NASA has formally set the STS-119 launch for 2120 EDT Wednesday, 11Mar09. Discovery should be visible as is flys by NYC at MECO.
Stars Visible to the Unaided Eye
- Stars are visible to the naked-eye doown to about magnitude 6
- There are about 6000 stars with brightnesses down through magnitude 6
- Stars visible to the naked-eye all lie between 20 and 1000 light years away
- there are about 100 stars closer to earth than 20 ly but they are fainter than mag 6 so are not visible without optical aid
- Sirius is the closest (9 ly) star visible to the naked-eye from North America. It is also the brightest (Mag -1.46)
- If the Sun was a ping pong ball Earth would be a pin prick 13 feet away and Sirius would be a tennis ball 1400 miles away
- Traveling at 50,000 mph, the speed of the Voyager spacecrafts, it would take 100,000 years to reach Sirius.
- Procyon is 11 ly away and is the 6th brightest star visible in the Northern Hemisphere and the 8th brightest star visible from Earth
- α Cen is 4.37 ly away is is a mag. -0.27 star
- &espilon; Eri is 10.6 ly away and is mag 3.7.
- 61 Cygni is 11.3 ly away and shines at mag. 5.2.
- τ Cet is 11.4 ly distant and is a mag. 3.5 star.
- ε Ind is 11.3 ly away and is a mag. 4.7 star.
- Sirius is the closest (9 ly) star visible to the naked-eye from North America. It is also the brightest (Mag -1.46)
- there are about 100 stars closer to earth than 20 ly but they are fainter than mag 6 so are not visible without optical aid
