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Space/Planetary Science
Key: Meeting Journal Funder Dissertation
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
2009 AGU Fall Meeting
New method to measure snow, vegetation moisture with GPS may benefit farmers, meteorologists
A research team led by the University of Colorado at Boulder has found a clever way to use traditional GPS satellite signals to measure snow depth as well as soil and vegetation moisture, a technique expected to benefit meteorologists, water resource managers, climate modelers and farmers.
National Science Foundation

Contact: Kristine Larson
Kristine.Larson@colorado.edu
303-492-6583
University of Colorado at Boulder

Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Watching a cannibal galaxy dine
A new technique using near-infrared images, obtained with ESO's 3.58-meter New Technology Telescope, allows astronomers to see through the opaque dust lanes of the giant cannibal galaxy Centaurus A, unveiling its "last meal" in unprecedented detail -- a smaller spiral galaxy, currently twisted and warped. This amazing image also shows thousands of star clusters, strewn like glittering gems, churning inside Centaurus A.

Contact: Dr. Henri Boffin
hboffin@eso.org
49-893-200-6222
ESO

Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
SMOS satellite instrument comes alive
The MIRAS instrument on ESA's SMOS satellite, launched earlier this month, has been switched on and is operating normally. MIRAS will map soil moisture and ocean salinity to improve our understanding of the role these two key variables play in regulating Earth's water cycle.

Contact: Robert Meisner
robert.meisner@esa.int
39-069-418-0874
European Space Agency

Public Release: 18-Nov-2009
NASA's QuikScat and Aqua providing important data on Tropical Storm Anja
Tropical Storm Anja has continued to weaken over the last 24 hours, and NASA's QuikScat satellite has confirmed that the once mighty Category 4 Cyclone is now a tropical storm in the southern Indian Ocean. Two instruments on NASA's Aqua satellite have also helped forecasters determine Anja's location and change of shape.
NASA

Contact: Rob Gutro
Robert.J.Gutro@nasa.gov
301-286-4044
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Public Release: 18-Nov-2009
Baffling boxy bulge
Just as many people are surprised to find themselves packing on unexplained weight around the middle, astronomers find the evolution of bulges in the centers of spiral galaxies puzzling. A recent NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 4710 is part of a survey that astronomers have conducted to learn more about the formation of bulges, which are a substantial component of most spiral galaxies.

Contact: Colleen Sharkey
csharkey@eso.org
49-893-200-6306
ESA/Hubble Information Centre

Public Release: 17-Nov-2009
Cyclone Anja hits wind shear, weakens drastically
This morning, Cyclone Anja was a powerful Category 4 cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Wind shear has now giving Anja a strong "punch in the gut" as the storm has weakened to a Category 1 cyclone.
NASA

Contact: Rob Gutro
Robert.J.Gutro@nasa.gov
301-286-4044
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Public Release: 17-Nov-2009
Astrophysical Journal
Ticking stellar time bomb identified
Using ESO's Very Large Telescope and its ability to obtain images as sharp as if taken from space, astronomers have made the first time-lapse movie of a rather unusual shell ejected by a "vampire star." This enabled astronomers to determine the distance and intrinsic brightness of the outbursting object. It appears that this double star system is a prime candidate to be one of the long-sought progenitors of the exploding stars known as Type Ia supernovae, critical for studies of dark energy.

Contact: Dr. Henri Boffin
hboffin@eso.org
49-893-200-6222
ESO

Public Release: 16-Nov-2009
Astrophysical Journal
Close-up movie shows hidden details in the birth of super-suns
A new high-resolution time-lapse movie reveals the process of massive star formation with radio images a thousand times sharper and more detailed than any previously obtained. The movie shows that massive stars form like their smaller siblings, with disk accretion and magnetic fields playing crucial roles.
National Science Foundation

Contact: Christine Pulliam
cpulliam@cfa.harvard.edu
617-495-7463
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Public Release: 16-Nov-2009
NASA's TRMM satellite mapped 'Ida the Low's' rainfall from space
The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite known as "TRMM" has the ability to measure rainfall from space, and assessed the heavy rainfall from last week's coastal low pressure area, formerly known as "Ida" that drenched the US east coast.
NASA

Contact: Rob Gutro
Robert.J.Gutro@nasa.gov
301-286-4044
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Public Release: 16-Nov-2009
NASA's Terra satellite spots Tropical Cyclone Anja, the first of the southern season
NASA's Terra satellite captured a stunning image of Anja, the first tropical cyclone of the southern Hemisphere cyclone season. When Anja formed on Saturday, Nov. 14, in the Southern Indian Ocean, about 330 miles south-southwest of Diego Garcia it was designated Tropical Cyclone 01S ("S" for south). By Sunday, Nov. 15, 01S had strengthened into a tropical storm and was named Anja.
NASA

Contact: Rob Gutro
Robert.J.Gutro@nasa.gov
301-286-4044
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Public Release: 13-Nov-2009
Cyclone Phyan raining on Tibet after breaking a record in India
Cyclone Phyan broke a 43 year record when it made landfall north of the city of Mumbai, India during the evening hours on Nov. 11. NASA's Aqua satellite captured Phyan's landfall with one instrument, and a day later, another of Aqua's instruments show the storm's remnants raining Tibet as Phyan continues to dissipate.
NASA

Contact: Rob Gutro
Robert.J.Gutro@nasa.gov
301-286-4044
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Public Release: 13-Nov-2009
Satellite imagery confirms Ida's low is finally moving away from the east coast
Satellite imagery and weather ground station readings today along the Mid-Atlantic indicate "Ida the coastal low pressure area" is finally moving away from the US east coast.
NASA

