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Spacevidcast
11 Apr 2010, 21:30 UTC
Apollo 13 was dubbed NASA’s ‘successful failure’ in that while the crew failed to make it to the lunar surface – the folks at NASA succeeded in bringing home the crew safe and sound. The amazing events that comprised the mission were too tantalizing for Hollywood to pass up on and it was eventually [...]
Apollo XIII – 40th Anniversary
11 Apr 2010, 21:30 UTC
Apollo 13 was dubbed NASA’s ‘successful failure’ in that while the crew failed to make it to the lunar surface – the folks at NASA succeeded in bringing home the crew safe and sound. The amazing events that comprised the mission were too tantalizing for Hollywood to pass up on and it was eventually [...]
Universe Today
11 Apr 2010, 00:45 UTC
One of the most intriguing things in cosmology is empty space – that apparent spatial emptiness that didn’t obviously exist before the Big Bang. Although classical physics would have it that energy may neither be created or destroyed, it's certainly the case that empty space is being created in abundance as the universe expands.(...)Read the rest of Astronomy Without A Telescope – Much Ado About Nothing (560 words)© Steve Nerlich for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh
Astronomy Without A Telescope – Much Ado About Nothing
11 Apr 2010, 00:45 UTC
One of the most intriguing things in cosmology is empty space – that apparent spatial emptiness that didn’t obviously exist before the Big Bang. Although classical physics would have it that energy may neither be created or destroyed, it's certainly the case that empty space is being created in abundance as the universe expands.(...)Read the rest of Astronomy Without A Telescope – Much Ado About Nothing (560 words)© Steve Nerlich for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh
Cosmic Log
10 Apr 2010, 00:11 UTC
Scott Beale / Laughing Squid A reveler wears a helmet in the shape of a Sputnik satellite during the 2007 Yuri's Night celebration at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. Space enthusiasts are celebrating nearly five decades of human spaceflight - and anxiously awaiting word on what will happen in the decade ahead. The celebration reaches its peak on Monday - which happens to be the 49th anniversary of the first human flight into outer space, made by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, as well as the 29th anniversary of the first space shuttle launch. Back in 2001, spaceflight fans began organizing "Yuri's Night" parties to mark the occasion. For the 10th annual Yuri's Night, 188 parties (and counting) have been organized in 63 countries on all seven of the world's continents. Yes, that includes the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica ... and probably someplace close to where you live as well....(read more)
Spaceflight's past and future
10 Apr 2010, 00:11 UTC
Scott Beale / Laughing Squid A reveler wears a helmet in the shape of a Sputnik satellite during the 2007 Yuri's Night celebration at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. Space enthusiasts are celebrating nearly five decades of human spaceflight - and anxiously awaiting word on what will happen in the decade ahead. The celebration reaches its peak on Monday - which happens to be the 49th anniversary of the first human flight into outer space, made by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, as well as the 29th anniversary of the first space shuttle launch. Back in 2001, spaceflight fans began organizing "Yuri's Night" parties to mark the occasion. For the 10th annual Yuri's Night, 188 parties (and counting) have been organized in 63 countries on all seven of the world's continents. Yes, that includes the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica ... and probably someplace close to where you live as well....(read more)
Starts With A Bang!
10 Apr 2010, 00:05 UTC
"Cosmologists are often in error, but never in doubt." -Lev Landau I've been telling you about the Big Bang, the greatest story ever told, and the entire natural history of the Universe. Let's remind you -- historically -- of how our conception of the Universe changed as we learned more about our surroundings. Maybe the first astronomical observation ever made was that the Sun rises in the East, passes overhead, and sets in the West. And it does this day after day, every day. It's no wonder that our first "cosmological model" of the Universe was that the Earth is stationary, and the Sun orbits around it once every day. Why not, after all? That's what we see on Earth! But as we started making careful observations of the night sky, we discovered that the motions of planets were inconsistent with that picture. While the Sun looks like it orbits the Earth, another explanation could be that the Earth is rotating, and so the Sun would simply appear to revolve around the Earth. The better picture that superseded the old one was to put the Sun at the center, and let the Earth be just like any other planet: orbiting ...
The Greatest Problems with the Greatest Story Ever Told
10 Apr 2010, 00:05 UTC
"Cosmologists are often in error, but never in doubt." -Lev Landau I've been telling you about the Big Bang, the greatest story ever told, and the entire natural history of the Universe. Let's remind you -- historically -- of how our conception of the Universe changed as we learned more about our surroundings. Maybe the first astronomical observation ever made was that the Sun rises in the East, passes overhead, and sets in the West. And it does this day after day, every day. It's no wonder that our first "cosmological model" of the Universe was that the Earth is stationary, and the Sun orbits around it once every day. Why not, after all? That's what we see on Earth! But as we started making careful observations of the night sky, we discovered that the motions of planets were inconsistent with that picture. While the Sun looks like it orbits the Earth, another explanation could be that the Earth is rotating, and so the Sun would simply appear to revolve around the Earth. The better picture that superseded the old one was to put the Sun at the center, and let the Earth be just like any other planet: orbiting ...
