First Light

Astro Potty

2011-07-29T22:23:00.000+08:00

This is how a toilet in the space station looks like:

A Crater Named Balagtas

2011-07-21T21:41:00.000+08:00

The surface of the planet Mercury is pock-marked with numerous craters, and the International Astronomical Union names them after famous artists and writers.

One Philippine writer was immortalized with a crater on Mercury named after him - Francisco Balagtas, which was the pen name of poet Francisco Baltazar. He wrote, among others, the opus Florante at Laura.

The Balagtas crater is about 98.82 kilometers in diameter, located at 22.6 ° center latitude and 12.75 ° E longitude.

Sources:

USGS
Wolfram Alpha
Wikipedia

[Pictures are screenshots from USGS (top) and Wolfram Alpha (bottom)]

Red Moon

2011-06-16T20:56:00.000+08:00

A total lunar eclipse occurred last June 16, 2011, and I was able to observe the astronomical event at the PAGASA Observatory inside the University of the Philippines Diliman campus.

Together with some members of the UP Astronomical Society, we observed the eclipse - the first one in 11 years - at the sun deck of the observatory. The eclipse started around 1:25am and reached maximum at 4:12 am.

This is my second major eclipse observation in recent years, the first was the total solar eclipse in China in 2009.

pics, from top: the red moon at totality; the umbra becomes apparent at the start of the eclipse; members of the UP Astronomical Society with their observation gear; observing the eclipse

[cross-posted at Kin's Ant Farm, the 2 eclipse pics are courtesy of UP AstroSoc member A. Geronimo]

Castor and Pollux

2011-03-22T00:04:00.003+08:00

Castor and Pollux, birthed by Leda and fathered by Zeus and King Tyndareus, the twins were legendary characters in Greek and Roman mythology. Because Pollux's father was a god, he was born an immortal, while his twin died.

They were immortalized in the heavens with a constellation of their own - Gemini (or The Twins). The brightest stars in the constellation were the stars named Castor, which 49.8 light years away from Earth, and Pollux, located 34 light years away. There is an extrasolar planet orbiting Pollux.

I saw these Roman statues (ca. 3rd AD) in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Sundial Umbrella

2011-03-04T01:15:00.003+08:00

A Japanese designed came up with this nifty design of a parasol that also functions as a sundial. Align the umbrella using the built-in compass, and you can read the time from the sun's position along the grid lines.

via Neatorama

Ophiucus and the 13th Zodiac

2011-01-15T15:48:00.004+08:00

With the brouhaha about Ophiucus in the media lately, I am re-publishing this article I wrote about the 13th zodiac, back in 2001, originally titled 'Written in the Stars'. It was first published in astronomy.com.ph (now defunct), and portions were quoted in Yahoo Answers.

____

In the ancient times people had lump together celestial objects with the realm of the gods, and with it comes the conclusion that since gods control the stars and the planets (sometimes gods are the embodiments of the objects themselves – Roman deity Jupiter, The Egyptian god Ra and Aztec god Quetzacotyl are associated with the sum, for example), maybe humans could have a glimpse on the whims and wishes of the gods by reading and interpreting the positions and movements of celestial objects. People believed that one could gain favors from the gods if he can interpret what the gods are telling him through the positions and movements of the stars and planets, otherwise terrible things will befall him – a disaster (aster is Latin for ‘star;’ dis- means ‘not,’ therefore not following the stars would mean misfortune.

As the human affairs got more complicated and societies and cultures see fortunes created and destroyed, and times got more uncertain there came the need for the correct interpretation of the celestial phenomena. Thus born astrology, the science of reading the messages of the stars (aster, star, and logos, science of).

This task was given to a class of priests – the mediator between men and the gods. They were the ones who institute the ceremonies and rites that will please the gods, and ensure the proper observation and interpretation of the stars. As time goes by all the knowledge gained by these priests were codified into a simpler system that can be easily understood not by just the priests but also by lesser mortals. One of these “systems” involves zodiac signs. Simply put, a person can determine his zodiac sign by referring his birth date to a table of zodiac signs and corresponding dates, like the following:

Aries - March 21 (autumnal equinox) -Apr 19
Taurus - Apr 20 - May 20
Gemini - May 21 - June 21 (summer solstice)
Cancer - June 22 - Jul 22
Leo - Jul 23 - Aug 22
Virgo - Aug 23 -Sept 22
Libra - Sept 23 (vernal equinox) - Oct 23
Scorpio - Oct 24 - Nov 21
Sagittarius - Nov 22 - Dec 21
Capricorn - Dec 22 (winter solstice) - Jan 19
Aquarius - Jan 20 - Feb 18
Pisces - Feb 19 - Mar 20

To take my birth date, which is October 29 as an example, we will see that my zodiac sign is Scorpio. Scorpios were described by astrologers as having revolutionary minds, coupled with truly remarkable force of will. Furthermore, they tend to focus on the task at hand and are so often mistakenly perceived as rude or unsympathetic. They also have the infamous temper. They either fascinate or frighten all the opposite sex they meet… they are magnetic, lusty and endowed with mysterious power.

