Spirit Faces Uncertain Future as New Year Dawns

Source - NASA Science News for December 31, 2009

NASA's Mars rover Spirit is about to mark six years of unprecedented science exploration and inspiration for the American public. However, the upcoming Martian winter could end the roving career of the beloved, scrappy robot.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/31dec_uncertainfuture.htm?list894285

And here is more information from NASA Science News:

Spirit and Opportunity home page -- NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the rovers for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

Sandtrapped Mars Rover Makes Big Discovery -- (Science@NASA)

A Mars Rover Named "Curiosity" -- read about NASA's next Mars rover in a story from Science@NASA

A Tale of Planetary Woe -- Long ago, something calamitous happened to Mars, transforming a hospitable world into the apparently lifeless desert we see today. Many scientists believe the Red Planet lost most of its atmosphere, but how? A new NASA mission named MAVEN is specifically designed to answer that question.

Sunspot Surge and a Blue Moon Eclipse

Source - Space Weather News for Dec. 31, 2009: http://spaceweather.com

SUNSPOT SURGE: 2009 is ending with a flurry of sunspots. The month of December has had more "spotted days" than any previous month of the year by a significant margin, and all of the month's sunspot groups have been members of new Solar Cycle 24. Could this herald an end to the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century? That remains to be seen. Sunspot counts and trends are shown on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com.

SOMETHING NEW: Turn your iPhone or iPod Touch into a field-tested satellite tracker! Spaceweather.com presents the Satellite Flybys app: http://simpleflybys.com

BLUE MOON ECLIPSE: For the first time in almost 20 years, there's going to be a "Blue Moon" on New Year's Eve. In Europe, sky watchers will witness an even rarer event--an eclipse of a Blue Moon on New Year's Eve. What are the odds? Probabilities and observing tips may be found at http://spaceweather.com.

Blue Moon on New Year's Eve

Source - NASA Science News for December 29, 2009

This week, for the first time in almost twenty years, there's going to be a Blue Moon on New Year's Eve.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/29dec_bluemoon.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml

IYA2009: Closing event at the Virtual Telescope

Posted on behalf of Valentina Romeo of The Virtual Telescope:

IYA2009: Closing event at the Virtual Telescope - 400 years after the historic Galilean observations of Jupiter

• When: on Jan 7 2010 at 19.30 UT

• Where: http://www.virtualtelescope.eu

On Jan 7, 1610 Galileo Galilei pointed one of his telescopes to Jupiter, unveiling a new system of worlds, with the discovery of its bigger moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

For the IYA 2009 closing ceremony at the Virtual Telescope, we decided to host a special free event on the next 7 Jan 2010, just 400 years after that revolutionary night.

We will offer a guided, live tour through the heavens, with our robotic telescopes and comments, focusing on some objects observed by Galileo.

To join, you just need to enter, on Jan 7 2010 at 19.30 UT, our website at: http://www.virtualtelescope.eu

We are looking forward to celebrate that great anniversary with you, at the very end of the International Year of Astronomy!

The official language for the event will be English.

**Feel free to invite all your friends!**

Are We Alone for 12/28/09 - Time's Mysteries Part I: Marking Time

Are We Alone - Time's Mysteries Part I: Marking Time

ENCORE: Time’s a mystery, yet we’ve invented clever ways to capture it. From sundials to atomic clocks, trace the history of time-keeping. Also, discover the surprising accuracy of nature’s dating schemes – from the decay of carbon to laying down tree rings.

Plus, why the “New York minute,” stretches to hours in Rio de Janeiro: cultural differences in the perception of time.

