The Last 29 Days in Astronomy

MAR-14-2008 • Amino Acids on the Rocks • A study has found that meteorites are a rich source of amino acids. In particular, the oldest meteorites have the most amino acids further suggesting that amino acids were far more present in the past. http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=6732

MAR-18-2008 • Water and protoplanets • Two extrasolar protoplanetary disks have been discovered to have large amounts of water vapor. The detections were first made with the Spitzer infrared space telescope. Later more detailed measurements were made using a special infrared spectrometer on the Keck II telescope. http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=6740

MAR-20-2008 • Titanic Ocean • Add Titan to the list of moons that contain an underground ocean. Recent radar measurements by Cassini shows evidence that such an ocean exists and it consists of water and ammonia. http://jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2008-048

MAR-26-2008 • Organics with Enceladus • Remember that close flyby of Enceladus that Cassini did in early March? Turns out that it detected a surprising amount of organic material. The result is the Enceladus “tastes” like a comet but it has an internal source of heat. http://jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2008-050

MAR-26-2008 • STS-123 Lands • The flight of STS-123 represented a milestone of sorts. It was the first time that all partners in the ISS were involved. The successful return of Endeavour means that the backup shuttle for the Hubble fixup mission will be ready in time. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts123/mission_overview.html

APR-10-2008 • Phoenix On Course • The Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft performed a minor course correction in anticipation of the May 25 landing. The current expected landing site is called “Green Valley”. Another correction is possible based on additional images taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. http://jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2008-059