Spinning Stars Could Help Scientists Find A New Earth
Scientists can now determine the age of sun-sized stars here #39;s how they #39;re doing it, and why it #39;s important. Follow Sebastian Martinez: http://www.twitter.com/sebastiansings See more at...
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Spinning Stars Could Help Scientists Find A New Earth - Video
NASA releases hi-res Pillars of Creation to honor Hubble
NASA #39;s iconic photo of the Pillars of Creation has been upgraded to HD in honor of the Hubble Space Telescope #39;s 25th anniversary in orbit. Made of 32 images from 4 cameras, the updated...
By: RT America
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NASA releases hi-res Pillars of Creation to honor Hubble - Video
Tell NASA Comet Q2 LoveJoy is the Comet of the Century. Gettin #39; bright fast!
The Heavens are alive with signs of change of the birth pangs of the 21st century and c/2014 Q2 Lovejoy is here to kick off 2015. The year of our chance and our choice. May we be so lucky and...
By: thornews
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Tell NASA Comet Q2 LoveJoy is the Comet of the Century. Gettin' bright fast! - Video
Meralco drops rates, Cebu Pacific sanctions, NASA discovery | The wRap
HEADLINES: - Meralco electricity bills continue to drop in January. - Budget airline Cebu Pacific may face a #39;full range of sanctions. #39; - NASA finds the closest Earth-like planets to date....
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Meralco drops rates, Cebu Pacific sanctions, NASA discovery | The wRap - Video
NASA | Missions Take an Unparalleled Look into Superstar Eta Carinae
Eta Carinae is a binary system containing the most luminous and massive star within 10000 light-years. A long-term study led by astronomers at NASA #39;s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt,...
By: NASA Goddard
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NASA | Missions Take an Unparalleled Look into Superstar Eta Carinae - Video
IMAGE:This is Eta Carinae's great eruption in the 1840s created the billowing Homunculus Nebula, imaged here by Hubble. Now about a light-year long, the expanding cloud contains enough material to... view more
Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team
Eta Carinae, the most luminous and massive stellar system within 10,000 light-years of Earth, is known for its surprising behavior, erupting twice in the 19th century for reasons scientists still don't understand. A long-term study led by astronomers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, used NASA satellites, ground-based telescopes and theoretical modeling to produce the most comprehensive picture of Eta Carinae to date. New findings include Hubble Space Telescope images that show decade-old shells of ionized gas racing away from the largest star at a million miles an hour, and new 3-D models that reveal never-before-seen features of the stars' interactions.
"We are coming to understand the present state and complex environment of this remarkable object, but we have a long way to go to explain Eta Carinae's past eruptions or to predict its future behavior," said Goddard astrophysicist Ted Gull, who coordinates a research group that has monitored the star for more than a decade.
Located about 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation of Carina, Eta Carinae comprises two massive stars whose eccentric orbits bring them unusually close every 5.5 years. Both produce powerful gaseous outflows called stellar winds, which enshroud the stars and stymy efforts to directly measure their properties. Astronomers have established that the brighter, cooler primary star has about 90 times the mass of the sun and outshines it by 5 million times. While the properties of its smaller, hotter companion are more contested, Gull and his colleagues think the star has about 30 solar masses and emits a million times the sun's light.
Speaking at a press conference at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle on Wednesday, the Goddard researchers discussed recent observations of Eta Carinae and how they fit with the group's current understanding of the system.
At closest approach, or periastron, the stars are 140 million miles (225 million kilometers) apart, or about the average distance between Mars and the sun. Astronomers observe dramatic changes in the system during the months before and after periastron. These include X-ray flares, followed by a sudden decline and eventual recovery of X-ray emission; the disappearance and re-emergence of structures near the stars detected at specific wavelengths of visible light; and even a play of light and shadow as the smaller star swings around the primary.
During the past 11 years, spanning three periastron passages, the Goddard group has developed a model based on routine observations of the stars using ground-based telescopes and multiple NASA satellites. "We used past observations to construct a computer simulation, which helped us predict what we would see during the next cycle, and then we feed new observations back into the model to further refine it," said Thomas Madura, a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow at Goddard and a theorist on the Eta Carinae team.
