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 This image shows changes in the target landing area for Curiosity, the rover of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory project. The larger ellipse was the target area prior to early June 2012, when the project revised it to the smaller ellipse centered nearer to the foot of Mount Sharp, inside Gale Crater. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/MSSS Engineers for the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover have now zeroed in to a more precise landing ellipse, now aiming for a landing spot that is closer to where the scientists ultimately want to be, the foot of Mount Sharp in the center of Gale Crater. It was possible to adjust landing plans because of increased confidence in precision landing technology. “We’re trimming the distance we’ll have to drive after landing by almost half,” said Pete Theisinger, Mars Science Laboratory project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “That could get us to the mountain months earlier.”
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Read the rest of Engineers Able to Narrow Landing Ellipse for Curiosity Rover (503 words)
© nancy for Universe Today, 2012. | Permalink | One comment |
Post tags: Curiosity Rover, MSL
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 Messier 5 - Credit: Hillary Mathis, REU Program/NOAO/AURA/NSF Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! You can breathe now… the Venus Transit is over and we’re back to the mundane astronomical excitement like great globular clusters, an early morning conjunction and two meteor showers – the Ophiuchids and June Lyrids. If you’re up to the ordinary, then follow along as we capture some great galaxies and a very challenging study! Dust off your optics and meet me in the back yard… (...)
Read the rest of Weekly SkyWatcher’s Forecast: June 11-17, 2012 (2,368 words)
© tammy for Universe Today, 2012. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags: globular clusters, June Lyrid Meteor Shower, Messier 5, Ophiuchid Meteor Shower, Palomar 5
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 An artist's rendering of the Tiangong-1 module, China's space station, which was launched to space in September, 2011. To the right is a Shenzhou spacecraft, preparing to dock with the module. Image Credit: CNSA The Chinese government has announced they will launch three taikonauts sometime in mid-June 2012, on the first manned mission to dock with their orbiting experimental module, and confirmed again that the crew might include China's first female space traveler. A rocket carrying the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft was moved to a launch pad in China's desert northwest over the weekend, China's Xinhua News Agency reported. The three-member crew will dock with and live inside the Tiangong 1 (or Heavenly Palace-1) orbital module launched last year. No word on how long the mission will be. We reported in March that the crew possibly could include a woman, and Niu Hongguang, deputy commander-in-chief of the country’s manned space program, said the final selection would depend on conditions nearer the time of launch.
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Read the rest of Upcoming First Human Mission to Chinese Space Station May Include Female Taikonaut (243 words)
© nancy for Universe Today, 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments |
Post tags: China, human spaceflight, Space Flight, Tiangong 1
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 Venus Transit in Hydrogen Alpha close-up just after 1st Contact with Venusian Atmosphere on 06-05-2012. Captured while on top of Kitt Peak, Tucson, AZ. Credit: John Chumack. Images and video from the Transit of Venus on June 5/6, 2012 are still pouring in, and we needed to share just a few more. Here’s an awesome close-up look at the event in Hydrogen Alpha from accomplished astrophotographer John Chumack. He used a Lunt Solar Scope 60mm/50F H-Alpha filter and a DMK 21AF04 Fire-wire camera. This is 741 frames & 1/91 second exposure. John has more images on our Flickr page, and on his website, Galactic Images. (...)
Read the rest of Transit of Venus Redux: More Great Images (491 words)
© nancy for Universe Today, 2012. | Permalink | One comment |
Post tags: Astrophotos, sun, Transit of Venus, Venus
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 Transit of Venus snapped from Princeton University at 6:19 p.m. June 5, 2012
This image was taken with a Questar telescope at 6:19 p.m. as the clouds over Princeton, NJ temporarily parted to the delight of hundreds of onlookers and whole families. Hundreds attended the Transit of Venus public outreach observing event organized jointly by Princeton University Astrophysics Dept and telescopes provided by the Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton (AAAP), local astronomy club, and NASA provided solar viewing glasses. Credit: Robert Vanderbei Despite a horrendous weather forecast, the clouds parted – at least partially – just in the nick of time for a massive crowd of astronomy and space enthusiasts gathered at Princeton University to see for themselves the dramatic start of the Transit of Venus shortly after 6 p.m. EDT as it arrived at and crossed the limb of the Sun. And what a glorious view it was for the well over 500 kids, teenagers and adults who descended on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey for a viewing event jointly organized by the Astrophysics Dept and the Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton (AAAP), the local astronomy club to which I belong. See Transit of Venus astrophotos snapped from Princeton, above and below by Astrophotographer and Prof. Bob Vanderbei of Princeton U and a AAAP club member.(...)
Read the rest of Clouds part for Transit of Venus from Princeton University (991 words)
© Ken Kremer for Universe Today, 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments |
Post tags: AAAP, Astrophotos, eclipses, Kepler Space Observatory, NASA, Princeton University, solar eclipses, solar glasses, solar viewing, sun, Transit of Venus, Transits, Venus
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 A vast hole in the cloud cover seen over the southern Pacific Well, not the sky exactly, but definitely in the clouds! This image, acquired by NASA’s Aqua satellite on June 5, shows an enormous oval hole in the clouds above the southern Pacific Ocean, approximately 500 miles (800 km) off the southwestern coast of Tasmania. The hole itself is several hundred miles across, and is the result of high pressure air in the upper atmosphere. (...)
Read the rest of There’s a Hole in the Sky! (129 words)
© Jason Major for Universe Today, 2012. | Permalink | 7 comments |
Post tags: Aqua, atmosphere, Earth, NASA, ocean, Pacific, satellite
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 Crepulscular rays appear simultaneouly on both the west (left) and east horizon on June 9, 2012. Credit: Nancy Atkinson I’m not sure how often this happens, but I’ve never seen it before: crepuscular rays on both the west and east horizon at the same time — or crepuscular and anti-crepuscular rays occurring simultaneously. I’m staying out in the wilds of Minnesota this summer, with great views of both horizons and captured these images last evening, June 9, 2012. The word crepuscular means "relating to twilight," and these rays occur when objects such as mountain peaks or clouds partially shadow the Sun's rays, usually when the Sun is low on the horizon. These rays are visible only when the atmosphere contains enough haze or dust particles so that sunlight in unshadowed areas can be scattered toward the observer. Then occasionally, light rays scattered by dust and haze sometimes appear on “antisolar” point, (the horizon opposite to the setting sun). These rays, called anti-crepuscular rays, originate at the Sun, cross over the sky to the opposite horizon, and appear to converge toward the antisolar point.
Anyone else ever seen this before?
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Read the rest of Astrophoto: Double Crepuscular Rays (117 words)
© nancy for Universe Today, 2012. | Permalink | 6 comments |
Post tags: Astrophotos, Crepuscular Rays, sun, sunset
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