The Phoenix Mars lander mission is quickly coming to an end as the staunch little probe runs out of energy. The cause is the decreasing sunlight of the Martian arctic site and dust kicked up by storms.
This animation shows how NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander stays in contact with Earth. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
Little Phoenix will continue broadcasting until the end.
A Sexy Love Triangle
Photographer Shannon L. Story of Texas got a shot of Venus, Jupiter and the Moon as makes its way to a triangular gathering peaking on December 1st.
Sunspot 1007
Photographer Alan Friedman took this shot from his backyard of sunspot 1007. Says Friedman, "It's filamentary, my dear Watson!" The image does bear a curious resemblance to the pipe of Sherlock Holmes.
Take the Pill, NEO.
Nov. 2008 Earth-asteroid encounters:
| Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Mag. | Size |
| 2008 TX3 | Nov. 1 | 9 LD | 19 | 45 m |
| 2008 UT95 | Nov. 2 | 1.5 LD | 17 | 15 m |
| 2008 UC7 | Nov. 2 | 4.5 LD | 20 | 17 m |
| 4179 Toutatis | Nov. 9 | 20 LD | 14 | 3.8 km |
Planetary Magnetism
Oh this is a cool one:
This is an artist's conception of what is called a flux transfer event or 'FTE,' a magnetic portal will open, linking Earth to the sun 93 million miles away. Tons of high-energy particles may flow through the opening before it closes again. And this happens nearly once every eight minutes.
Cool, huh?
Blogger's Note: The information and images are from Nasa's Space Weather Site. This is presented with links to additional information for self-educational purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.
That's all!
--->Susan
No comments:
Post a Comment