FATHER'S DAY: Skip the tie. This year, give Dad the stars -- a gift subscription to Space Weather PHONE. | | | PLUTOID: In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) announced that Pluto is not a planet. So what is it? After two years of careful deliberation, the IAU has an answer: Pluto is a plutoid. No, this is not a joke. The IAU offers "the plutoid" as a serious new category of celestial body. Read all about it in the June 11th press release. [comment] DOUBLE FLYBY: Space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station (ISS) are flying around Earth in tandem, resulting in some beautiful double-flyby sightings. Ben Cooper sends this picture of the two streaking through clouds over Daytona Beach, Florida, on June 11th: "The ISS was the brightest I have ever seen it, while the shuttle was several magnitudes fainter," says Cooper. In the photo, "Discovery is the relatively dim streak just to the right of the ISS," he points out. Double flybys continue tonight. Check our Satellite Tracker to see if your hometown is favored with an appearance. more images: from Graham Palmer of Hastings, New Zealand; from NĂ©stor Camino of Esquel, Patagonia, Argentina; from Edward Staples of Waldo, Florida; from Gerald DeShirlia of Wimberley, Texas; from Loyd Overcash of Houston, Texas; from Hassan Alsabbar of Diwaniya, Iraq; from Tom King of Watauga, Texas; PHOENIX UPDATE: Phoenix's oven is full of martian soil. For days, the clumpy red dirt had been stuck on a screen at the oven's door while engineers tried a variety of tricks to coax it onward. On June 10th, with little warning, the soil sifted through. "There's something very unusual about this soil," says Peter Smith of the University of Arizona. "We're interested in learning what sort of chemical and mineral activity has caused the particles to clump together." In the days ahead, Phoenix's mass spectrometer will "sniff" fumes from the oven and report the soil's composition. Stay tuned. SAUCER DOWN: Put on your 3D glasses and see if you can identify the saucer-shaped object on Phoenix's southern horizon: It is Phoenix's backshell, which held the parachute as Phoenix descended through the atmosphere. Just before jet-assisted touchdown, the backshell and 'chute were discarded and they landed some 300 meters downrange of Phoenix. "The parachute is not visible, probably because of the bumpy terrain," says graphic artist Patruck Vantuyne who created the anaglyph by combining right- and left-eye images from Phoenix's stereo camera. The complete panorama is a must-see; stare a while for full effect. more anaglyphs: Arctic Vista, Mars Yeti, One small step..., Vines, Scoop Two. May 2008 Aurora Gallery [Aurora Alerts] [Night-sky Cameras] |