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We're returning involved in swinging into orbit? New
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Colin Stuart Lee Cavendish
Space science writer Staff Writer
this time we're Stern reveals a lot of propellant is Colin reveals everything Your ride into space
looking to stay. needed to afford us the opportunity you need to know starts here! Join Lee
That's the latest to study the planet's moons, about chaos theory as he travels the
news from atmosphere, solar wind interactions and how it influences world to reveal future
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NASA as it looks to develop the very and other aspects of the planetary universe, the Earth you'll be taking off in and
first spacecraft that's set to park itself system up close. Turn to page 16 for and everyday life. what you'll experience.
into a loop around the dwarf planet, a full overview of the Pluto Orbiter.
sometime beyond the 2020s. We're well into the darker evenings, Chris Lintott Mark Thompson
It comes after the success of New with many of us dusting off our Astrophysicist Astronomer
Horizons, which hurtled past Pluto telescopes to spend the majority of Want to get involved in What's wrong with my
at a speed of 58,500 kilometres our waking hours under the stars. scientific research? Chris telescope? Mark takes
reveals how you don't our reader's queries
(36,400 miles) per hour while busily From astronomer Stuart Atkinson's need a qualification in on how to resolve the
snapping away, revealing one side of planet, moon, naked-eye and deep- space science to play biggest observing woes
the dwarf planet like never before. sky tours to Mark Thompson's advice an important part with to get you back up and
On 14 July 2015 the astronomical on solving your kit woes, we've got citizen science. running again.
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YOUR FIRST CONTACT
WITH THE UNIVERSE
16
06 Alien planet
discovered
around white dwarf
for the very first
time, Enceladus' ‘tiger
stripes’ and bubbles
on Titan explained
FEATURES
16 Return to Pluto 42 Future tech
The brains behind the successful Von Braun
New Horizons flyby are now
planning for a closer look
Space Station
2025 could see the first hotel
24 Ice fossils
in low-Earth orbit
reveal clues 44 Mars’ oxygen

to our past Discoveries by the Curiosity
An ancient space rock has rover reveal an unexpected
uncovered a surprising amount change on the Red Planet
about the early Solar System
52 Chaotic
26 Interview universe
Chris Lintott Have we finally got a han e
The astronomer reveals how on the theory that gover
you can get involved in real-life cosmos and everyday lif ?
research – without the need for a
science degree!
60 Rise of th
30 Albert Einstein spaceport
and the heroes
With a rising need r
commercial space vity, your
of the universe ride into Earth or begi ere
Step back in time to when some
of the greatest minds unlocked 68 Tele e help
the secrets of the cosmos Mark Th pso olves your
36 User manual
observing cconu
undrums
Solar Orbiter 72 Ask Sp ce

Early 2020 will see the launch
Your questio wered by
of an ambitious mission to study y
our science ertts
the solar poles for the first time
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STARGAZER
Your complete guide to the night sky
78 What’s in the sky?
Wrap up warm and venture out
into the clear winter nights for
some great views
82 Month's planets
Evening star Venus makes its
presence known alongside Saturn
and Uranus
84 Moon tour
68 Finding this lunar crater won’t

leave you howling with frustration
on cold nights
P 85 Naked eye &

binocular targets
Glittering star clusters, misty
nebulae and giant stars
86 Deep sky
challenge
Track down some of winter’s
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38 88 The Northern
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90 Astrophotos
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The best of our readers’
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YOUR FIRST CONTACT WITH THE UNIVERSE
Soaring
through space
This unique shot of ESA astronaut
Luca Parmitano performing his
third spacewalk puts the heights
at which astronauts need to
operate into perspective. In
this recent image, Parmitano is
pictured servicing an important
instrument for studying the
universe’s mysterious cosmic
rays: the Alpha Magnetic
Spectrometer AMS-02. This
endeavour took roughly five
hours to complete as it was
the most important of the four
planned spacewalks to return the
cosmic-ray hunting machine to
its best.
6
7
©NASA
LAUNCH PAD
The cosmic influencer

© NASA
This is a composite image containing both X-ray (red) and radio-

emission (blue) data which was taken by NASA's Chandra X-ray
Observatory and the National Science Foundation's Karl Jansky
Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico. Together they provide vital
evidence that there is a black hole at the centre of a galaxy 9.9 billion
light years away which is kick-starting star formation in at least four
neighbouring galaxies.
Space's mystic
mountain
Although this shot is nine years
old, astronomers decided to
revisit a segment of the Hubble
Space Telescope’s colourful and
mind-boggling picture of the
Carina Nebula. This three light
year-long pillar of dust and gas,
also referred to as the ‘Mystic
Mountain’, is a fountain of youth
as new stars are constantly
being born within. The different
colours in this image correspond
to different elements detected,
for example oxygen is blue,
© NASA/ESA
hydrogen and nitrogen are green

and sulphur is red.
8
Understanding
the Amazon
from space
This peculiar image consists of
radar observations taken with
ESA’s Copernicus Sentinel-1
mission of the Brazilian state
of Mato Grosso. It combines
data taken over two years,
and shows the state of change
within the region. While most
of it is grey – representing no
dramatic change – colours such
as blue, green and red represent
differences from the dates when
they were respectively taken on
2 May 2015, 16 March 2017 and
18 March 2019. Because Mato
Grosso is deep in the Amazon,
this data is vital in understanding
the region’s rapid deforestation,
which is having a significant
effect on the world’s climate.
© ESA
9
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© NASA Earth Observatory
Fires persist on
the coast
of Australia
South and eastern Australia
are still experiencing violent
bushfires that have been growing
in size since October 2019, in the
process covering half the globe in
smoke. On 4 December 2019, the
NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite
used its Visible Infrared Imaging
Radiometer Suite to observe how
this natural disaster was affecting
the coast of New South Wales.
10
Caught in a galactic twirl
The dance of gravity is a strange one for galaxies, as they both push and pull on each
other and completely remould the shape of the gas, dust and billions of stars that make
them. Here, the two galaxies NGC 6286 and NGC 6285, collectively known as Arp 293,
are in that exact dance. The Hubble Space Telescope was able to watch this waltz from
a distance of 250 million light years away, and pictures like this play an important role in
understanding the unusual activity of large-scale galactic structures.
© ESA/Hubble & NASA

Falcon 9 and
Of Course I Still
Love You
SpaceX and NASA continue to
prosper with another resupply
mission to the International
Space Station. On 5 December
2019, SpaceX launched its CRS-19
mission – the 19th Commercial
Resupply Service – from Cape
Canaveral, Florida. Here, SpaceX
captured a fantastic image of
what makes the Falcon 9 rocket
so incredible – the ability to
land safely on a drone ship,
nicknamed ‘Of Course I Still Love
You’. This feat allows the rocket
to be transported safely back to
land where SpaceX can refuel it
and reuse it for future missions.
© SpaceX
11
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IN COOPERATION WITH
Alien planet spotted around

a white dwarf – a cosmic first
Words by Mike Wall
or the first time ever, astronomers between the two stars,” Gaensicke said. “However, Above:
F have spotted evidence of

an exoplanet circling a superdense
stellar corpse known as a white dwarf,
a new study reports. The vast majority of stars
our observations show that it is a single white dwarf
with a disc around it roughly ten times the size
of our Sun made solely of hydrogen, oxygen and
sulphur. Such a system has never been seen before,
The unique
planet is
slowing being
deteriorated by
its dead host
in the Milky Way galaxy, including our own Sun, and it was immediately clear to me that this was a
Right: An
will end up as white dwarfs. When these stars finish unique star.”
accidental
burning their nuclear fuel, they’ll first bloat up as The composition of this disc is similar to that of bubble
enormous red giants, then eventually collapse down our Solar System’s ice giants, Neptune and Uranus, discovery
into white dwarfs, which pack about one solar mass the researchers said. It seems that a Neptune- may unlock
some of Titan’s
into a sphere the size of Earth. like world – one about four-times wider than mysteries
Lead scientist Boris Gaensicke from the WDJ0914+1914 itself – is circling the white dwarf
University of Warwick and his colleagues studied once every ten Earth days.
a white dwarf called WDJ0914+1914, which lies But this planet’s days appear to be numbered.
about 2,040 light years from Earth. In data gathered Calculations performed by the team indicate that
by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the researchers the white dwarf, which has a surface temperature
detected emissions of hydrogen, sulphur and around 28,000 degrees Celsius (50,400 degrees
oxygen coming from WDJ0914+1914. Fahrenheit), is evaporating the alien Neptune at a
That’s an odd combination of gases for a white- prodigious rate – about 3,300 tonnes (3,640 imperial
dwarf system, so the team trained the European tons) per second.
Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT)
in Chile on WDJ0914+1914. The VLT observations
confirmed the presence of all three elements, and “Such a system has never been
suggested that the emissions are coming from a
ring of gas around the white dwarf. seen before, and it was clear that
“At first we thought that this was a binary star
© NASA
with an accretion disc formed from mass flowing this was a unique star” Boris Gaensicke
12
Weird physics of Enceladus’
‘tiger stripes’ explained
SPACE
MANUALS
Words by Chelsea Gohd FROM HAYNES
New research solves some of the mysteries of Right: The

the ‘tiger stripes’ on Saturn’s moon Enceladus. tiger stripes
were one of
The moon has been of particular interest to Cassini’s many
scientists ever since it was observed in detail by unusual finds
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. With Cassini’s data, as it orbited
scientists detected an icy subsurface ocean on the Saturn
moon and strange tiger-stripe markings on the
NEW!
moon’s south pole that are unlike anything else
in the Solar System. Icy material from Enceladus’
© NASA/ESA
ocean spews into space through these stripes, or
RRP £22.99
fissures, in the moon’s surface.
“First seen by the Cassini mission to Saturn,
these stripes are like nothing else known in our The moon isn’t frozen solid, as gravitational
Solar System,” lead scientist Doug Hemingway changes caused by its eccentric orbit around Saturn
said in an statement. “They are parallel and evenly stretch it out slightly. This deformed shape causes
spaced, about 130 kilometres [80.7 miles] long and the ice sheets at the poles to be thinner and more
35 kilometres [21.7 miles] apart. What makes them susceptible to splitting open, the researchers found.
especially interesting is that they are continually This led them to conclude that the fissures that
erupting with water ice, even as we speak. No make up these tiger stripes could have formed on
other icy planets or moons have anything quite the moon’s north pole just as well as the south pole,
like them.” but the south pole just cracked first.
RRP £22.99
Lakes may bubble up into ‘magic islands’
on Saturn’s Titan Words by Meghan Bartels
Champagne is supposed to be bubbly. So is a Farnsworth said, one based on slowly adding

foaming bath. But a mixture designed to mimic the liquid ethane into liquid methane at Titan’s
frigid lakes on an alien moon? That’s a little more surface temperature.
surprising. Especially when those bubbles come out Particularly interesting was the slightly warmer
RRP £22.99
of nowhere and explode. But that’s what Kendra scenario meant to mimic modern Titan. In these
Farnsworth and her colleagues found during a set of experiments, the team found, two factors had to
experiments designed to help the team understand change simultaneously: the temperature of the
how compounds like those found on Titan interact. liquid and the relative proportion of methane and A V A I L A B L E AT
The accidental bubble discovery could help explain ethane. The combination of changes takes the H AY N E S . C O M / S PA C E
AND ALL GOOD
one of the mysteries spotted by NASA’s Cassini mixture from stillness to a spurt of bubbles. “There’s
BOOKSHOPS
mission – ‘magic islands’, bright patches on radar nothing and they explode,” Farnsworth said.
images that suddenly disappeared. “They’re more violent than we ever expected.”
“At the beginning, it wasn’t the main goal of
the study, but it was one of those really surprising
results,” Farnsworth, a doctoral student in planetary
science at the University of Arkansas, said. “Bubbles
had been predicted on Titan, but nobody had
actually seen them or created them in a laboratory.”
In the experiment where the bubbles first
appeared, Farnsworth had set out to measure how
much nitrogen gas would dissolve in different
mixtures of liquid methane and ethane, the organic
compounds that make up Titan’s strangely Earth-
© NASA/JPL-Caltech
like system of rainfall, lakes and seas. As she

warmed up these ponds, Farnsworth noticed
small bubbles would snake to the surface. But
the real surprise came in a different experiment,
LAUNCH PAD
IN COOPERATION WITH
ISS to host
new AI robot
Words by Mike Wall
The astronaut assistant
known as CIMON 2 just
launched for the orbiting
lab aboard SpaceX’s Dragon
cargo capsule, which lifted
© NASA
off 5 December from Cape
Canaveral in Florida.
CIMON 2 is following in
Eruptions on asteroid Bennu hint at the footsteps of the original
CIMON (Crew Interactive
causes of space rock explosions Words by Charles Q Choi Mobile Companion), which
reached the ISS in 2018.
For the first time, astronomers have gotten an The researchers spotted three large eruptions Above: The
CIMON 2 features some
up-close view of eruptions from an asteroid, from Bennu in January and February of this year, explosions
may be significant upgrades over its
shedding light on what might drive such explosions. each ejecting a maximum of 200 chunks up to
caused by predecessor, which was a
The findings suggest that many asteroids may be ten-centimetres (four-inches) across at top speeds of temperature technology demonstration
similarly active and reveal that rocks blasting off about 11.9 kilometres (7.4 miles) per hour. They also changes on
designed to show how
asteroids may be a new way for meteorites to reach detected eight smaller eruptions that ejected about the asteroid
humans and robots can
Earth, the scientists wrote in a new study. 20 or fewer bits of asteroid.
collaborate in the space
Previous research found that a small number of The scientists also discovered six chunks of rock
environment. For example,
asteroids could actively erupt with large amounts around Bennu that they suggested were ejected
the newer robot has been
of dust and bits of rock. Much remains unknown during eruptions and stayed gravitationally bound
updated with the ‘Watson
about what drives such outbursts in active asteroids. to the asteroid. Some ultimately escaped into
Tone Analyzer’ from the IBM
Now, scientists have captured images of eruptions interplanetary space, and the others eventually fell
Cloud, giving CIMON 2 the
from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. “This is the back to Bennu’s surface.
ability to assess and react to
first view of an active asteroid this close up,” Harold These findings suggest that all carbonaceous
astronauts’ emotions.
Connolly, a sample scientist for the OSIRIS-REx asteroids may be active. Future research can
“With this update, CIMON
mission, told space.com. Scientists chose to send look for more eruptions from Bennu, Connolly
has transformed from a
OSIRIS-REx to Bennu because the space rock looks said. Scientists can also search the asteroids for
scientific assistant to an
similar to known active asteroids. But they hadn’t craters that might have originated as sites of either
empathetic conversational
seen any eruptions from Bennu until now. eruptions or impacts of erupted material, he added.
partner,” IBM representatives
wrote in a statement.
“Specifically, CIMON 2 has
more sensitive microphones
NASA spots crash site and and an advanced sense
of orientation. These AI
debris of India’s lost lander capabilities and the stability
of the complex software
Words by Meghan Bartels
applications have also been
Scientists and amateurs alike have spent months Left: The crash significantly improved in the
combing through images from NASA’s Lunar site of the new CIMON 2.”
Vikram lander,
Reconnaissance Orbiter looking for the remains of CIMON 2 could help lay the
part of the
India’s moon lander – and that search has paid off. Chandrayaan-2 foundations for a powerful
On 2 December, the team that runs the Lunar mission, has partnership between
Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) instrument been identified humanity and machine in the
by the Lunar
released images taken on 11 November that show Reconaissance final frontier.
how the spacecraft has changed the surface of the Orbiter
moon. Imaging experts have spotted extensive
evidence of the crash, including both debris from Right: The
original
the craft and places where the collision seems to CIMON was
have stirred up the Moon’s regolith. roughly
According to a NASA statement, the largest spherical
and had a
pieces of debris are each about 1.5 metres (4.5
cartoonish face
metres) across. The Vikram lander measured 2.5
metres (8.3 feet) in its longest dimension, according
© NASA
to materials released by India’s space agency before

© DLR
the landing attempt.
14
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Pluto
l w
s arf
nd e n d w
a r look
o e a clos e
e s g r
l n
H re
et a
plan
16
Pluto
© NASA
f you had dedicated 26 years of your budget – for the mission itself. “It’s just a question of
I life to sending the first-ever spacecraft

to Pluto, and if you had seen that
mission succeed in shedding new
scientific light on this far-flung planetary system,
whether this is the right mission to get to the top of
that survey,” Stern says.
If it does gain approval, it would continue Stern’s
career-long obsession with Pluto. In 1989, the same
what would you do next? year he received his doctorate, he helped to set up
Bask in the glory or make plans to go back? For a group called Pluto Underground with the aim of
Alan Stern, the principal investigator of the New discovering more about the Solar System’s farthest
Horizons mission, it was a no-brainer. “We rewrote known planet. Frustrated that NASA’s Voyager
the textbooks in the case of Pluto. In fact, I think mission launched in 1977 had intended to visit
we wrote the textbooks from scratch,” he tells All Pluto but ended up leaving it unexplored, he dearly
About Space. And there is no doubt in his mind hoped to be able to one day shed light on the planet
that planetary science needs to return. discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh.
At the end of October 2019, it was revealed that There were certainly no plans to send a
such a plan is being formulated. NASA is funding spacecraft to Pluto at that time. But the Plutophiles
a study by the Southwest Research Institute into – as Stern has called them – were a determined
the feasibility, attributes and cost of sending an bunch. A number of them met in an Italian
orbiter to Pluto and its system of moons, with Dr restaurant in Baltimore to discuss a tial plan,
Carly Howett, assistant director in the department
of space studies at the Southwest Research Institute
in Boulder, Colorado, heading a team that is l
into the development and design of t spacecraft
and its payload.
The idea is that the orbiter will anal se Pluto’s
system in far greater depth. “We’re look g to brin
back the same type of instrumentation New
Horizons had, but to do a more thorough b,” Stern
explains. “A first flyby was the appropriat thing
do with Pluto, but we have many question about
its geological activity and the ways in whic the
planet has evolved over time. There’s a very e
range of scientific topics, and that will make a
second mission so strong.”
In order to even get off the ground, the
Southwest Research Institute will need to be
persuasive. The scientists need to make it into
next Planetary Science Decadal Survey, which is
being prepared later this year. This publication
reflects the wishes of the scientific community, and
it’s an important step in getting the nod – and a
17
Pluto
and within a year a proposal called Pluto 350 2001, the new NASA administrator Sean O’Keefe
emerged that was deemed light in terms of both didn’t go on to include it in the budget for 2003.
weight and the potential money needed. Thankfully it appeared in the Planetary Science
One thing’s for sure, it wasn’t an easy path to Decadal Survey, and funding was finally given.
success. The following year, as Pluto 350 began to That allowed the New Horizons team just four
feel sidelined, a plan to use the Mariner Mark II years to design, build and test the spacecraft that
concept of one spacecraft to fit multiple missions would end up being launched in 2006. It was vital
was explored and abandoned. A subsequent idea that the mission was ready at that point because
to send a lightweight spacecraft carrying just two the window would allow Jupiter to be used for a
scientific instruments was also considered, but gravity assist, and Stern’s team was relieved that it
this scheme – called the Pluto Fast Flyby that then got off the ground in time.
© NASA
morphed into the Pluto Express – only proved to be Even then, it wasn’t entirely smooth. Hearts were
t what became New Horizons.
steps to in mouths when on 4 July 2015, contact was lost
Throughout that time, the Plutophiles had sought with the New Horizons spacecraft when it was just
support for a mission. They had recommended ten days away from Pluto. Although it did finally
supporters to sit on advisory committees that would reconnect, all of the computer files needed to be
advise NASA about planetary mission priorities, re-uploaded in rapid time – something that would
written
n many letters to colleagues and published normally take weeks. But then, on 14 July, New
paperss that promoted the scientific benefit of going Horizons performed the first-ever flyby of Pluto,
to Pluto. But budgets, differing priorities and even getting within 12,500 kilometres (7,770 miles) of the
White House involvement proved as tricky to surface and giving the world its first close-up look.
navigaate as space itself. Indeed, when New Horizons The discoveries were spectacular, revealing
was offficially selected for funding in November a variety of terrain and surface ages as well as
“Pluto is so compelling that we should

go back with an orbiter like we did with
© NASA
Cassini for Saturn” Alan Stern

Inside Pluto A covering
g shell
Just what is this far-flung celestial Methane and nitrogen frost coat Pluto’s
body actually madee up of? surface, and therre is a possibility that it is
creating a shell across
a the dwarf planet.
New Horizons sh howed that water ice was
widespread acro oss the surface.
Rocky core
At Pluto’s heart is a densee,
rocky core that is said to
be 1,700 kilometres (1,05 56
miles) in diameter. That What an
makes up some 70 per ce ent atmosphere!
of the dwarf planet’s overalll As ice thaws, it
diameter of 2,370 kilome res evaporates into the
(1,473 miles). thin atmosphere
as molecular
nitrogen with a hint
of methane and
carbon monoxide.
The atmosphere
can freeze and fall
as snow as it moves
away from the Sun.
On the surface
With minimal air pressure Plutto is Mantle of ice
certainly no place for humans. T e It is likely that the core is surrounded
surface has valleys, frozen nitro n by a mantle of water ice, which
gas plains, craters up to 26
60 could be as thick as 180 kilometres
kilometres (160 miles) in diameter (112 miles). In fact, Pluto could be
and mountains that are as tall as harbouring a liquid ocean insulated by
three kilometres (1.9 miles)). a layer of gas from an ice covering.
18
Pluto
suspected ice volcanoes, vast nitrogen glaciers, “I understand the feeling of wanting to go back Top left:
evidence of a possible liquid water ocean inside somewhere where there were so many interesting The planned
orbiter would
Temperature
and data that pointed to higher surface pressures
in the past. Organic compounds were also evident,
things, but rather than filling in the details on Pluto
it makes much more sense to continue the basic
explore both
Pluto and other
of Pluto
and there were startling finds regarding Pluto’s exploration of the entire region.” dwarf planets,
including Earth’s hottest recorded
moons, including the reflective surface of the As things stand, Stern is entirely on board with air temperature:
Haumea
largest, Charon. such concerns. “There is an opposing philosophy
56.7°C (134.1°F) at Furnace
But as more and more discoveries continued that we should sample the diversity of objects in Left: Alan Creek, California, 1913
to be made, they raised ever more questions, the Kuiper belt, big and small, rather than return to Stern is the Human body (average):
principal
prompting a push to return for a more in-depth Pluto,” he says. “But we have made a breakthrough 37°C (98.6°F)
investigator
study. “One of the philosophies since the in this regard. My institution spent close to of New Snow and ice:
exploration by New Horizons is that Pluto is so $500,000 on funding a major study into the Horizons and 0°C (32°F)
compelling that we should go back with an orbiter development of a Pluto orbiter, and we found that is also heavily
Ideal freezer temperature:
involved in
like we did with Cassini for Saturn or Galileo for it is actually possible to orbit the planet, use gravity -18°C (-0.4°F)
a successor
Jupiter,” says Stern. “That’s a vertical, very deep assists from its largest satellite Charon, skate the orbiter mission Earth’s lowest recorded
approach, and it has been a conversation that we’ve system and then go back to the Kuiper belt. ground-level temperature:
been having for four years.” “It means the proposed mission is removing Below: The
-89.2°C (-128.6°F) at the
Southwest
There is a general consensus among scientists any debate over whether we go broad or go deep. Soviet Vostok Station,
Research
that revisiting that part of the outer Solar System We can do both with a single launch of a single Antarctica, 1983
Institute
would be desirable, yet there is a debate over spacecraft mission and cover both Pluto and other has funded Moon temperature range:
whether the focus should be entirely on Pluto. Kuiper belt objects. It is something we are calling a feasibility -248 to 123°C (-414 to 253°F)
study into a Liquid nitrogen freezes:
California Institute of Technology astronomer Mike the Gold Standard, and it’s really exciting because Pluto orbiter
Brown says further studies should be widespread. we don’t have these two warring factions. We do it -210°C (-346°F)
“Pluto is a fascinating place, and there are many all and at a much lower cost than carrying out both Below left: Surface of Pluto:
things we would still like to know about it,” he tells missions individually.” New Horizons -226 to -240°C
rewrote the (-375 to -400°F)
All About Space. “But to me, what is interesting Stern says the combined mission would textbooks,
about the outer Solar System and the Kuiper belt is merely mean a longer operation phase, since the Liquid hydrogen boils:
says Stern, and
the diversity of bodies out there beyond Neptune.” same launch vehicle and flight to Pluto would be the proposed -252.87°C (-423.17°F)
orbiter should Absolute zero:
Brown is well known. He calls himself the involved. It also adds just 20 per cent to the cost of
add some
‘Pluto Killer’ since he was instrumental in the a follow-up solitary Pluto mission. “Imagine -273.15°C (-459.67°F)
more chapters
International Astronomical Union’s decision to those two-for-one deals,” Stern says. “This is two
demote the celestial body from planet to dwarf
planet status in 2006. It’s interesting to note that
current NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine has
repeatedly affirmed in recent months that Pluto
is a planet, effectively siding with Stern in the
ongoing sideline debate. In Brown’s eyes, however, it
shouldn’t get special attention.
“There is Haumea, which is an oval-shaped rocky
body covered in a thin layer of ice spinning every
four hours with two moons and a ring,” he says.
“There is Makemake, covered in what looks like
slabs of methane ice so thick you could ice skate
on them, and there is Quaoar, which looks to be a
weird transition-type object a little like Pluto and a
little like Charon. The list goes on.
© Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
© SWRI
19
Pluto
How we got to Pluto

