New Desktop Application Has Potential To Increase Asteroid Detection, Now Available To Public

A software application based on an algorithm created by a NASA challenge has the potential to increase the number of new asteroid discoveries by amateur astronomers.

Analysis of images taken of our solar system's main belt asteroids between Mars and Jupiter using the algorithm showed a 15 percent increase in positive identification of new asteroids.

During a panel Sunday at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, NASA representatives discussed how citizen scientists have made a difference in asteroid hunting. They also announced the release of a desktop software application developed by NASA in partnership with Planetary Resources, Inc., of Redmond, Washington. The application is based on an Asteroid Data Hunter-derived algorithm that analyzes images for potential asteroids. It's a tool that can be used by amateur astronomers and citizen scientists.

The Asteroid Data Hunter challenge was part of NASA's Asteroid Grand Challenge. The data hunter contest series, which was conducted in partnership with Planetary Resources under a Space Act Agreement, was announced at the 2014 South by Southwest Festival and concluded in December. The series offered a total of $55,000 in awards for participants to develop significantly improved algorithms to identify asteroids in images captured by ground-based telescopes. The winning solutions of each piece of the contest combined to create an application using the best algorithm that increased the detection sensitivity, minimized the number of false positives, ignored imperfections in the data, and ran effectively on all computer systems.

"The Asteroid Grand Challenge is seeking non-traditional partnerships to bring the citizen science and space enthusiast community into NASA's work," said Jason Kessler, program executive for NASA's Asteroid Grand Challenge. "The Asteroid Data Hunter challenge has been successful beyond our hopes, creating something that makes a tangible difference to asteroid hunting astronomers and highlights the possibility for more people to play a role in protecting our planet."

The data hunter challenge incorporated data provided by the Minor Planet Center (MPC), at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and images provided by the Catalina Sky Survey, an astronomical survey project run by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and focused on the discovery and study of near-Earth asteroids and comets.

"We applaud all the participants in the Asteroid Data Hunter challenge. We are extremely encouraged by the algorithm created and it's already making a difference. This increase in knowledge will help assess more quickly which asteroids are potential threats, human destinations or resource rich," said Chris Lewicki, president and chief engineer at Planetary Resources. "It has been exciting for our team to work with NASA on this project, and we also look forward to future space-based systems leveraging these results."

Astronomers find asteroids by taking images of the same place in the sky and looking for star-like objects that move between frames, an approach that has been used since before Pluto was discovered in 1930. With more telescopes scanning the sky, the ever-increasing volume of data makes it impossible for astronomers to verify each detection by hand. This new algorithm gives astronomers the ability to use computers to autonomously and rapidly check the images and determine which objects are suitable for follow up, which leads to finding more asteroids than previously possible.

"The beauty of such archives is that the data doesn't grow stale, and with novel approaches, techniques and algorithms, they can be harvested for new information. The participants of the Asteroid Data Hunter challenge did just that, probing observations of the night sky for new asteroids that might have slipped through the software cracks the first time the images were analyzed," said Jose Luis Galache of the MPC. "Moreover, this software can now be used to analyze new images and is available to any observer who wants to use it. The Minor Planet Center applauds these efforts to provide superior tools to all, and looks forward to receiving new asteroid observations generated with them."

The desktop software application is free and can be used on any basic desktop or laptop computer. Amateur astronomers may take images from their telescopes and analyze them with the application. The application will tell the user whether a matching asteroid record exists and offer a way to report new findings to the Minor Planet Center, which then confirms and archives new discoveries.

Through NASA's asteroid initiative, the agency seeks to enhance its ongoing work in the identification and characterization of near-Earth objects for further scientific investigation. This work includes locating potentially hazardous asteroids and identifying those viable for redirection to a stable lunar orbit for future exploration by astronauts using NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. The Asteroid Grand Challenge, one part of the asteroid initiative, expands the agency's efforts beyond traditional boundaries and encourages partnerships and collaboration with a variety of organizations.

