Juno Launches

(From this blog March 2007)

This photo of Jupiter combines a visual image from Hubble with X-ray data from the Chandra spacecraft. The North and South poles are alive with X-rays. Like Earth's aurora, this display occurs in both poles simultaneously 140,000 km distant! Something in Jupiter's core links the poles. Jupiter has an immense magnetic field, the strongest in the solar system. Presence of a singularity would explain Jupiter’s field, and why Jupiter gives off nearly twice as much heat as it receives from the Sun.

Cassini has seen a huge hurricane at Saturn's South Pole. The largest planet does not have a storm centred at the South Pole because Jupiter’s magnetic poles do not line up with the geographic poles. The magnetic field is angled 9.5 degrees, indicating that Jupiter’s singularity is offset like that of Earth. Jupiter completes its day in less than 10 Earth-hours. A southern jet radiating from Jupiter’s core would be bent further outward by the rapid rotation. Magnetic fields would cause the storm to rotate in an anti-clockwise direction as seen from above. For signs of such a storm, we can look at the latitude of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.

Astronomers like Geoffrey Marcy and Debra Fisher have found "hot Jupiters" in other solar systems, giant planets orbiting very close to stars. Old ideas of planet formation can not explain these objects. They could not have formed solely from condensing gas, for solar radiation would cause the gas to evaporate. Presently astronomers speculate that they formed farther from their suns, and then drifted closer after formation. All of them? If that is true, why haven't our giant planets drifted into the Sun?

If giant planets formed around singularities, a Black Hole's gravity would prevent them from dissipating. Hot Jupiters could then form extremely close to stars. Rotating Black Holes could also account for the magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune, and why those fields are far offset from the planets’ rotation axes. Jupiter's X-rays could result from the polar jets of a Black Hole.

Friday August 5 the Juno spacecraft successfully launched from Cape Canaveral atop an Atlas V booster. Juno will arrive in Jupiter orbit during July 2016. Attached to Juno is a plaque depicting Galileo. 500 years ago in 1610 Galileo's telescope was first to spot the moons of Jupiter. Though thinkers like Copernicus had proposed that Earth was not centre of the universe, the Galilean satellites were the first evidence of objects circling something other than Earth. Galileo's discovery challenged the prevailing cosmology.

During Galileo's time scientists also disagreed whether light travelled instantaneously or had a finite speed. Galileo suggested stationing lanterns on distant hilltops to time light's travel, but of course he lacked an accurate clock. The first measurement of the finite speed of light was based upon eclipses of the moons Galileo discovered. In the 17th century Ole Roemer explained an anomaly in timing of occultations with a delay caused by the speed of light. In 1676 Roemer predicted that one moon would appear late, and his prediction proved precisely correct. Decades passed before Ole Roemer's results were generally accepted.

Today we have laser lanterns and the distant hilltop of the Moon. The Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment from Apollo has stationed reflectors on the Moon's surface. The initial purpose was to determine the Moon's distance, but LLRE has other applications. Measurements using the Moon can determine that light's finite speed is slowing down. New data about this coming soon.

Remembering 2010: Odyssey Two

Happy New Year!

The end of the year is a good time to remember 2010: ODYSSEY TWO. Arthur Clarke's sequel novel to 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY was published in January 1982, having already been snapped up by MGM for a movie. As we would expect from Clarke, the novel is full of cool sci fi innovations. We witness a spacecraft aerobrake into Jupiter orbit, a scientifically plausible sidetrip to Europa including life forms, and the planet Jupiter transformed into something wonderful. The film directed by Peter Hyams was released in 1984. While not a classic like Kubrick's 2001, the movie is still very entertaining as a harbinger of what may await us in the Solar System.

Many people decry that we have not reached the spacefaring heights of Clarke's fictional future. However, our Space probes have not done too badly. Today machines have orbited both Jupiter and Saturn. The 2001 movie Discovery ended up orbiting Jupiter; in the novel Jupiter was used for a gravitational boost to reach Saturn. In 2001 HAL the computer intended to continue Discovery's mission without humans aboard. Many of the wonders that might have been found by the fictional Discovery have been seen through automated eyes.

Despite limited resources, science has made many discoveries. Signs of extraterrestrial life may have been found in a Martian meteorite. Cassini at Saturn has found geysers on Enceladus and made many discoveries about the Rings. While we have not found monoliths on the Moon, an anomaly in the lunar orbital evolution is striking evidence for a changing speed of light. The Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment left behind by astronauts may Lack of resources has led scientists to use their ingenuity.

