Innehållsförteckning för No. 78 från All About Space

NASA launches In Sight mission to the Red Planet The Mars-bound robotic lander lifted off bang on time from the West Coast of America to help figure how terrestrial planets are formed “We have to go to Mars to better understand planet Earth" NASA has successfully launched its latest mission to the Red Planet, sending the robotic InSight probe on its long-anticipated six-month journey to discovery. The lander was aboard United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket, the biggest available for the 301-million mile voyage, and it lifted-off, as scheduled, from the launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 04:05 local time (12:05 British Summer Time) on 5 May. InSight is due to land on an equatorial region Elysium Planitia on 26 November 2018. Manufactured by Lockheed Martin…

Galactic collision happened 'much earlier' than expected The smash up took place much more quickly than simulations - or even theories - have previously suggested Astronomers have observed the beginnings of a massive cosmic collision involving a staggering 14 galaxies – turning assumptions about the way structures form in the universe on their head. Tim Miller, from Dalhousie University in Canada and Yale University in the US, led a research study which focused on a collection of young starburst galaxies known as SPT2349-56 some 90 per cent of the way across the observable universe. He found the pileup took place 12.4 billion light years away from Earth, 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang. Since such a colossal galaxy cluster should not have existed back then – the wisdom being…

PART 1 OF 3* Most dangerous missions Buzz Aldrin and NASA's finest reveal… “OUR MOST DANGEROUS MISSIONS” In space, no one can hear you scream… which is just as well given the numerous things that can go wrong, as Buzz Aldrin, Mike Massimino, Luca Parmitano and other prolific astronauts tell All About Space Space is well-known for its risks. As if the mental pressures of working in an isolated zero-gravity environment weren't enough, astronauts can suffer muscle loss, changes in their eyesight, radiation exposure and fluctuating blood pressure. There have also been catastrophic disasters during take off, problems with landing and mechanical failures that needed to be tackled. However, one thing's for sure. Astronauts have come to expect the unexpected. For no matter how well prepared they and the ground crews…

Most dangerous missions “The tether loss was like getting hit in the stomach” When a satellite remained inert after deployment, Jeffrey Hoffman had to perform an unplanned, untested spacewalk What Happened? When the communication satellite Syncom IV-3 failed to activate it meant Jeff Hoffman and David Griggs were called on to perform an EVA, even though the task was something they had never done before. There was also a potential danger of the rocket engine going off. What mission were they on? STS-51-D between 12 and 19 April 1985, with the 16th Space Shuttle flight also suffering a ruptured tyre and brake damage on landing. “Before every shuttle mission, two crew members were trained to use spacesuits. This meant I knew what I was doing as far as the spacesuit…

“We both went ass over teakettle into outer space” After fixing a solar array it suddenly deployed, throwing Joseph Kerwin and Pete Conrad off the Skylab hull What Happened? After Pete Conrad and Joseph Kerwin had attempted to free a stuck solar array by tugging at it with a hooked pole, a second EVA was sanctioned and proved more successful. But not before the solar array deployed and knocked the pair into space. Could their safety tethers hold? What mission were they on? Skylab 2, which launched on 25 May 1973 and was the first manned mission to the first US orbital space station, Skylab. “The Skylab space station orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979 and it had a workshop, a solar observatory, a multiple docking adapter and the…

How we think galaxies are made Depending on their type - whether they're a spiral or elliptical - these structures follow different evolutionary paths Spiral galaxies Lonely cloud of gas In order for a spiral galaxy to be made, a large and isolated cloud of gas is needed. The making of stars Under gravity, the cloud will collapse because there’s not enough pressure from the gas itself to fight against this force pressing it down. Baby stars are made in the fight between gravity and pressure. Elliptical galaxies A team of gas clouds Small clouds of gas collapse early on to form the galaxy’s very first stars. Making a disc The matter spins quickly, causing a flattened disc-like structure. At the centre is a bulge, where the older, first-generation stars…

Eyes on a Coronal Mass Ejection The spacecraft that detected an enormous CME as it travelled through the Solar System Earth 14 October 2014 Although Earth wasn’t in the firing line of the CME, Sun-watching satellites close to home captured the event, including NASA/ESA’s SOHO, ESA's PROBA-2 and NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). Venus 16 October 2014 A few days after, ESA’s Venus Express and NASA’s STEREO-A spacecraft picked up the signal of the CME, travelling at a speed of about 660 kilometres (410 miles) per second. Mars 17 October 2014 A total of four instruments picked up the signal from the CME at Mars: NASA’s Curiosity rover, Mars Odyssey and MAVEN satellites, as well as ESA’s Mars Express satellite. Saturn 12 November 2014 The Cassini spacecraft caught a scent…

