nasa •

Hubble Discovers Strange Light From Dead Galaxies

November 1, 2014 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured the faint ghostly radiance of stars released by the ancient galaxies. Gravitational forces broke these galaxies several decades ago.

Recently, researchers discovered light ejecting from almost 500 dead galaxies. These galaxies are also known as”pandora’s Cluster”. The stars of these galaxies are not restricted to a single galaxy anymore . They can effortlessly float anywhere in the Abell 2744. =

Abell 2744 is a huge galaxy cluster which is the result of four individual galaxies. The cluster emerged nearly 350 million years ago.

However, the new study revealed that around six galaxies were broken into small pieces nearly six billion years ago.

The evidences gathered from this research suggest that these galaxies were similar to the size of our Milky Way Galaxy. They played a vital role in the production of the stars. The collective light of the 200 billion outcast stars provide nearly 10 percent of the brightness of cluster.

Ignacio Trujillo, lead researcher notified that the Hubble data provide some really significant information related to the development of galaxy cluster. Scientists discovered an incredible telltale glow with the help of Hubble’s extraordinary capabilities.

Furthermore, scientist figured out that the phantom stars are packed with some heavy components such as oxygen, nitrogen and carbon. It demonstrates that the scattered stars belong to the second or third generation of the stars.

The report is printed in the 1st October’s edition of Astrophysical Journal.

MIT Space Scientist not too keen on NASA’s Asteroid in a Bag plan

October 31, 2014 By Brian Galloway 3 Comments

MIT planetary scientist Richard Binzel does not like NASA’s notion of getting an Asteroid in a very large ship and then hurling it into lunar orbit so that astronauts can easily go and explore it.

At a talk last summer he called the Asteroid Return Mission (ARM) as “the emperor with no clothes, or at best with very thin cloth.” In the latest issue of Nature he’s drafted his objections in much severity and also proposed an alternative that he thinks would do justice to the ultimate goal of the Space Age, that is sending astronauts to Mars. His notion is quite simple that why fuss in bringing such an unaccounted asteroid of the solar system to us rather send astronauts to visit them which could also help in the first manned flight to Mars.

In his complete fairness he believes that NASA doesn’t really what to do with its hardware which is a bad thing. When the Obama administration opted out of sending astronauts to the moon again, NASA knew that their new target had to be to push for a visit to an asteroid so they were pretty serious about it until they realized they couldn’t really pull it off especially due to their budget constraints, so they came up with ARM which the most of the space community shunned.

Asteroids are quite common visitors to Earth and even more so fly by close to us. And they are quite interesting things as well; an asteroid a few miles across can cause the sort of planet wide catastrophe that played a big part in ending the dinosaur’s dominance of the Earth. And even a smallish one, like the 60-foot rock that fell near Chelyabinsk, Russia last year can do plenty of damage.

Binzel estimates that there are 10 million of Near Earth Asteroids and at least one passes by as close as the moon every week.

When hanging out with the asteroid, astronauts can do tons of exploration. They could bring samples for study and even look for minerals and so much so they can also test for deflection technologies that could someday come in handy as we saw in the movie “Armageddon”. And this would all come at a fraction of the cost then hurling an asteroid.

NASA and Lockheed Martin complete Spacecraft Orion

October 30, 2014 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

Final Assembly and testing of the Orion spacecraft has duly been completed by NASA and Lockheed Martin. It will continue to reside within NASA’s Launch Abort System Facility at Kennedy Space Center until it is sent to launchpad 37 in November.

Lockheed Martin completed Orion in about two years when an empty shell of a spacecraft arrived at Kennedy Space Center. Now the fully assembled Orion stands at 72 feet.

In order to protect its crew from harsh climatic changes in environment during the time of launch and ascent, Ogive panels were installed in Orion. Fasteners were also mounted to secure the panels in place and were covered with a thermal protection coating.

Upon arriving at launchpad 37, Orion shall immediately be lifted 170 feet and mated to the Delta IV Heavy. Over the course of next few weeks the rocket and the spacecraft will undergo integration, powered up and finally be verified extensively for Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) on December the 4^th.

During its maiden test flight, Orion shall travel 3,600 miles beyond Earth and fifteen times further than the International Space Station. It will come back to Earth, the same day traveling at speeds of about 20,000 mph and splash into the Pacific. EFT-1 will provide engineers with data about systems critical to crew safety such as heat shield performance, separation events, avionics and software performance, attitude control and guidance, parachute deployment, and recovery operations to validate designs of the spacecraft before it begins carrying humans to new destinations in deep space.

