"'Oumuamua" Update: New Signs That the Interstellar Interloper May Have Been a Comet...

European Southern Observatory / M. Kornmesser

Our Solar System's First Known Interstellar Object Gets Unexpected Speed Boost (News Release - June 27)

Using observations from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based observatories, an international team of scientists has confirmed 'Oumuamua (oh-MOO-ah-MOO-ah), the first known interstellar object to travel through our solar system, got an unexpected boost in speed and shift in trajectory as it passed through the inner solar system last year.

"Our high-precision measurements of 'Oumuamua's position revealed that there was something affecting its motion other than the gravitational forces of the Sun and planets," said Marco Micheli of ESA's (European Space Agency) Space Situational Awareness Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre in Frascati, Italy, and lead author of a paper describing the team's findings.

Analyzing the trajectory of the interstellar visitor, co-author Davide Farnocchia of the Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, found that the speed boost was consistent with the behavior of a comet.

"This additional subtle force on 'Oumuamua likely is caused by jets of gaseous material expelled from its surface," said Farnocchia. "This same kind of outgassing affects the motion of many comets in our solar system."

Comets normally eject large amounts of dust and gas when warmed by the Sun. But according to team scientist Olivier Hainaut of the European Southern Observatory, "There were no visible signs of outgassing from 'Oumuamua, so these forces were not expected."

The team estimates that 'Oumuamua's outgassing may have produced a very small amount of dust particles -- enough to give the object a little kick in speed, but not enough to be detected.

Karen Meech, an astronomer at the University of Hawaii's Institute of Astronomy and co-author of the study, speculated that small dust grains, present on the surface of most comets, eroded away during 'Oumuamua's long journey through interstellar space.

"The more we study 'Oumuamua, the more exciting it gets," Meech said. "I'm amazed at how much we have learned from a short, intense observing campaign. I can hardly wait for the next interstellar object!"

'Oumuamua, less than half a mile in length, now is farther away from our Sun than Jupiter and traveling away from the Sun at about 70,000 mph as it heads toward the outskirts of the solar system. In only another four years, it will pass Neptune's orbit on its way back into interstellar space.

Because 'Oumuamua is the first interstellar object ever observed in our solar system, researchers caution that it's difficult to draw general conclusions about this newly-discovered class of celestial bodies. However, observations point to the possibility that other star systems regularly eject small comet-like objects, and there should be more of them drifting among the stars. Future ground- and space-based surveys could detect more of these interstellar vagabonds, providing a larger sample for scientists to analyze.

The international team of astronomers used observations from Hubble, the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii, and the Gemini South Telescope and European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile.

The paper with the team's findings appears in the June 27 issue of the journal Nature.

JPL hosts CNEOS for the agency's Near-Earth Object Observations Program, an element of the Planetary Defense Coordination Office within the agency's Science Mission Directorate. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages Hubble. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations.

Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory

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NASA's Latest X-Plane Gets a New Name...

NASA

NASA’s Experimental Supersonic Aircraft Now Known as X-59 QueSST (News Release - June 27)

NASA’s newest experimental aircraft, designed with quiet supersonic technology and intended to help open a new era in faster-than-sound air travel over land, will forever be known in the history books as the X-59 QueSST.

The U.S. Air Force, which is the government entity responsible for assigning X-number designations and the popular name associated with the aircraft, officially informed NASA of their decision on June 26.

“For everyone working on this important project, this is great news and we’re thrilled with the designation,” said Jaiwon Shin, NASA’s associate administrator for aeronautics.

“I’m confident that the contributions the X-59 QueSST will make to our nation and the world will ensure its place among the greatest NASA X-planes ever flown,” Shin said.

The X-plane number designation continues a tradition of naming important experimental aircraft and rockets that dates back to 1947 and the X-1, the rocket-powered airplane that Chuck Yeager flew to become the first human to fly faster than the speed of sound.

And while that famous X-1 was nicknamed the Glamourous Glennis, for Yeager’s wife, today’s X-59 takes its QueSST nickname from the quiet supersonic technology the aircraft will be equipped with.

Now under construction by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company at its famed Skunk Works plant in Palmdale, Calif., the X-59 QueSST is designed so that when flying supersonic, people on the ground will hear nothing more than a sonic thump – if anything at all.

