Symphony of Science has done it again…
Wow. Yeah, what they said.
Don’t forget to check out the first four: A Glorious Dawn, We Are All Connected, Our Place in the Cosmos, and The Unbroken Thread.
(via Bad Astronomy)
Entries from February 2010
A silly little video I made…
February 26, 2010 · Leave a Comment
… with a not-so-little Saturn V. Starring Pluto Little Dippy, last semester’s mascot for Dark Skies, Bright Kids.
We’re doing a kickoff party today for a new school, yay! If you don’t hear from me in a few days, it’s probably because I’ve been trampled by 80 over-enthusiastic kidlets. Wheeeee!
Categories: education · outreach
Tagged: ksc, moon, nasa, space, technology, videos
Astro-Carnival and Astro-Molecules
February 23, 2010 · Leave a Comment
A Pikachu-tastic Carnival of Space is up at Astroblog. Travel down under to read about spaceflight, the solar system, galaxies, and more!
Also, while you are browsing, check out this cool chart of the planets and moons of our solar system and the molecules that have been discovered in their atmospheres! This came up in our seminar on the Atacama Large Millimeter Array which is going to be a boon to astrochemistry.
SDO and Space Weather
February 20, 2010 · 3 Comments
The Solar Dynamics Observatory launched last week for the thrilled scientists and engineers who have worked for years on this mission, some happy #SDOisGO TweetUp participants, and countless other space fans around the world. (The who? The wha? Oh, pretty!)
LEGO SDO, designed by spectacular SpaceTweep John Knight
SDO’s EVE instrument (Extreme-ultraviolet Variability Experiment) is particularly interesting to me since these EUV photons from the sun are what drives the Earth’s ionosphere. The ionosphere is the outermost layer of the Earth’s atmosphere and consists of ionized, or charged particles. As new low frequency radio telescope capabilities have been coming online at the VLA, GMRT, LOFAR, LWA, MWA, and, my home, PAPER*, the ionosphere is gaining more attention, and not the good kind. Just as the lower levels of the atmosphere cause all kinds of scintillation and “twinkling” to annoy visible light observers, the ionosphere refracts and distorts light coming in at low radio frequencies. (Well, low for astronomers, that is… less than a few 100 MHz!) This is particularly troubling since all of these telescopes are interferometers, or systems of multiple radio antennas linked together to make one telescope. Images are made by measuring the difference between the arrival of light at different antennas, and this difference can be skewed by a turbulent ionosphere. And the ionosphere changes in density and turbulence, based on the solar output! See, it all ties together.
As the sun rises over a part of the world, the UV light ionizes particles in atmosphere, making the ionosphere more dense, and for a short period of the morning, more turbulent. Click for animated goodness!
I have to admit, of course, there are more pressing concerns than radio astronomy. The ionosphere will also have an effect on GPS signals. As we start the upswing in the solar cycle, more turbulence in the ionosphere will mean larger position errors and even times when the signals cannot propagate at all. Monitoring systems can do their best to account for changes in the ionosphere, but an early warning system will help those who have to make very precise GPS measurements (not just you and your TomTom) plan their activities. EVE will measure the extreme-ultraviolet output of the sun on 10-second time scales, 30 times better than previous instruments could. Therefore, solar physicists will be able to better understand the signs and signals of a sun that is about to make our ionosphere dance around.
That’s it, for now, for my sciencey SDO posts. I can’t wait to see what new discoveries start rolling in when science operations begin. I’ll probably have one more SDO post soon, about the TweetUp itself!
*Yeah, NASA, we can play alphabet soup, too!
In the meantime…
February 18, 2010 · 2 Comments
Back at work this week… going through the usual OMGGRADSCHOOLPANIC and so less time to write, for fun anyway. In the meantime, there’s a new Carnival of Space #141 up at Starry Critters. There’s more fun stuff on STS-130, SDO (of course), those cute little CubeSats and CubeLabs, and that’s just around the Earth! There are galaxies and moons and gravity and more in a really great carnival this week.
