Sky & Telescope's News Bulletin - May 20
SJG
* * * SKY & TELESCOPE's WEEKLY NEWS BULLETIN - May 20, 2005 * * *
========================================================================
Welcome to S&T's Weekly News Bulletin. Images, the full stories
abridged here, and other enhancements are on our Web site,
SkyandTelescope.com, at the URLs provided. (If the links don't work,
just manually type the URLs into your Web browser.) Clear skies!
========================================================================
NASA BUDGET CRISIS THREATENS SPACE TELESCOPES
Astronomers are riding an emotional roller coaster. Last month they
were elated when NASA's new administrator, Michael D. Griffin,
restarted work on a possible shuttle mission to extend the life of the
Hubble Space Telescope. This month they're in despair over news that
future space-astronomy missions may be downsized, delayed, or cancelled
because of a financial crisis within the agency.
In a recent letter to Congress, Griffin noted that NASA's budget for
the current year falls about $2 billion short of what's needed to keep
all current programs on track....
By far the worst problem for astronomers concerns the James Webb Space
Telescope (JWST), a 6.5-meter (256-inch) infrared observatory sometimes
called Hubble's successor. Like Hubble, it's a joint project of NASA
and the European Space Agency. Various hurdles seem destined to delay
its launch by at least a year, to no earlier than 2012, and threaten to
increase the mission's cost by as much as $1 billion to a total of $3
billion or more. In response, NASA has asked the project to consider
whether a 4-meter telescope with fewer scientific instruments could be
flown instead....
> http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1516_1.asp
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
AMERICA'S YOUNG ASTRONOMERS RECOGNIZED
The Astronomical League recently announced the winners of its 2005
National Young Astronomer Award (NYAA). Established in 1993, this
annual award recognizes outstanding astronomy achievements by US
high-school students. This year's top winner is Christopher Limbach, a
senior at Marquette University High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin....
> http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1514_1.asp
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ANOTHER MOON FOR SATURN
On May 1st Cassini chalked up a new Saturnian moon, its 7th discovery
since the spacecraft slipped into orbit around the ringed planet on
July 1, 2004. This tiny moon, provisionally named S/2005 S1, is a world
just 7 kilometers (4 miles) across. It orbits within the Keeler Gap in
Saturn's outer A ring....
> http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1515_1.asp
========================================================================
HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S SKY
* Full Moon on Monday, May 23rd.
* Early Tuesday morning, North American telescope users can watch the
full Moon occult (cover) the 1st-magnitude star Antares. Times are in
the May SKY & TELESCOPE, page 57.
* Jupiter (magnitude -2.3, in Virgo) glares high in the south to
southwest during evening -- the brightest "star" in the sky.
> http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance
========================================================================
DADS & GRADS! (Advertisement)
Celebrate with your Dads & Grads with these gift ideas from Shop at
Sky.
Share the beauty of the northern lights with this stunning Spotlight
Print by Jay Potts.
> http://SkyandTelescope.com/campaigns.asp?id=414
Display lunar phases along with the date and time with our mantelpiece
Moon Phase Clock.
> http://SkyandTelescope.com/campaigns.asp?id=415
For younger grads, purchase and rule the cosmos with Monopoly, Night
Sky Edition.
> http://SkyandTelescope.com/campaigns.asp?id=391
Still not sure what to get? A Sky Publishing Gift Certificate is always
perfect!
> http://SkyandTelescope.com/campaigns.asp?id=331
========================================================================
Copyright 2005 Sky Publishing Corp. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin is
provided as a free service to the astronomical community by the editors
of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine. Widespread electronic distribution is
encouraged as long as our copyright notice is included, along with the
words "used by permission." But this bulletin may not be published in
any other form without written permission from Sky Publishing; send
e-mail to permi...@SkyandTelescope.com or call +1 617-864-7360. More
astronomy news is available on our Web site at
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe to S&T's Weekly News Bulletin or to S&T's Skywatcher's
Bulletin, which calls attention to noteworthy celestial events, go to
this address:
> http://SkyandTelescope.com/shopatsky/emailsubscribe.asp
========================================================================
Stuart Goldman sgol...@SkyandTelescope.com
Associate Editor http://SkyandTelescope.com
Night Sky Magazine http://NightSkyMag.com
49 Bay State Rd.
Cambridge, MA 02138
RichA
Decommission the @$@#@#b ISS! No more wasted money into it.
Let the Russian scientists go work at MacDonalds and STOP pretending
you owe everyone on EARTH a job!
-Rich
LarryG
> On 20 May 2005 19:24:06 -0700, "SJG" <stuart...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> ========================================================================
>>
>> * * * SKY & TELESCOPE's WEEKLY NEWS BULLETIN - May 20, 2005 * * *
>> NASA BUDGET CRISIS THREATENS SPACE TELESCOPES
>>
>> Astronomers are riding an emotional roller coaster. Last month they
>> were elated when NASA's new administrator, Michael D. Griffin,
>> restarted work on a possible shuttle mission to extend the life of the
>> Hubble Space Telescope. This month they're in despair over news that
>> future space-astronomy missions may be downsized, delayed, or cancelled
>> because of a financial crisis within the agency.
>>
>> In a recent letter to Congress, Griffin noted that NASA's budget for
>> the current year falls about $2 billion short of what's needed to keep
>> all current programs on track....
>>
>> By far the worst problem for astronomers concerns the James Webb Space
>> Telescope (JWST), a 6.5-meter (256-inch) infrared observatory sometimes
>> called Hubble's successor. Like Hubble, it's a joint project of NASA
>> and the European Space Agency. Various hurdles seem destined to delay
>> its launch by at least a year, to no earlier than 2012, and threaten to
>> increase the mission's cost by as much as $1 billion to a total of $3
>> billion or more. In response, NASA has asked the project to consider
>> whether a 4-meter telescope with fewer scientific instruments could be
>> flown instead....
>
> Decommission the @$@#@#b ISS! No more wasted money into it.
> Let the Russian scientists go work at MacDonalds and STOP pretending
> you owe everyone on EARTH a job!
> -Rich
Smooth thinking, Rich! Perhaps a few dozen Russian nuclear scientist can
go to work for Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, or Argentina if McDonalds
stops taking applications. Just think, the McNuke! You want fries with
that?
Now, what does this have to do with amateur astronomy?
(Hint: It hard to see the Horsehead when nuclear explosions push the
skyglow
upward of Mag -30.)
Cheers,
Larry G.
Cheers,
Larry G.
RichA
wrote:
A HAH! So the rumours are true! The ISS was (in-part) a make-work
project for unemployed Russian researchers!!!!
-Rich