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Autonomous Onboard Science Data Analysis for Comet Missions
AUTONOMOUS ONBOARD SCIENCE DATA ANALYSIS FOR COMET MISSIONS David R. Thompson(1), Daniel Q. Tran(1), David McLaren(1), Steve A. Chien(1), Larry Bergman(1), Rebecca Castaño(1), Richard Doyle(1), Tara Estlin(1), Matthew Lenda(1), (1) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Dr. Pasadena, CA 91109, USA Email: [email protected], all others [email protected] Figure 1. Plume detection by identifying the nucleus. Left: computational edge detection. Center: a convex hull of edge points. Right: bright areas outside the nucleus are plumes. Image credit: NASA/JPL/UMD. ABSTRACT active geologic processes including scarps and outflows [1]. Its surface undergoes continuous modification, Coming years will bring several comet rendezvous with visible change during the years between two missions. The Rosetta spacecraft arrives at Comet flybys. The EPOXI flyby of comet Hartley 2 shows 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko in 2014. Subsequent skyscraper-size spires, flat featureless plains that outgas rendezvous might include a mission such as the H O, regions of rough and mottled texture, bands of proposed Comet Hopper with multiple surface landings, 2 various shapes, and diverse surface albedo. Comets’ as well as Comet Nucleus Sample Return (CNSR) and active areas range from 10-90%, changing over time Coma Rendezvous and Sample Return (CRSR). These and distance to the sun. They manifest as both localized encounters will begin to shed light on a population that, jets and diffuse regions (Figure 1). Still more exotic, despite several previous flybys, remains mysterious and recently discovered “active asteroids” suggest that poorly understood. -
Agile Science Operations David R
Agile Science Operations David R. Thompson Machine Learning and Instrument Autonomy Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology Engineering Resilient Space Systems Keck Institute Study, July 31 2012. A portion of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Copyright 2012 California Institute of Technology. All Rights Reserved; U. S. Government Support Acknowledged. Image: Hartley 2 (EPOXI), NASA/JPL/UMD Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology / Solar System Exploration Directorate 1 Agenda Motivation: science at primitive bodies Critical Path Analysis and reaction time A survey of onboard science data analysis Case study – how could onboard data analysis impact missions? Image: Hartley 2 (EPOXI), NASA/JPL/UMD Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology / Solar System Exploration Directorate 2 Primitive bodies Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology / Solar System Exploration Directorate 3 Typical encounter (Lutetia 21, Rosetta) Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology / Solar System Exploration Directorate 4 Primitive bodies: key measurements Reproduced from Castillo-Rogez, Pavone, Nesnas, Hoffman, “Expected Science Return of Spatially-Extended In-Situ Exploration at Small Solar System Bodies,” IEEE Aerospace 2012. Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology / Solar System Exploration Directorate -
Messier Plus Marathon Text
Messier Plus Marathon Object List by Wally Brown & Bob Buckner with additional objects by Mike Roos Object Data - Saguaro Astronomy Club Score is most numbered objects in a single night. Tiebreaker is count of un-numbered objects Observer Name Date Address Marathon Obects __________ Tiebreaker Objects ________ SEQ OBJECT TYPE CON R.A. DEC. RISE TRANSIT SET MAG SIZE NOTES TIME M 53 GLOCL COM 1312.9 +1810 7:21 14:17 21:12 7.7 13.0' NGC 5024, !B,vC,iR,vvmbM,st 12.. NGC 5272, !!,eB,vL,vsmbM,st 11.., Lord Rosse-sev dark 1 M 3 GLOCL CVN 1342.2 +2822 7:11 14:46 22:20 6.3 18.0' marks within 5' of center 2 M 5 GLOCL SER 1518.5 +0205 10:17 16:22 22:27 5.7 23.0' NGC 5904, !!,vB,L,eCM,eRi, st mags 11...;superb cluster M 94 GALXY CVN 1250.9 +4107 5:12 13:55 22:37 8.1 14.4'x12.1' NGC 4736, vB,L,iR,vsvmbM,BN,r NGC 6121, Cl,8 or 10 B* in line,rrr, Look for central bar M 4 GLOCL SCO 1623.6 -2631 12:56 17:27 21:58 5.4 36.0' structure M 80 GLOCL SCO 1617.0 -2258 12:36 17:21 22:06 7.3 10.0' NGC 6093, st 14..., Extremely rich and compressed M 62 GLOCL OPH 1701.2 -3006 13:49 18:05 22:21 6.4 15.0' NGC 6266, vB,L,gmbM,rrr, Asymmetrical M 19 GLOCL OPH 1702.6 -2615 13:34 18:06 22:38 6.8 17.0' NGC 6273, vB,L,R,vCM,rrr, One of the most oblate GC 3 M 107 GLOCL OPH 1632.5 -1303 12:17 17:36 22:55 7.8 13.0' NGC 6171, L,vRi,vmC,R,rrr, H VI 40 M 106 GALXY CVN 1218.9 +4718 3:46 13:23 22:59 8.3 18.6'x7.2' NGC 4258, !,vB,vL,vmE0,sbMBN, H V 43 M 63 GALXY CVN 1315.8 +4201 5:31 14:19 23:08 8.5 12.6'x7.2' NGC 5055, BN, vsvB stell. -
Planetary Nebulae
