News, Saturday, 10 June 2006 Bryce Astro Fest Brochure On Line This year's Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival will be held this month from the 21st to the 24th. The staff at Bryce has put together a PDF brochure listing the festival's many events. Find it at: http://utahastro.info/ASTROFEST2006.PDF +++++ Hubble Sees Galaxy on Edge This is a unique view of the disk galaxy NGC 5866 tilted nearly edge-on to our line-of-sight. Hubble's sharp vision reveals a crisp dust lane dividing the galaxy into two halves. http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2006/24/ +++++ Ancient Caldera in Apollinaris Patera These images, taken by ESA's Mars Express spacecraft, show the caldera of Apollinaris Patera, an ancient, 5-kilometre-high volcano northwest of Gusev Crater. http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEM412AATME_0.html +++++ The Toucan's Diamond VLT Image of a Unique Swarm of Stars, 47 Tuc. http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2006/phot-20-06.html +++++ Andromeda Galaxy (M31): The Heat Is On in Andromeda's Center This color-coded Chandra image shows the central region of the Andromeda Galaxy... http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2006/m31/ +++++ Opportunity Rolls Free Again (Four Wheels) This animated piece illustrates the recent escape of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity from dangerous, loose material... http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status_opportunityAll.html#sol837 http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/opportunity/20060609a.html +++++ View Northward from Spirit's Winter Roost One part of the research program that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit is conducting is the most detailed panorama yet taken on the surface of Mars. http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20060609a.html +++++ Progress on Long-Term Experiments Spirit is healthy and continues to make progress on the rover's winter science experiments. http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status_spiritAll.html#sol860 +++++ Corkscrew Asteroid A tiny asteroid corkscrewing around Earth for the past seven years is about to leave the neighborhood. http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/09jun_moonlets.htm?list864576 +++++ Galaxy Cluster Most Distant from Earth Found The most distant cluster of galaxies yet has been discovered by astronomers from the U.S., Europe and Chile. http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=7769 +++++ Venus Express Commissioning Phase Completed After 207 days of flight, 43 orbits around Venus and many test activities, Venus Express has formally completed its commissioning phase and has entered the routine science phase. http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=39343 +++++ Nearby Extreme Galaxies Have Link to Humble Roots If you can't travel to the picturesque sands of Waikiki Beach, you can always do the next-best thing and visit a local shore. http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/press/pr0617.html +++++ Magnetic Nature of a Mysterious Cosmic X-ray Emitter An international team of astronomers has discovered that the naked-eye star, tau Scorpii, unexpectedly hosts a complex network of magnetic field lines over its surface. http://www.ras.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1021&Itemid=... +++++ Distant Ball of Dust Not Dusty Enough One of the youngest supernova remnants known, the Small Magellanic Cloud, exhibits the same problem as exploding stars in our own galaxy: too little dust. http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2006/06/06_supernova.shtml +++++ Riding to Hubble's Rescue "Hubble-huggers" have been on edge hoping that NASA will send a space shuttle crew to extend the life of space-based astronomy's crown jewel. http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2006/06/09/232.aspx +++++ Agreement Reached on Yerkes Sale The University of Chicago is selling the historic Yerkes Observatory, but the facility and telescopes will be preserved. http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1738_1.asp +++++ Did Ancient Americans Record a Supernova? An ancient rock carving may be the first Native American record of a supernova. http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1737_1.asp +++++ Student Experiments Successfully Launched The launch of the NASA Orion sounding rocket carrying experiments developed by students from across the country was successfully conducted Thursday morning. http://www.wff.nasa.gov/news/story.php?id=90 +++++ Findings Strengthen Case for Signs of Early Life in Australian Rocks Over the last several billion years, the sediments of the earth have been raised and lowered, cooled and heated, twisted and straightened. http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=0002D6A8-4F24-1487-8... +++++ Teachers Envisage the Science Textbooks of the Future Taking some cues from computer experts, educators are considering what science textbooks should look like a decade from now. http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060605/full/060605-13.html +++++ Record Meteorite Hits Norway [Editor's note: I include the following piece just in case it turns out to be a real story. The near lack of coverage by the media makes me suspect it's a non-event.] As Wednesday morning dawned, northern Norway was hit with an impact which at least one astronomer says could be comparable to the atomic bomb used on Hiroshima. http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1346411.ece +++++ Cassini-Huygens Update http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/sig-event-details.cfm?newsID=666 +++++ ISS Update http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2006/jun/HQ_SS06027_station_status_report.ht... +++++ STS Update http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/shuttleoperations/status/2006/status-200... +++++ ELV Update http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/launchingrockets/status/2006/elvstatus-2... +++++ ************************************************** ************************************************** Images and Data From Cassini-Huygens At: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/latest/index.cfm http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press-releases.cfm +++++ Information On The Mars Rovers At: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html +++++ SLAS 2006 Star Party Schedule http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/LOCAL.HTML +++++ SSA / UMNH 2006 Southern Utah Public Star Party Schedule http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/STARPARTIES.HTML +++++ ************************************************** News is being sent to you because of your affiliation with the Salt Lake Astronomical Society or because you asked to be subscribed. To unsubscribe please send your request to paw at wirelessbeehive dot com. Check out my NASA Solar System Ambassador web site at: http://www.umnh.utah.edu/utahsky and mirrored at http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/ For astronomy clubs in Utah see: http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/UTAHCLUBS.HTML For the Utah Astronomy Listserve see: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy ************************************************** -- Patrick Wiggins NASA Solar System Ambassador to Utah & NE Nevada paw at wirelessbeehive dot com http://www.umnh.utah.edu/utahsky http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/ 435.882.1209 801.918.9092