NASA to announce something big! May 14th

Steyr

WASHINGTON -- NASA has scheduled a media teleconference Wednesday, May 14, at 1 p.m. EDT, to announce the discovery of an object in our Galaxy astronomers have been hunting for more than 50 years. This finding was made by combining data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory with ground-based observations.:eek:

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/may/HQ_M08089_Chandra_Advisory.html

Cool!

What could it be?

Sherifu

Mars attacks.

AlmightyCushion

They found Maddie?

kerash

Pat Kennys personality?

Overheal

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3908547.ece

A spaceship capable of detecting the first signs of life on Mars was this weekend being prepared for the final course corrections before its touchdown on the red planet.

Nasa’s Mars Phoenix lander has travelled 420m miles and now has just 2m miles and a few final course adjustments to go before it reaches Vastitas Borealis near the Martian north pole on May 25.

The site was chosen after months of careful prospecting by spacecraft such as Mars Odyssey, which used a gamma ray spectrometer to see if there was water underneath.

Alhough the mission is run by Nasa, British scientists have been closely involved in many key instruments for the most sophisticated science package sent to Mars.

“We are sending them to an area where there is likely to be ice below the surface,” said Peter Smith, professor of planetary science at the University of Arizona and the mission’s principal investigator. “We want to understand the relationships between the water under the ground and in the atmosphere and how water moves from one to the other.”

The details of how water behaves on Mars will be crucial to discovering whether it has ever harboured life. “We may find signs of life but a lot will depend on the nature of the evidence,” Smith said.

For Nasa, however, the biggest question of all is whether the Phoenix will reach the surface safely.

Its landing system will use descent engines for a controlled touchdown rather than making an airbag-cushioned landing.

This method allows for a larger payload of instruments but is more prone to failure and has seen serious losses. It has not been used successfully on Mars since 1976.

If it does make it to the surface, the Phoenix will start by deploying an 8ft arm to dig through the soil to ice believed to lie 3ft down.

http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2216271/nasa-send-manned-mission

Nasa is preparing a three-month manned mission to an asteroid that is scheduled to pass close to Earth in 2030.

The space agency has prepared a plan, seen by The Guardian, for a mission to the 1.1 million ton 2000SG344 asteroid.

The asteroid caused concern in 2000 when the chance of it hitting Earth on its next visit in 2030 was raised to 500-1.

"An asteroid will one day be on a collision course with Earth and it makes sense, after going to the moon, to start learning more about them," said Rob Landis, an engineer at Nasa's Johnson Space Centre.

"Our study shows that it makes perfect sense to do this soon after going back to the moon."

Landis's report calls for the forthcoming Orion spacecraft to be lifted in sections into orbit using Nasa's planned Ares booster, and for two astronauts to make the three-month trip to rendezvous before landing on the asteroid's surface.

Nasa wants to use the trip to analyse the effects of long space flight on humans, and to test devices for converting interstellar ice into drinking water, breathable oxygen and even hydrogen for fuel.

The mission would be an important testing platform for a future planned trip to Mars, and would also augment plans for deflecting a potentially catstrophic asteroid strike on Earth.

"Near-Earth objects are a potential collision hazard and it may one day be necessary to deflect an asteroid from a collision course with Earth," said Ian Crawford, a planetary scientist at Birkbeck College in London.

"Having the capability in your back pocket to deflect an asteroid might be a good insurance policy for the future.

"For that, you want to know what they are made of, how to rendezvous with them, and whether you risk getting hit by debris if you fire something at it."

Feelgood

Osama Bin Laden defo.....

JIZZLORD

announcing the stargate program?

Lord Lucan or Adolf Hitler's left testicle.

Ruu_Old

Ah so thats where the WMDs went to..

