Info from NASA started by Ed

[Yowbarb]

http://words.nasaimages.org/2011/03/01/935/

Nasaimages.org is down for scheduled maintenance and migration. We are currently moving our servers to a new data center. Service will be intermittently unavailable Tuesday March 1 1PM PT (2100GMT) through Wednesday March 2 5PM PT (0100GMT Thursday).

Thank you for your patience, and in the meantime enjoy The Mastery of Space:
VIDEO on page

[Yowbarb]

NASA Home Page          http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html   

NASA News                   http://www.nasa.gov/news/index.html

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html   

[Yowbarb]

Per the jpl nasa article, axis change from Japan quake 'taint no big thing.
- Yowbarb

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-080

Japan Quake May Have Shortened Earth Days, Moved Axis

This view of Earth comes from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aboard the Terra satellite. › Larger image

March 14, 2011

 "The March 11, magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Japan may have shortened the length of each Earth day and shifted its axis. But don't worry-you won't notice the difference."
 
Using a United States Geological Survey estimate for how the fault responsible for the earthquake slipped, research scientist Richard Gross of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., applied a complex model to perform a preliminary theoretical calculation of how the Japan earthquake-the fifth largest since 1900-affected Earth's rotation. His calculations indicate that by changing the distribution of Earth's mass, the Japanese earthquake should have caused Earth to rotate a bit faster, shortening the length of the day by about 1.8 microseconds (a microsecond is one millionth of a second).

The calculations also show the Japan quake should have shifted the position of Earth's figure axis (the axis about which Earth's mass is balanced) by about 17 centimeters (6.5 inches), towards 133 degrees east longitude. Earth's figure axis should not be confused with its north-south axis; they are offset by about 10 meters (about 33 feet). This shift in Earth's figure axis will cause Earth to wobble a bit differently as it rotates, but it will not cause a shift of Earth's axis in space-only external forces such as the gravitational attraction of the sun, moon and planets can do that.
 
Both calculations will likely change as data on the quake are further refined.
 
In comparison, following last year's magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile, Gross estimated the Chile quake should have shortened the length of day by about 1.26 microseconds and shifted Earth's figure axis by about 8 centimeters (3 inches). A similar calculation performed after the 2004 magnitude 9.1 Sumatran earthquake revealed it should have shortened the length of day by 6.8 microseconds and shifted Earth's figure axis by about 7 centimeters, or 2.76 inches. How an individual earthquake affects Earth's rotation depends on its size (magnitude), location and the details of how the fault slipped.

Gross said that, in theory, anything that redistributes Earth's mass will change Earth's rotation.
 
"Earth's rotation changes all the time as a result of not only earthquakes, but also the much larger effects of changes in atmospheric winds and oceanic currents," he said. "Over the course of a year, the length of the day increases and decreases by about a millisecond, or about 550 times larger than the change caused by the Japanese earthquake. The position of Earth's figure axis also changes all the time, by about 1 meter (3.3 feet) over the course of a year, or about six times more than the change that should have been caused by the Japan quake."

Gross said that while we can measure the effects of the atmosphere and ocean on Earth's rotation, the effects of earthquakes, at least up until now, have been too small to measure. The computed change in the length of day caused by earthquakes is much smaller than the accuracy with which scientists can currently measure changes in the length of the day. However, since the position of the figure axis can be measured to an accuracy of about 5 centimeters (2 inches), the estimated 17-centimeter shift in the figure axis from the Japan quake may actually be large enough to observe if scientists can adequately remove the larger effects of the atmosphere and ocean from the Earth rotation measurements. He and other scientists will be investigating this as more data become available.
 
Gross said the changes in Earth's rotation and figure axis caused by earthquakes should not have any impacts on our daily lives. "These changes in Earth's rotation are perfectly natural and happen all the time," he said. "People shouldn't worry about them."

==================================================
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/orbits/images/test7138.gif  Elenin

[Yowbarb]

 ScienceCasts: Super Moon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1yalg_Apdw 


http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/16mar_supermoon/
NASA Science    Science News

Super Full Moon
[links oon page]
Play Audio     Download Audio    Join Mailing List

March 16, 2011: Mark your calendar. On March 19th, a full Moon of rare size and beauty will rise in the east at sunset. It's a super "perigee moon"--the biggest in almost 20 years.

"The last full Moon so big and close to Earth occurred in March of 1993," says Geoff Chester of the US Naval Observatory in Washington DC. "I'd say it's worth a look."

Full Moons vary in size because of the oval shape of the Moon's orbit. It is an ellipse with one side (perigee) about 50,000 km closer to Earth than the other (apogee): diagram. Nearby perigee moons are about 14% bigger and 30% brighter than lesser moons that occur on the apogee side of the Moon's orbit

Perigee moons are as much as 14% wider and 30% brighter than lesser full Moons. [video]   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1yalg_Apdw      video posted on NASA page

The full Moon of March 19th occurs less than one hour away from perigee--a near-perfect coincidence1 that happens only 18 years or so," adds Chester.

