Galaxies Caught in Massive Display of 'Cannibalism'

Stellar streams around the spiral galaxy M63

Astronomers have recently observed a series of large galaxies as they were consuming smaller versions of themselves, in order to increase their bulk and mass.

The fact that galaxies tend to collide and merge with each other is nothing new, and experts have been observing some of these cosmic events for many years.

One of them, the Antennae Galaxies, are even renowned around the world. They were imaged with Hubble a few years back, and have since become the unofficial symbol of galactic mergers.

At this point, astrophysicists believe that even the Milky Way engaged in such behavior in the past, when it started to gobble up smaller, dwarf galaxies in its surroundings.

Traces of those bodies can still be seen today, in the anomalous behavior and number of star clusters located throughout the galaxy, as well as in the properties of the supermassive black hole at its core.

But the new observations show for the first time galactic cannibalism taking place outside of the Milky Way's local neighborhood.

The research group, led by expert David Martinez-Delgado, found that dwarf galaxies appear to be heavily influenced by these collisions, especially as far as their shapes go.

Massive distortions appear, and some of the most common side effects of mergers include the development of tidal tails and tendrils, that completely surround and grasp the larger galaxy.

Martinez-Delgado, who holds a joint appointment at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, in Germany, and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, in the Spanish Canary Islands, also collaborated with amateur astronomers for the research.

The expert says that the recent investigation proved the existence of galactic mergers in galaxies up to 50 million light-years,Space reports.

According to the research team, it would appear that the tidal tails are produced under the incredibly strong gravitational pull that the larger galaxies exert on the near side of smaller ones.

Their appearance is determined by the fact that stars are more distant from the larger galaxy lag behind those who are closer. The latter travel at much higher speeds.

The new scientific research will be published in the October issue of the esteemed Astronomical Journal.

NGC 300 Imaged in Exquisite Detail

Following an observations campaign that lasted several years, astronomers at ESO finally managed to produce the most accurate and detailed image of the superb spiral galaxy NGC 300.

The formation is located relatively close by, in the Sculptor Group of galaxies, and it is widely considered to be one of the most easy-to-observe structures in the Southern Hemisphere.

The recent image was pieced together from a multitude of different observations, taken over a period of a few years, by experts using numerous color filters.

In total, it took about 50 hours of exposure time to collect the data necessary to create this view. The Wide Field Imager (WFI) at the ESO La Silla Observatory, in Chile, was the main instrument used for the job.

The European Southern Observatory has numerous facilities in Chile, a country that houses parts of the Atacama Desert. This is the most arid desert on the face of the planet, and also one of the driest.

Precipitations here are scarce, and clouds are almost unheard of, and this sets the perfect stage for astronomical observations.

This allowed the WFI to observe NGC 300 in exquisite detail, experts say. Other galaxies in the Sculptor Group that have been imaged using ESO telescopes include NGC 55, NGC 253, and NGC 7793.

Generally, the Group inconspicuous, but it is actually the home of numerous interesting galaxies. NGC 300 is no exception in this regard.

In fact, the thing that makes this galaxy is interesting is not some extreme characteristic, but rather the fact that it's perfectly normal.

Given its similarities to our own Milky Way, experts are analyzing it as a means of deriving more data on our home galaxy as well. We can't get out of the Milky Way yet, but we can observe it from a distance.

“The data was acquired over many observing nights, spanning several years,” the ESO experts say.

“The main purpose of this extensive observational campaign was to take an unusually thorough census of the stars in the galaxy, counting both the number and varieties of the stars, and marking regions, or even individual stars, that warrant deeper and more focused investigation,” they add.

“By observing the galaxy with filters that isolate the light coming specifically from hydrogen and oxygen, the many star-forming regions along NGC 300’s spiral arms are shown with particular clarity in this image as red and pink clouds,” the ESO team concludes.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter LROC images - August 3-5, 2010

The following featured images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) are now available:

• Remnants of the Imbrium impact (Released 3 August 2010)
  Mare basalts embayed ejecta structures formed by the massive Imbrium impact.
• Concentric crater (Released 4 August 2010)
  The inner rim of Gruithuisen K.
• A path not taken (Released 5 August 2010)
  Mare surface in Sinus Aestuum near a lunar exploration site proposed in the late 1950s.

