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| Galaxy caught blowing bubbles [heic1114] |
| Hubble's famous images of galaxies typically show elegant spirals or soft-edged ellipses. But these neat forms are only representative of large galaxies. Smaller galaxies like the dwarf irregular galaxy Holmberg II come in many shapes and types that are harder to classify. This galaxy's indistinct shape is punctuated by huge glowing bubbles of gas, captured in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. |
| Date: 29 Sep 2011 |
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| ESA orbiter discovers water supersaturation in the Martian atmosphere |
| New analysis of data sent back by the SPICAM spectrometer on board ESA's Mars Express spacecraft has revealed for the first time that the planet's atmosphere is supersaturated with water vapour. This surprising discovery has major implications for understanding the Martian water cycle and the historical evolution of the atmosphere. |
| Date: 29 Sep 2011 |
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| Call for declaration of Interest in Science Instrumentation - Cosmic Vision Mission: STE-QUEST |
| This Call for declaration of Interest in Science Instrumentation (CISI) is open to the European science community for enabling assessment studies of the science instruments of the STE-QUEST mission. STE-QUEST has been selected for assessment following the ESA Call for a Medium-size M3 mission opportunity in the Cosmic Vision (CV) 2015-2025 plan. The European science community is invited to propose dedicated studies on science instrumentation that would potentially be provided by the ESA Member States, should the mission be adopted.
The Proposal submission deadline is 4 November 2011, at 14:00 CET. |
| Date: 26 Sep 2011 |
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| Call for declaration of Interest in Science Instrumentation - Cosmic Vision Mission: Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory (EChO) |
This Call for declaration of Interest in Science Instrumentation (CISI) is open to the European science community for enabling assessment studies of the science instruments of the EChO mission. EChO, the Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory, has been selected for assessment following the ESA Call for a Medium-size M3 mission opportunity in the Cosmic Vision (CV) 2015-2025 plan. The European science community is invited to propose dedicated studies on science instrumentation that would potentially be provided by the ESA Member States, should the mission be adopted. The proposal submission deadline is 4 November 2011, at 14:00 CET. |
| Date: 26 Sep 2011 |
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| Herschel probes the dusty history of a giant star |
| About 5 thousand million years from now, our Sun will expand into a red giant, swelling to such a size that it may swallow the Earth. It will then begin to shed huge amounts of dust, surrounding itself with an expanding circumstellar envelope (CSE) that ultimately will become a planetary nebula. New insights into this process have been revealed by ESA's Herschel Space Observatory, which is providing unprecedented images of the complex, outer structure of a nearby CSE. |
| Date: 20 Sep 2011 |
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| BepiColombo Mercury explorer to be launched on Ariane |
| Reaching one of the most mysterious planets in our Solar System takes enormous power and finesse. ESA has now firmly entrusted its precious Mercury explorer to Europe's largest rocket - the Ariane 5.
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| Date: 15 Sep 2011 |
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| Gaia mirrors ready to shine |
| ESA's Gaia mission has passed another major milestone after the completion of 10 state-of-the-art mirrors that will be used to measure the precise positions of a billion stars. With the delivery of the last of these complex mirrors, Europe has further reinforced its position as the world leader in silicon carbide mirror technology. |
| Date: 15 Sep 2011 |
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| Herschel reveals how most stars formed in the Universe |
| Do galaxies form their stars through violent and tumultuous merging events or rather via more steady and gentle processes? Scrutinising thousands of galaxies across the past 11 billion years of cosmic history with ESA's Herschel Space Observatory, astronomers have, for the first time, been able to answer this long-standing question. Contrary to previous belief, the new data reveal that most of the stars ever formed in the history of the Universe have done so quietly. |
| Date: 13 Sep 2011 |
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| Ultrafast substorm auroras explained |
| From time to time, sudden releases of energy in Earth's magnetosphere lead to major disturbances that result in bright auroral displays over the planet's polar regions. These auroras are caused by a phenomenon known as a geomagnetic substorm. The precise cause of these substorms has been debated for decades, but new computer simulations, allied to analysis of data from ESA's Cluster spacecraft, are now filling in many of the missing pieces in the puzzle. |
| Date: 06 Sep 2011 |
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| Suzaku 7th Announcement of Opportunity |
| The Seventh European Announcement of Opportunity for observations to be performed with Suzaku between April 2012 and March 2013 is now open. Scientists belonging to institutions within ESA Member States are invited to respond. The deadline for receipt of proposals is 10 November 2011 at 16:30 CET. |
| Date: 01 Sep 2011 |
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| Phobos-Soil (Phobos-Grunt) Announcement of Opportunity for Guest Investigators |
| This Announcement of Opportunity (AO) solicits research proposals for scientific analysis of data, or theoretical and/or modelling studies supported by data, from the Russian Phobos-Soil (Phobos-Grunt) mission, through participation in the Phobos-Soil Guest Investigator Programme.
The deadline for proposal submissions is 30 November 2011. |
| Date: 01 Sep 2011 |
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