And if you're interested in looking back, here's an archive to all the past Carnivals of Space. If you've got a space-related blog, you should really join the carnival. Just email an entry to carnivalofspace@gmail.com, and the next host will link to it. It will help get awareness out there about your writing, help you meet others in the space community - and community is what blogging is all about. And if you really want to help out, let Fraser know if you can be a host, and he'll schedule you into the calendar.
Finally, if you run a space-related blog, please post a link to the Carnival of Space. Help us get the word out.
Space shuttle Atlantis landed safely in California on Sunday morning after “dynamic and unpredictable” weather kept the orbiter from returning to Florida. Atlantis touched down on runway 22 of Edwards Air Force Base at 11:39 am EDT (1539 GMT) Sunday, the first of two opportunities to land the shuttle in California. Atlantis spent nearly 13 days in orbit on the STS-125 mission, successfully repairing and upgrading the Hubble Space Telescope during a series of five spacewalks. Atlantis will be ferried to Kennedy Space Center on top of a modified 747 in about a week. Next shuttle mission: STS-127, slated for liftoff on June 13, on a trip to the International Space Station. (...) Read the rest of UT Briefs: Shuttle Lands, Re-living Phoenix (88 words)
Obama and a White House Aide met with Charles Bolden on May 19. Official White House photo by Pete Souza.
About the same time space shuttle Atlantis’ landing was waved off today due to continued rainy weather in Florida, the White House announced that former shuttle commander Charles Bolden Jr. will be nominated as NASA’s next administrator. President Obama also chose Lori Garver to be Bolden’s deputy administrator. Obama said, “These talented individuals will help put NASA on course to boldly push the boundaries of science, aeronautics and exploration in the 21st century and ensure the long-term vibrancy of America’s space program.” (...) Read the rest of Bolden Nominated as NASA Administrator; Shuttle Landing Delayed (334 words)
If you’re still wondering what this is, you can find the answer back on the original WITU post. Check back next week for another Where In The Universe challenge.
In our last installment of images from the STS-125 mission, we left off with third EVA of the mission. Since then, as I’m sure you know, the astronauts have completed two more EVAs, released Hubble and are waiting for the weather to improve in Florida so they can land. So, let’s get caught up with the latest images released by NASA. I love the image above, as it has everything in it about the mission: two spacewalking astronauts from EVA #4 (Mike Massimino and Mike Good), the shuttle Atlantis, Hubble, and a beautiful view of Earth. (...) Read the rest of More Stunning Images From the Hubble Servicing Mission (598 words)
Kids of all ages! With no Moon around to light up the weekend skies, isn’t it time to spend an evening outside an enjoy the stars? With Spring in the air in the northern hemisphere, the nights are much warmer and a welcome time to observe the glittering jewels that turn around Polaris, the “North Star“. This time we’re off on an adventure to help you identify the eight largest constellation in the night - Draco the Dragon… (...) Read the rest of Kid’s Astronomy - Draco: The Dragon with the “Puffy Tale” (451 words)
STS-125 crew members aboard Atlantis (pictured above) will hang out at least a day longer in space, following foul weather that prevented a timely landing today at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
And the forecast isn’t looking any sunnier for at least a little while.
Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! Are you ready for a dark sky observing weekend? Then let’s take a ride with Wild’s Triplets, join Markarian’s Chain gang and hang out with the night Owls. Are you ready? Then grab your telescopes and binoculars and I’ll see you in the backyard…. (...) Read the rest of Weekend SkyWatcher’s Forecast - May 22-24, 2009 (775 words)
A sizable collaboration of researchers has unveiled an enormous set of data from NASA’s Opportunity rover today — data that testify to the rover’s lucky longevity, and paint a picture of climate events that have shaped Victoria Crater, shown in this NASA/JPL-Caltech image.
The climate history is vast and compelling, including dramatic floods and terrain-shaping winds spanning billions of years. The data appear in today’s issue of the journal Science.
