A Martian Landscape

The Martian landscape at Gale Crater. Part of Curiosity is visible at the bottom of the image. Click on the image for the full version. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Here's an astonishing image from the Curiosity rover of the eerie Martian Landscape that it has landed in.

The image was taken using one of the rover's navigation cameras (Navcam Left) on 'sol 2' of the mission. A 'sol' is a martian day - about 24 hours and 40 minutes long.

The landscape you can see in the image is that of NASA's chosen landing site for Curiosity, Gale Crater. It's 96 miles in diameter and has a 'layered' mountain rising about 3 miles from the crater floor (see image below). This means that the rover will be able to assess the geology of Mars through analysing the layers forming the mountain.

The part of Gale Crater that Curiosity has landed in has shown (from satellite imagery) to be a location where water would have settled. This is key to Curiosity's task of determining whether microbial life is part of Mars' history.

An image of Gale Crater on Mars. The circled area at the top left of the crater indicates the planned landing site for Curiosity. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

Curiosity lands on Mars

The Nasa rover Curiosity has successfully landed on Mars after what appeared to be a textbook landing on the red planet.

The first images have been beamed back from the planet showing grainy thumbnail images of the Martian landscape and the wheel of Curiosity. The images will increase in quality and quantity over the next hours and days.

President Obama's science and technology advisor John Holdren has described it as "a great day".

Read the background to the mission and landing here.

The first images from the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), Curiosity

The Race to Mars

Curiosity at work on Mars (Image: Nasa artist's impression)

At 6:31 am GMT on Monday, man will return to Mars in the form of Nasa's Curiosity Rover. The car-sized rover has been designed to assess whether Mars ever had an environment which was able to support microscopic lifeforms.

Once landed, the culmination of a 36-week flight from Earth, the rover will use its onboard kit to gather information about the geology, atmosphere, environmental conditions and potential 'biosignatures' on Mars. Carrying three cameras, four spectrometers, two radiation detectors, an environmental sensor and an atmospheric sensor, Nasa say the mission will also be a step towards human exploration of the red planet.

However, one of the most impressive feats may be Nasa's capability to land Curiosity on the planet without damaging any of the expensive kit on board. Nasa say the mission will serve as "an entrée" to a further decade of Mars exploration because it will: "demonstrate the ability to land a very large, heavy rover to the surface of Mars; demonstrate the ability to land more precisely in a 20 km landing circle; and demonstrate long-range mobility on the surface of the red planet (5-20 km) for the collection of more diverse samples and studies".

Curiosity during testing on Earth (Image: Nasa)

The landing itself will be accomplished via a "soft-landing" technique employed for the first time on Mars. Instead of using the air bags typically used for such landings, the heavier Curiosity will use a sky-crane to deposit the rover on the surface of Mars. After a parachute slows the vehicle to nearly zero velocity, the rover will be released from the sky-crane and lowered to the ground via an "umbilical cord". As it is lowered, the mobility system will be deployed so that as soon as it hits the ground, Curiosity will be ready to roll. When the on-board computer recognises that touchdown has been successful, it will cut the umbilical cord and the sky-crane will "power away at full throttle" to crash land some distance away. You can see how this landing will work in Nasa's 7 minutes of Terror video.



In a Nasa statement, issued hours before touchdown the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL ) team said that the spacecraft was "healthy and right on course for a landing in several hours that will be one of the most difficult feats of robotic exploration ever attempted".

"Excitement is building while the team is diligently monitoring the spacecraft," said Mission Manager Brian Portock of Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "It's natural to get anxious before a big event, but we believe we are very well prepared."

You'll be able to watch coverage of the landing live on Nasa TV.
Follow the action on twitter by following the @MarsCuriosity.

Lunar Eclipse Tonight

An image of the lunar eclipse of June 2011

Today, the moon will rise over Ireland with a "bite" taken out of it as we are treated to a partial lunar eclipse (at least the tail-end of it anyway).

Astronomy Ireland say people can expect to see "a slight darkened edge of the moon" and not the total eclipse that will be viewable in other parts of the world.

China, Japan, Australia, Eastern Russia and the western states of the USA will see a full lunar eclipse while Europe, Africa and the Eastern US states will see a partial eclipse.

The partial eclipse should be visible just as the moon rises, around 4pm in Ireland.

C.O.R.Y. gets to work, exploring the skies

CORY (Image: Blackrock Castle Observatory)

After receiving hundreds of entries to their Name the Big Dish competition, Blackrock Castle Observatory have chosen a winner. Drum roll please....

Rebecca Cantwell from Regina Mundi in Douglas, Cork came up with the winning name: C.O.R.Y., which stands for "Computer Operated Radio Yoke".

BCO said in a statement that the name "shows not only Rebecca’s Cork wit but also her knowledge of astronomy and science".

Rebecca joined NASA astronaut Greg Johnson in activating and lighting up CORY last night when it officially began receiving visual and audio signals from space - making it the largest radio dish available for educational purposes in Europe!

The 32 metre dish is based at the National Space Centre, at Elfordstown Earthstation near Midleton in Co. Cork and was originally constructed in 1984 to carry transatlantic telephone calls from Europe to the US. It was retired from this function in the mid 90's when underground cables were laid.

Now, in a partnership between the National Space Centre and Cork Institute of Technology, the dish is being refurbished to act as a state-of-the-art educational and research tool.

Minister for Research and Innovation, Sean Sherlock TD with CORY (Image: Blackrock Castle Observatory)

Dr Niall Smith, Head of Research at CIT, who outlined Phase I and Phase II of the project said that “This project will see a €10m radio telescope brought back to life for less than €10,000 thanks to the partnership between National Space Centre and CIT. It’s a great example of using world-class infrastructure in the most cost-effective way to reach out into the community and to embed our growing scientific heritage alongside our world-renowned culture.

It will excite students in schools who will get to listen in on the radio signals from outer space; it will be a testbed for engineering and science projects from primary through to PhD; it will be available to researchers from across Ireland and beyond; it will be an iconic structure only minutes from the famous Jameson Distillery, which we hope in the future to open to tourists and public alike.”

Phase 1 of the project to refurbish the telescope is now complete and next year it is hoped to see the further refurbishment of the dish allowing it to turn and slew as it originally did, along with the installation of new sensors and receivers.

The dish is capable of detecting a host of cosmic phenomena including:

    the emission of giant slow moving hydrogen clouds
    the violent explosions of stars
    eruptions of the solar surface
    storms on Jupiter
    enormous galaxy-scale jets of quasars

The switch-on ceremony took place as part of Science Week, which continues until next Sunday.

Defying Gravity

The labour of rising from the ground, said the artist, will be great, as we see it in the heavier domestic fowls; but, as we mount higher, the earth´s attraction, and the body´s gravity, will be gradually diminished, ´til we shall arrive at a region where the man will float in the air without any tendency to fall: no care will then be necessary, but to move forwards, which the gentlest impulse will effect.
—Samuel Johnson, 1759, The History of Rasselas

Johan Lorbeer in Cork (Image: Irish Independent)

Gravity is the theme for a new exhibition at the Crawford Gallery, Cork which touches on the idea of physics, gravitational forces and even deep space.

The exhibition contains a variety of works from over 50 artists including Dorothy Cross' new work Whale. Cross' is a unique interpretation of gravity, with the skeleton of a whale hung from the fabric of the gallery itself. Located in the Crawford's historic sculpture galleries, it works perfectly with the marbles and plaster-works that surround it.

The exhibition was opened by Minister Jimmy Deenihan on July 15th and runs until 29th October.

The exhibition features a variety of pieces from the collection of the 3rd Earl of Rosse, William Parsons.

William Parson's sketch of the Whirlpool Galaxy

Parsons built the 'Leviathan of Parsonstown' on his estate in County Offaly in the 1840s. The largest telescope of the nineteenth century, the Leviathan was considered a marvelous technical and architectural achievement. He used it to catalogue a number of galaxies including the famous 'Whirlpool Galaxy'.

With spectacular off site installations by Cross and Johan Lorbeer, the exhibition is well worth a visit. It's great to see science and art combining once again in the Crawford - a building  financed by WH Crawford, a man who himself was intrigued by both.

Maths - It Is Rocket Science

Taking place in the Armagh Planetarium between August 22nd and 26th ‘Maths – It Is Rocket Science', a Department of Education & Skills approved course for primary school teachers from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, will provide participants with specific techniques and insights in using the theme of Space as a key learning aid in the classroom. 

The course is being run by ESERO Ireland, the European Space Education Office working to inspire and engage students in science and technology subjects and in making Ireland’s burgeoning space industry more accessible to students and the public.

With research having shown that Space related matters can be used as key interest points for children in the teaching of maths, science and geography the course in the Armagh Planetarium is the perfect opportunity for teachers to increase their knowledge in this area.

Teachers interested in taking up a place on the course should note that ESERO Ireland is offering a limited number of bursaries, worth up to €250 in total, to cover the costs of travelling to the course from outside the normal commuter range. The bursaries are to be set aside to cover the cost of fuel and accommodation for the five day duration of the course.

