Space Scan

A black hole is an object with a gravitational field so powerful that a region of space becomes cut off from the rest of the universe, no matter and not even light can escape these strong clutches of gravity. Until now scientists from all over the world have tried to know the secrets of this amazing part of the universe, but according to a latest research, black holes might not exist, or at least not exist in a manner in which scientists have imagined it to be. Scientists till now thought that black holes are cloaked by an impenetrable “event horizon” or a point of no return. They think that anything that comes in the vicinity of this “event horizon” has no chances of survival and it falls from the universe for ever. According to Einstein’s theory of relativity light is also trapped inside black holes and no information about what fell into the hole can be recovered. Its now that the contradiction comes into being, scientists claim that information that goes into a black hole seems to have fallen out of the universe, this theory contradicts the equations of quantum mechanics, which always preserve information. To resolve this conflict researchers came to a conclusion that the information is not destroyed but it comes out of the black hole slowly encoded in a hypothetical flow of particles called Hawking radiation, which is thought to result from the black holes’ event horizons messing with the quantum froth that is ever-present in space. Still some other researchers opine that information may not be cut off in the first place so there is no question of it being recovered in any form. To prove this, researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, US, Continue reading “Black Holes: Do they really exist?” »

Space shuttle Atlantis has covered all the obstacles that were a part of its mission and is now ready to leave the station. The crew faced some problems when the Russian computers aboard the space station crashed, but once some of the systems were up and running and also passed the acid test laid down by Mission control, Atlantis was all set to return Earth. Atlantis crew ducked into the shuttle and closed the hatch in the anticipation of the undocking at 10:42 a.m. ET Tuesday. Among the returning crew members is Sunita Williams. She has been in orbit since the last six months. She has just set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman by staying in space for more than 188 days. She stated that it is hard for her to say goodbye to the station, she also said that it also means that progress is being made. Sunita Williams and Mission control exchanged some songs to mark the day. Williams’ stay was almost extended because of the failure of the Russian’s German-made computers. But finally some faulty lanes came to life. NASA stated that they now feel that the station is back where it is supposed to be. Atlantis crew will also be carrying the computers which did not recover once they crashed. Via: usatoday

Scientists have broken new ground by fabricating a mirror by coating a liquid with silver. This liquid mirror will be incorporated in moon-based telescopes to detect infrared light from dimmer stars that were not resolvable until now. Till date, it was considered impossible to fabricate such moon-compatible liquid mirrors by virtue of the fact that the temperatures as low as -147° Celsius in the moon were not conducive for such telescopes. The liquid mirror concept is independent of mercury, which is very dense. The liquid mirror concept involves the use of ‘ionic liquids’ or complex salts composed of large, cumbersome ions. This awkward nature of the ions does not allow formation of systematically stacked crystal structures when they cool. Consequently, they have very low freezing points and are averse to evaporation. This is a key feature of liquids that are used in the moon and hence, these are an automatic choice. The concept of Liquid mirrors is, however, not new. It has been observed that the surface of mercury produces a parabola, which is ideal for telescopic focus, on constant speed rotation in a gravity field. Liquid mirrors are a lot cheaper to make than ground glass mirrors, for any given diameter. This enables construction of very large mirrors, in the range of 6 metres in diameter, to use in astronomical telescopes across the globe. Via:newscientist

Two giant flying objects each up to a mile wide, suspected to be UFOs , were spotted in the sky near Guernsey (an island in the British channel) by an aircraft pilot and his passengers. This happened on Monday April 23rd near the island just off the coast of Normandy. The pilot, Capt Bowyer, was flying the plane from Alderney to Southampton when he spotted the objects. He saw the first object 40 miles west of Alderney. He said: “It was a sharp, thin yellow object. It was 2,000ft up, stationary, and about 40 miles from us. It could have been as much as a mile wide. I can’t explain it. It was visual for nine minutes. I’m not saying it was from another world. All I’m saying is I’ve never seen anything like it in all my years flying.” As he continued his flight to Alderney, he saw another similar object. He was simply shocked by what he saw. He said: “This is not something you see every day of the week – it was pretty scary.” The flying objects were also seen by passengers on board the plane. A 74 year old passenger named John, said: “I saw an orange light, It was like an elongated oval.” The deputy chairman of the British UFO Research Association, John Spencer, said it was not clear whether the sightings were really UFOs. He said: “These types of sightings have been reported by pilots since the 1940s. They are often thought to be aliens but many believe they more likely represent natural, atmospheric, phenomena not fully understood by science.” A Ministry of Defense spokesperson announced that while they do monitor air space for unusual foreign objects that might pose a threat, they would not carry out an investigation in this case. More: thesun Images: Ufodigest