Hubble: Frenzied star birth in Haro 11

Haro 11 appears to shine gently amid clouds of gas and dust, but this placid facade belies the monumental rate of star formation occurring in this "starburst" galaxy.

By combining data from the Hubble Space Telescope and ESO's Very Large Telescope, astronomers have created a new image of this incredibly bright and distant galaxy.

The team of astronomers from Stockholm University, Sweden, and the Geneva Observatory, Switzerland, have identified 200 separate clusters of very young, massive stars. Most of these are less than 10 million years old. Many of the clusters are so bright in infrared light that astronomers suspect that the stars are still emerging from the cloudy cocoons where they were born. The observations have led the astronomers to conclude that Haro 11 is most likely the result of a merger between a galaxy rich in stars and a younger, gas-rich galaxy. Haro 11 is found to produce stars at a frantic rate, converting about 20 solar masses of gas into stars every year.

Haro galaxies, first discovered by the noted astronomer Guillermo Haro in 1956, are defined by unusually intense blue and violet light. Usually this high energy radiation comes from the presence of many newborn stars or an active galactic nucleus. Haro 11 is about 300 million light-years away and is the second closest of such starburst galaxies.

The paper describing this result ("Super star clusters in Haro 11: Properties of a very young starburst and evidence for a near-infrared flux excess", by A. Adamo et al.) is available athttp://adsabs.harvard.edu/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16983.x

STEREO Detect Impossibly Fast Solar Eruption

The twin components of the NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) mission were recently able to detect one of the fastest and largest solar eruptions in recent history. On August 1, the Sun released a massive amount of matter and radiation, which sped away from the star at a whooping 2.2 million miles per hour. Despite this massive speed, the two spacecrafts were able to detect the event, and send their conclusions back to Earth, where researchers confirmed the discovery.

The large solar flare triggered a massive eruption called a coronal mass ejection (CME). This is one of the most dangerous things that can go on in the star, experts say. CME produce massive amounts of highly-energetic particles, which have the effect of a heavy bombardment on Earth's protective layer, the magnetosphere. The entire force of the ejection was unleashed on our planet on Tuesday, August 3, and the main result was a heavy intensification of the northern lights, the Aurora Borealis. We got off easy this time, solar physicists say, as larger CME can have devastating effects on our infrastructure.

Representatives of the American space agency said in a recent statement that “these kinds of eruptions are one of the first signs that the Sun is waking up and heading toward another solar maximum expected in the 2013 time frame.” The star functions in 11-year-old cycles, each of which contains a solar maximum and a minimum. These periods are named according to the amount of solar activity (sunspots, solar flares, CME) that takes place on the Sun's surface. Over the past two years, the star should have exited the minimum stage, and begin resuming its activity. But the minimum persisted, and it's only now that the Sun is beginning to show signs of recovery.

STEREO is in a unique position to conduct very accurate observations of the solar surface, given that its twin spacecrafts allow for it to look at the Sun in 3D. This allows solar physicists to get a depth-of-view in their studies, that is impossible with any other telescope. Not even the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO), the most advanced Sun-watching instrument, can produce 3D views of its targets. STEREO is capable of doing this because its components fly apart from each other, providing independent views of the same event from two vantage points, Space reports.

New Martian Views From Orbiting Camera Show Diversity

New images from more than 750 recent observations of Mars by an orbiting telescopic camera testify to the diversity of landscapes there.

The images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are now available on NASA's Planetary Data System and on the camera team's website. The features visible in the images range from oddly sculpted terrain inside a giant crater to frosted dunes, deformed craters, old gullies and pits strung along fractured ground.

This new batch brings the tally from the high-resolution camera to more than 1.4 million image products derived from more than 14,200 observations. Each observation can reveal features as small as desks in areas covering several square miles.

