A Martian Sunset

Hey Space Placers!

Enjoy this view of a BLUE sunset from the RED Planet! The images were obtained by NASA's Curiosity Rover.

NASA JPL

Sky Guy in VA

A Lunar LOW Rider

Hey Space Placers!

My ALL TIME favorite spacecraft, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), is still going strong in lunar orbit.

The mission controllers at NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center (GSFC) have made LRO a lunar LOW rider spacecraft as they took LRO's orbit down to a mere 12 miles above the Moon's South Pole! That is the lowest LRO has ever been.

Artist's Conception of LRO
NASA GSFC

The lower altitude will allow the instruments and cameras aboard LRO to gather data and pictures significantly better than in the past. The South Pole is an intriguing place to explore on the Moon because we know there is water in craters that never receive sunlight.

We can expect some exciting news from LRO in the coming months as the data and pictures start to come in.

LRO can last for years to come but is facing budget cuts that threaten to curtail a perfectly working spacecraft in lunar orbit. This would be a MONUMENTAL WASTE to do so. Write your congressman to SAVE LRO.

Sky Guy in VA

New Galactic Distance Record Holder

Hey Space Placers!

Here is the new record holder for the farthest  measured galaxy:

Known as EGS-zs8-1 it is seen when it was only 100 million years old or over 13 billion years ago.

Make sure you look at the amazing galaxies in the picture. They are amazing.

Sky Guy in VA

Sky Guy Viewing ALERT!! See Mercury in the Western Sky

Hey Space Placers!

If you read my recent columns on the MESSENGER spacecraft and its crashing into the planet Mercury, now is the time to see where it all happened.

Mercury is visible in the Western sky about an hour after sunset and will be for the next week or so. The key to finding Mercury is having a western horizon view that is clear of trees and buildings. Binoculars will help immensely in your search as will this diagram below.

Venus on May 2nd has just passed between Zeta and Beta Tauri, and Aldebaran far below is lining up with Mercury. (These scenes are drawn for 40° north latitude. Far north or south of there, the scene will be tilted left or right, respectively, compared to this view.) - See more at: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/this-weeks-sky-at-a-glance-may-1-9/?et_mid=747161&rid=246413889#sthash.1Wq6mevH.dpuf

Make sure you find Mercury and not Aldebaran. Mercury will be more yellowish-white in color while Aldebaran has a reddish-orange color.

When you look at Mercury say a "thank you" to MESSENGER for the great data and images returned by the plucky spacecraft. It crashed on April 30th after running out of fuel and made a new 52-foot wide crater.

Good luck and clear skies!

Sky Guy in VA

MESSENGER Spacecraft Impacts Mercury

Hey Space Placers!

NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft impacted the surface of Mercury - see my previous blog for background - as expected on April 30th at 3:26 p.m. EDT. As a result a new 52-foot crater was created.

We learned a lot about Mercury because of MESSENGER.

Here is the last picture transmitted by MESSENGER.

Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Mercury will be in the western sky soon so we can all look at the golden yellow-ish colored planet and remember this intrepid and highly successful spacecraft.

Sky Guy in VA