Jul 29th, 2009
NASA Resources for IYA Summer Star Parties
As we explore the Moon with IYA’s Summer Star Party, NASA is exploring the Moon with two new robotic probes. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is creating a comprehensive atlas of the Moon and returning amazing, high-resolution images of the Apollo landing sites. The Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing satellite (LCROSS) is positioning itself for a spectacular lunar impact, directing the Centaur upper stage of its launch vehicle into a permanently-shadowed crater at the Moon’s south pole.
Enhance your IYA Summer Star Party experience with information from the mission websites http://www.nasa.gov/lro and http://www.nasa.gov/lcross. Special mission resources including presentations and videos are available to you at http://www.lcross.arc.nasa.gov/resources. On Saturday, August 1, view the latest mission update at http://www.lcross.arc.nasa.gov/observethemoonnight.htm.
The “From Earth to the Universe” exhibition (FETTU) has opened outside the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. This display of some 50 large-scale astronomical images will be available to the public through the end of July.
