As the blizzard of the century continues to pound on my front door I felt inspired to write an entry about another icy world in our solar system that has astronomers’ horns locked in a “heated” debate over ice volcanoes, underground oceans, and the growing religious status of Lime Diet Coke. Ok…so not so much the Diet Coke thing, but Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons, is a really cool (no pun intended) place that has baffled astronomers for years and now a general consensus has been reached that there is an ocean of liquid water beneath the planet’s surface. This makes Enceladus one of two places in the solar system that scientists suspect of harboring a subterranean ocean; the other is Europa, the legendary Jupiter moon that is science fiction home of the monolith race from 2001: A Space Odyssey. While the debate over the presence of liquid water raged in science labs and UFC octagons across the world, the Cassini probe silently performed a series of flybys in 2008 to search for the presence of negative ions. According to SPACE.com, the sample that provided the data set came from Cassini’s much-publicized plunge through an ice geyser eruption in 2008. These geysers pump gigantic plumes of ice into space which become caught up in Saturn’s gravitational pull and ultimately form the planet’s gigantic e-ring. These negative ions are believed to represent the flow of water and have only been found on Earth, Enceladus, and passing comets. Their discovery has shifted the balance of discussion in favor of a subterranean ocean and should definitely make the planet a prime candidate for the search for life outside of our world.

Enceladus is one of the larger moons in the Saturn system and can easily be seen with a small telescope. I recommend nothing smaller than 3” reflector although I have had some success in seeing the Saturnian moons with a 1.5” department store refractor (bad bad bad). I highly recommend using an astronomy program such as Starry Night or TheSKY to ensure that you know exactly how to identify Enceladus among the other Saturnian moons.

Image Credit: Starry Night Professional

As it struggles to come to terms with the loss of its manned space program and begins to divert funds to other missions, NASA has extended the Cassini-Huygens Mission at Saturn until 2017. Cassini has been returning beautiful photos of the ringed planet as well as important data on the composition and behavior of its moons since 2004. The probe arrived at Saturn in June of 2004 carrying the European-built Huygens probe designed to land on Titan. In January of 2005, Huygens became the first man-made object to penetrate the atmosphere and land on the surface of Titan. The first photos of Titan’s surface revealed a hazy world sculpted by lakes of liquid methane and mountains made of rock-hard ice and exposed a place that is considered by many scientists to be the closest example we have to what our own little world looked like in its primordial stages of development. The 2011 extension known as Cassini-Solstice will be the second extension since the probe arrived and is sure to continue a Cassini tradition of giving us incredible views of the jewel of our solar system.

CASSINI-HUYGENS 2010 MISSION HIGHLIGHTS 

• Rhea Flyby – March 2
• Titan Flyby – April 5, May 20, June 5, June 21, July 7, September 24, November 11 
• Enceladus Flyby – April 28, May 18, August 13, November 30, December 21

Saturn is primed to put on a dazzling show for professional and amateur astronomers this year. Right now, it is rising through Virgo in the eastern sky just after 2245 EST. While the ringed planet always makes for wonderful observing with even the most modest of telescopes, it will be perfectly positioned to show off its magnificant rings around April. To celebrate the event, the Cincinnati Observatory will be hosting “Saturnday” on April 17-April 24 to give the general public an opportunity to see it through a professional-grade telescope. The cost of the event is $6 per person. You can visit the observatory’s website to learn more information. Weather permitting, nightShifted Astronomy will be set up in the Dayton area around that time. Watch the blog and events calendar for details.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Cassini-Equinox

Astronomers working at NASA’s Infrared Observatory at Mauna Kea in Hawaii have announced an exciting new ability to identify molecules in the atmosphere of planets around distant stars using small, ground-based observatories. The new method used a spectrograph to isolate the unique light signatures generated by carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere around planet HD189733b located around the star HD 98505 in the Constellation Vulpecula. Spectrographs have been used to detect molecules in the atmospheres of dozens of exoplanets, but a new calibration method developed by the research team has allowed for extremely sensitive atmospheric characterization research to be conducted using Earth-based facilities. The research is extremely promising since the Mauna Kea Observatory ranks as #40 among ground based telescopes which mean that larger and more precise scopes should be able to detect compounds and characterize the atmosphere of exoplanets with greater efficiency and accuracy. Right now, a majority of planets orbiting other stars are Jupiter-like and orbit very close to their host stars. Using this new research method, astronomers hope to use larger telescopes to detect rocky, Earth-like planets.

