European Association for Astronomy Education

Due to the requests of many teachers all around Europe, the deadline for the submission of Catch a Star's works has been postponed to October 30th, 2011.

Teachers say that they have done the work with their students but in many cases have not been able to finish the translation of their work to English.

Since July and August are Summer vacations time in almost all countries EAAE has decided to extend the contest until the end of October. This will give students an opportunity to finish their works. It will also be an opportunity for more teachers to apply with works of their students.

Source: ESO Science Release eso1122

An artist’s rendering of the most distant quasar.
Image credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser.

A team of European astronomers has used ESO’s Very Large Telescope and a host of other telescopes to discover and study the most distant quasar found to date. This brilliant beacon, powered by a black hole with a mass two billion times that of the Sun, is by far the brightest object yet discovered in the early Universe. The results will appear in the 30 June 2011 issue of the journal Nature. (read more)

Source: University of Toronto

Astronomers usually only see flat versions of the real galaxies in the Universe, as pictures projected on their computer screens. But  researchers in the international collaboration ATLAS3D have used a clever trick to figure out what 260 galaxies do in the third dimension missing from their images.

They added motion to the picture by measuring the velocities of stars going through the plane of the image. Using this method, the ATLAS3D researchers were able to tell whether stars were part of a flattened spinning disk or a motionless balloon-shaped blob (called elliptical galaxy).

This advance should help them figure out how galaxies change as they age and collide with one another. (read more)

Source: NASA

Space Shuttle approaching ISS. Image credit: NASA.

Space shuttle Atlantis' Commander Chris Ferguson and his three crewmates are scheduled to begin a 12-day mission to the International Space Station with a launch at 11:26 a.m. EDT on July 8, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The STS-135 mission is the final  flight of the Space Shuttle Program.(read more)

Once again in 2011 EAAE has launched Eratosthenes Experiment. This year was coordinated by Anna Artigas and Guido Robotti.

On June 21^st, 2011, school teachers and students from all over Europe made their measurements and launched the results on the EAAE's webpage of the project. Some teachers also participated on the videoconference promoted for schools to cooperate about the event.

Students measuring the shadow of a gnomon at Legnica, Poland.

Most schools, from Northern Europe to Southern Europe were able to measure the shadow of the Sun due to good weather conditions in most of Europe. Only Stafford Grammar School in the United Kingdom reported bad weather conditions.

A School Group measuring the shadow of a gnomon at Batalha, Portugal.

Nonetheless the measurement of average of Earth's perimeter was 39864.64 km, a measurement that has a 0.358% error compared to the accepted value of 40007.86 km for the meridional perimeter.

During the video conference that was controlled by Alexandre Costa and Jordi Delpeix Borrell, students from different schools shared their results and the motivation they had in participating this event. All of them showed the interest in participating next year.

A scene from the beginning of the videoconference with some of the participants.

Students had possibility of presenting pictures and some schools also presented videos they already had posted on YouTube about the event.

Sharing a YouTube video nearly at the end of the videoconference..

We hope next edition of Eratosthenes is even better.

Source: Daily Galaxy

An Unitary Triangle fit measurements of CP violation and rare decays. Image source: UTfit

Scientists of the MINOS experiment at the Department of Energy’s Fermi National AcceleratorLaboratory have announced the results from a search for a rare phenomenon, the transformation of muon neutrinos into electron neutrinos. The result is consistent with and significantly constrains a measurement reported 10 days ago by the Japanese T2K experiment, which could have implications for our understanding of the role that neutrinos may have played in the evolution of the universe. If muon neutrinos transform into electron neutrinos, neutrinos could be the reason that the big bang produced more matter than antimatter, leading to the universe as it exists today. (read more)

Source: ESA News

ESA’s XMM-Newton space observatory has watched a faint star flare up at X-ray wavelengths to almost 10 000 times its normal brightness. Astronomers believe the outburst was caused by the star trying to eat a giant clump of matter.

The flare took place on a neutron star, the collapsed heart of a once much larger star. Now about 10 km in diameter, the neutron star is so dense that it generates a strong gravitational field.

