Quintuplet Cluster Shows Evidence Of High-Speed, Colliding Stellar Winds

An image taken with the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, released yesterday, shows evidence of high-speed stellar winds from massive stars in the Quintuplet Cluster colliding with closely orbiting stars. This theory is supported by the detection of radio waves emitted from very hot gas in the region.

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Giant Sunspot Faces Earth

Solar scientists following recent sunspot activity have observed the largest sunspots since November 2003 -- the largest one 20 times the size of Earth -- and they're now facing us. Large solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), ocurring during high sunspot activity, can have devastating effects to satellites, astronauts in space, and even power grids here on Earth. So far, only moderate flares and CMEs have resulted from this group of sunspots.

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Scientists Discover What Causes Solar 'Spicules'

With the help of high resolution solar images from Swedish 1-meter Solar Telescope (SST), the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite, and the NASA Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) satellite, solar scientists from Lockheed Martin and the University of Sheffield, UK have created a computer model that proves how spicules form on the sun. 'Spicules', discovered in 1877, are supersonic jets of material that periodically shoot up from the surface of the sun. Under certain conditions, sound waves at the surface of the sun, while normally damped out, may break through the surface creating shock waves that push out the material we see as spicules. These results will appear as the cover story in tomorrow's release of Nature.

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Mars Express Images Fractured Crater

The European Space Agency (ESA) released a photograph today of a fractured crater on the surface of Mars. This interesting image was actually taken in January with the High Resolution Stereo Camera aboard the Mars Express orbiter during it's 61st orbit. The crater is about 27.5 kilometres in diameter by about 800 meters deep and lies near Valles Marineris. Scientists are not yet sure how these fractures formed, but on Earth, similar features are often the result of materials contracting, such as cooling lava or drying clay.

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New Video Shorts From ESA Highlight Space Technology Transfers

A new set of short videos from the European Space Agency (ESA) show how investments in space exploration yield payoffs back on Earth. ESA also has an official Technology Transfer Program to ensure that technology developed for use in space can be successfully applied in other areas as well.

  

Teachers From NASA Explorer Schools Get To Handle Moon Rocks

Thirty teachers involved in the NASA Explorer Schools program will get certified in the handling of enclosed moon samples during a week long NASA Explorer Schools workshop. Educators will learn how to incorporate resources from NASA, such as these moon rocks, as part of an effort to excite young people about science and mathematics, a critical component of the President's new space exploration initiative launched on 14 January of this year.

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Final Segments Of Atlas V Launch Pad Arrive At Vandenberg

Lockheed Martin announced today that the final fixed launch platform (FLP) segments for the Atlas V launch pad have arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Contruction crews will now assemble the four massive FLP segments. The first Atlas V rocket is scheduled to launch from the newly constructed Space Launch Complex 3 East (SLC-3E) in 2005.

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First Operational Missile Defense Interceptor For Orbital Installed At Fort Greeley, Alaska

Orbital Sciences announced in a press release Friday that its first operational missile defense interceptor was recently installed in an underground missile silo at Fort Greeley, Alaska.

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Second Double Star Satellite Launched

Yesterday the Double Star 'Tan Ce 2' satellite joined its alter ego, the Double Star 'Tan Ce 1' (launched 29 December 2003). These two spacecraft are part of a joint project between the European Space Agency (ESA) and Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) to study the Earth's magnetosphere. Tan Ce 2 was launched from China's Taiyuan spaceport on Long March 2C rocket.

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SMART1 Peers Back At Earth

The European Space Agency's (ESA's) SMART1 spacecraft snapped a photo of the Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea from over 100,000 km away (SMART stands for Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology). SMART1 is using a solar-electric ion engine with xenon fuel to power its way to the moon. Due to careful planning, the craft is getting better "mileage" than expected and may have enough fuel remaining to get even closer to the moon than originally planned, allowing SMART1 to take higher resolution photos of the lunar surface.

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