Radar
November 13th, 2007, 12:49 PM
Anyone live near the Pacific?
There's a spacecraft hot on the trail of a comet, and it's swinging by Earth for a big speed boost on Tuesday.
Rosetta will make a close approach to Earth on Nov. 13 to reach its final destination—comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko—about seven years from now.
The 3.3-ton comet chaser, launched on an Ariane 5 rocket by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2004, will make the close encounter with the planet to pick up almost 9 percent more speed, saving it fuel and hastening its journey.
Rosetta's pass occurs around 3:57 p.m. EST (2057 GMT) and will track above the Pacific Ocean, southwest of Chile before the spacecraft flings back on course. In 2009, Rosetta is slated for another swing-by that will speed it to 86,570 mph (139,300 kph) relative to the Sun.
This object would be moving incredibly fast through the night sky. Would make a good mpeg.
Ray
There's a spacecraft hot on the trail of a comet, and it's swinging by Earth for a big speed boost on Tuesday.
Rosetta will make a close approach to Earth on Nov. 13 to reach its final destination—comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko—about seven years from now.
The 3.3-ton comet chaser, launched on an Ariane 5 rocket by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2004, will make the close encounter with the planet to pick up almost 9 percent more speed, saving it fuel and hastening its journey.
Rosetta's pass occurs around 3:57 p.m. EST (2057 GMT) and will track above the Pacific Ocean, southwest of Chile before the spacecraft flings back on course. In 2009, Rosetta is slated for another swing-by that will speed it to 86,570 mph (139,300 kph) relative to the Sun.
This object would be moving incredibly fast through the night sky. Would make a good mpeg.
Ray