The Sun Bursts to Life: Sunspots, Flares and CMEs
As if to remind us it is still there, the Sun has put on an explosive show
of sunspots, flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). This is quite surprising
as only last month it was declared that the Sun had just started a new solar
cycle, and a period of minimum activity. Up until now, the solar disk has been
void of any observable features… but like an invasion party, three sunspots have
rotated into view, showing complex arcs of magnetic fieldlines (coronal loops),
blasting plasma into space by the biggest flare observed this year. Observers
have also recorded the radio burst from the CME, so if you want to know what a
CME sounds like, read on…
Cassini Sniffs Organic Chemicals Leaking into Space from Saturn Moon, Enceladus
During a flyby of the small moon on March 12th, the Cassini probe detected significant amounts of organic chemicals as it flew through powerful geyser-like jets of ice blasting into space. This active moon appears to be generating organic chemicals much like the substances found in comets. As Cassini bravely travelled through the plume at a speed of 32,000 mph, it was able to take some indirect measurements of the density of the gas from the surprising amount of torque applied to spacecraft. Fortunately the craft was undamaged as the particles bounced off its bodywork…
NASA U-Turn Over Mars Rover Funding
No sooner had news hit the web that NASA had cut funding to the Mars
Exploratory Rovers (MER), NASA took a huge U-turn and voided the letter that was
sent to MER mission scientists. Apparently both Spirit and Opportunity can
continue to roll around the Mars landscape as if nothing had ever happened; in
fact the two robots will probably be unaware of the drama that unfolded here on
Earth in the last 24 hours. Talk about a storm in a teacup…
But what caused the change of heart? What was behind all this funding craziness? Unfortunately, this ordeal highlights the pressures government-funded space agencies are under, and it is unlikely this will be the end of it…
Alan Stern Resigns From NASA
Alan Stern has stepped down as NASA’s associate administrator for the
Science Mission Directorate. No word on Stern’s reasons for leaving, or why such
an abrupt departure, but the timing suggests it could be related to the
erroneous announcement that funding for the Mars
Rovers would be cut. Stern was seemingly highly respected and very popular
among mission scientists and designers, and Stern had pledged to toe the line
about mission spending and cost overruns. There are conflicting reports whether
Stern will continue as Principal Investigator for the New Horizons mission to
Pluto, but it would be very surprising to see him leave the mission to which he
has devoted most of his career. Stern had only been with the Science Mission
Directorate for about a year but during that year Time Magazine named Stern as
one of the 100 Most Influential People in 2007
XCOR: Economy Class Space Tourism?
XCOR Aerospace has thrown its hat into the space tourism ring, unveiling its
two-seat suborbital spaceship, the Lynx. With its first flights scheduled for
2010, XCOR’s projected price per ticket will be half of what other suborbital
companies like Virgin Galactic and Rocketplane are charging. But the Lynx’s
flight will also be about half the duration and about two-thirds the altitude of
the other companies. At $100,000, a seat on the Lynx is not exactly cheap, but
its possible this lower price could cause a price war with the other space
tourism companies, which is good news for anyone considering taking a suborbital
flight.
Thanks to universetoday.com
2 comments on News 3/27/08...universe Today
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Must be those solar flares making the blogging weird, and PC's slow...
I have been concerned that NASA would be sacrificed by Bush and Cheney and the neocons in their rush to pour our country's treasure into Iraq.