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Remembering Neil Armstrong, 1930–2012

By Guest PostAugust 27, 2012Scienceamerican astronaut, apollo 1, buzz aldrin, cincinnati, coronary arteries, david scott, first person, gemini 8 mission, jimmy carter, korean war, michael collins, moon, NASA, navy officer, neil armstrong, ohio, richard nixon, united states, walk

Neil A. Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, on August 5, 1930. He began his NASA career in Ohio.

After serving as a naval aviator from 1949 to 1952, Armstrong joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1955. His first assignment was with the NACA Lewis Research Center (now NASA Glenn) in Cleveland. Over the next 17 years, he was an engineer, test pilot, astronaut and administrator for NACA and its successor agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

As a research pilot at NASA’s Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., he was a project pilot on many pioneering high speed aircraft, including the well known, 4000-mph X-15. He has flown over 200 different models of aircraft, including jets, rockets, helicopters and gliders. (more…)

Cassini Finds Titan Lake is Like a Namibia Mudflat

By Guest PostApril 20, 2012Scienceatmosphere, bonnie buratti, cassini spacecraft, earth, ethane, etosha salt pan, geological feature, groundwater level, hydrocarbon cycle, lake, liquid hydrocarbon, methane, moon, mudflats, NASA, ontario lacus, propane, rainy season, saturated sand, saturn, south polar, thomas cornet, titan

A new study analyzing data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft suggests that the lake, known as Ontario Lacus, behaves most similarly to what we call a salt pan on Earth.

A group led by Thomas Cornet of the Université de Nantes, France, a Cassini associate, found evidence for long-standing channels etched into the lake bed within the southern boundary of the depression. This suggests that Ontario Lacus, previously thought to be completely filled with liquid hydrocarbons, could actually be a depression that drains and refills from below, exposing liquid areas ringed by materials like saturated sand or mudflats. (more…)

First Geologic Map of Jupiter’s Moon Io Details an Otherworldly Volcanic Surface

By Guest PostMarch 21, 2012Scienceapollo moon, arizona state university, david a williams, david williams, europa, galileo, galileo orbiter, ganymede, geologic map, image mosaic, io, jovian satellite, jupiter, ken herkenhoff, ken tanaka, marcia mcnutt, mars, moon, NASA, solar system, spacecraft, usgs, volcanic activity, voyager 1

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – More than 400 years after its discovery by Galileo, the innermost large moon of Jupiter – Io – can finally rest on its geologic laurels. A group of scientists led by Dr. David A. Williams of Arizona State University has produced the first global geologic map of the Jovian satellite. The map, which was published by the U. S. Geological Survey, technically illustrates the geologic character of some of the most unique and active volcanoes ever documented in the solar system.

Since its discovery in January 1610, Io has been the focus of repeated observation, first by Earth-based telescopes, and later by fly-by and orbiting spacecraft. These studies depict an otherworldly celestial body whose gravitational relationships with Jupiter and sister moons Europa and Ganymede cause massive, rapid flexing of its surface and interior. This flexing generates tremendous heat in Io’s interior, which is relieved through surface volcanism, resulting in 25 times more volcanic activity than occurs here on Earth. (more…)

NASA Twin Spacecraft on Final Approach for Moon Orbit

By Guest PostDecember 29, 2011Scienceapollo, cape canaveral air force station, crust, david lehman, denver, elliptical orbit, euphoria, evolution of the moon, grail, gravitational field, gravity recovery and interior laboratory, high resolution map, lockheed martin space systems, lunar orbit, lunar south pole, maria zuber, moon, NASA, new year eve, science objectives, twin spacecraft, ultra stable oscillator

PASADENA, Calif. — NASA’s twin spacecraft to study the moon from crust to core are nearing their New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day main-engine burns to place the duo in lunar orbit.