At long last NASA finds where their spacecraft smashed into the Moon

October 29, 2014 By Germaine Hicks 2 Comments

NASA has finally learnt where they smashed their spacecraft into the moon. Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) smashed into the moon on April 18, 2014. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has finally captured images of the LADEE debris.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team recently developed a new computer tool to search Narrow Angle Camera before and after image pairs for new craters, the LADEE impact event provided a fun test,” explained LROC Principal Investigator Mark Robinson of Arizona State University in Tempe. “As it turns there were several small surface changes found in the predicted area of the impact, the biggest and most distinctive was within 968 feet of the spot estimated by the LADEE operations team.”

The Space Agency stated that LADEE’s impact crater was less than 10 feet in diameter primarily because of the fact that the spacecraft was travelling slower when compared to other space objects.

Finding LADEE’s crater was a challenge but using precise Digital Image Processing tools, scientists were able to compare photos before and after impacts in order to locate the right crater.

Antares Rocket Launch Delayed Last Night, 2nd Launch Maybe Tonight

October 28, 2014 By Germaine Hicks Leave a Comment

Last night’s Antares rocket launch has been delayed at the last minute ended everyone disappointed. The official reports revealed that the NASA canceled the launch after a stray boat strolled too close to the launching site.

The Antares’ launch at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility and Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport was originally scheduled for 6:45 p.m. EST last night. Though, the last-minute cancellation disappointed spectators along the Eastern U.S. coast hoping to catch a peek at the rocket as it launched.

NASA tweeted only a few minutes before launch, that they terminated the launch due to a “boat downrange in the hazard area.”

Although, NASA promptly rescheduled the launch at 6:22 p.m. tonight, weather permitting.

Unlike last night, which was clear with perfect weather for a launch, tonight’s forecast calls for cloudy skies. Confidently, though, Antares will still be able to send its Cygnus capsule into space, where it will ultimately rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS).

NASA officials revealed that the Cygnus capsule is carrying over 5,000 pounds of scientific experiments, equipment, food, tools and supplies for the ISS. Antares, and Cygnus, are both owned by a private company Orbital Sciences with which NASA has contracted for ISS supply missions. This will be Orbital Sciences’ 3^rd such mission, out of a total of 8.

Cygnus will orbit Earth for about 2 weeks before meeting up with the International Space Station. There, astronauts will grab the capsule with a robotic arm, and pull it in. There, they will unpack it and fill it with trash. After a month, the ISS will release the capsule, where it will return to Earth’s atmosphere, where it will break up.

If you are living near Wallops Island, you still have a good view of the launch, though cloudy skies might impede the view.

For all those living along the U.S. East Coast might catch a glance of the launch, as well. The rocket will look like an orange star with a small tail trailing behind it. Those elsewhere, however, can watch the live broadcast on NASA TV. Coverage begins at 5:30 p.m. EST.

The International Space Station itself will be visible for a few minutes just before 7 p.m. EST tonight on the U.S. East Coast. The launch sequence should last around 10 minutes, including takeoff and the separation of Cygnus from the rocket.

Night Time Rocket Launch At U.S. East Coast

October 27, 2014 By Rebecca McGhee 1 Comment

Are you living along the U.S. East Coast? If yes, then you have a great opportunity to see a rocket launch from your own backyard 27^th Oct, Monday evening. However, you will need to know how to spot the dazzling liftoff.

Orbital Sciences Corp built a commercial Antares rocket, which is due to blast off at 6:45 p.m. EDT (2245 GMT) from a pad at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia. It is the first-ever night launch of the two-stage Antares rocket and as per the weather updates, the flight could be visible from Massachusetts to South Carolina.

You can watch the Antares rocket launch live on Space.com beginning at 5:45 p.m. EDT (2145 GMT). But viewers on the U.S. East Coast should be sure to be looking in the right direction to see the launch.

The Antares rocket will launch an Orbital-built Cygnus spacecraft on Orb-3, the third official cargo delivery mission to the ISS (International Space Station) for NASA under a $1.9 billion contract. If all goes well, the robotic Cygnus spacecraft should arrive at the station on 2^nd Nov to deliver nearly 5,000 lbs. of supplies.

What to expect

The launching views on Monday night’s rocket launch will vary depending on where you live on the East Coast. The further away you are from the launch site, the closer to the horizon the rocket will appear during its way up. As a reference, your clasped fist held at arm’s length is roughly 10 degrees in width.

For instance, if a Skywatcher is trying to locate the launch from Philadelphia, the highest point the Antares rocket will reach is about 13 degrees above the horizon. It’s implausible that an observer will be able to view the launch when it’s below 5 degrees above the horizon because buildings, vegetation, and other terrain features will probably get in the way.

Orbital Sciences’ Antares will reach 5 degrees above the horizon about 100 seconds after launch, as seen from Philadelphia.

The launch of the Antares will be evident along the East Coast by virtue of the light released from its two stages. The first stage uses kerosene and liquid oxygen as propellants, powering two Aerojet AJ-26 engines, which are modified Russian-built NK-33 engines originally developed for Russia’s N-1 moon rocket.

