To be a Planet, or Not to be a Planet?
Posted: October 8, 2010 Filed under: American Astronomical Society, astronomers, Astronomical Societies, astronomy, Earth, entertainment, Goddard Flight Center, International Astronomical Union, John Hopkins University, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Michael Brown, NASA, National Solar Observatory, Neptune, Pluto, Royal Astronomical Society, Saturn, Sol, The Earth, the planets, the solar system, Uranus, Venus | Tags: asteroids, astronomers, astronomy, Caltech, International Astronomical Union, Journey to the Beginning of Space and Time, Jupiter, Kuiper Belt, Mars, Mercury, meteorites, Michael Brown, Neptune, Planet X, Pluto, Saturn, science, space, the Earth, the planets, the solar system, Uranus, Venus, Xena the warrior goddess 1 Comment »
The largest Kuiper Belt objects compared
How much bigger is Planet X than Pluto? Astronomers have measured the brightness and distance of Planet X from Sol, as compared to objects of known brightness in the solar system. Based on their data and calculations, astronomers believe Planet X to be bigger than Pluto, but just how much bigger has yet to be firmly etched in stone by the various astronomical societies and agencies tasked with determining if Planet X is indeed bigger than Pluto and by how much. This fuzzy-news has pushed Pluto into tenth place in the nine planet race in the solar system and into second place in the size ranking of the objects in the Kuiper Belt and astronomers, and star gazers have only searched a small percentage of the Kuiper Belt for objects bigger than Pluto.
Will bigger objects than Planet X be discovered in the Kuiper Belt or somewhere on the outer fringes of the solar system? The first Kuiper Belt objects were viewed by star gazers and astronomers in the early 1990s, but since this time larger and larger objects have been located in the Kuiper Belt. In 2002, an object half the size of Pluto was discovered floating in the Kuiper Belt, which astronomers named Quaoar. Just two years later, 2004DW and Sedna were discovered, each respectively two-thirds and three-quarters the size of Pluto. It wouldn’t be surprising, therefore, if star gazers and astronomers were to find an even larger object floating in the Kuiper Belt, than Planet X at some point in the human “Journey to the Beginning of Space and Time”.
Hubble has given us our best views of Pluto, so far. This photo shows Charon as well.
Compare the various sizes of the planets as you pass by
A distance object at best, Pluto looks quiet and serene here
Mankind’s Next Great Step into the Cosmos
Posted: October 7, 2010 Filed under: Astronomical Societies, astronomy, astronomy equipment, Canadian space agencies, entertainment, European Space Agency, Hubble Space Telescope, Johnson Space Center, NASA, Neptune, Saturn, Space Agencies, telescopes, the Big Bang, The Earth, the James Webb Space Telescope, the planets | Tags: astronomy, Canadian space agencies, European Space Agency, Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, Johnson Space Center, Journey to the Beginning of Space and Time, NASA, space, space scientists, space telescopes, the Big Bang, the Big Bang theory, the Earth, the planets 2 Comments »The James Webb Space Telescope Takes Mankind to the Edge of Infinity
The James Webb Space Telescope Journeys to the Beginning of Space and Time
These mirror segments are currently undergoing testing by NASA technicians
Once on location at L2, the James Webb Space Telescope will fully deploy its 18 hexagonal, gold-coated mirror segments to form a primary mirror with an effective diameter of 6.6 meters (259 inches). This is a full 6 times the light-collecting area of the Hubble Space Telescope, but the designers and engineers have also added systems driven by software that will analysis the in-coming image, and allow astronomers to fine tune the view by controlling the mirrors overall shape.
Out orbiting L2, the James Webb Space Telescope will be far from problematic heat sources, and with a tennis-court sized sunshade shielding the telescope from Sol, the heat-sensitive instrumentation of the telescope will cool passively in the cold darkness of space and time, to the required operating temperature of -388 degrees Fahrenheit (-233 Celsius).
Astronomers believe the first stars created after the Big Bang possessed as much as 100 times Sol’s current mass, shined millions of times brighter than Sol, but only lived a few million years, before exploding in the first supernovae. The James Webb Space Telescope will be capable of allowing mankind to Journey to within about 180 million years after the Big Bang, if astronomers are correct, and possibly view the first moments of the universe in space terms. Astronomers will also use the James Webb Space Telescope to view celestial objects that have been exciting the human imagination since they were first discovered in the time of the first star gazers. Astronomers are currently preparing for the beginning of the era of the James Webb Space Telescope. They’ll soon be proposing all kinds of Journeys to the Beginning of Space and Time that will hopefully provide a few answers to these questions that have been exciting mankind since the first time a human looked upward into the night sky.
