Updates in this Newsletter- Voting now open in the IceInSpace Calendar Competition for 2016!
- Rosetta and Philae are in Contact again!
- Aurora alerts give dazzling displays
* Voting now open in the IceInSpace Calendar Competition for 2016!
Voting for the IceInSpace Calendar Competition for 2016 is now open! Just by voting, you can win a prize pack valued at $100.
Click here to vote!
During May and June, we had some of IceInSpace's best astrophotographers submit their images. We had an amazing response, with 276 images submitted by 65 different photographers. The quality of images was absolutely stunning - we were blown away by the talent and will be pleased to feature ANY of those images in the 2016 calendar!
David (Astrovisuals) and I have now narrowed those images down to 3 in each category across 13 categories, and now it
's up to you! You get to select your favourite images in each category, and the winning images will be used in the 2016 IceInSpace Astronomy Calendar.
So get voting, and please share the link with your friends via email, Facebook, Twitter and more.
http://iceinspace-calendar-2016.questionpro.com
For more information, see the
IceInSpace Calendar Competition Rules and Info Page.
* Rosetta and Philae are in Contact again
Rosetta's lander Philae is out of hibernation!
The signals were received at ESA's European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt at 22:28 CEST on 13 June. More than 300 data packets have been analysed by the teams at the Lander Control Center at the German Aerospace Center (DLR).
"Philae is doing very well: It has an operating temperature of -35ºC and has 24 Watts available," explains DLR Philae Project Manager Dr. Stephan Ulamec. "The lander is ready for operations."
Since then, they have been in contact again - the first time since 14th June.
The picture here shows a very happy controller when the signal came in on 19th June. The two contacts received by Rosetta lasted two minutes each. Both delivered numerous packets of lander housekeeping and status data, 185 in total, which are still being analysed at the time of this writing. No science data were anticipated or received.
New commands have been uploaded to Rosetta to further adjust its trajectory and distance from the comet to improve the radio visibility between the two spacecraft, with the first sets of thruster burns having taken place this past Wednesday and the next set planned for Saturday morning. The goal is to bring Rosetta to about 177 km from the comet nucleus and keep it in a range of latitudes that maximise opportunities for lander communication.
Read more on the
Rosetta Blog and see more pics at
Twitter.
-Suzy and Mike.
* Aurora Alerts give dazzling displays
A geomagnetic alert was issued in previous days, and the CME caused some fantastic sightings and photographs of the Aurora Australis.
"Parts of Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales have caught glimpses of the red, pink and green lights which are caused by solar flares and energy particles colliding in the earth's magnetic field.
Pictures of the spectacular sight taken from southern Tasmania to as far north as Sydney have flooded social media over the past few days when the lights have been at their strongest, while parts of Western Australia were also treated to a show on Tuesday night."
The aurora was seen as far north as Newcastle. The attached image was captured by Noni Hyett from Bendigo, Victoria. More at
Sky News.
Thanks for reading! Keep looking up!