Meet Mars-500 Mars surface simulator Crew members would enter this module wearing their spacesuits, close the ‘airlock’ behind them and simulate Martian surface operations. Mars landing module simulator This section was only used during the 30-day ‘Mars orbiting’ phase, and was able to accommodate up to three crew members and any necessities. Medical module Accommodating two medical stations, the crew would complete routine medical examinations here. Crew members were treated here if they became ill. Habitable module This is where the crew lived. The module contained six tiny bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and dining room, the main control room and a toilet. Storage module The four compartments in this module consist of a refrigerated area, an area for non-perishable foods, an experimental greenhouse and an area containing a…

STARGAZER DAYTIME ASTRONOMY Forget staying up late, All About Space shows you how to get stuck into observing without waiting until the small hours “The good news for anyone wanting to observe the Sun is that it is closer than almost every other astronomical object” When most think of astronomy they picture someone standing outside on a sparkling clear night, gazing up at the wonders of the universe, perhaps using a telescope or pair of binoculars, or just sweeping the night sky with their eyes, taking in the view of stars, planets, the Milky Way and other natural nocturnal wonders. Indeed, a Google image search for “astronomy” will bring up hundreds, even thousands, of pictures of people standing on their own, or in a small group, peering into telescopes beneath…

STARGAZER In the shops The latest books, apps, software, tech and accessories for space and astronomy fans alike “This mount is sturdy, reliable and easy to control and transport” Book The Little Book of Black Holes  Cost: £14.95 (approx. $20.60) From: Princeton University Press Talking and explaining about the elusive nature of black holes is a difficult task alone. That's why we applaud the job that Steven Gubser and Frans Pretorius have done in putting together the exquisite Little Book of Black Holes. As far as books about these objects go, it is not overwhelming with complex information and theories that will boggle the mind, averting interest. As it’s about an object that hasn’t been directly observed, there is a great deal of science behind them in order to explain…

Jim Bridenstine is sworn in as NASA administrator Politician Bridenstine takes his position as the space agency's leader, after being narrowly approved by the US Senate 50-48 Republican congressman Jim Bridenstine has become the next administrator of NASA, filling a post that has been vacant since January 2017. Although Bridenstine, aged 42, has no scientific background, he took office as the 13th administrator and was sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence at the agency headquarters in Washington. The former Navy pilot also sits on the House Committee that oversees NASA, and he will oversee a staff of 17,000 and a budget of $19 billion. NASA astronauts Scott Tingle, Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold congratulated him during the swearing-in ceremony while working on board the International Space Station. “NASA represents…

“I was upside down with no light, no eyesight” Luca Parmitano recalls the moment the helmet of his Extravehicular Mobility Unit suit began filling with water What happened? Luca Parmitano's second EVA had to be terminated just 92 minutes into the planned 6.5-hour spacewalk when water leaked into his helmet, putting the Italian engineer and astronaut at risk of drowning. Making it difficult for him to see and hear and hindering his return to the airlock, it was later discovered that one of the suit's filters had become clogged by contamination, which had forced water from the cooling system to back up. What mission were they on? Expedition 36/37, working alongside fellow spacewalker Christopher Cassidy in July 2013. “The unexpected sensation of water at the back of my neck surprised…

Most dangerous missions “We could have killed everyone aboard the ISS” Leroy Chiao found himself heading at an increasing speed towards the International Space Station What Happened? NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao and cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov had been nearing the end of their flight to the International Space Station (ISS) when the autopilot hit a problem and began to speed up rather than slow down. With danger imminent, they had to start thinking fast. What mission were they on? Expedition 10, which was the tenth expedition to the ISS. “On my last mission we were flying to the ISS in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, TMA-5. It was Expedition 10 which began on 16 October 2004 and I was the commander and NASA science officer, flying with flight engineer Salizhan Sharipov to…

How did it happen? 1 Forming a plan Backup commander Rusty Schweickart directed a plan to release the jammed solar array. It involved Charles Conrad and Joseph Kerwin creating a handrail at the forward end of Skylab. 2 Connecting a rope The idea was to connect the hooks on the end of a nylon rope to the cover of the solar array and the other to the airlock. Once securely fastened, Kerwin told ground control all was good. 3 Attaching a cable cutter To do this, an eight-metre (26-feet) cable cutter needed to be attached to debris, allowing them to reach the array and cut the restraining metal strap, then break a frozen hydraulic damper. 4 Ready to pull When Kerwin pulled nothing happened, so Conrad went to investigate. As…

