Innehållsförteckning för No. 57 från All About Space

Gaia spacecraft releases brand new Milky Way map The largest all-sky map ever created hints at more treasures to come “It’s the largest ever all-sky survey of celestial objects” Since July 2014, ESA’s space telescope Gaia has been surveying the Milky Way in a bid to chart a three-dimensional map of our galaxy. We’re now seeing the first results of its endeavours – a catalogue of 1,142 million stars and a huge amount of data recording their position and brightness in the Milky Way. Among them are 400 million stars that had never been recorded before and a further 2 million that now have both their distance and sideways motion plotted accurately for the first time, thanks to comparisons with data previously taken by another satellite called Hipparcos. It’s the…

THE HUNT FOR MARTIAN LIFE STARTS NOW Now in orbit around the Red Planet, ExoMars provides our best bet for finding signs of life on Mars so far Written by Jonathan O’Callaghan  For Jorge Vago, the ExoMars mission began when a report dropped on his desk in 1997. “It was from a group of exobiology scientists, who were asked to describe how they would go about searching for life on Mars,” says Vago. Almost two decades later, that ambitious proposal is coming to fruition. Vago is now a project scientist for this pioneering mission, ExoMars, which is already well underway. It is a two-part mission that is going to search for life on Mars like never before. Arriving in October 2016 is the first part of the mission, an orbiting…

Searching for clues: methane on Mars Conventional methane sources Meteorites Meteorite impacts on Mars do not produce enough methane to explain where it all comes from. Comet impacts Comets contribute to a very small amount of methane in the atmosphere. Volcanoes A lack of active volcanoes today suggests they are not the source of the methane. Winds Gusts of wind should mix methane uniformly throughout the atmosphere, leaving scientists puzzled by observed variations. Frozen Frozen methane in the upper subsurface of Mars from long-extinct microbes could also explain the source. Dust devil Possible methane sources Microbes Underwater microbes may combine water with carbon dioxide to produce methane. Methane clathrate These 'water cages' could store methane produced by microbes, and gradually release it through cracks in the Martian surface. Vents If…

Roving the Red Planet © Ed Crooks; ESA; B. Bethge; Stephane Corvaja; NASA; GSFC; JPL; University of Arizona; Thales Alenia Space, Italy Scheduled for launch in 2020, the ExoMars rover will search for signs of past and present life on the Martian surface, as well as characterise the water and general chemistry of the Red Planet. ExoMars will do this using its suite of analytical instruments, which are dedicated to establishing whether life ever existed – or is in fact still active – on Mars today.…

ISS REPLACING THE Plans are afoot to substitute the International Space Station with a mushroom-shaped habitat Written by Kulvinder Singh Chadha @ Adrian Mann “ The water stored in the double hull will be for human consumption but will also provide ballistic protection against debris” The International Space Station (ISS) is nearing the end of its life. Arguably one of humanity’s most impressive feats of engineering and international co-operation, the ISS has been built up in modules since late 1998 and has been continuously occupied since November 2000. It is the largest spacecraft ever built with an internal volume of 915 cubic metres (32,333 cubic feet): equal to that of a Boeing 747. That’s five-times larger than the American Skylab station of 1973-79 and four-times larger than Russia’s Mir Space…

Inside a new space station United Space Structures intend for their habitats to have a multitude of uses by clients @ Adrian Mann Planetary environmental and climate research A long-term space habitat could give occupants unprecedented views of a changing Earth. This data could help climatologists catalogue the extent of climate change in a way never envisaged. Biomedical research Biology and medicine could benefit most from a space-based platform. The behaviour of biochemical processes in microgravity could be studied, and the mixing of fluids and powders could create new drugs. Mining vehicle/platform A constantly-looping ferry system would be ideal for space-mining. USS habitats could hoover up mineral-rich asteroids, comets and lunar material, acquiring useful minerals such as iridium, which is very rare on Earth. Settlement cargo vehicle & construction platform…

