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| Exploding star in NGC 2397 [heic0808] |
| The latest image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveals a sharp view of the spiral galaxy NGC 2397. This image also shows a rare Hubble view of the early stages of a supernova - SN 2006bc, discovered in March 2006. |
| Date: 31 Mar 2008 |
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| Europa - Jupiter International Science Workshop |
Frascati (Rome), Italy
April 21-22, 2008
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| Date: 28 Mar 2008 |
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| Composition and Origin of Enceladus' Plume |
| During Cassini's close flyby of Enceladus on 12 March, the spacecraft flew through the moon's plume that originates from jets in Enceladus' south polar region. Both the plume and the south polar surface were studied during this very close approach of Saturn's sixth largest moon. |
| Date: 27 Mar 2008 |
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| Evidence for a Subsurface Ocean on Titan |
| Based on Cassini radar observations of Titan's surface the moon's spin rate is now confirmed to be both non-synchronous and changing with time, providing evidence for the existence of a subsurface ocean. |
| Date: 25 Mar 2008 |
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| Titan Flyby - 25 March 2008 |
| Today, Tuesday 25 March, Cassini returns to Titan for the mission's forty-third targeted encounter: Titan-42. The closest approach occurs at 14:27:48 UT, at an altitude of 1000 kilometres above the surface and at a speed of 6.3 kilometres per second. The latitude at closest approach is 27° S and the encounter occurs on orbit number 62. |
| Date: 25 Mar 2008 |
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| Characterisation of SNR 0509-67.5 |
| Optical observations by Rest et al. of light echoes from the supernova (SN) explosion that created the supernova remnant SNR 0509-67.5 have allowed for the determination of the SN's subtype and age, some 400 years after the event. This conclusive determination of SN subtype so long after the explosion of the parent star is confirmed by results from analyses of X-ray observations by Badenes et al. that use Chandra and XMM-Newton spectra of the SNR's shocked ejecta material. |
| Date: 20 Mar 2008 |
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| JWST Sunshield Preliminary Design Review Complete |
| The tennis court-sized sunshield built by Northrop Grumman for the James Webb Space Telescope has completed its preliminary design review (PDR) at the company's Space Technology facility. |
| Date: 20 Mar 2008 |
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| Hubble finds first organic molecule on extrasolar planet [heic0807] |
| The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has made the first detection ever of an organic molecule in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star. This breakthrough is an important step in eventually identifying signs of life on a planet outside our Solar System. |
| Date: 19 Mar 2008 |
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| X-ray observations of Postoutburst Nova V5116 Sagittarii |
| In a recent paper, Gloria Sala et al. present the X-ray light curve and broadband spectrum of nova V5116 Sagittarii (V5116 Sgr) as observed by XMM-Newton 609 days after the nova was first observed at optical wavelengths. |
| Date: 14 Mar 2008 |
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| Enceladus Flyby - 12 March 2008 |
| On 12 March 2008, Cassini visits Enceladus for the first time since the discovery of active geysers on this icy moon, two and a half years ago. The closest approach occurs at 19:06:12 UT at an altitude of just 52 kilometres above the surface and at a speed of 14.4 kilometres per second.
This makes it Cassini's closest approach ever of Enceladus or any other Saturnian moon. The flyby occurs in orbit 61 of the mission. |
| Date: 12 Mar 2008 |
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| Marco Polo Workshop |
5 & 6 June 2008
Salle Miramar, La Croisette, Cannes, France
Croisette Beach Hotel
13, rue du Canada, 06400 Cannes, France |
| Date: 11 Mar 2008 |
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| INTEGRAL Announcement of Opportunity for AO-6 Cycle Observation Proposals and for Obtaining Data Rights to Targets within Previously Approved Key Programmes |
| Dear Colleague, I am very pleased to invite you to respond to the sixth "Announcement of Opportunity" by submitting proposals for observations to be performed with the international Gamma-ray Astrophysics laboratory (INTEGRAL) satellite or for obtaining data rights to targets within the previously approved Key Programmes. |
| Date: 10 Mar 2008 |
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| Solitons found in the magnetopause |
| First observed in the waters of a Scottish canal in 1834, solitary waves or solitons, have nowadays applications across various fields of physics, including optical fibres to enable ultra-fast internet. However, fundamental questions on this phenomenon remain open. In a recent article published in Physical Review Letters, the spontaneous formation of zonal mode solitary waves at the border of the Earth's magnetosphere, the magnetopause, is reported and explained. Although different types of solitons have been observed in space previously (see references), this paper reports, for the first time, a direct comparison of multi-spacecraft observations and matched numerical modelling of zonal flow solitons, unambiguously showing that these structures penetrate down the plasma density gradient in the magnetospheric border. |
| Date: 07 Mar 2008 |
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| Green light awaited for Europe's Mars mission |
The cornerstone of ESA's Aurora exploration programme is ExoMars, a mission to deliver Europe's first planetary rover to the Red Planet. After more than a year of studying various mission concepts, the ExoMars team is preparing to move on to the detailed design of the ExoMars spacecraft and rover. |
| Date: 05 Mar 2008 |
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