NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
Oct 7, 2023
The Once and Future Stars of Andromeda
This picture of Andromeda shows not only where stars are now, but where stars will be. The big, beautiful Andromeda Galaxy, M31, is a spiral galaxy a mere 2.5 million light-years away. Image data from space-based and ground-based observatories have been combined here to produce this intriguing composite view of Andromeda at wavelengths both inside and outside normally visible light. The visible light shows where M31's stars are now, highlighted in white and blue hues and imaged by the Hubble, Subaru, and Mayall telescopes. The infrared light shows where M31's future stars will soon form, highlighted in orange hues and imaged by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The infrared light tracks enormous lanes of dust, warmed by stars, sweeping along Andromeda's spiral arms. This dust is a tracer of the galaxy's vast interstellar gas, raw material for future star formation. Of course, the new stars will likely form over the next hundred million years or so. That's well before Andromeda merges with our Milky Way Galaxy in about 5 billion years.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html?
Spain joins the space race: Launch of rocket named after fighting bull sees country join exclusive club of nations to blast into the heavens
UPDATED: 04:40 EDT, 7 October 2023
Spain today joined an exclusive club of countries to launch a private rocket into space, successfully lifting off from a site in Huelva.
PLD Space launched its reusable Miura-1 rocket early on Saturday before landing as planned in the Atlantic Ocean.
The startup's test launch came after two previous attempts were scrubbed, offering new hope for the country's stalled space ambitions.
Mission control video showed engineers cheering as the Miura - named after a breed of fighting bull - soared to a height of 28.6 miles (46km) during its 306-second flight.
'My voice is shot after so much shouting,' said a triumphant Raul Torres, CEO of PLD Space, shortly after the launch.
He said all rocket systems worked 'perfectly', adding that the company would now focus on tripling its workforce. 'This is just the beginning.'
The Miura-1 rocket, a prototype of a future satellite launcher, is as tall as a three-storey building and is capable of carrying 220lbs (100kg) of cargo.
From here, PLD Space will look to develop the larger Miura-5 - 'Big Brother' - with commercial capacity to put objects weighing up to 1190.5lbs (540kg) into orbit.
Saturday's mission is the latest of the company's three attempts to launch a rocket from Spain, taking off from the National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA).
In May, plans were dashed due to high-altitude winds.
In June, a second attempt failed when umbilical cables in the avionics bay did not all release in time, halting the lift off as smoke and flames spewed from the rocket.
Raul Torres, co-founder of PLD Space said on Saturday: 'We have gone through many difficulties. Not only technical but, obviously, also financial and corporate.
'Over time we have added people who have trusted us. Our wonderful team has made it a reality that each and every one of us is here today.
'We have contributed the best of ourselves to get to this point.'
Spain's acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez posted on social media: 'The launch of the Miura 1, the first rocket with 100% Spanish technology, has been a success.
'A milestone that positions Spain's research and development at the forefront of space transportation.'
'Vamos MIURA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' PLD Space wrote on X.
Airspace, areas of the sea and roads were closed around the high-security launch site ahead of the launch on Saturday.
It was the first of two scheduled suborbital missions for the Miura-1.
The rocket landed in the Atlantic Ocean after opening its main parachute and will be recovered later today, PLD Space said in a statement.
From there, the rocket will be moved to Teruel in Aragon, eastern Spain, where test results can be fully broken down.
Analysts say the most critical test will be the development of orbital services on the Miura-5, planned for 2025.
With the launch, Spain joins an exclusive club of ten countries that has access to space via a private company and from continental soil - according to El Pais.
The list includes the United States, Russia, China, Japan, France, Italy, India, South Korea and New Zealand.
Britain also has the capability to launch objects into orbit with its own launch vehicles, becoming the sixth nation to successfully conduct an orbital launch in 1971.
At the height of the Cold War, the UK followed the USSR, the USA, France, Japan and China in firing its Black Arrow into space from Woomera, Australia.
Pedro Duque became the first Spaniard to go into space in a mission with the European Space Agency, launching from Florida in October 1998.
In recent years, Europe's effort to develop capabilities to send small satellites into space have slowed.
In January, Virgin Orbit failed to successfully launch an orbital rocket from Cornwall.
The satellite launch company, founded by billionaire Richard Branson, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April as it struggled to secure long-term funding following the failed launch.
That system involved releasing the launcher from a converted Boeing 747.
Competitors lining up to join the race to launch small payloads include companies in Scotland, Sweden and Germany.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12604591/spain-launches-space-miura-huelva.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jszhirm1CG0
The Draconid meteor shower peaks this weekend. Here's how to see it
Oct 5, 2023
The annual Draconid meteor shower peaks this weekend, and viewing conditions are favorable this year.
The Draconid meteor shower will be active from Oct. 6 to Oct. 10, with the peak happening around Sunday (Oct. 8) or Monday (Oct. 9). This year, the moon will be less than 20% illuminated, offering fairly dark skies for skywatchers hoping to catch sight of a few of these meteors streaking through the sky.
To see this shower, first locate the Draco constellation, from where the Draconids appear to originate (hence their name). From North America, look high to the northwest after sunset. If you can locate Ursa Major, the Big Dipper, Draco will be about 30 degrees above it, or three widths of your fist at arm's length. Otherwise, a stargazing app could help you locate it. Find a spot away from as much light as possible, set up a comfortable chair and allow your eyes time to adjust. With a little luck, you just might catch a few of these "falling stars."
The Draconids are caused by pieces of rock and ice trailing away from Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. As it makes its way through our solar system, the comet leaves this debris behind it. When our planet passes through these "comet crumbs," bits of them burn up in Earth's atmosphere, creating the streaks of light we call a meteor shower.
This relatively small comet is just around 1.24 miles (2 kilometers) across and orbits the sun every 6.6 years. The comet gets its name from its discoverers; it was first spotted on Dec. 20, 1900, by French astronomer Michel Giacobini at the Nice Observatory in France and later observed by Ernst Zinner on Oct. 23, 1913, according to NASA Science.
The Draconids produced by the comet's leftovers have put on a show in the past, but they've been relatively quiet in recent years. The most productive years occurred in 1933 and 1946, although 2011 was a good year for the Draconid meteor shower as well.
https://www.space.com/draconid-meteor-shower-peak-october-2023