Sun-Earth Day 2008 on March 20 and more NEWS from SPACE by anacoana on Blogster

Celebrate Sun-Earth Day 2008 on March 20

Over the past seven years, NASA Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum has sponsored and coordinated education and public outreach events to highlight NASA Sun-Earth Connection research and discoveries. Their purpose is to interest school students and the general public to participate in programs that occur throughout the year and the kickoff is about to begin. This year's main event will be on March 20, 2008.

Astrium Unveils New Spaceship Plans (Video Simulation & Pictures)

Europe's leading spacecraft manufacturer EADS Astrium, the builders of the Ariane rocket (that launches many of Europe's space missions), has announced plans to mass produce the next generation of space planes. Developing the design of a single-stage "rocket plane", the company believes there will be a demand for 10 spacecraft per year when the space tourism idea "takes off". Astrium won't be running tourist trips themselves; they will simply supply the hardware to space tourism companies predicting the industry will progress along the same lines of a classical aeronautical business model. Astrium has even released an excellent and inspiring (and realistic!) promotional video simulation of the spacecraft launch and view of space

Why are Saturn's Rings Disappearing?

Astronomers have noticed a change on Saturn. The planet's rings are getting thinner and thinner and the details in the dark bands are getting harder to observe. What's more, at this rate, Saturn's rings will have completely vanished by Sept. 4, 2009!

But don't pack up your telescopes quite yet, there's no reason to be alarmed. This phenomenon occurs every 14 to 15 years and the explanation is down to an astronomical optical illusion called "ring plane crossing"…

Peruvian Meteorite May Rewrite Impact Theories

On September 15th of last year, a meteorite impacted the Earth near the town of Carancas in Peru. The story made worldwide headlines when hundreds of people who flocked to see the crater reported getting ill. As it turned out, there were no mysterious space illnesses plaguing the population; the super-hot meteorite likely vaporized arsenic-containing water that was near the surface of the impact site, and onlookers and investigators breathed in the noxious gas. The meteorite is again in the spotlight, though not for making people sick.

Mars’ Violent, Volcanic Past … and Possible Future?

Planetary geologists have a relatively simple method for calculating the age of a planet’s surface: count the number of impact craters in a region. The older the surface, the more craters there will be from meteorites that have struck the planet over the ages. Areas with fewer craters are generally interpreted as younger surfaces where other geological processes such as volcanic activity or plate tectonics, have erased the impact scars. A new analysis of impact cratering using images from the Mars Express has revealed that Mars has undergone at least five violent, global volcanic upheavals, shaping the surface of Mars we see today.

also an artical at>>www.spaceweather.com on this..

Amateur astronomers around the world have noticed, something is happening to Saturn. The planet's rings are rapidly narrowing and, if this continues, before long they'll be a wafer-thin line almost invisible to backyard telescopes. Get the full story from Science@NASA.

New, Unexpected Spots Found on Jupiter

Jupiter is a spotty place. There's the aptly-named Great Red Spot – a large, long-lasting storm – that we all know and love, and new storms crop up every so often to create interesting features for astronomers both professional and amateur to study. The most recent discovery of new spots can only be seen in the UV, but they add a whole new level of complexity for scientists to chew on.

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Preventing Pearl Harbor in Space
Satellite Fails to Reach Proper Orbit
www.universetoday.com
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How many red spots does Jupiter have? On March 17th, Mike Salway of Australia looked through his 12-inch telescope and counted three:

Red spot #1 is the Great Red Spot you've heard about, hundreds of years old and twice as wide as Earth. Red spot #2 is Oval BA, which formed white in 2000 and turned red in 2006. Red spot #3 is a newcomer, "the Little Red Spot," says Salway, possibly only weeks old.

All these spots are storms--anticyclones big enough to swallow a rocky planet. What makes them red? Curiously, no one knows why the Great Red Spot itself is red. A favorite idea is that the storm dredges "chromophores" (color-changing compounds) from deep inside Jupiter up to the cloudtops where sunlight triggers a chemical reaction with red by-products. But what are the chromosphores and what is the chemical reaction? It's a mystery--now multiplied by three.

Jupiter is emerging from the glare of the sun as a bright morning star, visible in the southeast before sunrise: sky map. "I'm still waiting for some 'excellent' morning to deliver the best resolution and detail," says Salway, "but as Jupiter keeps climbing I'm sure it will come soon." Stay tuned!

http://www.spaceweather.com/

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