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Submission + - Incredible Footage Shows a Perseid Meteor Exploding (universetoday.com)

Submitted by Nancy_A
Nancy_A writes: Photographer and digital artist Michael K. Chung said he couldn’t believe what he saw when he was processing images he took for a timelapse of the Perseid meteor shower this week. It appears he captured a meteor explosion and the resulting expansion of a shock wave or debris ring.

After this article was posted, Universe Today received more 'explody' footage from the Perseid meteor shower, which has been added to the article.

Submission + - US Astronomy Facing Severe Budget Cuts and Facility Closures (universetoday.com)

Submitted by
Nancy_A
Nancy_A writes: "The US astronomy budget is facing unprecedented cuts with potential closures of several facilities. A new report by the National Science Foundation’s Division of Astronomical Sciences says that available funding for ground-based astronomy could undershoot projected budgets by as much as 50%. The report recommends the closure – called “divestment” in the new document — of iconic facilities such as the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and the Green Bank Radio Telescope, as well as shutting down four different telescopes at the Kitt Peak Observatory by 2017."
Space

Submission + - Engineer Thinks We Could Build a Real Starship Enterprise in 20 Years (universetoday.com) 3

Submitted by
Nancy_A
Nancy_A writes: "An engineer has proposed — and outlined in meticulous detail – building a full-sized, ion-powered version of the starship Enterprise complete with 1G of gravity on board, and says it could be done with current technology, within 20 years. “We have the technological reach to build the first generation of the spaceship known as the USS Enterprise – so let’s do it,” writes the curator of the Build The Enterprise website, who goes by the name of BTE Dan."
NASA

Submission + - NASA Considers Sending a Telescope to Outer Solar (universetoday.com)

Submitted by Nancy_A
Nancy_A writes: A mission that astronomers and cosmologists have only dreamed about .... until now. A team at JPL and Caltech has been looking into the possibility of hitching an optical telescope to a survey spacecraft on a mission to the outer solar system. Light pollution in our inner solar system, from both the nearby glow of the Sun and the hazy zodiacal glow from dust ground up in the asteroid belt, has long stymied cosmologists looking for a clearer take on the early Universe.
NASA

Submission + - Why Silicon-Based Aliens Would Rather Eat our Citi (universetoday.com)

Submitted by
Nancy_A
Nancy_A writes: "While the world as we know it runs on Carbon, science fiction’s long flirtation with Silicon-based life — “It’s life, but not as we know it” — has become a familiar catchphrase.

Although non-Carbon based life is a very long shot, this Q&A with one of the US's top astrochemists — Max Bernstein, the Research Lead of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington,D.C. discusses what silicon life might be like."
Science

Submission + - Amateur Astronomy in Afghanistan Face Dangers (universetoday.com)

Submitted by
Nancy_A
Nancy_A writes: "Most amateur astronomers take for granted that they can just go outside and enjoy viewing the night sky without encountering many problems. But in order for amateur astronomers in Afghanistan to simply set up a telescope in a dark region, they have to deal with more serious complications, such as making sure the area is clear of land mines, not arousing the suspicions the Taliban or the local police, and watching out for potential bombing raids by the US/UK/Afghan military alliance."
Space

Submission + - ISS to get Man Cave, Complete With Robot Butler (universetoday.com)

Submitted by Nancy_A
Nancy_A writes: There might be a new favorite hang-out for astronauts aboard the International Space Station later this year. The Leonardo Multi Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) will become a permanent module on the station, and will be brought up on the STS-133 mission, scheduled for September 2010. And if might provide a haven for astronauts to get away from it all. "The thought is, the PMM might become sort of a 'man cave'," said Mike Kinslow, the Boeing payload manager out at Kennedy Space Center. "It won't have all the background noise of fans, computers and other equipment running like in the laboratories, so it will be a quieter atmosphere that might appeal to the astronauts during their off-duty hours." Plus, NASA's Robonaut 2, or R2 will be brought up on the same flight. Any chance R2 could be programmed to serve drinks or bring food into the man cave?

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