In Earth's Backyard: Newfound Alien Planet May Be Good Bet for Life By Mike Wall, Space.com Senior Writer | November 15, 2017 06:53am ET A newfound exoplanet may be one of the best bets to host alien life ever discovered — and it's right in Earth's backyard, cosmically speaking. Astronomers have spotted a roughly Earth-mass world circling the small, dim star Ross 128, which lies just 11 light-years from the sun. The planet, known as Ross 128b, may have surface temperatures amenable to life as we know it, the researchers announced in a new study that will appear in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. Ross 128b is 2.6 times more distant from Earth than Proxima b, the potentially habitable planet found in the nearest solar system to the sun. But Proxima b's parent star, Proxima Centauri, blasts out a lot of powerful flares, potentially bathing that planet in enough radiation to stunt the emergence and evolution of life, scientists have said. [10 Exoplanets That Could Host Alien Life] Radiation is likely much less of an issue for Ross 128b, because its parent star is not an active flarer, said discovery team leader Xavier Bonfils, of the Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble and the University of Grenoble Alpes in France. "This is the closest Earth-mass planet potentially in the habitable zone that orbits a quiet star," Bonfils told Space.com via email, referring to the range of orbital distances where liquid water could exist on a world's surface. This artist’s illustration shows the temperate planet Ross 128b, with its red dwarf parent star in the background. The planet and star lie a mere 11 light-years from Earth. Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser A possibly habitable world Bonfils and his colleagues found Ross 128b using the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS), an instrument at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory in Chile. As its name suggests, HARPS employs the "radial velocity" method, noticing the wobbles in a star's movement induced by the gravitational tugs of orbiting planets. (NASA's prolific Kepler space telescope, by contrast, uses the "transit" technique, spotting tiny brightness dips caused when a planet crosses its host star's face from the spacecraft's perspective.) The HARPS observations allowed Bonfils and his team to determine that Ross 128b has a minimum mass 1.35 times that of Earth, and that the planet orbits its host star once every 9.9 Earth days. Such a tight orbit would render Ross 128b uninhabitable in our own solar system. But Ross 128 is much cooler than the sun, so the newfound world is likely temperate, the researchers said. Determining whether the planet is actually capable of supporting life as we know it, however, would require a better understanding of its atmosphere, Bonfils said. "Ross 128b receives 1.38 times [more] irradiation than Earth from our sun," he said. "Some models made by theorists say that a wet Earth-size planet with such irradiation would form high-altitude clouds. Those clouds would reflect back to space a large fraction of the incident light, hence preventing too much greenhouse heating. With those clouds, the surface would remain cool enough to allow liquid water at the surface. Not all models agree, though, and others predict this new planet is rather like Venus." Looking for signs of life? Though both Ross 128 and Proxima Centauri are red dwarfs — the most common type of star in the Milky Way galaxy — they are very different objects. "Proxima Centauri is particularly active, with frequent, powerful flares that may sterilize (if not strip out) its atmosphere," Bonfils said. "Ross 128 is one of the quietest stars of our sample and, although it is a little further away from us (2.6x), it makes for an excellent alternative target." And the star may indeed be targeted in the not-too-distant-future — by giant ground-based instruments such as the European Extremely Large Telescope, the Giant Magellan Telescope and the Thirty Meter Telescope, all of which are scheduled to be up and running by the mid-2020s. Such megascopes should be able to resolve Ross 128b and even search its atmosphere for oxygen, methane and other possible signs of life, Bonfils said. (NASA's $8.9 billion James Webb Space Telescope, which is scheduled to launch in early 2019, probably won't be able to perform such a biosignature search, the researchers said in their discovery paper. If Ross 128b transited its host star from Webb's perspective, it would likely be a different story, they added.) Earlier this year, by the way, radio astronomers detected a strange signal that seemed to be emanating from Ross 128. But further investigation revealed that the signal most likely came from an Earth-orbiting satellite, not an alien civilization.
ESO observations show first interstellar asteroid is like nothing seen before November 20, 2017 This artist's impression shows the first interstellar asteroid: `Oumuamua. This unique object was discovered on Oct. 19, 2017 by the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope in Hawai`i. Subsequent observations from ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile and …more For the first time ever astronomers have studied an asteroid that has entered the Solar System from interstellar space. Observations from ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile and other observatories around the world show that this unique object was traveling through space for millions of years before its chance encounter with our star system. It appears to be a dark, reddish, highly-elongated rocky or high-metal-content object. The new results appear in the journal Nature on 20 November 2017. On Oct. 19, 2017, the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope in Hawai'i picked up a faint point of light moving across the sky. It initially looked like a typical fast-moving small asteroid, but additional observations over the next couple of days allowed its orbit to be computed fairly accurately. The orbit calculations revealed beyond any doubt that this body did not originate from inside the Solar System, like all other asteroids or comets ever observed, but instead had come from interstellar space. Although originally classified as a comet, observations from ESO and elsewhere revealed no signs of cometary activity after it passed closest to the Sun in September 2017. The object was reclassified as an interstellar asteroid and named 1I/2017 U1 ('Oumuamua). "We had to act quickly," explains team member Olivier Hainaut from ESO in Garching, Germany. "'Oumuamua had already passed its closest point to the Sun and was heading back into interstellar space." ESO's Very Large Telescope was immediately called into action to measure the object's orbit, brightness and colour more accurately than smaller telescopes could achieve. Speed was vital as 'Oumuamua was rapidly fading as it headed away from the Sun and past the Earth's orbit, on its way out of the Solar System. There were more surprises to come. For the first time ever astronomers have studied an asteroid that has entered the Solar System from interstellar space. Observations from ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile and other observatories around the world show that this unique object was …more Combining the images from the FORS instrument on the VLT using four different filters with those of other large telescopes, the team of astronomers led by Karen Meech (Institute for Astronomy, Hawai`i, USA) found that 'Oumuamua varies dramatically in brightness