An interview with… Astronaut Al Worden The Apollo 15 Command Module Pilot talks of how the mission made history, why we shouldn’t return to the Moon and his enthusiasm for a telescope on the lunar farside Interviewed by Nick Howes “ The media locked on to those who walked on the Moon, and ignored those of us who stayed in orbit. But we were the glue that made the flights possible” You’ve spoken a lot in your book Falling To Earth about your love of the UK. Can you talk about your time as a test pilot at the Empire Test Pilot School, where other alumni included Tim Peake? I attended the Empire Test Pilot School (ETPS) in Farnborough, England, in 1964. I had just completed my time in graduate…

How to spot the Apollo 11 Moon landing site 1 Find the centre of the Moon Begin right in the middle of the Moon and move up the centre line until you’re about level with the crater Copernicus. 2 Move to the right Move your gaze over to the right until you come across a big dark sea. It should have another sea of about the same size joining it to the top left. 3 Find the Sea of Tranquility The bottom of the Sea of Tranquility is split into two sections. The Apollo 11 landing site is the left-hand area. 4 Locate the approximate landing site Although you won’t see any detail due to the landing site itself being very small, it is located around 20km (12.4mi) south-southwest of…

Treasures of Perseus There are marvels to be seen with your telescope in a beautiful constellation representing an ancient Greek hero © Rolf Geissinger; Alamy; ESO; NOAO The constellation of Perseus looks a little like an inverted letter ‘Y’ and can be found to the southeast of the more recognisable ‘W’ of the constellation of Cassiopeia. It holds some deep sky gems within its borders, for both large and small telescopes. These include many star clusters and even a faint nebula or two. It is perhaps most famous for hosting the bright variable star Algol, known as the ‘Winking Demon Star’, as it represents the eye of the gorgon Medusa, whose head was removed and carried by Perseus! This fascinating star consists of two stars orbiting around their common centre…

In the shops The latest books, apps, software, tech and accessories for space and astronomy fans alike Toys Rosetta and Philae plush Cost: €29.95 (approx. £25.80) From: Rosetta Shop (www.rosettashop.eu) The Rosetta mission has come to an end, so we couldn’t resist getting our hands on a momento of the comet chaser and its lander, Philae. If you’re familiar with the ‘Once upon a time…’ cartoon series, which centres on the spacecraft’s journey to and around Comet 67P, then you’ll recognise this novel plush toy. Philae is attached to Rosetta and features the ESA logo stitched in white cotton on the left ‘solar panel’. Some may consider this plush to be expensive, but given that it’s a one-of-a-kind toy and beautifully finished, it’s certainly worth the price tag. Its soft…

Touch down on Mars 0 secs 121km • 21,000km/h Schiaparelli enters the atmosphere of Mars. 1 min 12 secs 45km • 19,000km/h The heat shield experiences maximum heating from the atmosphere. 3 mins 21 secs 11km • 1,650km/h Schiaparelli’s parachute deploys. 4 mins 1 secs 7km • 320km/h The front shield separates and the radar is activated. 5 mins 22 secs 1.3km • 270km/h The parachute and the rear cover are jettisoned. 5 mins 23 secs 1.1km • 250km/h Schiaparelli’s thrusters turn on and slow down the lander. 5 mins 52 secs 2m • 7km/h The thrusters turn off and the lander free-falls. 5 mins 53 secs 0m • 10km/h Schiaparelli lands, with a crushable structure keeping its instruments safe from harm. ExoMars orbiter Schiaparelli The Schiaparelli lander will detach…

SpiderFab: how to spin a space station This multi-arm robot is designed to quickly build large structures in space instead of astronauts Robotic arms The work will be held firmly in place with greater precision than a human could achieve. Stereoscopic camera Ground-based controllers are able to accurately gauge the work in three dimensions. 3D joiner This glues or welds components together one after another to build up the structure. Material source and extruder This will spool structural material, such as carbon fibre, from a drum. 1 Extruding as required The extruder spools out the exact amount of material required from a storage drum on the robot’s back, like a spider weaving a web. 2 Holding things in place For an accurately built station, it’s critical that each of its…

