Showing posts with label Chinese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chinese. Show all posts

15 April 2009

Chinese/Japanese Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News MAR09-APR09

科學家發現一粒微隕石“來歷不明”
2009年04月10日 20:48:56  來源:新華網

新華網巴黎4月9日電(記者李學梅)一個由法國和美國科學家組成的科研小組經過研究證實,一粒早在約20年前發現的微隕石雖含有玄武岩成分,但卻並非來自已知的玄武岩“專有”星球。這一研究發現在天文學界尚屬首次。
研究人員在新一期美國《國家科學院學報》上介紹說,這一被命名為“MM04”的微隕石于1991年在南極洲被發現,質量只有幾微克,直徑不過150微米。經對其化學成分分析研究,他們發現它雖含有玄武岩成分,但卻既非來自月球,也非來自火星或灶神星。而之前發現的所有含有玄武岩成分的隕石,都分別來自這三個天體。
“我們發現過來自灶神星的玄武岩隕石,也有來自月球和火星的玄武岩隕石,”倫敦自然歷史博物館的專家卡羅琳·史密斯評論說,“但是對‘MM04’的化學分析表明它不是來自這些地方。”
研究人員指出,這粒微隕石到底來自何處至今還是個謎,它很可能來自一顆還不為人知的行星。他們認為,對這粒微隕石繼續展開相關研究將有助于拓寬人類對行星的認識。
http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/world/2009-04/10/content_11165677.htm

時事通信
大型肉食魚は絶滅しやすい=化石で判明
時事通信 - ‎Apr 7, 2009‎
約6500万年前に絶滅した大型肉食魚の化石(左)と現在のメカジキ(米シカゴ大提供)。隕石衝突でちりが空に漂い、陸上の植物や海の植物プランクトンの光合成が妨げられ、動物も餌が乏しくなって大半が絶滅した 【時事通信社】
隕石研究破解來自天外的生命神秘的密碼
新華網 - ‎Mar 22, 2009‎
在3月16日的《美國國家科學院院刊》上,美國國家航空航天局(NASA)的科學家指出,他們在對隕石的成分進行分析後,發現了生命在其最基本分子水平上的運作機制。 論文第一作者、NASA戈達德宇航中心的丹尼爾·格拉夫因博士說,太空中產生的氨基酸等生命分子是通過隕石的衝擊 ...

地上の小惑星、砂漠で発見
アストロアーツ - ‎Mar 30, 2009‎
落下前に見つかった小惑星が隕石として回収されるのは初めてのことで、宇宙の天体を地上の実験室で分析するまたとないチャンスだ。 回収された2008_TC3由来の隕石。クリックで拡大(提供:Jenniskens, et. al.) 隕石を捜索する学生たち。 ...
愛爾蘭欲借助安防攝像機尋找墜落隕石
新浪網 - ‎Apr 7, 2009‎
新浪科技訊北京時間4月8日消息,據英國《每日郵報》報道,愛爾蘭的安防攝像機(security camera)或許對科學家找到5日夜降落到地球上的隕石有所幫助。據報道,5日夜不少地方的人都在英國夏令時12時30分看到了那顆明亮的流星,有的人在多尼加爾,有的人是則在科克,而這兩個 ...

読売新聞

工夫次第で生態系維持 香坂玲(りょう)さん 33
読売新聞 - ‎Apr 4, 2009‎
恐竜は隕石(いんせき)の衝突で絶滅したと言われるが、今人間の手によって同じようなことが行われている」と、警鐘を鳴らす。 カナダ・モントリオールにある生物多様性条約事務局に昨年まで2年間勤務。生物多様性の現状に通じ、里山を例にその重要性を市民に説いて回る ...

地球の中は宇宙より不思議だ [80点]
週刊シネママガジン - ‎Mar 26, 2009‎
これまで地震や火山の噴火や大寒波に隕石の飛来などの自然災害を描いたパニック映画はたくさんあったが、地球のコアの回転が止まるという発想は初めてではないだろうか。 止まってしまったコアを再び回転させるために人類はどうやってそこまで行きどのような手段を取る ...

