@AkaSci@fosstodon.org
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AkaSci

@AkaSci@fosstodon.org

SatCom Scientist
Writing occasionally about space missions, astronomy, planetary science, satellites and science in general.
He/Him
#science #space #technology #astronomy #satellites #Democracy

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AkaSci, (edited ) to random
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ESA stated this morning that the fireball seen over Portugal last night was a piece of a comet, not a meteor. Implying that it was composed mainly of ice, not rocky material?

"We estimate that it flew over Spain and Portugal travelling at ~45 km/s before burning up over the Atlantic Ocean at an altitude of ~60 km.

The likelihood of any meteorites being found is very low."

https://fosstodon.org/@esaoperations@bird.makeup/112467315956871360

AkaSci,
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@TMEubanks
Thanks, as always, for your insights.

AkaSci, to random
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Tomorrow morning, May 20, the container ship M/V DALI, which caused the collapse of the Key Bridge near Baltimore, will be refloated and moved to a local marine terminal 2.5 miles away.

After overnight preparations, 5 tug boats will tow/push the vessel away during high tide at 5:24 a.m.

The graphic below from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shows the steps and procedures of the operation.

See thread at https://fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/112161857289027291 for info on the bridge collapse.

👏
https://www.keybridgeresponse2024.com/post/update-28-unified-command-announces-plan-for-refloating-transit-of-m-v-dali
1/n

AkaSci,
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Here is a view of the container ship M/V DALi and its surroundings yesterday, after parts of the bridge lying across its bow were cleared using small explosives on May 13.

A dive survey was conducted this week in preparation for Monday's planned refloat and transit operation.

The shipping channel is planned to be reopened by the end of the month.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZVvjrFbdSE from CBS affiliate WUSA9
2/n

markmccaughrean, to random
@markmccaughrean@mastodon.social avatar

When you realise you are just a brain in a vat 😬

Was busy yesterday & kept wondering whether I’d remembered to do the daily Wordle over breakfast as usual 🧐

Sort of assumed I did, because I always do, but forgot to check before going to bed 🤷‍♂️

Woke up this morning & realised I hadn’t 🙀

25 day streak lost 😭

Decided I should get back to it immediately 😤

Then this happened 😬✌️

Must be because it’s Jürgen Klopp’s last Liverpool game today 🙃

AkaSci,
@AkaSci@fosstodon.org avatar

@markmccaughrean
Similar issue with today's Wordle. Too many choices for that first letter. I got to try 4 and failed 🙁

AkaSci, to random
@AkaSci@fosstodon.org avatar

Let's celebrate with this image taken today by Mars rover Perseverance's SHERLOC Autofocus and Context Imager (ACI).

This is the first such image of a rock sample since Dec 16, 2023, when the dust cover of the camera and laser spectroscopy instrument got stuck. It is still stuck, but in an open position and its auto-focus mechanism is nonoperational.

The camera took a sequence of images from different distances; the middle ones are in focus.

🎉
https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/multimedia/raw-images/
1/n

AkaSci, (edited )
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Next on is this strange looking lenticular galaxy NGC 4753 by Hubble.

Those are dust lanes twisting around the galactic nucleus and are likely the result of a merger with a dwarf galaxy about 1.3 billion years ago.

The gas and dust in the galactic disk got twisted by "differential precession" and are seen as the complex shapes seen edge-on from earth.

Most of the unseen mass in the galaxy lies in a slightly flattened, spherical halo of dark matter.

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-views-cosmic-dust-lanes/
2/n

AkaSci, (edited ) to random
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Here are a couple of impressive images of the shimmering aurora seen around the world last week.

The beautiful auroras with vivid shades of pink were caused by the extremely strong geomagnetic storm last week as the Sun lobbed CMEs towards earth.

Both images are featured on NASA's APOD site.

The 1st image below was taken in a rural area north of the city of Bainbridge in Georgia, USA (!) on May 10 before local midnight.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240516.html
Image Credit & Copyright: Wright Dobbs
1/n

AkaSci, (edited )
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This beautiful image of the vibrant aurora australis was taken from Banks Peninsula near Christchurch on New Zealand's South Island on May 11.

"The base of a tower-like rocky sea stack is awash in the foreground, with stars of the Southern Cross at the top of the frame and planet Earth's south celestial pole near center."

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240517.html
Image Credit & Copyright: Kavan Chay
2/n

AkaSci, (edited )
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Here are a couple more impressive images of the aurora last week, taken by Albert Dros, a landscape photographer from The Netherlands and posted on twitter.

Location: little village of Hei- en Boicop
Equipment: Sony A7RV Camera with Sony 14mm f/1.8 GM lens.
Settings: f/1.8 with 1 second exposure at ISO 1600.

Check out his website for info on the techniques used to capture these images.
https://www.albertdros.com/post/photographing-the-aurora-dancing-above-the-iconic-dutch-windmills
Credit: Albert Dros
3/n

AkaSci, (edited ) to random
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“Hubble Photographs, After Sappho” - a poem by Adrienne Rich.

Adrienne Rich cites Sappho’s “Anactoria Poem,” a love poem referencing Helen of Troy, as the inspiration for this piece describing photographs taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. Although in her poem, Rich expresses the opposite sentiment of Sappho’s poem.

https://sites.williams.edu/engl113-f18/delgado/adrienne-rich-hubble-photographs-after-sappho/
https://poets.org/poem/anactoria-poem
https://sites.williams.edu/engl113-f18/delgado/adrienne-rich-hubble-photographs-after-sappho/
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/adrienne-richenne-rich>
https://www.themarginalian.org/2019/04/26/amanda-palmer-hubble-photographs-adrienne-rich/

AkaSci, to random
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The Supreme Court upholds the CFPB's funding structure 7-2.

Interestingly, the majority decision was written by Justice Clarence Thomas.

Alito and Gorsuch dissented.

"The CFPB, the brainchild of Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, has long been opposed by Republicans and their financial backers. The bureau says it has returned $19 billion to consumers since its creation."
https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-cfpb-consumer-protection-9f30de9bbfa5b25a47804b101fb998e8

AkaSci, (edited ) to random
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Uh-oh! BepiColombo, the joint ESA/JAXA mission to Mercury, has experienced an issue that is preventing the spacecraft’s thrusters from operating at full power.

BepiColombo uses solar arrays and electric propulsion to generate thrust during its complex journey from Earth to Mercury.

After a problem on Apr 26, electrical power from the Transfer Module was restored to 90%, but it is not sufficient for full thrust.

The 4th gravity assist is planned for Sept.
🤞
https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/Glitch_on_BepiColombo_work_ongoing_to_restore_spacecraft_to_full_thrust
1/n

AkaSci, (edited )
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Check out at this thread from last year for more info on the BepiColombo mission.

https://fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/110564868026765139
2/n

AkaSci, (edited )
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The graphics below show the current location of the BepiColombo spacecraft relative to Mercury and the Sun and its location over the next few months until its next gravity assist close flyby of Mercury on Sept 5.

After Sept 5, BepiColombo will stay close to Mercury and will perform 2 more flybys before it is inserted in Mercury's orbit on Dec 5, 2025.

Meanwhile, ESA engineers are working to diagnose and fix the electrical power and thruster issue.

https://bepicolombo.esac.esa.int/itl-viewer/where/
3/n

AkaSci, (edited ) to random
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Juno snapped these images of Jupiter and its tiny moon Amalthea during its 59th Perijove on Mar 7, 2024, from an altitude of 265,000 km.

Amalthea, 250 × 146 × 128 km in size, is Jupiter's 5th largest moon. It is one of 4 small moons that orbit inside of Io's orbit.

The odd-shaped moon is believed to consist of a loose rubble of rocks and ice.

With a ~12h period, Amalthea is tidally locked to Jupiter, so the same side faces the giant planet.

https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasas-juno-mission-spots-jupiters-tiny-moon-amalthea/
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/featherweight-jupiter-moon-is-likely-a-jumble-of-pieces
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AkaSci, (edited )
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Jupiter's moon Amalthea was imaged up close by the NASA Galileo spacecraft in 1997-1999. Galileo had a much more powerful telescopic camera than Juno.

The 1st set of 4 images was taken between Feb and June 1997. The 2 images on the left highlight the topography of the surface. The 2 images on the right emphasize the presence of surface materials based on their brightness.

The 2nd set of 2 images was taken in Aug and Nov 1999. They show impact craters and the linear "streak" named Ida.

2/n

AkaSci,
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Dust from Jupiter's 4 inner moons are responsible for the rings of Jupiter, as shown in the graphic below.

Amalthea and its companion Thebe supply the dust which forms the thicker, disk-like "gossamer" ring. Dust is ejected into the rings as a result of impacts by small meteoroids into these small, low-gravity moons.

