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Charles P. Sonett: the Legacy of a Pioneering Space Scientist

By Guest PostOctober 9, 2011Scienceames magnetic fields explorer, apollo program, arizona board of regents, astronomy, Berkeley, bernhard schmidt, charles chuck p sonett, charles p sonett, charles p sonett space sciences building, chuck, cycle, death valley, desert town, estonian optician, explorer 33 and 35, explorer program, geology, geophysical measurements, george willis ritchey, gerard p kuiper, global climate, henri jacques chrétien, hollywood high school, hungarian parents, j randy jokipii, japanese bombing of pearl harbor, los angeles, lpl, lunar and planetary laboratory, lunar orbiter magnetometer experiment, magnetosphere, michael j drake, pittsburgh, post apollo era, ritchey chrétien telescope, schmidt telescope, solar wind, space race, spacecraft, spacecraft missions, sputnik, stream of charged particles, sun, telescope optics, trona, university of california, us army air forces

*Charles P. Sonett, the first head of the UA’s department of planetary sciences, died at the age of 87. Sonett was involved in spacecraft missions that dramatically advanced our understanding of the solar system and beyond, including the Pioneer Program, the Explorer Program and the Apollo Program.*

Charles “Chuck” P. Sonett, a founding faculty member and the first department head of the University of Arizona’s department of planetary sciences, died on Sept. 30. He was 87.

As a space exploration pioneer, Sonett was involved in numerous spacecraft programs, including the Pioneer Program, the Explorer Program and the Apollo Program – missions that dramatically advanced our understanding of the solar system, its planets and moons and beyond. (more…)

NASA Gives Public New Internet Tool to Explore the Solar System

By Guest PostSeptember 3, 2011Scienceblaine baggett, Environment, eyes on the solar system, jim green, jupiter, kevin hussey, nasa data, planetary science division, solar system, spacecraft, virtual environment, Washington, web application

PASADENA, Calif. –– NASA is giving the public the power to journey through the solar system using a new interactive Web-based tool.

The “Eyes on the Solar System” interface combines video game technology and NASA data to create an environment for users to ride along with agency spacecraft and explore the cosmos. Screen graphics and information such as planet locations and spacecraft maneuvers use actual space mission data. (more…)

NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft Enters Orbit Around Asteroid Vesta

By Guest PostJuly 17, 2011Scienceasteroid, asteroid vesta, ceres, charles bolden, dawn, dawn spacecraft, dwarf planet, german aerospace center, gravitational pull, gravity, italian space agency, jet propulsion laboratory, los angeles, main asteroid belt between mars and jupiter, marshall space flight center in huntsville, max planck institute for solar system research, NASA, President Obama, spacecraft, university of california, vesta

PASADENA, Calif. — NASA’s Dawn spacecraft on Saturday became the first probe ever to enter orbit around an object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Dawn will study the asteroid, named Vesta, for a year before departing for a second destination, a dwarf planet named Ceres, in July 2012. Observations will provide unprecedented data to help scientists understand the earliest chapter of our solar system. The data also will help pave the way for future human space missions. (more…)

NASA’s Galileo Reveals Magma ‘Ocean’ Beneath Surface of Jupiter’s Moon

By Guest PostMay 13, 2011Scienceearth surface, galileo, galileo spacecraft, hotspots, io, jupiter, krishan khurana, magma, magma layer, magnetic field, magnetometer, NASA, ocean, pacific ocean, planet, ring of fire, solar system, spacecraft, the mantle, torrence johnson, ultramific rocks, volcanic moon, volcanic object, xianzhe jia

A new analysis of data from NASA’s Galileo spacecraft has revealed that beneath the surface of Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io is an “ocean” of molten or partially molten magma.

