September 18, 2007, 5:26 AM CT

Life on Mars test successfully launched

Key components of a new approach to discover life on Mars were successfully launched into space Friday as part of a twelve-day, low-Earth orbit experiment to assess their survivability in the space radiation environmenta prelude future journeys to Mars.

The new approach is based on technology similar to that used in pregnancy test kits. The so-called immunoassays are embodied in the Life Marker Chip (LMC) experiment, which has the potential to detect trace levels of biomarkers in the Martian environment. Biomarkers are molecular fingerprints that indicate if life currently is, or ever was, present on Mars. The LMC experiment has been proposed for the European Space Agencys ExoMars rover mission, which is planned for launch in 2013. The LMC experiment is in the development phase and is led by an international consortium with scientists including Andrew Steele, a staff member of Carnegies Geophysical Laboratory in the United States, and researchers from the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, and Gera number of.

For the current mission, the consortium developed a tiny component, measuring only 1.5 inches x 1.6 inches x.5 inch ( 3.8 cm x 4.1 cm x 1.3 cm) and housing over 2000 samples, to test that the key molecular components to be used in the LMC technology can survive the rigors of space......... Posted by: Sean      Read more         Source

September 12, 2007, 8:04 PM CT

Planet That Offers Clues To Earth's Future

An international team of astronomers that includes Steve Kawaler of Iowa State University has announced the first discovery of a planet orbiting a star near the end of its life.

The announcement, culminating seven years of research, would be reported in the Sept. 13 issue of the journal Nature.

The news provides a preliminary picture of what could be the Earth's destiny in four to five billion years. That's when the sun will exhaust its hydrogen fuel, expand enormously as a red giant and expel its outer layers in an explosive helium flash.

The planet discovered by the researchers, "V 391 Pegasi b," has survived all those changes to its sun.

The international research team was led by Roberto Silvotti from the INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte in Naples, Italy. They discovered the planet orbiting "V 391 Pegasi," a faint star in the constellation of Pegasus.

"The exciting thing about finding a planet around this star is that it indicates that planetary systems can survive the giant phase and the helium flash of their parent star," said Kawaler, an Iowa State professor of physics and astronomy. "It bodes well for the survival of our own Earth in the distant future. Before V 391 Pegasi lost its outer regions at the helium flash, the planet orbited the star at about the same distance that the Earth orbits our sun"......... Posted by: Sean      Read more         Source

September 12, 2007, 7:00 PM CT

Bizarre Planet-Mass Object Orbiting Neutron Star

Using NASA's Swift and Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) satellites, astronomers have discovered one of the most bizarre planet-mass objects ever found.

The object's minimum mass is only about 7 times the mass of Jupiter. But instead of orbiting a normal star, this low-mass body orbits a rapidly spinning pulsar. It orbits the pulsar every 54.7 minutes at an average distance of only about 230,000 miles (slightly less than the Earth-Moon distance).

"This object is merely the skeleton of a star," says co-discoverer Craig Markwardt of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "The pulsar has eaten away the star's outer envelope, and all the remains is its helium-rich core".

Hans Krimm of NASA Goddard discovered the system on June 7, when Swift's Burst Alert Telescope picked up an outburst of X rays and gamma rays in the direction of the galactic center. The source was named SWIFT J1756.9-2508 for its sky coordinates in the constellation Sagittarius.

RXTE began observing SWIFT J1756.9 on June 13 with its Proportional Counter Array (PCA). After analyzing the PCA data, Markwardt realized that the object was pulsing in X rays 182.07 times per second, which told him that it was a rapidly spinning pulsar. These so-called millisecond pulsars are neutron stars that spin hundreds of times per second, faster than a kitchen blender. Normally, the spin rate of neutron stars slows down as they age, but much like we can pull a string to "spin up" a top, gas spiraling onto a neutron star from its companion can maintain or even increase its fast spin......... Posted by: Sean      Read more         Source

September 6, 2007, 9:43 PM CT

mission to study dark energy

NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy should pursue the Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM) as the first mission in the "Beyond Einstein" program, as per a new report from the National Research Council. Beyond Einstein is NASA's research roadmap for five proposed mission areas to study the most compelling questions at the intersection of physics and astronomy. The committee that wrote the report added that another proposed mission to detect gravitational waves using the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) should eventually become the flagship mission of Beyond Einstein, given that it is likely to provide an entirely new way to observe the universe. However, LISA needs more testing before a launch can be planned, whereas the Joint Dark Energy Mission is ready now for a competitive selection of mission concept proposals.

