An 80 Mile Long, 4.5 Billion Year Old Asteroid Gets Its Close Up [Asteroid]

This is an up close picture of Lutetia, an asteroid that hangs out somewhere between Mars and Jupiter. It's the largest asteroid ever visited by a satellite.

The European Space Agency's Rosetta mission came within 2,000 miles of the asteroid and was able to capture images of Lutetia by using an OSIRIS (Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System) camera. The closest images got down to less than 200 feet in resolution. It's amazing how peaceful the asteroid looks, lumpy craters and all. Then you remember things like this can destroy planets.

Rosetta actually has bigger plans than the Lutetia, with its end destination being the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. We can't wait to see those pictures.
[Gizmodo via Wired]

Satellites Will Issue Speeding Tickets from Space [Speeding]

UK drivers had better stay under that speed limit, because the traffic authorities are watching… from outer space. According to The Telegraph, an American company called PIPS Technology has developed a system that uses two cameras on the ground and one mounted on a satellite in orbit to catch speeders.

The system — called “SpeedSpike” — figures your average speed between two points, captures an image of your license place and reports you if you’re going faster than the law allows. Oh, and if you’re hoping Great Britain’s notoriously gray weather will save you, you’re out of luck; the system works even when it’s cloudy or dark.

SpeedSpike will be tested in two places: the London borough of Southwark, and along the A374 between Torpoint and Anthony in Cornwall. If the trial is successful, the tech may be used to enforce speed limits near schools, to reduce the need for speed bumps, and for “main road enforcement for traffic reduction.”

[Mashable, image courtesy of iStockphoto, Snaprender]

Black Holes May All Contain Other Universes [The Universe]

It's mind blowin' time! According to a new theory, every black hole contains a smaller alternate universe. And our universe might just exist inside a black hole in a much larger universe. Ah-whaaaaaa?

According to Indiana University physicist Nikodem Poplawski, the matter that black holes absorb don't condense into singularities. Instead, they pop out the other side and become the building blocks for whole other universes in another reality.

This would explain what happened before our Big Bang: it popped out of a black hole from another, much larger universe. Everything came out of a 'white hole,' if you will.

Gamma ray bursts occur at the fringes of the known universe. They appear to be associated with supernovae, or star explosions, in faraway galaxies, but their exact sources are a mystery. (Related: 'Gamma-Ray Burst Caused Mass Extinction?')

Poplawski proposes that the bursts may be discharges of matter from alternate universes. The matter, he says, might be escaping into our universe through supermassive black holes-wormholes-at the hearts of those galaxies, though it's not clear how that would be possible.

'It's kind of a crazy idea, but who knows?' he said.

Yeah, kind of!

[Gizmodo via National Geographic via The Daily What]

Hubble confirms the accelerated expansion of the universe [Hubble]

Astronomers have been studying the results of the biggest survey ever conducted by the Hubble space telescope with an international team of scientists, led by Tim Schrabback of the Leiden Observatory and Ludovic Van Waerbeke of the University of British Columbia. The team has been poring over data covering more than 446,000 galaxies in the hopes to better understand cosmic expansion, using ground-based telescopes to compliment the data. What did they find? Not only is the universe getting larger, but it's getting larger at an accelerated rate.

The technique being used is called weak lensing, whereby astronomers study distortions to find out more about the characteristics of distant galaxies. The heart of the study has been on dark matter: 'Dark energy affects our measurements for two reasons,' the University of Bonn's Benjamin Joachimi said. "First, when it is present, galaxy clusters grow more slowly, and secondly, it changes the way the Universe expands, leading to more distant — and more efficiently lensed — galaxies. Our analysis is sensitive to both effects."

The study also calls back to Einstein, according to Martin Kilbinger from the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris: 'Our study also provides an additional confirmation for Einstein's theory of general relativity, which predicts how the lensing signal depends on redshift.'

As for the Hubble, its survey saw it circle the Earth 600 times, photograph the same area of the universe with a slight overlap 575 times, requiring 1,000 man hours of observation.

This clearer map, according to Harvard's William High, made all the difference: 'Before, most of the studies were done in 2D, like taking a chest X-ray. Our study is more like a 3D reconstruction of the skeleton from a CT scan. On top of that, we are able to watch the skeleton of dark matter mature from the Universe's youth to the present.'

[DVICE via spacetelescope.org via EurekAlert!]