Now the problem with this setup is there are actually 13 zodiac signs, not twelve, the 13th being Ophiucus (the Serpent bearer), a small constellation between Scorpio and Libra. Maybe the priests have forgotten about it, or maybe they simply ignored it for reasons that we will never be sure about. Maybe they feel that 13 is unlucky and so on, or maybe because 12 corresponds to the number of months we have on the calendar…

Just as an exercise I went out to find out if the birth dates and zodiac signs would still correspond to the original setup if we include the 13th sign, because if we really want to be accurate with our reading the gods’ whims, then everything should be accounted for.

Using just a Palm Pilot running a sky map program called Planetarium 2.0.4, I simulated what the sky would look like back in different dates. I plugged in my birth date to see what my zodiac sign is. To my surprise, I turned out not to be a Scorpio, but a Virgo! That is two signs down. I also tried other dates to see if they still fit with the traditional zodiac signs table and discovered that it was totally out of whack. After several simulations I have come up with a new table:

Aries - Apr 19 – May 14
Taurus - May 15 - June 21
Gemini - June 22 - July 20
Cancer - Jul 21 - August 10
Leo - August 11 - September 16
Virgo - September 17 - October 31
Libra - November 1 - Nov 23
Scorpio - Nov 24 - Nov 29
Ophiucus - Nov 30 - Dec 18
Sagittarius - Dec 91 - Jan 19
Capricorn - Jan 2 - Feb 16
Aquarius - Feb 17 - Mar 12
Pisces - Mar 13 - Apr 18

I also found out even these dates are still not very accurate, on February 16, 1950, the sun is in Aquarius, and not in Capricorn as predicted in the model. On March 12, 1925 the sun should be in Pisces, not in Aquarius. The Zodiac sign for November 23 1904 should be in Scorpio, and not Libra as predicted. For somebody born on Sept 17 2031, his zodiac sign should be Leo, not Virgo as predicted.

So it turns out the astrologers have got everything all mixed up, that is why astrological predictions never turn out to be true. While I still believe that the cosmos has everything to do with our existence, studying the stars to predict all the trivial things about our personal lives, of when we are suppose to give money or call our friends or who to meet on a particular day is just a dead end.

On the lighter side, I’m still disappointed that I’m not a Scorpio after all. I mean, I liked being described as having a revolutionary mind, with a truly remarkable force of will and that I either fascinate or frighten all opposite sex I meet, and that I am energetic, lusty mysterious being. Virgo people turn out to be lovely, delicate persons who like everything to be perfect, but with no sense of proportion. Virgo folks always wastes time controlling and analyzing themselves and as a result of it – they often lose excellent chances.

But then again, who I am to argue that I would rather be a Scorpio that a Virgo? It’s written in the stars…

Leonids Meteor Shower

2010-11-19T01:41:00.001+08:00

The UP Astronomical Society is hosting an observation tomorrow for the Leonids meteor shower. The observation, which is open to the public, will be held at the sun deck of PAGASA Observatory in the University of the Philippines Diliman campus, from 10pm to 6am.

Philippine-made Rockets

2010-07-08T22:32:00.006+08:00

A few years ago a cousin of mine told me about the supposedly top-secret project of then President Ferdinand Marcos to develop a rocket or missile indigenously. The name of the rocket is Bongbong 1. I was incredulous when I heard about it (until today) when I remembered the story and did some googling.

What I unearthed is that there is actually a program, called Santa Barbara Project, and the launching pad of the missiles/rockets was the Caballo Island, which is near Corregidor.

There's a thread at timawa.net that has some pictures of the launching of the rockets/missiles (pics above). One version of the rocket can be launched by a mobile truck-mounted launcher, and there is also a submerged launcher, like from a submarine probably.

To quote:

"Since 1972 a series of 37 dynamic tests were conducted on the 180-mm rocket. All tests were performed at Caballo Island except for four firings in Fort Magsaysay. Different versions...were used: short version, with fixed fins, long version with fixed fins, long version with folding fins, and the pressure-assisted takeoff type...The launchers were Fixed Open Frame (short), Fixed Open Frame (long), truck-mounted tube launcher, truck-mounted open frame and submerged launcher for underwater firing"

this is Caballo Island, as seen from Corregidor (taken by me last January 2010):

updated Jan. 18, 2012 to add the quotes and to increase the image sizes.

Starry Night

2010-07-07T21:13:00.004+08:00

This painting by Vincent van Gogh is one of my favorites (the other is Edvard Munch's The Scream), I am fortunate to see this in person while visiting the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The constellation Ursa Major can be seen in the painting. The swirling sky in the painting resembles the V838 Monoceros, and it has also been compared to a drawing of the Whirlpool Galaxy drawn 44 years before the painting.

Astrology

2010-07-06T22:15:00.002+08:00

via failblog.org

Mayon Volcano from Space

2009-12-17T21:45:00.001+08:00

One of Philippines most active volcano, Mt. Mayon, is spewing lava and ash, seen in this photo taken by NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite

photo by NASA

GIant Mysterious Spirals Demystified

2009-12-10T15:35:00.002+08:00

The giant spiral light that appeared over the skies in Norway is just a failed Russian rocket launch.

via SpaceWeather.com

Hong Kong Space Museum

2009-12-07T19:58:00.003+08:00

Visiting Hong Kong would normally mean shopping and Disneyland, but there's more to the island than unbridled capitalism. You may visit the Hong Kong Space Museum instead.

The museum, located in Shim Sha Tsui district in Kowloon, doesn't have displays as extensive as the one I visited in Shanghai, but there's a gem or two in the displays, including the ancient Chinese rockets, and the diorama depicting the Moon landing.

Entrance fee is HK$20.

Leonids Meteor Shower

2009-11-18T04:27:00.003+08:00

I went to the PAGASA observatory in UP Diliman to join my colleagues from UP AstroSoc in observing the Leonids meteor shower.

The inconsiderate news crew of GMA7 and ABS-CBN ruined the experienced by flooding the area with camera lights and flashing the high-beams of their vehicles.

I saw one, maybe two meteors, in two hours.

ARES I-X Launch

2009-10-30T16:40:00.001+08:00

Ares I-X was the first test flight in the Ares I program, a launch system for human spaceflight currently under development by the United States space agency NASA. Ares I-X was successfully launched on October 28, 2009. [Wikipedia]

Carl Sagan "Pale Blue Dot"

2009-10-16T19:30:00.000+08:00

Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot. There are several different versions of "The Pale Blue Dot" on-line. The actual words were taken from Carl Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot" audio-book, the music was performed by Vangelis but was extracted from the Cosmos DVD (English audio track 2 has no narration, just the background sounds and the music.) All the pictures inserted by the author of this video to portray what he feels Carl Sagan was trying to say.

Appeal for Donations

2009-09-27T15:37:00.001+08:00

Send relief goods to Caritas Manila Office at Jesus St., Pandacan Manila near Nagtahan Bridge (tel.no. 5639298/5639308)

or

Radio Veritas at Veritas Tower West Ave. Corner EDSA (tel no. 9257931-40).

Goods required are Canned food, rice, used clothes especially for children, milk.

South Korea Joins Rocket Club

2009-08-25T20:38:00.003+08:00

South Korea joined the elite club of countries with capability to loft satellites into space with the launch of Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1.

update: Payload failed to reach full orbit, according to CNN

Solar Eclipse

2009-08-10T21:14:00.002+08:00

Composite image of multiple exposure shots I took during the total solar eclipse, in Jinshanwei, China last July 22, 2009.

Totality happened at 9:36 local time and lasted for 5'58". The eclipse is the longest in 21st century.

Technical details:
Pentax * ST-DL, 45mm focal length, f4.5, exposure times vary between 0.3 and 1 second due to changing cloud cover; neutral density 5.0 Baader AstroSolar filter.

Post-processing by Bamm Gabriana.

Solar Eclipse 2009

Halitosis is not Allowed in Space

2009-08-04T17:08:00.002+08:00

China has stringent requirements for its would be astronauts. Candidates with scars won't be considered, because they could bleed during spacecraft acceleration. Persons with bad breath? Don't bother.

via Sina & Gizmodo

ISS & the Sun

2009-08-04T17:05:00.002+08:00

The International Space Station transiting across the surface of the sun. The picture is taken by Thierry Legault using an ordinary telescope and filters.

Ares I-X Shaping Up

2009-08-04T17:01:00.003+08:00

NASA's Ares I-X is shaping up for Oct 31 launch. The rocket will launch astronauts after the space shuttle fleet is retired in 2010.

more here

6 Minutes Before Totality

2009-07-28T02:52:00.003+08:00

Here's the composite image of the sun at 6, 4 and 2 minutes before totality which I took during the July 22 eclipse in Jinshanwei, China. (I'm one of the two in-charge with multiple exposures). The eclipse occurred at 9:43 local time.

The storm clouds blocked the sun's disc during totality but the darkness was very apparent.

Shanghai Science & Technology Museum

2009-07-28T02:47:00.003+08:00

a

Space-themed exhibit of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum: mock-ups of rockets and satellites, meteorite samples, and a live data stream from China's weather satellite.

2009 Eclipse Totality

2009-07-24T16:49:00.002+08:00

Here's the video of the totality of the 2009 solar eclipse. Me and my colleagues from the UP Astronomical Society observed the eclipse in Jinshanwei, aboout 100km south of Shanghai, China.

Storm clouds covered the sun's disc 2 minutes before the totality, but the darkness was so apparent once the moon covered the sun, as can be seen from the video.

Apollo 11 Launch 40th Anniversary

2009-07-16T16:04:00.003+08:00

Today is the 40th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, which landed on the moon four days later, on July 20, 1969.

Primer on 2009 Solar Eclipse

2009-07-13T15:55:00.003+08:00

The UP Astronomical Society will send an expedition to Shanghai to witness and document the rare event.

The team site is here.

(Slides from the lecture on the 2009 Total Solar eclipse given by UP Astronomical Society alumni Bamm Gabriana.)

Solar Eclipse 2009

2009-07-06T21:16:00.004+08:00

Me and my colleagues at the University of the Philippines Astronomical Society will be going to Shanghai for the total solar eclipse on July 22, 2009.

As one of the activities we are launching a site dedicated to the endeavor. Please take some time to visit it: http://solareclipse2009.co.cc

Thanks!

First Images from LCROSS

2009-06-24T15:55:00.004+08:00

NASA's newest Moon probe, LCROSS, sent its first images of the lunar surface. LCROSS, launched last June 17, 2009, was designed to investigate the moon's polar regions and look for ice/water.

World's Fastest Astro Camera

2009-06-19T16:28:00.002+08:00

The CCD200 detector of the Very Large Telescope can shoot 1500 frames/sec.

via Gizmodo

Meteorite Falls in N. Europe

2009-01-28T14:20:00.002+08:00

A mysterious blue ball of light from the sky was photographed in northern Germany. The crashing of the ball of light was followed by a loud bang and a shockwave.

Der Spiegel

Thanks Joan!

Milky Way Transit Authority

2009-01-13T10:33:00.002+08:00

Samuel Arbesman created a sort of a light rail transit map for the Milky Way

Web site here (you can download the PDF), via Gadling

Falcon 9 on Launch Pad

2009-01-13T09:33:00.001+08:00

Space-X's Falcon 9 is ready at its launch pad in Cape Canaveral.

SpaceX completed the Falcon 9 vehicle integration in a horizontal position on December 30, 2008. After integration, Falcon 9 was lifted and mated to a transporter erector system, designed and built by SpaceX, which carried the 17 foot diameter, 180 foot long rocket to the launch pad. On January 10, 2009 at 12:45 PM EST, SpaceX began the process of raising Falcon 9 and approximately 30 minutes later, Falcon 9 stood vertical at the Cape.

Copernicus' Grave Found

2008-11-21T15:39:00.004+08:00

The grave and remains of Nicolaus Copernicus - the medieval astronomer who started the heliocentric revolution - was found and identified by Polish scientists.

The remains were found in Frombork Cathedral in north-eastern Poland, and DNA testing matched with the sample found in one of Copernicus's books.

BBC

Funny Stuff from the Onion

2008-10-06T20:24:00.001+08:00

China Launches First Willing Manned Mission Into Space

UFO-Indicator Experiences

2008-10-03T01:17:00.002+08:00

A Rutgers University professor has a fine paper on alien abduction. It listed five classic alien abductee symptoms:

1. "Waking up paralyzed with a sense of a strange person or presence or something else in the room.'

2. "Experiencing a period of time of an hour or more, in which you were apparently lost, but you could not remember why or where you had been."

3. "Feeling that you were actually flying through the air although you didn't know why or how."

4. "Seeing unusual lights or balls of light in a room without knowing what was causing them."

5. "Finding puzzling scars on your body and neither you nor anyone else remembering how you received them or where you got them."

Recognizing 4 out of 5 symptoms would qualify one as an alien abductee.

via io9

White Christmas in the Red Planet

2008-10-01T14:56:00.003+08:00

The Mars Polar Lander discovered snow on Mars. A laser instrument detected the falling snow.

The spacecraft also detected calcium carbonate (chalk) on the surface. The carbonate usually forms in presence of water.

more at NASA

SpaceX Successfully Launches Falcon 1 to Orbit

2008-09-29T15:33:00.003+08:00

A. Launch of the Falcon 1 Flight 4 vehicle from Omelek Island, in the Kwajalein Atoll, 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii. Liftoff occurred Sunday 28 September 2008, at 4:15 PM (PDT), 23:15 (UTC).

B. The critical stage separation sequence began about 2 minutes and 37 seconds into flight with shutdown of the Merlin first stage engine, then separation of the first and second stages, followed by ignition of the Kestrel second stage engine.

C. About nine and a half minutes after launch, the second stage engine shuts down, and the Falcon 1 becomes the first privately developed liquid fuel rocket to orbit the Earth.

Space Derelicts

2008-09-24T20:03:00.003+08:00

OObjects has a gallery of abandoned space vehicles and facilities. Pictured is a rotting Buran space shuttle, a USSR craft from Cold War days.

Falcon 1 | Static Fire

2008-09-24T19:55:00.001+08:00

The static firing for SpaceX's Falcon 1 rocket took place on Saturday [20 Sep 2008, CA time], as expected, and no major issues came up.

