News Headlines for October 1998

Any Mars Life Would Be Hard to Find Some researchers propose that life on Earth first evolved in warm environments such as hot springs and deep thermal vents. According to this theory, where there's heat and water there may be life. Perth Glows Again for Glenn John Glenn admired the heartwarming glow of Perth, Australia—bigger and even more beautiful from orbit than he remembered—as the city repeated a 36-year-old tradition today and turned on all of its lights for the space pioneer. John bouncing out of this world! Senator Glenn, 77, has swallowed a radio transmitter and a temperature sensor contained in a capsule the size of a large vitamin pill. New tools for the new millennium Over the past decade, space scientists have made great strides in understanding the mysterious mantle of electrified gas surrounding our planet. With the start of the new millennium they are ready to step out with a new range of tools that will ask more sophisticated questions in search of more definitive answers. Remembering the Right Stuff Ever since John Glenn last orbited Earth 36 years ago, he’s harbored an undying ambition to revisit space. No wonder an ear-to-ear grin crept across the 77-year-old’s face soon after he and six crewmembers were on their way. Martian Dunes, Lava Flows New pictures snapped by the Mars Global Surveyor suggest that lava solidified into giant plates millions of years ago on the Red Planet and that wind gusts were whipping its sand dunes as recently as a few months ago. Astronomy goes into orbit with John Glenn Discovery is carrying a battery of telescopes to study the sun, planets, and supernovae. Space station waits in the wings; is it worth the price? John Glenn’s flight aboard Discovery marks the last shuttle mission before construction begins on the much-heralded International Space Station. The project has attracted controversy for falling behind schedule and going over budget, and Russia isn’t making good on its financial promises. Thus, the question for American taxpayers and critics of the space program is: Is it worth the money? As Ed Rabel reports on “The News with Brian Williams,” that depends on whom you ask. Godspeed, John Glenn, Again See also: Glenn, other astronauts get down to business, Return to the final frontier, Discovery rockets into space on historic flight and Glenn Returns to Space John Glenn is now on his second trip orbiting the planet, despite a small panel falling off the shuttle during liftoff this afternoon. Quite a Crowd for Launch The day John Glenn returned to space wasn’t a holiday along Florida’s Space Coast, but it felt like one—whoops and cheers, barbecues and flagwaving, tears and wild applause for an American hero. Glenn's Mercury mates cast wistful glance at Mars John Glenn's fellow Mercury astronauts say they think his return to space will give the space program a needed boost, but not necessarily in the direction of Mars. Puzzle over alien 'discovery' The scientific world is buzzing with the suggestion that signals from aliens living in another star system may have been picked up by a part-time astronomer. Other astronomers are scrambling to confirm or deny them. More secrets of Martian landscape revealed See also: New Mars images show lava flow plates and active dunes With no intentions of taking a back seat to the historic shuttle launch of John Glenn's return to space, NASA's Mars Global Surveyor also made its own news on Thursday. Members of the mission's science team released new images from the spacecraft showing two distinct but intriguing geophysical features on the Red Planet – solidified volcanic lava and sand dunes. Stars Born When Galaxies Collide They may look slow and stately from here, but galaxy crashes create a hotbed of new star formation, astronomers said Oct.29. ISO unveils a violent early universe In astronomy, looking far into space means also looking back in time. This is what ISO has been doing during its so-called 'deep surveys': observation programmes to detect the faintest and farthest objects ever seen at infrared wavelengths. The results reveal an early universe much more violent than expected. All the world's a stage, and the ions merely players... Scientists use virtual satellites to explore Earth's magnetosphere. Hubble v. Big Bang See also: New Research That Uses Gravitationally Lensed Quasars to Measure Universe is Good News, Bad News For Cosmologists New observations made by the Hubble space telescope suggest that some of our ideas about the Big Bang, the explosion that started the universe, may need revising. U.S. space station module moves to launch pad The first U.S.