In both 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and 2010: ODYSSEY TWO the Soviet Union is still a major power, and the Cold War is raging. During 2010 East and West nearly come to blows over a Central American crisis. Nuclear war was a great concern in 1984, so the filmmakers added a peaceful message. We should be thankful to have lived beyond the Cold War.

One way we have improved on 2001's universe is in the role of women. In 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY the only American women seen in Space are flight attendants and receptionists. A pair of Russian woman scientists make a cameo appearance in the Space Station lounge. In 2010: ODYSSEY TWO the Russian spacecraft has at least two women in the crew. One young woman provides some company to Heywood Floyd during the frightening aerobraking sequence. The Russian crew is led by the incomparable Helen Mirren (THE QUEEN, PRIME SUSPECT). In this alternate universe Russian women are leading in Space.

As of reality's 2010 only three Russian women have visited orbit: Valentina Tereshkova (1963), Svetlana Savitskaya (1982) and Yelena Kondakova (two flights, 1994-5 and 1997). The US, in contrast, has produced many woman astronauts. We have met female pilots and Shuttle commanders like Eileen Collins and Pam Melroy. Today NASA's astronaut office is headed by Peggy Whitson. America women have taken leadership positions in Space.

The role of Russian women in 2010 was a reflection of optimism. The Soviet Union had scored propaganda points by putting Tereshkova and Savitskaya ahead of American Sally Ride. Press stories promised women a future in the Soviet system that never materialized. Hopefully we will someday see more female cosmonauts.

In the 1980's the Soviet system appeared to be self-perpetuating. Arthur Clarke showed his sympathies by naming most of the 2010 cosmonauts after Soviet dissidents. The Russian spacecraft was powered by the Sakharov Drive, invented by the real-life physicist and dissident. Though Clarke let the Soviet Union survive into 2010, he was not a fan of Communism.

This has been a good time to review 2010: ODYSSEY TWO. We are always disappointed that humans have not reached the heights seen in the movies. However science and automated probes have made some unexpected discoveries, including signs of extraterrestrial life. Like the Monolith, seeds of life may even have arrived via meteorites from Space. Our Earth, especially in the role of women, has surpassed the society glimpsed in the movies. The world of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and beyond still inspires us to reach for the stars.

Jupiter Loses a Stripe

In the past month Jupiter's South Equatorial Belt, a ribbon of red nearly 18,000 miles wide, disappeared from telescopes. The disappearance was monitored by Australia's Anthony Wesley, who also discovered a comet striking Jupiter in 2009. No one knows what happened to the stripe, whether it has truly vanished or just been covered by a cloud layer. Scientists do not understand what happens in Jupiter's upper atmosphere, much less the planet's interior.

Jupiter's gigantic storms, cloud bands and Red Spots are powered by mysterious forces in the planet interior. The largest planet gives off twice as much radiation as it receives from the Sun. It is hard to imagine what could be generating this much energy, but Jupiter's core would be a good place to find a Black Hole. A small singularity would produce heat, a magnetic field, and the vortices of stormy Jupiter.

Another Hot Jupiter

Speaking of Jupiters, a tip of the hat to the wondrous Kea and Lobo! Kea's Friday post is about extrasolar planet Wasp-18b. This newly discovered planet is so close to it's star that it orbits in a single Earth day! Wasp-18b adds to the growing list of "Hot Jupiters," giant planets orbiting close to stars. Today's scientists can't explain how these planets can even exist without boiling away.

If Jupiter and other planets formed around singularities, a Black Hole's continued presence would stabilize these planets and prevent then from completely boiling away. Radiation from a Black Hole would explain why Jupiter emits more heat than it receives from the Sun. A Black Hole's rotation would generate electric currents in the whirl of charged particles at the planet's core. This would produce a bipolar magnetic field, whose poles would not necessarily line up with the geographic poles. Existence of Black Holes within planets would explain mysteries of our Earth. A singularity could exist in the last place humans would look, beneath their feet.

Big Splash at Jupiter

The Great Black Spot imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope using the newly installed Wide Field Camera 3.

The Great Black Spot was first sighted by Australian "amateur" astronomer Anthony Wesley. These photos by WFC3 were Hubble's first science observations since the STS-125 servicing mission. Astronomers can not decide whether the impactor was an asteroid or comet. Unlike Shoemaker-Levy 9 no one saw the object coming. They guess that it had a diameter of several hundred metres. An rock of 220 m radius would have a mass of about 10^10 kg, just right for a small Black Hole. A singularity impacting Jupiter would arrive unobserved and leave a mark just like this.

