Learn about an exciting new exoplanet discovery—a Jupiter-like planet called “51 Eri b” that orbits a star a 100 light years away in the constellation of Eridanus.
Using a powerful new imaging device, astronomers have spied a Jupiter-like exoplanet 100 light-years distant in the constellation of Eridanus. Unlike most planets found around other stars, 51 Eri b has been seen directly. The instrument employed to make the discovery has also made a spectroscopic analysis of the light reflected from the planet, and has detected gases similar to those in Jupiter’s atmosphere.
Because GPI not only images exoplanets but also spreads their light for chemical analysis, astronomers can search for such common gases as water and methane in their atmospheres. Researchers had expected to see methane in directly-imaged exoplanets based on the temperature and chemistry of these worlds, but had failed to detect these molecules in large quantities using earlier instruments. However, the observations of 51 Eri b made with GPI have clearly revealed a methane-dominated atmosphere similar to that of Jupiter.
An extraordinarily complex instrument the size of a small car, GPI is attached to one of the world’s biggest telescopes – the 8-meter Gemini South instrument in Chile. It began its survey of stars last year.
The host star, 51 Eri, is very young, a mere 20 million years old, and is slightly hotter than the Sun. The exoplanet 51 Eri b, whose mass is estimated to be roughly twice that of Jupiter, appears to orbit its host star at a distance 13 times greater than the Earth-Sun distance. If placed in our own solar system, 51 Eri b’s orbit would lie between those of Saturn and Neptune.
It will take over a year to download all the images and scientific data collected when the New Horizons probe flew past the Pluto system. The mission team recently began downloading imagery again from the probe after a period of focusing on instrumentation data. Several new pictures have been posted in the Science Photos Gallery. Here are some examples (click on the images for larger versions): New Pluto Images from NASA’s New Horizons: It’s Complicated – NASA
Two different versions of an image of Pluto’s haze layers, taken by New Horizons as it looked back at Pluto’s dark side nearly 16 hours after close approach, from a distance of 480,000 miles (770,000 kilometers), at a phase angle of 166 degrees. Pluto’s north is at the top, and the sun illuminates Pluto from the upper right. These images are much higher quality than the digitally compressed images of Pluto’s haze downlinked and released shortly after the July 14 encounter, and allow many new details to be seen. The left version has had only minor processing, while the right version has been specially processed to reveal a large number of discrete haze layers in the atmosphere. In the left version, faint surface details on the narrow sunlit crescent are seen through the haze in the upper right of Pluto’s disk, and subtle parallel streaks in the haze may be crepuscular rays- shadows cast on the haze by topography such as mountain ranges on Pluto, similar to the rays sometimes seen in the sky after the sun sets behind mountains on Earth.—
This image of Pluto from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, processed in two different ways, shows how Pluto’s bright, high-altitude atmospheric haze produces a twilight that softly illuminates the surface before sunrise and after sunset, allowing the sensitive cameras on New Horizons to see details in nighttime regions that would otherwise be invisible. The right-hand version of the image has been greatly brightened to bring out faint details of rugged haze-lit topography beyond Pluto’s terminator, which is the line separating day and night. The image was taken as New Horizons flew past Pluto on July 14, 2015, from a distance of 50,000 miles (80,000 kilometers).—
This image of Pluto’s largest moon Charon, taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft 10 hours before its closest approach to Pluto on July 14, 2015 from a distance of 290,000 miles (470,000 kilometers), is a recently downlinked, much higher quality version of a Charon image released on July 15. Charon, which is 750 miles (1,200 kilometers) in diameter, displays a surprisingly complex geological history, including tectonic fracturing; relatively smooth, fractured plains in the lower right; several enigmatic mountains surrounded by sunken terrain features on the right side; and heavily cratered regions in the center and upper left portion of the disk. There are also complex reflectivity patterns on Charon’s surface, including bright and dark crater rays, and the conspicuous dark north polar region at the top of the image. The smallest visible features are 2.9 miles 4.6 kilometers) in size