-built component of the International Space Station (ISS), the "Unity" connecting module, was moved to the launch pad Monday to be loaded onto the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Weather improves, making shuttle mission '100 percent go' All elements for John Glenn's historic return to space were in good shape Tuesday, but his scientific value in the shuttle Discovery mission remained controversial, with former astronaut Mike Mullane joining other critics who say Glenn's participation is not essential. Comparing Glenn’s Rides John Glenn isn’t the same person he was in 1962. Neither is the spacecraft he’ll be riding on. See how the space shuttle compares to the rocket and capsule that carried Glenn into space the first time. A closer look at ‘space weather’ With a busy sunspot cycle getting under way, the folks who keep you posted on space “weather” have decided to make their reports sound more like the outlooks, watches and warnings used for weather on Earth. New Space Race: Mobile Phone Users vs Astronomers When Iridium technicians flip the switch to turn on their global satellite-phone service a week from now, the radio-astronomy community will experience the most dramatic limits to date on its ability to view the universe. Next generation of spacecraft is for the average Joe and Mary John Glenn isn't the same person he was in 1962. Neither is the spacecraft he'll be riding on. See how the space shuttle compares to the rocket and capsule that carried Glenn into space the first time. Mir Station Will Look Like Moon in New Experiment Russia's Mir space station will next year create the impression of a second, small moon in the sky during an experiment to improve its navigational system, a space official said on Oct.26. Countdown to Flight Begins The countdown began today for John Glenn’s return to orbit, but things got off to an inauspicious start when the crew arrived late because of jet problems that left one astronaut stranded across the state. Deep Space One: New Engine, Intelligent Computer See also: Deep Space 1 Mission Status Report A NASA probe carrying a science-fiction-turned-fact “ion engine” and 11 other novel and untested technologies rocketed through the clouds Saturday morning en route to an asteroid fly-by next summer. Deep Space 1 soars Beating incoming rain showers at the Cape Canaveral launch site, NASA's Deep Space 1 spacecraft, powered with a futuristic engine, successfully lifted off Saturday, just eight minutes behind schedule. Deep Space 1 See also: NASA Probe Trys Out the New and Beyond the final frontier Hold a sheet of paper in your hand. The cutting-edge ion engine in NASA’s Deep Space 1 spacecraft puts out as much thrust as that sheet of paper pushing down on your hand. Meteor flurry threatens satellites; Earth to sail into furious space storm Earth is passing into a speeding trail of comet debris that could pose the greatest threat yet to satellites and spacecraft high above the planet. Storytelling tradition gets lost in space We don't often see the big picture from this angle, being so closely connected to the routine fire and rumble from the launch pads. But the encroaching frenzy is giving us a glimpse. The hordes are coming here to be a part of something old. Something so old and so fundamental you'd have to be a real left-brain wonk to miss it. Unfortunately, the left-brain wonks are running what ought to be the biggest show in town. John Glenn holds his own as eldest astronaut At the age of 77, John Glenn admits that he’s not as flexible or computer-savvy as his younger crewmates, and he wouldn’t make the grade as shuttle commander. But in a wide-ranging interview with NBC’s Tom Brokaw, he insists that he’s ready to handle space flight once again, becoming the oldest man ever to go into orbit. And he says those who think his flight is just a stunt 'really haven’t looked into ... what it is we’re trying to determine.' Glenn in Spotlight? No Prob Commander Curtis Brown and the five other crew members may appear to be tagalongs on the nine-day flight, but they, not Glenn, will be the ones flying Discovery and handling most of its primary duties. The Mirror in the Sky See also: Russia plans 'space mirror' for lighting dark cities The Russian space agency is preparing to launch a giant mirror into orbit to illuminate sun-starved northern cities, officials said Oct.23. ISO establishes that half of all young stars have protoplanetary discs Most young stars are surrounded by disks of dust and gas which in a few million years will probably condense to form planets. This is one of the results presented today during the international ISO meeting being held in Paris this week. Live from the South Pole Following its own seasonal rhythms the sky over the south pole is brightening as summer twilight begins. Watching the brightening sky is a remarkable automatic observatory that will eventually be transported to the most desolate and isolated spot on Earth. Turtle In Space Describes New Hubble Image The Hubble telescope has added another bizarre form to the rogues’ gallery of planetary nebulae: a