So, were any of you on Twitter when I was asking specifics about goat noises? Why was I asking that? Well, find out at this week’s Amateur Scientist Podcast, where Brian brings the awesome, Christian brings the funny, and I just try and hang along for the ride. (If you didn’t already know, language NSFW, and sarcasm not safe for Sheldon Cooper.)
That’s all for now… I feel like there was something else, but I can’t remember now. But I also post random, fun, and cool things on Tumblr as well!
Categories: astronomy · fun · skeptic
Tagged: carnival, podcasts, space
SDO is GO!!!!!
February 11, 2010 · 9 Comments
Today, we could finally, honestly, say… SDO is GO!!! The Solar Dynamics Observatory launched today at 10:23am EST by an Atlas V from Kennedy Space Center. (The wha? The this! And this!) And we got to see this:
A few people got this shot, but George is sitting right next to me!
And there’s video of it as well. I haven’t seen an embeddable version yet, but click to see this one hosted on spaceweather.com, taken by 13-year-old Anna Herbst from California. The ripples were seen in the clouds as a result of a shockwave just after the craft went supersonic and as it hit “max-Q” or the point at which the pressure on the craft is at its maximum. (I didn’t keep track of the timing, but Nancy Atkinson of Universe Today did!)
Such a shockwave occurs when an object is moving through a medium faster than the speed of sound in that medium (the atmosphere, in this case). The speed of sound sets the limit of how fast information about the gas can travel within that gas in the atmosphere. Sharp discontinuities in temperature, pressure, and density can occur. We could “see” these discontinuities as it reached the cirrus clouds. For whatever reason, it appeared to bust up the cloud material that was creating the sundog.
Little SDO put on quite a show in its first few minutes as a spacecraft! I’ll be writing more on SDO science and our amazing TweetUp adventure, once I get some darn sleep…
Categories: science
Tagged: cool, picture, space, sun, videos
SDO Almost Ready to Go!
February 10, 2010 · 3 Comments
Disclaimer: This week/TweetUp has been super fun so far, and also super busy, so I’m more sleep deprived than normal. Any rambliness/wrongness besides what is normal… apologies in advance.
As part of the Kennedy Space Center #SDOisGO TweetUp event, we attended the Guest Mission Briefing for the Solar Dynamics Observatory. (The wha? This!) Since I couldn’t share some of the interesting tidbits inside the signal-less room, here’s a bit of what I picked up! Elizabeth Citrin, project manager for SDO at Goddard, gave a pictorial overview of much of the assembly. The 15-foot tall, three ton spacecraft was carefully put together and integrated (while all held their breath that it would fit!) after the three science instruments had been developed by their home institutions. We also watched a cool launch simulation video, which is also on YouTube:
Dean Pesnell, project scientist gave a great talk highlighting the science goals and instruments of SDO. And I have to really commend him for that. I complain at times that not enough scientists know how to give public talks, but he nailed it, even when his video simulations didn’t work. So bravo for that! I already touched on much of the science that he discussed in my last post, but I did not yet talk about the specifics of the HMI, or Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager. Pesnell showed us some example dopplergrams, which will help probe the interior of the sun. A dopplergram shows the line-of-sight velocities across the surface of the sun, so you can see individual regions moving in and out. This is done by measuring the Doppler shift of a spectral line of iron with a resolution on the disk of the sun of 1 arcsecond. (1 arcsec = 1/3600 degrees, and the sun is about half a degree across in the sky!) So, that’s technically impressive, and it gives us information about the dynamics underneath the sun’s surface. The measurements will be so accurate that you can “see” sunspots on the opposite side of the sun! (That is, you can detect the motion pattern even while the sunspots are rotated away.) THAT is pretty amazing. The instrument simultaneously measures the polarization or orientation, of the light at these wavelengths, which is determined by the magnetic field orientation. The spectral lines themselves are “split” into two by magnetic fields, so this measures their strength, as well. With the HMI, we can “see” invisible magnetic fields and peer into the sun. This is a really exciting instrument and a step up from previous technology onboard SOHO.