Prompted by Congress and the Office of Science and Technology Policy, NASA and DOE asked the committee to assess the five proposed mission areas and recommend one for first development and launch. NASAs Beyond Einstein program, set to begin in 2009, is comprised of two astronomical observatories, Constellation-X and LISA, as well as a series of probes: the Inflation Probe (IP), the Black Hole Finder Probe (BHFP), and JDEM.

"All of the mission areas in the Beyond Einstein program have the potential to fundamentally alter our understanding of the universe," said committee co-chair Charles F. Kennel, distinguished professor and director of the Environment and Sustainability Initiative at the University of California, San Diego. "But JDEM will provide direct insight into a key Beyond Einstein science question, and is the most technically feasible option for immediate development"......... Posted by: Sean      Read more         Source

September 4, 2007, 8:02 PM CT

'Heart' of Herschel to be presented to media

By the end of 2007, the assembly of the ESA's Herschel far-infrared space observatory - the latest mission to study the formation and evolution of stars and galaxies - will be completed.

ESA and Astrium are jointly inviting the media to a press conference in Friedrichshafen, Gera number of, on 19 September 2007, to hear about this revolutionary spacecraft, its scientific objectives, and to view the very heart of its hardware.

The Herschel mission, equipped with the largest telescope ever launched in space (3.5 m diameter), will give astronomers their best capability yet to explore the universe at far-infrared and sub-millimetre wavelengths. By measuring the light at these wavelengths, researchers see the 'cold' universe. Herschel will give them an unprecedented view, allowing them to see deep into star forming regions, galactic centres and planetary systems.

In order to achieve its objectives and to be able to detect the faint radiation coming from the coolest objects in the cosmos, otherwise 'invisible', Herschel's detectors must operate at very low and stable temperatures. The spacecraft is equipped so as to cool them close to absolute zero (-273.15 ºC), ranging from -271 ºC to only a few tenths of a degree above absolute zero. To have achieved this particular feature alone is a remarkable accomplishment for European industry and science......... Posted by: Sean      Read more         Source

September 3, 2007, 11:49 AM CT

Elusive Waves In Sun's Corona

Researchers for the first time have observed elusive oscillations in the Sun's corona, known as Alfven waves, that transport energy outward from the surface of the Sun. The discovery is expected to give scientists more insight into the fundamental behavior of solar magnetic fields, eventually leading to a fuller understanding of how the Sun affects Earth and the solar system.

The research, led by Steve Tomczyk of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), is being published this week in Science.

"Alfven waves can provide us with a window into processes that are fundamental to the workings of the Sun and its impacts on Earth," says Tomczyk, a scientist with NCAR's High Altitude Observatory.

Alfven waves are fast-moving perturbations that emanate outward from the Sun along magnetic field lines, transporting energy. Eventhough they have been detected in the heliosphere outside the Sun, they have never before been viewed within the corona, which is the outer layer of the Sun's atmosphere. Alfven waves are difficult to detect partly because, unlike other waves, they do not lead to large-intensity fluctuations in the corona. In addition, their velocity shifts are small and not easily spotted.

"Our observations allowed us to unambiguously identify these oscillations as Alfven waves," says coauthor Scott McIntosh of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder. "The waves are visible all the time and they occur all over the corona, which was initially surprising to us"......... Posted by: Sean      Read more         Source

September 3, 2007, 11:39 AM CT

Up, Up And Away -- To Venus

Researchers hope to learn more about climate changes here on Earth by studying Venus. A prototype balloon could eventually study the planet's surface and examine its atmosphere and the bizarre winds and chemistry within it. A team of JPL, ILC Dover and NASA Wallops Flight Facility engineers designed, fabricated and tested the balloon.

Slightly smaller than Earth, Venus is often regarded as Earth's sister planet. Both have similar densities, chemical compositions and gravities. However, its atmosphere is nearly 100 times thicker than Earth's, which causes blazing temperatures at the surface. By flying in the cool skies above Venus, the balloons would avoid that environment.

"The surface is hot enough to melt lead, which is why we can't study it for long from a lander," said Kevin Baines, JPL principal investigator for a proposed mission to Venus. "Without extreme and costly refrigeration methods, a lander would cook at those temperatures in just a few hours, but a balloon can stay in a non-malignant environment, studying the planet for days, weeks or even months."

