Lightning Strikes Behind Shuttle Endeavour

A barrage of thunderstorms and lightning in Florida created a spectacular backdrop for the space shuttle Endeavour late Thursday. Endeavour atop the seaside Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida., as a bolt of lightning lights up the cloud-filled sky above.

The storms delayed work for at least three hours, during which time Endeavour was protected from the harsh weather by its shroud-like Rotating Service Structure. Inspection crews will take a close look at the shuttle for any signs of damage from the storm.Endeavour will launch on its 25th and final mission when it blasts off from the Kennedy Space Center Friday afternoon. The shuttle will fly a 14-day mission to deliver a $2 billion astrophysics experiment and several spare parts to the International Space Station. Four spacewalks are planned.

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Antimatter-Hunting Experiment Ready for Space Mission

A cutting-edge experiment hunting for antimatter galaxies and signs of dark matter that was very nearly cancelled is finally poised to voyage into orbit aboard the next-to-last space shuttle mission. The ambitious Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer is a more than 6,900-kilogram device searching for cosmic- rays — high-energy charged particles from outer space. The nearly $2 billion experiment will ridehttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=38297919 up to the International Space Station on the shuttle Endeavour on Friday

The instrument will employ a nearly 1,900 kg permanent magnet to generate a strong, uniform magnetic field more than 3,000 times more intense than Earth's. This deflects cosmic rays so that a battery of detectors can analyze their properties, such as charge and velocity, and beam their findings to Earth. But while the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer promises big discoveries for the field of astrophysics, just getting the instrument on the launch pad has been a challenge.

After the 2003 Columbia shuttle accident, NASA initially cancelled the mission that would deliver the spectrometer to the space station. The mission was reinstated after substantial lobbying from lawmakers and scientists. Last year, engineers replaced the big magnet on the spectrometer with a longer-lasting one to get more science out of the instrument through 2020, the expected end life of the space station.

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Asteroid or Planet?

Scientists still aren't sure what to make of Vesta, a small body that orbits the sun. Is it an asteroid or a planet? NASA's Dawn spacecraft could settle the matter. Vesta was spotted 200 years ago and is officially a "minor planet" — a body that orbits the sun but is not a proper planet or comet. Yet, many astronomers call Vesta an asteroid because it lies in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

But Vesta is not a typical member of that orbiting rubble patch. The vast majority of objects in the main belt are relative lightweights, 62 miles(100 kilometers) wide or smaller, compared with Vesta, which is 329 miles(530 km) wide. If Vesta is an asteroid, it would be the second-largest in the solar system. Some scientists, however, are skeptical about that designation. "I don't think Vesta should be called an asteroid," said Tom McCord, a Dawn team member at the Bear Fight Institute in Winthrop, Wash. "Not only is Vesta so much larger, but it's an evolved object, unlike most things we call asteroids."

The evolution of Vesta

The onion-like structure of Vesta (core, mantle and crust) is the key trait that makes Vesta more like planets such as Earth, Venus and Mars than the other asteroids, McCord said. Like the planets, Vesta had sufficient radioactive material inside when it formed, releasing heat that melted rock and enabled lighter layers to float to the outside. Signatures of a type of volcanic rock called basalt were detected in 1972, which meant that the body had to have melted at one time.

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Beams of Electrons Link Saturn With Its Moon Enceladus

Data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft have revealed that Enceladus, one of Saturn's diminutive moons, is linked to Saturn by powerful electrical currents -- beams of electrons that flow back and forth between the planet and moon. one of the instruments on board Cassini which made the electron beam discovery, includes a electron sensor called CAPS-ELS -- led by UCL (University College London).

Since Cassini's arrival at Saturn in 2004 it has passed 500km-wide Enceladus 14 times, gradually discovering more of its secrets on each visit. Research has found that jets of gas and icy grains emanate from the south pole of Enceladus, which become electrically charged and form an ionosphere. The motion of Enceladus and its ionosphere through the magnetic bubble that surrounds Saturn acts like a dynamo, setting up the newly-discovered current system.

A Galactic Rose Highlights Hubble's 21st Anniversary

In celebration of the 21st anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope's deployment into space, astronomers pointed Hubble at an especially photogenic group of interacting galaxies called Arp 273.

