New Mission Begun to Brave Earth's Radiation Belts: the Radiation Belt Storm Probes Launch came on Aug. 30. Homepage, Mission booklet, Status, NASA / JHU Releases of Nov. 7, Sep. 13, Sep. 12 (more), Sep. 11, Aug. 25, Aug. 24, Aug. 20, Aug. 19, Aug. 18, Aug. 10 and Aug. 9, U MN PR of Aug. 23, UI PR of Aug. 21, UNH PR of Aug. 20, CU Boulder PR of Aug. 20, Orb. Debr. Q. and coverage of Oct. 7: Sp. Sep. 18: NPR, UT, Tw. Aug. 30: SW. Aug. 25: ST. Aug. 24: CBS, NSF, AW&ST, PSB, ST, TS, LE. Aug. 23: SN, BDC, PoS. Aug. 21: UlB. Aug. 20: SC. Aug. 18: WP. Aug. 14: UT. Aug. 9: NwSB.

Update # 347 of Sunday, December 23, 2012

GRAIL s/c finish mission, rammedn into Moon / North Korea gets a - silent - satellite into orbit / Curiosity busy on Mars (grown since August 6)

GRAIL pair of lunar orbiters crashed into surface after primary and extended missions over On Dec. 17 Ebb and Flow, the two spacecraft comprising NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, were commanded to descend into a lower orbit that would result in an impact Monday on a mountain near the moon's north pole. The formation-flying duo hit the lunar surface as planned at 22:28:51 and 22:29:21 UTC at a speed of 1.7 kilometers per second. The location of the impact Site is on the southern face of an approximately 2.5-kilometer mountain near a crater named Goldschmidt. Fifty minutes prior to impact, the spacecraft fired their engines until the propellant was depleted. The maneuver was designed to determine precisely the amount of fuel remaining in the tanks. This will help NASA engineers validate computer models to improve predictions of fuel needs for future missions. Ebb fired its engines for 4 minutes 3 seconds, and Flow fired its for 5 minutes 7 seconds - one final important set of data from a mission that was filled with great science and engineering data. The mission team deduced that much of the material aboard each spacecraft was broken up in the energy released during the impacts. Most of what remained probably is buried in shallow craters. The craters' size may be determined when NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter returns images of the area in several weeks; the site had been imaged before the impacts. Launched in September 2011, Ebb and Flow had been orbiting the moon since Jan. 1, 2012. The probes intentionally were sent into the lunar surface because they did not have sufficient altitude or fuel to continue science operations. Their successful prime and extended science missions generated the highest-resolution gravity field map of any celestial body. The map will provide a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed and evolved.	The end and the science in SW of Dec. 17 and Dec. 5 (both with many links), JPL Releases of Dec. 17 (earlier, Dec. 14, Dec. 13 and Dec. 5, S@N of Dec. 17 and Dec. 13 and coverage of the end: NSF, UT, CBS, CL, BBC, AT, T., AW&ST, Rtr, SC, NwS, At., ST, Sp., Eur. LRO LAMP findings: paper by Feldman & al. LADEEE progress: UT. Chang'e 2 visits Toutatis and gets great pictures of the NEA: SW; more Engl. & Chinese TV news, another Chinese story (transl.) and diagram and debate. Earlier: Pseudo-MPEC, MPML, SR. MESSENGER data delivery, science, launch anniversary: Sep. 21, Sep. 11 Mission News - and the 'cookie monster' effect. Discovery Sep. 2012 Newsletter. New Horizons Pluto seasons & bonus KBO candidate: paper by Young, MPML, PSB.
North Korea brings satellite (and three other objects) into orbit, but it doesn't seem to work The fourth time it actually worked - and caught western observers by surprise: a North Korean Unha 3 carried a small satellite into orbit on Dec. 12, together with the upper stage of the rocket and two other parts. The satellite Kwangmyongsong 3-2 is in a stable orbit but seems to have lost or never achieved a stable attitude - and no one has been able to receive any signals from it. After claiming that KMS 3 would be broadcasting songs immediately after launch, this has not been repeated in any of the countless KCNA stories since which instead hail the successful launch and not the satellite. Since Kim Jong Un has now declared that the space program will be expanded, there'll probably be more chances in the future.	SW w/links (more); more analysis here and here, more KNCA goodies of Dec. 21 (some videos from that banquet), Dec. 20, Dec. 19 and Dec. 18 and 'western' coverage by 38N, RFA, VoA (earlier), NYT (earlier), BBC (earlier), Nov., CBS, RA, Reg., Wir., TS, Sp. Pre-launch coverage: BBC (video), Zar., NKT (earlier, still earlier), AS, CNN (earlier), NYT, Gaw., Wir., NwS, ABC, NPR, SpO, ST. Why the April launch failed: ATN.
