The end

It was a wonderful project while it lasted.
It was fun. And we made lots of Friends.
Maybe we will start something new now.
Bye!

Measuring the Structure and Temperature of a Quiescent Neutron Star

Source: Universe Today

So how do you take the temperature of one of the most exotic objects in the Universe? A neutron star (~1.35 to 2.1 solar masses, measuring only 24 km across) is the remnant of a supernova after a large star has died. Although they are not massive enough become a black hole, neutron stars still accrete matter, pulling gas from a binary partner, often undergoing prolonged periods of flaring.

Fortunately, we can observe X-ray flares (using instrumentation such as Chandra), but it isn't the flare itself that can reveal the temperature or structure of a neutron star. (Read more)

Sixteen Tons of Moondust

Source: NASA

Sledgehammer-toting scientists are "bustin' rocks" to make the finest possible simulated lunar regolith (a.k.a. fake moondust) in support of NASA's return to the Moon. (read more)

The moon is blanketed in dust--an ever present fact of life for future lunar explorers.
Photo credit: NASA/Apollo 17.

Cosmic Radio Noise Booms Six Times Louder Than Expected

Source: Universe Today

Loud sounds tend to startle us. But imagine being surprised by a sound six times louder than you expect. A balloon-borne instrument called ARCADE, (Absolute Radiometer for Cosmology, Astrophysics, and Diffuse Emission) was supposed to be used to search for heat signature from the first stars to form after the Big Bang.

Instead it found an unexplained "booming" radio static that fills the sky. (read more)

The balloon-borne ARCADE instrument discovered this cosmic static (white band, top) on its July 2006 flight. The noise is six times louder than expected. Astronomers have no idea why. Credit: NASA/ARCADE/Roen Kelly

Molecules in Gamma-Ray Burst Detected

Source: Universe Today

Gamma-ray bursts are the universe's most brilliant events, and now astronomers have been able to shed light on the composition of these spectacular phenomena, providing insight into star formation when the universe was about one-sixth its present age. Combining data from NASA's Swift satellite, the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, and other facilities astronomers have, for the first time, identified gas molecules in the host galaxy of a gamma-ray burst. (Read more)

This image merges Swift optical (blue, green) and X-ray views of GRB 080607.
The white spot at center is the burst’s optical afterglow.
Credit: NASA/Swift/Stefan Immler

Stunning Panorama of Galactic Center

Source: Universe Today

Two of the biggest space telescopes have combined forces to create a HUGE panorama of the center of the Milky Way galaxy. This sweeping, composite color panorama is the sharpest infrared picture ever made of the Galactic core.

Galactic center in unprecedented detail.
Credit: NASA, ESA, and Q.D. Wang (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)

Revealed in the image are a new population of massive stars and new details of complex structures in the hot gas and dust swirling around, created by solar winds and supernova explosions. The image shows an area about 300 light-years across.(read more)

Happy Birthday Spirit!

Full-Circle 'Bonestell' Panorama from Spirit (Annotated). Image Credit: NASA/
JPL/Cornell University/New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science

Five years ago mission teams at NASA where making a major effort to monitor the status of the Spirit rover that was on its way to land in Gusev Crater on Mars. During the entry and landing, the spacecraft with Spirit aboard maintained radio contact with flight controllers at JPL through a series of tones designed transmit the status of the lander. The flight team was even able to detect that the lander was bouncing on the surface of Mars, secure in the inflated airbags. But the tones suddenly stopped and there was no signal from the lander for several minutes. The flight control room erupted when the spacecraft sent the signal that it was sitting safely on the Red Planet.

A video of what has happened during the five years of Spirit and Oportunity's missions on Mars is available on http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/index.cfm?id=795.

Did Dark Matter Power Early Stars?

Original paper:arXiv

The galaxy cluster Cl 0024+17 (ZwCl0024+1652) as seen by
Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. Credit: NASA, ESA,
M.J. Jee and H. Ford (Johns Hopkins University)

The first stars to light the early universe may have been powered by dark matter, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Michagan, Ann Arbor call these very first stars "Dark Stars," and propose that dark matter heating provided the energy for these stars instead of fusion. The researchers propose that with a high concentration of dark matter in the early Universe, the theoretical particles called Weakly Interacting Massive Particles(WIMPs), collected inside the first stars and annihilated themselves to produce a heat source to power the stars.(Read paper)

Links:
Universe Today

Sasquatch on Mars

Source: Universe Today

Last year, in January, the story of a Sasquatch-shaped rock visible in a panorama from Spirit Rover ias getting a lot of play in the mainstream media, but fortunately, it's not being taken very seriously.

Image Credit:NASA / JPL / Cornell

Now it's back. And it's completely ridiculous. Amazingly, a guy thinks a publication like National Geographic will take him seriously. (Read more)

International Year of Astronomy 2009 is here

January 1 of 2009 brings with it the International Year of Astronomy, a worldwide celebration commemorating Galileo Galilei's first astronomical observation through a telescope.


The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) has been launched by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) under the theme, "The Universe, yours to discover". Thousands of IYA2009 events are described on the national websites, as well as on astronomy2009.org, and a few of the global projects are listed here.

The official IYA2009 Opening Ceremony will take place in Paris on 15 and 16 January 2009, and the press is invited to attend. It will feature keynote speakers, including Nobel Laureates, and live video feeds to scientists working in remote locations. Many nations are holding their own Opening Ceremonies in January and February, showing their dedication to the Year. But events will begin before then. Don't be surprised to see telescopes on the streets on New Year's Day. The IYA2009 Solar Physics Group have been busy planning a grand worldwide campaign, with over 30 countries involved at more than 150 venues, which will see amateur stargazers set up their telescopes on pavements as well as in science centres, letting passers-by observe the Sun using special safety equipment.

In Portugal, events are presented at http://www.astronomia2009.org.
In Poland, events are presented at http://www.astronomia2009.pl/1/.

Best Space Images 2008

Source: Discovery Space/Dave Mosher

Phoenix's descent captured by HiRISE. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Each year, photographs pour in from across the universe that astonish, amaze and inspire us all.

The year 2008? No exception, of course.

From glowing auroras on Saturn to crashing avalanches on Mars, here we show you the best of the year's space images. (See more)

More Evidence Earth is Not Center of Universe

Source: Universe Today

If you're certain the Universe revolves around you, I have some bad news for you. Researchers from the University of British Columbia say Earth's location in the Universe is utterly unremarkable, despite recent theories that propose Earth is at the center of a giant void in space.

NGC4414. Credit:NASA

A decade ago, it was discovered the Universe's expansion was accelerating. This continually expanding Universe was attributed to dark energy, the highly repulsive and mysterious stuff that has yet to be detected. But some scientists came up with an alternate theory where Earth was near the centre of a giant void or bubble, mostly empty of matter. But new calculations solidify the case that dark energy permeates the cosmos.(Read more)

eTwinning Happy New Year

Studying Black Holes Using a PlayStation 3

Source: Universe Today
Image Credit: K. Thorne (Caltech) , T. Carnahan (NASA GSFC)

If you're a PlayStation 3 fan, or if you just received one as a holiday gift, you may be able to do more with the system than just gaming. A group of gravity researchers have configured 16 PlayStation 3's together to create a type of supercomputer that is helping them estimate properties of the gravitational waves produced by the merger of two black holes. The research team from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, calls their configuration the Gravity Grid, and they say the Sony PlayStation 3 has a number of unique features that make it particularly suited for scientific computation. Equally important, the raw computing power per dollar provided by the PS3 is significantly higher than anything else on the market today.(Read more)

Saturn's rings in 2008

Source: Cassini Equinox Mission

This mosaic combines 30 images - 10 red, 10 green and 10 blue light - taken over the
course of approximately two hours as Cassini panned its wide-angle camera across
the entire planet and ring system Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

As Saturn advances in its orbit toward equinox and the sun gradually moves northward on the planet, the motion of Saturn's ring shadows and the changing colors of its atmosphere continue to transform the face of Saturn as seen by Cassini. (Read more)

NASA's Gift to Mr. Claus

Source: NASA

NASA technology saves Claus from a disaster at sea! Christmas (and the sport of fishing) may never be the same.(read more)

Solstice-Equinox

As part of an Astronomy Project about aparent solar motion around the year students of Escola Secundária de Loulé have taken pictures at equinox (23rd of September 2008-left) and at winter solstice (22nd December 2008-right). As can be seen the aparent motion of sunset along the year is quite obvious. At equinox sunset is at a much more northern point than at the winter's solstice.

Merry Christmas

2012: Nibiru or no Nibiru?

