Planetary defense campaign will use real asteroid for the first time
https://phys.org/news/2017-07-planetary-defense-campaign-real-asteroid.html

For the first time, NASA will use an actual space rock for a tabletop exercise simulating an asteroid impact in a densely populated area. The asteroid, named
2012 TC4, does not pose a threat to Earth, but NASA is using it as a test object for an observational campaign because of its close flyby on Oct. 12, 2017.

Scientists unveil new 3-D view of galaxies
https://phys.org/news/2017-07-scientists-unveil-d-view-galaxies.html

For many years astronomers have struggled to get good-quality 3-D data of galaxies. Although this technique is very powerful
as it allows researchers to "dissect" objects, this was a slow process as each galaxy had to be observed independently.

Novel Australian designed and built instrumentation called the "Sydney-AAO Multi-object Integral-field" (SAMI) unit at
the 3.9m Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) now allows astronomers to simultaneously view many galaxies at the same time.

"The power of SAMI is that it allows us to look into the details of many galaxies at once", University of Sydney astronomer
and SAMI Principal Investigator Prof. Scott Croom said.

The SAMI instrument provides 13 optical fibre units that can "dissect" astronomical objects using spectroscopy, providing
unique 3-D data of galaxies.

Ceres Relief
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37T6zrEy7vI

Astrophysicists map out the light energy contained within the Milky Way
http://www.ras.org.uk/...024-astrophysicists-map-out-the-light-energy-contained-within-the-milky-way

For the first time, a team of scientists have calculated the distribution of all light energy contained within the Milky Way, which will provide new insight into
the make-up of our galaxy and how stars in spiral galaxies such as ours form. The study is published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

This research, conducted by astrophysicists at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), in collaboration with colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear
Physics in Heidelberg, Germany and from the Astronomical Institute of the Romanian Academy, also shows how the stellar photons, or stellar light, within the Milky Way
control the production of the highest energy photons in the Universe, the gamma-rays. This was made possible using a novel method involving computer calculations that
track the destiny of all photons in the galaxy, including the photons that are emitted by interstellar dust, as heat radiation.

Software for modeling terrestrial planet interiors

https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~lzeng/planetmodels.html

In a Rare Pairing, a Venus-Like Planet Has Been Found Around a "Failed Star" | Science | Smithsonian
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/...e-pairing-venus-planet-has-been-found-around-failed-star-180957124/

The system offers clues to the way planets and moons form and may aid in the quest to find habitable worlds across the galaxy

Astronomers using a gravitational magnifying glass have found a Venus-like planet orbiting a "failed star"—a massive but incredibly dim
brown dwarf. This rarely seen pairing offers clues to the way planets and moons form, which may in turn help in the quest to find habitable
worlds, whether they are Earth-like planets or life-friendly moons.

Are Astronomers on the Verge of Finding an Exomoon? - Scientific American Blog Network
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/...rvations/are-astronomers-on-the-verge-of-finding-an-exomoon/

It would be a huge discovery, but until they train the Hubble on a possible candidate, they won't know for sure—so stay tuned

Alex Teachey : This morning David (Kipping) and I put out a paper on the arXiv that represents the culmination of years of work searching
for the signature of exomoons in the population of stars examined by the Kepler Mission. After carefully analyzing an ensemble of the highest
quality planetary transit signals, we have determined that exomoons appear to be quite rare in the inner regions of star systems (regions of
space close to the host star). This finding was both remarkable and, frankly, a bit disappointing. https://arxiv.org/abs/1707.08563

A ještě přidám čerstvý SETIinst FB live: dnes "mladá krev" NASA Frontier Development Lab (FDL), hosted at the SETI Institute.

https://www.facebook.com/SETIInstitute/videos/10155414100585535/

FDL is an applied artificial intelligence research accelerator and public/private partnership between NASA Ames Research Center
and the SETI Institute. The program tackles knowledge gaps in space science by pairing machine learning experts with astronomy and
planetary science expertise. Interdisciplinary teams address tightly defined problems with meaningful application to the space program.

Participants are set up in five teams consisting of four members:

Planetary Defense: Long Period Comets
Provide more warning time for long-period comet impacts by applying deep learning to meteor shower observations

Planetary Defense: Radar 3D Shape Modeling
Develop a methodology to automate the backlog of neo radar imagery that requires shape modeling – and also improve the resolution of the result

Space Resources: Lunar Water & Volatiles
Determine the location and most promising access points for vital lunar H2O, in terms of cost effectiveness and engineering constraints

Space Weather: Solar-Terrestrial Interactions
Improve understanding of solar influence on Earth’s magnetosphere and atmosphere

Space Weather: Solar Storm Prediction
Discovering new relationships and agents to help predict major solar events

A sixth team comprised of undergraduate students will address AI and the space sciences by exploring the application
of AI as a breakthrough capability for the space program, informed by the experience of FDL and its partner network.

Teď začínají!

