The Eta Aquariids are getting more active as we approach this weekend’s peak. This morning nine ETAs were observed which is a bump up from the 4 and 6 we saw the past two nights. Though my camera is monitoring 4 other showers, all of them were quiet last night (at least in my cameras field-of-view).
The Eta Aquariids are a nice shower though only observable during the last few hours of the night. If you want to learn more about the Eta Aquariids and how to observe them, go check out Bob Lunsford’s write-up at the American Meteor Society.
Obs Date(UT) Time TOT SPO ANT XLI ABO PBO ETA ELY SAL 2017-05-03 08h 40m 24 12 3 0 0 0 9 0 SAL - SALSA3 camera in Tucson (Carl Hergenrother) VIS - Visual observations from Tucson (Carl Hergenrother) Time - Total amount of time each camera looked for meteors TOT - Total number of meteors detected SPO - Sporadics (meteors not affiliated with any particular meteor shower) ANT - Anthelions XLI - April Chi Librids ABO - Alpha Bootids PBO - Phi Bootids ETA - Eta Aquariids ELY - Eta Lyrids Oth - other minor showers


Three beautiful planets - Mars, Jupiter and Saturn - are all visible to the unaided eye. If you have binoculars or a telescope, you can also see some of the moons and other features. Here's a beginner's look at the planets which lie beyond Earth.
When Ceres was discovered in 1801, astronomers assumed it was a planet. But when many more of these bodies were found, they were all finally listed as asteroids. In 2006 Ceres became the only asteroid also to be listed as a dwarf planet.
The Solar System's large moons tend towards the weird and wonderful, and Triton is no exception. It has ice volcanoes, a strange “cantaloupe terrain”, and crazy seasons. It's the only large moon to orbit in the wrong direction, so it didn't form near Neptune. But where did it come from?
Mars has no little green men, but it's a fascinating place. It has a mountain three times the height of Everest and a deep valley that dwarfs the Grand Canyon. Although Mars has no liquid water on the surface, if the southern polar icecap melted, it could cover the planet 36 feet deep in water.
Achievements may be honored with prizes and medals, but few get represented as children's toys. However Lego responded to a proposal to showcase women in space and astronomy by making a Lego set representing four such women and their major contributions. Who were these women?
The Crab Nebula is M1 and the Andromeda Galaxy is M31. Over a hundred deep-sky objects with "M" numbers are listed in the Messier Catalogue. Charles Messier, 18th-century comet hunter, is known today less for his comets and more for his catalog of things that aren't comets.
The starter's pistol for the space race was fired on October 4, 1957. It was in the form of a small highly-polished sphere that orbited the Earth every 98 minutes. This was the Soviet Union's Sputnik, Earth's first artificial satellite. It shook up the United States, and there was more to come.
Each day for six months after the winter solstice, the Sun rises a bit higher in the sky. It reaches the maximum height at the summer solstice, the longest day. Evidence of rituals and festivals at the times of the solstices goes back thousands of years.


Solar eclipses are some of the most beautiful and surreal experiences you can view. Looking at a solar eclipse without the proper viewing equipment can be incredibly damaging to your eyesight. Luckily, even if you do not have specially made glasses, you can still join in on the viewing. In this article, we will teach you how to make solar eclipse glasses at home.
What You Will Need to Make the Solar Eclipse Glasses
To make your solar eclipse glasses, you will need a cereal box, a white piece of paper, some scissors, a piece of tin foil, and a nail.
How to Make Your Solar Eclipse Glasses
Take the cereal box and empty it of its contents. Then, get some white paper and put the bottom of the cereal box over it. Trace the outline of the box onto the piece of white paper and then cut it out using the scissors.
Now, tape the cut-out shape to the inside of the bottom of the box. Once you secure the slab of paper in the cereal box, then close the top of the table. Next, make two small square holes on both sides of the cereal box. Place the tinfoil over one of these holes — it doesn’t matter which one.
Make sure you secure the tin foil tightly to the side of the hole using tape. After you do this step, then make a pinhole using a nail or sharp object. Congratulations, you figured out how to make solar eclipse glasses at home.
How to Use the Solar Eclipse Glasses
Stand so that you are facing away from the sun, then hold up the box so that the side with the tin foil faces the sun. Then, look into the opening of the plate. The eclipse should project onto the white piece of paper.
We hope this article helped you learn how to make solar eclipse glasses at home. Make sure you get an adult to help you if you are a child and make sure to be safe when viewing. Have fun!


Southern California’s gateway to the cosmos!
The Griffith Observatory sits on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park. It commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin, including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest.
Unimpeded views of the Hollywood sign, the Pacific Ocean, and Los Angeles’ skyscrapers are visible throughout the hike, but the best views are seen from the Observatory.
Griffith Observatory’s Samuel Oschin Planetarium was closed September 10-12, 2019, for essential repairs and upgrades.
Address: 2800 E Observatory Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90027


Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
"We don't want new worlds, we only want to expand Earth endlessly. We don't want anything new. We just want a mirror."
One the best movies ever. EVER.
It is very slow though, and though I enjoyed the remake, this rises above the source material and becomes something more, you could re-tell the story, but you could never remake this movie.
A psychologist is sent to investigate a rash of strange hallucinations plaguing a group of cosmonauts orbiting a planet covered entirely by an ocean.
The cosmonauts are seeing those they left behind on earth, the dead and those they wish were with them.
They believe the planet is causing these people to appear, the people themselves contain only the memories of those who remember them and slowly become aware of their artificiality.
It's truly haunting and emotionally harrowing, while not sacrificing an inch of it's speculative curiosity, a rarity in science fiction, and films in general. And the 15 minute, Tokyo freeway scene, and the final scene as the camera zooms out are two of the best Ive ever seen anywhere.
Solaris is to inner space and internal experience what Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" is to outer space and man's external environment.


Question: I heard that Pluto lost its official status as a “planet” just because it lies in the Kuiper Belt. What’s up with that, and what the heck is the Kuiper belt? — CT, Las Cruces, NM
Answer: Good question. Astronomers are still debating exactly what Pluto should be called. But there’s no doubt Pluto orbits in the Kuiper Belt. The Belt was named for astronomer Gerard Kuiper who, in 1951, proposed it might be the source of short period comets.
You can visualize the Solar System from the Sun out to Neptune as a flat disk. Beyond that it gets messy. First comes the Kuiper belt, a donut-shaped swarm of small bodies that orbit the Sun with a variety of orbital tilts. Pluto is among these bodies, with an orbital tilt of about 17°. The major planets’ orbital tilts are all < 7°.
Beyond that is a spherical swarm of small bodies (shown in cross-section) known as the Oort Cloud. Beyond that is the realm of interstellar space. Pretty much nothing for trillions of miles.
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has decided that Pluto is more like a Kuiper Belt object than a classical planet, so it belongs in a new category. Henceforth, it will be called a dwarf planet instead. Classification is important to scientists. It lets them group things with similar properties. Things with similar properties often have similar origins, and, because of its location, it seems Pluto was created by a different process than that which formed the other eight (real) planets in our Solar System.


The College of the Redwoods Del Norte Education Center has received a generous donation of a Meade Newtonian telescope from the Smith River Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to long-term protection, stewardship, and restoration of Del Norte's Smith River Watershed.
This telescope is a research-grade model that will allow detailed views of planets, and also the ability to see deep-space nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters.
“The Del Norte campus should consider itself very fortunate to have a research-grade telescope” said chemistry Professor Frank Simpson. “It is ready to show the universe to the students at Del Norte.”
Although the CR Del Norte campus only offers one section of Astronomy per year, taught in summer session, Dr. Simpson can see the telescope as an educational tool for a number of science and mathematics disciplines. Dr. Simpson also sees an Astronomy Club on the horizon for the Del Norte campus.
The telescope originally was donated to the Smith River Alliance by Chris Brokate, who went on to form the Clean River Alliance when he moved from the Del Norte area to the Russian River area in Sonoma County. To learn more about the Smith River Alliance, go to their website at http://smithriveralliance.org/. To learn about the Clean River Alliance, go to https://cleanriveralliance.org/.


Lugenda Wilderness Camp. A safari to this area is to go where few have travelled. It is not a safari for first-timers only interested in seeing the Big 5, it is a journey of discovery for safari pioneers to an emerging photographic safari destination. Lugenda Wilderness Camp provides visitors with the true quality of wilderness that is rare to find on safari today.
Located in the greater Niassa National Reserve in the remotest corner of northern Mozambique, Lugenda Wilderness Camp is set in one of the continent's 'last wild places'. This is the description given to the Niassa Reserve by Mike Fay, World Conservation Society conservationist during his year-long MegaFlyover across Africa.
FULL MOON TOURS 2014.
We have created exclusive packages around an interesting time of the year – when the moon is full. Because the location of the reserve is so remote, there is zero light pollution from the outside world; the impact of a full moon in the Niassa is impressive beyond belief.
FULL MOON TOURS


Student Scientists See Research Launched Into Space
Catholic school students have been waiting since October for their research to be launched on an unmanned NASA-contracted rocket to the International Space Station. That amazing goal was achieve on Saturday morning, Jan. 10 at 4:47 a.m. at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The science experiment was created by four Hackett Catholic Prep freshmen, pictured above (from left): Mackenzie Ortlieb, Natalie Moyer, Grace Brennan and Delaney Hewitt. The girls began their experiment, titled “Microgravity’s Effects on Dry Lake Fairy Shrimp,” while 8th graders at St. Monica Catholic School, last spring.
Becky Reits, principal of St. Monica Catholic School, brought this unusual space curriculum to schools in the Catholic Diocese of Kalamazoo. The program is sponsored by the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, through the National Center for Earth and Space Science Foundation (NCESSE), headquartered in Ellicott City, Md. The launch, initially scheduled in October, was aborted three times due to weather and other problems, including a massive explosion of the rocket just seconds after a launch scheduled Oct. 28 from Wallops Island, VA, in which all the students’ work was destroyed. The students recreated their research and it was part of the cargo that was launched into space on Saturday morning, Jan. 10. Congratulations!
Shuttle Image Credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
The Traveling Holy Family Statue
Click here to reserve the Traveling Holy Family Statue.


