APOD 2.6

December 14th:

      This photo is of a lunar eclipse over an Indian peace pagoda.  This photo captured the moon several times during the eclipse on December 10th.  The photo sequence was captured in New Delhi, India and the red tint of the moon is due to sunlight passing through Earth's atmosphere.  The occurrence of a total lunar eclipse is extremely rare and the next occurs in 2014.

APOD 2.5

December 10th: Vesta Rocks



     The above photos are thin slices of meteorite as viewed through a polarizing microscope.  They are classified as HED's (formed from basaltic magma) and they have reflective spectra that match up with the spectra of asteroid 4 Vesta.  The asteroid is currently being explored by NASA's Dawn spacecraft.

APOD 2.4

Nov. 30 : Curiosity Rover Lifts Off for Mars



     The weekend of November 26th-27th, the Mars Science Lab which carried the Curiosity Rover took off "atop an Atlas V rocket".  An Atlas V rocket (built by Lockheed Martin) was the first rocket in the United States Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program.  The first Atlas V was launched in August 2002.  The Mars Science Laboratory took off from Cape Canaveral.  Curiosity is five times the size of Opportunity (another Mars rover) and looks like a small car.  It is equipped with a camera, a rock crusher, and is powered by plutonium.

Curiosity: