From: LARRY KLAES (ljk4_at_msn.com)
Date: Sat Mar 01 2003 - 08:02:40 PST
----- Original Message -----
From: bulletins_at_SkyandTelescope.com
Sent: Friday, February 28, 2003 7:45 PM
To: ljk4_at_msn.com
Subject: S&T's Weekly News Bulletin for February 28
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* * * SKY & TELESCOPE's WEEKLY NEWS BULLETIN - February 28, 2003 * * *
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Welcome to S&T's Weekly News Bulletin. Images, the full text of stories
abridged here, and other enhancements are available on our Web site,
SkyandTelescope.com, at the URLs provided below. Clear skies!
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CATCHING ANCIENT STARDUST
Scientists have discovered a rich source of interstellar dust that they
can study right here in labs on Earth. Tiny bits from beyond the solar
system, dating from before the solar system was formed, have turned up in
meteoric dust sifting down from space.
The vast majority of meteorites that reach Earth are too small to see.
Microscopic ones settle to the ground all around us as fine dust,
unnoticed by anybody except the scientists who regard them as a bonanza
for studying interplanetary material. The dust bits don't get burned by
the kind of fiery plunge through the atmosphere that larger meteorites
undergo. They are so small that the upper atmosphere stops them in their
tracks before air friction has a chance to heat them up.
For more than two decades, NASA has collected cosmic dust samples on
oil-coated plates flown by a U2 plane at altitudes of some 65,000 feet (20
kilometers). Now, aided by new diagnostic equipment, scientists have found
that some micrometeorites contain another bonanza....
> http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_884_1.asp
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Solving Mars's Polar-Ice Puzzle
When future Martian astronauts head off in search of water, they'll find
easy pickings at either of the planet's poles. In both the northern and
southern hemisphere, a glistening white ice cap remains after winter's
frost of frozen carbon dioxide ("dry ice") dissipates. Planetary
scientists have long realized that there's abundant water ice in the
northern cap, and new evidence has confirmed that the southern cap
consists almost entirely of water ice as well.
While a topping of water ice may seem like the logical choice, confirming
its presence has proved elusive -- at least at the south pole. During the
mid-1970s the Viking orbiters detected frozen CO2, not water ice, in the
south polar region. But researchers had a hunch that abundant water was
stashed there anyway....
> http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_881_1.asp
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ASTRO NEWS BRIEFS
Pioneer 10 Fades to Black
NASA engineers believe they have received their final transmission from
Pioneer 10. When last heard from, on January 22nd, the venerable
spacecraft was 12.2 billion kilometers from Earth and its transmission was
very weak. Project officials fear that the plutonium fuel on board has
decayed too much to provide adequate electricity. Attempts to contact the
craft again on February 7th were unsuccessful, and the space agency has no
plans for additional tries. Launched on March 2, 1972, Pioneer 10 was the
first spacecraft to reach Jupiter. During its dramatic flyby on December
3, 1973, the craft relayed images of the giant planet and data on the
charged particles trapped in its magnetosphere. Since then Pioneer 10 has
been heading out of the solar system, having passed the orbit of Pluto in
1983. Although its design lifetime was only 21 months, the spacecraft
continued to collect scientific data for more than 30 years. Its twin,
Pioneer 11, was last heard from in 1995.
Green Light for ALMA Radio Telescope
An international agreement signed today marks a major step toward the
construction of the world's most powerful radio telescope. Signing the
document were Rita Colwell, director of the U.S. National Science
Foundation, and Catherine Cesarsky, director general of the European
Southern Observatory. Known as the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, or
ALMA, the $650-million project will consist of sixty-four 12-meter-wide
radio dishes clustered together at an altitude of 5,000 meters in the
Chilean Andes. Interconnected to work together as a single dish, ALMA
should provide unprecedented imaging capability at millimeter and
submillimeter wavelengths. Tests of a prototype system will begin next
year, and project officials expect to complete the array's construction by
2011.
Mars Rover "Lands" in Florida
The first of two Mars Exploration Rovers has arrived at the Kennedy Space
Center, along with its protective aeroshell and rocket stage. The second
rover is due to arrive around March 10th. Built at the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Pasadena, California, NASA's latest Mars-bound spacecraft
are scheduled for launch on May 25th and June 30th. Once they reach the
red planet early next year, the rovers will study the Martian surface to
help geologists understand the evolution of the planet and, in particular,
the role that water has played.
> http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_882_1.asp
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HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S SKY
* New Moon on March 2-3.
* Mars passes between the Lagoon Nebula and Trifid Nebula in Sagittarius
on the morning of March 5th and March 6th. Look for it with large
binoculars or a wide-field telescope.
* Venus is low in the southeast at dawn.
For details, see This Week's Sky at a Glance and Planet Roundup:
> http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance/
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AIR OVER ANTARCTICA
A Unique View of a Total Eclipse of the Sun (Advertisement)
SKY & TELESCOPE and TravelQuest International, in cooperation with
LanChile Airlines, announce an exclusive chartered flight over Antarctica
to view the total solar eclipse on November 23, 2003. You'll see 2 minutes
26 seconds of totality (29 seconds longer than is possible from the
ground) at an altitude of 38,000 feet, where you're practically assured of
a cloud-free cosmic spectacle. Space is limited to 84 participants;
optional pre/post tour packages of Chile are available.
For more information or reservations, contact TravelQuest International at
800-830-1998 (toll-free in the U.S. and Canada), +1 928-445-7754 (outside
the U.S.), or send an e-mail to eclipse@tq-international.com. More details
about the Antarctic eclipse tour will be available soon at
http://www.tq-international.com.
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Copyright 2003 Sky Publishing Corp. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin is provided
as a free service to the astronomical community by the editors of SKY &
TELESCOPE magazine. Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as
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news is available on our Web site at http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/.
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