by a factor of ten as it spins on its axis every 7.3 hours. Karen Meech explains the significance: "This unusually large variation in brightness means that the object is highly elongated: about ten times as long as it is wide, with a complex, convoluted shape. We also found that it has a dark red colour, similar to objects in the outer Solar System, and confirmed that it is completely inert, without the faintest hint of dust around it." These properties suggest that `Oumuamua is dense, possibly rocky or with high metal content, lacks significant amounts of water or ice, and that its surface is now dark and reddened due to the effects of irradiation from cosmic rays over millions of years. It is estimated to be at least 400 metres long. This animation (annotated) shows the path of the interstellar asteroid 1I/2017 (`Oumuamua) through the Solar System. Observations with ESO's Very Large Telescope and others have shown that this unique object is dark, reddish in colour and highly …more Preliminary orbital calculations suggested that the object had come from the approximate direction of the bright star Vega, in the northern constellation of Lyra. However, even travelling at a breakneck speed of about 95 000 kilometres/hour, it took so long for the interstellar object to make the journey to our Solar System that Vega was not near that position when the asteroid was there about 300 000 years ago. 'Oumuamua may well have been wandering through the Milky Way, unattached to any star system, for hundreds of millions of years before its chance encounter with the Solar System. Astronomers estimate that an interstellar asteroid similar to 'Oumuamua passes through the inner Solar System about once per year, but they are faint and hard to spot so have been missed until now. It is only recently that survey telescopes, such as Pan-STARRS, are powerful enough to have a chance to discover them. "We are continuing to observe this unique object," concludes Olivier Hainaut, "and we hope to more accurately pin down where it came from and where it is going next on its tour of the galaxy. And now that we have found the first interstellar rock, we are getting ready for the next ones!" This animation of an artist's concept shows the interstellar asteroid 1I/2017 (`Oumuamua). Observations with ESO's Very Large Telescope and others have shown that this unique object is dark, reddish in colour and highly elongated. Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-11-eso-interstellar-asteroid.html#jCp
James Webb Space Telescope completes final cryogenic testing November 20, 2017 by Eric Villard NASA's James Webb Space Telescope sits inside Chamber A at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston after having completed its cryogenic testing on Nov. 18, 2017. This marked the telescope's final cryogenic testing, and it ensured the …more The vault-like, 40-foot diameter, 40-ton door of Chamber A at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston was unsealed on November 18, signaling the end of cryogenic testing for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. The historic chamber's massive door opening brings to a close about 100 days of testing for Webb, a significant milestone in the telescope's journey to the launch pad. The cryogenic vacuum test began when the chamber was sealed shut on July 10, 2017. Scientists and engineers at Johnson put Webb's optical telescope and integrated science instrument module (OTIS) through a series of tests designed to ensure the telescope functioned as expected in an extremely cold, airless environment akin to that of space. "After 15 years of planning, chamber refurbishment, hundreds of hours of risk-reduction testing, the dedication of more than 100 individuals through more than 90 days of testing, and surviving Hurricane Harvey, the OTIS cryogenic test has been an outstanding success," said Bill Ochs, project manager for the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "The completion of the test is one of the most significant steps in the march to launching Webb." These tests included an important alignment check of Webb's 18 primary mirror segments, to make sure all of the gold-plated, hexagonal segments acted like a single, monolithic mirror. This was the first time the telescope's optics and its instruments were tested together, though the instruments had previously undergone cryogenic testing in a smaller chamber at Goddard. Engineers from Harris Space and Intelligence Systems, headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, worked alongside NASA personnel for the test at Johnson. "The Harris team integrated Webb's 18 mirror segments at Goddard and designed, built, and helped operate the advanced ground support and optical test equipment at Johnson," said Rob Mitrevski, vice president and general manager of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance at Harris. "They were a key, enabling part of the successful Webb telescope testing team." The Webb telescope team persisted with the testing even when Hurricane Harvey slammed into the coast of Texas on Aug. 25 as a category 4 hurricane before stalling over eastern Texas and weakening to a tropical storm, where it dropped as much as 50 inches of rain in and around Houston. Many Webb telescope team members at Johnson endured the historic storm, working tirelessly through overnight shifts to make sure Webb's cryogenic testing was not interrupted. In the wake of the storm, some Webb team members, including team members from Harris, volunteered their time to help clean up and repair homes around the city, and distribute food and water to those in need. "The individuals and organizations that have led us to this most significant milestone represent the very best of the best. Their knowledge, dedication, and execution to successfully complete the testing as planned, even while enduring Hurricane Harvey, cannot be overstated," said Mark Voyton, James Webb Space Telescope optical telescope element and integrated science instrument manager at Goddard. "Every team member delivered critical knowledge and insight into the strategic and tactical planning and execution required to complete all of the test objectives, and I am honored to have experienced this phase of our testing with every one of them." Before cooling the chamber, engineers removed the air from it, which took about a week. On July 20, engineers began to bring the chamber, the telescope, and the telescope's science instruments down to cryogenic temperatures—a process that took about 30 days. During cool down, Webb and its instruments transferred their heat to surrounding liquid nitrogen and cold gaseous helium shrouds in Chamber A. Webb remained at "cryo-stable" temperatures for about another 30 days, and on Sept. 27, the engineers began to warm the chamber back to ambient conditions (near room temperature), before pumping the air back into it and unsealing the door. "With an integrated team from all corners of the country, we were able to create deep space in our chamber and confirm that Webb can perform flawlessly as it observes the coldest corners of the universe," said Jonathan Homan, project manager for Webb's cryogenic testing at Johnson. "I expect [Webb] to be successful, as it journeys to Lagrange point 2 [after launch] and explores the origins of solar systems, galaxies, and has the chance to change our understanding of our universe." While Webb was inside the chamber, insulated from both outside visible and infrared light, engineers monitored it using thermal sensors and specialized camera