Space shuttle to launch robot to space station tomorrow!

I guess I have been out of touch! Science fiction is passing us by.

Tomorrow at 4:40 p.m. EDT (22:40 Israel time) the space shuttle will launch from Florida to take up parts and supplies to the Space Station. Included in the cargo will be "R2" or Robonaut 2, developed by NASA and General Motors under a cooperative agreement to develop a robotic assistant that can work alongside humans




You can watch the launch live at http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

-AstroTom

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Venus is gone, but Jupiter is up

You may have noticed that the really bright star low in the west is now gone.  That was Venus, which spent 9 months gracing our evening sky and is now rounding the sun, to reappear in the dawn sky next month.

However, the sky show must go on, and Jupiter is now the star in the southeastern sky.  If you have any trouble finding it, just look for the brightest light near the Moon for the next 3 nights.

For more on Jupiter: http://nineplanets.org/jupiter.html

-AstroTom

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