Innehållsförteckning för No. 67 från All About Space

launch Feature: Topic here pad Forget Planet Nine, tenth world suspected at Solar System’s edge A Mars-like 'Planet Ten' may be orbiting the Sun, according to new evidence © Heather Roper; University of Arizona “Something as massive as Mars would be needed to cause the warp that we measured" Planetary scientists have suggested that a mysterious mass lurking beyond Pluto within the Kuiper Belt could actually be the Solar System's tenth planet. If true, the so-called Planet Ten would be at a distance of 60 astronomical units (AU), or 60 times the distance between Earth and the Sun. That would make it closer than Planet Nine, which is believed to be orbiting our star at a staggering 700 astronomical units from us. Neither planet has been confirmed but the latest…

‘Pompom’ stars could answer why quasars twinkle Filaments of gas surrounding stars may answer a 30-year old mystery surrounding active galaxies Why the distant, ultra-bright active galaxies known as quasars sparkle could have just been answered when astronomers turned the Common Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’s Compact Array radio telescope in eastern Australia. Dr Mark Walker of Manly Astrophysics, Australia, and his team were studying one quasar in particular called PKS 1322-110, which started to dim and brighten wildly at radio wavelengths over just a few hours. Quasar radio twinkling was recognised as early as the 1980s – it’s most often found to be gentle with small, slow changes in brightness but the target that Walker discovered was found be violent, twinkling unpredictably. Stars twinkle in the night sky when…

Fifth force of the universe The four forces of the cosmos Currently these fundamental interactions are accepted to govern the universe The fifth force Weak nuclear force Protons into neutrons When two protons collide and fuse, a disruption in the weak nuclear force causes a positron and a neutrino to be released. This ultimately converts one of the positively charged protons into a neutrally charged neutron. Without the weak nuclear force converting protons into neutrons, nuclei cannot form. Release of radiation Atoms have an imbalance of protons and neutrons, so the weak nuclear force converts protons to neutrons to release radiation. Gravitational force Keeping the planets in orbit Gravity forms the planets, stars, moons in our universe and is responsible for the gravitational pull of the Sun keeping the planets…

40 YEARS OF VOYAGER Four decades ago, what would become two of NASA’s most iconic spacecraft set off on a ‘Grand Tour’ of the Solar System… and they’re still going strong Written by Ben Gilliland Where are they now? Voyager 1: Distance from Earth: 138 AU – 20.6 billion kilometres Current speed: 62,140 km/h Voyager 2: Distance from Earth: 113.9 AU – 17 billion kilometres Current speed: 57,890 km/h On 20 August 1977, a Titan-Centaur rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral carrying NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft. A little over two weeks later, Voyager 1 joined its twin on a mission to explore the Solar System. Forty years later, both craft are still boldly going where no spacecraft has gone before. The Voyager mission, dubbed the ‘Grand Tour’, was designed to…

What’s next for Voyager? Voyager’s radioactive power packs will continue to provide power until about 2025. Until then (by which time Voyager is expected to be about 22.6 billion kilometres from home), they will continue to send data about the interstellar environment back to Earth. Voyager’s scientists have high hopes that the Voyagers still have discoveries hidden up their sleeves. Ed Stone VOYAGER PROJECT SCIENTIST ”We hope to learn more about the Milky Way galaxy: what its magnetic field is like and the interstellar wind that has come from near supernovae and the intensity of the cosmic radiation. We expect Voyager 2, because it's in a different place, will reveal a different perspective on the interaction between our Sun and the interstellar wind.” © ESO; J. Emerson; NASA; JPL; Carla…

Juno at Jupiter IS EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT JUPITER WRONG? The early results of the Juno mission have shown a far more complex side to the king of the Solar System than first thought Written by Lee Cavendish © Alexander Aldatov; Alamy On 5 August 2011, the Atlas V 551 rocket launches from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, United States. After 54 minutes spent reaching approximately 260 kilometres, the Atlas V 551 separates from its tip, returning safely back to Earth. Blossoming at its perigee, Juno majestically erupts and sets its sights for the Jovian king, Jupiter. After five years of a lengthy, lonely voyage, Juno arrived at its destination. Back on Earth, on 5 July 2016, the Juno team controlled the space probe into Jupiter’s orbit, leading…