HIP 98505 is a magnitude 7.65 orange-dwarf star located in the Constellation Vulpecula about two degrees from 13 Vulpeculae. If you would like to see the star for yourself, it rises at 0425 EST in the east-northeast sky and travels about ninety degrees before sunrise at 0615 EST. I recommend a medium to large telescope and would begin looking for this star without a filter.

Image Credit: Starry Night Professional

My wonderful vacation is over and it is time to get back to the grind! I finally have my Celestron C9.25 telescope back here in Ohio and I’m ready to get started on star parties and outreach programs. Right now, I am tentatively scheduled to attend the Cincinnati Observatory’s star party on October 17th at Stonelick State Park in Southwest Ohio. Details to follow, but until then…one of the strangest astronomy stories to hit the presses in quite a while. You see…the sky is full of wonders. From ancient rocks and alien worlds in our own back yard to distant gas clouds and galaxies far, far away; man has been fascinated with the tiny dots that canvas our night sky. I love the reaction on people’s faces when I’m at a star party and explain that the really bright star that has been catching everyone’ s attention is actually Jupiter, Saturn, or some other celestial wonder. Abe Megahed, a photographer in Wisconsin, photographed a different type of celestial wonder on Wednesday, although not one that many would be proud to spot: Space Shuttle Discovery’s urine and water waste.

Yikes.

I’ve seen many things in the night sky that I couldn’t explain and that often is the result of not having my star charts handy. However, it would probably be heartbreaking for me to learn that my new “comet” discovery was…Discovery’s toilet flush.

There’s nothing more to say.

I apologize in advance for the angry rant, but it is long overdue. A recent piece in The Guardian and the pathetic Space.com article mentioned below have compelled me to say what most of us are thinking: We need a space exploration project that fulfills our hopes and dreams instead of crushing them under the weight of government bureaucracy. Simple, right? Are you wondering what type of hallucinogens your humble host has been smoking tonight? Well friends, you can relax because I am not hallucinating, I am just getting fed up with stories like this. Congratulations to the group of college students who used a 3D rendering program to design a sub-par add-on module for the International Space Station. You are a credit to space exploration and certainly have inspired many to reconsider their apathy toward low-Earth orbit. I am really saddened by this story because it is not a newsworthy event. Artists design 3-dimensional renderings of space stations, spacecraft, alien cities, solar systems, and other space-related objects every day. Many of these are based on real, modern technology that offer much more than the so-called “hotel in space”.

I am a firm believer that it is stories like these that add to the apathy that exists toward any space exploration endeavors. It seems as though we’re introduced to some “fascinating” new technology or space hardware design every few weeks only to see them disappear without a trace. Bigelow Aerospace and its Genesis modules are the only designs I can think of in the last few years that seemed like complete BS, but were ultimately built and launched. It is much like The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Yes, I know that it is a HUGE cliché to use this comparison, but it must be done. With a new design for a spacecraft or a station released every few weeks, but nothing new in the way of completed contracts or launches, people will naturally begin to assume the worst when it comes to these designs. I am already there. I read this article and already assigned my own opinion to its chances for completion before I was finished: Zero. None. Nada. We’re NEVER going to see this design attached to the International Space Station. It does not matter what the reasoning is, but the fact is that it just will not happen. I am tired of seeing this “marvels” that will “change the way we think about living in space” come and go without changing how we actually live in space! This is nothing new, however. Remember Space Station Freedom (see pic on right)? I think it is time for NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) to start cruising the forums at some 3D art websites for ideas on practical designs for future spacecraft. After all, the terrible design of this little “space hotel” has just as much chance of being constructed and launched to the ISS as a prototype fighter plane from a Gary Tonge painting. Zero. None. Nada.

The Guardian article is on target, but the Space.com article is a waste of time. The sense of wonder and adventure that exploring the stars used to bring to people’s lives is mostly gone. It is, in my opinion, going to take a successful space program of some kind to reignite the dream of reaching the cosmos for many people. Bar charts and 3D renderings are not enough. Give me enough time and I can build you a 3D rocket and a timeline for launching it into orbit. If you want to donate $1.2 billion to this blog, I’ll even make sure that it is repeatedly pushed back until one of my friends convinces me to cancel it and pocket the money. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Image Credit: Imperial College of London/NASA

The growing wildfires in Southern California are a serious cause of concern for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Mount Wilson Observatory. See the amazing photo from the International Space Station to get an idea of the size of these incredible fires. Recently, both JPL and Mount Wilson have been threatened by a massive, one-hundred and five thousand acre fire named the Station Fire. Click here to see the Incident Information Site for the latest reports on the fire situation in Pasadena. Recent updates on JPL’s website states that the laboratory is no longer under threat from the encroaching fire, but things do not look so good for the Mount Wilson Observatory. A prime staging area used by firefighters to battle the Station Fire has been abandoned at the foot of Mount Wilson and crews have begun an aerial assault on the fire in an effort to save the Observatory.

nightShifted Astronomy sends its best wishes to the men and women fighting these terrible fires and hope that they can save the historic Observatory as well as the people and homes in the surrounding area.

