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Space and starsIn 1768 Captain Cook set sail on his first epic voyage to the Pacific on a mission to observe the Transit of Venus. A transit is when one of the inner planets, Mercury or Venus, goes across the face of the Sun. By timing observations of the Transit from different places on Earth, astronomers were able to work out the distance to the Sun - the astronomical unit. Since then, New Zealanders have been fascinated by, and dependent upon, the stars. These pages tell of the Royal Society's involvement. Links
NewsBelow are space-related news headlines. Full articles are available from this site under the 'News, Events, Policy' heading for RSNZ members only. If you'd like to become a member or would like information on member benefits, click here.21 June 2007: Want to pretend to go to Mars? apply here - Space agency looking for 12 volunteers to investigate the "human factor" of a trip to Mars 4 June 2007: The small satellites - weighing in at about 40kg each - would gather a range of information - Messenger, launched in August 2004, will be the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury, arriving in 2011 31 May 2007: New Hawaii lab hopes to send satellites into space in two years - The small satellites - weighing in at about 40kg each - would gather a range of information 14 May 2007: Six existing centres have been re-selected, and one new one - Massey's Riddet Centre - has been established - The experiment is aimed at finding ways to help astronauts adapt to life on Mars 15 March 2007: Immense ice deposits found at south pole of Mars - Deposits up to 3.7 km thick 12 March 2007: Theory says Saturn moon's heat came from early radioactive decay - Scientists produce new model to explain the origin of Enceladus' interior heat 12 January 2007: Astronomers discover 'American football' in galaxy centre - Find the first evidence of a huge oval-shaped bulge consisting of billions of stars in the Milky Way 19 September 2006: Study urges US return to the Moon - National Research Council board encourages NASA to collaborate with the international scientific community 14 September 2006: Scientists discover puzzling giant planet - Roughly one-third larger in diameter than Jupiter, but only weighs half as much 11 September 2006: Shuttle Atlantis links up with space station - Delivers a new pair of solar arrays to double electricity capacity on the expanding research outpost 7 September 2006: Earthlike planets may be common - study - An article reported in Science suggests close-orbiting gassy planets covered with deep oceans that harbour life may be found in as many as a third of solar systems outside of our own. 14 August 2006: Warning over US plan to protect satellite network - Otago University physics researchers say planes and ships could lose radio contact if the US goes ahead with a scheme to protect orbiting satellites. 31 July 2006: Telescope snaps image of Jupiter's Red Spot Jr - A new, smaller Jovian storm that only turned red in December 2005. 23 July 2006: Nix and Hydra, Pluto's new moons - The moons, at between 48km and 165km across, are small compared to Pluto's Charon estimated to have a diameter of around 1212km 19 July 2006: China eyes exploration of Mars - Xinhua - Moon probe is just a beginning, news agency reports. 28 June 2006: Space shuttle crew arrives in Florida for launch - discovery scheduled to leave Saturday for the International Space Station. 25 June 2006: NASA's Hubble Space telescope has stopped working - engineers are yet to determine why the Advanced Camera for Surveys has gone off line. 23 June 2006: Nix and Hydra, Pluto's new moons - the moons, at between 48km and 165km across, are small compared to Pluto's Charon estimated to have a diameter of around 1212km. 19 June 2006: Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking to discuss origin of universe - currently in Beijing to speak at a conference on the riddle of string theory. 16 June 2006: Hawking says Pope told him not to study beginning of universe - made the comments at a cosmology conference at the Vatican. 14 June 2006: Physicist Stephen Hawking says humans must spread out in space - eminent theoretical physicist tells audience in Hong Kong that to survive humans must seek permanent bases on other stars in the universe. 13 June 2006: UK scientists unveil latest craft to search for life on Mars - prototype rover is a more advanced version of Beagle 2. 2 June 2006: Are we alone? The search for extra-terrestrial intelligence is coming to Dunedin - Dr Jill Tarter of the SETI Institute (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) will be the first keynote guest for the 2006 NZ International Science Festival. 18 May 2006: China telescope discovers three planets - unique planetary system made up of three planets similar to Neptune orbiting a star a little more massive than our sun. 17 May 2006: Dying comet offers celestial spectacular - brightest chunks of Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 - also know as Comet 73p - should be visible on Thursday near the constellation of Cygnus. 