Sky watchers will have a special treat this weekend. A spaceship destined for Mars is scheduled to be launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California Saturday and could be visible for hundreds of miles, and another meteor show will light up the skies Sunday night to Monday morning. The launch window for InSight is from 4 to 6 a.m. Saturday, May 5, and if it is launched before sunrise, millions of Californians should be able to see it. Insight’s flight to Mars will take six months. The spaceship has specialized equipment to detect quakes on the Red Planet’s surface, a weather station, 3-D cameras, as well an instrument to dig five meters into the planet’s surface.
The Eta Aquarid meteor show occurs from late-April to mid-May and observers may be able to see 15 to 20 meteors per hour. A bright moon may wash out the meteors, however. The meteors will appear to radiate out from the Aquarius constellation in the east-southeast portion of the sky. The peak period for viewing the meteors should be before dawn on Monday, May 7. For a best view, lie on your back and look straight up.
