Tuesday, July 15th Hello everyone. Ive got four stories for you today. First up, the Cygnus spacecraft will arrive at the station Wednesday. The six astronauts and cosmonauts of the International Space Station’s Expedition 40 crew supported a variety of science investigations Tuesday and squeezed in a final robotic practice session as they get set to capture Orbital Sciences Cygnus cargo craft packed with more than a ton and a half of science and supplies. On Wednesday, July 16, NASA Television coverage of the Cygnus capture begins at 5:15 a.m. Live coverage will resume at 8:30 a.m. for the berthing of Cygnus, expected to take place around 8:45 a.m. Secondly, NASA turns over air traffic management tool to FAA. A new NASA-developed computer software tool designed to aid air traffic controllers was presented to the FAA during a ceremony Monday at the agencys headquarters in Washington. The Terminal Sequencing and Spacing technology will enable air traffic controllers to better manage the spacing between aircraft as they fly more efficient approaches into airports, saving both time and fuel and reducing emissions. Thirdly, Curiosity finds an iron meteorite on Mars. This rock encountered by NASAs Curiosity Mars rover is an iron meteorite called Lebanon, similar in shape and luster to iron meteorites found on Mars by the previous generation of rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. This view combines a series of high-resolution circular images taken by the Remote Micro-Imager of Curiositys Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument with color and context from rovers Mast Camera (Mastcam). The component images were taken during the 640th Martian day, or sol, of Curiositys work on Mars (May 25, 2014). Lastly, Van Allen probes show how to accelerate electrons. One of the great, unanswered questions for space weather scientists is just what creates two gigantic donuts of radiation surrounding Earth, called the Van Allen radiation belts. The outer Van Allen radiation belt changes shape, size and composition, with some particles zooming along at close to light speed. Recent data from NASAs Van Allen Probes suggests that a two-fold process accelerates these particles: One mechanism gives the particles an initial boost and then a kind of electromagnetic wave called Whistlers does the final job. Sources: nasa.gov/ -These articles are the words of NASA. Upcoming Astronomical Events: 7/26/14: New Moon 8/10/14: Full Moon 8/18/14: Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter, Conjunctions are rare events where two or more objects will appear extremely close together in the night sky. The two bright planets will come unusually close to each other, only a quarter of a degree, in the early morning sky. Also, the beehive cluster in the constellation Cancer will be only 1 degree away. This rare, double-planet event is definitely one not to miss. Look for the bright planets in the east just before sunrise. 8/25/14: New Moon 8/29/14: Neptune at Opposition, The blue giant planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. This is the best time to view and photograph Neptune. Due to its extreme distance from Earth, it will only appear as a tiny blue dot in all but the most powerful telescopes. Delta Aquarids Metor Shower: Information: The Delta Aquarids is an average shower that can produce up to 20 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by debris left behind by comets Marsden and Kracht. The shower runs annually from July 12 to August 23. It peaks this year on the night of July 28 and morning of July 29. This should be a great year for this shower because the thin crescent moon will set early in the evening leaving dark skies for what should a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Aquarius, but can appear anywhere in the sky. Begins- July 11 Peak- July 28-29 Ends- August 23 Perseids Meteor Shower: Information: The Perseids is one of the best meteor showers to observe, producing up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by comet Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862. The Perseids are famous for producing a large number of bright meteors. The shower runs annually from July 17 to August 24. It peaks this year on the night of August 12 and the morning of August 13. The waning gibbous moon will block out some of the meteors this year, but the Perseids are so bright and numerous that it should still be a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Perseus, but can appear anywhere in the sky. Begins: July 17 Peak: August 12-13 Ends: August 24
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 03:46:12 +0000
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