It's a once in a lifetime event: the June 5th Transit of Venus across the sun. Watch the world wide webcast sponsored by the Coca-Cola Science Center and NASA. | | |
PARTIAL ECLIPSE OF THE STRAWBERRY MOON: On Monday, June 4th, the Moon will pass through the shadow of Earth, producing a partial lunar eclipse visible across the Pacific from China to the United States. Get the full story from Science@NASA.
DRAGON DOCKED: On Friday morning, May 25th, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft docked with the International Space Station (ISS), making it the first commercial spacecraft to dock with the ISS. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden called it "a critical step" in the future of American spaceflight. "Now that a U.S. company has proven its ability to resupply the space station, it opens a new frontier for commercial opportunities in space," he says. "By handing off space station transportation to the private sector, NASA is freed up to carry out the really hard work of sending astronauts farther into the solar system than ever before." [full story]
Geoff Horner saw the two spacecraft converging last night over St. George, Utah. Click to view a close-up image of the pair:
"This was my best opportunity to capture this historic event from my location," says Horner. "The ISS and Dragon were shining at magnitudes -2.4 and 1.9, respectively. The two spacecraft were leaving Earth's shadow, separated by a matter of seconds, as they cruised by the end of the Big Dipper's handle!"
The Dragon will remain connected to the ISS for about three weeks, giving astronauts plenty of time to unload its 1200 lb of supplies and re-load it with used scientific equipment for return to Earth. Reversing the process of connecting the spacecraft to the station, astronauts will use the robotic arm to remove the capsule. The Dragon will then de-orbit and return to Earth under parachutes, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast.
more images: from David Blanchard of Flagstaff, Arizona; from Alan Thomas of Central Otago, New Zealand; from Stephen & Matthew Lindner of Ann Arbor, Michigan;
ECLIPSE SUNBEAMS: For many observers, the best part of the May 20th solar eclipse is not what the Moon did to the sun, but rather what it did to the sunbeams. Gaps in clouds, leafy trees, and window shades cast pinhole images of the smiling crescent sun onto all kinds of happy surfaces:
"My daughter Antonia was sitting in just the right place," says Tino Hammid of Los Angeles, California. "The crescent images are created by small holes in the closed window blinds that act as a series of pinhole cameras."
Many more pictures of the eclipse--from the sun to sunbeams--may be found in our new realtime photo gallery. It's an experimental service, so feel free to report problems. Click on the link below and start exploring:
Space Weather Real Time Image Gallery
[Submit your photos] [NASA video: Solar Eclipse over the USA]