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Tillyer’s News from the High Frontier
June 2008
-Can I have a window seat please?-Space Adventures makes a deal with Google founder Sergey Brin for a future space flight. The company so far has taken five private citizens into space and with a deal worked out with the FSA, the Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation, looks to expand their flights. With the retirement of the shuttles, seats that were available on Soyuz missions to the International Space Station will be at a premium. So the company has worked out a deal with the FSA to have their own mission in 2011 with two passengers, making it the first commercial flight. Sergey is the first person to put 5 million dollars down in an advance towards one of the future flights. Flights are estimated to cost between 20 to 40 million dollars. The next mission to take a civilian into space is set for October 2008 and will carry Richard Garriot, son of astronaut Owen Garriot. Richard is currently in cosmonaut training now.
-Buzz Lightyear is back, not from infinity and beyond, but rather from orbit. Disney has joined with NASA in a new education initiative that features the plucky toy as their figurehead. The foot tall Lightyear went up with Discovery and her crew to highlight 5 new games available on the NASA Kids Club website. Disney’s Youth Education Series and NASA are also developing the Space Ranger Education Program designed to encourage children to pursue careers and studies on math, science and technology. Since 1985 NASA’s program Toys in Space has been serving a similar purpose. Looking at how the lack of gravity effects toy mechanics is only on of the small facets of the idea.
-Three for one deal on super earths– After some long observations entailing 5 years of work using the HARPS instrument at the observatory at La Silla, Chile, astronomers have come up with a list of 45 planets that are lighter than 30 times the mass of the earth and have an orbital period of less than 50 days. Among these are three worlds that orbit the star cataloged as HD40307. What is intriguing is how close these are in size to Earth. Their respective masses are 9.6 earths, 6.7 earths and 4.3 earths. Scientists believe that we are only seeing some of the potential worlds as they narrow in on the smaller mass planets that are not so easily detected. Planets with longer periods are also harder to identify and these, which may range up to Neptune size, may fill out these newly discovered solar systems into multiple planetary units not unlike our own.
APRIL 2008
He Named the Unseeable and Now He is Gone-John Wheeler the physicist who first used the term “black hole” passed away on Sunday at the age of 96. Wheeler is also known for his work developing the atomic bomb and was a contemporary and colleague of such greats as Neils Bohr and Albert Einstein. As World War II was developing, Bohr left Europe with the news that the Germans had split uranium atoms. Together Bohr and Wheeler developed a theory of how fission worked. As part of the Manhattan Project Wheeler helped create the bomb used on Japan, but unlike other members he did not regret their creation. Wheeler lost a brother earlier in the war and wished that the bomb would have been finished sooner to halt the fighting. Wheeler is well known for popularizing the term ‘black hole’ but he did not create it. Unhappy with constantly having to say ‘gravitationally completely collapsed star’ Wheeler seized a suggestion from the audience of one of his lectures and there after referred to the object in question as a black hole. One of Wheeler’s best known students was Noble Prize winner, Richard Feynman.
-Artificial Event Horizon Created on a Table Top-Sticking with the black hole theme, scientists regard the objects as one of the enigmas of the universe. While they are unlikely to be find one close by to experiment in (unless the Verdulak theory is correct…) they can still discover ways to look at their effects. Using a fiber optic cable scientists shoot brief pulses of laser light through its length. These pulses are then disturbed by a continuous beam of infrared. The flow of laser light is disturbed by the waves caused by the infrared. The results are similar to what occurs when light is over come by the gravitational pull at the event horizon. Ulf Leonhardt a theoretical physicist involved in the experiments at the University of St. Andrew in Scotland believes that with improvements, the artificial event horizons maybe made to produce Hawking radiation. This theoretical radiation is how energy can escape the black hole’s grasp and allows small black holes to evaporate over time. Ordinarily, the cosmic background radiation drowns out any Hawking radiation observable from distant black holes. Scientists hope that with a better understanding of this as well as other aspects of black holes that they maybe able to step closer to the fabled theory of everything.
