Tomorrow, Wednesday, January 13, 2010, a small asteroid called 2010 AL 30 (presumed diameter 10-15 meters) will buzz the Earth at just 1/3 of the lunar distance. The point of closest approach will be passed around 13:00 UTC (14:00 CET). +++ Please also note the update at the bottom of this post. +++
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From November 25-27, 2009, I attended a workshop on the topic of "Methane in the Mars Atmosphere", held at the site of the European Space Research Institute ESRIN in Frascati, Italy. This is my summary of what went on there and what I learnt.
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A cold, dark rubble pile, a few kilometers across. He never ventures far from his lair in the asteroid main belt. No closer to the Sun than 2.5 AU, no farther than 2.7. His orbit is inclined by a mere 12 degrees ... an asteroid can hardly be more common than that!
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The honor of being immortalized by the science fiction grandmaster Arthur C Clarke was bestowed upon only few living men. Alexei Leonov is one of them. Another one died not long ago.
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Attention astronomers: On November 13, 2009, the ESA comet chaser probe Rosetta will visit us Earthlings one last time. The spacecraft needs to gain momentum at Mars (once) and the Earth (three times) to boost its orbital energy sufficiently to reach the target comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
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On October 9, 2009 at 13:31 CEDT (11:31 GMT) the upper stage of the Atlas rocket used to launch the NASA lunar probe LCROSS will crash into crater Cabeus near the Moon's South Pole. Four minutes later, around 13:35 CEDT (11:35 GMT), the spacecraft proper will follow.
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The International Space Station (ISS) was conceived as an orbital lab that would allow research in conditions unavailable on Earth. This research was to lead to, among other useful things, dramatically new drugs and treatment.
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NASA's new Moon orbiter LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) has already imaged several Apollo landing sites, steadily improving the resolution as it is being lowered to the target science orbit. Here is an image of the Apollo 12 Lunar Module "Intrepid"'s lower stage near the previously landed Surveyor 3 probe in Oceanus Procellarum. There also are 235 Megabytes worth of raw image. Enjoy!
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This July I read a NASA press release that sent me strolling down memory lane. I will never forget that frantic autumn of 2004. Whoever thinks science is boring should have witnessed that major scientific drama ... and not only scientists were in for a white-knuckle ride.
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For about a year now, the European Space Agency ESA has been putting online images produced by the most distant webcam in the solar system: the VMC on the ESA Mars orbiter Mars Express, or MEX, as its operators affectionately call it.
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Everyone knows who the first man on the Moon was. The second man's name should not be too difficult to remember, either. But the Apollo 11 crew had three members. The third man is easily forgotten, if indeed you took note of him in the first place.
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The Tunguska Explosion took place over 101 years ago, but the controversy on what caused it is still very much alive and kicking - which is a good thing, because if everyone were of the same opinion, it would be boring and progress would come grinding to a halt.
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