AstroNews Oct-Nov 2001Astronomy, space and ET news. http://www.kahl.net/astro
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Vol.3, No.10 & 11 |
AstroNews Oct-Nov 2001Astronomy, space and ET news. http://www.kahl.net/astro
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Vol.3, No.10 & 11 |
FALLING STARS SPECIAL
It's that time of year again. The Leonid meteor shower is heating up this week. And this year's shower may be the event of a lifetime. The Leonids run from Nov. 14-21 this year. Under DARK skies, you might already see up to a half-dozen Leonids every hour tonight. And the shower is building to a peak before dawn on Sunday November 18, 2001, when it could produce HUNDREDS or even THOUSANDS of meteors per hour! Yes, once again the experts predict an impressive display of "shooting stars," but this time the REALLY may be right! So set your alarm clocks and dress up really warm to witness this AMAZING METEOR STORM. The first expected peak of the Leonid shower on November 18 is at about 5 AM EST (for us West Coasters that is 2 AM PST). The smart money says that's when Earth will encounter the most dense region of particles released by Comet Tempel-Tuttle. The Leonids may bring skywatchers in North America their most dramatic meteor "storm" in 35 years. Those specks of dust will enter Earth's atmosphere with speeds approaching 160,000 miles per hour, lighting up the sky as they burn up. But don't worry, this display of fireworks is harmless. Now some of you may ask what happened 35 years ago. Well back in 1966 residents in the western United States saw a storm of shooting stars estimated to rain down at a rate of 100,000 per hour during a brief peak! VIEWING TIPS:
LAST BIT OF ADVICE:
Oh, lets not forget our friends in East Asia, Australia, and Oceania. A spectacular show awaits them about 8 hours later on the night of November 18/19! Some astronomers predict it will be even better than in North America. And what about Europe and South America? Well they will be bathed in sunlight during the peak. So only the "normal background rate" of 10-15 meteors per hour will be visible. LEONID LINKS:
Confused? Need a sky map? Try this one:
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SETI@home WAY COOL!
SETI@home has over 3 million users. They use this software to search for ET. You can too! Use your home computer to help search for extraterrestrials! How? The SETI@home program is a special kind of screensaver. It starts up when you leave your computer unattended, and shuts down when you return to work. While you are getting coffee your computer will be helping the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence by analyzing data specially captured by the world's largest radio telescope, the Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico. Results? So far no signs of life. So if you want to help, maybe you can be the lucky one who finds ET! Get SETI@home version 3.03:
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ASTROTIPSKYWATCH ROCKS!SkyWatch ’02 is THE annual guide to the night sky for all us sky fans. It is now available in stores and online.You can click on the link below to order this informative, portable, astronomy guide. In this years edition of SkyWatch, you'll find:
For $4.99 postpaid, SkyWatch is the perfect guide for the enthused beginner and a handy reference for the seasoned observer. SkyWatch makes a great gift too. We just ordered 5 to give to our friends and family! Click here to order SKYWATCH:
GIGANTIC ECO-SATELLITEEarly in 2002 an Ariane 5 rocket will launch the largest and most advanced Earth observation satellite ever built in Europe from the European Spaceport in French Guiana. Envisat will deliver images and data from an altitude of 800 kilometers that will help us better understand and more effectively protect the Earth.The spacecraft can monitor and show the status of the Earth, including the complex life cycle of algae blooms, or give advance warning of natural catastrophes. The 'super satellite' will register the tiniest surface movement and give advance warning of floods, mud and snow avalanches and storms; it will observe polar ice and the level of the oceans; recognize El Nino before it builds its treacherous waves in the Pacific ocean; measure the ozone layer; identify bush and forests fires and pinpoint water sources in deserts. The ten instruments on board Envisat, more than on any other satellite, cover a wide spectrum of phenomena, delivering evidence of the interactions between the atmosphere, the ocean and the surface of the earth. One instrument is called SCIAMACHY, for SCanning and Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CartograpHY. It searches the atmosphere for trace gases, ozone and similar substances as well as clouds and dust particles, confirms the total amount of the gases and indicates the different altitudes. SCIAMACHY shows the consequences of forest fires, industrial emissions, arctic haze, dust storms and volcanic eruptions. One of the most sophisticated sensors on board, it will observe and measure the migration of greenhouse gases through the atmosphere. |
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DISTANT DISCOVERIES8 NEW PLANETSAstronomers using the Anglo-Australian and Keck telescopes found eight new planets around other stars. These are called extrasolar planets or exoplanets. The grand total of known exoplanets is now nearly 80!Three of the newly found planets are "cousins" of planets in our own
solar system. Each had characteristics -- mass, orbital distance, and orbital
eccentricity -- that are more closely similar to planets in our own solar
system than most of the other exoplanets discovered to date. Most of the
other exoplanets discovered to date have had some combination of very large
masses, very eccentric orbits, and/or orbits very close to their parent
stars. None of those extrasolar planetary systems
Astronomers find these planets by measuring stellar radial velocities. When a planet revolves around a star, its gravity tugs on that star. Over the course of an orbit, the tugging causes a tiny periodic "wobble" as the star swings toward and then away from Earth. Short-period wobbles correspond to short-period orbits; longer-period orbits yield longer-period wobbles. Planets with short-period orbits tend to have highly eccentric paths. The exceptions are those so very close to their stars that the orbits have been tidally circularized. However, this is less the case with longer-period extrasolar planets, when generally have more circular paths. This trend raises hopes that solar systems like ours — where the giant planets have circular orbits, thus allowing the existence of the Earth — are common rather than rare. |
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FAR OUT FACTS2001 MARS ODYSSEY: SUCCESS!460 million kilometers of interplanetary space and over 6 months later, NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft has reached Mars! And the spacecraft has already returned its first images.The success of this all-important orbit maneuver is helping ease painful memories of NASA's two previous Mars missions, each of which failed just as it reached the planet. In 1999 the Mars Climate Orbiter entered the planet's atmosphere too low upon arrival — due to an infamous mix-up involving metric-English conversions — and likely burned up. Ten weeks later the Mars Polar Lander and its hitchhiking payload of two Deep Space 2 probes disappeared without a trace as they descended to the surface and presumably crashed. Odyssey is currently in an elongated orbit around Mars. For the next three months, flight controllers will gradually circularize the orbit by flying the spacecraft through the planet's thin upper atmosphere, where frictional drag will slow the probe. Mars Odyssey carries an infrared imaging system, called THEMIS, that will use infrared spectroscopy to determine the composition of mineral deposits on the surface. By February 2002 the craft should be in its final, circular orbit, traveling
pole to pole at an altitude of 400 km. Then its scientific survey work
will begin. THEMIS should have a resolution of 100 meters once Odyssey
settles into its final orbit (only 400 kilometers above the surface). THEMIS
is designed to work in concert with the spacecraft's gamma-ray spectrometer,
which should map the abundance of hydrogen just below ground level (hydrogen
is a proxy for the presence of water).
TIMELY QUOTE FROM CARLThe Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors, so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light.It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character building
experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human
conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores
our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve
and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.
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