[extropy-chat] Stardust Sample Return Capsule Reentry Observing Campaign

[Amara Graps]

We will soon have a piece of comet in "our" hands...
Supporting observations for the Stardust SRC Reentry.
--Amara


http://sfsidewalkastronomers.org/newsarticles/stardust

Stardust SRC Reentry Observing Campaign

(begin quote)
Amateur observers and the general public may be able to to view or
hear the Stardust reentry on Jan 15, 2006 at about 1:56:39 PST
(Pacific Standard Time).

If you live in Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Northern
Nevada, Southern Idaho or Western Utah you should be able to see some
part of this man made meteor. The closer you live to the trajectory,
which runs from Crescent City California, and then through Winnemucca
and Elko Nevada, and finally to Western Utah, the higher in the sky it
will be.

An airborne and ground observing campaign to test thermal protection
systems in the fastest reentries since Apollo and probe the delivery
of organics for life's origin by measuring the physical conditions
during reentry is underway. Here is the mission website:
http://reentry.arc.nasa.gov/.

The Stardust SRC (Sample Return Capsule) Principal Investigator Dr.
Peter Jenniskens has compiled an informative entry viewing page. On
this page you'll find out where the best viewing spots are and also
see finder charts for selected cities. There is also a registration
page for interested observers, plus video and digital camera
instructions page explaining what is required for imagers. Here is
that page: http://reentry.arc.nasa.gov/viewingforum.html

If you are interested in participating, the team is looking for video,
still and telescopic observation reports. If you are interested there
is an observation form, and a list of registered observers will soon
be added here: http://reentry.arc.nasa.gov/registrationobserver.html.

The view from each location will be different, with the brightness
falling off when the object passes by and then is seen from behind.
Researchers are interested in learning how the light falls off when
the capsule passes by. There is interest too in viewing the capsule
pass in front of the near-full Moon through telescopes and, perhaps,
see the hot air wake expand and move in upper atmosphere winds.

If you are interested in participating, the team is looking for video,
still and even visual observation reports. If you are interested there
will soon be a observation form and list of observers here:

http://reentry.arc.nasa.gov/registrationobserver.html

If you have any questions, please send them to the SRC Observing
Campaign mailbox which you will find at the top of this page:

http://reentry.arc.nasa.gov/
(end quote)

-- 

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Amara Graps, PhD          email: amara at amara.com
Computational Physics     vita:  ftp://ftp.amara.com/pub/resume.txt
Multiplex Answers         URL:   http://www.amara.com/
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"It is intriguing to learn that the simplicity of the world depends
upon the temperature of the environment." ---John D. Barrow