What is Stardust@home?
Stardust@home is a space science project in which volunteers from the general public help scientists locate particles from distant stars. The particles were captured by the spacecraft Stardust and are embedded in collector plates made of aerogel, which were carried by the spacecraft. The aerogel plates, and the particles within them, were returned to Earth in a sample return capsule on January 15, 2006. The purpose of Stardust@home is to find the particles within the aerogel plates. The project is expected to launch in May 2006.
This is so freakin cool!
I also love the tagline for The Planetary Society: Making You A Part Of The Next Age Of Exploration. That's nice crowdsourcing.
Sign up, read the FAQs or just tell someone about it.
For the Aussies, the Tidbinbilla tracking station in Canberra was involved in the landing of the stardust capsule back in January.
It sure beats the hell out of watching TV.
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