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[...] First Flight of the Falcon Heavy: 2014 will be a busy year for SpaceX, starting with the launch of Thaicom-6 out of Cape Canaveral this Friday on January 3rd. SpaceX is now “open for business,” and [...]
The Sky is Waiting.
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Pictured is a Delta IV rocket launch from Cape Canaveral on November 21st, 2010. The image is a 20 second exposure taken at dusk, shot from about 100 miles west of the launch site. The launch placed a classified payload in orbit for the United States Air Force.
Difficult but not impossible to catch against the dawn or dusk sky, spotting an extreme crescent moon can be a challenge. The slender crescent pictured was shot 30 minutes before sunrise when the Moon was less than 20 hours away from New.� A true feat of visual athletics to catch, a good pair of binoculars or a well aimed wide field telescopic view can help with the hunt.
The Sun is our nearest star, and goes through an 11-year cycle of activity. This image was taken via a properly filtered telescope, and shows the Sun as it appeared during its last maximum peak in 2003. This was during solar cycle #23, a period during which the Sun hurled several large flares Earthward. The next solar cycle is due to peak around 2013-14.
Located in the belt of the constellation Orion, Messier 42, also known as the Orion Nebula is one of the finest deep sky objects in the northern hemisphere sky. Just visible as a faint smudge to the naked eye on a clear dark night, the Orion Nebula is a sure star party favorite, as it shows tendrils of gas contrasted with bright stars. M42 is a large stellar nursery, a star forming region about 1,000 light years distant.
Orbiting the planet in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) every 90 minutes, many people fail to realize that you can see the International Space Station (ISS) from most of the planet on a near-weekly basis. In fact, the ISS has been known to make up to four visible passes over the same location in one night. The image pictured is from the Fourth of July, 2011 and is a 20 second exposure of a bright ISS pass.
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Next to the Sun, the two brightest objects in the sky are the Moon and the planet Venus. In fact, when Venus is favorably placed next to the Moon, it might just be possible to spot the two in the daytime. Another intriguing effect known as earthshine or ashen light is also seen in the image on the night side of the Moon; this is caused by sunlight reflected back off of the Earth towards our only satellite.
A mosaic of three images taken during the total lunar eclipse of December 21st, 2010. The eclipse occurred the same day as the winter solstice. The curve and size of the Earth�s shadow is apparent in the image.
Astro-Vid Of the Week: Catch the First Launch of 2014
A May 2012 night launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 from the Cape. (Credit: NASA)
Breaking News: Word is that the Falcon-9 launch has now been pushed back to Monday, January 6th… stay tuned for updates!
The year in spaceflight starts with a bang this Friday, as SpaceX launches the Thaicom 6 satellite atop a Falcon 9 rocket headed for geostationary orbit. The launch is set to occur out of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on the Florida Space Coast, and the 132 minute window opens at dusk on January 3rd at 22:50 UT/5:50 PM EST. This is just 10 minutes after local sunset, guaranteeing that the launch will be visible across the Florida peninsula as it heads out over the Atlantic.
And if you don�t happen to live in Florida, you can always catch the launch online:
SpaceX also carries the broadcast, though we�ve found NASA TV to generally be a bit more stable. Thaicom 6 is headed for an orbital slot at 78.5 degrees east longitude to service Africa and southeast Asia. As of this writing, weather is projected to be 80% go for Friday and subsequent backup dates through the weekend.
With the successful launch of SES 8 by SpaceX on December 3rd, this marks one of the fastest turnarounds at the Cape since 1999. And this also marks the start of a�busy year for SpaceX that will see more satellite deployments, at least three resupply missions to the International Space Station, testing of the crewed Dragon capsule, and culminate with the first test launch of its Falcon 9 Heavy rocket later this year.
SpaceX will be a company to watch in 2014, as they get down to the routine business of spaceflight starting with this Friday�s launch!
Author�s Note: There are rumors�As of this writing (January 1st) that the SpaceX launch may actually move forward about 45 minutes or so. Also, there�s no firm word on when the broadcast will go live, though its worth checking in about an hour before the start of the launch window. Follow us on Twitter (@Astroguyz) for the latest updates!