Despite the smoke and fury, the singularity would not suck up the planet. It would eventually join a larger Black Hole that has occupied Jupiter's core since before the planet formed. The Hole in Jupiter's core would be primordial, formed shortly after the Big Bang. Jupiter and other planets may gave formed around singularities like pearls around a grain of sand.

Despite amazing instruments like Hubble, humans are unable to perceive that Black Holes could be nearby, even within our planetary system. Though Hubble observations of supernovae show the speed of light slowing, most humans are unable to see that. Rather than wonder about the wonder of light, scientists have promoted an accelerating universe dominated by "dark energy.". The credibility of science continues to sink like a Black Hole into Jupiter's core.

Hot Storms of Jupiter

In March 2007 two enormous storms erupted on Jupiter. These eruptions appear to occur with a 15-17 year period; similiar storms were observed in 1975 and 1990. This time they were observed by the Hubble Space Telescope and our Infra Red Telescope Facility atop Mauna Kea. These storms always appear in pairs, like the twin jets of a Black Hole twisted on their journey from core to atmosphere. This adds to discovery of Hot Spots on Saturn's North and South poles. These jets are agreed to result from internal heat. Why do they form two narrow jets? The cores of giant planets are excellent places to seek a Black Hole. More in Space.com and the January 24 issue of NATURE.

Hot Gas

Though the Griffith Park fire is still burning nearby, we will try to focus on hot gas elsewhere. Astronomers have discovered the hottest gas giant yet found. Object HD 149026b orbits a star 279 light-years away in the constellation Hercules. It orbits in just 2.877 Earth-days, with an estimated temperature of 2040 degrees Celsius! The planet is so hot that it would have to absorb all the radiation from its star. HD 149026b was detected transiting its star in 2005 by "amateur" astronomer Ron Bissinger with his 14-inch Celestron.

Many "hot Jupiters" have been found orbiting close to stars. Present theories of planet formation can not explain them, for at these temperatures they would quickly boil away. If these planets formed around singularities, a Black Hole's gravity would keep them in one piece. Radiation from an internal singularity would also explain why HD 149026b is so hot.

Meanwhile, our Cassini spacecraft has discovered that Saturn's jet streams are driven by rotating eddies. Previously the reverse was assumed, that jet streams affected the eddies. These rotating stormlike features originate deep within Saturn's atmosphere, powered by unknown forces. Saturn and other gas giants give off far more energy than they receive from the Sun. This energy rises to the surface in storms and vortices, like those that would be produced by a Black Hole. There is more inside the planets than meets the eye.

Galileo's Moons

Io and Europa in the same frame March 2, 2007, two days after New Horizon's flyby of Jupiter. As the spacecraft sped away it took this long-lens photo. The moons are in fact separated by 790,000 kilometres. Eruption of the volcano Tvashtar is still very visible. Io's night side is lit by Jupiter, a planet which gives off twice as much radiation as it receives from the Sun. Europa's night side is dark because it is on the other side of Jupiter.

The night of January 7, 1610 Galileo first noticed strange objects around Jupiter. By January 13 he had seen 4 moons. Discovery of new worlds was truly exciting and kept Galileo up every night. By March 22 he had finished his observations, and immediately started writing his observations in book form.

STARRY MESSENGER was published that same year and was immediately popular. The book was also controversial, because not everyone believed in the new moons. Someone named Horky, who had been a student of Johannes Kepler, wrote a book claiming that the moons were a fraud designed to gain fame and wealth. Kepler was very unhappy, but he counseled Galileo not to respond to such attacks.

Pictured to scale by New Horizons are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. The moons will be there long after the doubters are underground. Kepler's advice to Galileo was right on.

New Horizons at Jupiter

On its way to reach Pluto in 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft swung by Jupiter for some gravitational assist. As practice, it took the best picture yet of the Great Red Spot and the new Spot. Little Spot was formed from the merger of 3 smaller spots, and continues to grow. As in a tub of water, smaller vortices eventually merge into one big one.

The Great Red Spot was first observed by Domenico Cassini around 1665. It is shaped like an Earthly cyclone, but has lasted far longer. These storms form coloured spots because they extend deep into the atmosphere. They are signs of some unknown phenomena inside Jupiter. We recently saw that brown dwarfs, which occupy a size range between Jupiter and stars, are home to massive sources of energy. There is more inside Jupiter than meets the eye.

