astronomy & space stuff

[linuxgeek]

If you notice a bit of static on your radio & phones while the sun is up, don't be surprised. Looks like that sunspot is getting active.

-------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 02:58:02 GMT
From: Space Environment Center <sec@sec.noaa.gov>
To: wwv-list-send@dawn.sec.noaa.gov
Subject: WWV-Message

roduct: Geophysical Alert Message wwv.txt
:Issued: 2005 Jan 14 0258 UTC
# Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center
#
# Geophysical Alert Message
#
Solar-terrestrial indices for 13 January follow.
Solar flux 116 and mid-latitude A-index 13.
The mid-latitude K-index at 0300 UTC on 14 January was 2 (14 nT).

No space weather storms were observed for the past 24 hours.

Space weather for the next 24 hours is expected to be minor.
Radio blackouts reaching the R1 level are expected.

 

[linuxgeek]

http://www.spaceweather.gc.ca/images/spaceeffects.gif

 

[linuxgeek]

R1 -- Minor

HF Radio: Weak or minor degradation of HF radio communication on sunlit side, occasional loss of radio contact.

Navigation: Low-frequency navigation signals degraded for brief intervals.

 

[ifun26]

Thanx for the info. When will we start receiving info from the prode that is landing on Titan?

 

[linuxgeek]

Thanx for the info. When will we start receiving info from the prode that is landing on Titan?

On Jan. 14, 2005, the European Space Agency's Huygens probe will descend to the surface of Saturn's largest moon.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/30dec_titan.htm


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They are saying 2 hours to decend. Will take about an hour from when the probe starts transmiting until we will receive the data.

 

[ifun26]

On Jan. 14, 2005, the European Space Agency's Huygens probe will descend to the surface of Saturn's largest moon.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/30dec_titan.htm

Ohh, thank you! I am really looking forward to this.

 

[linuxgeek]

Decent time line from ESA:

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/SEMXYGQ3K3E_0.html

 

[linuxgeek]

I think I saw on CNN this morning where that Deep Impact probe overheated on takeoff.

Local 11p news is saying the probe did go into a sleep mode after launch, but is operating as expected.

 

[linuxgeek]

720 appears to still be growning!

http://www.spaceweather.com/images2005/14jan05/midi140.gif

 

[linuxgeek]

Extreme ultraviolet Imaging

http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/eit_171/512/latest.gif

 

[linuxgeek]

View of the sun's X-ray output

http://sec.noaa.gov/sxi/current_sxi_4MKcorona.png

 

[linuxgeek]

src: CNN

The Huygens space probe dropped into the hazy atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan today and mission controllers said it had opened its parachute to slow its descent to the surface. Data from the probe should start arriving in mission control about 10:13 a.m. ET. Pictures will be beamed back to Earth later today.

 

[linuxgeek]

Appears sunspot 720 is starting to take aim at us.
------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 15:04:01 GMT
From: Space Environment Center <sec@sec.noaa.gov>
To: wwv-list-send@dawn.sec.noaa.gov
Subject: WWV-Message

roduct: Geophysical Alert Message wwv.txt
:Issued: 2005 Jan 14 1504 UTC
# Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center
#
# Geophysical Alert Message
#
Solar-terrestrial indices for 13 January follow.
Solar flux 116 and mid-latitude A-index 13.
The mid-latitude K-index at 1500 UTC on 14 January was 2 (13 nT).

Space weather for the past 24 hours has been minor.
Radio blackouts reaching the R1 level occurred.

Space weather for the next 24 hours is expected to be moderate.
Radio blackouts reaching the R2 level are expected.

 

[linuxgeek]

R 1 -- Minor
HF Radio: Weak or minor degradation of HF radio communication on sunlit side, occasional loss of radio contact.

Navigation: Low-frequency navigation signals degraded for brief intervals.

R 2 -- Moderate
HF Radio: Limited blackout of HF radio communication on sunlit side, loss of radio contact for tens of minutes.

Navigation: Degradation of low-frequency navigation signals for tens of minutes.

R 3 -- Strong
HF Radio: Wide area blackout of HF radio communication, loss of radio contact for about an hour on sunlit side of Earth.

Navigation: Low-frequency navigation signals degraded for about an hour.

R 4 -- Severe
HF Radio: : HF radio communication blackout on most of the sunlit side of Earth for one to two hours. HF radio contact lost during this time.

Navigation: Outages of low-frequency navigation signals cause increased error in positioning for one to two hours. Minor disruptions of satellite navigation possible on the sunlit side of Earth.

