A star’s spectacular death in the constellation Taurus was observed on Earth as the supernova of the year 1054. Now, almost a millennium later, a super-dense neutron star left behind by the explosion is seen spewing out a blizzard of high-energy particles into the expanding debris field known as the Crab Nebula.
“Want to wave at the International Space Station as if flies overhead? Web site Heavens Above keeps space freaks and NASA junkies advised of precisely where man-made and naturally occurring objects are orbiting to make tracking their movements a snap.
You’ll need a telescope to see most stars and planets, but the Space Station and many satellites can be seen with the naked eye. The site will even let you know when to expect solar flares and meteor showers.
It’s easy to locate activity in the skies above your location by selecting the town nearest you from the online database. Alternately, you can enter your exact location using your longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates. The results tell you exactly what time, direction, and altitude to look in the sky—all you need is a compass to get your bearings.”
Heavens Above Locates Space Objects Worth Watching - Nasa - Lifehacker
Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday.
“NASA’s Ares 1-X rocket lifts off from launch pad 39-b at the Kennedy Space Center October 28, 2009 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)”
“A close view of the surface of Saturn’s large moon Rhea, as Cassini passes by on October 13, 2009. (NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute)”
“The moon Prometheus and its nearby disturbance of Saturn’s F ring. Prometheus periodically gores the F ring, drawing out streamers of material from the ring. The image was taken in visible light at a distance of approximately 950,000 km (590,000 mi) from Saturn. (NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute)”
NASA’s Ares I-X rocket is seen on Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. The flight test of Ares I-X, scheduled Oct. 27, 2009, will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I.
Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls (via NASA)
The towering 327-foot-tall Ares I-X rocket is reflected in a lagoon as it moves towards launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida October 20, 2009. The rocket is scheduled for an unmanned test flight on October 27. The vehicle is considered to be the next step in replacing the aging space shuttle fleet. (via Day Life)
This view of the whole full moon was photographed from the Apollo 11 spacecraft during its trans-Earth journey homeward. When this picture was taken, the spacecraft was already 10,000 nautical miles away, on July 21st, 1969. (NASA) (via The Big Picture)
