Thursday, 21 October 2010

Galaxy is most distant object yet

The faintest of faint dots - a signal from the edge of the observable Univers. A tiny faint dot in a Hubble picture has been confirmed as the most distant galaxy ever detected in the Universe.
This collection of stars is so far away its light has taken more than 13 billion years to arrive at Earth. 

Astronomers used the Very Large Telescope in Chile to follow up the Hubble observation and make the necessary detailed measurements. 

They tell the journal Nature that we are seeing the galaxy as it was just 600 million years after the Big Bang.

...read more
Posted by at

In pictures: Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2010



A stunning silhouette of active leafcutter ants in Costa Rica wins the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. Earth News

Source: BBC News
Posted by at

New International Standard For Spacecraft Docking


The initial IDSS definition document will be released into the public domain on 25 October. It will contain a preliminary description of the physical features and design loads of the standard docking interface.

by Staff Writers Paris, France (ESA) Oct 21, 2010 SpaceTravel.com
 Partners in the International Space Station programme have agreed on a new standard for docking systems, which will be capable also of implementing berthing. The agreement allows a range of compatible, but not necessarily identical, mechanisms for spacecraft docking. A first agreed version of the Interface Definition Document will be released on 25 October.
Posted by at

Wednesday, 20 October 2010

Donderdagaand is dit Sterre en Planete op RSG

Maak `n knoop iewers!


Donderdagaand om 20:30 is dit die Sterre en Planete uitsending op RSG.

Los bietjie die Televisie en trek die radio nader.

En as jy regtig nie kan luister nie, kan jy gerus die MP3 aflaai en later na die uitsending luister.

Posted by at

Workers scramble to fix space shuttle leak

by Staff WritersCape Canaveral, Fla. (UPI) Oct 19, 2010
Workers at the Kennedy Space Center are working to stop a leak on the Discovery space shuttle that could affect its scheduled Nov. 1 launch, NASA says. A slight vapor leak in the shuttle's Orbital Maneuvering System tanks and lines was discovered, and technicians attempted to stop it by replacing a flight cap but the effort was unsuccessful, AviationWeek.com reported Tuesday.
On Monday launch managers ordered the tanks and lines drained of toxic fuels so workers could access flange seals in the system for possible replacement.

...further reading
Posted by at

Green Comet Visible This Week

Comet's Green Halo

Photograph courtesy Gregg L. Ruppel


Blurred stars seem to cut through the green halo of comet 103P/Hartley 2 in a five-minute-exposure photograph taken through a backyard telescope in the United States on Saturday. In recent weeks the comet has been drawing closer to Earth, and Hartley 2 will make its closest pass tomorrow, offering prime viewing via binoculars and telescopes. (See comet pictures.)

More information 


Local information, from Skytools software with a 8 inch Orion Skyquest

On this night (20/21 October 2010)  103P/Hartley is best visible between 04:12 and 04:32, with the optimum view at 04:13. Look for it in Auriga, fairly high in the northern sky during morning twilight. It is easy visually in the Orion SkyQuest XT8 Dob. Use the Ultima 42mm for optimum visual detection. It is magnitude 6.2 with a diameter of 21.0'.


In the following 30 days this object is easy visually from October 21, and again from October 31 on, with the best view coming on November 3. During this period it will reach peak brightness of magnitude 6.2 on October 22 and rapidly move higher in the sky.

103P/Hartley will next reach perihelion in late October. Also in late October this comet will pass within 0.1 AU of the earth.


At this stage the almost full moon is a big factor in seeing this ball of ice. (Hannes Pieterse)
Posted by at

Tuesday, 19 October 2010

Astronomical Handbook for Southern Africa

Hierdie nuttige handleiding is November-maand op die rakke sê Struik-uitgewers. Dit is `n moet-hê publikasie. Dit gee vir jou maand-vir-maand inligting wat bo in die naghemel aangaan.  En nog baie meer.

Dit word vir R85.00 adverteer. Die Skyguide sal waarskynlik by die groter boekwinkels te koop wees. Ons sal laat weet as dit op die rakke is.
Posted by at

Sunday, 17 October 2010

Local Astronomy News

Posted by at

NASA uses Photoshop! It's a conspiracy!

The beauty of the Orion Nebula can only be seen after some image processing. To the naked eye, the nebula looks very dull. Click to enlarge this image.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/STScI

THE GIST
  • A media frenzy ensued when some media outlets reported that NASA had Photoshopped an image of Saturn's moons.
  • Raw images from space need calibration before being released to the public, not unlike red eye removal from your family photos.

    Read the story      

    Source:  DiscoveryNews
Posted by at

Orbital debris from Chinese satelite tops 3,000 pieces

Image: A view of the Chinese orbital debris problem. Only China's space debris plotted
Click to enlarge

Three and a half years after China intentionally blew up a satellite as part of a weapons test, 97 percent of the debris remains in orbit, posing “distinct hazards to hundreds of operational satellites,” writes NASA in its October issue of Orbital Debris Quarterly News.
The number of pieces of debris from the Fengyun-1C spacecraft surpassed the 3,000 mark last month. The tally as of mid-September was 3,037 objects -- roughly 22 percent of all the cataloged objects in low-Earth orbit, reports the Orbital Debris Program Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston

More space debris news:
Posted by at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)