What's Up? The Space Place

Hey Space Placers! August 5th NASA's Juno spacecraft is scheduled to lift off for Jupiter. The mission's goal is simple - find out what lies inside of Jupiter. The spacecraft will pass within 3,000 miles of Jupiter's cloudtops - the closest orbit ever. Juno will map the gravity of Jupiter and thereby give us the data to model the gas ginat's interior. Read More About It: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/29jul_juno2/

Hey Space Placers! Check out this movie of three sunspots over a 24-hour period: http://www.spaceweather.com/images2011/30jul11/shapeshift.gif?PHPSESSID=m1vg5l340kr1mr52hald2u0p30 For more information see http://www.spaceweather.com/ . Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Check out this latest image - July 23rd - of the dark side of Vesta. It was taken from a distance of 3,200 miles. It shows the northern hemisphere of the protoplanet. Read More About It: http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/feature_stories/dawn_spacecraft_views_vesta.asp Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! NASA's next planetary mission to Jupiter, Juno, is securely mated to its powerful Atlas V 551 launch vehicle. Juno is slated for launch to the giant gas planet on Aug. 5th, 11:34 a.m. EDT. Juno will arrive at Jupiter in July 2016 and orbit the poles of Jupiter 33 times to learn about the interior of the planet and get the first detailed views ever of the poles. Read More About It: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-229 Sky Guy in VA                                Juno at Jupiter - Artwork from NASA JPL

Hey Space Placers! The European SPace Agency (ESA) has discovered that Enceladus, pictured above, is raining water onto Saturn from plumes expelling water. As stated by ESA:  "ESA’s Herschel space observatory has shown that water expelled from the moon Enceladus forms a giant torus of water vapour around Saturn. The discovery solves a 14-year mystery by identifying the source of the water in Saturn’s upper atmosphere. Herschel’s latest results mean that Enceladus is the only moon in the Solar System known to influence the chemical composition of its parent planet. Enceladus expels around 250 kg of water vapour every second, through a collection of jets from the south polar region known as the Tiger Stripes because of their distinctive surface markings." Read More About It: http://www.esa.int/export/esaSC/SEMNGHFTFQG_index_0.html Sky Guy in VA

Hey SPace Placers! NASA's next mission to Mars - the Mars Science Laboratory (named Curiosity)  - is undergoing final testing and preparations for launch later this year. Scheduled to land on Mars in August 2012, Curiosity is about twice the size of the Mars Rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Spirit is no longer operational and Opportunity is still going strong. NASA has selected the 96-mile wide Gale Crater as Curosity's landing point as it is thought to represent the best conditions to look for signs of life on Mars. Curiosity will "follow the water" in its scientific explorations and will be nuclear powered so it will not be dependent on solar power which can get dangerously low for the vehicle in the Martian winter. Read More About It: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-222#2 Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Read and ponder this from NASA JPL: "Two teams of astronomers have discovered the largest and farthest reservoir of water ever detected in the universe. The water, equivalent to 140 trillion times all the water in the world's ocean, surrounds a huge, feeding black hole, called a quasar, more than 12 billion light-years away." Now look at this: Quasar Drenched in Water Vapor "This artist's concept illustrates a quasar, or feeding black hole, similar to APM 08279+5255, where astronomers discovered huge amounts of water vapor. Gas and dust likely form a torus around the central black hole, with clouds of charged gas above and below. X-rays emerge from the very central region, while thermal infrared radiation is emitted by dust throughout most of the torus. While this figure shows the quasar's torus approximately edge-on, the torus around APM 08279+5255 is likely positioned face-on from our point of view." Image credit: NASA/ESA...

