Chinese space station provides Halloween treat
The Chinese space station Tiangong-2, in which two taikonauts are residing, will be visible in the evening here in Brevard County for the next week. There’s even an extra-long track visible on Halloween night.
The name Tiangong comes from the Chinese Tiāngōng yīhào, literally, Heavenly Palace 1. You may recognize the stem “Tian” from the 1989 student protest in China at Tiananmen Square. Tiananmen Square was named after the Tiananmen (“Gate of Heavenly Peace”) located to its north, separating it from the Forbidden City in Beijing.
Taikonaut is a hybrid of the Chinese term taikong (space) and the Greek naut (sailor). It applies to both male and female Chinese astronauts.
Unlike the International Space Station (ISS), Tiangong-2 is not designed for long-term habitation. Instead, it is a temporary module designed to test and verify technology that the Chinese are developing on the way to a permanent space station.
The original Taingong-1 was described as a Space Target. It supported the testing of automated docking. The new Tiangong-2 is called a Space Laboratory. The planned Tiangong-3 is called a Space Station. Yet Tiangong-3 — to be launched in the 2020’s — will only provide 40 days of life support for a crew of three.
The true long-term Chinese Space Station will be a third-generation modular space station. Combining Tiangong space lab modules with the Modular Space Station Core Module, called Tianhe, would form the basic structure. Additional modules would contain experiments and perform cargo transport.
Taikonauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong launched on Monday, Oct. 17 aboard the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft and successfully docked with Tiangong-2 on Oct. 19. It was China’s first manned mission for more than three years.
They have already completed most of their 30-day mission, but you have a chance to see the Heavenly Palace tonight. Look to the SW at 7:51 p.m. to see it rise. This can be difficult, because of the initial dimness of the satellite. But by 7:52:27 p.m., Tiangong-2 should brighten to about 4th magnitude and be below Mars at 10° altitude. It continues to brighten as it moves up and to the left.
The show ends at 7:55 p.m. as Tiangong-2 passes Alpha Piscis Austrini, better known as Fomalhaut. That is when Tiangong-2 passes into the Earth’s shadow and is eclipsed.
Halloween laser show
Only two more showings of Fright Night! — Halloween’s favorite laser show. Have a spooky good time at the Astronaut Memorial Planetarium on the Cocoa campus of Eastern Florida State College.
Every skeleton has a funny bone, and the Fright Night! show has a big serving of humor. With Dead Man’s Party, Monster Mash, Boris the Spider and Purple People Eater you will be tickled as well as tingled. Highlights include the raucus Hell’s Bells and the irresistible Timewarp. Things reach a crescendo of camp with the unforgettable Frankenstein finale.
Mr. 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
7p.m.More Than Meets the Eye
8:15p.m.Mysteries of Egypt (IMAX movie)
9 p.m.Fright Night!
Saturday
7 p.m.Amazing Universe
8:15p.m.The Living Sea (IMAX movie)
9 p.m.Fright Night!
Wednesday Nov. 2
2 p.m.BIG How Big is the Universe?
3:15p.m.Africa’s Elephant Kingdom (IMAX movie)
The current opening hours show times, descriptions, and prices are in the online calendar at http://www.calendarwiz.com/planetarium.
The EFSC observatory is open to the public Friday and Saturday evenings from 6:30 p.m. to about 10 p.m. Come early to see Venus and Saturn. Mars and Neptune, are visible all evening, weather permitting.