The camera is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which reached Mars in 2006. For more information about the mission, see http://www.nasa.gov/mro.

New ESO Image Shows Thousands of Galaxies

Astronomers at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) have just released a new spectacular, wide-field image of a very crowded portion of the sky. The photograph covered several thousands of very distant galaxies, according to the team behind the study, as well as a significant group of such structures that are included in the massive Abell 315 galaxy cluster. But the scientists warn that the visible portion of this particular cluster is only the tip of the iceberg. The entire structure is several times more massive, given that much of its content is made up of dark matter.

This is visible when looking at the shape of the galaxies behind it, which appear to be slightly bent. The ESO team also adds that the most of the stars we see in this new image are almost never visible from Earth with the unaided eye. Most of the bright dots we see in the evening sky are actually stars from our own galaxy, the Milky Way, plus a few extra-bright ones from neighboring galaxies such as Andromeda. Other star “collections” emit very small amounts of visible light, and are therefore too dim to be perceived by the human eye.

One interesting thing to note is that, if we were to become capable of seeing this dim light, the radiation coming from distant galaxies would basically cover the sky. Since we don't have that ability, astronomers rely on devices such as the Wide Field Imager instrument. This is located on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope facility, which is based at the ESO La Silla Observatory, high in the Chilean Andes. For the new image, scientists used three different filters and long exposure times. The composite photography that resulted from this is of both the wide-field and long-exposure kind. The WFI covered an area of the sky about 34x33 arcminutes across.

“Beginning in the center of the image and extending below and to the left, a concentration of about a hundred yellowish galaxies identifies a massive galaxy cluster, designated with the number 315 in the catalog compiled by the American astronomer George Abell in 1958. The cluster is located between the faint, red and blue galaxies and the Earth, about two billion light-years away from us. It lies in the constellation of Cetus (the Whale),” ESO scientists explain in a press release.

“The presence of dark matter is revealed through its gravitational effect: the enormous mass of a galaxy cluster acts on the light from galaxies behind the cluster like a cosmic magnifying glass, bending the trajectory of the light and thus making the galaxies appear slightly distorted. By observing and analyzing the twisted shapes of these background galaxies, astronomers can infer the total mass of the cluster responsible for the distortion, even when this mass is mostly invisible. However, this effect is usually tiny, and it is necessary to measure it over a huge number of galaxies to obtain significant results,” the astronomers add.

Deep Space as Seen by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory

This new image from the Solar Dynamics Observatory's Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) shows in great detail a solar prominence taken from a March 30, 2010 eruption. The twisting motion of the material is the most noticeable feature.

(Photo: NASA/CXC/SAO)

New images from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy.

Read the whole article on CBSNews - Science

Mars Odyssey THEMIS images - April 26-30, 2010

The following new images taken by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft are now available:

• Auqakuh Vallis (Released 26 April 2010)
  This VIS image shows a small portion of Auqakuh Vallis.
• Daedalia Planum (Released 27 April 2010)
  Some of the youngest volcanic flows on Mars are from Arsia Mons.
• Ascraeus Mons (Released 28 April 2010)
  This VIS image shows part of the northeastern flank of Ascraeus Mons, one of the large Tharsis volcanoes.
• Juventae Chasma (Released 29 April 2010)
  Baetis Chasma is a chasmata near Valles Marineris.
• Galaxias Fossae (Released 30 April 2010)
  The fracture system in this VIS image is part of Galaxias Fossae, a series of fractures on the northern part of the Elysium Mons volcanic complex.