Curiosity now at "Yellowknife"; drill test and drive to base of Aeolis Mons only in 2013 Compared to previous Mars landings and esp. the previous rovers Curiosity's mission seems to proceed at a glacial pace, with major news infrequent (which explains a crazy hubbub regarding a non-discovery with SAM lately). Well, at least the MSL has moved some more and is now driving within a shallow depression called "Yellowknife Bay," providing information to help researchers choose a rock to drill. Using Curiosity's percussive drill to collect a sample from the interior of a rock, a feat never before attempted on Mars, is the mission's priority for early 2013. After the powdered-rock sample is sieved and portioned by a sample-processing mechanism on the rover's arm, it will be analyzed by instruments inside Curiosity. Curiosity reached the lip of a half-meter descent into Yellowknife Bay with a 14-meter drive on Dec. 11. The next day, a drive of about 26 meters brought the rover well inside the basin. The team has been employing the Mastcam and the laser-wielding ChemCam for remote-sensing studies of rocks along the way. On Dec. 14, Curiosity then drove about 33 meters to reach rock targets of interest called "Costello" and "Flaherty:" Researchers used the APXS and MAHLI at the end of the rover's arm to examine the targets. After finishing those studies, the rover drove again on Dec. 17, traveling about 6 meters farther into Yellowknife Bay: That brought the mission's total driving distance to 677 meters by Dec. 18. The mission is also more and more "science-driven" now in that operations are not pre-scripted but adapt to interesting discoveries along the way - but the project is taking a lengthy X-mas break (and is already looking forward to another one for solar conjunction next April). Posted after Curiosity had reached Rocknest Curiosity at work in the Glenelg region, first rock analyzed directly, first two soil samples collected for system cleaning Two samples have been scooped up after Curiosity had reached the Glenelg region and the 'Rocknest' in particular. The rover's ability to put soil samples into analytical instruments is central to assessing whether Gale Crater ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life. Mineral analysis can reveal past environmental conditions. Chemical analysis can check for ingredients necessary for life. The rover's preparatory operations involve testing its robotic scooping capabilities to collect and process soil samples. Later, it also will use a hammering drill to collect powdered samples from rocks. The two soil samples are shaken thoroughly inside the sample-processing chambers to scrub the internal surfaces, then discard. Curiosity will scoop and shake a third measure of soil and place it in an observation tray for inspection by cameras mounted on the rover's mast. A portion of the third sample will be delivered to the mineral-identifying chemistry and mineralogy (CheMin) instrument inside the rover. From a fourth scoopful, samples will be delivered to both CheMin and to the sample analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument, which identifies chemical ingredients. Rocknest is the name of the area of soil Curiosity will test and analyze. The rover pulled up to the windblown, sandy and dusty location Oct. 2. The Rocknest patch is about 2.5 x 5 m. The area provides plenty of area for scooping several times. Diverse rocks nearby provide targets for investigation with the instruments on Curiosity's mast during the weeks the rover is stationed at Rocknest for this first scooping campaign. The first Martian rock Curiosity rover had reached out to touch promptly presented a more varied composition than expected from previous missions. The rock also resembles some unusual rocks from Earth's interior. The rover team used two instruments on Curiosity to study the chemical makeup of the football-size "Jake Matijevic": The results support some surprising recent measurements and provide an example of why identifying rocks' composition is such a major emphasis of the mission. Rock compositions tell stories about unseen environments and planetary processes. On Earth, rocks with composition like the Jake rock typically come from processes in the planet's mantle beneath the crust, from crystallization of relatively water-rich magma at elevated pressure. Jake was the first rock analyzed by the rover's arm-mounted Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument and about the thirtieth rock examined by the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument. Posted just before Curiosity started rolling While Curiosity shoots first rock and gets ready to roll, NASA selects another Mars lander as its next Discovery mission - with a German 'mole' aboard The MSL is still sitting on the landing spot two weeks after touchdown, but it's getting more and more active: complete color and b/w panoramas have been taken with cameras on the mast (and downlinked an