This time lapse mosaic shows Curiosity maneuvering the robotic arm to drill into her 2nd rock target named “Cumberland” to collect powdery Martian material on May 19, 2013 (Sol 279) for analysis by her onboard chemistry labs; SAM & Chemin. The photo mosaic was stitched from raw images captured by the navcam cameras on May 14 & May 19 (Sols 274 & 279). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Ken Kremer/Marco Di Lorenzo

NASA’s Curiosity rover has just successfully bored inside ancient rocks on Mars for only the 2nd time since her nail biting landing in August 2012 inside Gale Crater as she searches for the ingredients of life.

On Sunday, May 20, the rover drilled about 2.6 inches (6.6 centimeters) deep into a target named “Cumberland” to collect powdery samples from the rock’s interior that hold the secrets to the history of water and habitability on the Red Planet.

“Cumberland” is literally just a stone’s throw away from the first drill target named “John Klein” where Curiosity bored the historic first drill hole on an alien world three months ago in February.(...)
Read the rest of Curiosity Drills 2nd Hole into Ancient Mars Rocks Searching for the Ingredients of Life (736 words)

© Ken Kremer for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags: Curiosity Rover, Mars, Mars Rovers, Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), MSL, NASA, Search for Life

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Cottonwood trees and the Milky Way on May 12, 2013. Credit and copyright: Randy Halverson/Dakotalapse.

Admittedly, I’m partial to Randy Halverson’s night sky photography from South Dakota. Having grown up in neighboring North Dakota myself, Halverson’s images bring back memories of the dark skies that grace the northern plains. But this one is just stunning, not to mention my early childhood home was surrounded by cottonwood trees — towering giants with ample limbs, and one of the few trees that grew well in the harsh prairies of the Dakotas.

Randy said he was trying out some new gear with this image, which is a frame from a timelapse he is shooting (can’t wait!) He used ased a Canon 6D and a Rokinon 24mm F1.4 lens (set at F2), using Emotimo TB3 Black timelapse equipment, shot at ISO 3200 for 20 seconds.
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Read the rest of Lovely Astrophoto: Cottonwoods and the Milky Way (57 words)

© nancy for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | One comment |
Post tags: Astrophotos, milky way, Randy Halverson

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Bion-M’s mission patch. Credit: NASA

A menagarie of animals launched to space last month has arrived back on Earth — with a few casualties for the voyage.

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Read the rest of Gerbils, mice perish as Russian spacecraft returns to Earth (415 words)

© Elizabeth Howell for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | 11 comments |
Post tags: animals, bion-m, mice, microgravity, NASA, Roscosmos, Russian Federal Space Agency

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Image from May 5, 2013 of a the inner region of Comet ISON using the 2-meter Liverpool telescope at La Palma. Credit: Nick Howes and Ernesto Guido, Remanzacco Observatory; Nalin Samarasinha, Planetary Science Institute.

In April, when the Hubble Space Telescope looked out towards Jupiter’s orbit and observed what has been billed as the “Comet of the Century” – Comet C/2012 S1 ISON – the space telescope photographed a unique feature in the comet’s coma. Now, a team of ground-based astronomers have performed follow-up observations, imaging Comet ISON as it heads towards the Sun and was just outside the orbit of Mars. They, too, have seen something in the coma and suspect it’s a similar feature to what Hubble imaged. The object is thought to be a jet blasting dust particles off the sunward-facing side of the comet’s nucleus.

These very useful follow-up observations are providing more insight on this highly anticipated comet, as well as helping to predict what might happen when it makes its closest approach to the Sun in November 2013.

“The hype surrounding this comet has been extreme” said Nick Howes from the Remanzacco Observatory, “with some wildly optimistic estimates for magnitude. We’re hoping this measured scientific approach will yield results just as exciting to the science community, even if the comet doesn’t end up meeting everyone’s expectations visually, for whatever reason.”
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Read the rest of Astronomers Detect Dust Feature in Comet ISON’s Inner Coma (822 words)

© nancy for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | One comment |
Post tags: Comet ISON, Comets

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Nighttime image of southern India and Tropical Cyclone Mahasen (NASA/NOAA)

Last Monday, May 13, the Suomi NPP satellite captured a fascinating image of Tropical Cyclone Mahasen as it moved northeast over the Bay of Bengal. The clouds of the storm itself weren’t optically visible in the darkness of a nearly new Moon, but lightning flashes within it were… as well as the eerie ripples of atmospheric gravity waves spreading outwards from its center.

