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Sky & Telescope News Bulletin - August 29, 2003



 
 
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Old August 30th 03, 01:51 AM
Ron Baalke
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Default Sky & Telescope News Bulletin - August 29, 2003



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* * * SKY & TELESCOPE's WEEKLY NEWS BULLETIN - August 29, 2003 * * *

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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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ERASING THE ANCIENT MARTIAN LANDSCAPE

When Mars was a youngster, it was a far different place. The now dry and
frigid world was arguably warmer and had flowing water on its surface. It
was also a pock-marked teenager, with active volcanoes and deep impact
scars. But today there is little evidence of the red planet's youth. And
if a team of astronomers are correct, it is because Mars has literally
buried its past.

As a child, Mars formed an intricate drainage system to channel its water.
During this period, which ended roughly 3 billion years ago, impacts were
relentless as space debris bombarded the planet. The oldest geological
formations on Mars hark back to this violent period. But time has managed
to erase most of the wounds. Craters smaller than about 30 kilometers
aren't found in the numbers expected, and astronomers believe that most of
these ancient impact sites have long since eroded away.

Explaining these missing craters is difficult because the sparse and
disconnected small drainage systems visible on Mars today couldn't have
carried enough water to cause all the erosion....

http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1034_1.asp


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STARFEST 2003: DARK SKIES AND ALIENS
A diary of Canada's largest annual star party

If you've never been in to a star party, I strongly recommend that you
attend one. Even if it's cloudy, you are virtually guaranteed to come away
with your astronomical batteries tremendously recharged. You meet old
friends, make new ones, and make your observing experience so much
richer....

http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1032_1.asp


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HUBBLE'S CLOSEST LOOK AT MARS

This past week seemingly all skygazers turned toward Mars -- the Hubble
Space Telescope included. On August 26th, controllers aimed Hubble at the
red planet and captured a series of images using the Wide Field and
Planetary Camera 2 between 6:20 and 7:12 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, only
11 hours -- and 2,422 miles -- shy of Mars's closest approach to Earth in
more than 60,000 years. The color-composite photo was assembled from
frames taken with red, green, and blue filters. The images were quickly
processed and released Wednesday morning....

http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1033_1.asp


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ASTRO NEWS BRIEFS

Space Infrared Telescope Facility Finally Takes Flight

After a four-month delay, the last of NASA's four "Great Observatories"
lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, early Monday morning. SIRTF, the
Space Infrared Telescope Facility, will complement the Hubble Space
Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory, providing longer-wavelength views
of the cosmos. The infrared universe is especially rich for study, both
because infrared light penetrates interstellar dust and because much of
the light from the early universe has been redshifted deep into infrared
wavelengths. The new telescope, set to be operational in about three
months, will see back to the earliest galaxies and into dust cocoons where
stars are forming.

The Delta II Heavy rocket intended to loft SIRTF last April was used
instead used for Opportunity, the second of NASA's Mars Exploration
Rovers, on July 7th. But within two weeks SIRTF's replacement rocket was
set up on the pad. This launch was a little unusual in that the Delta's
second stage will accompany the observatory into solar orbit instead of
being left behind. Once clear of Earth the engine will fire to place SIRTF
in an Earth-trailing solar orbit that drifts 15 million kilometers farther
from home every year....

MOST SEES FIRST LIGHT

A month after its June 30th launch, Canada's first space telescope, MOST
(Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars), saw first light. According
to scientists on the mission, the telescope successfully imaged its first
star and beamed the signal back to Earth. Once online full time, MOST will
probe the interiors of stars by tracking their tiny surface vibrations and
will also look for transits by small extrasolar planets. It also holds the
honor of being the smallest space telescope in orbit.

http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1031_1.asp


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HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S SKY

* Mars is at perihelion, its closest point to the Sun in its orbit, on
August 30th.
* First-quarter Moon on September 3rd.
* Mars (magnitude -2.9, in Aquarius) rises in the east-southeast in early
evening, shining brilliant, fiery yellow-orange.

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

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


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Copyright 2003 Sky Publishing Corp. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin is provided
as a free service to the astronomical community by the editors of SKY &
TELESCOPE magazine. Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as
long as our copyright notice is included, along with the words "used by
permission." But this bulletin may not be published in any other form
without written permission from Sky Publishing; send e-mail to
or call +1 617-864-7360. More astronomy
news is available on our Web site at
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/.

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