Daily Extra :
Astronomy & Space Word of The Day
caldera: Crater formed by an explosion or collapse of a volcanic vent. A large volcanic crater produced by the collapse of underground lava reservoirs.
Today in History:
1962: Mars 1962B - USSR Mars Landerlaunched. Failed to leave Earth orbit.
1967: Mariner 5 - USA Venus Flyby (June 14 to November, 1967) completed its journey. Mariner 5 arrived at Venus on October 19, 1967, one day after Venera 4. It passed within 3,900 kilometers of the planet's surface. It studied the Venusian magnetic field and found that its atmosphere was composed of 85-99% carbon dioxide. It is now in a solar orbit.
1995: Pioneer 11 - USA Jupiter/Saturn Flyby - 259 kg - (April 6, 1973 - November 1995) left the solar system. Pioneer 11 flew by Jupiter on December 1, 1974 passing 42,900 kilometers from Jupiter's cloud tops. It took better pictures than Pioneer 10, and measured Jupiter's intense charged-particle and magnet field environment. As it flew by Jupiter it was given a gravity assist which swung it onto a course for Saturn. On September 1, 1979, Pioneer 11 flew past the outer edge of Saturn's A ring at a range of 3,500 kilometers. It traveled underneath the ring system and passed 20,930 kilometers from Saturn's cloud tops.
1981: Venera 14 - USSR Venus Flyby/Lander launched. Venera 14 landed on Venus on March 5, 1982. It returned black and white, and color panoramic views of the Venusian surface. It also conducted soil analysis using an x-ray fluorescence spectrometer. The sample was determined to be tholeiitic basalt similar to that found at mid-ocean ridges on the Earth.
