A Large Tsunami Shock Wave on the Sun – Tsunamis this large don’t happen on Earth. During 2006, a large solar flare from an Earth-sized sunspot produced a tsunami-type shock wave that was spectacular even for the Sun.
Category Archives: Space and Astronomy
Includes anything related to news, events, discoveries, and agencies that deal with space, including NASA and spaceflight.
Opportunity Arrives at Endeavour Crater
After a three-year trek as part of the mission lasting EIGHT remarkable years, MER Opportunity has finally reached Endeavour Crater. It’s the Little Rover That Could!
Source: APOD: 2011 August 15 – Rover Arrives at Endeavour Crater on Mars.
‘Against Clouds And City Lights:’ A Photo Of The Shuttle’s Fiery Reentry : The Two-Way : NPR
An AMAZING photograph of the shuttle Atlantis’ reentry into Earth’s atmosphere taken by the astronuats aboard the International Space Station has just posted on NPR. Go have a look!
Atlantis’ Final Flight
My report from Space Shuttle Atlantis is up! Read it over at the Weekly Alibi from the link: The Last Shuttle: A report from the Kennedy Space Center.
Armageddon?? Nope, Just a Close Encounter.
Don’t worry, everyone. There is no need to call Bruce Willis in to save the world. Asteroid 2011 MD will make a very close pass to the Earth today at about 1:00 PM EST, coming within 7,500 miles above the planet (specifically, above Antarctica). While this is close enough to pass beneath some of Earth’s satellites, there is “no chance” that 2011 MD will enter our atmosphere and hit the Earth, according to scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The diameter of MD 2011 is estimated to be rather small – between 29 to 98 feet – so IF there was a chance it might enter our atmosphere, it would most likely break apart and burn up upon entry. If you are clever enough to be able to track moving objects with a medium-sized telescope, you might be able to spot 2011 MD in the sky.
So don’t worry about rushing down to your basements and preparing for the worst. Space.com has the full scoop, as well as a trajectory map of the asteroid’s path.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Off the subject of E3, you have to take a look at today’s Astronomy Picture of the Day. It’s absolutely stunning.
Space Shuttle Endeavour Launches Successfully
The space shuttle Endeavour, after weeks of delays, finally launched successfully this morning at 8:56 AM EDT from Launch Pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center. For its 25th and final mission, Endeavour will spend 16 days in space, which will include a docking at the International Space Station and the release of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), according to Space.Com.
[The AMS is] a $2 billion particle detector that will search for cosmic rays that might help unravel some of our most perplexing cosmic mysteries, such as what makes up the invisible dark matter thought to pervade the universe.
The featured image above is of Endeavours crew. My only issue? WHERE ARE THE WOMEN??? Come on, NASA – this is the second to last shuttle mission, don’t count out the girls. Oh well. At least STS-135 will include mission specialist Sandy Magnus.
Below you can see a picture of Endeavour just after liftoff (credit to collectSPACE.com/Robert Z. Pearlman). Read more about STS-134 at NASA.gov and Space.com.
UPDATE: For another really cool picture, head over to NBC’s PhotoBlog to see a picture of Endeavour from the window of a passenger airplane. The final space shuttle flight, Atlantis STS-135, will liftoff on July 8, 2011.
Final launch of Endeavour, 16 May 2011. Credit: collectSPACE.com/Robert Z. Pearlman
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