Are dwarf stars really that small? Proxima Centauri introduced a lot of people to the term 'red dwarf' in August this year, but these 'tiny' stars are far from simple The Sun Mass: 1.989 x 1030 kg (4.385 x 1030 lbs) or 333,000 Earths Radius: 695,700km (432,288mi) 36 Ophiuchi A Percentage of solar mass: 85% Radius: 568,387km (353,179mi) This is a triple system of orange dwarf stars, which lies 19.5 light years from Earth. A and B orbit each other, while C orbits around the pair. 36 Ophiuchi B Percentage of solar mass: 85% Radius: 563,517km (350,153mi) Epsilon Eridani Percentage of solar mass: 82% Radius: 511,339km (317,731mi) Known since ancient times, Epsilon Eridani is visible in dark areas with a magnitude of 3.73, and is one of the nearest Sun-like…

Planet of the month This month’s planets There are planets on view both after sunset and before sunrise, with the king of the Solar System ruling the dawn Jupiter Right Ascension: 12h 47m 59s Declination: -03° 54’ 58” Constellation: Virgo Magnitude: -1.7 Direction: East-southeast Jupiter dominated the evening sky earlier in the year, blazing like a silvery lantern beneath the stars of Leo in spring. Now, after its unusually intimate close encounter with Venus in the twilight of late August, it has slid behind the Sun and re-emerged as autumn’s morning star. Shining at magnitude -1.7, Jupiter is still very impressive to the naked eye, outshining everything else in the morning sky apart from the Moon. And as it slowly but steadily pulls away from the Sun, it will become…

How to make a supermoon mosaic Make a memory that lasts and capture a high-definition shot of a mega-Moon The Moon is so close that getting a single, detailed image of all of its wonders is no mean feat. Instead, a lot of astronomers create a ‘Moon mosaic’ – a large image made up of several images stitched together. One of the easiest ways to achieve this is by attaching a webcam to your telescope. You can even buy specialised Moon imaging equipment such as Meade’s Lunar Planetary Imager, which plugs straight into your computer via USB. A location where you’ll have a clear view of the Moon for several hours is also favourable. If you’re successful, you could show off your creation by printing it onto a canvas. 1…

How to… Capture the belts of Uranus The eighth planet in our Solar System may is a long way away, but with modern telescopes and imaging equipment, it's now possible to capture the belts of this frozen world © Lawrence Sromovsky, University of Wisconsin-Madison; W.W. Keck Observatory You’ll need: • Large telescope • Equatorial tracking mount • Monochrome video camera • Filters The planet Uranus holds a fascination for us. This frozen remote world has a very acute axial tilt and we can see this by observing its equatorial belts. In the past, it took deep space probes and vast resources to make discoveries about the outer planets of our Solar System, but with modern technology it is possible for advanced amateur astronomers to image these vastly distant planets and…

How to… Observe Ceres and Eris at opposition The minor worlds of our Solar System, Ceres and Eris, are at their best this month. Here are some tips on how to track them down You’ll need: • Star chart • Binoculars • Small telescope • Large telescope • DSLR camera Dwarf planets can vary in size and brightness by huge amounts. Such is the case with two well-known objects in our Solar System, Ceres and Eris, which are coming into opposition this month. Opposition is when an object is directly opposite the Sun in our skies, which usually means that it is about as close to Earth as it can get in our respective orbits. When a body is at opposition it also tends to be as bright as it…

Me & My Telescope Send your astrophotography images to photos@spaceanswers.com for a chance to see them featured in All About Space Ullrich Dittler Black Forest, Germany Telescope: Takahashi FSQ-106 and Celestron C11 “I’ve always had a passion for astrophotography, but during my first few years of work I lived in a light-polluted city. Now I live in a small town under a dark sky, the conditions are so good that we’ve built an observatory in the garden. I like to photograph the daily changing view of the Sun in white light, H-alpha light and calcium light. I also take pictures of deep-sky objects to image structures that humans are unable to see, and use a DSLR to capture the Milky Way or a star trail overhead.” Ian Griffin Dunedin, New…