Planetary Nebulae A planetary nebula is a kind of emission nebula consisting of an expanding, glowing shell of ionized gas ejected from old red giant stars late in their lives. The term "planetary nebula" is a misnomer that originated in the 1780s with astronomer William Herschel because when viewed through his telescope, these objects appeared to him to resemble the rounded shapes of planets. Herschel's name for these objects was popularly adopted and has not been changed. They are a relatively short-lived phenomenon, lasting a few tens of thousands of years, compared to a typical stellar lifetime of several billion years. The mechanism for formation of most planetary nebulae is thought to be the following: at the end of the star's life, during the red giant phase, the outer layers of the star are expelled by strong stellar winds. Eventually, after most of the red giant's atmosphere is dissipated, the exposed hot, luminous core emits ultraviolet radiation to ionize the ejected outer layers of the star. Absorbed ultraviolet light energizes the shell of nebulous gas around the central star, appearing as a bright colored planetary nebula at several discrete visible wavelengths. Planetary nebulae may play a crucial role in the chemical evolution of the Milky Way, returning material to the interstellar medium from stars where elements, the products of nucleosynthesis (such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and neon), have been created. Planetary nebulae are also observed in more distant galaxies, yielding useful information about their chemical abundances. In recent years, Hubble Space Telescope images have revealed many planetary nebulae to have extremely complex and varied morphologies. -
Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory a Autumn Observing Notes
Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory A Autumn Observing Notes Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory PUBLIC OBSERVING – Autumn Tour of the Sky with the Naked Eye CASSIOPEIA Look for the ‘W’ 4 shape 3 Polaris URSA MINOR Notice how the constellations swing around Polaris during the night Pherkad Kochab Is Kochab orange compared 2 to Polaris? Pointers Is Dubhe Dubhe yellowish compared to Merak? 1 Merak THE PLOUGH Figure 1: Sketch of the northern sky in autumn. © Rob Peeling, CaDAS, 2007 version 1.2 Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory PUBLIC OBSERVING – Autumn North 1. On leaving the planetarium, turn around and look northwards over the roof of the building. Close to the horizon is a group of stars like the outline of a saucepan with the handle stretching to your left. This is the Plough (also called the Big Dipper) and is part of the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. The two right-hand stars are called the Pointers. Can you tell that the higher of the two, Dubhe is slightly yellowish compared to the lower, Merak? Check with binoculars. Not all stars are white. The colour shows that Dubhe is cooler than Merak in the same way that red-hot is cooler than white- hot. 2. Use the Pointers to guide you upwards to the next bright star. This is Polaris, the Pole (or North) Star. Note that it is not the brightest star in the sky, a common misconception. Below and to the left are two prominent but fainter stars. These are Kochab and Pherkad, the Guardians of the Pole. Look carefully and you will notice that Kochab is slightly orange when compared to Polaris. -
LAST CALL for the DAS Dinner Meeting Tuesday, May17th
Vol. 56, No. 5, May, 2011 Next Meeting – May 17th, 2011 at 6:00 PM ~ Annual Dinner Meeting at the Hilton Wilmington/Christiana ~ See Pages 4 & 5 for full Details on this Event Celebrating the DAS Amateur Astronomer of the Year FROM THE PRESIDENT ! Bill Hanagan To start off, I’d like to thank Bill McKibben for his LAST CALL for the presentation at the April meeting on the Ancient Astronomy of Machu Picchu and Greg Lee for his presentation on DAS Dinner Meeting “What’s Up in the Sky”. If you missed the April meeting, you also missed my presentation on the sizing, positioning, and th surface quality of Newtonian secondary mirrors. Tuesday, May 17 Our May meeting is the annual “dinner” meeting of the DAS and it will be held on Tuesday, May 17 at the Christiana You’ll need to call Treasurer McKibben Hilton, the same location as last year. Social hour begins at at this late hour for Reservations. 6:00 P.M. followed by dinner at 7:00 P.M. After dinner, we’ll view a short video of time lapse astrophotos followed by the Andrew K. Johnston presentation of the Amateur Astronomer of the Year Award. We’ll conclude the evening with a talk titled “Navigating across from the the Solar System” by Mr. Andrew K. Johnston from the National Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Mr. Johnston is the co-author of the “Smithsonian Atlas of Space Exploration” and his talk will give National Air & us a look at the history and technology of solar system explora- tion. -
Astronomy Magazine Special Issue