Below in 3-D is the eruption of volcano Tvashtar on Io. This moon itself emits a lot of heat. New Horizons also discovered a new volcano just reaching the surface of Io. Near Hawaii we have a submerged volcano named Lo' ihi that will someday form a new island. Objects from gas giants to little moons like Enceladus contain sources of energy. Something is going on literally beneath our feet.

Io is one of the four satellites discovered by Galileo. Objects circling a body other than Earth were a direct threat to the old Ptolemaic system. Scholars of the day refused to peer into Galileo's telescope for fear of upsetting their world view. Galileo spent the last 10 years of his life under house arrest for promoting heresy. (A bit like saying the speed of light isn't constant.) Despite his persecution, a Jupiter probe and a STAR TREK shuttle would be named for Galileo.

Jupiter and Galileo's Moons

This amazing photo of Jupiter was taken from Saturn! On February 8, 2007 Jupiter was 1.8 billion kilometres from our Cassini spacecraft. Two of the Galilean satellites are visible. When Galileo turned his telescope to the skies, he was amazed to discover Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto circling Jupiter. This provided evidence of objects circling something other than Earth, in defiance of Ptolemy's cosmology. Scientists of the time literally refused to peer in the telescope for fear of upsetting their world view.

“Here at Padua,” Galileo complained in a letter to Kepler, "is the principal professor of philosophy whom I have repeatedly and urgently requested to look at the moon and planets through my glass, which he pertinaciously refuses to do. Why are you not here? Whart shouts of laughter we should have at this glorious folly! And to hear the professor of philosophy at Pisa labouring before the Grand Duke with logical arguments, as if with magical incantations, to charm the new planets out of the sky.”

(Thanks Nigel, for reminding me of this quote, which I used part of in January 11 post.)

If that professor were alive today his magical incantations would no doubt include "dark energy" or whatever is fashionable and safe. He would try to prevent Galileo from speaking, publishing, or even having his observations considered. Unlike this writer, Galileo did not complete a university degree. That fact would be cited against him by today's elitists.

Despite his gap in formal education, Galileo was a fair scientist. He was willing to adjust his theories in accordance with new observations. His book "Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems" gave equal time to opposing ideas. Some sinister folks spread rumour that the "Simplicio" character was a vague parody of the Pope. (Did they use e-mail?) Galileo was tried, forced to recant, and imprisoned for the last ten years of his life.

Below is a closer Cassini image of Jupiter, taken January 15, 2001 as the spacecraft completed its close flyby. Galilean moon Io is visible as a tiny crescent to the left. Four centuries later moons orbit planets and planets orbit the Sun just as Galileo believed. All follow elliptical orbits as Galileo's friend Kepler discovered. All follow paths controlled by Newton's gravity. The treatment given to Galileo is very relevant today.

Jupiter Poles

This photo of Jupiter combines a visual image from Hubble with X-ray data from the Chandra spacecraft. The North and South poles are alive with X-rays. Like Earth's aurora, this display occurs in both poles simultaneously 140,000 km distant! Something in Jupiter's core links the poles. Jupiter has an immense magnetic field, the strongest in the solar system. Presence of a singularity would explain Jupiter’s field, and why Jupiter gives off nearly twice as much heat as it receives from the Sun.

Cassini has seen a huge hurricane at Saturn's South Pole. The largest planet does not have a storm centred at the South Pole because Jupiter’s magnetic poles do not line up with the geographic poles. The magnetic field is angled 9.5 degrees, indicating that Jupiter’s singularity is offset like that of Earth. Jupiter completes its day in less than 10 Earth-hours. A southern jet radiating from Jupiter’s core would be bent further outward by the rapid rotation. Magnetic fields would cause the storm to rotate in an anti-clockwise direction as seen from above. For signs of such a storm, we can look at the latitude of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.

Astronomers like Geoffrey Marcy and Debra Fisher have found "hot Jupiters" in other solar systems, giant planets orbiting very close to stars. Old ideas of planet formation can not explain these objects. They could not have formed solely from condensing gas, for solar radiation would cause the gas to evaporate. Presently astronomers speculate that they formed farther from their suns, and then drifted closer after formation. All of them? If that is true, why haven't our giant planets drifted into the Sun?

If giant planets formed around singularities, a Black Hole's gravity would prevent them from dissipating. Hot Jupiters could then form extremely close to stars. Rotating Black Holes could also account for the magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune, and why those fields are far offset from the planets’ rotation axes. Jupiter's X-rays could result from the polar jets of a Black Hole.