FEBRUARY 2013 ISSUE

One year on and still bringing you out

of this world news!

Editor: Chloe Partridge

Copy Editor: Martin Griffiths

Contributors: Emily Baldwin, Louisa Connolly

Columnists: Phill Wallace, Martin Griffiths

If you would like to contribute in any way, either by sending

us your Faulkes images, or perhaps even writing an article ,

then get in touch, we would love to hear from you.

Editorial Contacts :

10017607@glam.ac.uk

mgriffi8@glam.ac.uk

IMAGE REFERENCES:

PG 1. Wikimedia Commons

PG 4-5. Wikimedia Commons

PG 6-7. All images Martin Griffiths, Sky Map — Heavensabove.com

PG 8-9. Wikimedia Commons

PG 10-11. ESA / AOES Media lab

PG 12. Wikimedia Commons

EDITORIAL

This month we celebrate the Glam UNI-verse’s first ever Birthday.

Happy Birthday Glam UNI-verse!

One year on and the students of the BSC Observational Astronomy

degree are still bringing you fascinating science articles . I would

like to give a huge thank you to Martin Griffiths and Phil Wallace for

there efforts over the past year—they have not wavered in the

slightest, having contributed in every edition since the magazine

began—for which I greatly appreciate.

On to bigger an better things in 2013!

As most of you know myself and Phil will be leaving at the end of

this year so we have been searching far and wide across all planes

of our galaxy to find worthy and noble follower. So without further

ado I would like to introduce to you the new editorial team for

Glam UNI-verse:

Jon Pratt , Amy Marklew, Jason Wotherspoon and Dean Tookey.

I have no doubt they will make an excellent team over the next 3

years, and I am very excited to join them in the next phase of the

magazine’s life before I leave university.

To the new team—Good Luck!

Phil and Chloe

F E B R A U R Y 2 0 1 3 I S S U E

GLMAORGAN

ASTRONOMY

C O S M O L O G I C A L

N E W S

6 - 7 . T H E N I G H T S K Y I N F E B R U A R Y

J U P I T E R S T I L L D O M I N A T E S T H E W I N T E R S K Y , S A T U R N R I S E S A F T E R M I D N I G H T A N D O R I O N I S V I S I B L E I N T H E S O U T H A F T E R D A R K . D R E S S W A R M L Y A N D G O O U T A N D E N J O Y T H E S I G H T S O F

T H E W I N T E R M I L K Y W A Y .

4 - 5 . W A R S H I P S I N S C I E N C E

W A R S H I P S H O L D A S P E C I A L P L A C E I N O U R M I N D S . B U T

W H A T F O R M W I L L T H E Y T A K E I N T H E F A R F U T U R E ?

8 - 9 . S P A C E W E A T H E R W A R N I N G S !

A G L I M P S E I N T O T H E C A U S E S A N D E F F E C T S O F S P A C E

W E A T H E R . B E W A R N E D !

1 0 - 1 3 . A N E X I T I N G Y E A R A H E A D F O R

E U R O P E I N S P A C E

D R E M I L Y B A L DW I N T A L K S U S T H R O U G H S O M E E X C I T I N G H I G H L I G H T S W H I C H W E C A N E X P E C T F R O M

E S A I N 2 0 1 3 . .

8 - 9

1 0 - 1 1

4 - 5

6 - 7

Page 4 C O S M O L O G I C A L N E W S

We humans are a strange bunch. We can all

agree that war is bad and something to be

avoided; only the insane actually want the

violence and the bloodshed. This is something

that we have all come to accept as self-evident

over the last few decades.

And yet, we are strangely drawn to the

implements of war. The tanks and the planes and

the guns hold a strange dark glamour to them

that few can explain and few can resist. We flock

to air shows where undeniably elegant killing

machines send rumbles of guilty pleasure

through us while flying by. We talk of a warship

or a jet fighter in terms of sleek lines and

beauty. We send divers to admire the wreck of

ships like Bismarck in the name of admiring its

engineering. We strive to preserve the old oaken

hull of HMS Victory and visitors flock to marvel

at this wooden hulled behemoth.

It is no surprise that this curious effect is

mostly cantered on planes and warships. After

all, a tank can be admired for its impressive

power but it can hold no beauty. A plane or a

ship however can be works of art as well as

deadly weapons. Sadly though, the current

generation of warships are somewhat lacking in

aesthetics: the need for flight decks, huge

radars and missile magazines means that the

new destroyers will never share the elegance of

the old cruisers and dreadnoughts.

