Curiosity Lands on Mars - The JPL Good Luck Peanuts Worked

First photo from Curiosity form Mars, just after landing.

Mission control cheers.

After a tense 7 minutes going through the Martian atmosphere on August 5, 2012 (I watched it on NASA TV in my location on August 6, with the landing taking place just before 2pm), the Curiosity Mars Rover has touched down safely on the surface of Mars inside Gale Crater, a geological feature that may hold clues to possible ancient life on the red planet. Through the orbiting Opportunity satellite, Curiosity sent back to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), several pictures, with the first one taken just shortly after it touched down (top) with the dust still flying around it. The second picture also shows one of it's wheels. The third one of of the rover's shadow. (below).

JPL good luck peanuts.

Curiosity will now start it's two-year mission studying the exposed layers of Martian soil in the crater. It's powered by nuclear decay and is expected to outlast its warranty for as long as it does not encounter any unexpected accident. It may well reach the top of the peak in the middle of the crater and then explore the nearby areas. The traditional good luck peanuts of JPL (left) had done its job well.

Curiosity takes a photo of its shadow.

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Venus and Jupiter Together in Taurus on the Morning of July 5, 2012 - Philippines

Venus and Jupiter on the morning of July 5, 2012.

Venus and Jupiter magnified.

It's Independence Week in the US and there's been much talk about the co-called Thunder Moon (because of frequency of thunderstorms) on the 4th of July. Well, I didn't get to see that because of bad weather, but this morning, I looked out to the East and there was Venus and Jupiter together with Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus. Frankly, I've known these two planets have been there for a while, but it's only now I got the chance to take a look at the, soak them in and even take a few pictures with my iPad. Sure, the camera of the iPad 2 is wanting, but it can still take some good pictures of the sky, I must say. If you have a Retina iPad, then you can use that for better results. Anyway, enjoy these photos of Jupiter (the fainter object) and Venus (the brighter object).