New Insights on How Spiral Galaxies Get Their Arms

Spiral galaxies are some of the most beautiful and photogenic residents of the universe. Our own Milky Way is a spiral. Our solar system and Earth reside somewhere near one of its filamentous arms. And nearly 70 percent of the galaxies closest to the Milky Way are spirals.

But despite their common shape, how galaxies like ours get and maintain their characteristic arms has proved to be an enduring puzzle in astrophysics. How do the arms of spiral galaxies arise? Do they change or come and go over time?

Read More.

(Source: christinetheastrophysicist)

ScienceCasts: Collision Course? A Comet Heads for Mars
A comet is heading for Mars, and there is a chance that it might hit the Red Planet in October 2014. An impact wouldn’t necessarily mean the end of NASA’s Mars program. But it would transform the program along with Mars itself.

via ScienceAtNASA

Must Watch: Neil deGrasse Tyson Moderates a Debate on Nothingness

Its been said that something cannot come from nothing, but is “nothing” even conceivable?

If you’ve got two hours to kill on nothing, this is the video for you.

(Source: divineirony, via fyeah-degrasse-tyson)

Skylab: America’s Humanity’s First Home in Space Launched 40 Years Ago Today

With all the futuristic talk today about missions to Mars, lunar bases and asteroid mining, it’s easy to forget that man has already been living off of the planet on and off for decades. Forty years ago today, Skylab — America’s Humanity’s first outpost in space — was launched. The three-man orbiting laboratory was designed to conduct scientific experiments in space, such as studies of the effects of weightlessness on man and other living organisms, and observations of the sun.

Here’s a look back at the pioneering Skylab mission, including mechanical failures, an aborted rescue mission, a crew mutiny and an unplanned crash landing on Earth.

View Wired Skylab Gallery

video: NASA, space.com
article: wired.com

In honor of Skylab’s anniversary, here is a documentary worth every second of your time. Educate yourself on the space race and private industry as it concerns us today.

Orphans of Apollo is (description provided by mirforpeace) …the extraordinary true story of a rebel group of entrepreneurs who seized command of the Russian Mir Space Station. It was the pioneering efforts of these brave, free marketeer buinessmen who launched the New Space Revolution, and kick-started the privatization of outer space as we know it today. This is the greatest story never told, and one film you are not supposed to see…

“Orphans of Apollo” is the award winning documentary that has been called the “greatest space story never told.” The film tells the extraordinary true story of a small group of entrepreneurs who felt, ‘orphaned’ by President Nixon’s decision to end the NASA Apollo Moon program and the subsequent years of nominal space activity. This band of brothers took matters into their own hands, and commandeered the Russian Mir Space Station, behind the backs of NASA and the US government. The rebellious, yet pioneering efforts has been credited with launching the new commercial Space Revolution. This is the remarkable untold story of the greatest secret in the new space race.

This dramatic tale chronicles the adventure of the boldest business plan the Earth has ever seen. ‘MirCorp’, the entrepreneurial company ’s vision to transform the Russian space station into an outpost for what was intended to be the first phase of a trillion dollar business. The project was to include mining of asteroids, gravity free laboratories, a space ‘hotel’, and a research facility. MirCorp was the ultimate start-up company, and unlike anything the universe had ever seen.

Join this band of rebels out to change the course of history in space, as they board a private jet, fly to Russia, negotiate one of the most remarkable business deals of the final frontier. Follow this diverse group as they pioneer their way through this new business of space. Listen to the management team as they struggle with issues of branding, finance, technology, and engage in the ultimate slugfest with the most powerful governments and bureaucrats.

Orphans of Apollo is an intimate and compelling epic which eloquently communicates the real origins of the private commercial new space revolution. Now for the first, and possibly the last, time, “Orphans of Apollo” combines archival material from original NASA film footage, Russian archival footage, personal footage, IMAX footage, with interviews and or footage with key players including Tom Clancy, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Rick Tumlinson, Walt Anderson, Gus Gardellini, Jeff Manber, and others. Available via Google, Amazon, Amazon Instant Video

website | blog

Galaxy Collisions: Simulation vs Observations

The folks over at NASA apod just put up an awesome galaxy collisions, simulations and observations video for the public. I made a little gif set to go along with the video which can be found here.

