Historic Vegetable Moment on the Space Station

Jan. 20, 2016: On August 10th, astronauts on the International Space Station sampled their first space-grown salad and pronounced it "good." They were treated to freshly harvested red romaine lettuce grown in the "Veggie" plant growth chamber-a special structure designed to make gardens flourish in weightlessness.

On Earth, garden florae battle such foes as cutworms, aphids, slugs, root maggots, blights, and rots. But weightlessness is one thing no Earthly vegetation encounters. In a weightless environment, there is no up and down, so
roots grow in all directions. Water and substrate, the materials used to anchor
these plants and allow for root growth, tend to float away.

With Veggie, these problems are solved by using 'plant pillows' -- bags of substrate with 'space dirt' and controlled-release fertilizer. Wicks are implanted in the bags to draw water into the substrate and provide a place to glue the seeds, which are oriented so roots will grow 'down' into the substrate
and shoots that emerge will push out of the bag.

LEDs furnish light for photosynthesis and give the shoots a sense of direction so they keep growing upward. The walls of the Veggie chamber can expand to make
room for the growing crop.

According to astronaut Scott Kelly's taste buds, this special space-tailored arrangement works.

"It tastes good, kind of like arugula," he says, chewing his first bite of space-lettuce. He explains the importance of growing such culinary delights in space.

".if we're going to go to Mars someday, .there's going to be a long period of time where we're going to have to be self-sufficient .and having the ability for us to grow our own food is a big step in that direction."

The astronauts celebrated the historic vegetable moment by toasting their lettuce leaves and shouting "cheers." Before long, they'll be toasting cabbage,
tomatoes, and more. The next SpaceX delivery will supply some of the seeds.

"We will be sending up . [seeds for] a small cabbage that is very highly rated for flavor, and additional red romaine lettuce," says Gioia Massa, Veggie payload scientist at Kennedy Space Center. "We are working on crop selection with dwarf tomatoes and dwarf peppers.."

Upcoming experiments will use various ratios of red and blue lights and different fertilizers in attempts to improve crop yield, nutrition, and flavor,
both on Earth and in space. Other botanical treats are planned for the astronauts as well.

"We have additional seeds on board the station," says Massa. "These are zinnias--really pretty daisy-like flowers that help us understand longer duration growing plants that have to flower in space such as tomato. We hope to have flowers in January."

That kind of enjoyment is expected to be an important added bonus to Veggie.

"I think the psychological benefit of growing plants in space will be incalculable," she says. "Having living plants could help with stress and increase the crews' enjoyment. Growing plants can . provide the sights, smells,
and tastes of Earth. Fresh produce could add variety and interest to the diet, and the textures of fresh vegetables (crunchy, juicy) could add a new dimension
to the packaged diet."

Scottish poet Alexander Smith said it best:

"How deeply seated in the human heart is the liking for gardens and gardening."

Apparently the same is true of human hearts - in space.

For more from the International Space station, go to www.nasa.gov/station

For more nutritious news from Earth orbit, and beyond, stay tuned to science.nasa.gov


Regards,

Roger

--- DB 3.99 + Windows 10
* Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)

Measuring the Rising Seas

Jan. 26, 2016: Earth is enveloped by a vast ocean that covers about 71 percent
of our planet. Even tiny changes in this body of water can add up to enormous effects on climate and weather.

The Jason-3 satellite, launched on January 17, 2016, will allow scientists to continue a 23-year record aimed at studying Earth's ocean to better understand and forecast our climate, months and years into the future.

Jason-3 project scientist Josh Willis of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California says, "Jason-3 will measure the rising oceans and changing
climate for the next five years."


Jason-3 is the latest in a series of satellites that accurately measure the height of the ocean surface dating back to the launch of Topex/Poseidon in 1992. Next came Jason-1 (launched in 2001) and then Jason-2 (launched in 2008).
Jason-3 will be joining Jason-2 in orbit. For Jason-2 and Jason-3, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, and the European Organisation for the Exploration of Meteorological Satellites, or EUMETSAT joined an international partnership with NASA and the French space agency, CNES.

Willis adds that "from one mission to the next, we want to overlap our Jason data and stitch it together to give us a consistent story of how our climate is
warming and our oceans are changing. Global sea level rise measured by these satellites is one of the clearest indicators of how humans are changing the climate."

This line of data-collecting ancestors have all measured sea surface height using a radar altimeter -- an instrument similar to weather radars here on Earth.

Here's how it works: The satellite emits a pulse of radar waves that travel down toward Earth, bounce off the surface of the water, and return toward space. Once the satellite detects the return signal, the altimeter calculates the round-trip travel time. The longer the round trip, the lower the waters are
below. The height of the water also tells us about how warm the waters may be between the surface and the bottom, because warm water expands and causes a rise in sea surface height. The opposite is true for colder waters.

Ocean temperatures are making big news right now as a massive band of warm water builds up and moves from west to east across the equatorial Pacific Ocean. This phenomenon, called "El Niño," causes abnormal weather patterns around the globe. Ripple effects could include rainy and cooler weather in the southern United States and a chance to put a dent in California's current drought. A reverse of the El Niño phenomenon, called La Niña, is associated with the drought in the Southwest.