New Horizons was the first spacecraft to visit Pluto, but there were plenty of proposals for a mission before it
Voyager 1 – 1977 Pluto 350 – 1990 Mariner Mark II – 1991

After Voyager 1 launched, there When Voyager 1 completed its A project that aimed to create
were plans to fly to Pluto in March flyby of Triton, Robert Farquhar of a series of spacecraft for the
1986. They were dropped in favour the Goddard Space Flight Center exploration of the outer Solar
of Saturn’s moon Titan. Voyager 2 looked into a mission to Pluto, called System. After planned missions to
also skipped past since Pluto’s alignment made Pluto 350. The spacecraft was to weigh just 350 Saturn and Titan, attention was paid to Pluto,
an encounter impossible. kilograms, travel fast and be cost-effective. but Mariner Mark II was deemed too expensive.
Lowell Regio Al-Idrisi Montes

Here at the northern ice cap, the Lowell The Al-Idrisi Montes mountain range is
Regio – named after Percival Lowell in made of frozen water and has been named
whose observatory Clyde Tombaugh in honour of the Arab map-maker and
discovered Pluto – has long canyons that geographer Ash-Sharīf al-Idrīsī.
run vertically across the polar area about
75-kilometres (47-miles) wide.
Inanna Fossa
Long, narrow depressions are
commonplace on Pluto, and they are
believed to have been formed from a
number of geological processes which
can include subsidence and faulting.
Pandemonium Dorsa
The Pandemonium Dorsa is a
mountain range which follows
the naming convention of
Mapped out ridges in being named after

underworlds in mythology.
Only 40 per cent of Pluto has been mapped, but it

shows some distinctive regions
“It is actually possible to orbit the planet, use gravity assists

from its largest satellite Charon, skate the system and then go
back to the Kuiper belt” Alan Stern
20
Pluto
x6 iamges © The Planetary Society

Pluto Fast Flyby – 1992 Pluto Express – 1995 New Horizons – 2006
NASA’s JPL devised the Pluto Fast The Pluto Fast Flyby advanced 17 years after a dozen planetary
Flyby mission concept as a cheaper over a number of years, and it scientists got together, called
alternative to both the Mariner became known as Pluto Express in themselves Pluto Underground
Mark II and Pluto 350 proposals. 1995. But it was still considered too and sought ways of getting to the
Weighing no more than 50 kilograms, it was to expensive even when the concept was then-planet, New Horizons launched. It made its
fly two spacecraft to Pluto. subsequently scaled back to a single spacecraft. closest approach to Pluto on 14 July 2015.
Burney Crater
Named in honour of the 11-year-old
schoolgirl Venetia Burney who suggested
the name Pluto in 1930, this is a
250-kilometre (155-mile) wide basin which
has an outer rim forming a line of hills.
Hayabusa Terra
This large land mass is named after the
Japanese spacecraft and mission which
performed the first asteroid sample return.
It contains a number of craters, with a long,
sleep slope called the Eriksson Rupes to
the area’s north.
Tartarus Dorsa
Before New Horizons paid a visit to
Pluto, penitentes – snow formations that
are found at high altitudes – had only
previously been found on Earth. But here
they are, oddly textured and up to 500
metres (1,640 feet) high.
for the price of 1.2, and it gives a comprehensive three main cameras and spectrometers over from
study of Pluto, the Kuiper belt and additional New Horizons to do a more through job of mapping
dwarf planets.” every object and watching for variability. We know
Tombaugh Regio
This makes the proposals doubly exciting, Pluto’s atmosphere is changing, and we’ll be able to
Nicknamed ‘the heart’ because of its
distinctive shape, the Tombaugh Regio though, since the new mission would bridge many gather accurate data.”
– so-called after the discoverer of Pluto, knowledge gaps. New Horizons was only able to He also says New Horizons discovered that
Clyde Tombaugh – contains Sputnik get good resolution shots of 40 per cent of Pluto’s Sputnik Planitia, a high-albedo ice-covered basin on
Planitia, a vast ice field on the western lobe
geology and surface composition since it was flying Pluto, is convecting, and that there are avalanches
that is 1,000-kilometres (620-miles) wide.
by at speed. “Less than half of Charon was mapped and cryo volcanoes. “We want to add new types
and we barely touched the small satellites,” Stern of instrumentation including ice-penetrating radar
says. “The same goes for surface composition and called lidar to measure the depth of glaciers and
© NASA
atmospheric studies, so what we will do is bring the other ice deposits,” he continues.
21
Pluto
B kh
Breakthrough
h di
discoveries
i
What has New Horizons already told scientists about Pluto and the
W
K
Kuiper belt?
© NASA
A complex world
With mountains, faults, polar caps,
ice volcanoes, ground fogs and more,
Pluto took even the New Horizons
team by surprise. Meanwhile, large
chasms and a north pole covered
with material that had escaped from
Pluto’s atmosphere were seen on the
moon Charon.
© NASA
Ocean of liquid water
© NASA
New Horizons showed that the giant
glacier Sputnik Planitia – a vast, deep
layer of nitrogen ice – is aligned
with Pluto’s tidal axis, with Charon Above: NASA “These laser ranging-altitude detectors can
overhead exerting a gravitational pull. administrator map the surface at very high accuracy to gather
To have moved there via tidal forces, Jim
geological topography data. Thermal mappers can
a liquid-water ocean layer would Bridenstine
need to be under the crust. told the also look for hotspots in the glaciers and in the
International volcanoes in other regions. Mass spectrometers will
Astronautical sample the composition of the atmosphere and a
Congress in
© NASA
Loss of nitrogen is slow November

magnetometer can let us know if the planet’s core iss
The gravity on Pluto is 0.066 that 2019: “I believe alive and churning or dead and frozen solid.”
of Earth’s, and because it is so low, Pluto should It’ll be possible to determine how the
with a low escape velocity, scientists be a planet” temperature changes when the Sun goes down
did think that methane and nitrogen
would be escaping very quickly. But Right: The on the night sides of Pluto and its moons and,,
it’s not – it is 10,000-times slower. proposed because the orbiter will be sticking around f a
The atmosphere is nitrogen rich and orbiter will be while, seasonal changes can be monitored too. t
methane poor. able to get a “New Horizons gave us information on a ticular
proper look at
the dark side day, but an orbiter that stays for years w be ab
of Pluto to study atmosphere and geological ch ges over
© NASA
Pluto is geologically active

a long period of time. We’ll be able to com are
Pluto was expected to be a relatively
geology and the atmosphere in the year 2015 to the
dead world, but it was shown to have
been active throughout its history. data when the orbiter arrives in the 2030s, 2040s
A heart-shaped feature suggests or whenever.”
processes are smoothing the craters Certainly, the mission is not about to be sending
seen elsewhere, with evidence of
information back imminently. The findings of the
tectonic features and bulk flow
similar to terrestrial glaciers. Planetary Science Decadal Survey are expected in
2022, which would allow for a launch no sooner
than December 2028. On that timescale there
would be a gravity-assist flyby of Jupiter in October
© NASA
An extensive haze
The atmosphere is a haze made up of 2030 and a braking into Pluto’s orbit in 2046 – a
some 20 layers. It covers the entire process that will take 13 years.
dwarf planet, hanging in the cold Stern says it could be sped up if nuclear systems
nitrogen air at an altitude of more
can be used to increase the braking thrust so that
than 200 kilometres (124 miles).
Created from complex chemistry it slows faster. “The orbiter has to stop and not just
in the atmosphere, it’s said to keep fly by, so it will carry a lot more fuel and a different
Pluto cooler than expected. type of propellant that is much more efficient,” he
continues. “It would use a Saturn V-class launch
vehicle and a nuclear electric stage augmented by a
© NASA
Imaging of a faraway object

chemical propulsion braking system.”
On 1 January 2019, New Horizons
visited the most distant object As well as more instrumentation, higher
ever explored – the snowman-like communication rates are needed too. “With
asteroid 2014 MU69. Located in the New Horizons we intentionally sacrificed
Kuiper belt, It was recently renamed
communications bitrates to save money, and it
Arrokoth, and it showed a prominent
crater on the smaller of its two lobes allowed it to be affordable. But even in the
as well as troughs and hills. 1970s-era Voyager missions there were ten-times
higher data rates at the same distance, and today
22
A new mission to Pluto
The new orbiter will be equipped for a longer,
more in-depth analysis of the outer Solar System
Great weight A small spacecraft

The payload mass of the orbiter will be New Horizons was around
some 60 kilograms, which will make it the size of a grand piano
twice that of the current mission. In total planned orbiter will be a
m ss will likely be 2,339 kilograms – similar scale taken into space on
five time hhat of New Horizons. board a Saturn V-clas ehicle
Attractive traits Better

A magnetometer couldn’t be implemented mmunic on
on New Horizons for budgetary reasons, Asi m h ng
but it will allow the orbiter to gather data more than B of
about Pluto’s core. A mass spectrometer onboard storage, as
will sample the atmosphere. with New Horizons,
the communication
system for the orbiter
will make use of a large
dish antenna and a ten-
times more powerful
Additional fuel Map making transmitter for more
Most of the additional Radar will be used to frequent sending of
weight is due to the measure the depth of data back to Earth.
requirement of having a glaciers, while a thermal
greater volume of fuel to mapper will allow scientists
allow the orbiter to brake to understand how they
into Pluto’s orbit and are powered
powered. Lidars map
perform manoeuvres. even in the dark.
ing Charon
that the orbiter can leave the Pluto system
m
and explore the Kuiper belt, the mission is
© Adrian Mann
being designed to make use of gravity-assist

flybys of Pluto’s moon Charon, which means
no extra propulsion is needed.
we could do faster still – maybe 50 or 100-times as more than I’m sure there is roomm for on the
fast as New Horizons. next spacecraft, but there’s only a certain amount
“When New Horizons swept by Pluto, it took 16 of money.”
months to get all the data back. But with 50 or 100 He is definitely convinced of tthe merit of a
times the transmission power, we will be able to second stab at covering that particular area of
empty the data recorders every week and do so the universe, though. “Pluto and the Kuiper belt
again and again over many years. This won’t require can stand on their own two feet, and they are
a technological breakthrough because it was done enormously scientifically attractive, rivalling many
in those Stone Age 1970s.” other kinds of enterprises in planetary exploration,”
Even so, what is perhaps most daunting is he says.
that to get the mission off the ground, the “I’m ready to help make that next stage happen
team will still have to do some persuading and and use the mission to discover what’s on the other
keep within budget. “But that’s just the way life side of Pluto, find out more about the small satellites
works,” Stern reflects. “I’d like to have breakfast on the other side of Charon and answer questions
in bed every morning but I’m not going to get it, about geologic activity and the way Pluto has
© NASA
just as we won’t get everything we want in every evolved over time. Yet I can’t predict discoveries.
mission. We do have many ideas, and there are Only the universe will tell us what is out there.”
23
IN COOPERATION WITH
Focus on Ice fossils
Right: An artist's
impression of a
young, chaotic
planetary system
ICE FOSSILS
REVEAL CLUES
TO OUR PASTAn ancient space rock's artefacts have revealed tantalising insight
into the conditions of our early Solar System
Reported by Chelsea Gohd
cientists have discovered ice fossils, and the discovery is helping to illuminate
S ancient asteroid ice fossils that

could reveal what our Solar System
was like billions of years ago.
In a new study, scientists analysed a
how asteroids formed in the early Solar System
and what the materials that eventually formed our
neighbouring planets may have looked like billions of
years ago.
4.6-billion-year-old primitive meteorite, called The researchers discovered what they think are
Acfer 094, that crash-landed in the Sahara Desert the remnants of fluffy ice dust, or porous silicate,
in Algeria in 1990. A primitive meteorite is a rocky sulphide and organic material that make up "one of
remnant of the solar nebula, or the gaseous cloud the building blocks of planets in the Solar System
that some say condensed into the objects in formation model," Megumi Matsumoto, lead
the Solar System, that has fallen to Earth. Within author of the study, revealed. These fluffy ice-dust
the meteorite scientists found what seem to be remnants, also known as ultra-porous lithology, look
24
Ice fossils
© NASA/JPL-Caltech
like tiny "fluffy aggregates of silicate grains covered
with an H2O icy mantle," said Matsumoto. “In the early Solar System, swirling dust,
The pores in this material were likely created when
ice that previously filled the space disappeared, the gas and sometimes ice compacted and
team found. By finding the pores, they discovered
evidence of this ancient ice. formed objects”
In the early Solar System, swirling dust, gas and
sometimes ice compacted and formed objects
like rocky asteroids or even larger protoplanets –
astronomical objects about the same size of the it has remained a mystery how this ice got there,
Moon that are formed when planetesimals, or small Matsumoto said.
solid astronomical objects, combine. And some of The discovery of the asteroid ice fossils reveals
these small, newly formed protoplanets contained how primordial ice was "brought into and distributed
ice. As they grew they heated up, and that early to the meteorite parent body," Matsumoto said.
Solar System material they started with started to Using a model that simulated how Acfer 094 grew
melt and recrystallise. and how the planets in the Solar System formed,
These findings allow researchers to look back in the researchers determined that fluffy ice and dust
time at the material that eventually formed objects particles came together in bigger bodies beyond
like asteroids and the planets in our Solar System. the snow line – the distance from the Sun where it's
The study vastly improves scientists' understanding cold enough for solid ice grains to form – and then
of how those materials came to form those objects. migrated towards the Sun, Epifanio Vaccaro, curator
Researchers have previously identified interactions of petrology at the Natural History Museum in
between water and rocks that happened when London, said in a statement. As these bodies moved
ice melted in the larger objects that broke off inward towards the Sun, this ice started to melt,
© NASA
into objects like Acfer 094. However, until now leaving the ice fossils in its place, he said.
25
Interview Professor Chris Lintott
INTERVIEW BIO
Professor Chris Lintott
Chris Lintott is a professor of
astrophysics at the University
of Oxford, UK, and also the
principal investigator of the
Zooniverse. This is the world’s
most successful citizen
science project, with over
a million people worldwide
contributing to a variety of
science and history projects.
He has also co-presented
the BBC’s Sky at Night
programme, as well as
contributing to another
BBC astronomy programme
Stargazing Live. His latest
book The Crowd and the
Cosmos: Adventures in the
Zooniverse, explores the
world of citizen science
and what it has to offer to
enthusiastic volunteers.
26
"I'M THE WORLD'S MOST

DISTRACTED ASTRONOMER"
Citizen science is the backbone of astronomical discoveries. Professor Chris
Lintott speaks to All About Space about his popular project, the Zooniverse,
and how it’s continuing the tradition with great success
Interviewed by Lee Cavendish
How would you explain ‘citizen science’ to bad at teaching what science is actually like. I think distracted astronomer. We didn't set out to do
someone that isn't aware of it? people have this idea of proper science which this deliberately. We were just trying to solve an
I think to astronomers in some sense it's old news, probably involves somebody in a lab coat, probably astronomy problem. But it turns out that we're
because astronomers – of all stripes – have been with some purple, bubbling liquid. Or maybe it's not the only ones who have had this problem of
contributing to science for centuries. You can go a professor in front of a blackboard with some creating too much data. Pretty much as soon as
right the way back to the first studies of variable chalk and the word ‘eureka’. But the people who we launched the project, we started to get other
stars, or the people who kept an eye on storms build cameras for observatories are doing science. people approaching us. Now we've done all sorts of
on Jupiter in the 19th century, and you discover The people who literally grease the wheels of the things, from working with amazing microscopes to
that there were plenty of people who were well telescopes are doing science. The people who are historical texts and other things.
resourced and had telescopes in their backyard. online in the Zooniverse projects and looking at the I think my favourites, or at least the area that is
I remember growing up, realising that I was sort data for the first time are doing science. instinctively interesting, are the ecology projects.
of getting interested in astronomy at the time and Part of it is that science is this great collective Ecology is fascinating, partly because the science
that amateur [astronomers] were getting serious effort, and a lot of us can play a part in it. We don't is interesting, but I hadn't really realised it's a bit
about supernova hunting. People like Tom Boles have to be the person with the bubbling liquid or like astronomy in that it's a science where it's hard
and Mark Armstrong were discovering the first the person solving the equations to be a scientist. to do experiments. If I want to understand how
British supernovae. Citizen science is as simple I also think there's a promise in that when we ask galaxies merge, I can simulate them on a computer,
as the idea that anyone can do science, whereas people to look at galaxies on Galaxy Zoo or to look but I can't really crash Andromeda and Triangulum
what has happened now is that we all have for planets on Planet Hunters, or whatever it is, I together tomorrow and see what happens –
access to large data sets produced by professional think there's a guarantee that from us, we're going probably just as well. If I want to understand
astronomers and professionalised observatories. We to use those results. cheetah’s behaviour, yes, I can simulate them on a
need help sorting through the data, and that's really computer, but I'm not allowed to put a cheetah in a
the new thing that's happened in the last few years. Could you tell us a bit about the variety of the park with seven antelope and see what happens.
We've got professionals who have got so good at projects that are on the Zooniverse website? So you've got the same sort of problem. You've
collecting data that they are overwhelmed – that’s I usually describe myself as the world's most got a set of information that you've observed. There
where we need help.
A chapter in your book talks about the history

of crowdsourcing. Do you think it's evolved Left:
since the days of Edmond Halley crowdsourcing Lintott is
observation of a solar eclipse in 1715, or do you interested in
think it's been as strong as it ever was? how galaxies
There's some evidence in the 20th century where form and
science becomes professionalised. Towards the evolve, and
end of the 19th century, people started getting his PhD thesis
surrounded
paid to be astronomers for the first time. I think
the early
in the 20th century, cutting-edge science was a stages of star
bit more – not entirely, of course – but was a bit formation
more centralised towards professionals. In the 21st
century, because we built these communication and Right:
digital technologies, we’re back to the point where Lintott
everyone could communicate. I think it's an old believes that
idea, but with a very 21st-century spin on it. astronomy
and ecology
have
A term you use a lot in the book is ‘proper
similarities,
© NASA; ESA
science’. How would you define proper science?

using colliding
What I'm trying to say is that anything that galaxies as
contributes is proper science. I think we’re very an example
27
Interview Professor Chris Lintott
© NASA/ESA/The Hubble Heritage Team

“Part of it is that science is this great
an email to the team saying that I was not sure
we should be launching this project. I'm not sure
collective effort, and a lot of us can play

that we're going to find anything. But I'd talked
myself into launching it because if we fail, we'll
a part in it”
learn something about what we can and can't do.
Then pretty quickly after launch we had a couple of
candidate exoplanets, and Planet Hunters is still an
are all sorts of biases and so on, and the scientific enormous success.
trick is to make use of that information. Just as a personal high point, the projects we
did with Stargazing Live, where we set ourselves
When you look back over the last decade or so the challenge of producing results in two days. I
since Galaxy Zoo’s inception, what have been don't know how it comes across on camera. Dara
some major milestones in the project? [O’Briain] and Brian [Cox] are great fun, and it has
Day one of Galaxy Zoo was the most surprising day been good to do those things. But I didn't sleep for
of my life. We thought we were launching a tiny those two days.
project that a few thousand amateur astronomers
might help us with. I just remember sitting looking What are the advantages of having citizen
at the email inbox and realising that in the first scientists over using artificial intelligence?
half an hour of a project, we had got 20,000 There are a few. One of them is that there are
emails. Now, most of those emails said ‘your site still many places where humans are better than
isn't working’ because it was buckling under the computers. I just had a call with my PhD student
pressure, so day one was very important. Mike Walmsley, who's briefly in the book and who's
Getting the first Galaxy Zoo paper accepted was our artificial-intelligence expert. We were arguing
a big deal, because we had this idea that this had about why humans are better at finding bars in
to be real science – it had to be authentic science. spiral galaxies than his machine. And one of the
Source: Wikipedia Commons © Ilan Shimony
I had a quarter of a million collaborators whom I reasons is that our visual system is very good at
promised we would make use of this data, so being taking in information on different scales at once.
able to see other astronomers take on that data and Another answer is that people are distractible,
use it was good. which is sort of the theme of the book, I guess,
I think the moment I really realised that this that people can be distracted by the unusual and
wasn't going to be a flash in the pan was when the unexpected. Lots of the great discoveries have
Planet Hunters launched. I have a long track record come from when people have found things that
of being wrong about many things. This was one of they weren't expecting, or that we didn't ask them
the things I was wrong about. I remember sending to look for. And that goes all the way back to Galaxy
28
Zoo, but it's still happening today. The ability to about the Zooniverse like this, because it sounds What are your thoughts on making, for example
be doing one task, and then go “hang on. There’s a little callous, but one way of testing what we're Planet Hunters, into a game interface to try and
something weird here” is very natural and very doing with the Zooniverse is to think of it as a make it more interactive?
human. It's actually something that volunteers are black box. I think that it's an interesting route. There are
better at than experts. Experts have a hard-coded The Zooniverse is a black box that analyses people who've done this, but not particularly in
understanding of what they should be looking at. astronomical images. And if I brought that black astronomy. But my sense is partly fear. Writing a
box and handed it to my colleagues and said “this good computer game is really hard. I'd say writing
Do you think artificial intelligence will ever get will solve all your problems,” they would spend six a good game that also happens to find planets is
to a point where it is up to that standard? to nine months testing it to make sure it did what really, really, really hard, so partly we've avoided
I think that's an open question. My flippant answer they expected and so on. We have to do the same it for that. Also we found that people take part in
is that I’ve spent ten years with machine learning with the Zooniverse, even though the box contains these projects because they want to help. That
people telling me that if they had an afternoon, they 1.6 million people. It's the same sort of tasks that we was the big surprise early on. When we tried this
could solve these problems. And it always turns out have to do when we are building a new machine sort of thing, we found that people changed how
they can get 80 per cent of the way there. What learning algorithm and so on. they talked about the project. Instead, when you
we're really finding though is that because the data It's fascinating. We've looked at all sorts of things. don't make it a game, and specifically when you
sets keep growing, a combination of human and At one point we looked at whether there was a don't make it a competition, people talk about the
machine is really powerful. time of day, or time of the week, that people were project as something joyful and inspiring. Then the
For many of the problems that we're dealing with, better at classifying. I was slightly worried that it moment you make it a competition, they talk about
as the data sets get larger and larger, we definitely would come out that people were great at 11pm on it as if it's work. It becomes stressful. “I had to log on
need machine learning to do most of the work for a Friday, after a few beers. It turned out that it was this morning” as opposed to “I was excited to”.
us. There's no way we're going to cope with the pretty flat. Games are really powerful. As a species, we like
information that's coming from future telescopes The truth is that for most of our projects, playing games and competitions. I try and keep the
without machines doing the bulk of the work. But, most people are pretty good or become pretty two a bit separate and make sure that people know
if you take humans and put them in the loop, not good with experience. That’s useful, and we test that they're doing science. We're not seriously sitting
only do you get a better result by combining them, that. Partly we're doing it to make sure that we're in ranks all during our science work, but there is a
your machine can also do better. My bet is that we living up to this promise that people really are seriousness of purpose there that I think is really,
are going to have hybrid systems. making a useful contribution. really important.
A telescope you mention towards the end of the

Top left:
book is the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope
Zooniverse
(LSST), which is going to produce ridiculous participants The Crowd and the Cosmos:
amounts of data in just a single night. Do you are better at Adventures of the Zooniverse
have plans to collaborate and use this data for identifying
citizen science projects? bars in spiral Chris Lintott’s latest semi-autobiographical book tells a
The LSST is an amazing project. I've been involved galaxies than wonderful story of how volunteers have shaped the course of o
with it for most of the time I've been doing artificial scientific history. With the increase in artificial intelligence and
intelligence state-of-the-art telescopes, is this soon to end? Chris doesn’t
Zooniverse, and it's the first observatory that's
think so. In fact, the Zooniverse is needed now more than eve er.
planning, from the start, to have citizen science.
Left:
For astronomers using LSST data it will be really
Amateur
simple for them to connect to Zooniverse and talk astronomers
to our volunteers. have provided
There is an army of postdocs around the world important
building routines for their special subject, so if observations
you study Type II supernovae and you write good of the night
code, you will be able to get the LSST to give you sky for
more Type II supernovae than you've ever dreamed centuries
of. And that's cool. The problem is if you want to
Right:
be surprised.
20 terabytes
We have citizen science in the loop. We will
of data will
take the weirdest stuff that the machine doesn't be captured
understand and we will pass those to people. and stored by
There's some urgency, because one of the things the LSST
that's happening in astronomy is we're realising each night
things in the sky change faster than we expect.
I think we’re ready. We've got a solution. And
then I think the task will be to be as flexible as
possible. I haven't, for example, tried to bet on
which specific science cases will need citizen
Source: Wikipedia Commons © LSST Corporation
science in five years time with the LSST. I'm just

pretty sure there will be some.
In the book you talk about how astute you are

in assessing your contributors, and especially
with the Space Warps project. How much effort
goes into ensuring that valuable data is
assessed correctly?
It's a big effort, actually. I don't quite like thinking
29
Space heroes
These six men and women made groundbreaking
contributions to our understanding of the universe,
and their stories are often linked in surprising ways
Written by Giles Sparrow

© Getty
30
Space heroes
© DEA / G. Dagli orti / Getty
Galileo’s
planet:
Jupiter
Jupiter is the Solar
System’s largest planet.
Its volume is 1,321-times
larger than Earth’s and its
mass is 318 times ours.
It’s named after the

Roman god Jupiter, the
god of sky and thunder.
It’s the fourth-brightest

object in the sky after the
Sun, Moon and Venus.
Jupiter has 53 confirmed

moons, its four largest
being Io, Europa, Callisto
and Ganymede.
Galileo Galilei
The ‘King of the Solar
System’ has faint dusty
rings. They weren’t
The great Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo discovered until 1979.
inherited his interest in science from his musical
father. Vincenzo Galilei specialised in the lute, a The Great Red Spot on
distant relative of modern guitars, and was also a Jupiter is a storm that’s
musical theorist who used experimentation and large enough to engulf the
mathematics to identify a new law that correctly a card tube. Thanks to his talents for maths and Above: Galileo Earth. It’s been swirling
described the relationship between the tension experimentation, he soon found ways of improving clashed with for at least 300 years.
the Catholic
on a string and its musical pitch. Vincenzo’s on the basic idea. When he showed it to the
Church by
discoveries helped to inspire his son’s mathematical Venetian rulers, they offered to double his salary siding with It has the fastest rotation
approach to problems of ‘natural philosophy’ and and pay handsomely for the instrument itself. Copernicus’ in the Solar System,
foreshadowed Galileo’s own struggles to overturn Within a few months, the course of Galileo’s life heliocentric completing a spin in less
Solar System
outdated views of the world. was fatefully changed as he turned his telescope to than ten hours – fast
At age 17, Galileo became a student in the the sky and made a series of discoveries including enough to cause a bulge
University at Pisa, training in medicine at his mountains on the Moon, countless faint stars and at the equator.
father’s suggestion. He made his first great four small moons circling Jupiter. These findings
discovery – that a pendulum has a regular period undermined the traditional view that everything in It’s difficult to pinpoint
regardless of the width of its oscillations – while the universe circled Earth – Nicolaus Copernicus, when Jupiter was
watching a swinging lamp in Pisa Cathedral, a Polish priest, had suggested the idea of a Sun- discovered – being visible
and had soon turned it into a practical device for centred universe in 1543, but until now there had to the naked eye, records
measuring a patient’s pulse. After persuading his been no observational evidence to back it up. date back to the 7th or
father to let him pursue his interest in mathematics, Galileo’s account of his discoveries in his book 8th century CE.
he became a professor by the age of 25. The Starry Messenger turned him into a scientific
Throughout his life, Galileo was perpetually short celebrity, but from 1613 onwards his arguments
of cash. His father’s death left him responsible for in support of the Copernican model put him on a
his mother and three younger siblings – and later collision course with the Roman Catholic Church.
his own partner and three children. He boosted his Powerful connections helped to protect him at
income by taking in private students and selling his first, but an argumentative nature got him into
inventions, and later took a better paid job at Padua repeated trouble, and his 1632 Dialogue Concerning
in the Republic of Venice. It was here in 1609 that the Two Chief World Systems led to a trial before
he got word of an amazing new invention from the the inquisition and a sentence of house arrest for
Netherlands – the telescope. the rest of his life. Nevertheless, he continued to
Galileo immediately set out to make a telescope make important contributions to the foundations of
of his own, using lenses mounted at either end of modern physics right up until his death in 1642.
31
Space heroes
William
Herschel
No one knows quite when William became interested in astronomy, Right:
but his sister Caroline’s memoirs recall him discussing the night sky Herschel was
trained as a
with her on their journey to England. Shortly after their arrival, he
musician and
began building his own telescopes – at first simply by assembling joined the
lenses obtained by local glassmakers, but later, as his needs grew more army at just 14
demanding, by casting mirrors and building reflecting telescopes of years of age
his own design.
Eventually, William had instruments that were fit for his plans –
not just to observe the night sky, but to carry out detailed surveys in
search of comets and other undiscovered objects. His telescopes were
the best of their age, and his reputation soon began to spread. His
first project involved a systematic catalogue of closely spaced stars,
with William spending all his available nights at the eyepiece and
Caroline making careful notes. At the time most people assumed that
stars were randomly scattered through space, but the discovery of
numerous close pairs convinced him otherwise. There were too many
to be accounted for by chance alignments, so some of them at least
must be paired binary stars in orbit around each other.
In March 1781, William spotted the planet now called Uranus. When
he first saw the spherical bluish blob in the constellation of Taurus, he
assumed it was a comet – it was Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne
who began to wonder whether the unusually solid-looking object
might be a planet beyond Saturn. A few months later, continued
tracking of the object’s movement confirmed that it was indeed a
remote planet. Herschel suggested naming it George’s Star – after King
George III – and the king returned the honour by naming William his
personal astronomer and granting him a salary of £200 on condition Upper atmosphere haze
that he moved to Windsor, with an additional £50 for Caroline to work The highest parts of Uranus’ atmosphere
are thought to contain haze made up
as his assistant. The Herschels, both brother and sister, abandoned
of hydrocarbons that obscures features
their musical careers to become some of Europe’s first professional lower in the atmosphere.
scientists. They would go on to make countless other discoveries.
Inside Uranus Potential heat-

trapping layer
Planetary core Scientists have not
Uranus’ core extends to confirmed the existence
about a fifth of the planet’s of a layer around Uranus’
full diameter, and is made ice layer trapping heat and
of rock, ice and silica. Its making it appear cooler,
temperature is thought to be but one could have formed
around 5,000°C (9,032°F). during a giant impact.
Icy mantle
Atmosphere
This isn’t ice as we
know it. Uranus’ mantle Uranus looks bluish-green
is made up of a hot, through a telescope thanks
dense fluid scientists to the methane in its
refer to as a water- atmosphere. It also contains
ammonia ocean. hydrogen, helium, acetylene
and other hydrocarbons.
32
Space heroes
Henrietta
Swan Leavitt
Several remarkable female astronomers played a
key role in establishing our understanding of the
“His first project

stars in the late-19th and early 20th centuries, and
Henrietta Swan Leavitt was arguably the most
involved a
important of them all, laying the foundations for a
revolution in our view of the entire universe.
systematic
Leavitt was born in 1868 to a well-off
Massachusetts family. After displaying an early
catalogue
academic talent, she studied at Oberlin College
in Ohio and Harvard University’s Society for
of closely
the Collegiate Instruction of Women (later
Radcliffe College). Although she showed a talent
spaced stars”
for mathematics, she did not take a course in
astronomy until her fourth year of university.
After graduating in 1892 – without a degree
© Alamy
since at the time they were not awarded to
women – Henrietta pursued her newfound
interest in the heavens by applying to work at
her ‘period-luminosity relationship’ in a paper of
Harvard College Observatory. Here, astronomer
1912. The implications were huge: astronomers soon
Edward Charles Pickering was assembling a
realised that Henrietta’s stars were of a familiar type
team of women to catalogue and analyse data
known as Cepheids, and this meant that the relative
being gathered by the first photographic survey
distances of similar stars elsewhere in the sky could
of the sky. Work was often published under
be worked out.
Pickering’s name with little acknowledgement of
Henrietta succumbed to stomach cancer in 1921,
the women behind the scenes. Nevertheless, the
before the full implications of her work became
so-called ‘Harvard Computers’ would make huge
clear. Just four years later, Edwin Hubble found and
contributions to our understanding of the structure
measured Cepheid variables embedded in some
and evolution of stars.
of the mysterious ‘spiral nebulae’ that dotted the
Henrietta’s particular speciality was the
sky. He showed that they were fainter even than
analysis of variable stars – measuring how their
those in the SMC, and conclusively proved that the
brightness fluctuated between photographic plates
nebulae are actually galaxies far beyond the Milky
taken on different nights and trying to identify
Way. Today, Cepheids remain a vital rung on the
patterns. However, her career was somewhat
cosmic-distance ladder used to measure the scale of
intermittent, with frequent breaks for travel, family
the universe.
responsibilities and for the good of her delicate
health and overstrained eyesight.
It was in 1904 that she turned her attention to
new plates sent from the observatory’s Southern
Hemisphere outpost at Arequipa in Peru. These
images showed the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC)
– a crowded clump of stars near the southern Milky
Way. Here, Leavitt found and analysed more than
1,770 new variable stars. Among them, she spotted
16 with a distinctive cycle of changing light that
suggested they were related.
In a 1908 paper reporting her discoveries, she
noted that among these stars, the brighter ones had
longer periods. Because stars in the cloud could be
assumed to lie at the same distance from Earth,
their apparent brightness in photographs would
be a reflection of their true physical brightness, or
‘luminosity’, something that wasn’t true for stars
randomly scattered elsewhere in the sky.
After identifying several more stars to
© NASA
© Getty
conclusively prove the link, Henrietta published
33
Space heroes
Einstein’s
greatest
letters
A letter sent to U.S.

President Franklin D.
Roosevelt, signed by
Albert Einstein, details
© Lucien Aigner / Getty

uranium as a new and
important source of energy
in the “immediate future”
Albert Einstein
© Rimonda Miara / Getty
Above: Born in Ulm, southern Germany, in 1879, Albert PhD and consider the questions that he was really
Einstein is Einstein would become the most famous physicist interested in.
best known
of the 20th century, introducing revolutionary In 1905, Einstein stepped into the limelight with
for his work
surrounding ideas that transformed all of science – and the publication of not one, but four groundbreaking
the speed astronomy in particular. scientific papers. One provided long-sought-after
Albert Einstein pens a of light and Einstein showed his remarkable talents from direct proof of the existence of atoms. Another laid
romantic letter to Russian relativity
spy Margarita Konenkova an early age, reading widely and mastering tricky the foundations for what would become known
Right: mathematical fields such as algebra and Euclidean as quantum physics, but it was the other two that
Eddington geometry before he was a teenager. However, transformed our view of the universe itself.
© Menahem Kahana / Getty
made crucial the young Albert grew restless with the dull Einstein’s breakthrough came from confronting
observations
of stars around curriculum and regimented teaching methods, and questions about the speed of light, which always
the Sun during eventually ditched school entirely, completing his seemed to be the same regardless of the relative
a total eclipse education in Switzerland some time later. motions of the light source and the measuring
After graduating from the Federal Polytechnic device. Physicists had put forward many possible
This signed letter dates back School in Zürich, Einstein was frustrated in his explanations for this troubling phenomenon, but
to 1928 and concerns the search for a teaching post of his own. Eventually, all relied on it being a kind of illusion, and none of
formalisation of the ‘Third
after taking Swiss citizenship – also a way of them were satisfactory.
Stage of the Theory of
Relativity’ avoiding German military service – he found Einstein, however, dared to ask if the speed
employment at the Bern patent office, in a job that of light really is constant, regardless of relative
© Jacques Demarthon / Getty
left him with plenty of spare time to work on his motion. He showed that the consequences for
everyday life would be unnoticeable, but that in
‘relativistic’ situations, with an observer and an
“Einstein showed his object or light source moving at near-light speed
relative to each other, strange effects would occur.
A letter signed by Albert

remarkable talents from From the observer’s point of view, objects at
near light speed appear to become shorter and to
Einstein to Ernst Gabor
Strauss about the unified
an early age, mastering experience time more slowly.
Further consideration led Einstein to conclude
field theory
tricky mathematical fields” that accelerating objects already at relativistic
34
Space heroes
Cecilia Payne
speeds will tend to increase their mass rather
than their speed – since the speed of light itself is
unreachable – and this led in turn to the famous
equation E=mc2.
Einstein’s ideas were hugely influential, but
Albert himself was already pondering the next big
Gaposchkin
question. So far he had only formulated a ‘special It was while studying at Newnham College, Cambridge, in 1919 that
theory of relativity’ where the observer and object her interest in astronomy was ignited by a lectu
ure from Sir
moved at high relative speed, but did not accelerate Arthur Eddington on Einstein’s new science off general
or decelerate. He now realised that acceleration relativity. Determined to follow her newfound passion
p
was effectively the same as being in a gravitational after leaving Cambridge, she applied to Harvard
field, so a description of ‘general relativity’ would College Observatory. Alongside images of the sky, the
also automatically be a description of gravity itself. Observatory’s catalogue also included the spectra
Einstein’s theory of general relativity, when it of countless stars, made by spreading out starliight
emerged, showed that the presence of large masses according to its wavelength and capturing it on
n
can have effects similar to those seen in special photographic plates. These rainbow-like bands were
relativity, distorting our measurements of time and usually crossed by a variety of dark ‘absorptionn
space. However, its publication in 1916, as Europe lines’ – chemical fingerprints created by the light-
tore itself apart in the First World War, meant it absorbing properties of various elements somehow
was widely overlooked. associated with the stars themselves. The goal of
It was only in 1919, following the return of peace, her PhD thesis would be to explain exactly howw.
that astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington was able to One of the most puzzling aspects of stellar spectra
journey to Africa and make crucial observations was the huge variety in the strength and numb ber of
of stars around the Sun during a solar eclipse. their absorption lines, implying great variation in
These revealed the effect we now call gravitational the elements they contained – by proper appliccation
lensing in the form of a slight distortion in the of the equation, Cecilia was able to show that m most
measured positions of the stars as light is deflected of this variety was due to differences in the surface temperature of Above: Payne
due to the Sun’s distortion of nearby space and the stars, not to their composition. Higher temperatures strip away anaylsed the
spectra of stars
time. Einstein was proved right, opening the more of the electrons from around atoms in a star’s atmosphere, and unlocked
way for a new era in physics, and eventually for leaving ‘ions’ with increasingly positive electric charges that interact the secrets
powerful new astronomical techniques that make differently with light escaping from the star’s surface. of stellar
use of his discoveries and predictions. Applying these principles to the atmospheres of various stars, composition
Payne showed that they contained similar amounts of relatively heavy
elements such as silicon, carbon and oxygen to those found on Earth.
Source: Wiki © Brocken Inaglory
But there was a troubling discrepancy when it came to the lightest

elements: helium and especially hydrogen seemed to be vastly more
abundant in the stars than they are on Earth.
Throughout a long and distinguished career spent entirely at
Harvard, Cecilia was able to see the fruits of her breakthrough in
understanding the composition of stars. Understanding that they are
predominantly made of hydrogen is the key to understanding the fuel
source that powers them, the conditions inside them and the various
tracks along which they can evolve during their lifetimes.
The evolution
of stars
Helium
core
fusion
He fusion (He = C)
Source: Wikipedia © Smithsonian Institution
Helium Hydrogen
Hydrogen core
shell fusion
core
fusion Hydrogen core
(H = He)
Hydrogen shell
35
Space heroes
Katherine Johnson’s
Johnson
Apollo 11
c
Katherine grew up in the southern United States at a time when

racial segregation was commonplace and opportunities for African
Americans were in short supply. In 1952, Katherine learned that the Memory (ROM) of the
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was looking to Apollo guidance computer,
in kilobytes
hire mathematicians. At first she was assigned to the group of black
women ‘computers’ who did the number-crunching to analyse data
gathered from NACA’s research aircraft. Her particular talent was soon
recognised, however, with a temporary posting within an all-male, all-
white team at the Flight Research Division that became permanent.
After the surprise launch of the Soviet Union’s Sputnik satellite The first of several 1202 and
1201 computer alarms began
in 1957, chaotic early US attempts to play ‘catch up’ culminated in a
to sound when Armstrong
wholesale reorganisation of NACA to form the nucleus of the current ignited the descent engine
NASA. Racial and gender segregation were done away with, while on der
the Flight Research Division was renamed the Space Task Group and
was charged with putting American astronauts into orbit ahead of the
Soviets. Katharine was therefore in the right place at the right time
to play a key role in the early US space effort. As well as working on
Alan Shepard’s Freedom 7 suborbital flight in 1961, she co-authored
work on the precise placement of satellites in particular orbits and the Early versions of the Sony
relationship between a spacecraft’s re-entry point and its landing site. Walkman portable cassette
Despite machine-based calculation fast becoming the norm at recorders were flown on the
Apollo missions
NASA, the early ‘Mercury 7’ astronauts were reluctant to put their lives
entirely in the hands of technology, and John Glenn famously asked
for Katherine to manually recheck the calculations before the launch
of his Friendship 7 spacecraft on the first US orbital mission.
Johnson continued to work at NASA until her retirement in 1986.
She considered her proudest achievement to be the calculations The diameter of the Saturn V
needed to sync the Apollo Lunar Module with the orbiting Command
Module. She also helped devise a method of ‘navigation by the stars’
that allowed the astronauts of the crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft to
time the precise engine burn needed to return them safely to Earth.
In 2015, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by US
President Barack Obama, while the following year, her story, along Weight of satellites launched
© NASA
with those of other black American women at Langley, was chronicled by Apollo in kilograms
in Margot Lee Shetterly’s book Hidden Figures.
9. Lunar Module
How we launched for the Moon 6. Apollo 11 swings
into lunar orbit
leaves Moon’s
surface and
12. Command Module 11. Command docks with the
positions for re-entry Module separation Command Module
through the Earth’s
atmosphere
7. Lunar
13. Splashdown Module
in Pacific 5. Final section
separation
Ocean of Saturn V
1. Apollo 11 descent
jettisoned
launches from engine ignites
Kennedy Space
Center, Florida 4. Command Module (CM)
docks with Lunar Module (LM) 10. Lunar Module
2. Spacecraft jettisons and rocket
enters Earth 3. Rocket burn sends mission out of orbit burn starts for a 8. Lunar Module touches
orbit and heads straight for the Moon return to Earth down on the Moon
36
User Manual Solar Orbiter
The main
challenge facing
the Solar Orbiter
mission is
having to guard
against the
rays of the Sun,
so engineers
have specially
designed a black
heat shield
© ESA
USER MANUAL
Solar Orbiter
Early 2020 will see the launch of an ambitious mission to observe
the poles of the Sun for the first time ever
THE SPECS In February 2020, the European Space Agency’s Unfortunately, because this ball of plasma is so
(ESA) highly anticipated Solar Orbiter will launch powerful and unpredictable – capable of producing
Launch: February 2020 from Cape Canaveral in Florida on top of an Atlas V events that could potentially harm us on Earth,
Launch site: Cape Canaveral rocket. Although this mission is led by the ESA, it let alone a nearby spacecraft – it is very difficult to
has had strong contributions from NASA, including investigate up close. Several missions have tried to
Air Force Station, Florida the launch site and rocket. This is one of the understand the beast, with honourable mentions
Launch rocket: Atlas V 411 missions that constitutes the ESA’s Cosmic Vision to other NASA/ESA missions Ulysses and the Solar
programme, and will investigate the only star in and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), but even they
Target: Sun
our Solar System, the Sun. Not only is it equipped were not enough. There is still so much mystery
Operator: ESA/NASA with ten state-of-the-art instruments – designed to surrounding the Sun’s heliosphere, the solar activity
Programme cost: investigate everything from coronal mass ejections that is the driving force for solar wind and CMEs
(CMEs) to the solar wind – it will also conduct the and their variability. Now the ESA is launching this
£520 million ($672 million) first-ever observations of the solar poles. new-and-improved investigator to probe the Sun in
Components: Multiple The cosmic generator that sits at the centre of the unprecedented detail.
Height: Three metres (9.8 feet) Solar System is not only surrounded by everything The Solar Orbiter, which is abbreviated as ‘SolO’,
from the tiniest asteroids to gas giants several will provide both remote and in-situ observations
Diameter: 18 metres (59 feet) times larger than Earth, it is also heavily shrouded courtesy of an extremely elliptical orbit. This
in mystery. One huge mystery that has had solar elliptical orbit will be created after a series of
scientists scratching their heads for years is the gravity-assist manoeuvres of Earth and Venus,
Sun’s corona. This outer region can be as much as taking the spacecraft to an aphelion – the distance
1.7m (5.6ft) average 300-times hotter than the ‘surface’ of the Sun, called at the object's farthest point – of 170 million
human height the photosphere. It is comparable to taking your kilometres (105 million miles) and a perihelion –
hand away from a fire and feeling it heat up. It is a its closest point – of 42 million kilometres (26
complete cosmic conundrum. million miles).
“Not only is it equipped with state-of-the-

art instruments, it will also conduct the
18m (59ft) first-ever observations of the solar poles”
38
Solar Orbiter
Anatomy of a Sun skimmer

These instruments will probe the Sun and its environment up close, far away
and from a whole load of angles
Heliospheric Spectrometer Telescope for Extreme Ultraviolet

