Free Republic 3rd Qtr 2024 Fundraising Target: $81,000 Receipts & Pledges to-date: $20,236
24%  
Woo hoo!! And we're now over 24%!! Thank you all very much!! God bless.

Keyword: velapulsar

Brevity: Headers | « Text »
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day -- Fermi Epicycles: The Vela Pulsar's Path

    05/04/2012 4:20:25 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 7 replies
    NASA ^ | May 04, 2012 | (see photo credit)
    Explanation: Exploring the cosmos at extreme energies, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope orbits planet Earth every 95 minutes. By design, it rocks to the north and then to the south on alternate orbits in order to survey the sky with its Large Area Telescope (LAT). The spacecraft also rolls so that solar panels are kept pointed at the Sun for power, and the axis of its orbit precesses like a top, making a complete rotation once every 54 days. As a result of these multiple cycles the paths of gamma-ray sources trace out complex patterns from the spacecraft's perspective, like...