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Sending a Messenger to Mercury


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star chart!

Those intrepid rovers Spirit and Opportunity continue to investigate the surface of Mars while the Cassini spacecraft has entered orbit around magnificent Saturn. Awesome pictures and mountains of other information are streaming back across space to Earth every day.

Not so well known - yet, is the MESSENGER mission to Mercury. MESSENGER stands for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch during a 13-day period that opens August 2, 2004, aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

You can keep up with these planetary explorers through their official websites: You can also have a bit of fun reading the unofficial "web journals" from the various spacecraft:

MESSENGER will travel more than six and a half years before it begins to orbit Mercury in March 2011. This journey includes a flyby of Earth (in August 2005), two flybys of Venus (October 2006 and June 2007) and three flybys of Mercury (January 2008, October 2008 and September 2009).

This will be the first spacecraft to visit Mercury since Mariner 10 flew by the planet three times in 1974 and 1975. Much of what we know about Mercury is based on data from these flybys, even though they provided pictures of only 45% of the planet and at roughly 0.6-mile resolution.

Of the nine planets in our solar system, Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are terrestrial (rocky) planets. Among these, Mercury is an extreme: the smallest, the densest, the one with the oldest surface, the one with the largest daily variations in surface temperature - and the least explored. Understanding this "end member" among the terrestrial planets is crucial to developing a better understanding of how our own Earth formed, how it evolved, and how it interacts with the Sun. To develop this understanding, the MESSENGER mission, spacecraft, and science instruments are focused on answering some of the outstanding questions that will allow us to understand Mercury as a planet: Why is Mercury so dense? What is the geologic history of Mercury? What is the structure of Mercury's core? What is the nature of Mercury's magnetic field? What are the unusual materials at Mercury's poles?

The official MESSENGER website is http://messenger.jhuapl.edu If you were expecting another JPL address, jhuapl stands for the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

Watch Meteors at a Meteor Watch

One of the two best meteor showers of the year peaks on Thursday evening August 12, but since most people can't stay out late on a weeknight, the annual August Star Party and Perseid Meteor Watch is set for Friday evening, August 13 from 8:00 to 11:00 PM at the model airplane field in Edwin Warner Park.

Members of the Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society will set up their telescopes to provide views of double stars, star clusters, and more. Unfortunately, there won't be any planets up during that time, but it's a big universe, and there still will be plenty to see.

Bring a lawn chair and a few friends to enjoy the show! Insect repellant is a necessity at this time of year, but please, put it on BEFORE leaving your car so that we don't get any on the telescopes or other equipment.

You don't want to miss the
Tennessee Star Party 2004

September 17-19, 2004

The Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society (BSAS) invites everyone to attend the Tennessee Star Party 2004 (TNSP) which will be held at beautiful Camp Nakanawa near Cookeville, Tennessee. This will be the fifth year for this exciting event that just keeps getting better.

Whether you are just learning the constellations or have your own personal observatory, there will be something for all ages and levels of interest. Introductory classes taught by amateur astronomers from local clubs, hands-on workshops, and talks by leading astronomers will fill the daylight hours. For children and adults just getting started in astronomy, there will be plenty of opportunities to develop a broad base of knowledge: from recognizing constellations to binocular astronomy to an introduction to telescopes and how to buy one.

However, the real highlight of TNSP is observing the night sky - weather permitting.

All night Friday and Saturday night, dozens of telescopes will be set up on the observing field which features dazzling stars from horizon to horizon and a prominent Milky Way overhead. TNSP participants will have the opportunity to wander from telescope to telescope and observe objects such as planets, star clusters, galaxies, and much more. Some avid astronomers will be taking amazing images with CCD or video cameras.

Camp Nakanawa is located about a one and a half-hour drive east of Nashville, close to I-40. This is an ideal place for the TNSP because it features spectacular dark skies.

For details, visit www.bsasnashville.com.

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