Thread for TN and others to post space stuff in.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/spots-waves-and-wind-a-solar-science-timeline

This is a slideshow of animated gifs giving a timeline of discoveries about the Sun. eg. 1908 for the discovery of the Sun’s magnetic field, 1919 for the confirmation of general relativity, etc.

In case you missed it, the ESA spacecraft Solar Orbiter launched on 10 February 2020. This will be the first ever spacecraft to look down on the Sun’s poles. The spacecraft makes a close approach to the Sun every six months. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Orbiter

In a very real sense, Solar Orbiter will be the successor to that enormously successful and enormously aged spacecraft SOHO.

Parker Solar Probe had perihelion on 29 Jan 2020, the closest ever.

This Could Be The First Record Of Someone Getting Killed By A Meteorite

A team of scientists think they’ve found the oldest evidence of a meteorite striking and killing a person, according to a new report published in the journal journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science.

Posted this in Chat, before, but may as well repost this video here. Cassini’s early images have been digitally tweaked, cropped, and compiled into the featured inspiring video which is part of a larger developing IMAX movie project named “In Saturn’s Rings”.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200419.html

Astronomers Have Watched a Nova Go From Start to Finish For The First Time

A nova is a dramatic episode in the life of a binary pair of stars. It’s an explosion of bright light that can last weeks or even months. And though they’re not exactly rare – there are about 10 each year in the Milky Way – astronomers have never watched one from start to finish.

more…

Tau.Neutrino said:

This Could Be The First Record Of Someone Getting Killed By A Meteorite

A team of scientists think they’ve found the oldest evidence of a meteorite striking and killing a person, according to a new report published in the journal journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science.

> Given the hype around space rocks hitting Earth, there are surprisingly few records of meteorites striking people, much less killing anyone. But scientists at the Ego University and Trakya University in Turkey and the SETI Institute in the United States found a 1888 record from General Directorate of State Archives of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey that contains three manuscripts that seem to recount a death-by-meteorite event.

Astronomers Find a Six-Planet System Which Orbit in Lockstep With Each Other

To date, astronomers have confirmed the existence of 4,152 extrasolar planets in 3,077 star systems. While the majority of these discoveries involved a single planet, several hundred star systems were found to be multi-planetary. Systems that contain six planets or more, however, appear to be rarer, with only a dozen or so cases discovered so far.

more…

Tau.Neutrino said:

This Could Be The First Record Of Someone Getting Killed By A Meteorite

A team of scientists think they’ve found the oldest evidence of a meteorite striking and killing a person, according to a new report published in the journal journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science.

Pfffft. Old news. I reported that a couple of days ago. Including a typo…

;)

New high-energy-density physics research provides insights about the universe

Atoms and molecules behave very differently at extreme temperatures and pressures. Although such extreme matter doesn’t exist naturally on the earth, it exists in abundance in the universe, especially in the deep interiors of planets and stars. Understanding how atoms react under high-pressure conditions—a field known as high-energy-density physics (HEDP)—gives scientists valuable insights into the fields of planetary science, astrophysics, fusion energy, and national security.

more…

This is the Final Picture NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope

On Jan. 30th, 2020, NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope was retired after sixteen years of faithful service. As one of the four NASA Great Observatories – alongside Hubble, Chandra, and Compton space telescopes – Spitzer was dedicated to studying the Universe in infrared light. In so doing, it provided new insights into our Universe and enabled the study of objects and phenomena that would otherwise be impossible.

more…

Scientists on April 24 celebrated the Hubble Space Telescope’s 30th anniversary with a new image of a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.

Lyrid meteor shower, the best night sky show for months, is still active

Video of zooming into a star forming region in the LMC. Released in celebration of Hubble’s 30th birthday.

https://youtu.be/yF0ebVy1aaQ

And here it is. This is mot a mosaic of multiple images, this is a single image.

Also in the “week in images” website. https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Week_in_images/Week_in_images_20-24_April_2020

Less NO2 pollution from cars in India right now.

Dang it. Missed this meeting.

April Virtual Meeting | Australia in Space

27-04-2020 07:30 PM

As previously announced, the Space Association of Australia has reluctantly cancelled our regular public meetings until at least June.

However, the space news never stops so we are conducting our second virtual meeting!

We did this for our March meeting and it was loads of fun. To watch, simply register on the link below and you will then be sent a link to join the meeting on Monday night, have some headphones or speakers ready to go and a microphone if you’d like to ask questions.

You can watch via a web browser or download some software (Zoom). You’ll be able to make comments and ask questions. If anyone misbehaves, you’ll be kicked out.

We suggest for those that are joining using your smartphones that you download the free Zoom app before the meeting. Those that are joining on their computer can just use their web browser. You can also choose to have your video camera active or off.

Draft agenda:

19:30 – Welcome and introductions

19:45 – SAA news and activities

20:00 – Feature Australia In Space

Adam Seedsman, Head of Strategy and Policy Australian Space Agency Adam Gilmour, CEO & Founder Gilmour Space Andrew Uscinski from Valiant Space Herve Astier, CEO of Nuemann Space Lloyd Damp, CEO of Southern Launch

Each of whom will give a short overview of their operations and plans and then we will open up for a Q&A.