turtle swallowing a seashell. Dust and Debris Orbit Star See also: Astronomers Find Dusty Disk around Star Similar to Solar System and Planetary system spotted in Cancer, University Of Arizona Scientists Are First To Discover Debris Disk Around Star Orbited By Planet Astronomers say a star like our sun, in the constellation Cancer, appears to have a mature planetary system, complete with a disk of dust and a monster planet twice the size of Jupiter. New hope of finding life on Mars New research has boosted hopes of finding life on Mars. Data from a Nasa probe has revealed that enough heat from inside the Red Planet might be trapped at the poles to melt underground water ice. Jupiter's Moons See also: Callisto may hide salty ocean, A Sea on Jupiter's Callisto? and Callisto makes a big splash Jupiter's second largest moon, Callisto, may have a liquid ocean tucked under its icy, cratered crust, according to scientists studying data gathered by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. NYU Physicist Proposes New Theory For Origin And Make-Up Of Extremely High-Energy Cosmic Rays NYU physicist Glennys Farrar has proposed an answer to one of the vexing questions of physics and astronomy: What is the origin of extremely high-energy cosmic rays and where do they get their energy? Farrar has determined that the very highest energy cosmic rays appear to come from extremely distant quasars. Furthermore, Farrar has proposed that these cosmic rays are composed of a new type of subatomic particle. Asteroid named for journalist John Holliman NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has named an asteroid in memory of CNN space correspondent John Holliman who was killed in a car accident on September 12. Astronomers Unveil Colorful Hubble Photo Gallery A vibrant celestial photo album of some of NASA Hubble Space Telescope's most stunning views of the universe is being unveiled today on the Internet. Called the Hubble Heritage Program, this Technicolor gallery is being assembled by a team of astronomers at Hubble's science operations center. The Hubble Heritage program is intended to provide the public with some of the very best celestial views the Space Telescope has to offer. When stars go hyper A vibrant celestial photo album of some of NASA Hubble Space Telescope's most stunning views of the universe is being unveiled today on the Internet. Called the Hubble Heritage Program, this Technicolor gallery is being assembled by a team of astronomers at Hubble's science operations center. The Hubble Heritage program is intended to provide the public with some of the very best celestial views the Space Telescope has to offer. More evidence for oceans on Europa See also: Scientists Find Evidence of Underground Seas on Jupiter's Moons and Oceans may exist on two moons of giant Jupiter New observations of Jupiter's moon Europa add to its growing importance as one of the most important bodies in our solar system. They provide further impetus to send a space probe to orbit the frozen moon. Taiwan, US Team up to Chase Shadows When a star in a telescope's view winks out, a passing cloud or bird is usually to blame. But astronomers think that sometimes, the shadow could be cast by a distant ball of ice and dust in a vast, uncharted comet reservoir beyond Neptune known as the Kuiper Belt. A U.S.-Taiwanese collaboration has set out to chase these shadows. Deep Space 1 – a probe right out of 'Star Trek' - well, almost See also: Deep Space 1 blazes a trail for ‘Star Trek’ tech Sometime, in a three- or four-day 'window' beginning at 8am ET on October 24th, NASA will be launching a McDonnell-Douglas Delta II rocket, weather permitting. But it's not just any routine launch. Bundled aboard the rocket is the first spacecraft of NASA's New Millennium program – a series of missions that will be marked by their frequency and their cost-efficiency compared to the mega-missions of days gone by. At a paltry US$150 million, the first mission of that program is called Deep Space 1, and its passing reference to the Star Trek series is not totally by accident. ISO detects benzene in Saturn and explains the origin of water in giant planets The ISO infrared telescope has detected for the first time the presence of the molecule benzene in Saturn’s atmosphere, an unexpected result that poses now the new problem of having to explain how this molecule has been produced. Sunspot cycle closely following prediction Scientists at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center appear to have done a good job of predicting Cycle 23 of the sunspot cycle. When storms collide The recent hurricanes that have pummeled the Caribbean and southeastern United States seemed ferocious from an earthly perspective, but they were but minor wind gusts compared to a new storm raging on one of our planetary neighbors. Deep Space 1 could hold key to a new