Application can be downloaded at:topcoder.com/asteroids

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Japan Space Scientists Make Wireless Energy Breakthrough

Japanese scientists from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have taken a breakthrough step toward making solar energy transmition from space wirelessly becoming a reality.Japanese scientists successfully utilized microwaves to deliver 1.8 kilowatts of power by the air to a pinpoint receiver 55 metres away without wire.In this process the researchers convert electrical signal into microwaves and send to a receiver.Then again convert into electrical signal.The major benefit of solar power generation in space is permanent availability of energy.

A spokesman for the JAXA said,"this was the first time anyone has managed to send a high output of nearly two kilowatts of electric power via microwaves to a small target, using a delicate directivity control device." He also said, "while the distance in Mitsubishi's experiment was not huge, the technology could pave the way for humankind to eventually tap the vast amount of solar energy in space."

JAXA has been working on Space Solar Power Systems project for years and has target to send solar power from space to Earth by using microwave transmission, the spokesman said.The microwave-transmitting solar satellites have antennae and panels for gathering sunlight, which transmit microwaves from an altitude of 36,000 kilometres.The JAXA spokesman forecasted that the practical application of this technology could take years, hope so it could be launched in 2040.

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Airship concept, hybrid between drone and satellite

A new project of an autonomous airship has introduced which work as a drone and a satellite as well.This prototype airship is known as "StratoBus", has been developed in Europe.This project is organized by Thales Alenia Space ,Airbus Defence & Space, Zodiac Marine and CEA-Liten, and airship is able to perform a several actions such as border monitoring and maritime surveillance, telecommunications, broadcasting and navigation.

According to the company notes, "We design, integrate, test and operate high-performance satellite technologies in both civil and defense sectors."

The StratoBus is 70 to 100 meters long and 20 to 30 meters in diameter with the shell fabric is made of carbon fiber.The StratoBus will be able to support payloads up to 200 kg and work at an altitude of about 20 kilometers in the lower levels of the stratosphere but above air traffic and jet streams. 

"This prototype airship has Potential to perform different tasks like monitoring, boosting GSM network capacity for public events and GPS augmentation over dense traffic areas", company said.

One of the main purpose of this airship is carries "technological innovations" and will be able to capture the sun's rays.The airship will be equipped with solar panels and a light reversible fuel cell for energy storage.The first prototype is planned to be introduced within the next five years.

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The shortest day of the year: December Solstice 2013

Winter Solstice 2013:-

The December solstice happens when the sun reaches south pole at -23.5 degrees and the North Pole is 23.5 degrees away from the sun.According to the Gregorian calendar, the December solstice happens between December 20 and December 23.When it happens all places are in darkness which are above a latitude of 66.5 degrees north and rest of places are get 24 hours of daylight which are below a latitude of 66.5 degrees south.The sun is directly overhead on the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere during the December solstice. It also makes the longest day of the year in terms of daylight hours for those living south of the equator.All locations south of the equator have day lengths greater than 12 hours at the December solstice. Meanwhile, all locations north of the equator have day lengths less than 12 hours.Those who are living towards the South Pole will see the midnight sun during this time of the year and those who are living towards the North Pole will not be able to see the sun during this time of the year.In the northern hemisphere, the December solstice marks the day of the year with the least hours of daylight.Earth does not move at a fix speed in its elliptical orbit.Therefore the seasons are different of length.The relative location of the Earth's axis to the sun changes during the cycle of seasons. This fact is the reason why the sun’s height above the horizon changes throughout the year. It is also responsible for the seasons through managing the intensity and duration of sunlight received at several different locations around the planet.In ancient times the December solstice has played an important role in the lives of many people.The December solstice is also known as the "summer solstice" in the southern hemisphere. It is the winter solstice only in the northern hemisphere.In Poland the ancient December solstice people involved showing forgiveness and sharing food. It was a tradition that can still be seen in what is known as Gody.In the NE corner of Pakistan and among the Kalash Kafir people,celebrates a seven day celebration takes place in the Winter Solstice.In the Neolithic and Bronze Age, Winter Solstice was a way for people to find the actual time for harvests and sowing of new crops.

