Skynet 12-25-21 “Sirius Rings in the New Year” & Constellations “Aries” and “Triangulum” 9PM CT

Discussion Topic of the Evening.

The Star Sirius Rings in the New Year

South, Late New Year’s Eve 

https://earthsky.org/upl/2021/11/Sirius-Orion-New-Years-Eve-e1636621081982.jpg

Photo Susan Jensen, Odessa, Washington

https://earthsky.org/upl/2012/12/Sirius_Orion_10-3-2012_Susan_Jensen_Odessa_WA_cropped-e1356899633526.jpg

Orion and Sirius from ISS

https://earthsky.org/upl/2014/08/iss040e017069-Orbital-Orion-Lepus-and-Canis-Major-rise-from-ISS-e1408211910560.jpg

Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History 

Space Exploration News

Santa Visits ISS

X-59

https://www.thedrive.com/content-b/message-editor%2F1640285584399-x-59-art.jpg?quality=60

JWST

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/40b9d40b7cc95cbfd95aa3b750cdc7bf6280b886/0_601_4881_2929/master/4881.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=240e777cfa4847bff53150da0283f81f

Space-Related Birthdays

Michael P. Anderson Dec 25, 1959 STS-89, STS-107 He died in the Columbia tragedy.

Karol J. Bobko Dec 23, 1937 STS-6, STS-51-D, STS-51-J

Millie Hughes-Fulford Dec 21, 1945 STS-40

Michael E. Fossum Dec 19, 1957 STS-121, STS-124, Soyuz TMA-02M, (Expedition 28/29)

Frederick W. Leslie Dec 19, 1951 STS-73

John L. Finley Dec 22, 1935 1965 USAF MOL Group 1

Laurence R. Young Dec 19, 1935 Backup payload specialist Space STS-58

Special mention – Isaac Newton, December 25, 1642

This Week in Space History

HL-10

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YSA39JSyqNFSKb5xhSi9Z8-970-80.jpg

Apollo 8 Earthrise

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/NASA-Apollo8-Dec24-Earthrise.jpg/260px-NASA-Apollo8-Dec24-Earthrise.jpg

Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week

Aries, the Ram and Triangulum, the Triange

Space Launches For This Week

Space Coast Launches

Space Flight Now Launch Schedule

Dec. 27

Soyuz • OneWeb 12

Launch time: 1310:37 GMT (8:10:37 a.m. EST)

Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch 36 satellites into orbit for OneWeb, which is developing a constellation of hundreds of satellites in low Earth orbit for low-latency broadband communications. The Soyuz-2.1b rocket will use a Fregat upper stage. [Dec. 14]

January

Falcon 9 • Starlink

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch with another batch of Starlink internet satellites. [Dec. 14]

JanuaryLauncherOne • Above the Clouds

Launch window: TBD

Launch site: Cosmic Girl (Boeing 747), Mojave Air and Space Port, California

A Virgin Orbit LauncherOne rocket will launch on its fourth flight after dropping from a modified Boeing 747 carrier jet. The mission will be Virgin Orbit’s second operational launch, carrying small satellites for the U.S. military’s Space Test Program, Spire, and the Polish company SatRevolution. Delayed from Dec. 22. [Dec. 22]

January

Electron • BlackSky 16 & 17

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: Launch Complex 1A, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch two small second-generation satellites for BlackSky’s commercial fleet of Earth observation spacecraft. Delayed from September and December. [Nov. 29]

Jan. 10

Falcon 9 • Transporter 3

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Transporter 3 mission, a rideshare flight to a sun-synchronous orbit with numerous small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers. Delayed from December. [Dec. 14]

Jan. 21

Atlas 5 • USSF 8 (GSSAP 5 & 6)

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch the USSF 8 mission with the fifth and sixth satellites for the Space Force’s Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program, or GSSAP, designed to help the military track and observe objects in geosynchronous orbit. The rocket will fly in the 511 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, one solid rocket booster and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from 4th Quarter of 2020, March, August, and early September. [Dec. 14]

January

Falcon 9 • CSG 2

Launch time: Approx. 2311:12 GMT (6:11:12 p.m. EST)

Launch site: Cape Canaveral, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the second COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation, or CSG 2, radar surveillance satellite for ASI, the Italian space agency. The spacecraft was built by Thales Alenia Space. Delayed from Nov. 18 and Dec. 14. [Nov. 17]

Jan. 27

Soyuz • OneWeb 13

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch 36 satellites into orbit for OneWeb, which is developing a constellation of hundreds of satellites in low Earth orbit for low-latency broadband communications. The Soyuz-2.1b rocket will use a Fregat upper stage. [Dec. 14]  

Recent Astronomical Discoveries 

Comets’ Heads Can be Green, But Never Their Tails

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211220190658.htm

Comet Heads: Green – Comet Tails: Not Green

https://k6b8f3f9.stackpathcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Why-comets-heads-can-be-green-but-never-their-tails.jpg

Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days. 

All times are “local” (Dallas) time.

Tiangong

https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=48274&lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST

Jan. 1

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=48274&mjd=59580.5305857565&type=V

Jan. 3

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=48274&mjd=59582.51566428&type=V

X-37B

https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=45606&lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST

Dec. 31

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=45606&mjd=59579.5164493897&type=V

Jan. 1

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=45606&mjd=59580.5306439263&type=V

Envisat

https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=27386&lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST

Dec. 27

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=27386&mjd=59575.4770017436&type=V

Dec. 30

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=27386&mjd=59578.4689694179&type=V

Jan. 1

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=27386&mjd=59580.4865049843&type=V

Jan. 2

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=27386&mjd=59581.4609161832&type=V