Hey Space Placers! Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has discovered a 4th moon for Pluto. The discovery was made while HST was searching for rings around the dwarf planet during an observing run conducted June 28-July 3rd. The discovery announcement was made on July 20th. This new moon, temporarily designated P4, is the smallest of Pluto's moons, being only 8 to 21 miles across. When you consider that HST was observing Pluto at a distance of more than 3 BILLION miles, it is an incredible find. Read More About It: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/20jul_p4/ Tomorrow: Huge Water Discovery in space. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Check out the picture taken from ISS of Atlantis re-entering Earth's atmosphere! It is AWESOME! I spent a few hours last night with Dr. Geller and Jon from Optical Guidance Systems tinkering with George Mason University's new 32-inch telescope. The telescope software and finders need some more work as we are having a hard time pinpointing objects in the center of the field of view. You would be surprised how hard it is to get what you want to see in the center of the eyepiece. I saw stars in the eyepiece for the first time and they were beautiful. I can hardly wait for all the final adjustments to be made. Oh, and yes, it was hot! We were drenched in sweat and had to work hard to keep sweat out of the eyepiece! Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! With Atlantis closing out the Space Shuttle Program tomorrow when she lands, it is difficult to reflect back on Apollo 11 landing on the Moon 42 years ago today. An active and flying American built manned spaceflight program comes to an end for years to come as of tomorrow. Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on another world in the lunar regolith of Tranquility Base. I doubt I will ever see an American do so again in my remaining lifetime. You can see all of Apollo landing sites at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/apollosites.html Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter was the spacecraft that was going to find the future landing sites for American astronauts as a result of the planned (and now canned) Constellation Program. NASA was doing it right.......let's hope they can again. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! What a picture! Dawn captured this view of Vesta after entering orbit. It is the most detailed photo ever taken of Vesta. This is just a preview of the photos to come as Dawn gets ever closer to Vesta. This pic was from about 9,900 miles away....at its' closest Dawn will only be 120 miles above the surface! Read More About It: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/18jul_dawn4/ Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Check out the story in TIME on Dawn: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2083452,00.html More to come..... Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Dawn is in orbit around Vesta! Dawn is the first spacecraft ever to enter orbit around an asteroid in the asteroid belt. From NASA: "The spacecraft relayed information to confirm it entered Vesta's orbit, but the precise time this milestone occurred is unknown at this time. The time of Dawn's capture depended on Vesta's mass and gravity, which only has been estimated until now. The asteroid's mass determines the strength of its gravitational pull. If Vesta is more massive, its gravity is stronger, meaning it pulled Dawn into orbit sooner. If the asteroid is less massive, its gravity is weaker and it would have taken the spacecraft longer to achieve orbit. With Dawn now in orbit, the science team can take more accurate measurements of Vesta's gravity and gather more accurate timeline information." Read More ABout Dawn http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/ Sky Guy in VA 

Hey Space Placers! Dawn should be in orbit around Vesta but it will be awhile until we know it. Vesta should have captured Dawn at 1 a.m. today 7-16-11. The communication window to confirm all went well opens later today as explained in a NASA press release: " They expect to hear from the spacecraft and confirm that it performed as planned during a scheduled communications pass that starts at approximately 11:30 p.m. PDT on Saturday, July 16 (2:30 a.m. EDT Sunday, July 17). When Vesta captures Dawn into its orbit, engineers estimate there will be approximately 9,900 miles (16,000 kilometers) between them. At that point, the spacecraft and asteroid will be approximately 117 million miles (188 million kilometers) from Earth." So now all we can do is wait.  Read More About It: http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/ Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! We are less than 24 hours from DAWN entering orbit around Vesta. All systems are GO! The spacecraft is performing beautifully and according to the NASA JPL Press Release, "Engineers expect the spacecraft to be captured into orbit at approximately 10 p.m. PDT Friday, July 15 (1 a.m. EDT Saturday, July16). They expect to hear from the spacecraft and confirm that it performed as planned during a scheduled communications pass that starts at approximately 11:30 p.m. PDT on Saturday, July 16 (2:30 a.m. EDT Sunday, July 17). When Vesta captures Dawn into its orbit, engineers estimate there will be approximately 9,900 miles (16,000 kilometers) between them. At that point, the spacecraft and asteroid will be approximately 117 million miles (188 million kilometers) from Earth." The latest photo was taken on July 9th : Here's the link for the latest news: http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/ Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! If you couldn't see our segment on Fox 5 this morning with Tony and Tucker - the Weather Guys - check it out here: http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/weather/weather_guy/weather-guys-vesta-asteroid-071411 2 days to orbit around Vesta! Get Vesta updates here: http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/ Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! If you have a fast Internet connection, you HAVE to see these videos put togther following the spectacular solar outburst on June7th.You can see my blog on the event and then view this link to see the videos and background information.   http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/11jul_darkfireworks/ You can catch me on Fox 5 here in Washington DC tomorrow (7-14-11) at 0645. I'll be talking about the Dawn mission. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! The beautiful and blue planet Neptune has completed 1 full orbit around the Sun since its' discovery on Spetember 23-24, 1846. Neptune was discovered as a result of the gravitational influences its had on the planet Uranus. Astronomers were able to calculate the predicted position of the unknown planet  and started searching. Neptune was found within 1 degree of the predicted positon. Pretty amazing to consider all of this calculation was done by paper and pen - no calculators, no computers, no digital cameras, no computer controlled telescopes. Amazing and a tribute to the state of science at the time. Read More About It: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/skyblog/observingblog/125207704.html UPDATE: Hubble Space Telescope has taken "Birthday" images of Neptune: http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2011/19 Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! (Note: The opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.) When Space Shuttle Atlantis achieves “Wheels Stopped” at the Kennedy Space Center, July 20th (the 42nd anniversary of Apollo 11), another era in America’s manned spaceflight program comes to an abrupt end. The Mercury and Gemini programs gave us the ability and experience necessary to do all the things required by the Apollo program to get to the Moon and back. Apollo got us to the surface of the Moon six times and was cancelled with ready to go lunar missions left hanging due to fiscal cutbacks caused by the Vietnam war. Instead of going to the Moon we flew one Apollo mission with the Russians and then several others during Skylab – America’s first orbiting space station. Then came a gap of several years while the Space Shuttle program developed fixes for vexing technical problems. Now 30+ years later, America is once again at a manned spaceflight crossroads – where to go and what to use to get ther...

Hey Space Placers,    Atlantis lifted off after a hold at T-31 seconds and thundered into orbit for the very last time. Carrying as much cargo as possible to the International Space Station (ISS), Atlantis is scheduled to land on July 20th - the anniversary date of Apollo 11.   The end of an era - the Space Shuttle era - is one step closer with the successful lift off and ascent to orbit of Atlantis.   Follow the mission at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html Sky Guy in VA

Hey SPace Placers! Tune in Live: http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/135_splash/index.html More later. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Wow, what a STORM! NASA's Cassini spacecraft caught an incredible, up close image of the superstorm that has been raging on Saturn since last year. The storm has "ringed" the ringed planet - that is looped back upon itself. The storm is 8 times the total are of our entire planet! In nice round numbers that is 2 billion square miles. You can read (and hear more) about it: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-203 SkyGuy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Here's a stat for the record books: 1 million science observations for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Acheived appropriately enough on July 4th, HST "logged its one millionth science observation during a search for water in an exoplanet's atmosphere 1,000 light-years away."  For all of the details see http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2011/22/full/ . Well done to the HST Team and here's to the next million observations! Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Here she is - Orion, the next manned spacecraft for the U.S. Known also as the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, Orion is to replace the Space Shuttle as America's manned access to Low Earth Orbit, the International Space Station , and beyond. Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor for Orion, is conducting rigorous ground testing for the first Orion capsule built to spaceflight specifications. Read More About It: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/products/Orion/ How Orion is to gain access to space and when remains unclear. First flight is scheduled for 2016 - a long gap for U.S. manned access to space. Private companies are working as well to develop manned access to space. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! With the last launch of a Space Shuttle a mere 5 days away, Time Magazine has a great article on NASA http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2080388,00.html?hpt=hp_t2 I highly recommend reading it. I have seen Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, amd now Space Shuttle all come and go. I was so excited to think we were going to go back to the Moon with the Constellation program. Perhaps the Moon will still be reachable although I think the Chinese will be the next humans to step on lunar regolith. Politics and economics have again doomed US manned lunar exploration, 30 years ago it was Vietnam and public apathy that killed Apollos 18, 19, 20. The Skylab program was born as a result which in turn was doomed by the delays in the Space Shuttle. I think private industry will take care of LEO and ISS. I think going to an asteroid with the new manned spacecraft would be exciting and scientifically worthwhile. But I hope we do not give up on the Moon. Sky Guy i...

Hey Space Placers! Whether you look at the sky in the early morning before dawn or just after sunset, July offers planets to suit you. We also will have the last ever launch of a Space Shuttle on the 8th and a lot of summer star party events. So get out and enjoy the sky this month Skywatching Highlights Mercury will be in the west-northwest after sunset until the 20th. If you have a clear and unobstructed horizon you should be able to see golden-yellow Mercury about 45 minutes after sunset. On the 2nd Mercury will be just above the thin crescent Moon. Binoculars will help you find the elusive planet. Also get the latest on the MESSENGER mission at Mercury: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/messenger/main/index.html Venus is very low in the east-northeast and visible about a half hour before sunrise. Earth is farthest from the Sun on the 4th – 94,512,000 miles or a difference of 1.67% from the average distance or 3.3% from the minimum distance. Doesn’t do much to cool the sum...

Hey Space Placers! Here is another incredible closeup of Tycho's Peak! See more: http://www.lroc.asu.edu/ Sky Guy in VA     Tomorrow: July Events