Wed, Jan 26, 2011
Agency Announces NanoSail-D Amateur Astronomy Image
Contest
NASA has formed a partnership with Spaceweather.com to engage
the amateur astronomy community to submit the best images of the
orbiting NanoSail-D solar sail. NanoSail-D unfurled the first ever
100-square-foot solar sail in low-Earth orbit on January 20.
The contest is open to all types of images, including, but not
limited to, telescopic captures of the sail to simple wide-field
camera shots of solar sail flares. If NanoSail-D is in the field of
view, the image is eligible for judging. The solar sail is about
the size of a large tent. It will be observable for approximately
70 to 120 days before it enters the atmosphere and disintegrates.
The contest continues until NanoSail-D re-enters Earth's
atmosphere.
NanoSail-D will be a target of interest to both novice and
veteran sky watchers. Experienced astrophotographers will want to
take the first-ever telescopic pictures of a solar sail unfurled in
space. Backyard stargazers, meanwhile, will marvel at the solar
sail flares -- brief but intense flashes of light caused by
sunlight glinting harmlessly from the surface of the sail.
NanoSail-D could be five to 10 times as bright as the planet
Venus, especially later in the mission when the sail descends to
lower orbits.
NASA Image
The NanoSail-D satellite was jointly designed and built by NASA
engineers from the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Ala., and NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field,
CA.
To encourage observations of NanoSail-D, Spaceweather.com is
offering prizes for the best images of this historic, pioneering
spacecraft in the amounts of $500 (grand prize), $300 (first prize)
and $100 (second prize).
More News
Aero Linx: Space Medicine Association (SMA) The Space Medicine Association of the Aerospace Medical Association is organized exclusively for charitable, educational, and scientific>[...]
Jamming Denotes emissions that do not mimic Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals (e.g., GPS and WAAS), but rather interfere with the civil receiver's ability to acquir>[...]
Aero Linx: Warbirds of America The EAA Warbirds of America, a division of the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, is a family of owners, pilots and enthusiasts>[...]
"From New York to Paris, this life-size replica of the Webb Telescope inspired communities around the world and, in doing so, invited friends and families to explore the cosmos tog>[...]
Hold-In-Lieu Of Procedure Turn A hold-in-lieu of procedure turn shall be established over a final or intermediate fix when an approach can be made from a properly aligned holding p>[...]