Astronomy News and Research - June 2009 Archives

New instrument has potential to detect water deep underground on Mars (6/30/2009)

With the whoosh of compressed gas and the whir of unspooling wire, a team of Boulder scientists and engineers tested a new instrument prototype that might be used to detect groundwater deep inside Mars. ...> Full Article

Salty ocean in the depths of Enceladus (6/30/2009)

Discovery could have implications for the search for extraterrestrial life ...> Full Article

Galaxies coming of age in cosmic blobs (6/29/2009)

The "coming of age" of galaxies and black holes has been pinpointed, thanks to new data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes. This discovery helps resolve the true nature of gigantic blobs of gas observed around very young galaxies. ...> Full Article

Jets on Saturn's moon Enceladus not geysers from underground ocean, says study (6/28/2009)

Water vapor jets that spew from the surface of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus are not really geysers from an underground ocean as initially envisioned by planetary scientists, according to a study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. ...> Full Article

Milky Way's super-efficient particle accelerators caught in the act (6/28/2009)

Thanks to a unique "ballistic study" that combines data from ESO's Very Large Telescope and NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have now solved a long-standing mystery of the Milky Way's particle accelerators. They show in a paper published today on Science Express that cosmic rays from our galaxy are very efficiently accelerated in the remnants of exploded stars. ...> Full Article

Better looks at Mars minerals for instrument on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter (6/27/2009)

A new orbit at an earlier time of day is increasing the sensitivity and efficiency of ASU's THEMIS multi-band camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. ...> Full Article

NASA lunar mission successfully enters moon orbit (6/26/2009)

After a four and a half day journey from the Earth,the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has successfully enteredorbit around the moon. Engineers at NASA's Goddard Space FlightCenter in Greenbelt, Md., confirmed the spacecraft's lunar orbitinsertion at 6:27 a.m. EDT Tuesday. ...> Full Article

Magnetic field on bright star Vega (6/25/2009)

Astronomy and Astrophysics publishes the first detection of a magnetic field on the bright star Vega. Using the NARVAL spectropolarimeter of the Bernard-Lyot telescope on top of the Pic du Midi (France), astronomers clearly observe the magnetically-induced effect in the spectrum of Vega, thereby showing that the star possesses a magnetic field, something unknown so far. ...> Full Article

Team finds definitive evidence for ancient lake on Mars (6/24/2009)

First unambiguous evidence for shorelines on the surface of Mars, say researchers ...> Full Article

Newly revised handbook of space technology now available (6/23/2009)

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce that the third edition of the Handbook of Space Technology is now available through AIAA's Library of Flight series. ...> Full Article

Astronomy team among first to use massive new telescope (6/22/2009)

A team of University of Florida astronomers is among the first in the world to make scientific-quality observations of the heavens using the newly completed Gran Telescopio Canarias, the world's largest optical telescope. ...> Full Article

Magnetospheric Multiscale mission enters implementation phase (6/22/2009)

Southwest Research Institute has received confirmation from NASA Headquarters that the Magnetospheric Multiscale misson has been approved to begin its implementation phase. MMS will perform a definitive investigation of one of the most basic and important physical processes in the universe -- magnetic reconnection. The mission is scheduled to launch in August 2014. ...> Full Article

Herschel's daring test: A glimpse of things to come (6/22/2009)

Herschel opened its "eyes" on June 14 and the Photoconductor Array Camera and Spectrometer obtained images of M51, "the whirlpool galaxy" for a first test observation. Scientists obtained images in three colors from the observation, which clearly demonstrate the superiority of Herschel, the largest infrared space telescope ever flown. ...> Full Article

Mystery of the Missing Sunspots, Solved? (6/21/2009)

A jet stream deep inside the sun is migrating slower than usual through the star's interior, giving rise to the current lack of sunspots. ...> Full Article

IBEX spacecraft detects fast neutral hydrogen coming from the moon (6/21/2009)

Research also provides insight to particle 'recycling' processes in space ...> Full Article

Sunspots revealed in striking detail by supercomputers (6/20/2009)

In a breakthrough that will help scientists unlock mysteries of the Sun and its impacts on Earth, an international team of scientists led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research has created the first-ever comprehensive computer model of sunspots. The resulting visuals capture both scientific detail and remarkable beauty. ...> Full Article

Science fiction turns into reality (6/20/2009)

New book on space elevators and space tethers just published ...> Full Article

Return to the moon (6/20/2009)

For nearly two years, Arizona State University Professor Mark Robinson and his team have been preparing for the launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter; Robinson is principal investigator of an imaging system on board that will capture the moon's surface. ...> Full Article

Meteorite grains divulge Earth's cosmic roots (6/19/2009)

The interstellar stuff that became incorporated into the planets and life on Earth has younger cosmic roots than theories predict, according to the University of Chicago postdoctoral scholar Philipp Heck and his international team of colleagues. ...> Full Article

World's fastest and most sensitive astronomical camera (6/19/2009)

The next generation of instruments for ground-based telescopes took a leap forward with the development of a new ultra-fast camera that can take 1,500 finely exposed images per second even when observing extremely faint objects. The first 240x240 pixel images with the world's fastest high precision faint light camera were obtained through a collaborative effort between ESO and three French laboratories from the French Center National de la Recherche Scientifique/Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers. ...> Full Article

Researchers help expose cosmic transients (6/18/2009)

Finding fleeting cosmic events not only requires the right kind of telescope and camera, it depends on high-performance computing to pinpoint objects of interest among thousands of images while there's still time for follow-up observations. Caltech joins forces with the US Department of Energy's National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, in just such a search, the Palomar Transient Factory. ...> Full Article

European satellites probe a new magnetar (6/17/2009)

