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Mars is not the dead world we once thought it was, and these images portray that fact. Stuart Atkinson (not a relative, but a good pal) is part of the UnmannedSpaceflight.com crew, the folks who have created fantastic visual treats from raw images sent back from our space exploring robots. Stu also has his own website, Cumbrian Sky . Today, Stu posted some pictures on his website, along with his story of how he came to create an utterly fantastic image from a rather ordinary-looking picture from the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaisaince Orbiter. After seeing Stu's handiwork today, I asked him if he wouldn't mind sharing his story on Universe Today of how he came to make an amazing discovery on Mars. (Click on the image above for a larger version.)
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© nancy for Universe Today, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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Have you heard the word? In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy, there's a worldwide event happening that will begin on April 2 and last through April 5, 2009. Public outreach activities, live science centers, research observatory webcasts and sidewalk astronomy events are only a small part of what you'll discover when the "100 Hours of Astronomy Cornerstone Project" gets underway. Want to find out more about what's happening? Then step inside… (...)
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 ISS in 3-D. Credit: Nathanial Burton-Bradford I've been oohing and ahhing all weekend over the stunning images taken by the Discovery space shuttle astronauts as they departed from the International Space Station. It's the "finished" look of the space station we've all been waiting for. And now an amateur photographer and an amateur astronomer have gone even further with images of the ISS, causing even more shouts of delight. Photographer Nathanial Burton-Bradford took images from the high-definition video of the space station and created fantastic 3-D images! So grab your 3-D glasses and take a gander. Not only that, but astronomy enthusiast/photographer Mike Salway took this incredible image of the ISS and shuttle from the ground in Australia:  ISS from Australia on March 22. Credit: Mike Salway (...) Read the rest of More Awesome Views of the ISS; in 3-D and From the Ground (220 words)
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Residents of Virginia in the US reported hearing booms and seeing flashes of light Sunday night, and originally, it was reported to be another possible meteor. But now officials from the U.S. Naval Observatory say it was likely the second stage of the Russian Soyuz rocket falling back to Earth. Parts of the rocket from last Thursday's launch to the International Space Station would have fallen to Earth about that same time. "I'm pretty convinced that what these folks saw was the second stage of the Soyuz rocket that launched the crew up to the space station," Space.com quoted Jeff Chester of the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.
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 U.S. spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi (left), cosmonaut Gennady Padalka (center), Expedition 19 commander, and astronaut Michael Barratt. Credit: NASA A Russian cosmonaut spoke out last week before boarding the Soyuz and heading to the International Space Station, saying that while astronauts and cosmonauts have no problems getting along on board the ISS, the bureaucracies on the ground may still be experiencing a bit of cold war bickering. Gennady Padalka told the Novaya Gazeta newspaper that officials from Russia, the United States and other countries require cosmonauts and astronauts to eat their own food and follow stringent rules on access to other facilities, like toilets. "What is going on has an adverse effect on our work," said Padalka, now on board the ISS, who will be taking over command of the space station for Expedition 19 and 20. Padalka, American astronaut Michael Barratt and spaceflight participant Chalres Simonyi reached the ISS on Saturday. "Cosmonauts are above the ongoing squabble, no matter what officials decide. We are grown-up, well-educated and good-mannered people and can use our own brains to create normal relationship. It's politicians and bureaucrats who can't reach agreement, not us, cosmonauts and astronauts." (...) Read the rest of Still Learning to Live Together in Space? (310 words)
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 Raw image of the turbulent airflow behind the modified heat tile on Discovery. Credit: NASA In an experiment, one of space shuttle Discovery's exterior heat tiles was deliberately altered and monitored during the shuttle's high-speed return to Earth on Saturday. Data was collected to help understand airflow, and provided information for engineers designing the heat shield for the Orion spacecraft. One tile on the bottom of the shuttle's left wing, about 10 feet behind the leading edge, included a 0.25-inch-high ridge that was expected to cause the airflow to go from smooth to turbulent, causing a rise in temperature of the tiles behind the altered tile. A Navy plane flew below Discovery as it returned home, monitoring the shuttle with an infrared camera. What did the experiment reveal? (...) Read the rest of Experiment Performed on Shuttle Heat Tiles During Discovery's Re-Entry (489 words)
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 The ISS in all its glory. Credit: NASA If this isn't one of the most breathtaking space pictures ever, I don't know what is. It's the ISS at its full and final length, with all four sets of solar arrays unfurled, against the limb of Earth. The STS-119 mission successfully did its job of bringing up and installing the final set of solar array wings, giving the ISS the "finished" look we've all been waiting for. There are a few more modules to bring up, but none so big as the solar arrays. And now the space station is the second brightest object in the night sky, second only to the Moon. Click on the image to download a hi-resolution version. Space shuttle Discovery returned home on Saturday, March 28 landing at 3:14 pm EDT. The weather and winds cooperated, allowing the spacecraft to land on the second opportunity of the day. Enjoy more images from the highly successful mission below.
