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http://www.universetoday.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] An HTML version including pictures is available at: http://www.universetoday.com For information on unsubscribing or changing your email address, check the bottom of this newsletter. ************************************** WHAT'S UP THIS WEEK - NOV 22 - 28, 2004 Nov 22, 2004 - Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! For those of you who like observing challenges, this week will provide many interesting opportunities to view occultations of bright stars by asteroids as well as three observable comets. We will explore lunar features for both binoculars and telescopes and look into "The Eye of the Bull". Although the Moon goes full this week, we can still have fun by learning to observe satellite passes and even chase the ISS! We will begin an in-depth look at the constellation of Cassiopeia by viewing and discussing some of its bright double stars and a galactic cluster. Just as predictable as the morning planets, there's always something fun to do, a bit of history and things to learn. So open your eyes... Because here's what's up! http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/whats_up_nov22_2004.html <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/whats_up_nov22_2004.html";>AOL Link</a> PRIVATE SPACEFLIGHT LEGISLATION PASSES Nov 22, 2004 - The US House of Representatives approved legislation on Saturday that would make regulations easier for companies looking to provide rides on private spacecraft. The vote for HR 5382 passed 269-120, which allows it to now go on for Senate approval, and finally to be signed by the President. This bill would streamline space tourism, allowing passengers to fly at their own risk, instead of forcing operators to take on excessive risk and insurance. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6540267/ <a href="http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6540267/";>AOL Link</a> SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES EARLY ON Nov 22, 2004 - Astronomers now believe that all large galaxies have a supermassive black hole at their centre, but it was believed that these black holes formed after the galaxy. The evidence is starting to point the other way, that these black holes formed soon after the Big Bang, and then the galaxies built up around them. New observations from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory show a distant quasar that formed less than a billion years after the Big Bang, and was already producing the same amount of energy as twenty trillion Suns. http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/black_holes_early_on.html <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/black_holes_early_on.html";>AOL Link</a> RHEA SHOWS OFF A BIG IMPACT Nov 22, 2004 - Cassini took this image of Rhea, Saturn's second largest moon, on October 24, 2004 when it was about 1.7 million km (1 million miles) away. The photo clearly shows a bright bright impact crater near its eastern limb. Cassini will get another view of Rhea in January 2005 - but with 10 times better resolution - just after it releases the Huygens probe which will land on Titan. http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/rhea_big_impact.html <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/rhea_big_impact.html";>AOL Link</a> SWIFT LAUNCHES TO SEARCH FOR COSMIC EXPLOSIONS Nov 20, 2004 - After several days of delays, NASA's Swift observatory was finally launched Saturday at 1716 UTC (12:16 pm EST) atop a Boeing Delta II rocket. Swift's job will be to scan the heavens for elusive Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs), which astronomers think could be the birth cries of new black holes. GRBs are short-lived, lasting only seconds - a few minutes at most. Swift can locate an explosion, and turn the entire spacecraft in about a minute to focus sensitive instruments on the fading afterglow. If everything works as planned, the spacecraft should be able to find more than 100 of these explosions every year. http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/swift_launches.html <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/swift_launches.html";>AOL Link</a> ATACAMA DESERT FROM SPACE Nov 19, 2004 - This is a satellite photograph of one of the driest places on Earth: Chile's Atacama Desert, which only sees rain two to four times a century. The picture was taken by the European Space Agency's Envisat Earth observation satellite, using its Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS). There are even some spots in the desert where rainfall has never been recorded. Plants and animals and even people are forced to harvest water from the air itself, which sometimes forms a light fog. The European Southern Observatory is located in this desert, because of its high altitude and clear, dry air. http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/atacama_desert_space.html <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/atacama_desert_space.html";>AOL Link</a> TINY MIMAS, HUGE SATURN Nov 19, 2004 - This image of Saturn and its tiny moon Mimas was taken on Sept. 25, 2004 by NASA's Cassini spacecraft when it was 7.8 million kilometers (4.8 million miles) from the planet. The photo shows a huge white storm which has formed in a band of clouds. http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/tiny_mimas_huge_saturn.html <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/tiny_mimas_huge_saturn.html";>AOL Link</a> IT'S A GALAXY EAT GALAXY UNIVERSE Nov 19, 2004 - Japanese researchers using the Subaru Telescope have found a large galaxy caught in the act of consuming a smaller companion galaxy. It's a messy eater; there's a wispy trail of stars