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Curiosity Cam, Ustream.TV: Follow the Curiosity rover on Twitter (@MarsCuriosity) and Facebook. FAQsGet answers to some of the most common questions about

Curiosity Cam, Ustream.TV: Follow the Curiosity rover on Twitter (@MarsCuriosity) and Facebook. FAQsGet answers to some of the most common questions about
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A peine arrivé sur Mars, Curiosity régale la Nasa de ses images Après l'excitation, la joie et le soulagement de voir Curiosity se poser sans encombre sur le sol martien, lundi à 05H32 GMT, les équipes du Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) de Pasadena (Californie) se sont immédiatement remises au travail pour vérifier que leur robot est en ordre de marche. Après une première série de tests concluants sur les instruments scientifiques embarqués, les ingénieurs s'apprêtaient à vérifier, dans la nuit de lundi à mardi, l'état des outils des communication de Curiosity. "Quand Curiosity va se réveiller, nous allons vérifier ses capacités de communication directe avec la Terre", assurées par deux antennes, a-t-elle ajouté, précisant que Curiosity est également capable de communiquer à travers le relais des sondes en orbite autour de la planète rouge. La première journée martienne -- appelée Sol 1 -- sera aussi l'occasion de poursuivre "les exerices de tests sur plusieurs outils", a-t-elle dit. Une vaste étendue couverte de galets Avec

Galleries - NASA Solar System Exploration National Aeronautics andSpace Administration Solar System Exploration beta Galleries ShareEmailPrint Featured Image Galleries Planetary Spacecraft Historical Infographics Images Video Interactive Apps Shareables Audio AddToAny Curiosity lands successfully, kicks off new era in Mars exploration If all continues to go well, Curiosity will soon bring us a wealth of new information about the Martian climate, soil, and geology. The rover landed at approximately 1:30 AM EST and has signaled its successful deployment. Opportunity — the tremendously successful rover that first landed on Mars in 2004 and is still operational — now has functional company on the Red Planet for the first time since 2010. “Ambitious” is the only way to describe NASA’s latest probe. After the tremendous successes of Sojourner, Spirit, and Opportunity, NASA built Curiosity to an even more ambitious specification. The rover is the approximate size of a Mini Cooper, weighs about one ton, and uses a radioisotope power system that contains some eleven pounds of plutonium-238. Landing a spacecraft that large on a planet like Mars isn’t particularly easy, especially when it’s being handled entirely by automated systems. The parachute, however, isn’t capable of slowing the MSL to a survivable descent speed.

Curiosity envoie ses premiers clichés spectaculaires de Mars Moins de vingt-quatre heures après sa spectaculaire arrivée sur Mars, le robot Curiosity a déjà régalé la NASA de superbes images de sa descente vers la planète rouge et du paysage environnant. Après l'excitation, la joie et le soulagement de voir Curiosity se poser sans encombre sur le sol martien, lundi à 5 h 32 GMT (7 h 32, heure française), les équipes du Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) de Pasadena se sont immédiatement remises au travail pour vérifier que leur robot est en ordre de marche. Après une première série de tests concluants sur les instruments scientifiques embarqués, les ingénieurs s'apprêtaient à vérifier, dans la nuit de lundi à mardi, l'état des outils de communication de Curiosity. Mais le plus impressionnant, moins de vingt-quatre heures après l'arrivée du robot sur Mars, est la série de photos parvenues jusqu'à la Terre. Voir une galerie de tous les clichés envoyés par Curiosity sur le site de la NASA.

9) November 2012 | Anne’s Astronomy News November 30, 2012 SNR 0509-67.5, a supernova remnant in the LMC Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/J.Hughes et al, Optical: NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) SNR 0509-67.5 (SNR 0509 for short) is the remnant of a supernova explosion in the Large Magellanic Cloud, located some 160,000 light-years away in the constellation of Dorado. It is about 23 light-years across and expanding at more than 5,000 kilometers a second, or more than 18 million kilometers an hour. This bubble is the visible remnant of a Type 1a supernova that occurred about 400 years ago in Earth’s time frame (what means that the light from the explosion reached us about 400 years ago), which was unusually bright and energetic. A Type Ia supernova is a result from the violent explosion of a white dwarf star (a compact star that has ceased fusion in its core). Astronomers failed to find any remnant of the companion star, however, and concluded that the common scenario of Type Ia supernovae did not apply in this case.

NASA unveils Mars rover Curiosity’s travel plans The first destination of NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity will be an area near its Gale Crater landing site, where three kinds of terrain come together in a striking and unusual way. The rover’s primary mission is to reach the base of Mount Sharp — a three-mile high mound with layers of exposed rock — as it searches for the building blocks of possible Martian microbial life. Video On Friday, NASA released a series of images that shows the heat shield from the Mars Science Laboratory hitting the ground on Mars and raising a cloud of dust. But the six-wheeled Curiosity will first visit a site in a different direction because of the three adjoining rock formations, which scientists say could help them better understand the history of the crater and of Mars. “Probably we’ll do a month worth of science there, maybe a little bit more,” lead mission scientist John Grotzinger told reporters during a conference call Friday. — Reuters