A Babe in the Universe
9 Apr 2010, 21:31 UTC
The highlight of stay on the Big Island is a trip to Mauna Kea's summit. We meet in the Stone House at the 9200 foot level. Nearby are the dormitories where we can sleep or get meals; noone is allowed to sleep at the summit. Mauna Kea is one of the world's best observing sites due to its altitude, lack of humidity, and the clean air rolling in from the Pacific trademwinds. The twin domes of the Keck Telescope, flanked by the Subaru telescope (left) and the NASA Infrared Telescope Facillty (right.) Mauna Kea is considered sacred by Hawaiians. One legend says that the summit is where sky and Earth pulled apart to create the heavens. Today Mauna Kea sports the world's premiere collection of telescopes. On the lower slopes Apollo astronauts once trained for the Moon.The summit is 13,796 feet above sea level. Measured from its base on the ocean floor, this is the world's tallest mountain. Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano, another product of Earth's internal heat. Possibly that heat is generated by a tiny Black Hole at Earth's core. While astronomers search the skies for Black Holes, they should also consider what could be beneath their ...
A Visit to Mauna Kea
9 Apr 2010, 21:31 UTC
The highlight of stay on the Big Island is a trip to Mauna Kea's summit. We meet in the Stone House at the 9200 foot level. Nearby are the dormitories where we can sleep or get meals; noone is allowed to sleep at the summit. Mauna Kea is one of the world's best observing sites due to its altitude, lack of humidity, and the clean air rolling in from the Pacific trademwinds. The twin domes of the Keck Telescope, flanked by the Subaru telescope (left) and the NASA Infrared Telescope Facillty (right.) Mauna Kea is considered sacred by Hawaiians. One legend says that the summit is where sky and Earth pulled apart to create the heavens. Today Mauna Kea sports the world's premiere collection of telescopes. On the lower slopes Apollo astronauts once trained for the Moon.The summit is 13,796 feet above sea level. Measured from its base on the ocean floor, this is the world's tallest mountain. Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano, another product of Earth's internal heat. Possibly that heat is generated by a tiny Black Hole at Earth's core. While astronomers search the skies for Black Holes, they should also consider what could be beneath their ...
Universe Today
9 Apr 2010, 20:53 UTC
Note: To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission, for the next 13 days, Universe Today will feature "13 Things That Saved Apollo 13," discussing different turning points of the mission with NASA engineer Jerry Woodfill. Click here for our preview article. Tank two in the Apollo 13 Service Module exploded at Mission Elapsed [...] Damage to the Apollo 13 spacecraft from the oxygen tank explosion. Credit: NASANote: To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission, for the next 13 days, Universe Today will feature "13 Things That Saved Apollo 13," discussing different turning points of the mission with NASA engineer Jerry Woodfill. Click here for our preview article.Tank two in the Apollo 13 Service Module exploded at Mission Elapsed Time (MET) 55 hours and 55 minutes, 321,860 kilometers (199,990 miles) away from Earth. If the tank was going to rupture and the crew was going to survive the ordeal, the explosion couldn't have happened at a better time. "Not everyone agrees with all the things I've come up with in my research," said NASA engineer Jerry Woodfill who has studied the Apollo 13 mission in intricate detail, "but pretty much everyone agrees on this, including ...
13 Things That Saved Apollo 13, Part 1: Timing
9 Apr 2010, 20:53 UTC
Note: To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission, for the next 13 days, Universe Today will feature "13 Things That Saved Apollo 13," discussing different turning points of the mission with NASA engineer Jerry Woodfill. Click here for our preview article. Tank two in the Apollo 13 Service Module exploded at Mission Elapsed [...] Damage to the Apollo 13 spacecraft from the oxygen tank explosion. Credit: NASANote: To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission, for the next 13 days, Universe Today will feature "13 Things That Saved Apollo 13," discussing different turning points of the mission with NASA engineer Jerry Woodfill. Click here for our preview article.Tank two in the Apollo 13 Service Module exploded at Mission Elapsed Time (MET) 55 hours and 55 minutes, 321,860 kilometers (199,990 miles) away from Earth. If the tank was going to rupture and the crew was going to survive the ordeal, the explosion couldn't have happened at a better time. "Not everyone agrees with all the things I've come up with in my research," said NASA engineer Jerry Woodfill who has studied the Apollo 13 mission in intricate detail, "but pretty much everyone agrees on this, including ...
Cumbrian Sky
9 Apr 2010, 18:09 UTC
For those readers who don’t know, “HiRISE” is the amazing camera onboard NASA’s Mars Reconaissance Orbiter spacecraft that takes the most spectacularly detailed images of the Red Planet ever seen. Every week a new batch of images taken by HiRISE is released, then frustrated, homesick martians like me spend an hour or so browsing them, zooming in ledges and outcrops, crater rims and mountain peaks, and even on individual rocks, HiRISE is so powerful. Call it what you want – “The People’s Camera”, or “The Mars Spy Satellite”, but the basic truth is HiRISE is an amazing piece of kit that lets us zoom in on things just a metre or so across. Every week’s new set of pictures is gorgeous, but this week HiRISE sent back a couple of absolute killer images… (click on the image for a larger version) Yes, that’s another martian avalanche caught in the act! We’ve seen these before, but I think this one is particularly impressive, because, judging by the short distance between the foot of the cliff and the dust cloud, it looks like HiRISE caught it just moments after it happened… As if that wasn’t impressive enough, HiRISE also snapped a new ...