STARGAZER This month’s planets Ever-dazzling Venus rules the dawn skies, while Jupiter takes the evening watch. Sky-watchers are also treated to fleeting views of Mars Planet of the month Venus Constellation: Taurus Magnitude: -4.0 AM/PM: AM This is a fantastic month for you if you’re a fan of the planet Venus. You’ll recall how Venus dominated the evening sky at the turn of the year, blazing like a lantern in the west after sunset through late winter and into early spring; it is now a ‘Morning Star’, dramatically outshining everything else in the sky apart from the Sun and Moon. This fascinating world – often, very wrongly, for many reasons, called ‘Earth’s twin’ – rises some three hours before the Sun at the start of our observing period, and almost…

STARGAZER How to… How Make a solar filter for your telescope The Sun is our nearest star and, with care, you can make an inexpensive filter to view its incredibly dynamic surface You’ll need: • AstroSolar safety film • Cardboard • Sticky tape • Scissors The Sun is our nearest star, which means that when we study it, we can get a good idea about how other stars work. This huge ball of searing hot plasma is full of surprises and is a very complex body. It contains vast and ever-changing powerful magnetic fields and has distinct layers, a little like an onion. The layer which we are most familiar with is the photosphere, the layer of the Sun which emits the incredibly bright light. It is this layer we…

Deep sky challenge Gems of the swan and the harp The summer skies are alive with deep sky objects – point your telescope at them tonight © NASA; STScl; ESA; Ken Crawford With the Milky Way arching across the sky at this time of year, the constellations, which are located within it or straddle its borders, are littered with amazing objects towards which you can turn your telescope and feast your eyes. There are double stars, open star clusters, globular star clusters and nebulae in and around the region of sky dominated by the familiar constellation of Cygnus, symbolised by the Greek mythology as a swan. The constellation of Lyra plays host to two intriguing objects, namely the double-double stars of Epsilon Lyra and the famous Ring Nebula (M57), while…

STARGAZER In the shops The latest books, apps, software, tech and accessories for space and astronomy fans alike Planisphere Collins Planisphere Cost: £9.99/$15.30 From: Harper Collins Perhaps one of the most essential pieces of kit for anyone navigating the night sky. Just like this chart, which is compiled by astronomical experts Storm Dunlop and Will Tirion and approved by astronomers at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, planispheres should be well designed and easy to use. Our first test was to see if the planisphere was readable under red light, which is used by astronomers to preserve night vision. Taking the planisphere outside, every detail on the map was visible, so whatever constellation in the Northern Hemisphere you might be looking for, you can use the planisphere to find it with ease.…

ESA approves gravitational-wave hunting spacecraft for 2034 The space agency is embarking on a mission to study ripples in space-time with NASA support The hunt for gravitational waves is set to truly take off after the European Space Agency rubber-stamped plans to put an observatory in space. So far, two ground-based detectors in the United States (called the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory) have directly observed ripples in the fabric of space and time. But now ESA has given the green light for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission which will see three spacecraft operating in an Earth-trailing orbit around the Sun. Scheduled for launch by 2034, it has been in the planning for a number of years. The idea is that the spacecraft will be used in a triangular…

launch pad SpaceX unveils plans to build Martian megacity Elon Musk's detailed plan to colonise the Red Planet has been committed to paper SpaceX's bold plan to create a self-sustaining city on Mars and populate it with up to a million humans has now been published for all to read. CEO of the private space company Elon Musk, who gave a talk about the plan to allow us to have two planetary homes last September, uses the paper to discuss the potential costs, the proposed reusability of the spacecraft, issues surrounding refilling in orbit and the right propellant. Printed in New Space, the paper Making Humans a Multi-Planetary Species comes complete with an assortment of tables and images. These help illustrate the plans to eventually send 1,000 or more Interplanetary…