Certainly, Antares should appear as a bright, moving star. If using binoculars, you might be able to see a tiny V-shaped contrail. Because the first stage of Antares is liquid fueled, its rise is slower than the Minotaur rockets that have launched from Wallops in recent years.

180 seconds after the Antares’ launch, the spacecraft will have risen to an altitude where it will begin to be illuminated by the sun which could make it appear brighter. Antares will throw away its first stage once it has spent all its fuel, 239 seconds after launch. This safely breaks up in the atmosphere and falls into the Atlantic Ocean.

Now comes a coasting phase, which lasts about 47 seconds after finishing the first stage; the sunlit rocket should continue to be visible, followed by ignition of the second stage, 4 minutes 41 seconds after launch. The second stage is a solid-fuel rocket, the Castor 30XL.

A Bright Rocket Contrail

At this point, the altitude of the Antares’ will be 86.9 miles (139.8 kilometers). At this altitude, the ensuing sap trail from its Castor 30XL upper stage motor will be illuminated by sunlight, perhaps leaving a long, glowing contrail in its wake. Though many West Coast residents might be familiar with such launch sightings by Minotaur rocket launchings originating from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base, they are very rare in the East, and as such may end up surprising millions of people if Antares launches on schedule on Monday evening.

The second stage of the rocket will burn for 166 seconds and then, along with the Cygnus cargo ship, Antares will be put into a low-Earth orbit. Once it’s part ways from the second stage 9 minutes, 27 seconds after launch, Cygnus will then use its own engines to continue on its own mission to the ISS (International Space Station).

Moreover, the second stage will appear beyond downrange and at a lower altitude than where the first stage shut down appeared. The route appears to dip back toward Earth as the rocket moves further away from the spectator and vanishes beyond the horizon. The rocket, of course, is not returning to Earth — it is continuing its rise, speeding higher and faster toward space.

Viewing Details

The launch’s public viewing will be available at the NASA Visitor Center at Wallops. NASA has more information about the Visitors Center on its website. For any questions about viewing the launch from the Visitor Center, call: 757.824.1344. For updates on the launch, call: 757.824.2050.

On the other hand, the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge/Assateague National Seashore will not be open to watch the launch.

If you are using an Android, you can also download the new “What’s Up at Wallops” app, which contains information on the launch as well as a compass showing the precise direction for launch viewing.

Orbital Sciences have named its Orb-3 Cygnus spacecraft the SS Deke Slayton in tribute to original Mercury 7 astronaut Donald “Deke” K. Slayton, who flew on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission in 1975 and championed commercial space endeavors after retiring from NASA in 1982. Slayton passed away in 1993.

The Orb-3 mission follows cargo launches in January and July, and a test flight to the station in April 2013. Orbital Sciences has 5 more cargo runs to the orbiting station for NASA, under its $1.9 billion deal.

SpaceX, the California-based company also has its own $1.6 billion deal with NASA to provide 12 cargo missions to the space station using its own Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rockets. The 4^th Dragon mission under that deal came to a successful end on Saturday, 25^th Oct, when the unmanned Dragon capsule returned to Earth after just over a month at the station.

SpaceX Dragon Capsule Splashed Down West of Baja California

October 27, 2014 By Germaine Hicks Leave a Comment

After completing its successful mission to the International Space Station (ISS), SpaceX Dragon spacecraft returned back to Earth this Saturday. The End of Mission (EOM) events started with an unberthing and the release of the CRS-4/SpX-4 spacecraft from the orbital outpost, in front of a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at around 15:38 Eastern.

The SpaceX’s Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle, Dragon, Launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on 21st September. Dragon had been attached to the orbiting lab for about a month.

Dragon carried around 5,000 pounds of supplies and experiments to the ISS, including 2.5 tons of food, supplies and critical science experiments, and a first 3D printer in space. The Dragon also contains 20 mice have now taken up residency on the orbital outpost.

Barry Wilmore and Reid Wiseman, two NASA astronauts maneuvered the robotic arm attached to the space station to unbolt Dragon for its trip home this morning.

The International Space Station crew removed and stored the cargo, before refilling Dragon with downmass. Dragon is the only American vehicle capable of returning downmass since the retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet.

Dragon had been expected to return some of the experiments, it brought to space, including a batch of mutant, stress-resistant fruit flies and some of the first test parts created in the 3D printer, built by the California-based company Made In Space. The capsule was also lined up to return a small crop of lettuce grown in space as part of NASA’s Veg-01 experiment, first brought to the space station during SpaceX’s last resupply mission in April.

