The Official Space Exploration Thread

[Matt_Fury]

I actually saw the Russian Rocket reentry Thursday morning on my way to work.

[DSJ™]

That would have been a site to see. 

[Matt_Fury]

It was pretty cool  A lot of people called into the radio station and thought it was either a plane crash of a meteor.

[Darth_Anton]

Nobel acceptance caps NASA's big week

On Wednesday, NASA scientists announced they'd found compelling evidence that running water may have flowed recently on Mars. Some of the last pictures taken by the agency's Mars Global Surveyor showed changes in craters that provide the strongest evidence yet that water coursed through them recently and is perhaps doing so even now.

I'm reading a book now called Magnificent Mars, it dicusses the probability of water on Mars to a great degree and just looking at the awesome color coded topographical photo's, it's hard not to imagine that the northern portion on Mars was an ocean at one point. There's also data that points to large chunks of ice that rest below the surface on half the planet.

[Nathan]

Two NASA space probes that visited Mars 30 years ago may have stumbled upon alien microbes on the Red Planet and inadvertently killed them, a scientist theorizes in a paper released Sunday.

[DSJ™]

Stargazers abuzz about new Comet McNaught



The Comet McNaught steaks across the sky in Barrow, Alaska, Monday Jan. 8, 2007. The comet, discovered last year by Australian astronomer R.H. McNaught, is expected to remain visible in the Northern Hemisphere, conditions permitting, through Friday. (AP Photo/ Cindy Shults)



Showtime!
The brightening of Comet McNaught is visible in these side-by-side photographs taken by amateur astrophotographer Patrick Boomer on Jan. 6 and Jan. 7, 2007, in Alberta, Canada. Both photos were taken at 5:36 p.m. local time.

Cool video footage:

A bright new comet in clear view. Stargazers got a rare view of a comet named McNaught streaking across the skies above western Washington around sunset on Thursday night.

Caught On Tap: Comet McNaught

Watch Comet McNaught

More cool pictures:

2006-2007 appearance of Comet McNaught

[Matt_Fury]

Cool stuff.  Reminds me of the comets we could see in NC back in the 90's Hale-Bopp and Hyukatake.

[DSJ™]

I remember seeing comet Kohoutek in the 70's, pretty neat. 

[Deanna Rash]

I saw Hale-bopp and Halley's back in 86' With all the clouds and rain around I haven't seen nothing for days

[Darth_Anton]

There was one visiable here in Socal in the mid to late 90's. Would love to see another.

[DSJ™]

Some spectacular images of Comet McNaught.



Giuseppe Menardi captures a simply gorgeous shot of Comet McNaught over Mont Lagazuoi (2.800 mt).



Another stunning image of Comet McNaught captured by Giuseppe Menardi over Mont Lagazuoi (2.800 mt).



Giuseppe Menardi snaps Comet McNaught over the colorful skies of Mont Lagazuoi (2.800 mt). The comet is very bright (visual magnitude -3) with a 4-degree long tail.

More cool pictures:

Comet McNaught

[Deanna Rash]

  Those are nice pics

[Famine]

I remember Hale-Bopp. Those were the days. I had a telescope then.

Kevin

[DSJ™]

Probe nears close encounter with Jupiter



Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute.

[Famine]

No mention of China's venture into Earth/Space demolition today?

Kevin