Guests:

• Chris Turney – Geologist at the University of Wollongong, Australia and the author of Bones, Rocks and Stars: The Science of When Things Happened
• Demetrios Matsakis – Head of the U.S. Naval Observatory’s Time Service
• Steven Jefferts – Physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado
• Robert Levine – Psychologist at California State University in Fresno and the author of A Geography of Time: The Temporal Misadventures of a Social Psychologist, or How Every Culture Keeps Time Just a Little Bit Differently
• Norman Mohr – Owner, Mohr Clocks, Mountain View, California

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Voyager Makes an Interstellar Discovery

Source - NASA Science News for December 23, 2009

The solar system is passing through an interstellar cloud that physics says should not exist. In the Dec. 24th issue of Nature, a team of scientists reveal how NASA's Voyager spacecraft have solved the mystery.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/23dec_voyager.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml

Are We Alone for 12/21/09 - Journey to a Black Hole

Are We Alone - Journey to a Black Hole

A massive black hole lies at the center of our galaxy, a monster hunkered down in the Milky Way’s innermost sanctum. Here, the bizarre laws of General Relativity take over, as the physics we know break down. And our spaceship is headed straight for it.

Join us on a special dramatized 26,000 light-year adventure to the Galaxy’s hulking heart of darkness. We explore a cosmos held together by gravity – discover why it’s not really a force – and try to avoid getting too close to a black hole, the ultimate expression of gravity.

This program is part of the traveling exhibit: “Black Holes, Space Warps and Time Twists,” a production of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Find out more at:

http://web-bh.cfa.harvard.edu/

Voices: Roland Pease, Lilia Roman, Roe DeVasto, Doug Vakoch, Patrick Porter, Gary Niederhoff

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

A Flash of Light from Titan

Source - NASA Science News for December 18, 2009

NASA's Cassini Spacecraft has captured the first flash of sunlight reflected off a lake on Saturn's moon Titan, confirming the presence of liquid on the part of the moon dotted with many large, lake-shaped basins.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/18dec_titanglint.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml

And here are three related articles ~ Jim

• Science Daily: Fog Discovered on Saturn's Largest Moon, Titan
• Wired News: Photo: Shining Lake Confirms Presence of Liquid on Titan
• Bild.com: German astronomers find giant lake on Saturn's moon Titan

Colliding Auroras Produce Explosions of Light

Source - NASA Science News for December 17, 2009

A continent-wide network of all-sky cameras has photographed a never-before-seen phenomenon: colliding auroras that produce explosions of light. The must-see images have solved a long-standing mystery of Northern Lights.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/17dec_whenaurorascollide.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml

A Big New Sunspot Emerges

Source - Space Weather News for Dec. 15, 2009: http://spaceweather.com

BIG NEW SUNSPOT: Just yesterday, sunspot 1035 was nearly invisible. Today, it is as wide as seven planet Earths. The fast-growing active region burst into view on Dec. 14th with a magnetic polarity that clearly identifies it as a member of new Solar Cycle 24. If the expansion continues apace, it could soon become the largest sunspot of the year. Check http://spaceweather.com for movies, photos and updates.

SOLAR ACTIVITY ALERTS: Would you like a call or text message the next time the sun unleashes a big solar flare--or when a geomagnetic storm erupts? Sign up for Spaceweather Phone and never miss another big event on the sun: http://spaceweatherphone.com .

Are We Alone for 12/014/09 - A Man, A Planet, A Tenal: Panama!

Are We Alone - A Man, A Planet, A Tenal: Panama!

While the Kepler spacecraft hunts for habitable planets beyond the solar system, we’ve let one of our own planets slip away! Find out why Pluto’s demotion to dwarf status created a public uproar as astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson reads us his hate mail. From third-graders!

Also, how we might find Earth-like planets… the possibility of life on Saturn’s moon Titan… and TED Prize winner Jill Tarter’s vision for finding E.T.

And, the man who made it all possible: 400 years of Galileo and the telescope. Part of our series for the International Year of Astronomy.

