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| Weird, Wild & Breaking News Stories in Space and Astronomy from around the World 24/7 each Week – with Update Bulletins in between! |
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ISSUE 3 August 2009 |
Here’s a selection of Astronomy/Space related stories you may find interesting. Be sure to sign up for your own copy of Astro Space News, delivered automatically to you each week. I absolutely do not disclose your address to anyone! Feel free to forward this information to your friends and colleagues for their use. There is no cost and no obligation for this service. Anyone can subscribe by completing the opt in form just over there … see it, do it now! We work 24/7/365 to report the most relevant ‘Astro-Space’ news back to you … virtually as it breaks. Bookmark this page and check back regularly. |
For The MediaIf you are interested, an interview with astronomer, writer, educator and public lecturer representing Australasian Science Magazine and Editor of Astro Space News, Dave Reneke (Astro-Dave) can be arranged by contacting Dave by Phone/Fax(02) 65 85 2260 Mobile: 0400 636 363 or email Dave for an instant reply to davereneke@gmail.com. David is well experienced talking to the media and presents information in an easy to understand, up to date and informative manner. Interviews can be on any subject, tailored to your requirements.If you experience problems and need a printed copy email me and I’ll get a copy to you.
AUSTRALASIAN SCIENCE MAGAZINE Get your science news straight from the scientists themselves. No hype, no spin, no bull: just the facts.Australia’s most inspiring scientists choose to write about their world-class discoveries in Australasian Science, Australia’s only monthly science magazine. Australasian Science is dedicated to Australian and New Zealand science, providing a unique local perspective on scientific developments and issues that other science magazines can’t match. Australasian Science boasts Australia’s most experienced team of science journalists, including Australia’s only two international Science Journalism Laureates. Its Patrons are Nobel Laureate Prof Peter Doherty and renowned science broadcaster Robyn Williams, representing excellence in science and its communication. Written in simple language, Australasian Science is a unique and independent source of news and commentary on local scientific developments. Check out the latest issue NOW: http://www.australasianscience.com.au/ For school & institution rates please contact Control Publications on 03 9500 0015. Fax: (03) 9500 0255 Email science@control.com.au |
Letters To Dave |
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Hi Dave I am half way through your story (Apllo-11 E-Book). Excellent in every respect. You may not believe this but I can remember the day of the Moon landing very well. I was riding my motor bike to work (I had just started work after leaving school) on a gravel road and fell off! Not badly hurt but watched the landing in bed! Recovering from grazes and a dent in my bullet proof attitude! Cheers Mike
Dave, I have only in the past few days signed up to your website for a newsletter. I have been listening to you on abc radio am 630 North Queensland for some time and I love to listen to the information you have to share.Keep up the great work. Dez Kirwan. Townsville
Hi Dave, I listen to you on Coast FM (Sunshine Coast ABC) and really enjoy hearing about what goes on ‘up there’. Don’t always catch you, though so thought I would check out your website. I have just sent a link to my grandchildren as they will be interested in the kid’s links. Keep up the good work, Cheers, Diane.
Hi David, To introduce myself, I am a special correspondent with The Times of India and the main focus of my coverage is space. I have written extensively about the Indian moon mission, Chandrayaan-1, and recently did a number of stories relating to the 40th anniv of Apollo 11. In short I am a space buff!!!! This morning while surfing the net, I read about ur book–”Apollo 11 The Untold Story.” I am extremely keen on reading it and maybe if an opportunity arises in future I can certainly refer the contents in one of my future reports. Please advice how I can read the full book. Looking forward to your response and wishing you a pleasant day. Thanks and regards. Srinivas Laxman
TWO NEW PUBLICATIONS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT- Book and Magazine reviews by Dave Reneke - ROCKET MEN by Craig Nelson UNIGALACTIC Space Travel Magazine
UniGalactic Space Travel Magazine was launched with the first issue published on May 29, 2009. In the first year of release, UniGalactic will be issued every 2 months and are committed to increasing the frequency of publishing the magazine to once a month starting in May, 2010. You’ll find articles on a variety of topics including but not limited to SpaceX’s and Virgin Galactic’s space tourism developments, international space station, Mars missions, future space launches, as well as outer space news. UniGalactic Space Travel Magazine purchased through subscription will be available in the continental United States only. Amazon, however, will ship ANYWHERE in the Globe. Footnote from Dave: I’m so impressed with this magazine and it’s contents that I’ve asked to write for them and have been accepted. I highly recommend this publication forit’s different slant and content we don’t normally get a chance to hear about in Oz. Subscribe to UniGalactic Space Travel Magazine Website: Click here ** See the review of this fabulous book ‘ROCKET MEN’ By Dave below. “One of the best reads I’ve had..ever!,”said Dave. Best Price $15.06. |
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Attendees at the AirVenture air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin were treated with watching Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo take flight. On board the mothership – which will launch space tourism and science customers into space – was none other than Vigin’s founder Richard Branson.
