The Milky Way

Y11 astronomers always look up to the stars. Two students happened to find themselves in South Africa, with little light pollution and a great view of the Milky Way.

Good work girls. Keep watching...

Horizon: 40 years on the Moon

Did you miss the repeat of Brian Cox? Horizon reviewed 40 years on the Moon. Our Y10 students reviewed the documentary. One budding journalist, may take over when Brian retires. See what you think...

 

In this documentary, Professor Brian Cox tells his audience in detail about the Apollo Missions to the Moon, including the near tragedy of Apollo 13. Not only this, but he also talks about the Moon itself, giving us many useful statistics, along with the history itself.

He starts by giving us an introduction to what life was like before the Apollo missions eve existed – during the Cold War. It created a climate of fear and insecurity. Not only this, but there was a huge amount of international competition; particularly between Russia and America. The Russian soviets then launched Sputnik in 1957, which was the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth. This was a challenge to America’s pride; they had failed to dominate.

They then managed to launch another satellite, but this one was carrying a dog. There was no hope of getting the dog back down; they hid from the public that the dog had died. Then, a few years later the first space chimp, Ham, was to be launched into space by the Americans. He returned, completely healthy and unharmed.

In 1961, the Russians again took control, as they successfully launched the first man in space – Major Yuri Gagarin, of the Soviet Union. Many people, even a few Americans, agreed that it was the “greatest achievement in history”. There was a live televisions broadcast about it – “here is a man who has done and seen things that no other living human has done and seen.”

The Americans then decided that if a Russian could go into space, then so could they. However, they were more focused on the Moon and wanted desperately to overtake the Russians in getting there. President Kennedy decided to make a motivational speech on the matter, which inspired many. “I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out: of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.” This set a new goal for NASA, but they had a very short time period. They were still raring to go, because they wanted to go to the moon, not because it was easy, but because it was hard.

In 1958, they decided to start recruiting astronauts, following very strict criteria. Of the 508 that had applied, after all the medical tests known to man, as well as exhaustive interviews, only 31 remained. These 31 people then had “stress tests” – the doctors tried to make sure that whoever they selected were “immune to anything”, because they did not know what space was like. Finally, they selected Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee.

Now the problem was getting them to the moon and back. The idea of an orbit came around – if the speed of the rocket were to keep boosting, then they would be able to orbit around earth. If they managed to intercept the speeds, then they would be able to orbit around the moon; after a few touches on the brake pedal, they would be able to land. They just needed to build a safe and accurate rocket.

However, because of the mad rush to get man to the moon before the decade ended, there were many problems with the spacecraft – some parts were not even functioning properly; they were not examined, because they had a tight schedule to follow, and everyone’s main focus was to beat the Russians. 10 minutes before they were about to launch, there was a problem with the oxygen tanks; a fire broke out, and the three astronauts were killed. After the space spacecraft was removed from the launch pad, the air was filled with pure oxygen – very immune to fire. Apollo 1 was a failed mission.

A few days before Christmas in 1968, Apollo 8 was launched into space. The aircraft passed to the far side of the moon, which was very exciting for all of the crew; the astronauts completely lost sight of Earth. It took 3 days to travel into lunar orbit. Apollo 8 sent  a message to earth; they read an extract from the Bible, and wished everybody a merry Christmas. The largest ever television audience, even today, stayed up to watch the success.

Apollo 11 almost turned out to be a huge disaster. The computers misinterpreted the speed of the spacecraft; Armstrong and Aldrin expected to see a clear, flat landing site. All they saw was rocks and craters; back and mission control, they watched Armstrong’s heart rate increase from 77, to 156 bpm. The Eagle had limited fuel – it would have been difficult to clear away rock. They eventually found another landing site, but only had 30 seconds before having to abort. They finally managed. Upon their return, the crew was placed in quarantine, for fear of “lunar germs”!

