Space Waste and an Aurora Called Steve...

Opportunity heat shield         NASA

There is a crater on Mars , recently imaged by the Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter, which contains detritus from the 2004 landing of Opportunity.
I got to thinking that we have already begun leaving our waste on other worlds
The moon has over 70 space vehicles, including buggies and landers, golf clubs, discarded boots, flags, and various - over 100,000 pounds of debris.
I looked for statistics regarding waste on Mars, but beyond this list, it gets into alien conspiracy territory, so I quickly back-tracked.
Let's not forget the ring of debris orbiting our own planet - some 500,000 pieces (according to NASA in 2013).
Add to this the many Russian Verbera modules on Venus - although I imagine they've been cremated and crushed to a pulp, so at least there should be no trace...
Mercury didn't escape so lightly in 2008 , when the Messenger craft impacted, creating a whole new crater.

Mercury imaged by Messenger               NASA

Currently surveying Titan for the last time, Cassini will eventually descend into Saturn, although given the toxic nature of the atmosphere, it will almost certainly be destroyed - and let's not forget the two Voyager craft, heading into deep space, followed by New Horizons, which achieved the most distant rendezvous yet with its flypast of Pluto, and following its encounter with MU69 in 2019, will become so much hi-tech driftwood floating through the heavens.
Our faltering steps into space have already left quite a trail , like a bored passenger tossing trash out of a car window on a long drive.
We humans are a messy bunch, but until we get the bill from the Intergalactic Sanitation Engineers, we'll be none the wiser.

On a lighter note , a new discovery in the majesty of the aurora ; a trail of green and purple lights which have been given the name of Steve.
No mushrooms required.


G

Venusian Field-Trip, A ' Virtual ' Ride On Mars , and a Black Hole In Your Pocket

Apparently, scientists have created a fluid with negative mass.
Normally, I'd be sceptical, but with the increasing quantum strangeness, I find it perfectly believable.
It will be some time before we get 'real world' applications of this oddity .
In other news, the areas of the brain connected with dreaming have been identified, and appear to be connected with our physical selves - so if you dream that you're falling and manage to stop yourself by waking up, then you probably did.
Phew, eh ?

MEANWHILE, IN SPACE...

There is speculation of a field trip to Venus , and an orbiting space station as a possible practice
for any manned mission to Mars.
Speaking of Mars, this excellent video was created by Sean Doran, from thousands of expertly assembled jpegs.

Ceres gif -                         NASA/JPL-Caltech / UCLA/ MPS /DLR/IDA/PSI

Apparently the transient atmosphere of planetoid * Ceres is linked to the activity of the sun
The exact mechanism is unknown, but surely the implication is that Ceres has a magnetic field attracting and enhancing solar activity..
That's my conjecture anyway.

Last week there was a live-stream from NASA, which suffered from all the usual gremlins -  sound and image dropped out , were subject to delays , and the presenters struggled to maintain a semblance of gravitas.
I gave up and sourced the information elsewhere.
The whole thing was underwhelming , and essentially told us little of any real importance.
Even so, here is a link to a downloadable poster of the watery worlds in our solar system.
Reading between the lines, I decided that NASA were saying that Saturns moon Enceladus was a stronger contender for alien life than Europa.
Which is possibly true, but our best chance for further information from the little moon is now entering its final days.
Cassini is heading for its grand finale, a swan dive through Saturns rings - infact twenty two dives, each one furthering our knowledge of the gas giant , until the final swoop in September 2017.
Cassini launched in October 1997 and has been in orbit around Saturn since 2004 , giving us an incredible wealth of information .
At the point where you think it should be winding down, perhaps taking retirement, it is going out in a blaze of glory.
April 26th 2017 is the date for the beginning of the end for Cassini.

An immense x-ray burst has been observed erupting from a galaxy some 10.7 billion light years away.
Its exact cause is unknown, but it was observed briefly by the Chandra observatory.
Theories include a black hole swallowing a star , which is a tenuous link to this piece about what it would be like to have a black hole the size of a coin in your pocket..

