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Archive for Nancy Atkinson

Is Kepler dead? NASA to give update on planet-hunting telescope

By alkaon on May 16, 2013 No Comments

That was the rumor circulating Wednesday, nearly a week after the space telescope went into safe mode. NASA will host a news conference at 1 p.m. Pacific time “to discuss the status of the agency’s Kepler Space Telescope.” To some, it sounds ominous.

“Not sure I like the sound of this,” tweeted Nancy Atkinson, a senior writer and editor for Universe Today.

PHOTOS: Kepler’s discoveries

“Kepler, we have a problem,” added Paul Crowther, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Sheffield in Britain.

And Caltech’s always quotable Michael Brown (the planetary scientist who demoted Pluto to dwarf planet status) tweeted: “Hmmm, well, Kepler was fun. What’s next?”

Kepler launched on March 6, 2009, to begin a 3½-year mission to scour the Milky Way galaxy for signs of Earth-sized planets that could potentially support life. The thinking goes that they must orbit their stars in the “Goldilocks zone” — not too close and not too far, but in the middle zone where water (should there be any) would be in liquid form and temperatures would be “just right” for life.

As of Day 1,530 of its mission, Kepler has confirmed the existence of 132 such exoplanets (planets outside our solar system) and identified 2,740 more exoplanet candidates. Ultimately, the craft should help scientists calculate how many of the hundreds of billions of stars in the Milky Way could have planets capable of supporting life.

NASA engineers contact Kelper twice a week. When they checked in on May 3, they found Kepler in “a self-protective state called a safe mode.” They were able to get it to collect scientific data again, and the telescope sent back data on May 5, a few days ahead of schedule, the agency said.

Where things go from here is now anyone’s guess.

The NASA officials scheduled to speak at the news conference include John Grunsfeld, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate; Paul Hertz, the astrophysics director; William Borucki, Kepler science principal investigator; and Charles Sobeck, deputy project manager.

NASA had planned to host a Kepler Science Conference at the Ames Research Center in November, but those plans are being reassessed in light of the federal budget sequestration.

Return to Science Now.

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karen.kaplan@latimes.com

Article source: http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-nasa-kepler-space-telescope-exoplanet-dead-20130515,0,2181237.story

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Categories : Nasa News
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‘Robotic Arm’ On Mars? Curiosity Spots Strange Shiny Object On Red Planet

By alkaon on February 12, 2013 No Comments

Eagle-eyed watchers noticed something curious in a picture taken by one of Curiosity’s cameras on January 30. An Italian image editor named Elisabetta Bonora pointed out to the Universe Today that in the midst of the rocky landscape, there’s a tiny protuberance that looks shiny.

“It looks fairly smooth, and in fact it is not covered by dust as is the case for metal surfaces that tend to clean easily,” Universe Today writer Nancy Atkinson wrote.

Bonora speculated that the object could be made of a tougher material that’s more resistant to erosion than the rock around it. Huffington Post writer Michael Rundle commented that it looked like “a robotic arm.”

If it was a robotic arm, it would have to be from a very tiny robot — the protuberance is at most half a centimeter high, Atkinson said.

NASA representatives haven’t yet commented on the object, but earlier sightings of strange objects have typically been revealed as rock formations or parts of the rover itself.

Earlier in January, Curiosity spotted another anomalous bright object that some viewers dubbed a “Martian flower.”

Later, NASA scientists decided the flower was likely just a large grain of mineral that happened to stick out – an especially shiny fragment about a tenth of an inch wide. Other, more darkly-colored pebbles have been found near the shinier “flower.”

“It could be a lot of things, but without some chemical information to back me up, I’d really hesitate to say what it is,” researcher R. Aileen Yingst told NBC News in January.

The roundedness of the grains suggests that they were formed through some force, possibly running water.

In October, Curiosity spotted another small bright object that turned out to be a bit of plastic shaken off from the rover itself. At the time, a New Orleans publicist named Domatron Graves created a spoof website and fake press release showing that Curiosity had found what suspiciously looked like Mardi Gras beads. The prank earned Graves a call from someone at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, asking him to take down the official space agency logos from his materials.

Meanwhile, NASA has a bigger picture to look at. On Saturday, Curiosity drilled into the Martian bedrock for the first time, creating a hole about two-thirds of an inch wide and about 2.5 inches deep in the fine-grained sediment. It’s the first time any robot has drilled into a rock on Mars.

“The most advanced planetary robot ever designed is now a fully operating analytical laboratory on Mars,” NASA administrator John Grunsfeld said in a statement. “This is the biggest milestone accomplishment for the Curiosity team since the sky-crane landing last August, another proud day for America.”

Over the next few days, Curiosity will draw the sample inside itself for further processing.

Scientists are hoping that the knowledge they gain from such samples could further our understanding of Martian geology, including any possible ancient seas that once flowed on the Red Planet. The rover is also searching for signs that Mars could have once harbored life.

Curiosity is the largest rover sent to Mars thus far and is equipped with a suite of scientific gadgets: three cameras, four spectrometers, two radiation detecters, an environmental monitoring station and an atmospheric sensor.

Article source: http://www.ibtimes.com/robotic-arm-mars-curiosity-spots-strange-shiny-object-red-planet-1076480

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Categories : Mars News
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Go an Hour Without Power: Earth Hour 2012

By alkaon on April 1, 2012 No Comments

You’ve seen all the videos and images we’ve been featuring lately that astronauts on the International Space Station have taken of Earth from orbit. The one ubiquitous feature is the amount of lights showing up from cities and towns around the world.

But will you be turning off the lights this weekend for Earth Hour 2012?

Earth Hour is a world-wide effort to raise awareness about the need to take action on climate change. This year, Earth Hour is on Saturday, March 31 and starts at 20:30 (8:30pm) wherever you are. People all over the world — and off the planet — will be turning off non-essential lights for an hour. Even the astronauts on the Space Station will be doing their part, as well as watching from above to see if they can there is a noticeable change in the amount of lights from Earth. Astronaut and nature ambassador André Kuipers will be taking photos and videos of Earth Hour from space.

What began as a single-city initiative in Sydney, Australia – in 2007, Earth Hour has grown into a global symbol of hope and movement for change. Earth Hour 2011 was the world’s largest ever voluntary action with people, businesses and governments in 135 countries across every continent joining in the symbolic environmental event.

Organizers say as many as 1.8 billion people will participate this year. Will you be one of them?

Find out more about Earth Hour.

Nancy Atkinson is Universe Today’s Senior Editor. She also is the host of the NASA Lunar Science Institute podcast and works with the Astronomy Cast and 365 Days of Astronomy podcasts. Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador.

Tagged as: Earth Hour, Environment, Events

Article source: http://www.universetoday.com/94394/go-an-hour-without-power-earth-hour-2012/

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Can You Find the Lost Soviet Mars 6 Lander in this Image?

By alkaon on February 17, 2012 No Comments

The ‘lost’ Soviet Mars 6 lander may be somewhere in this image. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Mars could be considered a spacecraft graveyard. The planet is just a hard place to get to – and especially land on — and there are several ‘lost’ spacecraft lying somewhere on Mars’ surface. The Soviet Mars 6 lander arrived at Mars on March 12, 1974. The records detail that the descent module entered the atmosphere and the parachute opened at 09:08:32 UT, and during that time, the craft was collecting and returning data. However, contact with the descent module was lost at 09:11:05 UT, about the time it was expected to reach the surface.

“Because we know that the parachute opened and have some idea where it was headed, we have a chance of locating the hardware on the surface with HiRISE,” said Alfred McEwen, principal investigator for HiRISE, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

And it may be in this image, as it would be in approximately the right region of where Mars 6 was supposed to land. In fact, hopes were raised when an anomalous small bright patch was seen by MRO’s Context Camera (CTX) team, and then a CTX team member suggested this area as a target for HiRISE.

