Atom & cosmos.Tasting Ice After struggling to deliver a soil sample to its ovens, the Phoenix Mars Lander confirms the presence of water ice on Mars (SN: 8/30/08, p. 11). Family for Pluto Pluto and its dwarf planet neighbors in the outer solar system are rechristened "plutoids" by the International Astronomical Union “IAU” redirects here. For other uses, see IAU (disambiguation). The International Astronomical Union (IAU) unites national astronomical societies from around the world. (SN: 7/5/08, p. 7). Wake up Hubble NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the first large optical orbiting observatory. Built from 1978 to 1990 at a cost of $1.5 billion, the HST (named for astronomer E. P. Hubble) was expected to provide the clearest view yet obtained of the universe. falls silent in September after failure of its data-formatting unit. Though Hubble comes back online in October, the problem delays a final shuttle mission until 2009 (SN Online: 10/30/08). On the move A newly discovered "dark flow" appears to carry galaxy clusters toward a point in the southern sky, researchers suggest (SN: 10/25/08, p. 12). Titan's ethane ethane (ĕth`ān), CH3CH3, gaseous hydrocarbon. It is a continuous-chain alkane. As a constituent of natural gas, it is used for fuel. It can be prepared by cracking and fractional distillation of petroleum. pool Scientists confirm that Saturn's hydrocarbon-shrouded moon has at least one ethane lake (SN Online: 7/30/08). Postcards from the edge Postcards from the Edge is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Carrie Fisher, first published in 1987. It was later adapted, by Fisher herself, into a motion picture directed by Mike Nichols which was released by Columbia Pictures in 1990. Voyager 2 travels nearly to the edge of the solar system, reaching the termination shock (SN: 8/2/08, p. 7). Gamma vision The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope's first findings include discoveries about pulsars and gamma-ray bursts, and may hint at the nature of quantum gravity (SN: 1/3/09, p. 9). Signs of habitability Astronomers for the first time detect carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of an exoplanet exoplanet See extrasolar planet. (SN: 1/3/09, p. 8). Spotting a supernova Thanks to a lucky break and an overactive o·ver·ac·tive adj. Active to an excessive or abnormal degree: an overactive child. o galaxy, astronomers detect a supernova event earlier than ever before (SN: 3/8/08, p. 148). Cosmic measures WMAP WMAP Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (NASA) WMAP Weighted Map WMAP Waste Minimization Award Program results offer a more precise age for the universe and allow astronomers to infer the existence of a vast sea of neutrinos (SN: 3/15/08, p. 163). Messages from Mercury The MESSENGER spacecraft flies past Mercury twice, revealing the origin of the planet's magnetic field, hinting at the presence of early volcanic activity and providing the first looks at the planet's surface composition (SN: 8/2/08, p. 7), (SN Online: 10/29/08). --Elizabeth Quill, News Editor |
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