Mars orbiter set for launch
Cape Canaveral, Fla. After a one-day delay, the launch of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was scheduled today from the Florida coast on an Atlas V rocket. Equipped with six instruments, including the largest telescopic camera sent to another planet, NASA officials believe the orbiter will provide more data about Mars’ weather, climate and geology than all other previous Martian missions combined.
The information sent back as it circles Mars will help NASA decide where to place other vehicles scheduled to land on the planet in the future. It also will provide information about the history of water on the Red Planet.
NASA has pursued a “follow the water” strategy in its exploration of Mars to determine if the planet has contained life or if it could.
Falling tree kills girl at Scout camp
Ocean Township, N.J.
An 8-year-old girl died and three others were injured Wednesday when a tree fell on them during a first-aid class at a Boy Scout camp, authorities said.
The girls were participating in the class at an overnight camp when the 31-foot tree suddenly snapped, crashing through a tarp over a picnic table at which they were sitting, Police Chief Kenneth Flatt said.
“It was an accident. There was no warning,” said Flatt.
Four adult Scout leaders were killed in a July electrical accident in Virginia at the National Boy Scout Jamboree. Five other people have died this summer from drowning and lightning during Scout outings in Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah and California.
4.9 magnitude quake shakes New Mexico
Raton, N.M.
An earthquake measuring magnitude 4.9 struck near the New Mexico-Colorado border Wednesday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The quake hit southwest of Trinidad and west of Raton, N.M., said Bruce Presgrave of the U.S. Geological Survey. He said the quake was light and in a remote area where it was not likely to cause serious damage.
Northeastern New Mexico usually gets about four earthquakes a year, usually less powerful than Wednesday’s, according to the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo.
Bel Geddes, ‘Dallas’ matriarch, dies at 82
Los Angeles Barbara Bel Geddes, the winsome actress who rose to stage and movie stardom but reached her greatest fame as Miss Ellie Ewing in the long-running TV series “Dallas,” died Monday. She was 82.
The San Francisco Chronicle said Bel Geddes, a longtime smoker, died of lung cancer at her home in Northeast Harbor, Maine
Bel Geddes was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actress for the 1948 drama “I Remember Mama” and was the original Maggie the Cat on Broadway in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”
But she was best known as the matriarch of the rambunctious Ewing oil family on “Dallas,” which hurtled to the top of the ratings.
Bel Geddes won an Emmy in 1980 as best lead actress in a drama series and remains the only nighttime soap star to be so honored. In her film career, Bel Geddes worked with such as filmmakers as Kazan and Alfred Hitchcock.