stitched), the robot arm has begun to move and the ChemCam laser has fired for the first time at the rock 'Coronation'. The first motion of the whole rover is now imminent, but the MSL news are temporarily overshadowed by the announcement that the 12th NASA mission in the Discovery series of small planetary missions will also go to Mars, in 2016: The new mission, named InSight, will place instruments on the Martian surface to investigate whether the core of Mars is solid or liquid like Earth's and why Mars' crust is not divided into tectonic plates that drift like Earth's. Detailed knowledge of the interior of Mars in comparison to Earth will help scientists understand better how terrestrial planets form and evolve. InSight will be led by W. Bruce Banerdt at the JPL, and the science team includes U.S. and international co-investigators from universities, industry and government agencies. The French space agency CNES and the German Aerospace Center DLR are contributing instruments (a seismometer and the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package which will dig 5 meters deep into the ground) to InSight, which is scheduled to land on Mars in September 2016 to begin its two-year scientific mission. InSight builds on spacecraft technology used in NASA's Phoenix lander mission, which was launched to the Red Planet in 2007 and determined water existed near the surface in the Martian polar regions. By incorporating proven systems in the mission, the InSight team demonstrated that the mission concept was low-risk and could stay within the cost-constrained budget of Discovery missions. The cost of the mission, excluding the launch vehicle and related services, is capped at $425 million in 2010 dollars. Posted a few days after Curiosity's EDL Mars Science Laboratory makes perfect EDL, Curiosity busy in Aeolis Palus, 6.5 km from the base of Aeolis Mons in Gale crater NASA's most advanced Mars rover Curiosity has landed on the Red Planet at 5:15:57 UTC spacecraft event time on 6 August: The one-ton rover, hanging by ropes from a rocket backpack, touched down onto Mars after a 36-week flight and begin a two-year investigation. The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft that carried Curiosity succeeded in every step of the most complex landing ever attempted on Mars, including the final severing of the bridle cords and flyaway maneuver of the rocket backpack. While still hangig on its parachute, the MSL was captured by MRO's HiRISE camera which has since spotted the rover and numerous other pieces of hardware on the ground. During descent, the MSL imaged the falling heat shield and 'approaching' ground itself with the MARDI instrument, and early images returned are spectacular. Curiosity has landed near the center of the target ellipse and near the foot of the 5-km mountain Aeolis Mons (erroneously called 'Mount Sharp' in NASA circles) inside Gale: During a nearly two-year prime mission, the rover will investigate whether the region ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life. Curiosity returned its first views of Mars, wide-angle scenes of rocky ground near the front of the rover, already minutes after touchdown, while the bent-pipe relay orbiter Mars Odyssey was still in sight - and ever since more and better images than NASA publicly announced before have arrived at Earth. And will do so at an even higher rate, now that the HGA in contact with Earth. Confirmation of Curiosity's successful landing had come in communications relayed by NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter and received by the Canberra, Australia, antenna station of NASA's Deep Space Network. Curiosity arries 10 science instruments with a total mass 15 times as large as the science payloads on the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Some of the tools are the first of their kind on Mars, such as a laser-firing instrument for checking elemental composition of rocks from a distance. The rover will use a drill and scoop at the end of its robotic arm to gather soil and powdered samples of rock interiors, then sieve and parcel out these samples into analytical laboratory instruments inside the rover. The HiRISE view of the landing zone shows to the right of Curiosity, approximately 1500 meters away the heat shield, which protected the rover from 2100 degrees Celsius temperatures encountered during its fiery descent. On the lower left, about 615 meters away, are the parachute and back shell. The parachute has a constructed diameter of almost 21.5 meters and an inflated diameter of nearly 16 meters. The back shell remains connected to the chute via 80 suspension lines that are 50 meters long. To the upper-left, approximately 650 meters away from the rover, is a discoloration of the Mars surface consistent with what would have resulted when the rocket-powered Sky Crane impacted the surface. Interestingly the very first hazcam images after touchdown show a darkish plume on the horizon, just in the direction of the impact, which was gone in the next set of images. As more of Curiosity's instruments are coming online, more "first images" are being downlinked from the rover's 17 cameras. These included early focus test images with the Mars Hand Lens Imager or MAHLI: This focusable color camera is located on the tool-bearing turret at the end of Curiosity's robotic arm. Researchers will use it for magnified, close-up views of rocks and soils and also for wider scenes of the ground, the landscape or even the rover. Early Navcam images are also on the ground as the mission picks up speed.	