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Smiling man next to a large home telescope
Astro Bob's Backyard Astronomy
After a little break (of 25 years or so) Bob King is celebrating his retirement with a return to The North 103.3's airwaves!After almost 40 years with the Duluth News Tribune, Bob is now retired. But scratch a print guy and you'll find a radio guy; King and then-UMD Planetarium Director Glen Langhorst hosted Startalk on KUMD for several years in the early '90s.Listen for Astro Bob every other Tuesday at 8am on Northland Morning.

Astro Bob: "the planets are all huddled around the Sun to keep warm" and Mars prepares for company

The North 103.3 | By Lisa Johnson
Published February 9, 2021 at 2:35 PM CST
National Library of Norway

Get out and do a little stargazing on these clear nights ... but dress appropriately. (Roald Amundsen had the right idea in this photo).

Meanwhile, Astro Bob King says "all the planets are gathered around the Sun to keep warm," which means we can't see them for a while, but Mars will be a hopping place for a bit.

Both the United Arab Emirates and Japan have launched spacecraft to the Red Planet and the US's Perseverance Rover will touch down February 18.

Credit UAE Space Agency

Here's a cool overview of the UAE's Hope Probe mission, and you can also read more about it here.

The UAE's Hope Probe is expected to arrive inMars' orbit today.

Credit China National Space Administration (CNSA)
The first image of Mars returned by China's Tianwen-1 spacecraft

China's Tianwen-1 consists of an orbiter, a lander and a rover. Tianwen-1 means "questions to heaven" and was taken from the title of a poem by Qu Yuan.

You can read more about the mission here.

Tianwen-1 is expected to arrive in Mars' orbit tomorrow.

Credit NASA

Finally, the US Perseverance is expected to land on Mars February 18th and you can even watch it online.

More information about the rover's mission to seek signs of ancient life and gather samples of rock and soil is available here.
Tags
Environment & Outdoors ChinaMarsAstro Bob's Backyard AstronomyUnited Arab EmiratesUS Perseverance
Lisa Johnson
Lisa Johnson started her broadcast career anchoring the television news at her high school and spinning country music at KWWK/KOLM Radio in Rochester, Minnesota. She was a reporter and news anchor at KTHI in Fargo, ND (not to mention the host of a children's program called "Lisa's Lane") and a radio reporter and anchor in Moorhead, Bismarck, Wahpeton and Fergus Falls.Since 1991, she has hosted Northland Morning on KUMD. One of the best parts of her job includes "paying it forward" by mentoring upcoming journalists and broadcasters on the student news team that helps produce Northland Morning. She also loves introducing the different people she meets in her job to one another, helping to forge new "community connections" and partnerships.Lisa has amassed a book collection weighing over two tons, and she enjoys reading, photography, volunteering with Animal Allies Humane Society and fantasizing about farmland. She goes to bed at 8pm, long before her daughter, two cats, or three dogs.
See stories by Lisa Johnson
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