Space News
looking back over
October 2016
Tech: Drones can now be spotted from space
Carmine Clemente and his team from the University of Strathclyde in
Glasgow, Scotland, are developing a satellite-based system for early drone
detection and tracking. It offers continuous coverage over a fixed area by
sensors measuring how drones affect SatNav signals.
The differences between the sensors pinpoint the drones and allow their
tracking, revealing the risk of collision with aircraft landing and taking off.
The €10,000 European Satellite Navigation Competition grand prize was
presented to the team in Madrid on 26th October.
On-bike Sat-Nav Bell ensures cyclists don’t get lost
Cyclists no longer have to worry about getting lost or distracted on busy roads or
having to pull out their phone for guidance while cycling. A quick glance at the Blubel
on their handlebars will indicate the next turn and the heading to their destination.
Powered by its Smartphone SatNav app, the bell learns from other cyclists and
suggests the fastest, safest and easiest routes. It can also collect data on the routes
the cyclist prefers and other aspects to improve its route calculation for the rest of the
community. The ESA prize of €7000 was presented to Blubel by the head of ESA’s
Technology Transfer Programme Office.
15,000 NEOs threatening Earth - and counting
The international effort to find, confirm and catalogue the multitude of
asteroids that pose a threat to our planet has reached 15,000 – with many
more to go. The number of objects has grown rapidly since the count reached
10,000 only three years ago. Near-Earth objects, or NEOs, are asteroids or
comets with sizes ranging from a few metres to tens of kilometres.
September’s Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
This shot of the
partially shadowed
Moon was taken
from Hong Kong on
September 16th.
This Moon is usually
known as a Harvest
Moon. October’s full
Moon is usually
called a Hunter’s
Moon or a ‘Leaf-fall
Moon’.
Mars gains another Orbiter
The Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) of ESA’s ExoMars has successfully performed the
long 139-minute burn required to be captured by and entered an elliptical orbit
around the Red Planet. TGO’s Mars orbit Insertion burn on 19 October, reduced
the spacecraft’s speed and direction by more than 1.5 km/s. The TGO is now on
its planned orbit around Mars, having transported the Schiaparelli Lander.
Schiaparelli Lander – Unbent !!
Oooops!!
Schiaparelli hit the surface of Mars on 19th October at over 200mph. This
animation shows before and after views as taken by MROs context camera.
The crater is probably up to 50m deep. The white parachute and back
shield are seen at the bottom of the picture.
Rugged Landscape of Venus
This 3-D representation of the surface of Venus was made by
combining several RADAR maps. It shows these huge cylindrical
mountains which are called ‘Coronas’ – origin uncertain > Volcanism?
[Dark rectangles are not real – a result of the imaging procedures.]
Chinese Astronauts launched on 17th October
Chen Dong testing his heart activity
Astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong prior to the launch of the
Shenzhou-11 spacecraft on October 17th. They are due to spend a total of
33 days on board the Tiangong-2 Space Station, testing a range of
technologies and foodstuffs and of course themselves.
Second Space Station now Occupied
This photograph
shows the
Shenzhou-11
spacecraft
docked with the
Tiangong-2 space
station in orbit.
Juno spots spotty clouds on Jupiter
Juno passes over Jupiter’s poles twice monthly and continues to send back
remarkable images of its gas clouds. This view of the South Pole shows
interesting groups of swirling clouds and strange white ovals. These appear to
be Category 5 Storms (about 350km/h wind speeds!).
Saturn’s Polar Hexagon changes Colour!
The mysterious hexagon
at Saturn's northern pole
has changed colour from
blue to gold.
The hexagon is essentially
a rotating cloud pattern; its
shape may originate as
the result of large
differences in the speeds
of Saturn's winds.
The change in colour is
thought to be the result of
seasonal changes on the
planet.
In particular, the amount
of sunlight falling on the
poles affects the
production of suspended
particles - aerosols - in the
atmosphere.
Albert photographs an Aurora
Albert the Aurora
Watcher studied
the night sky on
Halloween from
near Tromso …
As Earth leaves
one stream of
solar wind,
another is on the
way. A cluster of
minor holes on the
sun is spewing
plasma into space,
and the material
should arrive here
on Nov 4th or 5th
(Friday/Saturday).
That’s one small step for a Cow . . .
On 1st October, these “non-concrete” cows were carried into the sky by balloon.
‘Spaceweather.com’ and the students of ‘Earth to Sky Calculus’ launch their
balloon every month to monitor cosmic rays in the stratosphere. The cows are
mascots of ‘Dairyland Electrical Industries’, who sponsored the mission.
Send anything interesting during
November to:
[email protected]
Waiting for your ideas…!!