As I predicted, I’m getting a bit rambly… but that’s ok. The last two talks were by Stephen Francois, launch services program manager, and Vernon Thorpe, program manager for United Launch Alliance. These focused more on the rocket systems, with which I am much less familiar. For example, I did not know that Launch Services works with each NASA mission to find the best rocket for its journey. The Atlas V was chosen for SDO back in 2004 because of its larger size and high orbit. The Atlas design goes back 53 years and is probably most famous for lifting astronaut John Glenn into orbit for his Mercury flight. I am pretty excited to see the 191-foot rocket takeoff tomorrow from what will probably be a VIP vantage point. The first stage will burn for 4 minutes, then switch to the Centaur second stage for 11 minutes. Then, it will switch into “coast” mode for 87 minutes until it reaches somewhere over the east coast of Australia. Then, a three minute burn is needed to push the spacecraft into an elliptical orbit with apogee (furthest point) at geosynchronous orbit. The next two months will be spent commissioning the spacecraft and moving it to it’s circular, geosynchronous orbit above New Mexico. And then will come the science!
That’s all for now… be sure to tune in to NASA TV for the 10:26am launch! I’m sure I’ll be back with a little more about EVE (my other favorite SDO instrument), the launch itself, and the TweetUp people and events!
UPDATE: It launched successfully on the second attempt!
LIFTOFF!
February 8, 2010 · 4 Comments
Wow.
STS-130 lifted off at 4:14AM on 8 February 2010. The crew of the space shuttle Endeavor was strapped in for a second launch attempt after the previous morning’s attempt had been scrubbed for a low cloud ceiling. A few miles away, on a much emptier and slightly warmer causeway, the space tweeps gathered once again to see Endeavor lift into the sky.
The weather forecast was red for most of the night. Weather forecasters were, however, cautiously optimistic. We cheered as the forecast turned to green when the clouds broke up just before 4AM.
As the launch countdown came out of a hold and began counting down from the 9 minute mark, we raced to get our cameras, and ourselves, ready for the Big Moment. My little camera sat on a gorillapod, wrapped around a folding chair, ready for video. Aleya took some last video of us bouncing excitedly, and the guys and gals with fancy cameras got their last settings set. Tweets were sent, and we began the countdown. New Years Eve has nothing on this countdown!
At ignition start, the little white dot with the barely resolvable wings that we had been gazing at for two nights began to flare up. A cloud of smoke billowed up in front as the tiny, distant rocket began its ride up a column of fire into the sky. We screamed our little heads off. I swore I could feel the heat on my face, but maybe that was just the rush of excitement.
Unlike in all the pictures, the flames burned a bright yellow. We felt the rumble of takeoff and heard the crackling like fireworks. This was it. As the shuttle curved to our right, six astronauts were being launched into orbit.
With a cloud of smoke left behind, Endeavor became a bright star, fading slowly as it set off for the International Space Station. I almost missed the rapid brightening as the solid rocket boosters separated, as I was too busy hugging people and making sure I didn’t lose my camera. I finally started to cry, like I do for every launch I watch on tv. Only it wasn’t a quiet tear to myself, but a laughing cry! There was no time, as the voice over the speakers urged us to get away from the causeway as an acid rain cloud was on its way, and we had trekked pretty far from the car. I got my things, got back on Twitter, and kept hugging more Space Tweeps on the way.
This was my first live launch, and one of the last launches of the space shuttle program. I know that NASA’s manned spaceflight program is having a rough time, and I don’t know what to say about that. I am, however, optimistic that we’ll be reaching further and further away from our home planet, even if progress seems slow at the moment. It’s just part of our nature.
My launch video:
Aleya’s FANTASTIC video of the SDOisGO crew at both nights… plus the launch itself. With cool tunes!
Categories: general
Tagged: astronauts, space
Shuttle Launch Attempt… take one!
February 7, 2010 · Leave a Comment
So…. the launch of STS-130 was scrubbed last night. The crew of six was primed and ready to deliver the Tranquility module to the International Space Station, and the shuttle itself was all ready for liftoff! The weather, however, would not cooperate. We kept swinging between “go” and “no-go” due to a low cloud ceiling. We were out on the causeway in the 40-ish degree weather taking pictures, tweeting away, and drinking coffee and tea to stay warm and awake. We’ll be out there again tonight for the second attempt, so if you are staying/waking up, join the virtual party! (#STS130)
Pretty pretty shuttle pic by George. Also check out pretty pictures by Catherine. And my less pretty ones.