More Astro Space NewsWhat If There Is Only One Universe?
Many theories in physics and cosmology require the existence of alternate, or parallel, universes. But Dr. Lee Smolin of Waterloo, Canada, explains the flaws of theories that suggest our universe is just one of many, and which also perpetuate the notion that time does not exist. Smolin explains how theories describing a myriad of possible universes, or a “multiverse”, with many dimensions and particles and forces have become more popular in the last few years. However, through his work with the Brazilian philosopher Roberto Mangabeira Unger, Smolin believes that multiverse theories, which imply that time is not a fundamental concept, are “profoundly mistaken”. Smolin says a timeless multiverse means our laws of physics can’t be determined from experiment. And he explains the unclear connection between fundamental laws, which are unique and applicable universally, and effective laws, which hold based on what we can actually observe. Smolin suggests new principles that rethink the notion of physical law to apply to a single universe. These principles say there is only one universe; that all that is real is real in a moment, as part of a succession of moments; and that everything real in each moment is a process of change leading to future moments. As he explains, “If there is just one universe, there is no reason for a separation into laws and initial conditions, as we want a law to explain just one history of one universe.” He hopes these principles will bring a fresh adventure in science. If we accept there is only one universe and that time is a fundamental property of nature, then this opens up the possibility that the laws of physics evolve with time. As Smolin writes, “The notion of transcending our time-bound experiences in order to discover truths that hold timelessly is an unrealizable fantasy. When science succeeds, we do nothing of the sort; what we physicists really do is discover laws that hold in the universe we experience within time. This, I would claim, should be enough; anything beyond that is more a religious urge for transcendence than science.” Petrol Stations In Space
Some would say that’s just what the nation’s space effort needs. The idea of setting up a permanent infrastructure for travel in deep space was floated on Thursday during a hearing in Cocoa Beach, Fla., conducted by the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee. Panel members who have been focusing on future travel beyond Earth orbit spoke favorably of the fuel-depot idea, and it’s likely to appear as one of the options in a final report that’s due by the end of August. It will be up to NASA and the White House to decide which option to pursue and how much money to spend. (The current ballpark figure is US$80 billion over 10 years.) Basically, here’s how a fuel-depot system would change the spaceflight situation: Spaceships currently have to carry all the fuel they’d need for an entire trip at once. That was the case for the Apollo-Saturn missions of the 1960s and the space shuttle missions of the past 28 years. If fuel depots were built in orbit, however, spaceships coming up from Earth’s “gravity well” could fill ‘er up and continue their journey with a full tank of gas (or, say, liquid oxygen and hydrogen). Alternatively, you could design a different sort of transfer vehicle, optimized for making the trip from one orbital spaceport to another rather than launching and landing. That would lighten the load for launch vehicles leaving Earth, since they wouldn’t have to carry all the fuel for a long trip at once. And it might reduce the need to develop a new heavy-lift vehicle like the Ares V. You could get by instead with a smaller booster, launched empty and fueled up in orbit. “It really is a game changer,” Jeff Greason, chief executive officer of California-based XCOR Aerospace and a member of the review panel, was quoted as saying in a New York Times report on the hearing. The idea has been floated before. As the Apollo program was winding down, planners at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama touched upon orbital fuel depots as a key piece of space infrastructure for deep-space flights. At the time, the space shuttle was little more than a twinkle in the space agency’s eye. “An orbital modular propellant storage depot, supplied periodically by the space shuttle or Earth-to-orbit fuel tankers, would be critical in making available large amounts of fuel to various orbital vehicles and spacecraft,” NASA said in 1971. (The artwork above conceptualized how the system might look.) NASA’s space ambitions didn’t pan out the way those planners planned. The cost of building the infrastructure for those deep-space trips was deemed too high, with too little payoff. As a result, no manned spacecraft has gone beyond Earth orbit since Apollo was shut down. Five years ago, when President George W. Bush announced a new goal of returning to the moon by 2020, NASA turned to an “Apollo on steroids” approach that passed up orbital refueling. The plan did call for a maneuver that would link up moon-bound crews with their fueled-up transfer vehicles, however. Now the Bush-era vision is being reviewed by Obama-era officials, and many of the previously laid plans are open for discussion again. Long Duration Space Underwear
For example, he conducted several different cellular growth and crystal growth experiments, and has even flown a magic carpet in space. One other experiment has been – shall we say – kept under wraps. Wakata has been wearing the same underwear on board the ISS for two months.”(For) two months I was wearing these underwear and there was no smell and nobody complained,” Wakata, said. “I think that new J-ware underwear is very good for myself and my colleagues.” Wakata has been wearing special underwear and other clothing called “J-ware” designed for the Japanese space agency. Apparently the clothes are treated with antibacterial and deodorizing materials. In addition to odor control, the clothes are designed to absorb water, insulate the body and dry quickly. They also are flame-resistant and anti-static — as well as comfortable and attractive. Typically, clothes can only be worn for a few days in space, and especially the clothing worn by astronauts as they exercise. Since there’s no laundromat in space, the clothing is discarded as garbage. Astronaut Takao Doi, who flew with a shuttle crew last year to deliver Japan’s Kibo laboratory to the station, exercised as much as his crewmates, but his clothes stayed dry. Wakata’s clothes include long- and short-sleeved shirts, pants, shorts and underwear. Special socks have a separate pouch for the big toes so the astronauts can use their feet like an extra pair of hands, helpful for anchoring themselves on the floor while doing work on the station. Originally, Wakata was scheduled to wear the underwear for just a couple of weeks. But obviously, he decided to go the long duration route.t least he wasn’t testing this other option proposed by JAXA. Read more about these special underwear here. Discovery News Could Atmosphere of Venus Harbor Life?