9 May 2006: Two dim dwarf galaxies found around Milky Way. In the constellations of Cane Venatici and Bootes, about 640,000 light-years from the Sun. 8 May 2006: Discovery of hemisphere's oldest seasonal calendar - academics reunite after 25 years to discover a 4,000-year-old temple with features similar to Stonehenge near Lima, Peru. 19 April 2006: ANU to help build world's most powerful telescope - Australian National University's Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics has joined a consortium of US research institutes to design and build the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) in Chile. 13 April 2006: Shuttle holds lesson for next spacecraft plan - Columbia's test launch in 1981 was manned and included no means for safety oficers to destroy the shuttle if it strayed off course and threatened populated areas. 12 April 2006: New US telescope scans the sky for alien life - located at the observatory at Harvard, Massachusetts, the far-reaching telescope is the first to be developed solely to search the skies for light pulses from aliens. 11 April 2006: Possible 10th planet is only slightly larger than Pluto - located at the observatory at Harvard, Massachusetts, the far-reaching telescope is the first to be developed solely to search the skies for light pulses from aliens. 10 April 2006: NASA to crash space probe into moon to search for water - South Pole ice plunge also planned for 2009. 31 March 2006: Scientist helps find "universe's strongest magnetic field" - UK scientist and his German colleague have simulated for the first time what happens to the magnetic field when neutron stars collide. 25 March 2006: New comet could be source of Earth's water - astronomers find rare discovery in an asteroid-like object close to the Sun. 5 March 2006: Distant galaxy creates sonic boom shock wave - astronomers discover activity in Stephan's Quintet. 24 February 2006: New kind of space blast seen not far from Earth - much closer and lasted longer than a typical gamma-ray burst, astronomers say; images available online at http://www.nasa.gov/mission-pages/swift/bursts/oddball-burst.html 23 February 2006: Astronomy plans 96km-wide telescope - would have at least 150 mirror elements, each measuring three metres across, spread out over an area of about 8000km. 7 February 2006: US space artist paints worlds no one has ever seen - Lynette Cook adds a new dimension to astrophysics in her new book about extrasolar planets "Infinite World". 26 January 2006: Life in space discovery closer as Kiwi astronomers find new planet. The multi-national team's findings will be published this week in leading international science journal Nature 21 January 2006: Study suggests glaciers scraped Martian surface. Mysterious debris fields found far from the poles on Mars were made by glaciers, possibly formed just like glaciers are on Earth - by the build-up of snow - researchers say 20 January 2006: Space junk continuing to accumulate. No workable and economic way to clean up the mess 19 January 2006: NASA ecstatic over the condition of comet particles. A lightweight substance called aerogel was specially designed for the mission to capture the fine comet particles and some smaller interstellar dust particles 18 January 2006: NASA tries again to launch spacecraft on mission to Pluto. Weather delays probe launch. NASA probe will study Pluto and mysterious zone of icy objects. Controversy surrounds mission powered by radioactive plutonium pellets 17 January 2006: Scientists open stardust space capsule. Contains dust particles left over from the birth of the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago. Some particles big enough to be seen with the naked eye 16 January 2006: NASA poised to launch first Pluto probe 15 January 2006: US probe 'Stardust' returns to Earth with rare samples. Seven-year mission brings home teaspoonful of space dust 12 January 2006: NASA probe carrying comet dust to return to earth. Capping a seven-year mission that scientists hope will give them clues about the origins of the solar system 12 January 2006: New cheaper tools join search for another Earth. A telescope turbo-charger called ET has found its first planet outside the solar system 10 January 2006: Hubble reveals hidden second companion to North Star. Newly photographed second companion is a dwarf star just 3.22 billion kilometres from it. Polaris Ab has been inferred but eluded direct detection because it was close to Polaris and relatively faint 10 January 2006: One-way trip into black hole takes 200,000 years. By tracking the death spiral of cosmic gas at the centre of a galaxy called NGC1097 10 January 2006: Milky Way's warp caused by interloping galaxies. The various modes of warping correlate closely with the orbit of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds 8 January 2006: Comet hunter: NASA to return first comet samples to earth. Mission set out in 1999 for a comet named Wild 2 8 January 2006: Hyperdrive could create three-hour trips to Mars. Heim claimed it should be possible to convert electromagnetic energy into gravity and back again 3 January 2006: Japan to allow private funding in space projects. In an effort to offset declining government funding 2 January 2006: Beyond defence and space, federal spending on research drops. Defence and space projects account for most increases in the US$135 billion ($NZ201.79 billion) federal research and development budget next year |