The Week in Space

January 16-22, 2012

 

Southern Sibling Sees Stars  The Gemini Observatory consists of a pair of eight-meter (315-inch) optical/infrared telescopes located on two of the best sites on Earth for observing the universe. The Gemini South telescope, seen in this time-lapse star-trail image, is 2,700 meters (9,000 feet) high in the Chilean Andes on Cerro Pachón. Gemini North is on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, a long-dormant volcano that rises almost 4,300 meters (14,000 feet) into the dry, stable air of the Pacific. Both spots boast superb viewing conditions that are ideal for astronomical observations, and together, the two Gemini telescopes can observe the entire sky.  Gemini South, which was dedicated ten years ago this week, and Gemini North both employ adaptive optics to obtain images of celestial objects with unprecedented resolution.

Image credit: Gemini Observatory


 

Weekly Calendar

January 16-22, 2012

Holidays - Sky Events - Space History

 

Moon phase Monday 16

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day  

Last Quarter Moon 4:08 AM ET
Saturn 6° north of Moon

1969: First docking of two human spacecraft (Soyuz 5 and Soyuz 4)
2003: STS-107 Columbia launched

 

Moon phase Tuesday 17

Moon at perigee

1985: 1,037th and final Aerobee sounding rocket launched

 

Moon phase Wednesday 18

2002: Gemini South Observatory dedicated

 

Moon phase Thursday 19

1747: Johann Bode born
1851: Jacobus Kapteyn born
1965: Gemini II launched
2006: New Horizons launched

 

Moon phase Friday 20

1573: Simon Marius born
1930: Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin born
1966: Apollo A-004 launched, first flight test of CSM hardware
1978: Progress 1 launched

 

Moon phase Saturday 21

 

Moon phase Sunday 22

1968: Apollo 5 launched
1978: First automatic resupply ship docking (Progress 1)
1992: STS-42 Discovery launched
1998: STS-89 Endeavour launched
2003: Pioneer 10’s last signal to Earth

 
 

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