Evaporating Planet
lanet HD 209458b is evaporating. It is so close to its parent star that
its heated atmosphere is simply expanding away into space. Some
astronomers studying this distant planetary system now believe they
have detected water vapor among the gases being liberated.
This controversial claim, if true, would mark the first instance of
planetary water beyond our solar system, and indicate anew that life
might be sustainable elsewhere in the universe. Although spectroscopic
observations from the Hubble Space Telescope are the basis for the
water detection claim, the planetary system is too small and faint to
image. The image is an artist's concept of the HD 209458b system.
Image Credit: NASA, European Space Agency, Alfred Vidal-Madjar (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, CNRS
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/iotd.html
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3/19/2006 NASA
Cassini focused on the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan during a March 18 flyby. This was the first time Cassini sent radio waves through Titan's atmosphere to antennas on Earth.
This raw, or unprocessed, image was taken on March 19, 2006, and received on Earth March 19, 2006.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science InstitutImage of the Day Gallery
Beauty in the Night
As space shuttle Endeavour raced into space to begin the STS-123 mission, an amateur photographer captured this view from the waterfront in Titusville, Florida. During the mission, the STS-123 and station crews are installing components of the Japanese...
Where New Planets May Grow
Spitzer Finds Organics and Water
Sun-Earth Day 2008
Space Weather Around the World
http://www.nasa.gov/
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Moon and Saturn Team Up On March 19
If you're watching the gibbous Moon cross the sky on the evening of March 19th, you're likely to notice a yellowish looking star nearby. That's not a star. It's the planet Saturn. For those of you who missed Saturn's close appearance to last month's eclipsing Moon, you'll have another chance to see the pair
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Satellite Fails to Reach Proper Orbit
Just a quick piece of sad news. SES Americom reported that its AMC-14
satellite failed to reach its orbit on Saturday after it was launched by a
Russian Proton Breeze-M rocket. Despite the failure, though, there might be hope
that the satellite will be broadcasting HD television eventually
A Step Toward Quantum Communications with Space
Sending quantum information in the form of qubits (quantum
bits) have been successfully carried out for years. Firing
indecipherable packets of quantum data (or quantum states) via photons can
however degrade the message as the photons travel through the dense atmosphere.
Also, the distance of transmitting data is severely hindered by other factors
such as the curvature of the Earth. Now, for the first time, Italian scientists
have carried out a successful mock single-photon exchange between Earth and a
satellite orbiting at an altitude of 1485 km. Although transmission may be
restricted here on Earth, the use of satellites will greatly increase the range
of such a system, possibly beginning an era of long-distance quantum
communication with space.
Happy Birthday Vanguard 1, and Welcome Home?
Jim Oberg has written a very interesting article at MSNBC.com, commemorating the
50th anniversary of the launch of mankind’s fourth artificial satellite,
Vanguard 1. While it is no longer functioning or communicating, it is the oldest
satellite still in orbit. Jim says, “Vanguard 1 was the first artificial earth
satellite powered by solar cells, and its small suite of instruments provided
unprecedented information on Earth's size and shape, air density and temperature
ranges, and the micrometeorite density in space. Tracking its orbit helped
geophysicists realize that Earth is not round but slightly pear-shaped, with a
slight, symmetric equatorial bulge.”
Jim has a lot of good history included in the article, but most intriguing, Jim reports Vanguard 1 could become the first satellite brought home, for museum display, by a new generation of robotic space vehicles. That would be incredible! Such an attempt would be a demonstration of robotic space vehicles’ capabilty, in addition to providing an Earth orbit (and highly exciting) version of retrieving Gus Grissom’s Liberty Bell 7 from the ocean floor. Do check out Jim's article.
Jim Oberg, of course, is a noted journalist, author, linguist (sorry, inside joke) and space consultant for NBC News.
Preventing Pearl Harbor in Space
Both China and the United States have recently demonstrated their ability to
reach out and destroy satellites from the ground. Since the modern military
depends so much on satellites for communications and reconnaissance, you can
imagine they're juicy targets in future conflicts. Aviation Week has an
interesting article about the US Air Force's strategy to defend against this.
Advertise on Universe Today, Astronomy Cast, and Other Space Sites
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know that you can advertise here in Universe Today, in the Astronomy Cast
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Making Lunar Soil Usable
Based on what we currently know about the makeup of the lunar regolith,
future colonists on the moon will not be able to use the soil on hand to grow
food. But in a new experiment, bacteria called cyanobacteria grew quite well in
simulated lunar soil. While this wouldn't be a food source for humans, it would
enable lunar soil to be broken down to extract resources for making rocket fuel
and fertilizer for crops. This could help with the feasibility of setting up a
base on the moon, aiding in reducing costs for certain supplies.
Space Junk, Toxic Fuel Rains Down on Siberian Region
People from the normally quiet and picturesque republic of Altai, Siberia
keep their eyes on the sky when a launch occurs from the nearby Baikonur
Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan. This region is regularly littered with debris and
toxic fuel from space launches, as Altai lies along the flight path of rocket
launches to space. Unlike rockets launched from the Kennedy Space Center in
Florida, which shed excess stages into the Atlantic Ocean, sections from rockets
launched from Baikonur crash back on land, usually landing in the Altai region
of the Kazakh steppe.
from www.universetoday.com
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Spaceweather.com
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collection from http://www.crystalinks.com/ezine.html
Thunderbolts Picture of the Day
Astronauts to attach assemble 12X8 foot Robot Dextre to ISS
AP - March 18, 2008
Dextre Wikipedia
An Oxygen Factory in a Nearby Galaxy PhysOrg - March 17, 2008
Novel luminous spots found on Jupiter PhysOrg - March 17, 2008
Puzzling 'Eye Of A Hurricane' On Venus Science Daily - March 17, 2008
Exploring Mars: Icy Promethei Planum Science Daily - March 17, 2008
Fizzy water powered 'super' geysers on ancient Mars New Scientist -
March 17,2008 
Five Volcanic Episodes On Mars Identified by Scientists Science Daily -
March 17,2008
Earth-Size Planet to Be Found in Outer Solar System? National Geographic - March 17, 2008
Crashed probe yields Sun secrets BBC - March 16, 2008
Huge ice deposits 'seen' on Mars BBC - March 14, 2008
Saturn moon once had ocean BBC - March 14, 2008
5 comments on 3/18/08 SPACE NEWS....old and new
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I wonder how long it will be before people are living on another planet and sustained as on earth?
My question is -- how long till we know that people ARE living on other Planets?
Such cool news! Fascinating stuff to ponder.... I'll be hoping for a clear night on March 19th.
Lovely images and delightful copy. I am hooked by the splendor of
it all.
Obviously so am I