Apollo 11: The inside story APOLLO 11 One small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind “Roger. Clock.” Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11 Commander “Roger. Roll.” Bruce McCandless CAPCOM “Roger. We copy. We’ll be configured and waiting for whatever you want to send down.” Bruce McCandless, CAPCOM “Roger. 1 50.” Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11 Commander “Apollo 11, Apollo 11, this is Houston broadcasting in the blind. Request OMNI Bravo.” Bruce McCandless, CAPCOM “Roger. Oxygen heaters to AUTO, or you can watch them in the ON position, and oxygen fans manual ON.” Bruce McCandless, CAPCOM “This is Houston. Readback correct. Out.” Bruce McCandless, CAPCOM “11, Houston. If that’s not the Earth, we’re in trouble.” Charlie Duke, CAPCOM “Okay, no complaints. I was just curious as to what had happened.” Michael…

Triton Explores Guide Triton Neptune’s largest moon is a puzzling entity that has aroused the curiosity of many astronomers Neptune’s largest moon, Triton, is a body in our Solar System that causes much confusion and fascination. The one and only flyby observation of Triton took place on 25 August 1989, when Voyager 2 photographed it while on its journey through the gas giants. The images seen by the scientists provoked much curiosity, and almost 30 years later there is still no clear explanation of what was found. Some of the things we do know is that it is roughly three quarters of the size of our Moon, and also orbits Neptune at a distance of over 330,000 kilometres (205,000 miles). These aspects of Triton’s orbit are fairly typical, but the…

Fifth force of the universe Was Einstein wrong? So far general relativity has passed every test. But that might be about to change The geometrical interpretation of gravity According to Einstein, gravity isn't really a force. It is a distortion of space-time that occurs around any massive body – for example, and in the case of our Sun, space-time is like a rubber sheet being bent by a weight placed in its centre. Even light curves when passing close to a massive object. An effect that was observed in 1919, confirming the general theory of relativity. The equivalence principle Einstein said that gravity and a force caused by a constant acceleration are indistinguishable. For example, take a man inside a lift that is accelerating upwards at a constant rate. The…

40 years of Voyager Voyager’s equipment Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator Voyager’s power source. It contains pellets of plutonium dioxide that release heat as they decay. This heat is converted into electricity. Planetary Radio and Plasma Wave Antenna The PRA listens for radio signals produced by the Sun and planets. The PWA ‘listens’ for plasma oscillations caused by energetic events. High-gain Antenna A 3.66-metre parabolic dish used to receive commands and send data back to Earth. ‘Bus’ Housing Electronics Voyager’s body. A ten-sided box, 1.8 metres across, that contains some scientific instruments, electronics and a fuel tank for the thrusters. Cosmic Ray Subsystem Detects high-energy cosmic rays and particles emitted from planets like Jupiter. Low-energy Charged Particle Detector Detects low-energy particles. Used to study solar flares, cosmic rays, and planetary energy. Optical…

Focus on Meet NASA’s new astronauts The space agency has announced its largest class of 'space sailors' since 2000 © NASA; Robert Markowitz  The cream always rises to the top, and these 12 candidates were chosen from a record-breaking 18,300 applications to become the future of space exploration. These 12 men and women from all over America will return to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, in August to begin their intensive two-year training scheme. “ Once they have completed their intensive training program, the adventures will really begin” NASA welcomed US Vice President Mike Pence for the unveiling with a tour of the International Space Station (ISS) Mission Control Center and the famous mission control room used for multiple NASA spaceflights, including the Apollo Moon landings – with…

Moon tour Earthshine See the beautiful ‘old Moon in the new Moon’s arms’ © ESO; B. Tafreshi Take a quick look at any map of the Moon and you will see that it is covered with fascinating features. On any night when our planet’s natural satellite is visible in your sky, you will be able to look at it through a telescope, or even just a pair of binoculars, and peer down into the dark depths of its dramatic craters, see sunlight bathing the jagged peaks of its magnificent mountain ranges and, of course, roam its dark seas of ancient, frozen lava. Sometimes though, the Moon itself is the star of the show. The sight of a bloated Full Moon rising from behind the trees on a warm summer evening…

STARGAZER How to… Process your images in Photoshop Adobe Photoshop is the ‘go-to’ software for many astro-imagers. Here are some tips that will make your starry shots really sparkle… You’ll need: • Computer • Adobe Photoshop If you’ve taken pictures of the night sky, you've only done half the work! Processing the images will often bring out stars and objects you perhaps didn't even realise were there. There are many types of image processing software available, some are fairly inexpensive, or even free, while others cost a small fortune. Adobe Photoshop, depending on the version you have, falls somewhere in between. You can even find a host of useful tools in the free Photoshop 'Lite' version. The latest version can be paid for in monthly instalments, so no need to…

STARGAZER Your astrophotography Astroshots of the month Send your astrophotography images to space@spaceanswers.com for a chance to see them featured in All About Space Graham Hard East Surrey, UK Telescope: TS APO65Q and Sky-Watcher 250PDS “I took up astrophotography in 2012 after soon realising that I couldn’t get very much detail from galaxies and deep-sky objects through viewing them alone. “I imaged a small part of the North America Nebula, which is a major star-forming area that forms part of the Cygnus Wall. The wall is lit up by bright young stars and is partly hidden by dark dust clouds. I imaged this region using my Atik 490EX camera.” Jaspal Chadha London, UK Telescope: Takahashi 130 “The Hercules Globular Cluster (M13) contains an unusually young, B2-type star, designated Barnard 29.…

LAUNCH PAD YOUR FIRST CONTACT WITH THE UNIVERSE © ESA/Hubble & NASA Sensationally stormy stellar nursery This striking image really depicts the hustle and bustle of the universe. Snapped by the Hubble Space Telescope, it highlights the turbulent mixture of darkened dust and illuminated gas within one of the Milky Way’s satellite galaxies, the irregular Large Magellanic Cloud. Hidden beneath the stormy scene are many hot young stars spewing out intense ultraviolet light, which causes nearby hydrogen gas to glow. This region is the stellar nursery of N159, a region that’s rich in ionised hydrogen and measures over 150 light years across. At the heart of the cosmic cloud resides the Papillon Nebula, a butterfly-shaped region of nebulosity dominating the left of the scene, which is packed with massive stars…

Strange ‘butterfly-shaped’ nitrogen area observed in Milky Way A star formation disc is seen to have more nitrogen compounds in one area than another Astronomers are puzzled that a section of a star-forming region more than 7,000 light years from Earth contains a high concentration of nitrogen compounds. With the rest of the disc made up of large amounts of oxygen-containing and sulphur-containing hydrocarbons, an international team of astronomers believes multiple stars may be forming at the same time within one disc. What's more, since the nitrogen side was also found to be 150 degrees warmer, it is suspected that some stars are hotter or heavier than others. The findings have resulted from studies of the star-forming region G35.20-0.74N in the Southern Hemisphere sky. Researchers Veronica Allen and Floris van…

Laser communications terminal heading for the Moon High-definition video and virtual reality experiences from the lunar surface could be a possibility A ground-breaking deal has been struck to operate the first ever laser communications terminal on the Moon. Space firm Astrobotic, which was showcasing its lunar landing at the recent Paris Airshow, says its new contract with cloud-based satellite management company ATLAS Space operations will allow the company to expand its payload capabilities. As well as offering a gigabit per second of data – which Astrobotic says is a thousand-fold increase of bandwidth for its planned lunar mission – the deal will mean a strong and reliable communications system will be available for use between Earth and the Moon. “Laser communications on the Moon will expand payload capabilities dramatically, enabling…

Fifth force of the universe FIFTH FORCE OF THE UNIVERSE We’ve always assumed there are four forces, but a fifth could explain many of the universe’s mysteries – and bring Einstein’s theories into question Written by Colin Stuart © Shutterstock; Ali Mazraie Shadi As the Sun sets over a dormant volcano, the domes of two of the world's biggest telescopes are thrown into silhouette. Night falls and they slowly open, revealing the cutting-edge technology inside. Their two ten-metre mirrors drink in ancient light falling to Earth from the centre of the Milky Way, which arches like a dusty rainbow from one horizon to the other. But what exactly are the twin telescopes of the Keck Observatory looking for more than 4,000 metres up on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea? The simple answer…

Wow! signal Have we solved the WOW! SIGNAL? For 40 years, astronomers have sought to explain a mysterious one-off ‘alien’ signal but has the recent media frenzy signalled that we are now close to an answer? Written by David Crookes © Martin Bernetti; Getty Images  On 15 August 1977, the Big Ear radio telescope at Ohio State University scanned the night sky. There was nothing unusual about this. Turned on for the first time in 1963, the telescope had long been used to search for extraterrestrial radio signals, churning out reams of computer printouts via an IBM 1130 mainframe computer that would then be looked at in fine detail by the observatory's astronomers. “ I started to explore the Wow! signal four years ago and my findings are hurting the…

40 years of Voyager Voyager’s Golden Record On the off-chance that the Voyagers encountered aliens during their extended travels, both craft are equipped with identical 12-inch phonograph records for ET to decode The playback side This side contains the images and audio recording for the alien to playback and decode. Sights of Earth Encoded along with the audio are 115 pictures of Earth, the Solar System and various plants and animals. Sounds of Earth Along with a selection of music, there are greetings in 55 languages and sounds from nature – including a brief hello from some humpback whales. The instructions side This side contains instructions explaining how to play the record’s audio and extract the images. Overhead diagram of the record Shows the alien how to correctly place the…

Juno at Jupiter Juno at Jupiter Juno and Jupiter have been a Roman story through the ages, now they have been reunited Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) JIRAM has gathered infrared images of Jupiter to study the unstable atmosphere. Plasma Waves Instrument As plasma waves and radio waves are emitted from Jupiter, WAVES has been measuring these as they emerge. Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) UVS has observed high-energy ultraviolet radiation emitted from the gas giant’s atmosphere. JunoCam (JCM) JunoCam has produced spectacular close-up images of Jupiter in visible colour. Jovian Energetic-particle Detector Instrument (JEDI) Working with JADE, this particle detector has focused on ions and electrons at high energy levels. Gravity Science (GS) By using the Doppler tracking method, this part of the investigation has probed the mass properties of Jupiter.…

STARGAZER What’s in the sky? GUFDES AND ADVFCE TO GET STARTED FN AMATEUR ASTRONOMY Jargon buster Conjunction A conjunction is an alignment of objects at the same celestial longitude. The conjunction of the Moon and the planets is determined with reference to the Sun. A planet is in conjunction with the Sun when it and Earth are aligned on opposite sides of the Sun. Right Ascension (RA) Right Ascension is to the sky what longitude is to the surface of the Earth, corresponding to east and west directions. Ft is measured in hours, minutes and seconds since, as the Earth rotates on its axis, we see different parts of the sky throughout the night. Declination (Dec) This tells you how high an object will rise in the sky. Like Earth’s…

STARGAZER Process your images Using an image-processing program If you use the filters and routines in a sensible order, you’ll find it quickly enhances your pictures Once you have imported your images into Photoshop, work through a couple of basic routines to create some initial enhancements to it. Work slowly and methodically. Always save your processed images to a different name and somewhere you can easily find them on your computer. Always test what a filter will do before you commit to the change. Do remember though, that you can always start again if things go wrong. Enjoy the art of processing and impress your family and friends with your results. 1 Open your Image Open your image, which should have been shot in RAW format, and convert it to…

William Borucki He persisted with the idea that we could detect extrasolar planets and was proved right © NASA; Dominic Hart As a cub scout, William Borucki recalls peering through a telescope at a night sky filled with stars. It was, he said, the moment when he felt a connection with space and it sparked a lifelong and curious obsession to find out more. At that moment in his life, he dreamed of the possibilities of potential new worlds. That he ended up having a major hand in detecting scores of Earth-size planets around other stars in the habitable zone seems rather fitting in retrospect. Borucki was born in Chicago in 1939 and he grew up in a small town called Delavan in Wisconsin. He spent time as a young…