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posted by martyb on Thursday November 09 2017, @08:11AM   Printer-friendly
from the up-up-and-away! dept.

We received submissions from two Soylentils on space-related activities and findings:

Random Space News

NASA launched a sounding rocket equipped with ultraviolet optics on October 30th. The Dual-channel Extreme Ultraviolet Continuum Experiment was launched on a suborbital rocket. It was intended to measure starlight from two hot stars in Canis Major in order to study the intergalactic medium. Unfortunately, data was not obtained due to an issue with the altitude control system. Here is a University of Colorado proposal from 2013 regarding the project.

Science Magazine has an in-depth article on how astronomers are trying to detect life on Earth-sized exoplanets. Starshades are considered one of the best options for removing the light emitted by parent stars and obtaining a direct image of an exoplanet. Even images of only a few pixels can yield valuable information about exoplanets, particularly if change is tracked over time.

The Senate Commerce Committee has voted 14-13 to advance Jim Bridenstine's nomination as NASA administrator to a full Senate vote.

Scientists have studied x-ray auroras on Jupiter using data from XMM-Newton and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. They found that the planet's northern and southern auroras behave independently of each other:

Jupiter's orientation means that the X-ray auroras on its southern pole are difficult to see. But for about 12 hours each on May 24th, 2007 and June 1st, 2016, the Chandra X-ray Observatory and XMM-Newton space telescopes orbiting Earth were in precisely the right positions to observe both poles simultaneously.

The rare view revealed that auroras on both poles behave differently: one didn't always brighten when the other did. That's surprising, says Jonathan Nichols, an astrophysicist at the University of Leicester who was not involved in the study. Since magnetic field lines create a continuous arc between the poles, "You might imagine that what affects the auroras in the north would affect the auroras in the south," Nichols says. At least, that's generally what happens on Earth.

Even stranger, while the southern aurora pulsed rhythmically every nine to 12 minutes (it had previously been seen to pulse regularly every 40 to 45 minutes), the northern aurora was more erratic. Sometimes, it brightened every five to eight minutes, but other times it was more irregular. The brightness of the two auroras also differed, and varied from one pulse to the next.

It's not exactly clear why the auroras are behaving this way, but Dunn has some ideas about what could cause the rhythmic pulsing of the southern X-ray aurora. The solar winds could be creating waves along Jupiter's field lines, causing the charged particles surfing along those waves to reach the poles at intervals of, say, every 11 minutes, Dunn says.

The independent pulsations of Jupiter's northern and southern X-ray auroras (DOI: 10.1038/s41550-017-0262-6) (DX)

Tests Ensure Astronaut, Ground Crew Safety Before Orion Launches

NASA is performing a series of tests to evaluate how astronauts and ground crew involved in final preparations before Orion missions will quickly get out of the spacecraft, if an emergency were to occur on the pad prior to launch. This testing took place the week of Oct. 30, 2017, using the Orion mockup in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. In this photo, engineers used fake smoke to imitate a scenario in which astronauts must exit the capsule when their vision is obscured.

Before astronauts launch to space in Orion, they will cross the Crew Access Arm, 300 feet above the ground, and climb inside the crew module. Ground personnel trained to help them strap into their seats and take care of last-minute needs will assist. For testing, markings on the ground indicate where the Crew Access Arm would be located and help guide the crew.

This testing is a collaborative effort between the Orion and Ground Systems Development and Operations programs. It is helping engineers evaluate hardware designs and establish procedures that would be used to get astronauts and ground crew out of the capsule as quickly as possible. Flight and ground crew are required to get out of Orion within two minutes, to protect for a variety of failure scenarios that do not require the launch abort system to be activated, such as crew incapacitation, fire or the presence of toxins in the cabin. Previous egress testing at Johnson and in the Gulf of Mexico has evaluated how crew will exit the spacecraft at the end of their missions.


Original Submission #1Original Submission #2

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 09 2017, @02:49PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 09 2017, @02:49PM (#594608)

    o fug