LightSail 2 spacecraft releases breathtaking images of Earth
Stunning! The LightSail 2 spacecraft has released some breathtaking images of our planet.
Launched in June 2019, LightSail 2 has been orbiting around Earth at an altitude of over 400 miles.
What’s a light sail?
It’s pretty much what it sounds like: a small spacecraft with a large sail! About a month after launch, LightSail 2 unfurled its sail, made of aluminized Mylar material. Once opened, the sail is about the size of a boxing ring.
LightSail 2 is the creation of the non-profit organization The Planetary Society, was crowdfunded for production, and is commanded by flight controllers at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in California.
How does it work?
Sailing with light…it may sound like a strange concept! As the organization’s CEO Bill Nye says, “We successfully set sail on beams of sunlight.”
Even though photons (particles of light) have no mass, they do have momentum. When the photons from the Sun bounce off the sail, some of the momentum pushes the sail! Not much, though; only about the weight of a paperclip, reports The Planetary Society.
LightSail 2, among other similar crafts, are hoping to pave the way for new methods of space travel that will save fuel, weight, and expenses. Click here to see more stunning photos from the spacecraft.
Interested in more space stories like this one? Catch a show all weekend in LSC’s Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium, the biggest planetarium in America. A portion of our all-live “Wonders of the Night Sky” show is always set aside for breaking space stories.
