Hello everyone!

Just wondering if any of you have taken a quick look at the night sky lately and seen the little flickering red light of Mars?!
I just went out to see it for the first time - and its amazing! And I just wanted to make sure you all know about it!
A friend of mine who is a Science Fiction writer also studies as a part time astrologer - so here is the information he shared with me

"The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the Last 5,000 years, but it may be as long as 60,000 years before it happens again.
The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power
magnification Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye.
Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August it will rise in the east at 10p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m.
By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30a.m.
That's pretty convenient to see something that no human being has seen in recorded history. So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the
month. Share this with your children and grandchildren. NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN!"

Hope all of your writing is coming along perfectly!

luv
melyssa

Hello Melyssa!

I have still a few hour to wait until pitch black night comes to Europe, he, he. However, thanks for the exciting info, I will look the phenomenon! Hey, to first time in my life I don't knew how to write phenomenon in German language, but in English I knew it at once right,lol.
Anyway, greetings to you Melyssa, all writers and all aliens...

All the Best

Grace

Thanks so much for that info Melyssa.  I had been told about it earlier in the month but so much has happened I forgot!  Which is appalling because, as you said, it's such a momentous event.  I will be looking tonight (although it's raining now so I'll have to hope the clouds clear) and will borrow a set of binoculars to get a closer look.

Grace, you must tell us what it looks like from the Northern hemisphere.  We'll compare notes

 

Fascinating, wow, simple amazing. Yesterday I found nothing on the sky except a few stars, then I looked from each window into the house, I don't thought that the MARS is sooooo tief on the sky!!! It was hiden behind the horse stall.

Today 24.08.03/East Germany/11:30 pm/point of the compass West I sew him, yeah, wow, ah, my fascination is no end, it's GREAT !!! To me lacks the words !
It is large and blinked clear, then light blue and reeeeed !!! And again and again ! Wow !
Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow I will go to Planetarium to watch the GREAT EVENT !!!

BTW in the net give it an animation of the solar system
www.t-online.de
at the bottom left of the seite click "Interaktiv, Unser Sonnensystem", have a look, It's great.

Hey, share your impressions from the South-Hemisphera !!!

Lot's of Love, Peace, and once again LOVE !!!

Grace

25.08.03/1:00 am Mars is in southern! So quickly! Is that the Mars? If someone could explain to me the sky... Tonight is warm, calmly and darkly, although nearly all stars in the sky shine! Now I can see him from the roof!

Peace and Love!

Grace

25.08.03/3:00am, now is the Mars in southern, that before (1:00 am) he musted be in s/w. And it works to be somehow further, as in the west!

Flashes, as if SOMEONE would've given signals! Perhaps does also??? I sent it anyhow in thought my wish, perhaps it comes true! Lol.

I believe tonight and the few following nights I will not sleep. Each half hour I run to any window and have a look...It's overwhelmingly, that's really a great event!

So, enough for tonight.

Bye,bye

Grace

Grace, I'm so glad you find it as amazing as I do!
And I know what you mean Lou, I almost forgot about it as well! That’s why I wanted to make sure you all knew about it! Its kind of sad though, no one else I know is interested in it. I think I have told just about all of my friends and family and it’s a shame but they all do the same thing, just shrug and say – “yeah, well, I’ll take a look if I remember.”
I find it unreal! I even have a cold now because I’ve spent the last four nights laying out in my front yard freezing with my puppy - at least she likes watching it with me! but its worth it – wonderful inspiration for writing, gets the imagination going!

luv
melyssa

It is fantastic, I'm excited like that first time I saw Mars. Tonight is clear but a bit chilly, only 8°C (EU summer,lol). And the Mars is so deep on the sky, and flashes, flashes and flashes...
I can see it now and in a half hour again and the next entire night too !

Yes, 27.08.03 that is a historic date and what happens also always after that, it happens with you first, lol, with me 10 hour later ! He, he, he...
Would you write a couple of lines, how it was, if you can.....? Lol.

I read much about that event. It should be the begining of a new trend in the society, culture, religion and psyche - a transformation of the world into the collective !
There occurred to me spontaneously the title of a Australian sitcom: "All Together Now"! Lol.

There was already similar situation in the society in the past. What do you think, why Atlantis gone is bottom ? Exactly because of the might - greed of each single human. And in the moment it seems to not to be better. And I read still another sentence: "The events will become to follow in rapid succession"!!!
I'm curious about it.

Cheers

Grace

Very interesting stuff, Grace.
I was thinking about Mars and how its close proximity may effect Earth. It is the planet of War afterall! Perahps that's why everything is so violent and turbulent lately. Hopefully we have reached a peak and now peace will be given a chance.

deb

Tonight I could not sleep and I had no ciggies...so I decided to drive at 3.00 am on the next petrol station...25 km.It's warm and the heaven full of stars !!! Three stars flashes in three colours: red-blue-white rotatory (sp?). One of the three that must be Mars, but welch? I drove on my mountain - better sight point - out of car and watched stars, so I discovered Big Dipper (I thought I can reach him with my hand), and the Little Dipper too ! Ah, simple amazing, I thought I share this with you.

Cheers
Grace

The two another flashing stars are Saturn - the Lord of the rings, and Jupiter - the giant of all planets.

Saturn, the gas giant consist mainly of hydrogen and helium, his 7 rings of ice and stones, one of his 18 moons, the greatest - Titan, resembles our Earth...

Jupiter (roman) or Zeus (grecian) - his red spot is a storm - wind, 400 kmh, since 300 years...

Can't wait till comes night !

Cheers

Grace

PS. My yesterday topic...of course...it should be:
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL NIGHT !!!

Grace, I love your little Northern hemisphere updates   How delightful to be up and outdoors at 3am (if a little chilly where you are).  Nicotine addiction obviously has its creative side.

I never thought to make the connection between Mars being the planet of war and our recent world events.  So Deb, what are Saturn and Jupiter - the planets of...

Now I'm all intrigued.

Saturn, roman god for cultivation / Chronos in greek myth., means the time.

Jupiter or Jove, roman King Of The Gods / grecian: Zeus, son of Chronos, bringer of frolic, exuberance, gaiety and high spirits...

Saturn (symb.:whip - droves forward us), is the astrological counter and auxiliary principle of the Jupiters (symb.: sugar or chocolade, lol - lures us forward). Both together help humans on its developmentway.
Nah, that wants to hope I.

I found still a very interesting stuff on the net concern astrology:
How much would I have weighed on other planets?