MSL: All raw pics (independent sorting, defaults to arrival time, and yet another viewer) and press pics [alt.], the benign plastic thingy, 3D view of Bradbury Landing (more), Mastcam pano with Aeolis Mons (earlier; white-balanced; derived 3D orientation), HiRISE EDL pics (Sol 6), event times, Gale Gazette, sol by sol timeline, UMSF for and specifically threads for sols 38 ff, 30-37, 17-29, 9-16 and 0-8, a Futurama reference, NASA / JPL Releases / Blogs / Videos of Dec. 21, Dec. 18, Dec. 11 (more [alt.]), Dec. 7, Dec. 3 (more), Nov. 29, Nov. 27, Nov. 26, Nov. 6, Nov. 2, Oct. 30, Oct. 29, Oct. 25, Oct. 22, Oct. 18, Oct. 15, Oct. 12 (and video), Oct. 11, Oct. 10, Oct. 4, Sep. 19, Sep. 13, Sep. 12, Sep. 10, Aug. 24 (vid), Aug. 22, Aug. 21 (more), Aug. 20, Aug. 19, Aug. 17 (vid), [JPL], Aug. 14 (pics), Aug. 13, Aug. 11, Aug. 10 (video), Aug. 9, Aug. 8, Aug. 7 (more), Aug. 6 (more and more) and Aug. 5 (PDT), ESA Blog of Aug. 20 and Aug. 18, LANL (earlier, still earlier), NMSU, UCF, SwRI, WhH, ESA and UTK (earlier) Releases, PMn von Sensitec, Uni Kiel, BMWi und IPHT, NASA EO of Aug. 16, S@N of Oct. 31, Sep. 21, Aug. 22, Aug. 19, Aug. 17, Aug. 6 (more), SINC PR of Dec. 13, a paper and article on Mr. Gale, a paper on crater Gale, why there is no 'Mt. Sharp' there, the mission sol by sol, where to find what on the rover and a British Blog. And a WuW article and 1-hour BBC documentary. Coverage of Dec. 21: GaG. Dec. 20: GaG, SR, YT (1:13). Dec. 19: Nat., AsB. Dec. 14: GaG. Dec. 13: ScN. Dec. 12: MaP. Dec. 10: GaG, LS. Dec. 7: SN, FBl. Dec. 6: KSJ. Dec. 5: PSB. Dec. 4: BBC, Con., ST, WL, DLF. Dec. 3: CSM, S&T, SN, VoA, Nat., ScN, NYTB, T, PSB (vid; PS PR), Wir., CL, AT, Tw. Dec. 2: SC, GaG. Dec. 1: AlJ. Nov. 29: IO9, KL. Nov. 28: SpO, Sl. Nov. 27: Msh., NYT. Nov. 26: SC, PSB (more). Nov. 25: UPI. Nov. 22: MX News. Nov. 20: NPR (nonsense; trascript). Nov. 6: G+. Nov. 5: Nat., ST. Nov. 2: SW (früher); Nat., ScN, NYT, AT, SN, Dsc., IO9, Rtr, SC. Nov. 1: Nat., AT, GovEx, PSB CL, ST. Coverage of Oct. 31: BBC, GaG, PSB, RT, Sp., W. Oct. 30: SW, SC. Oct. 29: WdP. Oct. 24: BBC. Oct. 22: UT. Oct. 21: BBC. Oct. 20: ScN. ST. Oct. 19: SW; T., BBC, PEx. Oct. 18: UT. Oct. 17: Agg., FB. Oct. 16: P*N. Oct. 15: SrR, GaG (more). Oct. 13: GaG, Sp. Oct. 12: PSB. Oct. 11: SW. Oct. 10: GaG, Sp. Oct. 9: SC, UT (later), SNC, CL, PSB, AFP. Oct. 8: CL, W., GaG, THNKR. Oct. 7: GaG, Tw. Oct. 6: GaG. Oct. 5: MSA. Oct. 4: SW; CBS, CSM, PSB, Nat. Oct. 3: PSB, TwP. Oct. 2: GaG, TPM. Oct. 1: PSB. PwM, SC, MaP. Sep. 30: BBC, MrJ. Sep. 29: GaG. Sep. 28: SW; NwS, PSB, S&T. Sep. 21: TwP. Sep. 20: BBC, Sp., BR. Sep. 19: SW; CBS, GaG, NwSB, Rtr, PSB. Sep. 18: SF101, CL. Sep. 17: Wir., PSB, AT, UT. Sep. 16: AsB, TwP. Sep. 15: CL. Sep. 14: PSB, G, GaG. Sep. 13: AB, GaG, UT, ST, DLF. Sep. 12: CBS, BBC, CL, GaG, SC. Sep. 11: MaP. Sep. 10: GaG, PSB, NwSB, UT, AlJ. Sep. 8: NYT. Coverage of Aug. 26: WP, IO9. Aug. 25: GaG, ST, Tw. Aug. 24: YLE, PSB, UT, Atl., Sla., Wir., SC, SB. Aug. 23: Nrd., Arm.W., BBC, GaG, CL, NPR, NaB, ABC Vid (full interview), Tw. Aug. 22: CBS, Reg., Rtr, CS, Eco., BBC, SN, AT, NYT, Tel., CoS, Rtr, CL, Tel., BBC Vid, PSB, SC (more), UT (more, more), GaG (more), Fast, Dsc., Sp. (später). Aug. 21: SW; CBS, BBC, PSB (more), GaG, CL, Rtr, AE, HP, NwSB, UT. Aug. 20: SW; S&T, NaB, Sla., PSB, UT, NwSB, ST, Gol., Sp. Aug. 19: SW; SaR, Dsc., BBC, Rtr, SN, AE, UT, DeM, GaG, DM, SMH, MaP. Aug. 18: SW; NBC, UT, NYT, BBC, GaG, Sp. Aug. 17: SW; PlW, PSB (more), SN, Nov., NwSB, USAT, CL, Rtr, CSM, SC, Atl., UT, Atl., SC, MaD, MaV, W., UGP. Aug. 16: PSB (more), GaG, For., CL, X, ST, Lett. Aug. 15: SW; On., PSB (more), G, NPR, WP, BBC, GaG, Dsc., CL, Sp. Aug. 14: Nat., PlW, S&T, CNt, SN, BBC, CL, Wir. (more), SC, PSB (more), UT, NwSB, PSB, SpP, YT. Aug. 13: WHB, NYT, Rtr, CL, TSR (more), SETI Radio, ST. Aug. 12: SW; SpO, TP, W. Aug. 11: CL, CNN, Rtr, NPR, CmS, UT, SW, Sp. (mehr), W. Aug. 10: DoM, USAT, NPR (radio), BBC, SpP, AT, PSB, NYT, HCB, For., Rtr, LAT, TPM, PMS, SC, ST, Sp., BR (Audio), MaP, Eur. Coverage of Aug. 9: S&T, ReP, SN, PSB (more and more), CL, AE, FT, Dsc., ABC, Frb., BBC, TNR, Gzm, CL, T, UT, MaP. Aug. 8: SW; SN, PSB (more), AsB, AW&ST, NwSB, VaG, Nrd, BBC, DPR, G, PrX, LAT, NaB, NYT, Nat., TVr, MaB, TAZ, Z, n-tv, MaP, Eur. Aug. 7: SW; S&T (more), PSB, (more), Hin., G (more), Nat. (B), UT, BBC, G&M, USAT, PNB, CNN (more and more), Mon., NPR, HC, AT, Fo5, EGC