• Jet Propulsion Laboratory updates can be found here.
• Mount Wilson Observatory updates can be found here. (Server Link Updated)

UPDATE 1 SEP 09: The servers at Mount Wilson Observatory have gone out possibly due to broken telephone lines between the facility and the nearest hub. Updates are now being provided through servers at Georgia State University. Complete coverage of the raging wildfires can be found at KTLA.com.

Image Credit: NASA/International Space Station

After a series of delays due to bad weather and technical difficulties, the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-128) successfully launched from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday night. My original intent was to live blog the launch, but work commitments prevented me from writing a decent post to cover it. Now, to give you an idea of how far behind I am, the launch occurred on Friday night, and Discovery docked with the International Space Station yesterday morning. That means that I’m about three days behind on my space news, so bear with me! Discovery comes to the International Space Station with a delivery that includes the COLBERT treadmill and the Leonardo cargo pod which contains over 8 tons of fresh supplies and new equipment. The shuttle’s arrival is especially significant in that is the 25th anniversary of the spacecraft’s maiden voyage on August 30th, 1984. On that date, the Shuttle Discovery launched into orbit and deployed a solar panel very similar to the ones installed on the International Space Station.

The International Space Station is one of the brightest objects in the night sky and is especially bright with a Space Shuttle docked. Some amateur astronomers have taken incredible photos of the shuttle docked at the station, but most people will settle for a quick glimpse of the largest man-made orbital structure in history. There are several ways to find out when the ISS and STS-128 will be overhead in your area. For those with Starry Night, you can select and track the orbital path of the ISS and use it to plan your observing sessions. For the rest of you, I highly recommend Heavens Above.com. It will help any curious amateur plan for the next ISS/Discovery pass with relative ease. Most of the time, the ISS will appear briefly over the horizon in a low-arch. It takes good planning to ensure that you watch for the pass in the right direction and the right time of day to avoid excess sunlight or light pollution. I only mention sunlight because most passes I saw in Texas were low on the horizon during sundown.

If you’re interested in tracking the ISS/STS-128 combo with your own tracking software, you can download the latest Two-Line Elements (TLEs) here.

These are the TLEs as of 31 August 2009 @ 2035 EST

ISS
1 25544U 98067A 09242.83739583 .00006862 00000-0 51743-4 0 5175
2 25544 51.6405 283.6299 0009257 35.7867 323.9873 15.73845540617709
STS 128
1 35811U 09045A 09242.61309212 .00069540 13944-4 73780-4 0 121
2 35811 51.6460 284.8487 0033899 94.5710 43.1354 16.08927954 226

Image Credit: NASA/Starry Night Professional

NASA is preparing to launch the Space Shuttle Discovery next week on another resupply mission to the International Space Station. STS-128 cleared a Flight Readiness Review yesterday and is scheduled to launch Tuesday, August 25th at 1:36 a.m. from Kennedy Space Center. The crew traveled to Kennedy aboard T-38s late last night in preparation for their Aug 25 launch. In addition to two refrigerator sized containers of new equipment, the Space Shuttle Discovery will carry the Leonardo supply module, new ISS crew member Nicole Stott, and last but not least, the COLBERT treadmill to the station. COLBERT is an exciting addition to the station because of the important social and cultural significance it holds.

The treadmill is named after Stephen Colbert, the host of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central and it comes as a result of NASA’s competition to name a new space station node. Ultimately, Colbert’s name won, but NASA decided to ignore the results of its own contest and name the component Tranquility instead. As a sort of pseudo-compromise, the newest piece of exercise equipment was named COLBERT. COLBERT stands for Combined Operational Load-Bearing External Resistance Treadmill and it will be the second treadmill installed on the space station. According to the NASA mission overview, the treadmill will initially be installed in the Harmony module and will take the astronauts about 20 hours to set up. That’s a far cry from the 30 minutes to an hour that it takes to assemble a treadmill from Sears.