generation of spacecraft It happens in the movies: A spaceship zips across the solar system or hop scotches from one galaxy to the next, traversing immense distances with tiny amounts of fuel. Well, stay tuned. Surprising gap in auroral oval puzzles scientists A small gap in the aurora borealis has scientists wondering what's really happening deeper in space. Space station disinfection begins Russian specialists started disinfecting the first component of the international space station Saturday, a power-and-propulsion module scheduled for launch next month, a news report said. Australian city to light up for Glenn - again The Western Australian city of Perth is planning to turn on its lights for U.S. astronaut John Glenn later this month -- just as it did when he became the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962. Wistful cosmonaut envies Glenn When John Glenn rockets into space again, the only living man to precede him into orbit will be watching longingly. The Universe as seen by ISO Nearly 400 hundred infrared astronomers will attend a conference in Paris from October the 20th to the 23rd to review and discuss the latest results from the European Infrared Space Telescope, ISO. This will be the first major scientific conference devoted to ISO since the end of its in-orbit mission last May. Thus, it's a long-awaited occasion for the scientists to come to conclusions and start picturing the infrared face of the universe in detail. NASA sends millions to Russia After getting approval from key congressional committees, NASA has sent about $16 million to Russia to help shore up a key space station component being built there. Scientists Say They Witnessed Birth of Black Hole Astrophysicists believe they may have witnessed the formation of a black hole. SOHO is nearly back in business Brilliant new pictures of the Sun from the solar spacecraft SOHO show that its ordeal is coming to a happy ending, nearly four months after the ESA/NASA mission seemed lost in space on 24 June. A Moon that Glows in the Dark See also: Watching a global light show on Io In daylight, Jupiter’s moon Io is sickly yellow with blotches of black, orange and white - like a ball of cheese gone moldy. In the darkness of Jupiter’s shadow, Io displays a different set of colors - a trillion-watt, glow-in-the-dark display of red, green and blue. Gravity Back In Line Gravity appears to be working as everyone always thought, much to physicists' relief. The unexpected slowing of the distant Pioneer and Voyager space-ships reported last month may have a simple explanation. It could be caused by heat, say a physicist and an astronomer. One solution to a cosmic mystery See also: A Strange Supernova with a Gamma-Ray Burst Astronomers believe they have solved one of the universe’s biggest mysteries and figured out the source of at least some of the gamma-ray bursts that bombard Earth’s atmosphere from time to time. These cosmic flashes may come from the explosion of dying stars called supernovas. Giacobinids dazzle observers Sky watchers in Japan and eastern Asia were treated to a spectacular show last week thanks to periodic comet Giacobini-Zinner. The comet is about 40 days away from Earth's orbit, but tiny bits of debris from the comet arrived last Thursday. Astronomers had predicted a possible meteor storm and many observers were not disappointed. The wildest weather in the solar system See also: Stiff Winds Blow on Neptune and Hubble's Moving Look at Neptune's Storms The patterns of Neptune's dramatic storms have been recreated by US scientists using new Hubble images. Mars' violent past revealed See also: A new way of looking at Mars Flash floods unlike anything seen on Earth may have once ravaged the surface of Mars, according to new data. Lightning Strikes Jupiter See also: Our own planet has nothing like this and Little Io is big on volcanoes and natural electricity, study shows When there’s a thunderstorm and lightning, there’s almost certainly rain. On Jupiter, the storms are the size of hurricanes and the lightning is hundreds of times brighter than on Earth—could these be the ingredients for biblical-size downpours? Jupiter's 'White Ovals' take scientists by storm As powerful hurricanes pummel coastal areas on Earth, NASA space scientists are studying similar giant, swirling storms on distant Jupiter that have combined to spawn a storm as large as Earth itself. Managers OK Shuttle Launch NASA managers on Tuesday cleared the space shuttle Discovery for launch later this month with Sen. John Glenn aboard. Gamma Bursts, Novas Linked Astronomers believe they have solved one of the universe’s biggest mysteries and figured out the source of at least some of the gamma ray bursts that bombard Earth’s atmosphere from time to time. Life may be commonplace beyond Earth, scientists say Scientists are becoming more optimistic that life exists