ASTRONOMY MEDIA SERVICES©     Space & Astronomy News from around the World each Week

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Here are a selection of Astronomy/Space related stories you may wish to follow up. 

If you are interested, an interview with astronomer, public lecturer and News Editor of SKY & SPACE Magazine Dave Reneke, can be arranged at any time by phoning (02) 6585 2260  Mobile: 0400 63 63 63  Fax: 6585 2260 or  by emailing David now at Dave.Reneke@SkyandSpace.com.au If phone is engaged please send an instant email for a direct reply.

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Website For Southern Observers

For those in the Southern states of Australia, and more specifically in Tasmania, I can highly recommend taking a look at this website. Much good work is being done by the Tasmanian astronomy clubs and they are keenly interested in fostering the interest of astronomy in young people.

There is information on light pollution issues, aurora, information for beginners, even a ‘Cloud Cam’ giving a 180-degree view over Hobart. You will also find links to many interesting astronomical subjects and a bio on individuals involved in Tasmanian astronomy.

While you’re at it, check out the latest issue of Tasmania 40 Degrees South issue No 35 contains a photographic article by an AST member, about our active Sun  - pages 60 to 63. Page 63 also makes reference to the AST and both their web sites. My thanks to good friend Shevill Mathers for passing this along. Tasmanian Amateurs Online site www.taao.has.it

Source: Shevill Mathers

Five Out of Five Researchers Agree: Earth's Solar System Is Special

Though researchers find more and more distant planets revolving around alien suns, the discoveries highlight that Earth and its solar system may be an exceptionally rare place indeed.

That was the discussion consensus last week among five planetary science experts. At issue was whether our solar system is special, why it looks the way it does, and how others thus far detected differ. The debate took place between theoretical and observational scientists on the different aspects of detecting and categorizing alien solar systems.

Prior to the discovery of planets around stars other than our sun in the 1990’s, scientists thought that alien solar systems must look something like our own. They presumed that just like our solar system, there would be small rocky planets like as Earth close to their host stars and large, low density ones a little farther out. But what they discovered were solar systems unlike ours with big Jupiter-like planets close to their host star.

“Of the 150 alien planets found, none of them resemble our own. So maybe it’s not the enigma of other solar systems, it’s the enigma of our solar system,” said Neil Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium.

The trouble with understanding planets outside of our solar system is that they are typically hard to see because of their bright host star, explained Paul Butler, co-discoverer of two-thirds of the known extra solar planets. However, even with these constraints, indirect methods allowed scientists to detect planets as massive as 300 times the Earth and ones as small as 15 times the mass of the Earth outside of our solar system.

As it turns out, the mass of a planet is its most important characteristic. The mass determines if a planet is a gas giant or a rocky formation. “If it’s a rocky planet, like Earth or Mars, then one can focus on its atmosphere and learn more about its characteristics,” said Fritz Benedict of the University of Texas.

Typically, the most sought after characteristic of a planet is its habitability. A habitable planet has liquid water on its surface, thus far, 90% of all detected alien planets have host stars that can flare and sterilize the surface of the planet. Furthermore, planets, which are that close to their host star, would be in a synchronous orbit. This means that only one side of the planet would face the host star and all potential water on that side would evaporate and go to its “dark” side.

Finding solar systems with Jupiter-like planets so close to their orbit stars allow us to theorize about their dynamics. As early as the1980’s, astronomers showed that planets such as Jupiter could be very mobile, moving rapidly, and changing angle and momentum to switch orbits and migrate closer to their parent stars. A planetary system is not static, it’s continually processing and orbits ‘jiggle around’.

At the end, all agreed that there are still discoveries to be made before we can know if our solar system is special or unusual amongst the universe. But speculations varied. With the vast majority of the alien planets found in eccentric orbits, Paul Butler has a different view. “I think with the data at hand, we can say that our solar system is rare. Eccentricity dominates,” He said. “It’s just a matter of how rare we are,” he added

Source: Space.Com

Exclusive: First Confirmed Picture of a Planet Beyond the Solar System

After a few close calls, astronomers have finally obtained the first photograph of a planet beyond our solar system, and this time they're sure. The planet is thought to be one to two times as massive as Jupiter. It orbits a star similar to a young version of our Sun.

The star has been observed by a team of European astronomers since 1999. They have made three images using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile. The Hubble Space Telescope and the Japanese Subaru Telescope each contributed an image, too.

The system is young, so the planet is rather warm, like a bun fresh out of the oven. That warmth made it comparatively easier to see in the glare of its host star compared with more mature planets. Also, the planet is very far from the star - about 100 times the distance between Earth and the Sun, another factor in helping to separate the light between the two objects.

"This is the first directly imaged and confirmed companion to a Sun-like star, and as such marks the dawn of a new era in planet detection," said Ray Jayawardhana, a University of Toronto researcher who was not involved in the discovery but has seen the scientific paper. Over the past decade, astronomers have found about 150 extrasolar planets. The vast majority have only been detected indirectly, by noting wobbles that the planets induce in their stars.

Earlier this month, astronomers announced the detection of a planet's infrared light using the Spitzer Space Telescope but that observation did not involve a photograph. Instead, the system's total light was seen to drop when the planet was eclipsed by the star.

The object (planet) around this newly found star is clearly linked to the star gravitationally. The separation between star and planet has not changed from 1999 to 2004, which means that they move together on the sky. The planet is only 156 times fainter than the star, because the planet is still very young and hence still forming, still contracting."

