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By Daniel Fischer Every page present in Europe & the U.S.!
| Ahead | Awards 
The latest issue!
| A German companion! (SuW version) Current mission news: MGS (latest pictures!) + Cassini + Stardust |
over Costa Rica in the late afternoon of December 14 - only a few saw the actual annular phase: Winter, Staiger, Maley and Appleton. Others got at least some partial phases: León, Fischer, White and Pasachoff. Or stayed in the U.S.: Richard, Bruenjes. Also a growing gallery, wire pics, coverage by the Costa Rican paper La Nación (plus their preview and a later article) and more previews from Science@NASA, Astronomy and CNN. Eclipse damages satellite! During the solar eclipse the Japanese solar (!) satellite Yohkoh suffered a power shutdown, and the recovery is difficult: ISAS nugget, Astronomy.
| Posted in part from an Internet Café in San José, Costa Rica
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DS 1's mission is over - but its ion engine has a glowing futureDouble asteroid mission Dawn - and exo-Earth detector Kepler - chosen as the next Discovery missionsJust after the spacecraft Deep Space 1 had been bid farewell on December 18 after a most successful technology and science mission, NASA has announced the next two missions under the Discovery program: The winners are Dawn, which will visit two different asteroids with a DS-1-derived ion engine, and Kepler, which will, from Earth orbit, search for Earth-sized exoplanets by monitoring thousands of stars for their transits. And perhaps we haven't heard the last from DS-1 either: Basic systems were left on, so Deep Space 1 can keep its solar panels aimed at the sun and charge its batteries until the fuel supplies runs out in a few months. And just in case future generations want to make contact with DS 1, mission engineers left its radio receiver on.The Dawn mission will make a nine-year journey from 2006 to 2015 to orbit the two most massive asteroids known, Vesta and Ceres, two "baby planets" very different from each other: Using the same set of instruments to observe these two bodies Dawn will improve our understanding of how planets formed during the earliest epoch of the solar system. The Dawn mission builds on the highly successful ion-propulsion technology pioneered by Deep Space 1. During its journey through the asteroid belt, Dawn will rendezvous with Vesta and Ceres in 2010 and 2014, orbiting from as low as 100 km above the surface. The Kepler Mission - also to launch in 2006 - differs from previous ways of looking for planets which have led to the discovery of about 80 Jupiter-sized planets around 300 times more massive than Earth. Kepler will look for the 'transit' signature of planets that occurs each time a planet crosses the line-of-sight between the planet's parent star the planet is orbiting and the observer. When this happens, the planet blocks some of the light from its star, resulting in a periodic dimming. Kepler will continuously fix its gaze at a region of space containing 100,000 stars and will be able to determine if Earth-sized planets make a transit across any of the stars. |
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"Planets in Messier 22" were just Cosmic Ray hits!It could have been one of the big discoveries of 2001, but the tons of free-floating planets in the globular star cluster Messier 22 that seemed to be indicated by microlensing events in HST data (see Update # 225 story 3) have now shown to be nothing but cosmic ray hits in Hubble's camera - and the original author agrees with that assessment! Now he is the first author of the new paper that hasn't been published in print yet but is freely available on the Internet. It's extremely rare that astronomical discoveries announced in Nature have to be retracted in total.But there was no choice here. "We have carried out further analysis of the tentative, short-term brightenings," write Kailash Sahu et al.: "Closer examination shows that - unlikely as it may seem - small, point-like cosmic rays had hit very close to the same star in both of a pair of cosmic-ray-split images, which cause the apparent brightenings of stars at the times and locations reported. We show that the observed number of double hits is consistent with the frequency of cosmic rays in WFPC2 images, given the number of stars and epochs observed." The reality of the M 22 planets had been questioned anyway, as described in Update # 227 (story 3). |
