Awesome night sky viewing!

[Indy]

I just saw the ISS and the shuttle cross the sky, with perfect clarity. The shuttle has undocked, so they were two separate lights, but quite close together.

Also, the moon, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus are brilliant tonight in Indy.

Check out this site for detail for your location:

http://www.heavens-above.com

[Eagle104]

It was fantastic!

The skies out here were perfectly clear.

My understanding was that it was to happen between 1021p-1025p out here..and at 1033p I was just about to give up..took one last look and bam!, there they were.

Totally cool!

[Methanolandbrats]

Thanks for the great site !

[RichK]

Ha ha - I was just going to post for the Western States people. We should be seeing them at about 9pm PST. Very cool.

[RichK]

Holy crap! They went by again at 10:37PM PST, and both were as bright as Venus against the dark sky. That was the most amazing thing I've seen in a long while. It's incredible that there are people on both of those lights in the sky.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) night, we're going to see them again. :cool:

[indyfan31]

Holy crap! They went by again at 10:37PM PST, and both were as bright as Venus against the dark sky. That was the most amazing thing I've seen in a long while. It's incredible that there are people on both of those lights in the sky.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) night, we're going to see them again. :cool:
10:38 PST.
I figured it'd just be two lights, but I took out my binocs and I could see the outline of the solar panels on the ISS! The Shuttle looked a little "yellow".

[chop456]

Just saw them. Very cool.

[RTKar]

...a jet, a bat and a couple moths

[Opposite Lock]

Thanks for the headsup on the heavens-above.com site.:thumbup:

Checked the position updates on the website since aboot 8:30 local time, realized that DST threw off the ETA by an hour. Got up to the roof with about 2 minutes to spare. There was a small crowd already assembled at the rail, one of whom shouted "Are you here to see the space station?!" We all geeked out for the next few minutes as two lights in the sky flew from Schaumburg into the shadow over Gary in about 45 seconds. 150 miles up? 18,000 mph?

Didn't see solar panels thru my binocs, nor did I get any decent photos. :tony:

I think the site sez the next good ISS viewing from here is on the 29th, but it's well worth keeping an eye on.

[Joelski]

It'd be cool of we could get a decent photographer to take some snaps of this sometime. ;)

[Opposite Lock]

It'd be cool of we could get a decent photographer to take some snaps of this sometime. ;)

next time: tripod time exposure.
:\

[Ankf00]

missed it again... dammit.

[Don Quixote]

we just watched it about 6 minutes ago. I was surprised at how fast it moves across the sky.

[RichK]

we just watched it about 6 minutes ago. I was surprised at how fast it moves across the sky.

We walked inside tonight after the fly-by, cracked open some beers, turned on the NASA channel, and they were over Brazil already! :eek:

[Gnam]

That was awesome. Thanks for the heads up. :thumbup:


http://img468.imageshack.us/img468/7338/spiffid9.png

Spaceman Spiff lives.

[opinionated ow]

lucky, there is really only one place that you can see the night sky from in sydney...but even then you probably wouldn't see much. we don't do dark in Australia :D

[Elmo T]

We had the family out last night as the two passed over. :thumbup: The neighbors were probably wondering why the whole family, dressed in their pj's & standing in the middle of the back yard, was hooting and laughing at 9:21PM. :D

[RHR_Fan]

Wish I would have seen this thread earlier. :(

[dando]

If the today's landing continue to be scrubbed, y'all might get a chance to see this again tonight. :thumbup: Figgers that we might actually get some rain again tonight after being dry for most of the past two mos. :(

-Kevin

[Cam]

It'd be cool of we could get a decent photographer to take some snaps of this sometime. ;)


next time: tripod time exposure.
:\

Right here. (http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2007/06/19/iss-and-shuttle-images/) :cool:

[Andrew Longman]

I fell asleep watching the Yanks. My wife woke me up at 9:24 and the family ran outside just in time to see them go over the horizon.

At least I get a second shot at the ISS tonight.