On the Earth 65 kg

Pluto only 3 kg
Moon 11 kg
Mercur 18 kg
Mars 25 kg
Uranus 51 kg
Venus 59 kg
Saturn 60 kg
Neptun 73 kg
Sun (Oh God!) 1809 kg (nearly two tons, lol!)

www.astronomia.de/saturn.htm

Have a look and have fun!

Cheers
Grace

PS. Lou, with me it's not so cold, tonight 17°C.

Grace, I love all this astronomy!  Maybe we should make this a dedicated thread for anything to do with 'out there'.  Then if anyone has interesting tidbits they can add them here.

Yeah, Lou, your idea sounds "galactically"! Thanks, there I can sow my wild oats, lol. Here is the first article:

SMART 1

On comming saturday, 27.09.2003, from French-Guayana will start to fly to the moon a probe of the ESA (European World Space Organization) - SMART 1. Little, reasonable and compact - that's that motto. SMART - Small Mission for Advanced Research and Technology.

New technology (with Smart one can fly to the Mercur or to the Sun)make it possible that fiction becomes reality. Colonies, touristic purposes, industrie installations, testing areas....

Mr. Foint of the ESA said: "We think, that to live and to work on the moon has really future."

In December 2004 SMART passes the way of only 384,000 km and then with help of his scientic instruments will search after water (enormous stores of water are assumed on the moon)and "human-outposts" (aliens?

Till then...

Your Skywatcher
Grace

Even for a pop-star is a flight in the universe too expensively: the N'Sinc-singer, Lance Bass, must remain on the bottom, because he can't pay the travel costs - 20 Millions US Dollar.

And now two US-scientists, Jay Penn and Charles Lindley of the Californian Aerospace Corporation, have develop a cheap-flight-system. In 7 years they want to forward tourists in the universe - for only 15,000 US Dollar, with Feeder-Service: a raket will bring little-space-capsule in the universe out of Earth-Atmosphere, then the raket comes back to the base and take the next space-capsule and bring her in the universe...
As destination for a space-trip will be the Internationale Space Station ISS.

The scientists hope that many flights will minimize the transport costs.

Thus, spare for the next holiday! Lol

Your Skywatcher
Grace

Here are the website with Live Webcast of the start of SMART 1:

www.streamingbox.com/smart1/#

Start: 28.09 2003, 1:02 am MEZ (Berlin), 8:02 am Sydney

Your Skywatcher

Grace

8 hour time deferral, thus with you 9:02 am !!!

Sorry pplz

Grace, you're so cool with all your intergalactic skywalking! Not a sci-fi fan at all are you?? My boy, Jack, begged for a Star Wars lego set the other day, so we got him a little one. Ahhh, his first Darth Vadar doll. I'm already training him up to be a spec-fic fan!!!
Lotsa luv, Wendy

Grace, you are incredible.  I am so pleased to know that in the near future I'll be able to have my 'get out of the earth's atmosphere' adventure for the very cheap price of only $15000US.  Wow, and I thought I'd have to be as rich as Stephen King

Lou, that can happen early, than you think. NASA plans Space Taxi's to the ISS! Yeah!!!

Wendy, I'm not sci - fi, I'm sci - tech! Lol.

Grace

Scientists search after power from the light of the Sun and will delivery it to the Earth. The futuristic vision can become reality in approx. 50 years.

In the Universum will the sun-energy saved in solar ceilings and as bundled-laser-ray send to a receiver-station on the Earth.

Mr. Müller from "EADS Space Transportation" says:
"With this development are set the first crucialy important millestone for futuristic, laser-based solar-energy-system on the Earth and in the Universum."

Sounds good.....for our kids!

Grace

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE.

Which application in the everyday life originates from World - Space - Technology? Are the following statements correctly or wrongly?

1.FIREPROOF MATERIALS
The space technology helps firefighters: fireproof materials protect the firemen by their work. Also the not inflammable material protects seat rows in large halls.

2.TEFLON PAN
The teflon pan lets burning nothing. After the coating was developed first for space - technology, it was established today in nearly each kitchen.

3.SOLAR CELLS
Solar cells were originally developed for space travel.

4.ACCUMULATOR
Also the accumulator, which propels the estimated aids from the domestic toolbox, we owe to the space technology.

5.POTATO CHIPS
Potato chips find their way safe into the bag and without too crumble - thanks of the space technology.

6.AIRBAG
A gentle impact by airbags car-passengers owe likewise to the space technology.

7.ROMPERS
With the help of the space technology researchers developed a rampers, which is to prevent sudden child death.

8.LASER WEAPONS
So far there were laser weapons only in the film, but changes probably soon: Space researchers in the USA now presented a first laser cannon in the specialized magazine "Nature".To a continuous-line-laser-sword they want to dare themselves next.

9.COOL - SUITS
Remain always pretty cool, for the mechanics of Mc Laren / Mercedes no problem. Their suits are equipped with a cooling system, which was developed from the space organization ESA.

Have fun
Your Skywatcher

Grace

Don't tease us, Grace.  You gotta give us the answers too

I'm pretty sure teflon was developed to stop the burnup on re-entry, but potato crisps?  Come on!

LOL! I have to agree.

It will be answered but just not yet! Please be patient until all our friends had read that I don't want to take the fun prematurely to those, who want to test their knowledge...

But some things about my own translation I want to correct. With potato-chips I mean potato-crisps, solar ceilings(lol)-solar cells, rompers-baby overall without sleeves, cool-suits - cool overalls, universum - universe. Sorry people.

Love

Grace

A good lesson in patience, Grace (a trait I'm not renowned for)

1.FIREPROOF MATERIALS
The statement is correct. The materials were originally developed in order to protect the electrical circuits of an Ariane rocket.

2.TEFLON PAN
Is not correct. Already 1938 a Dupont-coworker, Roy Plunkett, invented the material. 1958 called that French chemist the material then "teflon" and coated with it pans. Nowadays are also windows with it coated - a dream of each housewife - windows which one must never clean...then on those remains nothing to clean, no dust, no dirt! Nevertheless: teflon was used also in space-technology, however only 1961.

3.SOLAR CELLS
Correctly, solar cells are to be supplied ideally around spacecraft with the necessary energy - contrary to chemical fuels, which go fast to slope.

4.ACCUMULATOR
Is not correct. That first, again rechargeable accumulator developed the French phisicist, Gaston Plante, in 1859. Importantly for space journey are the mobile energy dispensers nevertheless - up to the next plug socket it is often far...

5.POTATO CRISPS
Is correct. Experiments in the wind tunnel helped to intend space researchers the best angle for the reentry of a spaceship into the terrestrial atmosphere. From this finally developed a machine to the safe packing of potato crisps.

6.AIRBAG
Is correct. The small explosive charges, which activate the airbags in the car, come from pyrotechnic elements, which are actually used for the separation from rocket stages.

7.ROMPERS (BABY-OVERALLS)
Is correct. The baby-overalls are based on a technology, which was developed for space-travel-overalls. It has five special sensors, which supervise the heart impact and the respiration of the baby.

8.LASER WEAPONS
Is not correct. Such things belong for the moment in the country of the visions, says Klaus Berge of the German Center for Air- and Space-Travel, thus on the occasion of "Star Wars: Episode Two". "Laser pistols it will presumably give in 10 to 15 years". The laser swords are however unrealistic: "Laser light does not have mass and can therefore also not as impact weapon be used".

9.COOL-OVERALLS
Is correct. Also these air - conditioned overalls are based on space overalls.

Your Skywatcher

Grace

Grace,
I just sent that quiz to my partner through an email- he likes anything to do with space

I didn't know that about babies overals.. pretty amazing stuff really!

Thanks for posting it!!

kerrie

Grace i just visited that website where you can see how much you weigh on other planets..

it's in german and i can't see anywhere where i can change it to english.. LOL

i learnt a bit of german many years ago but cannot remember planet names.. can you help?

Why certainly, Kerrie! I will help you everything, which I can do. Thus, only a few planets are differently called in German:

Moon - Mond
Sun - Sonne
Earth - Erde
Star - Stern

All other names are the same Yeah, there are so many beautiful web pages, unfortunately only on German.If you need my help, don't be shy, ask me for assistance.BTW, how much tons would've you weighed on the sun?

I'm just busy with translation of a very interesting article over aliens, it comes tomorrow on the messageboard.

All the Best

Your Skywatcher

Grace

----
Editors in Europe viewed with some degree of alarm the U.S. Army's successful test of a powerful laser--which hit a targeted satellite more than 260 miles from earth--last Friday. While they acknowledged that the test did not violate either the 1967 or 1972 treaties covering warfare in space, analysts nonetheless concluded that the U.S. had "crossed a new threshold" in the technological arms race. Brussels's independent Le Soir noted: "The Americans virtually have the power to blind or to destroy satellites in flight, and thereby to paralyze armies at war by depriving them of their eyes and of their ears. A frightening lead. This technological achievement reminds us that 'star wars' is not entirely dead."
----

I don't know about you...but this is all pretty freaky to me (cool, incredible, unbelievable...but still freaky). It reminds me of that Japanese invisibility cloak...shouldn't be long before they get it finished I suppose.

Grace, as usual, you are a marvel.  Keep the space stuff coming.  I never get enough of it (I think I only got the solar cells right). I'll need a lot of training if I'm going to be an astronaut one day

Dale, I don't know anything about that invisibility cloak - do tell!

------
Japanese scientist invents 'invisibility cloak'

A Japanese scientist has developed a coat which appears to make the wearer invisible.



The illusion was part of a demonstration of optical camouflage technology at Tokyo University.

It is the brainchild of Professor Susumu Tachi who is in the early stage of research he hopes will eventually make camouflaged objects virtually transparent.

The photograph was taken through a viewfinder that uses a combination of moving images taken behind the wearer to give a transparent effect.

It's hoped the technology will be useful for surgeons frustrated their own hands and surgical tools can block their view of operations and pilots who wish cockpit floors were transparent for landings.
------

I was so frustrated by the reporters when this information was first released in Australia! The reporter said "Ah dear, what will the japanese think of next..." Some people have no idea how incredible this discovery is...and what its future holds!

Woh, this invisibility raincoat thing is really freaky!!Clever, but, what the??

My dad relates a story about my grandad, who was walking through town to the pub by himself one night, and a man was walking towards him, so he did the polite thing and nodded his head and said 'evening' or the like, and the next thing, the man walked right through him!! Remember, this is on the way TO the pub!! He was so freaked out! That was basically the night his hair began to turn white! Seriously! (Incidentally, my dad's hair had a huge white streak in it after going on the Matterhorn rollercoaster in Disneyland. I'm serious!!)

So yeah, the invisibility cloak reminds me of this story of my grandad, quite spooky and another one of those "I don't get technology" moments!
Love ya, Wendy

Hey Wendy, I'm alone home....Lol.

A friend of my father... 1939, the both was 15 as the WWII begun, his hair turned white completely over one night!

This summer I asked my mother, what the thing I heard as child in many tellings by my grand parents again and again and never knew, what it means..."on the bogs..."?
-"You don't know that?"- says my mother.
-"No!?"-I answered
-"People says that the area where my grandparents have lived and my mother, later I was born, many years ago was bogs - devils territory. Humans have it make dry and settled there. But the devil vowed vengeance..."

Yeah, some things makes now sense!

Love

Grace

so many kooky tales.. i'm easily scared, so don't worry -

Are we alone? Are there lives in space? With this question mankind already concerns itself for centuries.And it seems, that each human can participate now actively in the search for Aliens and even the chance has to discover the first extraterrestrial signal.

I found on the web SETI - an organization called Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence (University of California, Berkeley,USA and University of West Sydney, Australia), please check it out and answere my question:
Would you like to search for extraterrestrials on your home computer? Here are a few websites:

www.setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu
www.set.uws.edu.au
www.planetary.org/html/member/SETIoffer.html

Your Skywatcher

Grace

Dale - that cloak is so cool!  Thank you so much for posting that here.  I'm feeling like we've got our own little New Scientist thing happening.

Wendy and Grace, thanks (or not) for the scary stories.  But why did I have to be looking at this at night?  Never mind.  I'll get pookie out of mothballs, he'll keep me safe

Grace, I've always been fascinated by SETI and watched every movie/TV show about it.  Lovely that they're letting everyday people help out.  I'm going to suss it for myself.

Honestly said, I don't need my computer in the order some things to hear, which other people not hear(no, I'm not a dog ) Next time, if I hear the "signale" or whatever that is, I will write it and send it to a scientiest, becouse that stuff is very interesting and inexplainably.

Grace

Lou, you are a big girl and not alone home, thus I can't understand your fear! I can still further tell you a few stories, but now I'm not sure.....

You go for it Grace.  I'll just make sure I check the 'net during the daylight hours from now on

During "Smart" is on his way to the Moon and we have still much time up to landing - a little info/up date over ISS:

ISS - Internationale Space Station - moves on an orbit in 470 km height with a speed of 27,000 kmh over the Earth and is visible sometimes with bare eye in the sky.