Cassini ISS images - April 26-30, 2010

The following new images taken by the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) on the Cassini spacecraft are now available:

• Hyperion's South (Released 26 April 2010)
  Myriad shadows cover the pitted surface of Saturn's small moon Hyperion in this Cassini spacecraft image, which shows the moon's south pole on the right.
• Woven Shadow (Released 27 April 2010)
  Part of the shadow of Saturn's moon Epimetheus appears as if it has been woven through the planet's rings in this Cassini image taken about a month and a half before the planet's August 2009 equinox.
• West of the Probe (Released 28 April 2010)
  The Cassini spacecraft peers through Titan's atmosphere at the region called Adiri, west of the landing site of the Huygens probe on the anti-Saturn side of the moon.
• Shadows from the Waves (Released 29 April 2010)
  Shadows are cast by Daphnis and the moon's attendant edge waves in this Cassini spacecraft image taken about a month and a half before the Saturn's August 2009 equinox.
• Crescent at Equinox (Released 30 April 2010)
  The Cassini spacecraft looks down and pictures Saturn wrapped in a pencil-thin shadow of the rings just days after the planet's August 2009 equinox.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter LROC and LOLA images - April 20-30, 2010

The following featured images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) are now available:

• Dante Crater Constellation Region of Interest (Released 20 April 2010)
  Highlands terrain inside the Dante Crater Constellation Site.
• Craters on the Schrodinger pyroclastic cone (Released 22 April 2010)
  LROC NAC closeup clustered craters on the Schrodinger pyroclastic cone, one of the NASA Constellation regions of interest.
• Constellation Region of Interest at Mare Tranquillitatis (Released 27 April 2010)
  Close up of a northwest trending wrinkle ridge in the high-Ti basaltic lava plains of Mare Tranquillitatis, near a Constellation region of interest.
• Floor of Tsiolkovskiy - Constellation Region of Interest (Released 30 April 2010)
  LROC NAC view of boulders on an outlying rampart of the complex central peak of Tsiolkovskiy crater within the Constellation region of interest.

Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) Image of the Week:

• Copernicus (Released 30 April 2010)
  800 million years ago an impactor struck the eastern extent of Oceanus Procellarum, the "Ocean of Storms."

Cassini Returning Enceladus Gravity Data

NASA's Cassini spacecraft successfully completed its 26-hour gravity observation at Saturn's moon Enceladus this week, sending back data scientists will use to understand the moon's interior composition and structure.

The flyby took Cassini through the water-rich plume flaring out from Enceladus' south polar region, with a closest approach of about 100 kilometers (60 miles) occurring in the late afternoon of April 27, 2010, Pacific Time, or just after midnight April 28 UTC.

A steady radio link to NASA's Deep Space Network on Earth enabled Cassini's scientists to use the radio science instrument to measure the variations in the gravitational pull of Enceladus. Analyzing the wiggles will help scientists understand whether an ocean, pond or great lake lies under the famous "tiger stripe" fractures that spew water vapor and organic particles from the south polar region.

Results from the experiment will also tell scientists if bubbles of warmer ice in the interior rise toward that region's surface like an underground lava lamp.

Radio science was prime during the flyby and controlled spacecraft pointing. The optical instruments were not pointed at Enceladus during most of the flyby, so the imaging camera obtained some more distant pictures.

Cassini often relies on thrusters to control attitude during flybys such as this one, but this time it turned the thrusters off and relied on its reaction wheels. Using thrusters adds acceleration effects to the spacecraft, complicating the precise measurements needed for the radio science experiment.

Radar Clicks Asteroid Pic

Radar image of asteroid 2005 YU55. Image credit: NASA/Cornell/Arecibo

Near-Earth asteroid 2005 YU55 was "imaged" by the Arecibo Radar Telescope in Puerto Rico on April 19. Data collected during Arecibo's observation of 2005 YU55 allowed the Near-Earth Object Program Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to refine the space rock's orbit, allowing scientists to rule out any possibility of an Earth impact for the next 100 years.

The space rock was about 2.3 million kilometers (1.5 million miles) from Earth at the time this image of the radar echo was generated. The ghostly image has a resolution of 7.5 meters (25 feet) per pixel. It reveals 2005 YU55 as a spherical object about 400 meters (1,300 feet) in size.

Not only can the radar provide data on an asteroid's dimensions, but also on its exact location in space. Using Arecibo's high-precision radar astrometry capability, scientists were able to reduce orbit uncertainties for YU55 by 50 percent.