Venus doesn’t score very highly when we think of life-capable planets – with surface pressures twenty times those of Earth and temperatures which can melt tin and vaporise mercury, it’s not a a good place for organics. In fact, it’s not a good place for Terminators. But go up far enough and you find clouds with Earth-like temperatures, pressures, even chemistry (at least as far as original ingredients go). The fact that Venus boiled off all its oceans and turned them into sulfuric acid doesn’t cancel out the fact there’s water and heat aplenty. In fact, the sulphur might help. High above the Venusian surface the atmosphere is bathed in ultraviolet radiation, aka “That stuff that burns big things and kills small ones”, but Professor Ingersoll (of the Californian Institute of Technology) believe that extraplanetary microbes could learn to use these chemicals as a sunscreen – if they haven’t adapted to UV altogether. We’ve already seen Earth-borne bacteria surviving high in the clouds or in acidic environments, and the fact we haven’t seen both at the same time is only because Earth doesn’t have places like that. Some suggest that Venus’s conversion from an early Earth-a-like to a fair approximation of hell might have been slow – slow enough to allow life to occur, then evolve to adapt to a narrowing habitable zone. There’s even a NASA option to fly there, deploy a floating collector, and rocket the samples back to Earth for analysis. Daily Galaxy Massive Black Holes Roaming Edge of Milky Way
The Earth appears safe, however, with the closest rogue black hole thousands of light-years away. “These black holes are relics of the Milky Way’s past,” said Loeb. “You could say that we are archaeologists studying those relics to learn about our galaxy’s history and the formation history of black holes in the early universe.” According to theory, rogue black holes originally lurked at the centers of tiny, low-mass galaxies. Over billions of years, those dwarf galaxies smashed together to form full-sized galaxies like the Milky Way. Each time two proto-galaxies with central black holes collided, their black holes merged to form a single, “relic” black hole. During the merger, directional emission of gravitational radiation would cause the black hole to recoil. A typical kick would send the black hole speeding outward fast enough to escape its host dwarf galaxy, but not fast enough to leave the galactic neighborhood completely. As a result, such black holes would still be around today in the outer reaches of the Milky Way halo. One telltale sign could mark a rogue black hole: a surrounding cluster of stars yanked from the dwarf galaxy when the black hole escaped. Only the stars closest to the black hole would be tugged along, so the cluster would be very compact. “The surrounding star cluster acts much like a lighthouse that pinpoints a dangerous reef,” explained O’Leary. “Without the shining stars to guide our way, the black holes would be all but impossible to find.” The number of rogue black holes in our galaxy depends on how many of the proto-galactic building blocks contained black holes at their cores, and how those proto-galaxies merged to form the Milky Way. Finding and studying them will provide new clues about the history of our galaxy “Until now, astronomers were not searching for such a population of highly compact star clusters in the Milky Way’s halo,” said Loeb. “Now that we know what to expect, we can examine existing sky surveys for this new class of objects.” Daily Galaxy Asteroid Alerts Come to Twitter
“Most people have a fascination with near-Earth objects,” Don Yeomans, manager of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a press release. “And I have to agree with them. I have studied them for over three decades and I find them to be scientifically fascinating, and a few are potentially hazardous to Earth.” The recent collision between a comet and Jupiter underscored the very real presence of possibly dangerous space objects in the solar system. The Twitter feed, @lowflyingrocks, already uses NASA’s raw data to let you know after an asteroid has passed the Earth. But the site tells you about every rock within 0.2 astronomical units — that’s more than 18 million miles — so you get a ton of updates. @AsteroidWatch will be choosier about the near-earth objects it tells you about. Only rocks that come within a scant 750,000 miles or so of Earth will earn a Tweet. With previous Twitter accounts, NASA employees have created voices for the various robots and machines that the agency operates. Some, like @MarsPhoenix, were cute and cuddly. Perhaps the proper voice for the near earth object warning system will be slightly more urgent and prone to profanity. Any kind of personality would be an improvement on @lowflyingrock’s robotic language. Its last Tweet went a little something like this: “2007 LL, ~220m-490m in diameter, just passed the Earth at 6km/s, missing by ~twenty-seven million, five hundred thousand km.” Star Trek Type Ion Drive Aiming At Mars
We’ve already covered first stage tests of the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR), but now – as electro-rocket scientists at Ad Astra power through second stage testing – people are already looking much further afield. VASIMR’s upgrade over previous plasma engines mean it could have a permanent place in orbit, moving satellites and stations around for free by making use of solar power (tests on the International Space Station are scheduled for 2013). But never mind being a parking assistant for a crowded orbit – it’s time to adventure! Forward-thinkers say that VASIMR’s continuous thrust could be what we need to get to Mars. The technology to maybe bang a bucket of bolts together and half-land it on Mars has been around for a while – the real race is against time, with the inconvenient fact that most of space is trying to kill us. You have to get there before the radiation that soaks interplanetary space becomes too much, and the superconducting plasma rocket could cut the trip down to 39 days – within what we’re able to do with our soft flesh. Which means that those guys who just finished 105 days of isolation experiment are officially 2.7 times as prepared as they need to be. This ambitious objective would mean making a few changes to craft design. Strapping in a nuclear reactor, for one thing, as the energy requirments of crossing interplanetary space is a little beyond what we can get from solar power without panels the size of cities. But really, if you’re landing on a new planet, doesn’t being strapped to a nuclear reaction just make it MORE awesome? Daily Galaxy NASA and Google Launch Virtual Exploration of the Moon