So with no contemporary art of this dark kind to

satisfy us, we turn to our imaginations through

the wonderful world of science fiction. Naturally

because we are human and true peace still

eludes us, warships feature prominently in SF

but in so many varieties. Writing SF allows so

many new options for warships that are

impossible or unfeasible for us at present.

Fighting in space presents many new problems.

Manoeuvring is harder, the ranges are greater,

there is no horizon to hide under and the

environment is even more hostile to humans

than the deep blue sea is. However, many of

these problems can be waved away with a few

assumptions, and these assumptions form the

core of distinguishing SF warships.

The main distinction is what kind of advanced

technology are we allowed to use? Are we

permitted energy weapons? Force-fields for

defence? Sub-lightspeed engines worthy of the

name? Artificial gravity? For the most part SF

can be divided into “hard” universes, where the

answer to all those questions is no, and “soft”

universes where the answer to all or some is

yes. In essence, a “soft” SF world is one where

the laws of physics are subordinate to the needs

of the story, whilst in “hard” worlds the physical

laws are absolute. Now, let us examine the

dominant types of vessel. These are broad

categories of course, individual universes may

vary.

Huge, powerful and very very angry…

Warships in Science

F E B R A U R Y 2 0 1 3 I S S U E

B Y P H I L W A L L A C E

Page 5

You can’t run from the Big Guns…

She’s very fast and very deadly. Approach with caution

The Standard Space Navy: Some universes

hold that “space is an ocean” and the

conventions of modern militaries will still hold

true. Carriers will be the largest and greatest

warships with cruisers, destroyers and frigate

serving as escorts and patrol vessels. Fighters

and bombers and missiles in vast numbers will

be the main weapons in use. This is quite an

easy form of combat to show on screen since

the actual warships never sight each other,

allowing lots of focus and drama as the fighter

pilots close for the attack.

The Star Destroyers: Right at the other end of

the scale are universes which argue, quite

reasonably, that no small fighter can carry

enough firepower to threaten a huge, heavily-

armoured (or shielded) battleship. These

universes feature fleets of space-borne big-gun

dreadnoughts, armed with energy weapons,

enormous cannons or railguns, closing on each

other and slugging it out in the style of

Trafalgar and Jutland. Fighters may be used and

even carried aboard the big ships, but it is clear

to all that it is the big guns that decide the

battle.

The Battlestars: Halfway between the two

above categories, Battlestars are big, powerful,

heavily armed ships that also carry a

substantial fighter complement. The name

comes for the eponymous ships of the

Battlestar Galactica universe (both the original

and the remake). The key distinction is that

whilst fighters and missiles are carried by the

Battlestars they are fully capable of engaging

the enemy directly. Battlestars also tend to be

incredibly robust despite (often but not always)

not having any form of shielding, shrugging off

missile hits and even nuclear warheads (or

their SF equivalents).

The Missile-Bus Battlecruiser: As a category

these turn up in the “hard” SF worlds described

earlier. With no shields, advanced engines or

artificial gravity, these ships are skeletal

monsters armed almost solely with missiles or

lasers. They will, like the carriers of the

Standard Space Navy, engage the enemy far

beyond visual range with massive salvoes of

missiles designed to overwhelm enemy point-

defences and countermeasures through

numbers. For their own protection speed is

paramount; since missiles are small they cannot

have the same endurance as a warship. Whilst

these warships turn up mostly in “hard”

universes there are notable exceptions such as

Gene Rodenberry’s Andromeda.

Of course, this is by no means an exhaustive

list. There are many other possibilities but

these represent the most common types of

warships you will see in SF. Unless of course

you watch Star Trek where they like to pretend

they aren’t warships at all.

Page 6 C O S M O L O G I C A L N E W S

The Night Sky in FebruaryThe Night Sky in FebruaryThe Night Sky in FebruaryThe Night Sky in February

Moon In February

First quarter: 17th February

Full: 25th February

Last Quarter: 3rd February

New: 10th February

The sky in February Planets in February

Constellation of the month: Monoceros

February is a great time to catch the last of the constellations of Winter, with Orion, Gemini, Taurus, Perseus and Auriga still visible after evening

twilight. In 2013 the winter sky is still dominated by Jupiter, but by the time it sets in the west, Saturn is making its appearance in the east.

On the Morning of the 3rd Feb a last quarter Moon will accompany Saturn in the east before dawn. On the 18th the gibbous moon will be just under a degree away from

Jupiter in the evening sky.

Mercury: Visible in the west in the middle of the

month with a magnitude of -0.9

Venus: Is coming into conjunction with the Sun and

not well placed for observation this month

Mars: Visible in the evening in the west as a dull red star shining at magnitude 1.2 and setting rapidly after the Sun. It is just 0.3 degrees south

of Mercury on the 8th February.