"At one time we had classified 2005 YU55 as a potential threat," said Steve Chesley, a scientist at JPL's Near-Earth Object Program Office.

"Prior to the Arecibo radar passes on April 19 thru 21, we had eliminated almost all upcoming Earth flybys as possibilities of impact. But there were a few that had a low remaining probability of impact.

"After incorporating the data from Arecibo, we were able to rule impacts out entirely for the next 100 years."

With more observations in the coming years, scientists may be able to accurately plot 2005 YU55's orbit even further out.

NASA detects, tracks and characterizes asteroids and comets passing close to Earth using both ground- and space-based telescopes.

The Near-Earth Object Observations Program, commonly called "Spaceguard," discovers these objects, characterizes a subset of them, and plots their orbits to determine if any could be potentially hazardous to our planet.

GOES-15 Snaps First Infrared Images

NOAA's newest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-15) took its first Imager full-disk infrared image of the Earth on April 26

Experts at NASA and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announce that their newest orbital satellite has finally opened its infrared “eyes” a couple of days ago. The group says that the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-15) took the first images of our planet in these wavelengths from its vantage point, some 22,236 miles above the surface, on April 26.

The infrared equipment on GOES-15 is of tremendous practical importance, especially to meteorologists and weather forecasters. Observing the planet in these wavelengths enables these experts to gain more data on temperatures on the ground, in the sea and in the air, as well as to derive various other data. For example, they can calculate wind, temperature and moisture profiles for the atmosphere, and can observe how smoke plumes – such as those from volcanic eruptions – migrate across the surface of the planet. The IR instruments can also be used to monitor wildfires, experts add.

“This (image) marks the final stage of the critical events for the spacecraft and indicates that the visible and infrared spacecraft imaging instruments are performing as expected. We’re looking forward to more imagery as we finish up post-launch testing,” explains the NASA GOES deputy project manager, Andre Dress. The expert is based at the space agency's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), in Greenbelt, Maryland. The new picture was snapped using the multi-channel GOES Imager instrument, Space Fellowship reports.

Another instrument that can produce advanced-quality infrared data is the GOES Sounder. Using datasets this payload collects, mathematicians can apply analysis technique to determine surface and cloud-top temperatures, as well as ozone distribution, temperature and moisture profile across the planet's atmosphere. The first infrared information came from GOES less than three weeks after the satellite relayed its first visible-light images of Earth, on April 6. The space craft was launched on March 4 this year, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) Space Launch Complex 37, in Florida.

NOAA and NASA began verifications of GOES-15's systems on March 24. The procedures will last for about 150 days, after which time NASA will hand over operational control of the spacecraft to NOAA.

VISTA Captures Celestial Cat’s Hidden Secrets

The Cat’s Paw Nebula, NGC 6334, is a huge stellar nursery, the birthplace of hundreds of massive stars. In a magnificent new ESO image taken with the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile, the glowing gas and dust clouds obscuring the view are penetrated by infrared light and some of the Cat’s hidden young stars are revealed.

Towards the heart of the Milky Way, 5500 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Scorpius (the Scorpion), the Cat’s Paw Nebula stretches across 50 light-years. In visible light, gas and dust are illuminated by hot young stars, creating strange reddish shapes that give the object its nickname. A recent image by ESO’s Wide Field Imager (WFI) at the La Silla Observatory (eso1003) captured this visible light view in great detail. NGC 6334 is one of the most active nurseries of massive stars in our galaxy.

VISTA, the latest addition to ESO’s Paranal Observatory in the Chilean Atacama Desert, is the world’s largest survey telescope (eso0949). It works at infrared wavelengths, seeing right through much of the dust that is such a beautiful but distracting aspect of the nebula, and revealing objects hidden from the sight of visible light telescopes. Visible light tends to be scattered and absorbed by interstellar dust, but the dust is nearly transparent to infrared light.

