Total Pageviews

Monday 21 September 2009

Space Shuttle Discovery and a Farside Sunspot

Space Weather News for Sept. 20, 2009
http://spaceweather.com

BE ALERT FOR THE SPACE SHUTTLE: Space shuttle Discovery is flying across the United States today atop a specially modified NASA 747 airliner.  The trip is necessary because at the end of its last mission Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California and must now be returned to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  Sky watchers along the flight path (particularly in Texas, Louisiana and Florida) should be alert for the extraordinary sight of a spaceship flying through blue sky on top of an airplane.  Check http://spaceweather.com for details.

FARSIDE SUNSPOT:  NASA's STEREO-B spacecraft is tracking an active region over the sun's eastern horizon that could be a large, new-cycle sunspot.  We can't yet see it from Earth, but the sun's rotation is turning the region toward us, and it could pop into view as early as Sept. 21st.   Readers with solar telescopes should monitor the sun's eastern limb for developments.  Images and updates may be found at http://spaceweather.com
--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
--
Web: http://lyra.freewebsites.com/

No comments: