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2 more moons orbiting Pluto

A Hubble Space Telescope image released yesterday confirms the existence of two more moons orbiting Pluto, making a total of three.

The new picture, captured on February 15, shows S/2005 P 1 and S/2005 P 2—catchier names will come later—faintly glowing in the starlike shine of Pluto and its other moon, Charon.

Astronomers led by astrophysicist Hal Weaver of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, estimate that P 1 is 38 miles (61 kilometers) in diameter, versus P 2’s 29 miles (47 kilometers).

The newfound moons orbit on the same plane as Charon. This suggests that all three moons were born from a cataclysmic collision of two Pluto-size objects millions of years ago, the researchers write in a report in today’s issue of the journal Nature.

posted by: kyawoo at 20:07 | link | comments |
pluto

Shuttle Atlantis to become parts donor after 2008

NASA aims shuttle Atlantis would serve as a "parts donor" between 2008 and the shuttle fleet’s scheduled retirement in September 2010.

The $2 billion spaceship had been slated to undergo a lengthy overhaul beginning in 2008 and would not have been ready to fly again until the very end of the shuttle program.

NASA plans between 16 and 18 missions to finish assembly of the International Space Station, and likely will launch another flight to service the Hubble Space Telescope.

Atlantis is scheduled to fly five missions between July and mid-2008. Sister ships Discovery and Endeavour will be used to complete construction of the orbiting outpost after that.

posted by: kyawoo at 21:11 | link | comments (1) |
space shuttle

Scientists investigate pile of comet dust

Flecks of material collected during the Stardust spacecraft’s seven-year journey bear the unmistakable signature of an ancient comet, including sulfides, crystalline silicates and probably organic compounds as well.

The flecks of dust and grit are contained within 132 ice-cube-sized tiles of aerogel, an ultra-light, porous material that has been compared to "solid smoke." As the bits entered the tiles, they carved carrot-shaped or turnip-shaped tracks in the transparent aerogel.

There were preliminary indications of organic compounds, based on telltale infrared readings. A co-investigator for the Stardust mission, Scott Sandford of NASA’s Ames Research Center, cautioned that organic readings could be due to contamination.

In the weeks and months ahead, scientists will be analyzing the types of carbon found in the samples — not only to trace the organics, but also to determine whether such compounds predated the formation of the solar system.

So far, the Stardust team has not seen firm evidence that the cometary samples contained water — and that ingredient should be abundant in comets, which are popularly called "dirty snowballs." Water could not be detected directly. Rather, scientists would look for the presence of hydrated minerals created by interaction with water.

Scientists said that Stardust could eventually shed light on many of the puzzles surrounding comets and the solar system’s formation.

posted by: kyawoo at 01:38 | link | comments |
comets

NASA making progress for moon landing

NASA is fleshing out details of launch vehicles, robotic and human exploration systems that can enable a sustained back-to-the-Moon effort, including possible establishment of an Antarctic-like lunar outpost.

 Progress is also being made on designing a Crew Launch Vehicle as well as a mega-cargo carrier that has the growth potential to toss over 300,000 pounds into low Earth orbit—more than the Saturn 5 booster utilized in the Apollo Moon program.

 Concept looks at a four-person lunar lander which is far more capable than the two-person Apollo lunar lander. The goal is four people at up to 7 days a shot.

 NASA needs maps. Any back to the Moon campaign by humans will be helped by output from robotic lunar orbiters and landers. For example, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is being readied for a late 2008 liftoff. It will chart the lunar landscape, not only to identify obstacles and safe-to-land spots, but also sensor sweep the terrain and gauge it for usable resources.

 LRO is being specially equipped to probe the poles of the Moon.

 NASA’s story for the Moon may well lead to a lunar outpost—infrastructure that can be utilized by international teams for scientific and exploration pursuits.

posted by: kyawoo at 00:25 | link | comments |
manned missions

Spacesuit transmitting weak signals

Spacesuit that was tossed out of the international space station after being stuffed with old clothes and a radio transmitter was again sending weak signals as it circled the globe, ham radio operators reported Sunday

The suit, dubbed "Ivan Ivanovich," was released from the space station Friday, looking like a cosmonaut tumbling helplessly through space.

The suit is supposed to send recorded messages in six languages to amateur radio operators for several days before eventually re-entering Earth’s atmosphere and burning up. The spacesuit also is supposed to transmit pictures, artwork and lessons for schoolchildren on the ground.

Along with the transmitter, the spacesuit has internal sensors to monitor temperature and battery power. Radio operators were supposed to pick up the messages for several days by tuning into FM frequency 145.990 MHz.

The spacesuit project, known as SuitSat-1, was the brainchild of a Russian ham radio operator.

posted by: kyawoo at 22:47 | link | comments |
space science

Confirmed deposits of water ice on the comet

New images and data from NASA’s Deep Impact spacecraft have revealed the first confirmed deposits of water ice on the comet Tempel 1.

The ice crystals detected are extremely fine, measuring tens of microns across, or narrower than a human hair. While the amount of water ice is minuscule, it hints at greater concentrations below Tempel 1’s surface.

The findings suggest that comets could have easily delivered water—the most essential ingredient for life—along with other organic compounds to Earth’s surface.

posted by: kyawoo at 23:33 | link | comments |
comets

Size of 2003 UB 313, so called 10th planet

When Michael Brown, the astronomer at the California Institute of Technology, discovered 2003 UB313(so-called 10th planet) and announced it last July, he reported that 2003 UB313 was thought to be larger than Pluto and estimated that it was most likely between 1,398 miles and 2,175 miles in diameter.

But another group of researchers has come up with what is believed to be the first calculation of 2003 UB313’s diameter.

To figure out how large 2003 UB313 is, Dr. Bertoldi and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, measured the amount of heat emanating from 2003 UB313 and calculated a surface temperature of about minus-418 degrees Fahrenheit. Combined with the previous optical observations, the astronomers calculated that 2003 UB313 reflects about 60 percent of the light that hits it. That, in turn, gives the size.

Some astronomers have debated over what is a planet and whether Pluto should keep its status. The difficulty is there is no official definition and some argue that setting standards like size limits opens the door too wide.

posted by: kyawoo at 20:35 | link | comments (1) |
astronomy, planets