Tonopah Star Trails
Tonopah Star Trails is not affiliated with AmericanTowns Media
Away from the big city lights of Las Vegas and Reno, Tonopah, Nevada has the unique distinction of having one of the darkest nighttime skies in the country. Take advantage of this rare opportunity where the brightest lights around are what you see in the sky. Travel the star trails after the moon sets, let your eyes adjust and then simply look up and lose yourself in the darkest skies in the nation.
the Best Things-To-Do and Places To Go around you


When you wish upon a star, you dream it’ll be in New Zealand. Join our evening of astronomy and awe when we went stargazing in Lake Tekapo, as part of our South Island road trip!
Our final stop on our South Island road trip adventure was yet another lakeside town, this time: Tekapo. Famed for lupins, the most photographed building in New Zealand, and a starry night’s sky it makes for a pretty special final stop on a road trip through this part of the country.
Driving to Lake Tekapo
Tekapo is easy to reach on the South Island of New Zealand, as it is connected by State Highway 8 which connects the towns of Wanaka and Timaru.
We drove from Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park through Mount Cook Road and around Lake Pukaki (one of the three lakes in the Mackenzie District) on the highway for around an hour long journey in total. A brief stop to enjoy the views across Lake Pukaki and we continued on through mountains and farmland to reach Lake Tekapo.
New Zealand country highways are unlike what you may be used to. The roads are single lanes, there is rarely traffic, and overtaking farm vehicles is much more common! Driving into Tekapo is well sign-posted and as the only town you come across since passing Lake Pukaki you won’t miss it!
What to do in Lake Tekapo
With stargazing in Lake Tekapo (unsurprisingly…) only possible at night, we spent the remaining daylight hours after our drive enjoying the small lakeside settlement’s attractions.
Church of the Good Shepherd
Considered the most photographed building in New Zealand, this tiny chapel on the edge of the lake could not be more idyllic. The path leading up to and around the church was pretty busy when we visited in the later hours of the day, as literal bus-loads of visitors stopped by to catch an iconic snapshot of this dreamy location.
With some patience, your chance will come to capture your own photos. It’s these spots where being respectful of other visitors is greatly valued – we all want to enjoy the same thing after all!
We poked our heads inside and enjoyed a panoramic view from the window at the altar of the church. Photos are not allowed inside, but this only added to the serene atmosphere.
The church views are popular throughout the seasons; with the purple lupins dominating the landscape in spring, the crystal clear lake waters in summer, the clear night’s sky in autumn, and the snow-capped mountains in winter. Could you ask for anything more from such a simple little building?!
Right next to the church sits a tall bronze statue of man’s best friend. Representing all the working collie dogs that aided their masters, the bronze sheepdog in Lake Tekapo was commissioned by local farmers to immortalise and celebrate the role played by these loyal pets.
After taking a quick snap of the statue with the beautiful mountains and lake behind, we soon moved on to avoid the crowds of tourists here to enjoy the views as the sun began to set.
Skip stones at the lake
Choosing to spend the remaining daylight hours at a quiet spot at the lake, we skipped stones and watched the bunnies emerge from their burrows in a beautifully peaceful setting.
Conscious that we were planning to go stargazing in Lake Tekapo later in the evening, the clouds that crept across the skies were a slight concern, but we tried to just enjoy the views as best we could.
Stargazing in Lake Tekapo
We had pre-booked our stargazing experience as we were only in Lake Tekapo for one night, and booked through Earth & Sky who are THE experts and only place to go when looking to do any stargazing at the Mount John Observatory in Tekapo.
We booked onlinefor the 8pm start of the 2 hour Mt. John Observatory tour. There is the option to select a 10.15pm tour, but with the season we visited 8pm was perfectly dark already.
Other tour options at the Mount John Observatory include:
Twilight Tour – Ideal for summer and viewing the gradually darkening sky after relaxing at the astro-cafe.
Cowan’s Observatory tour – A great introductory stargazing experience in the summer months.
Little Star tour – this winter tour is best for those avoiding the cold by being shorter and at the start of the evening.
How much does stargazing in Lake Tekapo cost?
Our tickets for the Mount John Observatory tour cost $150 (NZD) per adult. There are concession prices for seniors and children, or alternative tours at a lower price throughout different times of the day, and dependent on the season.
7.45pm – Meet at the Earth & Sky office
We arrived at the office of Earth & Sky who organised the tour, signed in and were handed our lanyards. Once everyone who had booked was signed in, the staff announced that they had been informed by the observatory that the cloud coverage was 90%, and it was highly unlikely to be an outdoor tour this evening. We could then choose to either take the indoor tour, or accept a full refund.
Of course, we were a little disappointed. After so much good weather it finally caught up with us! We decided to pursue the indoor tour, knowing that we couldn’t reschedule another night and that this was our purpose for visiting Tekapo. Most of the other guests however, opted to take the option to refund or reschedule their tour.
8pm – Depart for Mount John Observatory
With just 9 out of the original 30 visitors left, we collected our LED torches and Antarctic coats (they’ve really been down there!), hopped on the bus, and made the drive to Mount John. During the short drive, we were played a short commentary on the observatory and explaining the need for minimal light pollution – hence why even the bus headlights would go out!
8.30pm – Hot chocolate and our first telescope viewing!
Once we made it to the top of Mount John, our guide explained a brief history of the observatory and pointed out (with a very nifty little laser pointer), what exactly we could see with the naked eye such as the Milky Way and the Southern Cross. We all marvelled at the incomprehension that some of what we were seeing was so far away, and had taken years and years to be seen in this very moment!
The clouds had begun to clear slightly, and all the while our guide entertained us, other staff members began setting up telescopes and expensive looking equipment. Wrapped up in thick layers but still feeling the chill, we were each handed a cup of hot chocolate to warm our fingers and throats – it was very much appreciated!
At this point Kazimir and I realised that maybe we weren’t having an indoor tour after all, or maybe they would try and give us as much time outside while the cloud cleared before being forced indoors. Either way, we were thrilled to be getting the full experience!
A quick team photo from the astrophotographer, and we were soon allowed to look through the telescopes being set up to witness a few incredible feats of nature, way out in space.
What we saw through the telescopes at Mount John Observatory:
Alpha Centauri – incredibly, the star system closest to our solar system is 4.37 lightyears from the sun, that’s about 40 trillion km! That’s still pretty far away to me! We looked at this binary star (it’s lovingly attached to Alpha Centauri B) in depth, and it was fascinating.
Globular Star Cluster – this charmingly named group of stars is pretty much what it says on the tin: a giant lump of stars all together! It still blows my mind to see so many enormous stars like that. They probably are actually much further apart but to our tiny eyes they look like a mass of burning fire.
9pm – Entering one of the telescopes
Moving on to another area of the observatory, we would soon have the chance to go inside one of the dome telescopes – some of the most high-tech pieces of equipment on Mount John. Before doing so, the guide informed us that if we had a DSLR camera, the sky was clear enough that their astrophotographer would be capturing a few snaps for us! I eagerly handed over my camera, thrilled I’d get such a great souvenir from our visit.
As our guide explained more about what we were looking at through each telescope, it only really began to dawn on me that I was only seeing objects visible in this particular part of the world – namely the Southern Hemisphere. From the obvious such as the Southern Cross, to not seeing Orion (or at least, not always) there was a whole new perspective on how tiny we are, and how far I was from my own usual night’s sky. The craziest realisation was seeing the other side of the moon – in the Northern Hemisphere we usually say there’s a man in the moon (the pattern of dark patches apparently looks like one), but from this upside down perspective they say it’s a bunny rabbit! It was so awe-inspiring to realise, and I was grateful to be lucky enough to see from this vantage point.
What we saw from the second observatory spot and indoor telescope:
The moon – Such a simple thing to enjoy witnessing, but seeing the moon through a telescope with such clarity was amazing! I was lucky to also get a couple of shots on my DSLR of the moon, which I’m so pleased with. Can you see the bunny rabbit?
Jupiter & its moons – We were shown our first planet of the evening! It still baffles me to think about seeing planets from Earth, my mind struggles to comprehend anything to do with space so I truly thought the team working at the observatory were some kind of wizards; their knowledge knows no bounds! Seeing Jupiter and its moons was awesome, especially as we were told it was fairly common for the image to change between our first and second turns viewing – the moons are the clearest indicator if the telescope has shifted. Another reminder of how fast the earth moves and how important the tiniest of movements can affect the visibility.
Sombrero Galaxy – This was my favourite object we viewed through the ginormous telescope. An aptly given name, the spiral galaxy is stretched out with a bright centre and thick dust lanes (check out my lingo!) to appear like a sombrero!
Saturn – We were blessed to view not only Jupiter that evening but also Saturn! To be honest, by this point in the evening I was struggling to remember what looked like what, but for the keen-eyed observers you could clearly see the distinctions.
10pm – Depart the observatory & arrive back in Tekapo
Back safe and sound, we were gobsmacked at our luck of what an incredible evening it had been. We rushed back to where we were staying to flick through the photos taken on my camera, and couldn’t believe how amazing they were!
Tips for stargazing in Lake Tekapo – Visiting Mount John Observatory with Earth & Sky
- Book ahead for your preferred date. With limited numbers on each tour, it’s important to book ahead if you can to avoid disappointment.
- Stay more than one night in Lake Tekapo. We got super lucky with the weather clearing up, but some aren’t so fortunate! Although the sky is generally very clear in Tekapo (hence the observatory being here), they do have cloudy or rainy days that can cancel outdoor tours.
- Decide if you’d be happy with an indoor tour. When the weather doesn’t allow good visibility, Earth & Sky will offer an indoor tour of the observatory instead. Knowing this in advance will help you decide if it’s worth the gamble to claim the refund for another night, or take the indoor tour. If, like us, you’re told the visibility looks like 90% cloud coverage, many visitors opted for the refund. Those of us that were left however, ended up with an incredible outdoor tour in the end anyway, and with a third of the group size! Talk it over with your travel companion to decide if you’d take the tour anyway, even if it meant staying inside.
- Wrap up warm. Standing on top of a mountain is bound to be a chilly occasion at the best of times. We visited in cooler months and it was especially cold especially when there was wind. Earth & Sky provide you with snow jackets suitable even for Antarctica, however this won’t protect your fingers or head from catching the cold. Bring thick socks, gloves, and a hat if you really want to keep cosy.
- Bring your DSLR camera. If you’re lucky, you might get the chance for an astrophotographer to use your camera and his fancy pants equipment to capture some of the night’s sky on the evening you visit. It’s the perfect memento to remember the experience!
- Prepare a few questions. Whether you’re a keen astronomer or not, knowing what you’ll be looking at or asking questions about what you could see will certainly help your guide know what you’re most interested in. They are incredibly enthusiastic and eager to answer any questions, so don’t be shy!
At the end of such an amazing road trip through the south island, stargazing in Lake Tekapo was without a doubt one of our highlights, and a perfect way to finish the trip with a bang! For anyone with an interest in astronomy, science, or even a curiosity of the mysterious outer space, stargazing in Lake Tekapo at the Mount John Observatory is the perfect evening activity! Appreciate the magnitude of the universe and learn a few things about this fascinating facility – I promise that if you’re fortunate to get weather like we did you’ll have a blast!
Driving on home back to Christchurch, we were pretty darn chuffed with all we’d achieved on an epic 10 day road trip. Now we can’t wait for the next one!
Have you visited Lake Tekapo? Or taken a stargazing tour? I’d love to hear your stories!
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Welcome to the 2015 Summer Lego NXT Camp Eureka activities log. This page will be updated daily to show the activities that the students at Camp Eureka did each day, as well as any related pictures.
Day 5: Competition Day!
Today was the Final day of our 2015 Summer Camp Eureka, as well as our competition day! Teams spent the first half of the day working hard to make last improvements on their robots and making final tweaks on their programs.Click on any images to get to our flickr page for all the pictures taken during this Camp.
After 10:00, the teams took their robots and marched down to their patio to show their parents what they have been able to learn in the past few weeks.
This camp’s theme was space. Our activities included many space related things, such as naming constellations, the order of planets, and recent space missions on Mars as well as a comet. In addition to this, our daily activities included learning about light and touch sensors, programing specific movements, and gear ratios.
This camp’s game was Space Race, inspired by the past year’s accomplishments in space, as well as some long term goals with regards to space exploration. Missions included transporting astronauts to the launch pad, launching them into space, bringing them to the ISS(international space station), taking instruments to the ISS, bringing more astronauts to mars, bringing a Mars rover and compressed air to a colony on mars, collecting samples from Mars, and collecting samples from a passing comet.
Through their continued hard work and efforts, many teams did very well in this game. However, a few errors such as the starting angle of the robot before running a program, and unexpected disturbances in the wheels caused some teams to lose a few points. The small differences kept some teams from achieving the perfect score. However, one team was able to execute their program without any flaws, achieving a perfect score.
The winners of the 2015 Summer Lego NXT Camp Eureka are Jhiro Calso, Ian Furuli, and Ella Nitta. Congratulation to the winning team as well as all the students, parents, mentors and other supporters that made this Camp possible!
Day 4: Space Race!
Today we introduced the 2015 Summer Lego NXT game, Space Race. Teams were challenged to make a series of autonomous robot programs to complete many tasks relating to space exploration. These tasks include: delivery of astronauts to launch station, delivery of astronauts to international space station, collection of samples from a nearby comet and Mars, delivery of oxygen supply to Mars colony, delivery of scientific instruments to space station, and delivery of the Mars rover to Mars.
In order to accomplish these tasks, students worked with their mentors to develop the best strategy to approach the game. Designs vary from robots that shovel pieces around the field, to robots with advanced mechanisms to capture and manipulate the pieces.
Day 3: The Maze Game!
Today was the third day of Camp Eureka!
We started the day with a word scramble activity. The students had to make as many words as possible from the letters in “Camp Eureka”. The purpose of this activity is to show that a variety of words can be made from the same set of letters. Similarly, there are near infinite combinations that can be made from a set of parts for a robot.
Next we introduced the students to their next challenge: The Maze Game. In this challenge students were to program their robots to navigate through a maze autonomously, meaning they are no longer using the controller, but giving the robot specific instructions, either by measuring each part of the field or by making use of sensors and programming logic.This challenge is extremely difficult, mainly due to the amount of programming necessary to complete it.
At the end of the day we went over the final challenge to be done on Friday. This camp’s game is Space Race, a space themed series of challenges involving transportation of astronauts and resources across Earth, Mars, a space station, and a passing comet.
Day 2: Sumo!!!
Today was the second day of Camp Eureka!
To start off the day we had an activity to stimulate creativity within the students. We showed the kids an abstract image, and asked them to figure out what it is. Answers ranged from horses to laser beams. This activity showed that although the image is the same, different people think of different ideas, and it’s important to consider everyone’s perspective.
Next we taught the students about CAD(Computer Aided Design), and how we use this tool to create our own robots. But because CAD is an incredibly complex tool, we had the students use play doh. after molding different parts of their robot and putting it together, they had a 3D Scale model of what their robot may look like.
After getting an idea by modeling their ideas with play doh, the students continued to build and program their sumo robots. Building robots for this task involved building a touch sensor controller, and learning how to program the touch sensor inputs to translate into commands to move their robots, as well as use of light sensors to see when the robot is close to the white border of the sumo ring.
At the end of class, we held a competition to see who built the strongest robot. Many teams had very strong robots, often going into a stalemate. Impressively, the final robot proved to be even better than the mentor made demonstration robot. Bravo!
Day 1: Introduction to Lego NXT
Today was the first day of our 2015 summer Lego NXT Camp Eureka! Students from ages 8 – 12 came to our camp to learn about the Lego NXT Mindstorm building and programming platform, as well as general engineering concepts and applications of robotics in space.
To start the day we had the students participate in a blind maze activity. In this activity, students worked in pairs, one working as the robot participant, and one as the programmer. The robot participant is blindfolded, and the programmer must give commands to the robot participant in order to get through the maze. In this activity, the students needed to learn how it is to be a robot, which could only take specific instructions, and how a programmer must give the specific instructions.
Next the students were introduced to their first challenge, the Sumobot challenge. This challenge is incredibly simple and straightforward. Each team must build and program a robot that can push another robot off of a sumo ring. This challenge must be addressed with a well designed robot, utilizing advantages of gear ratios and simple machines; teams must also make full use of sensors to write a smart program that will keep them from falling off the ring.