Fancy going on a trip to the planet Mars? The European Space Agency is looking for volunteers to make a ‘pretend trip to Mars’. The duration of the trip would be two years. Living conditions would include cramped space and pre-packed food, similar to a spacecraft. The actual journey might as well happen some day. The voyage to the ‘Red Planet’ will surely create a landmark in history. According to the ESA, the crew traveling to Mars would experience extreme isolation and confinement. Planet Earth will be out of sight. It will take 40 minutes for a radio contact to travel to Earth and then back to the adventurers in space. ESA, along with the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP) have decided to send a joint crew of six people on a 520-day fake mission to Mars, in order to understand how humans might cope in such extreme circumstances. The ESA sees the journey to planet Mars as one of the last mammoth challenges before mankind and considers it a ‘dream’ yet to be fulfilled. The imitated journey would follow the mission profile of an actual Mars mission. It will even include a phase of exploration on the surface of Mars, according to ESA. The project would start with a 105-day study in 2008, followed by the full 520-day study late next year or early in 2009. A total of 12 volunteers will be required to complete the several test projects included in the program. The process of selection, according to the ESA, would be standardized to that of ESA astronauts. Although, psychological factors and stress resistance will be emphasized upon in these tests rather than physical fitness. Mars is approximately one and a half times as far away from the Sun as Earth is. Distance between the Mars and Earth varies. Planet Mars and Planet Earth were just 56 million km (35 million miles) away from each other in 2003.They were closest to each other in 60,000 years according to NASA. The two planets have been about 380 million km apart, when most distant from each other. Via : Stuff Image Credit : Scholastic

NASA is aiming to build an outpost on the moon by the end of 2020. The space research organization’s plan is commendable, but have they thought of all the astronauts who will have to spend months or even years on this sole natural satellite of Earth? According to a recent study conducted by professor Chester Spell of Rutgers School of Business, the mental health of astronauts is at risk if they have to remain in solitude or a very small company of their fellow astronauts for long durations. The problem is serious since the nearest counseling session will be millions of miles from them. If we talk about the proposed manned mission to the red planet then the things seem to be much worse as there astronauts will not be able to even talk to their family members for years. Are space agencies really prepared to tackle this problem…? I guess no because they are already busy developing technology that can be used to take humans to moon and Mars. The mental problems with astronauts is something that they should take a bit more seriously since the low gravity, extreme isolation and cramped conditions on moon will definitely show its toll on humans and if any member of the team feels down then the whole team will feel the same. Managers at NASA and other space agencies who are planning to send humans in space for long durations should put an emphasis on social interaction among the team members and not allow anyone to remain silent or go dark, so that the missions can be cheerfully accomplished without making anyone ‘Space Sick’. Via: Wired

Theories developed by scientists like Newton and Einstein have always been challenged by researchers. We cannot say that these theories are always false since their accuracy has been proved many times. Now NASA is funding the development of lasers that can be deployed on the Moon to check for the subtle deviations from the standard theory of gravity. NASA had installed three laser reflectors on the surface of Moon during the Apollo missions. These have been used to measure the exact distance between the Earth and the Moon, moreover the Soviet Union had also attached a reflector to a robotic lunar lander launched by them. To know the distance between Earth and Moon scientists bounce laser light from Earth to the Moon and then wait from it to be reflected from the Moon and reach back to Earth. The time taken in the transit tells about the distance from the Moon. This approach is not as easy as it seems to be, the biggest problem in this approach is that lasers lose their strength on the distance from Earth to Moon and they are further weakened on the way back. When the laser is received at Earth it is so feeble that only three observatories on Earth have the equipment to trace it. Moreover, Continue reading “NASA to fund the development of Moon-based lasers, wants to study the changes in Earth’s gravity” »

