Dome News

News of Astronomy, Space, Science, & Technology

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Dome News Updates

Occasional Update #4

Editor Out of Town

This is the fourth of the irregular updates that the editor will provide during his travels.

These two months are going to be a travel period for the editor. It's a summer vacation -- visits to old friends in Minnesota, and a month in New Mexico.

It's hard to keep up with the news on the road. So you can expect some updates — like this one —, but at this point there is no way to say exactly when the next one will be.

We will be back in Texas by about Sept. 1. The regular updates should resume shortly after that.

                                                            --- The Editor

Astronomy Picture of the Day

The Most Recently Discovered Plutoid

Makemake of the Outer Solar System

Astronomy Picture of the Day Jul 16 2008

Recently discovered Makemake is one of the largest objects known in the outer Solar System.

Pronounced MAH-kay MAH-kay, this Kuiper belt object is only slightly smaller than Pluto, orbits the Sun only slightly further out than Pluto, and appears only slightly dimmer than Pluto. Makemake, however, has an orbit much more tilted to the ecliptic plane of the planets than Pluto.

Designated 2005 FY9 soon after its discovery by a team led by Mike Brown (Caltech) in 2005, the outer Solar System orb was recently renamed Makemake for the creator of humanity in the Rapa Nui mythology of Easter Island. Additionally, Makemake has been recently classified as a dwarf planet under the new subcategory plutoid, making Makemake the third cataloged plutoid after Pluto and Eris. Makemake is known to be a world somewhat red in appearance, with spectra indicating it is likely covered with frozen methane.

Since no images of Makemake's surface yet exist, an artist's illustration originally meant to depict Sedna has been boldly co-opted above to now illustrate Makemake. A hypothetical moon is visualized above nearly in the direction of our distant Sun.

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

NASA Image of the Day

Image: STS-124 in Washington

STS-124 Crew Tours the Nation's Capital

NASA Image of the Day Download time: Jul 16 2008 1:19 PM ET

STS-124 commander Mark E. Kelly (left) introduced his crew mates and made a presentation at NASA's Washington D.C. headquarters during the crew's tour of the Nation's capital on July 15, 2008. From left to right are Kelly, mission pilot Kenneth L. Ham, mission specialists Karen L. Nyberg and Michael E. Fossum, JAXA astronaut Akihido Hoshide and Expedition 17 flight engineer Garrett Reisman.

Kelly, Nyberg and Reisman visited wounded soldiers at the National Naval Medical Center. The other crewmembers visited soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical. During the visits, the STS-124 crew presented the soldiers with American flags flown during the mission.

During the visit, which will end on July 18, the crew also will visit the Naval Observatory and attend a reception on Capitol Hill.

The International Space Station

Nasa's ISS site

The Wikipedia article on the Space Station

For the latest information see NASA human spaceflight page

What's Happening on the Space Station

NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 15 July 2008

SpaceRef ISS Top Stories Download time: Jul 16 2008 1:19 PM ET

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below.

The Orlan spacewalk EVA-20 by CDR Volkov and FE-1 Kononenko from the DC1 (Docking Compartment) airlock lasted 5 hrs 54 min. All objectives were successfully achieved. The spacewalkers…

Space Station Crew Spacewalks Again

Cosmonauts' Second Spacewalk Goes Smoothly

SPACE.com Download time: Jul 16 2008 1:20 PM ET

Two Russian spacewalkers installed a docking target and changed out science experiments during their second career spacewalk on Tuesday outside the International Space Station.

The almost six-hour spacewalk began on schedule at 1:08 p.m. EDT (1708 GMT) and allowed space station commander Sergei Volkov and flight engineer Oleg Kononenko to finish their tasks on time — despite an added, impromptu fix to a disabled ham radio antenna.…

See SPACE.com for links to further info.

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

What's Up in the Solar System This Week

What's up in the solar system for the week of July 14

Planetary Society Weblog Download time: Jul 16 2008 1:20 PM ET

What's new in the solar system this week? As has been the trend for the last few weeks, there aren't a lot of close encounters planned for the Cassini mission, which continues its stable once-per-week orbits of Saturn; it just this morning passed periapsis (its closest approach) of Rev 76, crossing to the sunlit side of the rings. With the once-per-week orbits, periapsis happens on Mondays and apoapsis on Thursdays. However, even if there ....

Other Nations in Space

Space exploration by nations other than the United States

The Chinese space program

The Soviet space program

The current Russian space program

The Japanese Space Agency

China on the Moon Before U. S.?

Griffin: China Could Beat US in Moon Race

Universe Today Download time: Jul 16 2008 1:20 PM ET

More bad news for NASA: even their administrator thinks China could beat the US to the Moon. Speaking with the BBC today, Michael Griffin shared his views about the Chinese space aspirations, pointing out that the super-state could, if they wanted to, send a manned mission to the lunar surface within a decade. NASA's return mission to the Moon is planned to launch, at the earliest, in 2020, so this news is bound to knock the wind out of the US space agency's hopes to continue where it left off in 1972…

See Universe Today for links to further info.

Watching the Sky

Sky events visible to the casual observer or amateur astronomer

Buying and Using a Telescope

The Upcoming Solar Eclipse

The Science Behind the Aug. 1 Solar Eclipse

SPACE.com Download time: Jul 16 2008 1:20 PM ET

A total solar eclipse Aug. 1 will be seen only by a handful of observers lucky enough to be in the path, which starts in Canada and runs across the Arctic, through Russia and into China.

For those select few, day will turn to night, the stars will come out (weather permitting), and the moon's blackout of the sun will provide a dazzling visual spectacle that skywatchers will never forget.

The celestial alignment will create a partial eclipse visible across a broader area, including the far northeastern corner of North America and most of Europe and Asia.…

See SPACE.com for links to further info.

Mars

Mars and Its Moons

Background information about Mars

NASA's Mars Rover site at JPL

A gallery of Spirit's images and slideshow

A gallery of Opportunity's images and slideshow

Google Mars

Mars Global Surveyor

Mars Odyssey

Mars Express orbiter

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)

Mars Phoenix Lander

Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

Phoenix to Practice Ice Collection

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander To Begin Rasping Frozen Layer

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News Download time: Jul 16 2008 1:20 PM ET

A powered rasp on the back of the robotic arm scoop of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is being tested for the first time on Mars in gathering sample shavings of ice.

The lander has used its arm in recent days to clear away loose soil from a subsurface layer of hard-frozen material and create a large enough area to use the motorized rasp in a trench informally named "Snow White."

The Phoenix team prepared commands early Tuesday for beginning a series of tests with the rasp later in the day. Engineers and scientists designed the tests to lead up to, in coming days, delivering a sample of icy soil into one of the lander's laboratory ovens.…

NASA Makes Shaved Ice on Mars

SPACE.com Download time: Jul 16 2008 1:20 PM ET

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has begun using a special rasp tool to shave off bits of the hard icy material on the Martian ground.

The rasp is a motorized tool attached to the back of the lander's robotic arm scoop, which scientists hope will be able to grind enough ice off the ground to eventually use as a sample in Phoenix's Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA) oven instrument.…

See SPACE.com for links to further info.

Once, Widespread Water on Mars

Ancient Mars Had Widespread Water, Potential To Support Life

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News Download time: Jul 16 2008 1:20 PM ET

Mars once hosted vast lakes, flowing rivers and a variety of other wet environments that had the potential to support life, according to two new studies based on data from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) and other instruments on board NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

"The big surprise from these new results is how pervasive and long-lasting Mars' water was, and how diverse the wet environments were," says Scott Murchie, CRISM's principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), in Laurel, Md.

One study, published in the July 17 issue of Nature, shows that vast regions of the ancient highlands of Mars—which cover about half the planet—contain clay minerals, which can form only in the presence of water. Volcanic lavas buried the clay-rich regions during subsequent, drier periods of the planet's history, but impact craters later exposed them at thousands of locations across the planet.

Early Mars Was All Wet

SPACE.com Download time: Jul 16 2008 1:20 PM ET

A lot more Martian rocks were altered by water than scientists originally thought, suggesting that early Mars was a very wet place.

New observations made by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), currently circling the planet, have revealed evidence that vast regions of the southern highlands of Mars were altered by water in a variety of environments billions of years ago.…

See SPACE.com for links to further info.

Imaging Phobos

Mars Express to rendezvous with Martian moon

Space Science Download time: Jul 16 2008 1:21 PM ET

Scientists and engineers are preparing ESA's Mars Express for a pair of close fly-bys of the Martian moon Phobos. Passing within 100 km of the surface, Mars Express will conduct some of the most detailed investigations of the moon to date.