I’ll be watching the STS-128 mission with great interest both because of the COLBERT treadmill and because of the Space Shuttle retirement time frame. As you may know, the Space Shuttle Program that has dominated American space exploration for the past three decades is quickly approaching its penultimate mission and will soon make way for the Constellation Program or variant. Space Shuttle missions are usually visible with the naked eye so if you’ve never seen one, I urge you to take this upcoming opportunity to view the shuttle and station as they pass overhead. I will provide tracking and observation data for both the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station once the August 25th launch is complete. You’ll also be able to get maps and two-line elements (TLEs) for tracking software on many astronomy and satellite enthusiast websites.

Image Credit: NASA

While many people in the United States are watching the formation of the first tropical storms of the 2009-2010 hurricane season, scientists working on the Cassini-Equinox (formerly Cassini-Huygens) mission are analyzing an India-sized storm cell on Saturn’s moon Titan. The storm cell was discovered in April 2008 at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii and appears to cover a “tropical” area of the moon that is not known for generating excessive cloud cover. These storms are way cool because they are believed to cause a significant amount of methane rainfall and play a significant part in the geographical formations on the planet’s surface. Imagine a hurricane of liquid methane washing up on the shores of Ft. Lauderdale and you’ll have an idea of what these storms are like.

For years, Titan has been a source of inspiration and curiosity. Many scientists and science fiction writers have written about what it would be like to exist on the surface of Saturn’s largest moon. Covered by a dense atmosphere of methane and nitrogen, it is believed that Titan’s storm regularly rain down liquid methane into massive lake and river formations. This interaction of methane on Titan is particularly fascinating as it gives us an opportunity to see the existence of a chemical compound in a uniquely alien environment. Astronomers have theorized that Titan is very similar to primordial Earth and often look to it for ideas about the history of our own planet. In 2005, the Huygens probe separated from the Cassini orbiter and traveled through the dense Titan atmosphere; ultimately returning photos of the planet’s surface.

Titan is one of the few Saturn moons that can be seen with a small telescope. With an apparent magnitude of 8.6, it is one of the brightest in the Saturn system. Unfortunately, Saturn is below the Northern Hemisphere horizon. It rises around 9:00 a.m. and is best visible around 3:15 p.m. when the Sun is still high in the sky. It will return to the night sky in late November.

In non-astronomy related news, I would like to take a moment to send my condolences to the residents of The Promenade at Beavercreek Apartments in Beavercreek, OH not far from where I work. One of the luxury apartments was gutted by a massive fire this afternoon. I only mention it because this happened very close to where I live and work. I can only imagine the horror that these people experienced as they sit around watching helplessly as the fire consumed their homes. This fire was much more massive than the photos and news recordings make it out to be. I saw it on my way home from work and it was terrifying to see the fire coming up from over a treeline from so far away. My thoughts are with the families that lived there.

Image Credit: NASA

There’s a new rocket in town! At Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), the Ares I-X, a test model of the proposed Constellation Program rocket that will carry the Orion CEV into orbit has been completed and is on track for an October 31 launch. It is the first new space vehicle to be constructed in the VAB in 25 years! Ares I, also known as “The Stick”, is a two-stage rocket based on designs that combine modern technology with modified Apollo-era propulsion systems. The completed rocket stands at 325 feet tall and is quite an impressive sight; standing almost twice as high as a Space Shuttle launch stack.

Program setbacks and a spiraling budget aside, safety of the Ares I’s design has been a paramount concern since it was revealed. The slim construction, weight of the Orion CEV, and the length of time between designing the Space Shuttle’s solid rocket boosters and the Ares launch vehicles have caused great concern for critics and advocates of the new program. A report early in the concept phase of constructions theorized that the Ares I would suffer from severe vibration problems that would ultimately render the vehicle unusable. The October 31 launch will send the Ares I-X into a suborbital arc that will hopefully give NASA scientists an opportunity to gather valuable data about the rocket’s stability as well as a chance to test out its safety and recovery system. NASA hopes that the Ares I-X flight will provide the data necessary to make the vehicle safe enough to achieve a human flight rating. A NASA fact sheet outlining the entire Ares I-X test flight is available here (1MB PDF).

With the mounting criticism of the Constellation Program’s spiraling budget (which isn’t large compared to the Apollo Program), there is a very real possibility that Ares I-X may never actually launch. We can only hope that advocates for space exploration in the halls of Congress give NASA what it needs to successfully complete the program and help us escape from low-Earth orbit. I personally see at least one launch of the Ares rocket stack happening, but I’m not sure if the program has enough momentum and support from the U.S. Government and the general public to actually launch a human being into orbit. My question, however, is that if the Constellation Program will ultimately not carry us into space…then what, if anything, will?

Image Credit: NASA