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Hitomi observed the Perseus galaxy cluster before it died
Japan's most powerful x-ray satellite Hitomi got lost in space shortly after it launched, but it managed to beam back data that can help us better understand galaxy clusters. The space telescope got a chance to peer into a cluster of galaxies and its supermassive black hole in the Perseus constellation using the Goddard-built Soft X-Ray Spectrometer. Thanks to the data it sent back, astronomers found that the massive cluster's center has a "remarkably quiescent atmosphere" with fewer stars than they thought it would have.
Japan's most powerful X-ray satellite is dead
JAXA has given up trying to rescue its doomed X-ray satellite. The Japanese space agency has announced that it's discontinuing Hitomi's operations. Previously known as Astro-H, the x-ray observatory was designed to study black holes, galaxy clusters and other high-energy phenomena. Unfortunately, it started tumbling and spinning through space shortly after launch, ultimately losing contact with its ground team. JAXA thought the $300 million spacecraft tried to re-establish contact, but in its announcement today, the agency revealed that the signals it received were from another source altogether.
Japan is trying to rescue its tumbling X-ray satellite
Japan's JAXA space agency is struggling to figure out what happened to its Astro-H "Hitomi" satellite after it lost contact on Saturday. Radar data from the US Strategic Command's Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) initially showed that several parts may have broken off and JAXA's radar has spied at least one separated piece. Yesterday, scientists received intermittent signals from the craft, showing that it might be at least partially functional. However, amateur video now appears to show the $360 million X-ray telescope-equipped craft tumbling through space.
Japan's most powerful X-ray satellite went incommunicado
Japan's space agency launched its latest X-ray satellite Hitomi in February, expecting it to keep an eye on the universe for at least three years. Sadly, its future is now uncertain. JAXA lost contact with the observatory (previously called Astro-H) this weekend, and it's still trying to find out what happened to its $270 million mission. Astronomers realized something was wrong when Hitomi failed to phone home for a routine check on Sunday, March 27th, 3:40AM Eastern time. The US Joint Space Operations Center reported afterward that it spotted five pieces of debris in Hitomi's location before JAXA was supposed to hear from the satellite.
Ayane whomps Hitomi in this new DOA5 trailer
Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi said that he and his team would be toning down the Dead or Alive franchise's trademark dependance on sex and violence, and from this trailer we're actually starting to believe it. It's still violent, sure, but Hitomi and Ayane almost look like human females.
Dead or Alive 5 screens aren't afraid to bust a gut or two
There's nothing quite like watching a teenage girl gut punch a hardcore-looking ninja lady. And Team Ninja clearly knows that, showcasing as much in the latest volley of screens from Dead or Alive 5.
Dead or Alive and Final Fantasy characters clash again
Over the past few years, Haloid and Dead Fantasy animator Monty Oum has repeatedly shocked us with his studio's stunning renditions of Samus Aran fighting Master Chief, as well as various Final Fantasy femme fatales battling their busty counterparts from the Dead or Alive series. Today is no different, as he pits FFVII's Tifa against Dead or Alive's Hitomi. An epic battle taking place in a church set ablaze while snow quietly falls outside? Some sort of magical, glowing orbs introduced mid-fight? And it involves Japanese video game characters? Weird! Check out the whole girlfight after the break.[Via Insulin Funk]
