04-12-2012, 09:18 PM
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Nasa news
December 2012.
NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft
has entered a new region of our solar system
that scientists feel is the final area the spacecraft
has to cross before reaching interstellar space.
This could be one of Voyager 1's last steps on its long journey to the stars.
The spacecraft has entered a "magnetic highway"
that connects our solar system to interstellar space.
Voyager 1 and 2 were launched in 1977.
After touring the outer planets in the 1980s, the two spacecraft have made a dash for the stars.
Voyager 1 is now the most distant human-made object: 11 billion miles (18 billion kilometres) away from the sun.
It's signal takes approximately 17 hours to travel to Earth.
Voyager 2, the longest continuously operated spacecraft, is about 9 billion miles (15 billion kilometres) away from the sun.
While Voyager 2 has seen changes similar to those seen by Voyager 1, the changes are much more gradual.
Scientists do not think Voyager 2 has reached the magnetic highway.
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10-12-2012, 11:34 AM
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Re: Nasa news
NASA Science News for Dec. 9, 2012The annual Geminid Meteor Shower is set to peak on Dec. 13 and 14, 2012.
The display, which is caused by an unusual 'rock comet,'
could produce more than 100 meteors per hour during the dark hours before dawn
this Thursday and Friday.
Video Display
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14-12-2012, 12:49 PM
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Re: Nasa news
A pair of NASA spacecraft that have been studying the Moon's gravitational field are being prepared for a controlled descent into a mountain near the Moon's north pole.Impact is expected at about 2:28 p.m. PST (5:28 p.m. EST) on Monday, Dec. 17. 2012
The two probes, named Ebb and Flow, are being sent purposely into the lunar surface because their low orbit and low fuel levels preclude further scientific operations.
Ebb and Flow's successful mission to the Moon has yielded the highest-resolution gravity field map of any celestial body. The map will provide a better understanding not only of the Moon, but also of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed and evolved.
The spacecraft have been flying in formation around the Moon since Jan. 1, 2012. They were named by elementary school students in Bozeman, Mont., who won a contest.
Both spacecraft will hit the surface at 3,760 mph (1.7 kilometers per second).
The impact site is located near a crater named Goldschmidt.
Ebb and Flow will conduct one final experiment before their mission ends. They will fire their main engines until their propellant tanks are empty to determine precisely the amount of fuel remaining in their tanks. This will help NASA engineers validate fuel consumption computer models to improve predictions of fuel needs for future missions.
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24-12-2012, 11:18 AM
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Re: Nasa news
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Just when you thought Christmas was over:
At the end of the day on Dec. 25th, a pair of holiday lights will pop out of the deepening twilight.
Jupiter and the Moon are having a Christmas conjunction.
It’s a beautiful apparition, visible all around the globe.
Even city dwellers, who often miss astronomical events because of light pollution, can see the show.
Separated by less than 2 degrees, the bright pair will beam right through urban lights.
For anyone who gets a telescope for Christmas, the timing is perfect. Jupiter and the Moon are among the most satisfying targets for backyard optics. A quick sweep of the telescope from Jupiter to the Moon and back again will reveal Jupiter's storms and cloud belts, the Moon's mountains and impact craters, and of course the four Galilean satellites circling the giant planet like a miniature solar system.
Jupiter's trademark Great Red Spot will also be on display--and it is worth a look. Astronomers recently announced that the enormous swirling storm, twice as wide as the planet Earth, is "spinning up."
Actually, explains planetary scientist Glenn Orton of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, "the Red Spot is shrinking."
He likens it to "the iconic picture of a figure skater pulling her arms in to spin faster. As the size contracts, the spin rate increases."
John Rogers, head of the British Astronomical Association's Jupiter Section, noticed the phenomenon in recent pictures of Jupiter snapped by amateur astronomers. He was able to track a dark cloudy feature as it swirled three times around the Red Spot's central vortex. The circulating streak completed the circuit in only 4.0 days, shorter than the 4.5 days Rogers measured in 2006 using the same method.
One thing is certain, Christmas night is a good time to look. The Red Spot will be transiting Jupiter's middle for observers across North America and will be perfectly positioned for telescopic observations.
But you don't need a telescope to enjoy the show. Step outside at sunset on Dec. 25th and look east.
After all, Christmas isn't really over until you've seen the holiday lights.
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19-01-2013, 11:26 AM
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Re: Nasa news
NASA Science NewsComet ISON
Out near the orbit of Jupiter, a faint speck of light is moving through the black of space.
At first glance it doesn't look like much, no brighter than a thousand distant stars speckling the velvet sky behind it;
indeed, it takes a big telescope make out that it is a comet.
Astronomers are keeping a close eye on a this latest discovery.
It could become visible in broad daylight later this year when it skims through the atmosphere of the sun.
Some reporters have dubbed ISON the "Comet of the Century,"
but experts aren't yet sure how bright the sungrazer will become.
http://tinyurl.com/awxof6s
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