Imager (SoloHI) Imaging X-rays (STIX) Imager (EUI)
By imaging quasi-steady Imagery and spectroscopy of the Sun’s X-ray emissions EUI will image the
flow and solar wind will provide quantitative data about accelerated star’s layers outside the
disturbances, SoloHI particles and thermal plasma, mostly associated with photosphere in order
will be able to provide flares and microflares. to determine the link
pinpoint measurements between the solar surface
of coronal mass and the corona.
ejections (CMEs).
Polarimetric and
Helioseismic Imager (PHI)
PHI will provide line-of-
sight velocity maps and the
photospheric magnetic field in
order to probe the star’s interior,
including its convection zone.
Solar Wind Plasma

Analyser (SWA)
This instrument consists of
multiple sensors that will
completely characterise
the solar wind while in
orbit, including density,
velocity and temperature.
Energetic Particle Detector (EPD)

The sources, acceleration mechanisms and
transport processes of energetic particles
will be determined by measuring their
composition, timing and distribution.
Radio and Plasma Wave analyser

Magnetometer (MAG) Coronagraph (Metis) (RPW)
The magnetometer will provide high- This will provide images of the corona This will offer both in-situ and remote
precision, in-situ measurements of the in different wavelengths – such as observations of magnetic and electric
© Adrian Mann
heliosphere magnetic field and how it visible, ultraviolet and extreme- fields. This will hopefully reveal important
evolves in a solar cycle. ultraviolet – simultaneously. properties about the solar wind.
39
User Manual Solar Orbiter
The spacecraft At its perihelion the Solar Orbiter will be a third

began the first closer to the Sun than Earth is and will experience
phase of solar heating 13-times greater than any satellite
thermal currently in orbit around the blue marble we call
vacuum our home planet. This presents engineers with
testing back in the difficult task of having to protect the entire
December 2018 spacecraft against the intense rays of the Sun.
Engineers have devised a series of radiators, multi-
insulating layers and a black heat shield which is
capable of withstanding temperatures up to 500
degrees Celsius (932 degrees Fahrenheit) as the
craft makes a close approach every six months.
During the seven-year nominal duration of
the mission, every year or so the spacecraft will
use Venus for a gravity assist that will gradually
increase its orbital inclination. It will separate from
the relatively flat plane in which the planets orbit
© ESA
the Sun and will begin transitioning to an angle
How the Solar Orbiter will

observe the Sun's poles 2 Two years later
The first Venus gravity assist
to provide inclination will be in
September 2022, over two years
after the craft was launched.
1 After the first year Mercury
By November 2021, SolO will
have conducted two gravity
assist manoeuvres around
Venus and one around Earth in
order to achieve its orbit in the
inner Solar System.
Solar Orbiter trajectory

Venus
Earth
5 Ten years later

If the mission enters its
extended mission duration of
3 Five years later ten years, Venus will continue 4 Seven years later
In 2025 SolO will perform its to catapult the spacecraft to Once the nominal mission
fourth flyby of Venus in order an inclination of 34 degrees. duration is completed, which
to take its inclination up to is seven years after launch, the
17 degrees. This is a similar spacecraft will have reached
inclination to Pluto’s orbit. an inclination of 25 degrees.
40
Solar Orbiter
Head-to-head HOW TO…

that will allow it to observe the poles of the Sun.
This will continue until it reaches a 25-degree
inclination after the seven years. If the spacecraft
is still operating and capable of performing further Solar Orbiter vs Protect a
science, the SolO team will shift it to 34 degrees
over the following three years using a series of Parker Solar Probe spacecraft
Venus gravity assists. From this angled vantage
point scientists could have a better chance at
These two missions are following slightly
different paths with slightly different mission
from the Sun
understanding the solar dynamo – the physical objectives. The Parker Solar Probe was
process that produces the Sun’s magnetic field –
and how this magnetic field swaps poles every 11
designed to withstand radiation 475 times the
intensity than at Earth, as opposed to the Solar
1Knowing the enemy
The spacecraft will be in the midst of an
extremely harmful environment. There will
years. This pole reversal causes the solar cycles, Orbiter withstanding 13 times the intensity. be unbearable temperatures and radiation
which determine the level of solar activity. In terms of dimensions, the Solar Orbiter is a peppering the spacecraft, so a set of precautions
In August 2018 NASA launched its Parker Solar much larger piece of equipment, with a height are needed in order to protect it.
Probe, which is trying to accomplish a similar feat. of three metres (9.8 feet). Once the solar panels
This spacecraft is also getting up close to the Sun, are spread out, it reaches a wing span of 18
but much closer. This mission is diving into the metres (60 feet). The largest part of the Parker
Sun’s corona. At its closest approach the Parker Solar Probe in comparison is the hexagonal
Solar Probe will be six-times closer to the Sun carbon-composite heat shield, which is 2.3
than SolO will ever be. However, the Parker Solar etres (7.5 feet) in diameter.
Probe will not be swooping over the star’s poles.
© ESA
This provides an interesting and potentially very
fruitful opportunity for scientists to co-ordinate
Solar Orbiter
observations with the two missions in an attempt
to truly understand the Sun’s corona. 1,800kg 2The first line of defence
The heat shield will guard against direct
radiation, which will come in handy when the
spacecraft is at its perihelion. This heat shield will
be facing the Sun at all times during its orbit, so it
“It will transition to Parker Solar Probe
will be constantly bombarded.
685kg
an angle that will
allow it to observe
the poles”
Vital statistics
20
© ESA
TOP TECH
Radio and Plasma
Wave analyser (RPW)
99.9 Percentage of the
Solar System’s
3Multi-layer insulation
As the name suggests, the spacecraft is
coated in multiple layers of material that will
Per cent matter in the Sun
allow the contents to be guarded against
temperatures that reach as high at 500 degrees
The uniqueness of this instrument is that it can
4
Celsius (932 degrees Fahrenheit).
provide remote and in-situ observations, so when
SolO orbits the Sun every six months, constantly
shifting between closer than Mercury and farther
away than Earth, RPW can gain valuable data no
matter where it sits. million Matter converted
into energy by the
Using a series of antennae and sensors, this tonnes Sun per second
instrument will provide high-resolution data of the
6
solar magnetic and electric fields. This investigation
© ESA
will help study the solar wind that permeates

throughout the Solar System and poses a potential The time taken
threat to Earth – frying the electronics of satellites
in low-Earth orbit and astronauts on board the Months
for SolO to orbit
the Sun once 4High-efficiency radiators
Some of the Sun’s rays are inevitably going
to be absorbed, and this could cause a problem
International Space Station.
if it heats up the spacecraft and its instruments.
20
Waste heat will be rejected using high-efficiency
radiators, which are directed towards cold space.
Ultra-thin layers of
titanium on heat
shield’s outer layer
1.8
tonnes
The mass of the
Solar Orbiter
© NASA
spacecraft
© ESA
41
Future tech The Von Braun Space Station
STATION
Bored of city breaks and cruises? 2025 could see the
construction of the first hotel in low-Earth orbit
Maximum occupancy
The Von Braun Space Station
will accommodate between
350 and 450 people, with a
magine substituting sandy beaches the Arthur C Clarke novel 2001: A Space Odyssey crew of around 100 included
I for space when it comes to choosing

a holiday destination. This is the
ambitious idea of a private company
through to Ridley Scott’s 2015 film adaptation of
Andy Weir novel The Martian.
To bring this idea into a real-life platform is
in that figure.
known as the Gateway Foundation, which has daring, daunting and dramatic. Alatorre has
announced plans to build a hotel in space as early as outlined that the Von Braun Space Station will be
2025, partnering up with another company, Orbital both a laboratory for scientific research among
Assembly. The Von Braun Space Station will be a international space agencies and a destination
doughnut-shaped, rotating spaceport, and senior for space tourists. It will accommodate up to 450
design architect Tim Alatorre has stated it will be guests, with new people coming every week,
like “going to Disney World”. all while housing appropriate living quarters,
Its namesake Wernher von Braun was a former gymnasiums, restaurants, bars and all the usual
Nazi rocket scientist who after World War II became facilities a top-of-the-line hotel would have.
an influential figure for the United States’ space All this will reside within the
programme, developing the rockets that eventually confines of a 190-metre (620-foot)
took the first humans to the Moon. The idea of a wheel, which will spin to create
spinning, circular space station was not thought
up by von Braun, but he was certainly a popular
advocate of it. This brought about the attention
of Walt Disney, and the two of them would create
artist impressions of this hypothetical space station.
This idea has also been very popular within
science-fiction movies, being depicted throughout
generations, from Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film of
Safer space construction

The space station will likely be
constructed in space using drones,
© Adrian Mann
robots or other semi-autonomous

processes to avoid potentially
harmful spacewalks by astronauts.
42
The Von Braun Space Station
artificial gravity. Instead of having to be strapped commercial aerospace companies, such as SpaceX. will need to carefully plan the pressurised modules
to a wall to sleep in zero gravity, which is what Low-cost launches make space construction to handle the constant temperature changes to
astronauts on board the International Space Station financially feasible, and by using the same ensure the guests are comfortable.
(ISS) do at the moment, you’ll have a comfy bed to technologies developed for previous space stations, The creation of this space station holiday
lay on. There also won’t be any zero-gravity-related there isn’t the need to create anything new. destination would mean that guests going into space
complications when using the toilet. Alatorre has However, there are still plenty of hurdles aren't astronauts who have spent years undergoing
said in previous interviews that he hopes the Von to overcome before such a project can begin intense training to live in space. Astronauts have also
Braun Space Station will be operational in 2025, and construction. For starters, there are consistent and shown that the body can undergo changes living in
completed in 2027. extreme temperature changes for stations in orbit reduced gravity, meaning there are definitely some
Alatorre has stated that the Gateway Foundation as the constant, rapid revolutions around Earth lead serious health precautions to the general public that
feels it now has the potential to make this dream to them lying either in the dark and cold of Earth's need to be considered before such a getaway can
a reality due to the recent successes of other shadow or in direct sunlight. The station's designers be planned.
Constant arrival Creating gravity

New guests could arrive once, or A rotating-wheel space station
possibly even twice a week, spending induces artificial gravity, creating
a couple of days or a couple of weeks conditions similar to Earth.
in the space hotel.
The real experience

There will be areas with
zero gravity for guests to
experience the wonder
of weightlessness.
43
Mars’ oxygen
MYS TERIES
OF
TH E
UNIVERSE
© Alamy
44
Mars’ oxygen
The Curiosity rover has been

To explain, over the course of some six years,
scientists have worked out that the Martian air is Mars’ make-up
amassing data that shows an mainly made up of carbon dioxide, which accounts
unexpected change in the Red

for some 95 per cent by volume. The rest consists
of molecular nitrogen (2.6 per cent), argon (1.9 per 95%
cent), molecular oxygen (0.16 per cent) and carbon Carbon dioxide
Planet's O2 Reported by David Crookes monoxide (0.06 per cent), with the presence of
nitrogen and argon proving constant and following a
C
uriosity has been trundling across the predictable seasonal pattern relative to the amount
surface of Mars since 2012, revealing a of carbon dioxide in the air.
lot of detail about the Martian climate The level of oxygen, however, is showing a very
and the Red Planet's geology. So far the different and surprising pattern. According to a study
rover has proven to be invaluable in showing that headed by Melissa Trainer, a planetary scientist at
Mars could have once sustained life. It has uncovered NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt,
evidence of ancient persistent water flows, Maryland, oxygen levels have been seen to rise by as
discovered organic carbon in rocks and found two much as 30 per cent during the Martian spring and
forms of radiation that could pose potential health summer before dropping back in the autumn. What's
risks to astronauts. But its work continues to astound more, when the scientists looked at the data over
and confound. three Martian years, each of which lasts 687 days,
In November 2019, scientists revealed the results
of a study of Curiosity's data that had been gathered
they found that the pattern repeated itself each time.
Scientists are now trying to discover why. <2% <1%
directly above the surface of Gale crater, the rover's “The proportion of oxygen is found to rise in the Argon Other
landing spot. Estimated to be as old as 3.8 billion
years and 154 kilometres (96 miles) in diameter, its
summer by as much as a third above its predicted
value of about 1,300 parts per million by volume,” >2%
a significant area, but on this occasion the focus has explains Sushil Atreya, a planetary scientist at the Nitrogen
been on the detected levels of oxygen – in particular
its baffling, fluctuating behaviour.
The theories Why is oxygen surging on the Red Planet during spring and summer?
Molecules are breaking Solar radiation is breaking Martian soil is The oxygen is being
apart in the atmosphere up oxygen molecules holding the secret produced by aliens
One of the first considerations It's one thing to work on the issue The most likely explanation Oxygen is associated with life,
by scientists was the possibility of a surge in oxygen and another is that hydrogen peroxide or and it can be produced by living
that carbon dioxide (CO2) or to account for why in autumn perchlorates within the dirt of organisms such as microbes.
water (H2O) molecules could be the levels fall back to what is Mars are behind the surge. Therefore there is a chance that
breaking apart in the atmosphere predicted. It was thought that Both are a source of oxygen, oxygen is not being produced
and releasing oxygen. This has solar radiation could be breaking and it is possible that heat and from the air or rocks and that a
now been ruled out because the oxygen molecules into two humidity could draw it out biological chemical reaction is
five-times more water would atoms and that these were during the spring and summer. taking place instead. It would be
be needed, while CO2 breaks subsequently being blown into This would need to happen on the most exciting explanation,
up too slowly to account for the space, but such a process would a large scale, but it is certainly a but it’s one being ruled out – for
surge in levels. take many years. strong possibility. now at least.
45
MYSTERIES OF
THE
UNIVERSE
Mars
by the numbers
6,794Diameter in kilometres –
around half that of Earth
687Number of Earth days in a

Martian year
0.375
© NASA/JPL-Caltech
The strength of gravity
when compared to the
Earth standard
2
Number of Martian moons
Above: When
Curiosity
found rocks
containing
manganese-
oxide
materials on
University of Michigan and part of the scientific
team. “On the other hand, nitrogen and argon – both
of which also have a long lifetime on Mars – behave
normally.” Indeed, the top reported rise of oxygen
was equivalent to an extra 400 parts per million,
and this was detected by the quadrupole mass
the atmosphere is due to ultraviolet light reacting
with carbon dioxide and water vapour to break
those molecules into their components. Chemical
reactions then cause the oxygen to form carbon
dioxide, creating a cycle. But if this was to account
for the rise which scientists have observed from
-62.80
spectrometer instrument on board the Sample Curiosity's data, then the process would need to be
Mars in 2016,
it suggested a Analysis at Mars (SAM) – a portable chemistry lab far more rapid.
once-higher inside Curiosity. Likewise, there would need to be five-times as
Average temperature on Mars abundance of “The presence of oxygen in the atmosphere of much water above Mars to account for the increased
free oxygen on Mars can be attributed to the chemistry between levels of oxygen. As such, scientists believe a more
6
the Red Planet the main gas of the atmosphere, carbon dioxide, and likely source of the oxygen is hydrogen peroxide or
a smaller component, water vapour, together with perchlorates which exist on a widespread level in
energy from the Sun,” says Atreya. the Martian soil. If it’s the former, it would point to
“Numerical models of the past several decades deep, underground sources of oxygen of a sufficient
had predicted that oxygen levels in the atmosphere amount to account for a spike, and yet the evidence
Number of Mars-sized of Mars should remain constant throughout the is that there is not such an abundance.
planets it would take to fill year because the lifetime of the gas against all As for the perchlorates, NASA’s Viking 1
Earth's volume known loss processes is fairly long, far exceeding and 2 spacecraft detected these toxic, stable salts
the length of a year on Mars. It was a bit jarring to composed of chlorine and oxygen when landing
45
Missions launched to Mars
since 1960
discover that wasn't the case.”
There is a possibility that microbial life is
behind this surge, since oxygen can be produced
biologically. If this was the case then the
explanation would be incredibly exciting, but
on Mars in 1976, and an experiment showed that
heat and humidity could release oxygen. Yet the
conditions under which that research was carried
out were not the same as Mars in the spring, and so
no firm conclusions can be made.
scientists are leaning more towards an abiotic Even so, in 2009 the Phoenix lander discovered
19
source, which means the surge is likely down to that perchlorates made up between 0.4 and 0.6 per
chemistry that is related to water and rocks. cent of a collected soil sample, so there is a good
Unfortunately there is no known chemical chance that oxygen could be released under a set of
process that easily accounts for the observations. conditions, perhaps when cosmic radiation breaks
Scientists know that the 0.16 per cent of oxygen in them down. Quite why the oxygen levels drop in
Number of successful missions autumn is just as mystifying, though – something
in that time seems to be removing it from the air. The gas is also
“Oxygen is found to rise in
25
soaring and plunging randomly. If cosmic radiation
really was to account for the spike each year, then
the summer by as much it would have to be happening at a faster rate than
scientists believe it to be.
The height of the tallest as a third above its “The observed oxygen rise requires a source in
the surface,” Atreya tell us. “The atmosphere does
Martian mountain, Olympus
Mons, in kilometres predicted value” Sushil Atreya not produce the increase. At least three potential
46
Mars’ oxygen
Ice caps
Mars has two permanent polar ice caps
that are a mixture of water ice and
Inside the Red Planet
How is Mars' composition
Thin atmosphere
Mars' atmosphere is 100-times less dense
than our own planet's and is 95 per cent
carbon dioxide ice – carbon dioxide carbon dioxide and 2.7 per cent nitrogen.
being one carbon and two oxygen contributing to the atmosphere? There are tiny traces of argon, carbon
atoms. Carbon dioxide ice vaporises in monoxide and oxygen.
summer and freezes in winter.
Deep in the dirt Methane and oxygen

Hydrogen peroxide – Curiosity has found traces
which can decompose of methane, which surges
into water and oxygen in the summer, as well
gas – is found in the as rising oxygen levels in
Martian soil alongside the spring and summer.
perchlorates, which Methane appears to be
also contain oxygen. released from distinct
Martian regions.
Rusty surface
Since the Martian soil
contains iron oxide, a
product of the reaction
between iron and
oxygen, it lends a rusty Liquid iron-
colour to the surface sulphur core
of the planet. The Mars appears to
dust is blown into the have a molten
atmosphere, colouring silicate outer
the sky too. core. A gravity
map released by
NASA in 2016
provided strong
Surround mantle evidence of this by
Beneath the crust is the mantle, Solid inner core allowing scientists
comprising of silicon, oxygen, iron and At the heart of Mars is a possible solid to analyse tides
magnesium. Scientists have concluded inner core made of iron, nickel, sulphur present in the
that the upper mantle is more oxidised and perhaps even oxygen. Since the core is mantle and outer
than the deep interior. static, there is no planet-wide magnetic field. crust of the planet.
non-biological reservoirs exist in the surface:
Atmospheric constituents
perchlorates, hydrogen peroxide and the rocks
oxidised by water or brine in the past when Mars
was presumably wetter and warmer, or even today.
It appears pretty challenging to dislodge large How Mars' gasses are fluctuating through its four seasons
amounts of oxygen from rocks, however.
When carbon dioxide – the most abundant gas in the Martian atmosphere – freezes over the poles
“On the other hand, the other two sources look of Mars, pressure drops across the hemisphere. Pressure rises again when the polar caps melt and
promising for the excess oxygen. The devil is going CO2 is released. In both cases, gases are redistributed so that they are equalised from hemisphere to
to be in the details, as it’s not just the increase hemisphere. Scientists should, therefore, be able to predict the proportion of molecular nitrogen, argon,
in oxygen in summer, but also its decline in late molecular oxygen and carbon monoxide in proportion to carbon dioxide.
summer and autumn back down to the levels
Carbon dioxide – annual average Argon – annual average 1.9 per Carbon monoxide – annual
predicted by atmospheric chemistry models which
95 per cent by volume: The cent by volume: Behaves as average 0.06 per cent by
must be understood.” But that's not the end of it.
barometric pressure on Mars expected, again following the volume: Tracks the season trend
As if the situation wasn't mysterious enough, the cycles as carbon dioxide freezes pressure changes, with a delay in argon, but some divergence
extent of the rise has been shown to vary year after and is re-released from the polar and a seasonal variation of ten from the seasonal trend merits
year. “The amount of the summertime increase in ice caps. per cent. further investigation.
oxygen varies somewhat from one Mars year to
the next,” says Atreya. “Is that surprising? What’s Molecular oxygen – annual
Molecular nitrogen – annual average 0.16 per cent by Methane – annual average
surprising is that oxygen increased at all. The year- average 2.6 per cent by volume: 0.00000004 per cent by
to-year fluctuations seem to reflect fluctuations in volume: Significant seasonal
Behaves as expected, following variability that changes year to volume: Undergoes a seasonable
the mechanism behind the increase.” the pressure changes caused by variation by a factor of ~3 from
year. There can be a spring and
And yet oxygen is not alone in showing such carbon dioxide fluctuations, with 0.24 to 0.65 parts per billion
summer spike of as much as 30
seasonal fluctuation. Methane inside Gale crater a delay and a seasonal variation per cent. by volume.
also rises in the summer and falls in the autumn, of ten per cent.
and it does so by as much as 60 per cent. This was
47
MYSTERIES OF
THE
UNIVERSE
discovered by SAM's tunable laser spectrometer,
which has done a fine job in picking methane up,
given that the quantity is a tiny 0.00000004 per
cent on average. Scientists wonder if there is some
Gale crater seasonal variations
sort of correlation between the behaviour of oxygen
and methane, with the general hunch being that it
1.4 OXYGEN ABOVE
will indeed be the case. PREDICTION PREDICTED
“Both gases increase in summer, which makes
OBSERVED
Oxygen mixing ratio

me think the same mechanism that triggers the
release of oxygen also causes methane to be 1.2
released to the atmosphere from its subsurface

reservoir, discounting the occasional spikes seen in
methane,” says Atreya. “Oxygen and methane show 1.0
a similar trend over part of the year, but some gaps
remain in the data.“ OXYGEN BELOW
As such, it's not proving to be a straightforward 0.8
PREDICTION
case to solve, but some potential problems can at
least be ironed out. Tests on Curiosity's instruments SPRING SUMMER AUTUMN WINTER
have shown that they are not malfunctioning.
“Multiple tests of the instrument and testbed Mars seasons (northern hemisphere)
experiments in the lab showed that SAM is working
properly,” says Atreya. But, in terms of methane at
least, only the rover is detecting methane. Go higher
in the atmosphere, well away from the ground, and
methane is not being picked up.
Indeed, the European Space Agency's Mars
Express passed over Gale crater five hours after
Curiosity observed a surge in methane of 21 parts
per billion by volume and found none. And even
Curiosity has found moments when the level is less
than one part per billion, making the amount of
methane practically bereft.
Given that the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter
has also struggled to measure methane and yet
© NASA/ESA
Curiosity points to it being persistently present, it's
going to take a while yet to figure this one out, let
alone work out whether or not there is a connection.
Mission profile
Meet the spacecraft keeping an eye on Mars
Mars Science Laboratory Viking landers Mars Scout Program ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter
Curiosity measured the gases Two Viking landers carried out In 2008, Phoenix landed on Mars to Put together by the ESA and
in Mars' atmosphere using the biological experiments in 1976 in a assess habitability and the history of Roscosmos, this mission has sought
quadrupole mass spectrometer bid to find biosignatures that could water on the planet. It found that the a better understanding of methane
instrument in the Sample Analysis at point to microbial life. They were Martian soil contains perchlorates, and other atmospheric gases that are
Mars portable chemistry lab, with the abl to measure the gases in Mars' which are charged particles that present around Mars. Its orbiters did
data showing the amount of oxygen atm h re, but only over the consist of an atom of chlorine not see the methane burst detected
rises in spring and summer, although
h course of a Martian
Ma days, which surrounded by four oxygen atoms. by Curiosity, however, even though it
not rel tive to w much carbon was nowhere near e gh
g to study As an oxidant, perchlorates can was recorded at its highest level yet
dioxide there is in the air. seasonal fluctuations. release oxygen. back in June 2019.
©
©
NA
So Don
Ad
SA
©
ur D
ria
©
/JP
ce av
ES
nM
: W is
L-
A
Ca
an
iki
lte
n
ch
48
Mars’ oxygen
Quickfire
questions
Do any of the environmental
factors explain the seasonal
behaviour?
No. None of the environmental
factors, including surface and
air temperatures, water vapour
and humidity and dust or UV
at and above the surface can
explain the observed seasonal
behaviour in oxygen.
How does Mars' atmosphere

compare to Earth’s?
Here on Earth, we have a
dense atmosphere made up of
five layers: the troposphere,
the stratosphere, the
mesosphere, the thermosphere
and the exosphere. Mars'
atmosphere is one per cent of
ours and so it's very thin.
Has Mars' atmosphere

always been thinner
than Earth's?
Studies suggest that Mars
once had an atmosphere as
thick as Earth's, but that gases
have been lost to space over
“I don’t rule out biology on time, with ions getting picked
up by the solar wind. Mars
Mars either, but that should be © NA
SA/JP
used to be warm and wet
rather than incredibly dry and
considered as the very last resort, L-Ca
ltech
/ESA
cold as it is today.
only if all else fails” Sushil Atreya Can humans benefit from
Mars' atmosphere?
Yes. There has been a lot
Left: When
Going back to the oxygen, however, there is a points over the equivalent of six Earth years, which of thought given to using
this image
suggestion that there is a source in the near-surface makes it hard to see what is happening day by day. carbon dioxide, which is in
was taken by
that interchanges with the atmosphere. “As with any new finding, especially an Curiosity in great abundance within the
Does it rule out life? “Either biology or geology unexpected one, you want to repeat the June 2019, atmosphere, for the creation
can generate oxygen and methane,” says Atreya. measurement to be certain,” says Atreya. “Except the largest of rocket fuel that would
“On Earth, biology is by far the dominant process, that on Mars, one has to wait two years for the amount of power humans back from any
and I don’t rule out biology on Mars either, but that same season to roll around again.” methane gas future manned missions.
should be considered as the very last resort, only if Even so, no one can say for certain whether the had been
all elsse fails. It’s absolutely essential to rule out the phenomena being seen at Gate crater will apply detected
© NASA/ESA
abiotiic processes first.” across the whole of the Red Planet. It could only
Above: The
To do that, it's clear that more studies will need apply to specific areas, and that's something the
data which
to be made, and there will be missions in the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter hints at, given it can't shows a surge
futuree that should help scientists make headway. detect methane. in oxygen
“Continued measurements with SAM at the surface Atreya is wary of jumping to conclusions, though, during spring
of Maars will also fill in some gaps in the data, while and he says this current study should be a warning and summer
laboraatory studies and electrochemical modelling for those searching for alien life. “The recent was taken
would d be important in untangling the exciting new Mars findings further reinforce the importance of from within
resultts,” Atreya says. “Work is ongoing in all areas, continued exploration of the Solar System using the Gale
and future missions should pay close attention to state-of-the-art technology,” he says. “They are also crater
proceesses that might be happening beneath the a reminder to avoid the temptation of declaring the
Right:
surfacce of Mars.” presence of life if and when oxygen and methane
Mars has a
Forr a better set of results, oxygen and methane are detected together on an Earth-sized extrasolar lot of as yet
readin ngs could be taken more regularly. The planet with surface liquid water in the habitable unexplained
scientists
scient were working on the basis of 19 data zone of star. Be ultra-cautious!” activities
49
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Chaotic universe
Do inally
ina lly have a andle on c e
– nd how it inff ces orl nd u
Reported by Colin Stuart
© Tobias Roetsch
52
Chaotic universe
it comes to survi g in s
can be erence
e nd death. As adian
astronaut Chris Hadfield said: “A
as o doesn’t sweat the small stuff is a
dead stronaut.” That may be the case for human
space tr , but astronomers are increasingl
suspecting he same mantra also applies to the
wider univers When it comes to the cosmos, it
seems chaos the is ki
Chaos theory tra s its origins way back to th
19th century. French p ymath Henri Poinca was
attempting to win a prize f 2,500 crowns th
of a professor’s yearly salary – offered up b
Oscar II of Sweden and Norwa to celebr his 6
birthday. To win you had to predi the bits of t
planets. Isaac Newton’s work on gra lows you
to foretell the future positions of two gr tationall
intertwined objects with clockwork precis Yet
throw a third object into the mix and that a
ishes. Poincaré failed to solve this ‘three-bo
m’, but was awarded the prize nonetheless
im rtant insights into why it is such a thorny
und to crack.
Russia athematician Sofya known as the ‘butterfl effect’. In the 1960s Loren
Kov kaya also carried out was using computers to t and predict weather
rtant work on the problem. patterns on Earth, but he fo d that the outcome
The puzzle is difficult because was wildly different even thou it looked as
even the smallest changes in a he was modelling the same situat each time.
system with many moving parts Further investigation revealed that t y roundin
can lead to huge differences later errors in the values fed into the compu blew
down the line. That, in a nutshell, into major differences in the predicted for ast
is the essence of chaos theory. Today Lorenz gets the lion’s share of the credit,
“We wouldn’t have chaos theory if but Mary Cartwright and John Littlewood analysed
we didn’t study planetary orbits,” chaotic patterns in radio signals during World War
says Dr Paul Sutter of the Flatiron Two. To this day chaos theory places a limit on
Institute in New York. how far into the future we can accurately predict
American mathematician the weather. Chaos theory makes meteorology an
and meteorologist Edward imperfect science.
Lorenz compared it o Mathematicians have been studying chaos theory
of a seagull’s g affecting ever since Lorenz’s insights. Somewhat counter-
the w er. He later switc intuitively, they have found that chaotic systems are
metaphorical creature to a not as unpredictable as they first seem. “It helps us
terfly, and to this day it is still o identify patterns, key elements, hidden rhythms
d orders in systems that are not normally
rent,” says Sutter. Period doubling is just one
exa ple. In a chaotic system, the time it takes for
att rn of behaviour to repeat increasingly grows
to twi as long as before. Eventually the behaviour
es so ng to replicate itself that the system
ears l ing in an underlying order – it looks
53
Chaotic universe
chaotic. However, there is method in the madness if you know where but there could be an underlying
to look. In 1975 American mathematician Mitchell Feigenbaum, one of mathematical order that reveals
the pioneers of chaos theory, discovered that the ratio of the points at the likelihood of forming the kind
which the period doubles increasingly approach the number 4.6692… of stars suitable for sustaining
as the system becomes more chaotic. This number is now known as habitable planets. In turn that
the Feigenbaum constant in his honour. could point us to the appropriate
Applying chaos theory to the cosmos could help us to explain how corners of the nearby universe to
© Hulton Deutsch / Getty

the Earth came to be the life-hosting planet it is today. The Sun was search for alien life. The creation
one of many stars formed when a vast cloud of interstellar gas and of new stars is often studied by
dust collapsed around 5 billion years ago. “Tiny little changes in that creating very complex computer
gas cloud can lead to very big changes in the population of stars that simulations. “Chaos theory gives
form,” says Sutter. An extra little clump of dust here, a tiny bit of extra us a mathematical tool to help us
spin there and the Sun could have been a very different star, or even Above: French get a handle on what’s going on,” says Sutter.
not have formed at all. Star formation may look like a chaotic system, mathematician Why is our Solar System a good place for life to
Henri Poincaré
emerge, evolve and thrive? Our cosmic backyard
was one of
the first to looks serene today, with planets neatly drifting
grapple with around the Sun in well-behaved orbits and relatively
“It helps us to identify patterns, key chaos theory few unstable asteroids left to careen into them.
Yet today’s peace and quiet belies a tumultuous
elements, hidden rhythms and youth. “We suspect that a lot more planets formed
around the Sun and some of them were on chaotic
orders in systems” Paul Sutter orbits,” says Sutter. Tiny changes in their speed
Applying chaos to the weather

The mind-bending theory helps us to get more of a handle Eyes on Earth
on our planet’s complex atmosphere Many satellites in orbit have been
launched to view our weather from
above and on a grander scale.
Our complex systems
The Earth’s weather system is
incredibly complex, with many
different particles interacting in a
variety of ways.
Jet streams
These fast-moving
channels of air
affect the weather in
different parts of the
world depending on
their speed, latitude
and movement.
Temperature, pressure
an nd speed
Chaos solves the weather n s all variations in temperature,
Chaos theory attempts to explain pressu or wind speed can build up
underlying patterns in this seemingly into b ifferences elsewhere on
random maelstrom of data. pl t.
54
Chaotic universe
Chaos theory
in real life
It thrives across the universe – and also
crops up in some everyday examples
Heart vs head
Parts of the human body may exhibit chaotic
patterns. There’s some evidence that arrhythmia –
when your heart beats out of rhythm – may occur
in a chaotic way. It’s possible that our brain activity
has chaotic tendencies, with some suggesting that
electroencephalograms show it in action.
The natural world

Chaos is rife in the animal kingdom. Biologists
studying the Canadian lynx have found that their
population grows in a chaotic way. Small changes
in food supplies, mating habits or the spread of
diseases can become magnified into big differences
in animal numbers.
Bless your cotton socks

In 1963, Polish mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot
found recurring patterns in data on cotton prices
from 1900 onwards that suggest they vary in line
with chaos theory. They didn’t follow the famous
‘bell curve’ as a lot of data sets tend to.
In a jam
Often traffic jams can seem to clear suddenly and
without any obvious cause. Tiny changes to the
flow of cars can build into sizeable log-jams that
vanish almost as soon as they arrive.
Make codes harder to crack

Cryptographers – those responsible for setting and
deciphering codes – are big users of chaos theory.
A message is scrambled and unlocked using a series
of keys, and some computer-based encryption
methods – including online image encryption –
utilise chaos maps to construct those keys.
Up to the job?
Even the labour market hasn’t escaped the scrutiny
of chaos theorists. The way we work, apply for jobs
and move between companies could well follow
chaotic patterns. Insights could lead to better
decisions and a more streamlined workforce in
the future.
Taking stock
The ups and downs of the stock market are
notoriously hard to predict. That’s why the adage
to success is “time in the market rather than timing
the market”. It may be possible that chaos theory
could reveal hidden patterns in the lightning-fast
trades on the world’s exchanges.
Better understanding babies

The chaos in our lives starts early. Researchers have
shown that they can better understand the warning
signs of a condition called fetal hypoxia – where
© Tobias Roetsch
a developing fetus is starved of oxygen – if they

model the situation using chaos theory.
55
Chaotic universe
Orbiting the 22.1

24.5
Sun chaotically Towards Vega Extent of
Earth’s tilt and eccentricity alter axial tilt
over cycles lasting tens of change in
41,000
thousands of years years
Towards Polaris
Orbit now
Spin axis in
13,000 years
Orbit in
Spin axis now 400,000 years
and positions would have been amplified into considerable effects. Below: As for subscribers to the Rare Earth hypothesis – the
Eventually they either crashed into other planets – just such an event the smallest notion that so many factors have to be just right
planet,
is thought to have formed the Moon – or were jacked up onto such for life that living planets like our own are few and
Mercury
steep orbits that they were ejected from the Solar System entirely. is most very far between.
“Only the ones born in good places at good times get to stick around,” susceptible Yet even the chaos in our Solar System is still not
Sutter summarises. Working out what constitutes a good place or good to the effects complete. Over a human lifetime the path of the
of chaotic
time is key in hunting out habitable worlds in other solar systems.
ti planets is predictable, but tiny interactions between
changes
omers have spotted a whole host of weird-looking solar worlds can build up to sizeable changes in the
s, including a planet that orbits its star in the opposite direction future. Just as the weather forecast begins to break
neighbours, probably because its orbit became so inclined that it down over timescales of more than a week, we can
pped right over the poles of the star. This work is a shot in the arm only predict the orbits of the planets for the next
40 million years or so – an astronomical heartbeat
compared to the 4.6 billion years it has been around
so far. It wouldn’t take much to upset the whole
system, and one planet is particularly susceptible to
the ensuing melee. “There’s a chance that Mercury
could be ejected entirely,” says Sutter. The orbit of
the Solar System’s smallest planet is constantly
shifting round. The point at which it reaches its
closest approach to the Sun – its perihelion – moves
by 1.5 degrees every millennium. Jupiter’s perihelion
is moving too, and if the two ever get into the same
rhythm then that could spell the end of Mercury.
There’s a one to two per cent chance its orbit
will be seriously disrupted in the next few billion
years. It could be ejected from the Solar System, or
worse it could smash into the Earth. An inner Solar
otic universe
“Chaos theory gives s a
© Universal Pictures
mathematical tool t hel
t’s
going on” Paul Sutter
System without its first planet would itself become Below: Star
unstable. That could lead to Mars and Earth nudged forming
into a calamitous collision. It just shows how much
regions – such Why is chaos
as the Eagle
chaos theory matters. Nebula – could theory important?
We already have some evidence that the be governed by
chaos theory Solving it could help us unlock
astronomical furniture can be significantly
the secrets of the universe
rearranged. Nearly a decade ago, astronomers
What is chaos theory?
spotted the first ‘rogue’ planets – worlds jettisoned
Chaos theory is a branch of mathematics that
from their home systems to
deals with patterns that repeat in complex
wander the emptiness of space that you end up with a solar system that looks more like ours if you
systems. Often small changes in the system
alone. There could be one Jupiter- start with five giant planets instead of four. Except we don’t have a
can soon grow to make a big difference later
sized orphan for every four stars fifth giant planet now. Either it went rogue or it is still languishing
down the line.
in a galaxy like our Milky Way. in the backwaters of the Solar System. That’s because astronomers
Five per cent of Earth-sized increasingly suspect there is a ninth planet marooned far beyond
Can it predict the future?
planets would be able to cling Neptune. This ‘Planet Nine’ could well be a failed rogue planet that
Not quite. With some systems – like a single
onto any moons as they exited was unable to exit the Sun’s gravitational clutches entirely.
planet orbiting a star – it is very easy to work
their system. Ejected planets Even if the chaotic Solar System doesn’t set us on a collision course
out where the planet will be at any given
form a big part of our best model with our neighbours, it could still have telling consequences for our
time in the future. Yet as soon as you add a
of the formation of our Solar climate. In 2017 researchers studying layers of rock in the Niobrara
third object that reliable behaviour becomes
System. Astronomers running Formation in Colorado found a key piece of evidence that Earth and
unstable and much harder to predict. Chaos
computer simulations discovered Mars interacted in an unusual way nearly 90 million years ago. At the
theory is all about looking for hidden patterns
to get a better handle on future behaviour.
Didn’t chaos theory appear

in Jurassic Park?
It did. Jeff Goldblum’s character Ian Malcolm is
obsessed with chaos theory and predicts that
it will be the downfall of the dinosaur park.
In one scene in the jeep he uses droplets of
water on the hand of paleobotanist Dr Ellie
Degler to explain the theory.
Could understanding chaos help us with

future tech?
It may be instrumental in effective quantum
computers, which work by trapping and
manipulating atoms using lasers. Those atoms
move around chaotically, and understanding
how that happens is important in being able
to keep the atoms where you want them.
Could artificial intelligence (AI) help us?

Quite possibly. Earlier this year scientists
trained a type of AI called a neural network
on nearly 10,000 versions of the ‘three-body
problem’. It learned how to solve some of
©NASA/ESA
the test cases more effectively than a brute-

force approach.
57
Chaotic universe
© Tobias Roetsch
time there was a sea running through the middle
of North America, and sediments falling to the sea “We suspect that a lot more planets
floor were compressed into the rock seen there
today. A team led by Professor Stephen Meyers of formed around the Sun – some on
the University of Wisconsin-Madison found a
difference in the clay levels between the layers of chaotic orbits” Paul Sutter
rock laid down over millions of years. A warmer,
©NASA
wetter climate leads to more clay being flushed receive, particularly in summer and winter when
into the sea from rivers than when the weather is we are leaning towards and away from the Sun. If
drier. Alternating layers indicating wet and then small changes build up in a chaotic way, this cycle
dry climates were stacked up in a such a repetitive may get out of rhythm. Equally, the Earth’s axis
fashion that Meyer concluded there must be some moves around as our planet is wrenched by the
cyclical phenomenon driving the changes. He Sun and Moon, tracing out a circle every 26,000
points the finger at Mars and its ability to change years or so. In the 1920s Serbian scientist Milutin
the eccentricity of Earth’s orbit. Eccentricity is a Milankovitch combined all these effects and their
measure of how much a planet’s orbit deviates regular effect on the Earth’s climate, suggesting we
from a circle. Any changes to this key value would go through periodic changes called Milankovitch
change how much warmth the Earth receives from cycles. They too may be susceptible to chaos. Top: The Moon
formed when
the Sun and provoke the knock-on climatic effects As we move into a future where human-made a chaotically
that come with that. It would also make our seasons climate change is going to bite harder and harder, it disrupted
unequal as the Earth would spend more of the year has never been more important to understand the planet smashed
into Earth
in one part of its orbit than another. full range of factors that can influence the way our
The Earth can be affected in other ways, too. atmosphere receives, stores and transports energy. Above: A er
The tilt of our axis can vary under the gravitational A better understanding of chaos theory goes hand underst din
influence of the other planets. Right now we lean at in hand with more accurate climate models and a of ch al
us accurately
23.4 degrees from vertical, but that varies between better picture of how tiny changes in the layout of
dict climate
22.1 degrees and 24.5 degrees over a 41,000-year the Solar System can translate into big effects on
cycle. This also changes the amount of sunlight we our already-warming planet.
58
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59
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Spaceports
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60
Spaceports
P
ut yourself in the era of the 1950s and With this incredible increase in commercial
1960s: space is a place exclusive to activity in space, there has also been an increase in
government agencies as the United spaceports to accommodate such busy timetables. A
States and the Soviet Union lock spaceport isn’t much different from an airport, but
horns in the Space Race. Fast forward 50 years and instead of putting things into the air, these ports
space is now open to anyone and everyone, and are sending objects into space. There are two types
commercial aerospace companies are making a real of launches that set off from a spaceport, one being
surge forward in making space tourism a real thing, a vertical launch, which launches a classic two- or
no longer in the realm of science fiction. three-stage rocket, or a horizontal launch, which
Three major players in the game are SpaceX, Blue sends a spacecraft up to an altitude of roughly
Origin and Virgin Galactic. All three are owned by 15 kilometres (nine miles) on a jetliner before it
their respective billionaire entrepreneurs Elon Musk, detaches and continues its journey into space.
Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson. These three In 1963 there were 50 successful orbital launches
companies are on the verge of offering flights into from five different spaceports, including the United
space for the average person – if they can afford States’ Vandenberg Air Force Base in California,
the luxury – and the 2020s will undoubtedly see Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia and the Kennedy
amazing milestones in this area. There are also Space Center in Florida, as well as the Soviet
many other aerospace companies around the world Union’s Kapustin Yar Cosmodrome and Baikonur
looking to capitalise on the commercial space Cosmodrome, now in Kazakhstan. Compare that
industry, launching their own satellites into space to 2018, where there were 112 catalogued launches
without needing help from government rockets. from 22 different locations all over the globe. Only
three of these spaceports launched humans into
low-Earth orbit, but it is important to outline the
increase in accessibility around the entire world.
© Nicholas Forder
61
Spaceports
The United Kingdom is also now looking to entire budget. With a plan like this constrained by
create its first spaceports, with the introduction tightened purse strings, the space agency has called
of a vertical launch spaceport in Sutherland, for the intervention of private companies to take
Scotland, and a horizontal launch spaceport in over presence in low-Earth orbit.
Cornwall, England. This development is stirring This call has been answered by multiple
a lot of excitement around the country as it has aerospace companies looking to make their
great potential to improve the local economy and presence known in space, and in doing so they
increase the national revenue from the space are working hard to bring this experience to the
© NASA
industry. “It is only recently that the demand for people. One of the companies ready to make
small satellite launches has been growing quickly. its mark in space is SpaceX, which has evolved
Five years ago the UK government recognised that national security, to maintain technological remarkably under the leadership of Elon Musk.
the UK builds a large proportion of the world’s small leadership, enable international competitiveness and This company has formed and developed a
satellites, yet cannot launch them,” Melissa Thorpe, provide inspiration for students and development of great partnership with NASA through multiple
head of engagement at Spaceport Cornwall, explains our aerospace workforce.” cargo launches to the ISS using SpaceX’s Falcon
to All About Space. “The ability to have a sovereign NASA and Russian Roscosmos have been at the 9 reusable rockets. Boeing, another American
launch capability and grasp the market will allow forefront of manned space exploration since aerospace company, is also going to send astronauts
the UK to realise 10 per cent of the world’s space the 1960s, having settled the Space Race with a soon as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew program.
economy. We will be providing a horizontal launch continuous presence in low-Earth orbit on board SpaceX has performed a majority of its
capability for the small satellite market with our the International Space Station (ISS) along with launches from the Kennedy Space Center, but
partner Virgin Orbit, and we are in discussions greater international collaboration. As of 2018 is in the process of building the SpaceX South
with several other leading space companies for NASA has outlined that it wants to return to the Texas Launch Site at Boca Chica Village in Texas.
future projects.” Moon, sending the first woman and returning a Assuming SpaceX is granted a spaceport license
But there is so much more to a spaceport than man, with another eye on visiting Mars. NASA has by the FAA, the company could soon be launching
just its launch capability. As the former head to do this on a $22.6 billion (£16.9 billion) budget, its next-generation heavy-duty reusable rocket –
of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) which is only 0.48 per cent of the United States’ the Starship. This spacecraft and booster rocket
commercial space office, George Nield, said: “Instead
of just viewing spaceports as locations from which
launches and reentries are conducted, I think it’s “The UK builds a large proportion of the
also important to recognise that they can serve as
focal points and technology hubs.” world’s small satellites, yet cannot
“How many spaceports do we need?” Nield
continued. “As many as it takes to ensure our launch them” Melissa Thorpe
Above: Dennis
Tito (left) was
the first space
tourist to
fund his own
spaceflight
in 2001
Left: Baikonur
Cosmodrome
has been the
home of all
astronauts
launching to
the ISS since
NASA’s Space
Shuttle retired
© NASA
62
Spaceports
The present and future of spaceports

With the rise of space tourism and commercial spaceflight, spaceports are popping up all over the globe
7
4
5 3 8
1 9
6
10
SpaceX South Texas Launch Site, United States Spaceport Sweden, Kiruna
Also known as the Boca Chica Launch Site, SpaceX has had great
1 2 Active in the development of commercial manned spaceflight
support from the Texas state government and will continue with since 2005, Sweden’s contribution to the commercial space
the construction of the spaceport and apply for an FAA license industry is its Spaceport Sweden, located in Kiruna in the Arctic
upon completion. Circle, which will hopefully accommodate Virgin Galactic.
Blue Origin West Texas Launch Site, United States

3 4 Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
As New Shepard continues to climb to new heights, Blue Origin This Russian-leased spaceport has been launching astronauts
will use its FAA-licensed launch site in the West Texas plains and tourists for decades now, being the launch site used to send
to continue to test and improve the world’s first fully reusable astronauts to the ISS. Roscosmos will continue to launch from this
vertically launched space vehicle. spaceport in the foreseeable future.
Spaceport America, New Mexico, United States Hawaii Air and Space Port
The world’s first spaceport built for purely commercial operations
5 6 Hawaii is looking to improve its economic diversity by introducing
is the new home of Virgin Galactic, who has recently announced a spaceport at Kona International Airport, and it may introduce
its ‘Gateway to Space’, a beautiful communal area customers will suborbital point-to-point flights to the mainland United States
use prior to their spaceflight. that will shorten journey times for island commuters.
Spaceport Cornwall, United Kingdom Portugal Space, Santa Maria

