Helm's a'Lee

For the rest of this week NASA's solar-sail prototype, NanoSail D, will be visible everywhere in the continental United States, except of course here in Seattle where of course it will be cloudy. The NanoSail team has teamed up with the SpaceWeather team to offer prizes up to $300 for the best amateur photographs of NanoSail D, so keep your cameras ready!

There's also now an app available to track NanoSail D and other satellites on your Android or iPhone, here:
http://simpleflybys.com/

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NASA--

NanoSail-D will next be observable with the naked eye from the continental United States, approximately Friday, Feb. 25 through Monday, Mar. 7. NanoSail-D unfurled the first ever 100-square-foot solar sail in low-Earth orbit on Jan. 20 and has been seen and imaged by individuals in several countries around the world. NASA has partnered with SpaceWeather.com to encourage observations of NanoSail-D. Spaceweather.com is offering cash prizes for the best images of this historic, pioneering spacecraft in the amounts of $500 (grand prize), $300 (first prize) and $100 (second prize). World-wide observers have already been successful in capturing images of NanoSail-D as it darts across the sky with a digital camera.

NanoSail-D tracking information is available on the right side of this page, under 'NanoSail-D Tracking Information." To learn more about the ongoing NanoSail-D imaging contest, visit: http://www.nanosail.org

So, grab your camera and take advantage of the warmer weather and the unique viewing opportunities!