Binary star system found right under our noses In a day when we have examined astronomical objects shining forth from a time shortly after the Big Bang, one would think astronomers have a pretty good handle on what is in the immediate vicinity of the Solar System. That's why the recent report of a binary star lying only 6.5 light-years away came as rather a surprise to the astronomical community. The pair, called WISE J1049-5319 A and B, are brown dwarf stars and only two star systems – the triple star Alpha Centauri, and Barnard's Star – lie closer to our Sun. In December of 2009, NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) was launched into a polar orbit at an altitude of 525 km (326 miles) back in 2009. This small-scale space telescope was designed to perform a survey of the entire expanse of space in near- to mid-infrared wavelengths ranging from 3.4 to 22 microns. Brown dwarf stars are stars that have too little mass to fuse hydrogen (although deuterium is likely to fuse for a brief period). Prof.
Komeetta näyttäytyy -maaliskuun tähtitaivas Maaliskuussa tähtitaivas tarjoaa kiinnostavan, uuden vieraan. Eteläiseltä pallonpuoliskolta on nimittäin siirtynyt pohjoisen pallonpuoliskon tähtitaivasta ilahduttamaan PanSTARRS-komeetta C/2011 L4. Se näkyi eteläisellä taivaalla paljain silmin ja pohjoisellakin taivaalla sen uskotaan erottuvan hyvin paljain silmin pimeässä ja valosaasteettomassa paikassa, maalis-huhtikuussa. Planeetoista näkyvät maaliskuussa Jupiter, joka loistaa kirkkaimpana valopilkkuna jo illalla, ja aamuyöllä kaakon suunnalta taivaanrannasta nousee esiin Saturnus. Komeetta C/2011 L4 havaittiin ensimmäisen kerran kesäkuussa 2011 Hawaijilla sijaitsevalla teleskooppijärjestelmällä PanSTARRS. Komeetan arvioidaan näyttäytyvän nyt ensimmäistä kertaa maapallon lähettyvillä. Maaliskuun tähtitaivas kuunneltavana: Maaliskuun tähtitaivaalla näkyy komeettoja Maaliskuussa tähtitaivaan tarkkailijoita ilahduttaa mahdollisuus etsiä taivaalta komeetta, joka tulee näkyviin kuun puolivälin tienoilla. Katso klippi Areenassa
500 Years of Witnessed Meteors Interactive map of recorded meteor strikes. Mouse over impacts for more details or click the histograms to crossfilter larger trends. Show More New Asteroid-Mining Company Aims to Spur Space Settlement A new asteroid-mining company launched Tuesday with the goal of helping humanity expand across the solar system by tapping the vast riches of space rocks. The new firm, called Deep Space Industries, Inc., announced today (Jan. 22) that it plans to launch a fleet of prospecting spacecraft in 2015, then begin harvesting metals and water from near-Earth asteroids within a decade or so. Such work could make it possible to build and refuel spacecraft far above our planet's surface, thus helping our species get a foothold in the final frontier. "Using resources harvested in space is the only way to afford permanent space development," Deep Space CEO David Gump said in a statement. "More than 900 new asteroids that pass near Earth are discovered every year," Gump explained. Deep Space is the second company to jump into the asteroid-mining business. An artist's concept of Deep Space Idustries' Dragonfly picker to capture asteroids for mining operations.Credit: Deep Space Industries
Get Your Camera: Spectacular Comet Views Lighting Up the Night Sky | Wired Science A view of comet PANSTARRS from Argentina on March 2. Image courtesy Luis Argerich Sky-watchers in the Southern Hemisphere are currently being treated to the beautiful sight of comet PANSTARRS, which is visible to the naked eye in the early evening. They won’t be hogging all the fun, though, as the comet can be seen starting March 7 from the Northern Hemisphere. The comet, officially known as C/2011 L4, has been eagerly anticipated by amateur astronomers as it has approached the inner solar system. The icy ball was predicted to brighten significantly as the sun’s hot wind melted it, forming a long tail. PANSTARRS is named after the Hawaiian telescope where it was discovered in 2011. Two comets appear in this image, taken from Las Campanas observatory Chile in early March. On March 5, the comet will be at its closest approach to the Earth, being slightly farther than 1 astronomical unit, the distance between our planet and the sun.
Interactive graphic: Every active satellite orbiting earth Bob Dylan, a folk singer whose poetic lyrics defined his generation, has become the first musician to win the nobel prize for literature. The prize, which was first awarded in 1901, was presented to Dylan “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition,” according to an announcement from the Swedish Academy, which decides the prize each year from an undisclosed list of candidates. Dylan’s distinctive voice and his musicianship brought him early success. In 1965, he famously appalled folk fans by changing the sound they’d grown to love by playing electric guitar. Dylan is “a great sampler,” according to Sara Danils, permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, speaking to the Guardian newspaper. She said his 1966 album Blond on Blond was “An extraordinary example of his brilliant way of rhyming, putting together refrains, and his brilliant way of thinking.”
Black holes growing faster than expected › News in Science (ABC Science) News in Science Thursday, 17 January 2013 Stuart GaryABC Black hole find Existing theories on the relationship between the size of a galaxy and its central black hole are wrong according to a new Australian study. The discovery by Dr Nicholas Scott and Professor Alister Graham, from Melbourne's Swinburne University of Technology, found smaller galaxies have far smaller black holes than previously estimated. Central black holes, millions to billions of times more massive than the Sun, reside in the core of most galaxies, and are thought to be integral to galactic formation and evolution. However astronomers are still trying to understand this relationship. Scott and Graham combined data from observatories in Chile, Hawaii and the Hubble Space Telescope, to develop a data base listing the masses of 77 galaxies and their central supermassive black holes. The astronomers determined the mass of each central black hole by measuring how fast stars are orbiting it. Inconsistency Somewhere in between
Asteroid impact mission targets Didymos / GSP / About Us / ESA Asteroid impact mission targets Didymos ESA’s AIDA mission now has a target: asteroid Didymos 22 February 2013 ESA’s proposed Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment mission now has a target: asteroid Didymos. The recent Russian meteor and, on the same day, our planet’s close encounter with an even larger chunk of celestial debris underline the need for us to learn more about these high-speed space rocks. For the last two years, ESA has been working with international partners on the mission concept, dubbed AIDA. Currently under study, the mission would intercept Didymos around the time of the asteroid’s closest approach to within 11 million km of Earth in 2022. Didymos is a ‘binary’, with two asteroids orbiting each other – one is roughly 800 m across, the other about 150 m. AIDA is a low-budget international effort that would send two small craft to intercept a double target. One effect would be a change in the orbital ballet of the two objects. Didymos with its moon Notes for Editors