The lunar far side A base on the Moon In the future, it's hoped that humanity will set up camp on the lunar surface Humans in low gravity Colonising the Moon’s surface means that we can find out how the human body responds to long periods of low gravity that’s one-sixth the Earth’s. use this information to plan a viable a colony on Mars Launching rockets A lunar base could serve as a site for launching rockets, using fuel that has been locally manufactured, to Mars. It’s easier to launch from the Moon since the gravity is lower. Lunar bases Bases on the surface would need to be protected from radiation and micrometeroids. Building a Moon base inside a crater would provide some shielding. Building an observatory Making a facilities…

Focus on DIAMONDS FROM A LONG-LOST PALNET Scientists studying the meteorite up close have found evidence that it could have come from a Mercury-sized world that no longer exists A meteorite that recently struck Earth has found to contain diamonds that were infused in a planetary embryo some billions of years ago. After carefully analysing the microscopic diamonds hidden within asteroid 2008 TC3 - which entered the Earth's atmosphere on 7 October 2008 - the best explanation for its creation is that it was made within a protoplanet with an equivalent size ranging from Mercury to Mars. The asteroid met its demise as it shattered into tiny fragments 37 kilometres (23 miles) over the Nubian Desert in Sudan. Only 50 of these fragments were ever found, ranging in size from…

Highlights of HI-SEAS Solar panel power Just south of the habitat is a 10-kilowatt solar panel array making the mission more self-sustainable, and therefore more like a Mars mission. Extra-Vehicular Activities Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVAs) were treated as if they were on Mars, including wearing ‘spacesuits’ and in constant communication with base. Drone storage Drones were kept and stored in the habitat. Then on EVAs, the crew members would take them out to complete geology tasks for the mission. The home dome The habitat dome was supplied by Pacific Domes International, which includes a kitchen, dining room, bathroom, separate bedrooms and other work spaces. Mission Control Although there is communication with the outside world, it includes a 20-minute delay in communications. This delay is similar to what astronauts would experience on…

TARGET #1 The Sun While it’s our nearest star, the Sun can be a challenging target without the equipment – read on for essential tips and tricks The most obvious thing to look for and study in the daytime sky is, of course, the Sun. One of the very first things that someone ‘getting into’ astronomy learns – and is amazed by – is that the bright white ball they have seen shining brightly in the sky above them all their lives is in fact a star, the closest star to the Earth. The night sky is full of distant suns, each tiny, twinkling dot a star like our own. Well, not exactly like it; some stars are bigger than our Sun, some are smaller. Some are hotter, some are…

View sunspots the easy way You can observe sunspots – magnetic storms on the surface of the Sun – safely by projecting an image of the Sun on to a paper or card screen using just a pair of binoculars. If you have a clear view of the Sun for several days in a row you can watch how the sunspots change their shape and size as they are carried across the Sun’s face by its rotation. 1 Select a piece of white paper or card to use as a screen – make sure it is very clean, without any patterns or blemishes. 2 Cover up one of the objective (front) lenses of the binoculars so only one image will be projected instead of two. 3 Position your screen behind…

STARGAZER This month’s planets The Red Planet dazzles in the morning sky, while Jupiter, Venus and Mercury are visible for evening astronomers By the time you read this hopefully a new space probe will have blasted off safely from California and be well on its way to Mars. However, unlike previous landers – the Vikings, Phoenix and all the various Mars rovers – NASA’s InSight lander will be looking down into the structure of the Red Planet instead of staring out across its ruddy landscapes. InSight will study the internal structure of Mars and monitor it for signs of seismic activity. Instead of sending back thousands of pretty pictures of Mars’ wide-open spaces, rust-hued mountains and salmon-pink sky, InSight will be making precise measurements for serious analysis back on Earth.…

How to… Observe surface detail on Mars Known as the Red Planet due to its reddish hue, the fourth rock from the Sun will come to opposition this summer. Here's how to see its surface detail… “There are many features within the grasp of an amateur telescope” Mars has probably been the one planet throughout history which has drawn us to speculate about its nature, history and its surface time and time again. From the belief that it was or represented the God of war, to first explorations using a telescope, to the infamous 'canals' discovery – later shown to be spurious – which gave credence to the idea that it might be inhabited, this barren world has been the stuff of myth and legend. Even in the modern world…