The clump of matter was much larger than the neutron star and came from its enormous blue supergiant companion star.(read more)

Source: NASA News

A screenshot of NASA's YouTube video site

NASA's new video series offers the public a fast and fun way to learn about scientific discoveries and facts about Earth, the solar system and beyond.

Called "ScienceCasts," the videos are created by an astrophysicist and a team of agency narrators and videographers. The videos are posted online every Thursday afternoon at approximately 4 p.m. EDT. The format is designed to increase understanding of the world of science through simple, clear presentations.

Future episodes will focus on citizen science research; the search for new galaxies; how to watch this summer's Perseid meteor shower; and the causes of recent wild weather events in the United States.

NASA's Science Mission Directorate seeks new knowledge and understanding of Earth, the sun, solar system and the universe. The directorate also constantly looks for inventive ways to reach out to the public via museums, classrooms, science centers and home schools.

To view the latest videos science online, visit:

http://www.youtube.com/user/scienceatnasa

For a complete list of ScienceCast episodes, visit:

http://sciencecasts.nasa.gov

Source: ESA

Alphasatis the first satellite to be launched using the new European
high-power Alphabus telecommunications platform. Credits: ESA.

Alphabus, the world’s largest communication satellite platform, is ready to offer new opportunities for satellite operators worldwide. The platform was formally accepted for its first satellite, Alphasat I-XL on 16 June, marking an important milestone in its journey to space.(read more)

Source: NASA Science News

Image source: 90.7  The Capstone

Don't blame La Nina or El Nino for the recent wild weather in many parts of the World. According to Bill Patzert, a NASA climatologist, the real culprit is "La Nada." (read more)

Source: NASA/Genesis

Image credit: NASA.

Analysis of samples returned by NASA's Genesis mission indicates our sun and its inner planets may have formed differently than scientists previously thought.

The data revealed slight differences in the types of oxygen and nitrogen present on the sun and planets. The elements are among the  most abundant in our solar system. Although the differences are slight, the implications could help determine how our solar system evolved.

The air on Earth contains three different kinds of oxygen atoms, which are differentiated by the number of neutrons they contain. Nearly 100 percent of oxygen atoms in the solar system are composed of O-16, but there also are tiny amounts of more exotic oxygen isotopes called O-17 and O-18. Researchers studying the oxygen of Genesis samples
found that the percentage of O-16 in the sun is slightly higher than on Earth, the moon, and meteorites. The other isotopes' percentages were slightly lower. (read more)

Source: Universe Today/John Voisey

The general picture of star formation envisions stars emerging in clusters, having condensed from cores of gas under self gravity after having passed a critical density threshold. Perhaps the cloud was pushed over the threshold by the shockwave of a supernova or the tidal twisting of a nearby object. How it happens isn’t important since the methods are likely to be many and diverse. What is important is understanding what that threshold is so we may know when it is reached. It is generally referred to as the Jeans mass and observations have generally been well in line with densities predicted by this formulation. However, over the past several years, astronomers have discovered some objects amongst a a new class that form in regions and densities not readily explained by the Jeans mass criterion.

A new class of objects has been established that are now being called Very Low Luminosity Objects or VeLLOs. Among these, L1148-IRS has been an oddity. While still low in overall light output, this object was relatively bright in the infrared when compared to other VeLLOs. Studies of the object and its surrounding gas suggested that the object was forming in an unusually empty region, one in which the usual scenario doesn’t seem to fit. A new paper by the original discoverers of this object, suggest that there may be some peculiarities that may be related to this puzzle. (read more)

Original paper:
arXiv1106.2545v

Source: NASA/Dawn

Artist's impression of Dawn. Image credit: NASA.

NASA's Dawn spacecraft is on track to begin the first extended visit to a large asteroid. The mission expects to go into orbit around Vesta on July 16 and begin gathering science data in early August. Vesta resides in the main asteroid belt and is thought to be the source of a large number of meteorites that fall to Earth.(read more)

Source: ESA

CryoSat’s exceptionally detailed data.
Image credits: CPOM/UCL/ESA.

The first map of sea-ice thickness from ESA’s CryoSat mission was revealed at the Paris Air and Space Show during last week. This new information is set to change our understanding of the complex relationship between ice and climate. (see video)

Source: NASA.
Image credit: NASA.

NASA's next Mars rover has completed the journey from its California birthplace to Florida in preparation for launch this fall.

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, also known as Curiosity, arrived Wednesday at NASA's Kennedy Space  Center aboard an Air Force C-17 transport plane. It was accompanied by the rocket-powered descent stage that will fly the rover during the final moments before landing on Mars. The C-17 flight began at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, Calif., where the boxed hardware had been trucked from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in  Pasadena, Calif.

The rover's aeroshell -- the protective covering for the trip to the Red Planet - and the cruise stage, which will guide it  to Mars, arrived at Kennedy last month. The mission is targeted to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station  between Nov. 25 and Dec. 18. The car-size rover will land on Mars in August 2012. (read more)

Source: Skymania/Paul Sutherland

An asteroid with a diameter between 10meters and 50 meters was discovered on June 22nd and will pass Earth at a distance of  less than 17,700 km (11,000 miles) on Monday June 27, 2011. That’s about 23 times closer than the Moon. The size and location of the asteroid, named 2011 MD, should allow observers in certain locations to take a look at the space rock, even with small telescopes. It’s closest approach will be at 13:26 UTC on June 27.(read more)

Source: NASA/Discover-AQ

Image credit: NASA.

Two NASA research airplanes will fly over the Baltimore-Washington region and northeast Maryland this summer as part of a mission to enhance the capability of satellites to measure ground-level air quality from space.

The campaign is called DISCOVER-AQ, which stands for Deriving Information on Surface conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality. It is one of the five Earth Venture class of investigations selected last year as part of NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder program. These targeted science investigations complement NASA's larger research missions.

A fundamental challenge for spaceborne instruments monitoring air quality is to distinguish between pollution high in the atmosphere and pollution near the surface where people live. The new NASA field campaign will make measurements from aircraft in combination with ground-based observation sites to help scientists better understand how to observe ground-level pollution from space in the future.(read more)

Source: ESO Photo Release eso1121

The dramatic nebula around the bright red supergiant star Betelgeuse.
Image credit: ESO/P. Kervella

Using the VISIR instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have imaged a complex and bright nebula around the supergiant star Betelgeuse in greater detail than ever before. This structure, which resembles flames emanating from the star, is formed as the behemoth sheds its material into space.(read more)

Source: ESO and ESA/Hubble

A team of scientists has studied the galaxy cluster Abell 2744, nicknamed Pandora’s Cluster.

They have pieced together the cluster’s complex and violent history using telescopes in space and on the ground, including ESO’s Very Large Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope.

Abell 2744 seems to be the result of a simultaneous pile-up of at least four separate galaxy clusters and this complex collision has produced strange effects that have never been seen together before. (read more)

Submitted by Laura Abati

The  Galileian School of Higher Education is  the possibility  for some excellent students, selected by admission tests, to live in a very stimulating contest. Tutors, seminars, special internal courses, cultural exchanges, computer facilities should promote their personal and cultural better formation.

The goal is to allow, following the example of Galileo, an integrated learning method  in order to form a highly qualified international  group.

The School, is inspired by Galileo who was not only great Astronomer and mathematician, but also a fine  philosopher and a man of  literature, has beside a scientific group and a humanist.

The location is in  an old noble building  in the town of Padua. Students can live  there  (single rooms) and all the facilities are FREE.

The conditions and results are very good in the university and inners courses ( media Marks >- 27/30 , single examination>-24/30)

Each year 24 students are admitted. Up to now there are only Italian students but the new actual director , prof. Cesare Barbieri, will be glad to receive also some European students.

The GS has been active for 6 years but isn't spreadly known. Teachers should tell their students about this unique opportunity.

The main points that have to be fulfilled by the applicant is the he/she must be/have :

• Excellent student
• European
• Age < 22
• Enrolled at Padua university for the first time in scientific ( not only Astronomy) or humanistic  courses
• Entrance examinations in English for not Italian students

TheGalilean School offers

• FREE  accommodation ( single rooms) and
• FREE facilities ( tutors, seminars, internal courses , computer)

Attention: The  APPLICATION DEADLINE  is  September 2nd, 2011.

Link:
Galileian School of Higher Education