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Read the rest of Weird Gravity Waves Pulse From a Tropical Cyclone (409 words)

© Jason Major for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags: cyclone, gravity waves, India, lightning, night, satellite, Sri Lanka, storm

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Nighttime image of southern India and Tropical Cyclone Mahasen (NASA/NOAA)

Last Monday, May 13, the Suomi NPP satellite captured a fascinating image of Tropical Cyclone Mahasen as it moved northeast over the Bay of Bengal. The clouds of the storm itself weren’t optically visible in the darkness of a nearly new Moon, but lightning flashes within it were… as well as the eerie ripples of atmospheric gravity waves spreading outwards from its center.

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Read the rest of Weird Gravity Waves Pulse From a Tropical Cyclone (409 words)

© Jason Major for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | One comment |
Post tags: cyclone, gravity waves, India, lightning, night, satellite, Sri Lanka, storm

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British astronaut Timothy Peake training in a Soyuz simulator. Credit: European Space Agency

The name is Peake. Timothy Peake. And he’s set to follow in the (fictional) footsteps of fellow British citizen James Bond with a stay on a space station.

In 2015, Peake will be the first British citizen to live for six months on the International Space Station. He’ll be a part of the Expedition 46/47 crew. NASA hasn’t publicly named all of his seatmates yet, but expect a lot of excitement across the former Empire when Peake has his turn.
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Read the rest of ‘Major Tim’ Peake to Make first British Long-duration Spaceflight (591 words)

© Elizabeth Howell for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | 3 comments |
Post tags: european space agency, international space station, long duration flight, tim peake

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A rural location is ideal for listening to the subtle sounds of the aurora with a VLF radio. Just turn it on, don the earphones on and hold the unit skyward. Credit: Bob King

Do the aurorae makes sounds? That’s been a subject of discussion — and contention — among people who watch the sky. While most of us will never hear the aurora borealis directly, there’s help out there in the form of a little handheld radio. It’s called a VLF receiver and guarantees you an earful the next time the aurora erupts.
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Read the rest of Put The Aurora Borealis In Your Ear (1,271 words)

© Bob King for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | One comment |
Post tags: aurora, aurora borealis

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A rural location is ideal for listening to the subtle sounds of the aurora with a VLF radio. Just turn it on, don the earphones on and hold the unit skyward. Credit: Bob King

Do the aurorae makes sounds? That’s been a subject of discussion — and contention — among people who watch the sky. While most of us will never hear the aurora borealis directly, there’s help out there in the form of a little handheld radio. It’s called a VLF receiver and guarantees you an earful the next time the aurora erupts.
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Read the rest of Put The Aurora Borealis In Your Ear (1,271 words)

© Bob King for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | One comment |
Post tags: aurora, aurora borealis

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Video Caption: This JPL video shows the complicated choreography to get drill samples to Curiosity’s instruments as she prepares for 2nd drilling at “Cumberland.” See where “Cumberland” is located in our panoramic photo mosaic below.

It’s time at last for “Drill, Baby, Drill!” – Martian Style.

Ever wonder how Curiosity “Does It”

Well, check out this enlightening and cool new NASA video for an exquisitely detailed demonstration of just how Curiosity shakes, rattles and rolls on the Red Planet and swallows that mysterious Martian powder.(...)
Read the rest of Drill, Baby, Drill! – How Does Curiosity ‘Do It’ (886 words)

© Ken Kremer for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | 4 comments |
Post tags: Curiosity, Curiosity Rover, Gale crater, Mars, Mars Rovers, Mount Sharp, NASA, Opportunity Rover, Search for Life

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Opportunity pops a ‘wheelie’ on Mars on May 15, 2013 (Sol 3308) and then made history by driving further to the mountain ahead on the next day, May 16 (Sol 3309), to establish a new American distance driving record for a vehicle on another world. This navcam mosaic shows the view forward to Opportunity’s future destinations of Solander Point and Cape Tribulation along the lengthy rim of huge Endeavour crater spanning 14 miles (22 km) in diameter. See below our complete map of the 9 Year Journey of Opportunity on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/Ken Kremer (kenkremer.com)/Marco Di Lorenzo

Now more than 9 years and counting into her planned mere 90 day mission to Mars, NASA’s legendary Opportunity rover has smashed past another space milestone and established a new distance driving record for an American vehicle on another world this week.

On Thursday, May 16, the long-lived Opportunity drove another 263 feet (80 meters) on Mars – bringing her total odometry since landing on 24 January 2004 to 22.220 miles (35.760 kilometers) – and broke through the 40 year old driving record set back in December 1972 by Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt.

See below our complete map of the 9 Year Journey of Opportunity on Mars.(...)
Read the rest of Opportunity Mars Rover Blazes Past 40 Year Old Space Driving Record (938 words)

© Ken Kremer for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | 7 comments |
Post tags: Apollo 17, apollo 17 lunar landing mission, Lunokhod 2, Mars, Mars Rovers, MER, NASA, Opportunity Rover, Search for Life, soviet space program, Soviet Union, Spirit Rover

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Comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) as seen in the early morning Arizona skies on May 16, 2013. Credit and copyright: Chris Schur.

The comet show is still not over! Early on May 16, 2013, astrophotographer Chris Schur from central Arizona was able to see two comets at once, Comet PANSTARRS AND Comet Lemmon. “We set up on our 14 foot tall balcony observing pad and was able to get the very low Comet Lemmon as it rose in the eastern sky,” Chris told Universe Today via email. “While PANSTARRS was up high by 2:30am, we had to wait until 3:30 before we could try Lemmon.”

While neither comet was visible to the naked eye, Chris reported that both were seen quite clearly in the 11×80 binoculars. “It was fun to go back and forth rapidly between the two objects to compare,” he said. “While PANSTARRS is now a very low surface brightness wedge shaped object, Lemmon was just a huge ball of light, about two magnitudes brighter.”
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Read the rest of Comets PANSTARRS and Lemmon Still Linger for Early Morning Views (181 words)

© nancy for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | 3 comments |
Post tags: Comet Lemmon, Comets. Comet PANSTARRS

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Have you seen Star Trek: Into Darkness yet? If so, did you see the NASA-themed trailer, too? A crowd-funded 30-second video called “We Are the Explorers” is debuting at theaters this week, shown before the new Trek film begins. It highlights America’s future in space and is narrated by actor Peter Cullen, the voice of head Transformer Optimus Prime.
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Read the rest of This is the new ‘We Are the Explorers’ Video You’ll See at ‘Star Trek: Into Darkness” (156 words)

© nancy for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | 6 comments |
Post tags: NASA, star trek: into darkness

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A bright flash on the Moon on March 17, 2013 when a boulder-sized asteroid hit the lunar surface.

If you were looking up at the Moon on March 17, 2013 at 03:50:55 UTC, you might have seen one of the brightest “lunar flashes” ever witnessed. And it would have been visible with just the naked eye.
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Read the rest of Super-Bright Explosion Seen on the Moon (669 words)

© nancy for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | 37 comments |
Post tags: Explosions in Space, Impacts, Moon

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Finder chart for La Superba in Canes Venatici. (Photo by Author).

The Universe can be a very gray place. But this week, we’ll look at a fine example of a class of objects that defies this trend.(...)
Read the rest of Seeing the Red of ‘La Superba,’ a Magnificent Springtime Carbon Star (887 words)

© David Dickinson for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | 3 comments |
Post tags: canes venatici, carbon star, cor caroli, herschel's garnet star, la superba, r leporis, Red Stars, springtime astronomy, Star Trek, v hydrae

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It was billed as the U.S. S. Enterprise’s first “real” flight in space, but the spaceship didn’t get quite that far.

