http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/ Astronomy News. Read the latest astronomy news and articles from around the world. Space and time theory and more. Full-text, images, updated daily. en-us Mon, 12 May 2008 03:05:01 EDT Mon, 12 May 2008 03:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509102949.htm NASA engineers Thursday successfully completed the first series of tests in the early development of the J-2X engine that will power the upper stages of the Ares I and Ares V rockets, key components of NASA's Constellation Program. Ares I will launch the Orion spacecraft that will take astronauts to the International Space Station and then to the moon by 2020. The Ares V will carry cargo and components into orbit for trips to the moon and later to Mars. Sat, 10 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509102949.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508142121.htm The crew of the International Space Station (ISS) is presently testing a Swedish space gym. The aim is to counteract muscle atrophy and osteoporosis in astronauts. Astronauts who spend a long time in space can face problems when they return to earth. Weightlessness atrophies the muscles and decalcifies the skeleton. It doesn't help to "pump iron." Barbells and dumbbells are also weightless on a space voyage. Sat, 10 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508142121.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509101622.htm New research on the Antennae Galaxies shows that this benchmark pair of interacting galaxies is in fact much closer than previously thought -- 45 million light-years instead of 65 million light-years. Fri, 09 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509101622.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507105616.htm Following a successful launch on April 27, GIOVE-B began transmitting navigation signals May 7. This is a truly historic step for satellite navigation since GIOVE-B is now, for the first time, transmitting the GPS-Galileo common signal using a specific optimised waveform, MBOC (multiplexed binary offset carrier), in accordance with the agreement drawn up in July 2007 by the EU and the US for their respective systems, Galileo and the future GPS III. Fri, 09 May 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507105616.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507110712.htm New scientific evidence suggests that deep inside the planet Mercury, iron "snow" forms and falls toward the center of the planet, much like snowflakes form in Earth's atmosphere and fall to the ground. The movement of this iron snow could be responsible for Mercury's mysterious magnetic field. Thu, 08 May 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507110712.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508091605.htm Imagine yourself hip-to-hip, shoulder-to-shoulder, inside a room the size of a walk-in closet for eight hours with five people you just met. Does that make you sweat? Or maybe make your breathing a little more animated? For three weeks, 23 volunteers dedicated time to do just that -- sweat and breathe -- inside a test chamber so NASA scientists at Johnson Space Center in Houston could measure the amount of moisture and carbon dioxide absorbed by a new system being developed for future space vehicles. The system is designed to control carbon dioxide and humidity inside a crew capsule to make air breathable and living space more comfortable. Thu, 08 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508091605.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506194033.htm ESA's orbiting X-ray observatory XMM-Newton has been used by a team of international astronomers to uncover part of the missing matter in the universe. Ten years ago, scientists predicted that about half of the missing 'ordinary' or normal matter made of atoms exists in the form of low-density gas, filling vast spaces between galaxies. But the low density of the gas hampered many attempts to detect it in the past. With XMM-Newton's high sensitivity, astronomers have discovered its hottest parts. Wed, 07 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506194033.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505224136.htm Scientists have demonstrated an ultrafast laser that offers a record combination of high speed, short pulses and high average power. They also have shown that this type of laser, when used as a frequency comb -- an ultraprecise technique for measuring different colors of light -- could boost the sensitivity of astronomical tools searching for other Earthlike planets as much as 100 fold. Tue, 06 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505224136.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502100033.htm The Earth's atmosphere is a gigantic prism that disperses sunlight. In the most ideal atmospheric conditions, such as those found regularly above Cerro Paranal, this will lead to the appearance of so-called green and blue flashes at sunset. The phenomenon is so popular on the site that it is now the tradition for the Paranal staff to gather daily on the telescope platform to observe the sunset and its possible green flash before starting their long night of observations. Mon, 05 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502100033.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502094224.htm NASA has a new plan to send a spacecraft closer to the sun than any probe has ever gone. The ambitious Solar Probe mission will study the streams of charged particles the sun hurls into space from a vantage point within the sun's corona -- its outer atmosphere -- where the processes that heat the corona and produce solar wind occur. At closest approach Solar Probe would zip past the sun at 125 miles per second, protected by a carbon-composite heat shield that must withstand up to 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit and survive blasts of radiation and energized dust at levels not experienced by any previous spacecraft. Sun, 04 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502094224.