Unseen World!

Like every time a meteor shower is due or forecasted, viewers and astrophotographers all around the world will have their cameras and rolls ready to capture a moment of this phenomenal display of nature’s artist.

Predictions are coming in from meteor experts & researchers from around the world with regards to the level of activity that will be experienced in different parts of the world. A common consensus for this year is that the Asian continent will witness the brightest galore of shooting stars this time around. Astronomers David Asher from Ireland, Mikhail Maslov of Russia and Jeremie Vaubaillon of France have identified Indonesia and India as prime viewing locations. Even NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office connoisseurs Danielle Moser and Bill Cooke are in agreement with the trio of astronomers.

Becoming visible either on the morning of the 18th or 17th of November (depending on which part of the world you are in), the Leonoid meteor shower is expected to flood the skies with approximately 20 to 30 shooting stars per hour. Not quite the stunning amount of the 1830’s or the early 1990’s where thousands of shooting stars were observed, 2009 is still anticipated to do better than the preceding years.

Mother Earth will be on a flight path through the fragments of meteoric dust from originating the constellation Leo. Since the smaller fragments are understood to be pushed away by the larger ones, one can expect to witness a shooting star with a longer than average trail that could burst into a fireball (called bolides).

During the 2009 Leonid meteor shower, you may see anywhere from 30 to 300 shooting stars an hour, depending on whether you’re in the right place to see tonight’s showy peak, experts predict.

With the highest number of meteors streaking across the skies around 4:45 p.m. ET on November 17, the full Leonids peak will be effectively invisible for viewers in North America and Europe.

But in Asia, the peak happens during predawn hours, so observers there will have a front row seat for this year’s display. (See a NASA map of the 2009 Leonids’ peak visibility.)

The Ares I-X and the space shuttle on the launchpads at KSC. Credit: NASA.

Possible rain and high clouds are the only "ifs" so far for the test flight of the Ares I-X rocket on Tuesday morning, the first test flight of a new rocket for NASA in over 30 years. Central to the concern about weather is a possible static discharge called "tribo electrification" created by the outer coating of the rocket if flies through cloud vapor or precipitation that is colder than -10 degrees C (14 deg. F). This static electricity could disrupt the transmission of flight test data from the rocket, one of the main reasons for the test. At a briefing Monday morning, managers for the Ares program said the only other issue they are working with also deals with weather – the timing when to remove a probe cover.

"There are no issues we are currently working," said Bob Ess, Ares I-X mission manager. "We’ve worked through all the technical issues and it is relatively unprecedented to have a vehicle this clean for this long. Right now we’re just making sure test team is ready. The probe cover is not a new problem; we want to be smart and protect ourselves for when we take it off, because once you take it off you can’t put it on."

The probe is covered by a "sock" that is Velcroed over the cover. The cover has to be removed manually by pulling a lanyard attached to the cover. If the cover is taken off and it starts to rain, water could get inside, freeze and cause problems with the probe. This doesn’t cause any issues of the vehicle being able to fly, but could cause issues with taking and receiving data.

The probe is part of over 700 sensors for the flight.

The launch window opens at 8 am EDT (1200 GMT), but managers said they can use the entire four-hour window if necessary. $445 million test flight will last six minutes from liftoff to splashdown, with the Ares I-X reaching a maximum altitude of 46,000 km (153,000 feet) and a top velocity more than 4.7 times the speed of sound.

NASA weather officer Kathy Winters said there is a chance of isolated showers, not widespread, but clouds could be a problem. Currently Winters reports a 40% chance of favorable weather for Tuesday. If a 24 hour delay is called, the weather improves to 60% chance of good weather on Wednesday and 70% on Thursday.
"This is a test flight, and not human flight, so there’s not the level of redundancy and the amount analysis if it was," said Ess. "There are no guarantees, but we have high confidence in the vehicle. We know we’ll learn a lot from this."

Ess said the main data they will be looking for is that the stage separation occurs at the altitude and speeds that are expected from computer models. "We’ll be receiving data during the flight," Ess said, "and we’ll get a data recorder back when we recover the booster. We’ll get a huge amount of data from the recorders and compare it with ground station tracking. We’ll merge two different data sets, to get the ‘best of source,’ as its called — get the cleanest , data we can get. That takes a couple of weeks. We have scheduled to give 30-, 60- and 90-day reports, and will be looking through sensor data for any surprises. We have computer models what we expect to see."

Top of their list of things to look for are information about thrust oscillation issues which have been reported to be a potential show stopper for the Ares program, as well as monitoring acoustics and other pressure sensors. "It will be a long process to go through the large amount of data we’ll be getting" Ess said.
Over 200 sensors will measure how vehicle will bend and stretch throught the various parts of the flight. They are also interested in seeing how robust the parachute deployment sequence is. A large amount of that data will be gathered through imagery by a chase plane.

When asked about the possibility of this being the only flight for Ares – since the Augustine Commission Report seems to hint at a possible future without the Ares 1 vehicle, Constellation program manager Jeff Hanley said, "What is most critical is that we learn something, and what does it mean for generations coming up. Key for future of human spaceflight is to have tools that allow us to go places we’ve never gone before, and we need substantial tools in our tool kit… What you see in Ares I-X is a stepping stone along the way. With any other architecture we’d be following a similar approach. Whatever the nation asks us to do, the Ares I-X demonstrates a lot of learning."

Source: NASA press briefing

The word is out now and there many (including me) who are very upset over NASA on their latest mission “Bombing the Moon”. To be honest, I could not really see the point in this experiment. Why would we bomb the moon for water? Are we running out of water? The impact of the two spacecrafts on the moon is a total waste as far as I am concerned. So what if there is water there? So what if there is not? I mean, the money spent on this experiment could have been used on something more relevant to us.

NASA has successfully bulldozed two spacecraft into the moon’s south pole in a search for hidden ice, but without the promised live photos.

First a 2.2-ton empty rocket hull smacked the moon’s south pole at 7:31 a.m. EDT Friday. Then four minutes later the camera-and-instrument laden space probe made its death plunge.

Read more Here

NASA will tomorrow launch a spectacular mission to bomb the Moon. Their LCROSS mission will blast off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying a missile that will blast a hole in the lunar surface at twice the speed of a bullet. The missile, a Centaur rocket, will be steered by a shepherding spacecraft that will guide it towards its target – a crater close to the Moon’s south pole. Scientists expect the blast to be so powerful that a huge plume of debris will be ejected.

NASA is bombing the moon in order to see what lies underneath the rock and dust surface. The United States space agency hopes to find water. This video shows a simulation of the bombing but you can also watch it happen live on NASA TV.

I totally disagree with this experiment because it means the U.S. is one again flouting international laws – it doesn’t own the moon, and it really has no right to bomb the crap out of it.

And what is it about the United States and bombing anyway? It seems like it’s the first choice if something or someone isn’t complying with its wishes. This goes for Iraq, Afghanistan, and now even the moon. Its crime? A refusal to reveal its secrets.

Some (clearly insane) people have suggested this is the first act of war against lunar dwelling aliens who live on the dark side of the moon. Hmm, no, that’s preposterous, almost as much as the idea of bombing the moon in the first place.