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[ Q: Light in the Sky ... ]

Posted on: Monday, 26 July 2004, 06:00 CDT

Q: Light in the sky

Shortly after 3 a.m. July 15, I witnessed one of the most extraordinary sights I've ever seen in a night sky. Looking west from my beachfront apartment, I saw a huge bright cluster of yellow and red light moving from north to south over the ocean. I've seen meteors before and this was similar in that it eventually burned out, but it was much larger, slower and seemed to involve a number of pieces. I've seen missile launches at night over the ocean, but this did not look like the steady single stream of a rocket engine streaking past. I wonder if I saw a missile launch, a satellite re- entering the atmosphere, a plane crashing or an enormous meteor. Please tell me if you know.

-- JAMES O'BRIEN

Redondo Beach

What you most likely saw was the launch of NASA's Aura satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base just before 3:02 a.m. July 15.

A two-stage Boeing Delta II rocket carried the satellite into space, The Associated Press reported. At 4:06 a.m., the spacecraft separated from the satellite, sending Aura into a 438-mile orbit above Earth, according to NASA.

Aura will study the Earth's atmosphere, specifically global air quality, ozone recovery and climate change, a NASA official said.

NASA previously launched two other satellites in its Earth Observing System. Terra and Aqua are monitoring the planet's land and water, respectively.

For more information, visit NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center online at www.gsfc.nasa.gov.

-- Stephanie Walton

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