Contact: Rob Gutro
Robert.J.Gutro@nasa.gov
301-286-4044
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Public Release: 13-Nov-2009
Goddard team develops new carriers for space station
In a partnership that exemplifies One NASA, engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., teamed up with engineers at NASA's Johnson and Kennedy Space Centers to design, build, and test five new ExPRESS Logistics Carriers, or ELCs, which will be delivered to the International Space Station. "ExPRESS" stands for Expedite the Processing of Experiments to the Space Station.
NASA

Contact: Susan Hendrix
Susan.m.hendrix@nasa.gov
301-286-7745
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Public Release: 13-Nov-2009
Rosetta bound for outer Solar System after final Earth swingby
This morning, mission controllers confirmed that ESA's comet chaser Rosetta had swung by Earth at 8:45 CET as planned, skimming past our planet to pick up a gravitational boost for an epic journey to rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014.

Contact: Jocelyne Landeau-Constantin
jlc@esa.int
49-615-190-2696
European Space Agency

Public Release: 12-Nov-2009
Former Ida a huge rainmaker, causing flooding in the Mid-Atlantic
The GOES-12 satellite is tracking the coastal low, formerly known as Ida. It is currently quasi-stationary off the North Carolina coast, adding more rain on top of what it has already brought. The low is creating serious flooding from northeast North Carolina to coastal Virginia.
NASA

Contact: Rob Gutro
Robert.J.Gutro@nasa.gov
301-286-4044
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Public Release: 12-Nov-2009
Nanotech in space: Rensselaer experiment to weather the trials of orbit
Novel nanomaterials developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are scheduled to blast off into orbit on Nov. 16 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. The project, funded by the US Air Force Multi University Research Initiative, seeks to test the performance of the new nanocomposites in orbit. The materials will be mounted to the International Space Station's outer hull and exposed to the rigors of space.
US Air Force

Contact: Michael Mullaney
mullam@rpi.edu
518-276-6161
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Public Release: 12-Nov-2009
ESA spacecraft may help unravel cosmic mystery
When Europe's comet chaser Rosetta swings by Earth tomorrow for a critical gravity assist, tracking data will be collected to precisely measure the satellite's change in orbital energy. The results could help unravel a cosmic mystery that has stumped scientists for two decades.

Contact: Jocelyne Landeau-Constantin
jlc@esa.int
49-615-190-2696
European Space Agency

Public Release: 12-Nov-2009
Ida now a coastal low assaulting the Mid-Atlantic
Ida is one stubborn girl. Her remnants have moved out to sea and reformed as a powerful coastal low pressure system that's been raining on the mid-Atlantic since Tuesday night, Nov. 10. The GOES-12 satellite showed its cloud cover stretching from North Carolina up to Maine.
NASA

Contact: Rob Gutro
Robert.J.Gutro@nasa.gov
301-286-4044
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Public Release: 12-Nov-2009
Water Resources Research
New water management tool may help ease effects of drought
Continued improvement of climate forecasts is resulting in better information about what rainfall may look like months in advance. A researcher from North Carolina State University has developed an innovative water management framework that would take advantage of these forecasts to plan for droughts or excess rain in order to make the most efficient use of an area's water resources.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Contact: Matt Shipman
matt_shipman@ncsu.edu
919-515-6386
North Carolina State University

Public Release: 12-Nov-2009
Journal of Geophysical Research
How much water does the ocean have?
Short-term fluctuations in the spatial distribution of the ocean water masses

Contact: F. Ossing
ossing@gfz-potsdam.de
49-331-288-1040
Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres

Public Release: 12-Nov-2009
Science
2 Earth-sized bodies with oxygen rich atmospheres found -- but they're stars not planets
Astrophysicists at the University of Warwick and Kiel University have discovered two earth sized bodies with oxygen rich atmospheres; however, there is a bit of a disappointing snag for anyone looking for a potential home for alien life, or even a future home for ourselves, as they are not planets but are actually two unusual white dwarf stars.
Science and Technology Facilities Council

Contact: Dr. Boris Gänsicke
Boris.Gaensicke@warwick.ac.uk
44-024-765-74741
University of Warwick

Public Release: 11-Nov-2009
Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics
A lightning strike in Africa helps take the pulse of the sun
Tel Aviv University's Professor Colin Price has developed a more definitive and reliable tool for measuring the sun's rotation when sunspots aren't visible –– and even when they are -- based on observations of common lightning strikes on earth.

Contact: George Hunka
ghunka@aftau.org
212-742-9070
American Friends of Tel Aviv University

Public Release: 11-Nov-2009
A bubbling ball of gas
The SUNRISE telescope delivers spectacular pictures of the sun's surface.
German Aerospace Center

Contact: Dr. Norbert Krupp
krupp@mps.mpg.de
49-555-697-9154
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Public Release: 11-Nov-2009
Nature
Exoplanets clue to sun's curious chemistry
A ground-breaking census of 500 stars, 70 of which are known to host planets, has successfully linked the long-standing "lithium mystery" observed in the Sun to the presence of planetary systems. Using ESO's successful HARPS spectrograph, a team of astronomers has found that sun-like stars that host planets have destroyed their lithium much more efficiently than "planet-free" stars.

Contact: Henri Boffin
hboffin@eso.org
49-893-200-6222
ESO

Public Release: 10-Nov-2009
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Rapid star formation spotted in 'stellar nurseries' of infant galaxies
The universe's infant galaxies enjoyed rapid growth spurts forming stars like our sun at a rate of up to 50 stars a year, according to scientists at Durham University.
Royal Astronomical Society

Contact: Leighton Kitson
media.relations@durham.ac.uk
44-019-133-46075
Durham University