Guests

• Neil deGrasse Tyson – Astrophysicist, Head of the Hayden Planetarium, and author of The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet
• Alan Stern – Planetary Scientist at the Southwest Research Institute, lead investigator on NASA’s New Horizons Mission
• Jeffrey Van Cleve – Astronomer at the Kepler Mission Science Office
• Carolyn Porco – Planetary scientist and Lead for NASA’s Cassini Mission
• Jill Tarter – Director of SETI Research at the SETI Institute
• Andy Fraknoi – Astronomer at Foothill College and author of Voyages Through the Universe (with CD-ROM, Virtual Astronomy Labs, and InfoTrac )

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Greg Scheiderer's Seattle astronomy news

Local astronomy enthusiast Greg Scheiderer is currently writing about the Seattle astronomy scene for examiner.com. Greg's latest post is titled "New astronomy "unclub" up and running", and is about the "unclub" movement and the Galileo Astronomy Unclub founded by former Seattle Astronomical Society President Jon Bearscove.

Below is a list of some of his other posts:

• Great new Hubble photos have Seattle roots
• City of Tumwater passes ordinance to curb light pollution
• Free admission for youth at Museum of Flight in December
• Is the Seattle area above average in enthusiasm for astronomy?
• Ken Croswell talks about The Lives of Stars

Keep an eye out future posts from Greg at Seattle Astronomy Examiner.

Update: I have added an RSS feed for Greg's Seattle Astronomy Examiner site to the Astronomy and space related blogs listing on the sidebar to the left. Check it out for the latest news from Greg.

Geminid Meteor Alert

Source - Space Weather News for Dec. 12, 2009: http://spaceweather.com

GEMINID METEOR SHOWER: This weekend, Earth will pass through a stream of debris from extinct comet 3200 Phaethon, source of the annual Geminid meteor shower. Forecasters expect more than 100 meteors per hour to fly out of the constellation Gemini when the shower peaks on Dec. 13th and 14th. For most observers, the best time to look will be from 10 pm local time on Sunday night to dawn on Monday morning. Visit http://spaceweather.com for photos, a sky map, and live audio from a meteor radar.

ASTRONOMY ALERTS FOR CHRISTMAS: Spaceweather.com's astronomy alert service makes a great gift. It works like this: Suppose the International Space Station is about to fly over your back yard. Your phone will ring and tell you to go outside and look. Subscribers also receive alerts for meteor showers, eclipses, rocket launches, Northern Lights and much more. Give the heavens for Christmas at http://spaceweatherphone.com.

"Climate One Stop" Web Site Unveiled in Copenhagen

Source - NASA Science News for December 11, 2009

This week, researchers attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen unveiled a unique web site that gathers and organizes climate data for decision makers, professional scientists and lay people.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/11dec_climateonestop.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml

Here is the URL for the "Climate 1 Stop" site ~ Jim: http://arcserver4.iagt.org/climate1stop/

Stunning Spiral Light Show over Norway

Source - Space Weather News for Dec. 9, 2009: http://spaceweather.com

This morning in arctic Norway, onlookers were stunned when a gigantic luminous spiral formed in the northern sky. Veteran observers accustomed to the appearance of Northern Lights say they have never seen anything like it. It was neither a meteor nor any known form of atmospheric optics. Rumors that the spiral was caused by the botched launch of a Russian rocket have not yet been confirmed.

Visit http://spaceweather.com for images and eyewitness reports of this mysterious apparition.

Update: Click here to read an article from Universe Today about the Norway spiral, and be sure to check out the YouTube video below:

The 2009 Geminid Meteor Shower

Source - NASA Science News for December 8, 2009

The annual Geminid meteor shower has been intensifying, and researchers say 2009 could be the best year yet. This year's display peaks on Dec. 13th and 14th.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/08dec_geminids.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml

Sandtrapped Mars Rover Makes Big Discovery

Source - NASA Science News for December 2, 2009

While stuck in a sandtrap, Mars rover Spirit has made a discovery one researcher calls "supremely interesting."

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/02dec_troy.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml