Voyager I Milestone Thrills Scientists

Just over a year ago,the venerable old Voyager I spacecraft left the solar system,although not the sun's influence entirely,and entered interstellar space,the space between the stars,NASA scientists reported this week.It is now in the transition zone just outside the solar bubble,and in the ionised gas between the stars.Some solar disturbance still obtains in this transition zone.
We believe this is mankind's histric leap into interstellar space,said Ed Stone,Voyager Project Scientist at Caltech,Pasadena.Voyager had entered the heliosphere,or solar bubble of charged particles which defines the edge of the solar system,in 2004.It first entered interstellar space on 12 August,2013,when an abrupt change in the density of energetic particles was first detected by Voyager I.
Suzanne Dodd,Voyager Project Manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,Pasadena,said we expect the fields and particles science instruments on Voyager will continue to send back data through at least 2020.We can't wait to see what the Voyager instruments show us next about deep space.
Voyager I's twin,Voyager II,was actually launched a few weeks ahead of Voyager I in 1977.Both spacecraft flew by Jupiter and Saturn,but Voyager II veered off to fly by Uranus and Neptune as well.Scientists talk to or receive data from both spacecraft almost every day.It takes the weak 23 watt signal of Voyager I about 17 hours to reach earth.As of its February 21,2013 radio telescope image,Voyager I was 11.5 billion miles/18.5 billion kilometers from earth.It is now about 19 billion miles away.

Giants Blank Cards;Autumn Mist Abounds

The San Francisco Giants pinned the St.Louis Cardinals down at Busch Stadium in St.Louis Friday night.A strong pitching performance by Barry Zito ensured that Frisco will live another day as the National League Championship Series returns to their Bay Area for its conclusion.
Zito pitched 7 and 2/3rds shutout innings and Sergio Romo closed the contest out,at least delaying a second straight league crown to the World Champion Cardinals.
I had all my pitches working tonight,Zito said.The most important thing is getting it back to San Francisco so our fans can be a factor.For me,the most important thing is getting everything done for San Francisco.
The next game of the series will be played at 7 pm Eastern,4 pm Pacific on Sunday.Fox Television will broadcast it.
The iconic autumn mist obscured some parts of the Mid-Atlantic region Friday night,making road travel more hazardous.Jupiter has remained a brilliant feature in the eastern sky over recent nights.At times,Jupiter can reach a magnitude of up to -2.6.

Good Views of Moon and Jupiter;Light Snow Cover at Glacier National Park

The waning moon hung low in the eastern sky,with Jupiter brilliant just above it as I stepped out for some air about 11 pm Friday night.It was an impressive view of some everyday heavenly bodies,rather than something rare.Just the way they were arranged in the night sky made them worthy of admiration.
Some people out West were able to admire light snow this week.Glacier National Park,Montana had snow from Tuesday into Wednesday.By Friday night it was 24 F with 2-4 inches of snow cover at about 4500 ft. in East Glacier Park.The wind chill was 19F.
Fire danger at Glacier is moderate,with the Avalanche Fire being 122 acres in size.Smoke and haze are also drifting in from fires outside the park.
Fall color is near peak on aspens,birches and cottonwoods.Bears are foraging up to 20 hours a day in autumn.Please do not draw near to bears or other wildlife in Glacier or other parks.They may react unpredictably.View them with binoculars or spotting scopes instead.
The popular park is on the Canadian border.
Light snow was also dusting parts of  Midwestern states North Dakota,Wisconsin and Minnesota Friday night, as well as the Front Range of the Rockies.