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501091356.htm A new space mission, due to launch this month, is going to shed light on some of the most extreme astrophysical processes in nature -- including pulsars, remnants of supernovae, and supermassive black holes. It could even help us comprehend the origin and distribution of dark matter. Sun, 04 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501091356.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502133106.htm A team of scientists will expend 22 million computational hours during the next year on one of the world's most powerful supercomputers, simulating an event that takes less than five seconds. This astrophysics work explores how the laws of nature unfold in natural phenomena at unimaginably extreme temperatures and pressures. The Blue Gene/P supercomputer will serve as one of their primary tools for studying exploding stars. Sat, 03 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502133106.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501093513.htm Geologists call into question three decades of conventional wisdom regarding some of the physical processes that helped shape the Earth as we know it today. New research provides a direct challenge to the popular "late veneer hypothesis," a theory which suggests that all of our water, as well as several so-called "iron-loving" elements, were added to the Earth late in its formation by impacts with icy comets, meteorites and other passing objects. Sat, 03 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501093513.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502112754.htm Astrophysicists now say the fate of stars that venture too close to massive black holes could be even more violent than previously believed. Not only are they crushed by the black hole's huge gravity, but the process can also trigger a nuclear explosion that tears the star apart from within. In addition, shock waves in the pancake star carry a brief and very high peak of temperature outwards, that could give rise to a new type of X-ray or gamma-ray bursts. Fri, 02 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502112754.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501112209.htm Astronomers have predicted and confirmed the existence of a new type of variable star, with the help of the 2.1-meter Otto Struve Telescope at McDonald Observatory. Called a "pulsating carbon white dwarf," this is the first new class of variable white dwarf star discovered in more than 25 years. Because the overwhelming majority of stars in the universe--including the sun--will end their lives as white dwarfs, studying the pulsations (i.e., variations in light output) of these newly discovered examples gives astronomers a window on an important end point in the lives of most stars. Thu, 01 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501112209.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430134305.htm Astronomers appear to have solved a long-standing mystery about the cause of anomalies in Jupiter's gossamer rings. A faint extension of the outermost ring beyond the orbit of Jupiter's moon Thebe, and other observed deviations from an accepted model of ring formation, result from the interplay of shadow and sunlight on dust particles that make up the rings. Thu, 01 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430134305.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429120900.htm Artificial intelligence being used at the European Space Operations Center is giving a powerful boost to ESA's Mars Express as it searches for signs of past or present life on the Red Planet. Thu, 01 May 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429120900.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428203702.htm A new life-detecting instrument is preparing for a mission to the Red Planet. The Urey: Mars Organic and Oxidant Detector instrument, developed by a scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, received approximately $2 million in NASA funding to further refine the design and technology for the European Space Agency's (ESA) 2013 ExoMars Rover Mission. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428203702.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430112525.htm Astronomers have discovered a timing mechanism that allows them to predict exactly when a superdense star will unleash incredibly powerful explosions. The explosions occur on a neutron star, which is a city-sized remnant of a giant star that exploded in a supernova. But despite the neutron star’s small size, it contains more material than our sun. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430112525.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429174658.htm As a powerful electrical storm rages on Saturn with lightning bolts 10,000 times more powerful than those found on Earth, the Cassini spacecraft continues its five-month watch over the dramatic events. Scientists with NASA's Cassini-Huygens mission have been tracking the visibly bright, lightning-generating storm--the longest continually observed electrical storm ever monitored by Cassini. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429174658.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429095054.htm Astronomers looking at the universe's distant past found nine young, unusually compact galaxies, each weighing in at 200 billion times the mass of the Sun. These young galaxies are the equivalent of a human baby that is 20 inches long, yet weighs 180 pounds. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429095054.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428081732.htm Chondritic meteorites have a similar chemical composition to the sun and are therefore reliable witnesses as to what the solar nebula, from which the planets formed, was composed of. This can be used to deduce what the Earth consists of chemically. However, researchers have now discovered that strictly speaking this fundamental geological assumption is not true. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428081732.