Universe Map Summary

        Scientists have mapped out a way to find the origin of stars and of three hundred plus galaxies. Through the use of the Hershel telescope and Hershel's ideals scientists were able to piece together a comprehensive compilation  of our galaxies. Spiral galaxies and irregular galaxies are the most dust rich, therefore they are the best clues to the birth of stars and planets. 

"European Space Telescope Maps Universe's Dust Like Never Before (Images)"

"A European space telescope has helped astronomers create the best map ever of the cosmic dust that forms the glue of galaxies in the visible universe, scientists say.
Researchers used the European Space Agency's Herschel space observatory to the largest census of dust in galaxies near the Milky Way, studying over 300 galaxies in an attempt to nail down the properties of an important ingredient for the birth of stars and planets. Dust may be a nuisance here on Earth, but in space, gravity pulls the particles together to start forming larger bodies.




Herschel studied light emitted by the dust in 323 galaxies lying between 50 and 80 million light-years from the Milky Way. The census doesn't focus on similar galaxies but on widely varying ones, allowing astronomers a glimpse of the role dust plays throughout the universe.Spiral galaxies like the Milky Way, as well as irregular galaxies, tend to be dust-rich, with more star formation. Elliptical galaxies tend to lack the ingredient, and birth fewer stars. Stars heat the dust, allowing Herschel to observe the light in the far-infrared and submillimeter wavelengths.



Hershel's census revealed wider variations between galaxies based on their star-formation alone, implying that other properties play an important part in the birthing process.
Further studies from telescopes on Earth will compliment Herschel's survey, providing greater insight into the role of dust in the evolution of galaxies. The census was one of the last scientific observations made by Herschel prior to the mission conclusion in April 2013."(http://www.space.com/25230-herschel-space-observatory-galaxy-dust-photo.html)

Milky Way Galaxy Summary

The Milky Way Galaxy has been something studied, measured and admired for years. Until now we have used visible light telescopes to study the large, dustily star mass on the outskirts of our solar system. However these telescopes are not effective because when they look farther into the sky the amount of dust increases with this basic light. Scientists and astronomers have discovered that in fared light is the key to accurately capturing the expanse of the Galaxy. “For the first time, we can actually measure the large-scale structure of the Galaxy using stars rather than gas. We have established beyond the shadow of a doubt that our Galaxy has a large bar structure that extends halfway out to the Sun’s orbit. We know more about where the Milky Way’s spiral arms are,” said team member Prof Edward Churchwell from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Measuring The Milky Way Galaxy

"Milky Way Galaxy is a flat spiral disk; our Solar System sits in the outer one-third of the Milky Way, in one of its spiral arms.

When we look toward the center of our Galaxy, we see a crowded, dusty region jam-packed with stars.

Visible-light telescopes cannot look as far into this region because the amount of dust increases with distance, blocking visible starlight. Infrared light, however, travels through the dust and allows Spitzer to view past the Galaxy’s center.

“For the first time, we can actually measure the large-scale structure of the Galaxy using stars rather than gas. We have established beyond the shadow of a doubt that our Galaxy has a large bar structure that extends halfway out to the Sun’s orbit. We know more about where the Milky Way’s spiral arms are,” said team member Prof Edward Churchwell from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In addition to providing new revelations about galactic structure, Spitzer and the images processed by Prof Churchwell and his colleagues have made possible the addition of more than 200 million new objects to the catalog of the Milky Way.

“This gives us some idea about the general distribution of stars in our Galaxy, and stars, of course, make up a major component of the baryonic mass of the Milky Way. That’s where the ballgame is.”

The star-studded panorama of Milky Way Galaxy named GLIMPSE360 is available online at http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/glimpse360

It is interactive and zoomable, giving users the ability to look through the plane of the Galaxy and zero in on a variety of objects, including nebulae, bubbles, jets, bow shocks, the center of the Galaxy and other exotic phenomena.

The survey conducted by the astronomers has also helped them understand the distribution of the Milky Way’s stellar nurseries, regions where massive stars and proto-stars are churned out.

“We can see every star-forming region in the plane of the Galaxy,” said team member Prof Robert Benjamin from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

“This gives us some idea of the metabolic rate of our Galaxy. It tells us how many stars are forming each year,” explained team member Dr Barb Whitney from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

While Spitzer is helping astronomers resolve some of the mysteries of the Milky Way, it is adding new cosmological puzzles for them to ponder. For example, the infrared data gathered by the team has revealed that interstellar space is filled with diffuse polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon gas.

