Space shuttle Discovery is scheduled for launch tonight at 9:35 PM EST. If you’ve got a view of the southeast sky at 10 degrees above horizon, you may see the launch as the shuttle progresses through the sky.
I remember seeing a eerily beautiful glowing cloud in the sky as I was driving home from work a few years back. If I recall correctly, it was exhaust from a rocket launched from California: the sun shining through it long after its rays had moved west across Earth. I’m hoping tonight’s launch is just as eerily beautiful.
In related news, I was happy to hear NASA is planning at least one more service mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, in my opinion one of the greatest scientific devices ever constructed.