LPSC 2011

The Woodlands Waterway Marriott, North of Houston. This week March 7-11 was the big Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) in the Woodlands. Monday afternoon scientist Robin Canup lectured on formation of planetary satellites. Later Monday the MESSENGER team reported on the spacecraft's approach to Mercury orbit, due this St. Patricks Day!

Tuesday afternoon we heard new results from the Mars meteorite team at Johnson Space Center. Study of the Nahkla Martian meteorite show sings of carbonates, a key indicator of life. Tuesday evening the Antarctic Meteorite search (ANSMET) reported on 1200 new meteorites recovered from Antarctica to JSC.

Thursday morning Japanese researchers reported that the Hayabusa spacecraft had returned tiny particles of asteroid regolith to Earth. The roundtrip journey to asteroid Itokawa took seven years! On the way three of the spacecraft's four ion thrusters failed. Finally in 2010 the sample capsule returned by parachute to Australia. We hope to learn more about asteroids for future human missions.

We also heard the first news about the enormous earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The more we understand Earth and the processes within its interior, the better prepared we will be. The source of Earth's core heat could be mysterious as a Black Hole.

In Woodlands you might also have heard this presentation:

Lunar Orbit Anomaly and GM=tc^3 Cosmology

INTRODUCTION: Studies of the Moon, made thanks to Johnson Space Center, have confirmed a large anomaly in lunar orbital evolution. The Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment (LLRE) has reported the Moon's semimajor axis increasing at 3.82±.07 cm/yr, anomalously high. Tidal data indicates a recession rate of only 2.9 ± 0.6 cm/yr. Additional observations independently measure a recession rate of 2.82 ± .08 cm/yr. A cosmology where speed of light c is related to time t by GM=tc^3 has been suggested to predict the redshifts of Type Ia supernovae. By this hypothesis, lunar orbital distance would appear to increase an additional 0.935 cm/yr. An anomaly in the lunar orbit may be precisely accounted for, shedding light on puzzles of "dark energy.'' This hypothesis may also explain the “faint young sun” paradox of astrophysics.

Mercury Bright Spot

In 1974-75 Mariner 10 flew by Mercury 3 times. No spacecraft has visited the innermost planet since then, but since 2008 MESSENGER has flown by Mercury 3 times on its own preparing for an orbit in 2011. Most of the planet's surface has been unseen by humans until MESSENGER. One discovery is this mysterious bright spot, surrounding a depression similiar to volcanic craters on Hawaii.

Since Mariner 10 the planet has been known to have a magnetic field and be unusually dense. The magnetic field is sign that Mercury contains a tiny Black Hole. The singularity would be too tiny to suck Mercury up, but the small amount it does eat would be converted into radiation. Outward radiation pressure would balance gravity's inward pull until an equilibrium is achieved. Mercury would then have a hot interior, which would occasionally well up as volcanic action. Like volcanic craters on Earth, this bright spot could be sign of a Black Hole in Mercury.

The ellipse of Mercury's orbit precesses at 5600 arc seconds per century, yet an anomaly of only 43 arc seconds per century provided one proof of General Relativity. The solar system is full of orbital anomalies. As readers of this blog know, the Moon appears to be receding far too fast as measured by laser ranging. The lunar orbit anomaly is prime evidence that the speed of light is changing today.

Secrets of Mercury's Core

Today at the 40th Lunar & Planetary Science Conference in the Woodlands, Texas: We saw new data from the MESSENGER mission to Mercury. No spacecraft has flown by the innermost planet since Mariner 10 in 1974. Surprisingly Mariner discovered that tiny Mercury has a strong magnetic field. On its way to orbit the planet, MESSENGER has already made two flybys that have vastly increased our knowledge of the planet.

Analyzing the data, scientists have found that Mercury's field is concentrated in the core, with virtually no crustal magnetic field. This is not surprinsing, since the surface so far appears devoid of magnetic minerals. How tiny Mercury maintains a magnetic field has been a mystery for 38 years. If Mercury's core had formed around a tiny singularity, the planet's centre would be a hot cavity of charged plasma. This would generate heat that would reach the surface as vulcanism. If the Black Hole rotated, spinning plasma would create a magnetic field concentrated at the core. Mercury's centre would be an excellent place to find a Black Hole.

Mercury Flyby 2

Today the MESSENGER spacecraft is due to make its second flyby of Mercury. In 2011 the probe will finally settle into orbit. The innermost planet has been known to have a magnetic field since the Mariner 10 flyby of 1977. MESSENGER's first flyby confirmed the prediction of vulcanism, indicating an internal heat source. To explain the magnetic field, scientists have inferred an iron-rich core, as with Earth. Though the planet's volcanic surface is full of materiel erupted from within, none of the volcanic plains show traces of iron. An iron core is solely an inferrence, with no direct evidence. Something else may be causing internal heat and a magnetic field. Mercury's centre would be a good place to seek a Black Hole.

