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Venus: Planet and Jupiter Move Closer to Each Other in Night Sky Through June 30, NASA Says
The planets continue to move closer to one another in the western sky as the sun sets and on June 30, Jupiter and Venus will be so close they will appear as though they are colliding, NASA said.
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In just five days, we Earthlings will see Pluto up close for the first time — and you can watch it live. In fact, start watching NASA TV now. There's already much to see and learn.
On July 14 at 7:49 a.m. ET, the New Horizons probe will be just 7800 miles above Pluto. That's less than the distance between New York City and Hong Kong. It traveled for nine years and 3 billion miles to get this close.
Today, July 9, the probe is about 3.5 million miles from Pluto. Already we're seeing better images of the ice-covered, atmosphere-evaporating dwarf planet than we've ever seen before.
The public has always had an intense affection for Pluto; consider the surprisingly emotional outcry when it was reclassified as a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union in 2006. Is Pluto finally returning our love? The photo above, taken July 7 by the probe's Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), appears to show a giant heart at the lower right.
We're kidding, but the "heart" is notable because it's one of several planetary features that scientists at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory, which is operating the New Horizons mission for NASA, are seeing for the first time—and giving nicknames to while awaiting more precise data. (They've also identified a "whale" and a "donut.")
These images are only going to get better — 500 times better, in fact. As the probe closes in on Pluto and its moons (most notably Charon), some images will have 500 times higher resolution. No more "little pixelated blobs seen from 3 billion miles away, but real worlds, with complexity and diversity, high definition and in color," enthuses New Horizons project scientist Hal Weaver in the July 8 daily mission update — €”and who is downright giddy with excitement. (We at mental_floss are right there with you, Dr. Weaver.)
Beyond images, the mission aims to collect data on the surface chemical compositions of both Pluto and Charon by taking 64,000 "footprints" of each body. The probe will also gather data on Pluto's atmosphere, temperature, and pressure, which change depending on its proximity to the sun during its 248-Earth-year orbit.
So here's what's happening over the next few days as New Horizons makes its final approach. Scientists will take optical navigation data to make sure the probe is on the right trajectory to hit the optimal position, time, and lighting conditions to secure the best data from the flyby. Through July 13, you can check in daily at 11:30 a.m. ET on NASA TV for updates, images, and live briefings.
On July 14, the channel will broadcast a live countdown beginning at 7:30 a.m. to the moment of closest approach at 7:49 a.m. For much of the day, New Horizons will be out of communication with mission control as it gathers data about Pluto and its moons.
The next day, the real fun begins as scientists begin to study the data — and NASA releases more images to the public.
In the meantime, you can find your "Pluto Time" twice a day, no matter where you are on Earth. (As NASA puts it: "It's always Pluto time somewhere.") At dawn and dusk, there's a moment when the light on Earth is similar to Pluto at noon. People are sharing their images on Twitter and Instagram.
Check back with mental_floss for updates both before and after July 14. We expect to see some fantastic sights in the next couple of weeks — and beyond. After its Pluto flyby, New Horizons is headed for the Kuiper Belt, a gigantic zone of icy bodies and mysterious small objects orbiting beyond Neptune.
Here's my son and grandson recently enjoying an evening of star and planet gazing in Colorado. My son is really having a great time with his scope. His next purchase will be some better eyepieces. He said Saturn's rings aren't very clear.
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Good stuff. Get a barlow. It will increase all your eyepieces strength...:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Falcon05
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AN ASTEROID MINING TEST VEHICLE JUST LAUNCHED FROM THE SPACE STATION
http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.c...?itok=6mZ8eomG
Planetary Resources, a company that wants to mine asteroids for precious materials, has just launched a demonstration vehicle to test out its asteroid mining technologies. The breadbox-sized Arkyd 3 Reflight (A3R) is so-named because the original Arkyd 3 died a fiery death in the Orbital Sciences explosion in October. This one survived its launch to the International Space Station in April, and today, astronauts booted it out of an airlock to see how it fares in low Earth orbit.
The vehicle’s mission is to test out components that the company later plans to send into deep space to visit resource-rich asteroids, with the goal of extracting water, which can be broken down in to hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel, and valuable metals, including platinum.
Over the next 90 days or so, the little spacecraft will test out its avionics and control systems--it won't actually be doing any drilling anytime soon. While low Earth orbit isn’t a perfect facsimile to deep space, it will give the components a taste of the harsh environments they would face on the job—including extremely cold temperatures, radiation, and the vacuum of space. By pinpointing the components’ weaknesses in low Earth orbit, the company can hopefully fix any problems before sending spacecraft further beyond Earth.
The test is going according to plan so far, a Planetary Resources spokesperson told Popular Science.
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Later this year, Planetary Resources plans to launch another demonstration vehicle, the Arkyd-6. Twice the size of the A3R, the A6 will test out avionics, attitude control, power, and communications systems. (Notably, the robo-prospectors will eventually use LASERS to communicate with Earth.)
Onboard the A6 will also be an infrared imaging system, which will eventually scan asteroids for water and minerals. A Planetary Resources press release says “the system will first test targeted areas of our own planet before being deployed to near-Earth asteroids on future missions.”
http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.c...?itok=RWBvI9vd
Popular Science
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A moonless evening could give stargazers a fantastic light show next week.
The annual Perseid meteor shower, which is known for being among the brightest of meteor showers, is happening near the tail end of summer.
The major meteor shower will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere.
"If you see one meteor shower this year, make it August's Perseids or December's Geminids," NASA says. "The Perseids feature fast and bright meteors that frequently leave trains, and in 2015 there will be no moonlight to upstage the shower."
The best part about the showing is that it will happen a day before the new moon, meaning the night skies will be dark and perfect for meteor spotting. Under clear and dark skies, observers could expect to see up to 100 shooting stars an hour.
Astronomy experts say that those conditions have not been available since 2010.
Stargazers, campers or simply astronomy lovers will not need any additional equipment like a telescope to see the meteor shower. These fiery streaks of light should be visible to the naked eye that evening. But going to a rural area, away from urban spaces that are filled with light pollution, will increase the chances of seeing the Perseid meteor shower.
Perfect conditions for summer's major meteor shower
Staying up past midnight might also help viewers spot meteors. Some of the strongest showings happening in the predawn hours.
The Perseids are active from July 13 to August 26, according to the American Meteor Society, a nonprofit scientific organization that supports the research of astronomers, but the meteor shower peaks between August 12-13.
What to watch up above
The meteor shower is composed of particles released from Comet 109/Swift-Tuttle during its many trips to the inner solar system, a region comprising terrestrial planets and asteroids.
The Perseids are named after the constellation Perseus because that is where the meteors seem to originate from when looking up at the sky.
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Thailand meteorite caught on dashcam: Huge fireball lights up sky over Bangkok
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Nice daytime fireball...:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Laser915