Let the Planet Hunt Begin

NASA's Kepler spacecraft has begun its search for other Earth-like worlds. The mission, which launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on March 6, will spend the next three-and-a-half years staring at more than 100,000 stars for telltale signs of planets. Kepler has the unique ability to find planets as small as Earth that orbit sun-like stars at distances where temperatures are right for possible lakes and oceans.

"Now the fun begins," said William Borucki, Kepler science principal investigator at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. "We are all really excited to start sorting through the data and discovering the planets."

Scientists and engineers have spent the last two months checking out and calibrating the Kepler spacecraft. Data have been collected to characterize the imaging performance as well as the noise level in the measurement electronics. The scientists have constructed the list of targets for the start of the planet search, and this information has been loaded onto the spacecraft.

"If Kepler got into a staring contest, it would win," said James Fanson, Kepler project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "The spacecraft is ready to stare intently at the same stars for several years so that it can precisely measure the slightest changes in their brightness caused by planets." Kepler will hunt for planets by looking for periodic dips in the brightness of stars -- events that occur when orbiting planets cross in front of their stars and partially block the light.

The mission's first finds are expected to be large, gas planets situated close to their stars. Such discoveries could be announced as early as next year.

Kepler is a NASA Discovery mission. NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., is the home organization of the science principal investigator, and is responsible for the ground system development, mission operations and science data analysis. JPL manages the Kepler mission development. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colo., is responsible for developing the Kepler flight system and supporting mission operations.

For more information about the Kepler mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/kepler
http://www.kepler.nasa.gov

(Source: NASA)

Que Empiece la Caza de Planetas

El aparato espacial Kepler de la NASA ha comenzado su búsqueda de otros mundos similares a la Tierra. La misión que se lanzó desde el Cabo Cañaveral, Florida, el 6 de Marzo, pasará los próximos tres años y medio observando más de 100.000 estrellas en búsqueda de indicios de planetas. Kepler tiene la capacidad exclusiva de hallar planetas tan pequeños como la Tierra que orbiten en estrellas similares al Sol a distancias donde las temperaturas son las adecuadas para que existan posibles lagos y océanos.

“Ahora comienza la diversión”, dijo William Boruki, el principal científico investigador de Kepler en el Centro de Investigación Ames de la NASA, en Moffet, Field, California. “Realmente estamos entusiasmados de comenzar a buscar a través de la información, y encontrar planetas.”

Científicos e ingenieros han pasado los dos últimos meses haciendo verificaciones y calibrando el aparato espacial Kepler. Se ha recogido información que caracteriza el comportamiento de la imagen así como el nivel de ruido en las mediciones electrónicas. Los científicos han elaborado una lista de objetivos para comenzar la búsqueda de planetas, y esta información ha sido cargada en el aparato espacial.

“Si Kepler fuese sometido a una competencia de observación, ganaría”, dijo James Fanson, el gerente del proyecto Kepler de la NASA, quien pertenece al Laboratorio de Propulsión a Chorro, en Pasadena, California. “El aparato espacial está listo para observar intencionalmente a las mismas estrellas por varios años de modo de poder medir con precisión el mínimo cambio en sus brillos causado por planetas.”

Los primeros hallazgos de la misión se espera que sean grandes planetas gaseosos, situados cerca de sus estrellas. Tales descubrimientos podrían anunciarse ya a comienzos del año que viene.

Kepler es una misión Discovery de la NASA. El Centro Ames es la organización a la que pertenece el investigador principal, y es responsable por el desarrollo del sistema en tierra, las operaciones de la misión y el análisis científico de los datos. El Laboratorio de Propulsión a Chorro regentea el desarrollo de la misión Kepler. La Corporación Bell de Aeroespacio y Tecnologías, en Boulder, Colorado, es la responsable de desarrollar el sistema de vuelo de Kepler y de dar apoyo a las operaciones de la misión.

Por más información sobre la misión Kepler, visite: http://www.nasa.gov/kepler
http://www.kepler.nasa.gov

(Fuente: NASA)

CONSTRUCTION OF THE FIRST SPACEPORT HAS BEGUN

Image from: Popular Science

The construction by Virgin Galactic of the first private spaceport has begun in the State of New Mexico.

Virgin Galactic is already selling tickets for an sub-orbital for a total price of US dollars 200,000 but you can make a reservation with just 20,000 dollars.