systems. The thermal sensors kept tabs on the temperature of the telescope, while the camera systems tracked the physical position of Webb to see how its components very minutely moved during the cooldown process. Monitoring the telescope throughout the testing required the coordinated effort of every Webb team member at Johnson. "This test team spanned nearly every engineering discipline we have on Webb," said Lee Feinberg, optical telescope element manager for the Webb telescope at Goddard. "In every area there was incredible attention to detail and great teamwork, to make sure we understand everything that happened during the test and to make sure we can confidently say Webb will work as planned in space." In space, the telescope must be kept extremely cold, in order to be able to detect the infrared light from very faint, distant objects. Webb and its instruments have an operating temperature of about 40 Kelvin (or about minus 387 Fahrenheit / minus 233 Celsius). Because the Webb telescope's mid-infrared instrument (MIRI) must be kept colder than the other research instruments, it relies on a cryocooler to lower its temperature to less than 7 Kelvin (minus 447 degrees Fahrenheit / minus 266 degrees Celsius). To protect the telescope from external sources of light and heat (like the Sun, Earth and Moon), as well as from heat emitted by the observatory, a five-layer, tennis court-sized sunshield acts like a parasol that provides shade. The sunshield separates the observatory into a warm, sun-facing side (reaching temperatures close to 185 degrees Fahrenheit / 85 degrees Celsius) and a cold side (minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit / minus 240 degrees Celsius). The sunshield blocks sunlight from interfering with the sensitive telescope instruments. Webb's combined science instruments and optics next journey to Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems in Redondo Beach, California, where they will be integrated with the spacecraft element, which is the combined sunshield and spacecraft bus. Together, the pieces form the complete James Webb Space Telescope observatory. Once fully integrated, the entire observatory will undergo more tests during what is called "observatory-level testing." This testing is the last exposure to a simulated launch environment before flight and deployment testing on the whole observatory. Webb is expected to launch from Kourou, French Guiana, in the spring of 2019 Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-11-james-webb-space-telescope-cryogenic.html#jCp
Cassini's last image before forced suicide. Click on image for large view. Cassini image mosaic: A farewell to Saturn November 21, 2017 After more than 13 years at Saturn, and with its fate sealed, NASA's Cassini spacecraft bid farewell to the Saturnian system by firing the shutters of its wide-angle camera and capturing this last, full mosaic of Saturn and its rings two …more In a fitting farewell to the planet that had been its home for over 13 years, the Cassini spacecraft took one last, lingering look at Saturn and its splendid rings during the final leg of its journey and snapped a series of images that has been assembled into a new mosaic. Cassini's wide-angle camera acquired 42 red, green and blue images, covering the planet and its main rings from one end to the other, on Sept. 13, 2017. Imaging scientists stitched these frames together to make a natural color view. The scene also includes the moons Prometheus, Pandora, Janus, Epimetheus, Mimas and Enceladus. There is much to remember and celebrate in marking the end of the mission. Cassini's exploration of Saturn and its environs was deep, comprehensive and historic. "Cassini's scientific bounty has been truly spectacular—a vast array of new results leading to new insights and surprises, from the tiniest of ring particles to the opening of new landscapes on Titan and Enceladus, to the deep interior of Saturn itself," said Robert West, Cassini's deputy imaging team leader at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The Cassini imaging team had been planning this special farewell view of Saturn for years. For some, when the end finally came, it was a difficult goodbye. "It was all too easy to get used to receiving new images from the Saturn system on a daily basis, seeing new sights, watching things change," said Elizabeth Turtle, an imaging team associate at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland. "It was hard to say goodbye, but how lucky we were to be able to see it all through Cassini's eyes!" Annotated Version. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute For others, Cassini's farewell to Saturn is reminiscent of another parting from long ago. "For 37 years, Voyager 1's last view of Saturn has been, for me, one of the most evocative images ever taken in the exploration of the solar system," said Carolyn Porco, former Voyager imaging team member and Cassini's imaging team leader at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado. "In a similar vein, this 'Farewell to Saturn' will forevermore serve as a reminder of the dramatic conclusion to that wondrous time humankind spent in intimate study of our Sun's most iconic planetary system." Launched in 1997, the Cassini spacecraft orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017. The mission made numerous dramatic discoveries, including the surprising geologic activity on Saturn's moon Enceladus and liquid methane seas on Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Cassini ended its journey with a dramatic plunge into Saturn's atmosphere on Sept. 15, 2017, returning unique science data until it lost contact with Earth. Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-11-cassini-image-mosaic-farewell-saturn.html#jCp
What could possibly go wrong? http://fortune.com/2017/11/22/man-plans-homemade-rocket-space-voyage-to-prove-earth-is-flat/ Man Plans Homemade-Rocket Space Voyage to Prove Earth is Flat Emily Price November 22, 2017 A California man is pushing a scientific argument that you probably haven’t heard in a while: the Earth is flat. Mike Hughes told the Associated Press that he thinks that people mistakenly believe the Earth is round because of a conspiracy among astronauts. He plans to prove that we in fact live on a flat disc by launching himself into space and snapping a photo. The 61-year-old has spent the past few years—and $20,000—building his own rocket to make the journey. For the record: As a limo driver, he has no formal training in space launches. “I don’t believe in science,” said Hughes, whose main sponsor for the rocket is Research Flat Earth, a group that promotes the idea that we aren’t all living on a spinning ball. “I know about aerodynamics and fluid dynamics and how things move through the air, about the certain size of rocket nozzles, and thrust. But that’s not science, that’s just a formula. There’s no difference between science and science fiction.” On Saturday, he plans to blast off over Amboy, Calif. at speeds of up to 500 mph from a mobile home that he purchased for $1,500 and converted into a launcher. After this weekend’s rocket ride, Hughes says he has plans for another big adventure (if he survives): He wants to run for California governor.
I hope the last thought that goes through his stupid head before he dies is, “oh fuck...they weren’t lying...”
Delayed by the BLM because he was trying to do it on public land. Claims he will do it next week from private land. Can't wait for this to happen. How cute, he's calling it a journey into the atmosflat.