VISTA has a main mirror that is 4.1 metres across and it is equipped with the largest infrared camera on any telescope. It shares the spectacular viewing conditions with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), which is located on the nearby summit. With this powerful instrument at their command, astronomers were keen to see the birth pains of the big young stars in the Cat’s Paw Nebula, some nearly ten times the mass of the Sun. The view in the infrared is strikingly different from that in visible light. With the dust obscuring the view far less, they can learn much more about how these stars form and develop in their first few million years of life. VISTA’s very wide field of view allows the whole star-forming region to be imaged in one shot with much greater clarity than ever before.

The VISTA image is filled with countless stars of our Milky Way galaxy overlaid with spectacular tendrils of dark dust that are seen here fully for the first time. The dust is sufficiently thick in places to block even the near-infrared radiation to which VISTA’s camera is sensitive. In many of the dusty areas, such as those close to the centre of the picture, features that appear orange are apparent — evidence of otherwise hidden active young stars and their accompanying jets. Further out though, slightly older stars are laid bare to VISTA’s vision, revealing the processes taking them from their first nuclear fusion along the unsteady path of the first few million years of their lives.

The VISTA telescope is now embarking on several big surveys of the southern sky that will take years to complete. The telescope’s large mirror, high quality images, sensitive camera and huge field of view make it by far the most powerful infrared survey telescope on Earth. As this striking image shows, VISTA will keep astronomers busy analysing data they could not have otherwise acquired. This cat is out of the bag.

Source:- ESO

Making the invisible visible: New workhorse for the world’s largest optical telescope

A snapshot of a stellar nursery in our home galaxy, the Milky Way: a high-mass star forming region inside the giant molecular cloud S255, about 8,000 light-years away from Earth (1 light-year is roughly 10 trillion kilometers). Such clouds are typically opaque to visible light. However, infrared light can penetrate the dust, so that the LUCIFER image reveals the cluster of newly born stars and its complex environment in all their splendour. Image: Arjan Bik

The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) partners in Germany, the U.S.A. and Italy are pleased to announce that the first of two new innovative near-infrared cameras/spectrographs for the LBT is now available to astronomers for scientific observations at the telescope on Mt. Graham in south-eastern Arizona. After more than a decade of design, manufacturing and testing, the new instrument, dubbed LUCIFER 1, provides a powerful tool to gain spectacular insights into the universe, from the Milky Way up to extremely distant galaxies. LUCIFER 1 has been built by a consortium of German institutes and will be followed by an identical twin instrument that will be delivered to the telescope in early 2011.

LUCIFER’s innovative design allows astronomers to observe in unprecedented detail, for example, star forming regions which are commonly hidden by dust clouds. The instrument provides unrivaled flexibility, with features such as a unique robotic arm that can replace spectroscopic masks within the instrument’s extreme sub-zero environment.

LUCIFER and its twin are mounted at the focus points of the LBT’s two giant 8.4-metre (27.6 foot) diameter telescope mirrors. Each instrument is cooled to a chilly -213 degrees Celsius in order to observe in the near-infrared (NIR) wavelength range. Near-infrared observations are essential for understanding the formation of stars and planets in our galaxy as well as revealing the secrets of the most distant and very young galaxies.

LUCIFER is a remarkable new multi-purpose instrument with great flexibility combining a large field of view with a high resolution. It provides three exchangeable cameras for imaging and spectroscopy in different resolutions according to observational requirements. Besides its outstanding imaging capability which presently makes use of 18 high-quality filters, LUCIFER allows the simultaneous spectroscopy of about two dozen objects in the infrared through laser-cut slit-masks. For highest flexibility the masks can be changed even at the cryogenic temperatures, through the innovative development of a unique robotic mask grabber which places the individual masks with absolute precision into the focal plane.

"Together with the large light gathering power of the LBT, astronomers are now able to collect the spectral fingerprints of the faintest and most distant objects in the universe." says Richard Green, the Director of the LBT. "After completion of the LBT adaptive secondary mirror system to correct for atmospheric perturbation, LUCIFER will show its full capability by delivering images with a quality that are otherwise only obtained from space-based observatories."