Source: Universe Today

According to 2012 doomsday proponents, something big is out to get us. By "something big" I mean some uncontrollable cosmic entity (i.e. Planet X, Nibiru or a "killer" solar flare), and by "us" I mean the whole of planet Earth. Pinning 2012 doomsday scenarios on the end of the ancient Mayan "Long Count" calendar appears to be growing momentum amongst authors, websites, documentaries and (my personal favourite) YouTube videos. According to them, something bad is going to happen on or around December 21st 2012.

Nibiru, Planet X or Hercolubus.Credit Andy Loyd

Probably the most interesting difference between the 2012 doomsday scenario and the doomsday prophecies of the past is that almost every possible (and impossible… or implausible) harbinger of doom is being suggested as a planet killer. (read more)

Where did Venus's water go?

Source: ESA

Venus Express has made the first detection of an atmospheric loss process on Venus's day-side. Last year, the spacecraft revealed that most of the lost atmosphere escapes from the night-side. Together, these discoveries bring planetary scientists closer to understanding what happened to the water on Venus, which is suspected to have once been as abundant as on Earth.(read more)

Students from Loulé visit the CosmoCaixa Planetarium (Barcelona, Spain)

Images of the features projected on the Planetarium

As part of a schooltrip to Cordoba, Barcelona, Valencia and Granada, all cities in Spain, the portuguese students from Escola Secundária de Loulé went on the 16 December 2008 to the Planetarium at CosmoCaixa Barcelona.

A Giant Breach in Earth's Magnetic Field

Source: NASA

NASA's five THEMIS spacecraft have discovered a breach in Earth's magnetic field ten times larger than anything previously thought to exist. The size of the opening and the strange way it forms could overturn long-held ideas of space physics.(read more)

A Sparkling Spray of Stars

Source: ESO

The festive season has arrived for astronomers at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in the form of this dramatic new image. It shows the swirling gas around the region known as NGC 2264 — an area of sky that includes the sparkling blue baubles of the Christmas Tree star cluster.(read more)

Christmas Star...fact or fiction

Source: Universe Today

'Tis the season… And every year around this time people notice the brilliant 'star' to the west just after sunset. For astronomers, we know it's the appearance of the planet Venus, but noticing it for the average person brings on questions about the holidays. Was the Christmas Star real? (read more)

Astronomers Dissect a Supermassive Black Hole with Natural Magnifying Glasses

Source: ESO

Combining a double natural "magnifying glass" with the power of ESO's Very Large Telescope, astronomers have scrutinised the inner parts of the disc around a supermassive black hole 10 billion light-years away.
They were able to study the disc with a level of detail a thousand times better than that of the best telescopes in the world, providing the first observational confirmation of the prevalent theoretical models of such discs.(read more)

Exploding Colorado Fireball, 100 Times Brighter than the Moon (Video)

Source: Universe Today
Image Credit: Chris Peterson

Last night, the Colorado skies played host to a dazzling fireball event. The meteor blasted through the atmosphere, detonated and outshone the Moon by 100 times. It is therefore expected that there were many eyewitnesses, and the Cloudbait Observatory (5 km north of the town of Guffey, CO) is appealing to people to report their accounts of the fireball. Fortunately, the observatory managed to capture an all-sky camera video of the early morning explosion. (read more)

Future Missions to Mars Will be Joint NASA/ESA Efforts

Source: Universe Today

Future missions to Mars, including a sample return mission will be joint endeavors between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). NASA's associate administrator for space science Ed Weiler revealed in Thursday's Mars Science Laboratory press conference that the two space agencies agreed this week, based on initial discussions last July, to work together on future Mars missions. "This delay (of MSL) also means an opportunity of in the future having one Mars program for all the Earth," said Weiler. (read more)

Students find Exoplanet

Source: ESO

Three undergraduate students, from Leiden University in the Netherlands, have discovered an extrasolar planet. The extraordinary find, which turned up during their research project, is about five times as massive as Jupiter. This is also the first planet discovered orbiting a fast-rotating hot star. (read more)

Seeing Venus in a New Light

Source: Universe Today

New images taken by instruments on board ESA’s Venus Express are providing insight into the turbulent atmosphere of our neighboring planet. When viewed in beyond visible light, the ultraviolet reveals the structure of the clouds and the dynamic conditions in the atmosphere of Venus, where the infrared provides information on the temperature and altitude of the cloud tops. Most intriguing are the puzzling dark and bright zones seen on Venus in ultraviolet.(read more)

A Conjunction of Moon, Jupiter and Venus

These images where captured by Escola Secundária de Loulé's teacher Alexandre Costa and Student Nuno Oliveira on December 2nd 2008.