The news that the New Horizons craft is now halfway to its destination made me laugh - with memories of long family car journeys '..are we there yet ? '
'Yes , dear - only 486.19**mllion miles to go...why don't you have a nap - we'll be there when you wake up'
Let's not forget that we know nothing of the mysterious object , other than the fact that it is apparently bright red .
I'm surprised we can't have a general peek around at the colours of all the other debris in the Kuiper Belt by way of comparison...if I was there, I'd be wiping the little porthole window and craning my neck to peer out at the lumps of rock around us.
Actually, if I was there, I'd be squashed up due to the lack of space in New Horizons.

New Horizons - note the lack of viewports

* is this an actual designation , or should I stick with ' dwarf planet ' ?
** This was accurate on April 1 , 2017 - not an April Fool

Psychic Dinosaurs, Ancient Burrows and Spuds in Space

Tread lightly, dear reader, for this post has been assembled following April Fools Day.
I've done my best to eliminate scurrilous nonsense, and have double checked sources, but even so , doubts remain !

paleoburrow

Recent discoveries in Brazil give me a new word - paleoburrows.
I  am amazed and humbled that I didn't even know that such things existed.
My inner cynic wonders why the disoveries are not more widespread.
At this point, I apologise for the links to speculative blogs, as opposed to hard science.
Further examinations led me to a treatise published in 2009, which makes me feel less of an ' April Fool ', but then the virtual burrow of the internet  provided pictorial evidence...ahem

Giant Sloth remains - human for scale

I stopped to ponder the science behind pictures of girls posing with fossils, decided there wasn't any, and carried on.

I pondered the issue of giant mammals creating underground caverns.
Was there evidence of a prehistoric landscape in Britain, carved out by huge badgers ?
And what of the were-rabbits ?

There were no prehistoric telegraph poles...

In other strange news...

As we head for the exploration of worlds containing large bodies of water, inevitably we consider the strange reality of cephalopods, and their very alien consciousness.
A charming tale of an intelligent octopus making a break for freedom.
Aquatic communications have been observed between dolphins, and on a larger scale, the cries of whales can cross vast distances underwater.
Recent discoveries point to a possible 'sixth sense' emanating from external body plates on dinosaurs which enabled more effective hunting of prey.
Another form of consciousness is used by mycelium, allowing for communication over large distances underground , even warning of predators.


Meanwhile , in space...

The final candidates for the planned ExoMars landing have been selected - Oxia Planum and Mawrth Vallis , areas which were once water-saturated.

The Trace Gas Orbiter is already in place , although its companion, the Schiaparelli lander, bit the martian dust, to coin a phrase .
Its follow up, the ExoMars rover is scheduled for launch in 2020

Speaking of Mars, in on-going tests in Peru , a single potato plant is growing in conditions which emulate Mars, but have nothing to do with Matt Damon.


In other news, apparently Pluto has been reclassified as a planet.
I say apparently, as this news emeged not long after April Fools Day, and I could only find two sources of info.
Personally, I hope it is true , as poor old Pluto is a very interesting world, and deserves a proper designation.

Which brings us to the end of this rambling missive - until next time , be careful out there !

G

Tunnels on the Moon, Martian Landscapes, and the Storms of Jupiter

Investigations have revealed a network of tubes beneath the lunar surface , and arguments abound on whether to explore / inhabit them.
Personally, I think that moment has gone, as all eyes appear to be on Mars...speaking of which -

The diligent Mars explorer Curiosity still rumbles on, but is now showing signs of significant wear and tear on one of its wheels.
Fortunately we can view Mars from afar - this incredible animation was painstakingly pieced together from  available images.
Images from Hubble bring us two distant, interwoven galaxies
Juno is on its fifth Jovian flyby , with some  stunning results

Image from Juno , details here

Recent images from ESA show the many changes on comet 67P, indicating an active geology, surprising for a lump of icy rock in space..
I'm constantly impressed by the quality of images from space, and it's about to get better-
Nasa are working on a system of  ' broadband' for information packets from space.