got a new eyepiece for my telescope and some hardware to attach a camera to it. took a bunch of pics and a couple videos of the moon with a gopro while trying out some different settings. pleasantly surprised with the results
Calling it a breakthrough discovery. NASA Hosts Media Teleconference to Announce Latest Kepler Discovery NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope has gazed at more than 150,000 stars and continues to transmit back data that leads to important discoveries of celestial objects in our galaxy, including first-time observations of planets outside our solar system. Credits: NASA/Ames Research Center/Wendy Stenzel NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EST Thursday, Dec. 14, to announce the latest discovery made by its planet-hunting Kepler space telescope. The discovery was made by researchers using machine learning from Google. Machine learning is an approach to artificial intelligence, and demonstrates new ways of analyzing Kepler data. The briefing participants are: Paul Hertz, Astrophysics Division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington Christopher Shallue, senior software engineer at Google AI in Mountain View, California Andrew Vanderburg, astronomer and NASA Sagan Postdoctoral Fellow at The University of Texas, Austin Jessie Dotson, Kepler project scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley For dial-in information, media must send their names, affiliations and phone numbers to Felicia Chou at [email protected] no later than noon Dec. 14. Questions can be submitted on Twitter during the teleconference using the hashtag #askNASA. Teleconference audio and visuals will stream live at: https://www.nasa.gov/live When Kepler launched in March 2009, scientists didn’t know how common planets were beyond our solar system. Thanks to Kepler’s treasure trove of discoveries, astronomers now believe there may be at least one planet orbiting every star in the sky. Kepler completed its prime mission in 2012 and went on to collect data for an additional year in an extended mission. In 2014, the spacecraft began a new extended mission called K2, which continues the search for planets outside our solar system, known as exoplanets, while introducing new research opportunities to study young stars, supernovae and other cosmic phenomena. For more information about NASA’s Kepler mission, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/kepler -end-
I've definitely had an interest in getting some kind of telescope to at least get some more detailed looks at the moon
Scientists to investigate if cigar-shaped asteroid could be an alien spacecraft Alex Lasker,AOL.com 16 hours ago A team of researchers, including Stephen Hawking, is investigating whether the first known object from outside the solar system contains the first sign of life beyond our planet. Using the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, scientists with the 100 million dollar research project Breakthrough Listen will observe an asteroid named 'Oumuamua for 10 hours on Wednesday. According to the project's website, 'Oumuamua, the mysterious interloper recently spotted moving rapidly through the solar system, was discovered by the Pan-STARRS project at the University of Hawaii in October 2017 when it passed by Earth at about 85 times the distance to the Moon -- a stone's throw away in astronomical terms. 'Oumuamua, formally known as 1I/2017 U1, is the first object discovered in the solar system that appears to originate from another star system. Its high speed – 196,000 mph at its peak – suggests it is not gravitationally bound to the Sun and that it will continue its voyage back into interstellar space. The object sparked interest because it has a "highly unusual structure" for an asteroid, which tend to be round rather than long and thin. 'Oumuamua's shape is described as "an elongated cigar shape, hundreds of meters in length but with width and height perhaps only one tenth as long." Image: ESO/M. Kornmesser According to a statement released by Breakthrough Listen, "Researchers working on long-distance space transportation have previously suggested that a cigar or needle shape is the most likely architecture for an interstellar spacecraft, since this would minimize friction and damage from interstellar gas and dust. While a natural origin is more likely, there is currently no consensus on what that origin might have been, and Breakthrough Listen is well positioned to explore the possibility that 'Oumuamua could be an artifact." Breakthrough Listen’s observation campaign will begin on Wednesday, December 13 at 3:00 p.m. EST and will continue across four radio bands, from 1 to 12 GHz, for a total of 10 hours. Whether the object is an alien craft remains to be seen, but scientists have seemingly offered a glimpse into their excitement and optimism with its name -- 'Oumuamua is a Hawaiian term meaning roughly 'a messenger reaching out in advance.'
Nothing reported yet. They are going to try other frequencies if first fails (which it will) so might be awhile before they admit defeat.
By the way, NASA announcement on exoplanet is in 38 minutes. Live here. https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive Refresher...
New 8 planet system around a Sun like star. Likely nothing because all planets within earths orbit. Announcement seems to be mostly because it was discovered by a machine learning network. Not terribly exciting thus far.
Breakthrough @brkthroughprize4m4 minutes ago Nice cigar, but no Tripods. Not yet anyway. Breakthrough Listen’s first analysis of ‘Oumuamua, the cigar-shaped object speeding through the solar system, finds no evidence of intelligent life. A subset of the data is now available for public inspection. https://breakthroughinitiatives.org/news/15 .
In first, SpaceX launches recycled rocket and spaceship (Update) December 15, 2017 This photo provided by NASA, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon spacecraft launches from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Friday, Dec. 15, 2017. The unmanned Falcon rocket blasted off with a …more For the first time, SpaceX on Friday blasted off both a rocket and a cargo ship that have flown before, a step forward in the company's goal to lower the cost of spaceflight. After the launch, the California-based company headed by Internet tycoon Elon Musk landed its rocket booster upright on solid ground at Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX has now managed to return 20 of its rocket boosters after launch, whether on land or on a floating ocean platform, as part of its effort to re-use instead of jettison costly components. The gleaming white Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket soared into the blue sky over Florida at 10:36 am (1536 GMT). Three minutes later, the booster and second stage of the rocket separated. SpaceX's live video webcast showed the two components arcing away from each other in the sky. The second stage continued to propel the Dragon toward the International Space Station, while the tall portion of the rocket powered its engines and maneuvered its grid fins to guide it back to Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. As live images showed the first stage glide down, steady and upright, from the air to the launchpad, cheers erupted at SpaceX's Hawthorne, California headquarters, where employees regularly gather to watch rocket launches. "That marks the second successful visit to and from space for this particular booster," said a SpaceX commentator on the webcast. The Falcon rocket booster previously propelled a space station resupply mission in June, called CRS-11. The Dragon capsule was flown to the ISS in 2015. SpaceX confirmed that the launch sent the Dragon into a "good orbit" and it was "on its way to the International Space Station." 'The beginning' "This is the beginning of rapid and reliable reusability," said SpaceX Dragon mission manager Jessica Jensen, at a press briefing Monday. Though the early days of rocket landings saw many of them topple, miss the target or blow up, SpaceX has successfully recovered 14 of its boosters this year alone. Friday also marked the fourth time SpaceX is re-flying a used booster for one of its clients. However, it was the first such effort for NASA, SpaceX's most important customer. NASA's ISS program manager Kirk Shireman said rocket experts from around the agency had reviewed safety for the mission, and that re-used components were seen as no more dangerous than new ones. "The net result is about equivalent risk," he told reporters Monday. The unmanned spaceship is packed with 4,800 pounds (2,200 kilograms) of food, supplies and experiments—including one to study thyroid cancer and another to grow barley in space. The mission is SpaceX's 13th of 20 under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA. The Dragon is scheduled to arrive at the ISS on Sunday. Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-spacex-poised-recycled-rocket-spaceship.html#jCp
Odds alien life exists boosted by oldest fossils on Earth Microorganisms in an ancient rock show diverse life existed under harsh conditions on Earth like those seen on other worlds. BY ERIC MACK DECEMBER 20, 2017 3:52 AM PST The surface of planet Earth 3.5 billion years ago was probably quite unpleasant, to put it mildly. There was almost no oxygen, frequent volcanic eruptions and higher chances than today of getting bombarded by large asteroids. Yet somehow a diverse group of life forms was already alive and kicking here, despite such seemingly inhospitable conditions, leading some scientists to presume that the same thing almost surely has happened on other planets as welll. Research published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences claims to confirm that microscopic fossils in a 3.5-billion-year-old piece of rock from Western Australia are the oldest such fossils found -- and also the earliest direct evidence of life on our planet. That makes for an intriguing enough headline, but the new research digs deeper into the nature of the tiny organisms and finds that they weren't all identical: some were primitive photosynthesizers, while others were producers and users of methane. "This tells us life had to have begun substantially earlier and it confirms that it was not difficult for primitive life to form," said lead author and UCLA paleobiology professor J. William Schopf, in a statement about the research, adding that scientists can't yet be sure how much earlier life may have actually begun on Earth. "But, if the conditions are right, it looks like life in the universe should be widespread." The organisms in the fossils would likely be poisoned by Earth's oxygen-rich atmosphere today, but they show life might tend to find a way to emerge in environments that would seem to us to be unlivable. Primitive photosynthesizers like those found in the ancient fossils are thought to live where there is light but no oxygen, which describes the surface of Mars, among other places. The discovery that the earliest life forms here also included methane users is intriguing in light of the fact that Saturn's moon Titan may be covered with large seas of liquid methane The time period at which the microorganisms lived, some 3.5 billion years ago, is also interesting because it comes only a few hundred million years after the period known as the late heavy bombardment, when Earth is thought to have been pelted with large asteroids and other pieces of space debris hanging around the inner solar system. In other words, the living conditions here were not great at the time and yet a diverse roster of organisms still popped up in a relatively short period of time, geologically speaking.
