AstroTalk Episode March 11, 2021
Mars' Wobble. A New Solar 25 Year Cycle. New Images Of The Sun With The Parker Solar Probe. Perseverance First Test Drive On Mars On March, The Universe's Oldest Known Quasar 13. B Light Years Away. P172+18. The twelve Strangest Objects In the Universe.
2:02pm - 3:02pm
Mars has a definite wobble. Mars' moons are not large enough to stabilize Mars' orbit. The Sun is entering a 23-25 phase featuring a lack of sunspots. This historically has led to lower temperatures on Earth. The Parker Solar Probe studies the sun, and orbits from Venus, to the Sun, and then back out to Venus again. On this, its 7th orbit, When the probe was on the Earth side part of its orbit, where the Sun could be observed from Earth and with Parker, scientists said the data could now be collected from many different perspectives. Images were captured of the Sun at different wavelengths with many different instruments or observatories. (IRIS SDO Fermi Chandra GONG Themis) This was done when Parker was at its closest to the Sun. Scientists were trying to analyze how changes in the Sun's magnetism, coronal holes on the Sum,, and the solar wind itself affects space weather closer to Earth. All the observatories captured images of the Sun, so they could be compared. NASA's Perseverance Rover did it first test drive on Mars on March 4, covering a distance of 21.63 feet )6.5 meters in its 33 minute drive. Tthe drive was a mobility test, and also used to calibrate instruments. Drives of up to 200 meters per day are soon expected. On Feb 26 engineers on Earth changed software on Perseverance. The software that had been used to land the rover now with software that will used to analyze Mars. On March 2 the 2 meter long robotic arm was unfurled. The arm was also tested. the arm will do a lot of work testing Jezero Crater. Thousands of beautiful images of Mars kept being sent down to Earth each day. The Universe's Oldest Known Quasar 13. B Light Years Away. P172+18.. It is sending out the oldest known radio emissions. The 12 strangest objects in the universe,
Perseverance Thursday March 12 2021
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-to-provide-update-on-perseverance-firsts-since-mars-landing/
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-perseverance-drives-on-mars-terrain-for-first-time
https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8882/nasas-perseverance-drives-on-mars-terrain-for-first-time/
Universe's oldest known quasar discovered 13 billion light-years away
https://www.livescience.com/most-distant-quasar-with-jets.html
Parker Solar Probe
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/observations-around-the-solar-system-with-parker-solar-probe-s-seventh-solar-encounter