Willis says, "El Niño is here. We have launched Jason-3 right into the biggest El Niño since the turn of the millennium, and the Jason data will allow us to see whether it goes quietly or slingshots the Pacific into a huge La Niña, like
the last big one in 1998."

The Topex/Poseidon and Jason satellites have a history of measuring climate change and monitoring El Niño. Soon, Jason-3 could be making history of its own.

For updates from the Pacific and around the world, stay tuned to science.nasa.gov.


Regards,

Roger

--- DB 3.99 + Windows 10
* Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)

Listening to the Stars

Feb. 18, 2016: In 1947, shortly after the end of World War II, a young radio astronomer in Australia named Ruby Payne-Scott was observing the sun when a tremendous roar of static issued from the loudspeaker of her radio telescope. Almost 70 years later, astronomers are still marveling at the outburst.

"It was so intense," says Gregg Hallinan of the California Institute of Technology it could have been detected from other stars light years from Earth."

Back in Payne-Scott's day, solar radio bursts were a new thing. During World War II, engineers had noticed noisy outbursts interfering with radar and radio communications. What could turn the sun into such a powerful natural radio transmitter? Ruby Payne-Scott wanted to find out.

Hallinan is fascinated by the story of Payne-Scott. Often the only woman in her physics classes at the University of Sydney, she became a top-secret radar expert during World War II and is widely considered to be one of the finest physicists in Australian history. She was the world's first female radio astronomer, and this was a cutting-edge research problem.

The sun emits radio bursts almost every day, but many of them are relatively weak. The burst of 1947, however, was a record-setter. No one had ever heard anything like it. Nor did they understand it.

"Now we believe it was caused by a ferocious CME," explains Hallinan.

Coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, are billion-ton clouds of plasma that billow away from the sun in the aftermath of magnetic explosions-often, but not always, in tandem with a solar flare. CMEs hitting Earth can spark geomagnetic storms and Northern Lights. CMEs often announce themselves with a burst of radio waves. The emissions are caused by shock waves in the leading edge of the
cloud, which plow through the sun's atmosphere at supersonic velocity.

Today, NASA has a fleet of satellites in space to observe these explosions on the sun. Scientists work to better understand what causes them so we can protect our satellites from surges of unexpected radiation. But studying our sun has bigger implications as well - it gives us the insight into the workings
of stars all around the galaxy.

Fast-forward to 2015.

Deep in the heart of California's Owens Valley, a strange-looking telescope stands in the desert landscape. It is an array of 288 tee-pee shaped wire frames, staring into the sky overhead and harkening back to the days of Payne-Scott. This new radio telescope, called the Long Wavelength Array or LWA is designed to detect the same kind of powerful outburst Payne-Scott recorded in 1947.

Except... not from the sun.

"We are looking for CMEs around other stars," explains Hallinan, the instrument's Principal Investigator.

When the array began normal operations, it began mapping the sky every night listening for shortwave radio bursts from more than 2000 nearby stellar systems. Although rare, with such a large sample, these radio outbursts could be detectable on a regular basis.

Hallinan says, "We think we will be able to detect CMEs, especially from the active M-dwarf stars that make up 75% of our sample."

But CMEs are just the beginning; the array might also find planets.

When CMEs hit planets in our own solar system, the planets themselves emit low-frequency radio waves as their magnetic fields reverberate from the impact.
The radio emissions come from auroras circling the magnetic poles. Any planet with a magnetic field can produce this kind of "CME echo." The LWA will listen for these echoes, potentially unearthing new worlds in distant star systems.

After some preliminary observations to test the hardware, the array went into full science mode in late 2015. Nightly observations will continue for the next two years.

A discovery by the LWA could ring even louder than Payne-Scott's original burst.

Stay tuned for updates from science.nasa.gov.


Regards,

Roger

--- DB 3.99 + Windows 10
* Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)

Horn-rims and Funny Stockings on the Space Station

Feb. 23, 2016: If your favorite astronaut returns from space wearing horn-rim glasses and funny stockings, don't be too disappointed. It's all part of the job. And there's a logical explanation.

Among the challenges astronauts face during their stints on the International Space Station, farsightedness is fairly common. Hence the horn-rims. But it may
be that those funny stockings can reduce the need for them.

"About three quarters of ISS astronauts experience changes in the structure and
function of their eyes during and/or after their mission," says Michael Stenger
of Wyle Science Technology and Engineering Group. "And some of these changes in
some of the astronauts do not correct themselves after the mission."

Stenger is one of the principal investigators of an International Space Station
experiment with a very long name that we'll call "Fluid Shifts Study" for short. It's investigating vision problems in space.

During space travel, the fluids of the body shift toward the head and even move
across blood vessel and cell membranes differently than they do on Earth. Scientists hypothesize that this headward shift of blood and other fluids causes increased pressure in the brain, pushing on the back of the eye and causing it to change shape. The retina swells and the entire eye slightly flattens, resulting in farsightedness -- and maybe those glasses.

Stenger and his colleagues seek to fully characterize these changes and investigate ways to prevent them.

"We want to know exactly how much fluid shifts and how it redistributes in the body. How does it move in or out of cells and blood vessels? How do the fluid shifts affect fluid pressure in the head, changes in vision, and eye structures?Those are the kinds of questions we'll answer. We expect to find individualized responses to the headward fluid shift that correlate to vision changes."

