Subscribe to the free SpaceTides e-zine by sending an e-mail to spacetides@assabfn.co.za
with the word "Subscribe" in the subject line if you are not already subscribed.

In this issue of SpaceTides

Greetings SpaceTides Subscribers

The holidays are almost upon us: time to grab the binoculars and go out one evening to watch some stars! It is not necessary to be 500 km from the nearest city in the middle of the desert - the brighter constellations are much easier to learn from the city.

There won't be any competitions in this issue as the prizes aren't ready yet! Watch this space. The next issue won't appear at the start of the year, but only a few weeks later.

>From this edition of SpaceTides we'll have a new section called "Global Warning" (yes, there's a reason why it sounds so much like "Global Warming"!) The concept of climate change is becoming ever more important and we need to take note. The section will rotate with other sections.

Geniet die vakansie! Ry veilig en onthou om bietjie na die naglug te kyk.

Gerrit Penning, SpaceTides samesteller
Bloemfontein , Suid-Afrika

Total subscribers as at 1 December 2006: 721 (+7 from previous issue #49)

1. Spaceflight news from around the world

Shuttle Discovery on its launchpad. Credit: NASA.

Shuttle Discovery set for December launch to the ISS
From NASA Space Shuttle pages, December 2006. Go to website.

Shuttle Discovery is ready to go on the next mission to the International Space Station (STS-116). Launch is planned for 7 December 2006, although a launch window exists through December 17.  Primary payloads on the 12-day mission are the P5 integrated truss segment, SPACEHAB single logistics module and an integrated cargo carrier.

The coming few missions to finish the International Space Station are among the hardest and most complex.  But if you ask the astronauts and engineers which of the final 14 assembly flights may be the most complex, many would point to this mission (STS-116) of Discovery.  Astronauts will actually be rewiring the ISS's electrical system.

Stunning pictures sent back from the MRO
Image description from Wikipedia. Go to web page with higher resolution image.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the latest satellite to begin an orbiting career around the Red Planet, has already started sending back some of the most breathtaking images of Mars.  The MRO is equipped with various scientific and photographic equipment.

The image at left was taken by the MRO's HiRISE telescope camera on 3 October 2006. It shows the Victoria impact crater at Meridiani Planum, near the equator of Mars. It is only about 800 meters in diameter, but still you can see incredible detail.

Since January 2004, the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has been studying the area of Meridiani Planum.  Opportunity arrived at the rim of Victoria crater 5 days before this image was taken by the MRO.
                                MRO home page: http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/technology/

Other News In Spaceflight:

The Venerable Mars Global Surveyor might be lost
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor has likely finished its operating career. The satellite has served the longest and been the most productive of any mission ever sent to the planet Mars and surpassed all expectations.  No communication has been received from the orbiter since 2 November 2006. One explanation for the silence is that a solar panel may have jammed, preventing power from being collected for communication.  More at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2006-139

2. Astronomy news from around the world

N49. Image credit: NASA and others. See full list of credits.

A special view of supernova remnant N49
Spitzer Space Telescope News Release, 29 November 2006. See full article.

N49 (pictured at left) is the brightest supernova remnant in optical light in the Large Magellanic Cloud.  NASA's Great Observatories (3 space telescopes in orbit around the Earth) - Spitzer, Hubble, and Chandra - have joined forces to unlock the mysterious structure of this object. Spitzer looks in the infra-red, Hubble in visible light which our eyes can also see and Chandra observe X-Rays.

To visible-light telescopes, N49 appears to have a unique, lopsided filamentary structure which has long puzzled scientists because most supernova remnants appear spherical in shape.  Hubble mapped the visible-light structure, which can be seen as yellow and white in the image, and Chandra mapped the location of hot gas, which can be seen as blue in the image. By using Spitzer and Chandra, astronomers have determined that the funny shape of N49 is being caused by the supernova remnant expanding into a region of denser gas on one side. 

A supernova remnant is the gas and dust structure that formed after a huge star has exploded.

An image showing the reconstructed device.
Picture: AFP/Getty Images

Ancient solar system decoder explained
News story from Scotsman.com, 30 November 2006. Full article.

A 2,200-year-old astronomical "calculator" invented by the Ancient Greeks has been reconstructed for the first time, showing they were able to predict eclipses of the Sun and Moon accurately.

The "Antikythera mechanism", which dates back to the second century BC, were found by divers exploring a wrecked ship in 1901.
Researchers only now found out what exactly this device does. By using imaging techniques to peer into its insides, they created a model of how the device might have looked like and also how it worked.  The calculator was able to track astronomical movements very accurately, following the Sun through the Zodiac, predicting eclipses and even recreating the irregular orbit of the Moon. The findings suggest it might also have predicted the positions of some or all of the planets.

3. Interesting Space Facts

Astronaut in action. Credit: NASA

So, you wanna be an astronaut...

As of September 2006 over 450 humans have ventured into space. Compared to 6.5 billion people currently on Earth, that isn't a lot. To become a NASA astronaut will require some dedication on your part and also a fair amount of determination:
- of the average of 4 015 applications at NASA each two-year period, 100 is interviewed and screened. 20 are actually chosen…
- if you are interested in a pilot/commander position, instead of mission specialist, you will also be required to log in at least 1,000 hours of flight time in command of a jet aircraft.
- expect vigorous and very long training. Being and astronaut can be hard on family life.
- the novice astronauts are given a full range of basic science and technical courses, including mathematics, Earth resources, meteorology, guidance and navigation, astronomy, physics and computer sciences. Note that these are not the advanced courses...  NASA Astronaut info.

4. The Solar System: Earth

Mars, photographed by the Hubble
Space Telescope. Credit: NASA and
The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) J. Bell ( Cornell U. ).

The Red Planet, Mars

Certainly the most mysterious and intriguing planet of them all, Mars is the 4th planet from the Sun.  You will be able to walk on Mars, but only in a space suit.  The planet has a thin atmosphere composed mostly of carbon dioxide and the average temperature is -60°C, with a maximum of 20°C.

One mystery concerns the presence of water ice and the fact that the Mars Rovers found mineral substances which could only have formed in the presence of water.  Mars also has two polar caps, composed of solid carbon dioxide ('dry ice') and water ice.  Lakes and shallow seas might have existed on Mars many millions of years ago.  

Was there ever life on Mars? No proof has yet been found - we will probably have to send geologists there or invest intensively in sample-return missions for a definite answer.

The image at the right displays Mars's two tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos, probably captured asteroids. (NASA)

5. Sky Observation Log

Planets - December 2006
Mercury is visible in the mornings for the first 3 weeks. Venus becomes the "evening star", visible after sunset in the west. Mars becomes a morning object from mid-month. Jupiter also becomes a morning object, pairing up with Mars and Mercury to form exquisite views. Look for the trio before sunrise on the mornings of 8 to 13 December (with 10 December being the best). Don't worry, nothing strange will happen because of this "planetary alignment". Your microwave won't explode and your hair won't turn a different colour!  The beautiful ringed planet Saturn is visible in the constellation of Leo rising shortly before midnight in the east. 

Constellations - December 2006
With the holidays, what a great time to look at the constellations of the summer! Go outside one evening during and explore the night skies... Download Stellarium from www.stellarium.org and find the positions of the stars and constellations.  You will see Orion the hunter, Taurus the bull and Canis Major the greater dog.  Take a binocular and scan the skies: lift your gaze towards the Seven Sisters (Pleiades), the Hyades star cluster in Taurus and the Great Orion Nebula in the sword of Orion.

Jy kan ook 'n konstellasie en sterre vakansiegids aflaai wat deur ASSA Bloemfontein saamgestel is, met meer inligting oor wat sigbaar is in die somerlug oor die vakansietyd.

Other night sky events - December 2006
8-13 Dec - Mercury, Mars and Jupiter very close together as seen from Earth
14 Dec - Geminid meteor shower peaks
15 Dec - Spica 0.7 deg N of Moon
19 Dec - Antares occulted by the Moon
Full moon: 5 December 2006
New moon: 20 December 2006

Image left: (Stellarium.org) The eastern horizon just before sunrise on the morning of
December 10, 2006, at 4h30. Not to be missed!  Moet dit nie misloop nie!

6. Global Warning

A warming planet: as real as it gets

Global warming is real. It's man-made and if we carry on as we do, catastrophic climate change will ensue.  As noted in an article in the Newsweek Magazine of 4 December 2006, no country challenged this consensus during the 12th annual UN Conference on Climate Change.

It is time that we start to take note of the consequences of climate change. Even though the developed industrial countries have the biggest impact, there are many developing countries (including South Africa ) which is set to rise in economic prominence. Other such countries include India , China and Brazil . With economic progress comes higher environmental responsibility as resources of whatever kind becomes the target of ambitious exploitation.

Will we be able to present a livable Earth to our children, or will they have to dig tunnels beneath the ground to survive?

7. Observatories of the World

Cerro Paranal: Home to ESO's four 8.2 meter telescopes

The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory (in the Atacama desert, Chile ) is for all practical purposes the world's strongest and most advanced optical telescope. It comprises four 8.2-m reflecting telescopes and several moving 1.8-m Auxiliary Telescopes to form a light-gathering "interferometer".
The VLT produces extremely sharp images and can record light from the faintest and most remote objects in the Universe. Cerro Paranal is a 2,635-m high mountain, 12 km inland from the Pacific Coast . In 2006 there were 11 instruments including 2 interferometric instruments available for scientific observations.
Homepage: http://www.eso.org/paranal/  Photo at right: Domes at Paranal (Credit: ESO)

8. Astronomy in Bloemfontein

Boyden Open Evening: 9 December 2006 (Saturday)

Time: 18h30 for 19h00 (come early for parking)
Cost: R30 per vehicle
Theme: "The New Solar System" by Gerrit Penning of ASSA Bloemfontein Centre. Our ideas of the size of the solar system has changed somewhat since you've been in school...
Telescope viewing and constellation and star watching. Special activity for children "make your own planisphere". The ideal summer vacation outing for the family! The evening will go ahead even if it is cloudy.

Reservations: Please phone 051-401 2322 to reserve your seats.