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uranus and neptune
6 march 2023
I once saw Uranus through binoculars no, I really did; the hilarity of such remarks is something that you just have to power through when you are reading a book about the outer planets of the Solar System. Anyway, I saw Uranus while taking a lab astronomy course in college. It is not hard to locate, or wasn't, 45 years ago when the night skies were darker out on the vast fields south of my Midwestern agricultural college. Uranus is also not that interesting in binoculars, a tiny greenish-blue dot; definitely not a star but definitely no competitor to Mars, Jupiter, or Saturn for visual interest.
250 years ago, says Carolyn Kennett in her new book Uranus and Neptune, Uranus was so hard to locate that a bunch of Europe's top astronomers recorded sightings of it without knowing what they were looking at. The planet can just barely be seen with the naked eye under perfect conditions; through 18th-century telescopes the seeing wasn't a whole lot better. Pierre-Charles Le Monnier recorded a dozen sightings of Uranus between 1750 and 1771 and chalked it up as just another star.
Le Monnier was mortified, a decade later, when William Herschel observed Uranus and figured out what he was seeing. Herschel's discovery was epochal. Five other inner planets were known in prehistory. The 17th and 18th centuries had seen a proliferation of fictions about unknown other worlds. Now, of a sudden, there was a real-life unknown planet to speculate about.
Neptune would follow in 1846, either another lucky stab or the result of careful hypotheses; opinions still differ, says Kennett. But astronomers theorized at least the basic idea of Neptune by observing oddities in the orbit of Uranus. Neptune didn't account for all those oddities; and it is a lot further, dimmer, and harder to see than Uranus. But into the ledger it went, and the list of planets was complete (later to be supplemented by Pluto and then reduced again after Pluto was decommissioned).
I imagined, growing up well before Voyager, that scientists knew everything about places like Uranus and Neptune, because scientists just did. I knew they hadn't been there, but I figured they had their ways of getting information. Kennett makes clear that almost everything known about the two "ice giant" planets comes from the Voyager 2 mission, which visited Uranus in 1986 and Neptune in 1989. Space telescopes have since elaborated some of the spacecraft's findings, but what we know about these distant neighbors, and especially what we know about their weird moons, is almost all due to a single unmanned spaceship.
Both Uranus and Neptune are big fuzzy globes, but are otherwise dissimilar in big ways. Uranus seems to have no internal heat source; Neptune purrs along on the heat generated, most likely, by its own gravitational collapse. Uranus is knocked so that its poles lie in the plane of its orbit; Neptune is more like Earth and other planets in having a modest tilt.
Their moons, as Kennett discusses them, are highly varied and hold most of the interest of these faraway systems. Some are "dead" and heavily cratered. Titania and Ariel, moons of Uranus, have wrinkly surface features produced by geological (or, I suppose, titanialogical and arielogical) processes. Triton, a moon of Neptune, is distinguished by its volcanos that spew liquid-methane lava, and by its "cantaloupe regions" that look like cantaloupes. One imagines that back in Herschel's day, they'd have been dubbed with some mythological moniker; but late-20th century American astronomers' breadth of cultural reference seems to have come from the produce section of supermarkets.
Every once in a while you see a story about a contemplated probe of Uranus, but funding is parlous. Even Voyager, now agreed to be one of the most inspiring feats in all of human exploration, was a patchwork effort, extended as far as it got by the ingenuity of team members who outwitted budget-cutters.
Of course, as I've noted before, planetary knowledge isn't very generalizable, and Uranus and Neptune in particular are so remote that we wouldn't know they were there if it weren't for the Discovery Channel. Still, Kennett says, if we're looking for planets around distant stars, we should learn more about Neptune, at least. Neptune is a template for many exoplanets, and the more we can learn about the one nearest us, the more we may learn about planets – and life – in the rest of the galaxy
Kennett, Carolyn. Uranus and Neptune. London: Reaktion, 2022.


