the UNIVERSE TODAY Space Exploration News From Around the Internet Updated Every Weekday.
http://www.universetoday.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] An HTML version including pictures is available at: http://www.universetoday.com A complete archive of every issue of Universe Today is available here: http://www.universetoday.com/html/archive/ For information on unsubscribing or changing your email address, check the bottom of this newsletter. ************************************** COSMIC CORKSCREW Oct 27, 2004 - Astrophysicists using the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array (VLA) radio observatory have revealed new details about a puzzling object called SS 433; a microquasar with bizarre corkscrew-shaped jets blasting out. SS 433 is probably a black hole or neutron star that's feeding on material from a normal companion star. Some of this material is consumed, but much of it is blasted back out at a quarter the speed of light. SS 433 wobbles like a child's top every 162 days, which causes the unusual corkscrew shape of the jets. http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/cosmic_corkscrew.html <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/cosmic_corkscrew.html";>AOL Link</a> NASA'S NEW SUPERCOMPUTER IS WORLD'S FASTEST Oct 27, 2004 - NASA unveiled its new supercomputer on Tuesday, which took the lead as the fasted computer in the world. Named "Columbia", to commemorate the space shuttle, the supercomputer is built up from 10,240 Itanium 2 processors, and is capable of 42.7 teraflops (trillion calculations per second). Columbia is so powerful that scientists used it to accurately predict the path of hurricanes five days in advance. Complex aircraft analysis that used to take years can now be performed in a single day. Amazingly, the computer was built and installed in only 120 days at NASA's Ames Research Center. http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/nasa_fastest_supercomputer.html <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/nasa_fastest_supercomputer.html";>AOL Link</a> CASSINI SNAPS TITAN CLOSE UP Oct 27, 2004 - NASA's Cassini spacecraft swept past Titan on Tuesday, and returned the most detailed images ever taken of its surface - from an altitude of only 1,200 km (miles) above its surface. Previous attempts to see the moon's surface have been frustrating because of its thick atmosphere. Scientists still aren't sure what the various light and dark areas are; they could be solid landmasses surrounded by oceans of liquid ethane and methane. The spacecraft took more than 500 images, so they're going to take a while to completely transfer to Earth - better pictures should be revealed in the next few days. http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/cassini_snaps_titan_close_up.html <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/cassini_snaps_titan_close_up.html";>AOL Link</a> Additional headlines from Universe Today http://www.universetoday.com/am/exec/search.cgi?start=5&perpage=8&template=index/default.html <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/am/exec/search.cgi?start=4&perpage=8&template=index/default.html";>AOL Link</a> All contents copyright (c) 2004 Universe Today ----------------------------------------------------- -- To unsubscribe from: Universe Today - Daily Edition (Text), just follow this link: http://www.universetoday.com/mojo/mojo.cgi?f=u&l=ut%2dtext&[EMAIL PROTECTED]&p=4996766 Click this link, or copy and paste the address into your browser. For AOL users, <a href = "http://www.universetoday.com/mojo/mojo.cgi?f=u&l=ut%2dtext&[EMAIL PROTECTED]&p=4996766">Click here</a>. To switch between the text and HTML editions of the newsletter, click here: [mojo_url]