Billionaire's secret rocket project details revealed [Spacecrafts]

Amazon's multi-billionaire founder Jeff Bezos is the moneybags behind the secret rocket project known as Blue Origin. Lately, there's been more information leaking out about New Shepard, Blue Origin's first full-sized spacecraft designed to lift humans into space. The spaceship will carry three or more astronauts, taking off and landing vertically just like in old science fiction movies.


That pic you see above is Blue Origin's first rocket, called Goddard, which a company rep says is 'not necessarily what the operational New Shepard vehicle looks like.' One of the goals of the project is to take space tourists 75 miles above the earth, letting them float around for three minutes in microgravity before the spaceship returns to Earth, constantly in a vertical position. When it gets close to the earth's surface the engines will restart, hopefully lowering the craft gently back to terra firma.


Bezos's rocket scientists aren't talking about the schedule of test flights, or when New Shepherd will be ready for its maiden flight. These guys must be doing something right — they just received $3.7 million from NASA to develop an astronaut escape system. This is the kind of private space innovation we need, now that NASA's human spaceflight program will soon grind to a halt.


Watch these video clips of Goddard's first flight in 2006 — looks more like a jetpack than a Saturn V





[DVICE via space.com]
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Astronaut Posts First Real-Time Tweet from Space [Twitter]

Astronaut Mike Massimino, a.k.a. @Astro_Mike, may be credited with the first tweet from space, but technically it was “assisted,” and hence not live. Move over @Astro_Mike, @Astro_TJ just sent the first real-time tweet from space.

New software aboard the International Space State has made it possible to tweet live from space, and Astronaut Timothy Creamer wasted no time in sending the first digital message.
@Astro_TJ, as Creamer is known on Twitter, posted the first live update about eight hours ago while in orbit, saying: “Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station — the 1st live tweet from Space! More soon, send your ?s”
Of course live tweeting from space is pretty darn cool, but we’re even more impressed with the technology that NASA has employed to make the activity possible. The beauty is that the technology will also give astronauts the ability to use the web and connect with loved ones from space in a much more real-time fashion.
Here’s how NASA describes the new technology and what it means:

“This personal Web access, called the Crew Support LAN, takes advantage of existing communication links to and from the station and gives astronauts the ability to browse and use the Web. The system will provide astronauts with direct private communications to enhance their quality of life during long-duration missions by helping to ease the isolation associated with life in a closed environment.
During periods when the station is actively communicating with the ground using high-speed Ku-band communications, the crew will have remote access to the Internet via a ground computer. The crew will view the desktop of the ground computer using an onboard laptop and interact remotely with their keyboard touchpad.
Astronauts will be subject to the same computer use guidelines as government employees on Earth. In addition to this new capability, the crew will continue to have official e-mail, Internet Protocol telephone and limited videoconferencing capabilities.”

---

[Mashable]

570-Megapixel Digital Camera Is the Mother and the Father of All Cameras [Digital Cameras]

Dark energy Peeping Toms rejoice, because Fermilab has created the gadget to catch it: A $35 million, car-sized digital camera, with 74 CCD sensors in it. It will take 570-megapixel photos of the Universe.
The resulting sensor is one meter in diameter, covering a 2.2-degree field of view. The images are so big that, even with an ultra-fast data recording system, each photo will take 17 seconds to acquire.
The camera won't photograph the dark energy itself, however. It will just provide with ultra-detailed shots of the cosmos—tracking 300 million galaxies over the course of five years—which may bring evidence about the existence of this veiled intergalactic power. Which is too bad, because I bet she looks sexy in her undies.
[Gizmodo via Dark Energy Survey via Wired]

Voyager Unveils the Mystery of the Interstellar Fluff from Hell [Space]

For years, astronomers have been puzzled by the fact that our solar system is crossing a cloud of interstellar hell. One that shouldn't be there at all. Intergalactic plot to keep us isolated or cosmic event? Voyager got the answer.

Using data from Voyager, we have discovered a strong magnetic field just outside the solar system. This magnetic field holds the interstellar cloud together—"The Fluff"—and solves the long-standing puzzle of how it can exist at all.
The Fluff is much more strongly magnetized than anyone had previously suspected. This magnetic field can provide the extra pressure required to resist destruction.
The Voyagers are not actually inside the Local Fluff. But they are getting close and can sense what the cloud is like as they approach it.