γ ι ζ γ δ α κ β κ ε γ β ρ ε ζ υ α φ ψ ω χ α π χ φ γ ω ο ι δ κ α ξ υ λ τ μ β α σ θ ε β σ δ γ ψ λ ω σ η ν θ Aι must-have for all stargazers η δ μ NEW EDITION! ζ λ β ε η κ NGC 6664 NGC 6539 ε τ μ NGC 6712 α υ δ ζ M26 ν NGC 6649 ψ Struve 2325 ζ ξ ATLAS χ α NGC 6604 ξ ο ν ν SCUTUM M16 of the γ SERP β NGC 6605 γ V450 ξ η υ η NGC 6645 M17 φ θ M18 ζ ρ ρ1 π Barnard 92 ο χ σ M25 M24 STARS M23 ν β κ All-in-one introduction ALL NEW MAPS WITH: to the night sky 42,000 more stars (87,000 plotted down to magnitude 8.5) AND 150+ more deep-sky objects (more than 1,200 total) The Eagle Nebula (M16) combines a dark nebula and a star cluster. In 100+ this intense region of star formation, “pillars” form at the boundaries spectacular between hot and cold gas. You’ll find this object on Map 14, a celestial portion of which lies above. photos PLUS: How to observe star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies AS2-CV0610.indd 1 6/10/10 4:17 PM NEW EDITION! AtlAs Tour the night sky of the The staff of Astronomy magazine decided to This atlas presents produce its first star atlas in 2006. -
A Basic Requirement for Studying the Heavens Is Determining Where In
Abasic requirement for studying the heavens is determining where in the sky things are. To specify sky positions, astronomers have developed several coordinate systems. Each uses a coordinate grid projected on to the celestial sphere, in analogy to the geographic coordinate system used on the surface of the Earth. The coordinate systems differ only in their choice of the fundamental plane, which divides the sky into two equal hemispheres along a great circle (the fundamental plane of the geographic system is the Earth's equator) . Each coordinate system is named for its choice of fundamental plane. The equatorial coordinate system is probably the most widely used celestial coordinate system. It is also the one most closely related to the geographic coordinate system, because they use the same fun damental plane and the same poles. The projection of the Earth's equator onto the celestial sphere is called the celestial equator. Similarly, projecting the geographic poles on to the celest ial sphere defines the north and south celestial poles. However, there is an important difference between the equatorial and geographic coordinate systems: the geographic system is fixed to the Earth; it rotates as the Earth does . The equatorial system is fixed to the stars, so it appears to rotate across the sky with the stars, but of course it's really the Earth rotating under the fixed sky. The latitudinal (latitude-like) angle of the equatorial system is called declination (Dec for short) . It measures the angle of an object above or below the celestial equator. The longitud inal angle is called the right ascension (RA for short). -
Applicability of STEM-RTG and High-Power SRG Power Systems to the Discovery and Scout Mission Capabilities Expansion (DSMCE) Study of ASRG-Based Missions
NASA/TM—2015-218885 Applicability of STEM-RTG and High-Power SRG Power Systems to the Discovery and Scout Mission Capabilities Expansion (DSMCE) Study of ASRG-Based Missions Anthony J. Colozza Vantage Partners, LLC, Brook Park, Ohio Robert L. Cataldo Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio October 2015 NASA STI Program . in Profi le Since its founding, NASA has been dedicated • CONTRACTOR REPORT. Scientifi c and to the advancement of aeronautics and space science. technical fi ndings by NASA-sponsored The NASA Scientifi c and Technical Information (STI) contractors and grantees. Program plays a key part in helping NASA maintain this important role. • CONFERENCE PUBLICATION. Collected papers from scientifi c and technical conferences, symposia, seminars, or other The NASA STI Program operates under the auspices meetings sponsored or co-sponsored by NASA. of the Agency Chief Information Offi cer. It collects, organizes, provides for archiving, and disseminates • SPECIAL PUBLICATION. Scientifi c, NASA’s STI. The NASA STI Program provides access technical, or historical information from to the NASA Technical Report Server—Registered NASA programs, projects, and missions, often (NTRS Reg) and NASA Technical Report Server— concerned with subjects having substantial Public (NTRS) thus providing one of the largest public interest. collections of aeronautical and space science STI in the world. Results are published in both non-NASA • TECHNICAL TRANSLATION. English- channels and by NASA in the NASA STI Report language translations of foreign scientifi c and Series, which includes the following report types: technical material pertinent to NASA’s mission. • TECHNICAL PUBLICATION. Reports of For more information about the NASA STI completed research or a major signifi cant phase program, see the following: of research that present the results of NASA programs and include extensive data or theoretical • Access the NASA STI program home page at analysis. -
Comet Hopper Moves to 'Final Round' in NASA Selection Process 12 May 2011
