACE.com for links to further info.

Space Station Cluttered with Junk

Astronauts running out of space on cluttered station

USATODAY.com Science and Space - Top Stories Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:52 AM ET

There's so much stuff on the International Space Station that it blocks access to storage cabinets, fills up rooms and makes losing objects easy. And the overflow is about to get worse. NASA plans to have space shuttle Discovery drop off 5,000 pounds of supplies next week. The shuttle will leave behind more than it takes away.

Space Missions

News of current and future space missions

NASA Missions Website

New Horizons Pluto Mission

Europe's Venus Express Mission

Messenger Mission to Mercury

NASA Goes to the National Academy for Goals of Moon Missions

NASA Solicits Scientists' Input on Lunar Experiments

SPACE.com Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:52 AM ET

As NASA sets its sights on returning to the Moon, the U.S. space agency wants to make sure the scientific research done there is no mere afterthought, but a well-conceived program developed in close consultation with the scientific community.

Privatizing Spaceflight

The commercialization of space

Space tourism

Development of manned spacecraft financed by private business or individuals

The X-PRIZE for privately financed spaceflight

SpaceShipOne wins the X-Prize

The Virgin Galactic website

The Space Adventures website

The Rocketplane website

The private launch firm SpaceX

Blue Orbit Releases Plans for Commercial Suborbital Flight

More Clues About Blue Origin's Space Plans

Slashdot: Science Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:52 AM ET

FleaPlus writes

"Blue Origin, the secretive company started by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, has recently released a number of new details about their suborbital launch plans and their private desert launch facility. The vehicle will be fully reusable, and similar in many ways to the vertical-takeoff-and-landing DC-X. The details were part of a 229-page environmental impact statement the company filed to comply with federal regulations. The company plans to start launching test vehicles later this year, with commercial operations beginning in 2010."

See Slashdot: Science for links to further info.

Watching the Sky

Sky events visible to the casual observer or amateur astronomer

What's Up in the Sky This Week

What's Up this Week: June 26 - July 2, 2006

Universe Today Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:52 AM ET

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! As warm nights and later sky dark hours descend on the northern hemisphere, it's time to begin our studies along the incredible arm of the Milky Way galaxy. What better way to begin than with a swim in the "Lagoon Nebula"! Enjoy the beautiful nights and get out your binoculars and telescopes, because...

Here's what's up!

Things for the Telescope Observer to Look at Tonight

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

What's Up - 365 Days of Skywatching Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:52 AM ET

While the Moon is still so close to new and tender, it won’t hamper studies as we follow the Milky Way north. Tonight we’ll take a more detailed look at seven studies all within half a fist width north of Al Nasl (Gamma.) …

Space Weather

Solar activity, auroras & magnetic storms, and the solar wind

A space weather FAQ

Computer Simulates the Solar Corona

Sun's Corona Simulated

Universe Today Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:52 AM ET

A new simulation by NASA and the National Science Foundation accurately predicted what the Sun's corona should look like during a recent solar eclipse. The corona is a turbulent region around the Sun which is shaped by twisting magnetic fields. Billions of tonnes of plasma are ejected into space as these fields suddenly snap to new configurations. The simulation too 4 days to complete on a supercomputer with 700 processors.

Supercomputer predicts shape of Sun's corona

New Scientist - Latest Headlines Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:52 AM ET

Simulations match actual images of the Sun's wispy outer atmosphere taken during a solar eclipse - better space weather forecasts may result

The Global Environment

Global climate change, the ozone layer, worldwide disease threats, & other world environmental issues

Global Warming FAQs:

US National Climate Data Center
Natural Resources Defense Council
Union of Concerned Scientists
Skepticism About Global Warming from Brian Carnell's Skepticism.net
See Wikipedia for both sides of the debate

Ozone Layer FAQs:

Ozone Hole FAQ from The Weather Underground
Ozone Depletion FAQs from faqs.org

Warming Affects Even The Crust of the Earth

Global warming goes deep

Physics Org Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:52 AM ET

With theaters everywhere screening Al Gore's movie, "An Inconvenient Truth," and the National Research Council issuing a new report on global warming, you'd have to be hiding under a rock to be unaware that Earth is heating up.