To find the answers, they'll take measurements of 10 astronauts' saliva, urine,
and blood at different points in their missions. Other details collected will be their intracranial pressure, intraocular pressure, ocular structure, blood pressure, and heart rate, in addition to ultrasound measurements of their fluid
shifts.

Another aim of this study is to find out whether the Russian Chibis suit (also known as the lower body negative pressure suit, or funny stockings) can help keep the bodies' fluids where they need to be.

"The Russian cosmonauts use the Chibis suit during the last 3 weeks of their missions as part of their preparation for re-entry.It's really just a pair of semi-rigid leggings that seal at the waist. A vacuum can be applied to reduce the pressure in the device, which acts to trap fluid in the lower body."

The researchers will take cardio, cerebrovascular, and ocular measurements on the test subjects before and during 25 mmHg of vacuum in the Chibis.

"If it turns out that lower body negative pressure helps reverse fluid shifts and prevent the visual symptoms, it may indicate that crew members should use the Chibis earlier and more often on long missions. We've seen some promising results in our first subjects."

Stenger and company will also be looking at other things that might exacerbate vision problems on the space station.

"For example, we may find that an exercise that's good for bone or muscle is bad for elevated intracranial pressure."

Space travel veterans Scott Kelly from NASA and Mikhail Kornienko from Roscosmos are the first test subjects for this study. They will spend nearly a year aboard the station, twice as long as a typical crew member. They're having
measurements taken for the Fluid Shifts Study early in their flight, at its mid-point, and about 45 days before they return.

Here's hoping they come back in style-no horn-rims and hosiery required.

For more from the international space station, go to www.nasa.gov/station

For news from the always fluid world of science, visit science.nasa.gov


Regards,

Roger

--- DB 3.99 + Windows 10
* Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)

Close Encounter with Jupiter

March 7, 2016: "413 million miles" sounds like a looong way. Something you can see in March might change your mind.

On March 8th, 2016 Earth and Jupiter will have a close encounter-at only 413 million miles apart. Jupiter rises in the east at sunset shining three times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. The giant planet will be "up all night," soaring almost overhead at midnight and not setting until the sky brightens with the twilight hues of sunrise on March 9th.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfclYeh0QPo

Earth-Jupiter close encounters happen every 13 months when the Earth's orbit laps Jupiter's orbit in their race around the sun. Astronomers call these events "oppositions of Jupiter" because Jupiter and the Sun are on opposite sides of the sky.

The view through a backyard telescope is excellent. Because Jupiter is so close, the planet's disk can be seen in rare detail--and there is a lot to see.
The Great Red Spot, located in the southern hemisphere of Jupiter, is a cyclone
wider than Earth and has existed for hundreds of years. It is easily recognizable among the planet's alternating cloud belts. The four Galilean moons of Jupiter are easy targets, too. These are planet-sized worlds with active volcanoes (Io), underground oceans (Europa), vast fields of craters (Callisto), and mysterious global grooves (Ganymede).

At 413 million miles, Jupiter will look marvelously close.

A NASA spacecraft named Juno is about to take an even closer look.

Launched in August 2011, Juno will reach the giant planet on the 4th of July, 2016, and enter into a polar elliptical orbit that takes it as little as 3100 miles from Jupiter's cloudtops at its closest point in its orbit.

This proximity will allow researchers to probe Jupiter's interior, long hidden from view.

Juno's principal investigator, Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute
in San Antonio, TX, says, "Our knowledge of Jupiter is truly skin deep. Even NASA's Galileo probe, which dived into the clouds in 1995, penetrated no more than about 0.2% of Jupiter's radius."

Juno will lift the veil without actually diving through the clouds. Bolton explains: "Juno will spend more than an Earth year orbiting nearer to Jupiter than any previous spacecraft. The probe's flight path will cover all latitudes and longitudes, allowing us to fully map Jupiter's gravitational and magnetic field and thus figure out how the planet is layered inside."

Researchers expect Juno to find something exotic deep inside the giant planet.

Jupiter is made primarily of hydrogen, but only the outer layers may be in gaseous form. Deep inside, high temperatures and crushing pressures likely transform the gas into an exotic form of matter known as liquid metallic hydrogen--a liquid form of hydrogen akin to the slippery mercury in an old-fashioned thermometer. Jupiter's powerful magnetic field almost certainly springs from dynamo action inside this vast realm of electrically conducting fluid.

Other instruments onboard Juno will look for water in Jupiter's atmosphere and measure the temperature structure of its clouds, possibly solving mysteries related to Jupiter's formation and extreme climate.

Last but not least is JunoCam, a color camera modeled after the descent camera for the Mars rover Curiosity. The overwhelming majority of JunoCam's targets will be chosen by the public, with the data being processed by them as well.

Bolton says, "We want to give people an opportunity to participate with NASA. This is citizen science at its best."

Swooping low over Jupiter's clouds, JunoCam will be able to photograph massive storms, powerful auroras and, of course, the unknown at point-blank range.

Until then, mark your calendar for March 8th and 9th-see Jupiter from your own backyard. Then start making a wish list for JunoCam. After all, it is your camera.