Here some views of what will be the spaceport that at the very beginning won’t be crowded because Virgin Galactic will have only two spacecrafts to go to Earth’s orbit and return.

Images from Virgin Galactic

COMENZÓ LA CONSTRUCCIÓN DEL PRIMER ESPACIOPUERTO

Imagen de: Popular Science

La construcción por Virgin Galactic del primer espaciopuerto privado ha comenzado en el Estado de Nuevo México. Virgin Galactic ya está vendiendo boletos para un vuelo sub-orbital por un precio total de 200.000,oo dólares estadounidensdes, pero se puede hacer una reserva por apenas 20.000 dólares. Aquí algunas vistas delo que será el espaciopuerto que al comienzo no estará atiborrado de gente porque Virgin Galactic tendrá sólo dos naves espaciales para viajar en órbita terrestre y retornar.

Imágenes de: Virgin Galactic

U.F.O. IDENTIFIED AS A BUTTERFLY

On April 10, 2009, Costarrican Dr. Rafael Lamas was taking some pictures and in one of them appeared something he didn’t even see when making the snapshots.

It was later, on his PC when he realized that there was something apparently strange.

An enhancement of the “object” revealed a particular shape and color, and it was initially classified by Costarrican Ufologists as a U.F.O., but they were intelligently cautious as not to speculate and to demand an analysis of the picture.

Finally, an analysis was made by Prof. Ana Luisa Cid who came to the conclusion that the U.F.O. was really a butterfly of the Adelpha Cytherea Marcia type, abundant in the Central American country.

Full details of the story in Spanish is in:

http://www.enigma-tico.com/ovni-mariposa.html

We came to know this case thanks to the contribution of our member Mr.Gonzalo Piano.

O.V.N.I. IDENTIFICADO COMO UNA MARIPOSA

El 10 de Abril de 2009, el médico costarricense Dr. Rafael Lamas estaba tomando algunas fotos y en una de ellas apareció algo que él no había visto cuando las estaba sacando.

Fue luego, en su computadora cuando se dio cuenta que había algo aparentemente extrañoñ.

Una ampliación del “objeto” reveló una forma y color particulares, y fue inicialmente clasificado por Ovnílogos costarricenses como un O.V.N.I., pero fueron inteligentemente cautos como para no especular y requerir un análisis de la foto.

Finalmente se hizo un análisis por la Profesora Ana Luisa Cid quien llegó a la conclusión de que el O.V.N.I. era en realidad una mariposa del tipo Adelpha Cytherea Marcia, que abunda en el país centroamericano.

Todos los detalles en:

http://www.enigma-tico.com/ovni-mariposa.html

Hemos conocido este caso gracias a la contribución de nuestro miembro el Sr. Gonzalo Piano.

A MYSTERIOUS MESSAGE and the suspected source

Few days ago, while the whole world was lamenting the lost of the Airbus A330-200 flight 447 of Air France over the Atlantic Ocean, and the research teams were working hardly to find the “black boxes” of the aircraft and the bodies of passengers or crew members, a mysterious message came to my e-mail.

Without signature or name of the sender, the message said one of the most stupid things I could have heard in a long while: that the aircraft went down due to work of hackers!

This was so outrageous that I immediately deleted the message, and my second thought was if there is a place in the world where this message could come from it must be Argentina. And I say this with no offense to our Argentinian members, and the Argentinians in general. But they had to accept that this is a sad reality nowadays.

Well, I received a second message, this time identifying the source, a so-called “Elron group” which operates under the direction of a “guru” named Jorge Olguín, from…Argentina!

As usual, it proved to be a mixture of esoterism, cultism, extraterrestrials, and a lot of conspirative conjectures. Nothing to take seriously or to loose a minute of time in.

But regretfully, once again, we verify how the most absurd speculations are capable to win the minds of feeble people that do not discern with reason and logic what the reality is, and do not bother to go to the scientific and technical sources to deal with different issues.

There is a set of people that prefers and is well open to any kind of story and to spread the most ridiculous rumor as if it were the real and hidden truth.

Like the fabricated version that announces that on August 27, Mars will be seen as big as the Moon in the sky. Something that do not resist the minimal analysis.
Nevertheless this spurious species have been sent throuth the internet since 2003, and is repeated almost every year! See: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/18jun_approachingmars.htm

Milton W. Hourcade