Thousands of people have contributed to the designing, engineering and eventual launch into orbit of the James Webb Space Telescope
Take a Nightly Celestial Ride during September
Posted: September 9, 2010 Filed under: Earth, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, NASA, Neptune, Saturn, September 2010, Sol, The Earth, the months, the planets, the solar system, the Universe, Uranus, Venus | Tags: asteroid Flora, asteroid Hebe, astronomy, Journey to the Beginning of Space and Time, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn, September 2010, star gazers, the Moon, the planets, Venus Leave a comment »The nights of September 2010 will feature essentially the same night sky as the one your ancestors used as a basis for many of the myths and stories that have been passed down to the modern world of today. September’s star gazers can sit huddled around the fire each night of the month, as celestial delights about on a nightly basis, just as they did thousands of years in the past. The perfect time to board your time machine to the stars and take a journey through space and time or lay your back upon the cold earth and let the night’s sky open your mind to the possibilities of the universe.
The Moon goes through the same cycle it has since the time of our ancestors
A Last Quarter Moon will step onto September’s celestial stage on September 1, at 1:22 P.M Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and start September’s celestial dance. Heavenly Venus will join the dance at 2 P.M. EDT on September 1, as she passes to within about 1.2 degrees south of Spica and will form a line with Mars on one side and Spica spinning in the middle.
Mercury will be in inferior conjunction at 9 A.M. EDT on September 3. Mars will dance to within 2 degrees north of Spica at 10 A.M. EDT on September 4, but this dance pair will slowly fade from view over the next few days, as the Moon moves closer to the Earth.
Mercury is the hardest of the planets to view, but if you look late in September, you have the best chance of seeing Mercury.
The Moon will light up the night sky at 11:58 P.M. EDT on September 7. Earth’s satellite moves to within 221,948 miles of spaceshipearth1 on this date and the show on this night can light up the night sky. A New Moon will greet star gazers at 6:30 A.M. EDT on September 8 and on September 9 the moon will pass to within 8 degrees south of Saturn at 6 P.M. The celestial dance between Saturn and the Moon can light up your imagination as the Moon makes a pass by Saturn.
On September 1, Saturn will set an hour after the Sun and will stand about 5 degrees high in the west sky 30 minutes after sunset
Asteroid Flora will be in opposition on the tenth of September at 11 P.M. EDT. Asteroid Flora is a difficult celestial body to view for beginning star gazers. Should you desire to take a look at asteroid Flora at her finest on this night, it might be wise to obtain the help or advice of a veteran star gazers in your search.
The Moon will also be dancing in the night’s sky on September 10. The Moon will pass to within 5 degrees south of Mars at 4 A.M. EDT and will then dance across the night sky and pass within 0.3 degrees south of Venus at 9 A.M. EDT.
Asteroid Laetitia will be in opposition on September 14 at 6 A.M. EDT. This is your chance to view a celestial body that has been entertaining star gazers and filling them with awe and wonder for thousands of generations.
The third week of September begins with a First Quarter Moon 1:50 A.M. EDT on September 15. Four days later, on September 19, Mercury will be at its greatest western elongation of 18 degrees at 1 P.M. EDT. The Moon will pass within 5 degrees north of Neptune at noon EDT on September 20, viewers should see both Neptune and the Moon in the night sky, but this will depend on environmental conditions at the time of viewing.
Asteroid 8 Hebe is at opposition at 2 A.M. EDT on September 21. The thirteenth biggest asteroid by mass in the known solar system and the fifth brightest celestial body in the asteroid belt, asteroid 6 Hebe is believed to be the source of H chondrite meteorites and IIE iron meteorites, which account for about 40 percent of the meteorites that land on Earth.
The Moon is at apogee (252, 379 miles from Earth) at 4:02 A.M. EDT on September 21. Apogee is the point at which the Moon is at its farthest distance from the Earth in its orbit.
Mighty Jupiter rules the night on September 21, the largest planet in our solar system will be in opposition at 8 A.M. EDT on this day and Neptune will follow into opposition at 1 P.M. EDT. Jupiter shines at magnitude 2.9 on this night and will look bigger visually than at anytime since October 1963, at about 49.9 ” across.