At least, that's what NASA's Heliophysics Guest Investigator from George Mason University Merav Opher says in the December 24 issue of Nature. I lean to the intergalactic plot to keep our primitive world from entering the Federation of Advanced Civilizations. That, or Ming of Mongo trying to crush our puny asses.
It's ironic how the whole thing works. Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere protects us from the Sun's magnetic field and radiation. Then, the Fluff is not destroying us thanks to the Sun's magnetic field and the solar winds, which is what form the 6.2-billion-mile-wide heliosphere. So my question is: Who protects the Fluff?
I will leave you with that. Go think, my little Earthlings, go.
[Gizmodo via NASA]

Sharp develops efficient solar cells for use in outer space

Earlier this year, we reported twice about Japan’s serious plans to go to outer space to generate solar energy and then beam it back to Mother Earth. And today, Sharp has shown the first solar cell that’s not only bendable (we’ve seen that before) but that also withstands conditions in space. In addition, the company says those cells boast a record-high solar efficiency of 36%.

The compound solar cells can not only be bent if needed but even folded. They are less than 20 microns thick and are made by stacking up single crystals of indium gallium, gallium arsenide and indium gallium arsenide. These single-crystal layers are grown on solid substrates before transferring them onto a flexible film base. As a result, the solar cells feature extreme flexibility material-wise.

There’s only a prototype available at this point (sorry for the small picture), but Sharp is working on getting a practical version ready in 2012. The solar cells can then be used for equipping satellites and other space applications.

[CrunchGear via Nikkei]

Unbelievable Hubble Shot Captures the Biggest "Star Nursery" Nearby [Space]

This absolutely gorgeous shot is the most detailed ever taken of what HubbleSite describes as the 'largest stellar nursery in our local galactic neighborhood.' Get ready to pick your jaw up off your lap.
In the words of experts who understand more about this stuff than 'OMG so pretty!':

The massive, young stellar grouping, called R136, is only a few million years old and resides in the 30 Doradus Nebula, a turbulent star-birth region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way. There is no known star-forming region in our galaxy as large or as prolific as 30 Doradus. Many of the diamond-like icy blue stars are among the most massive stars known. Several of them are over 100 times more massive than our Sun. These hefty stars are destined to pop off, like a string of firecrackers, as supernovas in a few million years.

This shot (full, massive size can be found here) were taken between October 20th and 27th of this year by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3. The blue lights are from the hottest, biggest stars, while the green is oxygen and the red is hydrogen. Whoa, you guys. Whoa. Check out this thread on Reddit for some desktop-wallpaper-scaled versions of the shot.
[Gizmodo via HubbleSite]

NASA Launches New Infrared Telescope to Capture Hidden Space Objects [Space]

NASA just launched the new Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, this morning. It'll be used to detect light- and heat-emitting objects that the Hubble might miss. Such as spaceships, I'll bet!!!
The WISE will be in orbit for the next nine months, snapping a photo every 11 seconds to map the entire universe in infrared. Eventually it'll cover the entire sky 1.5 times over.
It'll be looking for any objects that have a potential of hitting Earth as well as distant objects such as brown dwarfs and far-away galaxies shrouded in dust. Also, alien spacecraft. I mean, duh.
[Gizmodo via CNN, image Boston.com]

Virgin Galactic shows off first commercial starship

We’ve posted about Virgin Galactic before, but this might be their biggest announcement yet. Take a look at SpaceShipTwo in all its glory, ready to launch the wealthy into flight.

Branson and company just unveiled SpaceShipTwo in the Mojave desert today, and it’s looking good. Testing has already started, however full blown commercial flights aren’t expected to start until 2011. Given the history of the space program, that seems best. Branson has stated previously that the first people to go up will be him, along with his family and the designer of the spacecraft, Burt Rutan. A seat on the ship will cost roughly $200,000 so I’d suggest you start saving now.
[CrunchGear]

California Approves Orbiting Solar Panel Deal, Aims for 2016 Launch [Solar Power]

Remember Solaren, the company that's trying to launch those space-based solar panels, the one that signed a deal with California's biggest power utility company? The whole plan got even closer to reality today, after getting approval from California legislators.
And, like we said, there's no reason Californians would reject the deal between Solaren and PG&E—the utility company isn't investing or putting up any money at all, it's just saying "sure, we'll buy energy from you if and when this thing ever works." Which, you know, duh. The 15-year contract starts in 2016, by which time hopefully we won't have already devolved into a Mad Max-style post-apocalyptic desert state.
[Gizmodo via CPUC via CNET]

Magnetic Shields to Protect Spaceships From Re-Entry Friction Heat [Space]

The Europeans are developing a magnetic shield that will protect spaceships when entering the Earth's atmosphere.

