Thread: The Fiery Return of NASA's Space Dust Cargo
View Single Post
  #4  
Old November 30th 05, 11:47 PM posted to sci.astro,alt.sci.planetary,sci.astro.amateur
Tom Polakis
external usenet poster
  
Posts: n/a
Default The Fiery Return of NASA's Space Dust Cargo
wrote:

One of the goals of the researchers aboard the DC-8 is to measure the
capsule's re-entry brightness. Scientists expect it to peak at
approximately the brilliance of Venus for roughly 90 seconds. The
capsule will be brightest 37 miles (60 kilometers) high over the town
of
Carlin, Nev., as the spacecraft approaches. This will occur in the
early
morning cold and darkness on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2006, shortly before the
spacecraft parachutes to a landing at 3 a.m. MST.


Is there an address at the Stardust site that predicts visibility of
the re-entry "meteor?" I live in Phoenix, and have viewed Shuttle
re-entries coming to the Cape from the southwest at a similar distance
downrange. Something with a "Heavens Above" style interface that
predicts local circumstances would be valuable.

Tom