The Justice League has almost always been based in space. In the late eighties they built a geostationary satellite which was used until 1998; and after its destruction they moved to a tower located on Earth's moon. A second satellite was built in 2004 but abandoned shortly afterwards when the JLA was disbanded, though it remained locked in geostationary orbit.
Following the impersonation by a White Martian of a returned Superman and the framing of Justice League members as criminals, the Justice League satellite was destroyed by missile strike on the order of President Luthor. The first order of business for the newly formed JLI, then, was the building of a new base. The new satellite was built with the help of the technical expertise of Foundry and Steel Shiva; the brute lifting strength of Superman Secundus and Green Lantern; and the generous donations of companies like Wayne-Powers and Adani Energies.
With the help of their super-powers and money from major backers, including corporate and governmental funding from around the world, a new satellite has been assembled. In geostationary orbit over Metropolis, the satellite features some of the cutting edge technology pioneered by STAR Labs, Professor Quantum and the companies from the “Avenue of Tomorrow”: anti-gravity plating, teleportation to any point on Earth visible from orbit, teleportation back to the satellite from special booths scattered around the Earth, a specially built med-bay to deal with non-human medical emergencies and even an on-board salt-water pool for Atlantean visitors.
The satellite includes some basic weaponry which the JLI insist is principally for space-based defence – but the presence of extra-national orbital weaponry is a sore point for many governments, including the United States of America.
The current Justice League Satellite is overseen by the AI Parvati, created by Akshay Adani and uploaded from his private mansion to the Satellite. Parvati looks after all autonomous systems and assists in monitoring media and press for suspicious activity and is the central nervous system of the Justice League communications system.
As well as the teleport stations to enable transport to and from the Satellite, it has a complement of six shuttle craft for getting to and from Earth and the Moon. They are capable of travel within Earth's solar system, but not interstellar travel. Even travel further than the Moon would take weeks rather than hours. These shuttles are named for flightless birds:


There is a lot of debate surrounding the topic of purchasing stars. Some people believe that it is a waste of money, while others are convinced that it is the best investment they have ever made. So, what are the pros and cons ofbuying a star?
In this blog post, we will take a closer look at both sides of the argument and help you decide for yourself whether or not purchasing a star is the right decision for you.
The first pro of buying a star is that it is a unique gift. If you are looking for a way to stand out from the rest of the crowd, then buying a star might be the perfect solution for you. There are billions of stars in the sky, so when you purchase one, you can be sure that it will be truly special to the person who receive it.
The second pro is that it is a long-lasting gift. Stars last for billions of years, so your loved ones will be able to enjoy their gift for many lifetimes to come.
The third pro is that buying a star supports scientific research. By purchasing a star, you are helping scientists study our universe and learn more about the amazing cosmos that we live in.
The final pro is that it is a fun experience. Buying a star can be a great way to bond with your friends or family, and it is an experience that you will never forget.
Now let’s take a look at the cons of buying a star.
The first con is that it can be expensive. Depending on the size and location of the star you choose, purchasing one can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
The second con is that there is no guarantee that the recipient will actually be able to see the star you bought them. Stars are incredibly far away, and unless the recipient has access to a telescope, they might not be able to locate it in the night sky.
The third con is that some people believe buying stars is unethical. They argue that humans should not tamper with nature, and by buying a star, we are doing just that.
The final con is that it is a bit of a gamble. There is no guarantee that the recipient will like the star you bought them, and they might not even be able to find it in the night sky.
So, those are the pros and cons of buying a star. As you can see, there are some good reasons to purchase one, but there are also some potential drawbacks that you should be aware of before making your decision. Weighing all of these factors carefully will help you decide if buying a star is the right choice for you.
There are many other things to consider when trying to decide if purchasing a star is the right decision for you. These are just a few of the most important pros and cons to take into account. Be sure to do your own research as well before making any decisions.


A Star – to geometrists a type of non-convex polygon and to astrologers a luminous ball of gas. Stars have long been represented in many ways in culture and in art and the most common is a 5 pointed star. No one knows for sure the origins of this symbol; some believe it is from Egyptian hieroglyphics whilst others think it is because when you look at a star it appears to have 5 lines coming out which are diffraction spikes caused by the way light enters the eye. On the US flag the stars represent the heavens. Stars are also commonly used a symbol of fame. This is perhaps because you look up to stars in the sky and people look up to famous people.
Whatever the reasons behind the five-pointed star symbol, Autumn/Winter 2016 has seen the star become the go to print. Below I show you some of my favourite uses of this cosmic symbol in this seasons fashions.


The Mars group at the Niels Bohr Institute is an experimental research group working with exploration of the Martian surface.
Our research is focused on the mineral composition of the soil, rocks and particularly the airborne dust on Mars. An essential activity is our direct participation in experiments on Mars lander and rover missions for which we design and build various science instruments and experiments.
By analysing ice cores drilled from deep inside the Greenland ice sheet, researchers have started to calculate how much Arctic sea ice there was in the past. The results have just published in the research journal Scientific Reports.
Deep Space is a project that will use a new specially designed telescope to look far into space in order to observe radiation from the early universe. The equipment will be placed at Summit in the middle of the Greenland ice...
New research shows that human pollution of the atmosphere with acid is now almost back to the level that it was before the pollution started with industrialisation in the 1930s. The results come from studies of the Greenland ice sheet.


The Curiosity Rover: The Challenges of Landing and Working on Mars
Michael Watkins, Ph.D.
Mission Manager, Curiosity Mars Rover and Manager, Science Division
NASA Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory
The Curiosity Mars Rover has captivated the world and reinvigorated our collective spirit of exploration. We will highlight the challenges in system engineering, design, and operations that the team overcame in making this mission such an overwhelming success, and will look toward the future challenges of Mars exploration and the larger space program, many of which resonate with challenges faced in the larger technology community. Specific challenges include multidisciplinary team building, balancing high performance new technology against lower risk existing capabilities, staying within critical mass and power limitations, the development and verification of complex software systems, and others.
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Lecturer: Professor of Astronomy Steen Hannestad, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University
Dark matter and dark energy make up 95% of the universe, but we don’t actually know what it is. Without the dark matter, however, we, and life, would not exist. Does the latest research in cosmology reveal what the invisible universe really consists of?
We know the universe began in the Big Bang. We know it’s expanding faster and faster, but we don’t know for sure why. The most likely explanation is that our universe is filled with dark energy.
We also know that galaxies, including our own Milky Way, would never have been formed if the universe was not also filled with dark matter – an exotic type of matter that is invisible but affects its surroundings via gravity. Without dark matter, stars and planetary systems would also not have been formed and we, and life, would not exist.
At present, we know that dark matter and dark energy make up 95% of everything in the universe – but we don’t know what it actually is!
In the lecture, you are updated on the latest research in cosmology and we look at the perspectives for whether the research in the coming years can give us answers to what the invisible universe really consists of.


