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China To Launch Chang'e-2 Satellite At The End Of 2010
Beijing (XNA) Dec 30, 2009 China planned to launch the Chang'e-2, the country's second lunar probe, at the end of 2010, the State Administration of Science Technology and Industry for National Defense said Monday. The Chang'e-2 was to test key soft landing technologies for theChang'e-3 and provide high-resolution photo images of the landing area, the administration said. China has made progress on six key technologies of Chang'e-2, including the lunar capture, orbit control and the research on high-resolution stereo camera, it said. Ye Peijian, chief designer of Chang'e-1, the country's first moon probe, said earlier that China's three-stage moon mission could be defined as "orbiting", "landing" and "returning". Chang'e-2 and Chang'e-3 are part of the second phase of the country's lunar exploration program. The Chang'e-1 lunar probe was launched in October 2007 as the first step of China's three-stage moon mission. "Chang'e" is named after a legendary Chinese moon goddess.
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Blue Moon Rounds Out The DecadeLos Angeles (SPX) Dec 30, 2009 As twilight descends on New Year's Eve of 2009, a full Moon will rise in the eastern sky for the second time this month (the first time came on December 2nd). Many people use the expression "once in a blue Moon" to mean something that occurs rarely, and you might be tempted to call December 31st's full Moon a "Blue Moon" too. While the former meaning can be traced back centuries, the latter definition is much newer - and it's wrong! "In modern usage, the second full Moon in a month has come to be called a 'Blue Moon.' But it's not!" says Kelly Beatty, Senior Contributing Editor for Sky and Telescope magazine. "This colorful term is actually a calendrical goof that worked its way into the pages of Sky and Telescope back in March 1946, and it spread to the world from there." ... read more |
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