Apollo 12 was also very successful. However, everybody became very nervous as to what would happen to the 3 astronauts of Apollo 13. One of the oxygen tanks had exploded, and one was leaking. The landing was cancelled, but they were not sure if they would have enough air to make it back to earth. They escaped into an attached lunar module, with a separate lunar supply. They would need to spend the 4 day journey back to Earth with as little oxygen as possible. For the first time in the history of American space flight, there was no back-up to save them if anything went wrong – they would only be able to return to Earth alive if there were no faults at all in the system, and if there was enough oxygen. They would have to fire the only engine they had left; the decent engine. They managed to survive and safely arrive at earth – much to the happiness of everyone.

Many Americans found it offensive that they were fighting for basic human rights, whilst the government was spending most of their money on exploring space and the moon.

America are currently trying to discover more about the moon. Other countries around the world are also very ambitious around the moon. China is talking about launching another mission in about 2025. More countries that are trying include India, Russia, and many places around Europe. “I’m delighted that we’re going back to the moon. And I’d like to see it as the first step to the exploration of a new frontier; out into the solar system and beyond.”

But how were the Van Allen Belt negotiated on the journey to the Moon? There are many theories that answer this, but only one seems to be correct: The Apollo spacecraft passed through the belt quickly, so that in the short time that they were exposed, the astronauts did not receive a dose of radiation that would be considered “dangerous” compared to the other risks in the mission.

 

Thanks to YY, Y10 astronomy, Nonsuch High School for Girls

My First Telescope

A keen y10 astronomer has been testing her new equipment. Look at the excellent images achieved in the first week.

 

A wonderful view of the contrast and depth of craters appreciated, near the terminator.



An image of the sun using a homemade sun filter using a purpose made safety film. Two sun spots are visible in the top left hand corner.

 What type of telescope should I buy?

 A good all-round beginner’s telescope is a Newtonian reflector. It’s a simple design and is relatively cheap for the size of mirror you’ll get for your money – ideal if you’re just starting out.

A Newtonian reflector with a 6-inch (150mm) mirror will give you good views of the brighter galaxies and nebulae, and should also perform well when you train it on the Moon and planets. 

But what about the other types of telescope? Well, refractors are perhaps the most recognisable of all designs. They use a series of lenses to bring what you’re looking at to focus at the eyepiece end of the tube, and are great for observing the Moon or rich star clusters. 

There’s also the Dobsonian, which is a type of reflector that has a simple mount and because of that, often has a much larger mirror for its price. As this collects more light it will let you see dimmer objects, so it’s a great choice if you want to see faint galaxies and nebulae. 

Finally, there are the catadioptric telescopes that use a combination of corrector lenses and mirrors. Their compact size makes them relatively portable and their high focal ratios mean that they’re ideal for lunar and planetary observing.

Thanks to the Sky At Night.
 

Higgs boson scientists win Nobel prize

Peter Higgs, from the UK, and Francois Englert from Belgium, share the prize.

Peter Higgs

In the 1960s, they were among several physicists who proposed a mechanism to explain why the most basic building blocks of the Universe have mass.

The mechanism predicts a particle - the Higgs boson - which was finally discovered in 2012 at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at Cern, in Switzerland.

The boson explains why other elementary particles - the basic building blocks of the Universe - have mass.

"This year's prize is about something small that makes all the difference," said Staffan Normark, permanent secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

More at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24436781



Meteor Alert

Nasa plans 3D printer space launch

3D printer

US space agency Nasa is planning to launch a 3D printer into space next year to help astronauts manufacture spare parts and tools in zero gravity.

It will be the first time a 3D printer has been used in space and could help reduce the costs of future missions.

The device will have to withstand lift-off vibrations and operate safely in an enclosed space station environment.

Nasa has chosen technology start-up Made in Space to make the microwave oven-sized printer.

 

Apollo 13 improvised carbon dioxide scrub

"Imagine an astronaut needing to make a life-or-death repair on the International Space Station," said Aaron Kemmer, the company's chief executive.

"Rather than hoping that the necessary parts and tools are on the station already, what if the parts could be 3D printed when they needed them?"

In 1970, Apollo 13 astronauts had to cobble together a home-made carbon dioxide filter using a plastic bag, a manual cover and gaffer tape. A 3D printer might have solved the problem in minutes.

Thanks to the BBC at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24329296

Happy Birthday NASA