Amateur astronomer discovers a revived NASA satellite

[BjarneModerator Super Nova]

Amateur astronomer discovers a revived NASA satellite

By Paul Voosen | Jan. 26, 2018 , 5:45 PM

Some 12 years since it was thought lost because of a systems failure, NASA’s Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) has been discovered, still broadcasting, by an amateur astronomer. The find, which he reported in a blog post this week, presents the possibility that NASA could revive the mission, which once provided unparalleled views of Earth’s magnetosphere.

The astronomer, Scott Tilley, spends his free time following the radio signals from spy satellites. On this occasion, he was searching in high-Earth orbit for evidence of Zuma, a classified U.S. satellite that’s believed to have failed after launch. But rather than discovering Zuma, Tilley picked up a signal from a satellite labeled “2000-017A,” which he knew corresponded to NASA’s IMAGE satellite. Launched in 2000 and then left for dead in December 2005, the $150 million mission was back broadcasting. It just needed someone to listen.

 

[ErlandDeltager Planet]

Fedt at en amatør kan banke liv i en gammel mission.

Spændende og det giver da blod på tanden for hvad JEG pludselig udretter som ‘håbløs amatørastronom’

 

 

---

Erland Kruse Hansen
Meade Telescope ACF-SC 203/2000 LightSwitch 8 GoTo

ASTRONOMI FOR ALLE - En facebookgruppe for alle astronomiinteresserede!

[BjarneModerator Super Nova]

Amatørastronomers arbejde er ikke “håbløs”. Nu var vedkommende amatør vist professionel radioastronom i arbejdstiden. Mange af de oprindelige radioastronomer var radioamatører. Det udsprang af deres arbejde med radar under anden verdenskrig.

 

[Forfatter]

Indlæg