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| High-speed plasma jets: origin uncovered |
| For more than a decade, mysterious, high-speed plasma jets have been observed in space, downstream of the Earth's bow shock. The underlying formation mechanism for these jets has now been unveiled, thanks to data collected by the four ESA Cluster satellites. This study also suggests that such mechanisms may be relevant to other astrophysical shocks. |
| Date: 23 Apr 2010 |
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| Special Hubblecasts mark 20 years of the Hubble Space Telescope |
| Two special episodes of the Hubblecast have been released to mark the 20th anniversary, on 24 April 2010, of the launch of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Hubblecast 35: The Stuff of Legend takes a look at the story of the Hubble Space Telescope from conception to launch, while a selection of its scientific triumphs are showcased in Hubblecast 36: Gifts from the sky. |
| Date: 23 Apr 2010 |
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| Starry-eyed Hubble celebrates 20 years of awe and discovery [heic1007] |
| The most prolific space observatory zooms past a milestone of 20 years of operation. On 24 April 1990, the Space Shuttle and crew of STS-31 were launched to deploy the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope into a low-Earth orbit. What followed was one of the most remarkable sagas of the space age. |
| Date: 23 Apr 2010 |
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| PRODEX team welcomes Yvonne Zandbergen |
| The PRODEX team welcomes Yvonne Zandbergen as its new Administrative Assistant. Starting this week, Yvonne replaces Hilal Caglayan who has taken on a new challenge within the European Space Agency. |
| Date: 21 Apr 2010 |
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| New evidence for recent volcanism on Venus |
| Emissivity measurements carried out with the VIRTIS instrument aboard the European Space Agency's Venus Express spacecraft indicate that Venus has been volcanically active in recent geological times. This result, reported in the 8 April issue of Science, has important consequences for the understanding of the geological processes at work on the planet. |
| Date: 08 Apr 2010 |
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| Hubble snaps heavyweight of the Leo Triplet [heic1006] |
| Hubble has snapped a spectacular view of the largest "player" in the Leo Triplet, a galaxy with an unusual anatomy: it displays asymmetric spiral arms and an apparently displaced core. The peculiar anatomy is most likely caused by the gravitational pull of the other two members of the trio. |
| Date: 08 Apr 2010 |
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| AKARI produces two new infrared all-sky catalogues |
| Two new infrared catalogues, containing more than 1.3 million celestial sources, are made public today. The AKARI All-Sky Catalogues, based on the first all-sky infrared survey in more than a quarter of a century, will provide important new data for a wide range of studies that cover topics ranging from the properties of nearby stars, to the formation of planetary systems, and the star formation history of the distant Universe. |
| Date: 31 Mar 2010 |
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| New portal for suppliers: esa-p |
| ESA-P, the new Supplier Portal that replaces EFIS, is now open to suppliers for submitting invoices. The new esa-p system can be accessed via the following link: |
| Date: 30 Mar 2010 |
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| Hubble confirms cosmic acceleration with weak lensing [heic1005] |
| A new study led by European scientists presents the most comprehensive analysis of data from the most ambitious survey ever undertaken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. These researchers have, for the first time ever, used Hubble data to probe the effects of the natural gravitational "weak lenses" in space and characterise the expansion of the Universe. |
| Date: 25 Mar 2010 |
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| Newly discovered planet could hold water |
| The Corot satellite strikes again with another fascinating planet discovery. This time, the newly discovered gas giant planet may have an interior that closely resembles those of Jupiter and Saturn in our own Solar System.
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| Date: 18 Mar 2010 |
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| New Planck images trace cold dust and reveal large-scale structure in the Milky Way |
| New images from ESA's Planck mission reveal details of the structure of the coldest regions in our Galaxy. Filamentary clouds predominate, connecting the largest to the smallest scales in the Milky Way. These images are a scientific by-product of a mission which will ultimately provide the sharpest picture ever of the early Universe. |
| Date: 17 Mar 2010 |
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| INTEGRAL Announcement of Opportunity for AO-8 Cycle Observations Proposals |
| Dear Colleague,
I am very pleased to invite you to respond to the 8th "Announcement of Opportunity" by submitting proposals for observations to be performed with the International Gamma-ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) satellite. |
| Date: 15 Mar 2010 |
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| Phobos flyby images |
| Images from the recent flyby of Phobos, on 7 March 2010, are released today. The images show Mars' rocky moon in exquisite detail, with a resolution of just 4.4 metres per pixel. They show the proposed landing sites for the forthcoming Phobos-Grunt mission. |
| Date: 15 Mar 2010 |
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| Shocking recipe for 'killer electrons' |
| Interplanetary shocks can create "killer electrons" in the near-Earth space environment within 15 minutes of the shock reaching the Earth's protective magnetic bubble. The underlying mechanism for this process has now been revealed as a result of a rare configuration of satellites, including Cluster, SOHO and Double Star. |
| Date: 11 Mar 2010 |
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| Bully galaxy rules the neighbourhood [heic1004] |
| In general, galaxies can be thought of as "social" - hanging out in groups and frequently interacting. However, this recent NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image highlights how some galaxies appear to be hungry loners. These cosmic oddities have set astronomers on the "case of the missing neighbour galaxies". |
| Date: 04 Mar 2010 |
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| Herschel-HIFI unveils precursors of life-enabling molecules in Orion Nebula |
| ESA's Herschel Space Observatory has revealed the chemical fingerprints of potential life-enabling organic molecules in the Orion Nebula, a nearby stellar nursery in our Milky Way galaxy. This detailed spectrum, obtained with the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared (HIFI) - one of Herschel's three innovative instruments - demonstrates the gold mine of information that Herschel-HIFI will provide on how organic molecules form in space. |
| Date: 04 Mar 2010 |
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| James Webb Space Telescope sunshield passes critical design review |
| The James Webb Space Telescope sunshield has passed its critical design review, marking the successful completion of another mission milestone. The review certified that the sunshield design is complete and meets all the mission requirements; this clears the way for the start of manufacturing of the flight model sunshield. |
| Date: 03 Mar 2010 |
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| Mars Express to make closest ever approach to Phobos |
| On 3 March 2010 Mars Express will make its closest ever approach to Phobos, the larger of the two Martian moons. During a series of flybys, spanning six weeks, all seven instruments onboard Mars Express will be utilised to study Phobos. The close approach provides a first opportunity to perform a unique gravity experiment that may reveal the distribution of mass within this intriguing moon. |
| Date: 24 Feb 2010 |
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| ESA chooses three scientific missions for further study |
| Dark energy, habitable planets around other stars, and the mysterious nature of our own Sun, have been chosen by ESA as candidates for two medium-class missions to be launched no earlier than 2017. |
| Date: 19 Feb 2010 |
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| Two windows on ozone: extending our view of the Martian atmosphere |
| New measurements of ozone in the atmosphere of Mars are being obtained in a coordinated observation campaign with Mars Express and a Hawaiian-based telescope. The combined observation set covers a longer time period and broader range of regions on Mars than previous campaigns, thereby improving the ability to verify and refine detailed models of the Martian atmosphere. |
| Date: 16 Feb 2010 |
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