Tony Darnell / Deep Astronomy - Mercury: Bombarded by many tiny meteoroids

https://www.pscp.tv/DeepAstronomy/1YpJkmbNmPVKj

It has been known for a long time that Mercury, the innermost planet in the solar system does not have much of an atmosphere.
This variable “exosphere” around Mercury has been detected several times and appears to contain numerous interesting chemical
elements besides hydrogen. Chemicals such as potassium, sodium, oxygen and even water vapor also have been measured. Besides
that, there also is seasonal variation in the dust/meteoroid environment of Mercury. The material varies with position on the
planet and sometimes has a dawn–dusk asymmetry. But why? Where is the material in Mercury’s exosphere come from? Is it from
the surface, or the blast from the Solar wind. A new analysis of comets suggests that these are the orgin of some features
in Mercury’s exosphere.

Join Tony Darnell and Carol Christian during Afternoon Astronomy Coffee on July 27, 2017 at 3PM Eastern (Daylight) Time as
they discuss with Menelaus Sarantos and Diego Janches about their study of this fascinating planet.

https://www.facebook.com/DeepAstronomy/videos/1434120169986890/

Half of the Milky Way comes from other galaxies | Science News
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/half-milky-way-comes-other-galaxies

Simulations suggest that galactic winds blew the material in from elsewhere

New simulations suggest that nearly half the matter in the Milky Way may have been siphoned from the gas of other galaxies.
That gas provides the raw material that galaxies use to build their bulk. The finding, scheduled to appear in the Monthly
Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, reveals a new, unexpected way for galaxies to acquire matter and could give
clues to how they evolve.

Galaxies trade gas | Science News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opq0YATsKX8

Příběh tří hvězdných měst | ESO Česko
http://www.eso.org/public/czechrepublic/news/eso1723/?lang

Díky novým pozorováním, která pořídil dalekohled VST, se astronomům podařilo odhalit tři různé populace mladých stálic tvořících hvězdokupu
v nitru Velké mlhoviny v souhvězdí Orion. Nečekaný výsledek přináší nový pohled na chápání procesu vzniku hvězdokup. Naznačuje totiž, že ke
vzniku hvězd mohlo docházet v explozivních etapách, přičemž každá epizoda se odehrála mnohem rychleji, než se dříve myslelo.

Širokoúhlá kamera OmegaCAM pracující na dalekohledu ESO/VST (VLT Survey Telescope) pořídila nové detailní a působivé záběry Velké mlhoviny
v Orionu (Orion Nebula) a s ní spojené hvězdokupy mladých hvězd. Tato mlhovina je jednou z nejbližších oblastí s probíhajícím vznikem malých
i velkých hvězd a nachází se ve vzdálenosti asi 1 350 světelných let od Země.

Zooming in on the Orion Nebula | ESO Česko
http://www.eso.org/public/czechrepublic/videos/eso1723b/

Zooming in on the Orion Nebula
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rkg5RXxlxuk

Has Cassini found a universal driver for prebiotic chemistry at Titan? / Cassini-Huygens / Space Science / Our Activities / ESA
http://www.esa.int/...-Huygens/Has_Cassini_found_a_universal_driver_for_prebiotic_chemistry_at_Titan

The international Cassini-Huygens mission has made a surprising detection of a molecule that is
instrumental in the production of complex organics within the hazy atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan.

Titan boasts a thick nitrogen and methane atmosphere with some of the most complex chemistry seen in the Solar System.
It is even thought to mimic the atmosphere of early Earth, before the build-up of oxygen. As such, Titan can be seen
as a planet-scale laboratory that can be studied to understand the chemical reactions that may have led to life on Earth,
and that could be occurring on planets around other stars.

In Titan’s upper atmosphere, nitrogen and methane are exposed to energy from sunlight and energetic particles in Saturn’s
magnetosphere. These energy sources drive reactions involving nitrogen, hydrogen and carbon, which lead to more complicated
prebiotic compounds.

Using powerful Dark Energy Camera, scientists reach the cosmic dawn | EurekAlert! Science News
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-07/asu-upd072617.php

Arizona State University astronomers Sangeeta Malhotra and James Rhoads, working with international teams in Chile and China,
have discovered 23 young galaxies, seen as they were 800 million years after the Big Bang. The results from this sample have
been recently published in the Astrophysical Journal.

Giant Radio Telescope Scaled Back to Contain Costs - Scientific American
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/giant-radio-telescope-scaled-back-to-contain-costs/

Crowding antennas closer together may affect the Square Kilometer Array's ability to observe the early Universe

Designs for the world’s largest radio telescope have been scaled back to save money—a decision that astronomers
say could affect its ability to peer deep into the Universe’s past.

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA), a telescope 50 times more sensitive than current instruments, is expected to cost
billions of dollars. Its final design calls for around 2,000 radio dishes in Africa, together with up to one million
antennas in Australia, that will have a total light-collecting area of roughly 1 square kilometre—hence the project's
name.

Galactic David and Goliath | ESA/Hubble
http://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1712/

The gravitational dance between two galaxies in our local neighbourhood has led to intriguing visual features in both as witnessed in this new
NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image. The tiny NGC 1510 and its colossal neighbour NGC 1512 are at the beginning of a lengthy merger, a crucial
process in galaxy evolution. Despite its diminutive size, NGC 1510 has had a significant effect on NGC 1512’s structure and amount of star formation.

The Making of a Pre-Planetary Nebula
http://aasnova.org/2017/07/26/the-making-of-a-pre-planetary-nebula/

The gas expelled by dying stars gets twisted into intricate shapes and patterns as
nebulae form. Now a team of researchers might have some answers about how this happens.