A study conducted by astrophysicist Oleg Kochukhov has shown that the some stars possess Earth-like weather cycles. Their skies are covered with clouds just like Earth and after some days these clouds disappear on the skies. The only difference is that these clouds are not made of water but Mercury! Researchers are now investigating these clouds in an effort to study how elements are formed inside stars. Kochukhov and his colleagues have spent the last seven years to study the brightest star in the Andromeda constellation. This bluish-white star is named alpha Andromedae and it lies some 100 light years away from us. This star is twice as hot as our Sun and is three times its diameter. Till now researchers were confused to find spots on the surface of alpha Andromedae. Stars develop spots due to their magnetic field like our Sun, however alpha Andromedae is not magnetic but has spots. These spots were like a puzzle to Kochukhov since according to theories they can only be formed due to a magnetic field. Now Kochukhov has proved that these spots are nothing but clouds of mercury which form on its skies like clouds on planets. Such weather cycles can only be seen on stars which are hot and massive. Moreover they should also spin slowly as if they spin fast all clouds could be destroyed. Likewise, alpha Andromedae spins at a rate of once in 60 hours. Another question in the minds of these astronomers is that what actually makes these clouds. This research can also find the answer to questions like what is the reason of discrepancies in the levels of mercury and other heavy elements in massive stars like alpha Andromedae. Stars like alpha Andromedae hold the answers to critical questions regarding the origin of elements and once they are properly studied they can also give us some clues regarding the origin of the universe. Image Via: usatoday

NASA expects to have twice the room it needs on the international space station after looking at a proposal to use the station as a “National Laborartory” for U.S researchers after its completion in 2010. NASA is planning a partnership with an institute that can direct this proposed national laboratory. The institute would make use of half the accommodation and services that is set aside for the United states. However, the institute should manufacture its own hardware and pay its researchers’ salaries. Mr.Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator said: What we’re trying to do is open up the U.S. segment of the space station to be used by a variety of folks. NASA wants to use part of the space station to prepare for trips to the moon and to develop the technology for a mars mission. The remaining part of the station would be used as a “space laboratory” for U.S researchers. A major difficulty though, will be to actually reach the space station that is around 220 miles from Earth. Image: allposters.com Via: msnbc

Scientists and researchers have always remained attracted to possible meteor collision sites on Earth as they are the best places where we can gather more information about these cosmic rocks of disaster. In 1908 a fireball rocked Earth and destroyed more than 800 square miles of trees in the remote Russian forests of Tunguska, Siberia. Researchers believe that such devastation can only be done when meteors collide with Earth. Such a collision resulted in the end of the dinosaur era some 65 million years ago and in future a similar catastrophe can wipe the entire human population from earth. To remain protected against these forces of nature one has to know more about them and studying them in detail is the most feasible option. But till date astronomers have not been sure whether the impact was of a meteor or a comet since neither its fragments not any impact craters have yet been discovered. Once astronomers discover the exact cause of this impact they can develop more ways to tackle these forces in future. Some Italian researchers have come with a candle in the dark. They have stated that Lake Cheko, which is located some 5 miles from the epicenter of the destruction, might be hiding some clues under its 164-foot-deep waters. They have stated that they measured seismic waves reflecting off of something at the bottom of the lake, moreover they also stated that the shape of the lake is a result of a low-velocity impact. They now will need a sample of soil from the bottom of the lake, which might give an answer to the whole event. The researchers came to the conclusion that the impact clues were hidden in the lake during a research carried out in 1999. During that time this team of Italian researchers was looking for meteoroid dust in the submerged sediments. While sonar-scanning the lake’s topography, they were struck by the cone-like features of the lake. Past researches in the area completely ruled out the possibility that the lake was an impact site, the reason for this can be that technology in those days were not as advanced as it is today. For now this Italian team has to go through criticisms from all over the world, but once they can get some evidence to support their theory they can really give a concrete answer to the mystery that has lurked the minds of astronomers from the past hundred years. Via: MSNBC