Mars!
Tonight after sunset (yes, I know, it's already too late for many of you; oops), look low in the sky to the southwest (I know, terribly northern-hemispheri-centric of me -- where the sun just set? look thataway) and you may see an attractive first-magnitude celestial triangle formed by the (apparent, from Earth) convergence of red Mars, blue Spica and sandy Saturn. The trio will appear so close together in the sky, they could be covered by the palm of one's outstretched hand.
Also tonight, Mars rover Curiosity is due to make its intricate landing, as explained in the nifty NASA/JPL video "Seven Minutes of Terror."
The space agency reports that the rover's atmospheric entry is slated to culminate in touchdown tonight at 10:31 pm PDT (that's 1:30 am tomorrow, EDT).
As of an hour and a half ago, Curiosity was "approximately 261,000 miles (420,039 kilometers) from Mars, closing in at a little more than 8,000 mph (about 3,600 meters per second)," according to NASA's Mars page. The biggest-ever rover and its reentry vehicle(s) will have seven minutes to cut that speed from 3,600 mps ... to 0.
A live broadcast of the event is planned on "NASA TV."
Meanwhile, if your inner space geek needs a fix to help you through the next six hours, cool pix of lens-shaped rainbow clouds, a video with sound of an incoming Perseid meteor, video of a huge solar magnetic loop and CME, and submitted photos of tonight's "Mars Triangle" (if they aren't up now, they will be soon) can be found at SpaceWeather.com. Happy sky and space watching!
(Feeling better today? Why, yes, now that yyou mention it.)
This entry is cross-posted from www.dreamwidth.org, where there are
comments. Comment where ye will.
Also tonight, Mars rover Curiosity is due to make its intricate landing, as explained in the nifty NASA/JPL video "Seven Minutes of Terror."
The space agency reports that the rover's atmospheric entry is slated to culminate in touchdown tonight at 10:31 pm PDT (that's 1:30 am tomorrow, EDT).
As of an hour and a half ago, Curiosity was "approximately 261,000 miles (420,039 kilometers) from Mars, closing in at a little more than 8,000 mph (about 3,600 meters per second)," according to NASA's Mars page. The biggest-ever rover and its reentry vehicle(s) will have seven minutes to cut that speed from 3,600 mps ... to 0.
A live broadcast of the event is planned on "NASA TV."
Meanwhile, if your inner space geek needs a fix to help you through the next six hours, cool pix of lens-shaped rainbow clouds, a video with sound of an incoming Perseid meteor, video of a huge solar magnetic loop and CME, and submitted photos of tonight's "Mars Triangle" (if they aren't up now, they will be soon) can be found at SpaceWeather.com. Happy sky and space watching!
(Feeling better today? Why, yes, now that yyou mention it.)
This entry is cross-posted from www.dreamwidth.org, where there are
comments. Comment where ye will.