BULLSEYE! NASA's DART spacecraft just smashed into asteroid Dimorphos --an incredible, dramatic bullseye 7 million miles from Earth. Here was the final picture DART took of the asteroid's boulder-strewn surface:
Anyone watching NASA's live stream of the event would have to agree--NASA still has the right stuff. Congratulations to the DART mission team!
Now more hard work begins. Astronomers on Earth will be monitoring Dimorphos's orbit to find out if it has changed in response to DART's impact. Stay tuned.
Post-impact Press Briefing
Starts at 8 pm EDT
A CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH JUPITER: Today, Jupiter is having its closest encounter with Earth since 1963--only 591 million kilometers away. That's closer than it sounds:
Marek Nikodem took the picture this morning near Szubin, Poland. "I went with my girl friend outside the city to observe Jupiter's excellent close encounter," he says. "What a wonderful sight, Jupiter shone in the sky like a lantern in the dark."
At this nearby point in its orbit, Jupiter (mag. -2.9) outshines every star in the night sky. It is more than 4 times brighter than Sirius. The giant planet's disk is nearly an arcminute wide, making it an easy target for backyard telescopes.
Over the weekend, Michael Karrer recorded this movie using a 14-inch Celestron:
"That's Europa throwing its shadow on Jupiter," says Karrer. "Together with the Great Red Spot, it was an exciting scene."
Got a telescope? Tonight is a great night to use it. Look for Jupiter rising in the east at sunset and soaring overhead at midnight. Enjoy the show!
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RARE MR. SPOCK ORNAMENT: It's the logical way to decorate your Christmas tree--with a rare Mr. Spock ornament. This one has been to the edge of space. On Sept. 22, 2022, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched Spock to the stratosphere on board a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $129.95. The students are selling Spock ornaments to pay the helium bill for their cosmic ray ballooning program. Made by Hallmark in the 1990s, the ornament comes with a greeting card showing the science officer in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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