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Read the rest of STS-119: A Mission in Pictures (435 words)
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 If you didn't get a chance to watch the IYA telescope "live" on Galactic TV today, don't worry. We took a video capture for you. Step inside to enjoy today's view of Alpha Crucis, better know as Acrux. Thanks to a little "fine tuning" we've learned how to split the doubles on video! As an added weekend treat we've even done a little duck hunting, too… Double your pleasure, double your fun… Catch a double star and two videos - instead of just one! (...)
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 It was an energetic event that occurred over Tunguska, but what caused it? (Don Davis) Over a century ago, on June 30th, 1908 a huge explosion detonated over an unpopulated region of Russia called Tunguska. It is probably one of the most enduring mysteries of this planet. What could cause such a huge explosion in the atmosphere, with the energy of a thousand Hiroshima atomic bombs, flattening a forest the area of Luxembourg and yet leaving no crater? It is little wonder that the Tunguska event has become great material for science fiction writers; how could such a huge blast, that shook the Earth's magnetic field and lit up the Northern Hemisphere skies for three days leave no crater and just a bunch of flattened, scorched trees? Although there are many theories as to how the Tunguska event may have unfolded, scientists are still divided over what kind of object could have hit the Earth from space. Now a Russian scientist believes he has uncovered the best answer yet. The Earth was glanced by a large comet, that skipped off the upper atmosphere, dropping a chunk of comet material as it did so. As the comet chunk heated up as it dropped through the atmosphere, the material, packed with volatile chemicals, exploded as the biggest chemical explosion mankind had ever seen…
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© ian for Universe Today, 2009. | Permalink | 73 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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There's less than 24 hours left before Earth Hour 2009 will begin. While you may hotly debate whether or not turning out your lights for one hour can impact our global climate - it's not about what actually happens to our planet during that hour, but about showing you care. 3,900 cities and towns in 84 countries around the world will be shutting down the lights at 8:30 pm local time in one of the biggest events in history. Even if you don't care, take the time to read just a little bit more… Where will you be when the lights go out? (...)
Read the rest of Countdown to Earth Hour 2009… (389 words)
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 WK2 in flight. Credit: Virgin Galactic The mothership for Virgin Galactic's commercial space flights recently completed its third successful test flight, going faster and farther than any previous flights. The WhiteKnightTwo (WK2) flew for over two and half hours, at a maximum speed of 140 knots and an altitude of over 18,000 ft. "This is a truly remarkable aviation vehicle," said test pilot Peter Siebold, "and, although it might look unique from the ground it is not strange to fly in any way and is in fact a great piloting experience. Now the stratosphere is the limit as we will continually test Eve (WK2) for the next few months up to her ceiling of above 50,000 ft." A video of WK2 and the flight is available below.
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 A prototype space greenhouse. Credit: Paragon Space Development Corp. "Imagine a bright flower on a green plant in a little dome-shaped growth chamber, sitting on the landscape of the Moon, with the Earth rising up behind," said Taber MacCallum, CEO of Paragon Space Development Corporation. "I think it's a great vision." That vision of the first Moon flower will likely become a reality, perhaps by 2014. Paragon has teamed up with Google Lunar XPRIZE contender Odyssey Moon to deliver a biological greenhouse to the lunar surface. "We've grown plants in space before, but this will be the first time we'll attempt to grow a plant on another world," MacCallum told Universe Today. "It's not just a great vision, but interesting science, too." (...) Read the rest of A Greenhouse on the Moon by 2014? (608 words)
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 An ash cloud looms in the distance near Kachemak Bay Bluffs. Credit: Steve Baird, AVO Alaska's Mount Redoubt erupted twice Thursday morning, creating a 12-mile-high cloud of ash. The Alaska Volcano Observatory reported the first eruption came about 8:30 a.m., sending an ash cloud more than 9,100 meters (30,000) feet in the air. A second eruption came about an hour later, and blasted ash 20,000 meters (65,000 feet) high. After the second eruption, mud flows called lahars near the base of the volcano ran into the nearby Drift River. The National Weather Service also issued a flash flood warning for regions surrounding the Drift River, as eruptions can cause snow and ice to melt, causing the river to swell with melt water. The ash is predicted to drift as far as Anchorage, which lies about 160 km (100 miles) northeast of the volcano. (...) Read the rest of Redoubt Re-ignites (145 words)
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 Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona New high-resolution images taken last month of Mars' south polar region are revealing signs of spring that are decidedly Martian. The image above features a spider trough network left behind as seasonal dry ice caps have sublimated away in the warmer temperatures. It's part of a new series of images released this week by the University of Arizona's High Resolution Imaging Experiment, or HiRISE, aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. See more information and photos below. (...)