The announcement was made during a press conference featuring remarks by Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin; Alan Eustace, a Google senior vice president; Andrew Chaikin, author and space historian; and Anousheh Ansari, the first female space tourist. With the Moon in Google Earth, users can explore a virtual moonscape, follow guided tours from astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Jack Schmidt, view high-resolution “street view” style panoramic images and see previously unreleased footage captured from the lunar surface. Whether rediscovering iconic moments from the history of lunar exploration, or learning about them for the first time, the Moon in Google Earth enables users to better understand the moon and mankind’s relationship to it using an immersive, 3D experience. The result of a close collaboration with NASA, the Moon in Google Earth showcases current and historic content about the moon. All NASA data sets used in the Moon in Google Earth are included on a non-exclusive basis. “This announcement builds on the ongoing relationship with Google that Ames Research Center initiated in November 2006, when we signed a Space Act Agreement to foster collaboration with our Silicon Valley neighbor,” said S. Pete Worden, director of NASA’s Ames Research Center. “We’re excited to be a part of this latest chapter in Google’s efforts to bring virtual exploration of the moon to anyone with a computer.”In addition to satellite imagery and topographical data, the following layers can be explored: * Featured Satellite Imagery – Explore overlaid satellite imagery and detailed descriptions of selected areas on the moon from Arizona State University’s “Lunar Image of the Week.” * Spacecraft Imagery – View selected imagery captured by the Apollo Metric Camera, and the Clementine and the Lunar Orbiter spacecraft. * Apollo Missions – Travel back to the Apollo era and discover the landing sites of Apollo missions 11-17. Explore “street view” style panoramic images, watch previously unreleased footage from spacecraft films and read about the places astronauts saw on their trips to the moon. * Guided Tours – Take a narrated tour of the moon with Apollo astronauts Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11) and Jack Schmitt (Apollo 17) * Historic Maps – Explore Apollo-era geologic and topographic maps of the moon. * Human Artifacts – Learn about the various types of exploratory equipment that humans have left on the moon and where those objects can be found today. To learn more about Moon in Google Earth, visit: earth.google.com On Mars, Rover Spots Large Meteorite
The rover team spotted the rock called “Block Island,” on July 18, 2009, in the opposite direction from which it was driving. The team then had the rover do a hard right (not really, but you know what I mean) and backtrack some 250 meters (820 feet) to study it closer. Oppy has been studying the rock with its alpha particle X-ray spectrometer to get composition measurements and to confirm if indeed it is a meteorite. Right, see a close-up, colorized version of Block Island and a 3-D version, both created by Photoshopper Extraordinaire Stu Atkinson. Pic: Block Island close up and colorized. Credit: NASA/JPL, with image editing by Stuart Atkinson Block Island really does have a meteorite-like look to it. Stu suggested on his blog that it looks like several meteorites found on Earth, such as one of the Derrick Peak meteorites found in Antarctica, shown below. The Derrick Peak meteorites are iron meteorites, and about 27 were found in one location in Antarctica. Researchers believe they all came from one meteor shower. Universe Today Large Meteor Shower Headed Our Way
Don’t get too excited, we’re just in the outskirts of the debris stream now. If you go out at night and stare at the sky, you’ll probably only see a few Perseids per hour. This will change, however, as August unfolds. Earth passes through the densest part of the debris stream Sometime on August 12th. Then, you could see dozens of meteors per hour. For most sky watchers it all begins after nightfall on August 12th and continues until sunrise. Veteran observers suggest the following strategy: Unfold a Blanket on a flat patch of ground. (Note: The middle of your street is not a good choice.) Lie down and look up. Perseids can appear in any part of the sky. Get away from city lights if you can. There is one light you cannot escape on August 12th. The 55% gibbous Moon will glare down just next door to the shower’s radiant in Perseus. The Moon is beautiful, but don’t stare at it. Bright moonlight ruins night vision and it will wipe out any faint Perseids in that part of the sky. Earthgrazers might appear which are meteors that approach from the horizon and skim the atmosphere overhead like a stone skipping across the surface of a pond. They are long, slow and colorful-among the most beautiful of meteors. An hour of watching may net only a few of these at most, but seeing even one can make the whole night worthwhile. The Perseids are coming. Enjoy the show. NASA Are We the Sole Intelligent Life in the Milky Way?
