[oasis-members] Some space news and a good interview...

[DRh9811850 at aol.com]

First, tonight will be a close approach of a 2km wide asteroid, at 11 pm PST, 
as it passes through Leo. It won't be visible by the naked eye, but those 
with even small telescopes should be able to see it. Here's the item from 
Spaceweather.com: 

Space Weather News for March 30, 2007
http://spaceweather.com

ASTEROID FLYBY:  Asteroid 2006 VV2 is about to fly past Earth. Tonight, March 
30th, the 2 km-wide space rock will streak through the constellation Leo only 
2 million miles away glowing like a 10th magnitude star. Although the 
asteroid will not be visible to the unaided eye, it should be an easy target for 
backyard telescopes equipped with CCD cameras.  A movie of 2006 VV2 flying past 
spiral galaxy M81, featured on today's edition of http://Spaceweather.com, shows 
what a small telescope can accomplish.  The Americas are favored for 
tonight's flyby, especially southern California where 2006 VV2 will glide almost 
directly overhead at the moment of closest approach around 11 pm PDT.

Note:  There is no danger of a collision.  At a distance of 2 million miles, 
the asteroid will be almost 9 times farther away than the Moon. The encounter 
is interesting because it affords astronomers an opportunity to study a large 
near-Earth asteroid at fairly close range.  Many professional observatories 
will be taking data, including NASA radars, which will ping 2006 VV2 to refine 
its orbit and learn more about its shape and composition. Learn more at 
http://spaceweather.com .

Now, the good interview:  I was listening to the BBS World Service last 
night, and their business interviewer went to SpaceX, recently, since it was after 
their last launch. Good interview; Elon Musk and Tim Hughes both came across 
very creditably. The interviewer was not unfriendly, but not a shill either. 
You can find it here:  




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