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By Daniel Fischer Every page present in Europe & the U.S.!
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The latest issue!
| A German companion! (SuW version) Current mission news: MGS (latest pictures!) + Cassini + Galileo + NEAR |
a small armada of "mini-comets" left behind after the nucleus' disruption: STScI Press Release, Science@NASA, IAUC # 7476, coverage by BBC, CNN, SpaceViews, Space.com ( earlier), Plan. Soc. The fragments have also been spotted by the ESO VLT: Photo. No traces of LINEAR's nucleus had been seen in earlier groundbased views, however: IAUC # 7472 & 7474, ING Press Release, coverage by SpaceViews, Fla. Today, Space.com. More pictures, also by Brinkmann, AstroStudio and and Subaru.
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Exoplanet count rises to more than 50New findings include the extrasolar planet closest to Earth and at least one more exo-solar systemSeveral groups have announced the discovery of at least 9 new extrasolar planets at the GA of the IAU on Aug. 7, bringing the total count of reliably detected "exoplanets" to a little more than 50 - just 5 years ago that count was zero! All those detections are with the radial velocity method which has advanced so much that there are now indications of more than one exoplanet in an increasing number of cases. The first such discovery were the three planets of Upsilon Andromedae (see Update # 126), but there are now residuals in the radial velocity curves of half a dozen stars with one confirmed exoplanet (e.g. 55 Cnc) that could indicate siblings - more data are needed in most cases, though. Here's a list of the new exoplanets:
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NASA decides to launch two Martian rovers in 2003There will be two launches of identical rovers to Mars in 2003: NASA has announced this controversial decision on August 10. Both Mars rovers currently are planned for launch on Delta II rockets. The first mission is targeted for May 22, with the second launch slated for June 4. After a seven-and-a-half month cruise, the first rover should enter Mars' atmosphere January 2, 2004, with the second rover bouncing to a stop on the Martian surface January 20. The rovers will be exact duplicates, but that's where the similarities end: The 140-kg mobile laboratories may look and act alike, but they're going to decidedly different locations.The landing sites have yet to be selected, though: "We are thinking about localities where there is evidence of surface processes involving what we might call 'past' water on Mars," says Jim Garvin, Mars Program Scientist at NASA HQ: "This includes sites where we have today mineralogical evidence that water may have produced unique chemical fingerprints, as well as places where it seems likely water 'ponded' in closed depressions for enough time to modify the regional geology." During the next two to three years, engineers and scientists will conduct an intensive search for potential touchdown sites: Using the flood of data still coming in from Mars Global Surveyor, and that expected starting in 2002 from the Mars 2001 Orbiter, scientists will search for compelling landing zones with the fewest hazards and select the best candidates. "The goal of both rovers will be to learn about ancient water and climate on Mars," said Professor Steven Squyres, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, and Principal Investigator for the rovers' Athena science package: "You can think of each rover as a robotic field geologist, equipped to read the geologic record at its landing site and to learn what the conditions were like back when the rocks and soils there were formed." Given the high priority NASA and the Administration assign to the Space Science program overall, and to the timely exploration of Mars, the Agency proposes that Space Science cover any additional costs of the first rover mission, and that the bulk of the cost for the second lander be reallocated from programs outside Space Science. |
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Astronomers find the youngest pulsar yetA pulsar born only about 700 years ago has been found in the supernova remnant Kes 75: It is about 300 years younger than the second-youngest pulsar, the Crab, which scientists have long considered to be the archetypical young pulsar. Yet, compared to the Crab, the Kes 75 pulsar spins ten times more slowly, it is slowing down at a rate ten times faster, and it has a magnetic field that is ten times greater - all unexpected findings that may cause scientists to rethink the birth properties and evolution of pulsars.The pulsar has been found, after a long search, by NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer, a powerful satellite observatory that has been finding pulsars, neutron stars and black hole candidates for