[RHR_Fan]

Edit: It told me no visible passing for my area. :(

[Don Quixote]

Edit: It told me no visible passing for my area. :(
Why would they bother flying over cheese country anyway? :p

[Opposite Lock]

Edit: It told me no visible passing for my area. :(

I'd guess that the site's data is all plugged in well in advance, and that they just can't immediately update the database when something like today's re-entry postponement occurs.

I'd also guess that chances are pretty good that the Shuttle will be visible again tonight, but who (well, besides NASA, hopefully) knows where or when? I'm thinking that its orbit already would have been altered significantly in preparation for re-entry. My method will probably be to assume that it has pulled even further ahead of the ISS, and to start looking for it about 15 minutes before the ISS is due.

According to the site, the ISS should be passing over Chicago between 22:10 and 22:15, but it looks a lot lower on the sky chart tonight than it did last night - might be too close to the SW horizon to see from here. And that's assuming it's not overcast by then.

But what do I know - I ain't no spaceman.

[indyfan31]

Well last night's viewing was even better (and longer) than the first one. They both stayed about 10degs above horizon starting slightly NNW and swept all the way to the East.
I could also swear that there were a couple of aircraft (helicopters, I hope) that were hovering for a better view of the ISS/Shuttle.

[Joelski]

Columbus spotting opportunity tonight. :thumbup:

ISS at 2140

117 at 2141

Get there early for good seats! :D

[Gnam]

I'd guess that the site's data is all plugged in well in advance, and that they just can't immediately update the database when something like today's re-entry postponement occurs.

Nasa's site (http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/skywatch.cgi?country=United+States) seems to have been updated, or maybe they just forecast farther ahead.

[dando]

Columbus spotting opportunity tonight. :thumbup:

ISS at 2140

117 at 2141

Get there early for good seats! :D

Ya beat me to it. Daddy's on the patio sipping a gin & tonic @ 9:30! :D

Oh, and that's NW to SE, folks.

EDIT: clouds go away. :irked:

-Kevin

[Insomniac]

Edit: It told me no visible passing for my area. :(

Thursday, June 21, 2007 @ 22:13

It's going to be pretty low near the horizon so I don't know how flat it is where you live.

You get sightings of ISS and other things from NASA's Human Space Flight web site.

http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/SSapplications/Post/JavaSSOP/JavaSSOP.html

[RHR_Fan]

Thursday, June 21, 2007 @ 22:13

It's going to be pretty low near the horizon so I don't know how flat it is where you live.

You get sightings of ISS and other things from NASA's Human Space Flight web site.

http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/SSapplications/Post/JavaSSOP/JavaSSOP.html

Thanks. It's currently raining here so I do not think I would be able to see anything.

[Indy]

Right here. (http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2007/06/19/iss-and-shuttle-images/) :cool:

I wonder how one would set up a camera to pan precisely enough to capture a clear image. With a long lens and a high quality digital image, I think you could make out a little detail on the ISS.

[Ozarkian]

Skies finally cleared over Kansas City tonight, and got to see it - fairly high in the western sky. Got to watch it go from day into night over the southeastern sky. Very cool, had forgotten how fast they go - reminded me of watching the old Echo satellites as a kid. Didn't realize the shuttle was following so closely behind (about a minute or so).

Thanks to all for the websites!

[Gnam]

^ bump.

The lights. They come back.

[Elmo T]

Watched the ISS go over last night @ 2201. Still low on the horizon and a tough view to the north for me. Great night skies this week.

[dando]

mos9-LReoWQ

:D

-Kevin

[Gnam]

Lunar eclipse tonight.


A lovely total lunar eclipse will be visible throughout the Bay Area and all of California before dawn Tuesday morning...

For the wide-awake, a partial eclipse will start at 1:51 a.m. Tuesday and become total starting at 2:52 a.m. By 4:22 a.m., the total phase will be over, but then as the moon begins to emerge from Earth's shadow, another partial phase will begin. The eclipse will end at 5:24 a.m., just as the sky lightens at dawn.
I'll Tivo it and watch it later. ;)

[emjaya]

Finally I've got a decent viewing time, 6.00pm to 11.00pm here. Of course, I will be at work then. :irked: :)

[Gnam]

Don't miss the lunar eclipse tonight, 10pm Eastern/7pm Pacific.