SpaceX representatives said, Dragon splashed down west of Baja California today with 3,276 pounds (1,486 kilograms) of cargo and science experiments. However, it’s the only cargo ship that returns items to Earth intact. Dragon will be transported to the port of Los Angeles, before a trip to McGregor Texas for cargo removal.

A Massive Sunspot Brewing Solar Flares Threatening Earth

October 24, 2014 By Brian Galloway Leave a Comment

A monstrous sunspot, which can be easily seen by a properly shielded naked eye, is threatening the Earth. Sunspots are the solar system’s active regions that look like dark spots. These are caused by powerful magnetic activity and can cause flares and coronal mass ejections, or CMEs. These flares intimidate power and communication systems when directed to the Earth.

The sunspot dubbed as AR 12192 appeared on 17^th Oct on the sun’s eastern side. Over the past few days, it has grown bigger and is now almost 80,000 miles across, which equals to the size of planet Jupiter, the kind that has not been seen for a long time. The AR 12192 is so far the largest of the current 11-year solar cycle that started six years ago in January 2008.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is currently monitoring the massive sunspot revealed that it has already spewed X-class flares; one on 19^th Oct and the other on 22^nd Oct, causing high frequency radio blackouts. X-class flares are categorized as the most powerful of solar flares and they are linked with solar radiation storms mostly if they come with CMEs.

Thus far, sunspot AR 12192 has not directed CMEs to the Earth’s direction, but it has already produced numerous flares including two X-class flares, eight M-class flares, which are of medium strength, and 27 less powerful C-class flares. The sunspot brewed X1.6 flare, which created a very intense eruption in the lower corona of the sun, NASA’s SDO captured this Wednesday.

NASA said, “the sun’s active region named as AR 12192 has produced significant solar flares. At the moment, active regions are more common as we are in what’s called solar maximum, which is the peak of the sun’s activity, occurring approximately every 11 years.”

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecasters predicted more solar flares with 95% probability that the sun will spawn M-class flares and 55% odds of X-flares within the next 24 hours.

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center stated, “None of the CMEs linked to these events are expected to be geo-effective so far, though, forecasters will keep an eye out for both CME activity and solar radiation storm possibility as the region approaches center disk.”

Formerly, the largest sunspot was spotted in 1947, which was nearly 3 times as big as the AR 12192.

6-Member Team Prepared By NASA For Mars Mission in Hawaii

October 22, 2014 By Jason Leathers 1 Comment

Recently, NASA’s official revealed that they prepared a team of 6 members as a first step towards a manned Mars mission by 2030, who will spend 8 months in an isolated dome on a Hawaiian volcano.

The project named HISEAS (Hawaii Space Exploration Analog & Simulation) has been designed to determine how well a small group of people can survive and work together, Bend Bulletin stated.

It will be a long and lonely trip that approximately takes 6 months for astronauts to reach at the Red Planet. After reaching, they will spend 500 days on the planet and tire out another 6 months to come back home, NASA revealed.

Uncover Michigan reported, “The long-time isolation within the dome can lead to a number of psychological problems such as depression and personality conflicts. The principal investigator for the just started project, Prof. Kimberly Binsted said that the psychological risks of living in in isolation were still not fully understood and not totally corrected for.”

“How do you pick and hold up astronauts for a mission that will last 2 to 3 years in a way that will keep them healthy and performing well? I’m so interested to see how I react. ‘I don’t know’ is the short answer. I think it could go a lot of different ways,” Binsted added.

Though, NASA’s Hawaiian dome mission to Mars is not the first of its kind. A similar mission in Russia lasted 520 days.

NASA has picked the project finalists after a 6-day camping trip in the Rocky Mountains that showcased their survivalist skills and team work. The crew members include Allen Mirkadyrov, 35, a NASA aerospace engineer; Jocelyn Dunn, 27, a Purdue University graduate student; Sophie Milam, 26, a graduate student at the University of Idaho; and Zak Wilson, 28, a mechanical engineer who worked on military drone aircraft at General Atomics in San Diego.

NASA’s Hawaiian Dome Mock Mission to Mars

October 22, 2014 By Germaine Hicks 1 Comment

As per the recent study financed by NASA, a group of people will spend the next 8 months of their lives living in an isolated dome on a Hawaiian volcano.

Bend Bulletin stated, the study dubbed as HISEAS (Hawaii Space Exploration Analog & Simulation) has been designed to determine how well a small group of people can survive and work together.

Certainly, the study appears to be a test for future manned missions to Mars. NASA already planned to send astronauts to Mars in the 2030s, which is a long and lonely trip. It will take approximately 6 months for astronauts to reach at the Red Planet. After reaching, they will spend 500 days on the planet and tire out another 6 months to back home.

Though, NASA’s Hawaiian dome mission to Mars is not the first of its kind. A similar mission in Russia lasted 520 days.

Categories