Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Ephemeris for Monday, May 12th.  Today the sun will be up for 14 hours and 42 minutes, setting at 9:00.   The moon, 2 days before full, will set at 5:37 tomorrow morning.  Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:16.

Construction is beginning on a spacecraft called OSIRIS-REx, which is slated to be launched in September of 2016 to reach asteroid Bennu in 2018 and retrieve a 2 or so ounce sample and return it in 2023.  It is important to discover the physical features of near earth asteroids or NEOs, and so learn how best to deflect them, or even mine them for resources.  If you’d like your name to ride along on the spacecraft to orbit the Sun forever, well for several billion years; and be apart of the return capsule, which will probably reside at the Smithsonian at the end of its travels, go to the Planetary Society website at http://www.planetary.org/get-involved/messages/bennu/, and sign up yourself and your family.  Be part of space history.

Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.  They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Mission webpage:  http://www.asteroidmission.org/

NASA mission page:  http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/osiris-rex/#.U3Br1HbDuBw

Artist’s conception of OSIRIS-REx about to collect a sample from asteroid Bennu. Image Credit:
NASA/Goddard/Chris Meaney