Also, as the shuttle gets bumped by 24 hours, so does the launch of the Solar Dynamics Observatory and all the #SDOisGO events! Stay tuned…
Thanks for the good times @privong, @blueskeyes207, @histella, @catherineq, @spacemanandy, @astrogerly, @johnmknight, @cmilesbaker, and probably more I’m forgetting! Also live-tweeting the launch were @Nancy_A, @moonrangerlaura, and @milesobrien.
Categories: science
Tagged: astronauts, space, twitter
SDO: Learning to Live with our Sun
February 6, 2010 · 10 Comments
I am such a happy girl right now. After some 13 hours in the car, (more for some!) George, Aleya, James and I made it to Titusville, Florida. We are here for the SDOisGO TweepUp event, and we’re catching the launch of STS-130 while we’re here! So what exactly is the SDO?
SDO stands for Solar Dynamics Observatory. This is the first mission of NASA’s Living With a Star program. We may think that Earth is the most important place in the solar system, but the Sun is the real powerhouse. We who live on this tiny rock in orbit about its fiery bulk must learn to live with what is, in its own way, a variable star.
The sun in extreme UV, as captured throughout one cycle by SOHO
The sun goes through a cycle of high and low activity. This manifests itself in a greater number of sunspots, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections about every eleven years. Sunspots are darkened, cooler areas of the sun, but they tell a tale of force and violence underneath. They are often linked with solar flares, which are explosions in the atmosphere of the sun that occur when magnetic energy is released. In an extremely energetic event, a coronal mass ejection can hurl electrons and protons away from the sun at incredible speeds, averaging 500 miles per hour kilometers per second! If a CME or flare is directed at Earth, these can cause power failures and disrupt satellites. As we become increasingly dependent on our power grids, cell phones, GPS, and yes, even your satellite radio, better forecasting is needed to predict such events. Enter SDO.
SDO has three instruments that will send back data on the Sun simultaneously and 24 hours a day. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) has four telescopes, looking at a total of ten bands, or colors, with super-high definition quality. Continually imaging the Sun’s surface and atmosphere, it will allow scientists to track the evolution of surface features and flares with a time resolution as small as 0.75 seconds. The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) will probe deeply into the sun and map the magnetic field structure. (How? Well, that’s so cool, I’ll devote a whole post to it later this week.) My favorite instrument of the bunch is the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE). This does just what the name says, measure the variability of the output of the sun at far-UV wavelengths. Why is that so important? UV light from the sun creates and shapes the ionosphere of the Earth. The ionosphere is the outermost layer of the Earth’s atmosphere, and although it has many beneficial effects on life, it’s a pain for low frequency radio astronomers such as myself. (So, let’s just say this will get a devoted post as well.)
SDO will sit in a geosynchronous orbit above Las Cruces, New Mexico, where a dedicated radio station will be ready to gobble up the 130 Mbps of data that this mission will send back. Project scientists are calling this an “avalanche of data.” This fits in with the trend of many modern telescopes, such as the EVLA and ALMA, producing much more data than astronomers have ever dealt with before. New techniques for handling and distributing these data are always needed.
But, don’t just take it from me. Here’s an official SDO video!
Want to get involved in solar research right now? The premier site for citizen science in astronomy, Zooniverse, has a project called Solar Stormwatch. You learn how to look for and identify solar flares, and then look at some real data from previous missions and discover solar flares better than any automated image recognition software can.
Stay tuned for more updates from KSC as we begin our adventure, and join in at a local or virtual TweetUp for the launch! I’ll be blogging here and posting pictures on Flickr. George is posting his gorgeous (and silly) photos as well!
And while we’re wrapped up in all this spacey goodness, won’t you also check out the most recent Carnival of Space at Mama Joules!
SDO Spacecraft Image
Categories: astronomy · science
Tagged: carnival, space, sun, twitter
I’m a brand new post-doc in astronomy working as part of the 
