Russian Spacecraft Delivers Spacesuit Repair Kit to International Space Station | Space.com

Russian Spacecraft Delivers Spacesuit Repair Kit to International Space Station | Space.com

An unmanned Russian spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station Saturday (July 27) bearing food, supplies and a repair kit for a malfunctioning spacesuit on the orbiting outpost. - See more at: http://www.space.com/22145-russian-rogress-space-station-docking.html#sthash.BOXAJXOo.dpuf

An unmanned Russian spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station Saturday (July 27) bearing food, supplies and a repair kit for a malfunctioning spacesuit on the orbiting outpost. - See more at: http://www.space.com/22145-russian-rogress-space-station-docking.html#sthash.BOXAJXOo.dpuf

 The cargo ship is loaded with nearly 3 tons (2.7 tonnes) of food, fuel, hardware and science experiment equipment for the six-person crew of the station's Expedition 36 mission. Among its cargo is a set of tools intended to help the astronauts investigate and patch up the spacesuit that malfunctioned during a July 16 spacewalk outside the orbiting laboratory.

The cargo ship is loaded with nearly 3 tons (2.7 tonnes) of food, fuel, hardware and science experiment equipment for the six-person crew of the station's Expedition 36 mission. Among its cargo is a set of tools intended to help the astronauts investigate and patch up the spacesuit that malfunctioned during a July 16 spacewalk outside the orbiting laboratory. - See more at: http://www.space.com/22145-russian-rogress-space-station-docking.html#sthash.BOXAJXOo.dpuf

An unmanned Russian spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station Saturday (July 27) bearing food, supplies and a repair kit for a malfunctioning spacesuit on the orbiting outpost. - See more at: http://www.space.com/22145-russian-rogress-space-station-docking.html#sthash.BOXAJXOo.dpuf

Image of the Day: A View of Spaceship Earth from Saturn

Image of the Day: A View of Spaceship Earth from Saturn
 Earth, which is 898 million miles (1.44 billion kilometers) away in this image, appears as a blue dot at center right; the moon can be seen as a fainter protrusion off its right side.

NASA Hubble Finds a True Blue Planet | NASA

NASA Hubble Finds a True Blue Planet | NASA
Earlier observations have reported evidence for scattering of blue light on the planet. The latest Hubble observation confirms the evidence.
If seen directly, this planet would look like a deep blue dot, reminiscent of Earth's color as seen from space. That is where the comparison ends.
On this turbulent alien world, the daytime temperature is nearly 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and it possibly rains glass -- sideways -- in howling, 4,500-mph winds. The cobalt blue color comes not from the reflection of a tropical ocean as it does on Earth, but rather a hazy, blow-torched atmosphere containing high clouds laced with silicate particles. Silicates condensing in the heat could form very small drops of glass that scatter blue light more than red light.
Hubble and other observatories have made intensive studies of HD 189733b and found its atmosphere to be changeable and exotic.
HD 189733b is among a bizarre class of planets called hot Jupiters, which orbit precariously close to their parent stars. The observations yield new insights into the chemical composition and cloud structure of the entire class.

Explosion in Number of Potentially Habitable Worlds

Explosion in Number of Potentially Habitable Worlds
 The number of potentially habitable worlds circling red dwarf stars—the most abundant type of star in our Milky Way galaxy—may have just doubled to 60 billion, a new study suggests.
So what's new? Researchers found that the atmospheric circulation and cloud cover on these exoplanets meant these worlds could orbit their stars more closely than previously thought—expanding the habitable zone around red dwarf stars.
 

Two Alien Planets With 'Endless Oceans' --"Unlike anything in our Solar System"

Two Alien Planets With 'Endless Oceans' --"Unlike anything in our Solar System"

“These planets are unlike anything in our solar system. They have endless oceans,” said lead author Lisa Kaltenegger of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and the CfA. “There may be life there, but could it be technology-based like ours? Life on these worlds would be under water with no easy access to metals, to electricity, or fire for metallurgy. Nonetheless, these worlds will still be beautiful, blue planets circling an orange star — and maybe life’s inventiveness to get to a technology stage will surprise us.”
These two "Water World" planets orbit the star Kepler-62. This five-planet system has two worlds in the habitable zone — the distance from their star at which they receive enough light and warmth that liquid water could theoretically exist on their surfaces. Modeling by researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) suggests that both planets are water worlds, their surfaces completely covered by a global ocean with no land in sight. Kepler-62 is a type K star slightly smaller and cooler than our sun. The two water worlds, designated Kepler-62e and -62f, orbit the star every 122 and 267 days, respectively.
They were found by NASA’s Kepler spacecraft, which detects planets that transit, or cross the face of, their host star. Measuring a transit tells astronomers the size of the planet relative to its star.
Kepler-62e is 60 percent larger than Earth, while Kepler-62f is about 40 percent larger, making both of them “super-Earths.” They are too small for their masses to be measured, but astronomers expect them to be composed of rock and water, without a significant gaseous envelope.
As the warmer of the two worlds, Kepler-62e would have a bit more clouds than Earth, according to computer models. More distant Kepler-62f would need the greenhouse effect from plenty of carbon dioxide to warm it enough to host an ocean. Otherwise, it might become an ice-covered snowball.
“Kepler-62e probably has a very cloudy sky and is warm and humid all the way to the polar regions. Kepler-62f would be cooler, but still potentially life-friendly,” said Harvard astronomer and co-author Dimitar Sasselov.
“The good news is — the two would exhibit distinctly different colors and make our search for signatures of life easier on such planets in the near future,” he added.
The discovery raises the intriguing possibility that some star in our galaxy might be circled by two Earth-like worlds — planets with oceans and continents, where technologically advanced life could develop.
“Imagine looking through a telescope to see another world with life just a few million miles from your own. Or, having the capability to travel between them on a regular basis. I can’t think of a more powerful motivation to become a space-faring society,” said Sasselov.
Kaltenegger and Sasselov’s research has been accepted for publication in

Lords of the Ring Nebula: Stargazers' Photo Completes Cosmic Quest | Space.com

Lords of the Ring Nebula: Stargazers' Photo Completes Cosmic Quest | 
Space.com
 The Ring Nebula, also known as Messier 57 or NGC 6720, appears to look like a massive circle due to our perspective on Earth. André van der Hoeven, Terry Hancock, Fred Herrmann, Mike van den Berg and Mathijn Ippel logged in a combined 104 hours of exposure time to take this photo. The image was released to SPACE.com on June 28, 2013.
CREDIT: André van der Hoeven, Terry Hancock, Fred Herrmann, Mike van den Berg and Mathijn Ippel

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