Comet Hopper moves to 'final round' in NASA selection process 12 May 2011 the team include Deputy PI Michael A'Hearn, who led NASA's Deep Impact and EPOXI comet missions. The Comet Hopper mission would be managed by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Other partners include Lockheed Martin, KinetX, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Bern, Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Discovery Communications. "We've had some amazing cometary flybys but they have given us only snapshots of one point in time of what a comet is like," said Sunshine. "Comets are exciting because they are dynamic, changing throughout their orbits. With this new mission, we will start out with a comet that is in the cold, outer reaches of its orbit and watch its activity come alive as it moves closer and closer to the sun." The Comet Hopper mission would study the evolution of 46P/Wirtanen by landing on the comet Credit: NASA/GSFC/University of Maryland multiple times and observing its changes as it interacts with the sun. Comet Hopper would observe the comet by making detailed in situ measurements from various locations on the (PhysOrg.com) -- A University of Maryland-led surface and in the innermost coma as the comet mission proposal know as Comet Hopper has been moves through its orbit. The innermost coma is the chosen to compete for final selection as a new atmosphere of the comet just off the surface of the planetary mission in NASA's Discovery Program. nucleus where outgassing and jets originate. "We The team will receive $3 million to further develop would extensively explore the surface of a comet, its mission proposal concept. -
NASA's FY14 Management and Performance, Addressing
Management and Performance ADDRESSING MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES AND IMPROVING PERFORMANCE An essential phase in NASA’s performance management cycle is to evaluate Agency performance against its plans. Managers assess performance throughout the year and pay particular attention when NASA’s performance falls short of its goals. They seek explanations, develop plans to improve performance, and track results for as long as necessary. NASA leadership also evaluates trends across the portfolio of programs and over longer periods of time to identify and resolve persistent issues. The Government Performance and Results Act Modernization Act of 2010 reinforced NASA’s approach to performance management by introducing requirements for unmet program performance. Specifically, Congress required agencies and the Office of Management and Budget to provide analysis of trends in unmet performance targets. When a NASA program does not meet its commitment as stated in the annual performance plan, responsible program officials must explain the performance shortfall and provide an improvement plan for correcting the issue. This section provides the explanations and performance improvement plans for any unmet performance measures in FY 2012 and, where applicable, the link to the prior year’s performance. For FY 2012, NASA discusses performance trends in the following categories: • Cost and Schedule Performance, • Commercial Spaceflight Development, and • Diversity. To provide better performance improvement plans, NASA assesses the explanations for unmet performance and looks for trends in root causes. The results of this root cause analysis inform senior management when crosscutting corrective actions are warranted. In addition, NASA uses information on management and performance challenges, as identified by NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO), to better understand root causes and to guide setting improvement plans. -
Planetary Science Update & Perspectives on Venus Exploration
Planetary Science Update & Perspectives on Venus Exploration Presentation at VEXAG James L. Green Director, Planetary Science Division May 6, 2008 1 Outline • FY09 Presidents Budget • Venus exploration opportunities: – Plans for next New Frontiers – Plans for next Discovery – Plans for SALMON – R&A opportunities 2 BUDGET BY SCIENCE THEME 3 Planetary Division 4 Planetary Division 5 What Changed, What’s the Same What Changed: • Initiated an Outer Planets Flagship (OPF) study activity joint with ESA/JAXA. • Lunar Science Research augmented to include a series of small lunar spacecraft. • Augments and enhances R&A to return more results from Planetary missions. • Discovery Program: Includes the recently selected MoOs (EPOXI and Stardust-NExT), adds Aspera-3 2nd extension (ESA/Mars Express), and selected GRAIL. • Preserves critical ISP work FY08 thru FY10, but deletes outyear activities in favor of more critical R&A and RPS enhancements. • Completes the Advanced Stirling RPS development and prepares for flight demonstration. • Mars Scout 2011 delayed to 2013 due to conflict of interest discovered during proposal evaluation. • Direction to the Mars Program to study Mars Sample Return (MSR) as a next decade goal • Expands US participation on the ESA/ExoMars mission by funding the potential selection of BOTH candidate U.S. instruments and EDL support. What’s the Same: • Discovery Program: MESSENGER, Dawn, Mars Express/Aspera-3, Chandraayn/MMM • New Frontiers Program: Juno and New Horizons • Mars Program: Odyssey, MER, MRO, Phoenix, MSL • Research