Red planet fly-by: Comet Siding Spring swings past Mars | euronews, world news

Red planet fly-by: Comet Siding Spring swings past Mars | euronews, world news

• Live Broadcast Sunday Night from Night Skies Network

Rosetta mission - Philae’s descent and science on the surface

The European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission will deploy its lander, Philae, to the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko on 12 November.

Philae’s landing site, currently known as Site J, is located on the smaller of the comet’s two ‘lobes’, with a backup site on the larger lobe. The sites were selected just six weeks after Rosetta arrived at the comet on 6 August, following its 10-year journey through the Solar System

In that time, the Rosetta mission has been conducting an unprecedented scientific analysis of the comet, a remnant of the Solar System’s 4.6 billion-year history. The latest results from Rosetta will be presented on the occasion of the landing, during dedicated press briefings.

The main focus to date has been to survey 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko in order to prepare for the first ever attempt to soft-land on a comet.

Read more...

After the Blood Moon comes the Pumpkin Sun

Click to enlarge!

On October 7, 2014 [Manila time], active regions on the sun gave it the appearance of a jack-o'-lantern. This image is a blend of 171 and 193 angstrom light as captured by the NASA-Solar Dynamics Observatory. NASA/GSFC/SDO

 Source: GMANews

It looks like the Moon isn't the only heavenly body giving the skies a creepy feel this month.

After last Wednesday's "Blood Moon" comes the "Pumpkin Sun" as captured by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration last Wednesday, October 8.

Last Wednesday, the moon took on a blood-colored appearance during a total lunar eclipse.

"Active regions on the sun combined to look something like a jack-o-lantern’s face on Oct. 8, 2014. The active regions appear brighter because those are areas that emit more light and energy – markers of an intense and complex set of magnetic fields hovering in the sun’s atmosphere, the corona," NASA's Goodard Space Flight Center said.

Read more

Sky Guide Africa South - 2015

Rosetta: Date fixed for historic comet landing attempt

Philae is about the size of a washing machine.
It will use harpoons and screws to try to hold itself down

  Source BBC News

The date has been fixed for Europe's daring attempt to land on a comet: Wednesday 12 November.

It will see the Rosetta satellite, which is currently orbiting the huge "ice mountain" known as 67P, drop a small robot from a height of 20km.

If all goes well, the lander will free-fall towards the comet, making contact with the surface somewhere in a 1km-wide zone at roughly 15:35 GMT.

The European Space Agency (Esa) says the challenges ahead are immense.

Imagine pushing a washing machine out the back of an airliner at twice cruising altitude and expecting it to hit Regent's Park in London - all while the ground is moving underneath.

Although not really analogous for many reasons, this scenario does give a sense of the difficulties involved.

The chances of failure are high.

• Read more

Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014 - in pictures

 

Click to enlarge

The Royal Observatory Greenwich has announced the winners of this year’s international astronomy photography competition. The observatory’s annual free exhibition, which opened on Thursday, showcases these dazzling images of the sky, ranging from within our solar system to far into deep space. British photographer James Woodend beat over a thousand amateur and professional photographers to win the top prize.

• Visit and enjoy!

Inkspot - The only Dark Nebula with it's own wine?

Is it Barnard 86 with it's own wine label or Inkspot 2010 Vin Noir with it's own dark nebula?

- Give that man an Inkspot! From Herschel with love!

• Barnard 86, LDN 93, Ink Spot, Herschel's Hole in the Heavens

•  Inkspot 2010 Vin Noir

Space in Images - 2014 - 09 - Philae’s primary landing site

Philae’s primary landing site will target Site J, the centre of which
is indicated by the cross in this OSIRIS narrow-angle image.

Site
J is located on the head of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko and is
close to the candidate site B, the large depression to the right of the
image.

Site J offers the minimum risk to the lander in comparison
to the other candidate sites, and is also scientifically interesting,
with signs of activity nearby. At Site J, the majority of slopes are
less than 30º relative to the local vertical, reducing the chances of
Philae toppling over during touchdown. Site J also appears to have
relatively few boulders and receives sufficient daily illumination to
recharge Philae and continue science operations on the surface beyond
the initial battery-powered phase.



Full story: 'J' marks the spot for Rosetta's lander

Rosetta spacecraft selfie with comet

Here is a Rosetta ‘selfie’ with comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko in
background. It was taken by the CIVA camera – short for Comet Infrared
and Visible Analyser – onboard the Philae Lander. This is the same
camera that will be acquiring images from the surface of the comet
itself, when the Philae lander sets down on the comet in November.


Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko was 50 kilometers / 31 miles away at the time of this image.


Two frames were taken and merged due to the high contrast.




Rosetta isn’t the first otherworldly object to get in on the earthly trend of selfies. NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover caught one, too, earlier this year.



Rosetta spacecraft selfie with comet | Science Wire | EarthSky

Naval Hill Planetarium

The first digital planetarium in sub-Saharan Africa – situated on Naval Hill, right here in Bloemfontein – opened on 1 November 2013! The University of the Free State (UFS) is managing this facility.

Tariffs:
Adults: R50
Learners: R30
Students (with valid student card): R30
Pensioners: R30
Tariffs and dates for group reservations are available on request.

Buy tickets at:

• The Planetarium before shows (but keep in mind that the Planetarium is regularly full);
• Computicket at all Checkers, Shoprite, House and Home and Checkers Hyper shops;
• Computicket’s enquiry centre (08619158000); or
• Online at www.online.computicket.com (look for ‘planetarium’); 
• Online mobi  www.computicket.mobi with mobile devices (look for ‘planetarium’).

Enquiries:
Please direct enquiries via email to Yolandie Loots at FickY@ufs.ac.za  or contact her on 051 401 9751.