The replacement of a component in the 2nd stage engine LOX supply line would add a few extra days to the schedule, so the updated launch window estimate is now Sept 28th through Oct 1st [CA time].

Atlantis & Endeavor

2008-09-22T20:25:00.003+08:00

Gizmodo has a nice pic of space shuttles Atlantis and Endeavor sitting in the launch pads. Endeavor is in standby as a rescue craft for the Atlantis, which is due to fly to repair the Hubble Telescope.

Dwarf Planet Named Haumea

2008-09-22T20:21:00.002+08:00

The International Astronomical Union named the football-shaped dwarf planet 2003 EL61 after a Hawaiian fertility goddess - Haumea.

Haumea, discovered in 2005, is the fifth dwarf planet in our Solar System, after Ceres, Pluto, Eris and Makemake.

Lucy in the Skies with Diamonds

2008-09-22T16:39:00.003+08:00

Trivia:

A dwarf star in Centaurus is believed to have a solid diamond for a core - with a 2,500 mile diameter!

The star - called BPM 37093 and located 50,000 light years away - has a diamond core weighing a billion trillion trillion carats (2.7 thousand trillion trillion tons).

Source

SpaceX Falcon's 4th Flight

2008-09-21T02:04:00.002+08:00

SpaceX's Falcon rocket is still on track for a September launch countdown.

Expedited delivery – SpaceX purchased a C-17 flight from the USAF to fly the Falcon 1 Flight 4 vehicle from Los Angeles International to the Kwajalein Atoll. Image: SpaceX.

SpaceXs Falcon 1 Flight 4 on the launch pad at Omelek Island in the Kwajalein Atoll of the Marshall Islands (19 Sep 2008).

LHC Out for 2 Months

2008-09-21T02:01:00.001+08:00

The Large Hadron Collider will be out of commission for 2 months, barely a few days after it was launched.

The LHC's 30-ton transformer failed yesterday.

Green is In, Even in Astronomy

2008-09-11T17:33:00.004+08:00

Take this observatory for example.

The Keilder Observatory in UK is a self-sustainable design - it generates its own electricity via a windmill and roof-mounted solar panels. The structure is made of fir, and has nice touches, such as composting toilets.

via Inhabitat

Partial Rings in Saturn's Moons

2008-09-07T04:20:00.002+08:00

Cassini spacecraft was reported to have detected partial rings in Saturn's inner moons Anthe and Methone, which orbit Mimas, a larger moon

There's Water on Mars!

2008-08-01T15:56:00.002+08:00

The Phoenix lander detected water in the Martian soil it's analyzing.

more

Makemake

2008-07-25T10:51:00.002+08:00

Makemake is the name given by the International Astronomical Union to the fourth dwarf planet in our Solar System. Previously known as 2005 FY9, Makemake, which is named after a Polynesian fertility god, is also classified as a plutoid.

Discovered in 2005 by astronomers from the California Institute of Technology, Makemake is smaller than Pluto, and is located in a region just beyond Neptune. Its surface may be covered in frozen methane.

Source: International Astronomical Union

This is published in Google Knol.

Asteroid Named After Rafa

2008-07-16T18:02:00.002+08:00

The International Astronomical Union approved the request of The Astronomical Observatory of Mallorca to rename an asteroid after tennis great Rafael Nadal, who recently won Wimbledon.

The asteroid, previously been known as 128036, is 4 kilometers in diameter and travels through space at a speed of 20 km per second. It was discovered in 2003.

more here

This Day in History: Skylab is Falling

2008-07-11T15:30:00.005+08:00

On this day 29 years ago, America's first space station - Skylab - fell back to earth after 6 years in orbit.

The debris of the craft landed in Australia and Indian Ocean.

Kinda Creepy Astro Pics

2008-07-03T21:44:00.003+08:00

Vincent Fournier has astro-themed photos in his site. Nice compositions, but personally I find them bordering on being creepy and depressing.

Today in History: Tunguska Event

2008-06-30T10:38:00.003+08:00

One hundred years ago, a mysterious explosion in the Tunguska region in Western Siberia leveled an area of 2,000 square kilometers. Scientists speculate that Tunguska Event was caused by a meteor or comet impact - although no crater was found.

Send Your Name to the Moon

2008-06-22T20:41:00.004+08:00

You can send your name to the Moon for posterity -- Planetary Society now accepts messages to be sent to the Earth's satellite, through the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which will be launched on November 24, 2008.

Deadline for submissions is June 27, 2008 and you can sign up at this site.

I already sent mine :)

Ice on Mars?

2008-06-20T14:12:00.001+08:00

The Phoenix lander may have discovered ice on Mars, according to the official Mars Phoenix Twitter.