A perigee full Moon brings with it extra-high "perigean tides," but this is nothing to worry about, according to NOAA. In most places, lunar gravity at perigee pulls tide waters only a few centimeters (an inch or so) higher than usual. Local geography can amplify the effect to about 15 centimeters (six inches)--not exactly a great flood.


The Moon looks extra-big when it is beaming through foreground objects--a.k.a. "the Moon illusion." Indeed, contrary to some reports circulating the Internet, perigee Moons do not trigger natural disasters. The "super moon" of March 1983, for instance, passed without incident. And an almost-super Moon in Dec. 2008 also proved harmless.

Okay, the Moon is 14% bigger than usual, but can you really tell the difference? It's tricky. There are no rulers floating in the sky to measure lunar diameters. Hanging high overhead with no reference points to provide a sense of scale, one full Moon can seem much like any other.

The best time to look is when the Moon is near the horizon. That is when illusion mixes with reality to produce a truly stunning view. For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects. On March 19th, why not let the "Moon illusion" amplify a full Moon that's extra-big to begin with? The swollen orb rising in the east at sunset may seem so nearby, you can almost reach out and touch it.

Don't bother. Even a super perigee Moon is still 356,577 km away. That is, it turns out, a distance of rare beauty.

See the ScienceCast of this story on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1yalg_Apdw


Author: Dr. Tony Phillips  dr.tony.phillips@earthlink.net   | Credit: Science@NASA

More Information
1Footnote: Less-perfect perigee moons occur more often. In 2008, for instance, there was a full Moon four hours from perigee. Many observers thought that one looked great, so the one-hour perigee moon of 2011 should be a real crowd pleaser.

Lunar Perigee and Apogee Calculator  http://fourmilab.ch/earthview/pacalc.html

What are the "Perigean Spring Tides"? Do they cause coastal flooding? -- an explanation from NOAA 
http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/faq2.html#15

[Jimfarmer]

From http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/moon_ap_per.html

[Linda]

And it was a beautiful moon indeed!

[Yowbarb]

A couple of the latest releases you may find interesting,
Yowbarb

NASA Makes Selection For Integrated Communications Services
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/mar/HQ_C11_014_NICS.html
03.25.11 - NASA selected Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) of McLean, Va., for the

Yowbarb Note: Someone must feel this is important... "The maximum potential value of this contract if all options are exercised, including the maximum IDIQ value, is $1.3 billion..."
NASA Integrated Communications Services (NICS) contract.

NASA Stardust Spacecraft Officially Ends Operations 
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/mar/HQ_11-089_Stardust_Ends.html

03.25.11 - NASA's Stardust spacecraft sent its last transmission to Earth at 7:33 p.m. EDT Thursday, March 24, shortly after depleting fuel and ceasing operations.

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

NASA Home Page          http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html   

NASA News                   http://www.nasa.gov/news/index.html

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

[Yowbarb]

Saw this on spaceweather this AM,  http://spaceweather.com/
Yowbarb

....................................................................................

APPROACHING ASTEROID VESTA:
 NASA's ion-propelled Dawn spacecraft has entered the asteroid belt and is approaching asteroid Vesta. http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/07apr_dawn/
In July, Dawn will go into orbit around Vesta for a year-long study of the mysterious minor planet. But why wait? You can get your hands on a piece of Vesta now; authentic fragments are on sale in the Space Weather Store.

[Yowbarb]

The other Nasa News/Statements - or whatever I had named it Lost track of it but UPDATE just found it. So merging the two now.
- Yowbarb

This AM - NASA News via Spaceweather site:  http://spaceweather.com/


KENNEDY WILDFIRE: Forecasters say there is an 80% chance of favorable weather for Friday's scheduled launch of space shuttle Endeavour. The dark clouds over Kennedy Space Center that briefly worried onlookers yesterday were not rain, but smoke.

"Around noon on April 27th, smoke from a nearby wildfire appeared over the launch site," says photographer Jacob Kuiper, one of hundres of journalists on hand to cover the shuttle's liftoff. "The fire spread rapidly, driven by strong southerly winds along the Florida coastline. At one point, huge smoke clouds covered more than half of the skies over KSC. It was a dramatic scene."

Firefighters have the blaze under control, and it is not expected to interfere with an on-time liftoff at 3:47 pm EDT on April 29th.

 Endeavour is poised to begin a two week mission to the International Space Station. There it will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer--  a $1.5 billion cosmic ray detector that could reveal the nature of dark matter and find whole galaxies made of antimatter.
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2009/14aug_ams/

The shuttle crew will also test a new automated rendevous system named, appropriately, STORMM, that will help future spacecraft dock to the ISS after the shuttle program is over.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/storrm134_feature.html

Get ready for Endeavour's last flight: Turn your cell phone into a field-tested shuttle tracker.

UPDATE just found my orginal NASA Topic,
Yowbarb

[Yowbarb]

KENNEDY WILDFIRE: Forecasters say there is an 80% chance of favorable weather for Friday's scheduled launch of space shuttle Endeavour. The dark clouds over Kennedy Space Center that briefly worried onlookers yesterday were not rain, but smoke.

