The singing comet

Rosetta’s Plasma Consortium (RPC) has uncovered a mysterious ‘song’ that Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is singing into space. RPC principal investigator Karl-Heinz Glaßmeier, head of Space Physics and Space Sensorics at the Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany, tells us more. RPC consists of five instruments on the Rosetta orbiter that provide a wide variety of complementary information about the plasma environment surrounding Comet 67P/C-G. (Reminder: Plasma is the fourth state of matter, an electrically conductive gas that can carry magnetic fields and electrical currents.) The instruments are designed to study a number of phenomena, including: the interaction of 67P/C-G with the solar wind, a continuous stream of plasma emitted by the Sun; changes of activity on the comet; the structure and dynamics of the comet’s tenuous plasma ‘atmosphere’, known as the coma; and the physical properties of the cometary nucleus and surface. But one observation has taken the RPC scientists somewhat by surprise. The comet seems to be emitting a ‘song’ in the form of oscillations in the magnetic field in the comet’s environment. It is being sung at 40-50 millihertz, far below human hearing, which typically picks up sound between 20 Hz and 20 kHz. To make the music audible to the human ear, the frequencies have been increased by a factor of about 10,000. The music was heard clearly by the magnetometer experiment (RPC-Mag) for the first time in August, when Rosetta drew to within 100 km of 67P/C-G. The scientists think it must be produced in some way by the activity of the comet, as it releases neutral particles into space where they become electrically charged due to a process called ionisation. But the precise physical mechanism behind the oscillations remains a mystery. “This is exciting because it is completely new to us. We did not expect this and we […]



from Rosetta - ESA's comet chaserRosetta - ESA's comet chaser http://ift.tt/1swufJN

via IFTTT

Media briefing 10 Nov replay

Replay of the first Rosetta mission media briefing at ESA's Space Operations Centre (ESOC), 15:00 CET on 10 November, as the teams prepare for Philae landing and science from the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.



from Rosetta - ESA's comet chaserRosetta - ESA's comet chaser http://ift.tt/1oFbsAy

via IFTTT

NASA Administrator, Ambassadors Brigety and Haslach Discuss Application of NASA Earth Science for Planning in African Union Nations

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Patricia Haslach, and U.S. Ambassador to the African Union (AU) Reuben Brigety, met this week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to discuss resources available to help mitigate the impacts in Africa of global climate change.



from NASA Breaking News http://ift.tt/1xmVUCc

via IFTTT

NASA's New Wind Watcher Ready for Weather Forecasters

In an early holiday gift to the world's weather and marine forecasting agencies, ocean-winds data from NASA's newest Earth-observing mission are being released two months ahead of schedule.

from News and Features - NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory http://ift.tt/1EnbizP

via IFTTT

Newest NASA Mars Orbiter Demonstrates Relay Prowess

The relay radio on NASA's MAVEN spacecraft has completed a successful test of receiving Mars rover data, which MAVEN then forwarded to Earth.

from News and Features - NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory http://ift.tt/1AXUbYP

via IFTTT

Cassini Sails into New Ocean Adventures on Titan

NASA's Cassini mission continues its adventures in extraterrestrial oceanography with new findings about the hydrocarbon seas on Saturn's moon Titan.

from News and Features - NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory http://ift.tt/1wMZPJw

via IFTTT

Follow the Dust to Find Planets

By studying dust structures around other stars, astronomers are learning where planets are hiding.

from News and Features - NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory http://ift.tt/1wMZPJf

via IFTTT

NASA Signs Lease with Planetary Ventures LLC for Use of Moffett Airfield and Restoration of Hangar One

In an effort to reduce costs and shed surplus property, NASA today signed a lease with Planetary Ventures, LLC to manage Moffett Federal Airfield (MFA), an agency facility located in Moffett Field, California, and rehabilitate its historic Hangar One. NASA estimates the lease will save the agency approximately $6.3 million annually in maintenance and operation costs and provide $1.16 billion in rent over the initial 60-year lease term.



from NASA Breaking News http://ift.tt/1yrb4p2

via IFTTT

Highlights – media briefing 10 November

We've just finished the first media briefing in the Press Centre at ESOC. We just finished today's 15:00CET media briefing in the Press Centre at ESOC. The briefing was given by Flight Director Andrea Accomazzo, Rosetta Spacecraft Operations Manager Sylvain Lodiot, Project Scientist Matt Taylor, all from ESA, and DLR's Stephan Ulamec, project manager for Philae. Here is a summary: The Rosetta spacecraft and Philae lander are in great shape The commands to control the Philae lander are already uploaded Today, the mission operations team at ESOC including the flight dynamics specialists are planning the spacecraft activities for tomorrow, and these will be translated into on-board commands and uploaded overnight The timing for the Wednesday morning burn (now set for 07:35-08:35CET) is known to only about 30 minutes right now (see the landing timeline) A final pre-delivery orbit determination will be done by teams tomorrow, and then we will know when final the pre-delivery burn will take place For the Orbiter & Lander mission teams, there are a series of GO/NOGO decision points between tomorrow night & separation on Wednesday, now set for 10:03CET The Lander will be switched on this evening and the control team will start warming it up and getting ready Matt Taylor explained: -- This week marks an 'epoch in the mission'; once we're past landing, we start full-on science; we're all 'GO' -- Answering a query on surface texture: We know a bit more than we did before. It's a bit warmer than we initially thought; we're analysing data from several instruments; it's a more dusty surface material somewhere between hard-packed snow and cigarette ash; there are variations, but we're seeing this across the planned landing site. When asked how we know we've landed, S. Ulamec explained: We see telemetry signals telling us we've touched […]



from Rosetta - ESA's comet chaserRosetta - ESA's comet chaser http://ift.tt/1El3jmT

via IFTTT

CometWatch 6 November – target locked!

This four-image NAVCAM mosaic comprises images taken on 6 November from a distance of 30.5 km from the centre of Comet 67P/C-G. The image resolution is 2.6 m/pixel. The mosaic has been slightly rotated and cropped, and measures 3.7 x 3.2 km. Due to rotation and translation of the comet during the image taking sequence, making a mosaic involves some compromises. However, as always, the individual images have also been made available below to allow you to check the accuracy of the mosaicing and intensity matching. The Agilkia landing site can be seen at the ‘top’ of the image ‘above’ the easily recognisable depression that characterises the smaller of the comet’s two lobes. This image was featured as today’s Space Science image of the week.



from Rosetta - ESA's comet chaserRosetta - ESA's comet chaser http://ift.tt/1xlu3Cc

via IFTTT

Space Station Crew Returns to Earth, Lands Safely in Kazakhstan

Three International Space Station (ISS) crew members returned to Earth Sunday after a 165-day mission that included hundreds of scientific experiments and several spacewalks.



from NASA Breaking News http://ift.tt/1pGKlFY

via IFTTT