Since November 2000 are constantly humans on board, those live on approx. 170 square meters surface. The astronauts spend on the average several months in weightlessness. In the space station umpteen scientific experiments are to be accomplished within the ranges astronomy, biology, physics and atmosphere research.

It is financed by 16 countries: the USA, Russia, Canada, Japan, Brazil and the eleven members of the European Space Agency.

The command changes between Russians and Americans.

In the last week has the ISS a new lifeboat, Sojus TMA 3, of Russia receive - the life insurance of the Space-Station-Crew.

Your Skywatcher

Grace

"Geomagnetic storm hits Earth" and "Sun explosion a show-stopper" that are a few articles from SMH, which I would highly recommend to you.

A powerful geomagnetic storm walloped the Earth yesterday, knocking out some communications....in Germany are air travels cancelled in large numbers, self the Quantas comes today with approx. 15 hours lateness.

"This time it is serious" - says John Kohl from Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge.
The eruption races like a de Jeavu (sp?) exactly on Earth. "Direct effects on humans are not to be feared even with most violent solar outbreaks."

I will not say that, because my own energy is returned again!

If the sun storms spits out....

Your Skywatcher

Grace

Yesterday was an Alpha-Fight-Jet in Upper Bavaria fallen bored itself twelve meters deeply in the moorland and sank completely in the soil. The fate of the two passengers is still unsettled. Their maschine was fallen perpendicular and fell like an arrow to soil. The police assumes that an 44 years old man and the 48 years old pilot are still in the cab. That makes a spectacular action necessary, searches with warm-picture-camera (sp?) still persist.

I found this article interesting to share with you.

Cheers

Grace

Who builds the largest telescope of all times, USA or Europe?

The Americans plans a "Thirty-Meter-Telescope (TMT) to provide. The Gordon and Betty Moor Foundation spends to the California Institute of Technology and the University of California 17,5 millions US$ for their plans.

The Europeans plans still far more largely, than the Americans. In a program called "Overwhemingly Large Telescope" with a mirror diameter of 100 meter. The OWL will rise up as far into the sky, as the largest pyramid of Gizah and will cost approx. 800 millions Euros.

Thus then....good looking!

Your Skywatcher

Grace

Lou, to my previous contribution I would have a very nice pic, but I don't know, how to post it?
Grace

To see, but not to be seen......With a new radar the observer remains invisible. The passive-radar sends no own signals, nevertheless can unmask airplanes, ships, cars, humans and even "Stealth"-bomber, those are almost invisible, because they don't back-throw clear echoes.

"Even smallest particles at a hight of 50 km are recovers" - says John Sahr from the University of Washington."One can all posible objects to follow without betraying itself by own search-signals."

The passive-radar is extremely interesting for military. Comment of German press:
"The USA strategists might see the new technology in accordance with mixed feelings against, because the sky over the crisis regions of the world belongs almost exclusively to American airplanes."

Peace & Love

Your Skywatcher

Grace

So, dear friends, and which will give to see on the sky in November?

1. Full Moon 8/9 Nov
2. Shooting Stars 14-21 Nov (mostly 18/19 Nov, don't forget: wish you which!)
3. Venus comes for short time in the evening hours (the Evening-Star)
4. Mars shines further, after midnight he says good-bye to the sky-stage, then comes the
5. Jupiter and shines from midnight till the small hours
6. Saturn is to seen the whole night
7. Sun Eclipse - 23/24 Nov (unfortunately this event will not to see for the north-hemisphere inhabitants)

Your Skywatcher

Grace

Grace, I'd really like to know more about that geomagnetic storm last week.  Is there a site you got that info off, that you could give us the link to?  Wednesday we had seriously weird weather up here and I wonder if it was related to that.  Then there's all the weird emotional things people were going through.  It would be fascinating to see where these solar storms are charted and make some connections.

No Lou, I don't have a website this concern. My reports that are excerpts from that daily German press.

"The sun does not come to the rest and it continues stormily" - says professor Hermann Lühr from Geo-Research-Center in Potsdam, Germany."No fear, for humans on the Earth ground those remain further harmless."

"There are humans, who worry themselves seriously, but that is completely unfounded" - said the pesident of the German Society for Industrial and Environmental Medicine, prof. Claus Piekarski."The phenomenon is innocuous for human biology. It has already some sun storms given in human history and it did us not harm."

The sun storm is concerned by the Northern Hemisphere. There is danger for mobile phones, air traffic radar facilities, navigational instruments etc.
In Malmö, Sveden was noted a power failure in 20,000 households for ca. 1 hour, and the Japanese lost contact to their satelit. Likewise was affected the sat Bird and one of the both sat Grace.

Interesting: The Sun sings a shrill song.

How a sun storm sounds itself, the space
probe "Cassini" has recorded now: the storm begins with a whistler and sounds then like a jet military plane in the low-altitude-flight. "Cassini" is at present 1,3 milliards km from the Earth far away on his way to Saturn.

Your Skywatcher

Grace

Thanks so much for that info, Grace.  It's great to have a Northern Hemisphere correspondent on the case

Found this article and wanted to share it with you all. It's from the Jonathan Cainer website, a world famous Zodiac Forecaster. If you want to visit his site it is http://stars.metawire.com/ - he has the most accurate daily horoscopes I have ever read!

"This weekend brings a rare alignment of planets in the shape of a six pointed star. Astrologers all over the world are deeply excited about what it heralds. This is, make no mistake, the greatest shift of consciousness ever. The period between November 8 and 23 is a very special time, when Humanity will be assisted by all the Heavenly Beings of Light to catapult their consciousness into the Fifth Dimensional Level. After the Lunar Eclipse on November 8, a rare Galactic Alignment will build powerful Cosmic Energies which will gather momentum until the Solar Eclipse on November 23. The Star of David formation in the Heavens will be the harbinger of unprecedented showers of frequencies of Divine Consciousness. This will have the effect of opening up a multidimensional portal of Divine Consciousness into the Heart and Mind of the Mother-Father God Principle, the Cosmic 'I AM', All That Is! Every man, woman and child will be treated to a rare glimpse into the remembrance of their own Divinity, and the Oneness of all Life. The Light of Divine Consciousness will be shining forcefully through the Mental Strata of the Earth, and a portal into the Divine Mind of God will open within the mental bodies of all humanity. The new Solar frequencies of the Fifth Dimension will thus become available to all those who choose it! These frequencies are aligned with the Ascended Master frequencies, and will hum in tune with the patterns of perfection in the Causal Body of God. This is, make no mistake, the greatest shift of consciousness ever to be attempted by the Heavenly Beings of Light, for all humans to take advantage of. This gigantic shift of consciousness was very essential to the Divine Plan of anchoring the Light of God on to the planet, to transform the Earth, as well as all humans, for if this was not done, it would be like trying to change the image of humanity in a mirror, without changing the human himself who is causing that reflection. Outer-worldly situations can only change if there is corresponding change in the minds and hearts of men. When every soul on the planet remembers the Oneness of all Life, and that if we harm another, we are in actuality harming ourselves, then this profound truth will open up the panoramic, mind-blowing concepts of the interconnectedness, inter relatedness, and the ultimate inter-dependent-ness of soul and soul. Can you imagine how people will interact once the profoundness of this truth pervades their consciousness?"

