Thursday, 5 May 2011
SPA ENB No. 309
NASA tentatively targets May 10 for shuttle launch
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The latest news from Spaceflight Now
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Astronaut Mail-In Signing Opportunity
The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) is hosting a special mail-in
signing with Gemini and Apollo astronaut James Lovell, his first private
autograph session in over six years. Launch your items to ASF for this
space legend to sign, or purchase a portrait from ASF's Astronaut Store by
May 4, 2011.
http://astronautscholarship.org/JamesLovell_Private.html
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NASA TENTATIVELY TARGETS MAY 10 FOR SHUTTLE LAUNCH
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Work to replace and retest an electrical distribution box in the shuttle
Endeavour's engine compartment will push the crew's next launch attempt to
at least May 10, agency managers said Monday. An official launch date is
expected Friday, after repairs are complete.
http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts134/110502alca/
LIVE UPDATES IN OUR MISSION STATUS CENTER:
http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts134/status.html
IMAGES: REPAIR WORK UNDERWAY AT PAD 39A
http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts134/110502aftgallery/
VIDEO: TECHNICIANS ENTER ENGINE COMPARTMENT
http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts134/110501intotheaft/
ATLAS 5 ROCKET SET FOR BLASTOFF ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON
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The early weather forecast for Friday's scheduled launch of the Atlas 5
rocket from Cape Canaveral carrying a missile warning satellite is
predicting good conditions for the blastoff.
http://spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av022/status.html
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FINAL SPACE SHUTTLE ASTRONAUT PATCH!
Emblem for STS-135 now available in our store.
http://www.spaceflightnowstore.com/
+++
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Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
Real 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)
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Information: http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
--
More Info: http://www.localokel.com/event/666/good_clear_skies
Voyager Set to Enter Interstellar Space
Voyager Set to Enter Interstellar Space
The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-128&cid=release_2011-128
More than 30 years after they left Earth, NASA's twin Voyager probes are now at the
edge of the solar system. Not only that, they're still working. And with each passing
day they are beaming back a message that, to scientists, is both unsettling and
thrilling.
The message is, "Expect the unexpected."
"It's uncanny," says Ed Stone of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena,
Voyager Project Scientist since 1972. "Voyager 1 and 2 have a knack for making
discoveries."
Today, April 28, 2011, NASA held a live briefing to reflect on what the Voyager
mission has accomplished--and to preview what lies ahead as the probes prepare to
enter the realm of interstellar space in our Milky Way galaxy.
The adventure began in the late 1970s when the probes took advantage of a rare
alignment of outer planets for an unprecedented Grand Tour. Voyager 1 visited
Jupiter and Saturn, while Voyager 2 flew past Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
(Voyager 2 is still the only probe to visit Uranus and Neptune.)
When pressed to name the top discoveries from those encounters, Stone pauses, not
for lack of material, but rather an embarrassment of riches. "It's so hard to choose,"
he says.
Stone's partial list includes the discovery of volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io; evidence
for an ocean beneath the icy surface of Europa; hints of methane rain on Saturn's
moon Titan; the crazily-tipped magnetic poles of Uranus and Neptune; icy geysers on
Neptune's moon Triton; planetary winds that blow faster and faster with increasing
distance from the sun.
"Each of these discoveries changed the way we thought of other worlds," says Stone.
In 1980, Voyager 1 used the gravity of Saturn to fling itself slingshot-style out of the
plane of the solar system. In 1989, Voyager 2 got a similar assist from Neptune. Both
probes set sail into the void.
Sailing into the void sounds like a quiet time, but the discoveries have continued.
Stone sets the stage by directing our attention to the kitchen sink. "Turn on the
faucet," he instructs. "Where the water hits the sink, that's the sun, and the thin
sheet of water flowing radially away from that point is the solar wind. Note how the
sun 'blows a bubble' around itself."
There really is such a bubble, researchers call it the "heliosphere," and it is
gargantuan. Made of solar plasma and magnetic fields, the heliosphere is about three
times wider than the orbit of Pluto. Every planet, asteroid, spacecraft, and life form
belonging to our solar system lies inside.
The Voyagers are trying to get out, but they're not there yet. To locate them, Stone
peers back into the sink: "As the water [or solar wind] expands, it gets thinner and
thinner, and it can't push as hard. Abruptly, a sluggish, turbulent ring forms. That
outer ring is the heliosheath--and that is where the Voyagers are now."
The heliosheath is a very strange place, filled with a magnetic froth no spacecraft has
ever encountered before, echoing with low-frequency radio bursts heard only in the
outer reaches of the solar system, so far from home that the sun is a mere pinprick
of light.
"In many ways, the heliosheath is not like our models predicted," says Stone.