For more about the Juno mission, go to www.nasa.gov/juno

For news about the mysteries of Jupiter, our solar system, and more visit science.nasa.gov


Regards,

Roger

--- DB 3.99 + Windows 10
* Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)

Indonesian Solar Eclipse

March 8, 2016: The forests of Indonesia are homes to one of the richest populations of songbirds in the world. Ecotourists travel from far and wide to
listen to them sing from the leafy canopy of the nation's volcanic islands.

On March 9th, 2016, not long after sunrise, a time when the forest is usually filled with tweets, trills, and warbles, the songbirds of Indonesia will go silent.

That is how songbirds respond to a total eclipse of the sun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQjPFwcjh9c

Eclipse chasers have had the date marked on their calendar for years. It is the only total eclipse of 2016. During the early hours of March 9th, the new moon will pass directly in front of the sun. The moon's shadow will lance down
toward Earth, making landfall initially in the Indian Ocean, racing across South East Asia, and from there onto the Pacific Ocean where the eclipse will be partially visible in parts of Alaska, Guam, Hawai'i, and American Samoa.

Inside the moon's cool shadow, sky watchers can look up and see the sun's ghostly corona, a mesmerizing sight.

Sarah Jaeggli, Solar Scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center says "I cannot stress enough how special solar eclipses are. Eclipses let us see a region of the sun's atmosphere called the `corona' that is generally invisible to us. We can see the sun's corona from satellites and ground-based observatories using devices called `coronagraphs,' but we simply cannot build a
coronagraph that is as good as the moon passing in front of the sun. The large size of the moon and its distance from us means less stray light from the sun can scatter around the edges and interfere with observations of the sun's faint
atmosphere."

She emphasizes that "the brief glimpses of the corona during total solar eclipses are not to be wasted."

The experience of a total eclipse is, however, more than just the sight of the corona. It is also the feel of the moon's cool shadow that lowers air temperatures by as much as 5 degree Finside the path of totality. And it is the
sound of wildlife responding to the odd and unexpected nightfall.

Songbirds go quiet.

Frogs and crickets replace the birdsong with their own nighttime chorus.

Charlotte Vermeulen, a biologist at the Artis Zoo in Amsterdam, Netherlands says, "Dragonflies hide under a leaf, ants return to their nest, sheep walk back to their sleeping place, cattle egrets return to their nocturnal roost, diurnal grasshoppers chirp more slowly and then stop." In August 1999, there was a 98 percent partial solar eclipse in Amsterdam. She recalls many people coming to the zoo during the eclipse just to see the reactions of the animals.

On March 9th in Indonesia, totality will last for about 2 minutes, giving humans and wildlife alike plenty of time to react.

NASA scientists will be in Indonesia using the eclipse to test a new telescope configuration designed to study the solar corona. The new instrument will be able to observe the temperature and velocity of material in the solar corona, providing information that could help scientists understand the physics of the corona, including how the sun's atmosphere gets so much hotter than its surface. They hope to fly this design in space in the future, but an eclipse on
Earth gives them a great opportunity to do some inexpensive testing.

This is the last total solar eclipse before the "Big One" next year. On August
21st, 2017, the sun and moon will line up again. This time the moon's shadow will cross the continental United States, creating a total eclipse in easy driving distance of tens of millions of people. It will likely be the best observed eclipse in human history.

If you plan to be one of those eclipse chasers, just remember, there's more than one way to experience an eclipse. See the corona. Feel the cool air. Listen to the songbirds and other wildlife.

The preview begins in Indonesia on March 9th.

For more news about solar eclipses, stay tuned to science.nasa.gov.


Regards,

Roger

--- DB 3.99 + Windows 10
* Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)

Amazing Moons

March 11, 2016: When the Space Age began more than 50 years ago, explorers were
eager to visit the planets of the solar system. As the years have passed, however, astronomers have realized that the moons of the solar system may be even more interesting.

Many of these moons are `water worlds' - and planetary scientists, like golden retrievers, always follow the water.

"On Earth, where there is water, there is life," says Brian Day of NASA's Solar
System Exploration Research Virtual Institute. "It doesn't matter if it's boiling hot like the bubbling acid hot-springs in Yellowstone National Park or frigid like the waters of the Arctic."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQjZf2bW9XQ

Consider Enceladus, a tiny moon floating just outside Saturn's rings. This little wonderland features a vast underground ocean that could be friendly to microbial life. That ocean is capped by a thick crust of ice. Yet, NASA's Cassini spacecraft found Enceladus busily puffing plumes of water vapor, icy particles, and organic compounds out through fissures in its frozen outer shell. Cassini has actually flown through these plumes a few times, sniffing out their composition.

Day says, "The exciting results from Cassini have researchers designing possible future missions that would provide more detailed analyses of Enceladus' water and look for potential signatures of life."

Titan, another of Saturn's moons, is shrouded in a thick atmosphere of nitrogen
and methane. There is evidence that Titan, like Enceladus, has a sea of water beneath its icy shell. But Titan's frigid surface is mosaicked with lakes of liquid methane and ethane.

Day notes, "It's the only body in the solar system other than Earth with substantial liquid on its surface."