Once fully tested and pronounced safe to fly within the National Airspace, the X-59 in late 2022 will begin making supersonic flights over select communities to measure residents’ reactions to any noise they might hear.

The scientifically valid data gathered from these community overflights will be presented to U.S. and international regulators, who will use the information to help them come up with rules based on noise levels that enable new commercial markets for supersonic flight over land.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Lockheed Martin

ANOTHER Launch Delay for the James Webb Space Telescope...

NASA / Chris Gunn

NASA Completes Webb Telescope Review, Commits to Launch in Early 2021 (Press Release - June 27)

The Independent Review Board (IRB) established by NASA to assess progress on its James Webb Space Telescope has unanimously recommended that development on the world’s premier science observatory should continue; NASA has established a new launch date for Webb of March 30, 2021.

A report issued by the review board addresses a range of factors influencing Webb’s schedule and performance, including the technical challenges and tasks remaining by primary contractor Northrop Grumman before launch.

“Webb should continue based on its extraordinary scientific potential and critical role in maintaining U.S. leadership in astronomy and astrophysics,” said Tom Young, the chair of the review board. “Ensuring every element of Webb functions properly before it gets to space is critical to its success.”

The board also reaffirmed Webb’s significant complexity, incredible scientific potential, and importance to astrophysics. The report includes several recommendations for moving forward, some of which NASA has already initiated. The agency agrees with the review board’s expert guidance on decisive steps necessary to safeguard and complete the telescope’s development.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine sent a message to the NASA workforce Wednesday about the report. “Webb is vital to the next generation of research beyond NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. It’s going to do amazing things – things we’ve never been able to do before – as we peer into other galaxies and see light from the very dawn of time,” said Administrator Bridenstine. “Despite major challenges, the board and NASA unanimously agree that Webb will achieve mission success with the implementation of the board’s recommendations, many of which already are underway.”

“The more we learn more about our universe, the more we realize that Webb is critical to answering questions we didn’t even know how to ask when the spacecraft was first designed,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “Webb is poised to answer those questions, and is worth the wait. The valuable recommendations of the IRB support our efforts towards mission success; we expect spectacular scientific advances from NASA’s highest science priority.”

In its report, the IRB found that technical issues, including human errors, have greatly impacted the development schedule.

The agency previously had estimated an earlier launch date, but awaited findings from the IRB before making a final determination and considered data from Webb’s Standing Review Board. The agency established the new launch date estimate to accommodate changes in the schedule due to environmental testing and work performance challenges by Northrop Grumman on the spacecraft’s sunshield and propulsion system. The telescope’s new total lifecycle cost, to support the revised launch date, is estimated at $9.66 billion; its new development cost estimate is $8.8 billion.

From detecting the light of the first stars and galaxies in the distant universe, to probing the atmospheres of exoplanets for possible signs of habitability, Webb’s world-class science not only will shed light on the many mysteries of the universe, it also will complement and further enhance the discoveries of other astrophysics projects.

The first telescope of its kind, and an unprecedented feat of engineering, Webb is at the very leading edge of technological innovation and development. At its conception, challenges were anticipated for such a unique observatory of its size and magnitude. Webb was designed with highly sophisticated instruments to accomplish the ambitious scientific goals outlined in the National Academy of Sciences 2000 Decadal Survey – to answer the most fundamental questions about our cosmic origins.

Webb will be folded, origami-style, for launch inside Arianespace’s Ariane 5 launch vehicle fairing – about 16 feet (5 meters) wide. After its launch, the observatory will complete an intricate and technically-challenging series of deployments – one of the most critical parts of Webb’s journey to its final orbit, about one million miles from Earth. When completely unfurled, Webb’s primary mirror will span more than 21 feet (6.5 meters) and its sunshield will be about the size of a tennis court.

Because of its size and complexity, the process of integrating and testing parts is more complicated than that of an average science mission. Once the spacecraft element has completed its battery of testing, it will be integrated with the telescope and science instrument element, which passed its tests last year. The fully-assembled observatory then will undergo a series of challenging environmental tests and a final deployment test before it is shipped to the launch site in Kourou, French Guiana.