In June 2010, Voyager 1 beamed back a startling number: zero. That's the outward
velocity of the solar wind where the probe is now. No one thinks the solar wind has
completely stopped; it may have just turned a corner. But which way? Voyager 1 is
trying to figure that out through a series of "weather vane" maneuvers, in which the
spacecraft turns itself in a different direction to track the local breeze. The old
spacecraft still has some moves left, it seems.
No one knows exactly how many more miles the Voyagers must travel before they
"pop free" into interstellar space. Most researchers believe, however, that the end is
near. "The heliosheath is 3 to 4 billion miles in thickness," estimates Stone. "That
means we'll be out within five years or so."
There is plenty of power for the rest of the journey. Both Voyagers are energized by
the radioactive decay of a Plutonium 238 heat source. This should keep critical
subsystems running through at least 2020.
After that, he says, "Voyager will become our silent ambassador to the stars."
Each probe is famously equipped with a Golden Record, literally, a gold-coated copper
phonograph record. It contains 118 photographs of Earth; 90 minutes of the world's
greatest music; an audio essay entitled Sounds of Earth (featuring everything from
burbling mud pots to barking dogs to a roaring Saturn 5 liftoff); greetings in 55
human languages and one whale language; the brain waves of a young woman in
love; and salutations from the secretary general of the United Nations. A team led by
Carl Sagan assembled the record as a message to possible extraterrestrial civilizations
that might encounter the spacecraft.
"A billion years from now, when everything on Earth we've ever made has crumbled
into dust, when the continents have changed beyond recognition and our species is
unimaginably altered or extinct, the Voyager record will speak for us," wrote Carl
Sagan and Ann Druyan in an introduction to a CD version of the record.
Some people note that the chance of aliens finding the Golden Record is fantastically
remote. The Voyager probes won't come within a few light years of another star for
some 40,000 years. What are the odds of making contact under such circumstances?
On the other hand, what are the odds of a race of primates evolving to sentience,
developing spaceflight, and sending the sound of barking dogs into the cosmos?
Expect the unexpected, indeed.
The Voyagers were built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.,
which continues to operate both spacecraft. JPL is a division of the California Institute
of Technology in Pasadena. The Voyager missions are a part of the NASA Heliophysics
System Observatory, sponsored by the Heliophysics Division of the Science Mission
Directorate.
For more information about the Voyager spacecraft, visit:
http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov and http://www.nasa.gov/voyager .
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Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
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Colin James Watling
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Real 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)
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Information: http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
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More Info: http://www.localokel.com/event/666/good_clear_skies
Comet Elenin: Preview of a Coming Attraction
Comet Elenin: Preview of a Coming Attraction
The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-135&cid=release_2011-135
You may have heard the news: Comet Elenin is coming to the inner-solar system this
fall. Comet Elenin (also known by its astronomical name C/2010 X1), was first detected
on Dec. 10, 2010 by Leonid Elenin, an observer in Lyubertsy, Russia, who made the
discovery "remotely" using the ISON-NM observatory near Mayhill, New Mexico. At the
time of the discovery, the comet was about 647 million kilometers (401 million miles)
from Earth. Over the past four-and-a-half months, the comet has – as comets do –
closed the distance to Earth's vicinity as it makes its way closer to perihelion (its closest
point to the sun). As of May 4, Elenin's distance is about 274 million kilometers (170
million miles).
"That is what happens with these long-period comets that come in from way outside
our planetary system," said Don Yeomans of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program
Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "They make these long,
majestic, speedy arcs through our solar system, and sometimes they put on a great
show. But not Elenin. Right now that comet looks kind of wimpy."
How does a NASA scientist define cometary wimpiness?
"We're talking about how a comet looks as it safely flies past us," said Yeomans.
"Some cometary visitors arriving from beyond the planetary region – like Hale-Bopp in
1997 -- have really lit up the night sky where you can see them easily with the naked
eye as they safely transit the inner-solar system. But Elenin is trending toward the
other end of the spectrum. You'll probably need a good pair of binoculars, clear skies,
and a dark, secluded location to see it even on its brightest night."
Comet Elenin should be at its brightest shortly before the time of its closest approach to
Earth on Oct. 16 of this year. At its closest point, it will be 35 million kilometers (22
million miles) from us. Can this icy interloper influence us from where it is, or where it
will be in the future? What about this celestial object inspiring some shifting of the
tides or even tectonic plates here on Earth? There have been some incorrect Internet
speculations that external forces could cause comet Elenin to come closer.
"Comet Elenin will not encounter any dark bodies that could perturb its orbit, nor will it
influence us in any way here on Earth," said Yeomans. "It will get no closer to Earth
than 35 million kilometers [about 22 million miles]. "
"Comet Elenin will not only be far away, it is also on the small side for comets," said
Yeomans. "And comets are not the most densely-packed objects out there. They
usually have the density of something akin to loosely packed icy dirt.