KSJ, Sp., TAZ, ASt. Coverage of Aug. 6: SW; PSB (more, more, more and more), Nat. (B, more), S&T, NwS, ScN, CS, ScN, Nov., BBC (more), SC (more), MBC, AT, MaB, DaD, BzJ, SN (more), NYT, HP, G, ScA, SB, JPL Blog, PW, AGUB, SpR, SpW, DW, ExT, TDK, UT, VeB, SwB, AW&ST, OpE, AtW, Msh, AAI, radio BBC & KCRW, ST, MaP, FR (mehr), TAZ, (mehr, mehr und mehr), W (mehr), Sp. (mehr), MRZ, MP, FAZ TP, BdW DLF (mehr), Eur. InSight: JPL [NASA, alt. w/vid], DLR (earlier), UBC and UKSA Releases and coverage of Aug. 23: T., SC, G. Aug. 22: S&T, NYT, ST. Aug. 21: asb, AT, SFG, BBC, WP, PTI, TS, Sp. Aug. 20: SW; WP, SpN, BBC, SN, SpO, CL, PSB (earlier), NwSB, NaB, AFP. Indian Mars mission approved! Coverage of Sep. 30: RT. Aug. 21: SI, BuS. Aug. 20: Man. Aug. 17: SC, WSJ. Aug. 16: RT, Tel. Aug. 15: Hin. Mars Express DLR PM vom 22.10., ESA Releases of Dec. 6, Nov. 26, Nov. 1, Sep. 4 and Aug. 20 and coverage of Dec. 19: PSB. MER GA Tech Release of Dec. 20, JPL Releases of Dec. 4, Sep. 28 and Sep. 14 [NASA], S@N of Sep. 14 and coverage of Dec. 21: Dsc. Dec. 18: TMJ. Dec. 17: R2E. Dec. 15: R2E. Dec. 10: NYT. Dec. 9: R2E. Dec. 7: BBC. Dec. 3: PS. Nov. 26: R2E. Nov. 6: PS. Nov. 3: R2E. Oct. 23: MaP. Oct. 21: R2E. Oct. 14: R2E. Oct. 13: R2E. Oct. 3: PS. Sep. 29: R2E. Sep. 19: R2E. Sep. 18: R2E. Sep. 17: BdW, TwP. Sep. 16: R2E. Sep. 15: R2E. Sep. 13: R2E, UT, MaP. Sep. 12: TwP. Sep. 10: R2E. Sep. 2: TwP (3D). Aug. 24: DlN. Aug. 23: R2E. Aug. 22: R2E. Aug. 18: R2E. Aug. 16: R2E. Aug. 15: R2E. Aug. 13: R2E. MRO JPL Release of Sep. 11 [NASA]. Mars Pathfinder reprocessed: PlI. MAVEN milestone reached. NASA Release of Sep. 11. ExoMars and NASA 2020 Rover NASA Release of Dec. 4 and coverage of Dec. 18: ScAm. Dec. 12: SpP. Dec. 10: SpR, AW&ST. Dec. 9: UT. Dec. 8: FPE. Dec. 6: On. Dec. 5: SW; NwS, AST, AT. Dec. 4: SN, NSF, AW&ST, Rtr. Oct. 4: SpN. Mars clay origin: abstract, NwS, BBC, LAT, CSM, UT, ST, BdW, Sp. Mars methane origin: ASUB. Plate tectonics on Mars claimed: abstract, UCLA PR, PW, Dsc., SpW, BdW, WdP, Sp. Opposing view: abstract. Mars never wet? AS. Mars in history & art: SAB, TAZ, TP. Mars climate past: paper by Forget & al. Moroc Mars meteorite: U. Alberta PR.

Saturn Update AGU ePoster (more), JPL Releases of Dec. 18, Nov. 28 (pics) and Oct. 15, SwRI Release of Nov. 26, ESA Release of Sep. 10, papers by O'Rourke & Stevenson and Morishima & al. and coverage of Dec. 23: UT. Dec. 17: NwS. Dec. 12: S&T, CL. Nov. 28: PSB. Nov. 27: PSB. Nov. 6: PSB. Oct. 19: NwS. Oct. 17: Nat., PSB. Sep. 30: UT. Aug. 6: CD

ISS etc. Update Dragon 1st operational mission Status, launch video (engine anomaly at 5:21, also in slo-mo; short, complete NASA live and super-quick, amateur), photo, screencaps and photos (more and more), Soyuz undocking video, NASA Releases of Dec. 20, Dec. 19, Dec. 14, Dec. 13, Dec. 10, Nov. 26, Nov. 18, Oct. 28, Oct. 11, Oct. 7, Oct. 5 (more), Oct. 3, Oct. 2, Oct. 1, Sep. 20 (other topic; more), Sep. 19, Sep. 18, Sep. 17, Sep. 16 (earlier) and Sep. 12, ESA Releases of Nov. 28, Oct. 5, Oct. 3, Sep. 26 and Sep. 20, JAXA Release of Sep. 14, Fraunhofer PM vom 7.12., Nat'l Acad PR of Dec. 5, SpaceX Updates of Oct. 9, Space Adv. PR of Oct. 10. AMS News of Sep. 29, CU PR of Oct. 5, Rice News of Oct. 3, Bolden Blog of Oct. 1 and Sep. 12, Garver speech of Sep. 11 [SR], NASA Hangout of Sep. 12 and coverage of Dec. 23: Spa. Dec. 21: ST. Dec. 20: SC. Dec. 19: CS, RT, PSB, ST. Dec. 18: G&M. Dec. 16: RKK. Dec. 15: IRS. Dec. 13: SpP. Dec. 12: Nat. Dec. 7: NPR, CBC, ST, W., Sp., WAZ. Dec. 6: SN, NSF, WP, CL, CS, NwS, IO9, NSJ, PbA, AT, SpP. Dec. 5: SpO. Dec. 4: SpP.

Coverage of Nov. 29: SN. Nov. 28: SpP, ST. Nov. 26: CS. Nov. 23: SN. Nov. 7: SC, SC, SpP. Nov. 6: SpP. Nov. 2: CS, Rtr, ST. Nov. 1: NSF, Rtr, SpP, ST. Oct. 31: CS, SpO, ST. Oct. 30: SpN, CS, SpO, Msh., HCB. Oct. 29: Sp. Oct. 28: SN, BBC, NSF, SpO, AW&ST, ST. Oct. 24: SN, NSF, ST. Oct. 23: CBS. Oct. 22: CBS, NSF, AW&ST, CS, SpN. Oct. 21: NSF. Oct. 20: ST. Oct. 19: DM. Oct. 17: SN, TwP. Oct. 14: SW; SN, AP, CS, BBC. Oct. 13: CS, BBC, CNN, NRP, AsB. Oct. 12: NYT, Rtr, KL. Oct. 11: ST (other story). Oct. 10: Rtr, NSF, AT, UT, SpO, SC, CL, MtB. Oct. 9: SW; Dlb, AGI Blog. Oct. 8: SW; NSF, CL, SN, AlB, Eco., PbA, PM, SpO, Dsc., UT, BBC, NBC, RoS, ST, BLB, Eur., Tw., FB. Oct. 7: SW; NSF, CS, Rtr, SpO, Dsc., ST. Oct. 6: SpO, CS, ST. Oct. 5: SN, Rtr, CBS. Oct. 4: Fox. ST. Oct. 3: SN, ABC, KSJ, KL, Sp. Oct. 2: Nov., SC, ST (more). Oct. 1: NSF, NYT. Sep. 30: NSJ. Sep. 29: ST. Sep. 28: AW&ST, SC. Sep. 20: SW; CBS, UT, NSF, AP, PSB, ST, Phu., Sp. Sep. 19: CS, IO9, CBS, NSF, SN, NPR, HC (B), Sp.. Sep. 18: ST (more). Sep. 17: SpO, Rtr, SC, PbA, AsM, Sp. Sep. 16: SN, CS SN, ST, Sp. Sep. 15: NaB, SC. Sep. 14: SN. Sep. 13: SpP, SpN, YT. Sep. 12: NSF, SC, SpP. Sep. 11: CS. Sep. 1: NSF. Aug. 31: BBC. Aug. 30: BBC vid. Aug. 24: SpN. Aug. 23: UT, PW, USAT, Tw. Aug. 22: ST. Aug. 21: MPML, Sp., Eur. Aug. 20: SN, Rtr, Agg., Tw. Aug. 19: WaH. Aug. 17: ST, Tw. Aug. 15: Nov. Aug. 14: WaH. Aug. 8: CS.