The Rare Earth argument ignores a number of essential factors, the first being how staggeringly huge the numbers involved are. Even the Milky Way has 200 to 400 billion stars, and it’s only one of a hundred billion galaxies in the observable universe, and there have been billions of years for things to happen. Countering “it’s really unlikely” with “but there are lots of things!” might sound weak, but it’s the Rare Earthers who are taking the burden of proof – claiming that nothing happens anywhere else ever. The more places there are, the worse their argument gets. Geologist Peter Ward and astrobiologist Donald Brownlee, both of the University of Washington have outlined a short list of conditions needed: Right distance from a star; habitat for complex life; liquid water near surface; far enough to avoid tidal lock; right mass of star with long enough lifetime and not too much ultraviolet; stable planetary orbits; right planet mass to maintain atmosphere and ocean with a solid molten core and enough heat for plate tectonics; a Jupiter-like neighbor to clear out comets and asteroids; plate tectonics to build up land mass, enhance bio-diversity, and enable a magnetic field; not too much, nor too little ocean; a large moon at the right distance to stabilize tilt; a small Mars-like neighbor as possible source to seed Earth-like planet; maintenance of adequate temperature, composition and pressure for plants and animals; a galaxy with enough heavy elements, not too small, ellipitcal or irregular; right position the galaxy;; and, of course, biological evolution. Claims that there aren’t many suitable planets over all these stars are like hiding in a closet and claiming there’s no such thing as coffee tables – we’re now detecting planets at an ever-increasing rate, because now we have technology actually capable of detecting planets. Almost as soon as we try any new planet-detecting technique it detects a whole bunch of the things. We’re even edging into the ability to find Earth-size planets, and what do you know? There they are! And some even have water! The second slip-up is ignoring the suitability of the laws of physics to life – or rather, the suitability of our form of life to the laws of physics. The idea of someone sitting in pre-existence limbo and tuning the weak nuclear force in order to create bald monkeys is patently ridiculous, as is the idea that only a tiny range of values could give rise to any repeating pattern – our pattern, DNA, is just the one that happened to work for the collection of constants we call reality. Once life is possible in a universe, expecting it to occur in one place only is like leaving a loaf of bread and expecting exactly one slice to go moldy. Life just happens here – thermodynamic math has shown that amino acids simply will be built anywhere their components can be found. Since those components are on the periodic table, the literal “this is what happens in this universe” list, they’re going to be all over. Assuming aliens don’t come up with another pattern anyway (increasing the odds again). Claiming that we’re the only life in existence is a combination of ignorance and self-importance. Daily Galaxy Download The Evening Sky Map:
Designed to print clearly on all printers, The Evening Sky Map is ready-to-use and will help you to:
The Evening Sky Map is free for personal non-commercial educational use. Astronomy Education and Outreach groups may freely distribute printed handouts of The Evening Sky Map subject to the Terms of Use. Follow Skymaps.com on Twitter. Receive news of updated sky maps, reminders of Sky Calendar events, and other noteworthy news for sky watchers. And it’s FREE! Sky Map Download Book ReviewRocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon
Craig Nelson sheds light on Apollo’s complicated story in Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon. His point is made from the start as he ably combines the history of the time with the fallout that came in the aftermath of those great adventures. Nelson’s book explores the work of the men who went to the moon through their own words and deeds. In doing so, it personalizes the book. Included are numerous anecdotes that give you a sense of perspective about the mission, given our huge leap in technology since. Nelson reports that both Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin carried slide rules with them to the moon and reminds us that our digital watches carry more computing power than the lunar lander! With a hard drive rated at 74kb you sort of stop for a moment and reflect on just how many obstacles Armstrong and Aldrin had to overcome. Wait till you find out how NASA were worried the astronauts would return carrying ‘moon germs’ – now that’s quirky Craig! The concepts of Rocket Men are well defined from the start. Nelson’s book is a masterpiece of space history. He has a way of taking you back to the time, almost like standing in the control room, as the mission unfolds. Becoming engrossed in the expanding timeline and then being jerked back to reality by Nelson with incisive comment, witty examples and photos that compliment the text are, to me, the hallmarks of a writer who knows his craft. The notes included at the back of the book are extensive, almost obsessively so, and the book’s sources are similarly treated. Nelson begins his account of the Apollo missions as the mighty Saturn V rocket arrives at its launch pad. The story unfolds as implacably as the countdown itself as the astronauts lock down their helmets and plug in their suits while engineers tick off maddening, endless lists of tasks; wives cringe and smoke as reporters trample one another for vantage points. The gravity of “Rocket Men” increases once Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins are safely in orbit and Nelson steps back to consider the strange history of rocket science and spaceflight in the 20th century. There’s a great deal of ground to cover here as he highlights the efforts of pioneer rocket engineers like Robert Goddard, German whiz Werner von Braun, and Soviet designer Sergei Korolyov battling health problems and the suspicion of the Soviet hierarchy. It’s here that Nelson’s narrative and analytic skills are most effectively put to use weaving the political and cultural history of the cold war together with the more ancient strands of science and wonder that attend it. Nelson returns to Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins en route to the moon. His account of the mission relies heavily on long quotes, and in places the sequence of events drags a little, but when Nelson conveys the worries, wonder, and sheer delight the astronauts felt when they landed on the moon you forgive him. Again you’re taken on a personal ride On the negative side there are occasional missteps and flat notes, and in some early chapters I found the continuity had to follow. A minor flaw though as Nelson eventually threads his way back to find you again and draws you once more into a time that will never come again. At just on 350 pages I thought the book could have been reduced in size somewhat by the removal of some of the more superfluous ‘facts’ and digressions that added little to the context of the book. What did the book accomplish? Well, Nelson manages a formidable task here, tackling not only the complex story of Apollo, but the massive literature spawned by the space race. I found compelling evidence to believe much of the moon landing was luck, tempered with a lot of sheer guts, blood, sweat and the efforts of more than 400,000 people who worked on the project. The book has a similar feel as Deborah Cadbury’s 2006 book ‘Space Race’ and I found similarities in both authors writing styles. Would I recommend Nelson’ book to anyone even remotely interested in man’s landing on the Moon? You bet! Would I suggest it as a definitive text to a future historian or up and coming space academic – of course. Buy Now: Best Price $15.06 Craig Nelson Rocket Men == In The Sky This Week ==The full Moon is Thursday August 6. The Moon passes in front of the bright star Sigma Scorpii around 10:15pm (AEST) on Friday July 31. Mercury is now visible in the evening twilight, low in the western sky. Saturn is visible in the early evening and can be easily seen as the second brightest object above the north-western horizon but now sets around 9:00pm local time. Jupiter is easily seen as the brightest object above the eastern horizon from around 9pm local time. On Thursday August 6 the Moon is near Jupiter. Jupiter’s moons are readily visible in binoculars or a small telescope. In the morning, Venus and Mars are readily visible in the eastern sky. Red Mars is below the A-shaped Hyades cluster, which forms the head of Taurus the Bull. Bright white Venus is well below Aldebaran, and forms a triangle with Aldebaran and red Betelguese in Orion. http://abcmail.net.au/t/581652/682450/1764/0/ International Year of Astronomy 2009 reaches its six-month milestone
The IYA2009 is a global celebration of astronomy and its contributions to society and culture, with events at national, regional and global levels throughout the whole of 2009. Now, halfway through 2009, much has been achieved and even more can be expected in the future. The Galileoscope project headlines the IYA2009. With the aim of providing low-cost telescopes that offer views far better than those obtained by Galileo Galilei some 400 years ago, the venture has picked up significant pace since the IYA2009 began. By the end of July, the first 60 000 Galileoscopes will have been shipped, and a further 100 000 are currently in production. More than 4000 Galileoscopes have been generously donated by the IYA2009 and individuals to organisations and schools in developing countries. This gesture aptly demonstrates the commitment of astronomy enthusiasts to the IYA2009 goal of making the skies accessible to all. But perhaps the most impressive figures for the IYA2009 have come from the national activities that have brought together hundreds of thousands of people in many countries for astronomy-themed events. For example, more than 400 000 people gathered for the Sunrise Event on New Year’s Day in Busan City, South Korea. In Brazil, more than 750 000 students participate from 32 500 schools. In Norway, every student from grades 5-11 will soon receive a free astronomy kit, including a Galileoscope and an educational guide. For the first time in postal service history, and in just six months, more than 70 postal agencies around the world have issued over 140 new stamps inspired by astronomy. IYA ASTRO PIC OF THE WEEK Stunning Image of ISS and Endeavour Transitting Sun
Wow! Take a look at this image captured by award-winning French astrophotographer Thierry Legault. The visible detail of the shuttle and parts of the International Space Stations is absolutely amazing! If you remember, Legault also took images of space shuttle Atlantis and the Hubble Space Telescope transiting the sun back in May during the HST servicing mission. Legault is an engineer who lives near Paris. He started his digital imaging in 1994, and currently uses a SBIG STL-11000M CCD camera with AO-L system that is equipped with large and narrow band filters. He also uses a reflex Canon 5D, webcams from Philips as well as Astrovid video cameras. He has written two books: “The New Atlas of the Moon” with Serge Brunier (Firefly) and “Astrophotographie” (Eyrolles), and is featured in a new book by Robert Gendler, “Capturing the Stars: Astrophotography by the Masters.” Visit Thierry’s website for more great images! OnOrbit |
When it comes to universes, perhaps one is enough after all.