Were you tuned in to Galactic TV today? If not, you missed a real treat. The southern skies were exceptionally clear and dark. And you know what happens when you’re photon-deprived, don’t you? Darn right… We played all night. If you didn’t get a chance to see the action, don’t despair. Believe it or not, we really and truly care about giving you an opportunity to see through the eyepiece, too… That’s why we took videos of all of tonight’s objects to share. Why not step inside and have a look at the mysterious Sombrero Galaxy, beautiful open cluster NGC 6231, huge barred irregular galaxy NGC 55 and a surprise treat… Comet C/2009 G1 (STEREO)! (...) Read the rest of IYA Live Telescope Today: M104, NGC 6231, NGC 55 and Comet C/2009 G1 (STEREO) (994 words)
A now-you-see-it, now-you don’t accretion disk (white and blue in the artist’s rendering at left) has tipped astronomers to the birth of a superfast, “millisecond” pulsar that was happening right before their eyes — er, their radio telescopes.
The new finding confirms the long-suspected evolutionary connection between a neutron star and a millisecond pulsar: they are two life stages of the same object.
Anne Archibald, of McGill University in Montreal, Canada and her colleagues announced their discovery in the May 21 online issue of the journal Science.
We’ve been following former astronaut Scott Parazynski’s attempt to climb Mt. Everest, and now comes the news that he has successfully reached the summit, one year after a back injury forced him to give up his climb. “It was a wonderful experience, though and through,” Parazynski said in a Skype interview with Miles O’Brien, “and certainly the most challenging thing I’ve ever done in my life, both physically and mentally.” Parazynski brought several objects with him to the world’s highest summit, including rocks from the Moon, and remembrances of fallen astronauts. Parazynski is the first astronaut to summit Mt. Everest. (...) Read the rest of With Moon Rocks in Hand, Parazynski Reaches Mt. Everest Peak (283 words)
Hoffman, on the robotic arm, works with Story Musgrave on an EVA on STS-61. Credit: NASA
Not surprisingly, former astronaut Jeff Hoffman has been watching the current Hubble servicing mission with interest. After all, he was a member of the first repair crew that visited the telescope in December 1993, part of the team which essentially rescued the Hubble program from what could have been a disaster. But, now Hoffman is impressed with this current crew and what they’ve accomplished, saying they are part of a “brotherhood of Hubble warriors.”
Hey, hey! We’re baaaack… Due to some technical difficulties, our eye on the southern sky has been down for a short time, but I’m happy to report that we’re back up and running again. If you missed our broadcast yesterday and today, have no fear. We recorded the Jupiter and Neptune conjunction for you and captured Messier 19 today, too! Come on… You know you want to look! (...) Read the rest of IYA Live Telescope Today: Jupiter and Neptune Conjunction - M19 (231 words)
Are you ready for another Where In The Universe Challenge? Take a look and see if you can name where in the Universe this image is from. Give yourself extra points if you can name the spacecraft responsible for the image. As usual, we'll provide the image today, but won't reveal the answer until tomorrow. This gives you a chance to mull over the image and provide your answer/guess in the comment section. Please, no links or extensive explanations of what you think this is — give everyone the chance to guess.
UPDATE: The answer has now been posted below. Don’t peek before you make your guess. (...) Read the rest of Where In The Universe #55 (131 words)
It has been a busy day in space and here are a few jottings about what all has been going on. Above, you can watch the spectacular videos taken by cameras mounted on the shuttle’s solid rocket boosters, taken during the launch of Atlantis on the current Hubble Servicing Mission. It’s a crazy ride, tagging along on the outside of the shuttle going up, and spinning dizzily on the way down until splashing in the ocean. Not for the faint of heart! But seeing the SRB videos means only one thing: Atlantis and the STS-125 crew have been cleared to land. NASA has carefully reviewed the videos and the data from the crew’s scan of the shuttle’s thermal protection system, saying there are absolutely no issues that would preclude the shuttle from landing. Weather, however could be another matter, which is why NASA ordered the shuttle to power down for awhile today to save on consumables. Predicted weather does not look good for landing on Friday, so the crew will make sure they have enough power to stay in orbit for a few more days.