-In the Featherweight Class, Smallest Known Black Hole Identified– At a mere 15 miles in diameter that recently discovered black hole part of the binary system XTE J1650-500 was initially discovered in 2001. At the time astronomers were unable to gain an accurate observation to determine the weight of smaller companion hole, but felt it would be relatively light. Nikolai Shaposhnikov, study leader for the Goddard Space Center, MD and team used a method of comparing the X-rays emitted by the black hole due to the infalling gas from its companion, to measure the apparent size of the black hole. When all was said and done the hole weighed in at a mere 3.8 solar masses- a new record. Scientist believe that the minimum critical mass to produce a black hole is 1.7 to 2.7 solar masses and this new find confirms the hypothesis as well proposing there are more lighter holes to be found.
MARCH 2008
Auroras 24/7 – The gently waving, cascading sheets of light that make up the aurora of the Northern Lights are something that one expects to see on special occasions often due to exceptional solar activity. But scientists have discovered that perhaps we could enjoy the Auroras all the time if we were looking at the sky in ultraviolet. Looking at the earth through the view of NASA’s Polar Satellite, which true to its name has an orbit that takes it over both poles; one can watch the splendor of the Northern Lights all day. In fact a phenomenon known as a substorm accounts for a great deal of the extra activity. Typical ordinary auroras might suddenly erupt into sudden prominence caused by these disturbances. A decent sized substorm can release as much energy as a 5.0 earthquake and what causes them is still a mystery. NASA was using Polar as well a small fleet of other satellites known as Themis to help monitor and record information about substorms. Unfortunately Polar recently ran out of fuel and can no longer continue to aid in the observations. But even now as we watch the skies, the aurora borealis cascades overhead, merely in ultraviolet.
Mars Need Women – Actually the whole space program does. Recently NASA dedicated a day on February 23rd, in honor of Women’s History month to let the women of the program make some history of their own. On the 23rd only women were involved in the operation of the Spirit rover program. Barbara Cohen who headed up the team said that now it’s very difficult to find a program that does not include women because their creativity and skills were in just as much a demand as men’s. While Spirit is currently parked during its Mar’s winter, the women were able to make valuable observations. Cohen remarked at the beginning of the conference call with 2 dozen women that, “If there were any men present, they better be wearing tutus.”
Giant Robot – Just gives me a pleasant sensation to write those words in an article about the International Space station. Canadian built Dextre was assembled by the crew of the Endeavour in a series of spacewalks. These were not without incident as there were issues with a power cable to warm and start up Dextre as well as a tussle to get one of Dextre’s arms loose from where it was secured during its flight to orbit. Now properly assembled, the robot which is twelve feet tall, eight foot wide across the shoulders and weighs in at 3400 pounds, is ready to help with the installation of further components of the station. The crew will install a tool belt on Dextre on Monday’s spacewalk, leaving it ready for work. The flight crew was given new instructions on Saturday quoting from Asimov’s rules of Robotics to help keep Dextre in line.
Looking for Rocky Worlds- The search for extra-solar planets continues with a round number of 250 plus being currently known. Scientists have found new evidence that may suggest that rocky worlds like our own are more prevalent than previously believed. A recent study which looked at the dust around 309 stars with comparable masses to that of the sun found warm fragments (between –280 and –80 degrees Fahrenheit) that serve as evidence of collisions with masses like rocky worlds. These solid worlds are estimated to lie at the same distance as the zone from Earth to Jupiter. Astronomers interpolate this data to imply that at least 20 percent and upwards to 60 percent of the sun-like stars in the Milky Way may possess rocky planets. While narrowing the field to only the inner planets, scientists are beginning to reassess their view of solar systems with the thought that planets do not stay put in the orbits in which they form. The Kuiper Belt and Oort cloud are now considered the outer solar system and masses approaching that of Pluto have been found there. Additional discoveries have confirmed that other materials necessary for carbon based life like water and oxygen are common in the universe. So the pieces are all there and Astronomers hope that the new NASA Kepler mission launching in a year and the current French COROT mission may finally find positive evidence.
Further Worlds-Dualities – While searching for the rocky worlds that may harbor life similar to our own, astronomers are also looking at other similarities in the worlds that they find. In the system OGLE-2006-BLG-109 there are two worlds that have a great deal in common with Saturn and Jupiter. While the distance of their orbits and the sun the orbit are different from our own sun, the masses of the planets share the same ratio as Jupiter and Saturn. They orbit the sun at the same ratio of speed to each other and there is a similarity in the ratio of their distance from the primary. So that may not sound like a great deal considering its more about the mathematical relationship between their physical properties, but to astronomers, this information helps verify various theories they have about how the worlds form. Many theoretical planetologists believe that Jupiter formed in its location because that was the closest location to the sun at which ice might form. Saturn is then the result of the next area where dust would not have been drawn into Jupiter’s formation. Currently we know of 25 multiple planet systems and it is the similarities in the formation that leads us to believe that there may exist systems which are very close to our own.