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEmono/TLE2008Feb21/TLE2008Feb21.html

The racing gods are angry. :flame:

[Andrew Longman]

Actually starts about 8:30 in the East and is total from 10-11.

But we have total cloud cover here at the moment.

[RusH]

Decaying spy sat hits Speedway,IN Friday at 11AM

http://www.heavens-above.com/usa193.aspx?lat=0&lng=0&loc=Unspecified&alt=0&tz=CET

:thumbup:

[dando]

Actually starts about 8:30 in the East and is total from 10-11.

But we have total cloud cover here at the moment.

Should be clearing for y'all. It's clear and as cold as a witches tit here in DC. :saywhat: I'm hoping to see if from my hotel room, but I've been up since 3:30am. :(

-Kevin

[Andrew Longman]

Should be clearing for y'all. It's clear and as cold as a witches tit here in DC. :saywhat: I'm hoping to see if from my hotel room, but I've been up since 3:30am. :(

-Kevin

Shore enuf. About 8:30 the clouds lifted and we're totally clear now. Half way to full eclipse. :thumbup: :D Cool

[dando]

Shore enuf. About 8:30 the clouds lifted and we're totally clear now. Half way to full eclipse. :thumbup: :D Cool

Sho 'nuff. It's visible from my hotel window. Nice end to a loooong day. :thumbup:

-Kevin

[Elmo T]

Crystal clear tonight - north of the snow.

Great view, plus a bonus with Saturn nearby. :thumbup:

[Opposite Lock]

I can't get enough eclipse practice. :irked:

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/6451/img7567agy3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[dando]

Decaying spy sat hits Speedway,IN Friday at 11AM

http://www.heavens-above.com/usa193.aspx?lat=0&lng=0&loc=Unspecified&alt=0&tz=CET

:thumbup:

Mission accomplished. Well, not quite like the mission mentioned above... :tony:

-Kevin

[cameraman]

Nothing but clouds in every direction:flame:

[anait]

The kids and I watched, had a good view from our living room, lights are minimal out here in the bedroom communities. Pulled out my dad's old binoculars, kids had theirs. Ventured onto the front deck but it's too frickin' cold here, -26, -40 w/windchill...

Lunar eclipse today, satellite headed for the Speedway...I wouldn't be at all surprised by an unforeseen solar eclipse on Friday, along with a tornado, some flooding, fires, locusts...

Sigh. Time for a drink.

[Ankf00]

Nothing but clouds in every direction:flame:

same here, drove up the canyon for nothing.

[G.]

wife was trying to photo the 'clipse with her mad photog skillz, when a pack of coyotes went apesh** nearby. They didn't like their moon being messed with.

[oddlycalm]

Beautiful clear night with a great view from moonrise until it was over.:thumbup:

oc

[Gnam]

the Moon, Jupiter, and Venus plan a get together.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7012892380

[cameraman]

Raining & 36°F
:cry:

[TravelGal]

Raining & 36°F
:cry:

Don't cry CM. You still have time. It can't rain for 3 weeks, can it? Or can it?

[Gnam]

^ bump

Aurora borealis


Two days ago, an explosion on the sun threw a blob of solar material into space. From that, we get the Northern Lights. NASA says there is a 45 percent chance the Aurora Borealis will be seen north of Portland, OR tonight.

http://news.opb.org/article/10435-aurora-borealis-may-be-visible-north-portland-tonight/

[G.]

Maybe you've already seen it, but http://www.google.com/sky/ is pretty cool.
:thumbup:

[OW]

I'm dieing - this is it - a south wind for 80 degrees at this moment in Chicagoland

I don't want to go to bed - but its not Friday - and there's work tommorrow

Unbelievable beauty

OW

Then Jackets

[Gnam]

Winter Solstice + Lunar Eclipse
Dec 21, 2:40am EST
It's a once in a 456 year opportunity for Astronomers and the Magic set to hang out.
:D

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/782/20101216lunareclipse.jpg

http://news.owu.edu/2010/20101216-lunarEclipse.html

http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Winter+solstice+coincide+with+lunar+eclipse+first+ time+years/3987545/story.html

[cameraman]

Timed perfectly with the eclipse, 100% cloud cover:flame:

[dando]

Timed perfectly with the eclipse, 100% cloud cover:flame:

Same here, holmes. Sucks to be in the northern hemisphere this time of year when these type of events happen. Guess I'll catch the next one. :gomer:

-Kevin

[KLang]

Predicted to be partly cloudy here so we might get a peek. Of course trying to stay up that late.....