The panel reviewing NASA’s long-range plans is giving a new boost to the old idea of setting up orbital fueling stations for spaceflight. If the space agency and the White House go down that route, it would mark a dramatic change in direction for future journeys beyond Earth orbit.
As Japan’s first astronaut to spend long duration missions on board the International Space Station, Koichi Wakata has had the opportunity to do all sorts of interesting experiments the past few months.
Scientists suspect that Venus’s atmosphere might hide extraterrestrial lifeforms, and in the ultimate safari ever, they want to go there and capture them with a flying balloon. Interplanetary travel, extraterrestrial life, and Venusian airships – anyone doing anything other than science is missing out.
New calculations by Ryan O’Leary and Avi Loeb of the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics suggest that hundreds of massive rogue black holes, left over from the galaxy-building days of the early universe, may wander the Milky Way.
Alerts about asteroids cruising near Earth have come to Twitter. 
Nuclear-powered plasma drives carrying men to Mars – the fact we can say that as a future instead of fiction makes us so happy! Tests on a new kind of ion drive establish that’s already applicable to orbital operations, and could be the breakthrough that blasts us to the next planet.
Forty years ago on July 20, 1969, the world watched as the crew of 
The Opportunity rover has come across an odd-shaped, large, dark rock, about 0.6 meters (2 feet) across on the surface of Mars, which may be a meteorite.
Earth is entering a stream of dusty debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle, the source of the annual Perseid meteor shower. Although the shower won’t peak until August 11th and 12th, the show is already getting underway.
The “Rare Earth” hypothesis is the idea that life is a staggeringly unlikely event, and that the reason we haven’t seen hide nor hair of aliens is that there aren’t any. It’s had some time in the spotlight, it makes us sound very important, and it’s wrong.
The Evening Sky Map (PDF) is a 2-page monthly guide to the night sky suitable for all sky watchers including newcomers to Astronomy. AND its entirely FREE.
From the outset, I’d like to say that this was one of the best books I’ve ever read on the race to land a man on the Moon. It was one of those books that I didn’t want to put down. When Neil Armstrong landed on the moon it galvanized the entire world… I was one of the billion or so people watching that day. Sadly, the climax of the space race seems dim and shadowed now 40 years later, lost among the mysteries of the cold war. Nelson acknowledges that and like me, laments its passing.
As the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) reaches its six-month milestone, over a million people have already looked at the sky through a telescope for the first time, and even more have newly engaged in astronomy. This is just one of many achievements, as countless ongoing projects and planned initiatives indicate that the IYA2009 is well on the way towards achieving many of its goals.
Events & Activities |
| * Tours: Some exciting news about a serties of New Zealand astronomy tours I’ve been invited to take part in with Grand Pacific Tours P/L and closer to the end of the year I have been asked to take part in and run a couple of back to back astro lectures and sky viewing travelling on Great Southern railway trains – namely the ‘Sourthern Star’. Stay tuned!