This image, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows a group of interacting galaxies called Arp 273. The larger of the spiral galaxies, known as UGC 1810, has a disc that is tidally distorted into a rose-like shape by the gravitational pull of the companion galaxy below it, known as UGC 1813. The swathe of blue jewels across the top is the combined light from clusters of intensely bright and hot young blue stars. These massive stars glow fiercely in ultraviolet light.

The smaller, nearly edge-on companion shows distinct signs of intense star formation at its nucleus, perhaps triggered by the encounter with the companion galaxy.

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Saturn Forms Triangle with Moon and Star Saturday

Skywatchers who are outside Saturday evening have a chance to see an eye-catching celestial array as the nearly full moon, a bright planet, and a bright star gather together in the night sky. The cosmic configuration should be visible at about 8:30 p.m. local time, weather permitting, and will resemble a rather large isosceles triangle in the east-southeast sky about one-quarter of the way up from the horizon.

Accompanying the moon will be the planet Saturn, shining sedately with a yellowish-white glow to the moon's upper left, with the bright, bluish star Spica hovering to the lower left of the moon in the zodiacal constellation of Virgo. The moon will likely appear "full" to most observers, but April's full moon won't officially occur until Sunday night.

Saturn triangle returns

The moon, of course appears to pass Spica every month. But in recent months, Saturn has been nearby too, and so for the last several months we've referred to this trio as the "Saturn Triangle." This sky map of Saturn, the moon and Spica shows how the triangle will appear.

What makes this triangle isosceles (a triangle with at least two equal sides) is that Spica will be located at an equal distance from both the moon and Saturn: 13 degrees. So the Spica-moon and Spica-Saturn sides of the triangle will measure a bit more than a fist's width in length. The side of the triangle from the moon to Saturn will appear just 8 degrees long.

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NASA Photos Bring Millions of Galaxies and Asteroids Down to Earth

NASA has unveiled a flood of photos showing millions galaxies, stars and asteroids photographed by a prolific sky-mapping telescope that ended its mission earlier this year. For the first time, the space agency publicly released more than half of the 2.7 million images taken by its Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) telescope during its mission to map the entire sky.

WISE launched in December 2009 and spent 14 months scanning the heavens in infrared light before shutting down this past February. The $320 space telescope hunted for asteroids and comets, as well as more distant cosmic objects revealed by their faint glow. WISE's infrared eyes were especially useful for peering through dense layers of dust to capture stunning space photos of previously unseen objects in unprecedented detail.

The telescope's observations have been used by mission scientists since they first started rolling in, but this is the first time a large amount of the data collected by WISE is being opened to the public, including scientists not affiliated with the project. Researchers are expecting the broadened exposure of the photos will enable a new wave of scientific discoveries.

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WISE Delivers Millions of Galaxies, Stars, Asteroids

Astronomers across the globe can now sift through hundreds of millions of galaxies, stars and asteroids collected in the first bundle of data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission."Starting today thousands of new eyes will be looking at WISE data, and I expect many surprises," said Edward Wright of UCLA, the mission's principal investigator.

WISE launched into space on Dec. 14, 2009 on a mission to map the entire sky in infrared light with greatly improved sensitivity and resolution over its predecessors. From its polar orbit, it scanned the skies about one-and-a-half times while collecting images taken at four infrared wavelengths of light. It took more than 2.7 million images over the course of its mission, capturing objects ranging from faraway galaxies to asteroids relatively close to Earth.

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NASA Announces New Homes for Space Shuttle Orbiters After Retirement

After 30 years of spaceflight, more than 130 missions, and numerous science and technology firsts, NASA's space shuttle fleet will retire and be on display at institutions across the country to inspire the next generation of explorers and engineers. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on Tuesday announced the facilities where four shuttle orbiters will be displayed permanently at the conclusion of the Space Shuttle Program.

Shuttle Enterprise, the first orbiter built, will move from the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York. The Udvar-Hazy Center will become the new home for shuttle Discovery, which retired after completing its 39th mission in March. Shuttle Endeavour, which is preparing for its final flight at the end of the month will go to the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Shuttle Atlantis, which will fly the last planned shuttle mission in June, will be displayed at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor’s Complex in Florida.