Shooting Ice- We’re known for sometime that there is a growing halo of potential issues in orbit over our heads. Most of the items are small tiny pieces of what amounts to junk and some of our purposeful items, such as satellites when they reach their obsolescence, become junk. So what might make our government suddenly decide to try to shoot down one of these pieces of junk with a missile? Well the item in question is the spy satellite that White House officials recently said would not pose a threat to human beings upon its descent. USA-193 has not had a very stellar life. Fourteen months after its launch the satellite stopped functioning, this meant that it wasn’t using up its supply of toxic hydrazine fuel for maneuvers. The hydrazine could have a very deleterious effect on the area where it might land. Since there has been no power to the satellite, the hydrazine has frozen and would actually help its tank maintain structural integrity during re-entry which means that a half ton of icy poison could come crashing to earth and then once it warmed release toxic gas over the crash site. So with President Bush’s approval, as early as next week anti-satellite missiles will be used in attempts to break up the satellite and specifically to break open the tank. The resulting debris would then burn up harmlessly in the upper atmosphere alleviating the threat. Pentagon officials are being vocal that this is due to the concerns about public safety rather than the opportunity to test the intercept missiles.
Homecoming, With Fireworks
-For those who take a long view on things in 20 to 40 million years (give or take a few) there will be one heck of a light show as Smith’s Cloud, what is believed to be a remnant from the formation of our galaxy, returns home. No one ever said that galaxies are safe places to be. We have an upcoming collision with our sister galaxy Andromeda scheduled in the future but that is in the billion year range and a recent discovery found two galaxies in close proximity where a jet from the central black hole of one is striking the other like a blowtorch. Found in 1963 the 8000 light year distant cloud is rushing towards one of the Milky Way’s spiral arms. Breathe your sigh of relief now, because it doesn’t appear to be heading for our arm, but it is traveling at 540,000 miles per hour. The collision when it comes will be spectacular. The addition of enough hydrogen to create one million suns will generate many new stars. However scientists believe that in this turbulent time many of the stars will be short lived and the existing stars will in some cases supernova. The cloud is cold and emits radiation only in the radio wavelengths and as it approaches the Milky Way it has begun to hit the edges of the galactic atmosphere making it more visible to observers using the Robert C. Byrd Greenbank Radio telescope.The Holy Grail of Propulsion Lies at the Galactic Core– Call it antimatter, CeeTee or whatever, writers have been propelling their literary creations for decades with the stuff and small amounts have been produced in the laboratory but scientists now believe they have found the source of a gamma ray shine that indicate the presence of antimatter. A cloud 10,000 light years across surrounding the galaxy’s core glows with the evidence. Balloon based gamma ray detectors in 1978 indicated collisions between electrons and their antimatter compliment, positrons. Since when electrons and positrons interact they mutually self destruct and produce gamma rays, scientists believe that gamma rays can combine to form electrons and positrons. As the super-massive blackhole at the galaxy’s core continues to ingest more stellar material some of the end results of its appetite are the positrons. Astronomers also feel that ordinary black holes in orbit about other stars tearing apart their orbital partners could be generating massive amounts of positrons. The antimatter produced also has another important effect– it could account for the missing mass of the universe that has been assumed to be dark matter.
Double the Ring-Astronomers have found several Einstein Rings, a phenomenon that occurs when a massive galaxy is in front of a more distant galaxy. The front galaxy distorts the space about it in such a fashion that the more distant galaxy appears as a ring about the closer galaxy. What’s truly amazing is the scientists have discovered a double ring. With the first galaxy 3 billion light years away, the second 6 billion and the farthest 11 billion this represents a rare alignment, as they must be directly in front of one another. Because of this astronomers are able to measure the dark matter in the middle galaxy because the lensing effect makes it visible. They believe that the 66 to 82% dark matter make up of the galaxy bears out recent theories in the current state of the universe.
