Strange Behavior of the Sun's Iron Heart Surprises Scientists

Their is a machine(Z machine) on earth that is capable of creating temperatures that are similar to what is found inside the sun's heart and scientists have been using this to see how iron reacts at those kinds of temperatures and the results are astounding. The Z machine creates a pulse of X-rays contains 80 trillion watts of electricity but only last for 100 nanoseconds. When Bailey did this to a small amount of iron they saw that it turned to plasma like in the sun but that they underestimated the opacity of iron by 7 percent.This finding might affect the study of the sun and other stars because they have never tested the opacity of oxygen, iron, and carbon before so it could prove to why they have gotten the results they have and why there are so many conflicts between the calculations and observational data. Knowing the opacity of these three elements might prove that they don't have to change anything and that previous models might still be correct. Right know Bailey is trying to determine why they predicted such a low opacity for the elements. It amazes me sometimes what technology can accomplish like creating specks of solar matter for our observation and with further advances in technology we will be able to better understand the sun and similar stars.

http://www.space.com/28146-sun-iron-heart-behavior.html

Is Moon Mining Economically Feasible?

Ian Crawford, a professor of planetary science and astrobiology at Birkbeck College, London has made an assessment of whether or not the mining the moon would be economically feasible. One of the points he makes is that strip-mining the resource helium-3 would be that it is a fossil fuel so once it's used up there is no more and that instead of trying to find ways of using that for power we should use it instead to find a renewable resource that would better for us in the long run. He also points that we should know exactly how much water there is inside the moon before planning accordingly. Not to mention the possibility of rare elements that are scarce on earth being found in abundance in the moon or from left over asteroids that have hit it during its existence. While mining the moon might give us resources we still have to think of the consequences if we go through with this. The moon has protected us from asteroids and meteor for ages and if we were to mine it we would decrease its size and stability which cause it to break or explode if another asteroid were to hit which could become detrimental to us. While mining the moon wouldn't be a bad thing we should see all the problems that it might cause in the future.

http://www.space.com/28189-moon-mining-economic-feasibility.html

Private Dream Chaser Space Plane Keeps Marching Toward Flight

The Dream Chaser space plane continues to make closer steps towards flight even though it wasn't chosen by NASA to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Sierra Nevada Corporation recently checked off a milestone laid out in the company's last commercial-crew contract with NASA, which was signed in 2012 even though they weren't funded for the final phase of the project while NASA gave the funding to SpaceX and Boeing to provide astronaut taxis. They recently just passed milestone 15a which validates their performance and safety, while decreasing the risk for this critical propulsion system. The goal of the Commercial Crew Program is to restart launches of astronauts from U.S. soil, a practice which was suspended in 2011 when the space shuttle retired. Current International Space Station crews launch with Russian Soyuz spacecraft, which leaves Earth from Kazakhstan. It is inspiring to see the Sierra Nevada is still making progress towards their goal even though they haven't received the funding from NASA. Also, they filed a protest to the GAO, which was denied, concerning the award of CCtCap.

http://www.space.com/28203-dream-chaser-space-plane-propulsion-milestone.html

Telescope Captures Stunning Images of Alien Planets and Young Star

The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) has already found unexpected differences between two sister exoplanets and helped to characterize the ring of dust and rocky bodies surrounding a young star even though it hasn't been doing full science operations until this past November. GPI was able to identify differences in the light emitted by the two sister planets which is astonishing because both of the planets are similar in size and appear to be the same color although scientists believe that this is the case because their are differences in cloud cover between the two. GPI was built to characterize and find gas giants but it isn't able to identify small rock planets but scientist believe that the data they get from it might help to build future gear that will be able to do just that. It is amazing that we have come so far in such a short time when it concerns our knowledge of the cosmos it makes me giddy in anticipation to see what else is in store in the future.

http://www.space.com/28202-exoplanet-photos-gemini-planet-imager.html

Spectacular Time-Lapse Video Shows Earth Through an Astronaut's Eyes

This video shows us what a astronaut sees outside of their space station while looking at earth. It is amazing to think of the sights that they must see while up there and how their whole perspective about things changes when they are on the outside looking in so to speak. This video was made from connecting over 12,000 pictures taken by Astronaut Alexander Gerst and giving the effect that it was taken continuously over a period of time instead of individual pictures strong together. This video really captures the beauty of space and of how our earth looks like from the outside and makes you feel a little envious of the experience and sights that these astronauts must experience.

http://www.space.com/28176-amazing-earth-from-space-astronaut-video.html

Early yesterday morning SpaceX launched the Dragon cargo ship into space heading towards the international space station. Not all was successful because Falcon 9's rocket first stage was destroyed upon landing on its target in the Atlantic ocean. SpaceX was trying to land the rocket safely to make further progress in their quest for reusable rocket technology. The scientists aren't that disappointed because their weren't actually expecting it to succeed but they are going to use the data that they collected to make further progress on the landing technology of the rockets.

The main point of the launch was actually the launch of the cargo ship which will be landing in the space station some time tomorrow. While the rocket landing might have been a failure the main objective of the launch was a success and will give them more information for their next attempt. After delivering the cargo the Dragon will be returning to earth in a months time and landing in the Atlantic ocean. This is special because the dragon is the only cargo vehicle that has returned to earth because the others burn up in reentry.

http://www.space.com/28173-spacex-reusable-rocket-test-dragon-launch.html

SpaceX Postpones Cargo Launch, Daring Rocket Test to Saturday

SpaceX delayed its next robotic cargo launch toward the International Space Station — which also featured a bold rocket-reusability test — by another day, to early yesterday morning. The launch was supposed to happen Tuesday but was stopped before liftoff because of an issue with an actuator on the Falcon 9's second stage. The primary objective of the launch was to send the unmanned Dragon — which is loaded with more than 5,000 pounds of food, scientific experiments and spare parts — on its way to the orbiting lab. But SpaceX will also try to bring the Falcon 9's first stage back to Earth for a pinpoint landing on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean. This is a bold move for them to try to include both a delivery and a experiment in one but if it is successful it will be a great stride in reusable rocket technology which will overall decrease the cost of rockets by a lot if they won't have to keep building the rockets but only having to refuel them. We will learn the success of this experiment in a month when the ship comes to earth.

http://www.space.com/28201-spacex-postpones-dragon-launch-rocket-test.html

SpaceX's Elon Musk to Reveal Mars Colonization Ideas This Year

 The billionaire entrepreneur behind the private spaceflight company SpaceX Elon Musk is saying he will be unveiling his concepts for the Mars colonization later this year. Musk started SpaceX in 2002 with the dream of sending people into space. Musk has gotten into a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to do 12 delivery missions to the international space station. The fifth delivery was made early yesterday morning, the launch was delayed because there was complication with the rocket. Musk did a "Ask Me Anything" session on Reddit Monday evening where he answered question ranging from the mundane (how much he sleeps) to others more related to future explorations (asking if Jupiter's icy moon Europa should be a target for future exploration). 

http://www.space.com/28215-elon-musk-spacex-mars-colony-idea.html

Tiny Greenhouse Could Fly Plants to Mars in 2018

In 2018 Mars One (a nonprofit based in the Netherlands) is planning to send a tiny self-contained greenhouse to mars to see the potential of plant growth in mars. Seed was chosen out of 35 designs to be the one that is gonna be launched in a couple years. Of course Mars One has to see if this is feasible and if the analysis shows that it isn't they will choose one of the ten runner ups. This is a major step in our colonization efforts of Mars because it will allow us to see if their might be a chance of success and how to improve them. It would also make the colonization easier if there was plant life on the planet before humans travel there in 2025. I can't wait to see the results of this experiment and what it will tell us about Mars.

http://www.space.com/28165-tiny-greenhouse-mars-one-colony.html

CATS in Space: NASA Probe to Examine Climate Change

NASA's Cloud-Aerosol Transport System instrument (CATS) was set to launch toward the orbiting lab yesterday morning aboard SpaceX's robotic Dragon cargo capsule and it will track clouds and tiny particles of dust, smoke and pollution in Earth's atmosphere that influence climate so that we can better understand climate change. CATS will shine a LIDAR (light detection and ranging) instrument on the atmosphere to measure where particles are, what sorts of particles are within view and how they are distributed. It will also see how day and night affect aerosols and clouds. This is not only beneficial to scientists to help understand the evolution of our atmosphere but could also help us in future atmospheric investigations of other planets. This could help us with better knowing about weather patterns and predicting when storms may emerge. While the things it can study are limited in can still greatly advance our own understanding of something that is part of our daily lives. 

http://www.space.com/28216-spacex-dragon-launch-nasa-cats-instrument.html

Did Gravity Save the Universe from 'God Particle' Higgs Boson?

The recently discovered Higgs boson, which helps give particles their mass, could have destroyed the cosmos shortly after it was born, causing the universe to collapse just after the Big Bang. But gravity, the force that keeps planets and stars together, might have kept this from happening. It's amazing to think that the universe might not have developed the way it has because of something that we can't even see. It's because of gravity that that didn't happen and the universe was allowed to expand and not snuff its self out right after the Big Bang. Because of the curve in space-time it increased the mass of the Higgs Boson and made it more difficult for them to attract one another. Scientists are researching this interaction more and seeing how it affected the early universe. It really makes you wonder and appreciate gravity more because without it earth or even this universe wouldn't exist and also marvel at the power and importance of things that we can't see with out own eyes.

http://www.space.com/28181-gravity-higgs-boson-universe-destruction.html

No Alien Signals Detected From Kepler's New Exoplanet

SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) utilized the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) to study HIP 116454b, an exoplanet 180 light-years away in the constellation Pisces. This exoplanet measures 2.5 times the diameter of Earth and was the first discovery made by Kepler in its rebooted "K2" mission. However, this planet doesn't seem to host any life or at least any technologically advanced life because we haven't been able to detect any radio singles coming off of it. Just because this search wasn't a success doesn't mean we have to give up but in stead put more of an effort into trying to find alien life on other planets. This exoplanet is the first of many attempts of trying to find life on other planets.

http://www.space.com/28207-seti-alien-signal-search-kepler-exoplanet.html

Happy Birthday, Stephen Hawking!

World-renowned theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking celebrates his 73rd birthday on January 8th. He has become a very prominent and important figure in the scientific community for his work with black holes which combined quantum physics with Einsteins theory of relativity. It is incredible how much work Hawking has been able to accomplish when he has had ALS (a degenerative motor neuron disease that attacks the neurons that control muscle movement) for a large part of his life and hasn't been able to move in years. He didn't let the disease stop him and he continued to make strides in his chosen field and become one of the most recognized scientists in the world.

http://www.space.com/28210-stephen-hawking-73rd-birthday.html