Science Daily November 17, 2009: "Using ESO's Very Large Telescope and its ability to obtain images as sharp as if taken from space, astronomers have made the first time-lapse movie of a rather unusual shell ejected by a 'vampire star,' which in November 2000 underwent an outburst after gulping down part of its companion's matter. This enabled astronomers to determine the distance and intrinsic brightness of the outbursting object."
Apollo 13 Was 'Successful Failure'
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., April 11 (Reuters) - It's been 40 years since Apollo 13 safely returned to Earth after a oxygen-tank explosion prevented the spacecraft from landing on the moon and put its three-man crew in danger.
The Center of the Universe
Wendy Freedman serves as director of the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. From offices still located in Pasadena, Freedman oversees the development of major new telescopes at the Carnegie site in Las Campanas, Chile. Freedman recently spoke with Vision contributor Dan Cloer concerning her work and the next era of astronomy.
From the Ground Up
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made the first extraterrestrial steps for mankind. When the lunar module Eagle landed, its touchdown represented the decade-long collective efforts of thousands of laborers in dozens of industries.
George Hale: To Know the Stars and Sunbeams
Step by step, inch by inch, sometimes by luck, and often against great adversity, the human race has waded into the cosmos. The last century was an extraordinary time of cosmic exploration, and George Hale’s contribution to that exploration was in building tools that have given us greater access to the universe.
Neil Armstrong: A Man Out of Time
July 20 marked the 40th anniversary of our first steps beyond the Earth. For almost anyone alive on July 20, 1969, the first words from the Moon and man’s first steps are flashbulb events.
Alan B. Shepard, Jr.: Spam in a Can?
Alan B. Shepard, Jr. lived twice as long as many people expected. The first American in space, Shepard lit the American public’s enthusiasm to rally behind the space program.
Another Another World
Like a nighttime soap opera, the dramatic search for another earth added a new episode in April. Corresponding to the 39th anniversary of Earth Day in the United States, astronomers at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) announced their discovery of a small, apparently Earth-like planet orbiting the star Gliese 581.
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