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NASA’s Chandra detects blackhole bonanza next door

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Washington, Jun 13:

Astronomers have discovered 26 new black holes in the Andromeda Galaxy, one of the nearest galaxies to the Milky Way, using data from NASAs Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Using more than 150 Chandra observations, spread over 13 years, researchers identified 26 black hole candidates, the largest number to date, in a galaxy outside our own.

Many consider Andromeda (M31) to be a sister galaxy to the Milky Way. The two ultimately will collide, several billion years from now.

While we are excited to find so many black holes in Andromeda, we think its just the tip of the iceberg, said Robin Barnard of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) in Cambridge, and lead author of the study.

Most black holes wont have close companions and will be invisible to us, Barnard said.

The black hole candidates belong to the stellar mass category, meaning they formed in the death throes of very massive stars and typically have masses five to 10 times that of our Sun.

Astronomers can detect these otherwise invisible objects as material is pulled from a companion star and heated up to produce radiation before it disappears into the black hole.

The first step in identifying these black holes was to make sure they were stellar mass systems in the Andromeda Galaxy itself, rather than supermassive black holes at the hearts of more distant galaxies.

To do this, the researchers used a new technique that draws on information about the brightness and variability of the X-ray sources in the Chandra data. In short, the stellar mass systems change much more quickly than the supermassive black holes.

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NASA’s Chandra detects blackhole bonanza next door

NASA captures awe-inspiring image of sun and moon

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Recall Alert: Do you eat beef jerky? Recall Alert: Do you eat beef jerky?

Updated: Thursday, June 13 2013 5:11 AM EDT2013-06-13 09:11:19 GMT

Updated: Thursday, June 13 2013 2:48 PM EDT2013-06-13 18:48:00 GMT

Updated: Thursday, June 13 2013 2:35 PM EDT2013-06-13 18:35:00 GMT

Updated: Thursday, June 13 2013 2:23 PM EDT2013-06-13 18:23:00 GMT

Updated: Thursday, June 13 2013 1:48 PM EDT2013-06-13 17:48:33 GMT

Info Courtesy: NASA

Two or three times a year, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory observes the moon traveling across the sun, blocking its view.

While this obscures solar observations for a short while, it offers the chance for an interesting view of the shadow of the moon. The moon's crisp horizon can be seen up against the sun, because the moon does not have an atmosphere. (At other times of the year, when Earth blocks SDO's view, the Earth's horizon looks fuzzy due to its atmosphere.)

If one looks closely at such a crisp border, the features of the moon's topography are visible, as is the case in this image from Oct. 7, 2010. This recently inspired two NASA visualizers to overlay a 3-dimensional model of the moon based on data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, into the shadow of the SDO image.

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NASA captures awe-inspiring image of sun and moon

NASA Visitor Centers Launch New Passport for Space Tourists

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Earth-bound space tourists hitting the road this summer to tour NASA's historic launch pads and mission controls, as well as see the retired space shuttles on display, now have their own passport.

The "Passport to Explore Space" is now being offered by the official visitor centers for NASA's nationwide facilities and the museums that display the space agency's former orbiter fleet. Guests to the 14 locations in nine states can get the passports stamped with commemorative markers representing each of the centers, earning them offers and discounts in the process.

"Get ready to explore and experience NASA's universe of diverse visitor centers and the museums which house America's four space shuttles!" promotes VisitNASA.com, the website for the "Passport to Explore Space" program and NASA's tourist attractions. "Your mission is to visit all 14 visitor centers and space shuttle locations." [Where to SeeAmerica's Greatest Spaceships (Infographic)]

The program includes the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, where space shuttle Atlantis will open on display June 29; the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia where space shuttle Discovery is exhibited; the California Science Center in Los Angeles where shuttle Endeavour is housed; and the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City, which will reopen the pavilion showcasing the prototype orbiter Enterprise on July 10.

Other locations participating in the passport program include Space Center Houston, the visitor center for NASA's Johnson Space Center; the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, the Alabama home to Space Camp and the visitor center for Marshall Space Flight Center; the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, which hosts Glenn Research Center's visitor center; and the INFINITY Science Center, which represents Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

Rounding out the list are the official visitor centers for Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland; NASA's Ames Research Center, Dryden Flight Research Center and Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California; and the Wallops Flight Facility and Langley Research Center in Virginia, the latter at the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton.

The free eight-page passport booklet can be obtained by visiting the participating locations after registering for the program online. Visitors must be at least 18 years old to join.

Passport holders can receive discounts off of admission, attractions, food and souvenirs at some of the locations. For example, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex offers $5 off regular price admission and 10 percent off of merchandise and its "Lunch with an Astronaut" program.

Nearly four million people tour the NASA centers annually, according to VisitNASA.com.

