The Last Month in Astronomy

SEP-11-2009 • Electric nose (Enose) returns home. • Nothing stinks. Over a 6-month period on the space station, 32 sensors were used to detect possibly dangerous odors to humans. Ten contaminants were monitored continuously and all were found to be at harmless levels. The Enose may be used in the future to help identify smoldering fires, dangerous chemical spills, and even assist with medical diagnosis. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090910235638.htm

SEP-09-2009 • New Hubble Photos • The refurbished Hubble Space Telescope has created some fantastic pictures and many more are promised in the near future. A new deep field image is planned. Also, research within the next year will include a search of the Kuiper Belt looking for new “plutoids”. As a result of the servicing mission, there are now 13 instruments working on Hubble instead of the 3 that were still working before the mission. See photos on page 2 and a short story on page 1. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090909103507.htm

SEP-04-2009 • Fast White Dwarf • A Fast-Spinning White Dwarf has been found that has supernova possibilities. Using data from the XMM Newton satellite x-ray telescope, scientists have collected highly accurate mass information for an ultramassive white dwarf in a binary system, one that is close to becoming a type Ia supernova. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/325/5945/1222

SEP-04-2009 • Comet Research • New research; Will there be a cometary catastrophe? Authors Nathan Kaib and Thomas Quinn use computer simulations to estimate the highest number of long-period comets possible in the inner Oort cloud and how cometary orbits are disrupted. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/325/5945/1234

SEP-02-2009 • Andromeda is Hungry! • The nearest major galaxy is heading toward the Milky Way and it is ravenous. Astronomer’s have discovered a half dozen leftovers (stars and dwarf galaxies) in Andromeda’s wake. One victim is the dwarf galaxy Triangulum, which has not been fully consumed. http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_13253344?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com&nclick_check=1

AUG-28-2009 • Newtonian Spirals • Was Ptolemy right with his theory of epicycles on how galaxies formed spirals? Scientists have compiled data on more than 20,000 stars mapping their motions. Stars follow Newton’s gravitational law. Check out the process on http://rqgravity.net/SpiralStructure or the article at http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2009/821/2

AUG-18-2009 • Life component from comet • The amino acid glycine has been detected in samples from the comet Wild2. The NASA Stardust spacecraft detected glycine as reported by Dr. Jamie Elsila. “Our discovery supports the theory that some of life’s ingredients formed in space and were delivered to Earth long ago ...” http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090817143602.htm

AUG-17-2009 • Why the corona is so hot • The sun’s corona is hot – real hot. It is several million Kelvins but the surface is only about 6000K. Why the difference? At least part of the reason is nanoflares – small, sudden bursts of energy that are found inside “tiny strands that are bundled together to form a magnetic tube called a coronal loop” according to James Klimchuk. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090814165309.htm