The new magnetic heat shield—developed by EADS Astrium, the German aerospace center, and the European Space Agency—is expected to complement or replace traditional ceramic heat shields entirely. The field will be generated by a super-conducting coil, deflecting atmosphere particles from the surface of the spaceship and, therefore, eliminating friction.
If everything goes as they expect, it will be tested with a Russian Volna launcher in the next decade, which will enter the atmosphere at Mach 21.
[Gizmodo]

Missions to Mars Graphic Shows 52.4% Failure Rate [Data Visualization]

Mars. There has to be little green men with ACME weapons living there. Or we have some incredibly bad luck when it comes to sending spacecrafts to the Red Planet. Most of them fail, for one reason or the other.
Zoom in to enjoy the graphic in HD
Out of 42 missions, only 20 have succeeded. That's less than 50% chance of survival. And it gets worse: Of those, only eight were actually programmed to land on Mars, which is actually the theoretically difficult part.
While the success rate increased after 1971, I would be very nervous if I were a budding astronaut wanting to go up there—and still, I wish I was that astronaut. Better go in style while trying to reach the glory, than staying down here, slowly turning to dust. [Gizmodo via Shnelll via Fastcompany]

Ares I-X Rocket Unveiled, Rolls Out to Launch Pad [Space]

At last! The new Arex I-X rocket—the first iteration of the rocket that will take humans back to the Moon and beyond—is out of NASA's assembling facilities, and is now at Launch Pad 39B, getting ready for launch.
The assembled Ares I-X was mounted aboard NASA's sandcrawler at Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building at 1:39 a.m. It arrived at Launch Pad 39B around 7:45 a.m.
The Ares I-X will test the viability of the 100-meter high Ares I, NASA's tallest, most powerful rocket since the Saturn V. The Saturn V was ten meters higher than Ares, and it remains the biggest, most powerful rocket ever launched.
If everything goes well, Ares I-X will blast into the sky on October 27, reaching 40 kilometers up in the air, and sending vital information about its performance. The first stage, a solid rocket engine, will return to Earth. The dummy upper stage will fall down to the ocean.

Arex I-X is the first major milestone for the Constellation program, which in theory would take over the shuttle, and also bring humans back to the Moon and Mars. If el Sr. Presidente gives the go ahead, that is. At this point, the Constellation program is being evaluated by the Augustine Commission. Their final report, that will seal its fate, will be handed in to the White House this week.
In other words, enjoy this one while it lasts.
[Gizmodo via NASA]

Surfing Titan's waves in a nuclear-powered boat

Planning a trip to Titan, one of Saturn's moons? Well, you're going to want to go prepared. Why not bring along a nuclear-powered boat for sailing the seas of ethane, methane and propane?

That's what NASA-funded geologist Ellen Stofan suggests with her design, seen above. The Titan Mare Explorer (or TiME for short) uses nuclear power rather than solar power because the methane raine in Titan's atmosphere cuts down the suns rays considerably (as does the distance from the sun). It'll be powered by a new kind of nuclear power cell known as the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG). Cool! Be sure to send a postcard when you get there and let us know how the weather is.

[DVICE via Space via io9]

National Geographic: 50 Years of Space Exploration

Ready to lose 20 minutes of your day?
Check out this huge infograph that displays the last 50 years of space exploration. It’s awesome although it does kind of indicate that Venus is closer to earth than the Moon. The “50 Years of Space Exploration” graphic was created by Sean McNaughton and Samuel Velasco for National Geographic. I must say though, skip the interactive edition on NationalGeographic.com and check out the full size version on Flickr.
[CrunchGear via OhGizmo]

Alien effects: Lighting a candle in space

When you're floating around in the International Space Station, you're constantly reminded that you're having a literally out-of-this-world experience. Case in point: this is what it looks like when you light a candle in microgravity.
Because of the lack of gravity, the air's density is the same in all directions, so that means the heat disperses evenly, making the flame all the same color. Wow.
[DVICE via TechEBlog]

New Gigantic, Glowing Saturn Ring Discovered [Astronomy]

See that tiny dot in the middle of that ring? That's Saturn. And the newly-discovered glowing ring is 13.4 million miles in diameter. The proverbial 800-pound gorilla has been discovered by the Spitzer Space Telescope, leaving every single astronomer speechless.
The ring hasn't been discovered till now for because it's so diffuse that it reflects very little sunlight. That makes it undetectable by optical telescopes. The particles in it, however, glow with heat radiation, which was captured by the Spitzer's infrared instruments.
This image is an artist representation of what Spitzer's discovered, showing us, once again, that we are still bloody clueless when it comes to almost everything around us. I can't wait to see the actual image.
[Gizmodo via NASA]