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No "bias": Galaxies shine where the mass isThe current picture of the Universe, with its Dark Matter and Dark Energy, is certainly not the simplest one imaginable - but at least in one respect it may have gotten easier to describe now, thanks to the major 3D galaxy tally performed by the ongoing 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS). It has been used to measure the so-called bias parameter of the galaxies which quantifies the strength of clustering of the galaxies relative to the mass in the Universe. Many cosmologists had feared that such a bias would make studies of the large-scale structure of the Universe even harder.By analysing 80 million 2dFGRS triangle configurations in the wavenumber range 0.1 < k < 0.5 h/Mpc (i.e. on scales roughly between 5 and 30 Mpc/h) it now turns out that the linear bias parameter is consistent with unity and the quadratic bias is consistent with zero: Thus, at least on large scales, optically-selected galaxies do indeed trace the underlying mass distribution. The bias parameter can also be combined with the 2dFGRS measurement of the redshift distortion parameter beta, to yield Omega-M = 27±6 % for the matter density of the Universe, a result which is determined entirely from this survey, independently of other datasets (with which it is in perfect agreement, though). |
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TIMED, Jason satellites launched on DeltaOn Dec. 7 a Delta rocket has launched the research satellites Jason 1 and Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED). The Jason 1 mission, a joint French/U.S. endeavor, will replace the aging TOPEX/Poseidon spacecraft to continue the long-term monitoring of ocean circulation and the impact on global climate changes. The launch was the seventh and last Delta launch for 2001.Jason and its 9-year old cousin will fly in formation for the next several months so scientists can synchronize the data from the new satellite to keep the records of ocean research consistent. The main payload is a French radar altimeter that can measure the ocean height with a precision of a few centimeters. TIMED will study a region of the Earth's upper atmosphere between 60 and 180 km altitude that has been only poorly investigated in the past: Using an array of remote sensors, the satellite will capture the first detailed measurements of the region known as the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere/Ionosphere (MLTI). |
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Hubble & VLT observe a MACHO directlySix years after a microlensing event, the HST and the VLT have detected a faint M dwarf star next to the lensed star: It's the first time that a MACHO (Massive Compact Halo Object) implicated in a microlensing event has been observed directly. The star has a a distance of 600 light-years with and a mass between 5% and 10% of the mass of the Sun. In VLT spectra it was not possible to separate the spectra of the MACHO and background star, but the combined spectrum showed the unmistakable signs of the deep absorption lines of a dwarf M star superimposed on the spectrum of the blue normal (main sequence) star in the Large Magellanic Cloud. |
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ISS UpdateThe NASA Advisory Council (NAC) has endorsed the devastating IMCE report that calls for sweeping changes in the management of the ISS; meanwhile the last logistics flight to the ISS this year has taken place: NAC statement and more. Mission Status Center. ISS Status # 50, 49, 48, 47. STS-108 Status # 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. A NASA Release and ST on another X-38 test. Science@NASA of Dec. 11. ESA Press Release of Nov. 30. An NRL Press Release and Science@NASA on the Starshine 2 satellite deployed during the shuttle flight and the Starshine Homepage. And AfricanInSpace and Ancient Astronaut Press Releases on less scientific uses of the ISS ... Coverage of Dec. 28: RP. Dec. 23: BBC. Dec. 21: Science (2nd item!), BBC, AD. |
Dec. 20:
FT
(other
story),
AP.
Dec. 19:
BBC.
Dec. 18:
SN,
AFP,
BBC.
Dec. 17:
SN,
AFP,
BBC,
SPIEGEL.
Dec. 16:
SN,
BBC.
Dec. 15:
AFP,
SN.
Dec. 14:
ST.
Dec. 13:
HC.
Dec. 12:
BBC, ST
(other story).
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HC,
SN,
ST,
AFP
(other
story).
Dec. 10:
SN,
AFP.
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AFP.
Dec. 8:
ST,
SN.
Dec. 7:
ST,
AFP.
Dec. 6:
NYT,
HC,
AFP
(other
story),
New Sci.,
BBC
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other story),
SPIEGEL.
Dec. 5:
SN,
FT,
AN
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other story), ST,
NSU,
AFP,
BBC, SD.
Dec. 4:
NYT,
FT,
OS, SD,
AFP,
SC
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other story),
NZ,
RP,
SPIEGEL.
Dec. 3:
USN&WR,
SN,
AN,
CNN,
ST,
AFP
(other
story).
Nov. 30:
AN, CNN,
BBC, SN.
Nov. 29:
ST,
CNN,
HC,
BBC,
AN, ISSCOM.
Nov. 28:
SN,
CNN,
ST,
AFP,
SC.
Nov. 27:
NYT.
