crookedindifference:

NASA Celebrates the 40th Anniversary of Skylab

NASA will commemorate the 40th anniversary of America’s first space station Monday, May 13, with a televised roundtable discussion featuring Skylab astronauts, a current astronaut and agency managers planning future space missions.

The discussion, open to NASA employees and the public, will begin at 2:30 p.m. EDT in the James Webb Auditorium of NASA Headquarters at 300 E St. SW in Washington. The event will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

NASA launched Skylab on May 14, 1973. It was the nation’s first foray into significant scientific research in microgravity. The three Skylab crews proved humans could live and work effectively for long durations in space. The knowledge gathered during Skylab helped inform development and construction of the International Space Station, just as the research and technology demonstrations being conducted aboard the ISS will help shape a new set of missions that will take Americans farther into the solar system.

The bottom image is the original Skylab concept

This sketch of Skylab was drawn by George E. Mueller, NASA associate administrator for Manned Space Flight. This concept drawing was created at a meeting at the Marshall Space Flight Center on Aug. 19, 1966. The image details the station’s major elements. In 1970, the station became known as Skylab. Three crewed Skylab missions (Skylab 2 in May 1973; Skylab 3 in July 1973; and Skylab 4 in November 1973) were flown, on which experiments were conducted in space science, Earth resources, life sciences, space technology and student projects.

Read more about Skylab at NASA History in:
SKYLAB, Our First Space Station
Living and Working in Space: A History of SKYLAB

sagansense:

World’s Largest Infrared Space Telescope Shuts Down Forever

After nearly four years mapping the “hidden universe,” the largest infrared telescope ever launched into space has reached the end of its life, European Space Agency officials say.

The $1.4 billion Herschel Space Observatory has exhausted the vital supply of liquid helium coolant that allowed it make the most sensitive and detailed observations of the cosmos in infrared light, ESA officials announced Monday (April 29).

The infrared space telescope’s official end was recorded by a ground station in Australia, which recorded an increase in temperature for all of the spacecraft’s instruments during the telescope’s daily communications session. It began its mission in May 2009. [Amazing Photos from the Herschel Space Telescope]

“Herschel has offered us a new view of the hitherto hidden universe, pointing us to a previously unseen process of star birth and galaxy formation, and allowing us to trace water through the universe from molecular clouds to newborn stars and their planet-forming discs and belts of comets,” ESA’s Herschel project scientist Göran Pilbratt said in a statement.

Named for famed 18th century astronomer William Herschel, the space telescope was the most powerful infrared observatory ever launched to space until it stopped functioning this week. It has a main mirror 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) across nearly 1.5 times larger than Hubble Space Telescope, and was designed to chart the universe in the far-infrared to sub-millimeter wavelengths of light.

“Herschel gave us the opportunity to peer into the dark and cold regions of the universe that are invisible to other telescopes,”> said John Grunsfeld, NASA’s associate administrator for science missions. The U.S. space agency was a partner with ESA in the Herschel mission.

The Herschel space observatory is responsible for some amazing images of far-off cosmic wonders, such as its dazzling views of the Eagle Nebula and Andromeda Galaxy. Its helium-cooled instruments allowed astronomers to study far away starburst galaxies and star formation closer to home in the Milky Way. The coolant kept Herschel’s instruments chilled to a temperature of minus 455 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 271 degrees Celsius), but that supply was expected to evaporate over time.

“It feels like losing a member of the family,” Herschel mission officials wrote in Twitter post at the mission’s end. “Almost 4 incredibly intense years in space.”

The Herschel observatory collected more than 35,000 scientific observations and 25,000 hours of data. According to ESA officials, that plethora of data will be Herschel’s main contribution to the world of science.

“The archive will become the legacy of the mission,” ESA officials explained in a statement. “It is expected to provide even more discoveries than have been made during the lifetime of the Herschel mission.”

NASA scientists said the Herschel mission’s effect on astronomy will far outlast the four-year mission itself.

“Herschel has improved our understanding of how new stars and planets form, but has also raised many new questions,” said Paul Goldsmith, NASA Herschel project scientist at JPL, said in a statement. “Astronomers will be following up on Herschel’s discoveries with ground-based and future space-based observatories for years to come.”

