Double Vision: New Instrument Casts Its Eyes to the Sky

The Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer has taken its first images of the star Beta Peg in the constellation Pictor -- an encouraging start for an instrument designed to probe the cosmic neighborhoods where Earth-like planets could exist.

Eight years in development, the NASA-funded instrument combines beams of light from twin 8.4-meter (28-foot) mirrors mounted atop the Large Binocular Telescope on Mount Graham, Ariz. "By combining the light of the telescopes, we're able to realize its full potential," said Project Manager Tom McMahon of the University of Arizona, Tucson. "Together, the two mirrors form the largest single-mount telescope in the world."

"The quality of the first-light images is wonderful," said the principal investigator for the project, Phil Hinz of the University of Arizona. "The telescope was stable and the instrument was working properly."

With this high-resolution imaging capability, astronomers hope to probe nearby solar systems -- specifically, the areas in these systems where Earth-like planets with liquid water could exist. Though the Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer won't be able to detect Earth-size planets, it will be able to see dust disks that are indicative of planet formation, in addition to detecting large, Jupiter-size planets farther out from the star. These findings will help future, space-based exoplanet missions know where to search for Earth-like planets in our own galactic neighborhood.

With its ability to probe this "habitable zone" of other solar systems, the Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer will also complement the capabilities of other NASA missions -- the Keck Interferometer, which can find dust very close to stars; and the Spitzer Space Telescope, which is adept at observing planet-forming dust that is much more distant.

"This instrument will help complete our picture of what planetary systems look like and be a pathfinder for finding Earth-like planets that are close by," Hinz said.

With a major upgrade of the Large Binocular Telescope's adaptive optics system scheduled for next year, the interferometer will undergo testing and commissioning for the majority of 2011, and during that time, scientific observations will begin.

"This is the highest-resolution instrument of its kind in the world," McMahon said. "We won't just be able to image exoplanets, but extragalactic objects, nebulae and galaxies. It's taken time to make sure it works as envisioned, but now it's time to do science."

The Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer is funded by NASA and managed by Ben Parvin at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., as part of NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program. The instrument and product development are provided by the University of Arizona, Tucson.

Small Asteroid to Pass Within Earth-Moon System

PASADENA, Calif. – A small asteroid will fly past Earth early Tuesday within the Earth-moon system. The asteroid, 2010 TD54, will have its closest approach to Earth’s surface at an altitude of about 45,000 kilometers (27,960 miles) at 6:50 EDT a.m. (3:50 a.m. PDT). At that time, the asteroid will be over southeastern Asia in the vicinity of Singapore. During its flyby, Asteroid 2010 TD54 has zero probability of impacting Earth. A telescope of the NASA-sponsored Catalina Sky Survey north of Tucson, Arizona discovered 2010 TD54 on Oct. 9 at (12:55 a.m. PDT) during routine monitoring of the skies.

2010 TD54 is estimated to be about 5 to 10 meters (16 to 33 feet) wide. Due to its small size, the asteroid would require a telescope of moderate size to be viewed. A five-meter-sized near-Earth asteroid from the undiscovered population of about 30 million would be expected to pass daily within a lunar distance, and one might strike Earth's atmosphere about every 2 years on average. If an asteroid of the size of 2010 TD54 were to enter Earth’s atmosphere, it would be expected to burn up high in the atmosphere and cause no damage to Earth’s surface.

The distance used on the Near Earth Object page is always the calculated distance from the center of Earth. The distance stated for 2010 TD54 is 52,000 kilometers (32,000 miles). To get the distance it will pass from Earth’s surface you need to subtract the distance from the center to the surface (which varies over the planet), or about one Earth radii. That puts the pass distance at about 45,500 kilometers (28,000 miles) above the planet.

NASA detects, tracks and characterizes asteroids and comets passing close to Earth using both ground- and space-based telescopes. The Near-Earth Object Observations Program, commonly called "Spaceguard," discovers these objects, characterizes a subset of them, and plots their orbits to determine if any could be potentially hazardous to our planet.

