           APOD: 2018 February 10 - Roadster, Starman, Planet Earth

                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! [1] Each day a different image or photograph of our
 fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a
                           professional astronomer.

                               2018 February 10
                                      [2]
                       Roadster, Starman, Planet Earth
                           Image Credit: SpaceX [3]

Explanation: Don't panic [4] . It's just a spacesuited mannequin named Starman
[5] . As the sunlit crescent of planet Earth recedes [6]  in the background,
Starman is comfortably seated at the wheel of a Tesla Roadster in this final
image of the payload launched by a Falcon Heavy rocket on February 6 [7] .
Internationally designated 2018-017A [8] , roadster and Starman are headed for
space beyond the orbit of Mars. The successful Falcon Heavy [9]  rocket has
now become the most powerful rocket in operation and the roadster one of four
[10] electric cars launched from planet Earth. The other three were launched
to the Moon by historically more powerful (but not reusable) Saturn V rockets
[11] . Still, Starman's roadster is probably the only one that would be
considered street legal [12] .

                   Tomorrow's picture: partial Sun day [13]

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    Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff [25] (MTU [26] ) & Jerry Bonnell [27]
                                  (UMCP [28] )
          NASA Official:  Phillip Newman Specific rights apply [29] .
              NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices [30]
              A service of: ASD [31]  at NASA [32]  / GSFC [33]
                           & Michigan Tech. U. [34]
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Site notes:
  [1] archivepix.html
  [2] image/1802/Starman_SpaceX.jpg
  [3] https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacex/
  [4] https://source.colostate.edu/
astronomy-club-captures-glimpse-spacex-falcon-heavy-rocket/
  [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starman_(song)
  [6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBr2kKAHN6M
  [7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbSwFU6tY1c
  [8] http://remanzacco.blogspot.it/2018/02/
image-animation-of-2018-017a-aka-starman.html
  [9] http://wereportspace.com/2018/02/07/
falcon-heavy-starman-successfully-heads-beyond-mars-tesla-roadster/
  [10] https://www.space.com/ 39606-spacex-falcon-heavy-fourth-car-space.html
  [11] https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/
nasa-knows/what-was-the-saturn-v-58.html
  [12] ap130129.html
  [13] ap180211.html
  [14] ap180209.html
  [15] archivepix.html
  [16] lib/apsubmit2015.html
  [17] lib/aptree.html
  [18] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  [19] calendar/allyears.html
  [20] /apod.rss
  [21] lib/edlinks.html
  [22] lib/about_apod.html
  [23] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=180210
  [24] ap180211.html
  [25] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  [26] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  [27] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  [28] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  [29] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [30] https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  [31] https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  [32] https://www.nasa.gov/
  [33] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  [34] http://www.mtu.edu/
