I’m standing in an isolated clearing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on February 11, 2013, holding an enormous weather balloon. Just as I’m about to let it go, it’s tugging on my arm with four pounds of force. “Ten seconds. Five. Release Lima 5.” As the balloon shoots up, I crane my head […]
All Is Well For LDCM
Wondering how the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) is doing after its launch last week? The mission’s project office posted an update yesterday and the news is good. The LDCM Mission Operations Team successfully completed the first phase of spacecraft activation. All spacecraft subsystems have been turned on, including propulsion, and power has been supplied […]
How Do We Know the Russian Meteor and 2012 DA14 Aren’t Related?
So how can we tell that the Russian meteor isn’t related to asteroid 2012 DA14?One way is to look at meteor showers — the Orionids all have similar orbits to their parent comet, Halley. Similarly, the Geminids all move in orbits that closely resemble the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, which produced them. So if the Russian …
Why Wasn’t the Russian Meteor Detected Before it Entered the Atmosphere?
This is the question that keeps cropping up, and it deserves an answer. Images are being posted showing the fragments and they look like ordinary chondrites of asteroidal origin. This material is dark, and not very reflective, which makes it difficult to spot out in outer space, especially if the object is bus or house …
Orbit of the Russian Meteor
The bright blue line in the diagram above shows the orbit of the Russian meteor prior to the meteor breaking apart over the city of Chelyabinsk. The meteor hit the atmosphere at a speed of 18 km/s (11.2 miles per second or 40,300 mph). It was moving at a shallow entry angle (less than 20 …
NASA Statement on the Russian Meteor
According to NASA scientists, the trajectory of the Russian meteor was significantly different than the trajectory of the asteroid 2012 DA14, making it a completely unrelated object. Information is still being collected about the Russian meteor and analysis is preliminary at this point. In videos of the meteor, it is seen to pass from left …
Asteroid 2012 DA14 and the Eta Carinae Nebula
This image shows asteroid 2012 DA14 and the Eta Carinae Nebula, with the white box highlighting the asteroid’s path. The image was taken using a 3″ refractor equipped with a color CCD camera. The telescope is located at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia and is maintained and owned by iTelescope.net.Image credit: NASA/MSFC/Aaron Kingery
NASA Experts Discuss Russia Meteor in Media Teleconference Today
NASA experts will hold a teleconference for news media at 4 p.m. EST today to discuss a meteor that streaked through the skies over Russia’s Urals region this morning. Scientists have determined the Russia meteor is not related to asteroid 2012 DA14 that will pass safely pass Earth today at a distance of more than …
Meteor Fragments Blaze Over the Ural Mountains
Around 9:20 a.m. local time on February 15, 2013, a blazing mass of rock from space—a meteor—streaked across the sky over the Ural Mountains in the Chelyabinsk region of Russia. The burning mass produced a loud sonic boom and shock wave that blew out windows in multiple cities and towns. Russian media outlets are reporting hundreds of injuries, most minor, […]
Who Pushes the Button?
Thurs. Feb. 7, 2013. Four Days Before Launch, Embassy Suites, Lompoc, Calif. After arriving at my hotel for my first rocket launch, I started loading up my plate at Sonny’s complimentary breakfast. Not knowing anyone, I walked up to a nearby group of strangers and asked if I could sit down. As it turns out, […]