JPL manages the Near-Earth Object Program Office for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to roll back from Launch Pad 39A to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for additional work related to its final scheduled mission. The first motion of the shuttle is targeted for 12:30 a.m. EST on Tuesday, Dec. 21.

In the VAB, technicians will scan below the foam insulation surrounding the intertank section of Discovery's external tank to look for any issues, such as cracks. They also will reapply foam after removing 89 sensors from the tank's aluminum skin following an instrumented tanking test on Dec. 17.

The sensors were used to measure changes in the tank as super-cold propellants were pumped in and drained out during the test. Data and analysis from the test will be used to determine what caused the tops of two, 21-foot-long support beams, called stringers, on the outside of the intertank to crack during fueling on Nov. 5.

Discovery's next launch attempt is no earlier than 1:37 a.m. on Feb. 3.

The fully assembled space shuttle, consisting of orbiter Discovery, the external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters, is mounted on a mobile launcher platform and will be returned to the VAB atop a crawler transporter. The crawler will travel slower than 1 mph during the 3.4-mile journey, which is expected to take about six hours.

Video highlights of the rollback will air on the NASA Television Video File segment Tuesday.

Media are invited to a photo opportunity of the shuttle's move back into the VAB. Reporters must arrive at Kennedy's News Center by 6 a.m. for transportation to the viewing area.

As dates and times of this event are subject to change, updates are available at 321-867-2525.

For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: 

NASA Seeks Proposals For Technology Flight

NASA Seeks Proposals For Technology Flight Demonstrations And Information About Suborbital Flight Services

 

 

WASHINGTON -- NASA is seeking proposals from researchers interested in testing new technologies during suborbital flights. The agency also is requesting information from commercial suborbital reusable launch vehicle providers and commercial payload integrators about carrying the technology payloads.

The selected payloads will fly on aircraft that provide parabolic flight trajectories and on suborbital reusable launch vehicles capable of flying to altitudes above 62 miles. The flights will expose the payloads to reduced gravity and near-zero gravity environments.

"During these flights, researchers will be able to test their technologies in a range of microgravity environments and share their data with NASA -- data NASA can use when planning future missions," said Bobby Braun, NASA chief technologist at the agency's headquarters in Washington.

The solicitation is being made by NASA's Flight Opportunities Program, which is designed to foster development of a commercial reusable suborbital transportation industry while developing new technologies and improving microgravity research. When available, such reusable vehicles will provide lower-cost, more frequent, and more reliable access to space.

Technology flights are expected to reduce risks associated with emerging technologies and procedures, and overall space operations in future missions, by demonstrating applications in a relevant environment.

The solicitation for suborbital flights is open until Dec. 31, 2014. Applications for the first round of flights are due by Jan. 31, 2011. Responses to the request for information about services of commercial suborbital reusable launch vehicle providers are due Jan. 20, 2011. Participation in both activities is open to all categories of organizations.

The Flight Opportunities Program, part of NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist, integrates the existing Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research and Facilitated Access to the Space Environment for Technology programs. The Flight Opportunities Program is managed at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif.

Universe's biggest known star discovered by British astronomers

Scientists at the University of Sheffield found the stellar giant – named R136a1 – using the European southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile and data from the Hubble Space Telescope.

The star is located in the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small "satellite" galaxy which orbits the Milky Way.

Previously, the heaviest known stars were around 150 times the mass of the Sun, and this was believed to be close to the cosmic size limit.

As stars get more massive the amount of energy created in their cores grows at a faster rate than the force of gravity which holds them together. The torrents of energy produced eventually become so powerful that the stars are torn apart.

This is known as the "Eddington Limit", after the British physicist Arthur Eddington who, in 1919, proved Einstein's theory of relativity by showing that light is bent by gravity.