According to this model, the interaction of the two stellar winds accounts for many of the periodic changes observed in the system. The winds from each star have markedly different properties: thick and slow for the primary, lean and fast for the hotter companion. The primary's wind blows at nearly 1 million mph and is especially dense, carrying away the equivalent mass of our sun every thousand years. By contrast, the companion's wind carries off about 100 times less material than the primary's, but it races outward as much as six times faster.
Madura's simulations, which were performed on the Pleiades supercomputer at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, reveal the complexity of the wind interaction. When the companion star rapidly swings around the primary, its faster wind carves out a spiral cavity in the dense outflow of the larger star. To better visualize this interaction, Madura converted the computer simulations to 3-D digital models and made solid versions using a consumer-grade 3-D printer. This process revealed lengthy spine-like protrusions in the gas flow along the edges of the cavity, features that hadn't been noticed before.
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NASA observatories take an unprecedented look into superstar Eta Carinae
We are a nation of inventors.Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, the Wright Brothers, Dr. Temple Grandin, George Eastman and Elon Musk are just a few individuals in a massive catalog of creative makers who have used the inspiration of the innovative culture of the United States to advance technology. At the same time, government research has pushed the fundamental, but not-yet-commercialside of research in an incredibly important way, and at the core of that is NASA. For more than fifty years, NASA hastransferred its cutting-edge technologies to the private sector, helping create new commercial products, improve existing products and boost the competitiveness of the U.S. economy.
It isnt just a one-way street, though; NASA is increasingly reaching out to individuals and organizations outside of the agency to apply their own inventive initiative to further technology needed to enable the next steps required to execute NASAs goals in space exploration and aeronautics.
In order to accomplish great things, NASA has always needed partners in industry and academia. But notable accomplishments do not only come from big moonshots and Mars landings. Some amazing technology developments can be found in very small packages, like projects from NASA's AmesResearch Center, includingPhoneSatand the upcomingEdison Demonstration of Smallsat Networksmissions, in which engineers use commercialoff-the-shelf smartphones as the motherboard to operate mini cube-shaped research satellitesor CubeSats.
Each single CubeSat is approximately four inches in length, width and height, and weighs 3 pounds. Small satellites are an interesting development in space exploration because of their low cost and relatively easy access to space.Typically CubeSats hitch a ride on launches that have some leftover weight and volume capacity in addition to the primary payload flying.
Ames, located in Californias Silicon Valley, is recognized as a major contributor to the small satellite community through projects like PhoneSat.As such, Ames was a natural organization to issue a challenge to the nation to incentivize development of CubeSat capabilities. In November 2014, NASA announced that Ames will manage a competition called theCube Quest Challengeunder the agencys series ofCentennial Challenges.
The Centennial Challenges program drives innovations in aerospace technology through collaborative teams of citizen-inventors, universitiesand industry participation; increases communication through public forum and results-oriented competitions; andfosters economic productivity and opportunity through new or expanded business development.There have been 24 Centennial Challenges events since 2005. NASA has awarded more than $6 million to 16 challenge-winning teams in competitions such as the Sample Return Robot Challenge, the Strong Tether Challengeand the Moon ROx Challenge.
For the Cube Quest Challenge, teams must design, develop and deliver a small spacecraft the volume of six combined single CubeSat unitsthat can catch a ride to lunar orbit or further in deep space, and then rapidly transfer large data volumes from itself to Earth, while surviving the extended duration in space.
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NASA will hold two briefings Thursday, Jan. 15 at the agencys Johnson Space Center in Houston, to preview the upcoming Expedition 43 mission aboard the International Space Station and the launch of the crew embarking on a yearlong mission. NASA Television and the agencys website will broadcast the briefings live.
At noon EST, an International Space Station Program and Science Overview briefing will cover mission priorities and objectives, which include hundreds of research experiments, numerous spacewalks and international and commercial cargo deliveries to the complex.
The briefing participants are:
Michael Suffredini, International Space Station program manager
Emily Nelson, International Space Station expedition flight director
Julie Robinson, International Space Station program scientist
Steve Gilmore, lead flight surgeon for Scott Kelly
At 2 p.m., NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) will discuss their upcoming mission. B-roll video of the crews training will air at 1:30 p.m.
The trio is set to launch to the space station aboard the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft March 27. Padalka will return to Earth in September while Kelly and Kornienko will remain onboard until March 2016.