Blowing Up Moon Base Alpha in Antarctica—
Recently demonstrated at the Delaware based ILC Dover company, the prototype for a moon or mars inflatable shelter will be sent to Antarctica for some harsh field testing. The habitat was successfully inflated and deflated in less than ten minutes for either operation. The explorers at the South Pole, forced to wear bulk environment suits to cope with the excessive cold will face some of the same limitations of movement that astronauts due in space suits. The habitat also serves to test several other systems such as radiation protection, health monitoring and a self healing puncture resistance system. The inflatable system also conserves space and is relatively light weight. It is not the only inflatable habitat currently under consideration but it is the most fully developed. If NASA likes what it sees further versions could be developed with a deployment onto the moon as early as 2020. McMurdo station in Antarctic will use the shelter as a staging area from 2008 through 2009.No Smoking In The Space Suit– When your life depends on the suit you wear, you have every right to be concerned about a strange smoky smell that you can’t explain. One of the astronauts aboard the International Space Station detected an unusual odor in one of the Extravehicular Mobility Units or EMU. Since the suits run pure oxygen any chance of some sort of combustion is taken very seriously and NASA put a halt to all suit use until the matter could be cleared up. While the cause has not been completely identified, the suits have been recertified for use. Experts believe the problem may lie in the carbon dioxide scrubber. This comes as good news to astronauts Peggy Whitson and Dan Tani who have some extensive EVA scheduled for next week to allow power and cooling lines to the Harmony module to begin finishing off its attachment to the Destiny Laboratory. This sets the stage for December spacewalks to attach the European Columbus Laboratory and the future Japanese Laboratory to Harmony.
Earth’s Twin Coalescing, Right Overhead– At about midnight this time of year the group of stars known as the Seven Sisters or the Pleiades is nearly at the zenith. Training telescopes designed to look for new planets and the compositions of interstellar gas clouds, astronomers have discovered a star in this area that is a hot bed of new planetary formation– and some of these planets might eventually be akin to our own. This star is HD 23514 and it is surrounded by a cloud of gas that has all the building blocks necessary to produce an earthlike planet. While its sun measures its age in millions of years and lies 400 light years away. It provides a glimpse of what our early solar system may have looked like.
Energy from on High for the Army
—The blue sky idea of transmitting energy via microwaves from orbital collectors may have come one step closer to realization. Problems still remain in completing all of the necessary technology but one thing that has risen over and over again is of course who would pay and who would benefit? Apparently the answer is the military. Due to the high cost of transporting energy to troops on the frontline, simply beaming them what they need appeals to the military. The fact that solar collectors have increased 3 times in efficiency and that the price of crude oil has undergone a triple increase since 1997 begins to make the concept more palatable, but it would take a proof of concept backed by someone else before businesses would consider the idea. Most problems still center about the 10K price tag per pound to move material into orbit overcoming this and investing the 10 billion to create an initial system perhaps by 2012 would pave the road for power generating businesses to launch orbital sun farms. These receptors would generate power in the range of 5 to 50 gigawatts and send the power to earth. The military is quick to point out that after they help with the proof of concept, that they have no plans to go into the power business– they want to be a customer.Happily Ever After with Your Robot—David Levy, researcher at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands believes that as early as 2050 you might be able to exchange vows with your robot. He’s also pretty sure that Massachusetts will be the first state to legalize the institution as well. He cites the increasing complexity of artificial systems as well as the comfort level of society with regards to robots such as the Roomba. Taking things one step further into the bizarre, Levy predicts that we could be having sex with our robots as soon as 5 years, pointing out that it would be adding on parts– love however would take longer, but is not impossible. He points out that psychological researchers have defined about a dozen basic reasons that people fall in love. Levy is quick to point out that all of these reasons could be programmed into your potential mate. Is this how we stop the problem of the inevitable robot revolution? Perhaps not—you only hurt the one you love . . .
Burning Brightly—Robert Quimby found two supernovae one of which was recently confirmed as the brightest known at 100 billion times brighter than the sun, SN 2005ap. He also found the prior champion which was half as bright. Astronomers are impressed at Quimby’s system for searching and his results. SN 2005ap was caused by a star of about 10 solar masses 4.7 billion light years distant. But the part that leaves scientists wondering is it was 300 times too bright.
