[extropy-chat] Interactive star charts and the sky above Rosetta

[Amara Graps]

(Something cool I stumbled across)

You've probably known about the Sky and Telescope interactive star
chart http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/skychart/ and John Walker's
Fourmilab interactive star chart http://www.fourmilab.to/yoursky/
but, did you know that the weatherunderground.com has one too?
Their star chart automatically inputs your latitude and longitude
so that you are saved the extra step.

For example, here is the sky above Kourou, French Guiana, where
the Rosetta spacecraft will be launched (hopefully) early morning
Thursday

http://www.weatherunderground.com/sky/ShowSky.asp?TheLat=5.19999981&TheLon=-52.75000000&TimeZoneName=America/Cayenne

(checking the weather, shows chance of rain through Friday, unfortunately)

and here is the sky above where I am:

http://www.weatherunderground.com/sky/ShowSky.asp?TheLat=41.79999924&TheLon=12.55000019&TimeZoneName=Europe/Rome


You can see more details on the Rosetta launch here:

http://www.arianespace.com/site/news/news_sub_missionupdate_index.html
(Launch window begins 4:36 am French Guiana time Thursday,
8:36am  Mainland Europe time)

Kourou Ground Station ESA
http://www.esoc.esa.de/pr/stations/kourou.php3

Kourou Webcam via DLR
http://www.dlr.de/DLR-Rosetta/video/rosetta_live.html


Amara

-- 

Amara Graps, PhD
Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario (IFSI)
Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF),
Adjunct Assistant Professor Astronomy, AUR,
Roma, ITALIA     Amara.Graps at ifsi.rm.cnr.it