Largest 3D map of the Universe goes public The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) has released the largest three-dimensional map of the locations and distances of over a million galaxies: CfA, LBL, Pitt, NYU and SDSS Releases. Z=12 galaxy (unconfirmed): paper by Ellis & al., HST, Caltech, HST ESA, STFC and NASA Releases, BBC, Nat., S&T, NwS, KSJ, ST, Sp. Z=11 galaxy: paper by Coe & al., HST, ESA, ESA HST and Spitzer Releases. Z=9.6 galaxy: paper by Zheng & al., HST, Spitzer, Carnegie, JHU (NL), JPL and Uni HD (Deutsch) Releases, NwS, AT, BdW. Universe 3D mapping: IfA, RAS, Keck, NAOJ and HST Releases, S&T. Ho with Spitzer: papers from Aug. and Sep., NASA and Carnegie Releases, SC. Proto galaxy cluster: NAOJ PR. Cluster gas bridge: ESA PR (more). Galaxy clusters may offer critical clues to Dark Energy: NOAO PR. Dusty galaxies at ancient epoch: McD PR. Wiggle Z shows smooth Universe: ICRAR. Galaxy evolution: UCSC, Keck and NASA Releases. Green bean galaxies: ESO PR. Tuning fork: ESA PR. Adding a 3rd Dimension to Galaxy Group Studies: asb. QSO lightcurves & redshifts: paper by Dai & al., Case Blog, AT. Quasar may be embedded in unusually dusty galaxy: NASA PR, UT. Missing QSO clouds: SDSS PR. QSO trigger: AIP PR. Ancients BHs: RAS PR. Star formation history: ESA, Herschel and Keck Releases. Cosmic simulation: CfA PR, SC. Early Universe: RUG PR. First starlight via gamma attenuation: NASA PR, Uni Innsbr. PM, SN, S&T, NwS. Intrahalo light fraction: paper by Cooray & al., JPL Release, S&T, WdP. Phoenix cluster: CXC (more), Chic. NASA, NSF, MIT, Kavli and Gemini Releases, S&T, BBC, NwS, ST, CNN vid., Sp. Plenty of dark matter near the Sun: paper by Garbari & al., RAS and Zurich Releases (D), TASS. Mass of Dark Matter Revealed by Measurements of Galaxy: NAOJ PR. Dark matter finding from merging galaxy cluster: Ohio and HST Releases. DM meaning: NBI PR. Dark Energy confirmed via ISW effect: paper by Giannantonio & al., RAS PR. SPT CMB insights: CV, ItD. Pre-DE decel: SDSS and LBL Releases. DES: Nat. DE from clusters: AT. Paradigm Shift for the Infant Universe: PSU PR. Space time: MTU PR. Oldest galaxies / early Universe: HIPACC, NASA, Berkeley and AFTAU Releases. p/e ratio not changing: MPIfR PR, MPG PM, AT. GRT test w/white dwarfs: McD and CfA Releases. Cosmology reviewed: AdP. Don't get fooled by strange cosmology press releases: AT, LtN, ThC. Two Milky Way system matches - spirals with two 'Magellanic' clouds - found by survey: ICRAR. Halo stars: ING and UCLA Releases. Globular clusters: ESO [ESA] and PSU Releases. Bar stars: SDSS PR. MW hot halo: CXC PR [NASA], AT. Halo mass: paper by Boylan-Kolchin & al. MW star streams: Yale PR. MW insights: Nat. Sgr A* racing star: paper by Meyer & al., UCLA, Keck and TMT Releases, PW, AT, S&T, UT, ScN, W., Sp., WdP. Sgr A* approaching cloud: MPE Wiki, papers by Gillessen & al. and Anninos & al., COFC page, NRAO eNews, LLNL PR, Nat. Sgr A* flares: paper by Nowak & al., SW, MIT PR, S@N, asb, S&T. MW bubbles: S&T. CALIFA galaxy survey: paper by Collab. and MPIA PM. Galaxy bars origin: asb. Mergers: Univ. Utah PR. Star formation: MPIA PR and MPG PM; UCSD PR. X-ray burst Sep. 16: AsT, NASA PR, UT. Magellan clouds star transfer: paper by Besla & al., CfA Release. BHs in M 22: paper by Strader & al., NRAO and ICRAR Releases, S&T, SB, ST. Giant SMBH: ESO, MPG, McD, MPIA and Chandra Releases, Nat., AT, NwS, KSJ, WL. Hidden SMBHs: ASTRON PR. Mini-SMBH: NASA, Chandra Releases. SMBH bubble: ASTRON PR. M 87 BH: paper by Doeleman & al., MIT and CfA Releases. SMBH merger sims: NASA PR. SMBH stats: CXC PR. BH active in M 31: NRAO, ESA, ICRAR and NASA Releases, AT. BH making: CXC PR. BH jet symmetry: NASA PR. Big elliptical core: HST PR [alt.]