Fw: Latest News from the Astrobiology Magazine

[LARRY KLAES]

----- Original Message ----- From: Astrobiology Magazine To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, December 13, 2004 5:36 AM Subject: Latest News from the Astrobiology Magazine Decoding Dusty Disks http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1343.html Looking at sun-like stars known to harbor planets, the Spitzer Space Telescope has found evidence of dusty rings similar to the Kuiper Belt in our own solar system. Beautiful new images from Hubble show how such systems might appear, looking from the outside in. Riding in Magnetic Bubbles http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1342.html It's the year 2027 and NASA's Vision for Space Exploration is progressing right on schedule. The first interplanetary spacecraft with humans aboard is on course for Mars. However, halfway into the trip, a gigantic solar flare erupts, spewing lethal radioactive protons directly at the spacecraft. But, not to worry. Research by former astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman and a group of MIT colleagues back in the year 2004 ensured that this vehicle has a state-of-the-art superconducting magnetic shielding system that protects the human occupants from any deadly solar emissions. Mars Life: Trouble Without the Rubble? http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1341.html The Mars Opportunity site has continued to intrigue mission scientists and astrobiologists who study the prospects for life elsewhere in the universe. Finding evidence of water is a ways from finding evidence of life, but the absence of rocky rubble has contributed uniquely to what has been found so far at Meridiani Planum. What Melted the Ice Planet? http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1340.html In October 2002, the Hubble Space Telescope first spotted an icy planetoid beyond Pluto. Named after an American Indian god, Quaoar, the planetoid should be far colder based on its distance from the sun than it appears to be. One reason for its temperature may be internal heating from a radioactive core, or alternatively volcanoes and impacts. The intriguing feature is whether such distant planetoids are large enough to display the tectonics or rocky centers that otherwise could have melted their icy surfaces. Monday, December 13 ------------------------ For more astrobiology news, visit http://www.astrobio.net To unsubscribe, send subject UNSUBSCRIBE to [EMAIL PROTECTED]