The space telescope has also paved the way for future missions focused on observing the universe in infrared wavelengths, ESA officials added.

“The mission resulted in a number of technological advancements applicable to future space missions and potential spin-off technologies,” ESA officials said. “The mission saw the development of advanced cryogenic systems, the construction of the largest telescope mirror ever flown in space, and the utilization of the most sensitive direct detectors for light in the far-infrared to millimeter range.”

Stay Curious, Watch: The Herschel Story (via space.com)

image 1: This artist’s illustration shows the European Space Agency’s infrared Herschel Space Obsevatory set against a background image of the Vela C star-forming region. The space telescope launche din 2009 and ended its mission in 2013. credit: ESA/PACS & SPIRE Consortia, T. Hill, F. Motte, Laboratoire AIM Paris-Saclay, CEA/IRFU – CNRS/INSU – Uni. Paris Diderot, HOBYS Key Programme Consortium

image 2: Each of the thousands of dots in this image is an entire galaxy containing billions of stars, revealed in a region of space called the Lockman hole, which allows a clear line of sight out into the distant universe, as seen by the Herschel Space Observatory. See more amazing images obtained by Herschel since its launch in May, 2009

image 3: ESA Herschel space observatory image of Andromeda (M31) using both PACS and SPIRE instruments to observe at infrared wavelengths of 70 mm (blue), 100 mm (green) and 160 mm and 250 mm combined (red). Image released Jan. 28, 2013. credit: ESA/Herschel/PACS & SPIRE Consortium, O. Krause, HSC, H. Linz

sagansense:

Loss Of The Night (Android App)

Take part in a world-wide citizen science project that measures star visibility and light pollution. Help create a database for research on health, environment and society by telling scientists which stars you can see at your location.

In many parts of the world, the night sky shines with waste artificial light from poorly designed street lamps. This light pollution spoils the beauty of the stars and changes the natural environment.

But light pollution is not only a problem for astronomy. Scientists all over the world are studying how light pollution affects health, society, and the environment. Based on the well-known Google Sky Map, this app is a tool to measure star visibility without expensive equipment. Just look up to the sky, find certain stars, and tell us whether you can see them or not!

Using the Loss of the Night app is fun, educational, promotes citizen science, and is an active contribution to protect the environment.
Stargazing connects you to the universe, especially in places free of light pollution. Find out how many stars you can see, and compare it to other areas on the GLOBE at Night map. Learn about the stars and constellations, and find places where you can still see the Milky Way. If you’re lucky enough to live in such a place, let others know! Counting stars is a great experience and family activity!

Make a change! Most light pollution is caused by bad lamp design, although overly lit areas contribute as well. By finding areas with good lighting design, you will help other communities learn what works. This will keep our bedrooms darker, and the sky full of stars. Proper design also saves energy and money!

Take an active part in science! The Loss of the Night app allows students to measure light pollution and star visibility for their own science projects, and at the same time become part of a global citizen science network. Measurements are sent anonymously to the GLOBE at Night database (www.GLOBEatNight.org), a citizen science project that has monitored light pollution since 2006. GLOBE at Night creates worldwide maps of star visibility and light pollution, which scientists can use to analyse correlations between light pollution and health, biodiversity, life quality, and many more factors.

You are also welcome to get into contact with the light pollution researchers from Verlust der Nacht that built this app, and learn about their other projects (www.verlustdernacht.de). The app provides some basic information on the history, importance, and consequences of artificial light at night.

magnitude: stars in sky
0-1: 2-8
1-2: 8-25
2-3: 25-100
3-4: 100-250
4-5: 250-800
5: thousands

(Use this table to convert the faintest star you saw into an estimate of how many stars you can see at your location)

via International Dark-Sky Association

spaceplasma:

Sun Emits Mid-Level Flare

A burst of solar material leaps off the left side of the sun in what’s known as a prominence eruption. This image combines three images from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured on May 3, 2013, at 1:45 pm EDT, just as an M-class solar flare from the same region was subsiding. The images include light from the 131-, 171- and 304-angstrom wavelengths.

