Midmonth Check-In: October 2026 and Perseverance Record Setting

                                

  Introduction and Monthly Reminders   

    The first half of October has been great for stargazers and amateur astronomers. Wind, clouds, and rainstorms didn't roll in until the 10th, giving observers ample opportunity to view Saturn and many, if not all, of the other planets visible throughout the night. I watched Saturn reach opposition and Jupiter and Mars rise with Taurus and Orion in the morning, all with my unaided eye. 

    October will still offer the Orionid Meteor Shower, which peaks on the 21st, and several autumn and early winter DSOs high above the horizon for viewing pleasure. Of course, Saturn will still be a great target, as will Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, and our closest neighbor, the Moon. I am planning one last outing with both of my visual scopes and perhaps my smart scope, before the freezing weather settles in. 

      

Perseverance

    NASA's Perseverance Rover launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on July 30, 2020. This mission aimed to search Mars for ancient microbial life, study its geology, and cache rock and regolith samples for a future return to Earth for further study. 

    The Perseverance Rover landed at Jezero Crater on Mars in February 2021, approximately 7 months after leaving Earth. During the "seven minutes of terror," NASA's Sky Crane helped lower the Perseverance Rover to the surface of Mars. In addition to its scientific survey of Mars, Perseverance carried a small helicopter, about the size of a drone, named Ingenuity. This mini helicopter completed 72 flights before being retired in 2024. 

    Perseverance also served as a prototype for a new autonomous navigation system, nicknamed AutoNav, to traverse the rocky Martian surface. This October, Perseverance set a new record, previously held by a different Mars rover, Opportunity, for the longest distance traveled on another world. The previous record was 28.06 miles (45.16 km), and Perseverance broke it at 28.08 miles (45.2 km). Obviously, this doesn't seem like a very long distance, with many of us commuting further than that each day for work or school. But remember that on Earth, we are typically driving on relatively smooth (except the potholes!) roads and can travel at high speeds. On Mars, there are no roads, and rocks often get in the way, so rovers such as Perseverance must navigate around obstacles to reach their destination.

    With an initial mission time of just one year, Perseverance is still going strong and has recently had its mission extended through 2028. With this additional time, Perseverance should be able to add more miles to its already record-breaking journey on another world.     

    Show that you support dark skies, like me, by being one of the first Utahns to get a Dark Sky license plate! Visit Dark Sky Utah to apply for a new license plate for your vehicle. 

         

    

Now get outside and look up!