Spacers

The WISEr Spotted Asteroid

Some of you may remember that I made a quick post late last year about the launch of WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer), the latest and greatest telescope in our array of orbital observatories. In that post I mentioned that WISE would be able to see objects from galaxies to asteroids - well, the telescope is now online and the first picture published is of - an asteroid!


So, why is it red, then?
Well, WISE is an infrared telescope, which means it is designed primarily to see heat - and what you are seeing is a hot little asteroid just over half a mile in diameter. Say hello to the first ever WISEr spotted asteroid - 2010 AB78. The image shows three infrared wavelengths, with red representing the longest wavelength of 12 microns, and green and blue showing 4.6- and 3.4-micron light, respectively.

What has some astronomers worried is that this we should have already spotted this one. WISE had no trouble finding it, which is good news, but if there are a lot more like this out there, then that means our existing asteroid hunting hardware has been sorely lacking. Not to put too fine a point on it, but we really should have a lot more hardware like this out there looking out for us. 2010 AB78 is harmess and has a zero chance of hitting Earth, but if we didn't see it before, then the chances are that there are a lot more out there, and that one of those previously unseen objects is on its way to visit us as a very unwelcome guest.

I have said before and I'm quite happy to say it again - it's a big bad universe out there and it is looking for the next great way to make life difficult for us. Stop wasting time fighting amongst ourselves and start looking out for our future. It's all very well to think that being hit by an asteroid is too remote a possibility to worry about, but the only way to be sure is to invest in better eyes so that we can see and be sure.

If anyone ever asks what space exploration has ever done for us, just point them to this little blog post and the lovely picture of our latest asteroid friend - 2010 AB78. A friend that we now know for sure will not harm us - thanks to space exploration.

SpaceHead

Deep Space Network Ditches Dialup

So, are they really using dialup to talk to the Mars rovers?
Not literally a dialup modem, no, but let's face it, the current Deep Space Network is painfully slow - even slower than those old 14.4k dialup modems we used to use in the early 90's. Hands up who misses the days of quick touch tone dialing and high-pitched fax connecting sounds? Yeah me too, but only from an aesthetic perspective - the convenience of an always on blazing fast cable connection is worth losing the nostalgia. That stark comparison does serve to illustrate the point that we are currently using something akin to those old modems to talk to all of our probes, landers and spacecraft that are at work all around the solar system. The latest incredible image from the HiRISE camera in orbit around Mars has to be transmitted at painfully slow speeds - the scientists liken it to trying to watch an HD clip on YouTube using a dialup connection. The buffering of the first minute alone would take hours.


The good news is that NASA is giving the whole system an overhaul in preparation for the upcoming Moon,  Mars and Beyond missions. Coming out of savings in the annual $400 million Deep Space Network budget, the upgrade will boost current performance by over 50 times. What this means is that when we do eventually set foot on the Moon and Mars, we won't be limited to those grainy old analogue TV pictures that were so washed out Neil Armstrong almost blended into the scenery, we'll be able to watch proper HD video of the events in real time.

Of course there is a far more wide ranging use than human exploration, the current cadre of probes and landers will have a much shorter wait for an available slot in communications time before sending their data back to Earth. The future will no doubt bring even greater improvements, like laser based communication that is less susceptible to disruption from space weather and solar activity, but for now this upgrade will serve as a good next step in our drive into the cosmos.

Personally, I think it is very sad that this kind of upgrade has to come from a budget savings drive, rather than a direct funding injection, but such is the state of space exploration today - we are at the whim of more important issues on the ground. My view is that we need to be exploring space yesterday! It's all very well to think that our little Earth is a nice cozy safe and warm place to live, but it's a big bad universe out there and it is looking for the next great way to make life difficult for us. Stop wasting time fighting amongst ourselves over the piffling resources of our home planet and start looking where it is in abundance - out there!

SpaceHead

Dentist Extracts Meteorite

Reports are all over the web of a meteorite hitting a Dentist's office in Lorton, Virginia. Cheesy puns aside, the meteorite apparently crashed through the roof of the office at around 5:45pm on Monday, narrowly missing patients and staff. Reportedly no bigger than a mango, the shattered space rock was taken to the Smithsonian Institute for analysis, where it was confirmed as a Chondrite - a stony leftover from the formation of the solar system.

Check out the Maryland weather blog for a picture of the interplanetary visitor.

Hundreds of eyewitness reports of a fireball from North of the impact site around the same time, and scorchmarks on the rock itself point to the object searing through the sky in a Southward direction before hitting. Meteorite hunters have descended on the area trying to pick up an overlooked piece that may have fallen near the site. Finds like this can be very lucrative indeed as they are of enormous scientific value. If you live in that area and come across anything that you may suspect is from the meteorite, it could be well worth reporting.