Even if an early Mars never got above freezing, the brine on its surface could have stayed liquid and supported life, a new study says.
Lead author Alberto G. Fairen, of NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, and his colleagues have analyzed the behavior of Martian chemical concentrations found at various mission landing sites, and revealed that warm temperatures wouldn’t have been necessary to support salt-loving life forms.
Celestial impacts can bring life as well as wipe it out, say the authors of a new study out of the University of Colorado at Boulder.
A case in point: the bombardment of Earth nearly 4 billion years ago by asteroids as large as Kansas would not have had the firepower to extinguish potential early life on the planet and may even have given it a boost.
On a recent trip to Canada in the great province of Ontario, I found a quiet corner on Lundy’s Lane. I had been enjoying the scenic beauty of Niagara Falls and to break away for the tourist aspect seemed like a welcome respite. How could someone who lives, eats and breathes space 24/7 pass up an opportunity to visit a place like this? The answer was… I couldn’t. (...) Read the rest of Flying Saucers? The Fun Is For Real… (334 words)
Astronomers have peered deep inside the Virgo cluster, and measured the size of one of its most famous members — Messier 87 — with surprising results.
The giant elliptical galaxy isn’t quite as giant as previously believed.
This deep image of the Virgo Cluster, obtained by Chris Mihos of Case Western Reserve University and his colleagues using the university’s Burrell Schmidt telescope, shows the diffuse light between the galaxies belonging to the cluster. North is up, east to the left. The dark spots indicate where bright foreground stars were removed from the image.
Simonetta Di Pippo, center, with the new ESA astronauts. Credit: ESA
ESA proudly presented today six new astronauts from five different European countries who will soon begin training for missions to the International Space Station. The last time ESA selected astronauts, back in the early 1990’s, those astronauts were not guaranteed to have any actual flights in space. But the astronauts introduced today, which include three military pilots, two engineers, and one scientist, are slated to be part of at least seven opportunities to fly on a 6-month increment on the ISS. Additionally, an ESA official said he also hopes they can be part of an international lunar exploration program. (...) Read the rest of New International Astronauts Introduced (377 words)
After five spacewalks on consecutive days to bring new life to the Hubble Space Telescope, astronauts on space shuttle Atlantis said goodbye to the venerable observatory, releasing it back to its orbital home. Watching it float out of the cargo bay was a bittersweet moment for everyone involved with the mission, and space enthusiasts, too, as even though Hubble is in great shape and now set to look out farther than ever before, this is that last time humans will visit, touch and care for the world’s most famous telescope. “It's a sad moment but a great moment, because we put the Hubble in the best posture and and best performance in can be in,” said Jon Morse, NASA Astrophysics division director. (...) Read the rest of Astronauts Release Hubble — Watch the Video (137 words)
Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata demonstrating a 'magical flying carpet' Photo: GETTY
Astronauts in orbit have said it time and time again: some things are easier in the microgravity environment in space, other things are harder. Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, current resident of the International Space Station recently gave a video demonstration of a few odd tasks in space, showing how simple, everyday jobs here on Earth, such as folding laundry and using eye drops, can become difficult in space. But he also proved how one “impossible” action for us landlubbers is fairly simple to do on board the ISS. He soared on a magic carpet. (...) Read the rest of Flying Carpets in Space: Yes. Folding Laundry: No (255 words)
The warm colors in this diagram stand for strong correlations of the brightness ratios between two wavelengths and a Type Ia supernova's absolute magnitude. Credit: Nearby Supernova Factory
Cosmologists have found a new and quicker technique that establishes the intrinsic brightness of Type Ia supernovae more accurately than ever before. These exploding stars are the best standard candles for measuring cosmic distances and are the tools that made the discovery of dark energy possible. An international team has found a way to do the job of measuring stellar distances in just a single night as opposed to months of observations by simply measuring the ratio of the flux (visible power, or brightness) between two specific regions in the spectrum of a Type Ia supernova. With this new method, a supernova’s distance can be determined to better than 6 percent uncertainty. (...) Read the rest of Cosmologists Improve on Standard Candles Measurement (394 words)
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