Hasta La Gadget!

Right now, the Moon and Jupiter are close enough that they look more like next door neighbors of differing size than two planetary bodies vast distances away from each other. Look out of any window (assuming it’s dark where you are) and you should be able to see the duo less than a pen length apart — which is the last time we’ll be able to see this conjunction until 2026. If you aren’t in a position to watch the celestial event from the comfort of your hemisphere, the Slooh Space Camera is broadcasting the galactic happenings right now. If you’d like to watch, hit the source link to catch the live feed.

[Image Credit: Timothy Boocock / Earthsky]

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Via: PhysOrg

Source: Slooh

NASA is no stranger to shooting lasers at spacecraft orbiting the moon (seriously), but it’s now moving beyond “basic” tasks like tracking their location. The space agency announced yesterday that it has successfully demonstrated one-way laser communication with a satellite orbiting the moon for the first time. For that milestone, NASA chose to send an image of the Mona Lisa, which was transmitted to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in a series of laser pulses beamed from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Not surprisingly, that means of communication introduced its share of challenges, including interference from turbulence in the Earth’s atmosphere. To compensate for that, NASA used what’s known as Reed-Solomon coding to reconstruct the image (pictured after the break), which is the same process used for error correction in CDs and DVDs. You can find more details from NASA, and a video explaining the whole process, at the source link below.

[Image credit: NASA, Tom Zagwodzki/Goddard Space Flight Center]

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Via: The Inquirer

Source: NASA

NASA must think our moon is getting lonely, because it’s mulling the idea of capturing an asteroid and placing it in lunar orbit, so it has a rocky satellite all of its own. More »

Everyone knows the first words that were said on the moon, but what about the last? 40 years ago yesterday we left the moon for the last time, so now’s as good a time as any to ask. The answer? Well there are a few, and you can pick which one you like better. More »

It’s likely not an anniversary anyone thought we would meet after the first moon landing, but today marks 40 years since Gene Cernan left the last footprint on the moon as Apollo 17 ended its mission. That was the last of six manned missions to the lunar surface (nine including those that didn’t land), which saw twelve men actually walk on the moon in all. The years since have of course seen continued exploration of the moon through other means, though, and next week will see another major event when NASA’s twin GRAIL spacecraft conduct a planned crash into a mountain near the lunar north pole. Those have been in orbit since January 1st, creating a high-resolution map of the moon’s gravitational field and collecting data that promises to provide more detail than ever about its internal structure and composition. You’ll be able to follow along on NASA’s website as that happens beginning at 5PM Eastern on Monday, December 17th.

[Image credit: NASA / Eugene Cernan]

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Source: NASA