Jupiter: Still visible as a bright starry object high in the southwest after dark. The planet will be shining at magnitude -2.2 and the two equatorial belts are striking as are the dance of the Galilean

moons.

Saturn: Rising in the east just after midnight by the middle of the month and located in the constellation of Libra. It shines at magnitude 1 and its rings continue to open throughout 2013. Its large satellite Titan is close to the planet, easily visible through a telescope. Look for the Cassini

division in the rings.

Uranus: Sets jus after 9:00pm in February but is not especially well placed for observation and

shines at magnitude 5.9

Neptune: The planet is in conjunction with the Sun

on the 21st of this month. Not visible

The sky as it would appear at 7:00pm on the 12th

Monoceros, "The Unicorn" is an ambiguous constellation that is very difficult to discern as it has few bright stars. It is not a constellation of antiquity, but was added in the seventeenth century by Hevelius to fill in a blank space between Orion to the west and Cancer to the east. Thankfully, although stars are few, deep sky objects are not, as

Monoceros lies in a particularly fruitful part of the Milky Way.

This richness is derived from a huge molecular cloud of gas and dust that permeates this region of space and has outcroppings in the form of bright gaseous nebulae that make Monoceros a treasure house for the well-equipped observer. If you own binoculars or a small telescope, then do not despair, as there are plenty of objects to tantalize and

astonish.

Page 7 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 3 I S S U E

M57 The Ring Nebula

B Y M A R T I N G R I F F I T H S

One of the best star clusters of the Winter sky is to be found in the southern part of this constellation. M 50 is a bright nebulous patch of light in the field of a pair of binoculars, but under the scrutiny of a small telescope, it becomes a treasure trove of over 200 stars in a small compressed area of space. Not all these stars will be visible, but the primary stars will of course be relatively easy objects to see. One of the stars is a delightful deep red in colour and is immediately recognizable even in a small scope. The distance to this lovely cluster is 3000 light years, thus making the stars that create its 6th magnitude glow very luminous indeed. Its position in a lavish part of the Milky Way assures M 50 of a unique place in the memory of those that observe

it.

A most beautiful cluster plus an attendant nebula is the next stopping point in our tour of Monoceros. In a tight group around the star 15 Monocerotis, is a wonderful pack of glittering points of light, all caught in a misty web of faint light. This is the cluster NGC 2244 and nebulae NGC 2237, otherwise known as the "Rosette Nebulae". This is a fantastic sight in giant binoculars on a clear night, but is a disappointment to those with small telescopes. The cluster of 40 or so stars is readily apparent, but in the confined field of an eyepiece, the nebula lacks structure and disappears altogether. The Rosette nebulae is easily captured on photographic film, and is a beautiful orange red in colour, which contrasts wonderfully against the

electric blue starlight of the cluster.

The Rosette nebulae lies at an approximate distance of 2600 light years, giving the cloud of gas a dimension of 55 light years in extent. The nebulae has been said to contain enough matter to form 11,000 Suns, and indeed such stellar births are still occurring in this magical region of our galaxy. Large telescopes show several knotty condensations of dark matter contrasting with the ruddy hue of the gas. This is where the next generation of stars is currently being formed, and the area is under intense scrutiny by

astronomers.

Further to the north of this object is a lovely cluster around the star "S" Monocerotis. This cluster, NGC 2264 is commonly known as the "Christmas Tree" cluster, for reasons that become obvious the moment one views it. About 25 bright stars make up the illuminated Tree, most of which can be seen under good seeing

conditions through binoculars, although once again, a telescope gives a finer view. This group lies at a similar distance to the Rosette nebulae adding further proof that this region is alive with stellar nurseries. NGC 2264 is also surrounded by faint nebulae, but this nebula is reserved for those owners of large telescopes, as its surface

brightness is very low.

A little to the south of this cluster lies the enigmatic object known as R Monocerotis. This is a variable star of very unusual type, as it appears that it is struggling to throw off its swaddling bands of gas and dust and emerge as a young main sequence object. However, it seems to be experiencing difficulty in this quest, as occasionally, R Monocerotis disappears from view behind a rather interesting faint nebula first discovered by the eminent astronomer Edwin Hubble. This object is easily visible in a small telescope to the southwest of the Christmas tree cluster as a small smudge of white light amongst

a rich field of stars.

The only fairly bright star of the constellation, Beta Monocerotis is also a fine triple star, one of the most splendid stars in the Winter sky. The components are widely separated and of almost equal magnitude range all around mag. 5.5 and of

similar colours.