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Read the rest of ‘Star Trek’ Spaceship Model Soars Into Stratosphere (254 words)

© Elizabeth Howell for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | 2 comments |
Post tags: Star Trek, star trek: into darkness, stratosphere, USS Enterprise, weather balloon

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Star Trek: How Many Tribbles Will Fit in Your House?

Oh, those little creatures that are no Tribble at all. If you’re not familiar with these small, non-intelligent lifeforms known for their prodigious reproductive rate, Tribbles (Polygeminus grex) are part of Star Trek lore. And we’ve all got Star Trek on the brain with the opening of the latest movie, Star Trek: Into Darkness (see our review here). So just for fun, here’s something that Nilz Baris would have loved to have access to. Provided by the folks at Movoto, this handy calculator will will tell you a.) not only how many Tribbles will fit into your home, but also, b.) how long it will take them to be fruitful and multiply to fill your home.

And for more fun here’s some estimates of how many Tribbles will fit into various landmarks, both real and imagined:

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Read the rest of How Many Tribbles Will Fit Into Your House? (61 words)

© nancy for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | One comment |
Post tags: Star Trek, Tribbles

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Kepler-16b is but one example of an uncanny world. It orbits two suns. Credit: Discovery

Exoplanets are uncanny. Some seem to have walked directly out of the best science-fiction movies. For example, we’ve discovered a planet consisting purely of water (GJ 1214b) and one with two suns (Kepler 16b). Some planets nearly scrape their host stars once every orbit, while others exist in darkness without a host star at all. The field of exoplanet research is moving beyond detecting exoplanets to characterizing them – understanding which molecules are present and if they might possibly harbor life.

A key research element in characterizing these alien worlds is observing their atmospheres. But how exactly do astronomers do this? We can’t simply tug the planet toward us to get a closer look.  It’s also incredibly difficult to directly image their atmospheres from afar.  Why? Stars are incredibly bright in comparison to their puny, barely reflective, and nearby exoplanets. So a direct image of an exoplanet’s atmosphere seemed out of the question – until recently.

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Read the rest of Blocking Light Sheds New Light on Exoplanet Atmospheres (797 words)

© Shannon Hall for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | One comment |
Post tags: Astronomy, Extrasolar Planet Atmospheres, Extrasolar Planets, Project 1640

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Kepler-16b is but one example of an uncanny world. It orbits two suns. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Exoplanets are uncanny. Some seem to have walked directly out of the best science-fiction movies. For example, we’ve discovered a planet consisting purely of water (GJ 1214b) and one with two suns (Kepler 16b). Some planets nearly scrape their host stars once every orbit, while others exist in darkness without a host star at all. The field of exoplanet research is moving beyond detecting exoplanets to characterizing them – understanding which molecules are present and if they might possibly harbor life.

A key research element in characterizing these alien worlds is observing their atmospheres. But how exactly do astronomers do this? We can’t simply tug the planet toward us to get a closer look.  It’s also incredibly difficult directly image their atmospheres from afar.  Why? Stars are incredibly bright in comparison to their puny, barely reflective, and nearby exoplanets. So a direct image of an exoplanet’s atmosphere seemed out of the question – until recently.

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Read the rest of Blocking Light Sheds New Light on Exoplanet Atmospheres (797 words)

© Shannon Hall for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags: Astronomy, Extrasolar Planet Atmospheres, Extrasolar Planets, Project 1640

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Chris Hadfield, speaking from Houston May 16, 2013 in his first press conference after his five-month mission. Credit: Canadian Space Agency/Ustream

Astronaut Chris Hadfield described himself as a man who never looks back. Still, he spoke fondly of his five months in space during the first press conference with media today (May 16) after his return to Earth earlier this week.

“I don’t spend my life going gosh, I went to [space station] Mir in 1995 and now everything else is boring. That’s not how I ever felt,” the Canadian said in a wide-ranging conversation that talked about everything from his future, to the science he performed, his favorite tweets while up in space.

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Read the rest of Hadfield’s Return to Earth: ‘I’m Still Learning How To Walk Again’ (686 words)

© Elizabeth Howell for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | 2 comments |
Post tags: Chris Hadfield, Expedition 35

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