The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 1:32 pm EDT on May 3, 2013. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however — when intense enough — they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. This disrupts the radio signals for as long as the flare is ongoing, and the radio blackout for this flare has already subsided.

This flare is classified as an M5.7-class flare. M-class flares are the weakest flares that can still cause some space weather effects near Earth. Increased numbers of flares are quite common at the moment, as the sun’s normal 11-year activity cycle is ramping up toward solar maximum, which is expected in late 2013.

Credit: NASA/SDO/AIA

sagansense:

The Curious Channel 37 — Must-see TV For Radio Astronomy

Thanks to Channel 37, radio astronomers keep tabs on everything from the Sun to pulsars to the lonely spaces between the stars. This particular frequency, squarely in the middle of the UHF TV broadcast band, has been reserved for radio astronomy since 1963, when astronomers successfully lobbied the FCC to keep it TV-free.

Back then UHF TV stations were few and far between. Now there are hundreds, and I’m sure a few would love to soak up that last sliver of spectrum. Sorry Charley, the moratorium is still in effect to this day. Not only that, but it’s observed in most countries across the world.

So what’s so important about Channel 37? Well, it’s smack in the middle of two other important bands already allocated to radio astronomy – 410 Megahertz (MHz) and 1.4 Gigahertz (Gz). Without it, radio astronomers would lose a key window in an otherwise continuous radio view of the sky. Imagine a 3-panel bay window with the middle pane painted black. Who wants THAT?

Channel 37 occupies a band spanning from 608-614 MHz. A word about Hertz. Radio waves are a form of light just like the colors we see in the rainbow or the X-rays doctors use to probe our bones. Only difference is, our eyes aren’t sensitive to them. But we can build instruments like X-ray machines and radio telescopes to “see” them for us.

Every color of light has a characteristic wavelength and frequency. Wavelength is the distance between successive crests in a light wave which you can visualize as a wave moving across a pond. Waves of visible light range from one-millionth to one-billionth of a meter, comparable to the size of a virus or DNA molecule.

X-rays crests are jammed together even more tightly – one X-ray is only as big as an small atom. Radio waves fill out the opposite end of the spectrum with wavelengths ranging from baseball-sized to more than 600 miles (1000 km) long.

The frequency of a light wave is measured by how many crests pass a given point over a given time. If only one crest passes that point every second, the light beam has a frequency of 1 cycle per second or 1 Hertz. Blue light has a wavelength of 462 billionths of a meter and frequency of 645 trillion Hertz (645 Terahertz).

The higher the frequency, the greater the energy the light carries. X-rays have frequencies starting around 30 quadrillion Hertz (30 petahertz or 30 PHz), enough juice to damage body cells if you get too much exposure. Even ultraviolet light has power to burn skin as many of us who’ve spent time outdoors in summer without sunscreen are aware.

Radio waves are the gentle giants of the electromagnetic spectrum. Their enormous wavelengths mean low frequencies. Channel 37 radio waves have more modest frequencies of around 600 million Hertz (MHz), while the longest radio waves deliver crests almost twice the width of Lake Superior at a rate of 3 to 300 Hertz.

If Channel 37 were ever lost to TV, the gap would mean a loss of information about the distribution of cosmic rays in the Milky Way galaxy and rapidly rotating stars called pulsars created in the wake of supernovae. Closer to home, observations in the 608-614 MHz band allow astronomers track bursts of radio energy produced by particles blasted out by solar flares traveling through the sun’s outer atmosphere. Some of these can have powerful effects on Earth. No wonder astronomers want to keep this slice of the electromagnetic spectrum quiet. For more details on how useful this sliver is to radio astronomy, click HERE.