The series of fly-bys will take place between 12 July and 3 August. During the second encounter, the spacecraft will fly within 273 km of the surface. Six days later, Mars Express will close to within just 97 km.

Image: Echus Chasma

Echus Chasma From Mars Express

Universe Today Download time: Jul 16 2008 1:19 PM ET

Do these valleys on Mars come from gushes of water from past rainfall, or groundwater springs, or could they have possibly been formed from magma flows on Mars surface? That's the debate surrounding the many valleys, chasms and dry gullies found on the Red Planet. The majority of planetary geologists seem to favor the idea of water flowing on Mars surface in the past. The images shown here of Echus Chasma are from the European Space Agency's Mar's Express, and its High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). Echus Chasma is believed to be one of the largest water source regions on the Red Planet. The valleys, cut into the landscape look similar to drainage networks found on Earth. The image here has a ground resolution of approximately 17 m/pixel, and is so clear and distinct it almost makes you feel like you're there!…

See Universe Today for links to further info.

The Cosmos

Stars, galaxies, nebulae, and cosmology

Also fundamental physics with possible astronomical or cosmological implications

Tutorials:

Big Bang   Inflation   The Cosmic Microwave Background   The Cosmic Dark Ages   Dark Matter   Dark Energy - For a more technical discussion go here.   Ask the Experts: What are dark matter and dark energy, and how are they affecting the universe? Measuring Stellar & Galactic Distances (difficult!)   Supernovas   Supernovas & Pulsars   Black Holes   Pulsars   Cosmology: the Observable Universe (moderately technical)   Cosmology (very difficult!)   

Podcast: The Complete Idiot's Guide to String Theory

The Complete Idiot's Guide to String Theory [Science Talk]

Scientific American Download time: Jul 16 2008 1:21 PM ET

George Musser talks about his new book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to String Theory. Plus, we'll test your knowledge of some recent science in the news.

The text transcript is currently not available. Transcripts are posted about a week after the podcast airs.

The Second Brightest Star in Our Galaxy?

Star Vies to be Brightest

SPACE.com Download time: Jul 16 2008 1:20 PM ET

A known star has reemerged on the scene as the second brightest in our galaxy and may in fact be the brightest.

The "Peony nebula star" shines as brightly as 3.2 million suns, but lurked in obscurity among interstellar gas and dust in the central region of the Milky Way — until now.

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope used infrared vision to scope out the star behind the Peony nebula's reddish cloud of dust. The European Southern Observatory's New Technology Telescope in Chile also used infrared vision to see the star's true power behind its dusty veil.…

See SPACE.com for links to further info.

Exoplanets

Planets outside the solar system

Formation of planetary systems - including our own Solar System

A list of the currently known exoplanets

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

An Evaporating Planet

Observing an Evaporating Extrasolar Planet

Universe Today Download time: Jul 16 2008 1:19 PM ET

Observations of planets orbiting other stars are becoming increasingly common as astronomical techniques become more and more sophisticated. But some extrasolar planets have a stronger than normal spectroscopic signature, often stronger than their optical signature. What could be causing this? In a recent study, observations of the extrasolar planet HD 209458b (also unofficially known as "Osiris", which orbits a star in the constellation of Pegasus) revealed the strongest ever spectroscopic signature for a giant extrasolar planet, indicating Osiris is producing a huge cloud of gas. This gas is being lost from the planet's atmosphere; Osiris is evaporating…

See Universe Today for links to further info.

Aerospace

Aeronautical and space technology

An Alternative Moon Rocket

The "Other" Moon Rocket Some NASA Engineers Believe is Better Than Ares

Universe Today Download time: Jul 16 2008 1:19 PM ET

There's a group of NASA engineers who believe NASA is making a mistake with its new Constellation program to replace the shuttle, which will use the new Ares rockets for launches starting in 2014. Constellation is an all new program which requires everything to be built from the ground up. The group of engineers asks, why not use the systems we already have that work reliably? The engineers, who are working clandestinely after hours on their plans have been joined by business people and space enthusiasts, and they call the plan Direct 2.0. They believe this approach could be flying sooner than Ares, reducing the gap in the US's access to space, and providing a smoother transition for the workforce. Additionally it is more powerful than Ares, has lower risks for the astronauts, adds additional servicing missions to the Hubble Space Telescope, and reduces the cost to orbit by half.…

See Universe Today for links to further info.