"So you've got a modest-sized icy dirtball that is getting no closer than 35 million
kilometers," said Yeomans. "It will have an immeasurably miniscule influence on our
planet. By comparison, my subcompact automobile exerts a greater influence on the
ocean's tides than comet Elenin ever will."
Yeomans did have one final thought on comet Elenin.
"This comet may not put on a great show. Just as certainly, it will not cause any
disruptions here on Earth. But there is a cause to marvel," said Yeomans. "This intrepid
little traveler will offer astronomers a chance to study a relatively young comet that
came here from well beyond our solar system's planetary region. After a short while, it
will be headed back out again, and we will not see or hear from Elenin for thousands
of years. That's pretty cool."
NASA detects, tracks and characterizes asteroids and comets passing relatively close
to Earth using both ground- and space-based telescopes. The Near-Earth Object
Observations Program, commonly called "Spaceguard," discovers these objects,
characterizes a subset of them, and predicts their paths to determine if any could be
potentially hazardous to our planet.
JPL manages the Near-Earth Object Program Office for NASA's Science Mission
Directorate in Washington, DC. JPL is a division of the California Institute of
Technology in Pasadena.
More information about asteroids and near-Earth objects is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch , and on Twitter: @asteroidwatch .
-end-
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
Real 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)
--
Information: http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
--
More Info: http://www.localokel.com/event/666/good_clear_skies
Monday, 2 May 2011
What's Up for May 2011?
What's Up for May 2011?
Fri, 29 Apr 2011 11:00:00 -0500
All month long watch four planets and the moon gather just before sunrise..
This message has been sent by NASA Headquarters · Washington, DC 20546 | ![]() | |||
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Astrocomet
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Colin James Watling
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Information: http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
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More Info: http://www.localokel.com/event/666/good_clear_skies
Geomagnetic Storm on April 30th
http://spaceweather.com
GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field during the early hours of April 30th, sparking a G1-class geomagnetic storm. Northern Lights descended as far south as Michigan in the United States. High-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras (http://spaceweatherphone.com) tonight as the solar wind continues to blow. Photos of the April 30th display are highlighted on today's edition of http://SpaceWeather.com.
TRACK THE SPACE SHUTTLE: Space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center on Monday, May 2nd, on a two-week mission to the International Space Station. The shuttle and station will make many visible passes over Europe and North America during the mission--the trick is knowing when to look. You can turn your cell phone into a field tested shuttle tracker by downloading our Simple Flybys app. Details at http://simpleflybys.com
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Astrocomet
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Colin James Watling
--
--
Real 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)
--
Information: http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
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More Info: http://www.localokel.com/event/666/good_clear_skies
Shuttle Endeavour Launch No Earlier Than May 8
Shuttle Endeavour Launch No Earlier Than May 8
Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 -0500
NASA managers have determined Endeavour will not launch before May 8, but will not officially set a new launch date until early this week.
![]() | Questions? Contact Us | ||
This message has been sent by NASA Headquarters · Washington, DC 20546 | ![]() | ||
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--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
Real 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)
--
Information: http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
--
More Info: http://www.localokel.com/event/666/good_clear_skies
Thursday, 28 April 2011
STS-134 Crew Arrives at Kennedy
STS-134 Crew Arrives at Kennedy
Tue, 26 Apr 2011 23:00:00 -0500
The STS-134 crew arrived in T-38 jets on Tuesday, April 26, 2011, at the NASA Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The space shuttle Endeavour and its crew will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and spare parts including two S-band communications antennas, a high-pressure gas tank and additional spare parts for Dextre, during the 14-day mission. Launch is scheduled for Friday, April 29 at 3:47 p.m. EDT. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
![]() | Questions? Contact Us | ||
This message has been sent by NASA Headquarters · Washington, DC 20546 | ![]() | ||
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Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
Real 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)
--
Information: http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
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More Info: http://www.localokel.com/event/666/good_clear_skies
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
[BAA-ebulletin 00577] Extended booking date for the May Norwich Meeting
BAA electronic bulletin
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The next One Day BAA Meeting will be held on Saturday May 7th 2011 in
The Registry, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ
Title is "Working together - collaboration between amateur and
professional astronomers".
We have extended the closing date to 29th April.
Please note there will be a number of our observing section displays
set up so you can see the work being done by the sections.
Hope to see you all there
Hazel Collett
Meetings Secretary
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BAA-ebulletin mailing list
e-mail to circadmin@britastro.org or visit:
http://lists.britastro.org/mailman/listinfo/baa-ebulletin
(c) 2011 British Astronomical Association http://www.britastro.org/
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Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
Real 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)
--
Information: http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
--
More Info: http://www.localokel.com/event/666/good_clear_skies