Archives for the 'Mars' Category
Sols on Mars
Published on 27 May 2008 at 12:48 am.
9 Comments.
Filed under Mars, time.
The Phoenix has been on Mars for one sol. Its nominal lifetime is 90 sols. So, what’s this “sol” thing that we keep talking about when we talk about Mars and the landers on its surface?
Put simply, a sol is a Martian day. Mars rotates a bit slower than Earth, so a […]
Phoenix is on Mars!
Published on 26 May 2008 at 12:18 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Mars.
The Phoenix Mars lander is down and initial data seems to show that the landing went very well, indeed. After landing, the spacecraft sent back telemetry showing that it had landed flat. It is within 1/4 to 1/3 of a degree from horizontal, indicating an extremely flat landing site (what we expected). […]
Landing Phoenix
Published on 25 May 2008 at 2:00 pm.
No Comments.
Filed under Mars, space exploration.
In a few hours, the Phoenix will land on Mars. The chosen landing site is far into the northern plains. This is farther from the equator than any other spacecraft has successfully landed on Mars. Of course, that doesn’t mean that it can’t safely be done, just that it hasn’t been done […]
Phoenix near landing.
Published on 23 May 2008 at 11:57 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under Mars, space exploration.
Wow, it’s been a long and difficult month for me. It has been one thing after another all month. As my regular readers can see, I have not been keeping up with Astroprof’s Page much this month. In fact, this has been the slackest month, I think, since I started blogging!
So, it […]
Hellas Planitia
Published on 4 Feb 2008 at 3:35 pm.
7 Comments.
Filed under Mars, planets.
A few days ago, I wrote about Mercury’s Caloris Basin. It is mind boggling huge. Naturally, as Darnell Clayton of Colony Worlds asked, it is natural to wonder if this is the largest impact basin in the Solar System. As it turns out, there are larger impact structures. The largest may […]
Beating the Viking 2 Record
Published on 10 Sep 2007 at 12:31 pm.
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Filed under Mars, NASA, space exploration.
The Mars Exploration Rovers had a rough time the last few months. A massive dust storm cut sunlight to the rovers. Since the Sun is the source of energy for these craft, the dust storm threatened their continued operation. According to a recent press release, the dust storm has apparently abated enough […]
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Mars is Still Not Going to Appear as Big as the Moon!!!
Published on 8 Aug 2007 at 11:49 pm.
13 Comments.
Filed under Mars, astronomy, observing.
Well, the annual urban legend about Mars being as big as the Moon is making an appearance again. I’ve already gotten several questions about it. This seems to be a never ending problem. Every year, the same email goes around as if it is news. I blogged about this a year […]
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