 ESA have shared this , for those who might want to imagine themselves in the area of a black hole...




A Rant About The New Religion of Atheism

This week, I found myself debating atheism on social media, and being surprised at the arrogance on display -let's not forget that, when connected to the 'Big Bang' , atheism is nothing more than a faith - based belief system - i.e. you have faith that one day, someone will prove the theory.
I'm not impressed by the current wave of 'populism' , short on thinking and long on memes and soundbites, which allows people to parade half - truths as fact.
Ultimately, it harms the very mindset that claims to be advancing the 'clear light' of science,
and it smacks of  'the one true path ', a form of delusion which is normally found in religious zealots.
Science is meant to be a questing thing, a continual search for fact - based evidence, not an endgame.
For instance - has anyone actually managed to replicate a black hole under laboratory conditions ?
No ?
Their existence, then, is a matter of belief / faith...
The whole point of my rant (and thank you for bearing with me), is that quantum  mechanics looms larger by the day, bringing with it a whole new realm of chaos to upset science - from the very notion of 'entanglement' , which Einstein called ' spooky action at a distance', to a  theory that there was no big bang and the universe is eternal.
Regardless of its validity (further debate / testing needed) , it's a new idea, born of quantum science, not an extrapolation of extant physics.

'...nothing is written in stone.'                     pic:    Charlton Heston as Moses

I think the fractious, defensive noise we hear from some corners is insecurity - after all , there are people who have dedicated their lives to proving theories like the big bang.

Those who are genuinely curious either way, await the revelations from the James Webb telescope, which should be able to see as far back in space/time as the afterglow of the alleged Big Bang.
The telescope will be launched into orbit in October 2018.
At least until then, nothing is written in stone.
Including the Ten Commandments and the Big Bang Theory.*


G

* In this universe, it is equally true that The Big Bang Theory is a comedy show about a group of geeks , and The Ten Commandments  is a film by Cecil B DeMille.

The Whole Earth Telescope, Snarky Submersibles, and Actual Spaceports

Further proof that we are living in the future with the normalisation of the sci-fi phrase ' spaceport '.
Not quite on a par with Mos Eisley, but slowly...
Canada is working towards its first ever spaceport , to be created in Nova Scotia.
Meanwhile NASA is re-purposing Cape Kennedy as a commercial spaceport , capable of supporting multiple launches from private companies .

Messier 87 imaged by Chandra xray observatory

The origins and appearance of black holes beyond supposition and CGI are totally unknown , but soon, we may have an actual image of one.

Using a group of ten telescopes known as EHT, scientists plan to finally get a look at the black hole at the centre of our galaxy .

They are so confident that they predict any image will be in the top ten of all time.
Whether that's the top ten of black hole images, I'm not sure - after all , there's no competition.
Enough of my cynicism , though - if that's not enough, they also aim to image the supermassive black hole (don't you just love these superlatives) at the centre of galaxy M87 .
This monstrosity is equal to 6.6 billion of our sun , and has eaten another galaxy in the last billion years.
Luckily, it's 50 million light years away, although, on a cosmic scale, that's probably too close.
The Event Horizon Telescopes should be functional from next month, April 2017, as soon as telescopes in the Antarctic and the Altacama desert are added to the circuit .

High in the Atacama desert, Chile, a lone rover scours the scorched plains in search of life.
With an average rainfall of less than 1mm a year, the Atacama is the driest place on Earth.
The intrepid rover has to drill into the surface to find those elusive microbes...
The signs are good for the probe KREX 2 , but will it be superceded by PUFFER ?
The rather nippy little ' puffer ' drones would surely be ideal foils for Krex2, or the slow, lumbering, Curiosity rover on Mars...
...speaking of Mars, it appears there may be health problems for humans travelling there.
Scientists are worried about the potential danger of long distance, deep space flight.
Even ' locally ' there could be health issues. 
Esa have started looking into the creation of living units for Mars...
By the way, if you are in the 'Twitter-sphere', a good source of images and entirely spurious / snarky comments is The Sarcastic Rover

Mars - a barren wasteland, or prime real estate ?

