Space Science News from NASA HQ 07-18-2000
Greetings!
News at http://spacescience.nasa.gov :
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The first pair of Cluster spacecraft was successfully launched on Sunday,
July 16, and so far everything seems to be going well. There are several
more orbital adjustments that need to be made before the spacecraft reach
their final orbits, but so far, so good. Eventually, Cluster will allow
scientists to assemble the first thorough three-dimensional maps of the
environment that surrounds and protects our planet. Launch of the second
pair is still scheduled for August 9. You can check out the latest at
http://sci.esa.int/home/clusterii/index.cfm ; we also put out a pre-launch
press release at ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/2000/00-105.txt
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NEAR Shoemaker has achieved its lowest orbit yet around asteroid Eros –
only 35 km (22 miles) from Eros’ center. This will yield the highest
resolution images yet taken. NEAR is currently doing gravity mapping of
the asteroid, to try to measure any density variations. Is Eros the same
through and through, or is it a conglomeration of stuff?
http://near.jhuapl.edu/
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The Two-Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) project has released its second
massive set of infrared sky images. You could spend the rest of your life
looking at all of the available image data, or just take a quick tour
through the nice image gallery they put together.
http://www.ipac.caltech.edu/2mass/releases/second/index.html
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Chemists have discovered, in sulfate minerals on Earth, an isotope anomaly
previously thought to be unique to meteorites and other extraterrestrial
rocks. This may give earth scientists and atmospheric chemists an important
new probe to answer questions about the composition of Earthís early
atmosphere, the atmospheric processes of ancient volcanic eruptions, past
ocean circulation patterns and early biological productivity.
http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/science/mcanomaly.htm
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A large solar event on July 14 triggered a geomagnetic storm, including
aurorae (“northern lights”) seen as far south as 40 degrees latitude. It
was cloudy here in the D.C. area; rats! Read more at
http://www.spaceweather.com/
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Hubble Watches Star Tear Apart its Neighborhood – an interesting image of a
rare, very hot and unstable Wolf-Rayet star. Hubble’s sharp vision is
allowing scientists to probe the intricate details of this complex system,
which is crucial to understanding the life cycle of stars and their impact
on the evolution of our galaxy. http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/2000/23/
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Pulsars may be much older than scientists thought, according to researchers
using measurements made with the National Science Foundation’s Very Large
Array (VLA). Pulsars are supernova remnants, spinning neutron stars
throwing off beams of radiation. This apparent age discrepancy could
require astronomers to re-examine many of their previous conclusions about
neutron stars and how they work.
http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/press/00/pr0049.htm
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Finally, there are now over 10,000 subscribers to this e-mail list,
representing approximately .00017% of the human population of Earth. 😉
Although not large by some standards, it’s been gratifying to watch the
list grow over the last three years. Way back in April I announced a silly
little contest I devised, in recognition of reaching 10,000 subscribers.
Soon I’ll send out a message with some info on the winners of the contest.
Meanwhile — thanks for your interest in Space Science!
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