"Already the very first LUCIFER observations of star forming regions are giving us an indication of the enormous potential of the new instrument," said Thomas Henning, the chair of the German LBT-Partners.

The instruments have been built by a consortium of five German institutes led by the Center for Astronomy of Heidelberg University (Landessternwarte Heidelberg, LSW) together with the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg (MPIA), the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching (MPE), the Astronomical Institute of the Ruhr-University in Bochum (AIRUB) as well as the University of Applied Sciences in Mannheim (Hochschule Mannheim).

Walter Seifert (LSW), Nancy Ageorges (MPE) and Marcus Jütte (AIRUB), responsible for the successful commissioning, spent more than half a year in several runs at the LBT site to make the telescope/instrument combination work efficiently. Holger Mandel, the Principal Investigator of LUCIFER said: "From the very beginning, there was uniform excitement about the promise of this instrument for cutting-edge science. Now, the amazing results speak for themselves."

Source:- Max Planck Society

Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory returns first images

The first public release of images from the satellite record huge explosions and great looping prominences of gas.

The observatory's super-fine resolution is expected to help scientists get a better understanding of what drives solar activity.

Launched in February on an Atlas rocket from Cape Canaveral, SDO is expected to operate for at least five years.

Researchers hope in this time to go a long way towards their eventual goal of being able to forecast the effects of the Sun's behaviour on Earth.

Solar activity has a profound influence on our planet. Huge eruptions of charged particles and the emission of intense radiation can disrupt satellite, communication and power systems, and pose a serious health risk to astronauts.

Scientists working on SDO say they are thrilled with the quality of the data received so far.

"When we see these fantastic images, even hard-core solar physicists like myself are struck with awe, literally," said Lika Guhathakurta, the SDO programme scientist at Nasa Headquarters.

SDO is equipped with three instruments to investigate the physics at work inside, on the surface and in the atmosphere of the Sun.

The probe views the entire solar disc with a resolution 10 times better than the average high-definition television camera. This allows it to pick out features on the surface and in the atmosphere that are as small as 350km across.

The pictures are also acquired at a rapid rate, every few seconds.

In addition, the different wavelengths in which the instruments operate mean scientists can study the Sun's atmosphere layer by layer.

A key quest will be to probe the inner workings of the solar dynamo, the deep network of plasma currents that generates the Sun's tangled and sometimes explosive magnetic field.

It is the dynamo that ultimately lies behind all forms of solar activity, from the solar flares that explode in the Sun's atmosphere to the relatively cool patches, or sunspots, that pock the solar disc and wander across its surface for days or even weeks.

"The SDO images are stunning and the level of detail they reveal will undoubtedly lead to a new branch of research into how the fine-scale solar magnetic fields form and evolve, leading to a much, much better understanding of how solar activity develops," said co-investigator Richard Harrison from the UK's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL).

"It's like looking at the details of our star through a microscope," he told BBC News.

And Dr Guhathakurta added: "It's thought that [SDO] is going to revolutionise heliophysics much as the Hubble Space Telescope has revolutionised astrophysics and cosmology, which is true. There is however a very key difference. While Hubble is designed to observe almost everything in the cosmos, SDO is designed to study only one thing and that is our very own star. It is tailor-made for the study of Sun star."

SDO's three remote-sensing instruments are:

Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) : will study the motions and magnetic fields at the Sun's surface, or photosphere, to determine what is happening inside the star. It will try to decipher the physics of the solar dynamo - the very source of the Sun's activity. The dynamo regulates all forms of solar activity from the lightning-fast eruptions of solar flares to the slow decadal undulations of the sunspot cycle.

Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) : is a suite of four telescopes that will image the corona, the outer layer of the Sun's atmosphere. The AIA filters cover 10 different wavelength bands, or colours, from the extreme ultraviolet to the visible. It will see details as small as 725km across. These images will be acquired every 10 seconds. Previous observatories have taken pictures at best every few minutes.

Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) : will measure the Sun's energy output in extreme-ultraviolet (E-UV) wavelengths (this is called irradiance) with unprecedented precision. The Sun is at its most variable in the E-UV. E-UV rays can break apart atoms and molecules in the Earth's upper-atmosphere, creating a layer of ions that can severely disturb radio signals.

The UK has a prominent role in the mission through the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Didcot; the e2v company in Chelmsford which supplied CCD camera detectors; the Mullard Space Science Laboratory in London; the University of Warwick; the University of Sheffield; and the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in Preston.

UCLan handles the SDO data coming into the UK. With the mission producing some 1.5 tera-bytes per day, it requires a dedicated gateway for scientists to exploit.

Source:- SDO

Mars Odyssey THEMIS images - April 12-16, 2010

The following new images taken by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft are now available:

• Candor Chasma (Released 12 April 2010)
  This VIS image of Candor Chasma contains eroded deposits of material and a large landslide deposit.
• Hecates Tholus (Released 13 April 2010)
  This VIS image shows the southeastern flank of Hecates Tholus, the northernmost volcano of the Elysium Volcanic complex.
• Terra Sabaea (Released 14 April 2010)
  The northern part of Terra Sabaea is heavily fractured and channeled, breaking up into a chaotic terrain as the elevation drops down to the northern plains.
• Arabia Terra (Released 15 April 2010)
  Dark slope streaks mark this crater rim.
• Coprates Chasma (Released 16 April 2010)
  This VIS image shows a portion of the floor of Coprates Chasma.

Cassini ISS images - April 12-16, 2010

The following new images taken by the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) on the Cassini spacecraft are now available:

• Before Hazy Titan (Released 12 April 2010)
  Saturn's moon Dione passes in front of the larger moon Titan, as seen from the Cassini spacecraft.
• Lost Among Stars (Released 13 April 2010)
  Saturn's tiny moon Atlas appears almost indistinguishable from the background stars seen in this Cassini spacecraft image.
• Up and Down Tethys (Released 14 April 2010)
  The Cassini spacecraft profiles several features oriented north-south on Saturn's moon Tethys.
• In the Arc (Released 15 April 2010)
  This Cassini spacecraft image holds an unseen treasure orbiting within the bright arc of Saturn's G ring: the tiny moonlet Aegaeon.
• Map of Dione - February 2010 (Released 15 April 2010)
  This global map of Saturn's moon Dione was created using images taken during flybys by NASA's Cassini spacecraft.
• Dione Polar Maps - February 2010 (Released 15 April 2010)
  The northern hemisphere of Saturn's moon Dione is seen in this polar stereographic maps, mosaicked from the best-available clear-filter images from NASA's Cassini and Voyager missions.
• Dione Polar Maps - February 2010 (Released 15 April 2010)
  The southern hemisphere of Saturn's moon Dione is seen in this polar stereographic maps, mosaicked from the best-available clear-filter images from NASA's Cassini and Voyager missions.
• Brilliant Blip Beyond Saturn (Released 16 April 2010)
  The highly reflective moon Enceladus appears as a bright dot beyond a crescent Saturn in this Cassini image.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter LROC images - April 13-16, 2010

The following featured images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) are now available:

• The Apollo 15 Lunar Laser Ranging Retroreflector - A Fundamental Point on the Moon! (Released 13 April 2010)
  The Apollo 15 Lunar Laser Ranging RetroReflector (LRRR) array is one of four such working arrays on the surface of the Moon.
• Exposed Fractured Bedrock in the Central Peak of the Anaxagoras Crater (Released 14 April 2010)
  NAC image of the Anaxagoras crater floor, including a portion of the crater's anorthositic central uplift.
• Rimae Prinz Region - Constellation Region of Interest (Released 15 April 2010)
  A sinuous rille created by a lava flow snakes around the base of a massif in the Prinz-Harbinger region on the Moon.
• Retracing the Steps of Apollo 15: Constellation Region of Interest (Released 16 April 2010)
  The third and final EVA of Apollo 15 brought the astronauts to the edge of Hadley Rille (lower left).