[JLMannin]

It will be either sleeting, snowing, or raining at the time of the eclipse tonite, so I will not be able to see it.

[Gnam]

Supernova visible tonight and tomorrow night just above the Big Dipper.

Youtube video shows how to find it (skip to end for star chart):
sfgate.com/ZLCS

news story: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/08/BABK1L0P5I.DTL&tsp=1

[SurfaceUnits]

A billion pixels for a billion stars
Whereas Hubble's premier instrument, the Wide Field Camera 3, incorporates just two e2v CCDs side by side, the sensor system the company has just completed includes 106 CCDs.

This huge (nearly one billion pixels) array will be fitted to the European Space Agency's Gaia satellite, due for launch in June 2013.

Gaia will be sent to an observing location 1.5 million km from Earth, from where it will slowly spin and scan the sky.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/55949000/jpg/_55949664_55949342.jpg

Over a five-year period, the satellite's e2v array, allied to two telescopes and some sophisticated instrumentation that includes an atomic clock, will make an unprecedented 3D map of our Milky Way Galaxy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15242383

[SteveH]

^ more from that article...


"The raw data that has to be collected is about 100 terabytes, and when all the data are processed in the archive we are talking about up to one petabyte," says Giuseppe Sarri, Esa's Gaia project manager. "For the analysis, a supercomputer will be needed to get out all the numbers."

To get all Gaia's information to the ground will require quite an impressive downlink capability: about 5 Mbit/s during its daily passes, similar to many home broadband connections today, but from 1.5 million km away.



I wonder how many bars that is? :gomer:

I'd like to know more about the downlink. Is that a continuous 5 Mbit connection? Seems to me it will have to cache the data onboard and then transmit.

[KLang]

I'm glad somebody is still launching satellites since our own Hubble replacement my never leave the ground. :irked:

[Napoleon]

Seems to me it will have to cache the data onboard and then transmit.

6 to 9 months ago I listened to a show with some scientist discussing some rocket that was going to be sending back pictures (almost certainly not this satellitte) and in the case of that one it would initially send back lower resolution photos and videos so they knew what they had then it would, opportunistically, as there was free time on its downlink, send back the HD stuff at a later time.

[SurfaceUnits]

^ more from that article...



I wonder how many bars that is? :gomer:

I'd like to know more about the downlink. Is that a continuous 5 Mbit connection? Seems to me it will have to cache the data onboard and then transmit.

http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=41934

Pinpointing the Milky Way - The Formidable Challenge of Processing Gaia's Data

Publication date: 15 Nov 2007

Authors: Douglas, J. et al.

Journal: ESA Bulletin
Volume: 132
Page: 26-33
Year: 2007

Copyright: ESA
In the course of Gaia's 5-year astronomical survey, the equivalent of around 20 000 DVDs of raw information on our Galaxy will be harvested and transmitted to Earth. Sophisticated processing is needed to distill this flood of complex data into the final Gaia Catalogue of about 1000 million celestial objects. A group of more than 300 European scientists and software developers is rising to the challenge: the Data Processing and Analysis Consortium is already preparing for Gaia's launch in 2011.

[dando]

Sucks to see oc's post @ the beginning of this page of the thread. :(

-Kevin

[TravelGal]

Sucks to see oc's post @ the beginning of this page of the thread. :(

-Kevin

Yes, and no. It always gives me a turn to see his posts but then I realize it's a way of remembering how much he added to all our lives. And how much he is missed.

[dando]

Yes, and no. It always gives me a turn to see his posts but then I realize it's a way of remembering how much he added to all our lives. And how much he is missed.

In hindsight, I should have posted bittersweet. :(

-Kevin

[SurfaceUnits]

HbWZCoYK8Zg

[Gnam]

Now someone needs to build Stellar Cartography on Deck 10.

http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/7524/stellart.jpg

[JoeBob]

If you want to get your Space Station nerd on, check this out: http://spacestationlive.jsc.nasa.gov/

[TrueBrit]

Now someone needs to build Stellar Cartography on Deck 10.

http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/7524/stellart.jpg

No kidding...that is one of my favourite scenes in any movie, ever....

[KLang]

Jupiter is very bright right next to the moon at this time. I need to drag out my telescope. Well maybe tomorrow...

[Anteater]

Sucks to see oc's post @ the beginning of this page of the thread. :(

-Kevin


Yes, and no. It always gives me a turn to see his posts but then I realize it's a way of remembering how much he added to all our lives. And how much he is missed.

Ditto…I was just thinking about oc last week, too, when the administrator for oc’s memorial website emailed me a reminder that he would have been 59 on Oct. 4. :(

Back on topic, there was a beautiful full harvest moon here on Tuesday.

[Gnam]

Jupiter is very bright right next to the moon at this time.

I sawed it. Very bright. :thumbup:

[Gnam]

Total Lunar Eclipse early tomorrow morning.
Check local listings for times in your area.

3:33 am PST - Starts
4:45 am PST - Noticable
6:06 am PST - Totally dark
6:57 am PST - Darkness ends

[Gnam]

Two Christmas stars this year.

Venus is the brighter one in the west after sunset.
Jupiter is to the East.

http://www.space.com/13905-2-bright-stars-night-sky-venus-jupiter.html

[Gnam]

4 + 1 planets visible this week.

Mercury, Venus, Mars, & Jupiter appear after sunset.
Saturn rises around midnight.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/you%e2%80%99ll-be-able-to-see-some-planets-very-clearly-this-week-nat-geo-tells-you-where-and-how/

http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/1742/viewingplanetsinnightsk.jpg

[gjc2]

“classical naked-eye planets”, which are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn


What about the planet we can see (and touch) day and night, regardless of the weather.

[Gnam]

Afternoon sky viewing.
from a webcam on the floor of Yosemite valley looking toward Half Dome.

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/6460/moonoverhalfdome.png


10 minutes later

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/5286/moonoverhalfdome2.png

[Methanolandbrats]

I hate this thread. Twenty years ago I lived in the country in the middle of corn and soybean fields. I could see the weather coming and going as well as the night sky in all directions. I loved it. Then I moved to a wooded suburb and all I can see is trees and all I hear is my ****ing neighbhors. :mad:I am going to start looking for a house in the country. :)

[Gnam]

More afternoon sky viewing:

http://venustransit.nasa.gov/webcasts/nasaedge/

Venus passing between Earth and Sun.

[dando]

More afternoon sky viewing:

http://venustransit.nasa.gov/webcasts/nasaedge/

Venus passing between Earth and Sun.

Meh. I'll wait for the next one...in 2117. :gomer: ;) Tried the pinhole projection method for viewing tonight with the girls, but Venus is just too small for that to work well. :(

-Kevin

[SteveH]

There's a little black spot on the sun today...

http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2012/05/17/li-venus-620.jpg

[cameraman]

Horizon to horizon clouds, that is the Salt Lake City way with astronomical events. Totally clear the day before...

45° colder today too.

[Gnam]

Awesome night earth viewing: :cool:

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120305.html

[Gnam]

Comets!

http://www.griffithobservatory.org/exhibits/special/Comet_PANSTARRS.html

http://www.griffithobs.org/exhibits/exhibitimages/panstarrs-viewing.jpg


A time lapse video of two comets in the Southern Hemisphere:
http://vimeo.com/59571509

[Gnam]

Time lapse footage of stars from the International Space Station.
http://vimeo.com/ajrclips/starsfromspace

Dig that slow jam soundtrack. :)

[Gnam]

Comet ISON is inside the orbit of Jupiter and is approching Mars. Earth is on the wrong side of the Sun to see its approach, but if it doesn't crash into the Sun, we'll be able to see it this winter as it heads away from the Sun. Might even be visible in the daytime. Although we'll miss the approach, NASA is going to try to take pictures of the comet from the surface of Mars, using the rovers Curiosity and Opportunity.
Very cool.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2013/0724/What-is-Comet-ISON-possible-comet-of-the-century-doing-now

http://s16.postimg.org/vrb5jzchx/Comet_ISON_7_25_13.jpg

[KLang]

Comet ISON captured by Hubble.