Planet Earth

Weather Patterns Affect Movement of the Geographic Pole

Weather makes Earth wobble

MSNBC.com: Technology & Science Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:52 AM ET

Weather can have huge affects, from sinking a city to causing hillsides to slip away, but scientists say the weather might have an even larger impact — causing the whole planet to wobble.

Tracking Earth's wobbles

Spaceflight Now Jun 26 2006

New technologies are enabling scientists to determine precisely the extent and causes of Earth's short-term wobbling. Like a spinning top, Earth wobbles as it rotates on its axis. In fact, it displays many different wobbling motions, ranging in period from a few minutes to billions of years.

Near-Earth Objects

Asteroids and objects whose orbits may bring them near to the earth

Also past and possible future asteroid or comet impacts on the earth

Also meteors and meteorites

NASA's Near Earth Object Program

Big Space Rock to Fly By Earth on July 3

Huge Asteroid to Fly Past Earth July 3

SPACE.com Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:52 AM ET

One of the largest space rocks ever known to come so close to Earth will be just beyond the Moon's orbit and visible to experienced backyard skywatchers with large telescopes.

See SPACE.com for links to further info.

ASTEROID FLYBY

SpaceWeather.com Jun 27 2006

During the early morning hours of Monday, July 3rd, asteroid 2004 XP14 will fly past Earth barely farther away than the Moon. XP14 is large enough (600 meters wide) and bright enough (11th magnitude) to see through backyard telescopes as it races across the star-fields of the Milky Way. There's no danger of a collision, just a nice photo-op for amateur astronomers. [sky map] [ephemeris] [observing tips]

See SpaceWeather.com for links to further info.

Saturn

Saturn and its moons

Background information about Saturn

The Cassini mission to Saturn

Cassini Image: Enceladus and Janus

Enceladus and Janus

Universe Today Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:52 AM ET

This photograph, captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft shows Saturn's moons Enceladus and Janus. Also visible is Saturn's F ring, including the bright core which is about 50 km wide, and contains many features of its own. Cassini took this photograph on May 21, 2006 when it was approximately 565,000 kilometers (351,000 miles) from Janus and 702,000 kilometers (436,000 miles) from Enceladus.

Exoplanets

Formation of planetary systems - including our own Solar System

Planets outside the solar system

See exoplanets.org for further information.

Also see the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopedia. and Planet Quest at JPL

Space Missons seeking earthlike planets:

• The Kepler Mission
• The Darwin Mission
• The Space Interferometer Mission
• The Terrestrial Planet Finder observatories

Extrasolar planets in the Wikipedia

Epsilon Eridani: Rotating Dust Disk Suggests Planet Formation

Rotating Disk Could Contain Newly Forming Planets

Universe Today Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:52 AM ET

Astronomers from the University of St. Andrews have found evidence that a ring of dust around nearby Epison Eridani is rotating. The observations were made using the Submillimetre Common User Bolometer Array (SCUBA), which images the sky in the near infrared spectrum. This gives evidence to the theory that the disks of gas we see around newborn stars will eventually go on to become planets. In fact, the clumps of material tracked by the astronomers could even be newly forming planets themselves, still embedded in a vast disk of gas and dust.

Out of Left Field

News interesting to the editor that doesn't fit into other categories

Weird stuff also goes here

What Language You Grew Up Speaking Determines How You Do Math

Chinese, English speakers handle math differently

USATODAY.com Science and Space - Top Stories Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:52 AM ET

Things add up differently for native English speakers compared with people who learned Chinese as a first language. Simple arithmetic was easily done by both groups, but they used different parts of the brain, a new study shows. English speakers also showed activity in a language processing area of the brain, while native Chinese speakers used a brain region involved in the processing of visual information.

Chinese, English speakers handle math differently

MSNBC.com: Technology & Science Download time: Jun 27 2006 6:52 AM ET

Brain scans show that different areas are activated when native English speakers and native Chinese speakers work on math problems.

Weird: Native Curse Haunts Air Force California Launch Site