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Comet 103P/Hartley 2 continues to put on a good show as it approaches Earth for an 11-million-mile close encounter on Oct. 20th. Last night it passed by the Double Cluster in Perseus. The contrast between the blue stars of the two clusters and the green atmosphere of the comet was remarkable:
Most observers agree that the comet is not yet visible to the naked eye, but it is an easy target for backyard telescopes. In recent nights, astronomers have enjoyed watching Comet Hartley 2 pass a succession of stars and deep-sky objects such as the Pacman nebula and the Double Cluster. Next up is eta Persei (η Per), a 4th-magnitude star that will shine through the comet's atmosphere on Oct 9th and 10th. Details and a sky map are available from from Sky & Telescope.
On Oct. 7th, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory observed its first lunar transit when the new Moon passed directly between the spacecraft and the sun. SDO's 16 megapixel cameras recorded the event in detail, revealing jagged lunar mountains backlit by solar plasma:
Beyond the novely of observing a such an event from space, these images have practical value to the SDO science team. Karel Schrijver of Lockheed-Martin's Solar and Astrophysics Lab explains, "The very sharp edge of the lunar limb allows us to measure the in-orbit characteristics of the telescope--e.g., light diffraction on optics and filter support grids. We can use that information to correct our data for instrumental effects and sharpen up the images to even more detail."
© SDO
© J. Vaubaillon & othersOn October 8, 2011, Earth will pass through several streams of particles ejected over the past 200 years by Comet Giacobini-Zinner.
This is the yearly date when Earth plows through a tenuous band of space dust created by Comet Giacobini-Zinner along its orbit. Ordinarily, the Draconid shower (formerly called the Giacobinids) puts on a so-so celestial show, delivering about 20 meteors per hour if you can view them under a moonless, pitch-black sky. That's hardly worth staying up for: after all, from a similarly clear, dark site you'll see six or seven random ("sporadic") meteors per hour.
© Gabriel Pérez, Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, SpainTwo teams of researchers who made national headlines in April for showing the first evidence of water ice and organic molecules on an asteroid have now discovered that asteroid 65 Cybele contains the same material.
Two teams of researchers who made national headlines in April for showing the first evidence of water ice and organic molecules on an asteroid have now discovered that asteroid 65 Cybele contains the same material.
"This discovery suggests that this region of our solar system contains more water ice than anticipated," said University of Central Florida Professor Humberto Campins. "And it supports the theory that asteroids may have hit Earth and brought our planet its water and the building blocks for life to form and evolve here."
© NASA / JPL / SSI / LPICassini images of the Saturnine moon Rhea.
Experts from NASA announce that new data on Saturn's inner moons seem to indicate that the large amount of scars they have on their surfaces was produced by a cosmic bombardment.
These cosmic events mostly affected the gas giant's inner, mid-sized moons, including Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione and Rhea. All of them have icy surface, so the scars are clearly visible.
They all display reddish and bluish hues on their surfaces, and the investigators say that these features are due to cosmic impacts of varying intensities and sizes.
But a new scientific paper on the issue would seem to indicate that other factors might be at work too. The study appears in the latest online issue of the esteemed scientific journal Icarus.
The investigators behind it look at the intricate network of connections that formed between these moons, Saturn's magnetic field, and the gas giant's outer ring (the E Ring).
All of them exchange materials, or contribute to influencing the patterns in which material is distributed within this system. Analyzing this could shed more light on the massive planet.
A Cassini data analysis program grant was used to support this research, which was conducted by Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston expert Paul Schenk. He is also the lead author of the paper.
"The beauty of it all is how the satellites behave as a family, recording similar processes and events on their surfaces, each in its own unique way," the expert argues.
Every year around Oct. 8th, Earth passes through a minefield of dusty debris from Comet Giacobini-Zinner, source of the annual Draconid meteor shower. This year, forecasters expect Earth to narrowly miss several of the debris streams, resulting in no appreciable display for 2010. Next year, however, could be different.
On Oct. 8, 2011, Earth will have a near head-on collision with a tendril of dust, setting off a strong outburst of as many as 750 meteors per hour. People in Europe, Africa and the Middle East will have a front-row seat for what could be the strongest shower since the Leonid storms a decade ago. Mark your calendar and, meanwhile, follow these links for more information: Draconid forecasts; sky map; history
On Oct. 8, 2011, Earth will have a near head-on collision with a tendril of dust, setting off a strong outburst of as many as 750 meteors per hour. People in Europe, Africa and the Middle East will have a front-row seat for what could be the strongest shower since the Leonid storms a decade ago. Mark your calendar and, meanwhile, follow these links for more information: Draconid forecasts; sky map; history
Russian-born Nobel Prize winner Andre Geim - who was rejected by a leading Moscow institute before heading to the west - has dismissed overtures from the Skolkovo innovation centre.