Deep sky challenge Summer sights You have to stay up late this month to see many deep-sky objects, but it's definitely worth it Although the skies never get truly dark at this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere, there is still plenty to see if you are prepared to stay up late. The chances for clear skies are improved, too. There are open star clusters, globular star clusters and nebulae all available for the intrepid explorer armed with a telescope. You will probably notice that the Milky Way, the sweep of one of the spiral arms of our own galaxy, is now more visible, and seems to be arcing more north to south than in the winter and early spring. © NASA & Hubble Heritage Team; ESO; Rogelio Bernal…

STARGAZER Image Venus and M44 Create a composite Due to the large difference in the brightness you will need to take two different exposures Use a fairly short exposure to capture Venus. Take several with differing exposure lengths to get the best image of the phase of the planet. Without moving the camera, take many longer exposures to capture the star cluster. Venus will be over-exposed, but this is okay because you can combine the two good images in an image-processing package such as Photoshop for a perfect image of both objects. 1 Polar align your telescope Set up and polar align your equatorial tracking mount and make sure the camera/telescope combination is fixed firmly. 2 Frame your shot Locate Venus and the star cluster and frame your shot through…

LAUNCH PAD YOUR FIRST CONTACT WITH THE UNIVERSE Getting closer to the universe’s origins The Hubble Space Telescope reveals a massive galaxy cluster known as PSZ2 G138.61-10.84, which rests some six billion light years away. It’s easy to think that galaxies are randomly distributed through space, but instead they’re aggregated in groups, clusters and superclusters. The largest collections of galaxies span over hundreds of millions of light years and contain billions of galaxies. Our Milky Way is part of a supercluster that is part of the Local Group, which in turn forms part of the giant Laniakea Supercluster. It is thanks to the very same space telescope that we’re able to look at these massive galactic superstructures, such as the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall, a giant galaxy cluster that contains…

White holes could hold the secret of dark matter 'Inverting' black holes may be the key to where the substance could be lurking A component of dark matter could be formed by remnants of evaporated black holes, according to a new study by two theoretical physicists. Carlo Rovelli and Francesca Vidotto, of Aix-Marseille University in France, have suggested that black holes (which have such a powerful gravitational pull that not even light can avoid them) become white holes (which pose no threat) when they shrink to their very lowest point. Such an argument goes against the previously held theory that black holes simply disappear. Rovelli says the quantum nature of space-time dictates that black holes are made up of indivisible quantities known as quanta, and so could not just vanish.…

Most dangerous missions “I’d broken Hubble… and I was alone in space” Mike Massimino had made a huge error. What’s more he didn't have back up while his fellow astronauts looked on What happened? Mike Massimino and fellow astronaut Mike Good were completing their eight-hour, two-minute spacewalk where they sought to repair Hubble's imaging spectrograph, an instrument used to detect far-off planets and black holes. More than 100 new space tools were developed for the spacewalk, but Massimino ended up yanking a handrail away with his hands. It had been blocking the access panel to the power supply, but one of the screws was stripped, making it impossible to come off by conventional means. He did this while lapping the Earth at 28,164 kilometres (17,500 miles) per hour. What mission…

Good vibrations: how Chiao shook the ISS When a solar array was left half-exposed and in mid-retraction above the International Space Station in 2006, mission controllers turned to a method that had been inadvertently developed by Leroy Chiao two years earlier. Believing friction between the P6 array's guide wires was to blame, they reckoned getting an astronaut to go through a vigorous exercise workout could relieve the tension and allow the array to fold up properly. Why? Because Chiao had shook the space station a couple of years earlier by doing the exact same thing. “I was doing squats on the Interim Resistance Excercise Device (IRED) and accidentally hit the resonant frequency of the station (about 1Hz),” he says. “The entire stack started shaking, and Salizhan reported that he could…

Dancing galaxies Dancing GALAXIES A new discovery could have very well shaken up our ideas of how these structures are made Reported by Colin Stuart © ESO/M. Kornmesser Space can be a bit of a mess. Take the moons of Jupiter, for example. Its four largest satellites – Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa – all orbit in the same direction around the planet and in the same flat disc. Yet the remaining 65 moons spin around Jupiter at all sorts of random angles and in different directions. That's because the big moons are thought to have formed together with Jupiter. By contrast, the smaller ones were probably passing asteroids or comets caught up in the web of the giant planet's gravity. For the big moons there was some underlying order.…