This synthetic perspective view of Pluto, based on the latest high-resolution images to be downlinked from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, shows what you would see if you were approximately 1,100 miles (1,800 kilometers) above Pluto’s equatorial area, looking northeast over the dark, cratered, informally named Cthulhu Regio toward the bright, smooth, expanse of icy plains informally called Sputnik Planum. The entire expanse of terrain seen in this image is 1,100 miles (1,800 kilometers) across. The images were taken as New Horizons flew past Pluto on July 14, 2015, from a distance of 50,000 miles (80,000 kilometers).—
Mosaic of high-resolution images of Pluto, transmitted by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft from Sept. 5 to 7, 2015. The image is dominated by the informally-named icy plain Sputnik Planum, the smooth, bright region across the center. This image also features a tremendous variety of other landscapes surrounding Sputnik. The smallest visible features are 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) in size, and the mosaic covers a region roughly 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) wide. The image was taken as New Horizons flew past Pluto on July 14, 2015, from a distance of 50,000 miles (80,000 kilometers). The two white rectangles show the locations of the two closeup views by New Horizons, released separately.The areas in the rectangles can be seen in more detail at Chaos Region and Dark Areas.
Astronaut Scholarship Foundation to Host
Bi-Annual Online Auction of Space Memorabilia Money raised from sale of 46 collectibles and astronaut experiences
to help fund STEM scholarships for outstanding college students
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – From unique collectibles and signed memorabilia to one-of-a-kind flown artifacts, the public will have its chance to bid on some of the hottest space keepsakes when the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) hosts its fall 2015 online auction beginning Sept. 19. Money raised from the auction will play a key role in funding college scholarships for outstanding science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) students across the United States.
“The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation is very fortunate to have such strong relationships with so many astronauts who are willing to donate their personal space memorabilia in support of our mission,” said Tammy Knowles, ASF’s executive director. “Our bi-annual online auction is filled with collectible items from more than five decades of space travel, all personally donated by astronauts and patrons. These generous gifts help us raise significant dollars to help shape the next generation of science and technology leaders.”
The auction will take place beginning at 9 a.m. Eastern on Saturday, Sept. 19 and run through Friday, Sept. 25 at 10 p.m. Eastern. A special preview of this year’s auction will open on Friday, Sept. 18 at 9 a.m. Eastern. The preview allows the public to register, obtain their bidding numbers and get a sneak peek at the items. This season, there are a total of 46 lots up for bid, including:
Official NASA Apollo Earth Orbit Chart signed by 13 Apollo astronauts, including four who walked on the Moon (Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr., Alan Bean, Eugene “Gene” Cernan and Charles “Charlie” Duke, Jr.). Entitled “Apollo Mission 12, For November 1969 Launch Dates,” this first edition chart measures approximately 13.5 inches by 42 inches.
Skylab Astronaut Maneuvering Unit (AMU) checklist cover, which was flown during Skylab 4 and worn on the cuffs of astronauts Gerald “Jerry” Carr, Edward Gibson and William Pogue as they worked in space.
Flown Apollo 14 beta cloth patch, silkscreened with the mission insignia and signed by astronaut Edgar Mitchell. The patch is made from the same material used to create fire-resistant space suits.
Skylab-Flown, serial-numbered pen and pencil, which were launched with the Skylab workshop in May 1973 and returned to Earth with the final Skylab crew in February 1974.
In addition, the ASF will auction four of its signature “Astronaut Experiences,” which offer bidders the chance to win a one-on-one encounter with a space explorer. This year’s experiences include:
A behind-the-scenes, VIP tour for two at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, donated by Jacobs Technology, Inc., the corporate sponsor of ASF’s Workforce Initiative.
Two tickets, plus an astronaut special table guest, to the Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in May 2016.
Two breathtaking hiking adventures (one of which to take place in Shenandoah National Park).
