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Tagged: space

Central Standard
9:36 am
Thu March 14, 2013

Stargazing in KC

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Looking up at the sky is something we do everyday; maybe to check the weather, see if the sun is poking out and you need a jacket, and for some, to discover more about the universe we live in.


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The Two-Way
2:11 pm
Thu September 27, 2012

Streams Of Water Once Flowed On Mars; NASA Says Photos Prove It

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Credit NASA
NASA says it has found proof that water shaped the rocks on the left, in a photograph taken by the Mars rover Curiosity (left). For comparison, the agency released an image of rocks from the Earth (right).
Credit NASA
Pathfinder, 1997: The first mission to land a rover on Mars, Pathfinder touched down in Ares Vallis, an ancient flood plain in the planet's northern hemisphere. Among the 2.3 billion bits of data sent back by the lander and its rover, Sojourner, were 15 chemical analyses of rocks and soil, which suggested Mars had once had liquid water and a thicker atmosphere.
Credit NASA
Spirit, 2010: When NASA's Spirit rover got stuck in Martian sand, it proved to be a lucky break: The spinning wheel churned up soil that provided evidence of rocks formed in the presence of water.
Credit NASA
Opportunity, 2004: Opportunity discovered tiny mineral spheres — nicknamed blueberries — poking out of rocks that were likely formed by water. Researchers using Opportunity's science instruments identified them as concretions rich in the mineral hematite, deposited by water saturating the bedrock.
Credit NASA
Curiosity 2012: A wider view of the outcrop of a former streambed shows bedrock that scientists believe was likely exposed by meteorites striking the surface of Mars.
Credit NASA
Curiosity, 2012: NASA says that water shaped the rocks on the left, in a photograph taken by the Mars rover Curiosity. For comparison, the agency released an image of rocks from the Earth (right).
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Originally published on Thu September 27, 2012 8:31 pm

NASA's Curiosity rover has found definitive proof that water once ran across the surface of Mars, the agency announced today. NASA scientists say new photos from the rover show rocks that were smoothed and rounded by water. The rocks are in a large canyon and nearby channels that were cut by flowing water, making up an alluvial fan.

"You had water transporting these gravels to the downslope of the fan," NASA researchers say. The gravel then formed into a conglomerate rock, which was in turn likely covered before being exposed again.

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Central Standard
12:10 pm
Fri June 1, 2012

Venus Watch Spot: Warkoczewski Observatory

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Credit Joe Wright / Astronomical Society of Kansas City
The two telescopes at the Warkoczewski Observatory.
Credit Ken_Lord / Flickr
You can see the moon almost this clearly from Warko Observatory.
Credit Wikipedia Commons
A simple breakdown of how a Newton Telescope works - light hits the mirror, which reflects onto a slanted mirror, which is projected into the eyepiece.
Credit Wikipedia Commons
A breakdown of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor - the full constellations that contain the Big and Little Dippers.
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From double and triple stars to navigation tactics all the way to the Andromeda galaxy, the Warkoczewski Observatory's Friday night stargazing provides education and entertainment atop Royall Hall. They're currently gearing up for the Venus Transit tomorrow afternoon starting at 4 p.m. (more infomation below).

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The Two-Way
6:10 am
Tue May 22, 2012

'Picture Perfect Launch' For Private Rocket Headed To Space Station

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Credit John Raoux / AP
The Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket lifted off from space launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., early Tuesday.
Credit Roberto Gonzalez / Getty Images
SpaceX's Dragon capsule, atop the company's Falcon 9 rocket, as it blasted off before dawn this morning in Florida.
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Originally published on Tue May 22, 2012 9:09 am

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The Two-Way
1:51 pm
Thu May 10, 2012

Dawn Mission Provides Evidence That Asteroid Vesta Is Indeed A Protoplanet

Credit NASA
NASA's Dawn spacecraft obtained this image of the giant asteroid Vesta with its framing camera on July 24, 2011. It was taken from a distance of about 3,200 miles.
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By Eyder Peralta

Originally published on Thu May 10, 2012 2:20 pm

Data from a mission to the second largest body in the asteroid belt that's between Mars and Jupiter seems to confirm that Vesta is indeed a protoplanet that dates back to the early days of our solar system.

Space.com reports that scientists theorized that Vesta had started down the path toward becoming a planet and data from the Dawn Mission confirms those suspicions. Space.com reports:

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Up to Date
9:01 pm
Wed December 28, 2011

50 Years Of Manned Space Flight

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The Project Mercury astronauts
A Mercury capsule
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50 years ago, Alan Shepard became the first American in space, making a brief suborbital mission that marked the first manned launch of Project Mercury.

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