elsewhere than Earth. SOHO's 'sunquake' telescope appears to be OK A valuable telescope for studying seismic waves and other vibrations on the sun is alive again, although a few more weeks are needed before scientists know for sure if they can resume normal observations with it. Discovery Of The First X-Ray Emitting Brown Dwarf Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics and at the European Southern Observatory in Garching/Germany reported not only the first X-ray detection of a brown dwarf, but also the discovery of the youngest brown dwarf known so far. Apollo: An Eyewitness Account Feb. 20, 1962, was an important date for John Glenn — and for Navy test pilot Alan Bean. That day would set Bean on his way to walking on the moon during Apollo 12. The astronaut’s path is recounted in this excerpt from 'Apollo: An Eyewitness Account,' by Bean with Andrew Chaikin. Gamma-ray Bursters cross the 'Line of Death' Cosmic gamma-ray bursts have been called the greatest mystery of modern astronomy. They are powerful blasts of gamma- and X-radiation that come from all parts of the sky, but never from the same direction twice. Space satellites indicate that Earth is illuminated by 2 to 3 bursts every day. Russia's Space Program Gets Only Half of Needed Funds Russia's space program needs $190 million each year, but the cash-strapped government has allocated less than half that in this year's budget. Space City Finally the International Space Station is almost ready for lift-off. Will it change your life? Watching a star die When they are completed, the four large telescopes at the Paranal Observatory in northern Chile will be the most powerful in the world. Already, with just one telescope working, the observatory is producing some of the most spectacular astronomical pictures. Rendezvous With an Asteroid See also: Satellite nearing historic rendezvous and orbit of asteroid A small satellite launched more than two years ago is just weeks from becoming the first manmade object to be placed into an orbit of a distant asteroid. Mars Is a Stormy Place See also: Mars a place of violent winds and floods, researchers find Mars is a planet of natural violence far greater than is known on Earth, with winds gusting to 350 mph and evidence of immense floods that swamped vast areas. Mars Global Surveyor captures detailed views of Olympus Mons, Kasei Vallis River Channel NASA's Mars Global Surveyor has captured some spectacular new views of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system, and a system of giant channels on the red planet known as Kasei Vallis. New Galileo pictures of Jupiter's lightning, Io's aurora New images captured by NASA's Galileo spacecraft of lightning on Jupiter, an eclipse and aurora on Jupiter's fiery moon Io, and surface features on two other Jovian moons-Europa and Callisto-will be unveiled Tuesday, October 13. SOHO opens its eyes Two of the 12 telescopes aboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft have been successfully turned on raising hopes for normal operations. Poll: Godspeed John Glenn Public relations or real science? A public opinion poll shows Americans are divided on the reason 77-year-old John Glenn is returning to space. Still, most people give him a thumbs up on soaring aloft. Hubble Goes To The Limit In Search Of Farthest Galaxies Stretching the vision of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope farther across space and further back into time than ever before, astronomers have peered into a previously unseen realm of the universe. Titan’s weather: very partly cloudy One of Saturn’s most intriguing moons, Titan, appears to have thick, shifting clouds of methane in its lower atmosphere, astronomers say. One researcher said the findings represent the first evidence of a long-suspected weather pattern on another world. Glenn Scolds Reporters for Age Angle John Glenn scolded reporters today for focusing too much on him as the nation’s oldest astronaut in the upcoming space shuttle flight and not enough on the flight’s scientific merit. Clouds ruin meteor night The UK's damp autumn weather has spoilt the chances of many hoping for a glimpse of a spectacular shower of meteors falling to the sky. Meteor Storm Highlights SpaceGuard Concerns The Leonid meteor storm that may light up the sky in Asia when it strikes the Earth next month could pose a bigger threat to satellites than astronomers had feared. Meteor shower may light up sky Stargazers in the northern hemisphere will be watching the skies on Thursday night for a spectacular shower of meteors shooting across the sky at a rate of one a second. A Neutron Star that Got Revved up Astronomers have discovered a "missing link" that could explain the formation of the bizarre celestial beacons called millisecond radio pulsars. Is anybody out there? The most sensitive search for ET has begun, using the world's