. Mergers: asb. Afterburner-like jet: ICRAR. Silver making in stars: Uni HD PR (D). Astronomers crack mystery of the "monster stars" with the heaviest more than 300 times as massive as our Sun: RAS PR, NwS, BdW. Star magnetism: AIP and McD Obs. Releases. HH 30: ING PR. Large water reservoirs at the dawn of stellar birth: ESA Science and ESA Releases. Star cluster merging in LMC: HST PR. PN Abell 30: ESA and CXC Releases. SN distance record: paper by Cooke & al., Keck, U. Tor. and CFHT Releases, AT, NwSB. Ti in SN 1987A: ESA PR [less]. SN 1006: paper by Gonzalez Hernandez & al., UB PR. SN 2009ip: PEm, NwS. Kepler SN: CXC PR [NASA] (B). SN Ia mechanism: paper by Soker & al.; OSU, U Chic., McD Obs., LBL, IPMU and UCSB Releases, NwS, AT. SN progenitor: IPMU PR. Impostor goes SN: NwS. X-ray vision can reveal the moment of birth of violent supernovae: Leic. PR. Distant SN: Gemini PR. Missed SNe: AAO PR. Dusty SN: Spitzer PR. Super-luminous Supernovae: asb. Record-breaking millisecond pulsar: MPG PR, SC. Msec pulsar planet: paper by van Haaften & al. N* mass: ESA PR. Pulsar slow-down: Southh. PR. Odd pulsars: ScN. PSRs & G waves: S&T. GRB & CPT: IPMU PR. GK Per's expansion: ING PR. Nova idea: Cornell PR. White dwarf antics: Southh. PR. PN CXC gallery: Chandra and RIT Releases. Stellar wind collisions: ESA [alt.] PR. R Sculptoris ALMA spiral: paper by Maercker & al., ESO [Österreichisch] and SAAO Releases, Uni Bonn und Wien PMn, NeN, Teaser, S&T, AT, WiZ. Vega age: U. Mich. PR. Stellar models: asb. Orion's head: asb. Orion nebula cluster: paper by Alves & Bouy, CFHT PR, S&T. NV 11749: NwS. Aurorae elsewhere: S&T. Small stars: asb. Wide binaries: IfA and NASA Releases. Relation Between Jets in Planetary Nebulae and Mass Transfer and Accretion in Close Binaries: ING PR. Weird MC: NRO PR. Herschel debris disks: paper by Lestrade & al., ESA (more), Herschel (more and more) and RAS Releases. AU Mic disk & ALMA: asb. 49 Ceti disk: UCLA PR. SAO 206462 disk: NAOJ PR. UX Tau A dust: NAOJ PR. C3H+ in Horsehead: MPG PM. Noisy signal hints at Earth-mass planet of Alpha Centauri B But independent verification of HARPS analysis with CTIO data expected only in 2013: ESO Release w/original paper, Nat., PHL, AAVSO, PS, UNAWE, NASA PR, HSTB, Oklo, PEd, CD (more), WP, NYT (more), CBC, ScN, AT, DlB, Eco., SyO, LiD, AsB, SC, MrS, NPR, RO, USAT, Eco., AN, Con., S&T, SB, AP, Dsc., Ica., UT, CL, ABC, GlP, Wir., Rtr, Atl., CbS, BB, EmbW (related this, this, this, this and this), ST, SW, RP, KL, BdW, Z (mehr), WAZ, SB, SdW, Nau. Tau Ceti HZ planet? Paper by Tuomi & al., Keck, UCSC and and Carnegie Releases, PHL page, ScN, NwS, S&T, BBC, CD, SwB, IO9, ST. INT supporting Kepler - the Kepler field lacks optical photometry complete to the confusion limit: ING PR. Kepler-47: paper by Orosz & al., IAU, HI, NASA [alt.] and McD Releases, S@N, KSJ. Transit planet PH1 w/4 suns: papers by Schwamb & al. and Kostov & al., Yale, Keck and JPL Releases, PHB (more and more plus art), BBC, NPR, VoA, LAT, SC. 55 Cnc e interior: paper by Madhusudhan & al. Exoplanet-exoplanet eclipses: paper by Hirano & al., NwS. KOI 500: SC, UT. HD 40307: paper by Tuomi & al., AT, S&T, NwSB. WASP-12b: asb. WASP-29b: Gemini PR. HD 40307: paper by Tuomi & al., Herts PR & more [alt.], Carnegie PR, Uni Goettingen PM, PHL entry, Rtr, BBC, CD, LAT, ScN, SC, ST, WdP, PrP, Sp., W. Direct Imaging of a Super-Jupiter Around a Massive Star: paper by Carson & al., Subaru, NASA and MPIA Releases, MPG PM. Flat exosolar systems: SC. Exoplanet searches: ScN. Exomoon hints: KLC. 41 new Kepler planets confirmed: NASA Release. Kepler multi planets: asb. CoRoT trouble: ESO Ann. First Planets Found Around Sun-Like Stars in a Cluster: NASA PR [JPL]. Red giant vs. planet: PSU PR. Decaying planet of KIC 12557548: asb, NOVA PR. Fried planet BD+48740b: S@N. Exoplanet host stars: CAUP PR. Astronomers Discover and "Weigh" Infant Solar System: NRAO PR. Can life emerge on planets around