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China to launch moon rock-collecting probe in 2017

China to launch moon rock collecting:-

China to launch a fifth lunar probe with the purpose of bringing lunar soil and rocks samples back to Earth after a successful moon landing of another space probe.The new mission planned for 2017 would mark the third and final phase of China's robotic lunar exploration program and pave the way for possibly landing an astronaut on the moon after 2020.Wu Zhijian, spokesman for the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense said "Phase three will be a difficult task."On Saturday, Chang'e 3 landed on the moon, marking the first soft landing of a space probe on the moon's surface in 37 years and will lead or guide scientific examinations of the landing site for a year and the rover will move about and examine the moon's structure and look for natural resources.China sent its first astronaut into space in 2003, becoming the third nation after Russia and the United States.Chang'e 4 is designed to be an improved version of the Chang'e 3 that will pave the way for the fifth probe.

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Life on Mars: Martian fresh water lake may have supported life

Martian fresh water lake may have supported life

NASA says Curiosity rover has found fact of an ancient fresh water lake on Mars that existed 3.5 billion years ago and may have supported small organisms life for ten millions of years, but uncertain about the origin of the organic matter.“This environment would have been almost earthlike,” says Caltech planetary scientist and MSL project scientist John Grotzinger, “in terms of geochemistry and in the presence of water.”The water wasn’t big news, sign that Mars was once a very wet place has been coming in since the early 1970’s, when the Mariner 9 orbiter first marked what looked uncannily like dry riverbeds.
Curiosity examined solid material from the bottom of a long vanished lake and found that it harbours large amounts of organic matter of some kind.It is think possible that over 4 billion years ago Mars may have had sufficient fresh water on its surface to produce clay minerals which may have supported life but that it underwent drying that left any remaining water is acidic and briny to support life.Tons of organic matter falls on Mars every year in the form of meteorites and cosmic dust.The environment around Gale Crater in Yellowknife Bay where Curiosity made the discovery does not seem to have been very pleasant environment for life.By drilling into not protected sedimentary rock at a site nicknamed Yellowknife Bay, the rover has discovered minerals containing hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen and sulfur.Such a lake would supply (give) ideal circumstances for simple microbes life such as chemolithoautotrophs to thrive in.On Earth, chemolithoautotrophs are commonly found in caves and around hydrothermal vents. The microbes break down rocks and minerals for energy.

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LUNA RING To Turn Moon Into Solar Power Collector

LUNA RING to send solar energy from moon to Earth:-

Japanese construction firm Shimizu Corporation has introduced a proposal which would see a solar panel array built around the moon’s equator, collecting solar energy and sent back to Earth. They are calling the project LUNA RING.Due to the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan back in March 2011 scientists have been scrambling to find ways to create electricity for the country in other ways.A private company is reaching the sky.The company say, is to lay down a band of concrete which can be made of moon soil, 250 miles wide around the moon's equator, a distance of approximately 6,800 miles.The concrete would be covered with solar panels, which would be connected via cables to microwave and laser transmission stations.The energy beams sent from the moon would be received at receiving stations on Earth.Shimizu said that the system would be capable of sending 13,000 terawatts of power and construction could begin earlier as possible as 2035.While the cost and difficulties in place have not been addressed, and suggest that Shimizu are not entirely serious about the plan, it does make it very clear the lengths to which Japan are willing to go to gain energy independence.

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SeaOrbiter; A new journey to explore the oceans

SeaOrbiter; A new journey to explore the 

oceans:-

An ocean-based research laboratory called the SeaOrbiter.The SeaOrbiter is part giant ship and part giant submarine.The station will have laboratories, workshops, living quarters and a pressurized deck to support divers and submarines.The SeaOrbiter will also allow scientists to remain at sea and underwater for long periods of time. The SeaOrbiter which is spaceship like shape and French architect Jacques Rougerie has designed, also included the world's leading ocean and space experts and supported by NASA and National Geograghic.The cost is expected approximately $52.7 million.The laboratory is semi-submersible vessel and weighs 1000 tons and has height about 58 meters with 31 meters below sea level.It will travel with the ocean's currents and It will harvest energy from wind, sun, and waves and is designed to float vertically with its two small propellers.In sea robots can be sent from the laboratory. 

