While these two tracks cross each other, it’s relatively rare for the Moon and Saturn to be at the same place at the same time. But it does happen, and it’s called an occultation. The Moon slowly covers Saturn, blocking it for some time, then once again moves out of the way to reveal the ringed planet. In this case, the timing of the May 14 occultation made it visible only for observers in the southern hemisphere, specifically Australia and New Zealand.Image Credit: Paul Steward, New Zeland
In an MIT press release, we learn about how this simulation is the first successful attempt to account for our current universe:The Illustris project is a set of large-scale cosmological simulations, including the most ambitious simulation of galaxy formation yet performed. The calculation tracks the expansion of the universe, the gravitational pull of matter onto itself, the motion or "hydrodynamics" of cosmic gas, as well as the formation of stars and black holes. These physical components and processes are all modeled starting from initial conditions resembling the very young universe 300,000 years after the Big Bang and until the present day, spanning over 13.8 billion years of cosmic evolution. The simulated volume contains tens of thousands of galaxies captured in high-detail, covering a wide range of masses, rates of star formation, shapes, sizes, and with properties that agree well with the galaxy population observed in the real universe. We are currently working to make detailed comparisons of our simulation box to these observed galaxy populations, and some exciting promising results have already been published.
“For the past two decades, cosmologists have been unable to produce galaxies like the Milky Way in their simulations,” says David Spergel, a professor of astronomy at Princeton University. “We have long debated whether this failure was due to complex dark matter physics, unknown stellar feedbacks, or the difficulties in simulating the highly non-linear multi-scale process of galaxy formation … With their simulations, [the researchers] finally produce galaxies that look like our own.”And this is quite a project in terms of the scientists, computer resources, and sources of funding. The MIT press release noted that the paper, “Properties of galaxies reproduced by a hydrodynamic simulation,” was co-written by 10 authors at several institutions: the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA); the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies in Germany; the University of Heidelberg; the Kavli Institute for Cosmology and the Institute of Astronomy, both in Cambridge, England; the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore; and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J.
In FY13 the Air Force paid on average in excess of $380 million for each national security launch, while subsidizing ULA’s fixed costs to the tune of more than $1 billion per year, even if the company never launches a rocket. By contrast, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 price for an EELV mission is well under $100M—at least a $280 million per launch difference, which in many cases could pay for the satellite and launch combined – and SpaceX seeks no subsidies to maintain our business. To put this into perspective, had SpaceX been awarded the missions ULA received under its recent non-competed 36 core block buy, we would have saved the taxpayer $11.6 billion.And leaving costs and the embargo to one side, we really need to rethink our space program procurement. We need a little more common sense in the program. Elon Musk made this as his last point in the March testimony:
Our Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles are truly made in America. We design and manufacture the rockets in California and Texas, with key suppliers throughout the country, and launch them from either Vandenberg AFB or Cape Canaveral AFS. This stands in stark contrast to the United Launch Alliance’s most frequently flown vehicle, the Atlas V, which uses a Russian main engine and where approximately half the airframe is manufactured overseas. In light of Russia’s de facto annexation of the Ukraine’s Crimea region and the formal severing of military ties, the Atlas V cannot possibly be described as providing “assured access to space” for our nation when supply of the main engine depends on President Putin’s permission.The part about "President Putin's permission" does not sound that far fetched after the comments a few weeks back by Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia’s space program, who said "I suggest the US deliver its astronauts to the ISS with a trampoline."
The sixth planet in our solar system, Saturn, with its distinctive rings, is probably the most recognizable planet after Earth—at least to us Earthlings. A NASA spacecraft called Cassini-Huygens took this photo. The craft’s sole mission was to fly directly to Saturn and then explore the planet as well as its rings and moons.
A recent discovery on one of Saturn’s smaller moons, Enceladus, has scientists clamoring for more information. Data collected by Cassini-Huygens has revealed a body of water, probably about the size of Lake Superior, below the moon’s surface. The discovery of water has suddenly made Enceladus a prime target in the search for life beyond Earth, since water is the basis for all life as we know it.
