Space Forum / Space Science / June 2004

I just got a picture taken by the MOC Global Surveyor. Have a look, if you like:
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/publicresults/2004/05/R17-01516p.gif  
Here's the context overview:  
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/publicresults/2004/05/R17-01517p.gif  

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

The Rock currently being studied by the Spirit rover on Mars reminds me of
Coral. Question to someone in the field of Coral research: could this be the
case? Could the rock be what is left over once the coral itself has long
since died and rotted away.

Didja see the picture of the rock with spherules at the Gusev site.
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/2/p/156/2P140218077EFF6800P2373L7M1.JPG
-- Spirit sol 126  -- It is there at the bottom.
Maybe it is something else, but if you ask me, it looks exactly the

-> Atoms are separated into protons and electrons. The velocity of the  
-> electrons, which have much less mass than protons, is about 40 times  
-> that of protons and atoms, so many will travel away from the centre of  
-> the star. As a flow of electrons is an electric current ...

The latest image to be posted from Cassini is six weeks old.  Am I the
only one thats a little dissapointed in the lack of images being posted
from this spacecraft?  I keep reading news articles on how spectacular
Cassini is going to be, im sure it will be for the scientists ...

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

http://www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2004/168.html
Study: Dinosaurs Died Within Hours After Asteroid Hit Earth 65 Million Years Ago
University of Colorado at Boulder
May 24, 2004

Look at this picture here and there is, in the upper right-hand
corner, a long eroded object/ spherule/ concretion/ whatever is at the
end of a long straight stalk or mineralized pipe.
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/micro_imager/2004-06-21/2M140752346EFF69
04P2936M2M1.JPG

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

I have a question and I hope its not too silly.
Are there standard (optical) cameras on space probes, and, if so, how do
they see the planets?
OK, like I said, its silly.  I know that there are all sorts of

NOVEL CAMERA SET TO PRODUCE THE FIRST DIRECT IMAGES OF EXOPLANETS
From Lori Stiles, UA News Services, 520-621-1877
June 22, 2004
A University of Arizona astronomer and his collaborators are using a novel

Does anyone know of a website that has the June 2nd JPL news
conference on the rovers archived ?  If I missed one I could usually
find it on jpl's website (link below) but they haven't posted it as of
yet. I don't even see it listed and spaceflightnow.com which is a pay

-> I was just reading an encyclopedia that said that the Sun is mostly
-> hydrogen.
-> That is impossible!  Common sense tells us that if the Sun were made mostly
-> of hydrogen, that it would dissipate in a matter of minutes!

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION