There's a rocket standing on a launch pad in Virginia, ready and waiting to fire.
It's not a terrorist rocket or the little rockets that my sons, especially my oldest one, launched into the air when they were kids. This one is on a resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS), and it's NOT being launched from FL.
and I'm
totally GEEKING OUT about this.
(larger photo)
The fact that it's not being launched from Florida, but at the (Wallop's Flight Facility, in Virginia means that many of us in MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, VA, WV, NC, SC can/could see it!
For us in MA it will be pretty low on the horizon. As of this morning my family and I are trying to figure out the best place along the ocean shore to see it. I am lobbying for us to make the drive to the sea shore in Long Island (taking the ferry from
New London, CT to Orient Point, Long Island, NY) for better viewing.
I found out about this last night during my Astronomy class (in my
update of last Sunday I mentioned being back in school). It's a
smart classroom and we were looking at
EarthSky for the date and time of the best viewing of this weekend's "
Super Moon" which is the moon at "perigee" = closest to the earth.
(See all them fancy words I'm learnin? ;-) Actually I'm a Sci Fi geek/nerd so I already knew this word)
Here's how to figure out the best time for you to see the moon on tomorrow at perigee, given that the time listed is in "Universal Time." How do I translate Universal Time into my time?
Anyway I went to the EarthSky facebook page to find more links for extra credit work (which I need a few to the power of 10 to make up from some really bad quiz grades (also mentioned in my update) to email to myself. And there it was. I was pretty sure my prof didn't know about it so I showed him at break before we headed down to the planetarium. He didn't.
So in the planetarium I got the "pleasure" of projecting the web page on the dome, and this video, etc. (and yes, all this counts as another tick up the extra credit ladder). And we are all supposed to learn how to use the actual planetarium projector (Spitz A3PR star projector). It cost thousands of dollars to repair - so no biggie if we mess up, no pressure. /snark
When I found out about the launch it was scheduled for Saturday but it has since been pushed back to Sunday due to weather.
Mission: ORB-2 (ISS resupply)
Launch Vehicle: Antares
Target Date: July 13
Launch Time: 12:52 p.m. EDT
There is also NASA TV and they will be live streaming
I never got to see the space shuttle launches. Though I wanted too, very badly. This is kinda in the neighborhood - so I'm going to do my level best.
And in my total spazz geekout way, I wanted to let you know too.
We don't have a textbook for Astronomy.
A lot of our class is conducted through the web and through free programs and apps. In lieu of a textbook we were supposed to buy a pair of binoculars . . . which will be coming with us to view the launch!
You may not be a geek/nerd like me (though unlike teh gays we ARE recruiting) you might enjoy/make use of these things too:
Stellarium
Stellarium is a planetarium software that shows exactly what you see when you look up at the stars. It's easy to use, and free.
I use this all the time, and my youngest (18) now uses it too. It will even superimpose constellations like Bootes, Virgo, Ursa Major, etc. on the stars
Google Sky
Sky maps that we downloaded to our phone. Sometimes this messes up for me, but when it's working all I have to do is put my cell phone up to the sky and it tells me what stars and planets I'm looking at. This is what Rachel Maddow geeked out on her show about when tablets came out.
Your Sky
Fourmilab. The interactive planetarium of the Web. You can produce maps in the forms described below for any time and date, viewpoint, and observing location. If you enter the orbital elements of an asteroid or comet, Your Sky will compute its current position and plot it on the map. Each map is accompanied by an ephemeris for the Sun, Moon, planets, and any tracked asteroid or comet. A control panel permits customisation of which objects are plotted, limiting magnitudes, colour scheme, image size, and other parameters; each control is linked to its description in the help file.
I've used this a number of times. Pretty cool.
9 Planets - Solar system tour
This website is an overview of the history, mythology, and current scientific knowledge of the planets, moons and other objects in our solar system. Each page has our text and NASA's images, some have sounds and movies, most provide references to additional related information.
Spot the [ISS] Station
Gives time for many cities across the globe when one can look up and see the space station going across. Gives angle, and start direction and finish direction so you know where to look. The International Space Station doesn't "fade in" and "fade out" more like "blinks" into view and "blinks" out again. You can get email alerts too, telling you when it will be around your area.
EarthSky
Based in Austin, TX, the EarthSky team has a blast bringing you daily updates on your cosmos and world. We love your photos and welcome your news tips.
Space Review
News aggregate and commentary about space stuff. This can also be delivered to your email box.
And because this is my diary and I never let a diary of mine go with out some music (or I try not to anyway). AND because EarthSky's email blast of July 9 caused an earworm,
Supermassive black hole in galaxy blasts gas out at high speed, here ya go :-)