largest radio telescope. Astronomers believe that radio telescopes offer the best way to find intelligent life in space. For nearly 40 years scientists have used them to try to detect signals from any extra-terrestrial beings that may be out there. Back to the Big Bang (Almost) In December 1995, the Hubble Space Telescope stared at miniscule, blank piece of sky near the Plough. At least, it had looked blank from telescopes on Earth. But with its camera staring at that spot for 10 days, Hubble revealed a kaleidoscope of colorful, distant galaxies. In that one image, covering a piece of sky as wide as a sand grain held an arm length’s away, the space telescope captured the images of 2,000 galaxies, each containing up to 100 billion stars. NASA Defends ISS Bailout The Russian economic crisis that sent protesters into the streets resonated on Capitol Hill today as NASA labored to defend a $660 million bailout to keep Russia a partner in the international space station. House approves private space launches The House passed a bill Monday that for the first time would allow private companies to send reusable launch vehicles into space. Russia sells NASA its time on international space station The cash-strapped Russian Space Agency has agreed to sell its research time on the international space station to the United States for $60 million so it can finish a long-delayed component. Spectacular Meteor Storm on the Way A spectacular meteor storm will ignite the heavens in mid-November, possibly “sandblasting” satellites and threatening everyday services from cell phones to TV shows to data communications. Snapshots of NASA’s Future Ask Alan Ladwig, NASA’s chief strategist, what the space agency will do in its next 40 years, and his first answer is what NASA will not do. SStory Musgrave: John Glenn not working hard enough on shuttle flight U.S. Sen. John Glenn is only making a halfhearted effort at training for his upcoming space mission, according to the man who will lose his title as the oldest man in space to Glenn. NASA probe may rewrite book on space travel It's a look at the future of space flight: a next-generation spacecraft powered by a tremendously efficient new engine, guided by an ultrasmart computer and able to find its way around the solar system without help from Earth. To boldly go where no Brits have gone before A team of UK scientists are leading a project to discover if life could have ever existed on Mars. Galileo takes a close look at icy Europa NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory reports that the Galileo spacecraft completed a close-up flyby of Europa on schedule and on target. On Friday, Sept. 25, at 8:54 p.m. PDT, Galileo skimmed over the icy moon at an altitude of only 2,226 miles. Administrator Goldin's statement on NASA's 40th anniversary Forty years ago, in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was created with the boldest and most noble of missions: to pioneer the future. We were told to explore new frontiers and enhance life here on Earth... Glenn's Senate career closes, space looms John Glenn, 77, will rocket into space on the shuttle Discovery on October 29, becoming the nation's first geriatric astronaut 36 years after he became the first American to orbit the Earth. 40 Years of NASA: Space Technology on Earth Swing a golf club. Visit your doctor. Use a portable computer. Drive a car. It’s difficult to get through a day without using something that arose from the space program. NASA turns 40 today On Thursday, October 1, at 2 pm EDT, Administrator Daniel Goldin will kick off NASA's celebration with an address to all employees from the NASA Headquarters auditorium. NASA will continue to celebrate its 40th anniversary throughout the year by looking toward the future with its various missions. Astronaut-Turned-Artist Paints Moon Experience It has been nearly 30 years since former U.S. astronaut Alan Bean walked on the moon, but in some ways he never left. The experience of being the fourth man of only 12 in history to go to Earth's nearest celestial neighbour made such an impact that even now he spends all his days in a sunlit studio painting and selling pictures about it. Under Pressure, Deuterium Gets into Quite a State The data from pioneering experiments show how deuterium and hydrogen behave in the hot, pressurized interiors of giant planets. That information could help resolve a number of mysteries, such as why Saturn appears to be so much younger than the rest of the planets in the solar system. 40 Years of NASA: Space Station Bogs Down NASA’s grand, pricey plan for the International Space Station is falling way behind schedule. 40 Years of NASA: Bold Dreams Brought to Life Soaring into space expanded mankind’s reach, and allowed us all to dream big. Columnist Lee Dye looks back on 40 years of NASA.

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