The seas of Titan intrigue astrobiologists. Here on Earth, our seas are teeming with life-and indeed the seas may be where life began. What kind of life might arise in the alien seas of Titan? The exotic environment of hydrocarbon seas could teach astrobiologists a lot about the basic chemistry critical to the formation of life.

More water worlds with icy shells are found at Jupiter. Europa, Ganymede, and perhaps Callisto also show strong evidence of liquid water oceans beneath their
global ice crusts. Day would most like to `dive in' at Europa.

"This is a big world -much bigger than Enceladus and even bigger than any of the `dwarf planets'. Europa's ocean is a significant body of water with amazing
potential for life."

In fact Europa has twice as much liquid water as Earth, and like the water of Enceladus, it might be accessible.

"There is some evidence that Europa may have periodic eruptions of plumes of water, similar to those seen on Enceladus. We've even seen apparent icebergs on
the surface that are tipped up as if sitting in slush. All of these provide us with tantalizing clues of what lies beneath - an ocean of liquid water."

Meanwhile, orbiting Jupiter not far from Europa, is a completely different kind
of satellite:

"Io," says Day, "is the most volcanically active body in our solar system."

Io gets its fiery warmth from tidal heating-that is, a back and forth stretching of the moon's interior caused by Jupiter's intense gravity.

"Each moon is stretched and pulled differently, causing varying rates of tidal heating. Orbiting more closely to Jupiter than the other Galilean moons, Io is stretched the most -hence its volcanism. Europa, next closest to Jupiter, is stretched less, followed in order by Ganymede and Callisto."

Day continues, saying "Tidal heating is a source of energy that can melt ice and expand the potential for life. It creates a `habitable zone' among the moons of Jupiter, with Europa sitting squarely in the middle."

Planets are exciting, but there's an even greater number of amazing moons in the solar system.

Says Day: "The lure is irresistible, and the potential is amazing. It's time for us to go!"

For more news about amazing moons-and their planets-stay tuned to science.nasa.gov.


Regards,

Roger

--- DB 3.99 + Windows 10
* Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)

Amazing Moons

March 11, 2016: When the Space Age began more than 50 years ago, explorers were eager to visit the planets of the solar system. As the years have passed,
however, astronomers have realized that the moons of the solar system may be even more interesting.

Many of these moons are `water worlds' - and planetary scientists, like golden retrievers, always follow the water.

"On Earth, where there is water, there is life," says Brian Day of NASA's Solar
System Exploration Research Virtual Institute. "It doesn't matter if it's boiling hot like the bubbling acid hot-springs in Yellowstone National Park or frigid like the waters of the Arctic."

http://tinyurl.com/hl7p9jb

Consider Enceladus, a tiny moon floating just outside Saturn's rings. This little wonderland featuresa vast underground ocean that could be friendly to microbial life. That ocean is capped by a thick crust of ice. Yet, NASA's Cassini spacecraft found Enceladus busily puffing plumes of water vapor, icy particles, and organic compounds out through fissures in its frozen outer shell. Cassini has actually flown through these plumes a few times, sniffing out their composition.

Day says, "The exciting results from Cassini have researchers designing possible future missions that would provide more detailed analyses of Enceladus' water and look for potential signatures of life."

Titan, another of Saturn's moons, is shrouded in a thick atmosphere of nitrogen
and methane. There is evidence that Titan, like Enceladus, has a sea of water beneath its icy shell. But Titan's frigid surface is mosaicked with lakes of liquid methane and ethane.

Day notes, "It's the only body in the solar system other than Earth with substantial liquid on its surface."

The seas of Titan intrigue astrobiologists. Here on Earth, our seas are teeming with life-and indeed the seas may be where life began. What kind of life might arise in the alien seas of Titan? The exotic environment of hydrocarbon seas could teach astrobiologists a lot about the basic chemistry critical to the formation of life.

More water worlds with icy shells are found at Jupiter. Europa, Ganymede, and perhaps Callisto also show strong evidence of liquid water oceans beneath their
global ice crusts. Day would most like to `dive in' at Europa.

"This is a big world -much bigger than Enceladus and even bigger than any of the `dwarf planets'. Europa's ocean is a significant body of water with amazing
potential for life."

In fact Europa has twice as much liquid water as Earth, and like the water of Enceladus, it might be accessible.

"There is some evidence that Europa may have periodic eruptions of plumes of water, similar to those seen on Enceladus. We've even seen apparent icebergs on
the surface that are tipped up as if sitting in slush. All of these provide us with tantalizing clues of what lies beneath - an ocean of liquid water."

Meanwhile, orbiting Jupiter not far from Europa, is a completely different kind
of satellite:

"Io," says Day, "is the most volcanically active body in our solar system."

Io gets its fiery warmth from tidal heating-that is, a back and forth stretching of the moon's interior caused by Jupiter's intense gravity.

"Each moon is stretched and pulled differently, causing varying rates of tidal heating. Orbiting more closely to Jupiter than the other Galilean moons, Io is stretched the most -hence its volcanism. Europa, next closest to Jupiter, is stretched less, followed in order by Ganymede and Callisto."

Day continues, saying "Tidal heating is a source of energy that can melt ice and expand the potential for life. It creates a `habitable zone' among the moons of Jupiter, with Europa sitting squarely in the middle."