Don't forget, Spacers, you can only see things like this if you look up at the sky!

SpaceHead

Moon: Tycho Is New Kid On The Block

NASA's Goddard Space Center has just released stunning new images from the LRO, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, of the crater Tycho - one of, if not the most prominent craters on the Moon. Clearly visible with the naked eye, Tycho has an incredible array of unbroken white streaks that stream from its center, indicating not only a massive impact, but that it was a fairly recent event. Tycho has now been imaged up close and personal, allowing scientists to give a more accurate estimate of its age. Tycho, as it turns out, is a new kid on the block - a rebellious youngster at a mere 108 million years old.


Yes, those are actual boulders that you see on the surface, boulders of melt glass that were created at the time of impact. Tycho's bright streaks are thought to be mainly made of glass, which makes them stand out prominently, even against the bright Moon surface. Of course, most craters begin life with spectacular ray like streaks like Tycho, but over time they slowly fad into the background and get covered up by the ejecta from smaller impacts. What we see with Tycho is the freshly preened mane of a new arrival strutting its stuff to impress all the other craters.


When NASA returns to the Moon with its new Constellation rocket series, Tycho will be one of the sites chosen for a landing - just North of the central peak in the above image. Getting an accurate age for Tycho will help in dating the surrounding craters, and an actual landing in Tycho to analyse rocks first hand will give a very accurate age.

We are still around ten years away from such a landing under current timelines, but with the recent discovery of water on the Moon, you never know, perhaps the interest level will increase and the years to our return will decrease.

Keep watching the Moon, Spacers!

SpaceHead

Satellite Images Aid Haiti Relief Effort

It can't be said enough that the devastation in Haiti from the recent earthquake is a disaster of epic proportions. Estimates begin at 50,000 dead, and the number is rising day by day. Numbers of that magnitude can be difficult for a human to process, and at times like these we do very well at pulling together as a species and donating around the world without regard for political borders. The focus of an international aid effort now is to try and prevent the number from rising any more, but as has been seen in the immediate days after the quake, getting aid to the worst affected areas in Haiti has not been an easy task. Satellite imagery of the area is being used to great effect, coordinated by space agencies across the globe. ESA, the European Space Agency, has combined this imagery to create what is called a 'Damage Elevation Map', essentially a map that illustrates the areas where there is most damage similar to a standard topographic relief map.


Satellite imagery such as this is being donated from around the world as the ongoing relief effort continues. Updated throughout the day, the areas in red show where aid is needed most. We can only hope that the effort can stem the rise of the death toll in the coming days.

Spacers would like to urge its readers to donate through any of the following organizations:

International Red Cross
http://www.icrc.org/

Doctors Without Borders (Médecins sans Frontières)
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

The Reason Project
http://www.reasonproject.org/

Non-Believers Giving Aid
http://givingaid.richarddawkins.net

Atheist Alliance International
http://www.atheistalliance.org/

Atheists United
http://www.atheistsunited.org/

The British Humanist Association
http://www.humanism.org.uk

The Skeptics Society
http://www.skeptic.com/

Clinton Bush Haiti Fund
http://www.whitehouse.gov/haitiearthquake_embed

UNICEF
http://www.unicef.org/

Or through any organization of your choice.

Thank you.

SpaceHead

Hubble In IMAX 3D

Okay Spacers, hands up who is space geeky enough to get all shaky when IMAX announces it will be releasing a 3D Hubble movie with imagery from the final Shuttle mission to service the telescope?

Yeah... me too!

You can download a trailer at this site: http://www.apple.com/trailers/imax/hubble3d/

Can't wait? Here's a couple of Hubble's recent images to keep you busy. Don't forget to click the images to make 'em BIG.




Happy Awe, Spacers!

SpaceHead

Videos Of Asteroid Flyby

A couple of cool videos have been released of the flyby yesterday by asteroid 2010 AL30, which passed within 80,000 miles of Earth at its closest point.



This first one is pretty faint, but it was very small. What you are seeing is an object no bigger than 36 feet across! There is a lot of speculation around at the moment that the object is man-made, possibly a rocket body. One astronomer claims that it is the booster stage of Venus Express, launched back in 2005. Without any decent up close and personal imagery, it will be almost impossible to tell.

The second video is a GIF image composite of 30 still images taken by astronomer Patrick Wiggins who used a C-14 telescope to track the oject. Longer exposure time blurred the stars but made the asteroid brighter.


And finally this is a cool video animation showing the view of Earth that the object would have had as it buzzed us.



Happy Viewing, Spacers!

SpaceHead