What happens when two galaxies collide? Although it may take over a billion years, such titanic clashes are quite common.

Images Credit: NASA, ESA; Visualization: Frank Summers (STScI);

Simulation: Chris Mihos (CWRU) & Lars Hernquist (Harvard).

Since galaxies are mostly empty space, no internal stars are likely to themselves collide. Rather the gravitation of each galaxy will distort or destroy the other galaxy, and the galaxies may eventually merge to form a single larger galaxy.

Expansive das and dust clouds collide and trigger waves of star formation that complete even during the interaction process. Pictured above is a computer simulation of two large spiral galaxies colliding, interspersed with real still images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Our own Milky Way Galaxy has absorbed several smaller galaxies during its existence and is even projected to merge with the larger neighboring Andromeda galaxy in a few billion years.

(Source: ikenbot)

Skylab: America’s First Home in Space Launched 40 Years Ago Today

With all the futuristic talk today about missions to Mars, lunar bases and asteroid mining, it’s easy to forget that man has already been living off of the planet on and off for decades. Forty years ago today, Skylab — America’s first outpost in space — was launched. The three-man orbiting laboratory was designed to conduct scientific experiments in space, such as studies of the effects of weightlessness on man and other living organisms, and observations of the sun.

Full Article

(Source: spaceplasma, via spaceplasma)

Solar prominence in CaK light (Calcium II K)

I present more awesome solarphotography and calcium filters from my friend Kokehtz / Álvaro for you to marvel at :)

Light from singly-ionized calcium ions in the Sun’s upper photosphere and chromosphere (up to 2000 km altitude). Because the blue Calcium K Line (393.3 nm) is sensitive to magnetic fields, magnetically active structures show up in high contrast against the surrounding chromosphere. Places where moderate magnetic fields exist show up bright whereas images of high magnetic fields are dark.

Image Copyright: Álvaro Ibáñez Pérez

In this CaK image, you typically see brightness along the edges of large convection cells called supergranules and in areas called plages. Dark sunspots are also visible.

Spots on the sun are areas of high magnetic field which appear dark to their surroundings (5,800K) due to their cooler temperature of around 3000-3500K. Spots consist of a dark central region (umbra) and are surrounded by an annular region of dark and bright filaments called the penumbra. Within a developing active region (sunspot group) tiny spots form initially without a developed penumbra and are called pores. These are usually relatively short lived or can develop a penumbra and become a fully developed spot.

The chromosphere is a place of high solar activity. In the course of a few minutes we can observe changes in the ejecta and prominences, in the path of the filaments, and as matter flows following very characteristic arches. Chromosphere is also visible in the light emitted by the ionized calcium, in the violet part of the solar spectrum in a wavelength of 393.4 nm. This light comes from calcium atoms that have lost an electron.

(Source: ikenbot)

On June 18, 2009, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket took off from Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, carrying with it the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The LRO’s initial goal was simple exploration of the moon, though after one year it switched to a science phase under the Science Mission Directorate of NASA. On the orbiter are a variety of instruments designed to help NASA better understand the Earth’s moon, including tools for creating day-night temperature maps, detecting UV radiation, and creating high resolution color images of its surface. Although the LRO is capable of collecting a wide range of data about our satellite, there’s an emphasis on learning more about the moon’s polar regions, where constant exposure to sunlight is possible and a chance exists for liquid water to be found in the permanently shadowed regions.

It is hoped that exploration data from the LRO can be used to find better landing sites, paving the way for the return of manned trips to the moon and, ultimately, lunar outposts. As such, the LRO marks the first effort to create a complete map of all of the moon’s resources and geography. Because an outpost would also imply humans spending prolonged periods of time on the surface of the moon, the LRO is being used to identify resources on the moon and determine how the moon’s radiation-filled environment will affect us.