Webb is an international project led by NASA with its partners, the ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.

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NASA / Chris Gunn

Welcome to Asteroid Ryugu, Hayabusa2!

JAXA

Hayabusa 2 Rendezvous with Ryugu (Press Release)

JAXA confirmed Hayabusa 2—JAXA’s asteroid explorer—rendezvoused with Ryugu, the target asteroid.

On June 27, 2018, JAXA operated Hayabusa 2's chemical propulsion thrusters for the spacecraft's orbit control.*

The confirmation of the Hayabusa 2 rendezvous made at 9:35 a.m. (Japan Standard Time, JST) is based on the following data analyses:

・The thruster operation of Hayabusa 2 occurred nominally
・The distance between Hayabusa 2 and Ryugu is approximately 20 kilometers
・Hayabusa 2 is able to maintain a constant distance to asteroid Ryugu
・The status of Hayabusa 2 is normal

From this point, we are planning to conduct exploratory activities in the vicinity of the asteroid, including scientific observation of asteroid Ryugu and surveying the asteroid for sample collection.

* Hayabusa 2 operation hours: 7:00 a.m. (JST) through 3:00 p.m. (JST), June 27. The thruster operation was pre-programmed in the event sequence earlier on the day and the command was automatically executed.

Source: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

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Curiosity Update: A Selfie in a 'Global Dust Event'...

NASA / JPL - Caltech / MSSS

Martian Dust Storm Grows Global; Curiosity Captures Photos of Thickening Haze (News Release - June 20)

A storm of tiny dust particles has engulfed much of Mars over the last two weeks and prompted NASA's Opportunity rover to suspend science operations. But across the planet, NASA's Curiosity rover, which has been studying Martian soil at Gale Crater, is expected to remain largely unaffected by the dust. While Opportunity is powered by sunlight, which is blotted out by dust at its current location, Curiosity has a nuclear-powered battery that runs day and night.

The Martian dust storm has grown in size and is now officially a "planet-encircling" (or "global") dust event, according to Bruce Cantor of Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego. He is deputy principal investigator of the Mars Color Imager camera (MARCI) on board NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Though Curiosity is on the other side of Mars from Opportunity, dust has steadily increased over it, more than doubling over the weekend. The sunlight-blocking haze, called "tau," is now above 8.0 at Gale Crater -- the highest tau the mission has ever recorded. Tau was last measured near 11 over Opportunity, thick enough that accurate measurements are no longer possible for Mars' oldest active rover.

For NASA's human scientists watching from the ground, Curiosity offers an unprecedented window to answer some questions. One of the biggest is: why do some Martian dust storms last for months and grow massive, while others stay small and last only a week?

"We don't have any good idea," says Scott D. Guzewich, an atmospheric scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, leading Curiosity's dust storm investigation.

Curiosity, he points out, plus a fleet of spacecraft in the orbit of Mars, will allow scientists for the first time to collect a wealth of dust information both from the surface and from space. The last storm of global magnitude that enveloped Mars was in 2007, five years before Curiosity landed there.

Curiosity's engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, have studied the potential for the growing dust storm to affect the rover's instruments, and say it poses little risk. The largest impact is to the rover's cameras, which require extra exposure time due to the low lighting. The rover already routinely points its Mastcam down at the ground after each use to reduce the amount of dust blowing at its optics. JPL leads the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity mission.

Martian dust storms are common, especially during southern hemisphere spring and summer, when the planet is closest to the Sun. As the atmosphere warms, winds generated by larger contrasts in surface temperature at different locations mobilize dust particles the size of individual talcum powder grains. Carbon dioxide frozen on the winter polar cap evaporates, thickening the atmosphere and increasing the surface pressure. This enhances the process by helping suspend the dust particles in the air. In some cases, the dust clouds reach up to 40 miles (60 kilometers) or more in elevation.

Though they are common, Martian dust storms typically stay contained to a local area. By contrast, the current storm, if it were happening on Earth, is bigger than North America and Russia combined, says Guzewich.

The dust storm may seem exotic to some Earthlings, but it's not unique to Mars. Earth has dust storms, too, in desert regions such as North Africa, the Middle East, and the southwest United States.