Planets are exciting, but there's an even greater number of amazing moons in the solar system.

Says Day: "The lure is irresistible, and the potential is amazing. It's time for us to go!"

For more news about amazing moons-and their planets-stay tuned to science.nasa.gov.


Regards,

Roger

--- DB 3.99 + Windows 10
* Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)

The Special Ingredients of Earth

March 18, 2016: With its blue skies, puffy white clouds, warm beaches and abundant life, planet Earth is a pretty special place. A quick survey of the solar system reveals . nothing else like it.

But how special is Earth, really?

One way to find out is to look for other worlds like ours elsewhere in the galaxy. Astronomers using NASA's Kepler space telescope and other observatories have been doing just that. In recent years they have been finding other planets increasingly similar to Earth-but still none that appear as hospitable as our home world. For those researchers, the search goes on.

http://tinyurl.com/hf5g4e6

Another group of researchers have taken an entirely different approach. Instead
of looking for Earth-like planets, they have been looking for Earth-like ingredients. Consider the following:

Our planet is rich in elements such as carbon, oxygen, iron, magnesium, silicon
and sulfur-the stuff of rocks, air, oceans... and life.

Are these elements widespread elsewhere in the universe? To find out, a team of
astronomers led by Aurora Simionescu, an astrophysicist at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in Sagamihara, Japan, used Suzaku, a Japanese X-ray satellite with NASA participation, to survey a cluster of galaxies located in the direction of the constellation Virgo.

The Virgo cluster is a massive swarm of more than 2000 galaxies, many similar in appearance to our own Milky Way, located about 54 million light-years away.
The space between the member galaxies is filled with a diffuse gas so hot that it glows in X-rays. Instruments onboard Suzaku were able to look at that gas and determine which elements it is made of.

Reporting their findings in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, Simionescu and her colleagues reported findings of iron, magnesium, silicon and sulfur throughout the Virgo galaxy cluster.

Simionescu says "The elemental ratios are constant throughout the entire volume
of the cluster and roughly consistent with the composition of the sun and most of the stars in our own galaxy."

When the Universe was born in the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago, elements heavier than carbon were rare. These elements are present today mainly because
of supernova explosions. Massive stars cook elements such as carbon, oxygen, iron, magnesium, silicon and sulfur in their hot cores and then spew them far and wide when the stars explode. According to the observations of Suzaku, the ingredients for making sun-like stars and Earth-like planets have been scattered far and wide by these explosions. Indeed, they appear to be widespread in the cosmos.

"The elements so important to life on Earth are available, on average, in similar relative proportions throughout the bulk of the universe," adds Simionescu. "In other words, the chemical requirements for life are common."

Earth is still special. But according to Suzaku, there might be other special places, too. Suzaku recently completed its highly successful mission. On February 17, 2016, JAXA launched a follow-up mission to continue the survey: Hitomi, previously named ASTRO-H before launch, is a Japanese-led observatory carrying a key NASA instrument. The observatory will extend such studies to clusters of galaxies far beyond Virgo.

For more news from the distant corners of the cosmos, stay tuned to science.nasa.gov.


Regards,

Roger

--- DB 3.99 + Windows 10
* Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)

http://tinyurl.com/bn96ncr


Regards,

Roger

--- DB 3.99 + Windows 10
* Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)

2016 Ends with Three Supermoons

Step outside on October 16, and take a look at the moon. Not only will the moon
be full, but on that day, the moon will be at it's closest point to our planet as it orbits Earth. This makes the October full moon a supermoon.

The term supermoon has entered popular consciousness in recent years. Originally a term from modern astrology for a new or full moon that occurs with
the moon is within 90% of its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit, supermoon now refers more broadly to a full moon that is closer to Earth than average. But why is the moon closer to Earth at some times but not others?

http://tinyurl.com/gqftfrr

Since the moon's orbit is elliptical, one side (perigee) is about 30,000 miles closer to Earth than the other (apogee). The word syzygy, in addition to being useful in word games, is the scientific name for when the Earth, sun, and moon line up as the moon orbits Earth. When perigee-syzygy of the Earth-moon-sun system occurs and the moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun, we get a perigee moon or more commonly, a supermoon!

This coincidence happens three times in 2016. On October 16 and December 14, the moon becomes full on the same day as perigee. On November 14, it becomes full within about two hours of perigee-arguably making it an extra-super moon.

The full moon of November 14 is not only the closest full moon of 2016 but also
the closest full moon to date in the 21st century. The full moon won't come this close to Earth again until November 25, 2034.

The supermoon of December 14 is remarkable for a different reason: it's going to wipe out the view of the Geminid meteor shower. Bright moonlight will reduce
the visibility of faint meteors five to ten fold, transforming the usually fantastic Geminids into an astronomical footnote. Sky watchers will be lucky to
see a dozen Geminids per hour when the shower peaks. Oh well, at least the moon
will be remarkable.

How remarkable?

A supermoon, or perigee full moon can be as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter
than an apogee full moon. However it's not always easy to tell the difference. A 30% difference in brightness can easily be masked by clouds or the competing glare of urban lights. Also, there are no rulers floating in the sky to measure
lunar diameters. Hanging high overhead with no reference points to provide a sense of scale, one full moon looks much like any other.