Shit, boring... Alien megastructure not the cause of dimming of the 'most mysterious star in the universe' January 3, 2018 by Joel Ranck, Pennsylvania State University Star KIC 8462852 in infrared (2MASS survey) and ultraviolet (GALEX). Credit: NASA A team of more than 200 researchers, including Penn State Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics Assistant Professor Jason Wright and led by Louisiana State University's Tabetha Boyajian, is one step closer to solving the mystery behind the "most mysterious star in the universe." KIC 8462852, or "Tabby's Star," nicknamed after Boyajian, is otherwise an ordinary star, about 50 percent bigger and 1,000 degrees hotter than the Sun, and about than 1,000 light years away. However, it has been inexplicably dimming and brightening sporadically like no other. Several theories abound to explain the star's unusual light patterns, including that an alien megastructure is orbiting the star. The mystery of Tabby's Star is so compelling that more than 1,700 people donated over $100,000 through a Kickstarter campaign in support of dedicated ground-based telescope time to observe and gather more data on the star through a network of telescopes around the world. As a result, a body of data collected by Boyajian and colleagues in partnership with the Las Cumbres Observatory is now available in a new paper in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. "We were hoping that once we finally caught a dip happening in real time we could see if the dips were the same depth at all wavelengths. If they were nearly the same, this would suggest that the cause was something opaque, like an orbiting disk, planet, or star, or even large structures in space" said Wright, who is a co-author of the paper, titled "The First Post-Kepler Brightness Dips of KIC 8462852." Instead, the team found that the star got much dimmer at some wavelengths than at others. "Dust is most likely the reason why the star's light appears to dim and brighten. The new data shows that different colors of light are being blocked at different intensities. Therefore, whatever is passing between us and the star is not opaque, as would be expected from a planet or alien megastructure," Boyajian said. The scientists closely observed the star through the Las Cumbres Observatory from March 2016 to December 2017. Beginning in May 2017 there were four distinct episodes when the star's light dipped. Supporters from the crowdfunding campaign nominated and voted to name these episodes. The first two dips were named Elsie and Celeste. The last two were named after ancient lost cities—Scotland's Scara Brae and Cambodia's Angkor. The authors write that in many ways what is happening with the star is like these lost cities. "They're ancient; we are watching things that happened more than 1,000 years ago," the authors wrote. "They're almost certainly caused by something ordinary, at least on a cosmic scale. And yet that makes them more interesting, not less. But most of all, they're mysterious." The method in which this star is being studied—by gathering and analyzing a flood of data from a single target—signals a new era of astronomy. Citizen scientists sifting through massive amounts of data from the NASA Kepler mission were the ones to detect the star's unusual behavior in the first place. The main objective of the Kepler mission was to find planets, which it does by detecting the periodic dimming made from a planet moving in front of a star, and hence blocking out a tiny bit of starlight. The online citizen science group Planet Hunters was established so that volunteers could help to classify light curves from the Kepler mission and to search for such planets. "If it wasn't for people with an unbiased look on our universe, this unusual star would have been overlooked," Boyajian said. "Again, without the public support for this dedicated observing run, we would not have this large amount of data." Now there are more answers to be found. "This latest research rules out alien megastructures, but it raises the plausibility of other phenomena being behind the dimming," Wright said. "There are models involving circumstellar material—like exocomets, which were Boyajian's team's original hypothesis—which seem to be consistent with the data we have." Wright also points out that "some astronomers favor the idea that nothing is blocking the star—that it just gets dimmer on its own—and this also is consistent with this summer's data." Boyajian said, "It's exciting. I am so appreciative of all of the people who have contributed to this in the past year—the citizen scientists and professional astronomers. It's quite humbling to have all of these people contributing in various ways to help figure it out." Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-01-alien-megastructure-dimming-mysterious-star.html#jCp
Image: From the Earth, moon and beyond January 3, 2018, NASA Credit: NASA/OSIRIS-REx team and the University of Arizona The purpose of NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft—Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer—is to map and return samples from asteroid Bennu, a carbon-rich hunk of rock that might contain organic materials or molecular precursors to life. It is also an asteroid that could someday make a close pass or even a collision with Earth, though not for several centuries. The OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft is expected to reach its asteroid destination, Bennu, in August 2018. OSIRIS-REx is a mission to figure out where we came from, as asteroids are remnants from the formation of our solar system. But while the spacecraft might tell us some things about where we have been and where we are headed, it also can remind us of where we are right now. This composite image of the Earth and Moon is made from data captured by OSIRIS-REx's MapCam instrument on October 2, 2017, when the spacecraft was approximately 3 million miles (5 million kilometers) from Earth, about 13 times the distance between the Earth and Moon. Three images (different color wavelengths) were combined and color-corrected to make the composite, and the Moon was "stretched" (brightened) to make it more easily visible. Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-01-image-earth-moon.html#jCp
I just came to post this, it was the best flame tail I have seen of any launch, and the boosters separating and spiraling was awesome to see too. Can't imagine how awesome Falcon Heavy is going to look, I am *bartscott* just thinking about it.