Amalthea orbits ~109,000 km above Jupiter's surface and has a period of about 12 hours.

https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01627
3/n

AkaSci, (edited )
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This composite color view shows Jupiter's moons Io and Amalthea on the same scale.

The images were taken by the NASA Galileo spacecraft in 1997-1998.

Amalthea is the reddest object in the solar system. Its color is caused by volcanic materials escaping from Io.

It radiates more heat than it receives from the Sun, likely due to electric currents induced in the moon’s core by Jupiter’s powerful magnetic field and due to tidal stresses caused by Jupiter’s gravity.

https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01626
4/n

AkaSci, (edited ) to random
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The NASA Europa Clipper spacecraft is getting ready to be shipped to KSC in FL. The spacecraft was moved in the clean room at JPL next to the container which will be used for transport to KSC.

At KSC, solar panels will be attached before installation in the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for launch around Oct 10, 2024. It will be inserted into orbit around Jupiter on April 11, 2030, from where it will make close passes of Europa over 4 years.

Webcam of clean room at https://europa.nasa.gov/spacecraft/assembly/
1/n

AkaSci, (edited )
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In case you were wondering how the NASA Europa Clipper spacecraft will be inserted into its shipping container, here are some stills from the webcam showing how it was done this morning in the high bay clean room at JPL.

Seems obvious now, after the fact 😃

Live webcam at https://europa.nasa.gov/spacecraft/assembly/
4/n

AkaSci, to random
@AkaSci@fosstodon.org avatar

Incoming! A severe G4 Geomagnetic Storm is expected to arrive around 02:00 UTC Friday night / Saturday morning.

At least 5 Coronal Mass Ejections took place over the past 24 hours, directed towards Earth. These originated from a large and magnetically complex sunspot cluster (NOAA region 3664).

There is potential for disruption of communications, the electric power grid, navigation, radio and satellite operations.

And bright auroras as far south as Alabama!

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
1/n

AkaSci,
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As sunspot region 3664 rotates away (it lobbed a parting flare at X3.4 at 08:37 UTC), other sunspot regions are rotating into view.

A new sunspot region rotating in from the other side emitted an X2.9 flare today at 14:38 UTC. It will not affect earth much but SWPC will be keeping an eye on such sunspots and flares as they rotate further and line up in the direction of earth.

Note that the Sun has a synodic rotation period of 26.24 days at the equator.

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
32/n

AkaSci, (edited ) to random
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The venerable Voyager 1 spacecraft is experiencing another glitch. Instead of sending science and engg. data, it is sending a 0101 bit pattern.

The problem has been narrowed down to the flight data system (FDS), which is not communicating properly with the telecom unit (TMU). A reboot did not help.

Stay tuned as NASA engrs work out a fix for this 1970's era computer, which has performed magnificently during its long 46-year journey to the planets and to outer space.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/sunspot/
1/n

AkaSci, (edited )
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Six months after it suffered a serious brain injury and after months of mind-boggling ultra-long-distance surgery, the Voyager 1 spacecraft walked and talked at full data rate today!

After transmitting a full memory readout on Friday at 40 bps, Voyager 1 switched to the science-mode 160 bps rate, which presumably the DSN site at Goldstone was able to receive and decode today.

Congrats and kudos to all who made it happen.
👏 :mastodance:
https://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html
29/n

AkaSci, (edited )
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For those curious about the downlink data rates used by Voyager, it uses 40 bps for engg. data and 160 bps for science data. It requires use of the 70m antenna at the 3 DSN sites. A 1.4 kbps rate is supported with 5 arrayed antennas at Madrid.

Voyager 1 is 24 billion km away. Tx power = 23W. Rx power = -160 dBm (1e-19 watts). A WiFi signal is > 10 billion times stronger!

Earlier data rates (kbps) for V2:
From Jupiter: 115.2
Saturn: 44.8
Uranus: 29.9
Neptune: 21.6

https://descanso.jpl.nasa.gov/DPSummary/Descanso4--Voyager_new.pdf
30/n

AkaSci,
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Voyager 1 is now communicating via the 70m antenna at the NASA DSN site in Madrid, still transmitting at the 160 bps "science mode" rate.

Steady as she goes!

https://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html
31/n

AkaSci, (edited )
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@GarySchulz
I do not know. We will have to wait and see what the Voyager team tells us. They probably do not know yet since they have not downloaded the contents of the digital tape recorder yet. Downloading that requires all 5 antennas in Madrid to be used in array mode.

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