The Bad Astronomy Newsletter

Bad Astronomy Newsletter #3

Contents:

1. Help steer NASA policy... a wee bit
2. EUVE to fall from the sky
3. Subscribe/Unsubscribe info

1) Help steer NASA policy... a wee bit

In an interesting move, the National Research Council has put up a questionnaire to fill out regarding how the public views NASA policy. It asks your opinion on various NASA goals, like looking for planets, the search for life, and even how you want to hear the news. The form should only take a couple of minutes to fill out, and it's due on the 31st of January, so move quickly!

2) EUVE to fall from the sky

The Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer is an astronomical satellite that was launched into orbit in 1992. It's mission is over, and that's for sure: it will re-enter Earth's atmosphere as early as 10:00 p.m. Eastern time on January 30th, or as late as 7:00 a.m. EST the next day. As of the 28th it was dropping 25 kilometers a day, but as it drops the air thickens, slowing it more and dropping it faster.

Unlike the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory which was controlled so that it fell into the Pacific last year, this one is out of fuel. It's expected that most of the satellite will burn up on its way in, but several relatively large pieces will survive the fall (large meaning from four to 100 pounds). The debris field is likely to be 800-1000 kilometers across. Now bear in mind, the Earth is really really big, and that area is very small. Even with an uncontrolled fall it is EXTREMELY unlikely that the satellite will hit anyone. In other words, don't panic. Odds are it will drop in the ocean, or on unpopulated land. And unlike a large meteoroid, it won't blast a huge crater either; the pieces will be moving a few hundred kilometers per hour upon impact, not a few thousand. I don't want to dismiss the danger, but I also don't want to raise undue panic. The re-entry point will be known better about 12 hours before impact, so check the NASA website around 6:00 p.m. EST on the 30th.

The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has a web page with detailed info.

You can also read about EUVE on the EUVE website.

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Phil Plait
The Bad Astronomer
badastro@badastronomy.com
http://www.badastronomy.com