yeah it was great, particularly the spiraling. As great as it was to watch, it was apparently a failure. U.S. Spy Satellite Believed Lost After SpaceX Mission Fails Secret payload code-named Zuma failed to reach orbit after Sunday launch; industry officials estimate satellite worth billions Andy PasztorUpdated Jan. 8, 2018 9:19 p.m. ET The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Sunday. Photo: Craig Bailey/Associated Press By Andy Pasztor An expensive, highly classified U.S. spy satellite is presumed to be a total loss after it failed to reach orbit atop a Space Exploration Technologies Corp. rocket on Sunday, according to industry and government officials. Lawmakers and congressional staffers from the Senate and the House have been briefed about the botched mission, some of the officials said. The secret payload—code-named Zuma and launched from Florida on board a Falcon 9 rocket—is believed to have plummeted back into the atmosphere, they said, because it didn’t separate as planned from the upper part of the rocket. Once the engine powering the rocket’s expendable second stage stops firing, whatever it is carrying is supposed to separate and proceed on its own trajectory. If a satellite isn’t set free at the right time or is damaged upon release, it can be dragged back toward earth. The lack of details about what occurred means that some possible alternate sequence of events other than a failed separation may have been the culprit. For rapidly growing SpaceX, which seeks to establish itself as a reliable, low-cost launch provider for the Pentagon, the failed mission came at an important juncture. The company is competing for more national-security launches against its primary rival, a joint venture between Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. As of Monday night, nearly 24 hours after the launch, uncertainty surrounded both the mission and the fate of the satellite, which some industry officials estimated carried a price tag in the billions of dollars. Notably, the Pentagon’s Strategic Command, which keeps track of all commercial, scientific and national-security satellites along with space debris, hadn’t updated its catalog of objects to reflect a new satellite circling the planet. Neither Northrop Grumman Corp., which built the satellite, nor SpaceX, as Elon Musk’s space-transportation company is called, has shed light on what happened. A Northrop Grumman spokesman said, “We cannot comment on classified missions.” A SpaceX spokesman said: “We do not comment on missions of this nature, but as of right now reviews of the data indicate Falcon 9 performed nominally.” That terminology typically indicates that the rocket’s engines and navigation systems operated without glitches. The spokesman declined to elaborate. It isn’t clear what job the satellite was intended to perform, or even which U.S. agency contracted for the satellite. As usual for classified launches, the information released by SpaceX before liftoff was bereft of details about the payload. A video broadcast Sunday night narrated by a SpaceX official didn’t provide any hint of problems, though the feed ended before the planned deployment of the satellite. Mr. Musk’s closely held, Southern California-based company has projected ramping up its overall launch rate to more than 25 missions in 2018, from 18 in 2017, and is scheduled to start ferrying U.S. astronauts to the international space station before the end of the year. If preparations remain on track, SpaceX later this month anticipates the maiden launch of its long-delayed Falcon Heavy rocket, featuring 27 engines putting out more power than roughly 18 Boeing 747 jumbo jets. Northrop Grumman not only was the prime contractor for the satellite, it was also responsible for choosing the launch provider. Despite SpaceX’s growing list of accomplishments, including routinely landing, refurbishing and reusing the main stages of Falcon 9 boosters, industry and government officials have said some in the intelligence community continue to have qualms about relying on Mr. Musk’s nontraditional business practices. —Byron Tau contributed to this article. Write to Andy Pasztor at [email protected]
Saturn's moon Titan sports Earth-like features January 9, 2018 by Linda B. Glaser, Cornell University This unprocessed image of Saturn's moon Titan was captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft during its final close flyby of the hazy, planet-sized moon on April 21, 2017. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute Using the now-complete Cassini data set, Cornell astronomers have created a new global topographic map of Saturn's moon Titan that has opened new windows into understanding its liquid flows and terrain. Two new papers, published Dec. 2 in Geophysical Review Letters, describe the map and discoveries arising from it. Creating the map took about a year, according to doctoral student Paul Corlies, first author on "Titan's Topography and Shape at the End of the Cassini Mission." The map combines all of the Titan topography data from multiple sources. Since only about 9 percent of Titan has been observed in relatively high-resolution topography, with 25-30 percent of the topography imaged in lower resolution, the remainder of the moon was mapped using an interpolation algorithm and a global minimization process, which reduced errors such as those arising from spacecraft location. The map revealed several new features on Titan, including new mountains, none higher than 700 meters. The map also provides a global view of the highs and lows of Titan's topography, which enabled the scientists to confirm that two locations in the equatorial region of Titan are in fact depressions that could be either ancient, dried seas or cryovolcanic flows. The map also revealed that Titan is a little bit flatter – more oblate – than was previously known, which suggests there is more variability in the thickness of Titan's crust than previously thought. "The main point of the work was to create a map for use by the scientific community," said Corlies; within 30 minutes of the data set being available online, he began to receive inquiries on how to use it. The data set is downloadable in the form of the data that was observed, as well as that data plus interpolated data that was not observed. The map will be important for those modeling Titan's climate, studying Titan's shape and gravity, and testing interior models, as well as for those seeking to understand morphologic land forms on Titan. Other Cornell authors on the paper are senior author Alex Hayes, assistant professor of astronomy, doctoral candidate Samuel Birch and research associate Valerio Poggiali. The second paper, "Topographic Constraints on the Evolution and Connectivity of Titan's Lacustrine Basins," finds three important results using the new map's topographical data. The team included Hayes, Corlies, Birch, Poggiali, research associate Marco Mastrogiuseppe and Roger Michaelides '15. The first result is that Titan's three seas share a common equipotential surface, meaning they form a sea level, just as Earth's oceans do. Either because there's flow through the subsurface between the seas or because the channels between them allow enough liquid to pass through, the oceans on Titan are all at the same elevation. "We're measuring the elevation of a liquid surface on another body 10 astronomical units away from the sun to an accuracy of roughly 40 centimeters. Because we have such amazing accuracy we were able to see that between these two seas the elevation varied smoothly about 11 meters, relative to the center of mass of Titan, consistent with the expected change in the gravitational potential. We are measuring Titan's geoid. This is the shape that the surface would take under the influence of gravity and rotation alone, which is the same shape that dominates Earth's oceans," said Hayes. The paper's second result proves a hypothesis that Hayes advanced in his first paper, in graduate school: that Titan's lakes communicate with each other through the subsurface. Hayes and his team measured the elevation of lakes filled with liquid as well as those that are now dry, and found that lakes exist hundreds of meters above sea level, and that within a watershed, the floors of the empty lakes are all at higher elevations than the filled lakes in