Tag Archives: Hayabusa2

In the Sky This Week – March 5, 2019

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This entry is part 85 of 87 in the series In the Sky This Week

Planets are splashed across the south-southeastern predawn sky all week. With each morning, Venus and Saturn spread a little farther apart – Saturn getting a little higher and moving to the south, and Venus moving towards the east. Mercury can be seen very low in the western sky at dusk this week. Look quick! Mercury will only be visible for a couple days, and will get dimmer with each passing day. For an observing challenge, try to spot Mercury and a very thin crescent Moon on March 7th at 6:46 PM! Mars and Uranus are high in the west-southwestern sky before midnight; Mars will slowly move away from Uranus all month. The Moon will appear very near Mars on Mar. 11th! The Rosette Nebula The spectacular Rosette Nebula, a glowing hydrogen-rich cloud, is located some 4,700 light-years away toward the constellation of Monoceros (the Unicorn). In the middle of the nebula shines the open star cluster NGC 2244, full of … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – February 26, 2019

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This entry is part 84 of 87 in the series In the Sky This Week

This summer’s nationwide library reading program, “A Universe of Stories,” coincides with NASA’s 60th anniversary, and the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. The Warren Astronomical Society (Michigan) has received multiple requests from libraries for summer speakers, astronomy programs and display case setups – and they’re still coming in! I’ve reached out to other astronomy clubs and volunteer NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors in southeastern Michigan for help covering all the outreach requests. If you are looking for speakers for this summer, Solar System Ambassadors in your state, and local astronomy clubs are a great resource. You can find many clubs and events listed on the NASA Night Sky Network site. Venus and Saturn continue to spread apart this week, and the waning crescent Moon appears very near several planets in the southeastern predawn sky. Mercury can be seen very low in the western sky at dusk this week. Mars and Uranus are high in the west-southwestern sky before midnight; … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – September 25, 2018

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This entry is part 62 of 87 in the series In the Sky This Week

Happy autumn! The autumnal equinox occurred on September 22nd, this is when the Sun crosses the celestial equator, making the length of day and night approximately the same all over the Earth. With the onset of fall, the constellation Orion is now very high in the predawn sky Jupiter will soon be leaving Mars and Saturn behind in the south-southwestern sky after dusk – catch it while you still can! Jupiter and Venus compete for the “evening star” title, but Jupiter will soon win, as Venus will no longer visible in the southwestern sky in a few short weeks. The Moon The Moon is a waning gibbous just after full; rising in the east at dusk, and setting in the west near dawn. The Moon will be near third quarter early next week, rising around midnight, and visible all morning. Observing Target: Mars Now that the dust from the recent storm has settled, photographers are starting to get some great shots of … Continue reading →

Shadow of the Mothership

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This image showing the shadow of the Hayabusa2 spacecraft on the surface of asteroid Ryugu just blew me away! Hayabusa2 is an asteroid sample return mission operated by JAXA – the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The spacecraft has been surveying asteroid Ryugu for a suitable location to take a sample, and drop a couple of  unique rovers. The rovers are designed to move over the surface of the asteroid by hopping. As of this posting, the MINERVA-II1 rover is being deployed to the asteroid’s surface. [MINERVA-II1] The altitude of Hayabusa2 when this image was captured was about 80m! https://t.co/1PhAWx4f9u — HAYABUSA2@JAXA (@haya2e_jaxa) September 21, 2018 [MINERVA-II1] Communication with MINERVA-II1 has currently stopped. This is probably due to the rotation to Ryugu, and MINERVA-II1 is now on the far side of the asteroid. We are currently working to confirm if there are images capturing the MINERVA-II1 landing. #asteroidlanding — HAYABUSA2@JAXA (@haya2e_jaxa) September 21, 2018 Stay tuned!  … Continue reading →

Asteroid 162173 Ryugu from 40 Kilometers

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The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Hayabusa2 spacecraft is approaching asteroid 162173 Ryugu. The spacecraft has traveled nearly 3.2 billion km since its launch in December of 2014. The spacecraft and asteroid will meet in interplanetary space 280 million km from the Earth. Hayabusa2 on Twitter: Ryugu seen from between 220 ~ 100 km. Are we seeing the history of the asteroid etched on its surface? https://t.co/cNG1ZGsqlI pic.twitter.com/qqTEozetCV — HAYABUSA2@JAXA (@haya2e_jaxa) June 21, 2018 Hayabusa2 will survey the asteroid for 18 months, looking for a suitable location from which to take a sample. A Small Carry-on Impactor (SCI) with an explosive charge will be released by Hayabusa2 while it orbits the asteroid; this will remove the space-weathered surface of the asteroid at the target site to allow and a fresh sample to be collected. The spacecraft will depart the asteroid in December of 2019, and return its samples to Earth in December of 2020. Hayabusa2 will also deploy four small probes … Continue reading →