Posted on 01/08/2006 7:31:40 PM PST by NormsRevenge
LOS ANGELES - When a NASA capsule hauling comet and interstellar dust plummets through the Earth's atmosphere this weekend, residents in large sweeps of the West will witness a cosmic spectacle.
During the Stardust capsule's blazing re-entry at 1:57 a.m. PST Sunday, it will travel at 29,000 mph, making it the fastest man-made object to return to Earth.
The 100-pound cargo will arc over Northern California toward Utah's Dugway Proving Ground, a remote Army base southwest of Salt Lake City.
Residents in parts of Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada and Utah should see the Stardust capsule as it streaks across the pre-dawn sky. Prime viewing will be along Nevada's Interstate 80 where residents can view the capsule's front.
The capsule's glow is expected to shine as bright as Venus for 90 seconds. It will appear brightest over Carlin, a small mining city in northeast Nevada.
The capsule will likely appear as a bright pink dot to the naked eye. In certain places, those with telescopes may see the capsule pass in front of the moon, appearing as a tiny dot trailed by a dark wave of hot air and debris from its heat shield.
During the capsule's descent, a team of scientists aboard a NASA DC-8 aircraft will track it and measure its brightness.
Part of their mission: Determine how well the capsule's heat shield performed during the plunge. The capsule's heat shield is among several protective material being considered by NASA for its new crew exploration vehicle, which is intended to replace the space shuttle.
After landing, the capsule will be shipped to the Johnson Space Center in Houston where scientists will pry it open and study the microscopic cometary and interstellar samples inside for clues to how the solar system formed.
This image provided by NASA shows the nucleus of comet Wild 2, taken by the navigation camera during the close-approach phase of NASA'S Stardust spacecraft on Jan. 2, 2004, during a flyby of the comet. The Stardust's round-trip, interstellar rendezvous to comet Wild 2 draws to a close Jan. 15, 2006, when the spacecraft jettisons a canister containing comet grains through the Earth's fiery atmosphere to the high Utah desert. (AP Photo/NASA)
Is this the same ship that carried a cd with names fo people worldwide that submitted their name long long ago?
Scifi Ping
Tips on Stardust SRC Entry Viewing (for those luck enough to be in the right area) http://reentry.arc.nasa.gov/viewingforum.html
It is a sister project to this one tho, Genesis.
http://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov/
Thanks!
Bummer it won't be viewable for very long, some clouds will be in the sky in some of the area as well.
It's entry is next week, the 15th. You're Welcome, at least I'm good for something around here.
well. I'll be ,, Thanks! now I know I need to put my glasses on. :-}
You sure that's Genesis? Look smore like the Err America.
Renegade says his family's name is on it so yes it must be. My name was blown up on the CD on Deep Impact.
I recall signing one of them, but which one.... ? ah well, as long as I somehow made it into the heavens...
I hadn't seen anything about the CD thing , Really? Cool
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stardust/main/index.html
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Stardust Successfully Images Asteroid Annefrank During Dress Rehearsal
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stardust/news/stardustf-20021104.html
Here it is.. they burned 136,000 names on a microchip..
November 10, 1997
PUBLIC INVITED TO SEND NAMES ON ROUNDTRIP MISSION TO COMET
http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/news/status/971110.html
Looks like could have taken up to 300,000 names.. This must be the one,
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