their vicinity. "We don't see any empty lakes that are below the local filled lakes because, if they did go below that level, they would be filled themselves. This suggests that there's flow in the subsurface and that they are communicating with each other," said Hayes. "It's also telling us that there is liquid hydrocarbon stored on the subsurface of Titan." The paper's final result raises a new mystery for Titan. Researchers found that the vast majority of Titan's lakes sit in sharp-edged depressions that "literally look like you took a cookie cutter and cut out holes in Titan's surface," Hayes said. The lakes are surrounded by high ridges, hundreds of meters high in some places. The lakes seem to be formed the way karst is on Earth, in places like the Florida Everglades, where underlying material dissolves and the surface collapses, forming holes in the ground. The lakes on Titan, like Earth's karst, are topographically closed, with no inflow or outflow channels. But Earth karst does not have sharp, raised rims. The shape of the lakes indicates a process called uniform scarp retreat, where the borders of the lakes are expanding by a constant amount each time. The largest lake in the south, for example, looks like a series of smaller empty lakes that have coalesced or conglomerated into one big feature. "But if these things do grow outward, does that mean you're destroying and recreating the rims all the time and that the rims are moving outward with it? Understanding these things is in my opinion the lynchpin to understanding the evolution of the polar basins on Titan," said Hayes. Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-01-saturn-moon-titan-sports-earth-like.html#jCp
Steep slopes on Mars reveal structure of buried ice January 11, 2018, NASA A cross-section of a thick sheet of underground ice is exposed at the steep slope (or scarp) that appears bright blue in this enhanced-color view from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars …more Researchers using NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) have found eight sites where thick deposits of ice beneath Mars' surface are exposed in faces of eroding slopes. These eight scarps, with slopes as steep as 55 degrees, reveal new information about the internal layered structure of previously detected underground ice sheets in Mars' middle latitudes. The ice was likely deposited as snow long ago. The deposits are exposed in cross section as relatively pure water ice, capped by a layer one to two yards (or meters) thick of ice-cemented rock and dust. They hold clues about Mars' climate history. They also may make frozen water more accessible than previously thought to future robotic or human exploration missions. Researchers who located and studied the scarp sites with the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on MRO reported the findings today in the journal Science. The sites are in both northern and southern hemispheres of Mars, at latitudes from about 55 to 58 degrees, equivalent on Earth to Scotland or the tip of South America. "There is shallow ground ice under roughly a third of the Martian surface, which records the recent history of Mars," said the study's lead author, Colin Dundas of the U.S. Geological Survey's Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona. "What we've seen here are cross-sections through the ice that give us a 3-D view with more detail than ever before." Windows into underground ice The scarps directly expose bright glimpses into vast underground ice previously detected with spectrometers on NASA's Mars Odyssey (MRO) orbiter, with ground-penetrating radar instruments on MRO and on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter, and with observations of fresh impact craters that uncover subsurface ice. NASA sent the Phoenix lander to Mars in response to the Odyssey findings; in 2008, the Phoenix mission confirmed and analyzed the buried water ice at 68 degrees north latitude, about one-third of the way to the pole from the northernmost of the eight scarp sites. At this wedge-shaped pit on Mars, the steep slope (or scarp) at the northern edge (toward the top of the image) exposes a cross-section of a thick sheet of underground water ice. The image is from the High Resolution Imaging Stereo …more The discovery reported today gives us surprising windows where we can see right into these thick underground sheets of ice," said Shane Byrne of the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Tucson, a co-author on today's report. "It's like having one of those ant farms where you can see through the glass on the side to learn about what's usually hidden beneath the ground." Scientists have not determined how these particular scarps initially form. However, once the buried ice becomes exposed to Mars' atmosphere, a scarp likely grows wider and taller as it "retreats," due to sublimation of the ice directly from solid form into water vapor. At some of them, the exposed deposit of water ice is more than 100 yards, or meter, thick. Examination of some of the scarps with MRO's Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) confirmed that the bright material is frozen water. A check of the surface temperature using Odyssey's Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) camera helped researchers determine they're not seeing just thin frost covering the ground. Researchers previously used MRO's Shallow Radar (SHARAD) to map extensive underground water-ice sheets in middle latitudes of Mars and estimate that the top of the ice is less than about 10 yards beneath the ground surface. How much less? The radar method did not have sufficient resolution to say. The new ice-scarp studies confirm indications from fresh-crater and neutron-spectrometer observations that a layer rich in water ice begins within just one or two yards of the surface in some areas. Astronauts' access to Martian water The new study not only suggests that underground water ice lies under a thin covering over wide areas, it also identifies eight sites where ice is directly accessible, at latitudes with less hostile conditions than at Mars' polar ice caps. "Astronauts could essentially just go there with a bucket and a shovel and get all the water they need," Byrne said. The exposed ice has scientific value apart from its potential resource value because it preserves evidence about long-term patterns in Mars' climate. The tilt of Mars' axis of rotation varies much more than Earth's, over rhythms of millions of years. Today the two planets' tilts are about the same. When Mars tilts more, climate conditions may favor buildup of middle-latitude ice. Dundas and co-authors say that banding and color variations apparent in some of the scarps suggest layers "possibly deposited with changes in the proportion of ice and dust under varying climate conditions." This research benefited from coordinated use of multiple instruments on Mars orbiters, plus the longevities at Mars now exceeding 11 years for MRO and 16 years for Odyssey. Orbital observations will continue, but future missions to the surface could seek additional information. "If you had a mission at one of these sites, sampling the layers going down the scarp, you could get a detailed climate history of Mars," suggested MRO Deputy Project Scientist Leslie Tamppari of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. "It's part of the whole story of what happens to water on Mars over time: Where does it go? When does ice accumulate? When does it recede?" Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-01-deep-glaciers-mars.html#jCp
