On 1:12 a.m. EDT today, SpaceX launched its tenth Starlink mission. The company used their Falcon 9 rocket which carried 57 Starlink satellites and 2 satellites from BlackSky. The rocket lifted off from the Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The booster used as the first stage of the Falcon 9 was successfully landed back at SpaceX's droneship in the Atlantic Ocean named "Of Course I Still Love You". This was the fifth time that same booster was used and landed back successfully.
SpaceX launched the first load of satellites back in February 2018. So far, 597 satellites have been launched successfully, out of which 5 have been deorbited due to technical issues. Starlink is targeting to roll out services in Northern U.S. and Canada by this year, and near global coverage by the end of 2021. Watch the launch here.
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| Green and white false colors represent the intensity of ultraviolet light, with white being the brightest. Credits: NASA/MAVEN/Goddard Space Flight Center/CU/LASP. |
The pulsating Martian atmosphere
New data from NASA's Mars MAVEN orbiter revealed how the Martian atmosphere pulses during night in the ultraviolet light. The atmosphere pulses exactly three times per night, but only during the planet's spring and fall season. The data also showed unexpected waves and spirals over the winter poles, while confirming that this night-glow was brightest over the winter polar regions.
The glow is generated when the vertical winds carry gases down to regions of higher density, subsequently speeding up the chemical reactions that create nitric oxide.
The pulsations reveal importance of planet-encircling waves in the Mars atmosphere. The number of waves and their speed indicates that the planet's middle atmosphere is influenced by the daily pattern of solar heating and disturbances from huge volcanic mountains. Read the full article here.
According to Sonal Jain of Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, “MAVEN’s main discoveries of atmosphere loss and climate change show the importance of these vast circulation patterns that transport atmospheric gases around the globe and from the surface to the edge of space.”.
Happy Beer Day
Today is International Beer Day. Founded in 2007 in Santa Cruz, California by Jesse Avshalomov, the day was initially celebrated on August 5 from 2007 to 2012, but shifted to the first Friday of August after the founders took a poll of fans and decided to change the date.
Initially the day was just a celebration of the founders' local bar, but since has gained worldwide popularity and is now celebrated in more than 80 countries. People celebrate by gathering at their local pubs and bars and meet friends and family members. People worldwide responsible for brewing and serving beer are celebrated and there are several events organized like tapping new or rare beers, all day happy hours, binge drinking and beer pong.
Sports Updates -
Soccer - UEFA Champions LeagueSports Updates -
- Manchester City vs Real Madrid - 19:00 GMT
- Juventus vs Lyon - 19:00 GMT
- Test 1, day 3 - 10:00 GMT
Basketball - NBA 2020
- Jazz vs Spurs - 17:00 GMT
- Thunder vs Grizzles - 20:00 GMT
- Kings vs Nets - 21:00 GMT
- Magic vs 76ers - 22:30 GMT
- Wizards vs Pelicans - 00:00 GMT, 8 August
- Celtics vs Raptors - 01:00 GMT, 8 August