EamonnKeane

<insert generic joke about lost item/person>

Ghost Train

Search for extraterrestrial intelligance... maybe they've picked up THE SIGNAL, like in that jody foster movie... the one where at the end her digital recorder records nothing of her close encounter but does have 16 minutes of static even though her spaceship fell straight from the sphere and should only have had a second or two

In 1960, Cornell University astronomer Frank Drake performed the first modern SETI experiment, named "Project Ozma", after the Queen of Oz in L. Frank Baum's fantasy books. Drake used a 25-meter-diameter radio telescope at Green Bank, West Virginia, to examine the stars Tau Ceti and Epsilon Eridani near the 1.420 gigahertz marker frequency. A 400 kilohertz band was scanned around the marker frequency, using a single-channel receiver with a bandwidth of 100 hertz. The information was stored on tape for off-line analysis. He found nothing of great interest.

Wibbs

I'd say something like a quasar or a black hole kinda thing. A big xray source anyway.

MooseJam

I hope it's aliens

TestTransmission

Steyr wrote: »

WASHINGTON -- NASA has scheduled a media teleconference Wednesday, May 14, at 1 p.m. EDT, to announce the discovery of an object in our Galaxy astronomers have been hunting for more than 50 years. This finding was made by combining data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory with ground-based observations.:eek:

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/may/HQ_M08089_Chandra_Advisory.html

Cool!

What could it be?

Mary Harneys bellybutton

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a148/gammagoblin/harney1.jpg

javaboy

Wibbs wrote: »

I'd say something like a quasar or a black hole kinda thing. A big xray source anyway.

There's a Quasar in Leisureplex. It's shee-ite though. Maybe this is a good one?

Rhyme

IMPORTANT Space Dust!

Tazdedub

Maybe they found Transformers?:D

Mint Sauce

elvis riding shergar

rollie

MooseJam wrote: »

I hope it's aliens

i really hope its aliens....not the big armour plated ones but the small fuzzy ones that go down easy when you hit them over the head with a nightstick

Marksie

irish-stew wrote: »

elvis riding shergar

Is that on xtube?

Conor108

SETI has been searching for 50 years:eek:

A sober Irishman:D

Rabies

George Lucas has created a life size version of The Death Star.

dlofnep

A big welly boot floating in the middle of space.

fabsoul

Marksie wrote: »

Is that on xtube?

no redtube

Peared

Whatever it turns out to be, I would put money on it being disappointing.

Something that will mean something to space geeks and nowt to the rest of us.

guinnessdrinker

kerash wrote: »

Pat Kennys personality?

Class

Insect Overlord

It's probably something like dark matter, or else Laika has successfully piloted the Sputnik 2 back into orbit using mysterious "zombie dog space powers" :cool:

javaboy

Peared wrote: »

Whatever it turns out to be, I would put money on it being disappointing.

Something that will mean something to space geeks and nowt to the rest of us.

Sadly I'd have to agree here. It's bound to be something really boring or else it would have been leaked by now.

Maybe they've found the backpack off my Uncle Travelling Matt Fraggle teddy. I've been missing that for years.

ImDave

They have found Dr. Evil. "It looks like a giant..."

Calibos

Steyr wrote: »

WASHINGTON -- NASA has scheduled a media teleconference Wednesday, May 14, at 1 p.m. EDT, to announce the discovery of an object in our Galaxy astronomers have been hunting for more than 50 years. This finding was made by combining data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory with ground-based observations.:eek:

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/may/HQ_M08089_Chandra_Advisory.html

Cool!

What could it be?

Object in our galaxy......hunting for 50 years......Chandra X-Ray observatory....

I guarantee you that what they have found is the giant black hole at the center of our Galaxy. Its been theorised for about 50 years that most or all galaxies have a black hole at their center. We think we have found them in a lot of other galaxies. Black holes emit a lot of X-Rays, well the matter that falls into them emit the x-rays. Hence the Chandra X-Ray observatory being involved in the discovery.