After talking, lately, about ups and down, the moon, the stars, yin and yang, expecting the good with the bad, I came across a quote that seemed to fit this thread:

"When it is dark enough, you can see the stars." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Luv ya, Wendy

After a short breathing it gave an eruption on the sun at the past night 4/5 Nov 2003, so far not known extend. The radiation, which of this recent outbreak - a FLARE - in such a way specified, went out excided the meter-scale of the integrated satellites by far. The sun storm outgoing from the recent Flare becomes however this time presumably at the Earth by-pulls.

The record-eruption could not be classified so far. According to estimate of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), was the Flare twice as strong, like the largest outbreaks of the past week.

The eruptions are named usually with "X", the strength with a number. In the last days was registered an eruption "X10", the outbreak of the past night is still to exceed the value "X20". The largest eruption ever measured had the value "X20" and occured on 4 April 2001.

The new solar Flare exceeds everything - scientists puzzle, which is behind the unusual activity of our Sun? It is for a long time well-know that the solar activity reaches all eleven years a high point, but the at present observed eruptions exceed all eruptions of the past millenium - says NASA.

Since the output of last night a sun-storm sweeps with a speed of 2300 km / sec by our solar - system!

It will however only touch our globe since the now so jerky area of the sun turned to the Earth. Satellits and their computer-systems as well as the computers on ISS this time no bulk serums particle bombardements will be suspended.

Your Skywatcher

Grace

A mysterious arc of light found behind a distant cluster of galaxies has turned out to be the biggest, brightest and hottest star-forming region ever seen in space.

The so called Lynx Arc is one million times brighter than the well know Orion Nebula, a nearby prototypical "starbirth" region visible with smalltelescopes. The newly identified super-cluster contains a million blue-white stars that are twice so hot as similar stars in our Milky Way galaxy. It is a rarely glimpsed example of the early days of the Universe where furious firestorms of starbirth blazed across the skies. The spectacular cluster's opulence is dimmed when seen from Earth only by the fact that it is 12 000 million light years away.

The discovery of this unique and tantalising object was the result of a systematic study of distant clusters of galaxies carried out with major X-ray, optical and infrared telescopes, including the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, ROSAT and the Keck Telescopes. Bob Fosbury, of the European Space Agency's Space Telescope-European Coordinating Facility in Germany, and a team of international co-autors report the discovery in the 20 October 2003 issue of the Astrophysical Journal.

The mega-cluster of stars appears as a puzzling red arc behind a distant galaxy cluster 5400 million light-years away in the northern constellation of Lynx. The arc is the stretched and magnified image of a mysterious celestial object about 12 000 million light-years away (at a redshift of 3.36), far beyond the cluster of galaxies. This means that the remote source existed when the Universe was less than 2000 million years old.

Fosbury and colleagues first tried to identify the arc by analising the light from the object, but the team was not able to recognise the pattern of colours in the spectral signature of the remote object. While looking for matches with the colour spectrum, Fosbury realised that the light was related to that of the nearby Orion Nebula, a star-forming region in our own Milky Way. However where the Orion Nebula is powered by only four hot and bright blue stars, the Lynx Arc must contain around a million such stars !

Furthermore, the spectrum shows that the stars in the Lynx Arc are more than twice as hot as the Orion Nebula's central stars, with surface temperatures up to 80 000°C. Though there are much bigger and brighter star-forming regions than the Orion Nebula in our local Universe, none are as bright as the Lynx Arc, nor do they contain such large numbers of hot stars.

Even the most massive, normal nearby stars are no hotter than around 40 000°C. However, stars-forming from the original, pristine gas in the early Universe can be more massive and consequently much hotter - perhaps up to 120 000°C. The earliest stars may have been as much as several hundred solar masses, but the chemical make-up of the Universe today prevents stars from forming beyond about 100 solar masses. Such "primordial" super-hot stars are thought to be the first luminous objects to condense after the Big Bang cooled. Astronomers believe that these first "monster" stars formed considerably earlier than the Lynx Arc - up to 1800 million years earlier. "This remarkable objects is the closest we have come so far seeing what such primordial objects might look like when our telescopes become powerful enough to see them", says Fosbury. The desire to find and study the first luminous objects in the Universe is the main scientific drive behind the construction of the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled for launch in 2011.

Your Skywatcher

Grace

I read my Moon-Horoscope for 2004, it was as in the suspense-love-novel!

According to this horoscope I will 5 times fall in love, that would be nearly every two months, lol. Once I will meet it in the elevator, another time on a cruise (boat?). It stands still that my life will fundamentally change: surprising turnarounds, fascinating offers, mad changes, unexpected tasks and challenges, great possibilities brings another dimension in my life!!!

I am to go aboard over in a project to cooperate, me for nonprofit organisations to set and even a political office to take over! Thus, Ahoy Mr.Bush, immediately Peace & Love only!!!
And all this is located in my moon-horoscope, believes it in it?

Can't wait
Till then

Grace

PS. Lou, your luck lies in the distance, but at the beginning of January we both must take care of ourselves - danger of accident!

VOYAGER 1 TAKES COURSE ON THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL ONES.

The space probe Voyager 1 reached or even exceeded the border of our solar-system. Ever mankind penetrated so far. On its way into the infinite widths of the Milky Way the US space probe Voyager 1 set up a new record.

More than 26 years after their start of the Earth the probe is in the meantime 13,5 milliard kilometers distant from the Sun. Voyager 1 is at "Termination Shock" arrived, a turbulent front where our Sun-Wind meet the matter of Universe...

The probe flies with a speed of more than 17 km/sec. Up to the year 2020 the researchers want to remain in contact with it.

