How NASA’s Dawn Asteroid Mission Works [Infographic]
Recently NASA's Dawn spacecraft achieved orbit around Vesta on July 17. The first photos of the giant asteroid were taken then. The following infographic explains the whole mission of the Dawn spacecraft.
The Solar System To Scale [Infographic]
The following is a huge infographic showing the true scale of the solar system with all its planets, minor bodies and the most famous probes we have sent out into deep space. Scientists measure distances in our solar system in astronomical units (AU). One AU is slightly less than the average distance from the Earth to the sun, or nearly 150 million kilometers. Source Space.com
Weekly Stargazing Calendar for 2010-12-13
This week we will witness the Geminid meteor shower. It is considered to be the most spectacular meteor shower with an average of 60 meteors per hour during the peak which will be on the night of December 13 and 14. If you are lucky enough to get very little light pollution you could probably see up to 120 meteors per hour at peak. The shower will radiate from the constellation of Gemini. Last year’s Geminid meteor shower. Image Credit & Copyright: Wally Pacholka (AstroPics.com) Although not nearly as spectacular as the meteor shower, the planets are also interesting to observe. So here are their positions for this week: Mercury…