"NASA visitor centers tell the story of America's amazing spirit and exciting history of space exploration to visitors from around the world," said Roger Bornstein, the director of marketing for Space Center Houston, in a statement. "Visitors will not only be enriched, but inspired with the scores of artifacts, family entertainment and exceptional educational programs."

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NASA Visitor Centers Launch New Passport for Space Tourists

NASA Schedules Media Events and Coverage for New Solar Mission Launch

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WASHINGTON -- NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) mission is scheduled to launch at 7:27 p.m. PDT (10:27 p.m. EDT) Wednesday, June 26, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Launch on an Orbital Sciences Corporation Pegasus XL rocket is targeted for the middle of a five-minute launch window. Live NASA Television coverage of the launch begins at 6 p.m. PDT (9 p.m. EDT). NASA TV also will air an IRIS prelaunch news conference and science briefing beginning at noon PDT (3 p.m. EDT) on Tuesday, June 25.

IRIS is a NASA Small Explorer Mission to observe how solar material moves, gathers energy and heats up as it travels through a little-understood region in the sun's lower atmosphere. This interface region between the sun's photosphere and corona powers its dynamic million-degree atmosphere and drives the solar wind.

The drop of the air-launched Pegasus from Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft will occur over the Pacific Ocean at an altitude of 39,000 feet, about 100 miles northwest of Vandenberg off the central coast of California, south of Big Sur.

The IRIS News Center at Kennedy's Vandenberg Resident Office will be staffed starting Monday, June 24 and may be reached between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at 805-605-3051.

For complete details on media registration, media events, and live launch coverage on NASA Television, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/13L6djG

NASA also will host a Google+ Hangout at 1:30 p.m. EDT June 25, on the IRIS mission. Social media followers may submit questions on Twitter and Google+ in advance and during the event using the hashtag #askNASA.

Before the hangout begins, NASA will open a thread on its Facebook page where questions may be posted. The hangout can be viewed live on NASA's Google+ page, the NASA Television YouTube channel or NASA TV. For more information and to join the hangout, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/17039WY

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NASA Schedules Media Events and Coverage for New Solar Mission Launch

NASA’s Centennial Challenge Prize Awarded To Sample Return Robot

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June 11, 2013

Image Caption: Members of team Survey pose with officials from NASAs Sample Return Robot. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

NASA

After two days of extensive competition, Team Survey of Los Angeles was awarded $5,000 in prize money after successfully completing Level 1 of the Sample Return Robot Challenge, a part of NASAs Centennial Challenges prize program.

The event, hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) June 5-7 in Worcester, Mass., drew robotics teams from the United States, Canada and Estonia to compete for a total of $1.5 million in NASA prize money. Eleven teams arrived to compete at WPI; 10 teams passed the initial inspection and took to the challenge field. After two rounds of Level 1 competition, Team Survey met the $5,000 prize requirements and was declared the winner of this years competition.

Team Survey members Jascha Little, Russel Howe, Zac Lizer, Tommy Smith, Zoe Stephenson, Scott Little, Brandon Booth, and Joanna Balme, all from Los Angeles, were presented a check June 8 by NASAs Larry Cooper, Centennial Challenges program executive, at the opening of the TouchTomorrow technology festival. A WPI organized science and robotics festival attracted thousands of attendees, showcasing the teams and robots as well as NASA and WPI exhibits in science, robotics and space technology.

It is evident from the level of improvements the teams have shown from last years event to this weeks Level 1 win that the technology has significantly progressed, and the desired results of this challenge are within reach, said Sam Ortega, program manager of Centennial Challenges. We are so proud of the great spirit and camaraderie the teams have shown, as well. It speaks volumes about the caliber of teams and individuals who compete in these events.

NASA uses prize competitions to increase the number and diversity of the individuals, organizations and teams that are addressing a particular problem or challenge. Prize competitions stimulate private sector investment that is many times greater than the cash value of the prize and further NASAs mission by attracting interest and attention to a defined technical objective.

To win prize dollars, teams were required to demonstrate a robot that can locate and collect samples from a wide and varied terrain, operating without human control. The objective of the challenge was to encourage innovations in autonomous navigation and robotics technologies.

Team Surveys robot successfully completed Level 1 by navigating from the starting platform and locating a sample that was previously identified in the robots onboard computer. The robot then autonomously returned one undamaged sample to its starting platform within the 30-minute time limit. No teams made it to the second level of the competition this year.

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NASA's Centennial Challenge Prize Awarded To Sample Return Robot

Moon Phase and Libration, 2013 North Up 2013 NASA Goddard; Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Images – Video

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Moon Phase and Libration, 2013 North Up 2013 NASA Goddard; Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Images
more at http://scitech.quickfound.net/ Northern Hemisphere view of 2013 Lunar phases. "The animation... shows the geocentric phase, libration, position angle...

By: Jeff Quitney

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Moon Phase and Libration, 2013 North Up 2013 NASA Goddard; Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Images - Video


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