聯合新聞網

長羽毛、飛上天恐龍大變身
聯合新聞網 - ‎Apr 12, 2009‎
由國科會主辦,台灣大學物理系及天文物理研究所承辦,聯合報、公共電視、科學人雜誌、NEWS98協辦的2009展望系列演講,昨天舉行第二場演講,題目為「一顆隕石攪亂了一池春水─恐龍的大滅絕與大復甦」。 演化的趨勢和作用、模式,是基因或是運氣?是不適應還是不幸運? ...

可觀賞也可擁有/選購化石入門級百元就有
自由時報 - ‎Mar 29, 2009‎
「收藏家級」的有活化石鸚鵡螺、三葉蟲等化石,有些鸚鵡螺甚至還保留變成化石前咀嚼小昆蟲的樣態;隕石受教師與研究者喜愛,店家強調,展售的隕石都經過國際隕石協會鑑定,再根據被大氣層燃燒的紋路及鎳鐵含量分級。
古礦物變「石尚」 化石商品化 自由時報
【北台大蒐奇】15年蒐藏/牙醫師鉅資開設化石博物館 自由時報
偶然啟發一頭栽入/許威傑化石狂熱份子 自由時報

俄研制出飛船外殼“自我修復”新材料
新華網海南頻道 - ‎Apr 6, 2009‎
目前,這種材料尚處于試驗的最初階段,它將應用于未來的飛船和空間站,在飛船或空間站外殼因微小隕石或太空垃圾撞擊而遭受輕微損壞時,它將能自動收縮修復至原來狀態,從而恢復其密封性。 太空垃圾或微小隕石是國際空間站面臨的巨大威脅。2007年6月,空間站兩名宇航 ...

自由時報

紀佳松做外星夢在網路花八千塊買隕石
自由時報 - ‎Mar 29, 2009‎
創作新人紀佳松從小就對外太空、外星人、行星等等,這些天文方面很有興趣,愛上網購物的他,在加拿大留學時竟然在e bay網站上買了一顆隕石,紀佳松說:「那時候看到就很想擁有,他從100塊美金開始起標,我最後用八千塊台幣左右的價錢買下來。」問紀佳松說不怕被騙,紀佳松 ...

26 February 2009

Comet Lulin visits inner Solar System 26FEB09

http://astronomynow.com/090223CometLulinvisitsinnerSolarSystem.html

Comet Lulin visits inner Solar System
BY DR EMILY BALDWIN
ASTRONOMY NOW
23 February, 2009

On 24 February Comet Lulin will make its first visit to the inner Solar System, streaking past the Earth at a distance of 38 million miles, or 160 times further than the Moon. Comet Lulin, formally known as C/2007 N3, was discovered last year byastronomers at Taiwan's Lulin Observatory. Nicknamed the "green comet", Lulin's atmosphere contains poisonous cyanogen and diatomic carbongases. Researchers at the University of Leicester will be using NASA's Swift satellite to monitor the comet in X-ray, ultraviolet and optical light as it closes in on the Earth this week.
"The wonderful ease of scheduling of Swift and its joint UV and X-raycapability make Swift the observatory of choice for observations like these," says Dr Julian Osborne, leader of the Swift project at Leicester. The University of Leicester played a major role in developing Swift's X-Ray Telescope.

[Image]