It was believed that the Eddington Limit was reached at around 150 solar masses.

However, R136a1 has been measured at 265 solar masses. Since heavy stars rapidly lose mass as they grow older by converting it into energy, R136a1 has already lost 20 per cent of its mass in its short million-year life. It is believed originally to have been a colossal 320 solar masses.

The Sun, by comparison, has been burning for 4.57 billion years, and has converted only 0.03 per cent of its mass into energy.

The chief researcher in the Sheffield team, Professor Paul Crowther,told Astronomy Now: "Because of their proximity to the Eddington Limit they lose mass at a pretty high rate." This means that they are incredibly bright and hot – R136a1 is believed to have a surface temperature of more than 40,000 degrees Celsius, and is 10 million times brighter than the Sun.

Among the largest known stars previously known were the Pistol Star, between 80 and 150 solar masses, and Eta Carinae, around 100 solar masses. The Pistol Star radiates as much energy in 20 seconds as our Sun does in a year. However, both are utterly dwarfed by the vast new discovery.

According to Astronomy Now, R136a1 gives off more energy than all the stars in the Orion Nebula, and if it were in our solar system would be as much brighter than the Sun as the Sun is than the Moon.

There are four stars in the cluster RCM 136a, where R136a1 sits, with a mass over 150 that of the Sun. Those four stars alone give off half the energy of the entire cluster, which contains 100,000 stars in total.

Hyper-stars like R136a1 are believed to be formed from several young stars merging together, and are only found in the very heart of stellar clusters.

Prof Crowther suspects that this is about as big as stars can get. He says: "Owing to the rarity of these monsters, I think it is unlikely that this new record will be broken any time soon."

The team’s work can be found in the latest issue of Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Safety Warning

Eye safety warning for January 4 partial eclipse

People should not look directly at the sun during a partial eclipse on Tuesday, the government's Chief Medical Officer has warned.Continue reading the main story

It can lead to permanent damage to eyesight or even blindness, said Dame Sally Davies.

Observing the eclipse through a telescope, binoculars, sunglasses, photographic film or camera is not safe, said The Department of Health.

The safest way is via the television or live webcasts, it added.

Dame Sally Davies said: "Under no circumstances should people look directly at the sun during a partial eclipse.

"The risks of doing so are very real and could lead to irreversible damage to eyesight and even blindness.

"Children are particularly vulnerable as they may be tempted to take a peek.

"We would urge parents to explain the danger to their children.

Continue reading the main storyto see another case like the young boy who lost his central vision back in October 2005 through looking directly at a partial eclipse in his school playground."

The partial eclipse of 4 January will be visible in much of the UK between 0800 and 0930 GMT.

The moon will pass across the front of the sun but not cover it completely, creating a partial eclipse.

The amount of sun obscured in the middle of the eclipse varies from around 75% in London to barely 40% in Glasgow.




Eclipse safety code

It is dangerous to look at the sun at any time

Viewing the sun during a partial eclipse requires special protection or indirect viewing methods

Only properly designed and certified solar filters should be used for direct viewing of the sun's disk

These must be identified as suitable for direct viewing of the sun, bear the CE mark, and a statement that it conforms to EC Directive 89/686/EEC

Demios

Deimos ("DEE mos") is the smaller and outermost of Mars' two moons. It is one of the smallest known moons in the solar system.

         orbit:    23,459 km from Mars
         diameter: 12.6 km (15 x 12.2 x 11)
         mass:     1.8e15 kg

In Greek mythology, Deimos is one of the sons of Ares (Mars) and Aphrodite (Venus); "deimos" is Greek for "panic".

Discovered 1877 August 12 by Hall, photographed by Viking 1 in 1977.

Deimos and Phobos are composed of carbon-rich rock like C-type asteroids and ice. Both are heavily cratered.

Deimos and Phobos are probably asteroids perturbed by Jupiter into orbits that allowed them to be captured by Mars.