TRAPPIST-1 system planets potentially habitable January 23, 2018, Planetary Science Institute A size comparison of the planets of the TRAPPIST-1 system, lined up in order of increasing distance from their host star. The planetary surfaces are portrayed with an artist’s impression of their potential surface features, including water, …more Two exoplanets in the TRAPPIST-1 system have been identified as most likely to be habitable, a paper by PSI Senior Scientist Amy Barr says. The TRAPPIST-1 system has been of great interest to observers and planetary scientists because it seems to contain seven planets that are all roughly Earth-sized, Barr and co-authors Vera Dobos and Laszlo L. Kiss said in "Interior Structures and Tidal Heating in the TRAPPIST-1 Planets" that appears in Astronomy & Astrophysics. "Because the TRAPPIST-1 star is very old and dim, the surfaces of the planets have relatively cool temperatures by planetary standards, ranging from 400 degrees Kelvin (260 degrees Fahrenheit), which is cooler than Venus, to 167 degrees Kelvin (-159 degrees Fahrenheit), which is colder than Earth's poles," Barr said. "The planets also orbit very close to the star, with orbital periods of a few days. Because their orbits are eccentric –not quite circular – these planets could experience tidal heating just like the moons of Jupiter and Saturn." "Assuming the planets are composed of water ice, rock, and iron, we determine how much of each might be present, and how thick the different layers would be. Because the masses and radii of the planets are not very well-constrained, we show the full range of possible interior structures and interior compositions." Barr said. The team's results show that improved estimates of the masses of each planet can help determine whether each of the planets has a significant amount of water. The planets studied are referred to by letter, planets b through h, in order of their distance from the star. Analyses performed by co-author Vera Dobos show that planets d and e are the most likely to be habitable due to their moderate surface temperatures, modest amounts of tidal heating, and because their heat fluxes are low enough to avoid entering a runaway greenhouse state. A global water ocean likely covers planet d. The team calculated the balance between tidal heating and heat transport by convection in the mantles of each planet. Results show that planets b and c likely have partially molten rock mantles. The paper also shows that planet c likely has a solid rock surface, and could have eruptions of silicate magmas on its surface driven by tidal heating, similar to Jupiter's moon Io. Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-01-trappist-planets-potentially-habitable.html#jCp
You're welcome. https://newatlas.com/gallery-tour-solar-system/53028/#p500488 Bullseye. In this image, the Cassini spacecraft captures the Saturn moon Enceladus passing in front of the Saturn moon Tethys(Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute) Real image taken when the Moon passed between Earth and the DSCOVR imaging camera in 2016(Credit: NASA)
The north polar region of the Saturnian moon Enceladus, scarred by countless cracks and crater. Captured by the Cassini spacecraft in 2015(Credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute) This image of Pluto's crescent spans 230 miles (380 km), featuring the great plain Sputnik Planum on the right and a mountain range including the unofficially named Norgay Montes and Hillary Montes to the left(Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI) Pluto and its moon Charon, pictured together by the New Horizons spacecraft(Credit: NASA)
Just one of the reasons it takes so much effort to build telescopes like Webb. Accuracy measurements are on the scale of a single molecule. NASA poised to topple a planet-finding barrier January 25, 2018 by Lori Keesey, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Goddard optics experts Babak Saif (left) and Lee Feinberg (right), with help from engineer Eli Griff-McMahon an employee of Genesis, have created an Ultra-Stable Thermal Vacuum system that they will use to make picometer-level measurements. Credit: NASA/W. Hrybyk NASA optics experts are well on the way to toppling a barrier that has thwarted scientists from achieving a long-held ambition: building an ultra-stable telescope that locates and images dozens of Earth-like planets beyond the solar system and then scrutinizes their atmospheres for signs of life. Babak Saif and Lee Feinberg at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, have shown for the first time that they can dynamically detect subatomic- or picometer-sized distortions—changes that are far smaller than an atom—across a five-foot segmented telescope mirror and its support structure. Collaborating with Perry Greenfield at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, the team now plans to use a next-generation tool and thermal test chamber to further refine their measurements. The measurement feat is good news to scientists studying future missions for finding and characterizing extrasolar Earth-like planets that potentially could support life. To find life, these observatories would have to gather and focus enough light to distinguish the planet's light from that of its much brighter parent star and then be able to dissect that light to discern different atmospheric chemical signatures, such as oxygen and methane. This would require a super-stable observatory whose optical components move or distort no more than 12 picometers, a measurement that is about one-tenth the size of a hydrogen atom. To date, NASA has not built an observatory with such demanding stability requirements. How Displacements Occur Displacements and movement occur when materials used to build telescopes shrink or expand due to wildly fluctuating temperatures, such as those experienced when traveling from Earth to the frigidity of space, or when exposed to fierce launch forces more than six-and-a-half times the force of gravity. Scientists say that even nearly imperceptible, atomic-sized movements would affect a future observatory's ability to gather and focus enough light to image and analyze the planet's light. Consequently, mission planners must design telescopes to picometer accuracies and then test it at the same level across the entire structure, not just between the telescope's reflective mirrors. Movement occurring at any particular position might not accurately reflect what's actually happening in other locations. "These future missions will require an incredibly stable observatory," said Azita Valinia, deputy Astrophysics Projects Division program manager. "This is one of the highest technology tall poles that future observatories of this caliber must overcome. The team's success has shown that we are steadily whittling away at that particular obstacle." The Initial Test To carry out the test, Saif and Feinberg used the High-Speed Interferometer, or HSI—an instrument that the Arizona-based 4D Technology developed to measure nanometer-sized dynamic changes in the James Webb Space Telescope's optical components—including its 18 mirror segments, mounts, and other supporting structures—during thermal, vibration and other types of environmental testing. Like all interferometers, the instrument splits light and then recombines it to measure tiny changes, including motion. The HSI can quickly measure dynamic changes across the mirror and other structural components, giving scientists insights into what is happening all across the telescope, not just in one particular spot. Even though the HSI was designed to measure nanometer or molecule-sized distortions—which was the design standard for Webb—the team wanted to see it could use the same instrument, coupled with specially developed algorithms, to detect even smaller changes over the surface of a spare five-foot Webb mirror segment and its support hardware. The test proved it could, measuring dynamic movement as small as 25 picometers—about twice the desired target, Saif said. Next Steps However, Goddard and 4D Technology have designed a new high-speed instrument, called a speckle interferometer, that allows measurements of both reflective and diffuse surfaces at picometer accuracies. 4D Technology has built the instrument and the Goddard team has begun initial characterization of its performance in a new thermal-vacuum test chamber that controls internal temperatures to a frosty 1-millikelvin. Saif and Feinberg plan to place test items inside the chamber to see if they can achieve the 12-picometer target accuracy. "I think we've made a lot of progress. We're getting there," Saif said. Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-01-nasa-poised-topple-planet-finding-barrier.html#jCp
https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/24/...e-station-president-trump-budget-request-2025 Trump administration wants to end NASA funding for the International Space Station by 2025 Plans to end funding for ISS by 2025, 3 years earlier than the 2028 date that most think is the natural end of the ISS.