Just as optical astronomers seek the darkest sites for their telescopes to probe the most remote corners of the universe, so too does radio astronomy need slices of silence to listen to the faintest whispers of the cosmos.

image 1: The Very Large Array, one of the world’s premier astronomical radio observatories, consists of 27 radio antennas in a Y-shaped configuration 50 miles west of Socorro, New Mexico. Each antenna is 82 feet (25 m) in diameter. The data from the antennas is combined electronically to give the resolution of an antenna 22 miles (36 km) across. credit: NRAO/AUI and NRAO

image 2: Channel 37, a slice of the radio spectrum from 608 and 614 Megahertz (MHz) reserved for radio astronomy, sits in the middle of the UHF TV band. Click to see the full spectrum. credit: US Dept. of Commerce

image 3: The visible colors, infrared, radio, X-rays and gamma rays are all forms of light and comprise the electromagnetic spectrum. Here you can compare their wavelengths with familiar objects and see how their frequencies (bottom numbers) increase with decreasing wavelength. credit: ESA

image 4: Diagram showing what how Earth’s atmosphere allows visible light, a portion of infrared and radio light to reach the ground from outer space but filters shorter-wavelength, more dangerous forms of light like X-rays and gamma rays. To study the cosmos in these varieties of light, orbiting telescopes are required.

image 5: If our eyes could see radio light, this is what the sky would look like. What appear to be stars are actually distant galaxies glowing brightly with energy radiated as matter gets sucked down black holes in the cores. The wispy arcs and shells are the remnants of exploding supernovae. Since air molecules don’t scatter radio waves like they do visible light to create a blue sky, the sky would be dark even on a sunny day. credit: National Science Foundation

image 6: The sun as it would look in the radio portion of the spectrum at a frequency of 1.4 gigahertz (GHz). credit: National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO/AUI)

Stay Curious! Watch: First Contact: Carl Sagan On Radio Astronomy

sagansense:

Observing Jupiter

Jupiter…is always a joy to look at. Even through nothing more powerful than a good pair of binoculars. Jupiter’s four Galilean moons should be visible, their positions changing noticeably from one night to the next. The smallest telescope reveals features on Jupiter’s cloud tops, including two dark bands straddling the equator. Through larger telescopes, other dark belts and bright zones appear, as well as exciting detail within the belts.

The best way to learn about Jupiter through observation is to draw it. Observers use a soft, 2B pencil and a dim white flashlight so that they can see what they are committing to paper. Before beginning to draw, they watch the planet for a few minutes to get familiar with the shapes and details of its belts and zones. Since Jupiter rotates very quickly - the whole planet goes once around in less than 10 hours - observers complete the basic outline of their drawings in about a quarter hour, filling in the details later.

The experience of drawing this planet brings to mind the fact that Jupiter is big. It is a planet much larger than Earth and some 400 to 600 million miles from us.

While you look at Jupiter’s moons, consider how they helped persuade Galileo that the Earth was not the center of the universe, and remember that the idea was so threatening to that era’s powerful religious politics that he was forced to recant on pain of torture. By taking us back to an earlier, darker time in our history, Galileo’s moons remind us not to be too attached to the accepted wisdom of our own age.

David H. Levy; author, Impact Jupiter: The Crash Of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9; comet co-discoverer (image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4)

Amateur Astronomers: When using a “dim flashlight”, make sure to use filtered red light, via LED or DIY.

Everyone: This “darker time in our history” persists to this day. We may not have astronomers being physically tortured; no, the torture comes from our (predominantly misinformed) society’s continual persistence in ‘tolerating’ the ‘rights’ of religious influence in politics and education.

This world (and our species) deserves minds capable of critical thinking fueled by an insatiable curiosity without religious influence governed at the helm by scientifically illiterate people who claim to have a neurological two-way radio with the creator of the universe/s.

Galileo would be proud of our achievements, but more steadfast than we in his commitment to the true nature of the physical world via the scientific method and meticulous observation, to which religious “knowledge” have produced no such observations, progressions or achievements toward our understanding of the universe, led by the literal interpretation of outdated Biblical text, in order to give credit to a creator or reason yet to be named by science itself, upon which the ‘rights’ of religious organizations are allowed to exploit their superimposition of the divine plan unto our current understandings of the cosmos, without aiding in any of the countless hours of scrupulous investigation themselves.

As a father and a student of life, my parenting efforts have been led by a simple motive: teach my child (and others) how to think, not what to think. All of us the world over will benefit by a society and human civilization led by this principle as well.

Ad astra.

(sagansense)