That discovery may prompt scientists to launch an additional satellite to Saturn, but it would be years before data would reach Earth. Saturn’s far away. Really far away. About 745 million miles away when Earth and Saturn are at their closest. Okay, that doesn’t mean anything to us, either, but consider, for example, that Cassini-Huygens launched in 1997, but didn’t enter Saturn’s orbit until 2004. We could be waiting awhile before learning if we have neighbors in the solar system.
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover and tracks from its driving are visible in this view from orbit, acquired on April 11, 2014, by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
The rover is near the largest butte in the lower left quadrant of the image, at about a two o'clock position relative to the butte. It appears bright blue in the exaggerated color of this image.
The multi-layered location filling much of the left half of this image is called "the Kimberley." Curiosity's science team chose it, based on other HiRISE images, as a potential gold mine for the rover mission. Black gold, that is, as organic material that, if found at the Kimberley could be a biomarker (sign of past life) -- the holy grail of Mars exploration.
Curiosity entered the area included in this image on March 12, along the tracks visible near the upper left corner. The distance between parallel wheel tracks is about 9 feet (2.7 meters). The area included in the image is about 1,200 feet (about 365 meters) wide. This view is an enhanced-color product from HiRISE observation ESP_036128_1755, available at the HiRISE website at http://uahirise.org/releases/msl-kimberley.php. The exaggerated color, to make differences in Mars surface materials more apparent, makes Curiosity appear bluer than the rover really looks. A stereo view combining information from this observation with topography derived from earlier HiRISE observations, for a three-dimensional appearance, is at PIA18082.Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
The quest for Earth-like planets is a major focus of current exoplanet research. Although planets that are Earth-sized and smaller have been detected, these planets reside in orbits that are too close to their host star to allow liquid water on their surfaces. We present the detection of Kepler-186f, a 1.11 ± 0.14 Earth-radius planet that is the outermost of five planets, all roughly Earth-sized, that transit a 0.47 ± 0.05 solar-radius star. The intensity and spectrum of the star’s radiation place Kepler-186f in the stellar habitable zone, implying that if Kepler-186f has an Earth-like atmosphere and water at its surface, then some of this water is likely to be in liquid form.It is possible that more such exoplanets may emerge from Kepler's archived data as scientists sift through the information. While Kepler's original mission may have ended last year, the scientific community has plenty of data to play with for years to come. It reminds me of archaeology, where digging can be the easy part while cataloging the find an putting together the various pieces takes many more years as association with other artifacts takes place and theories are confirmed.
"Being in the habitable zone does not mean we know this planet is habitable. The temperature on the planet is strongly dependent on what kind of atmosphere the planet has," said Thomas Barclay, research scientist at the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute at Ames, and co-author of the paper. "Kepler-186f can be thought of as an Earth-cousin rather than an Earth-twin. It has many properties that resemble Earth."
NASA employees can't travel to Russia or host visitors until further notice. They're also barred from emailing or holding teleconferences with their Russian counterparts because of Russia's actions in Ukraine...The picture above may be the last American-Russian family photo for awhile. The current ISSExpedition 39 crew members pictured on the front row are Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata (right), commander; and NASA astronaut Steve Swanson, flight engineer. Pictured from the left (back row) are Russian cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Alexander Skvortsov, Mikhail Tyurin and NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio, all flight engineers.
Scott Pelley: How did you figure you were going to start a car company and be successful at it?
Elon Musk: Well, I didn't really think Tesla would be successful. I thought we would most likely fail. But I thought that we at least could address the false perception that people have that an electric car had to be ugly and slow and boring like a golf cart.
Scott Pelley: But you say you didn't expect the company to be successful? Then why try?
