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    Category Astronomy/Space

    Simulating Jet Streams and Anticyclones of Jupiter and Saturn

    December 1, 2015, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Image of Jupiter (L) and Simulation of Jupiter's Deep Atmospheric Flow (R). On the left side is a NASA image of Jupiter taken from Hubble Space Telescope. On the ride side is results of a 3-D simulation of Jupiter's deep atmospheric flow. The image gives global views of the axial vorticity (curl of the fluid velocity) at the outer boundary, the interior boundary, and in a meridional cut. Blue spots are anticyclones, which are predominant on Jupiter and rotate in the direction opposite Earth's cyclonic storms. In the simulation, the anticyclones are ringed by cyclonic filaments, which have also been observed on Jupiter. The image also reveals the vorticity of the zonal shear, which is much weaker than that of vortices. The interior flow is seen in the meridional cut to be strongly shaped by global rotation. Credit: Moritz Heimpel, University of Alberta

    Image of Jupiter (L) and Simulation of Jupiter’s Deep Atmospheric Flow (R). On the left side is a NASA image of Jupiter taken from Hubble Space Telescope. On the ride side is results of a 3-D simulation of Jupiter’s deep atmospheric flow. The image gives global views of the axial vorticity (curl of the fluid velocity) at the outer boundary, the interior boundary, and in a meridional cut. Blue spots are anticyclones, which are predominant on Jupiter and rotate in the direction opposite Earth’s cyclonic storms. In the simulation, the anticyclones are ringed by cyclonic filaments, which have also been observed on Jupiter. The image also reveals the vorticity of the zonal shear, which is much weaker than that of vortices...

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    Missing Link found between Turbulence in Collapsing Star and Hypernova, Gamma-ray burst

    November 30, 2015, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    A visualization of the strong, ordered magnetic field built up by dynamo action in the core of a rapidly rotating, collapsed star. Credit: Moesta et al./Nature

    A visualization of the strong, ordered magnetic field built up by dynamo action in the core of a rapidly rotating, collapsed star. Credit: Moesta et al./Nature

    A supercomputer simulation of just 10ms in the collapse of a massive star into a neutron star proves that these catastrophic events, often called hypernovae, can generate the enormous magnetic fields needed to explode the star and fire off bursts of gamma rays visible halfway across the universe.

    The simulation demonstrates that as a rotating star collapses, the star and its attached magnetic field spin faster and faster, forming a dynamo that revs the magnetic field to a million billion times the magnetic field of Earth...

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    Lunar Space Environment is much more Active than Previously assumed

    November 30, 2015, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    harles Lue holds a lunar globe showing the reflection of solar wind from magnetic fields of the lunar crust. The strongest reflection takes place in the areas marked in red on the lunar globe. Montage: photo Hans Huybrighs. Credit: Charles Lue

    Charles Lue holds a lunar globe showing the reflection of solar wind from magnetic fields of the lunar crust. The strongest reflection takes place in the areas marked in red on the lunar globe. Montage: photo Hans Huybrighs. Credit: Charles Lue

    The solar wind is reflected from the surface and crustal magnetic fields of the moon which has effects on for instance lunar water levels. The Swedish space instrument SARA has measured a strong and varied interaction between the Moon and solar wind (continuous flow of plasma from the Sun which affects the planets and contributes to aurora on Earth). The lunar atmosphere, on the other hand, is too thin to show the same phenomenon and the Moon also lacks a global magnetic field to regulate the solar wind...

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    How will NASA launch humans on our JourneyToMars?

    November 29, 2015, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    During Exploration Mission-1, Orion will venture thousands of miles beyond the moon during an approximately three week mission. Credits: NASA

    During Exploration Mission-1, Orion will venture thousands of miles beyond the moon during an approximately three week mission. Credits: NASA

    Here are the ins and outs of NASA’s First Launch of SLS and Orion. NASA is building Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the ground systems needed to send astronauts into deep space and core capabilities needed to enable the journey to Mars.

    Orion’s first flight atop the SLS will not have humans aboard, but it paves the way for future missions with astronauts. During this flight, Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), the spacecraft will travel thousands of miles beyond the moon over 3 wks. It will launch on the most powerful rocket in the world and fly farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown...

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