"Around noon on April 27th, smoke from a nearby wildfire appeared over the launch site," says photographer Jacob Kuiper, one of hundres of journalists on hand to cover the shuttle's liftoff. "The fire spread rapidly, driven by strong southerly winds along the Florida coastline. At one point, huge smoke clouds covered more than half of the skies over KSC. It was a dramatic scene."

Firefighters have the blaze under control, and it is not expected to interfere with an on-time liftoff at 3:47 pm EDT on April 29th.

[Ed Douglas]

I find it a little strange that NASA has no pictures of Comet Elenin, and refer you to look at some pics taken by amateur astronomers. They still show the tired old pic they have shown forever, for G1.9.     ed

[Yowbarb]

UPDATE The shuttle mission has been scrapped due to a malfunction of some sort.

[VillageIdiot]

Shuttle Launch Delayed Again
"...
The launch of Endeavour from Kennedy Space Center has been put back until next Sunday, May 8th, NASA said yesterday.

A last-minute fault has been traced back to power switches that operate heaters on a fuel line in the auxiliary power unit.

No, we don't know exactly what that means, either, but it sounds pretty important.

The switches have to be replaced, then tested. Then tested some more. It's going to be a busy week for those auxiliary power unit fuel line power switch engineers, we can be sure of that. Read more: http://techland.time.com/2011/05/02/shuttle-launch-delayed-again/#ixzz1LDdCVrci
..."

Full story: http://techland.time.com/2011/05/02/shuttle-launch-delayed-again/

[Yowbarb]

I just merged Nasa News and NASA News and Press Conferences
Both Started by
me,
Yowbarb« 1 2»

[Yowbarb]

Shuttle Launch Delayed Again
"...
The launch of Endeavour from Kennedy Space Center has been put back until next Sunday, May 8th, NASA said yesterday.

A last-minute fault has been traced back to power switches that operate heaters on a fuel line in the auxiliary power unit.

No, we don't know exactly what that means, either, but it sounds pretty important.

The switches have to be replaced, then tested. Then tested some more. It's going to be a busy week for those auxiliary power unit fuel line power switch engineers, we can be sure of that. Read more: http://techland.time.com/2011/05/02/shuttle-launch-delayed-again/#ixzz1LDdCVrci
..."

Full story: http://techland.time.com/2011/05/02/shuttle-launch-delayed-again/

VillageIdiot thanks for that update...
Here is yet another. This also makes me wonder what is up. - Yowbarb
...
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/05/02/nasa.endeavour/index.html

NASA: Endeavour's earliest launch will be May 10

By the CNN Wire Staff

May 2, 2011 8:17 p.m. EDT

Miami (CNN) -- The final launch of space shuttle Endeavour, originally set for Friday and then delayed until Monday, now will not occur before May 10 at 11:21 a.m., officials said.
 
The launch was initially delayed by at least 72 hours Friday because of concerns about the shuttle's heating system. On Monday, the earliest possible liftoff date following the delay, officials announced the later date.
 
As part of NASA's examination of the problem, officials said, the external fuel tank was drained of its hydrogen and oxygen propellant Friday night.
 
The problem has been determined to be "a power problem," Mission Management Team Chairman Mike Moses told reporters Sunday.

The crew, their families and support staff were allowed to travel home, Moses said.

The delay postponed what promised to be an emotional moment for the shuttle's commander, Mark Kelly. Kelly's wife, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, traveled to Florida to watch the shuttle's ascent. Giffords was shot in the head January 8 at a public event in Tucson, Arizona. She has been recovering at a Houston rehabilitation hospital.
 
Giffords returned Sunday to Houston and TIRR Memorial Hermann hospital, according to a post on her Facebook page.
 
"We are looking forward to the quick rescheduling of this scientifically important mission," her office said in a statement. "The congresswoman was pleased, however, to have been able to meet with President Obama and the first family."
 
President Barack Obama and the first lady also went to the launch site Friday, and Obama visited with Giffords for about 10 minutes, a White House official said. Obama also met the Endeavour crew, including Kelly.
 
Kelly was tapped to lead a crew that includes pilot Gregory Johnson; mission specialists Michael Fincke, Greg Chamitoff and Andrew Feustel; and European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori.
 
Endeavour has logged more than 103 million miles in space, blasting off 24 times, but its 25th flight will be its last.
 
As NASA's shuttle program winds down with the last launch scheduled this summer, many in the astronaut corps are wrestling with what to do next. For the foreseeable future, Russian rockets will be the only way for U.S. astronauts to get to space.
 
Fincke spent a year in space on the International Space Station, getting there and back twice on Russian rockets. But the upcoming Endeavour flight will be his first on the shuttle.
 
Four spacewalks are planned for the mission. The space walkers will retrieve experiments, install new ones, refill tanks and lubricate parts at the International Space Station.
 
In its cargo bay, Endeavour will carry the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. At $1.5 billion, it is the most expensive piece of equipment a space shuttle has ever carried.
 
The spectrometer is designed to capture space particles like anti-matter and dark matter, about which scientists know little. The spectrometer, to be mounted outside the International Space Station, could lead to a better understanding of the origin and evolution of the universe, according to NASA.

CNN's John Zarrella contributed to this report.