Iron Deficiency

Halema'uma'u crater on the Big Island continues to erupt, sending lava 50 feet into the air. Hawaii and the Pacific Plate are sliding atop a volcanic plume that has remained hundreds of millions of years. The long life of this hot spot suggests that it comes from deep within Earth. Our Hawaiian soil is red from high iron content. Since Earth's crust and mantle are relativiely low in iron, the plume probably originates near the core-mantle boundary, thousands of miles down.

The MESSENGER probe flew by Mercury January 14, and will make another pass October 6. In the July 4 issue of SCIENCE, mission scientists present some preliminary results. The prediction of vulcanism on Mercury is confirmed, the planet has shield volcanoes, just like Hawaii! One volcano is 95 kilometres in diameter, nearly large as the Big Island. Mercury therefore has an internal heat source. MESSENGER also found that the magnetic field is dipolar, like that of Earth.

Puzzling to the scientists, MESSENGER found no evidence of iron. Though the planet's volcanic surface is full of materiel erupted from within, none of the volcanic plains show traces of iron. Mariner 10 found that Mercury is dense with a strong magnetic field. This led scientists to infer an iron-rich core, like Earth. Iron in Mercury is solely an inferrence, with no direct evidence. A hot iron core could not account for the magnetic field, since iron loses its magnetism when heated.

Someday humans may figure out that planets like Mercury and Earth formed around tiny Black Holes left over from the Big Bang. In the case of Mercury, the Black Hole would account for both internal heat and magnetic field. No iron would be necessary in this scenario: Radiation from the singularity would turn Mercury's centre into a whirlpool of charged particles. These ions would spin around the singularity, generating a dipolar magnetic field as on Earth.

In April 2011 MESSENGER will settle into orbit around Mercury. This is the first mission to the planet since Mariner 10 in the 1970's. The closest planet to the Sun could yield many surprises, even a tiny Black Hole. Since we can't reach the centres of planets, the Hole in the Earth may take a long time to get noticed.

First View of Mercury

The MESSENGER spacecraft flew by Mercury this week, sending the first closeups of the planet since Mariner 10 in 1975. This photo shows a side of Mercury never before seen. Even the planet closest to the Sun contains many mysteries. Recent observations confirm (as predicted) that Mercury is Hot! The planet's core may have formed around a tiny Black Hole, which would also power a magnetic field. MESSENGER will make 3 flybys of the planet before settling into orbit in March 2011.

This week Colony Worlds hosts the Carnival of Space!

You Heard it Here--Mercury is Hot!

Way back on June 15, 2006, a Balinese volcano predicted that planet Mercury's interior is "hot." Using the radio telescopes at Arecibo, Jodrell Bank and Goldstone radio astronomers have just confirmed that the interior is indeed molten. You heard it here first! Their research will be published in the May 4 issue of SCIENCE.

As has been described here, planets like Mercury formed when a tiny singularity was caught in the gaseous disk of the infant solar system. The singularity was far too tiny to suck everything up, but the small amount it did eat generated radiation which made it grow red hot. Larger particles were attracted until we had a sphere of rock with a hot centre. This was the birth of a planet.

The singularity is still there, having kept Mercury's core hot for billions of years. It spins inside Mercury, dragging part of the core with it. This process powers the dynamo of a magnetic field. Mercury's powerful magnetic field is the chief sign of a tiny Black Hole.

Astronaut Wally Schirra has passed away at age 84. One of the original seven astronauts, Schirra flew on Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions. Gus Grissom nearly matched that record, flying Mercury and Gemini before being assigned to Apollo. Unfortunately, Grissom died in the Apollo 1 fire 40 years ago. The program recovered and was flying again by 1968..

Helmet For Sale

I hope everyone in Europe and within its footprint was able to enjoy the lunar eclipse. In Hawaii and the Pacific Rim we saw a red full Moon rise just after sunset. Only 12 people have walked on the Moon, and none since 1972. Many of us have never enjoyed the experience of even watching it on live TV. If plans succeed to return by 2020, the gap will be nearly a half century.

You have 2 more days to bid on eBay item #3300933083739, L. Gordon Cooper's Mercury flight helmet. On May 15-16, 1963 Cooper and this helmet orbited Earth 22 times, the last American to orbit alone. The owner originally bought it at a low price, when it was thought to be Cooper's training helmet. There are bargains to be found on eBay! According to the smiling Richard Branson in TIME, for a lesser amount Virgin Galactic will take you into Space for real.

The Mercury spacesuit was actually the US Navy's Mark V high-altitude pressure suit, developed by B. F. Goodrich for fighter aircraft. Many modifications were made during the Mercury program. The suits were never called to protect their wearers from Space, since no Mercury spacecraft lost pressure during flight. The suit nearly sank Gus Grissom, who was forced to exit from his spacecraft into the Pacific. The silver-suited Mercury astronaut was immortalised in television and movies from THE RIGHT STUFF to THE ASTRONAUT FARMER, our version of the knight in shining armour.

Thank you Brickmuppet, for enjoying the Saturn posts. This blog will try to spotlight both human and robotic Space exploration. Goals of science should be to benefit humans and life on Earth. Presently I spend the day working on a technology that even Sir Richard hasn't imagined yet. It will make human spaceflight safer, more comfortable and far more affordable. There is room in Space for both humans and droids.