Category Archives: space

GOCE

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Il satellite Goce rientrato nell’atmosfera
Cessato allarme dall’Agenzia Spaziale

Il satellite europeo Goce (Gravity Field and Steady State Ocean Circulation Explorer) è rientrato nell’atmosfera intorno alla 1,00 di lunedì e si è probabilmente disintegrato senza danni. Lo ha dichiarato l’Agenzia Spaziale Europea (Esa). Dunque nessun impatto in Italia di frammenti del satellite e pericolo scongiurato.,pericolo del resto già escluso dall’Agenzia Spaziale Italiana. Secondo gli ultimi aggiornamenti dell’Esa, le più probabili zone in cui potrebbero cadere i frammenti sono l’oceano Pacifico, l’oceano Indiano e parte dell’Asia.

http://www.corriere.it/cronache/13_novembre_10/satellite-goce-ancora-nessun-impatto-ma-resta-l-allerta-fino-lunedi-sera-cfaf5e4c-49e8-11e3-bf41-b86ea9c83a7f.shtml

FOUR COMETS!!!!

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Comet ISON is getting all the press, but it’s not even the brightest comet in its own patch of sky. That would be Comet Lovejoy (C/2013 R1), one of four comets now rising in the east before dawn:

Pictured from left to right are exploding Comet LINEAR X1, sungrazing Comet ISON, short-period Comet Encke, and the brightest of them all, Comet Lovejoy. All four are visible in binoculars or backyard telescopes, and Comet Lovejoy (mag. +6.0) is visible to the naked eye from dark-sky sites. Comet ISON is actually one of the faintest of the group; only expanding Comet LINEAR X1 (mag. +8) is more difficult to see.

 

An apparition of so many comets at once is a rare thing, and amateur astronomers are encouraged to wake up early for a tour of the pre-dawn sky. Dates of special interest include Nov. 15-18 when Comet LINEAR X1 passes by the bright star Arcturus, Nov 17-18 when Comet ISON has a close encounter with Spica, and Nov. 18-20 when Comet Encke buzzes Mercury. These stars and planets make excellent naked-eye guideposts for finding the comets. Meanwhile, bright Comet Lovejoy is approaching the Big Dipper; if you can’t see it with your unaided eye, a quick scan with binoculars will reveal it. Sky maps: Nov. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.

Comet ephemerides: Comet ISON, Comet Lovejoy, Comet Encke, Comet LINEAR X1

http://spaceweather.com/

YET ANOTHER X-FLARE

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As predicted, sunspot AR1890 has unleashed another strong flare, an X1-class explosion on Nov. 10th at 05:14 UT. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded a bright flash of extreme ultraviolet radiation from the blast site:

This is the third X-flare from AR1890 since Nov. 5th, and all three have something in common: brevity. AR1890 tends to produce impulsive flares, peaking sharply in a matter of minutes or less. Often, brief flares do not produce coronal mass ejections (CMEs), but this one could be an exception. A movie of the flare shows a plume of material lifting off the sun shortly after the UV flash. That could be the beginnings of an Earth-directed CME. Stay tuned for further analysis. Solar flare alerts: text, voice.

http://spaceweather.com/

Satellite falling to Earth

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(CNN) — A European satellite that ran out of fuel will start falling in the next few days, and fragments of the disintegrating 2,000-pound spacecraft are expected to strike the Earth’s surface.

Nobody knows where or when the fragments will hit, but the European Space Agency has said the parts are likely to fall into the ocean or unpopulated areas. Potential spots will be narrowed down closer to re-entry, ESA said on its website.

Re-entry probably will occur Sunday or Monday, Rune Floberghagen, mission manager for the Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Explorer, better known as GOCE, told the New York Times.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/07/world/satellite-falling/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Asteroid with Six Comet-like Tails

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Nov. 7, 2013:  Astronomers viewing our solar system’s asteroid belt with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have seen for the first time an asteroid with six comet-like tails of dust. Designated P/2013 P5, the asteroid resembles a rotating lawn sprinkler.

“We were literally dumbfounded when we saw it,” said lead investigator David Jewitt of the University of California at Los Angeles. “Even more amazing, its tail structures change dramatically in just 13 days as it belches out dust. That also caught us by surprise. It’s hard to believe we’re looking at an asteroid.”

splash

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/07nov_6tails/

Rare ‘Hybrid’ Solar Eclipse on November 3, 2013: How to See It

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It’s almost upon us. The final eclipse of 2013 occurs this coming weekend on Sunday, November 3rd. This will be the fifth eclipse overall, and the second solar eclipse of 2013. This will also be the only eclipse this year that features a glimpse of totality.

This eclipse is of the rare hybrid variety— that is, it will be an annular eclipse along the very first 15 seconds of its track before transitioning to a total as the Moon’s shadow sweeps just close enough to the Earth to cover the disk of the Sun along the remainder of its track.

An animation of the path of the November 3rd hybrid solar eclipse. (Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center).

An animation of the path of the November 3rd hybrid solar eclipse. (Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center).

How rare are hybrid solar eclipse? Of the 11,898 solar eclipses listed over a 5,000 year span from 1999 BC to 3000 AD in Fred Espenak’s Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses, only 569, or 4.8% are hybrids.

Who can see this eclipse?

People from northern South America, across the U.S. Eastern Seaboard and up through the Canadian Maritimes will see a brief partial solar eclipse finishing up around 30 minutes after local sunrise. The brief annular “ring of fire” portion of the eclipse begins at sunrise just ~1,000 kilometres east of Jacksonville, Florida, as it races eastward across the Atlantic. See our timeline, below.