High above Mars, the joint ESA / Roskosmos endeavour , the Exomars Orbiter, has commenced its year long aerobraking which will enable it to settle into a circular orbit , some 400 km above the surface.

On the icy Saturnian moon Enceladus, there is evidence of heat beneath the surface in the South Pole - possibly an ocean which interacts with the moons core.
The obvious exploration candidate would be an AUV, possibly working with a surface - based probe as a signal relay.
Perhaps a different name though, eh ?

FUN FACT
Apparently, in naval terms, a submersible is also considered a boat, so the name Boaty McBoatface is perfectly acceptable, although I personally prefer ' Big Metal Floaty Thingy'

Glass Creatures, Time Crystals, Mutant Boars, Vanishing Ice, and Europa

A new Fast Radio Burst theory from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center states that maybe, just maybe, they are used by aliens as a propulsion force for space travel.
The downside of this theory is that the 17 FRB signals received so far would hardly propel a fleet of alien spaceships across the cosmos...and using radio-bursts rather than a steady stream of solar / laser light, seems very impractical.

Yeast

Although synthesized Yeast may not be the sexiest example of cutting - edge science, it is being created with the aid of a software program called ' BioStudio ' , and so far, scientists have replicated 6 of 16 chromosomes .
As yeast shares many similarities to our own DNA, it can be used to improve medicines, etc.
This represents a major advance in the field.

Speaking of DNA , scientists have finally discovered the mechanism which allows Tardigrades to be almost indestructible.
Apparently by some trick of their DNA , they collapse, becoming a form of biological glass , with only a bare minimum of molecules and proteins to keep them in suspended animation.
This obviously has implications for deep space travel.
It is almost certain that elements of 'water bear' DNA will eventually be introduced to humans-
or at least, they will to those who need longevity...suddenly that 4.7 light - year journey to Alpha Centauri seems almost possible.

Regardless of whether Tardigrade DNA is copy/pasted into people , molecular damage has probably already occured in the wild boars that now run wild in Fukushima and its environs.
Moves are afoot to convince people to return to the area, but the hostile, and almost certainly radioactive, boars , are the new owners of the place.
The comments section of the article above is filled with discussion of the best calibre guns to take down the mutant hogs...

Mutant hog spotted...

Further to my recent post about the search for absolute zero , a little box is being taken to the ISS this summer with a view to creating the coldest space in the universe, just a fraction of a degree above absolute zero.
It is expected that quantum phenomena will occur - I am excited - and a little worried for the brave souls in the ISS : after all, quantum is where the normal laws of physics break down.
What could possibly go wrong ?

                                                              Artists impression- Nasa Cold Atom Lab


More quantum strangeness - time crystals have been observed, or at least, have now been peer reviewed - opening new possibilities for quantum computing.
Their magic is the way they create a marker or lattice in time itself : a ' rhythm' maintained in the (alleged) fourth dimension.
Initially, this may sound utterly bizarre - a solid object that vibrates on another plane ?
At a basic level, it is the old idea of  perpetual motion , with a twist.


 Meanwhile,in Siberia...

Melting permafrost gave us a scare story some time ago with a potential TB pandemic unleashed from thawed reindeer bodies , but nothing else until now - as the permafost thaws with increasing speed,  large areas are being uncovered and with them new escapes of gases into the atmosphere , and evidence of volcanic activity

Meanwhile, near Saturn...

Pan            photo : Cassini/ Nasa

Anaglyph 3D Pan

Saturns innermost moon, Pan, is tiny, and looks very odd.