A Heavenly Visitor with a Hellish Stench-Southern Peru has been visited by something less than angelic in the form of a meteorite that has caused some 600 locals to become sick due to the noxious fumes released after the object’s impact. The resulting crater 100 feet wide and 20 feet deep contained a pool of bubbling water at its center. Debris and ash was scattered about the landscape. After investigating the impact villagers and dispatched officials began to feel ill. Gases from the crater caused vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, headaches and stomach pain. Local villagers have begun to distrust the water supply. The health director of the region believes that sulfur and the chemicals within the meteorite reacted with the water in its crater to produce the gases. Experts are on their way to site to learn more about the potential dangers and the actual meteorite.
Hot Time on One of the Solar System’s Coldest Worlds-The long summer of Neptune’s southern pole is gradually coming to a close. The days of a balmy increase of 18 degrees Fahrenheit from the norm of –328 degrees are slowly drawing to a close after 40 years. With a local year equivalent to 165 earth years, Neptune moves with a slow grace through its seasons. Scientists believe that the increase in temperature, which to us may not seem like a great deal, is responsible for the release of methane from Neptune’s lower layers. The blue color of Neptune is the result of this methane in the atmosphere. Given the distance of Neptune from the sun, the cold world receives one tenth of a percent of the energy from the sun that earth does. However this energy falling on one locale like the southern pole of the planet for 40 years allows processes like the melting of the frozen methane to be released in to Neptune’s upper stratosphere. In 80 years as Neptune moves slowly along, the North pole will become the new source of methane as it becomes warmer.
Closing in on the Arth-Type-Since the prior part was about Neptune it seems apropos to mention a new system of worlds found around the star HD 68930 in the constellation Puppis 41 light years form earth which contains not one but three planets in the same weight class as Neptune. The worlds are distributed with years consisting of 9, 32, 197 days respectively and weights of 10,12,18 times that of earth. What also makes this system interesting is the presence of an asteroid field and the fact that the outermost world falls into the stars habitable zone. This world is thought to have a rock and ice core and a thick atmosphere. The worlds have not been photographed but rather found using a technique that infers their existence by the wobble the worlds cause on their parent star. This is the first sun-like star found with attendant planets and asteroid belt.
August 2007
Not Exactly a Little Spackle and We’re Good as New-Decisions are still being made about the method of repairing the gouge on the belly of the space shuttle Endeavor. Friday is set as the day to begin the repair but scientists are still discussing the best plan. Also other astronaut teams are standing by to duplicate the repair plan underwater to provide the team aboard Endeavor with not only advice but video of how to proceed. Several ideas being considered: the idea of screwing on a plate has already been rejected, a coating of protective black paint or a caulk like filler substance or a combination of the two seem to be the leading ideas. While not large, the gouge is 2 inches by 3 1/2 inches, it is unfortunately deep enough to penetrate the protective tiles. The other half of this repair scheme is the fact that the astronauts will have to ride on the end of the robot arm and its extension boom to be lowered under the shuttle. David Williams and Rick Mastracchio have both prepared extensively for just such a possibility, now it remains to the ground crews to determine the best solution to the problem of ensuring a safe return home.
Chinese Astronauts also Have Rough Rides as Well-After orbiting the earth in 2003, Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei set about the task of returning to earth and on the way down ran into more than he or his government expected. Any returning spacecraft loses communication abilities as it re-enters the earth’s atmosphere, but all of Yang’s communications went out and he was lost by the ground radar. The ground based experts were forced to use optical tracking devices to acquire the Shenzou V rocket and were able communicate with the rocket if not Liwei and open the slow-down parachute to ensure a safe landing. The landing unfortunately ending up being 5.6 miles away from the designated area, however Liwei arrived safely on the ground. The Xinhua news agency reported the true story while at the time of the landing the event was considered a “resounding success” for the Chinese.
How’s the Room Service Up There?-Galactic Suite the brainchild of a Barcelona based company, a hotel in orbit was featured on the cover of the weekend New York Post. The guests would first have an 8 week training camp on a tropical island, followed by a 3 day stay in orbit for 4 million dollars. Guests could clamber about the interior of their rooms in velcro suits to allow them to stick to walls and even take part in some scientific experiments if the chose. The hotel is a series of pods, each of which would fit inside the bay of a shuttle. Money has already been allocated by the project from 4Frontiers Group, CTAE and an anonymous backer who has fronted 3 billion dollars for completion by 2012.