Jupiter will be as visible as it has since 1963 during opposition on September 21.
Jupiter will still be one of the brightest celestial object in the night sky on September 22 and viewers should be able to get a great view of mighty Jupiter in all its glory using their time machine to the stars throughout the month. Jupiter will pass within 0.9 degrees south of Uranus on September 22, at 3 P.M. EDT, and this is a great time to take a look at two of the biggest celestial bodies in the solar system. Watch for a few hours, before Jupiter passes to within 0.9 degrees south of Uranus, and you can see the Earth enter autumnal equinox at 11:09 P.M. EDT.
A Full Moon will occur at 5:17 A.M. EDT on September 23. The Moon will travel toward Neptune and Jupiter during the next hour and forty-five minutes and will pass within 7 degrees north of Jupiter and 6 degrees North of Uranus at 7 A.M. EDT. Viewers that watch throughout the day will get to see Venus at her brightest at 4 P.M. EDT, at this time Venus will shine at magnitude 4.8, the perfect time to view demure Venus in September’s night sky.
Venus is once again the main attraction on the night of September 29. Venus will pass within 6 degrees south of Mars at 2 A.M. EDT on this night and will shine bright enough for good viewing using your time machine to the stars or good viewing binoculars.
September 30 will see Saturn enter into conjunction with Sol, at 9 P.M. EDT. This is a great opportunity to view the ringed-planet and have a look at a celestial body that has fascinated the human imagination for generations. Keep watching until 11:52 P.M. EDT and you’ll see a Last Quarter Moon appear in the night sky at 11:52 P.M. EDT.
September’s celestial dance enters the month of October, next, read about October’s celestial dance in our article on October’s night sky. We’ll tell you about October’s dance partners and the beautiful moves they’ll make as they travel across the night sky in October.
Development Motor-2 Still Has Uses for NASA
Posted: September 3, 2010 Filed under: ATK Aerospace Systems, Constellation program, Earth, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, NASA, Neptune, Saturn, Sol, Solid booster rockets, The Earth, the Milky Way galaxy, the planets, the solar system, the Universe, Venus | Tags: Alabama, Ares Project Office, ATK Aerospace Systems, Constellation program, Development Motor-2, DM-2, Huntsville, Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA, Promonary, rocket science, space science, Utah 1 Comment »
The DM-2 roars to life
Reports of the death of NASA’s Constellation program appear to have been a little premature as rocket scientists were testing Development Motor-2 (DM-2), currently the world’s largest and most powerful solid rocket motor, on August 31 in static tests conducted by ATK Aerospace Systems in Promontory, Utah. The development of the DM-2 has been managed by the Ares Projects Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and despite reports that this booster wouldn’t be used in the near future to power Constellation program space vehicles, it appears the DM-2 is being prepared to go to work.
The DM-2 roared to life in a mighty column of flame during a two-minute, full-scale testing of the most powerful engine humans have yet designed and built for space travel. The DM-2 is actually suited to be used on heavy-lift vehicles used by the American space program to move heavy loads from Earth into space and it’s still possible we’ll see the DM-2 used for this very job in the future. The stationary firing of the first-stage development solid rocket motor referred too as the DM-2 was monitored by more instruments than at anytime in NASA’s history, with a record 760 instruments measuring 53 variables of the test-firing.
The DM-2 is designed to produce about 3.6 million pounds of thrust at ignition, enough power to lift a significant amount of weight mass into space orbit. This full-scale testing of the DM-2 is designed to collect information and data that will be combined with previous tests to allow rocket scientists to better evaluate the potential of the DM-2 for future NASA programs. The DM-2 is similar to the successful solid rocket boosters NASA used to lift the space shuttle into Earth orbit, but include significant improvements and upgrades designed by NASA and ATK engineers. Engineers added a fifth segment to the DM-2, a larger nozzle throat, and upgraded the insulation and liners, all additions they expect to make a difference in performance and reliability of the DM-2 as compared to previous rocket engines.
What’s next for the DM-2 and the engineers in charge of its development? After additional testing the DM-2 will be certified to be used by NASA at temperature ranges between 40 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. There has been no additional information provided by NASA and ATK concerning future plans for the DM-2, but apparently they have something in the pipeline. We’ll have to wait and see what happens in the months ahead in the century of the environment with the DM-2.