Spaceport Cornwall will accommodate horizontal launches.
7 8 Portugal looks to crown its newly formed national space agency
It will start with Virgin Galactic’s sister company Virgin Orbit with the country’s first spaceport in the Azores, which may
launching small satellites. However, it will have great facilities to potentially be let out to space tourism companies such as Virgin
accommodate space tourism adventures. Galactic and Sierra Nevada.
Al Ain Airport, United Arab Emirates Arnhem Space Centre, Australia

The UAE Space Agency has big plans for space exploration
9 10 Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA) is looking to build and operate
and space tourism in the coming years, and it will be Australia’s first commercial spaceport in the northern region of
looking to use Al Ain Airport in a partnership with Virgin the country. This will allow orbital and suborbital access to space
Galactic to perform spaceflights. for the country.
© Getty
63
Spaceports
What it takes to
be a spaceport
The criteria for a spaceport is centred around
the safety of operations with respect to its
surrounding area
Airspace activity
Spaceplanes need a segregated
airspace away from regular
© Virgin Galactic 2019

aeroplane traffic, as these planes are
continuing to a different altitude.
combo is 50-metres (164-feet) tall and is capable of Above: Virgin

transporting passengers to the Moon and Mars. Galactic and
Under Armour
In September 2018, Musk announced that recently
someone has already bought tickets to the Moon showcased
on board SpaceX’s Starship. Japanese billionaire the spacewear
Yusaku Maezawa, founder of Zozotown, will take a for private
astronauts
translunar flight as early as 2023. Neither Musk or
Maezawa revealed how much the flight cost, and all Below right:
that was divulged was that Maezawa has already SpaceX’s
Starship could
made a substantial downpayment.
provide travel
SpaceX also has plans to make Starship a to the Moon,
point-to-point suborbital flight to destinations Mars and other
all around the world. In a promotional video destinations
posted by SpaceX in September 2017, it showed
passengers boarding a Starship rocket that would
take them from New York to Shanghai in just 39
minutes. In July 2019 it was also reported that
the European Space Agency is drafting plans to
start operating suborbital flights from Spaceport
Impact on the environment
Cornwall that could start offering journeys from the
The impacts in this case consist of the
UK to Australia that take just 90 minutes. This is a
air and noise quality, as well as the
journey that would conventionally take roughly 20 storage of fuel and other materials.
hours by aeroplane.
Nield has stated that these kinds of suborbital
point-to-point flights should start with short-
distance journeys to nearby spaceports. But there
needs to be a collective and overarching policy
for everyone to adhere to. “We can articulate and “I think it’s also important to recognise
document and then communicate this vision in a
new policy,” he said, pointing out that this whole that spaceports can serve as focal points
process could lead to a new office of spaceports
with the help of the FAA. “If we can get that up and and technology hubs” George Nield
running with the appropriate resources, staff and
funding, that office could be a huge benefit in terms Shepard was jettisoned to a personal-record altitude 11-minute vertical flight, tourists will be able to
of being a focal point and an advocate.” of 106 kilometres (66 miles) while carrying 38 experience weightlessness for four of those minutes.
Blue Origin will offer a unique experience, as science experiments for various organisations, After the event is concluded, the entire set-up can
passengers are jettisoned to the edge of the Earth including NASA. After the launch the rocket made be refuelled, reconfigured and reused – and that will
to gaze upon its awe-inspiring curvature for prices a safe vertical landing and the capsule was gently make the cost a lot cheaper.
yet unknown. Jeff Bezos’ team reached some placed on the West Texas plains. When it is fully The third billionaire space-tourism enthusiast
major milestones during testing of the reusable, operational, this unique 18-metre (60-foot) rocket is Sir Richard Branson with his Virgin Galactic.
vertically launched New Shepard rocket-capsule will take six people beyond the imaginary line This offers an entirely different option of space
pairing in 2019 at its FAA-licensed West Texas of space known as the Kármán line, which lies at tourism to SpaceX and Blue Origin. Virgin Galactic
suborbital test launch site. On 2 May 2019 New 100 kilometres (62 miles) in altitude. During this aims to take its passengers to space using the
64
Spaceports
Prime location What to

The spaceport needs to be located away from
densely populated areas. Normally they are Favourable
expect
situated on a coastal area in case of explosions
or falling debris. It needs to be within travelling
weather when flying
distance for employees. This is more
of a lottery, Departure
but it doesn’t Horizontal and vertical
hurt chances in launches are very
choosing a place different. Horizontal
that experiences launches will be flown
better weather. to high altitudes before
detaching from the aircraft
carrier and continuing
the journey beyond the
Kármán line. Vertical
launches will be the same
as astronauts have been
experiencing for decades,
with the intense burst
of power shooting craft
towards the heavens. The
launch could arguably be
the most enjoyable part
for thrill-seekers.
Inflight experience
Virgin Galactic and
Blue Origin will offer
the views of space, the
curvature of the Earth
and weightlessness for
about six and four minutes
respectively. SpaceX’s
space tourism trip to the
Moon is an endeavour that
takes days. This prolonged
visit to space will have
effects on the human
body and its vestibular and
proprioceptive systems,
leading to feelings of
Runway requirements nausea and disorientation.
In order to conduct horizontal
launches, a spaceport is required Landing
© Nicholas Forder
to have a runway extending up to
roughly three kilometres (1.9 miles). Horizontal landings
wouldn’t be too dissimilar
to an aeroplane landing
on a runway. However,
a vertical launch would
lead to being parachuted
down in your capsule into
© SpaceX
reusable SpaceShipTwo spaceflight system, with a desert, where you’d be

the current operational model referred to as VSS collected and returned.
Unity. This craft performs a horizontal launch from
Virgin’s spaceport using a custom-built aircraft Arrival
carrier called WhiteKnightTwo. When the launch Suborbital flights to the
same destination don’t
vehicle reaches an altitude of 15 kilometres (nine
require a passport, as
miles), SpaceShipTwo will detach and finish off the you’re not crossing any
journey beyond the Kármán line. borders. However, point-
This adventure has appealed to plenty of to-point spaceflights will
require your passport,
people already, and reportedly over 600 people
for example on SpaceX’s
from 60 countries have already placed deposits to New York to Shanghai
be one of the first of Branson’s high-flyers. The spaceflight. Returning
fare for such an adventure is to be within the from the ISS or the Moon
may require you to fill
region of £200,000 ($250,000) for the 90-minute
out a customs declaration
spaceflight. It’s a hefty price, but you could find form, as even the Apollo
yourself sitting next to some celebrities that astronauts had to do this.
have already bought their tickets, such as the
65
Spaceports
Below: Elon likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Justin
How space affects both Musk and
SpaceX want
Bieber and many others.
Virgin Galactic has had highs and lows during
men and women to create
spaceships testing. A chasmic depth was the crash of VSS
that can make Unity’s predecessor, VSS Enterprise, in the Mojave
Prolonged weightlessness has significant effects on the humans an Desert,, California, on 31 October 2014. This disaster
human body, with subtle difference n ingg on ex
nd interplanetary
claimed the life of co-pilot Michael Alsbury, while
race, with a
1 Motion sickness base on Mars pilot Peter Siebold was severely injured. Much to
MEN Not as susceptible as women
1 its credit, Virgin Galactic regrouped and has since
to dizziness and lightheadedness conducted several successful test flights, the most
when standing. Recent studies show 2 recent being on 22 February 2019. This test saw
that daily endurance training can
three astrronauts, including the first-ever passenger,
counter this effect. 3
soar to an
n altitude of 90 kilometres (56 miles).
WOMEN Women appear to be
more susceptible to dizziness and Virgin Galactic recently relocated its employees
lightheadedness when standing. and its testing and commercial operations from
This is due to low blood pressure as the Mojav
ve Air and Space Port, California, to a
the blood rushes away from
cosy spott known as Spaceport America, the
the brain.
world’s firrst fully commercial spaceport in the
2 Visual impairment desert basin of New Mexico. This is a huge step
MEN Experience significant visual- forward for
f the company’s plans to dominate
impairment issues while weightless, space touurism, as this spaceport will be the hub for
which causes worse hand-eye its operations. Virgin has recently announced its
coordination and alters 5 4
‘Gateway to Space’, a swanky communal area for
spatial awareness.
paying cu
ustomers, a little like an airport lounge. It
WOMEN At the time of this
study, women did not exhibit won’t be long now before customers are strolling
the same significant visual- through sspaceports in the same relaxed and calm
impairment problems as men. manner asa they would go through an airport,
grabbing a coffee whilee they wait for their flight.
3 Taste buds 1 This co
ould be the caase for many horizontal
MEN/WOMEN In launches, as Thorpe ex xplains: “A horizontal-launch
weightlessness, fluids tend
to shift from the lower part
2 spaceportt, such as ours, can operate from an
existing aairport – in ou
ur case Cornwall Airport
of the body to the upper part. 3
This affects fluids in an astronauts
face and even their taste buds. This
lack of taste means a lot of meals in
space require spice!
4 Kidney stones
MEN/WOMEN Men are more 6
susceptible to kidney stones
becoming a problem. This is due to
increased likelihood of dehydration
and the excretion of calcium from
5 4
bones. UTIs are also a risk.
5 Immune responses
MEN Men have a less potent
immune response, making them
more susceptible to infections and
putting them at risk of not being
able to perform an important task
when ill.
WOMEN Women have a more
potent immune response, allowing
them more immunity to bacterial
and viral infections – a handy trait to
have when confined in a small space
with other astronauts.
6 Loss of bone and muscle 6

MEN/WOMEN Without the body
working against gravity, its muscles
and bones are known to deteriorate.
For this reason, astronauts must
exercise daily to counteract against
this effect.
66
Spaceports
Newquay. A spaceport requires separate legislation The vast expense of such an adventure is the
to allow flights and launches. This secondary
legislation for spaceflight will give us the
main reason why space tourism was deemed
unreachable. But with this wave of emphasis
Celebrities
regulations required to launch satellites in the UK. on reusability and a string of promising tests in space
We are an operational commercial airport, and we performed by the aforementioned aerospace
will be fully integrating space launches with Virgin companies, other industries and organisations Leonardo DiCaprio
© JB Lacroix / Getty
Orbit into our everyday airline activities. We will be around the world are looking to become a part of Not only has he bought
one of the only places in the world to do this.” this rapidly growing industry. a ticket to board Virgin
Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo,
Space tourism is not a new concept. The Expanding horizons beyond the constraints he also auctioned
Russian space agency Roscosmos, in tandem of the United States and Russia, spaceports are the seat next to
with the American space tourism company Space being lined up around the world. Europe could see him off for £1
million ($1.5
Adventures, has been sending wealthier members the advent of spaceports in the United Kingdom,
million), with
of the public into space since 2001. The first one Sweden and Portugal. Even Australia and Asia are all proceeds
to exploit the market was American engineer and getting their own gateways to space in order to going to
entrepreneur Dennis Tito. He had a luxurious exploit this expanding market. In fact, in 2017 the charity.
© NurPhoto / Getty
week-long stay on board the ISS, which reportedly UK House of Commons prepared a ‘Space Sector
set him back £15 million ($20 million). Since Report’ that stated that the current global space Yusaku Maezawa
then several super-rich clients have spent tens of economy market is worth somewhere between SpaceX’s luxury trip to the
Moon is going to
millions to go to the ISS, and are continuing to £155 and £190 billion (approximately $200 and the Japanese
do so, as two more tourists are due to launch in $250 billion), and is expected to reach £400 billion billionaire and
2021. All of these missions were launched – and (around $530 billion) by 2030. This is over double a group of
will continue to be launched – from the Baikonur the value in just ten years’ time. With companies artists. This
trip could take
Cosmodrome aboard a Soyuz rocket. An extreme and organisations all over the world investing in place as early
percentage of the fee would likely go to launch this growing market, it is likely that space tourism as 2023.
costs, as the Soyuz rockets are not reusable. could soon be a worldwide phenomenon.
Justin Bieber
“We will be fully integrating space

Sir Richard Branson
announced the Canadian
pop sensation will be a
launches with Virgin Orbit into our Virgin Galactic

astronaut in
everyday airline activities” Melissa Thorpe

2013. Bieber
also seemed
keen to shoot
a music video
in space
as well.
© Randy Holmes / Getty

Tom Hanks
The Apollo 13 star is one
of the hundreds of
people to buy
a ticket on
SpaceShipTwo,
forking out
roughly a
quarter of a
million dollars. © Allen Berezovsky /
Ashton Kutcher
The American actor
Stringer
became Virgin
Galactic’s
500th paying
customer for
a journey on
SpaceShipTwo
in 2012.
© SpaceX
67
Telescope trouble
WHAT’S
WRONG
WITH MY
TELESCOPE
Views not clear, struggling with your mount or can’t find an
object? We’ve got the answers to your observing conundrum
Written by Mark Thompson
n
ms
© Getty
68
Telescope trouble
ewcomers to astronomy are at some point likely to make

that all-important purchase and buy a telescope. There
are loads of models to choose from and the decision
can be a daunting one. Seeking the advice of members
of your local astronomy club or society is a wise one because they will
have a wealth of experience and even equipment you could look at and
maybe even try before you buy.
Whether you choose a reflecting telescope that uses mirrors to focus
incoming starlight or a refractor that employs lenses, getting to this
stage means you are well on the way to some incredible views of the
night sky. Settling on a telescope and buying it is one thing, but setting
it up and using it can present you with a whole world of problems that
to the newcomer can be frustrating and even extinguish the spark of
enthusiasm you once felt for the beauty of the night sky.
Don’t worry – you’re not alone. It is fair to say that anyone new to
astronomy has more than likely experienced the trials and tribulations
that you are facing. Being an amateur astronomer for nearly 30 years, I
have seen and experienced most problems. I have captured some of the
most common problems in this article and share with you pointers and
possible solutions to get you going again.
69
Telescope trouble
PROBLEM #1
I cannot get a nice sharp image
What has happened? The telescope is lined up on the object, but when trying to focus it to get the image sharp, it is impossible to get a nice sharp
image. Different eyepieces have been tried, but this does not make it any better.
The telescope may not be collimated

Solution: Telescope mirrors and lenses need to be aligned to
give a nice sharp image. The process of getting them aligned
is known as collimation. This is usually only a problem with
telescopes that have mirrors in them such as reflectors or
catadioptric telescopes. A great way to see if collimation is the
problem is to point the telescope at a bright star and adjust the
focus so that the star is out of focus and showing as a big blob.
Look closely and you will see a bright outer ring surrounding a
dark central disc. If the dark disc is not in the centre of the bright
ring then the optics are not aligned and you need to collimate.
The steps to achieve this depend on the telescope you have, so
check out the manual or find the guide for your telescope online
and you should be able to get nice sharp images.
One thing to look for is the shape of the bright ring – the out-
of-focus starlight – it should be circular. If it is spiked or triangular
or another strange shape then the optics could be too tightly
held in their holder and need adjusting.
The object may simply be

too low in the sky
Solution: Light from objects low in the sky need to
pass through a lot of gas in the atmosphere. This
distorts the image we see, making it seem to dance
around and often not ‘stay’ in focus. Try waiting for
the object to get higher in the sky.
There could be dew on your optics

Solution: It is not uncommon for dew or moisture to form on the
telescope optics, especially if the telescope is stored indoors and
you take it outside when it is cold. First, try to take the telescope
outside in the afternoon so it cools down with the air. Dew can
still form, and this is common in telescopes with lenses. Make up a
tube from some sort of plastic so that it can sit at the ‘front’ end oof
the telescope near the main lens, effectively extending the length
of the tube. It offers some protection to the lens, slowing down
the formation of dew. You could also try getting heating straps or
dew zappers that are designed for combatting dew, as these will
definitely fix the problem.
© Getty
70
Telescope trouble
PROBLEM #3
PROBLEM
M #2 The image through the
The telescope drive telescope is not stationary; it
does not keep objects seems to jump around quickly
in the eyepiece for
What has happened? The telescope is pointing at the object I want to look at,
very long but it does not stay still.
What has happened? The telescope

is pointing at the object I want to look
The object may
at and the drive is switched on, but the
be too low
Solution: When objects are low
object still drifts out of the eyepiece.
in the sky their light has to travel
through a lot more gas in the
Check the telescope mount atmosphere than when they are
information is correct higher up in the sky. Their light also
Solution: If the mount is alt-azimuth – in other gets distorted and disturbed more
words it has an axis that is ‘up and down’ and by surface heat from the ground,
another which is ‘side to side’ – then it will have and this can all make the image
a computer to control the motors on the two dance around. Wait until it gets a
axes. Make sure that all the information like bit higher, or if it is lower in the
latitude, longitude, date and time are all set west, then try observing it earlier
correctly. The manual will explain the exact tomorrow night.
steps depending on the type of mount.
Check the telescope is The wind may be too strong!

Solution: It will not necessarily impact the light, but what it may
aligned correctly do is impact the telescope! Whatever type of telescope you have,
Solution: If the whole mount seems to be
it has the purpose of collecting light and magnifying it to give a
tilted at an angle, then it is an equatorial mount.
‘zoomed-in’ image. A telescope will not only magnify the light,
If it is one of these then the whole mount
but will also magnify any wobbles or shakes in the telescope
needs to be accurately polar aligned, which
system. If it’s a bit blustery then any buffeting of the telescope
means that the polar axis of the mount must
will be magnified. You could try movingg the telescope p to a place
p
point directly to the north celestial pole of the
where it is more sheltered from m the wind, make sure all bolts and ©
sky. The more accurate you are with this then
Ge
screws are tight or even upgrad de to a more sturdy mount.

tty
the longer the objects will stay in the eyepiece.

Some mounts have small telescopes in the
polar axis that help you get them aligned, but “When objects are low
for those that don’t then I find drift alignment
the best technique. If there is a computer in the sky their light
control to the mount, make sure the correct
drive speed is selected too. has to travel through
Check any clutches are a lot more gas in
correctly set
Solution: Some mounts have switches to the atmosphere”
disengage and engage the motors. Make sure
these are correctly set to ensure the motor
actually drives the mount.
Are you touching
the mount or
telescope?
Check power! Solution: Just like the
Solution: This may seem obvious, but make
disturbance from the wind, if
sure there is power going to the telescope
you are touching the telescopee
drive system. I have known power to get
then this – magnified several
unplugged when a cable is kicked in the dark or
hundred times – can easily cause
for battery power to have drained in the cold
the image to jump around. Thee
of the night.
solution is simple: stop touching
the telescope or mount.
71
Telescope trouble
PROBLEM #4
I cannot find the object I am looking for
What has happened? I can see things through the eyepiece and the image is nice and Computerised telescopes
sharp, but I cannot line it up on objects I am looking for. might not be set up correctly
Solution: If your mount is computerised, make sure
The finder telescope is not lined up to the main telescope the location – latitude and longitude – date, time
Solution: The finder telescope is a smaller telescope attached to the side of the main and, if present, hemisphere switch – north or south
telescope. On some instruments it may be a laser-pointer finder attached to the main – are correctly set.
instrument, but the function is the same. By lining the finder instrument up on the object you
are looking for, then the main telescope will also be pointing at it.
The trick is that the finder must be pointing in the same direction as the main telescope.
If it is not, finding things will be a lot harder – if not impossible. To check if this is the issue,
during the daytime, point the main telescope at an easily identifiable object like an aerial or
chimney. Do not use trees because they tend to move in the wind sometimes. Now look
through the finder telescope
and adjust the screws holding it in
place until it too is pointing at the “The trick is that the finder
object you were looking at
in the main telescope. Go back must be pointing in the
and check that the main telescope
is still pointing at it, centre it if same direction as the
needs be and then fine-tune
the finder. main telescope”
72
Telescope trouble
PROBLEM #5
I cannot see anything through the telescope
What has happened? The telescope should be lined up on an object and the
lens cap is off, but I cannot see anything through the eyepiece.
Your eyes
are not
dark-adapted
Solution: The human eye
is designed to be able to see in the
dark, but this dark adaption is not instant. It
takes time for your eyes to adjust to seeing
in the dark. In fact, it can take up to 40
minutes for the process to complete. There
are two changes that take place when you
are immersed in a dark environment. The iris
opens up in just a matter of seconds; this is
to allow more light to enter the eye. There is
also a change to the chemicals in your eyes to
© Getty
make them better at seeing in the dark, but

this can take quite some time, as long as 40
minutes. If you have just popped out from a
The sky has gone cloudy! normally illuminated room, it is quite possible
Solution: Cloudy skies often thwart the amateur astronomer, but it is not unusual to be midway through an that your eyes are not yet adjusted to the
observing session only to find unexpected clouds appear seemingly from nowhere. I speak from experience darkened environment. Give your eyes time
that, on occasion, unexpected clouds can cause objects to miraculously vanish from view while peering down to adjust and you will be amazed at what you
the eyepiece. It is worth a glance upwards to make sure a clump of cloud has not appeared. can see.
The eyepiece is too powerful

Solution: Changing the eyepieces in the
telescope will change the magnification, but
this comes with a drawback. Increasing the
magnification also increases the darkness of
the image and it is possible to increase the
magnification so much that the image becomes
too dark to be useful. There is a really handy
rule of thumb to work out the maximum
magnification of a telescope… Take the
aperture in millimetres and double it. This
gives you the maximum useful magnification
before the image starts to get too dark. To
work out the magnification of the eyepiece
and telescope combination, divide the focal
length of the telescope by the focal length
of the eyepiece. This gives the
magnification. If it is greater
than the maximum useful
magnification, then try
another lower power
eyepiece, which will be
Need
d mo
ore in
nfo??
Mark’s website has a great section to help you with many
denoted by a longer
of the processes outlined in this article. Head over to:
focal length, usually
markthompsonastronomy.com
measured in millimetres.
© Getty
73
ASK
Our experts answer your questions
Did
you know?
The most distant quasar detected,
ULAS J1342+0928, contains the
oldest known supermassive
black hole in the universe.
COSMOLOGY
What came into existence first:

black holes or galaxies?
Galaxies, or the ancestors of galaxies as we know the invention of chemistry by the supernovae essentially without ever becoming a star. However,
them today, likely came first. More specifically, explosions of the first stars and the subsequent it turns out that you need stars or a galaxy in
stars – first-generation stars – likely formed first possibility of biology that followed. relatively close proximity in the very early universe
and produced the first ‘artificial’ light in the In principle the first black holes – with masses to give rise to the conditions necessary for these
universe, before any black hole could form. of a few Suns – were actually a result of what was extraordinary events to happen. All in all, we think
The first generation of stars likely formed just left of massive first-generation stars after they that first-generation stars came first, but rapidly
a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, exploded and produced some of the oxygen we are led to the formation of the first black holes and the
hosted by dark matter mini-halos. We still don’t breathing right now. first supermassive black holes.
know what dark matter is, but we surely think Interestingly enough, it is possible that some of Dr David Sobral is a reader in astrophysics
we owe our very existence to it. Without dark the first supermassive black holes – with masses at Lancaster University in England,
matter stars would not be able to form, and of almost one million-times the Sun – could have researching the primitive universe and
the universe as a whole would never witness formed by a direct collapse of clouds of gas, how the first galaxies formed
Space agencies
are always
looking
to create
better space
analogues in
© ESA
unusual Earth-
based locations
74
Ask Space
SPACE EXPLORATION
How does the new