Every four years an extra day is added to the Gregorian calendar. This is the calendar that most of us use on a daily basis. I was curious as to the history of adding a day and why it is necessary every four years.
Who Invented Leap Years?
Roman General Julius Caesar introduced the idea over 2000 years ago. During the Roman Empire the Julian Calendar was the only one used and he added one rule to it. Julian calendar had only one rule: any year evenly divisible by four would be a leap year.
This formula produced way too many leap years, but was not corrected until the introduction of the Gregorian calendar more than 1500 years later.
Why Are Leap Days Important?
Leap years are added to keep our modern day calendar in alignment with the Earth’s revolution around the sun. It takes the Earth approximately 365.242189 days –365 days, or 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds – to circle once around the Sun. This is called a tropical year, and is measured from the March equinox.
However, the Gregorian calendar has only 365 days in a year, so if we didn’t add a leap day on February 29 nearly every four years, we would lose almost six hours off our calendar every year. After only 100 years, our calendar would be off by around 24 days! The next Leap Day is February 29, 2024.
Leap Day Traditions
A few fun traditions;
- Women Propose To Their Men – On leap day it has been an Irish tradition that the Women propose to men for marriage.
- Some area’s call it “Bachelor Days” – If a man rejects the women’s marriage proposal on a leap day he is expected to “pay a penalty” such a s a gown or money. In European countries, especially in the upper class communities it is tradition that if the man rejects the women’s proposal he must buy her twelve pairs of gloves to hide her shame and embarrassment of not wearing an engagement ring.
- Leap Day Baby’s – For those baby’s born on this day their birthday’s are celebrated either February 28 or March 1.
The Jewish Leap Year – is referred to as Shanah Me’uberet, has 13 months and occurs seven times in a 19-year cycle.
Adar – The Lucky Month
An extra month, Adar I, is added after the month of Shevat and before the month of Adar in a leap year. The month is also known as Adar Rishon or Adar Alef. According to Jewish tradition, Adar is a lucky and happy month.
The Chinese Calendar – Adds a whole leap month to correlate with the traditional Gregorian calendar.
When is the Leap Month?
To determine a leap year, find the number of new moons between the 11th month in one year and the 11th month in the following year.
A leap month is inserted if there are 13 moons from the start of the 11th month in the first year to the start of the 11th month in the next year.
The Chinese calendar uses a solar term system that has 12 principal terms to indicate when the Sun’s longitudes is a multiple of 30 degrees. Unlike all other months, the leap month does not contain a principal term (Zhongqi).
Hope you found this informative as I have. Please leave a comment.
Gain The Advantage,


June 9 : Today is a very special day for me for personal reasons. So I’ve decided to place something that I really love – an image from one of my long time interests – Astronomy. And a quote from one of my favourite scientists, three from two good authors; and one from a favourite philosopher. (And I’ve added two more photos in my ‘about’ page.)
The following image is courtesy the European Southern Observatory. For more on this go to: http://www.eso.org
The Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334) is a vast region of star formation. This new portrait of NGC 6334 was created from images taken with the Wide Field Imager instrument at the 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile, combining images taken through blue, green and red filters, as well as a special filter designed to let through the light of glowing hydrogen. NGC 6334 lies about 5500 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Scorpius. The whole gas cloud is about 50 light-years across.
NGC 6334 is one of the most active nurseries of massive stars in our galaxy and has been extensively studied by astronomers. The nebula conceals freshly minted brilliant blue stars — each nearly ten times the mass of our Sun and born in the last few million years. The region is also home to many baby stars that are buried deep in the dust, making them difficult to study. In total, the Cat’s Paw Nebula could contain several tens of thousands of stars.
The nebula appears red because its blue and green light are scattered and absorbed more efficiently by material between the nebula and Earth. The red light comes predominantly from hydrogen gas glowing under the intense glare of hot young stars. – ESO
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“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity and I’m not sure about the the universe.” – Albert Einstein
“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.” – George Orwell
“A man will be imprisoned in a room with a door that’s unlocked and opens inwards; as long as it does not occur to him to pull rather than push.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein
“How wrong it is for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself.” – Anais Nin. And from her again:
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”
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P.S. A very Happy Birthday to these achievers who have/had their birthdays today: Johnny Depp, Cole Porter, Jackie Mason, Natalie Portman, Aaron Sorkin, Michael J. Fox, Anoushka Shankar (sitarist), Kiran Bedi (first woman to join and become Director General of the IPS), Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (first woman mayor in England), Gian Gomeshi, Canadian broadcaster and journalist), Johann G Galle (German astronomer), George Stephenson (inventor of RR locomotive)


Welcome to Edition 2.28 of the Rocket Report! As we get deeper into 2020, we may see as many as a half-dozen new orbital rockets debut this 12 months, with a mix from the United States, China, Europe, and India. It can be enjoyable to monitor what number of of them—big and small—really make it to the launch pad. And what number of of them are profitable, in fact!
As all the time, we welcome reader submissions, and if you do not need to miss a difficulty, please subscribe utilizing the field under (the type won’t seem on AMP-enabled variations of the website). Each report will embrace data on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets in addition to a fast look forward at the subsequent three launches on the calendar.
Vega rocket loses a launch contract. Arianespace will launch the United Arab Emirates’ Falcon Eye 2 reconnaissance satellite tv for pc on a Soyuz in March as a substitute of ready for the firm’s a lot smaller Vega rocket to return to flight, the firm advised SpaceNews. Vega has been grounded since a July failure that destroyed the UAE’s Falcon Eye 1 satellite tv for pc, leading to a file $415 million insurance coverage declare.
Not due to considerations about Vega? … Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace, mentioned Airbus, the satellite tv for pc’s producer, requested to swap from Vega to Soyuz to keep away from additional delays getting Falcon Eye 2 into orbit. “The customer has decided to go to this backup solution, and it’s definitely linked to the capability that was offered by Soyuz to be launched earlier than Vega.” Airbus spokesperson Jeremy Close confirmed the swap January 10, saying the switch to Soyuz was about schedule, not a mistrust of Vega. If y’all say so.
SpinLaunch broadcasts $35 million extra in investments. The Long Beach, California-based firm mentioned Thursday it has acquired an extra funding for continued growth of the world’s first kinetic launch system, designed to present the lowest-cost, environmentally accountable orbital launch system to serve the quickly rising small-satellite business.
Accelerating the mass accelerator … Investors embrace Airbus Ventures, GV, KPCB, Catapult Ventures, Lauder Partners, John Doerr, and Byers Family. The funds from this funding can be used to scale the SpinLaunch group and expertise, which makes use of a big mass accelerator to launch small satellites in nearly any climate situations. “Later this year, we aim to change the history of space launch with the completion of our first flight-test mass accelerator at Spaceport America,” Jonathan Yaney, SpinLaunch’s founder, mentioned in a information launch.
New Shepard will launch scholar experiments. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Blue Origin are inviting highschool college students to develop inventive analysis proposals in the fields of microgravity science or area expertise. The high proposal can be launched on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket and obtain a $1,000 grant to put together and develop the experiment for flight, AIAA introduced.
Inspiring the subsequent technology … “There’s no better way to learn than by doing,” mentioned Dan Dumbacher, AIAA government director. “These students have an amazing opportunity to contribute to space research while learning how transformative aerospace can be while gaining the skills that will serve them well throughout their careers!” Just like NASA’s microgravity program that gave highschool college students rides on its “Vomit Comet,” this can be a good initiative. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
2020 might be a big 12 months for rocket debuts. Based upon beforehand introduced schedules, various small and enormous rockets may take their first flights in 2020, Ars stories. On the small facet, Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne, Firefly’s Alpha, and probably a rocket from Astra Space may all fly this 12 months. Internationally, too, count on plenty of motion. Ariane Group’s Vega C rocket, India’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle, and some gamers in China could all take flight.
Some greater ones, too … First up is Starship, and we might even see a suborbital (and even orbital) check of SpaceX’s second-stage car later this 12 months. The firm has now begun work on the third iteration of its Starship prototype (SN1) in South Texas, and this can be the Starship that finally launches from close to Boca Chica Beach. If you are on the lookout for a extra conventionally designed big rocket, AVIO continues to say it’s on monitor for a 2020 debut of its Ariane 6 booster from its European spaceport in French Guiana.
Orbex indicators its first US buyer. Launch integrator TriSept Corp. introduced plans this week to buy an Orbex Prime launch car for a devoted rideshare mission to fly from Scotland’s Sutherland Spaceport in 2022. The US-based launch car integrator and mission supervisor is in search of to bolster its worldwide presence.
Launching subsequent 12 months? … “We’ve been engaging with the international community to increase the number of spacecraft providers available to help fill these missions,” Jason Armstrong, TriSept Launch Integration Services director, advised SpaceNews. “Rideshare is becoming a prevalent portion of almost every launch.” Orbex plans to conduct its first orbital launch in late 2021, adopted by three or 4 missions in 2022, earlier than choosing up the tempo in 2023. We’ll be suitably impressed if the firm holds to that schedule. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
Smallsat-launch startup will check at Edwards. The Air Force Research Laboratory introduced January 9 that it signed an settlement with small-launch startup ABL Space Systems to collectively develop and check rocket-propulsion elements for future use in launch automobiles, SpaceNews stories. The firm says its RS1 rocket will elevate 1,200 kilograms into low Earth orbit at a worth of $12 million per launch.
What’s that in Area 56? … The firm is intriguing, because it was based by a number of former SpaceX workers and is predicated out of El Segundo, California, the place SpaceX had its first small manufacturing facility. Lockheed Martin is an investor in the firm. The Air Force mentioned check actions will happen at Edwards Air Force Base check website 1-56. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
SpaceX has a big launch on Saturday. For the launch of its In-Flight Abort check, the firm is aiming to go at the high of a four-hour launch window, which opens at 8am ET (13:00 UTC). During the check, the Falcon 9 will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft. Then, at an altitude of about 21km, when the launch car reaches a important velocity, Dragon’s SuperDraco thrusters will ignite for a number of seconds to pull the capsule away from the rocket—simulating escaping from a rocket catastrophe. Needless to say, this can be a big check for each SpaceX and NASA, which actually would love to launch people from Florida this 12 months.
Bye, bye, Falcon … As for the Falcon 9 rocket used for this mission, its first stage has already flown three missions. It is the very first Block 5 model of the Falcon 9 rocket that SpaceX constructed and launched, with missions in May, August, and December 2018. It is probably going to break up throughout Dragon’s energetic escape and won’t be recovered. This breakup could happen shortly after Dragon separation or upon reentry from the higher environment. The second stage can be absolutely fueled, however because it won’t be used throughout the flight, it’s going to have a mass simulator as a substitute of an precise Merlin vacuum rocket engine.
Dream Chaser on monitor for 2021 launch. Sierra Nevada Corporation officers mentioned the firm stays on monitor for the first cargo flight of its Dream Chaser spacecraft subsequent 12 months, Space Policy Online stories. The small, area shuttle-shaped car is due to launch on an Atlas V rocket on provide missions to the International Space Station. Although the cargo mission is the first precedence, the firm says it has not stopped working towards a crewed model of Dream Chaser.
An actual area taxi … “There’s interest, not necessarily from NASA, but other customers” mentioned Steve Lindsey, a senior vp for the firm. He expects curiosity to develop as soon as the cargo model is flying. The firm will supply both a “taxi model” the place it provides the crew to fly it, or a “rental car model” the place the buyer supplies the crew. It can be up to the buyer to determine.
RAND research encourages help for 3 home rockets. An unbiased research of the space-launch market commissioned by the US Air Force suggests the service ought to help three suppliers in the brief time period to guarantee it has entry to area over the subsequent decade, SpaceNews stories. The research findings had been briefed to Air Force leaders in July, however the report had not been publicly launched earlier than SpaceNews obtained a replica.
Four competing for 2 … The RAND research doesn’t advocate that the Air Force change its resolution to award nationwide safety launch contracts to simply two suppliers later this 12 months. But it does argue that the Air Force ought to discover a manner to hold a 3rd provider in the nationwide safety market as a fallback. United Launch Alliance, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Northrop Grumman are competing for the two Phase 2 contracts. (submitted by Peterford and Ken the Bin)
Russia remains to be talking about heavy-lift rockets. As a part of a plan to fund growth of its Oryol crewed spacecraft (that is the spacecraft previously generally known as Federation, which has been in varied states of growth for 15 years), Russia confirmed its intent to work on two heavy-lift automobiles, Sputnik News stories.
Going to want greater grains of salt … The inaugural launch of the Angara-A5 heavy rocket is deliberate for 2023, with testing of the super-heavy Yenisei rocket beginning in 2028. Russia can be nonetheless holding to the chance of a crewed touchdown on the Moon’s floor by 2030, which strikes us as extremely fanciful. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
Fly me (and also you) to the Moon? Yusaku Maezawa, who has bought the first crewed voyage of SpaceX’s Starship car for a cislunar flight, needs a girlfriend. He’s promising unique journey. And he needs to televise all of it. For a brand new documentary, Maezawa will seek for a girlfriend to accompany him throughout his flight round the Moon, The Japan Times stories.
Dear Moon certainly … “As feelings of loneliness and emptiness slowly begin to surge upon me, there’s one thing that I think about: continuing to love one woman,” wrote Maezawa on an internet site for candidates. “I want to find a ‘life partner.’ With that future partner of mine, I want to shout our love and world peace from outer space.” The documentary on his seek for romance, set to be titled Full Moon Lovers, will stream on AbemaTV. (submitted by tsunam)
Next three launches
Jan. 16: Ariane V |KONNECT and GSAT-30 satellites | Kourou, French Guiana | 21:05 UTC
Jan. 18: Falcon 9 | Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort check | Cape Canaveral, Fla. | 13:00 UTC
Jan. 20: Falcon 9 | Starlink three launch | Cape Canaveral, Fla. | 17:20 UTC


Breathespace is a generative art piece that captures the beauty of the universe in a generative agent based system.
Generative Token on Tezos Blockchain
Breathespace is a generative art piece that captures the beauty of the universe in a generative agent based system. Based on thousands of stars and planets in a magnetic field, the system creates the final painting using the organic movements of the stars' trails on the canvas. Each star is attracted or repelled by the planets based on their mass and magnetic power, resulting in a unique, mesmerizing visual experience.
The color palette of the painting is dynamically generated with base hues between 0 and 360, which are then populated through a color model. The color variation is determined by one of the nine color algorithms, including Analog 1, Analog 2, Complementary, Split Complementary, Triadic, Tetriadic, Tetriadic 2, Square, and Square 2. This means that each piece will have infinite, unique color variations within the desired colorspace.
As you gaze at the painting, you will be transported to a world of wonder and amazement as the stars dance across the canvas, creating a mesmerizing harmony of light and color.
The artwork is a generative token version of the Breathespace project, originally created in 2010 as a senior project at Bilgi VCD dept.
From 2010 : Breathespace project creates Human Computer Interaction (HCI) based on breathing function of the body, which is autonomous, vital and personal. Where the spectator is surrounded by an immersive environment with dome projection and wears a modified mask which measures the breath flow. Then spectator is invited to enter into an image and sound space generated from his/her breathe flow, which includes abstract visual layers containing subtle hints of living organism.
Image rendering process
Overall, this code creates an interactive animation where agents (stars) are attracted to attractors (planets) based on gravitational forces. The appearance and behavior of the animation are influenced by various parameters, such as the number of planets, magnetic power, planet masses, colors, noise scale, gamma radiation
The code uses a color palette based on the hash values to determine the colors of the stars and planets. The colors are converted and used in the rendering process.
The code creates several attractor objects, each representing a planet in the scene. The attractors have a specific position, mass (+ -), and color. The stars are attracted to these planets and move towards them.
The code generates a number of stars represented as points on the canvas. These stars move and interact with the attractors.
PositioningPlanets and stars are placed with quniqe randomness at initial scene, then atraccted or repelled each other.
BackgroundThe background the canvas is set to black, providing a space-like backdrop for the scene. Frame color and background color selected from a previously created color palette
- Total Planets
- Magnetic Power
- Color Model
Breathespace II - Collection
Breathespace II colection is finetuned after hundreds of iterations and creative feeedback loop between output and human mind.
Minting is available on 15 June 2023 15:00 UTC at fxHash website.


Mile ConversionsUse this easy and mobile-friendly calculator to convert between Miles and other units of Astronomy.
1 Mile ≈
0.00000000000017010780 Light Years
MilesA mile is a unit of distance equal to 5,280 feet or exactly 1.609344 kilometers. It is commonly used to measure the distance between places in the United States and United Kingdom.
Light YearsA light year is the distance that light travels in one year. The year used by the International Astronomical Union is 365.25 days. A light year is defined as exactly 9,460,730,472,580.8 kilometers.


Top Photo: Nearly full waxing gibbous moon with “V” of double-crested cormorants passing over various lunar mares.*
You can’t see it now, it’s heavily overcast and raining, but as I write this, the moon is nearly full, waxing gibbous. On December 7 it will be full and thereafter begins the waning side of its phases until the new moon on the 23rd of the month.
Here’s a handful of shots of various phases.
*Both cormorants and eagle were photoshopped onto images.


Today marks six months until a very rare and amazing site will take shape across the US.
The Great American Solar Eclipse it is being called, will happen from coast to coast on August 21. The last time the US saw a total solar eclipse was in 1979, but it’s been 99 years since a total solar eclipse spanned from coast to coast!
This is a rare event in itself, but it has been said by scientists that it is one of the most spectacular events a human can view with their own eyes.
Just about all of the country will see a partial eclipse, which is only viewable if you are looking at the sun through special eye wear, or solar filtered binoculars. If you are on the line of totality (the point at which you will view a total solar eclipse), you will witness a much more magical scene.
For almost two minutes (a few locations will have close to 2.45 minutes), you can visualize a 360 degree sunset, a temperature drop, darkened skies, visible stars, and even chirping crickets according to those who’ve viewed a solar eclipse in the past.
At the point of totality, you can actually visualize the sun’s outer atmosphere as well, called the Corona. This is quite rare and it presents a wonderful opportunity for scientific study-as little is known about it. One wild fact about the Corona-the temperature reaches around 1.5 million degrees Fahrenheit compared to the 11,000 degree surface of the sun!
Thousands and possibly millions will gather along this line of totality, spanning across 12 states on August 21st. Make your travel plans now and have a backup plan if the weather doesn’t cooperate in your location. Here in western Mass, we won’t see much happen, unless you look directly at the sun-which you cannot do without protective eye gear!
As we get closer to the event, we will talk a lot about how to view this eclipse… but you have to have solar filters on any eye wear or there are many devices you can make to view the eclipse improperly! Many online retailers are already selling special glasses for the eclipse.
Read more on the upcoming 2017 Eclipse here: https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/
Copyright 2017 Western Mass News (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.


Lovely 57 Examples Day Of Year Calendar 2019
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|Last Updated:||July 1, 2003|
|Location:||Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India|
|Subordinate To:||Indian Space Research Organization, Department of Space|
In 1972, the Indian government reorganized India's space program under the newly created Department of Space. The government consolidated the Space Science & Technology Center, Rocket Propellant Plant, Rocket Fabrication Facility, Propellant Fuel Complex, and the Sriharikota High Altitude Range into an umbrella organization, with its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerela. This consolidated facility was named the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC), after the founding father of India's space program, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai.
The VSSC is ISRO's "lead center for rocket and [satellite] launch vehicle projects." The Center's activities cover avionics, aeronautics, materials, mechanical engineering, solid-propulsion, composites, propellants, polymers, chemicals, systems reliability, and computer and information technology. The VSSC has played a leading role in developing ISRO's sounding rockets and family of satellite launch vehicles (SLV-3, ASLV, PSLV, and GSLV). It has also helped develop India's Agni I and II ballistic missiles and is most likely involved in the rumored Surya ballistic missile program.
 Gopal Raj, "SLV-3: India's First Launch Vehicle," Reach for the Stars: The Evolution of India's Rocket Programme (New Delhi: Viking/Penguin Books India, 2000), pp. 63, 65-66.
 "Vikram Sarabhai Space Center," Indian Space Research Organization, www.isro.org.
 "VSSC-Vikram Sarabhai Space Center," Bharat Rakshak, www.bharat-rakshak.com.


