Shuttle Launch Set For 7th February

NASA has set the next Space Shuttle launch for February 7 at approx 7:45 p.m. (GMT) Atlantis has been delayed since November, due to errors with fuel sensors. However, there are still technical issues being worked out, so don’t be surprised if it gets rescheduled again.

Spiders on Mercury!

MESSENGER, the probe that passed Mercury recently, have released lots of images and made some scientific announcements, too. One striking image was this one:

This is an image of part of a vast region on called Caloris Basin. The cracks, called The Spider by the MESSENGER team, are like nothing seen before. Caloris Basin is an impact feature, and it seems something large hit Mercury a long time ago,. The impact carved out a hole, which filled with molten rock, and over time, the floor of the basin cracked.

Observatory Thursday

Both the weather and seeing forecasts appear to be favourable for the session tonight. However the Moon is 16 days old (~95%) and so may interfere with observing.

New Society Logo

Attendees of the committee meeting voted this choice as the new society logo:

Committee Meeting

There is a committee meeting tomorrow night (Wednesday) at the JD Wetherspoon pub in Witham’s High Street.

As always, all Society members are welcome. 19:45 for 20:00 start.

New images of Mercury

The first images from NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft to Mercury have begun streaming back to Earth and have provided us with a look at the previously unseen side of the planet.

Not since the early 1970s and the Mariner 10 probe has Mercury been investigated in such detail.

Such are the challenges involved with inserting a spacecraft into orbit around Mercury, MESSENGER will make several flyby maneovres over the next two years before full orbit insertion in 2011.

http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/

Mars is safe….for now.

2007 WD5, the asteroid and Near-Earth object which caused excitement when it was estimated to have as high as a 1 in 25 chance of colliding with Mars on 30th January, is now no longer predicted to likely hit the planet. Improved data has reduced it’s chances of collision closer to 1 in 10000 and it pass by at a distance of approx. 25,000 km.

However the eccentricity of the asteroid’s orbit could cause it to swing close to Mars or Earth again in the future.

January Public Meeting

Thanks to all who attended last night for Dr Andrew Ball’s lecture about Planetary Landers.

Christmas Meal

You can view the rest of the photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22674325@N02/sets/72157603754281337/

Welcome!

The new NEAS site is up.

Changes:

- There are now five main pages (the green tabs above.) including information about the Society, our observatory, monthly sky notes and our events calender.

- The “news” page will be updated all the time (at least weekly, sometimes daily). You are able to leave comments attached to any of the items of the front page, which will hopefully make the site more interactive.

- The new forum is also online. You will, however, need to sign up again.

- There is now an image gallery, which will hold images produced by Society members. (check it out over on the left there)

More updates to follow.