Artemis spacesuit
differ from the
suits used on the
Apollo missions?
We’ve been working for a long time to build
spacesuits that will do the job on the Moon and
going onto Mars. My job is to take a basketball,
shape it like a human, keep them alive in harsh
environments and give them the mobility to do
their job. One of the things we’ve looked at is
trying to reduce the space [around the chest area],
make a smaller display control unit and get the
shoulders to where astronauts have a lot more
mobility to move.
The astronaut is now able to do a cross-reach and
get across the suit, as well as reach overhead, which
astronauts can’t do today and couldn’t do in the
Apollo program. In addition to that, because this is
the first time we’ve got to build a suit specifically
for a planetary exploration mission, we’ve got a lot
With early more mobility in the lower torso. There is a waist
supernovae bearing, three bearings on the legs as well as a
explosions flexion extension joint at the waist. This gives the
came new astronaut a lot of capability to move around and to
elements to do whatever task they need to do for science and
form more maintenance on the planetary surface.
complex stars
Amy Ross is an advanced spacesuit
© NASA/ESO
and galaxies
designer at NASA's Johnson Space
Center in Houston, Texas
SPACE EXPLORATION
Right: NASA
How is exploring caves a good administrator

Jim Bridenstine
analogue for exploring space? announced the

new Artemis
spacesuit in
October 2019
Cooperative Adventure for Valuing and Exercising human behaviour and performance
Skills, or CAVES, is the best analogue training astronauts have ever participated in. It
does start with the environment, which offers similar stressors as human spaceflight –
isolation, confinement, real risk, lack of privacy, reduced communication and resources,
difficult rescue and so on.
Both are risky environments, both require safety to be your top priority and situational
awareness needs to be high. But all that is just the fertile terrain over which you can
create a real scientific exploration mission, using mission operations very similar to space
operations. This is key. Using real speleological scientific exploration and documentation,
not just a fake science-fiction, space-looking exercise, which may well be appealing to the
public, but would be laughed at by astronauts.
CAVES prepares astronauts to become more effective and safe teams by exposing
them to a realistic space analogue expedition. The analogies offered by the environment,
the technical progression and the scientific and operational set-up are instrumental, but
also the professional and personal qualities of the support team, which act as mentors
and role models: explorers of the underworld forming explorers of other worlds.
Loredana Bessone is head of analogue field testing and exploration training
at the European Space Agency
© NASA
75
ASK
Our experts answer your questions
SPACE EXPLORATION
What methods
are used
to detect
exoplanets?
The radial velocity technique
© NASA
relies on measuring stellar
wobbles introduced by an unseen ASTROPHYSICS
exoplanet orbiting a star. Both
the star and planet orbit their What is a ‘photon sphere’?
common centre of mass, which is
offset somewhat from the centre
of the star. When searching for One hundred years ago, Einstein truly became a but still reach your friend on the other side. But as
this wobble, we can measure the household name when his theory of relativity was you point the laser closer and closer to the black
speed at which the star is moving first tested and confirmed by experiments. Einstein hole's edge, there is a point where the light just
towards or away from us over predicted that light passing by a massive object barely doesn't get captured, but also doesn't escape.
its orbit thanks to the Doppler should get deflected by gravity, and that this effect Instead it just orbits around and around in a perfect
effect. Starlight can appear could even be detected by measuring the apparent circle. This is what we call the ‘photon sphere’ of
slightly bluer or redder when Above: A location of stars near the Sun during a solar a black hole. For non-spinning black holes, the
the star is moving towards or black hole’s eclipse. For the Sun, this deflection is less than a photon sphere radius is 50 per cent bigger than the
intense
away from us. The effect is very thousandth of a degree. For a black hole, with its horizon radius, but for rapidly rotating black holes,
gravity
small and not perceptible to the much stronger gravitational field, the light ray can the photon sphere snuggles right up against the
alters light
eye, but by precisely measuring coming get bent by 360 degrees or more. horizon, allowing light to orbit many times without
the spectrum of a star with towards it Imagine shining a laser pointer at a black hole. falling in, and without falling out.
spectrographs, we can pick out to create If you point it right at the black hole, the light will Dr Jeremy Schnittman is a research
these radial velocity shifts. a ‘photon get swallowed by the horizon. If you point it to the astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard
The most prolific discovery sphere’ side, it will get deflected by the black hole's gravity, Space Flight Center, Maryland
technique is the transit method.
When a planet’s orbit is aligned
with our line of sight to the star,
SOLAR SYSTEM
the planet will pass directly in
front of the star once per orbit What evidence have we found that supports the
and block some starlight. We
find transiting exoplanets by theory that there could be life on Europa?
measuring the brightness of
a star and looking for telltale
periodic dips. The shape of these Jupiter’s moon Europa is believed to have a global can’t penetrate the thick ice cover. Other Earth
transit events tell us the size of ocean about 20 kilometres (12 miles) beneath its microorganisms are powered by chemical energy,
the exoplanet and the inclination icy surface. Evidence includes strange geology, where molecules chemically react to form new
of its orbit, so along with including cracks formed by large tides raised molecules while storing energy. We need to better
information from radial velocity by Jupiter as Europa orbits. Also, Europa has a understand whether Europa’s ocean can support
measurements, we can measure magnetic field that is likely generated in a salty life powered by chemosynthesis. Future spacecraft
its true mass and density. subsurface ocean as the moon orbits through exploration can indicate whether Europa’s ocean
Dr Benjamin Rackham is Jupiter’s powerful magnetic field. has the three ingredients for life, and therefore
a member of the On Earth, essentially everywhere there is liquid could be considered potentially habitable.
exoplanet-hunting water, there is life. Life as we know it requires Dr Robert Pappalardo is project
team, Project EDEN three so-called ‘ingredients’ that might exist at scientist on NASA’s Europa Clipper
Europa. The first ingredient is liquid water, a mission, set to launch in 2025
solvent that promotes chemical reactions. Europa’s
ocean could be Earth-like in its temperature and
salinity. The second ingredient is the chemical
Right: elements from which organic molecules are built:
Astronomers carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous,
have and sulphur. Europa probably formed with these
There are two observed
elements, gaining more as comets and asteroids
main ways evidence for
of finding impacted the moon through time. The third
favourable
exoplanets ingredient is energy to power life. On Earth, most
© Adrian Mann
conditions
with modern under the energy for metabolism comes from sunlight, which
© NASA
technology icy crust drives photosynthesis. However, photosynthesis

of Europa can’t operate in Europa’s ocean, because sunlight
76
Ask Space
ASTROPHYSICS
Does dust help or

hinder star formation?
Dust has an important role in star formation. It
protects the molecules in the dense gas from the
ultraviolet photons emitted by the massive young
stars. Without dust, the molecules would be broken
and the atoms ionised. In star-forming regions there
are a lot of these young stars formed in nearby
clouds. The newly formed stars can thus reduce the
capability to form new stars. This is why dust has
an important role to help the formation of dense
molecular clouds by protecting them.
In contrast, while not hindering star formation,
dust is limiting our capability to measure star
formation. When spectroscopy is not available –
which is often the case in very distant galaxies – we
estimate the amount of stars formed per year in
a galaxy from the ultraviolet light they emit, since
it comes mainly from massive short-lived stars.
The main problem is that dust is very efficient at
absorbing the ultraviolet light.
We have to correct for this phenomenon. We can
deduce the energy absorbed by it using the thermal
emission of this cold dust. This is usually a few tens
of degrees above absolute zero and even less for
distant galaxies because of the redshift effect. This
is why far-infrared and submillimeter telescopes,
which probe the emission of these cold bodies, are
so important for understanding the star formation
history in the universe.
Dr Matthieu Bethermin is a
assistant astronomer at Laboratoire
d'Astrophysique de Marseille, France
Did
you know?
The largest existing submillimetre
telescope, the James Clerk
©NASA/ESA/The Hubble Heritage Team
Maxwell Telescope, is located

on Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
The ‘Pillars of
Creation’ are
famous for their
striking pillars of
dust, with new @spaceanswers /AllAboutSpaceMagazine space@spaceanswers.com
stars born within
77
STARGAZER ESSENTIAL GUIDES AND ADVICE FOR AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS
What’s in the sky?

In this issue…
78 What’s in the sky? 86 Deep sky challenge
Wrap up warm and venture out Track down some of winter’s
into the clear winter nights for lesser-known wonders on the
some great views next clear and frosty night
82 Month's planets 88 The Northern

Evening star Venus makes its Hemisphere
presence known alongside The New Year has arrived with
Saturn and Uranus some ideal winter targets
84 Moon tour
Finding this lunar crater
90 Astrophotos
of the month 2 4
Source : Wikipedia Commons
won’t leave you howling with The best of our readers’

frustration on cold nights excellent astrophotography JAN JAN
Messier 41 is well The Quadrantids reach
© Tomruen
85 Naked eye and 96 In the shops placed for observation

in Canis Major
their peak of 120
meteors per hour
binocular targets Our pick of the best books,
Glittering star clusters, misty apps, software and accessories
12 15
nebulae and giant stars for astronomy and space fans
Source : Wikipedia Commons
ight JAN © Giuseppe Donatiello

JAN
e d l y
R endl
The Moon and Asteroid 511 Davida is well
Messier 44 make placed for observation
fri
t
ur nigh a close approach in Gemini, glowing at
o
ve y ur in Cancer magnitude 9.6
p re s e r d read o
o l
de r t shou nde r
In or on, you guide u
15
visi serving ght
i
ob red l
JAN
© ESA/Hubble
Open cluster Messier

47 is well placed for
observation in Puppis
at magnitude 4.4
21
Institute of the Charles University
Source : Wiki © Astronomical
JAN
Asteroid 5 Astraea
is well placed for
observation in Cancer
© ESO
at magnitude 8.9
78
STARGAZER
R
What’s in the sky??
Jargon buster
Conjunction Declination (Dec) Opposition
A conjunction is an alignment of objects at the same This tells you how high an object will rise in the sky. When a celestial body is in line with the Earth and
celestial longitude. The conjunction of the Moon and Like Earth’s latitude, Dec measures north and south. Sun. During opposition, an object is visible for the
the planets is determined with reference to the Sun. It’s measured in degrees, arcminutes and arcseconds. whole night, rising at sunset and setting at sunrise. At
A planet is in conjunction with the Sun when it and There are 60 arcseconds in an arcminute and there this point in its orbit, the celestial object is closest to
Earth are aligned on opposite sides of the Sun. are 60 arcminutes in a degree. Earth, making it appear bigger and brighter.
Right Ascension (RA) Magnitude Greatest elongation
Right Ascension is to the sky what longitude is to An object’s magnitude tells you how bright it When the inner planets, Mercury and Venus, are at
the surface of the Earth, corresponding to east and appears from Earth. In astronomy, magnitudes are their maximum distance from the Sun. During greatest
west directions. It is measured in hours, minutes and represented on a numbered scale. The lower the elongation, the inner planets can be observed as
seconds since, as the Earth rotates on its axis, we see number, the brighter the object. So, a magnitude of evening stars at greatest eastern elongations and as
different parts of the sky throughout the night. -1 is brighter than an object with a magnitude of +2. morning stars during western elongations.
10
JAN
Penumbral lunar eclipse
is visible from Africa,
Oceania, Asia, Europe
and Northern America
© Getty
© NASA
15 20 20
JAN JAN JAN
Spiral galaxy NGC 2403 Conjunction between The Moon and Mars
is well placed in the Moon and Mars make a close approach,
Camelopardalis, glowing in Ophiuchus passing within 2°11’ of
at magnitude 8.9 each other in Ophiuchus
28 28
Naked eye
Binoculars
JAN JAN Small telescope

Conjunction between The Moon and Venus Medium telescope
the Moon and Venus make a close approach,
in Aquarius passing within 3°49’ of Large telescope
each other in Aquarius
79
STARGAZER
Cygnus
Andromeda
Auriga
Perseus
Trian
ngulum
Gemini
Aries
Pegasus
Delphinu
nus
Uranus
Taurus
Orion Pisces
Equuleuss
Cani
nis Minor
Planetarium
Neptune
17 January 2020
Cetus
Venus
Canis Major
C Aquarius
Eridanus
Lepus Capricornus Mercur

Fornax
Microsco
opium
Sculptor
Piscis Austrinus
Columba
Puppis Caelum Grus
OPPOSITION EVENING SKY
Moon calendar 2
JAN
3
JAN
4
JAN
5
JAN
FQ
45.8% 55.5% 65.2% 74.4%
* The Moon does not pass the meridian on 10 January
11:53 23:51 12:10 --:-- 00:57 12:27 02:04 12:45
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
JAN JAN JAN JAN JAN JAN JAN
FM
82.9% 90.1% 95.7% 99.1% --:--%* 99.9% 97.9%
03:14 13:07 04:25 13:34 05:37 14:08 06:47 14:53 07:50 15:51 08:43 17:01 09:26 18:20
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
TQ
93.0% 85.6% 76.1% 65.2% 53.5% 41.9% 30.8%
09:59 19:43 10:26 21:07 10:49 22:29 11:10 23:50 11:30 --:-- 01:09 11:52 02:28 12:16
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
NM
21.0% 12.7% 6.3% 2.1% 0.2% 0.5% 2.8%
03:46 12:45 04:59 13:21 06:06 14:06 07:04 14:59 07:51 16:01 08:29 17:07 08:58 18:15
27 28 29 30 % Illumination FM Full Moon

JAN JAN JAN JAN Moonrise time NM New Moon
Moonset time FQ First quarter
7.0% 12.8% 19.9% 28.2% TQ Third quarter
09:21 19:23 09:41 20:31 09:59 21:37 10:15 22:42
All figures are given for 00h at midnight (local times for London, UK)
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What’s in the sky??
Canes Venatici
Lyra Boötes
Leo Minor
Coma Berenices Cancer

Vulpecula Corona Borealis
Hercules Leo
Sagitta
Aquila
Oph
hiuchus Serpens Sextans
Virgo
Moon
Scutum
Crater
Sun
Su Mars Hydra
turnJupiter Libra
Corvus
ry Pyxis
Antlia
Sagittarius
Lupus
Scorpius
Coro
rona Austrina Centaurus
DAYLIGHT MORNING SKY
Illumination percentage Planet positions All rise and set times are given in GMT
10 JAN 17 JAN 24 JAN 31 JAN Date RA Dec Constellation Mag Rise Set
3 JAN 18h 32m 03s -24° 40' 30" Sagittarius -1.0 07:59 15:27
MERCURY
MERCURY
17 JAN 20h 11m 09s -22° 10' 18" Capricornus -1.3 08:25 16:28
100% 100% 100% 90% 24 JAN 21h 00m 24s -19° 02' 59" Capricornus -1.1 08:27 17:10
VENUS
VENUS
17 JAN 22h 24m 26s -11° 35' 09" Aquarius -4.0 09:36 19:44
80% 80% 80% 70% 24 JAN 22h 55m 50s -08° 11' 28" Aquarius -4.1 09:21 20:05
31 JAN 23h 26m 23s -04° 38' 05" Aquarius -4.1 09:06 20:27
3 JAN 15h 49m 21s -19° 41' 59" Libra 1.6 04:43 13:18
10 JAN 16h 09m 00s -20° 42' 55" Scorpius 1.5 04:42 13:04
MARS
RS
17 JAN 16h 28m 58s -21° 35 '41" Ophiuchus 1.5 04:40 12:50
MARS
90% 90% 90% 90% 24 JAN 16h 49m 13s -22° 19' 47" Ophiuchus 1.4 04:38 12:38
31 JAN 17h 09m 44s -22° 54' 41" Ophiuchus 1.4 04:35 12:27
JUPITER
JUPITER
100% 100% 100% 100% 24 JAN 18h 50m 35s -22° 52' 27" Sagittarius -1.9 06:42 14:35
3 JAN 19h 32m 19s -21° 41' 32" Sagittarius 0.5 08:39 16:48
SATU N
SATURN
100% 100% 100% 100% JAN 19h 42m 51s -21° 18' 34" Sagittarius 0.5 07:24 15:38
31 AN 19h 46m 18s -21° 10' 28" Sagittarius 0.6 06:59 15:15
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This month’s planets
Evening star Venus makes its presence known alongside Saturn and
Uranus, while early risers can enjoy the rest the Solar System has to offer
Planet of the month
Neptune DELPHINUS
EQUULEUS
Venus
Constellation: Capricornus
Magnitude: -4.0
AQUARIUS
AQUILA
AM/PM: PM
Venus
PISCIS AUSTRINUS
SCULPTOR CAPRICORNUS
SSW SW WSW
17:20 GMT on 3 January
This month Venus will be a genuinely beautiful It's ironic that such a beautiful, serene sight is in dazzling sight, juddering slightly as it drops
sight in the sky after dark. The world often – and reality such a frightening world. Venus, the second slowly through the layers of air churning above
very wrongly – called ‘Earth’s Twin’ will become planet out from the Sun, is like a world invented the horizon.
visible very soon after sunset as an eye-catching, for a dystopian science-fiction film. Its atmosphere Cross your fingers for clear evening skies during
metallic glint high in the south-southwest. As of thick, curdled carbon dioxide would be lethally the last few days of January, because we’ll have an
twilight deepens and the sky darkens it will get poisonous to us, and the incredible pressure on its opportunity to see the crescent Moon gliding past
brighter and brighter until it looks like a lantern surface would crush us too. Droplets of acid fall Venus, the two objects forming a striking sight
blazing in the sky, a stunning ‘evening star’ far through its sky, but evaporate in the terrible heat after sunset. On the 27th a fingernail clipping-
brighter than any of the stars around it and long before reaching the ground. It will not be a thin Moon will shine to Venus’ lower right. The
brighter than anything else in the whole sky holiday destination any time soon. following evening the Moon, now a slightly wider
apart from the Moon. Shining at magnitude -4.0 By the end of January, when it will have crescent, will lie to the left of Venus, just five
all through the month, Venus will be so bright wandered across Capricorn’s border into Aquarius, degrees from it. On this evening the dark part of
that not even the ghastly orange glow of light this beautiful but brutally hostile planet will be the Moon’s face should be lit by the pale, ghostly
pollution in a town or city will be able to hide setting more than three hours after the Sun, and lavender-blue glow of ‘Earthshine’, and that should
it, and if you can get to somewhere truly dark so it will be visible in a dark sky, not just in the be the case on the following evening too, the 29th,
you’ll be amazed by just how bright Venus looks. twilight. Look at it through a pair of binoculars when the Moon will have moved on along its track
Nothing can compare to it. or a small telescope at this time and it will be a to shine to the upper left of Venus.
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This month’s planetss
Mercury 17:00 GMT on 27 January Mars 06:00 GMT on 29 January

EQUULEUS OPHIUCHUS
AQUARIUS
Moon LIBRA
DELPHINUS SAGITTA
SERPENS
HERCULES SCUTUM
Mars
Mercury AQUILLA LUPUS
SW WSW W ESE SE SSE
Constellation: Sagittarius moved far enough away from it to Constellation: Libra four hours before the Sun. It will
Magnitude: -1 provide only the most optimistic Magnitude: 1.6 remain an easy naked-eye object
AM/PM: PM and careful observers with any hope AM/PM: AM throughout the month, creeping
Mercury begins the month too close of catching sight of it very low in Looking like an orange star among closer to our star. A waning crescent
to the Sun to be visible, and by the the southwest after sunset, to the the fainter stars of Libra, at the start Moon passes Mars in the morning
end of the month will only have lower right of much brighter Venus. of the month Mars rises around sky between 20 and 21 January.
Jupiter 07:30 GMT on 25 January

Constellation: Sagittarius
OPHIUCHUS
Magnitude: -1.8
AM/PM: AM
If you enjoy the sight of Jupiter, the
DELPHINUS
largest of all the planets in our Solar
SERPENS
System, blazing like a blue-white jewel
SCUTUM in the sky, then I’m afraid this isn’t going
AQUILA Mars
to be a good month for you. At the start
of January Jupiter is too close to the Sun
to be seen, but as the days pass it will
SAGITTARIUS slowly pull away from it. Even so, by the
Jupiter end of January Jupiter will still be so
SCORPI S close to the Sun that it will be a challenge
Saturn
to find and observe; you might just
glimpse it incredibly low in the southeast
before dawn, but only if there are no
ESE SE SSE trees, buildings or hills on the horizon
in that direction.
Saturn 08:00 GMT on 30 January Uranus 16:00 GMT on 21 January

ARIES
DELPHINUS Uranus
SERPENS TAURUS
SCUTUM
AQUILA Mars
EQUULEUS Eris
SAGITTARIUS CETUS
Jupiter
Saturn Pluto SCORPIUS
Sun
ESE SE SSE ESE SE SSE
Constellation: Sagittarius days pass and it creeps closer to our Constellation: Aries month the seventh planet out from
Magnitude: 0.5 star, and then behind it. By the end Magnitude: 5.7 the Sun is already high in the south
AM/PM: AM of January Saturn will have emerged AM/PM: PM as darkness begins to fall, and it will
At the start of the month Saturn is from behind the Sun, but will not This is a good month to look for and remain visible in the sky, arcing from
simply too close to the Sun to be seen have moved far enough away from it observe Uranus in the sky. It will be a east to west, until it sets in the early
– and it actually gets worse as the to be easily visible. faint ‘evening star’. At the start of the hours of the next morning.
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Top tip!
Be sure to zoom in
on Wolf when it is
near the terminator
– you’ll see much
more detail in and
around it.
Moon tour
Finding this lunar crater won’t leave you

howling with frustration on cold January nights
Many people don't realise that the full who discovered several comets and was imaged again more recently, but in see it is very rugged and hummocky,
Moons seen throughout the 12 calendar supernovae, proved dark nebulae much higher resolution, by the Lunar spattered with its own small craters.
months have names, often rooted in were clouds of interstellar dust and Reconnaissance Orbiter’s cameras. It looks like a small part of the lunar
nature. These can be traced back to discovered no fewer than 248 asteroids Although it is small itself, Wolf can highlands surrounding the crater.
before the Julian calendar was followed in his lifetime – Wolf crater is 26 be found quite easily because it lies So when can you see this crater for
and have ties to the Native Americans. kilometres (16 miles) wide and not quite halfway between two larger, more yourself? At the start of our observing
For example, May’s full Moon is the a kilometre deep, making it one of the obvious craters: Bullialdus to its upper period Wolf is not visible, totally hidden
‘Flower Moon’. In November the smaller craters we’ve visited on our long left and Pitatus to its lower right. Far in shadow. However, by the evening
‘Hunter’s Moon’ shines over our Bonfire tour. It lies almost in the centre of Mare too small to be seen with the naked of 4 January the terminator will have
Night celebrations and as December Nubium, the ‘sea of clouds’, a roughly eye and a challenge with a pair of swept over the crater like a dark
ends late-night Christmas shoppers circular dark stain on the Moon which binoculars, Wolf sadly looks nothing tsunami and Wolf will be illuminated
scurry around looking for last-minute can be found to the southeast of the like a wolf. Through a telescope’s from the east. This will be a good time
gifts beneath the ‘Cold Moon’. much larger Oceanus Procellarum. The low-power eyepiece it appears as a to look for details and small features
This January, the full Moon that crater was photographed by the crew roughly heart-shaped feature. Higher on its floor and that surrounding ejecta
will illuminate our frosty grass and of Apollo 16 in 1972, which landed in magnifications reveal a gap in Wolf’s apron, as they are lit by the slanting
windscreens and the snowmen the Descartes Highlands region, and southern rim which makes it look more rays of the low Sun. Wolf will remain
slumping in our gardens is known like
lik a small vase or the Greek ‘Omega’ fully illuminated between 4 and 18
as the ‘Wolf Moon’, named by Native syymbol than a heart. January, but by the 19th the terminator
Americans after the mournful howlingg Wolf’s walls are relatively featureless, will have rolled over it again and it will
of hungry wolves searching for food th
hicker and wider in some places than have vanished, not to reappear until
halfway through winter. Obviously otthers, and its floor is dark and flat next month.
wolves are in quite short supply in the with
w a short, curved chain of four small While Wolf might not be the most
UK these days, but there is one place seecondary craters on its western side. striking or dramatic crater on the Moon,
you can guarantee seeing one this Thhe most remarkable thing about Wolf it is definitely worth a look at through
month – on the Moon itself. Our Moon is probably the bright apron of ejecta your telescope. It's a valuable reminder
Tour destination for January is the th
hat spreads out from its sides and that the Moon has a lot more to offer
small crater ‘Wolf’. boottom, like an open cloak. Look at the observer than the ‘celebrity’
© NASA
Named after the accomplished th

hat through your telescope’s highest features like Copernicus, Tycho and
German astronomer Max Wolf – magnification
m eyepiece and you’ll the Sea of Tranquillity.
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Naked eye targetss
Naked eye & binocular targets