NIMA holds back Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data - geophysicists keen to access the most comprehensive topographical maps of the Earth ever produced are facing a longer wait than expected: Nature. |
Adaptive Optics premiere at the VLT"First Light" has been achieved for the NAOS-CONICA Adaptive Optics facility at the Very Large Telescope in Chile - in the near IR the Yepum telescope can now produce images that are at the theoretical limit, reaching 0.04 arcsec in the J-band: ESO Press Release, BBC, AFP, NZ, SPIEGEL, RP.United Kingdom to Join ESO on July 1, 2002 - the Councils of the European Southern Observatory and the UK Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council have endorsed the terms for UK membership: ESO and PPARC Press Releases. The MERLIN radio interferometer will be improved dramatically by linking the telescopes spread over the UK by fiber optics - that should increase the sensitivity 30-fold. And the future of Jodrell Bank is bright: Press Release, BBC, ST. Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in danger due to planned restructuring: NYT. Astrophysical Virtual Observatory (AVO) launchedto enable astronomers to seamlessly combine the data from both ground- and space-based telescopes which are making observations of the Universe across the whole range of wavelengths: ESA HST Release.Using S-Cam to determine quasar redshifts directly by applying a single quasar template spectrum yields values with just 1% error: paper by de Bruijne & al. The new MMT mirror has finally been coated with aluminum after several tries: UA News. Leonids hit the Moon - againDuring the 2001 Leonid meteor storm, astronomers observed a curious flash on the Moon - a telltale sign of meteoroids hitting the lunar surface and exploding: Science@NASA, APOD. Leonids imaged at high speed: Leo News, Astronomy, NZ. Several reports from Mongolia & elsewhere. Four hours of BOAO Leonids on video: 4.3 and 18 MB animated GIFs. More from the BOAO event: YK's pages and details about a persistent train. An animated persistent train: APOD.A different Korean expedition: Marlot's report and a picture. A fisheye view with many fireballs: APOD. A view towards the radiant: Russo. Visual counts from Arizona. Radio data from Australia. More reports from Australia: Winter, Espenak. All the Dutch reports: DMS Pages. Imperfect forecasts: Wired. An RP on my last words before the storm ... The Geminids were nice this year, reaching a ZHR of 120 early on Dec. 14: IMO Circular, Stachowicz picture and previews by NASA, ESA, Astronomy and La Nación. August Colorado meteorite impact area determined? Denver researchers have narrowed the search for meteorites that may have been left behind by the blazing fireball mentioned in Update # 228 (small items): Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News.
Collisions between asteroids: simulation makes the process clearBy simulating the impacts of asteroids with diameters of several hundred kilometers, it was shown that the asteroid is initially totally shattered - and subsequently, gravitational attraction between the pieces leads to reaccumulations: CNRS Press Release.Japanese build 1-meter telescope for NEO search in the mountain town of Bisei, some 600 km west of Tokyo: AFP. A bright asteroid came close to Earthin mid-December, and 2001 WT24 could be seen in telescopes but was also imaged by radar: the radar pictures, amateur views from Belgium and the NL, another movie, SC and a preview by Science@NASA.Arecibo NEO radar studies almost cut - a decision to end all radar work with the big antenna was reversed quickly: CCNet, New Sci., Astronomy, ST, NZ. Earlier: DPS, Plan. Soc. statements. Comet 51P/Harrington has split again, and is now a double object for advanced amateur photographers: IAUCs # 7769 and 7773 and photographs by Müller of Dec. 14 and 13 and from Starkenburg. Cluster listens to Radio Earth and observes invisible auroraeThe Cluster spacecraft have precisely located the source of strong terrestrial radio noise - and made the first close-up measurements of the formation of electrical structures known as the "black aurora": ISTP Release, ESA Science News, NSU, New Sci., SPIEGEL.How the Sun can influence the climate - new possible correlations and models: GSFC Release, NSU, SPIEGEL. What's happening below sunspots in the solar interior has been studied in detail with SOHO's MDI instrument: GSFC Release, more material, NSU. A double "halo" coronal mass ejection - a 'full-halo' coronal mass ejection (CME) exploding out from the Sun and beginning to overtake another halo CME that erupted just hours before it: GSFC. NASA picks Pluto-Kuiper Belt mission for further studyNASA has selected a proposal to proceed with preliminary design studies for a Pluto-Kuiper Belt mission - but while Congress has provided $30m in FY 2002 to initiate development and launch vehicle procurement, there is no funding for subsequent years: NASA and JHU-APL and SwRI Press Releases, New Horizons Homepage, SD, AN, ST, Astronomy, HC, CNN, CSM, SC.Uranus "loses" a moon as the one discovered in old Voyager pictures (see Update # 131) is not quite official yet: Plan. Soc. article, AP. Cassini's camera is contaminated, but the Saturn mission is not in danger: BBC. Rosetta orbiter and lander mated, testing program at ESTEC begins: ESA Science News. Ocean inside Callisto may have cushioned big impactA recent image of Callisto's surface directly opposite from the Valhalla basin where Callisto was punched by a major collision shows no effect from the impact - that adds evidence to a theory that Callisto may hold an underground ocean: JPL Release, PhotoJournal, CNN, NZ.Evidence for 'wandering' poles, convergence zones on Europa - faults in the crust of Jupiter's icy moon provide evidence that the crust, floating on a liquid water ocean, has slipped over the globe, so that the poles recently have wandered: UA Press Release, Astronomy, SC. Io generates power and noise, but no magnetic fieldPlasma wave data, new pictures and other information collected recently by Galileo spacecraft provide insight into what happens above Io's surface, at its colorful volcanoes and inside its hot belly: JPL Release, SPIEGEL.New images catch Io in action - a slumping cliff, migrating eruptions and churning lava lakes: JPL, PIA259 ... 