This image of Comet Lulin taken 28 Jan merges data acquired by Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (blue and green) and X-Ray Telescope (red). At the time of the observation, the comet was 99.5 million milesfrom Earth and 115.3 million miles from the Sun. Image: Univ. of Leicester/NASA/Swift/Carter et al. Comets are thought to represent some of the most pristine ingredients ofthe Solar System. They are made up of dust, gas and ice, and as they approach the Sun, the frozen components sublime and stream out in tails. Swift observations of the comet on 28 January revealed that it is certainly active. "The UVOT data show that Lulin was shedding nearly 800 gallons of water each second," says team member Dennis Bodewits, a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt,which is enough to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool in less than 15 minutes. Although Swift can't see water directly, ultraviolet light from the Sunquickly breaks apart water molecules into hydrogen atoms and hydroxyl (OH) molecules, the latter of which Swift's Ultraviolet/OpticalTelescopes (UVOT) can detect. "This gives us a unique view into the types and quantities of gas a comet produces," Bodewits explains. The images taken so far reveal a hydroxyl cloud spanning a distance greater than the distance between Earth and the Moon, and a tail streaming off at an angle. Solar radiation pushes the icy grains awayfrom the comet, and as they gradually evaporate, they create a thin tail of hydroxyl molecules. Farther from the comet, even the hydroxyl molecule succumbs to solar ultraviolet radiation, breaking into its constituent oxygen and hydrogen atoms."The solar wind - a fast-moving stream of particles from the Sun -interacts with the comet's broader cloud of atoms," says Stefan Immler, also at Goddard. "This causes the solar wind to light up with X-rays,and that's what Swift's XRT sees." This interaction, called charge exchange, results in X-rays from most comets when they pass within about three times Earth's distance from the Sun. Because Lulin is so active and is losing a lot of gas, its X-ray emitting region extends in a largecloud far sunward of the comet. The team hope that the forthcoming observations of Lulin will reveal more on the comet's chemistry andenable scientists to build up a three-dimensional picture of the cometduring its maiden voyage through the Solar System.Comet Lulin will be visible to the naked eye, and for most locations inthe Northern Hemisphere will be easiest to spot after midnight when itis high in the sky. In small telescopes it will appear as a dim fuzzy"star" - brighter in the centre and more diffuse around the edges. It will fade from view by mid-March.

19 February 2009

COMET LULIN & SATELLITE DEBRIS UPDATES

Space Weather News for Feb. 18, 2009http://spaceweather.com

COMET LULIN UPDATE: Comet Lulin is approaching Earth and brightening rapidly. Observers say it is now visible to the naked eye as a faint (magnitude +5.6) gassy patch in the constellation Virgo before dawn. Even city dwellers have seen it. Backyard telescopes reveal a vivid green comet in obvious motion. Just yesterday, amateur astronomers watched as a solar wind gust tore away part of the comet's tail, the second time this month such a thing has happened. Lulin's closest approach to Earth (38 million miles) is on Feb. 24th; at that time the comet could be two or three times brighter than it is now.
Browse the gallery for the latest images: http://spaceweather.com/comets/gallery_lulin_page8.htm

SATELLITE DEBRIS: More than a week has passed since the Feb. 10th collision of Iridium 33 and Kosmos 2251 over northern Siberia, and the orbits of some of the largest fragments have now been measured by US Strategic Command. Today's edition of http://Spaceweather.com features global maps showing where the debris is located. Only 26 fragments are currently plotted, but that number will grow as radar tracking of the debris continues. Check back often for updates.

06 February 2009

Comet Lulin (C/2007 N3) Loses Part of Its Tail

Photo credit: Ernesto Guido, Giovanni Sostero & Paul Camilleri [more]
Space Weather News for Feb. 5, 2009
http://spaceweather.com/

COMET TAIL: Comet Lulin (C/2007 N3) is approaching Earth and putting on a good show for amateur astronomers. Yesterday, Feb. 4th, observers witnessed a "disconnection event." A gust of solar wind tore off part of the comet's tail in plain view of backyard telescopes. Photos of the event are featured on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com/.
Activity in the comet's tail and atmosphere will become even easier to see in the weeks ahead as Lulin nears closest approach on Feb. 24th. At that time the comet will lie only 38 million miles from Earth and it should be visible to the naked eye. In the meantime, please note that Feb. 5th-7th, is an especially good time to find Comet Lulin in the pre-dawn sky. The comet is gliding beautifully close to the naked-eye double star Zubenelgenubi. Just point your binoculars at the double star and the comet will materialize right beside it.
Visit http://spaceweather.com/ for photos, sky maps and more information.