over 500,000 light-years long, which is the longest astronomers have ever seen. Examples of this kind of galactic destruction are hard to find because the consumed are usually dim dwarf galaxies. We have only indirect evidence of digested galaxies in our own Milky Way, like groups of stars traveling in an unusual trajectory. http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/galaxy_eat_galaxy.html <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/galaxy_eat_galaxy.html";>AOL Link</a> SPACE ELEVATOR? BUILD IT ON THE MOON FIRST Nov 18, 2004 - Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke famously predicted that we'd see space elevators 50 years after people stopped laughing at the idea. Jerome Pearson has been thinking about space elevators since the early 1970s, and he's been watching the growing enthusiasm (and fading chuckles) with great interest. But he knows there are significant challenges in engineering and materials that still need to be overcome, so he's suggesting NASA build an elevator on the Moon first. And the agency is taking the idea seriously. http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/lunar_space_elevator.html <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/lunar_space_elevator.html";>AOL Link</a> LIFE'S THERE, YOU JUST NEED TO DIG Nov 18, 2004 - Scientists believed they'd finally reached the limits of microbial life with the heart of the Atacama desert in Chile. This desert is so dry, parts of it only receive one rainfall every decade or so, and NASA uses it as a model for the search for life on Mars. But researchers from the University of Arizona have discovered that life's here too. They dug up soil samples from 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 inches) below ground, and then added completely sterile water and let the samples sit for 10 days. They were then able to grow unusual bacteria from the samples and analyze their DNA. http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/life_there_dig.html <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/life_there_dig.html";>AOL Link</a> HOW DID THE FIRST STARS FORM? Nov 18, 2004 - Early star formation is a bit of a puzzle for astronomers, since all the stars that we can see formed out of molecular gas and dust, which are produced in stars. How did the first ones form without any gas and dust? One class of galaxies, called Blue Dwarf Galaxies may offer some clues. They contain interstellar clouds which are similar to the material that would have been present in the early Universe. And these galaxies can have active regions of furious star formation. New research from the European Southern Observatory has targeted one of these Blue Dwarfs to try and understand the process better. http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/blue_dwarf_galaxy_cluster.html <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/blue_dwarf_galaxy_cluster.html";>AOL Link</a> MAGNETIC BUBBLE COULD PROTECT ASTRONAUTS ON LONG TRIPS Nov 17, 2004 - 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. http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/magnetic_bubble_protect.html <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/magnetic_bubble_protect.html";>AOL Link</a> NASA SCRAMJET HITS MACH 9.8 Nov 17, 2004 - The X-43A scramjet broke its own world record for air breathing engines on Tuesday, when it traveled at nearly 10 times the speed of sound. The prototype scramjet aircraft was dropped from a B-52 aircraft, and then boosted to Mach 4 by a Pegasus rocket. The aircraft detached from the rocket and then accelerated up to Mach 9.8 (11,265 kph or 7,000 mph). This flight was the last in a series of three test flights by NASA in the development of its Hyper-X program, which explores alternatives to rocket power for access to space. http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/x43_hits_mach98.html <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/x43_hits_mach98.html";>AOL Link</a> COLLAPSED CANYONS ON MARS Nov 17, 2004 - The European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft took this photograph of a series of canyon systems on the surface of the Red Planet. The canyons are part of the Coprates Catena, which are at the southern end of the enormous Valles Marineris rift. Sections of the structures appear to have collapsed in on themselves at various points; a few landslides are visible. Scientists theorize that underlying ice or water was removed, which then caused the rock and soil to collapse. http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/collapsed_canyons_mars.html <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/collapsed_canyons_mars.html";>AOL Link</a> SMART-1 GOES INTO LUNAR ORBIT Nov 16, 2004 - The European Space Agency's SMART-1 spacecraft is no longer orbiting the Earth... it's orbiting the Moon! The spacecraft has been slowly raising its orbit using its efficient ion engine, and yesterday it passed within 5,000 km (3,100 miles) of the Moon, using its gravity to shift the spacecraft's trajectory. Its engine will now fire for 4 days straight to complete the orbital maneuver. It will continue lowering its orbit around the Moon until mid-January, when it'll get as close as 300 km (186 miles) and begin a scientific study. http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/smart1_lunar_orbit.html <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/smart1_lunar_orbit.html";>AOL Link</a> ----------------------------------------------------- All contents copyright (c) 2004 Universe Today -- To unsubscribe from: Universe Today - Weekly Edition (Text), just follow this link: http://www.universetoday.com/mojo/mojo.cgi?f=u&l=wk%2dtext&[EMAIL PROTECTED]&p=4996766 Click this link, or copy and paste the address into your browser.