Elon Musk: If something's important enough you should try. Even if you -- the probable outcome is failure.The Telsa Model S was the Motor Trend 2013 Car of the Year, with the magazine noting:
The 2013 Motor Trend Car of the Year is one of the quickest American four-doors ever built. It drives like a sports car, eager and agile and instantly responsive. But it's also as smoothly effortless as a Rolls-Royce, can carry almost as much stuff as a Chevy Equinox, and is more efficient than a Toyota Prius. Oh, and it'll sashay up to the valet at a luxury hotel like a supermodel working a Paris catwalk. By any measure, the Tesla Model S is a truly remarkable automobile, perhaps the most accomplished all-new luxury car since the original Lexus LS 400. That's why it's our 2013 Car of the Year.Even with this success, Mr. Musk still faces problems distributing his cars in some states. For instance, New Jersey may take away Telsa's license to sell cars directly to customers and bypass dealerships. Then again, he has faced even greater challenges in the past and won.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science SystemsThis Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows north polar sand dunes in the summertime. During winter and early spring, north polar dunes are covered with bright frost. When the frost sublimes away, the dunes appear darker than their surroundings. To a geologist, sand has a very specific meaning. A sand grain is defined independently of its composition; it is a particle with a size between 62.5 and 2000 microns. Two thousand microns equals 2 millimeters. The dunes are dark because they are composed of sand grains made of dark minerals and/or rock fragments. Usually, dark grains indicate the presence of unoxidized iron, for example, the dark volcanic rocks of Hawaii, Iceland, and elsewhere. This dune field is located near 71.7°N, 51.3°W. Dune slip faces indicate winds that blow from the upper left toward lower right. This picture covers an area approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) across and is illuminated by sunlight from the lower left.
A mandatory range asset supporting the NROL-67 launch went offline, March 24, 2014. An investigation revealed a tracking radar experienced an electrical short, overheating the unit and rendering it inoperable. The outage resulted in an inability to meet minimum public safety requirements needed for flight, so the launch was postponed.
Initial assessment indicates repair of the tracking radar will take approximately three weeks. The Air Force is evaluating the feasibility of returning an inactive radar to full mission capability to resume operations sooner. The launch schedule impact is to be determined, pending resolution of the anomaly. Early indications are all launches scheduled for FY14 will be supported. More information will be provided as it becomes available.
The launch, originally schedule for March 16, will provide the ISS with a variety of needed items while also delivering and removing scientific cargo. According to SpaceX, the Dragon cargo includes:...about 4,600 pounds of supplies and payloads, including critical materials to support more than150 investigations that will occur during Expeditions 39 and 40. Dragon will carry four powered cargo payloads in its pressurized section and two in its unpressurized trunk, a first for SpaceX. Dragon will return with about 3,600 pounds of cargo, which includes crew supplies, hardware and computer resources, science experiments, biotechnology,and space station hardware.
Science payloads include the Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS), which will test the use of laser optics to transfer information to Earth from space; the Vegetable Production System (VEGGIE), a unit capable of producing salad-type vegetables in space; and the T-Cell Activation in Aging experiment that seeks the cause of a depression in the human immune system while astronauts are in microgravity. In addition, the High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) investigation includes four high-definition cameras to be placed on the space station’s exterior for use in streaming live video of Earth for online viewing.Go here for the completed press kit from SpaceX. You can also stay up to date on the mission via NASA's SpaceX Blog.
The new trio docked Thursday to the Poisk docking compartment at 7:53 p.m. EDT and opened the hatches less than two hours later to greet Commander Koichi Wakata and Flight Engineers Rick Mastracchio and Mikhail Tyurin. The sextet then gathered inside the Zvezda service module for a welcoming ceremony with words of congratulations from family members and mission officials.
...Maui tells a story, the story of how extraterrestrial colonies may grow and develop from ramshackle frontier towns to bustling cities. Maui is the narrative of mankind’s first permanent settlement in the Saturn system, orbiting the moon Titan.Prior conferences and speaker presentations can be found here. Past student contest winners back to 1994 can be found here.
"Liberalism,” says Dugin, meaning the whole western consensus, “is an absolute evil....Only a global crusade against the U.S., the West, globalization and their political-ideological expression, liberalism, is capable of becoming an adequate response...The American empire should be destroyed.”Notheless, Dr. Zubrin still believed in a joint U.S.-Russian mission to Mars, noting, "Dr. Carl Sagan proposed a similar concept to help counteract U.S.-Soviet tensions in the 1980s. It was a good idea then, but critically necessary one now"
