Tag Archives: ESA

NASA Finds Ancient Organic Material, Mysterious Methane on Mars

The Catholic Astronomer avatarPosted on by

NASA’s Curiosity rover has found new evidence preserved in rocks on Mars that suggests the planet could have supported ancient life, as well as new evidence in the Martian atmosphere that relates to the search for current life on the Red Planet. While not necessarily evidence of life itself, these findings are a good sign for future missions exploring the planet’s surface and subsurface. The new findings — “tough” organic molecules in 3-billion-year-old sedimentary rocks near the surface, as well as seasonal variations in the levels of methane in the atmosphere — appear in the June 8 edition of the journal Science. Organic molecules contain carbon and hydrogen, and also may include oxygen, nitrogen and other elements. While commonly associated with life, organic molecules also can be created by non-biological processes and are not necessarily indicators of life. “Are there signs of life on Mars? We don’t know, but these results tell us we are on the right track.” – … Continue reading →

Marvellous Mars Castletown House Ireland

The Catholic Astronomer avatarPosted on by

  Castletown House is a Georgian palace set in a magnificent landscape in Co Kildare.  The building is full of grace and elegance of times long past . That splendour coupled  with all that is required of a  building for public events makes Castletown House a special place. It was a pleasure to be invited to do a workshop in this excellent venue.  Particularly timely as it was on the eve of the launch of NASA’s InSight mission. The evening was set up for my Marvellous Mars drawing workshop. The  audience were families , mams, dads and children, a perfect combination. It was a beautiful, with late warm sunshine , a powder blue sky over the greenest of green trees. Flowers, shrubs and land stretching out over 120 acres that seemed to go on forever It occurred to me that perhaps my audience might be small due to the pleasant weather and bank holiday. However 42 people arrived , sat … Continue reading →

Earth’s Drifting Magnetic North Pole

The Catholic Astronomer avatarPosted on by

It’s been known for quite some time that the Earth’s magnetic poles are not aligned with the Earth’s geographic poles, and that the Earth’s magnetic poles drift over time. In 2018, the north magnetic and geographic poles are closer then they have ever been… well… since we’ve been observing them – only 390km! This tweet from BBC Science Corespondent Jonathan Amos caught my eye: Most people know that the magnetic north pole is not at the geographic north pole. It’s drifting away from Canada towards Russia at a rate of 55km/yr. BUT, this year, the magnetic pole is closest to the geo pole. A separation of just 390km. @ESA_EO #Swarm #EGU18 pic.twitter.com/lxM1PXW1Jf — Jonathan Amos (@BBCAmos) April 10, 2018 I didn’t recognize the hash-tags at the end of Jonathan’s tweet, so I looked them up – which sent me down an hour-long rabbit hole: @ESA_EO refers to the ESA EarthObservation twitter account. They seem to be doing a lot of education and outreach… I … Continue reading →

Yes I Carved a Comet from Recycled Polystyrene 67P/CG

The Catholic Astronomer avatarPosted on by

I was intrigued by the European Space Agency’s mission to comet 67P/ CG (Churyumov–Gerasimenko). Some of you might ask what is a 67P ?  . 67P/ CG  is a periodic comet. That means  that as it orbits the sun its pathway brings it between the orbits of Jupiter and Earth once every 6.5 years.  The short orbit makes it a periodic comet with a very predictable trajectory.  Comets are named after the person or group of people or telescopes who discover them. Back in 1969, Klim Ivanovich Churyumov and Svetlana Ivanovna Gerasimenko, discovered this comet jointly. The European Space Agency built the Rosetta space craft to rondezvous with a comet, it launched in 2004.The comet eventually choosen was 67P/C G.  ESA sent a passenger along with Rosetta , this companion was the Philae Lander. This is a small probe ( about the size of a washing machine) .  Philae’s job was to land on the comet and investigate the surface … Continue reading →

Space the final Frontier – World Space Week 2016

The Catholic Astronomer avatarPosted on by
This entry is part 1 of 12 in the series Exploring the Solar System

“Space: the final frontier. ” The opening line of the famous quote from Star Trek, the missions aim ” to boldly go where no man (or woman) has gone before. ” During Spaceweek 2016 I had the opportunity to take 360 children and their teachers on an exploration of moons in our solar system and the very topical planet Mars . Through listening and drawing they experienced a small awakening to the robotic images which are unveiling the beauty of other worlds, increasing our understanding with every single pixel. My workshop Deadly Moons now includes the stunning New Horizons image of Charon Pluto’s largest moon. The children loved the Star Wars names on its craters . They enjoyed linking Charon’s features to familiar books and movies. The workshop also showcases the incredable images of Saturn’s moons taken by the Cassini Spacecraft. In order to make my workshop Marvellous Mars extra interesting for the groups I made a model of Mars … Continue reading →

ExoMars Orbiter and Lander Begin 7 Month Journey to the Red Planet

The Catholic Astronomer avatarPosted on by

The first mission of the European Space Agency’s  ExoMars programme has lifted off on a Proton-M rocket from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, and is on its way to Mars. The mission includes the Trace Gas Orbiter, plus the Schiaparelli entry, descent and landing demonstrator module. The mission will arrive at Mars in October of 2016. The main objectives of the mission are to search for evidence of methane and other trace atmospheric gases that could be signatures of active biological or geological processes, and to test key technologies in preparation for ESA’s contribution to future Mars missions. Three days before reaching Mars, the Schiaparelli lander will detach from the orbiter, and coast towards atmospheric entry. It will enter the atmosphere at 21,000 km/hr, aerobraking and then deploying parachutes. A thruster system system will be used for the final stage of its descent. The lander will operate on the surface of Mars for 2-4 sols (Martian days). The scientific mission for the Trace … Continue reading →