cooling stars? U Wash. PR. Hot Jupiter classes: asb. Eccentric exoplanets: JPL Release, BdW. BD planets: NRAO and ESO Releases. HZ definitions etc.: OSU PR, BBC. Fomalhaut b again: papers by Currie & al. and Galicher & al., NASA Release (visuals), S&T, UT, S20. Gl 581g again: paper by Baluev, NYT, Tw. Gl 163c: SC. Spectra of other Earths: asb. Lunar eclipse as test case: ING PR. GC planet formation: CfA PR. Exoplanet colors: paper by Hegde & Kaltenegger, axb, PW, AB, SCB. 55 Cnc e: Yale PR, asb, PW, NwSB, Src, S20, Sp. Comet crystals found in a nearby planetary system, Beta Pic: ESA PR, SpW. Disk gap: NAOJ PR. Strange disk around HD141569: asb. Lab data on graphite: Warwick PR. Rogue one: ESO and CFHT Releases, NwS, KSJ. Looong story on exoplanet hunting: eSk. NSF Portfolio w/o major telescopes?! SB, NRAO and AURA statements, SNC, S&T, CoQ, PW, Nat. (B), CSM, SC, PSB, ScN, DaC, UT. UKIRT for sale: S&T. ESO @ 50: SW; ESO Release, WAZ, n-tv, BR, DLF, W. VVV giga-map: paper by Saito & al., ESO PR, Sp. ATST progress: Nat. CFHT Legacy Survey: PR. Status: Board Statement. KMOS @ Antu: STFC (earlier) and ESO (earlier) Releases. LCGOT CTIO 1 m scopes; spectrograph; summary etc.: PR (earlier), AER, S&T, Indep. Astronomers set up telescope timeshare: Gemini PR, Nat. Gemini future: statement. Africa & astronomy: Sl. Collaboration mapped: OrF. DEC: NOAO (more), LBL, FNAL and STFC Releases, LMU PM, Nat., BBC, S&T. Upgrade idea: paper by Abdalla & al. E-ELT progress: Ann. (earlier). Roger Angel: NPR. LSST data deluge: Sym. GMT mirror: Carnegie PR and UA News. TMT progress: HIT. BBSO New Solar Telescope: S&T. China solar telescope: X. Subaru & WIYN get biiig cameras: NAOJ and NOAO Releases. DCT camera, hopes: Lowell PR, AZC. BigBOSS: LBL PR. PIAA idea: UA News, NPI. Dittoscope: SC, CD. AI for mapping: AIP PR [RAS]. H.E.S.S. II first light: Uni. Tueb. PM, CERN C., AZ (more). Germany joins SKA: SKA and MPG [Deutsch] Releases. ASKAP opens: ICRAR and CSIRO Releases, Con., UT, BBC, ScN, Giz., AFP, Rtr, Sp., n-tv. MWA ready: paper by Tingay & al., Curtin, ICRAR and ARC Releases. ALMA status: NRAO PR, NeN. ALMA astrochemistry: NRAO PR. FAST review: paper by Li & al. RSA fracking: Nat. Sheshan dish: X. IAU GA ends: PR. HST hidden treasures announcement: HST PR. Hubble XDF: SW; HST Blog, S&T, PSB. SALSO: homepage, NASA PR, SN, Dsc., KL. Earlier: Nat., G. Herschel fate - boring: Updates, FB, UT. WISE & AGNs & galaxy clusters: JPL and WISE Releases [NASA], S&T, AT. eROSITA on SRG: paper by Merloni & al. JWST cost trouble? SpO. SOFIA's new molecules & other new science: USRA and NASA Releases (visuals), DSI PM. SOHO UFO: TwP. Quasicrystals in meteorites found: IOP, Nat., NwSB, Dsc., Rtr, Sp. Organic making in the lab: NASA Feature. Lithopanspermia: Princeton PR. Asteroid belts & life: JPL, RAS, Spitzer and HST Releases. Early SoSy: U. Chic. and Univ. of Copenhagen Releases, SC. Pallasites: S&T. Sugar around Sun-like star: ESO PR. Earth field: Rtr, Earth's true polar wander: PW, E&S. Earth's missing xenon: Nat. TGFs & Fermi: NASA PR. Gerda again: LS, IO9 - see Update #323 for more! Venus volcanism? ESA PR (more). Akatsuki hopes: Paper. Lab astrophysics: Nat. Dawn has departed Vesta, has reaction wheel trouble. Status, reaction wheel issue, paper by Reddy & al., AsteroidMappers, JPL / NASA Releases of Sep. 20, Sep. 11, Sep. 5, Aug. 30 and Aug. 13, Dawn Journal of Sep. 5 and coverage of Sep. 11: PSB, UT. Sep 6: S&T, BBC, SN, NwSB, AsB, ST. Aug. 22: Nat. (comm.). Aug. 15: SpN, ST. Aug. 14: ScN, UPI. Aug. 13: PSB. Deep Impact changes course, could meet an asteroid: Oct. 4 mission status, PSB. NEOSSat launch approaches: SR. OSIRIS-REx target: paper by Mueller & al. Naming: NASA and PS Releases (more). Hayabusa 2: NwS. Hayabusa analysis: DLR PM and Manch. PR. Asteroid ideas: SN. Rosetta's target: paper by Bauer & al.