Bassy
Lieutenant Commander
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2003
- Messages
- 1,795
Stargazers alert<br />Early Sunday morning, when a 100-pound capsule from the Stardust spacecraft returns to Earth after nearly seven years in space, scientists hope the comet dust on board will give them a glimpse back in time to the birth of the solar system some 4.5billion years ago.<br />The capsule, traveling at 28,860 mph, will enter the Earth's atmosphere at 1:57 a.m. PST. It is expected to glow as bright as Venus for 90 seconds as it passes over Northern California and Nevada to a landing at Dugway Proving Ground, southwest of Salt Lake City. According to calculations prepared for the Ames Research Center, the capsule's entry will be visible as far south as Bakersfield and as far north as Washington.<br />The material gathered by the Stardust spacecraft, which was launched in 1999, will give scientists their first opportunity to study samples taken directly from a comet. Two years ago, after traveling 2.12 billion miles into space, the spacecraft flew within 149 miles of comet Wild 2, one of an estimated trillion comets orbiting the sun. In addition to taking photographs and gathering other data, the spacecraft deployed a tennis racket-like instrument to trap tiny comet particles for the return trip to Earth. <br />Comets are important because they are thought to contain material that is unchanged since the formation of the solar system.<br />Just thought you'd like to know. Might have to set my alarm for this one. Way past my bedtime, but heck, its a milestone.<br />Bassy<br /> 