Moon. As beautiful and captivating this word sounds, the Moon, which is revolving around Earth is something incomparable. Its beauty is incomparable. When the sun hides, the soft moonlight is what keeps the world going. Who isn’t in love with the moon? I guess I went too much metaphorically over it. My love for the moon has made me search for it everywhere on the internet. The first person to step on the moon must have been a lucky person. Recently I came across few articles where people were debating whether Apollo 11 landing was fake. Some said it was a conspiracy. I was so confused reading this and my mind was jumbled. After contemplating I have developed my own views on it and going to share it with you today.
So, as the people are saying that it was a hoax and the whole moon landing was staged. According to Wikipedia, the Fox television network documentary Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon? claimed NASA faked the first landing in 1969 to win the Space Race. Reading all of this, I was pretty much convinced. Then I started to think that why would they fake moon landing? I’ve come up with some reasons, some mine, some of my friend’s and some from the Internet.
- At that time, Russians and Americans had a cold war which lead to competition between them as to achieve higher power. Both the countries were superpowers at that time so NASA faked it just to be superior in front of the USSR, but also the world.
- The American Patriot Friends Network claimed that the landings helped the US government distract public attention from the Vietnam War, and so manned landings suddenly ended about the same time that the United States ended its involvement in the war.
- It is also claimed that NASA faked the landings to relinquish humiliation and to ensure that it continued to get fundings. NASA raised “about US$30 billion” to go to the Moon. Bill Kaysing claimed in his book that this could have been used to “pay off” many people. Most of the conspirators believed that sending men to the Moon was impossible at the time and they argued that landings had to be faked to fulfill John F. Kennedy’s 1961 goal, “before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.”
Many Moon-landing conspiracy theories have been made. One was claiming either that the landings did not happen or the NASA employees have lied, or that the landings did happen but not in the way that has been told. And the theories why moon landing was staged:
- It would be next to impossible to land properly on the moon. They can’t land it perfectly on the moon when they weren’t able to do it here on Earth on some occasions.
- Humans didn’t have mobile phones but they still had the tech to send humans to moon and back. Isn’t that crazy?
- Getting to the Moon really isn’t much of a problem. The Russians did that in 1959. The big problem is getting people there and actually land safely on the moon.
- Milton William Cooper, an American conspiracy theorist believed that all of the Apollo missions to the Moon were actually carefully rehearsed productions that were then filmed in large sound stages.
- The altitude, gravity, and temperature of the moon are so different than Earth that it was impossible to reach there and step on it.
- In the videos publicized by NASA, it can be seen clearly that the moon was shown round and not flat like earth’s surface. Moon and Earth only appear round when seen from distance but in the videos, the moon was appeared round.
- When the astronauts were putting the US flag, it was waving because moon has no wind.
- The astronauts could not have survived the trip because of exposure to radiation from the Van Allen radiation belt.
- This was a theory of my friend’s and is obviously isn’t proved. According to him, it was done by Hollywood in collaboration with NASA. They would first fake the landings and later spread rumors about alien life on the moon. And then make movies about aliens to gather millions at the box office.
Despite all the conspiracies or the truth, we will always be confused whether the moon landing was real or fake. After reading the articles on the internet, even I’m confused. But it’s a fact that going to the moon is a huge deal and not something everybody is capable of doing.
*This article is just for reading purposes and my own opinion and few are of others. I clearly state that it’s not for offending anyone.


Monday, June 18, 2007
Gliese 581 Update: First Good Candidate for Life is Out, but a Second Candidate in Same System is Looking Better...
Today's Gliese 581 update from Space.com concerns new observations that lead researchers to believe that Gliese 581c, a rocky world of about five Earth masses, may now be too hot to support life--the consequence of a runaway greenhouse affect similar to that found on Venus. But all hope is not lost for this system. It turns out that Gliese 581d, slightly further from the primary star, and as massive as about eight Earths, may turn out to be the better candidate for life. Excerpt:
Scientists earlier this year announced they had found a small, rocky planet located just far enough from its star to sustain liquid water on its surface, and thus possibly support life.
Turns out the scientists might have picked the right star for hosting a habitable world, but got the planet wrong. The world known as Gliese 581c is probably too hot to support liquid water or life, new computer models suggest, but conditions on its neighbor, Gliese 581d, might be just right.
The findings are detailed in the May 25 issue of the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Gliese 581c, discovered in April by a team led by Stephane Udry of the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland, is about 50 percent bigger than Earth and about five times more massive. It is located about 20.5 light-years away, and circles a dim red dwarf star called Gliese 581.
Of the more than 200 extrasolar planets, or "exoplanets," discovered since 1995, Gliese 581c was the first found that resides within the habitable zone of its star, if only barely. The habitable, or "Goldilocks" zone is the region around a star where the temperature is neither too hot nor too cold, so water can exist on a planet's surface in its liquid state. Water is a key ingredient for life as we know it.
But new simulations of the climate on Gliese 581c created by Werner von Bloh of the Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany and his team suggest the planet is no Earthly paradise, but rather a faraway Venus, where carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere create a runaway greenhouse effect that warms the planet well above 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 Celsius), boiling away liquid water and with it any promise of life.
But the same greenhouse effect that squashes prospects for life on Gliese 581c raises the same hope for another planet in the system, a world of eight Earth-masses called Gliese 581d, which was also discovered by Udry's team.
"This planet is actually outside the habitable zone," said Manfred Cuntz, an astronomer at the University of Texas at Arlington and a member of von Bloh's team. "It appears at first sight too cold. However, based on the greenhouse effect, physical processes can occur which are heating up the planet to a temperature that allows for fluid water."
And where this is fluid water, there is the chance of life as well. The researchers speculate that "at least some primitive forms of life" might exist on Gliese 581d. There is no evidence to support that speculation, however.
Jaymie Matthews, an astronomer at the University of British Columbia in Canada, doesn't treat the new findings as conclusive, but finds them "interesting as an illustration of how we can use remote exoplanetary environments as possible test beds for climate models."
Matthews own research, recently presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Astronomical Society, suggests one reason Gliese 581 is such a promising star for finding habitable planets is that it is similar to our own sun in that it is remarkably stable.
Matthews and his team used a Canadian space telescope called MOST to monitor Gliese 581 for six weeks. During that time, they observed very few instances of the powerful solar flares common among red dwarf stars.
"If the star showed significant variations in brightness during the weeks we monitored it, that would at least complicate the thermal equilibrium of the planets around it," Matthews explained.
The stability of the light also suggests Gliese 581 is old and that is has been around for at least a few billion years. "Young stars, like young people, can have bad cases of acne (large starspots and activity) and spin around," Matthews said in an email interview. "Older stars like the sun have relatively clear complexions and rotate rather sedately."
Gliese 581's advanced age is good news for scientists hoping to find signs of life in the system. "We know it took about three and a half billion years for life on Earth to reach the level of complexity that we call human," Matthews said, "so it's more encouraging for the prospects of complex life on any planet around Gliese 581 if it's been around for at least as long."
These points are extremely important. As is correctly detailed here, young red dwarf stars exhibit flare activity, and this activity would put any planets with anything close to Earth-like conditions at risk of being bathed in radiation, and to have their temperatures skyrocket within short time periods. The fact that this activity is absent in Gliese 581 is a good thing, as it points to the star's stability.
As for the planets in question, Gliese 581c lies only about 7 million miles from the primary (figures obtained from solstation.com--see blog roll), so if it is as massive as the measurements indicate (five Earth masses), then it should come as no surprise to find that the planet's atmosphere will trap the heat of the star in the manner described above. Gliese 581d (eight Earth masses) appears to lie at roughly 23 million miles from the primary. That distance places it just outside the speculative habitable zone, but with its increased mass, 581d may have a thick enough atmosphere to trap the primary's feeble heat, and make it just warm enough for life to evolve.
Keep in mind that Gliese 581 has only about 30 percent of our Sun's mass, and 38 percent of its diameter, and these distances make sense when trying to figure out what we are observing. It is too bad we have no data (at least none I've been able to find) about densities, from which we could extrapolate who strong each planet's gravitational pull would be. One clue is that the star appears to have between 36 and 62 percent as enriched as the Sun is in proportion to elements heavier than hydrogen. That would indicate that these worlds would be less dense than Earth, and therefore their increased mass may not lead to proportionately high gravitational effects.
The hits just keep on coming with Gliese 581. There is still a lot of work to be done, but I'm certain that we are far from finished with this fascinating system.


Artist and Retired Astronaut Nicole Stott Took Flight Thanks to SPC
By Foundation Staff
As a former astronaut, SPC alumna Nicole Stott has literally been around the world, orbiting planet Earth aboard two spaceflights and the International Space Station.
As an artist, Nicole creatively combines her space flight experiences with art to inspire others. She co-founded the Space for Art Foundation, which mission is to develop, implement and facilitate space-inspired art therapy programs, exhibits, and research.
Nicole studied aviation administration at SPC, which she says was the perfect setup for her work as an engineer. During her 28-year career with NASA, Nicole was the first person to fly the robotic arm to capture the free flying HTV cargo vehicle, the first person to paint and Tweetup from space, the last crew member to fly to and from their ISS mission on a Space Shuttle, and was a member of the crew of the final flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery.