This Day in History: June 18, 1178

2008-06-18T14:54:00.002+08:00

Five English monks in Canterbury may have observed a meteor impact on the surface of the moon, the explosion of which may have created the crater Giordano Bruno.

more here , via Wired.

Pluto Gets a New Class

2008-06-12T17:15:00.004+08:00

The International Astronomical Union has decreed that Pluto, along with other planetoids that lie beyond Neptune, will now be classified as 'plutoids.'

Currently, only two heavenly bodies qualify for that designation, Pluto and Eris. Ceres, which is only smaller than Pluto, cannot be classified as such because it is located between Mars and Jupiter.

Notable Mars Mission Failures

2008-06-03T15:25:00.003+08:00

OOBject has a gallery of notable Mars mission failures.

Above, Mars Polar Lander, which was lost on entry in 1999

Phoenix from Space

2008-05-30T16:38:00.001+08:00

The Phoenix lander was photographed from space, by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

more here

First Raw Images From Mars by the Phoenix Lander

2008-05-26T19:45:00.001+08:00

Phoenix is the first probe to have successfully landed on the surface of Mars since the Viking landers of 1976.

Its 90-day mission is to analyze the soils and permafrost of Mars' arctic tundra for signs of past or present life.

The lander is equipped with a robotic arm capable of scooping up ice and dirt to look for organic evidence that life once existed there, or even exists now.

These are the first images sent by the lander to JPL

Phoenix Mars Lander Successfully Lands On Mars

2008-05-26T19:42:00.002+08:00

After the "seven minutes of terror," NASA received communications that the Mars Phoenix Lander had successfully landed on Mars on May 25. The craft traveled 422 million to Mars in 296 days.

Bizzare Cloud Phenomenon Before the Quake

2008-05-23T11:12:00.006+08:00

Bizzare cloud phenomenon were observed about 30 minutes prior to the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan, China. The clouds were luminous and glowing. Could these clouds precursor to earthquakes?*

The video was recorded in Tianshui, Gansu province ~450km northeast of epicenter, by someone using a cell phone.

The earthquake in Sichuan, measured 7.9 on the Richter scale, killed at least 51 thousand (around 30 thousand more are missing).

*Wikipedia has an entry for earthquake light.

The Astronomer’s Chronograph

2008-04-16T20:15:00.002+08:00

OhGizmo reviews a watch for astronomers: it tracks things such as sunrises and sunsets, moonrise and moonsets, on 583 preset cities.

Oh, and its $495.95

13-yr Old Corrected NASA

2008-04-16T15:45:00.003+08:00

A 13-year old German schoolboy handed NASA an egg on the face, by correcting the agency's estimates on an asteroid collision.

Nico Marquardt calculate that there was a 1 in 450 chance that the Apophis asteroid will collide with Earth, far from NASA's estimate of 1:45,000 chance of it happening.

And the best part is? NASA concurred.

more here

John Wheeler, 96

2008-04-16T01:53:00.002+08:00

John Archibald Wheeler, the cosmologist who coined the term 'black hole,' passed away at age 96.

Jules Verne Launch

2008-04-04T18:31:00.001+08:00

The Jules Verne automated transfer vehicle, launched by ESA's Ariane 5

Jules Verne ATV

2008-04-04T18:08:00.001+08:00

The European-built Jules Verne automated transfer vehicle, which docked to the International Space Station on April 3.

Methane Found in Other Planet

2008-03-20T03:15:00.003+08:00

Methane molecules are found in the atmosphere of a distant planet, the first instance that the organic gas is detected outside the solar system. The gas was detected in the atmosphere of a Jupiter-sized planet known as HD 189733b.

The discovery will be published in the journal Nature.

iPod in Space

2008-03-17T10:36:00.002+08:00

An iPod was pictured in space! Seen in the cockpit of space shuttle Endeavor. It looks like a 4th gen, is it?

via Engadget

Cassini Finds Rings in Rhea?

2008-03-07T16:10:00.003+08:00

The Cassini spacecraft has apparently detected a ring system in Rhea, Saturn's second biggest moon, during the 2005 flyby. If validated, Rhea's ring system will be the first non-planetary one to be discovered.

Trivia: Rhea was discovered by Giovanni Domenico Cassini, who also discovered the Great Red Spot of Jupiter and the Cassini division.

SpaceX Completes Falcon 1 Engine Qualification

2008-02-28T12:43:00.002+08:00

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) announced today that it has completed the qualification testing program of its Merlin 1C next generation liquid fueled rocket booster engine for use in the Falcon 1 rocket. Tests were conducted at the SpaceX Texas Test Facility near Waco, TX, on a Merlin 1C configured for powering the first stage of a Falcon 1 rocket.

The single Merlin 1C will power SpaceXs next Falcon 1 mission, scheduled to lift off in Spring of 2008 from the SpaceX launch complex in the Central Pacific atoll of Kwajalein. The far larger Falcon 9 uses nine Merlins on the first stage, and a single Merlin in vacuum configuration powers the Falcon 9 second stage.