The finding, from a study published May 13 in the journal Science, is the first direct confirmation of such a magma layer on Io and explains why the moon is the most volcanic object known in the solar system. The research was conducted by scientists from UCLA, UC Santa Cruz and the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor. (more…)

Dawn Reaches Milestone Approaching Asteroid Vesta

By Guest PostMay 5, 2011Scienceasteroid, asteroid belt, asteroid vesta, cape canaveral air force station, celestial body, christopher russell, cosmic rays, dawn spacecraft, earth, earth orbiting telescopes, florida, gamma ray, interplanetary travel, marc rayman, NASA, neutron detector, orbit, planet, protoplanet, radio signal, spacecraft, terra incognita, vesta

PASADENA, Calif. — NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has reached its official approach phase to the asteroid Vesta and will begin using cameras for the first time to aid navigation for an expected July 16 orbital encounter. The large asteroid is known as a protoplanet — a celestial body that almost formed into a planet.

At the start of this three-month final approach to this massive body in the asteroid belt, Dawn is 1.21 million kilometers (752,000 miles) from Vesta, or about three times the distance between Earth and the moon. During the approach phase, the spacecraft’s main activity will be thrusting with a special, hyper-efficient ion engine that uses electricity to ionize and accelerate xenon. The 12-inch-wide ion thrusters provide less thrust than conventional engines, but will provide propulsion for years during the mission and provide far greater capability to change velocity. (more…)

Spacecraft Catches Thunderstorms Hurling Antimatter into Space

By Guest PostJanuary 14, 2011Scienceantimatter, antimatter particles, beams, earth, egypt, electric fields, energy, fermi gamma ray space telescope, fermi spacecraft, gamma ray, joseph dwyer, light, michael briggs, NASA, phenomenon, scientists, seattle, spacecraft, steven cummer, storm, terrestrial gamma ray flash, tgf, thunderstorms, zambia

WASHINGTON — Scientists using NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have detected beams of antimatter produced above thunderstorms on Earth, a phenomenon never seen before.

Scientists think the antimatter particles were formed in a terrestrial gamma-ray flash (TGF), a brief burst produced inside thunderstorms and shown to be associated with lightning. It is estimated that about 500 such flashes occur daily worldwide, but most go undetected. (more…)

Intricate, Curving 3D Nanostructures Created Using Capillary Action Forces

By Guest PostOctober 20, 2010Science3d, 3d nanotube structures, a john hart, acetone condense, aircraft, bending petals, capillary action, capillary forming, carbon nanotubes, concentric rings, drinking straw, evaporate, gravity, john hart, liquids, microdevices, miniature, phenomenon, spacecraft, three-dimensional, twisting spires, university of michigan

Twisting spires are one of the 3D shapes researchers at the University of Michigan were able to develop using a new manufacturing process. Image credit: A. John Hart

ANN ARBOR, Mich

.— Twisting spires, concentric rings, and gracefully bending petals are a few of the new three-dimensional shapes that University of Michigan engineers can make from carbon nanotubes using a new manufacturing process.

The process is called “capillary forming,” and it takes advantage of capillary action, the phenomenon at work when liquids seem to defy gravity and spontaneously travel up a drinking straw.

The new miniature shapes have the potential to harness the exceptional mechanical, thermal, electrical, and chemical properties of carbon nanotubes in a scalable fashion, said A. John Hart, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and in the School of Art & Design.

The 3D nanotube structures could enable countless new materials and microdevices, including probes that can interface with individual cells, novel microfluidic devices, and lightweight materials for aircraft and spacecraft. (more…)

Spacecraft Observes Evolution of Conditions at Edge of Solar System

By Guest PostOctober 1, 2010Scienceall-sky, david j mccomas, dick fisher, dynamic, exploration, Galaxy, greenbelt, ibex, interstellar boundary explorer, NASA, san Antonio, solar system, spacecraft, sun

WASHINGTON — Conditions at the edge of our solar system may be much more dynamic than previously thought, new observations suggest. Future exploration missions are expected to benefit in design and mission objectives from a better understanding of the changing conditions in this boundary region. (more…)

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