Low-hanging moons, on the other hand, can create what's called a "moon illusion." When the moon is near the horizon it can look unnaturally large when
viewed through trees, buildings, or other foreground objects. The effect is an optical illusion, but that fact doesn't take away from the experience.

A supermoon is undeniably beautiful. And we can multiply that beauty by three as 2016 comes to a close.

October 16, November 14, and December 14: mark your calendar and enjoy the super moonlight.

For more on beautiful views in the night's sky, stay tuned to science.nasa.gov.


Regards,

Roger

--- DB 3.99 + W10 (1607)
* Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)

New Year's Fireworks from a Shattered Comet

2017 is beginning with fireworks.

No, not those fireworks.

We're talking about a lightshow from shattered comet 2003 EH1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMkxh50fo80

According to the International Meteor Organization and other forecasters, Earth
will pass through a stream of debris from the comet on January 3, 2017, producing a shower of meteors known as the Quadrantids.

The Quadrantid meteor shower is one of the most intense annual meteor showers, typically producing meteors at a rate of more than 100 per hour from a point in
the sky near the North Star, also known as the shower's radiant.

The 2017 Quadrantids are expected to peak around 1400 UT - or around 6 am PST.
The timing favors western parts of North America and islands across the Pacific. The peak of the Quadrantids is brief, typically lasting no more than an hour or so, and it does not always occur at the forecasted time. Observers everywhere are encouraged to be alert for meteors throughout the dark hours of January 3.

"Extra motivation to go out and view the Quadrantids is provided by the shower's reputation for producing spectacular fireballs," says Brian Day of NASA's Ames Research Center. "Not only are these fireballs memorable visual events, but also they are of scientific interest. Anyone can participate in a citizen science effort by reporting his or her observations. `Fireballs in the Sky' is a free app that makes this easy. It is made available by Curtin University in partnership with NASA."

Although Quadrantids can be numerous, they are observed less than other well known meteor showers. One reason is weather. The shower peaks in early January when northern winter is in full swing. Storms and cold tend to keep observers inside. Another reason is brevity. The shower doesn't last long, a few hours at
most. Those willing to brave the elements while keeping their eyes on the skies
could be rewarded with a spectacular show!

The source of the Quadrantid meteor shower was unknown until December 2003 when
Peter Jenniskens of the NASA Ames Research Center found evidence that Quadrantid meteoroids come from 2003 EH1, an "asteroid" that is probably a piece of a comet that broke apart some 500 years ago. Earth intersects the orbit of 2003 EH1 at a perpendicular angle, which means we quickly move through
any debris. That's why the shower is so brief.

Quadrantid meteors take their name from an obsolete constellation, Quadrans Muralis, found in early 19th-century star atlases between Draco, Hercules, and Bootes. It was removed, along with a few other constellations, from crowded sky
maps in 1922 when the International Astronomical Union adopted the modern list of 88 officially recognized constellations. Although the Quadrantids now fly out of the constellation Bootes, the meteors kept their old name.

Quadrantid meteors: they come from a shattered comet and an extinct constellation.

That sounds like they are worth a look. Bundle up for chilly meteor viewing on
January 3. It's a great way to start the New Year.

For more news about backyard astronomy, stay tuned to science.nasa.gov


Regards,

Roger

--- DB 3.99 + W10 (1607)
* Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)

Hello All!

NASA Embraces Small Satellites

The earliest satellites of the Space Age were small. Sputnik, for instance, weighed just 184.3 lbs. America's first satellite, Explorer 1, was even smaller
at only about 30 lbs.

Over time, satellites grew to accommodate more sensors with greater capabilities, but thanks to miniaturization and new technology capabilities, small is back in vogue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlqaQIr0xlw

NASA is one of many government agencies, universities, and commercial organizations embracing small satellite designs, from tiny CubeSats to micro-satellites. A basic CubeSat has 4 inch sides and weighs just a few pounds!

A CubeSat can be put into place a number of different ways. It can be a hitchhiker, flying to space onboard a rocket whose main purpose is to launch a full-sized satellite. Or it can be put into orbit from the International Space Station. Astronauts recently used this technique when they deployed the Miniature X-Ray Solar Spectrometer (MinXSS), a CubeSat that studies solar flares.

In 2018, NASA plans to launch the CubeSat to study Solar Particles (CuSP). It will hitch a ride out of Earth orbit during an uncrewed test flight of NASA's Space Launch System.

CuSP could serve as a small "space weather buoy."

Eric Christian, CuSP's lead scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland says, "Right now, with our current fleet of large satellites, it's like we're trying to understand weather for the entire Pacific
Ocean with just a handful of weather stations. We need to collect data from more locations."

For certain areas of science, having a larger number of less expensive missions
will provide a powerful opportunity to really understand a given environment. Christian says, "If you had, say, 20 CubeSats in different orbits, you could really start to understand the space environment in three dimensions."

NASA scientists are taking this approach of using a constellation of sensors to
probe the details of a large area with a number of recently launched and upcoming missions.