But conditions here prevent them from spreading globally, said Ralph A. Kahn, a Goddard senior research scientist who studies the atmospheres of Earth and Mars. These include the structure of our thicker atmosphere and stronger gravity that helps settle dust. Earth also has vegetation cover on land that binds the soil with its roots and helps block the wind and rain that wash the particles out of the atmosphere.

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Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Hayabusa2 Update: Snapshots of Ryugu...

JAXA

Ryugu Seen From a Distance of 220-100km (News Release - June 21)

The onboard ONC-T (Optical Navigation Camera - Telescopic) imaged Ryugu from June 18, 2018 at around 12:00 JST to June 20 at around 19:00 JST. At 12:00 JST on June 18, the distance between the spacecraft and asteroid was about 220km, and this decreased to about 100km by June 20, 19:00 JST.

The following image in Figure 1 (above) is the original photograph without any pixel smoothing. The order of the images is the chronological order in which they were captured. The size of the asteroid remains proportional to the distance (no size correction; the asteroid appears smaller when more distant.)

In the following Figure 2 (below), the image has been smoothed and the brightness adjusted to emphasize light and dark regions.

Source: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

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JAXA

A Q&A Screening for SANTA CLARITA DIET...

One week ago today, I went to the Landmark Theatres in west Los Angeles to attend a screening for two episodes of the Netflix web series Santa Clarita Diet. What a very funny and twisted show! If you love dark comedy, then you definitely need to check this out. Afterwards, a Q&A session was held with main stars Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant...as well as series creator Victor Fresco (who wrote for the 1980s TV sitcom ALF. Remember ALF?). Very interesting panel.

Here are some pics that I took during the Q&A. I apologize for the blurriness of these photos... I used my smartphone to take 'em instead of a digital still camera—which I intend to bring when I go back to The Landmark this Saturday (June 23) to attend a Q&A by another well-known actress! Won't reveal who it is till after the event takes place. Happy Summer Solstice!







EDIT (June 24): The well-known actress who I'm referring to in the last paragraph above is none other than Natalie Portman herself! She did a Q&A for a documentary that she co-produced and narrated, titled Eating Animals. Click on this link to read my brief review of it.

Photo of the Day: Become Pen Pals with Trump Lackey PAUL MANAFORT! Sort of...

I saw this image on Twitter earlier today. I gotta remember to stop by the local Walmart later to buy a postcard! I actually wanted to go to the nearby Barnes & Noble bookstore to collect as many magazine subscription cards that I could carry, but sadly, this county jail doesn't allow publications to be delivered to prisoners. (Read the rules for mailing letters to Northern Neck Regional inmates here.) Oh well. And yes, this address is real.

But in case you can't read the writing on the postcard above, here it is below:

Paul Manafort
c/o Northern Neck Regional Jail
P.O. Box 1060
Warsaw, Virginia 22572

Happy Hump Day!

Happy 40th Birthday, GARFIELD!

So today marks four decades since Indiana-born cartoonist Jim Davis created Garfield. I started reading this comic strip over 25 years ago—when I was in elementary school—and continue to do so since. I no longer subscribe to a newspaper (I used to get the Los Angeles Times delivered to my doorstep), so I now go to the official Garfield website to read up on the latest exploits of the lasagna-cravin', Monday-hatin' fat cat as well as his dorky, polka music-loving owner Jon Arbuckle, and the lovable but dimwitted canine Odie. Oh, and Liz, Garfield's veterinarian and Jon's long-time girlfriend...who tolerates the trio's tomfoolery on a weekly basis. Here's hoping the wacky shenanigans of Garfield and company will continue for years to come!

And no, I never saw the two live-action Garfield movies starring Bill Murray and Jennifer Love Hewitt. That is all.

Donald Trump Wants to Create the UNITED STATES SPACE FORCE...

Note to the Dotard, the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 bars any signatory nation from deploying nuclear warheads and other weapons of mass destruction beyond Earth's atmosphere. Keep that in mind while you contemplate the idea of having a new branch in the American military: the Space Force.

But if you want to make the T-65, RZ-1, A/SF-01 and Delta-7 fighters a reality, be my guest! Star Wars geeks everywhere will be grateful...maybe.