On Aug. 22, 2008, NASA's Swift satellite reported multiple blasts of radiation from a rare object known as a soft gamma repeater, or SGR. Now, astronomers report an in-depth study of these eruptions using the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton and International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory satellites. ...> Full Article

Scientists predict greater longevity for planets with life (6/17/2009)

Roughly a billion years from now, the ever-increasing radiation from the sun will have heated Earth into inhabitability; the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will disappear; the oceans will evaporate; and all living things will disappear. Or maybe not quite so soon, say researchers from Caltech, who've found a mechanism that doubles the future lifespan of the biosphere -- and increases the chance advanced life will be found elsewhere in the universe ...> Full Article

Unique sky survey brings new objects into focus (6/17/2009)

An innovative sky survey has begun returning images that will be used to detect unprecedented numbers of powerful cosmic explosions -- called supernovae -- in distant galaxies, and variable brightness stars in our own Milky Way. ...> Full Article

Radio telescope images reveal planet-forming disk orbiting twin suns (6/16/2009)

Astronomers are announcing today that a sequence of images collected with the Smithsonian's Submillimeter Array clearly reveals the presence of a rotating molecular disk orbiting the young binary star system V4046 Sagittarii. The SMA images provide an unusually vivid snapshot of the process of formation of giant planets, comets and Pluto-like bodies. The results also confirm that such objects may just as easily form around double stars as around single stars like our sun. ...> Full Article

The search for ET just got easier (6/15/2009)

Astronomers using the Science and Technology Facilities Council's William Herschel Telescope on La Palma have confirmed an effective way to search the atmospheres of planets for signs of life, vastly improving our chances of finding alien life outside our solar system. ...> Full Article

New definition could further limit habitable zones around distant suns (6/15/2009)

New calculations indicate that, in nearby star systems, tidal forces exerted on planets by their parent star's gravity could limit what is regarded as a star's habitable zone and change the criteria for planets where life could potentially take root. ...> Full Article

Ultracool stars take 'wild rides' around, outside the Milky Way (6/14/2009)

MIT astronomers and colleagues have found that stars of a recently discovered type, dubbed ultracool subdwarfs, take some pretty wild rides as they orbit around the Milky Way, following paths that are very different from those of typical stars. One of them may actually be a visitor that originated in another galaxy. ...> Full Article

Moon magic: Researchers develop new tool to visualize past, future lunar eclipses (6/13/2009)

Computer-generated images of lunar eclipses are nearly indistinguishable from photographs ...> Full Article

New cleaning protocol for future 'search for life' missions (6/13/2009)

Scientists have developed a new cleaning protocol for space hardware, such as the scoops of Mars rovers, which could be used on future "search for life" missions on other planets. ...> Full Article

To 300 million light years, and beyond -- a new way to measure cosmic distances (6/12/2009)

Ohio State University researchers have found a way to measure distances to objects three times farther away in outer space than previously possible, by extending a common measurement technique. They discovered that a rare type of giant star, often overlooked by astronomers, could make an excellent signpost for distances up to 300 million light years -- and beyond. ...> Full Article

Red giant star Betelgeuse is mysteriously shrinking (6/12/2009)

Bright red star in constellation Orion has shrunk by 15 percent in 15 years ...> Full Article

Astronomers propose new supernova interpretation (6/11/2009)

In a controversial new paper in the journal Nature, astronomers from Queen's University Belfast have proposed a new physical interpretation of a supernova discovered on November 7, 2008. ...> Full Article

Keck study sheds new light on 'dark' gamma-ray bursts (6/10/2009)

Gamma-ray bursts are the universe's biggest explosions, capable of producing so much light that ground-based telescopes easily detect it billions of light-years away. Yet, for more than a decade, astronomers have puzzled over the nature of so-called dark bursts, which produce gamma rays and X-rays but little or no visible light. They make up roughly half of the bursts detected by NASA's Swift satellite since its 2004 launch. ...> Full Article

Birth of a star predicted (6/10/2009)

A study carried out by two astronomers from the Calar Alto Observatory, in Almeria, and the observatory at the University of Munich, in Germany, has predicted that the dark nebula Barnard 68 will become a shining star in 200,000 years' time. According to the scientists, this nebula is already close to colliding with another, smaller one, in a process that will end with the birth of a star. ...> Full Article

Radio telescopes extend astronomy's best 'yardstick' (6/9/2009)

Precision technique provides vital tool for unraveling mystery of Dark Energy ...> Full Article

Stellar family in crowded, violent neighborhood proves to be surprisingly normal (6/6/2009)

Using ESO's Very Large Telescope, astronomers have obtained one of the sharpest views ever of the Arches Cluster -- an extraordinary dense cluster of young stars near the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way. Despite the extreme conditions astronomers were surprised to find the same proportions of low- and high-mass young stars in the cluster as are found in more tranquil locations in our Milky Way. ...> Full Article

Fake Astronaut Gets Hit by Artificial Solar Flare (6/5/2009)

Scientists testing the effects of solar flares on an advanced test dummy. ...> Full Article

New research contributes to defense of Earth's technologies (6/4/2009)

Leicester scientists implement a new radar mode to create clearer picture of space weather. ...> Full Article

Magnetic tornadoes could liberate Mercury's tenuous atmosphere (6/3/2009)

Mercury is scorching hot, with daytime temperatures of more than 800 degrees Fahrenheit. Its hard for the planet to hold on to its atmosphere, which is extremely thin, and invisible to the human eye. However, it can be seen by special instruments attached to telescopes and spacecraft like MESSENGER. ...> Full Article

Ghost remains after black hole eruption (6/1/2009)

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has found a cosmic "ghost" lurking around a distant supermassive black hole. This is the first detection of such a high-energy apparition, and scientists think it is evidence of a huge eruption produced by the black hole. ...> Full Article