March 2, 2020 - Ultraviolet Explorations

Ultraviolet Explorations Seen here during a dramatic night launch that occurred 25 years ago this week, the space shuttle Endeavour embarks on a lengthy mission of astronomical investigation. STS-67 spent nearly 17 days in orbit, during which time the crew conducted astronomical observations in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum using the Astro-2 payload. Astro-2 consisted of three different instruments that made observations of hundreds of stars, nebulae, supernova remnants, galaxies, solar system objects, and extragalactic objects. Astro-2 complemented the work of the Astro-1 payload, which was flown on the STS-35 mission in December 1990. Because most ultraviolet radiation is absorbed by Earth’s ozone layer, space-based telescopes are the most effective instruments to study it.

Image credit: NASA

Weekly Calendar

March 2 - 8, 2020

Holidays - Sky Events - Space History

Monday 2

First Qtr Moon 2:57 PM ET

1972: Pioneer 10 launched
1995: STS-67 Endeavour launched (Astro-2 mission)
2004: Rosetta cometary probe launched
2019: SpaceX launches first Dragon 2 spacecraft to ISS

Tuesday 3

1959: Pioneer 4 launched
1969: Apollo 9 launched

Wednesday 4

1979: Jupiter’s rings discovered
1994: STS-62 Columbia launched

Thursday 5

1512: Gerardus Mercator born
1978: Landsat 3 launched
1979: Voyager 1 flies by Jupiter
1982: Venera 14 lands on Venus, returns color photos of Venus’s surface