Kathleen Rubins An early-career astronaut, currently on board the International Space Station © NASA In this section of the magazine, we’ve sometimes featured seasoned astronauts, trailblazers on early spaceflight missions, or the unlucky few who lost their lives furthering humanity’s journey into the cosmos. This month though, our hero is perhaps not quite so obvious – but no less deserving of a place right here. Kathleen 'Kate' Rubins has only flown to space once. In fact, she is in space right now, having launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on 7 July 2016 on a Soyuz spacecraft from Kazakhstan. She is set to return to Earth by early November this year. What stands Rubins apart from some of the other heroes we’ve featured here though, is the nature of…

LAUNCH PAD YOUR FIRST CONTACT WITH THE UNIVERSE @ ESA; Hubble; NASA Hubble spies a cosmic storm The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captures a maelstrom of glowing gas and dark dust within one of the Milky Way’s satellite galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud. The stormy scene of the star-forming region N159 spans over 150 light years and contains many hot, young stars throwing out intense ultraviolet light. This causes nearby hydrogen gas to glow, while stellar winds carve ridges, arcs and filaments. N159 can be found over 160,000 light years away and is just south of the Tarantula Nebula. A butterfly-shaped region of nebulosity, known as the Papillon Nebula, lies at the heart of this cosmic cloud. A small, dense object, astronomers classify it as a High-Excitation Blob that’s linked…

Echoes from star-munching black holes detected Astronomers have gained new insights into tidal flares with NASA’s WISE It’s long been known that supermassive black holes eat stars that stray too close. But less is known about the subsequent bright flares, which blast out ultraviolet and X-ray light into the surrounding dust. When this happens, any dust is destroyed. Yet a few trillion kilometres away the dust not only survives, it absorbs and re-emits the light, producing an ‘echo’. Scientists have been determined to discover more about the nature of the dust and the precise measurement of a flare’s energy. They’ve also been keen to estimate the location of the dust and two recent studies using NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have got astronomers excited. Using a technique called photo-reverberation,…

What are superstrings? These hypothetical, vibrating 'threads' could be the simplest and most fundamental forms of matter in the universe Everyday solids Dense objects, such as marbles, appear to be smooth, uniform and solid all the way through, but in reality this is far from the case. Crystal lattice On a small enough scale, all solids are made up of tiny individual atoms linked together by chemical bonds. Atomic structure Even an atom of carbon is mostly empty space, with electrons orbiting around a tiny, compact nucleus of protons and neutrons. Superstrings Elementary particles such as quarks and electrons may themselves be composed of vibrating strings of energy. Elementary particles Each proton or neutron is made up of three quarks bound together by the strong nuclear force.…

M theory The mother of string theory Five competing superstring theories exist. M-theory has the potential to unite them all © ESA; The Planck Collaboration; Science Photo Library Number of dimensions: 11 In 1995, Edward Witten argued that the links between the various superstring theories suggest a unifying theory underlying them all. This is known as M-theory, an 11-dimensional theory in which the different ways of compactifying the additional dimension give rise to the five superstring theories. Number of dimensions: 26 String theories with 26 dimensions were the first to be developed in the 1960s. Physicists still use them as 'toy' models, but they have two key failings – they only predict the existence of 'bosons' (such as photons) rather than matter particles, and they predict the existence of imaginary…

Choosing a landing site for a rover With almost as much land as Earth, how do we know where to touch down? Phoenix lander NASA’s Phoenix lander touched down in the polar regions of Mars to study its ice. Viking 1 In 1976, Viking 1 became the spacecraft to land successfully on Mars. Just like its twin lander Viking 2, Viking 1 hunted for signs of life. Mars Pathfinder Mars Pathfinder consisted of a lander and a rover named Sojourner. The mission studied the surface and proved that it is possible to develop faster, better and cheaper spacecraft. Oxia Planum This region was announced as the preferred landing site for the ExoMars rover in October 2015. Opportunity rover NASA’s Opportunity rover, which is still going strong, landed on the Red…

