The 2011 Perseid Meteor Shower is expected to peak during the early morning hours of August 12th and August 13th. Unfortunately, the full moon is going to be competing for your attention – making meteor viewing not so good!
Nothing can beat stargazing on a warm August night. The star chart above can help you find the constellations that are visible in August. This month I’m going to focus on two late summer constellations – Sagittarius and Lyra.
Did you know that on September 27, 2007, NASA launched a mission to rendezvous with a protoplanet? Well, here it is almost four years later and NASA reported that the DAWN probe successfully entered into orbit around Vesta on July 15, 2011. We are just beginning to see the first images of Vesta, an object in the asteroid belt which is DAWN’s first stop in it’s ten year mission.
The final flight of the Space Shuttle Program is scheduled for tomorrow – July 8, 2011. The Space Shuttle Atlantis is being prepped for launch scheduled for 11:26 am Eastern Standard Time. I encourage all of you – our loyal Outer Space Universe Fans – to watch this historic event live on NASA.gov.
As Americans celebrate their Independence Day today, I thought we should look to the heavens to find a celestial celebration. In the distant galaxy NGC 4449, you can find the colors red, white, and blue ablaze in new star forming regions which resemble fireworks!