JULY 2007 One Hot Large Drink of Water-Scientists
are slowly working their way along the path to prove that life can exist on other planets. One item they have always sought
is the existence of water on the newly discovered worlds far away from ours. This time they have their proof but from a place
unlikely to support any type of life we are familiar with. Planet HD 189733b shows spectral imprints of water vapor—that’s
the good news. The bad news is the HD 189733b is classed a “hot Jupiter” massing fifteen percent more than Jupiter
and orbiting closer than Mercury to its sun, located 64 light-years away. Despite the conditions of the world, theorists have
predicted the presence of water vapor but observations have not brought any proof. Finally an observation of the spectra when
the planet transited in front of its sun allowed scientists to look at the cooler side of the planet and discover characteristic
indications of water vapor. These results were discovered using the Hubble Space telescope and confirmed by the Spitzer Telescope.
Scientists are excited because this is some of the first proof that other worlds have water and now hope to refine their searches
to not only find more small rocky worlds but also prove that water is part of their make up once and for all proving that
conditions for life can exist outside of the earth. Receiving First Light-To
aid in the search for distant worlds as well as looking farther into the depths and back in time in the universe, technicians
have begun the work of properly installing the mirrors of the new Grand Canary Telescope. It’s composite mirror consisting
to 36 separate pieces will give it a width of 34 feet. While not the largest telescope, its location at 7800 feet up on the
highest point of Grand Palma Island, off the coast of Africa, the Grand Canary ‘scope will enjoy some of the clearest
viewing conditions. Larger telescopes exist in South Africa and Texas both with 36 foot wide mirrors, but they do not have
clarity of viewing available on La Palma. First light is when the telescope with 12 of the 36 hexagonal mirrors are turned
toward the North Star on 7-13-07. Over the next year the remaining pieces will positioned before the telescope is completely
operational. After seven years of construction and 145 million dollars of investment, the telescope has entered the final
phase of its build and will soon be ready for use.
Tillyer’s
* News from the High FrontierCold Moons Heat Up—We’ve always assumed that Tethys and Dione were simply balls of ice, but now the proof is in that they spew gas and are volcanically active. The information comes from tracing trails left behind in the Saturn system. Something was spreading around cooling gas and backtracking lead to the two moons. The plasma from the two moons becomes trapped in the magnetosphere of Saturn, which in turn hurls the particles out into space due to the coriolis force of Saturn’s swift rotation. This plasma is trapped in a large ring before it is launched outward. Looking at the motion of the ring scientists were able to backtrack the cause to the two moons. Before this evidence on Titan and Enceladus were known to be geologically active. Prior observations by Pioneer 10, 1979 and Voyager, 1980 had hinted at the presence of the plasma, but it remained unproven. Scientists also believe that the rotation and ejection make occur so rapidly that the plasma may not even form a full torus or ring around Saturn.
I’m Watching the Space Shuttle Mission, Who’s Watching My Baby?- In one of those truly bizarre twists of fate, Natalie Meilinger lost the video feed on her baby monitor and began seeing black and white images from the Space Shuttle Atlantis mission. NASA Spokeswoman Brandi Dean reminds folks that the coverage of the mission is available live through the NASA website so the images are not coming from the shuttle but rather the baby monitor is picking up the website’s feed. Natalie, an elementary school teacher who lives in Illinois stopped the disbelief of her students by bringing in a video of the monitor for them to watch on their last day of school. She admits she’s hooked and just wants to watch more to see what happens next. A representative of the baby monitor’s manufacturer could not explain the occurence.
Close But No Cigar to Gliese 581c-The world discovered around a red dwarf about 20.5 light years distant had sparked interest due to its similarity in size to the earth and its location with the habitable zone of its sun. Observations now lead scientists to believe that Gliese 581c is more akin to Venus than Earth suffering from a runaway greenhouse effect that has raised its surface temperature above the boiling point of water. This same effect has brought another contender in the same system to light. Gliese 581d at 8 times the mass of the earth was thought to be two massive and at too great a distance from its primary to support liquid water one of the keystones to the possibility of life. However the greenhouse effect and the pressure of the atmosphere together create a potential for liquid water on the planet’s surface. Other astronomers still want confirmation of the data.