The Merlin 1C is an improved version of the Merlin 1A ablatively cooled engine, which lofted the Falcon 1 on its first flight in March 2006 and second flight in March 2007. The regeneratively cooled Merlin 1C uses rocket propellant grade kerosene (RP-1), a refined form of jet fuel, to first cool the combustion chamber and nozzle before being combined with the liquid oxygen to create thrust. This cooling allows for higher performance without significantly increasing engine mass.

In its Falcon 1 configuration, Merlin 1C has a thrust at sea level of 78,000 lbs, a vacuum thrust of 90,000 pounds and a vacuum specific impulse of 301 seconds. In generating this thrust, Merlin consumes 300 lbs/second of propellant and the chamber and nozzle, cooled by 90 lbs/sec of kerosene, are capable of absorbing 10 MW of heat energy.

(press release)

Total Lunar Eclipse

2008-02-20T16:49:00.002+08:00

The last total lunar eclipse until 2010 will occur today, starting 7pm PST. It will be visible in North and South America. Europe and Africa will see parts of the eclipse.

More here

Beam Me Up, John

2008-02-05T22:17:00.000+08:00

NASA will beam a copy of Beatles' Across the Universe to Polaris, the North Star using the Deep Space Network. The celestial release of the song will mark the 50th anniversary of the space agency and the 45th anniversary of the Deep Space Network. The song will be transmitted using the MP3 format.

No word if aliens can upload it on their peer-to-peer networks.

Mullahs in Space

2008-02-05T22:10:00.000+08:00

Iran launched a rocket into space to commemorate the establishment of a space center. The rocket, named Safir -1 (Explorer-1), is probably a sounding rocket similar to the one launched last February. The White House deems the launch as a ballistic missile test in disguise.

Lady in Mars

2008-01-25T15:11:00.000+08:00

This pic of a rock formation in Mars- which resembles a woman (or Auguste Rodin's The Thinker?) - has set the blogosphere abuzz. The pic was taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit in December 2007.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University, via Space.com

SpaceShipTwo Unveiled

2008-01-24T15:28:00.000+08:00

Virgin Galactic has unveiled its SpaceShipTwo, a private spacecraft that will take tourists on a suborbital jaunt in space - for $200,000 a pop.

via Gizmodo

Celestron SkyScout Scope

2008-01-07T20:33:00.000+08:00

Designed exclusively for use with the Celestron SkyScoutPersonal Planetarium, the $299 new SkyScout Scope 90 is a must-have for budding amateur astronomers.

Gizmodo has a nice vid showing the new scope at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas.

Geminids Peaks on Dec 13

2007-12-12T21:08:00.000+08:00

Geminids meteor shower will peak on December 13.

Amazing tidbit: 3200 Phaethon, the asteroid that spawned the Geminids, will approach Earth on December 11 at a distance of 11 million miles, its closest approach since it was discovered in 1983.

Did China Faked Moon Photo?

2007-12-03T20:11:00.000+08:00

Rumors are abuzz in the net about the veracity of the first photos supposedly taken by China's Chang'e 1 probe. Net denizens have noticed the similarity between the Chang'e 1 photo and the one released by NASA in 2005.

Chinese officials have denied the claims and insist that the photos were real.

Discovery' Cockpit

2007-11-28T15:06:00.000+08:00

Great view of the flight deck aboard Discovery as it ascends into orbit.

China Probe now in Moon Orbit

2007-11-07T15:30:00.000+08:00

China's moon orbiter, Chang'e 1, is now in the final stages to enter a working orbit around the moon. The spacecraft, which will explore the lunar surface, was launched last October 24, 2007.

China National Space Administration

Fifth Planet Discovered Orbiting a Star

2007-11-07T15:26:00.000+08:00

A fifth planet was discovered orbiting the star 55 Cancri in the constellation Cancer. The planet, about the size of Saturn, resides in the so-called habitable zone, the area around the system where liquid water and warm temperatures - necessary for harboring life - exist. The planet has an orbit of 260 days.

There are about 250 extra solar planets now discovered.

PS3 Helps Solve Mysteries of the Universe

2007-10-19T16:59:00.000+08:00

Several Sony PlayStation 3s are being used by physicists to help solve daunting questions in astrophysics. Dr. Gaurav Khanna of the University of Massachusetts is using a network of eight gaming consoles to crunch numbers for his research - measuring gravity waves.

More here via Wired

50 Years of Space Age

2007-10-04T15:13:00.000+08:00

Today is the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1, the first man-made satellite to orbit the earth. The launch heralded the advent of the Space Age.

The 84-kg Soviet satellite has caused so much consternation and insecurity to the USA that led to the Space Race.

South Korea Chose First Astronaut

2007-09-05T21:49:00.000+08:00

South Korea had chosen its first astronaut to fly to space. Ko San, a specialist in artificial intelligence who graduated from South Korea's prestigious Seoul National University, was selected to be the country's first astronaut. The search for the candidate garnered lots of interest in the country, attracting more than 36,000 applicants.