The Cyclone Global Navigation Satallite System, or CYGNSS, launched in December
2016. CYGNSS uses eight micro-satellites to measure ocean surface winds in and near the eyes of tropical cyclones, typhoons, and hurricanes to learn about their rapid intensification. These micro-satellites each weigh about 65 lbs, larger than a CubeSat but still very small compared to traditional satellite designs.

Additionally, the first four selections from the In-Space Validation of Earth Science Technologies (InVEST) program recently began launching. The goal of the
InVEST program is to validate new technologies in space prior to use in a science mission.

RAVAN, the first of the InVEST CubeSats, was launched in November 2016 to demonstrate a new way to measure radiation reflected by Earth. The next three InVEST missions to launch, HARP, IceCube, and MiRaTA, will demonstrate technologies that may pave the way for future satellites to measure clouds and aerosols suspended in Earth's atmosphere, probe the role of icy clouds in climate change, and collect atmospheric temperature, water vapor, and cloud ice
data through remote sensing, respectively.

NASA's Science Mission Directorate is looking to develop scientific CubeSats that cut across all NASA Science through the SMD CubeSat Initiative Program.

Andrea Martin, communications specialist for NASA's Earth Science Technology Office, believes this is just the beginning. She says, "CubeSats could be flown
in formation, known as constellations, with quick revisit times to better capture the dynamic processes of Earth. Multiple CubeSats can also take complementary measurements unachievable by a single larger mission." She envisions big things ahead for these little satellites.

For more news about CubeSats and other cutting edge technologies both big and small, stay tuned to science.nasa.gov.


Regards,

Roger
--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+ W10 (1607)
* Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna - (1:3828/7)

NASA's Sounding Rockets

The spectacle of a mammoth rocket `breaking the surly bonds of Earth' takes our
breath away. Equally amazing are the secrets revealed to us by science missions
these rockets have launched - and NASA puts careful thought into what kind of mission will best achieve that science. Sometimes a large, multi-instrumented mission on a giant rocket is the best way to go. But other missions are better suited to a smaller, less expensive rocket as the key to getting a quick answer
to a tightly focused science question. Like a sounding rocket. A sounding rocket is an instrument-carrying rocket designed for research, such as taking measurements and performing scientific experiments during a sub-orbital flight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyfQish8yqA

Kristina Lynch, Professor of Physics at Dartmouth College says, "A sounding rocket experiment can be designed in six months. From proposal acceptance through data analysis, a mission can be done in 1-3 years, as opposed to many more years for a typical satellite mission. The trade-off is that you only get 10 minutes in space - but, as my colleagues in the sounding rocket community say, `It's a great 10 minutes!'"

Sounding rockets afford a certain amount of flexibility. Because they can be launched from temporary sites all over the world, sounding rockets can be used for remote field studies. They can also be used to develop and test new scientific instrumentation for use in more costly, longer duration orbital missions. And because of their low cost and short lead time, sounding rocket missions are perfect for use by university graduate students, particularly to gather data for PhD dissertations.

Sounding rockets are especially well suited for studying areas of the Earth's upper atmosphere inaccessible by orbital missions, providing the only way to directly sample the lower portion of near-Earth space with scientific probes. Furthermore, they are ideally suited to position an experiment for an up-close look at auroras - beautiful green curtains of light that sometimes dance across
the night sky.

While auroras can be wondrous to behold, they are sparked by geomagnetic storms
with potential side-effects such as satellite malfunctions and power outages. Telecommunications, air traffic, power grids, and Global Positioning System signals are vulnerable. So, understanding this layer of near Earth space is vital.

Lynch says, "Sounding rockets are used to get above the part of Earth's atmosphere where we live and breathe. Above 60 miles (100 km), the atmosphere includes an electrically charged gas where charged particles flit around, collide, respond to magnetic and electric fields, and produce an aurora. These `northern and southern lights' appear flame-like, but the movement looks slower
than that of a flame, and their structure can be more orderly. We want to understand this movement and structure. Is the movement fast or slow? Why? Where is it going?"

Lynch is working on a sounding rocket mission that could provide some answers. ISINGLASS, short for Ionospheric Structuring: In Situ and Ground-based Low Altitude StudieS, launched on March 2 and is one of about 20 sounding rockets that NASA will be launching in 2017.

ISINGLASS deployed an array of payloads launched by a single rocket to take measurements at several locations in an aurora simultaneously. Understanding what the aurora's visual patterns signify within the aurora itself can serve as
an analog to help scientists understand what's happening farther out, even extending this information to auroras on other planets.

All it takes . is "a great 10 minutes."

For more news about science in and around Earth's atmosphere, stay tuned to science.nasa.gov.


Regards,

Roger

--- DB 3.99 + W10 (1703)
* Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfpaxVQSbTQ

Link is broken for text, but this should be closed-captioned.


Regards,

Roger

--- DB 3.99 + PQUSA
* Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD5S4Va2Kh8&feature=youtu.be


Regards,

Roger

--- Klaatu barada Nickto
* Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)

The Youtube URL's are getting longer and longer

https://tinyurl.com/y7e5chgc


Regards,

Roger

--- Klaatu barada Nickto
* Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)

This is a little over a 10-minute briefing on putting boots on the Moon by 2024
(agai).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y81vx__JngY


Regards,

Roger

--- D'Bridge (SR41)
* Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)