Kelly and Kornienko are embarking on a first-ever yearlong mission to the station. The valuable scientific data collected will provide insight into how the human body responds to longer durations in space, supporting the next generation of space exploration.
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NASA Previews Yearlong Space Station Mission in Jan. 15 Briefing
SEATTLENASA's venerable planet-hunter, the Kepler spacecraft, has shaken its one-thousandth planet from the sky. Eight new worlds beyond our solar system, announced Tuesday, boost the number of Kepler's confirmed planets to 1,004 (if you're keeping count), including two of the most Earthlike planets discovered so far.
Those eight new worlds are each less than 2.7 times the size of Earth, astronomers reported at the American Astronomical Society's annual winter meeting. But hiding in the wings, among a group of 554 newly announced planet candidates, is an even more tantalizing set of planets.
"These candidates represent the closest analogues to the Earth-sun system found to date, and this is what Kepler has been looking for. We are now closer than we have ever been to finding a twin for Earth around a star," says Fergal Mullally of the SETI Institute and NASA's Ames Research Center.
Kepler's eight newly confirmed planets are all relatively small, and they all orbit stars that are smaller and cooler than the sun. Depending which calculations scientists use, at least three of the planetsand perhaps all eightare in the habitable zones of their parent stars. This is the region where temperatures are just right for supporting liquid water on the planet's surface. (Learn more about habitable-zone planets in "Kepler Telescope Discovers Most Earth-Like Planet Yet.")
At least two of those planets, Kepler 438-b and Kepler 442-b, are likely to be rocky, like Earth.
"We have significantly increased the number of these verified, small, habitable-zone planets from Kepler," says Doug Caldwell of the SETI Institute and NASA's Ames Research Center.
"They really make up a special population that is of interest for understanding the prevalence of life in the universe. Yesterday we had five Kepler exoplanets in this special hall of fame, and today we have eight in this elite club."
Earth Twins
The new catalog of worlds from Kepler identifies an additional 554 planet candidates, bringing the mission's total number of candidatesobjects that might be exoplanetsto 4,175. Of those 554 new candidates, eight are small, less than twice the size of Earth, and in the habitable zones of their stars. (These candidates are in addition to the eight newly confirmed planets.)
And here's the really tantalizing bit: Six of those potential planets are orbiting sunlike stars and represent a class of planet that Kepler hasn't yet gotten a good look at: the real exo-Earths.
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NASA's Kepler Spacecraft Discovers New Batch of Earthlike Planets
By Brian Mastroianni
A bigger and sharper Hubble telescope photograph of the iconic Eagle Nebula's 'Pillars of Creation' (R) is seen next to the original 1995 Hubble picture in this NASA image released January 6, 2015.(REUTERS/NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team/Handout via Reuters)
A Hubble telescope photograph of the iconic Eagle Nebula 'Pillars of Creation' is seen in this NASA image released January 6, 2015.(REUTERS/NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team/Handout via Reuters)
In 1995, NASAs Hubble Space Telescope released an iconic image that changed peoples perception of space. Through the photo of the so-called Pillars of Creation, the telescope offered a glimpse at what the origins of our own solar systems sun might have looked like.
Showing three columns of gas highlighted by the ultraviolet light emitted from a nearby star cluster in M16, a region of the Eagle Nebula in the constellation Serpens, the image has inspired everyone from those behind the recent Star Trek films to children who aspire to study astronomy.
In honor of the telescopes upcoming 25th anniversary in April, NASA has provided a clearer view of the celestial phenomenon, with new high-definition images of the pillars that are being unveiled at this weeks American Astronomical Society meeting.
What is it that gives the image such power? For Ray Villard, news director at the Space Telescope Science Institute, the photograph gave people a look at the universe as something that was organic and not a dark void.
It looks almost like a fantasy landscape theres a feel to it that convinces yourself that you are looking at something that is living under a microscope, Villard told FoxNews.com. It defies expectations of whats out there in space.
Villard, who first became interested in astronomy when he caught a glimpse of an image of a similar celestial site the Horsehead Nebula as a young child, said that these kinds of images, made possible by the wide reach of Hubble, are inspirational and resonate way beyond hardcore science. In short, these glimpses at the far reaches of space are accessible in that they make astronomy tangible for the science lay person.
The image of the pillars sheds light on the constantly shifting face of the universe. The gaseous bodies suggest creation but also destruction, according to a release from NASA.