The picture of this star and its planet is exciting to astronomers because the system resembles in some respects our own solar system in its formation years.

The planet is about 3,140 degrees Fahrenheit - not the sort of place that would be expected to support life. The team has also detected water in the planet's atmosphere. The world is expected to be gaseous, like Jupiter. It is about twice the diameter of Jupiter. The planet is three times farther from its star than Neptune is from our Sun.

It's not known why it is so far out, perhaps the planet had a close brush with another developing world. The interaction could have thrown the newly discovered planet outward. It's also possible the newfound planet has a highly elliptical orbit and is currently near its outer bounds.

The star is part of a star-forming region about 400 light-years away. At 70 percent the mass of the Sun, it is quite similar to our Sun, but only about 1 million years old. Our Sun is middle-aged, at 4.6 billion years old.

One way or another, this object must have formed pretty quickly given the star's age. There’s a really good chance that this is an historic photo!

View the picture of the star and its planet here.

Source: Space.Com

Space Flight 'Plans Complete'

Flamboyant British tycoon Richard Branson said on Thursday his Virgin group's ambitious plans for commercial space flights are complete and the first fee-paying astronaut will fly with him into orbit in the next 30 months.

"The plan for the new spaceship is complete and work on the project will commence in the next three months, with the first commercial space flight to take off in two-and-half years," Branson told reporters.

Branson said the aim was to make forays into space both safe and cheap. "We want to make space travel as affordable as possible to people from across the world," he said.

Virgin Atlantic last year signed a technology licensing deal with US company Mojave Aerospace Ventures. Mojave was behind SpaceShipOne, which in June 2004 became the first private manned craft to travel into space.

"I, with my parents and my son and my daughter will travel in the first space flight," said the 54-year-old tycoon, who made his fortune with the Virgin pop record label before branching out into air travel, railways, telecommunications and a host of other enterprises.

Source: News24 - South Africa

Russian Space Junk Causes Aussie Light Show                                                     Authorities believe they have identified a piece of space junk which last night entered the earth's atmosphere over Australia on Saturday, April 2^nd.  Peter Birch from the Perth Observatory says it was a piece of a Russian spacecraft launched in 1970.

Mr Birch says it would have vaporised in the atmosphere sparking a light show.

"We had reports from the south coast of Western Australia, up through Kalgoorlie, Ayers Rock [Uluru] and Alice Springs," he said. "It would have vaporised in the atmosphere somewhere up in north-west Queensland somewhere.

"It's been burning up as its come in through the atmosphere and eventually vaporised in the atmosphere."

Credit: ABC Online – Australia

Jupiter Closest To Earth Now                                                                                       Monday night sees Jupiter reach opposition on April 4th. This event occurs once a year, when Jupiter is closest to the Earth, and opposite the Sun in the sky.

As soon as the sky darkens, step outside and face East. You will see a brilliant white star low on the horizon. That is Jupiter at a mere 667 million kilometers away! This is the closest Jupiter gets to the Earth this
year.For an extra observing project, wait till 8 pm Australian Eastern Standard Time then look at Jupiter through a small telescope or even a pair of binoculars (10 by 50s recommended).

You will observe a tiny disc with four stars arranged in a line around it. These are Jupiter's largest moons, discovered by Galileo Galilei and refered to as the Galilean moons. All four are larger than the Earths moon. Three moons will be located to the left of Jupiter (as seen in binoculars). The furthest away is Callisto, Europa and Io is closest to Jupiter. On the right hand side of Jupiter, is a lone star. This is the final Galilean moon Ganymede

From Paul Floyd's Astronomy & Space website www.paulfloyd.id.au

==== IN THE SKY ===

The Last Quarter Moon was on Saturday April 2.  Golden Saturn is in the north-western evening sky forming a "V" with the bright stars Castor and Pollox, and looks good in small telescopes. When Jupiter rose at sundown on Sunday, April 3rd, the giant planet was at its closest to Earth all year long.  Step outside, face east and look toward the horizon. To the naked eye, Jupiter resembles a very bright star, almost three times brighter than Sirius.  Seen through a backyard telescope, that "star" reveals itself as a full-fledged world with clouds, spots and moons.

If you missed Jupiter on April 3rd, don't worry.  It will remain close to Earth, bright and easy to see, for many weeks to come.  Jupiter is the brightest object above the eastern horizon later in the evening.  Jupiter is at opposition on the 4th, and is at its brightest. This is a good time to view Jupiter in a small telescope, or to visit a local planetarium or astronomy group's open night. Jupiter's moons are easily visible in small binoculars, and are a fine sight to watch as they orbit Jupiter. Early risers can see brightening Mars in Capricorn. On April 4 the crescent Moon is just above Mars.

 See southern Sky Watch for details. http://home.mira.net/~reynella/skywatch/ssky.htm
Credit: ABC science Updates

Understanding The Night Sky CD-ROMs

Explore the varied mysteries of the universe from your home PC with these 3 unique CD-ROMs. 'Understanding the Night Sky' is a collector's set and reference tool for students, home libraries, clubs and societies, amateur astronomers and space buffs alike. The 3 CD-ROM set includes: 'Universe: Astronomy for Beginners', 'Astronomy and Space Photographs' and 'The Planets'.

Give the 'gift of knowledge' to someone you know, and to yourself. 

EXTRA SPECIAL OFFER!!
If you purchase any two of these CD-ROMs, the third one is FREE!

Check them out in the left hand column at www.SkyandSpace.com.au

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