Attention, budding astronomers and those of a general cosmic bent: over the next couple of weeks, the comet PanSTARRS should be visible to the naked eye in the northern hemisphere, being visible above the western horizon just after sunset.
PanSTARRS is making her first visit to our inner solar system, so let’s make her feel right at home. Give her a wave as she passes overhead!
Click on the graphic for an expanded view.
Comet Pan-STARRS
While we puny humans go about our days, worrying about trivial matters like shoes, the Oscars and the efficacy or otherwise of coalition governments, an asteroid with – so we’re told – the destructive power of an H-bomb is hurtling towards our favorite green and blue planet, Earth.
And not for the first time, either. These pesky asteroids keep setting themselves on an inexorable collision course with Planet Earth like stone kamikaze pilots at regular intervals across the ages of Man. So far, their aim hasn’t been too good, mostly missing us altogether, but a couple of doozies have snuck through the atmosphere and smacked Mother Earth upside the head. It can only be a matter of time etc.
E&T has covered this intergalactic terror before from a number of angles, including Nasa’s 1,000 most-wanted asteroid list, the ESA crowdsourcing asteroid watch and what exactly can we do about the asteroid threat anyway.
Click on the graphic for an expanded view.
Giant asteroid to skim past Earth
Well, would you look at this – a flying observatory. Cool! NASA’s latest science wheeze is the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy – or SOFIA to her friends.
A 15-tonne telescope mounted on a jumbo jet, this joint US-German venture (there are two countries you might not immediately put together) is beginning its first full cycle of science flights. Question: how do stars form and evolve? No problem – SOFIA’s on it.
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SOFIA telescope takes flight
As E&T reports in a recent news story about the SKA project, ASTRON – the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy – and IBM have embarked on a €32.9M project to develop and build the computer systems that will be needed to support the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope when it begins operations from 2019, in what’s being claimed as one of the most data-intensive science projects ever planned.
Australia and South Africa are competing to host the SKA. This graphic illustrates the concept and design of the planned radio telescope.
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World's biggest radio telescope
We figured that space watchers everywhere might appreciate this cutaway graphic, illustrating how Jupiter’s moon Europa could foster life.
New research suggests that an ocean of water just beneath the icy shell of Europa might support life.
Click on the graphic for an expanded view.
Jupiter's moon Europa
E&T is the IET's magazine covering science, engineering and technology.
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