On the way to the strange worlds: the distances, which Voyager 1 put back since its start at 5 September 1977 are inconceivably large. At present the 825-kg-probe put the 90 astronomical units, i.e. 90 times the distance of the Earth to the Sun.

Already in February 1998 booked Voyager 1 the absolute record for itself, the furthest traveled "heavenly body" built by humans. It is further traveled as Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11 and the Sister-Probe Voyager 2.

All these probes have messages to others civilizations on board: the Voyager 1 has one 30 cm large gold-board with recorded tones of 55 languages, classic and pop-music, and 115 pictures of peoples, plants animals and terrestrial buildings.

Thus:

Welcome whoever you are......

Your Skywatcher

Grace

Melyssa, I do hope that all comes true. It sounds wonderful, and I love that quote, Wendy. We need to be reminded of that sort of thing often!

Grace, what can I say? You are a font of information and I really appreciate you keeping us updated on all these stargazer issues. I find them fascinating.

QUESTION to Melyssa:

Which 6 planets are that (clockwisely)?

Grace

Hello Grace!

I wasn't to sure about which planets so I did a bit of research for you and this is what I found -

"At the moment of the total lunar eclipse on November 8-9, the planets in our solar system will align into the sacred geometric pattern of two inverted triangles known as a perfect "Star of David," a configuration of significant balance, linking the energies of six astrological bodies; the Sun, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Chiron and the Moon. This Grand Sextile astrological configuration, accompanying a total lunar eclipse, reportedly has never before occurred in recorded history. A solar eclipse also will take place in the Southern Hemisphere on November 23."

If you would like to read more of the article I took this from Grace, the website is
http://www.edgenews.com/issues/2003/11/harmonic.html

By the way Grace, I love reading all of your space information! Thankyou so much for sharing it! It’s so fascinating!

luv
melyssa

Thx FYI, Melyssa. Hey, guys, I don't tought that their are addicted to Astronomy!? Just have bought a book about and it's fantastic! Explains in simply way all my questions this concern and much more. It's "Get a grip on Astronomy" by Robin Kerrod, from this book I selected a few questions to you

1.Which Moon is called the "Pizza Moon"?

2.Which Star is called the "Dog Star"?

3.Which Star is still in love and pursues his "Sweet Heart" across the heavens?

Have fun with the answers

Your Skywatcher

Grace

1.Gravitation is well know to everyone, but do we know what is SPAGHETTIFICATION ?

2.Red is the colour of Mars. Which planets are green, blue and yellow?

3.What has the hottest body in the the universe?

4.Which star is called the Demon Star?

5."Wow!Oh,Be A Fine Girl,Kiss Me Right Now,Sweetie!" - No, that's not what you think, but what has this sentence common with astronomy?

6.Do you know the "Swan Song" from the universe?

7.Which planet is called the Musician Planet?

Grace

Smart-1 is flying at full speed through the Earth radiation belts. Now in its 90th orbit, with far less interference from solar activity, Smart-1 is performing well. The ion engine is again producing thrust at a level that is above expectations.

The communication, data handling and on-board software subsystems have been performing very well in this period, during last week's solar storms.
The thermal subsystem and the attitude control system continues to work very well in general.

Your Skywatcher

Grace

Is anyone else concerned by the "advancements" of security re: our identities? Finger-print ATMs, eye-scans.....

Maybe I'm a conspirator, but I think these advancements will be our downfall. I despise the idea of my life, and everything about me, being available on a huge government program where they can pinpoint me in a second. I'm not into breaking the law - but I do like my anonimity.

This is just a topic that really gets me fuming about the tendency for people to nod and smile at the Gov and let them do whatever they want (supposedly for our benefit).

I'm interested to know what you ladies think (as the only people I talk to are students and my father - who I tend to get this paranoia from).

Dale, it does concern me somewhat and I get to see how some of it works firsthand as dh's day job is in security and home automation.

Kylie

So friends, here are the answers to the Astro-Quiz, so you can yourself test your knowledge or maybe something new experiences about Pizza and Spaghetti in the space. Voila...

THE PIZZA MOON

"Io" is called the Pizza Moon, the moon belonging to Jupiter and is one of the Galilean moons.
Io stands out among the Jovian moons in more ways than one. It has the most extraordinary deep orange colour, with yellow, white and black patches. When Voyager 1's cameras flashed back the first pictures of it in February 1979, the leader of the Voyager team, Bradford Smith, said it looked: "better than a load of pizzas" he'd seen. So it is now often called the pizza moon.

THE DOG STAR

The brightest star in the sky, the brilliant SIRIUS is also called the Dog Star because it is in Canis Major, the Great Dog.

STAR IN LOVE

In Greek mythology ORION was son of the sea god Poseidon. A mighty hunter, he fell in love with seven beautiful sisters, called Pleiades, and he still pursues them across the heavens...

SPAGHETTIFICATION

If you are unfortunate enough to fall into a black hole, the prognosis isn't favorable. Gravity within the black hole increases at an alarming rate. So it would exert a much greater pull on your feet than your head. You would end up very long and very thin, like SPAGHETTI.

RAINBOW IN THE SPACE

Powerful telescopes show URANUS as a small bluish-green disc (pictures taken in 1986 by Voyager 2), since then it is called The Green Giant.
NEPTUNE, the trident-bearing Roman god of the sea, is called The Blue Planet, because of his lovely blue atmosphere.
And The Yellow Planet is..., why certainly, our SUN.

THE HOTTEST BODY

If VENUS, the Roman goddess of love, ever had oceans like the Earth's, they would have evaporated long ego when the planet heated up. The only water present today is in the atmosphere. The Geen-House-Effect has made Venus the hottest planet in the solar system. Temperatures on its surface can soar to 900°F. Adding to this hellish image, the clouds consist mainly of particles of concentrated sulfuric acid, which has a propensity for charring organic matter (including human flesh).

THE DEMON STAR

The Arabs gave the second brightest star in the constellation Perseus the name Algol - meanning the demon star, or winking demon. The reason is that every 69 hours it dims from second to third magnitude, over a period of about four hours. It then takes about the same time to regain its former brilliance. It is, in fact, a binary star system composed of a large dim star and a small bright one. The two stars orbit in our line of sight, so that the dim star periodically passes in front of the bright one, eclipsing it and causing the overall brightness of the system to diminish.

KISS ME RIGHT NOW!

This sentence, concerned with Astronomy, is very unromantically. It's a mnemonic only.
The stellar spectrum is an excellent way of classifying a star. There are 11 main spectral classes - W, O, B, A, F, G, K, M, R, N and S. These can be memorized using the politically incorrect mnemonic:"Wow! Oh Be A Fine Girl, Kiss Me Right Now, Sweetie!"