Read more about the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in our latest blog post at http://www.penny4nasa.org/2013/05/13/mapping-the-moon-the-lunar-reconnaissance-orbiter-mission/

(Source: pennyfournasa)

Moon Shares Water Source With Earth

The Moon and the Earth share a common water source — primitive meteorites — according to research findings from Brown University.

The predominant theory on how the Moon was formed is that it was the result of a giant object hitting the Earth around 4.5 billion years ago. A chunk of the debris from the impact then became the Moon.

However, researchers assumed that the heat generated by that process would have removed all the water from the Moon leaving it completely dry. Analysis of water found on and beneath the Moon’s surface shows that it has the same source as that found on Earth meaning the process behind the Moon’s formation is not as simple as was previously thought.

“The simplest explanation for what we found is that there was water on the proto-Earth at the time of the giant impact,” said lead author, Alberto Saal, associate professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University. “Some of that water survived the impact, and that’s what we see in the Moon.”

Previous research established that volcanic glass found in samples taken during the Apollo missions contained water. Saal’s paper was looking to work out the water’s origins by analysing the isotopic composition of hydrogen, particularly looking at the amount of deuterium present.

The scientists found that the water’s chemical profile matched that of meteorites from the asteroid belt near Jupiter. The fact that Earth’s own water largely comes from these kinds of meteorites implies that the two share a common water source.

“The impact somehow didn’t cause all the water to be lost,” said Saal. “But we don’t know what that process would be.”

Alien Planet Documentary

— Explore an Earth-like alien planet 6.5 light years away, named Darwin IV, with two well equipped robotic probes called Leo (the risk-taker) and Ike (the more cautious one).

Above are only a few of the exciting creatures you will encounter.
— Watch it here

(Source: the-science-llama)

The Science Report

by Stuart Gary

Comet century may be telescope’s last

I’ve just written a story for ABC Science about the discovery of the 100th comet by the Uppsala telescope at the Siding Spring Observatory..

The find makes the Uppsala telescope the third most successful ground-based comet discovery observatory in history.

The problem is, the discovery comes at a time when funding is about to run out for the telescope which is the only Near Earth Objects survey in the Southern Hemisphere.

If you missed my radio report on the story and you want to find out more, check out the online version at:
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2013/05/14/3758927.htm

(Source: abcstarstuff)

The Sun Blasts Out Two X-Class Flares, Strongest of the Year

The Sun gets active! On May 12, 2013, the Sun emitted what NASA called a “significant” solar flare, classified as an X1.7, making it the first X-class flare of 2013. Then earlier today, May 13, 2013, the Sun let loose with an even stronger flare, an X2.8-class. Both flares took place just beyond the limb of the Sun, and were also associated with another solar phenomenon, a coronal mass ejection (CME) which sent solar material out into space.

Neither CME was not Earth-directed, and according to SpaceWeather.com, no planets were in the line of fire. However, the CMEs appear to be on course to hit NASA’s Epoxi, STEREO-B and Spitzer spacecraft on May 15-16. NASA said their mission operators have been notified, and if warranted, operators can put spacecraft into safe mode to protect the instruments. Experimental NASA research models show that the CMEs were traveling at about 1,930 km/second (1,200 miles per second) when they left the Sun.

The sunspot associated with these flares is just coming into view, and the next 24 to 48 hours should reveal much about the sunspot, including its size, magnetic complexity, and potential for future flares.

Watch! Both the X1.7 and the X2.8-class solar flare, plus a prominence eruption, all in one video.

image 1: A close-up of an an X1.7-class solar flare on May 12, 2013 as seen by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. credit: NASA/SDO/AIA.

image 2: SDO image of an X2.8-class flare on May 13, 2013. Credit: NASA/SDO

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this X1 flare (largest of the year so far) in extreme UV light

NASA Mars Film Featuring Carl Sagan

(Source: electricspacekoolaid)

“This video shows a solar flare that occurred earlier this month by sunspot AR1692. The solar wind that hit earth on March 17th resulted in this Aurora Borealis, shot over four hours by photographer Göran Strand.” Original link to article here, by clever person Lily Newman

(Source: cozydark.com)