While ASF has hosted live and silent auctions during its fundraising events over the past 30 years, the organization branched into online auctions in the early 2000s to appeal to a broader audience.
“Our online auction allows us to reach collectors around the world, who might not be able to attend one of our fundraising events,” Knowles said. “Over the past 10 years, auctions such as this one have helped us raise in excess of $1.5 million for our scholarship program.”
People interested in participating in the fall 2015 online auction must register in advance, beginning Sept. 18. Once the auction opens, participants may submit bids as many times as desired during the bidding period using the forms located on each lot page.
Winning bidders will be notified via email. Items will be shipped at the bidder’s expense. Cash, checks and credit cards will be accepted for payment of items. The full list of rules and regulations will be posted online on Sept. 18.
About the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation: Founded in 1984 by the surviving Mercury 7 astronauts, the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) helps the United States retain its world leadership in science and technology. Through the garnered support of astronauts, industry leaders, educational institutions and patrons, ASF awards merit-based scholarships to the best and brightest university students who excel in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The prestigious Astronaut Scholarship is known nationwide for being among the highest scholarships awarded to undergraduate STEM students. Since its inception, ASF has awarded in excess of $4 million in scholarships to more than 470 of the nation’s top scholars.
The brightest spots on the dwarf planet Ceres gleam with mystery in new views delivered by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft. These closest-yet views of Occator crater, with a resolution of 450 feet (140 meters) per pixel, give scientists a deeper perspective on these very unusual features.
This image, made using images taken by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, shows Occator crater on Ceres, home to a collection of intriguing bright spots. The bright spots are much brighter than the rest of Ceres’ surface, and tend to appear overexposed in most images. This view is a composite of two images of Occator: one using a short exposure that captures the detail in the bright spots, and one where the background surface is captured at normal exposure. The images were obtained by Dawn during the mission’s High Altitude Mapping Orbit (HAMO) phase, from which the spacecraft imaged the surface at a resolution of about 450 feet (140 meters) per pixel. Larger imageThe new up-close view of Occator crater from Dawn’s current vantage point reveals better-defined shapes of the brightest, central spot and features on the crater floor. Because these spots are so much brighter than the rest of Ceres’ surface, the Dawn team combined two different images into a single composite view — one properly exposed for the bright spots, and one for the surrounding surface.
Scientists also have produced animations that provide a virtual fly-around of the crater, including a colorful topographic map.
Dawn scientists note the rim of Occator crater is almost vertical in some places, where it rises steeply for 1 mile (nearly 2 kilometers).
Views from Dawn’s current orbit, taken at an altitude of 915 miles (1,470 kilometers), have about three times better resolution than the images the spacecraft delivered from its previous orbit in June, and nearly 10 times better than in the spacecraft’s first orbit at Ceres in April and May.
“Dawn has transformed what was so recently a few bright dots into a complex and beautiful, gleaming landscape,” said Marc Rayman, Dawn’s chief engineer and mission director based at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. “Soon, the scientific analysis will reveal the geological and chemical nature of this mysterious and mesmerizing extraterrestrial scenery.”
The spacecraft has already completed two 11-day cycles of mapping the surface of Ceres from its current altitude, and began the third on Sept. 9. Dawn will map all of Ceres six times over the next two months. Each cycle consists of 14 orbits. By imaging Ceres at a slightly different angle in each mapping cycle, Dawn scientists will be able to assemble stereo views and construct 3-D maps.
Dawn is the first mission to visit a dwarf planet, and the first to orbit two distinct solar system targets. It orbited protoplanet Vesta for 14 months in 2011 and 2012, and arrived at Ceres on March 6, 2015.
Dawn’s mission is managed by JPL for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Dawn is a project of the directorate’s Discovery Program, managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital ATK Inc., in Dulles, Virginia, designed and built the spacecraft. The German Aerospace Center, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Italian Space Agency and Italian National Astrophysical Institute are international partners on the mission team. For a complete list of mission participants, visit: dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission
More information about Dawn is available at the following sites:
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