4, 5, 6, 7, Astronomy, SPIEGEL. Jovian moon orbits simulated over billions of years, yielding an explanation for the unusual orbits of 12 confirmed small, eccentric moons of Jupiter: Cornell Press Release. |
Sugar molecules in two meteoritesmay mean that life on Earth may have got off to a sweet start nourished by sugar from space - the sugar compounds (polyoles) have now been identified in the Murchison and Murray meteorites: Ames Press Release, Science@NASA, NSU, Astronomy, CNN, BBC, RP, SPIEGEL.FUSE: Mars was once all wetThe first detection of molecular hydrogen (H2) in the upper atmosphere of Mars has been achieved with the FUSE spacecraft - molecular hydrogen can be formed from the breakup of water, and its abundance may mean that Mars could have been born with more water in proportion to its mass than the Earth: FUSE and GSFC [SR] Press Releases, AP, SC, RP, SPIEGEL.Mars' magnetic field is lumpy - and thus areas of its surface may be protected from the full force of solar radiation by areas of intensely magnetized crust: U CO Press Release. The current Martian climate is unstableBetween 1999 and 2001 billions of tons of CO2 have been lost from the South Polar Cap, but it is unclear whether that's evidence for an ongoing climate change (with the atmosphere getting thicker quickly) or more of a cyclic climate process: JPL, NASA, GSFC Releases plus MSSS Releases # 297 and 298. How the CO2 snow distribution changes with the seasons: GSFC Release [SR], graphics. Coverage by New Sci., NSU, BBC, NYC, AFP, Astronomy, AN, SPIEGEL.Mars Oddyssey detects hydrogen from the Martian surface with its neutron spectrometer: ST, BBC, NZ. Mars Odyssey's period down to 3 hours 15 minutes as the aerobraking progresses without hitches: Mission status of Dec. 27 & Nov. 30. German Mars balloon visions - it could fly in 2007: Mars Soc. Release. A star that "does the twist"The equator of AB Dor always spins faster than its poles, but new observations show that the equator speeds up and the pole slows down for several years, then the cycle reverses as the equator slows down and the pole speeds up - a discovery from a painstaking analysis of observations made annually since 1988: PPARC Press Release and a related paper and background; New Sci.The most massive black hole candidatein the Milky Way (apart from the galactic center) has been found to have a mass of 14 Suns - it raises a lot of questions: papers by Greiner & al. and Greiner, an ESO Press Release, a NSU and coverage by Astronomy, SC, NZ, SPIEGEL.How the exoplanet's atmosphere was probed(see last Update small items) is described in great detail by Charbonneau & al.: "We find that the photometric dimming during transit in a bandpass centered on the sodium feature is deeper by (2.32 +/- 0.57) x 10^-4 relative to simultaneous observations of the transit in adjacent bands. We interpret this additional dimming as absorption from sodium in the planetary atmosphere."A planet candidate in a stellar triple system has an orbital period of 71.5 days and a minimum mass of 6.3 Jupiter masses: a paper by Zucker & al. Genesis starts sampling the solar windNASA's Genesis mission is officially open for business since Dec. 3, as it has extended its special collector arrays to catch atoms from the solar wind: JPL and LANL Releases, NZ, SPIEGEL.BeppoSAX at work again, w/o gyrosThanks to sophisticated gyroless attitude control software Italy's BeppoSAX astronomical satellite is operating again despite the loss of its gyroscopes: Alenia Press Release.FUSE stops work after another reaction wheel fails - but the mission will be able to continue: GSFC Release, Astronomy, ST. Ulysses' role in locating gamma-ray bursts together with other satellites: ESA Science News. Perfect images transmitted via a laser link between Artemis and SPOT 4On 30 November, the first-ever transmission of an image by laser link from one satellite to another took place - it was as successful as all previous tests and picture quality was perfect: ESA Release.The first commercial Earth views with 60 cm resolution have been released from QuickBird (see Update # 229 atory 3 sidebar 3): gallery. Japanese remote sensing satellite reenters - most of the 1.4-ton Japanese Earth Resource Satellite 1 (JERS-1) is thought to have burned up: AN, SC. No agreement on Galileo satnav system - European Union transport ministers have failed to agree on whether to proceed with the system whose cost-benefit ratio is being questioned by many member states: AFP (earlier). U.S. role in indecision possible: AFP. Pretty space pictures galorehave been published in recent weeks, from space- as well as groundbased telescopes:
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All other historical issues can be found in the Archive.
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Compiled and written by Daniel Fischer
(send me a mail to [email protected]!), Skyweek