the past four years. The pulsar is located right in the center of the supernova shell, a rare situation: So, the Kes 75 pulsar provides rather strong observational evidence that the neutron star is born in the stellar explosion that gives rise to the supernova remnant shell. The X-ray data reveal that the Kes 75 pulsar spins upon its axis once every 0.3 seconds, which is slow for young pulsars albeit fast compared to older ones. The pulsar's age is 700 years, consistent with the age of the supernova remnant that houses it. The Kes 75 pulsar is also at least 10 times more magnetic than ordinary pulsars and about 10 times weaker than magnetars, a mysterious, newly identified class of highly magnetized objects. The Kes 75 pulsar may therefore be a missing link between these classes of objects. |
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2nd Cluster pair reaches orbitAt 17.13 local time (11.13 UTC) on August 9, the second pair of Cluster spacecraft lifted off from pad 6 at Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard a Soyuz-Fregat launch vehicle. On a scorching summer afternoon, with temperatures well over 40 degrees C, conditions were perfect for this second act in the Cluster launch drama - and this time there were no delays. Marked by a trail of flame, the launcher disappeared from view some 90 seconds later, after breaking through a thin layer of upper ice cloud. Within a few minutes, the ground team was able to confirm that the first three stages of the Soyuz had operated perfectly and the protective fairing had successfully separated from the Soyuz.12 1/2 minutes after lift-off, confirmation came through that the first engine firing of the Fregat upper stage had also been successfully completed: Rumba and Tango were in their initial preliminary orbit, some 200 km above the Earth. An hour later, the Fregat fired again and placed the satellites into their correct initial elliptical orbits of 250 x 18,000 km, from which they are now climbing up on their own power to join Salsa and Samba. Only at certain points of their orbits will the 4 spacecraft form the tetrahedron configuration needed for their magnetospheric studies, then they part ways until they meet again - the naming of the four after dances is really appropriate... |
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Astronomers plan world's largest telescopeLeading astronomers from Europe, North America, Asia and Australia have signed an agreement jointly to plan a huge new radiotelescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), which will come into operation around 2015: The SKA will be a uniquely sensitive instrument, combining several arrays with a total collecting area of 1 square km - almost 100 times larger than today's biggest radio imaging telescope. "One square kilometre is not just a convenient round number," says a leading astronomer: "It arises naturally from a desire to image the hydrogen gas in very distant galaxies". At present 24 leading institutions in 10 countries have agreed to pool their research and development efforts, with individual institutions concentrating only on a part of the overall design. The shared goal is to reach agreement on the fundamental design of the SKA and its location by 2005 and to begin construction in 2010. |
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ESO catches the new Jovian moonTwo astronomers have performed observations with ESO telescopes that confirm that the object recently discovered in orbit around Jupiter is a new moon indeed - and the brightness of S/1999 J 1, as measured on VLT images, indicates that it must be comparatively small, with a diameter of the order of 10-15 km (the smallest Jovian moon known so far): IAUC # 7469, ESO Press Release, SpaceViews.The youngest Brown Dwarf that is a companion to a normal starhas now been found in the TW Hydrae association - the same technique should also be able to image young (and still warm) extrasolar planets down to a few Jupiter masses directly: ESO Press Release, SpaceRef.NEAR has changed its orbital inclinationfrom 90 degrees to 106 degrees on August 8; the next orbital maneuver (to raise to orbit to 100 km) is on Aug. 27: Aug. 4 and Aug. 11 Weekly Status Reports, a Science Update and the last global rotation movie of Eros from Feb. 16 - then the asteroid was too big for the FOV. Other pictures: "the paw" (again), saddle wall, tracks, saddle boulder, skyline.The Stardust spacecraft is being checked after the solar flares of July - in case the camera was affected, the damage can be healed by heating: Space.com, Status. New detailled images of Titanfrom the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope have been obtained with Adaptive Optics: Press Release, SpaceRef, BBC.New software for Cassini that's now being uploaded for its Saturn studies will also enhance the return from the December