World Muse
Our Little Planet
Will have a terrific view
of a very special space phenomenon when
ON THE CALENDAR
this asteroid makes its closest approach to Earth
as near to us as our moon
as near to us as our moon
at
5:28 p.m. CST (23:28 UTC). 
MARK NOVEMBER 8ON THE CALENDAR
Look for the whole story here
as well as for sites to visit on the 8th.
http://earthsky.org/space/
The Writers Almanac Yesterday
The Arecibo Observatory
Opened on November first in 1963.
At a diameter of a thousand feet,
it's the largest single-aperture telescope ever built.
It's also got the largest focusing dish in the world, which gathers electromagnetic waves from space. Located near the city of Arecibo
in Puerto Rico, it's close to the equator, which enables it to "see"
(via radio waves) all the planets in the solar system;
within six months of its opening, it enabled scientists to study the rotation rate of Mercury and determine that it rotated every 59 days, rather than 88 as was previously thought.
It's also been used for military purposes like
locating Soviet radar installations by tracking their signals
as they were reflected off the moon.
It's provided the first full imaging of an asteroid and also
led to the first discovery of planets outside our solar system.
In 1999, it began collecting data for the SETI Institute;
SETI stands for "search for extraterrestrial intelligence,"
and the organization looks for deliberate radio or optical signals
from other planets. The Arecibo Observatory also sends data over broadband to the home and office computers of 250,000 volunteers,
who, through the Einstein@Home program, donate their computers
to be used for data analysis during periods when they would
otherwise be idle. A year ago, three such volunteers
in Iowa and Germany discovered a previously unknown pulsar,
17,000 light years from Earth.
The Arecibo Observatory
Opened on November first in 1963.
At a diameter of a thousand feet,
it's the largest single-aperture telescope ever built.
It's also got the largest focusing dish in the world, which gathers electromagnetic waves from space. Located near the city of Arecibo
in Puerto Rico, it's close to the equator, which enables it to "see"
(via radio waves) all the planets in the solar system;
within six months of its opening, it enabled scientists to study the rotation rate of Mercury and determine that it rotated every 59 days, rather than 88 as was previously thought.
It's also been used for military purposes like
locating Soviet radar installations by tracking their signals
as they were reflected off the moon.
It's provided the first full imaging of an asteroid and also
led to the first discovery of planets outside our solar system.
In 1999, it began collecting data for the SETI Institute;
SETI stands for "search for extraterrestrial intelligence,"
and the organization looks for deliberate radio or optical signals
from other planets. The Arecibo Observatory also sends data over broadband to the home and office computers of 250,000 volunteers,
who, through the Einstein@Home program, donate their computers
to be used for data analysis during periods when they would
otherwise be idle. A year ago, three such volunteers
in Iowa and Germany discovered a previously unknown pulsar,
17,000 light years from Earth.
The Arecibo Observatory
Arecibo At Night
It's a strange and beautiful world we live in, is it not?
THE FABRIC OF THE COSMOS
Premieres Tonight
November 2nd at 9:00 Pm ET/PT on
November 2nd at 9:00 Pm ET/PT on
PBS NOVA
(check local listings).
http://youtu.be/FDHOLAACYv0
http://youtu.be/FDHOLAACYv0
1 comment:
not so strange to me but a beautiful world. also interesting and complex.
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