Spaced Today

Some rather random musings about Space today Tweet me @Spacedtoday

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History will remember the twentieth century for two technological developments: atomic energy and space flight.

Neil Armstrong, 1994

01 February 2012

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If an elderly but distinguished scientist says that something is possible he is almost certainly right, but if he says that it is impossible he is very probably wrong.

Arthur C. Clarke, in the New Yorker magazine, 9 August 1969

27 January 2012

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One day the stars will be as familiar to each man as the landmarks, the curves, and the hills on the road that leads to his door, and one day that will be an airborne life.

Beryl Markham, West With the Night

24 January 2012

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With news breaking that there could potentially be a rather spectacular northern lights show this weekend after a powerful solar flare erupted from the Sun this weekend, spaceweather.com has all the information you will need.

21 January 2012

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One day . . . there will be more humans living off the Earth than on it.

Michael Griffin, NASA administrator, Rolling Stone magazine, 23 February 2006

20 January 2012

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Proof you don't need a fancy-schmancy telescope to take some absolutely EPIC photographs.  This image of the Orion Nebula was taken by a "back garden astronomer" called Mark Shelley with a second hand telescope in London.  To see some more of his amazing images visit http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/picture-galleries/9025465/Beautiful-space-images-captured-by-back-garden-astronomer-Mark-Shelley.html - they won't disappoint!

19 January 2012

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A comet has been seen disintegrating in the Sun's atmosphere for the very first time - to find out more about it click the link above, it makes for an interesting read!

19 January 2012

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Astronomers claim to have spotted a second "Dwarf Galaxy" according to many websites  - but what exactly is one? 

The BBC link above explains it well and just in case you were wondering what you would be looking for New Scientist tells you how to spot one - http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21370-astrophile-how-to-spot-a-darkmatter-galaxy.html - I'm sure more and more will be popping up all over the place in the next few months!

18 January 2012

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Some brilliant information about the Universe to think about, thank you space.com - you've done it again!

18 January 2012

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Have you ever looked up in the night sky and seen a light travelling really fast above your head?  Is it a plane?  Is it a shooting star?  Is it a UFO?  Chances are it is none of these and is actually the International Space Station (ISS - image from http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/sailing_with_nasa/posts/post_1256264316478.html). 

There are some great sites out there about the ISS, from tracking it - http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/index.html (use the sighting opportunities application), to photographing it - http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition30/photographing_iss.html so why not have a go at spotting it yourself, I know that's what I'm going to be doing tonight!

18 January 2012

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It is reasonable to hope that in a not too distant future we shall be competent to understand so simple a thing as a star.

Sir Arthur Eddington, The Internal Constitution of the Stars, 1930

18 January 2012

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Remember those two washing machine sized probes whizzing around the Moon at New Years?  Well they have *actual* names now (although I was quite attached to GRAIL-A and GRAIL-B) - Ebb and Flow.  These clever names, which are generally used to describe the movement of water, were put forward by fourth grade students at Emily Dickinson Elementary School, Bozeman, Montana. Awesome!

17 January 2012

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I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles...

Stars. 

Don't they seem so serene sparkling away in the night sky? 

It's a shame but we all know that's not always been the case. 

It is generally thought that stars form in a violent reaction between gas particles when dense parts of molecular clouds collapse from their own gravity (for more information on star formation check out this website - it explains it brilliantly - http://www.universetoday.com/24190/how-does-a-star-form/). 

Stars similar to our own sun formed in galactic clusters and are thought to form the centre of these molecular nebulae.  During formation the massive young stars give off hot winds to carve bubbles inside of these gigantic clouds.  Yes you read that right - BUBBLES!

More and more of these massive bubbles are being discovered thanks to a huge venture involving the public - "The Milky Way Project".  The scheme, named after our very own galaxy, comprises of over 440,000 images taken for the survey, which aimed to map around 85% of the Milky Way, were taken by a camera onboard the Spitzer Space Telescope in association with an analysis called GLIMPSE (Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire - good job they came up with an acronym 'cause that's rather a mouthful!).  Spitzer's high resolution infrared camera is able to plot the galactic plane in great detail making it possible to see these amazing galactic bubbles.  More information about GLIMPSE and Spitzer can be found here: http://www.astro.wisc.edu/sirtf/

The project is attempting to, among other things, determine exactly what these bubbles actually are.  At the moment physicist think that these regions around the young stars are actually a bit like shockwaves which can be seen in infrared light (in the image above credited to NASA and "The Milky Way Project" the red area represents where the 'shock' has already passed through and the bright green ring around it is where the 'shock' is now in the gas cloud).

By using the "bubble-drawing interface" on their website it is hoped that the general public can lend a hand trying to plot and track down some more of these unusual characteristics in order to aid in scientists' understanding, and perhaps wile away a rainy lunch hour or two.

To read more about "The Milky Way Project" visit their website - http://www.milkywayproject.org/ - it looks like a great way to get involved!

17 January 2012

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Looking for something to watch this evening? Why not try this - "The Fabric of the Cosmos" based on the renowned Brian Greene's book of the same name. 16 January 2012

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The final launch.

Today marks the sad nine year anniversary of the launch last flight of space shuttle Columbia, STS-107, for a 17-day mission featuring numerous microgravity experiments. 

16 January 2012

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It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and reality of tomorrow.

Robert Goddard, in E. M. Emme Introduction to the History of Rocket Technology, 1963

15 January 2012

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I've often wondered how any of the Apollo astronauts, especially those who walked on the moon, dealt with their emotions when they returned to Earth afterall, they have visited another world haven't they?!  Alan Bean, the Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 12 in November 1969, seems to have had the right idea.  After leaving NASA in 1981 he dedicated his life to painting and you can see some of his works by clicking on the link above. 

If you would like to read about his escapades here's the link-ige to NASA's official Bean biography http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/bean-al.html

15 January 2012