The Armagh Planetarium is the ideal location for the course, dedicated in its work in astronomy education at all levels and providing an atmosphere conducive to the teaching of Space in the classroom in progressing with a number of different STEM subjects.

The focus of ‘Maths – It Is Rocket Science’ will be on enquiry based learning, beginning with a hands-on session based around the Discover Primary Science and Maths programme run by DSE.

Primary teachers who have taken part in the course over the past few years have spoken of how the Armagh Planetarium is an ideal venue for sparking ideas and debate – and on a more practical level of how the course has enabled them to put lesson plans with a Space influence into place which have received a great reaction in the classroom.

Places on the course are limited to 20.

For further information on the Armagh course, you can contact;

Colin Johnston TEL:  048 3752 3689  info@armaghplanet.com

A similar event takes place at Blackrock Castle Observatory, Cork on July 4th-8th. See here for more details.

Lunar Eclipse Photo Special

Pictures hot off the press of tonight's total lunar eclipse. Taken at Rosscarbery in West Cork. Click on each for a larger version.

 

Last lunar eclipse for 4 years

The last lunar eclipse viewable from Ireland for over 4 years will take place on Wednesday.

The moon will rise tonight fully eclipsed by the Earth's shadow. As the moon rises over the eastern horizon, Astronomy Ireland say that those watching in the east of the country will see the moon rise covered in a deep red colour.

Observers in the west will see most of the moon obscured by the Earth's shadow.

"The Moon gets darker and darker, and almost completely blacked out. But instead of turning black it begins to glow an eerie red colour. This is due to red light curving through Earth's atmosphere - like a sunset - and shining on the Moon. All other colours don't curve in the same way, so only red is seen."

The eclipse will begin at 10pm and last until around midnight. Total eclipse will be visible just after 10pm.

More on the eclipse from Blackrock Castle Observatory.

Endeavour ready for last launch

The space shuttle Endeavour's external tank is fully loaded with over 500,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and is on standby for a launch at 1.56pm (Irish Time) today.

Space shuttle mission STS-134 will be Endeavour's last launch before it is taken out of service. Crew members include Commander Mark Kelly and astronaut Roberto Vittori of the European Space Agency.

During its 16-day mission, Endeavour and its crew will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), along with a variety of spare parts to the International Space Station.

The AMS is described as a 'state-of-the-art particle physics detector'. It was designed and built by a team comprising 56 institutes and 16 countries around the world. The spectrometer will be used, in the unique environment of space to advance our understanding of the universe and its origins by looking for antimatter and dark matter.

Endeavor is NASA's fifth and final space shuttle. Construction began in 1987 and was complete in April 1991. It launched for the first time on May 7, 1992 and has travelled 116,372, 930 miles so far in its lifetime.

You can  follow the progress of today's launch on the launch blog.
You can also watch the preparations and launch on NASA TV

Christmas Science 15: Solstice and Eclipse

In the run up to Christmas, Communicate Science offers you 20 Christmas Science Facts. We'll post one every day until the 25th December.

Solstice and Eclipse
The 2010 winter solstice will take place in the Northern Hemisphere tomorrow (December 21st) at 23.38pm (Irish Time/Greenwich Mean Time). The winter solstice occurs when the Earth's axial tilt is furthest away from the sun and lasts for just a moment and marks the shortest day and longest night of the year.

This year, the winter solstice coincides with a total lunar eclipse. According to Astronomy Ireland, from 6:32am tomorrow morning, you will be able to see the Moon gradually get darker as Earth's shadow is cast upon it, culminating at 7:40am when the Moon will have enters totality. The full moon will be seen to turn red as this eclipse takes place.

This change in colour is caused by the Moon entering the Earth's shadow, but with light from the sun getting to its surface through our atmosphere. Since the Earth's atmosphere blocks out the blue light, the observed colour of the Moon can change radically.

It is very rare for these two events to coincide, and with clear skies forecast for many areas, it's a great excuse to get up early, wrap up warm and watch one of the greatest events in the solar system.

If you get any pictures of the eclipse or of tomorrow's sunrise on the shortest day of the year, send them here and I'll post them tomorrow.

More on the Sun!

Insprired by the Frog Blog's excellent post on the Sun earlier today, I've been reminded of the excellent work of 'They Might Be Giants'.

The American band behind hits like 'Birdhouse in Your Soul' (come on...I'm not the only one who remembers it!) also do excellent songs for kids and particularly science songs and videos.

