Sky & Telescope's News Bulletin - Nov 12

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* * * SKY & TELESCOPE's WEEKLY NEWS BULLETIN - November 12, 2004 * * *

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Welcome to S&T's Weekly News Bulletin. Images, the full text of stories
abridged here, and other enhancements are available on our Web site,
SkyandTelescope.com, at the URLs provided below. (If the links don't work, just
manually type the URLs into your Web browser.) Clear skies!

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MARS METHANE BOOSTS CHANCES FOR LIFE

Tantalizing new evidence possibly suggestive of current life on Mars has just
been reported by two independent teams. The groups, led by Michael J. Mumma
(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) and Vladimir A. Krasnopolsky (Catholic
University of America), have found the spectral signature of methane (CH4) in
the Martian atmosphere. Mumma's team found significant enhancements of methane
near the equator, while Krasnopolsky's results show a global level of
atmospheric methane....

Methane gas is a potential biomarker because various photochemical and other
processes destroy it on Mars. Without being continually replenished, it would
disappear from the atmosphere in about 340 years or less. On Earth,
microorganisms are by far the dominant source of methane gas....

http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1389_1.asp

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THE DWINDLING KUIPER BELT

Objects in the (telescope) mirror are smaller than they once appeared -- at
least in the case of the small, icy bodies beyond Neptune forming the debris
zone known as the Kuiper Belt. Observations by several teams have led
astronomer to realize that Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) are generally smaller
than previously thought. This, in turn, lowers the estimated total mass of the
belt by a factor of 5 or 10....

http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1388_1.asp

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THIS IS A QUIET SUN?

We're two years from the estimated minimum of the 11-year solar cycle, and the
average number of sunspots has decreased as predicted. But the sunspots that
remain continue to pack quite a wallop. A series of major solar flares from
sunspot 10696 has kept geomagnetic activity near or above "storm" level ever
since November 7th. Intense auroral activity has been reported for three
consecutive nights, reaching as far south as Borrego Springs, California, just
north of the Mexican border....

http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1387_1.asp

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MORE SCIENCE FINDINGS FROM CASSINI

Hundreds of scientists around the world continue to pore over images and data
from the Cassini spacecraft following its successful July 1st insertion into
Saturn orbit and its October 26th close flyby of the cloud-enshrouded moon
Titan. The latest results, presented on November 8th at the American
Astronomical Society's Division of Planetary Sciences meeting in Louisville,
Kentucky, include a mysterious circular feature on Titan and mountains on
Iapetus that might be the highest in the solar system. "It's an embarrassment
of riches," says Carolyn Porco (Space Science Institute), principal
investigator of Cassini's camera system....

http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1386_1.asp

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JUPITER'S DAYTIME DISAPPEARANCE

Observers across the eastern part of North America were treated to a daytime
occultation of Jupiter by the thin crescent Moon on November 9, 2004.
Fortunately, most observers had either clear skies or scattered clouds,
allowing some excellent views of the event....

http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1385_1.asp

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S SKY

* New Moon on Friday, November 12th.
* Leonid meteor shower should peak early on the morning of November 17th.
* First-quarter Moon on November 18-19th.

For more details, see This Week's Sky at a Glance and Planet Roundup:

http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance/

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Copyright 2004 Sky Publishing Corp. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin is provided as a
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*-----------------------------------------------------*
| Stuart Goldman |
* Associate Editor *
| Sky & Telescope |
* 49 Bay State Rd. Sky & Telescope: The Essential *
| Cambridge, MA 02138 Magazine of Astronomy |
*-----------------------------------------------------*

Stuart Goldman wrote:

================================================== ======================

* * * SKY & TELESCOPE's WEEKLY NEWS BULLETIN - November 12, 2004 * * *

================================================== ======================

Welcome to S&T's Weekly News Bulletin. Images, the full text of stories
abridged here, and other enhancements are available on our Web site,
SkyandTelescope.com, at the URLs provided below. (If the links don't work, just
manually type the URLs into your Web browser.) Clear skies!

================================================== ======================

MARS METHANE BOOSTS CHANCES FOR LIFE

Tantalizing new evidence possibly suggestive of current life on Mars has just
been reported by two independent teams. The groups, led by Michael J. Mumma
(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) and Vladimir A. Krasnopolsky (Catholic
University of America), have found the spectral signature of methane (CH4) in
the Martian atmosphere. Mumma's team found significant enhancements of methane
near the equator, while Krasnopolsky's results show a global level of
atmospheric methane....

Methane gas is a potential biomarker because various photochemical and other
processes destroy it on Mars. Without being continually replenished, it would
disappear from the atmosphere in about 340 years or less. On Earth,
microorganisms are by far the dominant source of methane gas....

http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1389_1.asp


Good Grief! This very old news! Did FOX buy out Smoke &* Telescope?

Did you read the article:

"The results were presented this week at the American Astronomical
Society's Division of Planetary Sciences conference in Louisville,
Kentucky. This evidence for methane on Mars has also been corroborated
with data gathered by the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft."

Milyunk wrote:


Stuart Goldman wrote:

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MARS METHANE BOOSTS CHANCES FOR LIFE

Tantalizing new evidence possibly suggestive of current life on Mars has just
been reported by two independent teams. The groups, led by Michael J. Mumma
(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) and Vladimir A. Krasnopolsky (Catholic
University of America), have found the spectral signature of methane (CH4) in
the Martian atmosphere. Mumma's team found significant enhancements of methane
near the equator, while Krasnopolsky's results show a global level of
atmospheric methane....

Methane gas is a potential biomarker because various photochemical and other
processes destroy it on Mars. Without being continually replenished, it would
disappear from the atmosphere in about 340 years or less. On Earth,
microorganisms are by far the dominant source of methane gas....


http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1389_1.asp


Good Grief! This very old news! Did FOX buy out Smoke &* Telescope?

--
Tom Rankin - Programmer by day, amateur astronomer by night!
Mid-Hudson Astronomy Association - http://mhaa.whodeanie.com
Views and Brews - http://viewsandbrews.com

When replying, remove the capital letters from my email address.

Good Grief! This very old news! Did FOX buy out Smoke &* Telescope?

Hi:

If you'd gone on to read the article, you'd have noticed the following:

"The results were presented this week at the American Astronomical Society's
Division of Planetary Sciences conference in Louisville, Kentucky..."

;-)

Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_
Like SCTs and MCTs?
Check-out sct-user, the mailing list for CAT fanciers!
Goto http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index.html

mere extensions of the earlier results and projections already applied,
yes? We knew this was coming because the original work was "valid"
and very accurately done. I mean CSI-Mars is NOT required!
John




Rod Mollise wrote:


Good Grief! This very old news! Did FOX buy out Smoke &* Telescope?

Hi:

If you'd gone on to read the article, you'd have noticed the following:

"The results were presented this week at the American Astronomical Society's
Division of Planetary Sciences conference in Louisville, Kentucky..."

;-)

Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_
Like SCTs and MCTs?
Check-out sct-user, the mailing list for CAT fanciers!
Goto http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index.html