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The Mars Webcam is back in action after taking a three month hiatus surrounding Mars solar conjunction. If you don't remember, or if haven't heard about this "eye on Mars" before, here is a little background: the Visual Monitoring Camera (VMC) is part of the Mars Express spacecraft, ESA's Mars orbiter. Its original purpose was to provide simple, low-tech images of Beagle lander separation. After the Beagle departed from the orbiter in Dec. 2003 (and subsequently wasn't heard from again) the VMC was switched off. But in August of 2008 mission planners had the idea of trying to turn the camera back on, and using it as a "webcam," which ran until December and solar conjunction. The VMC team also has a new blog and they are also looking for the public's help in processing and cleaning up their images.
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 Soyuz launch. Credit: Bill Ingalls/NASA It's a busy day in space, with 13 humans now in orbit. A Soyuz rocket blasted off amid clouds and drizzle at the Baikonur Cosmodrome today (Thursday) sending Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka , American astronaut Michael Barratt,and American spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi on their way to the International Space Station. With lift-off at 11:49 a.m. GMT, Simonyi made history by becoming the first private explorer to make a second trip to the ISS. He previously flew to there in April 2007. With the shuttle Discovery crew of seven just leaving the station on Wednesday, the current ISS crew of three on board the station, and the Soyuz three, that totals equals the current record of 13 humans in space at one time*. And things will just get busier: this new ISS crew will grow to six in May.
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 ISS at full length, taken from Discovery. Credit: NASA Space shuttle Discovery undocked from the ISS on Wednesday, providing the dramatic first views of the space station with its full company of solar arrays unfurled. "Discovery, Alpha, Godspeed," ISS commander Mike Fincke radioed after the shuttle departed. "Thanks for making us symmetrical, giving us full power, and all the other wonderful things you did for us. You did great work. Come again." "Thanks for the great work as well," shuttle commander Lee Archambault replied. "Have a good one, we'll see you on the ground in about a month." The fly-around was timed to begin at orbital sunrise, to allow for good lighting for the much anticipated pictures. But everyone had to wait until later for a high-definition video replay on NASA TV. The shuttle's KU-band television antenna didn't have a good link with NASA's relay satellites until after the fly-around was complete. The image above has been updated to show an official NASA image taken by the Discovery astronauts during the flyaround, and below are a few screenshots from the high-def replay, showing different views of the ISS, post undocking. UPDATE: Video of the flyaround is now available, and can be seen below:
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 Crowded star field around GRS 1915 and its close-up (inset). Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Harvard/J. Neilsen et al. Optical: Palomar DSS2. Stellar-mass black holes, between 7 and 25 times the Sun's mass, are called "micro-quasars" when they spawn powerful jets of particles and radiation, miniature versions of those seen in quasars. Stellar-mass black holes are on the small end of the scale opposite supermassive black holes, including those in quasars, which weigh millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun. The micro-quasars' jets may be part of a secret weapon for keeping their petite figures, according to new research. (...)
Read the rest of Don't 'Supermassive' Me: Black Holes Regulate Their Own Mass (491 words)
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It's Wednesday, so that means its time for another "Where In The Universe" challenge to test your visual knowledge of the cosmos. See if you can name where in the Universe this image is from, and give yourself extra points if you can name the spacecraft responsible for the image. Make your guess and post a comment. Check back sometime on Thursday to find the answer and see how you did. And remember, no posting links to the answer!! (that's for RapidEye, who needed a reminder….)
UPDATE: The answer has now been posted below.
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 Obama and friends chat with ISS astronauts. Image Credit: White House/Pete Souza The ten astronauts aboard the International Space Station chatted with US President Barack Obama – along with some school children and Congressmen ("big kids when it comes to talking to astronauts," Obama said). Topics discussed during the 30 minute conversation included the new solar arrays installed by the STS-119 crew, extraterrestrial life, video games, space food and exercise. Obama got a big laugh in orbit and on the ground when said he was glad the astronauts were using a hands-free phone since they were cruising along at 17,500 mph. He also asked if the astronauts still drank Tang, which didn't even merit a reply from space. (...) Read the rest of ISS/Shuttle Crews Take Call from President Obama (217 words)
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