Their 'Here Comes Science' album is full of catchy tunes.

TMBG's first attempt to explain how the Sun works was very catchy, but somewhat flawed in a scientific sense. So much so, that they decided to update it with a new (though less catchy) song on the latest album.

Science Snapshot Five: California and Cork Link Up

Science Week is ongoing in Ireland and continues until the 14th. For more details of events taking place around the country, you can visit here.

Here on Communicate Science, for the duration of Science Week, along with our usual posts, we'll be posting a 'Science Snapshot' every day. If you have a Science Snapshot you'd like to share, you can email here and we'll post the best later in the week.

Today's snapshot comes from the Blackrock Castle Observatory (BCO) in Cork. It features scenes from their recent "First Friday at the Castle Open Night" which took place on Friday last (5th November) and kicked off Blackrock's programme for Science Week.

The image above captures the scene in the packed interactive theatre at BCO. Ben Burness, astronomer at Chabot Space & Science Center (CSSC) in Oakland California can be seen on the screen to the right on a live video link from the dome of one of Chabot's telescopes.

The left hand screen in that image shows transition year students at BCO creating cool astronomy images from data supplied directly from the telescopes in California.

The image below shows the magnificant Chabot Space and Science Center at night. BCO has already featured in one of our Science Snapshots this week and is well worth a visit!

Science Snapshot Three: Castles in the Air

Science Week is ongoing in Ireland and continues until the 14th. For more details of events taking place around the country, you can visit here.


Here on Communicate Science, for the duration of Science Week, along with our usual posts, we'll be posting a 'Science Snapshot' every day. If you have a Science Snapshot you'd like to share, you can email here and we'll post the best later in the week.

The next picture is a shot of Blackrock Castle in Cork City. A castle was built on the site first around 1600 at the behest of Queen Elizabeth 1 who suggested it would "repel pirates and other invaders" from the City of Cork.

The original castle was destroyed in 1827 by fire and it was rebuilt (as it currently stands) by 1829. The castle came into public hands in 2001 when Cork City Council purchased it.

It now houses Ireland's first fully interactive astronomy centre and a team of astronomical researchers from Cork Institute of Technology.

The castle and astronomy centre is open to the public and has picked up a number of awards for its exhibitions.

Black Hole Radiation Simulated in Lab

For the first time, scientists have been able to simulate the type of radiation likely to be emitted from black holes.

A team of Italian scientists fired a laser beam into a chunk of glass to create an analogue (or simulation) of the Hawking radiation that many physicists expect is emitted by black holes.

A spokesperson for the research group said: "Although the laser experiment superficially bears little resemblance to ultra-dense black holes, the mathematical theories used to describe both are similar enough that confirmation of laser-induced Hawking radiation would bolster confidence that black holes also emit Hawking radiation."

The renowned physicist Stephen Hawking first predicted this sort of radiation in 1974 but it has proved elusive to detect, even in the lab. This research group was able to use a "bulk glass target" to isolate the apparent Hawking radiation from the other forms of light emitted during such experiments.

Black holes are region in space where nothing can escape, not even light. However, and despite their name, they are believed to emit weak forms of radiation (such as Hawking radiation). Physicists expect that this radiation may be so weak as to be undetectable.

The research appears in the current issue of Physical Review Letters (Free) and is also reviewed in Physics (Free).

The experimental setup for Hawking radiation detection

Number of the Week: 2025

A NASA image of how the adapted spacecraft might look

That's the year when parts of the International Space Station could be ready to be sent to an asteroid.

NASA has this week held a conference to decide what to do with the $100 billion station after it retires in 2020 and, after Barack Obama's pledge to send astronauts to an asteroid by 2025, it seems a bit of recycling may be in order.

One suggestion for the retired space station is that one of its compartments, called Tranquility, could be attached to a pair of spacecraft capable of landing on the an asteroid.

Another option being discussed is the idea of creating a large centrifuge type structure in order to achieve some form of artificial gravity in space. This may prevent bone and muscle loss in astronauts experiencing zero gravity.

A (pdf) summary of the options as outlined by NASA at the conference is available here.

Number of the Week: 600 million metric tonnes

The estimated amount of water ice located near the Moon's north pole. The ice was spotted by the American LCROSS satellite aboard the Indian lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-1. The results of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite suggests that "a sustainable human presence on the Moon is possible" according to Paul Spudis from the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas. President Barack Obama cancelled the American programme for a return to the moon by 2020 in February of this year.

Read more about this story:

LCROSS

Chandrayaan-1