International Space Station VS ‘Space Mushroom’ How will the next-generation space station weigh up against the one that’s currently orbiting Earth? USS’ Space Mushroom PROS It could have much more room than the ISS It could generate its own pseudo-gravity through rotation It could act as a ‘waypoint’ for space tourists or deep-space explorers Designed to last over 50 years CONS It would be a formidable structure to build in space It presents a larger surface area to any orbiting debris It would require many more ground launches to supply with food, water and pressurised atmosphere Construction is yet to begin NASA’s International Space Station PROS Already exists as a proven, functioning space station Its modular design makes any repairs easier to perform It’s large enough for astronauts to move…

ATHLETE If we are to settle on other planets in the Solar System, we will need machines for heavy lifting in all manner of environments - NASA is working on such a robot already © Adrian Mann “ATHLETE could drive up to a cargo lander, lift off the module, cart it over to its desired location, regardless of terrain, and install it” Multiple limbs Six identical limbs provide support and manipulation for ATHLETE, giving six degrees of freedom: three motions and three rotations for the wheels and tools at the tips. Tools The flexibility of the limbs means that they can collect a variety of tools and manipulate them like a dedicated robot arm. The tools are powered with the wheel motors. Multiple wheels Each limb has a wheel and…

What’s in the sky? 15 OCT Uranus reaches opposition in Pisces 16 OCT Dwarf planet Eris reaches opposition in Cetus 16 OCT Conjunction between the Moon and Uranus in Pisces 17 OCT The Moon appears large as it makes its closest approach to Earth 21 OCT The Orionids reach their peak of 25 meteors per hour 21 OCT Dwarf planet Ceres reaches opposition in Cetus 22 OCT Asteroid 18 Melpomene reaches opposition in Cetus 29 OCT Conjunction between Venus and Saturn in Ophiuchus 05 NOV Taurids reach their peak of ten meteors per hour 09 NOV Conjunction between the Moon and Neptune in Aquarius Planetarium 26 October 2016 Moon phases Illumination percentage Planet positions All rise and set times are given in BST Red light friendly In order to preserve…

Moon tour Cassini crater Use autumn’s crisp, clear nights to find a lunar crater named in honour of one of astronomy’s most respected planetary observers © NASA The Moon’s ‘celebrity’ craters attract lots of attention because they are so easy to spot and are dramatic in an eyepiece. But the smaller, less dramatic craters – the ones without huge mountain peaks jabbing up from their centres or bright rays of debris surrounding them – can be just as fascinating if you take the time to get to know them. One such crater is Cassini, which is perhaps the only noteworthy feature in the unremarkable lunar plain known as Palus Nebularum, just to the south of the famous Alpine Valley. As you might have guessed, Cassini was named after astronomer Giovanni…

Improve your images of the ice giant's features There are a few things to bear in mind when you give this project a go… There are some great planetary imaging cameras available. For imaging Uranus’ belts you’ll need a sensitive chip and the ability to vary the frame rate and exposure time. Depending on your local atmospheric condition, you’ll probably need a frame rate of 6-8 frames a minute – more if your camera can manage it. Getting a good balance between the frame rate and exposure time is important, as is a good, sharp focus. Take your time with the set-up as it will pay dividends in your final image. 1 Set up your equipment on a flat landscape Make sure your camera and telescope are well set up…

Telescope advice Celestron Inspire 70AZ An entry-level refractor with a unique design, this brand new range of telescopes is ideal for those on a tight budget who are keen to get started in astronomy “ The design of the tube is unique, with a fully integrated smartphone adapter that’s suitable for basic astrophotography" Telescope advice Cost: £130 (approx. $170) From: David Hinds Ltd Type: Refractor Aperture: 2.76” Focal length: 27.56” Best for... Beginners Small budget Terrestrial viewing Planetary viewing Lunar viewing Bright deep-sky objects Basic astrophotography With the darker months upon us, now is the time to get started in astronomy. For those who are new to the hobby and would rather spend a small amount of money on a new instrument, the new Inspire range from Celestron meets this…