Peer up at a craft that once peered down on you
ALOS will pass over Brevard County tonight. ALOS, the Advanced Land Observing Satellite, is also called Daichi. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has a tradition of giving a satellite a friendly nickname once it is launched. ALOS’s nickname, Daichi means “Earth” in Japanese.
After launch in 2006, Daichi took over 6 million scans of Earth. The data is used in digital map making. It has provided a global-scale elevation model of Earth with a resolution of about 5 meters. A free subset of this data has been released at a grid resolution of 30 meters, about 1/3 the length of a football field.
In April 2011, the satellite switched itself into power-saving mode due to deterioration of its solar arrays. Meteoroids may have struck ALOS, destroying solar cells which produce the power necessary to operate, or simply cutting off parts of the wiring which conduct the power to where it is needed.
Unable to save the stricken satellite, on May 12, 2011, JAXA sent a command to the satellite to power down its batteries. It remains a 4-ton hulk, dead in orbit. Because of its relatively large size, it is one of the brighter satellites visible tonight, reaching magnitude 3.1.
Daichi will appear Friday night appearing near the spout of The Teapot (part of Saggitarius) at 9:14 p.m. low in the southeast. Its path takes it towards the Summer Triangle (marked by Altair, Deneb and Vega) in the east. Cruising along at about 30 degrees altitude, Daichi is headed towards the north, where it will set at 9:24 p.m.
Bernie Badger is Project Coordinator at the Eastern Florida State College Planetarium in Cocoa. Send questions, suggestions, or comments to badgerb@easternflorida.edu
At the planetarium
Friday
7 p.m.: The Planets
8:15 p.m.: Star Spangled Spectacular! laser show
9 p.m.: U2 Laser Experience
Saturday
Planetarium is closed
Wednesday
2 p.m. In My Backyard
3:15 p.m. Star Spangled Spectacular! laser show
The Eastern Florida State College planetarium has a special schedule for July. It will be closed on Independence Day. Each Wednesday afternoon features a different show aimed at the younger audience. There are still three more showings of the patriotic “Star Spangled Spectacular!” laser show. The double-album (90-minute long) “Pink Floyd: The Wall” laser show will be presented at 9 on Saturday nights, starting July 11. There will still be a Kid’s Night special on the last Saturday of the month. It is “The Little Star That Could,” showing at 7 p.m. Check out the public schedule of the planetarium at calendarwiz.com/planetarium. You can see the show titles, descriptions, and show times. The lineup always starts with an astronomy show followed by an IMAX movie. On most Fridays and Saturdays you can also see an exciting laser music presentation and visit the observatory. You may also call the planetarium box office at (321) 433-7373 to hear the latest schedule information and prices.