How to Spot the Antares Launch Wednesday

[pokerfan]

From universetoday.com...

A space launch marking a new era is departing from the Virginia coast this Wednesday evening, and if you live anywhere along a wide area of the US Eastern seaboard, you’ll have a great opportunity to witness the launch with your own eyes. Here’s all the information you’ll need to see it, plus some tips for capturing it with your camera.

Orbital Sciences’ Antares rocket will launch from Pad 0A at NASA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport based on Wallops Island, Virginia. This will mark not only the first launch of Antares, but the first orbital launch of a liquid-fueled rocket from Wallops. The launch window runs from 5:00 to 8:00 PM EDT (21:00-24:00 UT).



Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/101449/how-to-spot-the-antares-launch-from-nasa-wallops-on-wednesday/#ixzz2QeWEYHa2

[bigworld]

1. Is there a countdown clock online for this?

Or a place to go for a more pinpointed launch time?

Thanks for posting this, BTW!

[pokerfan]

2. Launch window is 5:00 to 8:00 PM EDT

From the link...

Be sure to also follow the launch broadcast live for any last minute delays via NASA TV or Universe Today will have a live feed as well. Antares is aiming to put the Cygnus test mass in a 250 x 300 kilometre orbit with a 51.6° inclination. This is similar to what will be necessary to head to the ISS, but this week’s launch will not be trailing the ISS in its path. This also means that the launch window can be extended over three hours rather than having to be instantaneous.

Or follow this twitter feed: https://twitter.com/Astroguyz

[bananas]

4. Probably the best place to follow these things is...

a message board which is not affiliated with NASA despite its name: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=recent
That link is to the most recent posts, they are also organized into threads and subject areas.

[pokerfan]

6. Antares launch window is now 5-5:10 pm EDT (Link to NASA TV coverage)

NASA TV is on the air!

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

[pokerfan]

7. And aborted!

Premature umbilical separation. Scrubbed for the day.

[tech3149]

3. shame I won't get to see it form here, elevation too low n/t

[Victor_c3]

5. Estimating degrees with your hand

I found this link to an article used to estimate how many degrees something is located from another object in the sky using your fingers and hand. If you don't feel like reading the whole article, just scroll down to the pictures near the bottom.

http://astronomycentral.co.uk/measuring-degrees-in-the-night-sky/

I'm going to be following the launch this evening with my kids. I would love to get them as excited about space exploration as I am!