Ko is scheduled to fly aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in April 2008 and will spend about a week in the International Space Station conducting experiments.

World's First Spaceport

2007-09-05T20:15:00.001+08:00

The winning design for the world's first spaceport was chosen. Judging from the photos the spaceport to be built in New Mexico by Virgin Galactic is simply awesome.

The spaceport will be the home of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShip Two, which is due in 2008.

Spaceport's home page is here, photo gallery here.

Queen's Guitarist Gets PhD in Astronomy

2007-08-24T23:40:00.000+08:00

Brian May, the guitarist of the British band Queen finally got his doctorate in Astronomy. May was able to successfully defend his 48,000-word dissertation, Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud, at the Imperial College London. He started the doctoral thesis in 1974 but abandoned it due to the band.

Googling the Stars

2007-08-22T20:40:00.000+08:00

Google Earth has now the option of showing the night sky. The Google Earth @ Night feature allows users to search for constellations and other heavenly bodies and display them on a sky map.

Via Gizmodo

30 Years of Wow

2007-08-15T16:10:00.000+08:00

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the detection of the Wow signal, the strong radio transmission picked up by the Big ear Observatory at the Ohio State University.

The signal - transmitted at 1420 MHz frequency and has lasted for 72 seconds, was strong enough to generate a flurry of speculation that it might have been a first contact with alien intelligent life.

Alas, the source of the signal was never pinpointed again.

Perseids 2007

2007-08-13T14:40:00.000+08:00

The Perseids meteor shower should peak today. Expect to see up to 60 meteors per hour zipping from the radiant near the border of Cassiopeia and Perseus.

The initial report by the International Meteor Organization is here.

DIY Mirror Telescope

2007-08-10T20:43:00.000+08:00

Here's how to make a telescope using vinyl pipes and commonly available materials.

Instructions in Japanese, via Gizmodo

NASA Doesn't Like the iPhone

2007-08-01T15:40:00.000+08:00

NASA decided that the Apple iPhone is not suitable for (business) use by its employees. Instead the space agency will support the Palm Treo 750 and the Blackberry 8800.

...But you can put Smirnoff's on the iPhone's speed-dial too!

via Gizmodo and Information Week

New NASA Patch?

2007-08-01T15:38:00.000+08:00

Sums up everything, doesn't it?

It will look nice patching up NASA's tattered reputation.

via Gizmodo

Could You Hand Me that Screwdriver...

2007-07-27T15:28:00.000+08:00

That isn't just a line used by an astronaut repairing the International Space Station. It could also be by one asking his crew another round of the boozies.

In a setback to NASA, Aviation Week ran a story about alcohol intoxication of astronauts flying the space shuttles in at least two occasions. The magazine reported that "heavy use of alcohol" is prevalent in many astronauts before launch, even within the 12-hour 'bottle-to-throttle' rule.

Now we know why astronauts occasionally vomits during flight. Motion sickness, my black hole.

Wii Telescope Remote

2007-07-26T19:47:00.001+08:00

A bloke managed to make a RA-Dec controller for his Orion Atlas EQ-6 telescope using a Nintendo Wii remote.

Via Gizmodo.
Instructions for the mod here

China's Astronaut Food For Sale Soon

2007-07-25T16:18:00.000+08:00

The Scientific Research and Training Center for Chinese Astronauts has announced that food designed to be carried by taikonauts - the Chinese equivalent for astronauts - into space will be available within the year in some supermarkets.

The space menu has around 60 dishes, including Cantaloupe chips and taro-stuffed mooncake (how appropriate).

It does not, however, include cardboard-stuffed buns and formaldehyde-laced candies.

NASA pays $19 Million for a Crapper

2007-07-06T20:30:00.000+08:00

NASA announced today that it is buying a toilet system to be installed in the International Space Station for a cool $19 million. The Russian-built commode will be installed at the US-side of the space station in 2008.

It seems NASA still have the habit of flushing money down the toilet.

Genesis II in Orbit

2007-07-03T16:23:00.000+08:00

An inflatable module for the Genesis II space station was successfully launched in orbit last June 28. The module was launched by a Russian Dnepr rocket from Yasny, Russia.

Genesis II is a private and commercial undertaking of Bigelow Aerospace, who envisions the station as a centerpiece for a space tourism project.

Summer Solstice Today

2007-06-21T15:34:00.000+08:00

Summer solstice will occur today at 18:06 UTC.

Prepare for some neo-Pagan crackpots to crowd out in Stonehenge.

Once in a Blue Moon

2007-06-01T17:57:00.000+08:00

In case you have noticed, there was another full moon on the 31st. The second full moon of the month is also known as the blue moon.

This rare occurrence is probably the origin of the term "once in a blue moon," which alludes to something that occurs rarely.