Tillyer’s
* News from the High FrontierLeaning Into It-We never give it a thought that we are standing on the surface of a swiftly rotating sphere that is hurling through space and the Galaxy– unless perhaps we’re watching Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life . . .We’re probably familiar with the idea of “frame of reference” due to Einstein’s theory of relativity. But would it surprise you to know that the solar system is traveling sideways through the plane of the galaxy? Recent studies using data provided by the far flying Voyager probes is beginning to reveal we are cruising along almost perpendicular to the plane of the galaxy. Now what do we mean by this? Let’s take the solar system and establish that most planets follow orbits that are “in the plane of the solar system”. That means that relative to the plane of the solar system, the solar system moves through the plane of the galaxy, tipped over nearly 90 degrees. All of this is due to observations of the Heliosphere the extended envelope of the solar wind as observed by both Voyagers. As the solar system travels through space the heliosphere is changed into a bullet shape with the nose in what we thought was the direction of travel due to intersection with cosmic dust and the galactic magnetic field. But there are some deformations found in the shape of the heliosphere that can only be accounted for by the change in trajectory that imply we are tipped from 60 to 90 degrees in our flight. If you ever wondered why you feel slightly off kilter, you now have your answer.
The Next World Out-Currently there are more than 230 observed worlds outside of our solar system. How long ago were we wondering if there were any other worlds? Here’s a quick look at some of the interesting ones: Bellerphon, 50 Pegasi b was the first confirmed extrasolar world a Jupiter like world. The closest planet discovered so far orbits Epsilon Eridani. While the world is to far from its primary to support life it is close enough to us that as telescopes improve we may be able to image its surface. Sweeps-10 orbits so rapidly about its sun that one year lasts only 10 hours. Upsilon Andromeda b is a tidally locked world with one side constantly baked by the fires of its sun and the other side in perpetual darkness. The newest world, perhaps only one million years old orbits Coku Tau 4 and was found due to the swath that it cuts through the band of dust that lies in the plane of this young solar system. The oldest discovered world is believed to be 12.7 billion years old. Scientists estimate that it formed 2 billion years after the Big Bang. HD 209458b is a world traveling so close to its sun that its atmosphere and mass are being stripped away at a rate of 10K tons of material per second. HD 189733b is one of the first worlds whose atmosphere was reviewed using spectral detection to determine its composition. While the world showed complex silicates in the atmosphere no water vapor was found. Gliese 581c is the world that everyone is talking about recently being the first world that falls within the habitable zone its primary. While 5 times more massive than earth and 50 % bigger it is still that smallest of the exoplanets discovered. Note the ’c’ on its name, it’s also not the only world that orbits its star. Perhaps really not worlds but failed stars that don’t even fall into the brown dwarf stars are Phanemos. These bodies drift in interstellar space with out the benefit of suns. The search continues as technologies improve and we get better and better views of our neighbors.
Future Eviction Notice, 2 Billion Years Pending—For sometime now scientists have realized that the Andromeda Galaxy is heading our way. It’s unavoidable and folks have begun to wonder, what does this mean for the stars in the Galaxies? Never mind that at this point the earth with have its ocean’s boiled away as the sun becomes hotter, as the two galaxies circle about their common center of gravity there is a 12 percent chance our solar system could be hurled out into a tidal tail of orphaned stars and a 5 percent chance we could end up in Andromeda before the final merger into a single elliptical galaxy in 5 billion years. Make your plans now . . .
*Why Tillyer’s? Most of the info in this column comes from Space.com. Doug is the one that introduced me to it. It only seems fair to continue to recognize one of his contributions to our group. JY
APRIL 2007
Programming Error Costs NASA the Mars Global Surveyor– A NASA panel has preliminarily ruled that several programming errors caused the failure of several systems onboard the orbiter which caused it to lose communication with earth in November last year. A September 2005 update caused inconsistencies in the Orbiter’s memory, an attempt at repair only caused further damage as incorrect fixes were uploaded. Finally, another set of errors caused the orbiter to disable its solar panels. The orbiter was then ordered to reorient itself and its panels were pointed directly at the sun which caused the battery to overheat. The orbiter performed its mapping mission for nearly a decade and before its loss provided some of the most striking evidence for the existence of water on Mars.
Here’s Not Looking at You-Since Mars has become near and dear to our hearts as we consider the returns to the moon as a prequel to a mission to the Red Planet, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has taken over from the Global Surveyor and like its predecessor has taken a close look at the phenomenon started by images captured by Viking in 1976, the Face on Mars. Now Global Surveyor took away the mystery that Viking started, its resolution so much higher which revealed the natural features that blended together to form the image. Well, the Reconnaissance Orbiter has found nothing new, like Lowell’s Canali, the Face is what people wanted to see converting light and shadow in an anthropomorphism. But every probe still finds time in its schedule of surveying the surface to gaze on the Face . . .
