Der erste deutsche Radarsatellit für Erdbeobachtung, TerraSAR-X, ist noch keine zwei Monate im Weltraum, noch nicht vollständig in Betrieb genommen, und dennoch liefert er schon hervorragende Bilder.
TerraSAR-X war am 15. Juni 2007 vom russischen Weltraumbahnhof in Baikonur (Kasachstan) in eine erdnahe Umlaufbahn in 514 Kilometern Höhe gestartet. Bereits nach vier Tagen wurden die ersten Daten vom Deutschen Fernerkundungsdatenzentrum (DFD) in Neustrelitz aufgezeichnet. Und kurz darauf wurden sie im Institut für Methodik der Fernerkundung (IMF) erfolgreich in erste Bildprodukte umgewandelt.
Heute veröffentlichte das Deutsche Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) in Berlin die ersten Aufnahmen.
Bilder zum Herunterladen:
Deutschland, Hiddensee (Hi-Res TIFF; 35 MB)
Solscape
Europas seltene Vögel profitieren von Schutzprogrammen
Europas Vogelwelt findet zunehmend bessere Lebensbedingungen vor. Sie profitiert von jenen Schutzprogrammen, die seit 1979 von mittlerweile fünfzehn europäischen Ländern unterzeichnet und umgesetzt wurden. Britische Forscher verglichen Statistiken aus den Jahren 1990 bis 2000 und konnten nachweisen, dass sich die Bestände seltener geschützter Vögel gegenüber nicht geschützten deutlich verbessert haben. Außerhalb Europas konnten die bedrohten Arten nicht vergleichbar zulegen.
International Conservation Policy Delivers Benefits for Birds in Europe
Hidden Cluster Seen For The First Time
A newly released photograph taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope shows a previously hidden star cluster, revealed now in the infrared spectrum. At visible wavelengths, this cluster, located in the southern portion of the Serpens cloud, would be totally obscured by dust. But now, thanks to Spitzer, we can see it for the first time.
Endeavour launches on mission STS-118 !
The space shuttle Endeavour launched late Wednesday afternoon on a mission to the International Space Station. Endeavour lifted off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 6:36 p.m. after a smooth countdown and entered orbit eight minutes later. The main purpose of the STS-118 mission is to install a new truss segment to the International Space Station and deliver additional equipment to the facility, including a new gyro. STS-118 is the first mission for teacher-turned-astronaut Barbara Morgan, whose association with NASA began more than 20 years ago. Morgan had been the backup for teacher-astronaut Christa McAuliffe, who died in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986. The STS-118 mission is the first for Endeavour since STS-113 in late 2002. Endeavour underwent an overhaul while the other two orbiters, Discovery and Atlantis, returned to flight.
NASA – Space Shuttle
Space-Borne Sensors Help Africa Tackle Water Shortage Problems
Zambian water authorities are integrating information based on satellite imagery to alleviate water shortages. With inadequate information causing many water-related problems, an ESA project called TIGER has generated a variety of environmental maps to provide local policy makers with the necessary tools for effective water resource management. Data from ESA’s multispectral MERIS sensor aboard Envisat was used to create maps depicting existing water resources, suitable dam locations and land cover.
African water authorities receive space-tool training
Astronomers discovered largest known exoplanet
Astronomers announced that they have discovered an extrasolar planet with the largest radius measured to date, making the planet’s density unexpectedly low. The planet, designated TrES-4, closely orbits the star GSC02620-00648, some 1.435 light-years away from Earth. The planet was discovered by detecting periodic decreases in the star’s brightness as the planet transited the star’s disk as seen from Earth. Those studies found that the planet has a radius 1,67 times that of Jupiter, the largest radius of any planet so far measured. Separate observations found that the planet’s mass is only 0,84 times that of Jupiter, giving the planet a density of 0,22 grams per cubic centimeter – too low to be explained by current models of giant planets.
Astronomers Find Largest Exoplanet to Date
Largest Transiting Extrasolar Planet Found Around A Distant Star
Realistic fluid special effects in 3D
Researchers led by Dr. Mahesh Prakash from CSIRO have developed innovative fluid special effects software. A short video of the software’s rendition of rolling waves, sudden flooding and pouring beer is available on the following website:
Fluid Solver: fluid simulation for motion picture special effects
Kieler Tauchroboter besteht Feuerprobe
Eine erfolgreiche Testfahrt vermelden Kieler Meeresforscher aus dem Westpazifik. Vor der Küste Neuseelands stieg ihr Tauchroboter „KIEL 6000“ in eine Tiefe von 1.850 Metern ab und erkundete die eingebrochene Magmakammer eines aktiven Unterwasservulkans.
Tiefseeroboter „KIEL 6000“ absolviert erfolgreich ersten Tauchgang
First Light for World’s Largest "Thermometer Camera"
The world’s largest bolometer camera for submillimetre astronomy is now in service at the 12-m APEX telescope, located on the 5.100 metre high Chajnantor plateau in the Chilean Andes. LABOCA was specifically designed for the study of extremely cold astronomical objects and, with its large field of view and very high sensitivity, will open new vistas in our knowledge of how stars form and how the first galaxies emerged from the Big Bang.
The first high resolution images are available at:
https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso0735/
Spitzer observes monster galaxy pileup
Four galaxies are slamming into each other and kicking up billions of stars in one of the largest cosmic smash-ups ever observed. The clashing galaxies, spotted by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, will eventually merge into a single galaxy up to 10 times as massive as our own Milky Way. This rare sighting provides an unprecedented look at how the most massive galaxies in the universe form.
Whopper Galaxy Collision