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428140351.htm Some of the oldest objects in the Universe may still have a long way to go, according to a new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. These new results indicate that globular clusters might be surprisingly less mature in their development than previously thought. Globular clusters are incredibly dense bunches of up to millions of stars that are found in the outskirts of galaxies, including the Milky Way. They are among the oldest known objects in the Universe, with most estimates of their ages ranging from 9 to 13 billions of years old. Understanding the nature of globular clusters is very important as they are thought to contain some of the first stars to form in a galaxy. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428140351.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424092756.htm Interacting galaxies are found throughout the Universe, sometimes as dramatic collisions that trigger bursts of star formation, on other occasions as stealthy mergers that result in new galaxies. Galaxy mergers, which were more common in the early Universe than they are today, are thought to be one of the main driving forces for cosmic evolution, turning on quasars, sparking frenetic star births and explosive stellar deaths. Sun, 27 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424092756.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424092743.htm Astronomers are looking to identify Earth-like watery worlds circling distant stars from a glint of light seen through an optical space telescope and a newly developed mathematical method. Sat, 26 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424092743.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423131621.htm At the cores of many galaxies, supermassive black holes expel powerful jets of particles at nearly the speed of light. Just how they perform this feat has long been one of the mysteries of astrophysics. Now, astronomers have watched material winding a corkscrew outward path and behaving exactly as predicted by a leading theory. Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423131621.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424085009.htm A small motor in the robotic arm of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity that began stalling occasionally more than two years ago has become more troublesome recently. Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424085009.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423131602.htm Researchers have found compelling evidence of thick, recurring glaciers on Mars, a discovery that suggests that the Red Planet's climate was much more dynamic than previously believed -- and could change again. Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423131602.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080422160001.htm The exchange of information between distant sources is the basis of all communications, but quantum mechanics may open up this distant exchange as never before. Quantum key distribution, for instance, would allow for absolutely secure encryption of information exchange by encoding information keys on single photons. Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080422160001.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420114718.htm A radar instrument has looked beneath the surface of Mars and opened up a new dimension for planetary exploration. The technique's success is prompting scientists to think of other places in the solar system where they would like to use radar sounders. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420114718.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420123319.htm Behold the full moon. Ancient craters and frozen lava seas lie motionless under an airless sky of profound quiet. It's a serene, slow-motion world where even a human footprint may last millions of years. Nothing ever seems to happen there, right? Wrong. Scientists have realized that something happens every month when the moon gets a lashing from Earth's magnetic tail. Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420123319.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420122601.htm Could microbial life exist inside Enceladus, where no sunlight reaches, photosynthesis is impossible and no oxygen is available? To answer that question, we need look no farther than our own planet to find examples of the types of exotic ecosystems that could make life possible on Saturn's geyser moon. The answer appears to be, yes, it could be possible. It is this tantalizing potential that brings us back to Enceladus for further study. Mon, 21 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420122601.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420114045.htm Commander Peggy Whitson and cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko of the 16th International Space Station crew landed on the steppes of Kazakhstan around 4:30 a.m. EDT April 19 after 192 days in space. All three people aboard the Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft were reported to be in good condition after their re-entry and landing. Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420114045.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416110124.htm A mathematical model suggests that the odds of finding new life on other Earth-like planets are low, given the time it has taken for beings such as humans to evolve and the remaining life span of the Earth. Structurally complex and intelligent life evolved late on Earth and it has already been suggested that this process might be governed by a small number of very difficult evolutionary steps. Sat, 19 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416110124.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080418090439.htm Data from the ESA/NASA spacecraft SOHO shows clearly that powerful starquakes ripple around the Sun in the wake of mighty solar flares that explode above its surface. The observations give solar physicists new insight into a long-running solar mystery and may even provide a way of studying other stars. Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080418090439.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416141356.htm A new image from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer shows baby stars sprouting in the backwoods of a galaxy -- a relatively desolate region of space more than 100,000 light-years from the galaxy's bustling center. The striking image shows the Southern Pinwheel galaxy, also known simply as M83. Fri, 18 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416141356.