Being Square isn’t all Bad Astronomically-Astronomers are fascinated with what exactly is causing the Red Square Nebula. The nebula is the result of an exploding star, but it’s the symmetrical regularity of the ejected radiation, gas and matter that has astronomers pondering this rare occurrence. The expulsion of material from the star must be very regular and unperturbed to produce such an regular appearance. Star MWC 922 is spewing out material from either of its poles that produce the square and also the rungs which are evenly spaced. A similar nebula, the Red Rectangle has also been observed but it is obvious that due to this nebula’s shape that it is experiencing interference not found in MWC 922. MWC 922 will eventually collapse into a white dwarf, but we can enjoy the jewel of the nebula now.
-NASA Decides to Hitch its Hopes on Orbital Industry-In 2004 President Bush set some goals for the Space Agency which unfortunately also came with a price tag for which money was not forthcoming. NASA still hopes to achieve some of these goals such as the return to the moon in 2020 as a permanent presence and the follow up Mars mission, but budgetary concerns have made them reconsider their partnerships. NASA is now looking for ways to encourage industry to find a foothold in orbit. Past partners such as Lockheed Martin co., Boeing co., and Northrup Grumman co., would obviously benefit as before but NASA Administrator Michael Griffin says that there are other opportunities for partners producing material for Lunar habitats and Solar power. Griffin even praised the Russians for taking up tourists, which is a change of opinion NASA has avoided taking nonprofessionals up since Challenger.
MARCH 2007
The Sky is Falling but in Smaller Chunks- A report presented to Congress on March 8th indicates that the probability of a “planet killer” size asteroid impacting the earth is much less likely than a smaller impact from an asteroid of around 150 yards in diameter which could still take out a city or create a tsunami. The news behind this report is the fact that NASA is now stating that it cannot live up to its goal of identifying these targets by 2020 with the budget as proposed in 2005. While the Pete Worden, director of NASA’s Ames Research Center put a price tag on this operation of 1 billion dollars and indicated that the current budget makes no allowance for such and expenditure. The task is feasible using current telescopes but these are dedicated to other purposes. Funding is also lacking for research on how to divert or destroy potential problem asteroids. Looking at asteroids from another angle, astronomers are now beginning to understand how sunlight falling upon their surfaces causes changes in their spin under something known as the YORP effect. When an asteroid has a large area facing the sun and the asteroid orbits away from the sun, the area can radiate the extra heat away more quickly than a smaller area. The effect can alter the speed and the motion of smaller asteroids. The changes in their orbits may put them into earth crossing orbits which generate the above concern. The YORP effect has been observed but has only recently been experimentally proven.Orbital Express Looks at Orbital
Refueling and Checks the Oil Too-On March 9th two satellites which are part of a program to research the concept of refueling satellites in orbit were launched on an Atlas 5 rocket. Know together as Orbital Express, the NextSat or newer version of a typical satellite and the ASTRO, the service module, started off the mission which has a shake down period of about 2 weeks. After this the ASTRO will go through the operations of refueling the NextSat with its robot arm as well as testing other possible repair work. ASTRO is designed to be primarily autonomous with controllers mostly reviewing results rather than directing. Four additional smaller satellites were inserted into orbit on the same launch.
Hawaii Wants to be Taken -Gentle beaches, wonderful climate, perfect vacation spot– but a perfect spot for astronomy? Hawaii is looking for ways to change that get away image to something more grounded in serious science. With telescopes on extinct volcanoes Mauna Kea and Haleakela manned by astronomers from around the world, Hawaii already has proof that its not all beaches, but its about the money. Environmentalists and community activists shut down a 1994 proposal for a satellite launching facility. Governor Linda Lingle signed an agreement with NASA’s Ames Research Center to begin looking at the various ways that Hawaii can become more involved in space bound efforts, up to and including the return to the moon. Lingle is also working to increase the growth of technical businesses in the area as well as increase local education.
Think Big, Restore Pluto’s Planethood-New Mexico’s state government apparently feels strongly about the recent demotion and has passed a motion to secede from the astronomical community unless the vote is rescinded.