“These are hydrocarbons – very complicated, very heavy molecules with fifty or more carbon atoms,” Prof Churchwell said.

“They are brightest around regions of star formation but detectable throughout the disk of the Milky Way. They’re floating out in the middle of interstellar space where they have no business being. It raises the question of how they were formed. It also tells us carbon may be more abundant than we thought.”(http://www.sci-news.com/astronomy/science-glimpse360-milky-way-galaxy-01815.html)

Aerospace firms Northrop Grumman and L'Garde have been working on a spacecraft to explore Venus. The Venus Atmospheric Maneuverable Platform concept vehicle will be very easy to execute because the scientists and engineers have the technology already to produce this vehicle. The VAMP would run on solar panels and wind patterns from Venus. Aerospace firms Northrop Grumman and L'Garde say the vehicle would rise during the day and take areal observations and then land during nighttime. The VAMP would circumnavigate Venus every six days due to the wind patterns. The vehicle would use buoyant gas to land and position itself on Venus. This vehicle would be extremely light and only be able to carry 44 lbs of scientific gear, still it is a small price to pay for a greater look into Venus's hot and mysterious atmosphere. 

"A big robotic airship could ply the skies of Venus for up to a year, giving scientists an unprecedented look at Earth's hellishly hot "sister planet," the craft's developers say.

For the past year, engineers at aerospace firms Northrop Grumman and L'Garde have been working on an unmanned concept vehicle called the Venus Atmospheric Maneuverable Platform. Using a mixture of powered flight and passive floating, VAMP could stay aloft for long periods, collecting a variety of data about Venus and its atmosphere.

Further, no big breakthroughs are required to get VAMP — which remains in the design phase — up and running, team members say.

A Venus airship

VAMP is a big but incredibly light inflatable aircraft. While its 151-foot (46 meters) wingspan dwarfs that of NASA's now-retired space shuttle, the triangular VAMP would tip the scales at just 992 pounds (450 kilograms).

In the vehicle's envisioned mission architecture, VAMP hitches a ride to Venus orbit with a carrier spacecraft, then deploys and inflates (with hydrogen or some other buoyant gas) while still linked to this mothership. VAMP then detaches and spirals down toward the planet, hitting the atmosphere in a slow, smooth entry that requires only minimal thermal-protection gear.

This critical maneuver would be far less dramatic than the August 2012 entry, descent and landing of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, which space agency officials dubbed "seven minutes of terror," Griffin said.

"This would be more like an hour and a half of trepidation," she said.

VAMP would then cruise through Venus' skies at altitudes ranging between 34 miles and 43 miles (55 to 70 kilometers), using propellers to get high up during the day and floating passively at lower altitudes after sunset.

Solar panels would power the craft's propellers, while night-time operations would be supported by batteries or an advanced stirling radioisotope generator (ASRG), which converts the heat produced by radioactive decay of plutonium-238 into electricity, VAMP's developers say.

The airship could carry up to 44 pounds (20 kg) of scientific gear if scientists wanted it to fly as high as 43 miles. But a minute sacrifice in maximum altitude — just a mile or so — would allow VAMP to tote a 440-pound (200 kg) payload, team members say. Data gathered by the vehicle's onboard instruments would be relayed back to Earth via the carrier spacecraft, which would remain in Venus orbit.

Venus' strong winds would sweep VAMP around the planet every 6 days or so. The aircraft could conceivably keep studying Venus for a year before the gradual loss of its buoyant gas brought its mission to an end. (The lead-melting temperatures at Venus' surface make long-term rover and lander missions difficult, but conditions high in the atmosphere are much more benign.)

Fly the otherworldly skies

Many scientists are eager to learn more about Venus' atmosphere, as such knowledge may help them understand how the planet changed from a potentially life-supporting world billions of years ago to the scorching hothouse it is today.

VAMP could help unravel some of the planet's most perplexing mysteries, serving as a sort of Venus "sky rover," said Griffin, who declined to provide a cost estimate for the concept vehicle. And VAMP-like airships could also find broader application, exploring other worlds as well, she added.

For example, such aircraft could help deliver landers and rovers to the surface of Mars and cruise through the thick, nitrogen-rich skies of Saturn's huge moon Titan, which sports lakes of liquid methane and ethane on its surface.”(http://www.space.com/24847-venus-exploration-vamp-inflatable-aircraft.html)