When you have an automated video camera, it’s amazing what you can pick up in the night sky. Dr. Robert Suggs used the Automated Lunar and Meteor Observatory at Marshall Space Flight Center to catch NanoSail-D on video as it slipped across the sky back on March 2nd, 2011. This video is from the small finder camera for the observatory and the solar sail appears just how it would be seen by the naked eye. The NanoSail-D twitter feed said that this video is actually upside down. “I am actually sailing out of the trees and higher into the night sky,” the solar sail Tweeted. The same facility also captured images of NanoSail-d with 80mm and 14″ telescopes.
NanoSail-D won’t be visible for very much longer, just a couple of weeks or less until it will burn up in the atmosphere. See our previous article on how to observe NanoSail-D before it de-orbits.
Source: NanoSail-D website
Recent Posts
First Light from Einstein Probe: A Supernova Remnant
On 9 January 2024, the Einstein probe was launched, its mission to study the night…
Galaxies Evolved Surprisingly Quickly in the Early Universe
Anyone familiar with astronomy will know that galaxies come in a fairly limited range of…
How Knot Theory Can Help Spacecraft Can Change Orbits Without Using Fuel
When a spacecraft arrives at its destination, it settles into an orbit for science operations.…
Another New Molecule Discovered Forming in Space
The list of chemicals found in space is growing longer and longer. Astronomers have found…
JWST Uses “Interferometry Mode” to Reveal Two Protoplanets Around a Young Star
The JWST is flexing its muscles with its interferometry mode. Researchers used it to study…
A Cold Brown Dwarf is Belching Methane Into Space
Brown dwarfs span the line between planets and stars. By definition, a star must be…