* Book Reviews: I’ve recently been given the opportunity to become a book reviewer for some of the most respected publication houses in the world. This offer has been extended to the review and critique of DVDs as well so, in the coming months, I’ll be looking at a few new releases and giving you my impression of them in an impartial and non-biased manner. Any other publishers interested in having me review their material as well as are asked to contact me direct from any of the personal adresses on these pages. The first publication just receieved is the newly released hard cover book ‘The New Race For Space’ from Rosenberg Sales N.Y. followed by another new release ‘Rocket Men – The Epic Story Of The First Men On The Moon by Craig Nelson by the Penguin Group New York. Stay tuned! Profiles – People, Events etcSouthern Cross Observatory – Tasmania, Australia. If you are interested in Astro-Photography, at any level, then this is the site for you. Take note and learn from the experts!  Shevill Mathers Shevill Mathers is recognized as one of the world’se leading amateur astronomers and is a specialist in his field. His regular columns and newspaper articles are now augmented by a wide range of articles including ATM articles, Astro News items and Activities from Tasmania as well as reviewing a wide range of astronomical equipment. Shevill is a regular contributor to many various magazines including the Tasmania 40 Degrees South magazine, Leatherwood On-Line, Discover Tasmania, Quasar Publishing ‘Astronomy Yearbook’, Universe Today and various overseas scientific forums. He is a local media source for TV, radio and the print media. Shevill Mathers has been a keen amateur astronomer / telescope and camera builder in the UK since the early 60’s, with a special interest in astrophotography. A member of the BAA, London (Lunar Section), his photographic expertise was greatly encouraged by Patrick Moore, with whom he has maintained a lasting friendship. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1968. Southern Cross Observatory – IYA – Two special sites have been established at the International ’Macedon Ranges Observatory’, in Victoria, to coordinate and share images, experiences and events around the world, the links are: http://www.southerngalactic.com/ andhttp://www.northerngalactic.com/ Contact details:shevill.mathers@southernphone.com.au Shevillm@gmail.com Web: www.shevillmathers.id.au The International Year of Astronomy for Everyday Folk
“Anyone can be a space explorer, just by going outside at night and looking up with a little bit of a prepared mind,” said Andrew Chaikin, a former editor of Sky & Telescope magazine who wrote “A Man on the Moon,” the classic history of the Apollo moon effort. Chaikin did a little bit of virtual exploration himself, after coming upon 40-year-old Apollo 11 imagery that revealed a little-seen side of moonwalker Neil Armstrong. Do-it-yourself space science extends far beyond archival searches. Some of the leaders of the citizen astronomy movement provided status reports on their own missions at this week’s American Astronomical Society meeting in Pasadena, Calif. Here’s just a sampling: Galileoscope: Shipments of a high-tech, low-cost telescope, modeled after the instrument used by Galileo Galilei 400 years ago, are making their way from China to the United States and other destinations by boat. About 60,000 telescope kits have been sold in advance, at a retail price of $15 (less for bulk quantities). Buyers should be receiving the kits by the end of July. The next steps include figuring out how many more telescopes should be made before the production line is shut down (get your orders in now!) … and also setting up a contest for Galileoscope imagery. The idea is to solicit photos of celestial objects taken through the telescope, as well as drawings based on Galileoscope observations (a la Galileo, as shown above). Contest rules and submission procedures will be on the Galileoscope Web site when they’re ready for release. The first round of winners should be announced by the end of the year. Galaxy Zoo: The Galaxy Zoo 2 project has recruited more than 200,000 participants to sort through online pictures of galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and classify them according to their shape – something that human eyes and brains can do much more easily than computers. During the “100 Hours of Astronomy” celebration in April, more than 2.5 million classifications were made – and if you count up all the clicks since Galaxy Zoo 2 started in February, the classifications add up to 32 million. Combine that with Galaxy Zoo 1’s results, and you get more than 100 million galaxy checkups. The Galaxy Zoo team says that’s the equivalent of a Ph.D. student working for almost 20 years without sleep or a coffee break. The project already has spawned a dozen journal articles – relating to patterns in galaxy rotation, for example, or the effects of galaxy mergers. Star parties galore: If you thought “100 Hours of Astronomy” was big, just you wait: IYA organizers are planning a collaboration with the Year of Science celebration starting in July, a worldwide moon-watching effort on Aug. 1 (linked to NASA’s LCROSS moon-smashing mission), a “Galilean Nights” festival on Oct. 23-24 (featuring Jupiter and its moons). They’ll take on a big role in this year’s Great World Wide Star Count in October as well. October also happens to be prime time for the year’s second round of Astronomy Day celebrations. Social astronomy: Space fans are really catching on to social-networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter. You can follow updates from Endeavour shuttle commander Mark Polansky, for example, or from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter that’s slated for launch next week. (Today the plucky probe touts its “new movie trailer.”) One idea that’s circulating is to create a social network dubbed AstroTwitter to allow telescope handlers around the world to answer the question “What are you observing?” Another idea is to use Twitter as a way for observers to share their skywatching experiences online in real time, as British moon-watchers did during an experimental session last month. Online astronomy: Much has been written about online astronomy programs such as the outward-looking side of Google Earth and Microsoft’s World Wide Telescope. (Microsoft is a partner in the msnbc.com joint venture.) Watch for further updates and grassroots enhancements in the future, including a fresh beta release for the WWT next month. The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics’ MicroObservatory is also coming into play, along with other portals to remote-controlled telescopes. Virtual-world astronomy: The virtual world known as Second Life boasts its own universe of astronomical projects. The online offerings have pushed light-years ahead in the two years since I first wrote about the virtual final frontier. To see how far things have gone, check out Second Astronomy . |
Astronomer Galileo Galilei made these drawings of the moon based on telescope observations made four centuries ago. Could you do any better? The Galileoscope project is planning a contest for sketchers and photographers. The
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