Experience what it’s like to step inside a black hole with a brand-new immersive experience from audiovisual pioneers Marshmallow Laser Feast.
The new work, titled 'Distortions in Space Time', will turn participants’ bodies into particle clouds on a giant screen, then give them the sense of being squashed, stretched and spaghettified as they are affected by gravitational waves created by two black holes crashing into each other.
Exploring the space and interacting with each other will reward participants with opportunities to see particle jets whipped up, observe gravitational lensing and pass through the photon sphere. And as they move towards the singularity, things will start to get weird…
The piece is commissioned in partnership by Manchester Science Festival, the British Science Festival, and the University of Hull.


(CNN) — Jessica Watkins is a self-described "rock nerd" with a doctorate in geology. So when she boarded her first mission to space as a member of NASA's astronaut corps, she brought along photos of family and friends — and some rocks.
"Of course, I had to," Watkins, 34, said in an interview during her six-month stay on the International Space Station, launching with her SpaceX Crew-4 crewmates in April before returning to Earth in October.
Her journey made history. Watkins became only the fifth Black woman ever to travel into space and the first to join a space station expedition. She became an official crew member of the orbiting laboratory that has hosted more than 260 people in its nearly 23-year history.
As a young girl, Watkins dreamed of traveling to space and even wrote a poem, called My Little Astronaut, describing that ambition in grade school, her mother told CNN affiliate WESH-TV in Orlando ahead of her daughter's mission.
That desire became a reality as result of the zeal she brought to her academic pursuits, Watkins said in a January interview. And Watkins hopes she can instill that enthusiasm for knowledge into young people who aspire to be like her.
"One of the most important things to be able to share is just the importance of dreaming big," Watkins said, "and really being able to find your path — find something that you're passionate about."
She previously described her love of geology, noting it allows her to function "as a detective."
"You're looking at different puzzle pieces, you know, [in] all kinds [of] different places," Watkins said in a NASA video. "And you're trying to bring those puzzle pieces together to get a full story, a full history of what has happened in a particular place."
Diverse representation remains an issue in the space program, but opportunities for women and people of color are growing. Watkins' astronaut class, selected by NASA in 2017, is one of the most diverse in the space agency's history, and she hopes she can leave the door open for others.
"I see places where I wish there was more representation, but I definitely felt the impact of the representation that did exist," Watkins said. It was valuable "to see people who looked like me who had backgrounds and experiences like me, in the roles that I aspired to, and contributing in the ways that I aspired to contribute."
She counts astronaut Mae Jemison, the first Black woman to travel into space, as a key figure, and she drew inspiration from her parents and family members as well as teachers and mentors she met along the way.
"It will definitely be a priority for me," she said, "to be able to kind of reach out and connect with the community that I hoped to do a good job of representing."
Journey to space
Watkins grew up in Lafayette, Colorado, and received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University. Initially, she studied mechanical engineering, hoping it would help her pursue her astronaut dreams.
But that "was just not my passion," she said in a NASA broadcast from space. "It was just not something that got me out of bed every morning."
But flipping through Stanford's course catalog, she discovered geology classes about searching for habitable planets that sparked her interest.
"Particularly the idea of planetary geology, the idea of being able to study rocks on the surface of another planet," she said, "just absolutely enamored me and still does to this day."
At Stanford, Watkins became a standout rugby star. As a sophomore, she scored the winning goal in Stanford's 2008 national title game. As a result, her grandmother told CNN affiliate WESH she initially thought Watkins' destiny was to be one of game's best players.
On reflection, Watkins said, immersing herself in the dynamics of a team sport as well as her studies prepared her for the grueling requirements of spaceflight.
"The international cooperation that is required to do what we do up here every day is exactly like that," she said.
Watkins spent two years in basic astronaut training and another two years preparing for her space station journey. Boarding the SpaceX rocket, which carried her and three crewmates into orbit, for the first time was a pinch-me moment. But the months of dedicated practice made it also seem routine.
"It is this kind of exciting combination of emotions, as you're sitting there on the rocket getting ready to launch," Watkins told CNN. "But really, the launch itself is just amazing. And by the time the launch itself is actually occurring, you're fully focused on the operational side of things."
While in orbit
Throughout their time on the space station, Watkins and her crewmates worked closely with Russian cosmonauts, a task with increased geopolitical significance as the war in Ukraine strained relations between the United States and Russia.
"We are able to have dinner together, spend time together with them, and we really become family with them," Watkins told CNN. "We all are there to successfully and safely execute our missions. ... We really have that common ground."
Watkins had her hands in hundreds of research projects on the space station, including a botany investigation focused on growing new crops in space. Food being an ever-important topic for astronauts, Watkins also became known during her stay for inventing a hamburger taco topped with macaroni and cheese — dubbed the "Wattyburger."
Among the surprising experiences in space, Watkins found the microgravity environment was extending to her dreams within a few weeks of her stay on the station.
"They were not about being in space, but they took place in space," she said. "You know how dreams are — you kind of remember, 'Oh, yeah, we were definitely floating, so we must have been in space. But since being back here on Earth, I don't think that I have dreamed about being in space. So I guess my brain and body have figured it out."
To pass the time when research projects or routine maintenance weren't overwhelming her calendar, Watkins said she stared out the space station's nook of windows, called the cupola, to catch views of Earth whisking by.
"Certainly for me, as a scientist and as a geologist in particular, being able to look out the window and see places that are of geologic interest — even field sites that I had visited or done research previously — to be able to see them from that perspective, from a planetary perspective, was really quite amazing."
On weekends, Watkins said the crew would use a projector to screen movies. Her favorite — and perhaps the most relevant — was the 2015 Matt Damon film, "The Martian," she said. Watkins' doctoral dissertation at UCLA focused on the Martian terrain, analyzing puzzling landslides seen on the planet's surface and how water may have contributed to them.
"I thought they did a great job [in the movie]," she said, "with the rocks in particular."
What the future holds
Watkins' unbridled love of geology extends to her ambitions within NASA's astronaut corps. Asked what her dream mission would be, Watkins told CNN she wants to travel to Mars and study some of the landmarks she's only been able to analyze through data collected by satellites and Martian rovers.
"To go to those areas that we have studied — and that I, in particular, have studied — and be able to get boots on the ground there and compare that kind of field geology with [remotely collected] data ... will be pretty amazing," she said.
Such a feat is not out of the realm of possibilities for Watkins. As a member of NASA's Artemis team, she's part of a group of astronauts who could be selected to join upcoming crewed missions to the moon, and, perhaps, eventually to Mars.
The Artemis program is still in its infancy, but NASA soon is expected to select crew members for an upcoming journey around the moon.
Watkins hasn't lobbied NASA for a spot on that mission or any other specific assignments. "It doesn't work that way," she noted.
But the Artemis program is offering her and her colleagues an exciting future — one that promises to be filled with people who better represent the general public.
"We are an amazing, diverse [astronaut] corps right now," Watkins said. "And so whoever ends up being the faces of [the Artemis II] mission, we are all just excited to really be a part of it and to contribute in the ways that we can all contribute."
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Gravitea Afternoon Tea at Skylon, for two
BOOKABLE FROM 11TH MARCH.
Head to Southbank for a delicious gravitea at Skylon, taking inspiration from the planets and space. The Afternoon Tea will include a vibrant selection Galactic cupcakes, Rocks of the Universe and other Cosmic delights.
Terms & Conditions
Valid only at Skylon, for 10 months from date of purchase, for two guests. Experiences can only be redeemed with the presentation of experience card. Not available in conjunction with any other offer. D&D London reserves the right to reschedule or rearrange your experience in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
Redemption subject to availability. Voucher cannot be redeemed if experience is cancelled with under 24 hours’ notice.
Offer only available Mon-Fri, 2pm-4pm.
Reservation essential: please call 020 7654 7800


Clear skies last night aided perfect viewing of the full moon as well as winter constellations, Mars and Saturn. Tonight’s moon is waning but will be along side Saturn to the east in early evening hours.
Wildlife sightings have been exceptional during recent safaris and have included wolves, a mink, river otters and several raptors. During yesterday’s snowshoe hike on Spring Creek Ranch, we had the year’s first sighting of a bald eagle perched on our resident eagle nest. We will keep our fingers crossed that our eagle pair successfully raise chicks this year.
This week’s full moon rose above the Gros Ventre mountains to the east just as the sun set behind the Tetons. The full moon following October’s “harvest moon” is sometimes referred to as the “hunter’s moon.”
The national parks are feeling quieter in terms of visitors this week, but the local elk are anything but quiet this time of year. The rut, or mating season, of elk is beginning and will last for the next few weeks.
The bugling call of a large bull elk is one of the wildest sounds in nature and will make the hair stand on end of even the most seasoned elk observer. The bulls become focused on fighting with other males and pursuing females to the point that they eat very little this time of year and may lose up to 200 pounds. During last night’s astronomy program we observed Jupiter, many summer constellations, three distinct meteorites (shooting stars), and several satellites including the space shuttle.
Last night, we had clear skies which provided this wonderful view of a conjunction between the crescent moon and our closest planetary neighbor, Venus. The moon was showing about 10% while Venus was at its absolute brightest, which makes it appear about 20 times brighter than the brightest star, Sirius. This photograph was taken from the naturalist cabin here at Spring Creek Ranch.
During summer months we offer Astronomy Programs to our guests which have proven very popular due to our extremely dark skies.