January 2004 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Pressing on
by Patrick Wiggins 04 Jan '04

04 Jan '04

20:50 MST The post turn maneuver poll was just taken and everyone agreed they should proceed with the landing. Only problem reported was a concern about the air bag gas generators having a temperature a bit higher than anticipated. Mars Global Surveyor (currently on orbit 21,959) should be on station to receive signals from the lander.

1 0

Maneuver complete
by Patrick Wiggins 04 Jan '04

04 Jan '04

Turn to entry maneuver complete. Lander is now in the proper attitude for hitting the atmosphere. About 1 hour to hitting the atmosphere. I'm stoked! :-)

2 2

Heaters on, signal locked
by Patrick Wiggins 04 Jan '04

04 Jan '04

Airbag propellant heaters on. Canberra tracking station has locked onto the lander's signal. 20:14 MST Patrick

1 0

Turn to entry begun
by Patrick Wiggins 04 Jan '04

04 Jan '04

For those without access to NASA TV, JPL just reported that the lander has just begun its turn to entry attitude maneuver (20:08 MST). Maneuver should take about 20 minutes or so. Patrick

1 0

Spirit approaches
by Chuck Hards 04 Jan '04

04 Jan '04

If anyone gets this post in time, go to the NASA Rover Website and watch the window showing how Mars looks from Spirit's vantage point. It's updated every ten minutes and you can visibly see how fast the spacecraft is approaching Mars. http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/spiritrightnow.html If you miss this approach, be sure to see the simulator for Opportunity's approach later this month. C. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Find out what made the Top Yahoo! Searches of 2003 http://search.yahoo.com/top2003

1 0

Apogee 20x100mm binoculars
by Chuck Hards 03 Jan '04

03 Jan '04

Has anyone purchased the Apogee "NEW" 20x100mm binos? (And had a chance to actually use them this "Donner Party" winter?) At $199.95 (reg. $349.95) the price is certainly excellent for a 100mm binocular. These would yield a 5mm exit pupil, as opposed to 4mm on the 25x100mm. S&T Feb. '04 pg. 131 www.apogeeinc.com They also have the Deluxe 20x80mm on sale for $159.99 (reg. $199.95). I picked up the "lightweight" 20x80mm model last year and am very happy with it; it's rather like the 15x70mm on steroids. It also is just light enough to be used on my "standard" parallelogram. C. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now http://companion.yahoo.com/

1 1

Comet picture
by Patrick Wiggins 03 Jan '04

03 Jan '04

Comet Wild 2 as seen by the Stardust spacecraft today: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/2004/1.cfm Patrick

3 3

First comet picture from Stardust = WOW!
by Patrick Wiggins 02 Jan '04

02 Jan '04

NASA TV just showed the first close-up picture of Comet Wild 2. Really a great shot. Unfortunately the picture is not on the Stardust web site as I enter this (16:06 MST). Hopefully it will be up soon. They are saying it'll be this time tomorrow before all of the data is received. During close approach they were taking a picture ever 10 seconds. What a "movie" those will make! Patrick

2 2

Upcoming space events
by Patrick Wiggins 01 Jan '04

01 Jan '04

I'm putting together a list of things happening "up there" in 2004 and would appreciate y'all having a look see and letting me know of any omissions and/or errors. It's part of my "ambassador" doings so it's public domain and anyone can copy and use the data. Cheers! Patrick All time Mountain JANUARY 2004 02-Stardust encounter with comet Wilt-2 (12:40) 03-Spirit lands on Mars (21:35) 03-Quadrantids (23:00) 04-Perihelion (11:00) 24-Opportunity lands on Mars (22:05) FEBRUARY 2004 MARCH 2004 19-Equinox (23:49) APRIL 2004 MAY 2004 11-MESSENGER's 12 day launch window opens JUNE 2004 08-Transit of Venus (East Coast at sunrise) 11-Cassini encounters Phoebe (Saturnian satellite) 20-Solstice (18:57) 30-Cassini orbit insertion burn (19:12 to 21:13) JULY 2004 05-Aphelion (05:00) AUGUST 2004 12-Perseids (04:00) SEPTEMBER 2004 08-Genesis lands in Utah 22-Equinox (10:30) OCTOBER 2004 28-Total lunar eclipse (18:14 to 21:53) NOVEMBER 2004 02-MESSENGER Venus flyby #1 of 3 DECEMBER 2004 13-Geminids (15:00) 21-Solstice (05:42) 24-Huygens probe separates from Cassini orbiter (22:00) 30-Deep Impact launch JANUARY 2005 14-Huygens lands on Titan July 2005 04-Deep Impact impacts Comet Tempel 1 January 2006 15-Stardust lands in Utah (03:00)

2 1

Erda (the asteroid) humor
by Patrick Wiggins 01 Jan '04

01 Jan '04

http://planet.state.ut.us/files/ERDA25DEC2003.HTML Patrick :-)

1 0