05 February 2009

Comet Lulin-Green Comet Approaches Earth 4FEB09

Photo by Jack Newton 2009 (c)
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/04feb_greencomet.htm
Green Comet Approaches Earth
NASA Science news02.04.2009 February 4, 2009:

In 1996, a 7-year-old boy in China bent over the eyepiece of a small telescope and saw something that would change his life--a comet of flamboyant beauty, bright and puffy with an activetail. At first he thought he himself had discovered it, but no, helearned, two men named "Hale" and "Bopp" had beat him to it. Mastering his disappointment, young Quanzhi Ye resolved to find his own comet one day.And one day, he did. Fast forward to a summer afternoon in July 2007. Ye, now 19 years old and a student of meteorology at China's Sun Yat-sen University, bent over his desk to stare at a black-and-white star field. The photo was taken nights before by Taiwanese astronomer Chi Sheng Lin on "skypatrol" at the Lulin Observatory. Ye's finger moved from point to point--and stopped. One of the stars was not a star, it was a comet, and this time Ye saw it first.Comet Lulin, named after the observatory in Taiwan where the discovery-photo was taken, is now approaching Earth. "It is a green beauty that could become visible to the naked eye any day now," says Ye. Amateur astronomer Jack Newton sends this photo from his backyard observatory in Arizona: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/images/greencomet/Jack-Newton1.jpg

"My retired eyes still cannot see the brightening comet," says Newton,"but my 14-inch telescope picked it up quite nicely on Feb. 1st."The comet makes its closest approach to Earth (0.41 AU) on Feb. 24,2009. Current estimates peg the maximum brightness at 4th or 5th magnitude, which means dark country skies would be required to see it.No one can say for sure, however, because this appears to be Lulin's first visit to the inner solar system and its first exposure to intense sunlight. Surprises are possible.Lulin's green color comes from the gases that make up its Jupiter-sized atmosphere. Jets spewing from the comet's nucleus contain cyanogen (CN:a poisonous gas found in many comets) and diatomic carbon (C2). Both substances glow green when illuminated by sunlight in the near-vacuum ofspace.In 1910, many people panicked when astronomers revealed Earth would passthrough the cyanogen-rich tail of Comet Halley. False alarm: The wispy tail of the comet couldn't penetrate Earth's dense atmosphere; even it if had penetrated, there wasn't enough cyanogen to cause real trouble. Comet Lulin will cause even less trouble than Halley did. At closest approach in late February, Lulin will stop 38 million miles short of Earth, utterly harmless.To see Comet Lulin with your own eyes, set your alarm for 3 am. The comet rises a few hours before the sun and may be found about 1/3rd of the way up the southern sky before dawn. Here are some dates when it is especially easy to find:
sky map

Feb. 6th:
Comet Lulin glides by Zubenelgenubi, a double star at the fulcrum of Libra's scales. Zubenelgenubi is not only fun to say (zuBEN-el-JA-newbee), but also a handy guide. You can see Zubenelgenubi with your unaided eye (it is about as bright as stars in the Big Dipper); binoculars pointed at the binary star reveal Comet Lulin in beautiful proximity.
[sky map]

Feb. 16th:
Comet Lulin passes Spica in the constellation Virgo. Spica is a star of first magnitude and a guidepost even city astronomers cannotmiss. A finderscope pointed at Spica will capture Comet Lulin in the field of view, centering the optics within a nudge of both objects. [skymap ]

Feb. 24th:
Closest approach! On this special morning, Lulin will lie just a few degrees from Saturn in the constellation Leo. Saturn is obvious to the unaided eye, and Lulin could be as well. If this doesn't draw you out of bed, nothing will.
[sky map]

Ye notes that Comet Lulin is remarkable not only for its rare beauty,but also for its rare manner of discovery. "This is a 'comet ofcollaboration' between Taiwanese and Chinese astronomers," he says. "The discovery could not have been made without a contribution from both sides of the Strait that separates our countries. Chi Sheng Lin andother members of the Lulin Observatory staff enabled me to get the images I wanted, while I analyzed the data and found the comet."Somewhere this month, Ye imagines, another youngster will bend over an eyepiece, see Comet Lulin, and feel the same thrill he did gazing at Comet Hale-Bopp in 1996. And who knows where that might lead...?"I hope that my experience might inspire other young people to pursue the same starry dreams as myself," says Ye.