Crisp January nights offer observers glittering clusters,
misty nebulae and giant stars that dwarf our own Sun
Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) Orion Nebula (Messier 42)

This red giant star, marking Orion’s shoulder, Binoculars show that the
is 500 light years away and shines at middle ‘star’ of Orion’s
magnitude 0.5, making it the 9th-brightest Sword is actually a glowing
star in the sky. It is so huge that if it replaced cloud of gas and dust – the
our Sun it would swallow up Mercury, Venus, famous Orion Nebula. This
Earth and Mars. stellar nursery is one-and-
a-half-thousand light years
from Earth and around 24
light years wide.
Orion
Sirius (Alpha Canis Majoris) Rigel (Beta Orionis)

The brightest star in the whole sky, Magnitude 0.2 Rigel, a blue
magnitude -1.46 Sirius is also known as the giant star, is 860 light years
‘Dog Star’. It is only nine light years away, from Earth and the 7th-brightest
making it the fifth-closest star to us. It only star in the sky. Its surface
ever appears low in the sky as seen from the temperature is around 11,000°C
UK, flickering and flashing dramatically. (19,832°F), twice as hot as our
own Sun and 40,000-times
more luminous than it.
Monoceros
Messier 41
Often overlooked because it is so close to dazzlingly
bright Sirius, this open cluster of more than 100 stars
is a very pretty sight in a pair of binoculars. It covers
the same area of sky as the Moon, and can be seen
with the naked eye in a dark sky.
85
STARGAZER
Deep sky challenge
Scan the skies
beyond Orion
Track down some of
winter’s lesser-known
wonders on the next clear
and frosty night…
As you set up your telescope on freezing cold
January nights, with the grass crackling and
snapping beneath your feet and your breath
forming glittering silvery clouds in the air around
your face, it’s always tempting to look at the same
things you always do – the misty, swirling veils of
the Orion Nebula, the ‘mini-Dipper’ Pleiades cluster
with its stars sparkling like jewels and the Crab
Nebula’s ghostly haze all call out to you through
your favourite eyepiece. But there is much more to
the winter sky than those ‘celebrity’ objects, and
if you swing your ice-cold telescope tube towards
the constellation of Gemini, put in a high-power
eyepiece and go deep, you can see some lesser-
known objects that deserve your attention just as
much as their more famous neighbours.
Gemini is dominated by the beautiful open
cluster M35, one of winter’s showcase objects, and
it’s a beautiful sight in anything from a humble pair
of binoculars to a cannon-sized Dobsonian. But
scattered around it are much fainter, much more
distant objects that are real treats once tracked
down. The ‘Eskimo Nebula’ – sometimes known
as the ‘Clownface Nebula’ – is a lovely, intriguing
planetary nebula that shows fascinating detail
and structure through a large telescope; the
‘Twinkling Comet Cluster’ is a very pretty object,
and NGC 2324 is a spiral galaxy more than 250
million light years away. © ESO
Orion Nebula (M42)
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Deep sky challengee
Source: Wiki ©Judy Schmidt

The Twinkling Comet
Cluster (NGC 2420)
Source: Wiki ©Sloan Digital Sky Survey
Eskimo Nebula (NGC 2392)
1
NGC 2435
This spiral galaxy, almost edge-on to us, is 200
million light years away. Measuring just 15 arc
minutes across and shining at 13th magnitude, it is a
challenge in even a large telescope.
Auriga
2
01 Twinkling Comet Cluster (NGC 2420)
This 8th-magnitude cluster actually looks
nothing like a comet; it is similar to M44, the
Beehive Cluster – a loose spray of stars in the centre
of a keystone of four brighter stars.
3
04
Gemini The Eskimo Nebula (NGC 2392)
In a large telescope’s high-power eyepiece this
9th-magnitude planetary nebula really does
06 look like a face surrounded by a hood. Under a dark
02 sky you’ll be able to see mottling within it.
4
03 05 NGC 2331
4,000 light years from Earth, this sparse open
cluster is 8th magnitude and a telescope’s
Canis medium-power eyepiece will show it as a loose,
irregular clump of around 30 suns.
Minor
5
NGC 2324
You’ll need a large telescope, dark skies and
high magnification to see this 12th-magnitude
galaxy. Under perfect conditions you will see hints of
its tightly wound spiral arms.
6
NGC 2266
Dominated by a chain of bright stars that cuts
across its centre like a mini Orion’s Belt, this
© Wil Tirion
roughly triangular magnitude 9.5 cluster is a real

treat in medium and large telescopes.
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STARGAZER
The Northern LES
92
Hemisphere
BO
OT
ES
NE
DRACO
M
3
The New Year has arrived with some of the very best 01
M1
night-sky targets, studded in long winter nights 51
M MINOR
VE AN
NA ES
C
T ICI
Whether you just got your first telescope for Christmas or you've long been
COM
observing, there are some wonderful targets to seek out in the New Year.
Orion (the Hunter) and Taurus (the Bull) remain prominent in the sky,
BER A
M1
offering splendid sights including red supergiant Betelgeuse, brilliant blue-
06
E
white Rigel, the Pleiades star cluster (Messier 45), orange giant Aldebaran
N
le
ICES
and, of course, the Crab Nebula (Messier 1). Look southeast and you’ll spot a
celestial Great Dog: a seemingly basic-looking pattern of stars, Canis Major M
81
M RSA
features several binary systems and supergiant stars. It’s also home to open
A
U
JO
cluster Messier 41, which contains an impressive collection of red giants
R
and white dwarfs, not too far from 'Dog Star' Sirius.
VIRGO
Using the sky chart
MINOR
LEO
This chart is for use at 22:00 (GMT)
EAST
mid-month and is set for 52° latitude.
LYNX
LEO
Hold the chart above your

Regulus
01
head with the bottom of the AU
Cas
page in front of you.
Pol
tor
M44
lux
Face south and notice GE
Jan
02 MI
that north on the chart NI
11
is behind you. M
The constellations on the chart
03
CA
SEXT
should now match what you

NC
C
M ANI
ER
see in the sky.

ANS
IN S
OR
Magnitudes Spectral types Pro ZŽ Betelge

NebƐĞƩĞ
HY
cyo ula
DR
n
A
Sirius (-1.4) O-B G M

48
-0.5 to 0.0 MO
A K NOC
0.0 to 0.5 ERO
S
0.5 to 1.0 F M
M4 Sirius
7
1.0 to 1.5
1.5 to 2.0
2.0 to 2.5 Deep-sky objects M41
SE
2.5 to 3.0 CANIS M

Open star clusters AJOR
PU
3.0 to 3.5 PPI Adhar
Globular star clusters S a
3.5 to 4.0
Bright diffuse nebulae
4.0 to 4.5
Planetary nebulae Observer’s note:
Fainter The night sky as it appears
Variable star Galaxies on 17 January 2020 at
approximately 22:00 (GMT)
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NORTH The Northern Hemispheree
Vega
LYRA
HERC
S
YGNU
C
NW
neb
De
URS
S 9
M3
A
EU
RT
H P
CE
CE
LA
Source: Wiki © ALMA

S
Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis)
Source
North P
ASU
IA
PE
Polaris
G
O
E
SI
P
S
CA
MEDA
CAMELOPARDALIS
1
O
M3
Do luster
NDR
le
ub
A
C
WEST
M34
M33
Cap
TRIANGULU
ella
PISCES
l
Algo
UR
EUS
IGA
PERS
URANUS
M36
S
ARIE
e s
M37
iad
M35
Ple
ECLIPTIC
31
6
M1
Jan
Source: Wiki © Fil.A

Jan
Aldebaran
S
U RU Waxing gibbous Moon
euse TA
ra
US
Mi
CET
M78 ORION
M42
Rigel
S
ANU
ERID
SW
LEPUS
R X
NA
FOR
COLUMBA
Source: Wiki © CXIELO
JANUARY 2020
Thor’s Helmet (NGC 2359)
SOUTH
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STARGAZER
Send your astrophotography images to

of the month
space@spaceanswers.com for a chance
to see them featured in All About Space
Ian Griffin
Dunedin, New Zealand
“Just over three years ago, a new job meant that I
moved from Oxford in the UK to Dunedin on the
South Island of New Zealand. Since moving here I’ve
developed a passion for astrophotography both with
and without a telescope. The Southern Hemisphere
sky is teeming with fascinating objects, and it’s a real
pleasure to live in a part of the world where the centre of the galaxy
passes overhead in winter. Here in Dunedin we also get frequent
displays of the aurora australis, which can look truly spectacular
against the backdrop of the beautiful New Zealand landscape.”
Ullrich Dittler
Black Forest,
Germany
Telescope:
Takahashi
FSQ-106 and
Celestron C11
“Even as
a child I was interested in
astrophotography, but during
my studies and my first few
years of work I never had the
chance to image, as I lived in a
light-polluted city. Now I live in
a small town under a dark sky,
and have done for a few years.
The observation conditions are
so good that we have built an
observatory in the garden. I like
to photograph the daily changing
view of the Sun in white light, in
H-alpha light and calcium light. I
also like to take pictures of deep-
The Pleiades (Messier 45) sky objects to image structures
that humans are unable to see.”
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STARGAZER
Your astrophotography
“The Southern Hemisphere

sky is teeming with
fascinating objects”
The Milky Way from the

Southern Hemisphere
A waxing gibbous Moon

showing craters and mare
Katherine Ormerod
Chorley, Lancashire
Telescope: Celestron NexStar 5SE
“I began to have an interest in space around six
years ago. It wasn’t until quite recently that I
developed a strong passion for observing. I have
always been interested in science, particularly
physics, which later led me to buy a telescope
with the aim of viewing the Solar System and the Moon. I find the
lunar surface very interesting because of the incredible detail that
you can see with low magnification.”
Send your photos to… @spaceanswers @ space@spaceanswers.com

91
STARGAZER
Celestron Cometron
FirstScope 76
Designed with the beginner or casual astronomer in mind, this tabletop
telescope is compact, portable and provides good night-sky views
Telescope
There are several things that novice sky-watchers meaning that there wasn’t too much natural light
crave when choosing their very first telescope: pollution to hinder our views of other targets we
advice
portability, ease of use and a price that’s not were keen to observe. With the eyepieces supplied,
going to break the bank. We’re pleased to say that you won’t get hugely close-up views of the surface
Cost: £72/$90.75 the Celestron Cometron FirstScope ticks all of of the Moon, but you’ll be able to see craters and get
From: David Hinds Ltd the boxes. What’s more, this tabletop telescope a feel for the rugged terrain along the terminator.
Type: Reflector comes with all of the accessories you need for any Views aren’t hugely pin-sharp through the field of
Aperture: 76mm (2.99”) beginner wanting a fuss-free tour of the night sky, view, since the focuser tube is quite loose, but they
Focal length: 300mm (12”) providing much improved and more comfortable are sure to delight those who have always wanted
views of the planets and lunar surface over the to get a closer look at the lunar surface without
Best for...
naked eye or even binoculars. straining their eyes. With Venus in the southwest
When unpacking the FirstScope, you’ll notice and shining at a stunning magnitude of -4.9, we
that it is already preassembled, with only the 5x24 turned the scope to the second planet from the Sun.
Beginners and
finderscope needing to be affixed to the telescope As expected, we didn’t see a great deal of detail,
Intermediate
tube. The FirstScope is supplied with two but were treated to a white disc of a bright-
£ Small budgets
Kellner eyepieces – a 10mm and a
20mm – and possesses a fast focal
white ‘star’. Meanwhile, the Cometron’s
wide-angle views provided fair
ratio to provide a wide field of view sights of the Pleiades star cluster,
Planetary viewing that’s ideal for viewing the planets also known as Messier 45, in
and the lunar surface, but also the constellation of Taurus.
Lunar viewing allows the user to view wide- Each of the young, hot member
angle star clusters. stars in this open cluster were
Weighing in at a mere 1.95 exquisite through the field of
Deep-sky objects kilograms, the FirstScope is ideal view. Using the finderscope did Left: An
for those looking for a grab-and-go prove quite cumbersome during alt-azimuth
instrument. On close inspection of our observations though, making design is
the overall build, the finish isn’t perfect, star-hopping quite difficult in light- employed,
with traces of glue apparent on the tube. polluted areas – for instance, it failed to allowing for
Considering what you get for the price though, pick up stars with magnitudes below naked-eye simple use so
the scope’s plastics aren’t glossy and cheap. You’ll visibility – so it makes more sense to use a red-dot that you can
notice that the telescope’s base is short, meaning finder for simpler navigation. skip setting
that you’ll need to place it on a table for comfortable Waiting until dawn was worthwhile as Jupiter, up and get
use. On the plus side though, if you have children which shone at -1.9, rose in the southeast. While it observing
who have been pestering you for a telescope, was difficult to spot any details on the gas giant,
the Cometron FirstScope is the perfect solution, such as its belts and Great Red Spot, the Galilean Left top: The
especially given the low price and ease of use. moons – Io, Ganymede, Europa and Callisto – FirstScope
With Newtonian designs, the two mirrors within appeared as bright spots either side of the king of comes
the tube should be aligned. Astronomers usually the Solar System’s limbs. While the views aren’t supplied
achieve this process – known as collimation – as good as you’d expect through a more dedicated with 10mm
using thumbscrews to adjust the optical system. scope, they are sure to provide a wow-factor for first- and 20mm
Unfortunately these aids are only usually on the time observers. eyepieces
more expensive models, meaning that it was quite If you’re looking for a fuss-free piece of
a task trying to collimate the Cometron FirstScope, equipment to compliment your existing telescope, Right:
as the primary mirror isn’t adjustable and a we recommend a pair of binoculars. However, if The 5x24
collimation cap or eyepiece isn’t actually included you have children who have been bugging you finderscope
with the telescope. for a telescope and you can’t quite commit to a should be
Early December provided a gaggle of Solar moderately priced instrument, then the Cometron replaced with
System targets including Mars, Venus, Saturn and FirstScope may be for you – especially if the lunar a red-dot
the Moon to test the telescope’s optical system. Our surface, the planets and casual glances at the night finder for easy
lunar companion was at 22 per cent illumination, sky are of interest. navigation
92
STARGAZER
R
Celestron Cometron FirstScope 76
6
“Views are sure to

provide a wow-
factor for first-time
observers”
93
WIN
WORTH
£4,000!
AN ASTRONOMY
HOLIDAY FOR TWO!
Choose either Pelton Wheel Cottage or Millrace Cottage, set in the stunning
Lake District’s Coppermines Valley, for a cosy getaway under the stars –
courtesy of Coppermines Lake Cottages
Complete with log fire and hot tub, how does If climbing Scafell Pike – the tallest mountain in dark: rolling countryside and rugged mountainous
a break inside a mountain cottage, nestled in England – isn’t for you when it comes to getting terrain surrounds you, while a hot tub gives you
the beautiful Lake District, sound? Courtesy of closer to the heavens, then never fear; you the perfect opportunity to relax.
Coppermines Lake Cottages, such an opportunity can simply stick close to your cabin and catch Winner must respond within seven days or the
is just a correct answer away! everything from those tricky-to-see galaxies to prize will be forfeited and another winner will be
An astronomer’s ideal getaway, the holiday firm favourites of the Solar System. If you prefer an chosen. Qualifies for a three-night stay (Friday to
affords you the time to pack up your telescope easy gaze without a telescope, then the Milky Way Monday) for two adults at either Pelton Wheel
and head for the breathtaking clear skies over the in all its majesty is on show up until spring. Cottage or Millrace Cottage. Pets are welcome.
Lakes, out of the remit of light pollution for three There are plenty of opportunities to explore the Prize must be taken before 23 March 2020 and
days of celestial wonders. surrounding area while you’re waiting for it to get excludes school holidays. Travel costs not included.
For more details head

to: coppermines.co.uk
To be in with a chance of winning, all you

have to do is answer this question:
Messier 101 is another name for which
celestial object?
A: The Pinwheel Galaxy
Enter via email at
B: The Orion Nebula space@spaceanswers.com or by post to
C: The Cartwheel Galaxy All About Space competitions, Richmond House, 33
Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, BH2 6EZ
Competition ends on 30 January 2020 Visit the website for full terms and conditions at www.spaceanswers.com/competitions
94
LET COLLINS
BE YOUR GUIDE TO
THE NIGHT SKY
Must-have books for all astronomy enthusiasts,
from beginner to seasoned stargazer.
Collins
A s t ro n o m y
P h o to g ra p h e r
of the Year
Collection 8
STARGAZER
The latest books, apps, software, tech and
accessories for space and astronomy fans alike
Book
Astronomy Photographer
of the Year 2019
Cost: £25.00/$39.95
From: Royal Observatory Greenwich
Be captivated by 140 winning and shortlisted
images from the 2019 Insight Investment Astronomy
Photographer of the Year competition. A showcase of
the most spectacular space photography of its kind, the
hardback book is adorned with breathtaking images
taken from locations across the globe. Marvel at the
wonders of the universe captured by the most talented
astrophotographers, also on display at the National
Maritime Museum now.
These awe-inspiring images were submitted in
several categories: aurorae, skyscapes, people and space,
our Sun, our Moon, planets, comets and asteroids,
stars and nebulae, galaxies and a young competitor
category, with each image accompanied with a caption
that provides everything you need to know from the
location,, tips
p from the astrophotographer
p g p on capturing
p g
such a stunning shot and technical details.
App
Luminos 9.6.2
Cost: £7.99/$9.99
From: iTunes
Luminos has all of the workings of an excellentt
app, allowing you to point and scan as well as
identify objects. The app does have some extras
over other night-sky apps that many users will
certainly appreciate. This includes a feature that
allows you to mark targets as you find them in the
night sky, also recording the date and allowing you
to add some observer's notes.
Over other apps that we’ve used, there is a lot
more in the way of objects – including asteroids
and satellites – among others in the catalogue. A
feature that we enjoyed in particular was being
able to ‘hitch a ride’ on a satellite, which allows
you to observe countries from orbit. You can also
choose to observe from another world or object in
the Solar System.
If you own a telescope or pair of binoculars, you
can set the field of view, which makes star hopping
and locating objects easy – a useful function that
gets a massive thumbs up from us!
96
STARGAZER
R
In the shopss
W
Watch
hepherd Watch
Sh
Cost: £500.00 (approx. $658.85)
Fro om: Royal Observatory Greenwich
Witth a design that’s based on the world-famous
24--hour Shepherd Gate Clock – Britain’s time
sysstem, which was originally located at the gates of
thee Royal Observatory and meridian line and the
firsst to show Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) – this
stu
unning timekeeper features an Italian leather
watch strap, sapphire-coated mineral crystal face,
mineral glass caseback window and wooden
preesentation box, silicon black strap, nylon strap,
cloth and operating instructions.
The
T watch’s minute and second hands are
conventional, while the hour hand makes one
revolution round the dial once in 24 hours. At
midday the minute hand points to the top, while
the hour hand points down on a black-and-white
dial etched in Roman numerals, set in a black
stainless steel bezel with black crown. A stunning
gift for a loved one or yourself.
“This stunning
timekeeper features
an Italian leather
watch strap”
Accessories
Philip’s Moon Map
Cost: £6.99 (approx. $9.20)
From: Philip’s Astronomy
If you’re a keen lunar observer, then this beautifully
illustrated Philip’s Moon Map is one of the most
detailed lunar guides on the market. Over 500
craters, mares, mountain ranges, peaks, valleys and
rilles are labelled, ensuring that you can plan and
identify features during your observations of the
nearside of our natural satellite with ease. Philip’s
Moon Map is reasonably priced – especially if you’re
keen to explore the lunar surface as closely as
possible. It also includes details on the phases along
with details on its orbit around our planet.
Using the map has its challenges – being so large,
it catches even the slightest of breezes, making it
difficult to use. We recommend pinning it down
to a garden table using paperweights, which will
allow for hands-free use. Additionally, being made
of paper, it’s unable to withstand the elements
sufficiently, which could lead to tearing and damage
from moisture and general use. Under red light, the
map can be read with ease – an important attribute
for those wanting to use it during their observations
without ruining their night vision.
97
HEROES
F SPAC
SPACE Future PLC Richmond House, 33 Richmond Hill,
Bournemouth, Dorset, BH2 6EZ
Editorial
Editor-in-Chief Gemma Lavender
gemma.lavender@futurenet.com
Art Editor Jonathan Wells
Staff Writer Lee Cavendish
Edgar
Production Editor Nikole Robinson
Research Editor Baljeet Panesar
Senior Art Editor Duncan Crook
Photography Olly Curtis
Mitchell Contributors
Stuart Atkinson, Meghan Bartels, Charles Q. Choi, David
Crookes, Chelsea Gohd, Giles Sparrow, Colin Stuart, Mark
Thompson, Michael Wall
Cover images
He was one of the Adrian Mann; Nicholas Forder; NASA; Getty;
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the nine-and-a-half hours they Head of subscriptions Sharon Todd
spent conducting extravehicular Circulation
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September 1930 in Hereford, Texas. Production Project Manager Clare Scott
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His early years would later help Digital Editions Controller Jason Hudson
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him in becoming an astronaut:
only spaceflight
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Management
he was well-educated, graduating
was on Apollo 14 !ǝǣƺǔ !ȒȇɎƺȇɎ ǔˡƬƺȸ Aaron Asadi
with a doctorate in aeronautics and d Commercial Finance Director Dan Jotcham
Brand Director Evan Kypreos
astronautics from the Massachuset ts Head of Art & Design Greg Whitaker
Institute of Technology (MIT) in
1964, as well as being a US Navy
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“Mit h ll recalled in a 1997
“Mitchell Printed by William Gibbons & Sons Limited, 26 Planetary
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Kennedy’s famous speech in 1962
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“After Kennedy announced the
become an astronaut” ǣɀ ȸƺǕǣɀɎƺȸƺƳ ǣȇ 0ȇǕǼƏȇƳ ƏȇƳ áƏǼƺɀِ «ƺǕǣɀɎƺȸƺƳ ȒǔˡƬƺ‫ ي‬ªɖƏɵ RȒɖɀƺً Áǝƺ
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astronaut in 1966. His earlier They were also the first astronauts this she had “met all the nuts, flakes ƳƺȸǣɮƺƳ ǔȸȒȅ ȸƺɀȵȒȇɀǣƫǼɵ ȅƏȇƏǕƺƳً ƬƺȸɎǣˡƺƳ ǔȒȸƺɀɎȸɵ ƏȇƳ
involvements include being part to transmit colour television back to and fruits in the whole granola box.” chlorine-free manufacture. The paper in this magazine was
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and backup Lunar Module pilot for with 43 kilograms (94 pounds) of Palm Beach in Florida on 4 February ǔɖǼǼ I³! ƏȇƳ ¨0I! ƬƺȸɎǣˡƬƏɎǣȒȇ ƏȇƳ ƏƬƬȸƺƳǣɎƏɎǣȒȇِ
Apollo 10. He also developed vital lunar rock for further analysis. 2016, some 45 years after flying on
procedures at Johnson Space Center This mission sparked a spiritual the Apollo 14 mission, and although
that would save the Apollo 13 crew awakening within Mitchell, and his latter pursuits were largely
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