Being a part of the Milky Way, Monoceros abounds in star clusters, many of which are easily visible in binoculars or a small telescope. The only problem the observer has is trying to find them among the plethora of faint stars in this extremely rich region! One of the nicest of these clusters is NGC 2301 at RA 06h 51m 48s Dec 00°28m, a fantastic arrangement of over 60 stars in a compressed group. Most are relatively bright at mag 8, so the cluster should be visible as a misty patch in a good pair of binoculars. A slightly fainter but nevertheless rich object is NGC 2324, which contains 50 stars of around 10th magnitude in a small, condensed group that is a pleasant sight. One of the best-known star clusters in Monoceros is NGC 2506, at coordinates RA 08h 00m 12s Dec -10°47m; a beautiful gathering of 75 stars in a large group. The stars look like tiny needle points of light, shining at around mag 11, but the overall magnitude of the cluster is around mag 9, so it

should not be too difficult to spot.

In such a crowded celestial landscape, finding a faint star bearing a planetary system may be a little tricky, but is nevertheless a good practical exercise. The star HD46375 at RA 06h 33m 12s Dec +05 27m 46s is an orange K1V star 100LY away shining at 8th magnitude. In orbit around this star is a planet with a mass of 20% that of Jupiter and an orbit of just 3 days. The star should be visible as a yellow-orange spot in binoculars so look out for any star in the field

bearing this colour.

Scanning the Monoceros Milky Way with binoculars is well worth the effort. Mounted on a tripod, these instruments make effective wide field telescopes that can be comfortable to use. The background stars will show up to greater advantage in a pair of binoculars than in the narrow field of a small telescope, and they are of inestimable value in just watching and gazing at the infinite on a Winters evening. The constellation of Monoceros is filled with the interplay of light and darkness, which binoculars reveal, as dust clouds and star clouds compete for the

observer’s attention.

The Rosette nebulae in Monoceros

Page 8 C O S M O L O G I C A L N E W S

Space weather warnings!

The past couple of months have seen the UK hit with severe weather warnings. Ice, snow, freezing temperatures; all conditions that disrupt our daily commute to work, freeze our central heating and generally get in the way of everyday life. However, on the grand scheme of things, these disruptions can only be described as mild annoyances, setbacks which for those who have lived in this country have grown immune and expectant to. Consider a storm that has the potential to cause devastation on a global scale. A storm that could significantly damage national grids, prevent us from receiving medical aid, and take away the right to access our well-deserved money sitting in the bank. This kind of storm would take months, possibly years to rectify. Not to mention the financial cost.

The storm I am talking about astonishingly does not originate here on Earth, but from the Sun. This phenomenon is known as space weather. The Sun is the most important thing in our solar system. It keeps the Earth and the other planets in place. We may be roughly 150 million kilometres away, but the gravitational hold it has on us prevents us from flying out into space. We are not too far, nor too close. We receive just the right amount of warmth, light and energy that allows life to flourish. Yet as beautiful as the Sun can look as it sets on a calm summers eve’, its surface can prove to be quite violent. The intensity of space weather phenomena is governed by the 11-year solar cycle. Every 11 years there is an increase in solar activity such as sunspots, solar flares and coronal mass ejections – more on that later. This period of time is called solar maximum, in fact we should

be entering a delayed solar maximum in May. The root of such solar events lies in magnetism. The Sun has a large magnetic field with field lines stretching from the North to the South poles. As the Sun rotates, these magnetic field lines become twisted and can break through the surface in the form of tight loops. This inhibits heat flow and causes (relatively) low temperature regions called sunspots. The Sun also emits a low density wind or ionised plasma that fills the solar system which is more commonly known as the solar wind. The Earth’s magnetosphere usually shields us from this. However occasionally - and more commonly during solar maximum when the magnetic fields become unstable - a high-speed burst of dense solar material called a coronal mass ejection’s (CMEs) will enhance the solar wind.

Artist's depiction of solar wind colliding with Earth's magnetosphere. Size and distance are not to scale.