McEwen said that since bright parachutes were the easiest thing to spot on the ground at 5 of the 6 past successful landing sites, but as you can see in this subimage, the bright spot at full HiRISE resolution appears to be just “a patch of relatively bright bedrock, with a pattern of thin lines (fractures) typical of such outcrops.”

But after nearly 38 years, the parachute and hardware may be covered by dust and look much like natural features on Mars.

“We’ll keep trying to find this and other failed landers,” McEwen said, “but there is a lot of surface area to cover on Mars.”

So, lend a hand and take a closer look by checking out the full resolution images available on the HiRISE website.

Nancy Atkinson is Universe Today’s Senior Editor. She also is the host of the NASA Lunar Science Institute podcast and works with the Astronomy Cast and 365 Days of Astronomy podcasts. Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador.

Tagged as: HiRISE, Mars, Mars 6 Lander, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)

Article source: http://www.universetoday.com/93639/can-you-find-the-lost-soviet-mars-6-lander-in-this-image/

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Categories : Mars News
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A Solar Flare of Many Colors

By alkaon on January 7, 2012 No Comments

Here’s a great look at a beautiful, leaping C2.2-Class solar flare from from the Sun on January 5, 2012. The Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the event and what’s awesome is how SDO can video one event in several different wavelengths.

From the SDO team:

The first view is 304 angstroms showing the cooler dense plumes of plasma (filaments and prominences). The temperature is at about 90,000 F.

The “Yellow” view is 171 angstroms and shows the coronal loops where plasma moves along magnetic field lines very well. The temperatures seen here are at approx. 1.8 million F.

The “Blue” view is 335 angstroms and highlights the active region of the outer atmosphere of the Sun, the corona. Active regions, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections appear bright here.

The last two views are composites of three wavelengths added together; 304, 193 and 171.

The actual event happened for approximately 1.5 hours.

Nancy Atkinson is Universe Today’s Senior Editor. She also is the host of the NASA Lunar Science Institute podcast and works with the Astronomy Cast and 365 Days of Astronomy podcasts. Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador.


Tagged as:
Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO),
sun

Article source: http://www.universetoday.com/92434/a-solar-flare-of-many-colors/

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Want Astronomy Apps? There’s a Catalog for That

By alkaon on December 30, 2011 No Comments


Screenshot of the Distant Suns version 3.

With the plethora of mobile apps now available for astronomy applications, its hard to keep track of them all. Thanks to astronomer Andy Fraknoi and the American Astronomical Society there’s now a catalog for that. “This catalog is a first attempt to make a list of those of particular interest to astronomy educators,” wrote Fraknoi.

The catalog, published by the Astronomy Education Review, includes a short description and reviews of some — but not all — the apps to help people distinguish which app will best cover their needs. However, “the number of apps is fast outpacing the ability of reviewers to keep up,” Fraknoi said, adding that suggestions and additions for this catalog are most welcome.

Click here to access the app catalog.

Nancy Atkinson is Universe Today’s Senior Editor. She also is the project manager for the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast, works with Astronomy Cast and is host of the NASA Lunar Science Institute podcast. Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador.


Tagged as:
AAS,
Astronomy Apps

Article source: http://www.universetoday.com/92194/want-astronomy-apps-theres-a-catalog-for-that/

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365 Days of Astronomy Podcast to Continue in 2012

By alkaon on December 1, 2011 No Comments

The award-winning 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is proud to announce that the project will continue for yet another year — its fourth consecutive year — and is now accepting sign-ups for participants for more podcasts in 2012.

365 Days of Astronomy (which will last 366 days in 2012, a leap year) is a legacy project of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) and in 2009 was a major project of the IYA. The podcast episodes are written, recorded, and produced by people all around the world.