The émigré physicist said plans to lure him back home to work at Skolkovo were "completely insane" and claimed the high-profile innovation centre was doomed to failure.
"Are people over there completely insane?" Geim raged to Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei. "I do not hold Russian citizenship, I am a Dutch national and I'm not interested in Skolkovo anyway.
"Do [the Russian authorities] think they can just offer everyone a bag of gold and invite them?"
The émigré physicist said plans to lure him back home to work at Skolkovo were "completely insane" and claimed the high-profile innovation centre was doomed to failure.
"Are people over there completely insane?" Geim raged to Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei. "I do not hold Russian citizenship, I am a Dutch national and I'm not interested in Skolkovo anyway.
"Do [the Russian authorities] think they can just offer everyone a bag of gold and invite them?"
On Oct. 5th, the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) near Earth tipped south and temporarily punctured our planet's magnetosphere. Solar wind poured in and fueled this display over Greenland:
Ed Stockard reports from the National Science Foundation's Summit Observatory, 11,000 feet atop the Greenland ice sheet: "We are experiencing clear skies and cooler temperatures here at the summit. These pictures were taken at our Mobile Science Facility where a project named ICECAPS has several instruments studying Arctic clouds. The experiment's lidars (green laser radars) may be seen lancing up into the auroras. The reds on the snow are reflections from a nearby beacon on a fifty meter tower."
"Did I mention cooler temps?" he adds. "The thermometer read -42 C."
© ICECAPS
Ed Stockard reports from the National Science Foundation's Summit Observatory, 11,000 feet atop the Greenland ice sheet: "We are experiencing clear skies and cooler temperatures here at the summit. These pictures were taken at our Mobile Science Facility where a project named ICECAPS has several instruments studying Arctic clouds. The experiment's lidars (green laser radars) may be seen lancing up into the auroras. The reds on the snow are reflections from a nearby beacon on a fifty meter tower."
"Did I mention cooler temps?" he adds. "The thermometer read -42 C."
At this time of year, near the autumnal equinox, the Earth can pass directly between the sun and NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, producing a brief eclipse. Yesterday this happened just as a magnetic filament was flying off the sun's northeastern limb. The advancing edge of the Earth cut the sun in half at the moment of maximum eruption:
Even by the lofty standards of SDO, this is a shot of rare beauty. A 5 1/2 hour movie sets the scene in motion; you can see the big-picture (5 MB gif) or a close-up (2 MB mpeg) of the filament. Another movie omits the Earth-shadows; it is easier to follow the filament, yet somehow less photogenic.
© SOHO
Even by the lofty standards of SDO, this is a shot of rare beauty. A 5 1/2 hour movie sets the scene in motion; you can see the big-picture (5 MB gif) or a close-up (2 MB mpeg) of the filament. Another movie omits the Earth-shadows; it is easier to follow the filament, yet somehow less photogenic.
Experts in Cyprus are trying to unravel the identity of one of the island's older inhabitants, after a skeleton was discovered protruding from a cliff in one of the island's richest archaeological sites.
The intact skeleton was found at Curium in the southwest of the Mediterranean island renowned for its links to the ancient world. The earliest settlements here can be dated as far back as the Neolithic age, about 4,500 BC.
Experts believe the skeleton came to the surface due to years of erosion from the sea. The discovery is reminiscent of three skeletons found embracing in the same area back in the 1980s, the likely victims of a strong earthquake which hit the area around 365 AD.
"It looks like an isolated grave close to the coast," said Maria Hadjicosti, director of the island's Antiquities department.
The intact skeleton was found at Curium in the southwest of the Mediterranean island renowned for its links to the ancient world. The earliest settlements here can be dated as far back as the Neolithic age, about 4,500 BC.
Experts believe the skeleton came to the surface due to years of erosion from the sea. The discovery is reminiscent of three skeletons found embracing in the same area back in the 1980s, the likely victims of a strong earthquake which hit the area around 365 AD.
"It looks like an isolated grave close to the coast," said Maria Hadjicosti, director of the island's Antiquities department.