Pan was discovered in 1990 from photographs taken by Voyager 2.
Only approximately 17 miles diameter, it orbits Saturn, in the Encke gap of the ring system, and its weird appearance means it is likened to many things including a doughnut, a walnut , and a ufo.

From Saturns inner-most moon to Jupiters possibly life-supporting moon . With the announcement of a NASA mission called Europa Clipper, a reconnaisance craft which will orbit and assess Europa for the essential building blocks of life .
The mission is scheduled to launch in 2020 , arriving at the Jovian moon a few years later.
It will perform 45 orbits of the moon.
The ultimate goal seems to be the colonisation of  Europa- which, coming from NASA themselves, makes me wonder what they are not telling us.
On the other hand, the fact that it concerns Europa gives enough fuel for conspiracies, anyway.

From Europa to Europe

Luxembourg is keen to establish itself as a trailblazer and a
major player in the field of asteroid mining



Staying in the area of Europe, any budding astro-engineers should consider these vacancies from ESA !



P.S.  I realise that the idea of time as a fourth dimension is contentious , but I don't want to get bogged down with the issue, as this is not really a science forum , and my take on the subject is flexible - personally, I think we should expand our dimensions. At least five, and probably ten. Because quantum . But let's agree to differ ?

Dragon Flies around the Moon, Giant Penguins Once Waddled the Earth, Gifts from NASA

In a gracious gesture, NASA has released free access to software featuring new technologies.
Whizz - kids and Tech-heads will find plenty of inspiration in their PDFs.
The new 'space race' is hotting up as Dragon X announce the first commercial flight around the moon taking place next year, 2018.
Two people will be undergoing health and fitness tests for the milestone journey very soon.
The ultmate goal  for Dragon X is to transport people '...to Mars '.

Mimas  , no Death Star visible....pic NASA/ JPL-Caltech

Even in space with its mind - boggling distances , there are near - misses: recently, the Mars Orbiter had to be course - corrected to avoid collision with Phobos.
This may sound insignificant, but I was taken aback to learn that Mars is a busy ' highway' with no less than five vehicles in orbit.
Which led me to wonder how many were in orbit around our moon , and finally Earth  ( over a thousand )
Even Saturn is being buzzed -  by our intrepid explorer Cassini, which took the photo shown below.
Cassini is currently grazing the ring system around Saturn , observing and preparing for its ultimate demise when it plunges into the gas giant in September.

Saturn pic by Cassini       NASA/ JPL-Caltech

The above image of Saturn was taken by Cassini.
Pause for jaw-dropping fact - each  pixel equates to 37 miles...
 ...that's big.
Saturn is said to be a place where metallic hydrogen exists in the crushing pressure of the atmosphere.
Regarded as a ' Holy Grail ' of chemistry, its status is due to the fact it could be potentially used as rocket fuel, which makes Saturn a re-fuelling stop on the long journey to our next destination.
Attempts have been made to replicate the material under laboratory conditions , which have allegedly succeeded, but unfortunately, the only sample of metallic hydrogen in the world has gone missing .
As you can imagine this has caused great concern.
The extra difficulty in finding the missing sample is that it is one-fifth the thickness of a human hair.
Which is pretty small.
Regardless, though, baffled scientists are currently looking behind curtains and down the side of sofas.
So far, they have found thirty brass coins, a leaky biro pen, a washer , and a ticket to a Level 42 gig .

Meanwhile, back on Earth...

The University of Hong Kong have created a computer simulation of a flying dinosaur with four wings.
Also, fossil evidence of a giant prehistoric penguin  has been found  in New Zealand.

Finally, apropos of nothing,  I found this article very interesting. 






Please note - I have been guilty of occasionally linking to articles in Wikipedia. This has been pointed out as a highly unreliable source of information, which I understand - but in my experience, simple fact - checking against alternate sources is always the way to go. I trust that others will continue to do the same, as I don't intend to patronise my readers . Thank you for being here !
G