Universe Today - July 12, 2000 |
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the U N I V E R S E T O D A Y Space Exploration News From Around the Internet, Updated Every Weekday. July 12, 2000 - Issue #271 http://www.universetoday.com info@universetoday.com To unsubscribe from this newsletter, just reply with only the subject line "UNSUBSCRIBE !*EMAIL*!". An HTML version of this Newsletter is available at: http://www.universetoday.com/html/misc/today.html ************************************** A quick note... It's eclipse time again! I don't know if you've heard, but this Sunday there will be a total lunar eclipse starting at 1157 GMT. What's special about this eclipse, though, is that the moon goes right through the centre of the Earth's shadow - this is the longest lunar eclipse we'll see for 1000 years. First the bad news. The eclipse will only be visible from the Pacific, including Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and Southeast Asia. If you live in most of North America, South America, Europe and Africa, you won't be able to see it live. Now the good news, I've organized a network of astrocameras: two in New Zealand, four in Australia, two in Japan, and one in San Diego to broadcast the eclipse live from around the world. We're still looking for more volunteers, so if you want to pitch in, please let me know (mailto:info@universetoday.com), we'd love to have your assistance. Links to all the different astrocameras is available at the link below. I've also got a press release describing the event, so if you work for a media agency, or you know someone at a media agency, or you think a media agency would listen to you, please let me know, and I'll send you a copy of the release. I'd also accept message boards, newsletters, posters, society meetings, pretty much anything to help get the word out there. Finally, I've put together a lunar eclipse contest with Astronomy.com to give away about $8,000 in astronomy-related prizes, including several telescopes, binoculars, and camera equipment. You don't have to wait until Sunday to enter. ;-) Check it out: http://www.universetoday.com/html/special/le0700.html?271 Fraser Cain Publisher Universe Today P.S. I don't know if you caught yesterday's launch of the Zvezda service module, but it was a pretty emotional event for me. I think I didn't breathe for the entire launch. I can just imagine how the folks at NASA felt. ************************************** -- UNIVERSE TODAY STORY SUMMARY -- * Live Lunar Eclipse Coverage on July 16th * Zvezda Launch Successful * Pizza Hut Sponsors Proton Launch * Brown Dwarf Flare Spotted by Chandra LIVE LUNAR ECLIPSE COVERAGE ON JULY 16TH ------------------------- Universe Today will have live coverage of the total lunar eclipse on Sunday July 16, 2000. The eclipse won't be visible from North America or Europe, so we've gathered together a network of Astrocameras in Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia to broadcast the event live. You can also enter a contest sponsored by Astronomy.com to win all kinds of astronomy equipment. http://www.universetoday.com/html/special/le0700.html ZVEZDA LAUNCH SUCCESSFUL ------------------------- After two years of delays, a Proton rocket carrying the Zvezda service module for the International Space Station lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 04:56 GMT (12:56:36 am EDT). Now safely in orbit, the Zvezda module will fly under its own power for the next two weeks to catch up with the ISS, and during this time, NASA engineers will ensure its systems are working properly. An engine pressure problem with a previous Proton launch was a minor concern, but engine pressure remained normal throughout the flight. This launch clears the way for continued development of the space station, with the next mission planned for September. Original Source: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/spacenews/reports/issreports/2000/iss00-27.html Internet Coverage: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/ISS_Zvezda000712.html http://spaceflightnow.com/station/zvezda/000712launch/index.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_827000/827496.stm http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/07/12/space.station.launch.02/index.html http://www.discovery.com/news/briefs/20000712/sp_station.html http://www.foxnews.com/science/071100/iss.sml http://www.msnbc.com/news/431561.asp http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/launches/zvezda_launch_000712.html http://www.chron.com/content/interactive/space/station/stories/2000/20000712a.html http://www.flatoday.com/space/explore/stories/2000b/071200o.htm http://www.spacedaily.com/news/iss-00zh.html http://www.spaceviews.com/2000/07/12a.html PIZZA HUT SPONSORS PROTON LAUNCH ------------------------- Unlike NASA, the Russian Space Agency has no problems accepting commercial sponsorship of their missions, and the recent International Space Station Proton launch proved this was the case. Painted on the side of the 61 metre rocket was a giant Pizza Hut logo - for which they paid a rumoured $1.2 million. Was it good business? That remains to be seen, but the launch was viewed by an estimated $500 million people. Original Source: http://www.pizzahut.com/CorpStuff/PressReleases/2000/071200_rocket.htm Internet Coverage: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/spaceads000711.html http://www.foxnews.com/science/071200/rocket_pizzahut.sml http://www.msnbc.com/news/431643.asp http://www.chron.com/cgi-bin/auth/story.mpl/content/interactive/space/news/2000/20000712.html http://www.spaceviews.com/2000/07/11b.html BROWN DWARF FLARE SPOTTED BY CHANDRA ------------------------- The Chandra X-Ray Observatory recently captured a rare image of a flare erupting from a brown dwarf star only 16 light-years from Earth. This came as a surprise to the Caltech researchers working on the project, as they didn't expect to see such a flare from a lightweight object. The energy emitted was comparable to a small solar flare from our own Sun. Original Source: ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/2000/00-103.txt Internet Coverage: http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0007/12chandraflare/ http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_830000/830447.stm http://www.discovery.com/news/briefs/20000712/sp_chandra.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/431666.asp http://www.chron.com/content/interactive/space/astronomy/news/2000/ds/20000712.html http://www.spaceviews.com/2000/07/11c.html ------------------------- To unsubscribe from this newsletter, just reply with only the subject line "UNSUBSCRIBE !*EMAIL*!". All contents copyright (c) 2000 Universe Today |