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News briefs
Crater news: Astronomy.com has an article from yesterday, “Did the Celts see a comet impact in 200 B.C.?” It tells about the Chiemgau strewn field, an “ellipse 36 miles long and 17 miles (58 by 27 kilometers) wide” in southeastern Bavaria, where they have identified 81 craters, the largest of which is 1,215 ft. (370 meters) wide. The authors, two of whom have a very interesting Web site in three languages about European craters, report a scenario involving an aerial explosion and subsequent impact by a comet fragment or rubble-pile asteroid. The authors give a comparison of strewn fields stating that Chiemgau is the largest yet identified worldwide, but doesn't mention the new and much larger discovery in Egypt announced October 7th (see news, “Multiple impacts”).
LBTO news: Associated Press has a widely published story, such as at CNN today, about dedication of the Large Binocular Telescope today on Mt. Graham in Arizona, although the first mirror hasn't received its final coating, and installation of the other mirror is “unlikely before the middle of next year, with final operation of both mirrors anticipated either late next year or early in 2006.”
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Stardust hopes: NASA has a news release from yesterday about the cause of the September 8th Genesis mission mishap, and the Rocky Mountain News has an interview today with Joe Vellinga, Genesis program manager at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Colorado. NASA said the cause was “likely . . . a design error that involves the orientation of gravity-switch devices [that] initiate the timing sequence leading to deployment of the craft's drogue parachute and parafoil.” It notes, however, that the investigation hasn't yet determined if this was the only cause (a problem battery was originally suspected — see news). The paper reports that “The Genesis failure raised concerns about Stardust's fate. But Vellinga said Thursday that Stardust ‘doesn't have the problem’ that doomed Genesis.” He states that the fault was in Lockheed's “installation design” and not in the switches themselves, and says that the investigation is working now to prove that the switches, installed differently in the Stardust sample return capsule, will work correctly. It is scheduled to re-enter and land in Utah in January 2006 with samples of comet and interstellar dust.
New Scientist reports today that the deceleration sensors were installed backward on Genesis, but not on Stardust.
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