The SeaOrbiter is made of an alloy, five times thicker than a conventional vessel.
Jacques Rougerie said in the folks at Fast Company: “The SeaOrbiter is the synthesis of everything that we have been able to do at sea.It’s another way to explore and better comprehend the underwater universe and bring human life at sea to another level on a 24/7 basis and over long periods.”

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Next Satellite for Better Weather Forecasting

NASA’s Next Satellite For Better Weather Forecasting:-

NASA and JAXA create the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory Satellite for international weather and give precipitation updates around the world.New satellite, a partnership between NASA and Japan’s space agency JAXA, will provide accurate predictions about weather, famine and storms.

GPM will launch in February 2014.New satellite have two radars and a microwave which make it much more powerful.GPM will be the first satellite to measure falling snow.

The Tropical Rainfal Measuring Mission (TRMM) in 1997 had held the record as the largest satellite,the GPM Core Observatory breaks that record with,

• height:- 21 feet
•  wingspan:- 43 feet
• weight:-  8500 lbs

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8.8 billion stars were discovered like Earth-size planets in the Habitable Temperature Zone

8.8 billion stars with Earth-size planets in the Habitable Temperature Zone:-

Habitable Planets

Astronomers have discovered a planet orbiting a nearby sun, an Earth-like climate that could support life.

Kelper 22b

Kelper 22b

The planet, which orbits a star 42 light years away, sits in the so-called Goldilocks Zone, the band around a sun where temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water to exist.one of three super-Earth type planets recently discovered orbiting HD 40307, doubling the number of known planets in that system to six.

There are at least 8.8 billion stars with Earth-size planets in the habitable temperature zone.In the Milky Way, about 1 in 5 stars that are like our sun.

• There are about 200 billion stars in our galaxy,
•  with 40 billion of them like our sun,
• The planet has a mass at least seven times that of Earth.
• It receives a similar amount of solar energy as Earth gets.
• More than 800 planets have been discovered outside our solar system.
• Those that don't spin are said to be tidally locked, with one half in constant darkness.
•  Planets in the zone that rotate, create a day-time and night-time, Earth-like environment.
• Longer orbit of the new planet means that its climate and atmosphere to support life. 

  

  Kelper 69c

  

  Kelper 69c

  
  

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Nasa prepares to send Maven spacecraft to Mars

Nasa prepares to send Maven spacecraft to Mars:-

Nasa prepares to launch its Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or Maven, spacecraft on 18 November.

The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission (MAVEN) will examine specific processes on Mars that led to the loss of much of its atmosphere. 

Data and analysis could tell planetary scientists the history of climate change on the Red Planet and provide further information on the history of planetary habitability.The 5,410-pound spacecraft will launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket on a 10-month journey to Mars. 

After arriving at Mars in September 2014, MAVEN will settle into its elliptical science orbit.

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Sun Continues to Emit Solar Flares:-

The sun is currently in an active phase of its 11-year solar cycle.After emitting its first significant solar flares since June 2013 earlier in the week, the sun continued to produce mid-level and significant solar flares on Oct. 27 and Oct. 28, 2013.

Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however when intense enough they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.

One of the larger flares was classified as an X1.0 flare, which peaked at 10:03 p.m.An X2 is twice as intense than an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc.It was discovered in 1843.

The solar flare activity has been travel With coronal mass ejections or CMEs,that can reach on Earth one to three days later.These particles cannot travel through the atmosphere and affect electronic systems in satellites and on the surface of the earth.CMEs can cause a space weather phenomenon called a geomagnetic storm and also cause aurora.Minor storming at very high latitudes will be possible if the incoming plasma cloud sweeps past Earth. Be on the lookout for visible aurora at very high latitudes.

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