498

How this image was constructed. (http://spaceref.com/comets/hubble-captures-spectacular-view-of-comet-ison-and-galaxies.html)

[SurfaceUnits]

Aciqra (uh-SEE-kruh) is a free and open source virtual sky map and planetarium which tracks and displays astronomical bodies including planets, nebulae and stars to an accuracy of a fraction of a degree for thousands of years into both the future and the past. It's software that generates a virtual sky so you'll know what's up in the real one.

http://aciqra.caglow.com/

http://aciqra.caglow.com/sites/default/files/crux.png

[cameraman]

This will be cool if you live near Delaware...


In an attempt to answer prevailing questions about our moon, NASA is making final preparations to launch a probe at 11:27 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 6, from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va.

The small car-sized Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) is a robotic mission that will orbit the moon to gather detailed information about the structure and composition of the thin lunar atmosphere and determine whether dust is being lofted into the lunar sky. A thorough understanding of these characteristics of our nearest celestial neighbor will help researchers understand other bodies in the solar system, such as large asteroids, Mercury, and the moons of outer planets.

"The moon's tenuous atmosphere may be more common in the solar system than we thought," said John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for science in Washington. "Further understanding of the moon's atmosphere may also help us better understand our diverse solar system and its evolution."

The mission has many firsts, including the first flight of the Minotaur V rocket, testing of a high-data-rate laser communication system, and the first launch beyond Earth orbit from the agency's Virginia Space Coast launch facility.

NASA LADEE presser (http://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-prepares-for-first-virginia-coast-launch-to-moon/index.html#.UhfTtbwY2fO)

The NASA LADEE site (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ladee/main/index.html#.UhfV7bwY2fM)

If you live in the shaded region you should be able to see the launch.

http://d1jqu7g1y74ds1.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/LADEE-Launch-Viewing-Map-Elevation-580x503.jpg

[Napoleon]

NASA turned Curiosity's camera skyward to capture one of Mar's moons passing in front of the other:


DaVSCmuOJwI

[stroker]

last year I "adopted" Fomalhaut as "my" star. I say hi to it when I'm on the front porch with my drink after exercising. I think it's due to appear in the early evening sky soon...

[SurfaceUnits]

Awesome view of MilkyWay from surface of Mars

http://www.majorgeeks.com/news/file/1218_mars-view.jpg

[Gnam]

:thumbup:

[cameraman]

Bump. This happens tonight.


This will be cool if you live near Delaware...


In an attempt to answer prevailing questions about our moon, NASA is making final preparations to launch a probe at 11:27 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 6, from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va.

The small car-sized Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) is a robotic mission that will orbit the moon to gather detailed information about the structure and composition of the thin lunar atmosphere and determine whether dust is being lofted into the lunar sky. A thorough understanding of these characteristics of our nearest celestial neighbor will help researchers understand other bodies in the solar system, such as large asteroids, Mercury, and the moons of outer planets.

"The moon's tenuous atmosphere may be more common in the solar system than we thought," said John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for science in Washington. "Further understanding of the moon's atmosphere may also help us better understand our diverse solar system and its evolution."

The mission has many firsts, including the first flight of the Minotaur V rocket, testing of a high-data-rate laser communication system, and the first launch beyond Earth orbit from the agency's Virginia Space Coast launch facility.


NASA LADEE presser (http://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-prepares-for-first-virginia-coast-launch-to-moon/index.html#.UhfTtbwY2fO)

The NASA LADEE site (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ladee/main/index.html#.UhfV7bwY2fM)

If you live in the shaded region you should be able to see the launch.

http://d1jqu7g1y74ds1.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/LADEE-Launch-Viewing-Map-Elevation-580x503.jpg