Tag Archives: NASA

Electric moondust

Posted on April 17, 2008 | Comments Off on Electric moondust

We’ve been to the moon. Driven around, even hit golfballs. Been there, done that. Faced with the prospect of returning, and setting up a permanent outpost, however, NASA is studying the place all over again and finding things never imagined. Moondust, for instance. It made a mess of the Apollo astronauts, clinging to their spacesuits and their equipment. Now there’s speculation that it could even be electrifying, at least during a full moon. That’s when the moon flies through the tail of Earth’s magnetic bubble. None of the Apollo landings took place during a full moon, so no one knows for sure, but future explorers may need to ground themselves against a shocking experience, at least once a month.

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Posted in Space

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Silly astronomy

Posted on April 5, 2008 | Comments Off on Silly astronomy

It was absurd enough when NASA used its Deep Space Network back in February to transmit a John Lennon tune to the North Star, 431 light years away. Of course Yoko liked it. She would. Now the Brits are going to join the charade, raising an undisclosed amount of research money from Doritos corn chips to beam one of their ads to a possible solar system in the Big Dipper, just 42 light years from Earth. Cute, sure. But hardly serious, useful, or a boost to astronomy’s reputation.

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Posted in Science/Engineering

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Man in space

Posted on September 17, 2007 | Comments Off on Man in space

freefloating_sts64.jpg

An old picture, but still an inspiring one. It’s been tedious and slow since the moon landings, but, in historical terms (geological ones, if you like) we’re on our way. 

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Posted in Space

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Today’s pretty picture

Posted on August 30, 2007 | Comments Off on Today’s pretty picture

Endeavor.jpg

Its’ a good thing NASA takes its own photos in space and displays them on the Internet. If we had to rely solely on the MSM, as we did before the Web, we’d never see them. 

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Posted in Science/Engineering, Space

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Meteors!

Posted on July 11, 2007 | Comments Off on Meteors!

Not the meteor-ological kind, but the shooting, falling star variety. Reminders you live on a planet:

"Got a calendar? Circle this date: Sunday, August 12th. Next to the circle write ‘all night‘ and ‘Meteors!‘ Attach the above to your refrigerator in plain view so you won’t miss the 2007 Perseid meteor shower."

Of course, there are plenty of caveats. You need dark skies to see much, preferably with a view of the horizon. And, for best results, you need to plan on staying up well after midnight. But they are fun. 

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Posted in Space

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Speedy critters

Posted on July 8, 2007 | Comments Off on Speedy critters

Things certainly look placid enough. Ah, if only you knew. Folks at the equator, according to NASA, are riding the Earth’s rotation at about 1,000 mph. In Texas it’s probably around 700 mph. Meanwhile the Earth is speeding around the sun at 67,000 mph. Can’t feel a thing, can you? Obviously, things are not what they seem.

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Posted in Scribbles, Space

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Rover over

Posted on June 29, 2007 | Comments Off on Rover over

The Opportunity robot rover on Mars is set to begin a treacherous journey into a deep meteor crater:

"Opportunity already has been exploring layered rocks in cliffs around Victoria Crater. The team has planned the descent carefully to enable an eventual exit, but Opportunity could become trapped inside the crater or lose some capabilities. The rover has operated more than 12 times longer than its originally intended 90 days."

I’m sure most people have forgotten the rover is still out there. This could help them remember. 

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Posted in Space

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