Curiosity envoie son premier auto-portrait depuis Mars Le robot de la Nasa Curiosity a fait une pause jeudi à son troisième jour sur Mars pour transmettre de nouvelles photos de la planète rouge, dont un premier auto-portrait et une vue en couleur à 360 degrés de sa «maison» dans le cratère de Gale, a annoncé jeudi la Nasa. >> Toutes vos questions et toutes nos réponses sur Curiosity, c'est par ici La mosaïque panoramique, composée de 130 images séparées prises par Curiosity avec ses caméras de navigation, révèle une surface couleur rouille couverte de cailloux, qui s'étend jusqu'à la paroi du cratère d'un côté et jusqu'à un monticule de roches disposées en couches de l'autre. Cette formation rocheuse, le mont Sharp, est au centre d'un vaste cratère et à plusieurs kilomètres de l'endroit où Curiosity s'est posé, après un voyage de huit mois et de 556 millions de kilomètres dans l'espace. «Curiosity continue à fonctionner parfaitement» >> Notre guide à (re)lire: Comment suivre l'aventure Curiosity sans quitter son fauteuil Avec Reuters

Monster Black Hole Is the Largest and Brightest Ever Found Astronomers have discovered the largest and most luminous black hole ever seen — an ancient monster with a mass about 12 billion times that of the sun — that dates back to when the universe was less than 1 billion years old. It remains a mystery how black holes could have grown so huge in such a relatively brief time after the dawn of the universe, researchers say. Supermassive black holes are thought to lurk in the hearts of most, if not all, large galaxies. The largest black holes found so far in the nearby universe have masses more than 10 billion times that of the sun. In comparison, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way is thought to have a mass only 4 million to 5 million times that of the sun. [The Strangest Black Holes in the Universe] Although not even light can escape the powerful gravitational pulls of black holes — hence, their name — black holes are often bright. The light from very distant quasars can take billions of years to reach Earth.

Video Duet – Soyuz Debut Blast off from the Amazon Jungle and Rockin’ Russian Rollout ! Want to stay on top of all the space news? Follow @universetoday on Twitter Watch the video of today’s debut lift off of a Russian Soyuz rocket from the edge of the Amazon jungle at the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana as it successfully carried the first two Galileo In-Orbit Validation satellites to space after an arduous 7 year struggle to mesh Russian and European technologies and cultures – a magnificent achievement that opens a wide realm of new commercial and science exploration possibilities to exploit space for humankind. Now have some real fun and enjoy this absolutely cool Rockin’ Russian music video showing a headless Soyuz rollout to the pad, an erection like you’ve never imagined and capping with the Galileo satellites. Soyuz launch through the Amazon jungle raindrops on 21 October 2011. First Soyuz lift from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 21 October 2011. About Ken Kremer Dr.

Curiosity sur Mars : le mystère de la photo résolu La Nasa a identifié la tache mystérieuse qui apparaissait sur une photo envoyée par le robot Curiosity juste après son atterrissage sur Mars, concluant qu'il s'agissait - "merveilleuse coïncidence" - de l'impact au sol de son vaisseau transporteur. La photo faisait depuis lundi les gorges chaudes des scientifiques et des passionnés d'astronomie et commençait aussi à susciter des spéculations farfelues. Tous s'interrogeaient sur la petite tache, semblable à un nuage de poussière, qui apparaissait à l'horizon d'une photo envoyée par Curiosity immédiatement après son atterrissage sur Mars, lundi à 7 h 31. Vendredi, lors d'une conférence de presse au Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) de la Nasa à Pasadena (Californie), qui pilote la mission, Steve Sell a assuré que ce nuage n'était pas une tache sur l'objectif de la caméra, ni un tourbillon de poussière, comme l'avançaient certains observateurs, mais l'impact au sol de la "grue" porteuse qui venait de déposer Curiosity sur Mars.

NASA shake tests the Orion capsule that could take man to Mars The capsule, which could one day man to the red planet, has been put through its paces on the world's most powerful vibration table to simulate launch. Nasa has revealed the latest test to ensure its Orion capsule will be able to survive launching on top of the world's most powerful rocket. Engineers at NASA Glenn's Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio recently finished a series of tests on a full-size test version of Orion's service module to verify that it can withstand the vibrations it will experience when it launches and travels into space atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Scroll down for video The 13-ton service module is an essential part of the spacecraft. It will propel, power and cool Orion in addition to providing air and water for the crew. 'We're making sure that the structure on the service module will survive the extremely strong vibrations of launch and ascent on the journey to space,' said Nicole Smith, project manager for the Orion testing at Plum Brook. Loaded: 0%

Photo reveals a planet-sized object as cool as the Earth The photo of a nearby star and its orbiting companion—with a temperature like a hot summer day in Arizona—will be revealed by Penn State Associate Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics Kevin Luhman during a presentation at the Signposts of Planets conference at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center on 20 October 2011. A paper describing the discovery will be published in the Astrophysical Journal. "This planet-like companion is the coldest object ever directly photographed outside our solar system," said Luhman, who led the discovery team. "Its mass is about the same as many of the known extra-solar planets—about six to nine times the mass of Jupiter—but in other ways it is more like a star. Essentially, what we have found is a very small star with an atmospheric temperature about as cool as the Earth's." See photo here. Luhman classifies this object as a "brown dwarf," an object that formed just like a star out of a massive cloud of dust and gas.

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