The spherical balloon, 18 feet in diameter, is about the size of an inflatable children's jumper. Its aluminum coating reflects sunlight to protect the balloon from becoming too hot as it flies in Venus' upper atmosphere. Its outer transparent layer of the balloon is made of polytetrafluorethylene, also known as Teflon, the non-stick material found in cookware and on clothing. The material is highly resistant to the sulfuric acid found in clouds surrounding Venus. "The sun shines through the Teflon and reflects off the aluminum, and that keeps the balloon from overheating," said Jeff Hall, JPL's lead balloon engineer......... Posted by: Sean      Read more         Source

August 28, 2007, 9:44 PM CT

Fasten your seat belts, turbulence ahead

Ever spilled your drink on an airline due to turbulence? Scientists on both sides of the Atlantic are finding new ways to understand the phenomenon - both on Earth and on Titan.

Turbulence plays an important role in Earth's weather system, and can be more than an inconvenience - hundreds of injuries have occurred on commercial flights due to turbulence. It is studied both in Earth's atmosphere and in that of Saturn's moon, Titan, aided by data from ESA's Huygens probe. The study of one is helping the other.

Giles Harrison, atmospheric physicist at the University of Reading in the UK, devised an inexpensive way to measure the effects of turbulence using weather balloons. The instrument package contains a magnetic field sensor which measures fluctuations in Earth's magnetic field due to turbulence. As Earth's magnetic field is very stable, the measurements of magnetic changes taken with the weather balloon showed the effects of turbulence on the sensor, since the balloon itself was moving very violently.

All bodies, planets and moons, are subject to the same principles of physics. So by working together, scientists looking at Earth and those looking at our planetary neighbours can really test their models of the processes taking place and gain new insights into both......... Posted by: Sean      Read more         Source

August 27, 2007, 9:12 PM CT

Method For Probing Exotic Matter

Astronomers using XMM-Newton and Suzaku have seen Einstein's predicted distortion of space-time and pioneered a ground-breaking technique for determining the properties of neutron stars.

ESA's XMM-Newton and the JAXA/NASA Suzaku X-ray observatories have been used to see the distortion of space-time around three neutron stars. These objects contain the densest observable matter in the Universe.

Neutron stars cram more than a Sun's worth of material into a city-sized sphere. This means that a cup of neutron-star stuff would outweigh Mount Everest. Astronomers use these collapsed stars as natural laboratories to study how tightly matter can be compacted under the most extreme pressure that nature can offer.

"This is fundamental physics," says Sudip Bhattacharyya at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, USA. "There could be exotic kinds of particles or states of matter, such as quark matter, in the centres of neutron stars, but it's impossible to create them in the lab. The only way to find out is to understand neutron stars." .

To address this mystery, researchers must accurately and precisely measure the diameters and masses of neutron stars. In two concurrent studies, one with XMM-Newton and the other with Suzaku, astronomers have taken a big step forward......... Posted by: Sean      Read more         Source

August 26, 2007, 10:35 AM CT

Jupiter: Friend Or Foe?

The traditional belief that Jupiter acts as a celestial shield, deflecting asteroids and comets away from the inner Solar System, has been challenged by the first in a series of studies evaluating the impact risk to the Earth posed by different groups of object.

On Friday 24th August at the European Planetary Science Congress in Potsdam, Dr Jonathan Horner presented a study of the impact hazard posed to Earth by the Centaurs, the parent population of the Jupiter Family of comets (JFCs). The results show that the presence of a Jupiter-like planet in the Solar System does not necessarily lead to a lower impact rate at the Earth.

Dr Horner, from the UK's Open University (OU), said, "The idea that a Jupiter-like planet plays an important role in lessening the impact risk on potentially habitable planets is a common belief but there has only really been one study done on this in the past, which looked at the hazard due to the Long Period Comets. We are carrying out an ongoing series of studies of the impact risks in planetary systems, starting off by looking at our own Solar System, since we know the most about it!".

The team at the OU developed a computer model that could track the paths of 100,000 Centaurs around the Solar System over 10 million years. The simulation was run five times: once with Jupiter at its current mass, once without a Jupiter, and then with planets of three-quarters, a half and a quarter the mass of Jupiter (for comparison, Saturn is about a third of the mass of Jupiter). The team observed that the impact rate in a Solar System with a planet like our Jupiter is about comparable to the case where there is no Jupiter at all. However, when the mass of Jupiter was between these two extremes, the Earth suffered an increased number of impacts from the JFCs......... Posted by: Sean      Read more         Source