Named Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL), the spacecraft are scheduled to be placed in orbit beginning at 1:21 p.m. PST (4:21 p.m. EST) for GRAIL-A on Dec. 31, and 2:05 p.m. PST (5:05 p.m. EST) for GRAIL-B the next day. (more…)

Aquarius to Illuminate Links Between Salt, Climate

By Guest PostMay 12, 20111 commentEnvironment, Scienceage of aquarius, arctic ocean, Argentina, broadway musical, california, climate, climate change, concentration of salt, earth, evaporation, founder of buddhism, freshwater, gary lagerloef, gautama siddhartha, global precipitation patterns, hair, heavens, ice melt, jupiter, mars, moon, NASA, national space agency, ocean, ocean circulation, ocean surface roughness, ocean surface salinity data, rainfall, river runoff, salinity, salt seeking aquarius, satellite studies, scatterometer, tropical rainfall measuring mission, vandenberg air force base, water cycle, waves

When NASA’s salt-seeking Aquarius instrument ascends to the heavens this June, the moon above its launch site at California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base won’t be in the seventh house, and Jupiter’s latest alignment with Mars will be weeks in the past, in contrast to the lyrics of the song from the popular Broadway musical “Hair.” Yet for the science team eagerly awaiting Aquarius’ ocean surface salinity data, the dawning of NASA’s “Age of Aquarius” promises revelations on how salinity is linked to Earth’s water cycle, ocean circulation and climate.

Salinity – the concentration of salt – on the ocean surface is a key missing puzzle piece in satellite studies of Earth that will improve our understanding of how the ocean and atmosphere are coupled and work in tandem to affect our climate. While satellites already measure sea surface temperature and winds, rainfall, water vapor, sea level, and ocean color, measurements of ocean surface salinity have, until quite recently, been limited to sparse data collected from ships, buoys and a small number of airborne science campaigns. (more…)

Four Planets Huddle Up Before Dawn Next Week

By Guest PostMay 8, 2011Scienceanimation, beautiful astronomical photos, binoculars, ecliptic, jupiter, mars, mcdonald observatory, mercury, moon, page sky almanac, planets, sky, skymaps, skywatching events, stardate magazin, venus

AUSTIN, Texas — Four of the five planets visible to the unaided eye huddle quite close together in the pre-dawn sky next week, according to the editors of StarDate magazine.

On the morning of May 10, Venus and Jupiter will stand side by side, quite low in the east, as dawn brightens. If you have a horizon clear of buildings and trees, they will be easy to spot. They are the brightest objects in the night sky after the moon. Venus is the brighter of the two. Jupiter is to its left. (more…)

Report Provides NASA with Direction for Next 10 Years of Space Research

By Guest PostApril 13, 2011Sciencecomplex fluids, einstein, global positioning systems, gps, moon, NASA, paul chaikin, quantum gases, rob duncan, rockets, soft condensed matter physics, Space, space exploration, superconductors, Technology, telescopes, theory of relativity

*MU vice chancellor led committee that focused on fundamental physics research projects*

COLUMBIA, Mo. — During the past 60 years, humans have built rockets, walked on the moon and explored the outer reaches of space with probes and telescopes. During these trips in space, research has been conducted to learn more about life and space. Recently, a group of prominent researchers from across the country published a report through the National Academy of Sciences that is intended as a guide as NASA plans the next 10 years of research in space. Rob Duncan, the University of Missouri Vice Chancellor for Research, led the team that developed a blueprint for fundamental physics research in space for the next 10 years. (more…)

Three Giant Spaceships to Attack Earth in 2012?

By PravdaDecember 23, 2010Science Fictionalaska, aliens, americans, ancient ruins, armstrong and aldrin, carcass, civilizations, earth, extraterrestrial spaceships, haard search system, human footprints, ken johnston, lunar surface, mayan calendar, moon, optical telescopes, orbit, phenomenon, pluto, search for extraterrestrial intelligence, seti, spaceships, three giant spaceships, time science, ufo, ufo sightings

UFO encounters became especially frequent in the middle of the 20th century, when it became impossible to disregard incidents of UFO sightings anymore. Special services started establishing special departments for air defense troops, secret laboratories were organized to study the phenomenon. It is not ruled out, that secret services have already had chances to study fragments of alien spaceships or even aliens themselves.

It is about time science should say its word regarding the problem, and it did. SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), an independent non-commercial organization, released a sensational statement. (more…)

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