"We want to thank all of the locations that expressed an interest in one of these national treasures," Bolden said. "This was a very difficult decision, but one that was made with the American public in mind. In the end, these choices provide the greatest number of people with the best opportunity to share in the history and accomplishments of NASA's remarkable Space Shuttle Program. These facilities we've chosen have a noteworthy legacy of preserving space artifacts and providing outstanding access to U.S. and international visitors."

Saturn's Moon Titan Shaped by Weather, Not Ice Volcanoes?

Have the surface and belly of Saturn's smog-shrouded moon, Titan, recently simmered like a chilly, bubbling cauldron with ice volcanoes, or has this distant moon gone cold? In a newly published analysis, a pair of NASA scientists analyzing data collected by the Cassini spacecraft suggests Titan may be much less geologically active than some scientists have thought.

"It would be fantastic to find strong evidence that clearly shows Titan has an internal heat source that causes ice volcanoes and lava flows to form," said Jeff Moore, lead author of the paper and a planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. "But we find that the evidence presented to date is unconvincing, and recent studies of Titan's interior conducted by geophysicists and gravity experts also weaken the possibility of volcanoes there."
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NASA to Reveal New Museum Homes for Retired Shuttles Next Week

NASA is expected to announce the final resting places of the agency's space shuttles Tuesday (April 12), on the 30th anniversary of the first-ever shuttle mission. NASA is retiring the shuttle program later this year, and nearly two dozen museums around the country are vying for the right to display one of the workhorse orbiters. Up for grabs are the shuttles Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis — important pieces of spaceflight history that would doubtless pull many visitors through the doors.

That's the idea, for both the museums and NASA. The space agency has said it wants the shuttles to continue serving the nation in retirement by jump-starting the public imagination and helping lead young people into careers in math and science. "The shuttle program accomplished many outstanding things for this nation, and in 2012 we look forward to moving our retired orbiters to museums and science centers across the country to inspire the next generation of explorers," NASA chief Charlie Bolden said in a statement to Congress last months.

Station Fires Engines to Avoid Orbital Debris

At 10:36 p.m. EDT, ground controllers moved the International Space Station away from a piece of orbital debris. The object is a relic from a collision between the COSMOS 2251 and Iridium 33 satellites in February 2009 and had been close to the station’s orbit prior to the debris avoidance maneuver. The DAM, performed during the Expedition 27 crew sleep period, used thrusters from three spacecraft, the European Space Agency’s Johannes Kepler Automated Transfer Vehicle 2, the Zvezda service module and Progress 41P.

Mission Control Center had been monitoring a series of conjunctions between the International Space Station and the orbital debris. The Expedition 27 crew was informed of the possible conjunction and planned maneuver. While the Mission Control Center planned the debris avoidance maneuver, the three-member Expedition 27 crew continued preparing for the upcoming arrival of three more crew members on Soyuz 26 following Monday’s launch of NASA astronaut Ron Garan, and Russian cosmonauts Andrey Borisenko, and Alexander Samokutyaev from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and for the upcoming STS-134 mission of space shuttle Endeavour. The maneuver is not expected to significantly affect the launch time for the Soyuz TMA-21 on April 4 at 6:18 p.m. EDT, or the April 19 launch of Endeavour.

NASA Satellites Detect Extensive Drought Impact on Amazon Forests

A new NASA-funded study has revealed widespread reductions in the greenness of the forests in the vast Amazon basin in South America caused by the record-breaking drought of 2010. "The greenness levels of Amazonian vegetation - a measure of its health - decreased dramatically over an area more than three and one-half times the size of Texas and did not recover to normal levels, even after the drought ended in late October 2010," said Liang Xu, the study's lead author from Boston University.

The drought sensitivity of Amazon rainforests is a subject of intense study. Scientists are concerned because computer models predict that in a changing climate with warmer temperatures and altered rainfall patterns the ensuing moisture stress could cause some of the rainforests to be replaced by grasslands or woody savannas. This would cause the carbon stored in the rotting wood to be released into the atmosphere, which could accelerate global warming. The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that similar droughts could be more frequent in the Amazon region in the future