Why are we only finding our own galaxies black hole after 50 years when we found the black holes at the center of other galaxies much earlier?. Well there are a few billion stars and nebula's between us on the outer rim of our galaxy and its center. All blocking the view and masking the emmisions of the black hole.

They have obviously been able to filter out all that.

Wertz

Wibbs wrote: »

I'd say something like a quasar or a black hole kinda thing. A big xray source anyway.

That's what I was thinking, probably a black hole.
Once it's not something that's going to produce a gamma ray burst.
We get one of those in this or a nearby galaxy and we'll be toast...

ModeSkeletor

Calibos wrote: »

Object in our galaxy......hunting for 50 years......Chandra X-Ray observatory....

I guarantee you that what they have found is the giant black hole at the center of our Galaxy. Its been theorised for about 50 years that most or all galaxies have a black hole at their center. We think we have found them in a lot of other galaxies. Black holes emit a lot of X-Rays, well the matter that falls into them emit the x-rays. Hence the Chandra X-Ray observatory being involved in the discovery.

Why are we only finding our own galaxies black hole after 50 years when we found the black holes at the center of other galaxies much earlier?. Well there are a few billion stars and nebula's between us on the outer rim of our galaxy and its center. All blocking the view and masking the emmisions of the black hole.

They have obviously been able to filter out all that.

Way to spoil it for everyone :pac:

javaboy

ModeSkeletor wrote: »

Way to spoil it for everyone :pac:

Yeah Calibos have you never seen Have I Got News For You? We all spend 5 minutes giving funny answers and then give the real answer which we knew all along after all the jokes have died down.

Its going to be somthing rubbish , wait till you see.

Praetorian

Et

utick

most probably something that has the earth destined for certain obliteration, unless the government give them billions more in tax dollars to save us all

St Bill

Coulda saved them all the hassle and cash and told them boards is the black hole they're looking for. I mean, how many hours/days/weeks etc are wasted on boards?

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

Its going to be somthing rubbish , wait till you see.

The intergelactical municipal dump!

Rhyme

Wertz wrote: »

gamma ray burst.

One Hulk movie this year is enough for me, thanks.

sdanseo

jackncoke wrote: »

Mary Harneys bellybutton

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a148/gammagoblin/harney1.jpg

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagggggggggggghhhhhh!

DONT DO THAT!

*runs*

Calibos

javaboy wrote: »

Yeah Calibos have you never seen Have I Got News For You? We all spend 5 minutes giving funny answers and then give the real answer which we knew all along after all the jokes have died down.

Calibos

Actually, just noticed Wibbs posted the answer on page 1. Missed it. Kudos to Wibbs and would the rest of you kindly direct your party pooper ire at him instead please.

The answer is of course,



They found this report written on the back of an asteroid behind Uranus.

javaboy

Calibos wrote: »

Actually, just noticed Wibbs posted the answer on page 1. Missed it. Kudos to Wibbs and would the rest of you kindly direct your party pooper ire at him instead please.

Sorry. Wibbs is a party pooper. Hope I don't get banned for personal abuse

BrokenArrows

why must they announce an announcement days before the event.

why not just announce whatever it is they need to announce


and just for good measure announce announce announce.

BrokenArrows

BrokenArrows wrote: »

why must they announce an announcement days before the event.

why not just announce whatever it is they need to announce


and just for good measure announce announce announce.

It gives Patrick Moore a chance to wake up!

life_is_music

somehow I don't think it's going to live up to yer expectations........

I have high expectations of Patrick Moore getting up but low expectations of him getting it up.

javaboy

BrokenArrows wrote: »

why must they announce an announcement days before the event.

why not just announce whatever it is they need to announce


and just for good measure announce announce announce.

Reminds me of the Simpsons episode about NASA being concerned about TV ratings. They're probably worried about their budget getting cut so they're trying to build up some piece of lame nerd news and get it as much media coverage as possible.

It's my dignity.

javaboy

My money's on a new planet/aliens which will turn out to be a smudge on the telescope's lens.