Yearly Archives: 2009

dyson ring

Earth’s Dyson Ring?

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What’s Orbiting Earth

Trackable objects in orbit around Earth. Courtesy European Space Agency. (Click to embiggen.)
Trackable objects in orbit around Earth. Courtesy European Space Agency. (Click to embiggen.)

I saw this image on CNN earlier today and went searching through the European Space Agency archives for it. It’s a great artist’s conception of the extent of material that humans have lofted into near-Earth space. Ever since we started sending up satellites in 1957, the number of objects — which includes satellites but also cameras and gloves and pieces of collided satellites and other oddments — has increased. Today there are about 12,500 things out there at various altitudes from the surface. This makes calculating safe launch times a complex matter.  The objects in this depiction are not shown to scale — their sizes are exaggerated to make them visible.

Seeing this kind of begs an interesting question. With its ever-increasing supply of “stuff” orbiting around it, does this make Earth a ringed planet?  The classical (canonical) definition of a planetary ring is a ring of cosmic dist and small particles in orbit around a planet in a flat, disc-shaped region. If that’s what we accept, then Earth’s “ring” could be termed an “artificial ring” (sort of the same way that we call Pluto a dwarf planet (it’s a planet, but a special case of a planet)). What do you think?

I’m sort of reminded of the early concepts of a Dyson shell, which was a very thin shell consisting of orbiting power satellites that would capture a star’s energy output and channel it for a civilization’s needs.  Or, more correctly, perhaps this is Earth’s Dyson Shell and its Dyson Ring. Only instead of power, much of the structure is handling our communications needs (among other things).

astronomy, chinese space missions, hubble space telescope, international year of astronomy, near-earth asteroids

Public Tells HST Where to Look

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and other News

Arp 274 is HSTs next imaging candidate, as chosen by public vote.
Arp 274 is HST's next imaging candidate, as chosen by public vote.

Well, our long  international wait is over. The public has spoken. Hubble Space Telescope will be looking at a pair of close-knit galaxies called Arp 274 because that’s what 50 percent of public voters on the YouDecide Hubble Site said they wanted.

I think everybody was intrigued by the idea of a gravitationally twisted set of galaxies. They are pretty cool looking, so HST’s image (which will be taken in during the International Year of Astronomy’s 100 Hours of Astronomy event April 2-5) should be pretty spectacular. Come back in a month or so for a picture that will knock your socks off!

Interacting galaxies are really quite fascinating. Not only do they swap stars and gas clouds (and maybe even central black holes), but they also play a role in spurring huge starburst knots, places where massive young stars are birthed by the hundreds. Then, in a few million or so years, those same massive young stars (that live fast because they’re so massive) star to die off in supernova explosions, lighting up the surrounding regions again.

Something Doesn’t Crash into Earth

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(Click on the player to get a larger view.)

Asteroid Whizzes Past earth (if you don’t see a player here)

Earlier today a small near-Earth asteroid called 2009 DD45 whizzed past our planet at a distance of about 72,000 kilometers (only twice the distance of most of our geostationary comsats). The rock was only about 35 meters across and was never on a collision course. But, amateur astronomers were able to capture images and movies of it, like the one shown above from Dave Herald of Canberra,  Australia (as seen on Spaceweather.com).

But Something Did Crash into the Moon

An artists concept of the final moment of Chang-es mission life. Courtesy Xinhua. (Click to embiggen.)
An artist's concept of the final moment of Chang-e's mission life. Courtesy Xinhua. (Click to embiggen.)

The Chinese State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry announced that its first lunar probe, called Chang’e, bit the lunar dust on March 1. This capped off a 16-month mission that included surface mapping and taking data for three-dimensional imagery of the Moon’s surface.

The Chinese have two more missions in the series planned and they hope to land a rover vehicle around the year 2012. The impact was part of the first phase end stage  and will help the Chinese plan their landing sequence for the second phase.

China is the latest country of several to join in on lunar exploration. The U.S. has a mission headed back to the Moon in May, and the Japanese have been exploring there lately, too.