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415101016.htm By studying in great detail the 'ringing' of a planet-harboring star, a team of astronomers have shown that it must have drifted away from the metal-rich Hyades cluster. This discovery has implications for theories of star and planet formation, and for the dynamics of our Milky Way. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415101016.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415143816.htm Gravitational radiation -- widely expected to provide "smoking gun" proof for a theory of the early universe known as "inflation" -- can be produced by another mechanism, according to physics researchers. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415143816.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415133647.htm NASA is extending the international Cassini-Huygens mission by two years. The historic spacecraft's stunning discoveries and images have revolutionized our knowledge of Saturn and its moons. Cassini's mission originally had been scheduled to end in July 2008. The newly-announced two-year extension will include 60 additional orbits of Saturn and more flybys of its exotic moons. These will include 26 flybys of Titan, seven of Enceladus, and one each of Dione, Rhea and Helene. The extension also includes studies of Saturn's rings, its complex magnetosphere, and the planet itself. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415133647.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415134614.htm NASA engineers have adjusted the flight path of the Phoenix Mars Lander, setting the spacecraft on course for its May 25 landing on the Red Planet. The mission's two prior trajectory maneuvers, made last August and October, adjusted the flight path of Phoenix to intersect with Mars. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415134614.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415162612.htm A new electric solar wind sail is almost ready for implementation. Electric sail propulsion might have a large impact on space research and space travel throughout the solar system. The electric solar wind sail uses the solar wind as its thrust source and therefore needs no fuel or propellant. The solar wind is a continuous plasma stream emanating from the Sun. Changes in the properties of the solar wind cause auroral brightening and magnetic storms, among other things. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415162612.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417102517.htm A 4.1-meter diameter primary mirror, a vital part of the world's newest and fastest survey telescope, VISTA has been delivered to its new mountaintop home at Cerro Paranal, Chile. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417102517.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415160358.htm Astronomers have identified huge star streams in the outskirts of two nearby spiral galaxies. For the first time, they have obtained a panoramic overview of an example of galactic cannibalism similar to that involving the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy in the vicinity of the Milky Way. The detection of these immense stellar fossils confirms the predictions of the cold dark matter model of cosmology, which proposes that present-day grand design spiral galaxies were formed from the merging of less massive stellar systems. Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415160358.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415111724.htm Astronomers have discovered that our galaxy's central black hole let loose a powerful flare three centuries ago. The finding helps resolve a long-standing mystery: why is the Milky Way's black hole so quiescent? The black hole, known as Sagittarius A* (pronounced "A-star"), is a certified monster, containing about 4 million times the mass of our Sun. Yet the energy radiated from its surroundings is billions of times weaker than the radiation emitted from central black holes in other galaxies. Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415111724.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415164332.htm With major implications for long-duration space travel, a new study demonstrates that the high-energy radiation found in space may lead to premature aging and prolonged oxidative stress in cells. The findings suggest that astronauts may be at increased risk of colon cancer due to exposure to the high linear energy transfer radiation found in space. Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415164332.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080410200302.htm NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has photographed the fading optical counterpart of a powerful gamma ray burst that holds the record for being the intrinsically brightest naked-eye object ever seen from Earth. For nearly a minute on March 19, this single "star" was as bright as 10 million galaxies. Hubble Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) images of GRB 080319B, taken on Monday, April 7, show the fading optical counterpart of the titanic blast. Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080410200302.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080414094156.htm The European Space Agency has chosen the GSI accelerator facility to assess radiation risks that astronauts will be exposed to on a Mars mission. GSI was selected because its accelerator is the only one in Europe able to create ion beams similar to those found in space. To determine possible health risks of manned space flights, scientists from all over Europe have been asked to investigate the effects of ion beams in human cells and organs. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080414094156.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080411091532.htm NASA engineers have adjusted the flight path of the Phoenix Mars Lander, setting the spacecraft on course for its May 25 landing on the Red Planet. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080411091532.htm