“During the past three years, we’ve shared astronomy with the world, and we’ve heard from many different voices in astronomy — from professionals and amateurs to those who just enjoy all the incredible discoveries and beautiful images of our Universe,” said Nancy Atkinson, who is now an advising producer for the project.

During the previous years, 365 Days of Astronomy published one podcast for every day of the year. In 2012, the podcast will combine new podcasts with “encore” editions of popular past shows.

The 365 Days of Astronomy podcast is now looking for individuals, organizations, schools, companies, and clubs to submit 5 to 10 minutes of audio for the “new” daily podcasts, which will air Monday-Friday. Participants can sign up to record just one episode or up to 12 episodes (one per month.)

People from every continent except Antarctica have submitted podcasts over the past three years, and the 365 Days of Astronomy team encourages a more diverse population from even more countries to sign up for 2012.

To help facilitate that, 365 Days of Astronomy has a new Project Manager, who is based in Southeast Asia.

“We are hoping to increase our international voices and have hired Avivah Yamani as our new project manager to help us in this goal,” said Dr. Pamela Gay, Executive Director of Astrosphere New Media, which is “home” to the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. “As in previous years, we are looking to sign up a variety of participants, from amateur astronomers, classroom teachers, and students to scientists, science bloggers, and big media companies.”

2012 continues the Year of the Solar System, which marks an unprecedented flurry of robotic exploration of space and is the perfect opportunity for more of the public to become involved in creating podcasts to share astronomy with the world.

The 365 Days of Astronomy podcast has gained a wide audience — each podcast is heard by 3,000 to 10,000 listeners. The project was awarded a Parsec Award in 2009 for “The Best Info-tainment” podcast and was nominated for the “Best Fact Behind the Fiction” award in 2010.

The project is also asking individuals and organizations for financial support. The podcast team invites people and organizations to sponsor the podcast by donating $30 to support 1 day of the podcast, with your dedication appearing at the start of the show. For just $360, it is possible to sponsor 1 episode per month. Alternatively, you can also have a dedication message at the end of the show for a week, for a donation at the $100 level. These donations will help pay for editing and posting of the podcasts.

# # #

365 Days of Astronomy:
http://365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

Astrosphere New Media:
http://www.astrosphere.org/

Year of the Solar System:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/yss/index.cfm


Contacts:
Pamela Gay
Executive Director, Astrosphere New Media
+1 857-204-6392
pamela@starstryder.com

Nancy Atkinson / Avivah Yamani
Advising Producer / Project Manager
365 Days of Astronomy Podcast
nancy@365daysofastronomy.org / avivahy@gmail.com
+1 217-622-1096 (NA)

Article source: http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=35398

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NASA Image of the day

The Twin Rectangular Jet model, installed on the Nozzle Acoustic Test Rig in the Aeroacoustic Propulsion Laboratory at NASA's Glenn Research Center being tested.

 
The Twin Rectangular Jet model, installed on the Nozzle Acoustic Test Rig in the Aeroacoustic Propulsion Laboratory at NASA's Glenn Research Center, is being tested to determine the acoustic impact of engine configurations on low sonic boom aircraft for the High Speed Project of the Fundamental Aeronautics Program. The High Speed Project is a multi-center effort to develop and test the technologies of a new generation of aircraft that can fly at supersonic speeds. Glenn's research involves predicting the airport noise of these novel aircraft by examining innovative airframes and propulsion integration that are different from the conventional tube-and-wing aircraft observed at commercial airports. Inside the aeroacoustic dome, this generic, low-fidelity aircraft engine exhaust model features twin rectangular nozzles. Researchers are investigating the impact of having the propulsive exhaust come from the slot nozzles atop the aircraft. Testing the proposed components of these high- speed aircraft will help manufacturers meet the noise standards required around the nation's airports. Image Credit: NASA/Bridget R. Caswell
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