Jupiter flyby: Mission Status. Sounding rocket carried SERTS solar telescopeOn July 26 a NASA sounding rocket carried the Solar Extreme-ultraviolet Research Telescope and Spectrograph once more above the atmosphere, to explore the solar corona in the EUV regime between 30 and 36 nanometers: Homepage with background, past results and updates.Bacteria flew onboard the same rocket to test their survival under space conditions: Press Release, coverage by CNN, BBC, SpaceViews, WELT, Discovery (with the results). Energy-saving orbits might be patentedClever trajectories from one solar system body to another that save a lot of fuel - a concept developped by E. Belbruno and tried out several times in the Earth-Moon system already - may now be patented, with missions applying them forced to pay a 'road toll': Space.com.Planetary Society carries on with SETI@homeThe Planetary Society will assume the lead sponsorship role for SETI@home, ensuring the project will continue to operate - but the financing will come from a strange source, a media joint venture by Carl Sagan's widow and a UFO fanatic: Plan. Soc. and Project Voyager press releases, Friedman letter, SpaceViews story. UFO hunters search NSA documents on the Web: Fla. Today.Ice Age star map discoveredA prehistoric map of the night sky has been discovered on the walls of the famous painted caves at Lascaux in central France - it seems to show the Summer Triangle: BBC, Space.com. |
One year after the eclipse, the next one loomsAug. 11 marked the 1st anniversary of the total eclipse of the Sun over Europe and the Middle East that millions tried to see - many who were lucky as well as many who were not are now planning to observe the next one, preferably in Zambia where preparations have begun: BBC, RP.More pictures from the partial eclipse last month by Espenak and Lee. How the Sun's radiation varies with the cycle: IAU Press Release, Space.com. SOHO's role in monitoring the Sun: IAU Press Release. Another spectacular TRACE image of AR 9077: APOD, BBC. And IMAGE data from the July storm, by HENA and FUV. Space science mission costs soar - are cancellations (like of the PKE) inevitable?Proposed budgets for new NASA space exploration missions are rising as much as 40 percent in the aftermath of back-to-back Mars failures, and the agency is considering canceling some projects, a key administrator says - but the Pluto mission has not been deleted yet, and no stop-work orders have been sent. Pluto-Kuiper Express is "in serious jeopardy," though: AP, Space.com, SpaceViews.The first Progress reaches the ISSAn unmanned cargo ship has successfully docked with the International Space Station on August 8, carrying critical supplies and equipment to ready the lab for arrival of its first full-time crew in November: BBC, SpaceViews, Fla. Today, Houston Chron., Spaceflight Now. Earlier: Fla. Today, Space.com, Spaceflight Now, SpaceViews.Space station hardware is piling up - more than 100 tons of stuff that can now finally be launched: AP. Atlantis heads to assembly building: Fla. Today. "Enterprise" plans confirmed: SpaceHab Press Release, SpaceViews. Zvezda's launch was in doubt: AP. The "ISS" is still without a real name: AP. Status reports # 37 and 36. TV show 'Survivor' plans future series around MirMirCorp has announced that it has signed an agreement with the executive producer of the internationally known "Survivor" television series, for the creation and marketing of a TV program in which the winner will travel to Mir: MirCorp Press Release, Space.com, Gannett, SpaceViews, AP.Troubled X-33 faces more delaysNASA remains committed to the experimental X-33 test launch vehicle, but the program faces long delays because of technical problems - the first test flight will not occur until at least 2002: Space.com, Fla. Today, SpaceViews. Exotic propulsion concepts are being pondered at NASA: Gannett.Watching wildfires from spaceNASA's Earth Probe satellite is keeping an eye on smoke from wildfires raging across the Western US: Science@NASA. Three satellites are involved in the firefighting: Space.com. Spy satellite photos document desert plant invasion : EurekAlert. NASA detects rapid thinning of Greenland's coastal ice: Spacefl. Now.Terra delivers 3D image of the volcano Mount Oyama which is currently erupting: picture & JPL Press Release. Terra observes limited snow cover past winter: Space Daily. Other new Terra images: PIA026... 14, 15, 16, 17. The SRTM observed Oyama earlier this year - the detailed topographic information provided by the radar data can be used to predict the directions that lava flows will take: picture & JPL Press Release. Other recent SRTM results: PIA027... 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67. |
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Compiled and written by Daniel Fischer
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