R 5 -- Extreme
HF Radio:Complete HF (high frequency**) radio blackout on the entire sunlit side of the Earth lasting for a number of hours. This results in no HF radio contact with mariners and en route aviators in this sector.

Navigation: Low-frequency navigation signals used by maritime and general aviation systems experience outages on the sunlit side of the Earth for many hours, causing loss in positioning. Increased satellite navigation errors in positioning for several hours on the sunlit side of Earth, which may spread into the night side.

 

[linuxgeek]

http://sec.noaa.gov/rt_plots/xray_5m_200501141531.gif

This plot shows 3-days of 5-minute solar x-ray flux values measured on the GOES 10 and 12 satellites. One low value may appear prior to eclipse periods.

 

[linuxgeek]

src

Deep Impact operating normally
Craft switched to 'safe mode' when propulsion system ran hot


PASADENA, California (AP) -- NASA's Deep Impact comet-busting spacecraft emerged from "safe mode" and was operating normally, the space agency said Thursday.

The spacecraft went into protective mode after launch Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, when it detected higher-than-expected temperatures in its propulsion system.

Safe mode shuts down all but essential systems while the spacecraft awaits new commands from controllers.

While in safe mode, Deep Impact did perform essential tasks including deploying and locking its solar panels, NASA said. The craft was receiving power and was properly oriented in space.

"We're back on (the timeline) and look forward to our encounter with comet Tempel 1 this summer," said Rick Grammier, the Deep Impact project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Scientists are counting on Deep Impact to carve out a crater in Comet Tempel 1 that could almost swallow the Roman Coliseum. It will be humans' first look into the heart of a comet, a celestial snowball still containing the original building blocks of the sun and the planets.

Because of the relative speed of the two objects at the moment of impact -- 23,000 mph -- no explosives are needed for the job. The force of the smashup will be equivalent to 4 1/2 tons of TNT, creating a flash that just might be visible in the dark sky by the naked eye in one spectacular Fourth of July fireworks display.

Nothing like this has ever been attempted before.

Little is known about Comet Tempel 1, other than that it is an icy, rocky body about nine miles long and three miles wide. Scientists do not even know whether the crust will be as hard as concrete or as flimsy as corn flakes.

"One of the scary things is that we won't actually know the shape and what it looks like until after we do the encounter," said Jay Melosh, a planetary geologist at the University of Arizona.

The comet will be more than 80 million miles from Earth when the collision takes place -- on the sunlit side of the comet, NASA hopes, in order to ensure good viewing by spacecraft cameras and observatories. The resulting crater is expected to be two to 14 stories deep, and perhaps 300 feet in diameter.

Deep Impact is carrying the most powerful telescope ever sent into deep space. It will remain with the mother ship when the copper-fortified impactor springs free the day before the comet strike, and will observe the event from a safe 300 miles away.

NASA space telescopes like the Hubble will also watch the collision, along with ground observatories and amateur astronomers. The impactor will have a camera, too, that will snap pictures virtually all the way in.

The entire mission costs $330 million, all the way through the grand finale.

 

[linuxgeek]

http://esamultimedia.esa.int/images/cassini_huygens/huygens_land/landing_03_H.jpg

14 January 2005
This is one of the first raw images returned by the ESA Huygens probe during its successful descent. It was taken from an altitude of 16.2 kilometres with a resolution of approximately 40 metres per pixel. It apparently shows short, stubby drainage channels leading to a shoreline.

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/

 

[linuxgeek]

Where are Cassini and Huygens now?

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/SEMD6E2VQUD_0.html

 

[ifun26]

Thanx for posting the pic... it is quite phenomenal to see that. I remember when the probe was first launched and being so excited about the possibilities. Seeing this is just breathtaking.

I wish those ESA guys would post more pics. I bet they are holding out on me... those bastards!

 

[linuxgeek]

it is not unusally for them to only release a minute amount of the images taken. Alot of the images we see released from Hubble have been in the hands of the scientists for months before they are released to the public.

 

[linuxgeek]

if your cable or satellite system has the NASA channel, they may be putting out more there.

 

[gypsywitch]

sunspots AAAHHH!!

So hey... where is the before and after satellite pics of the tsunami region? Did you put some up a few pages back?

 

[linuxgeek]

sunspots AAAHHH!!

So hey... where is the before and after satellite pics of the tsunami region? Did you put some up a few pages back?

I posted one set in the "23,000 dead in asia" thread. Heretic posted more in a thread he started. Unfortunately, don't recall its title.

 

[gypsywitch]

I'll try to google some. Thanks.

 

[linuxgeek]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Banda_Aceh_Before_and_After_2004_Tsunami.jpg