THE SWAN SONG

Dying Suns...When stars reach the end of their lives, some exit the stellar stage with a bang, others with a whimper. It all depends on their mass. A relatively low-mass star like the sun bids farewell with a whimper - ending up as a thiny body little bigger than the Earth.
Stars like the sun live about 10 billion years.The Sun is at present middle-aged, born about 4.6 billion years ago.

THE MUSICIAN'S PLANET

It was once..... that a musician-turned-astronomer used a reflector to make a momentous discovery, which at a stroke doubled the size of the solar system. He was German-born, William Herschel (1738-1822), at the time living in Bath, in England. On March 13, 1781, he spied what he described as "a curious nebulous star or perhaps a comet", and watched it move slowly against the star field on the following nights. When the object's orbit was calculated, it proved to be neither a star nor a comet, but a new-seventh-planet, which came to be called URANUS.

SOURCE: "Get a Grip on Astronomy" of Robin Kerrod.

I hope it was interesting for you.

Grace

That's are only few topics of the daily German press. The unusual brightly Polar Light in the night of 20/21 November horrifies many Germans, UFO-Status-Phone of the Observatory came not to rest. The angst of extraterrestrials goes on! But it's only Polar Light: red, green, blue and yellow, amazing, simply amazing...

Your Skywatcher

Grace

How meanwhile also official sources carefully confirm, there is still one - tenth planet in our Solar System - the Planet X, which is a little over 3 times the size of Earth with an extremely elliptical orbit, those orbits our Sun once every 3600 years.

It is very bright due to the gold dust suspended in its atmosphere. Alalu, the deposed ruler of the Anunnaki - the inhabitants on Niburu, has discovered that Earth has plenty of gold, which Niburu needed to protect its diminishing atmosphere...UFO's, Aliens, crops...bells?

Niburu's inhabitants - Anunnaki - those who from Heaven to Earth came, they landed on Earth, colonized it, establishing a spaceport in what today is the Iraq-Iran area, they created Man - Homo Sapiens, through genetic manipulation with themselves and ape man Homo Erectus.The Niburians disguised themselves as fish-humans, lion-humans, bird-humans and other creatures.

Due to its massive size and even stronger magnetic grid, Niburu's passing has been known to cause massive and catastrophic Earth changes, along with pole shifts as Niburu approaches. Floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, a pole shift and other natural disasters will be so severe, Mark Haselwood says, that "only a few hundred million people will survive."
The gravitational pull of Niburu might even stop the Earth's rotation for three days, citing the "three days of darkness" predicted in the Bible.

.....and they say, Nibiru is once again heading this way - and will be here in full swing soon.....

Take care

Your Skywatcher

Grace

Experts strike alarm. Renewed geomagnetic storm can disturb the air traffic on this weekend 29/30.11.2003. The Pilots - Union "Cockpit" warns of increased radiation danger. Experts estimate that the cosmic radiation increases enormously and count on a high rise of the radiation load during flights on northern routes.

With normal air traffic the radiation intensity is to be equated with approximately 3 radiographs. If it comes to the announced geomagnetic storms, the radiation dose corresponds to about 10 radiographs during a flight.

American and Canadian airlines such as "United Airlines" and "Continental Airlines" will lower the flight altitudes of the flights concerned to the protection from radiation.

Your Skywatcher

Grace

PS. Dale, that would not have pleased me too!

Interpreting the "Song" of a Distant Black Hole.
Astronomers in England have discovered a singing black hole in a distant cluster of galaxies. In the process of listening in, the team of astronomers not only heard the lowest sound waves from a object in the Universe ever detected by humans, but they've also discovered an important clue about the formation of galaxy clusters - the largest structures in the cosmos.

The sound waves coming from it are in the form of a single note, so rather than a song it is really a drone. Using the piano keyboard's middle C note as a reference point for the middle of the piano key music range, the team determined the note is a B-flat. On a piano, the B-flat nearest middle C is located midway between 1/8th and2/8th of an octave away. In musical terminology, this B-flat is 1-1/2 steps from middle C.

The Perseus cluster black hole's B-flat, by contrast, is 57 octaves below middle C or one million, billion times lower than the lowest sound audible to the human ear!

The Perseus sound waves are much more than just an interesting form of black hole acoustics, said Steve Allen of the Institute of Astronomy. These sound waves may be the key in figuring out how galaxy clusters, the largest structures in the Universe, grow. Astronomers will now analyze other galaxy clusters for similar sound waves.

Your Skywatcher

Grace

Thanks for the heads-up about the new planet, Grace.  But boy, when you type "nibiru" into a search engine, you get a lot of conspiracy theory sites.  Seems a lot of people think this new planet is coming close to us and we need to build bunkers and stock them with food - and that the gov is deliberately keeping us in the dark about it.

Interesting stuff.

Ha! Then I'm probably one of those conspirators Lou. And about that food supply stuff...I say you should have two-months supply AT LEAST of everything, ready to go (from water to female sanitary products). Just adding my bit (even though it's a little off the topic of the skies...).


Did you know that you can build a house that, instead of going up, goes underground? There is a company that specialises in making these 'survivalist' homes...think "Blast from the Past" (with Brendan Fraser)

As evening approaches on Christmas, Dec. 25th, 2003, step outside and look west toward the setting sun. Even before the sky turns completely dark you can see them: brilliant VENUS and the crescent MOON hanging together in Capricornus not far above the horizon - a beautiful sight.

Venus is so bright it's often mistaken for an airplane or a UFO. Onllkers have been known to call police when they see it. And when lots of people notice Venus, police phones can ring off the hook. Dec. 25th could be such a night because together the Moon and Venus are unusually eye - catching.

Here's something to think about while you're gazing at Venus:
Its pearly - white light looks icy and cold, but with a surface temperature of 860 F (460 C) Venus is the hottest world in the solar system. A block of lead placed on the ground there would quickly melt. Venus is so hot because it has a dense atmosphere (90 times more than Earth's) made of 96% carbon dioxide - a planet - warming greenhouse gas. Also, Venus is thoroughly blanketed by clouds, leaden-grey and laced with sulfuric acid. These opressive clouds, ironically, are what make the planet seem from a distance so bright and lovely. They're excellent reflectors of sunlight.

The crescent Moon beside Venus on Dec. 25th will be equally lovely - a slender arc of bright light cradling the dark lunar disk. Look closely. Can you see a ghostly glow across the whole Moon? Leonardo Da Vinci first understood this phenomenon some 500 years ago. It is sunlight reflected from Earth onto the Moon. Astronomers call it "Earthshine".