Space storms SPACE STORMS Storms come in all shapes, sizes and degrees of destruction throughout space, but what can they tell us about our Solar System? Written by Lee Cavendish © Tobias Roetsch The Solar System can be a cruel and unforgiving place, with storms that make Hurricane Irma look like a light breeze. Excluding solar space storms, which are bursts of highly energetic particles permeating circumsolar space, there are several worlds in the Solar System that wreak havoc from within. From the Coronal Mass Ejections of the Sun to the rapid stormy winds of Neptune, the Solar System is full of extreme weather that rains trouble in one form or another. These storms not only cause a wonderful spectacle to observe from afar, but they can tell…

Great days out 25 great space days out From space hardware and rocket launches to planetariums and observatories, Earth is full of out-of-this-world attractions Just like the universe itself, the world is full of hidden astronomical wonders that deserve exploration. So how about a day out where you can learn more about space, space exploration and astronomy? For stargazers and anyone wanting to know more about the night sky, there are some wonderful planetariums. Most hold seasonal shows, though the projections are now so technologically advanced that you should also expect full-dome 3D films. There are space centres that double as observatories in the evening, offering educational exhibitions by day and real-life stargazing by night – and perhaps even a chance to peer through a big telescope. Elsewhere there are…

The past, present and future of New Horizons 6. Arrival at Ultima Thule Formally known as 2014 MU69, Ultima Thule is New Horizons’ next target. The spacecraft is expected to arrive on 1 January 2019 to make 2014 MU69 the most distant object ever visited. 5. Exploring the Kuiper Belt After the Pluto flyby New Horizons spends its days wondering around the mysterious Kuiper Belt, the region where leftover debris from planet formation remains, getting ready for its next target. 4. Rendezvous with Pluto On 14 July 2015, New Horizons finally made its long-awaited approach to the elusive Pluto and its accompanying moons, particularly Charon. This flyby rendered amazing scientific results, uncovering the secrets of these worlds. 3. The sleeping spacecraft Soon after the gravity assist at Jupiter, New Horizons…

Mars city WOULD YOU LIVE IN THIS MARS CITY? There are many factors to consider when planning to build a Martian colony, from architecture to psychology. Meet the teams who are doing just that Reported by Lee Cavendish © Dubai Media Offices “The Martian environment would take a physical toll, but being in a confined and isolated facility could take a large psychological toll too” Humans thrive on exploration, and while our race has explored virtually everything there is to offer on Earth, the urge to go further persists. This is why billions of people across the globe wish to break the boundaries of Earth and explore our neighbouring planet, Mars. Big names such as NASA, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic are all making huge steps in getting humans into space…

STARGAZER What’s in the sky? 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. It 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 latitude, Dec measures north and south. It’s measured in…

Moon tour Mons Pico Explore one of the most isolated mountains on the lunar surface The ancient, light-and-dark dappled surface of the Moon is dominated by three types of geological features – craters, seas and mountains. Look at the Moon through a telescope, even a small one, and you’ll see mountains everywhere. Some stand alone on the edge or in the middle of one of the maria, the dark seas of frozen lava, while others form long ranges that curve across the seas like the long-buried fossilised spines of dinosaurs being eroded from the rock. Others still form the jagged rims of its craters. Our tour destination this month is a smaller, much less imposing mountain to the north of the Moon. Mons Pico – or Mount Pico – is…

How to… Capture the close approach between Venus and M44 On 20 June, the planet will come close to the beautiful open star cluster known as the Beehive Cluster. Here's how to image it with ease... “The skill is getting the stars of the cluster to show up without over exposing the planet” Occasionally we can see objects seeming to come close to each other in the night sky. This is, of course, just a line-of-sight effect, as the objects themselves can be vast distances apart. In this case we have a planet in our Solar System sidling up to a huge cluster of stars over 500 light years away, or at least it looks like that from our point of view. Venus is a planet quite similar in size…

The Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere Summer has arrived – but while the nights are lighter, there are plenty of targets to get stuck into this month The constellations of Boötes (the Herdsman), Libra (the Scales) and Ursa Minor (the Little Bear) hang proud on the lighter canvas of a summer sky this month. It’ll take the Sun until gone 21:00 (BST) to dip well below the horizon, so you'll need to wait a little longer to catch fainter targets. A selection of star systems can be split with the right equipment in Boötes, while several stars in the constellation – including orange giant star Arcturus (Alpha Boötes) dazzles at a magnitude of -0.05. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for a challenge, dim deep-sky objects including barred spiral galaxy NGC 5792,…