The Last 31 Days in Astronomy

DEC–18–2006 • Spitzer Spies Early Universe • Spitzer is finding large, bright objects about 13 billion light years away which belong to the early universe. These objects predate any star by a few hundred million years and are unlike anything in the contemporary universe. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2006–150

DEC–22–2006 • STS–116 Lands • The space shuttle Discovery landed at KSC after completing an ambitious building project that included an additional spacewalk and rewired the space station’s electrical power system. It was also the first nightime shuttle launch since before the Columbia disaster. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

JAN–03–2007 • Liquid Lakes on Titan • NASA scientists say they now have proof that at least some of the surface features that look like liquid lakes on Titan are just exactly that. The results are in an article in the journal Nature. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/features.cfm?feature=1258

JAN–04–2007 • Service Pack for Rovers • Software update for Rovers Spirit and Opportunity on Mars. One update enables rovers to recognize dust devils and clouds. Another gives a skill called “visual target tracking” which allows them to “go and touch.” The software will help them avoid hazards and navigational deadends. http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=4975

JAN–07–2007 • 3D Map of Dark Matter • An international team of astronomers using thhe first three–dimensional map of dark matter in the universe. The map gives the best evidence to date that normal matter (e.g. galaxies) formed along filaments of dark matter. http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/jan/HQ_07002_Hubble_Dark_Matter.html

JAN–09–2007 • Space Pillars Doomed • Images from the Spitzer Space Telescope indicate that a supernova in the Eagle Nebula has probably destroyed the Pillars of Creation. The Pillars photo was taken by Dr. Jeff Hester’s team and is one of the most famous pictures ever taken by the Hubble telescope. But Spitzer, working in the infrared, shows a large shock wave that by now should have created havoc in that area. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2007–003

JAN–10–2007 • Triple Quasar Found • Since the 1980’s, astronomers have found that quasars occasionally show up in pairs. Now they have found a triple quasar. At first, it seemed likely that the third quasar was actually a result of gravitational lensing but subsequent observations appear to rule that out. http://skytonight.com/news/home/5141272.html