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NASA honors Hubble's 25th anniversary with high-def version of iconic image
Caleb #39;s Science Video - his NASA folder
Caleb loves science! Here he explains all the sheets in his NASA folder.
By: Caleb #39;s Science Videos
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Alien Temple and Structure On South Pole Of Mars Captured By NASA
For More Exclusive Information on UFO Welcome: http://erigia.blogspot.com Visit My Blog: http://areazone51ufos.blogspot.com ANCIENT ALIENS ON MARS: http://ancientaliensmars.blogspot.com BEST ...
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Alien Temple and Structure On South Pole Of Mars Captured By NASA - Video
NSNC: Broken Video Games, NASA #39;s Journey To Mars, and D D!
Jacob and Lucas join Stephen Savelli of #NerdSwag (https://www.facebook.com/hashtagnerdswag) for a new episode of the Nerd Swag Nerd Chat. The brothers discuss broken games, NASA #39;s journey ...
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NSNC: Broken Video Games, NASA's Journey To Mars, and D&D! - Video
Minecraft Episode 8- building the NASA work bench
with materials needed to build the devices needed to make a rocket under way I look to get a working tier 1 rocket on soon.
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NASA captured gigantic fireball eruption off the sun
By: Debra Ford
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NASA captured gigantic fireball eruption off the sun - Video
WTF Explain This NASA Holographic Plane Or Holographic Moon You Decide
DarkSkyWatcher Observatory Kingman Arizona 2015 http://WWW.DARKSKYWATCHER.COM Darkskywatchers Global Skywatch Network Equipment used in this broadcast Main scope: Celestron Nexstar ...
By: DarkSkyWatcher74
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WTF Explain This NASA Holographic Plane Or Holographic Moon You Decide - Video
HotSpot Episode 95: NASA #39;s Rover Has Amnesia
This week on WDD #39;s HotSpot: Unmanned Helicopter Northrop Grumman #39;s MQ-8C Fire Scout drone helicopter has made its first flight from a U.S. Navy destroyer. According to Capt. Jeff Dodge,...
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NASA ISS Research and Technology Briefing
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NASA International Space Station Research and Technology Briefing
During panel discussions from NASA #39;s Kennedy Space center in Florida, scientists and researchers discussed the onboard science and research studies being carried to space aboard the SpaceX...
By: NASA
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NASA International Space Station Research and Technology Briefing - Video
How habitable was Mars in the past? Since NASA's Curiosity rover touched down on Mars in August 2012, it has helped answer a few of these questions in the area surrounding its equatorial landing site of Gale Crater.
Most notably, in March 2013, Curiosity investigators announced extensive evidence of a lake bed or river system in a region that NASA dubs "Yellowknife Bay." The environment, which could be a favorable spot for microbes, includes minerals such as clays that are formed in waters that once existed there. The waters themselves were probably not too salty or acidic, geologic evidence shows, which gives further credence thatlife could have been possibleon the Red Planet.
Curiosity is now ascending its prime target Mount Sharp (Aeolis Mons). NASA isnt going to stop there, however. The agency is readying a successor rover to follow on the heels of Curiosity. [Curiosity Arrives at Mount Sharp (Video)]
Mars 2020, as its currently called, will have improved instruments over Curiosity. The new rover is heavily based on the Curiosity design, and as with its predecessor it will be able to search for habitable environments.
But Mars 2020 would also look directly for evidence of life, something Curiosity was not designed to do. This will make choosing a landing site crucial, since it would involve finding a spot where water or volcanic activity was present in the past. These processes provide energy for microbes.
"It will be a multi-year, hundreds of people effort tochoose the landing site for 2020," said Jim Bell, a planetary scientist at Arizona State Universitys School of Earth and Space Exploration.
"There are lots of great places to go. The finalist sites for Curiosity are already listed for consideration," he added.
These sites include Holden Crater, which scientists suspect may have been a lake system, andEberswalde Crater, a possible ancient lake bed.
Mars 2020s success will depend heavily on the seven instruments the rover is expected to carry to the Red Planet. The shortlisted instruments will have capabilities that range from taking pictures, to doing chemical composition analysis of the surface, to probing for organics, chemicals and carbon dioxide. [NASA's 2020 Mars Rover in Pictures]
The seven instruments are:
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