Star Gazing Music

This isn't a part of the assignment, but I thought it would be unique so I said, "hey, why not". Below are a list of albums that I enjoy listening to while star gazing, and pondering life beyond solid ground!

Look these up, you'll thank me:

1) Copeland- "You Are My Sunshine"

2) Explosions in the Sky- "The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place"

3) Hans Zimmer- "Man of Steel" soundtrack

4) Northernmost- "Northernmost" self titled LP

5) Scale the Summit- "The Collective"

6) Cynic- "Traced in Air"

7) Brand New- "The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me"

8) Pink Floyd- "Dark Side of the Moon"

Setting the Alarm For New Horizons Space Mission

According to NASA, the new Horizons space probe will come out of hibernation on December 6th. For months astronomers have been looking for potential places beyond the orbit of Pluto for New Horizons to explore, which as mentioned in a previous post, they have found three promising KBO's. In preparation for this wake up call, the New Horizons team will be busy testing the probes on board instruments, and making sure its navigation systems are working properly. Over the course of its journey through the planetary system, the New Horizons probe has been shut down several times, the longest time between activity between over 200 days. For this reactivation period, the probe will be exploring the area of Pluto, and its moons. It will certainly be interesting hearing about the discoveries made over the course of the probe being activated. 

Take a look at this article below to read more about the probe being awakened!

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/display.cfm?News_ID=48440

Rosetta Successfully Lands On Comet!

According to a multitude of media sources, including CNN (the article for which I will post below), Rosetta has successfully landed on a comet. Rosetta had been in pursuit of this particular comet for past decade, when it had finally touched down on comet 67p. This comet is likely to have originated in the Kuiper belt, which given this origin, would give us great insight into our early solar system.  
The main goal of this mission would be to learn how a comet works. 

Take a look at the article below for full developments on this scientific breakthrough!

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/10/tech/innovation/rosetta-comet-landing-experts/

Update: Strange sounds recorded coming from the Comet. Take a look at the article below to read more about this development, and take a listen to what the instruments picked up!

http://www.iflscience.com/space/rosetta-s-comet-sounds-lot-predator

Hubble Telescope Finds Promising Candidates For New Horizons Journey

An article published gizmag.com discusses what KBO's New Horizons may encounter once enters into the Kuiper Belt region. According to the article Nw Horizons is scheduled to move beyond Pluto by next year, and with this we will be exploring territories never having been explored before by man made space craft. With this promising venture shortly on its way, NASA has discovered three new KBO's, and one of these may be the missions next target. Supposedly this destination is located in the Sagittarius constellation. These new Kuiper Belt Objects were found after careful observations made by the Hubble space telescope. Being that visiting these objects were not the original plan for the mission, being that the probe was on its way to Pluto when it was still classified as a planet, it will be interesting to see how these extended observations made by the probe will play out.

Check out the articles below for more information on this story!

http://www.gizmag.com/hubble-new-horizons-kuiper-belt-objects/34373/

http://www.betawired.com/new-horizons-could-go-further-than-expect-after-visiting-pluto/1415216/

What is the Kuiper Belt?

The Kuiper Belt is a region in space beyond the orbit of Neptune. This region, which is approximately is between 30- 50 AU from our sun, is similar to that of the asteroid belt, only much larger. To put it in perspective, its about 200 times as massive as the Asteroid belt between mars and Jupiter. But Unlike the astroid belt, the Koiper Belt is composed of volatiles like methane, water, and ammonia. This region is also where three dwarf planets reside, Pluto (our previous 9th planet #missyou), Haumea, and Makemake. Several of Neptune moons are also thought to have gathered their material from this region of space. The Kuiper Belt was discovered by a Dutch-American astronomer by the name of Gerard Kuiper. Oddly enough, this region of space has just been recently discovered, 1992 to be exact. With that said, there is still plenty to be discovered about this region of space, so it will be interesting delving in to the news surrounding this region, and learning about what we have discovered since then!

For more info, check out the link below from NASA!

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=KBOs