|
|
| Milky Way Educational Chart |
You are here: Learn more about our spiral home in the universe with this attractively illustrated Milky Way galaxy chart (20 by 31 inches). Countdown Creations has a full line of space and astronomy posters, charts, and maps that are perfect for home or the classroom. Order now!
(Advertisement)
|
|
|
|
|
| Book Review: Sun Observer's Guide |
| Sep 20, 2004 - The Sun Observer's Guide by Pam Spence is a practical reference for how and why to view our nearest star. Though the uninitiated consider our sun to be a steady source of light and heat, nothing could be further from the truth. Using the proper equipment with appropriate safeguards, viewers can watch a seething tempest. Changes can occur in a few short minutes or, with appropriate record keeping, changes can be seen to vary over decades. This book can start you making worthwhile observations. (Full Story) |
|
|
|
![]() |
| Image credit: ESA |
|
| Methane and Water Overlap on Mars |
| Sep 20, 2004 - European scientists recently announced that they had discovered the presence of methane in the atmosphere of Mars using the Mars Express spacecraft. They've had a chance to perform further research on the data now, and produced a map of methane concentrations around the planet. This map surprisingly overlaps a similar map of Mars that shows where its water is located. It could be that geothermal processes are feeding the water table, and venting out methane at the same time. A more exciting possibility is that bacterial life survives wherever there's water, and it's producing methane as a byproduct. (Full Story) |
|
|
|
|
|
| What Are Your Favorite Books? |
Sep 17, 2004 - Every Christmas I get emails asking what books I'd recommend for the space enthusiast. Well, this year I'm planning ahead, and I'll have the list prepared ahead of time. I figured I'd get your input before putting together my final list. So, what books would you recommend? If you have a few minutes head over to forum and post some of your favorites, or just send me an email at [EMAIL PROTECTED]. What are your favorite books on astronomy, physics, space exploration, science fiction, and even general science? Give me book names and authors. If you can't remember the name, post what you can recall and I'll try and dig it up.
Thanks!
Fraser "Santa's Lil Helper" Cain
Publisher
Universe Today
P.S. The picture is of two of my favorites: Nightwatch, by Terrence Dickinson and Bad Astronomy by Phil Plait. |
|
|
|
![]() |
| Image credit: NASA |
|
| Station Oxygen Generator Working Again |
| Sep 17, 2004 - The crew of the International Space Station have successfully repaired a malfunctioning oxygen system that broke nearly two weeks ago. Commander Gennady Padalka and Science Officer Mike Fincke replaced the Russian-built Elektron system's liquids unit with a part rebuilt from scavenged components. They also got some incredible views of Hurricane Ivan as it swept underneath the station on its way to ravage the US' Gulf Coast. (Full Story) |
|
|
|
![]() |
| Image credit: NASA/JPL |
|
| Genesis Recovery is Going Well |
| Sep 17, 2004 - After its crash landing, NASA scientists weren't too hopeful that they'd turn up much science in the wreckage of Genesis' sample capsule, but the results so far have been a pleasant surprise. Even though the capsule smashed into the ground at nearly 320 km (200 miles) per hour, the samples aren't smashed up too badly, and scientists are able to extract fairly large pieces for further analysis. Genesis' purpose was to gather particles from the Sun's solar wind, which would be returned to Earth and then distributed to scientists around the world. (Full Story) |
|
|
|
![]() |
| Image credit: NASA/JPL/SSI |
|
| Wallpaper: Saturn's Translucent Rings |
| Sep 17, 2004 - This is a 1024x768 desktop wallpaper of a beautiful image of Saturn's rings, taken by Cassini on July 30. This image shows a view looking through the planet's C ring, which is closest to Saturn. It also shows the Cassini division, which separates the A and B rings by a 4,800 km (2,980 mile) gap. (Full Story) |
|
|
|
![]() |
| Image credit: NOAO |
|
| Seeing Our Sun's Future in Other Stars |
| Sep 16, 2004 - Mira stars are a special class of variable red giants which pulsate. Over the course of 80-1,000 days, a Mira star can vary in brightness by a factor of 10 times or more during the cycle. An international team of astronomers has observed the environments of five Mira stars, and found that they're surrounded by a shell of water vapour and carbon monoxide; this makes them seem larger than they actually are. These new observations bring the size of Mira stars in line with mathematical models that predict their size and composition. By observing Mira stars, astronomers will get a preview of the fate that could befall our own Sun when it bloats up to become a red giant in a few billion years. (Full Story) |
|
|
|
![]() |
| Image credit: UNSW |
|
| It's Cold, But the View is Great |
| Sep 16, 2004 - Researchers from Australia have demonstrated that an observatory in Antarctica can produce images of the sky several times better than telescopes at mid latitudes. A team of astronomers from the University of New South Wales made observations using a robotic telescope in an observatory called "Dome C" on the Antarctic Plateau, 3250 metres (10,600 feet) above sea level. They found that the sharpness of images was three times better than the best sites used by astronomers in other locations. An 8m telescope here would function like a 25m telescope anywhere else - at a fraction of the cost of a space-based observatory. (Full Story) |
|
|
|
![]() |
| Image credit: NASA/JPL |
|
| Comparing Satellite Images of Ivan and Frances |
| Sep 15, 2004 - Even as it's battening down the hatches for another rough ride at the Kennedy Space Center, NASA is getting as much science as it can out of Hurricane Ivan. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer aboard NASA's Terra satellite has provided a wealth of data about its formation and structure that will help improve future hurricane forecasts. Scientists need to learn what elements make hurricanes strengthen or weaken, and sometimes make last minute swerves as they approach land - the more they know, the more accurately they can predict hurricane paths to lead evacuation efforts. (Full Story) |
|
|
|
![]() |
| Image credit: CSIRO |
|
| Radio Astronomy Will Get a Boost With the Square Kilometer Array |
| Sep 15, 2004 - It will probe the dark ages before the era of re-ionization, and perhaps before the birth of the first stars. It will observe the formation of the first galaxies. It will map the web of neutral Hydrogen that is spread across our universe, near and far. In 2015, an array of 4400 twelve meter fully steerable paraboloid radio dishes, called the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) is scheduled to be complete and operational. (Full Story) |
|
|
|
![]() |
| Image credit: Scaled |
|
| SpaceShipOne Gets a Bigger Rocket |
| Sep 14, 2004 - SpaceShipOne is getting a boost that will give it a little extra help winning the $10 million X-Prize: a bigger engine. Built by SpaceDev, this new hybrid rocket engine will burn stronger and a for a few seconds longer than the engine that took SpaceShipOne into space earlier this year. If all goes well, SpaceShipOne will make its first attempt on September 29 from the Mojave Spaceport in California. To win the $10 million prize, it'll need to be carrying the equivalent weight of three people, and then repeat the feat within two weeks. (Full Story) |
|
|
|
|
|
| Book Review: The Depths of Space; The Story of the Pioneer Planetary Probes |
| Sep 14, 2004 - Two, uh... people without clothes. That's what comes to mind when people think about the Pioneer space probes. From a series of some of the most advanced and original missions brought forward by NASA, people's subsequent memory is a sketch of a nude man and women that was used as a greeting card to alien life forms. Luckily, if you want some refreshing insight into the science and the politics of the Pioneer space probes, then you can read Mark Wolverton's book, The Depths of Space, to easily augment some half-forgotten image of people in their natural form. (Full Story) |
|
|
|
| What's Happening on the Universe Today Forum? |
|
Check out the Universe Today discussion forums and share your thoughts with other space enthusiasts. Here are a few interesting topics recently added:
Favorite Sci-Fi TV - Can you recommend some shows that you like?
Military Space - Is there a new space military doctrine in the works?
Sky Charting Software - Can anyone recommend some software for charting the night sky?
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright © 1999-2004 Universe Today, All rights reserved.
|
|