Side-by-Side with Venus, a crescent Moon with Earthshine is regarded as one of the prettiest sights in the heavens. And the ensemble is bright enough to see even from light - polluted cities.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Your Skywatcher

GRACE

Do you hear it? Beagle is lost in space........or stolen?

Grace

Mars Express enters orbit around the Red Planet.
Contact awaited with BEAGLE 2 on the surface.

25.12.2003

This morning, after a journey lasting 205 days and covering 400 million kilometres, the European Mars Express space probe fired its main engine at 03:47 CET for a 37-minute burn in order to enter an orbit around Mars.

This firing gave the probe a boost so that itr could match the higher speed of the planet on its orbit around the Sun and be captured by its gravity field, like climbing in a spinning merry-go-round. This orbit insertion manoeuvre was a complete success.

This is a great achivement for Europe on its first attempt to send a space probe into orbit around another planet.

At approximately the same time, the Beagle 2 lander, protected by a thermal shield, entered the Martian atmosphere at high velocity and is expected to have reached the surface at about 03:52 CET. However, the first attempt to communicate with Beagle 2, three hours after landing, via NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter, did not establish radio contact. The next contact opportunity will be tonight at 23:40 CET.

The tiny lander was released from the orbiter six days ago on a collision course towards the planet. Before separation, its on-board computer was programmed to operate the lander on its arrival at the surface, by late afternoon (Martian time). According to the schedule, the solar panels must deploy to recharge the on-board batteries before sunset. The same sequence also tells Beagle 2 to emit a signal at a specific frequency for which the Jodrell Bank Telescope, UK, will be listening later tonight. Further radio contacts are scheduled in the days to come.

In the course of the coming week, the orbit of Mars Express will be gradually adjusted in order to prepare for its scientific mission. Mars Express is currently several thousand kilometres away from Mars, in a very elongated equatorial orbit. On 30 December, ESA's ground control team will send commands to fire the spacecraft's engines and place it in a polar, less-elongated orbit (about 300 kilometres pericentre, 10000 apocentre, 86° inclination). From there, ESA's spacecraft will perform detailed studies of the planet's surface, subsurface structures and atmosphere. Commissioning of some of the on-board scientific instruments will begin towards mid-January and the first scientific data are expected later in the month.

"The arrival of Mars Express is a great success for Europe and for the international science community. Now, we are just waiting for a signal from BEAGLE 2 to make this Christmas the best we could hope for!" said David Southwood, head of ESA's Science Directorate. "With Mars Express, we have a very powerful observatory in orbit around Mars and we look forward to receiving its first results. Its instruments will be able to probe the planet from its upper atmosphere down to a few kilometres below the surface, where we hope to find critical clues concerning the conditions for life, in particular traces of water. We expect this mission to give us a better understanding of our neighbour planet, of its past and its present, answering many questions for the science community and probably raising an even greater number of fascinating new ones. I hope we can see it as opening up a new era of European exploration".

Your Skywatcher

Grace

26.12.2003

Early on Christmas Day, the BEAGLE 2 lander descended to the Martian surface. Two initial attempts to detect a signal from the tiny space craft failed but further efforts are scheduled during the next few days. Beagle 2's mothership, ESA's Mars Express orbiter, will attempt contact early in the New Year.

Beagle 2 landed at an estimated 03:52 CET. NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft passed over the landing site at about 06:15 CET, and the first unsuccessful attempt was made to establish radio contact during this time.

The next opportunity to detect Beagle 2 came later on 25 December between 23:40 and 00:20 CET when the 76-metre radio telescope dish at Jodrell Bank Observatory, UK, tried to detect the 5 Watt signal from more than 157 million kilometres away, again without success.

On 26 December, Mars Odyssey will carry out another pass of the landing site at 19:14 CET. This will be followed up by another sweep by Jodrell Bank early in the morning of 27 December, between 00:20 and 01:00 CET. Mars Odyssey can try again later that day at 07:57 CET.

On 28 December, Jodrell Bank once more becomes available at 00:16 to 00:56 CET. Beyond that date, Mars Odyssey will continue the search daily, and the Stanford University radio telescope will also join in the effort.

If all those attempts are unsuccessful, then Mars Express itself flies over the landing site in the first week of January 2004. Of all these potential signal detectors, Mars Express is the only one that has been specially designed and tested to transmit and receive signals from BEAGLE 2.

The hpoe is strong that the Mars Express orbiter will be successful in this task.

Your Skywatcher

Grace

Scientists and engineers still waiting to hear from BEAGLE 2 on Mars.

27.12.2003

Two attempts to communicate with Beagle 2 during the last 24 hours - first with the 76 metre (250 feet) Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Observatory in Cheshire, UK, and then this morning with the Mars Odyssey orbiter - ended without receiving a signal. Despite this outcome, fresh attempts to scan for a signal from Beagle 2 will be made over the coming days.

Meanwhile, scientists and engineers are eagerly awaiting ESA's Mars Expressspacecraft return close enough to Mars to try to establish contact with Beagle 2. This may be possible from 4 January 2004.

Mars Express was always intended to be the prime communication relay for Beagle 2, and the lander team is hopeful that a link can be established at that time if it has not already been achieved with Mars Odyssey.

"We need to get Beagle 2 into a period when it can broadcast for much longer period", says Professor Colin Pillinger, Beagle 2 lead scientist. "This will happen around the 4 January after the spacecraft has experienced a sufficient number of communication failures to switch to automatic transmission mode."

Both Professor Pillinger and Professor David Southwood, ESA Director of Science, agreed that the best chance to establish communication with Beagle 2 would now seem to be through Mars Express.

At present, Mars Express is far from the planet and preparing to fire its engines for a major trajectory change that will move it into a polar orbit around Mars.

"We will have no satisfaction until we have a full mission" said Professor Southwood. "Today I'm certainly frustrated, but I'm still confident: let's wait now until the mothership will have the possibility to get in contact with her baby. With Mars Express we will be using a system that we have fully tested and understand."

Your Skywatcher

Grace

Current status of Beagle 2, 28 December 2003, 1:20 GMT

NO signal received by the Jodrell Bank Observatory,

NO signal received via Odyssey.

Your Skywatcher

GRACE

Current Status of Beagle 2

29.12.2003, 9:30 GMT

No signal received via Odyssey

30-Dec-2003
20:20 GMT

Window for possible contact with Beagle 2, via Odyssey, opens.

Your Skywatcher
GRACE