Have a comet, a relatively new one. Comet Swan.

Full sized image https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2004/CometSwan_Rhemann_1200.jpg

Back to the Moon in 2024, teleconference tomorrow.

NASA to Announce Commercial Human Lander Awards for Artemis Moon Missions

NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Thursday, April 30, to announce the companies selected to develop modern human landing systems (HLS) that will carry the first woman and next man to the surface of the Moon by 2024 and develop sustainable lunar exploration by the end of the decade.

(That’s live at 3 am Australian Eastern Standard Time tonight).

Audio of the call will stream online at:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

The teleconference participants are:

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine Doug Loverro, associate administrator of NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate Lisa Watson-Morgan, HLS program manager Tyler Cochran, HLS contracting officer

The Artemis program encompasses NASA’s overall lunar exploration plans.

mollwollfumble said:

Have a comet, a relatively new one. Comet Swan.

Full sized image https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2004/CometSwan_Rhemann_1200.jpg

Thanks.

It is 0.8 AU (120 million km; 310 LD) from Earth in the constellation of Aquarius. It has an apparent magnitude of 5.6 and is visible to the naked eye from a dark site. It may be in outburst mode now and rich with hydrogen. It is best seen from the Southern hemisphere.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2020_F8_(SWAN)

Might try to find out about viewing it. We live in a dark site (dark enough to see Andromeda with the naked eye).

Citizen science. Identify corals from space using NASA data.

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-calls-on-gamers-citizen-scientists-to-help-map-world-s-corals/

mollwollfumble said:

Back to the Moon in 2024, teleconference tomorrow.

NASA to Announce Commercial Human Lander Awards for Artemis Moon Missions

NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Thursday, April 30, to announce the companies selected to develop modern human landing systems (HLS) that will carry the first woman and next man to the surface of the Moon by 2024 and develop sustainable lunar exploration by the end of the decade.

(That’s live at 3 am Australian Eastern Standard Time tonight).

Audio of the call will stream online at:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

The teleconference participants are:

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine Doug Loverro, associate administrator of NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate Lisa Watson-Morgan, HLS program manager Tyler Cochran, HLS contracting officer

The Artemis program encompasses NASA’s overall lunar exploration plans.

I think Elon’s got a dog in this fight.

Peak Warming Man said:

mollwollfumble said:

Back to the Moon in 2024, teleconference tomorrow.

NASA to Announce Commercial Human Lander Awards for Artemis Moon Missions

NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Thursday, April 30, to announce the companies selected to develop modern human landing systems (HLS) that will carry the first woman and next man to the surface of the Moon by 2024 and develop sustainable lunar exploration by the end of the decade.

(That’s live at 3 am Australian Eastern Standard Time tonight).

Audio of the call will stream online at:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

The teleconference participants are:

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine Doug Loverro, associate administrator of NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate Lisa Watson-Morgan, HLS program manager Tyler Cochran, HLS contracting officer

The Artemis program encompasses NASA’s overall lunar exploration plans.

I think Elon’s got a dog in this fight.

Other upcoming live events on NASA TV.

May 1, Friday

SpaceX Demonstration Mission 2 (DM2) Pre-Launch Briefings

11 a.m. – Commercial Crew and International Space Station overview news conference with the following participants:

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine Kathy Lueders, program manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Kirk Shireman, program manager, International Space Station Program, NASA’s Johnson Space Center Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer, SpaceX

12:30 p.m. – Mission Overview news conference with the following participants:

Steve Stich, deputy manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASA’s Johnson Space Center Zeb Scoville, NASA Demo-2 flight director, Flight Operations Directorate, NASA’s Johnson Space Center Benji Reed, director of crew mission management, SpaceX

2 p.m. – Crew news conference with the following participants:

Astronaut Robert Behnken, joint operations commander, NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission Astronaut Douglas Hurley, spacecraft commander, NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission

3:30 p.m. – Round-Robin interviews with the crew members:

Behnken and Hurley will be available for a limited number of remote interviews

Peak Warming Man said:

mollwollfumble said:

Back to the Moon in 2024, teleconference tomorrow.

NASA to Announce Commercial Human Lander Awards for Artemis Moon Missions

NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Thursday, April 30, to announce the companies selected to develop modern human landing systems (HLS) that will carry the first woman and next man to the surface of the Moon by 2024 and develop sustainable lunar exploration by the end of the decade.

(That’s live at 3 am Australian Eastern Standard Time tonight).

Audio of the call will stream online at:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

The teleconference participants are:

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine Doug Loverro, associate administrator of NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate Lisa Watson-Morgan, HLS program manager Tyler Cochran, HLS contracting officer

The Artemis program encompasses NASA’s overall lunar exploration plans.

I think Elon’s got a dog in this fight.

Thanks for this, moll. Unless I’ve forgotten how to count, though, 1pm EDT (US) time on 30 Apr is 3am EST (Aust) 1 May (Friday, not tomorrow.)