Page 9 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 3 I S S U E

CMEs have strong south-pointing magnetic fields which are opposite to the Earth’s resulting in them breaking the shield of the Earth’s magnetosphere. The interaction with the magnetosphere intensifies electric currents that flow within it ensuing a magnetic storm. In 1989 during a period of solar maximum, a geomagnetic storm caused havoc in Quebec, Canada as the result of a coronal mass ejection. It caused the collapse of Hydro-Québec's electricity transmission system resulting in a 9 hour power cut. As if that wasn’t bad enough, weather and communication satellites in orbit lost control for several hours. Interestingly, the Space Shuttle Discovery also seemed to show

problems: a sensor on one of the tanks supplying hydrogen to a fuel cell was showing unusually high pressure readings. These problems subsided after the solar storm. This was a relatively moderate geomagnetic storm: a severe storm could cause a cascading effect on technologies, technologies that we heavily rely on. The most significant being damage to national grids. Without electricity there would be no lighting, heating or cooking or even access to fuel as even pumping stations rely on electricity to pump the petrol from underground tanks. This would heavily impact on public and emergency services. Sewage

systems would also fail due to lack of electricity reducing sanitisation – especially in more populated regions. Electronic trades in the financial sector would be broken as they are heavily dependent on electronic IT hardware. That would mean reverting back to using cash instead of card - something the generation of today would potentially find hard to grasp. Other areas affected also include; the food services with perishable food being destroyed with no refrigeration, medical health as certain medicines need to be refrigerated, communications and transport including the use of aeroplanes. Let’s hope you are not stranded abroad if there were to be a storm! If such a storm were to occur society would be thrown back into 19th century practices. But don’t worry just yet, these events are extremely rare. There are also measures being carried out to significantly reduce the risk of these effects. These include the decreased usage of satellite navigation as the sole source of position data to aid with transportation. So don’t worry…just yet.

B Y L O U I S A C O N N O L L Y

Page 10 C O S M O L O G I C A L N E W S

An exiting year ahead for Europe in spaceAn exiting year ahead for Europe in spaceAn exiting year ahead for Europe in spaceAn exiting year ahead for Europe in space

There’s a lot to look forward to this year in space, from launching new missions to data being returned from those spacecraft already in space. Here are just a few highlights that we can expect from the European Space Agency in 2013:

Planck: looking back to the dawn of time Launched in 2009, Planck is ESA’s time-machine, studying the Cosmic Microwave Background – the relic radiation from the Big Bang – to allow cosmologists to zero-in on theories that describe the Universe’s birth and evolution. The first all-sky images of the Cosmic Microwave Background

are expected in mid-March.

Mars Express 10th Anniversary

In June, Mars Express celebrates ten years in orbit. Throughout its career it has found plentiful evidence for water having existed on Mars earlier in its history, returning stunning images of river-cut valleys and detecting minerals that form only in the presence water. The mission has also detected huge underground water-ice deposits, and evidence to suggest that volcanism may have persisted until recent times. Mars Express has

also studied the Red Planet’s atmosphere, and the innermost moon Phobos.

Launch of Gaia, ESA’s billion-star

surveyor

At the end of 2013 Gaia launches into space. Charged with charting our home Galaxy, the Milky Way, Gaia will measure the precise posi-tion, distance and properties of approximately one billion stars. The results will reveal where the stars are today, as well as where they have been in the past, revealing information about the

formation and evolution of our home Galaxy.

ESA: Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way

Page 11 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 3 I S S U E

Observing Earth

Two new missions will also launch this spring to study aspects of Earth’s environment. The multi-satellite Swarm mission will make the best survey yet of Earth’s magnetic field and its evolution, and improve our knowledge of Earth’s interior and climate. Meanwhile Proba-V will be launched on the

new Vega vehicle and will concentrate on tracking global vegetation.

Humans in space

In May Luca Parmitano will fly to the International Space Station for a six month mission, serving as a flight engineer for Expeditions 36 and 37. He will be the first astronaut out of the new generation selected in 2009. Meanwhile the fourth Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), named Albert Einstein, will deliver new supplies to the space station, including food, drinking water, gases, research and maintenance equipment and around

3 tonnes of propellants.

To keep up to date with ESA’s activities bookmark www.esa.int, or follow @esa on twitter.

B Y D R E M I L Y B A L D W I N

Rosetta: chasing a comet

Scientists will also be gearing up for the Rosetta mission, which will wake up from hibernation in early 2014 ahead of its rendezvous and landing on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko later in the year. The mission will be the first to study a comet as it approaches and moves around the Sun, and the first to land on a comet. The mission is destined to help scientists find the missing links in our understanding of the evolution of our

Solar System.

Emily Baldwin is Space Science Editor for EJR-Quartz at the European Space Agency and is based at ESTEC, the European Space Research and Technology Centre, in the Netherlands. ESTEC is ESA’s technical heart where most ESA projects are born and where they are guided through the various phases of

development.

ESA: Rosetta’s Philae lander on comet nucleus

BSc (Hons) Observational AstronomyBSc (Hons) Observational AstronomyBSc (Hons) Observational AstronomyBSc (Hons) Observational Astronomy

Success is a science; if you have the

conditions, you get the result. - Oscar Wilde Oscar Wilde Oscar Wilde Oscar Wilde