Canadian astronaut Col. Chris Hadfield has recorded the first music video in space. It’s only been out for about a week, but it’s got over 14 million views.
Produced by David Bowie’s current keyboard player, Emm Gryner, it’s a wonderful rendition of "Space Oddity", sung from the viewpoint of a man, not blasting off into the unknown, but leaving space and coming back down to earth. It's moving and inspiring.
Chris Hadfield spent four months aboard the International Space Station, heading up the first expediaiton under the command of a Canadian. During his tenure he became a bit of an Internet celebrity, embracing social media. He’s the star of many a YouTube video, answering questions and demonstrating the effects of weightlessness on typically mundane things, like wringing out a towel, making a peanut butter sandwich or sleeping in space jammies.
He's also an accomplished photographer, taking pictures like this...
and like this...
He made space nachos (click for picture).[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield/status/289852499513454592"]
There are so many videos and pictures either produced or featuring Mr. Hadfield out there, it would be futile to try to catalogue them all. But do search, look and maybe learn and be inspired.
Chris Hadfield is a hero: Canada's hero, a hero of science, and a rock hero.


Solar eclipse 2019 December: The last solar eclipse of the year 2019 will be on 26 December. For this, it will take Sutak from 25 December. According to astrology, no auspicious work is initiated during the eclipse. The period before and after the eclipse is considered to be the Sutak period. Pregnant women are advised to take special precautions during eclipse and eclipse thread. This solar eclipse will be visible in India and it will also have an impact on people and nature of different zodiac signs.
What is the eclipse period
For your information, tell us that the eclipse time is 12 hours before the start of the eclipse and 12 hours after the eclipse is completed. This time the solar eclipse is on 26 December 2019, hence the eclipse Sutak period will begin on 25 December.
Eclipse date and time
There will be threads on Wednesday night from 8:17 pm. The sutak will end as soon as the eclipse ends. There will be four planets in the original constellation on the day of eclipse. At the same time, Sun, Moon, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn and Ketu will remain in Sagittarius. Rahu will also have complete vision on these six planets. In these, two planets i.e. Mercury and Guru will remain. Cancer, Libra, Aquarius and Pisces will be auspicious on four zodiac signs.
After this eclipse, there will be a lunar eclipse in January early next year. It is being told that this solar eclipse is occurring after 296 years. It will be a ring-like solar eclipse in which the sun will look like a ring of fire. Swami Purnanand Puri Maharaj, president of the Institute of Vedic Astrology, said that such a rare solar eclipse occurred 296 years ago on January 7, 1723. The solar eclipse will be annular. The shadow of the moon will cover 97 percent of the sun. The solar eclipse will start at 8:17 AM. On the occasion of solar eclipse on 26 December, the doors of most temples will remain closed. After the eclipse ends, the doors of the temples will open and the puja archana will start again.
Eclipse in new year 2020
January 10 – Lunar Eclipse
June 5 – Lunar Eclipse
June 21 – Solar eclipse
July 5 – Lunar Eclipse
November 30 – Moon Eclipse
14 December – Solar eclipse
Effect of lunar eclipse on pregnant women
It is believed that any eclipse effect is most likely on pregnant women. Because during the eclipse there is a lot of negative energy in the atmosphere. Astrologers advise pregnant women not to leave the house during the eclipse period. If necessary to get out, apply sandalwood and basil leaves on the womb. With this, the eclipse will not affect the fetus. If food is necessary during the eclipse period, use only those catering items in which Tulsi Patra or Kusha was put before applying sutak. Pregnant women should not use any cutting objects like knife, knife, blade, scissors during eclipse. This can have a bad effect on the organs of the unborn child. Use of needle thread is also prohibited during this time. During the eclipse period do not do anything other than taking the name of God.
Keep these precautions during the eclipse period –
In the eclipse period, many types of impure and harmful rays are affected by nature. Therefore, there are many tasks which are not done during the eclipse period.
– During the eclipse, food, water should not be taken.
– Do not bathe during the eclipse. Take a bath after the eclipse ends.
– Do not look at the eclipse with open eyes. However, seeing the lunar eclipse does not affect the eyes.
– During the eclipse period, one should keep reciting the mantra given by the Guru.


Uranometria 2000.0 Deep Sky Atlas Pdf Free: A Review
If you are looking for a comprehensive and detailed star atlas that covers the entire sky, you might want to check out Uranometria 2000.0 Deep Sky Atlas Pdf Free. This is a digital version of the famous printed atlas by Wil Tirion, Barry Rappaport, and Will Remaklus, which is available as a single volume from Willmann-Bell.
Uranometria 2000.0 Deep Sky Atlas Pdf Free features 220 double-page charts at a scale of 1.85 centimeters per degree of declination, and an additional 29 close-up charts of selected regions of heavy congestion. The atlas shows stars down to magnitude 9.75, as well as more than 30,000 nonstellar objects, including galaxies, nebulae, clusters, and double stars. The objects are indexed by common names, star names, Bayer Stars, Messier, and NGC/IC designations.
The atlas is designed for both visual and photographic observers, and it can be used with any type of telescope or binoculars. The charts are clear and easy to read, with color-coded symbols and labels. The atlas also includes a handy reference guide with basic data and descriptions of the objects.
Uranometria 2000.0 Deep Sky Atlas Pdf Free is a great resource for anyone who wants to explore the wonders of the night sky. It is compatible with most PDF readers and devices, and it can be printed or viewed on screen. You can download it for free from various online sources, such as DocPlayer or DOCdb. However, if you want to support the authors and publishers, you can also purchase the hardcover edition from Willmann-Bell.Here is the continuation of the article:
How to Use Uranometria 2000.0 Deep Sky Atlas Pdf Free
Uranometria 2000.0 Deep Sky Atlas Pdf Free is a powerful tool for finding and observing thousands of deep sky objects. However, to use it effectively, you need to know how to read the charts and how to match them with the sky. Here are some tips to help you get started:
First, you need to know your location and the date and time of your observation. This will help you determine which charts to use and how to orient them. You can use a planisphere, a star map app, or a software like Stellarium to find out what constellations are visible in your sky.
Next, you need to choose a chart that covers the area of the sky you want to explore. The atlas has 220 charts that are numbered from 1 to 220, starting from the north celestial pole and ending at the south celestial pole. Each chart has a title that indicates its center coordinates in right ascension and declination, as well as its boundaries. You can use the index at the back of the atlas to find the chart that contains a specific object or constellation.
Then, you need to orient the chart according to your viewing direction. The top of each chart is north, the bottom is south, the left is east, and the right is west. You can use a compass or a landmark to find north, and then rotate the chart accordingly. You can also use a prominent star or asterism as a reference point.
Finally, you need to identify the objects on the chart and locate them in your telescope or binoculars. The atlas uses different symbols and colors to represent different types of objects, such as galaxies, nebulae, clusters, and double stars. You can refer to the legend at the front of the atlas to understand what each symbol means. You can also use the companion Deep Sky Field Guide to get more information on each object, such as its size, magnitude, type, and description.
Uranometria 2000.0 Deep Sky Atlas Pdf Free is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to discover the beauty and diversity of the deep sky. With some practice and patience, you will be able to use it with confidence and enjoy many rewarding observations. 9160f4acd4


Good morning and happy weekend! Saturday mornings are the best. Waking up and realizing that you have no regular obligations for the day and nowhere to be right away is such a great feeling.
This morning was a little different for us, because we woke up in Mackinaw City! We are one day into our vacation, 4.5 hours north of where we live, and only halfway there. Today we are headed across the bridge to the Upper Peninsula for the next four days. I thought I’d share some pictures from our first day of camping!
We were finally able to visit Headlands International Dark Sky Park, and it was awesome. I’ve wanted to go to this park for a while now, and actually been there twice, but it was cloudy and bad weather both times! There are no lights allowed here, and the stars are absolutely beautiful. It’s about 10-15 minutes west of Mackinaw City, where we were camped for the night.
I hope you get some time to explore nature this weekend!


Tag Archives: star
Pale into insignificance
224 // 365
I didn’t even realise that there was supposed to be a meteor shower this evening. I’d asked a mate if they wanted to come and take star pictures with me, as it was on my to do list and the night was set to be clear.
We got there at sunset (it was a nice sunset!), and at about 11ish we decided we had had enough. The side of the hill we were on was packed. I just (stupidly!) thought that was standard procedure for a clear Wednesday night. No. Silly. When Igot home and went on Facebook I realised there is a meteor shower tonight. No idea what the lines in the shot are, very far away meteors? Planes? Aliens? Who knows! : )


Help the U.S. on its quest to get to Mars by exploring careers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory headquarters in Pasadena, Calif.
The Big News
Space exploration inspires the young and old alike. Here’s how a few spacecraft were named.
There’s more going on in American space exploration than can be found in Houston and Cape Canaveral. Here are 8 NASA facilities you might not know about.
What will the future of the federal workforce be? Can it keep up with the innovation all around it by embracing small businesses, technological advances, and better partnerships?
The Secret Service was created by President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. Hours later, in a strange coincidence, he would be murdered by John Wilkes Booth at the Ford Theater.


New Observatory Planned For Main Delta College Campus
August 14, 2019 1:15AM EDT
The west part of the main Delta College campus will soon be home to a domed observatory with a 28″ reflecting telescope for students and visitors wanting to look deep into the universe.
Delta Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy Kevin Dehne says the site would be open to the public and ADA compliant.
Dehne added construction of the estimated $1,200,000 facility which would include utility connections could begin next year with the site not far from the new baseball field and sharing restroom facilities.
Dehne discussed the project as part of the Board of Trustees dinner meeting Tuesday.


"Monday, April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The total solar eclipse will begin over the South Pacific Ocean. Weather permitting, the first location in continental North America that will experience totality is Mexico’s Pacific coast at around 11:07 a.m. PDT." For more info, visit: https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/where-when/
To prepare for this, come in and grab a pair. Visit the Circulation Desks at either location between April 1st-6th to ask for ONE PAIR OF GLASSES PER HOUSEHOLD, While Supplies Last as we received a very limited Quantity thanks to the Swaney Memorial Library!


Shafaq News/ The International Space Station (ISS) was launched in 1998 by the Russian and US space agencies and has been hailed for its exemplary co-operation involving numerous countries.
But Russian officials have indicated they could pull out of the ISS in 2025.
The station's structure is ageing.
Russia's Roscosmos space agency says its agreement with international partners runs out in 2024. A decision on the ISS' future will then be made on the condition of its technical modules, which have "reached the end of their service life", and on Russia's plans for its own orbital service station.
"We can't risk the lives [of our cosmonauts]. The situation that today is connected to the structure and the metal getting old, it can lead to irreversible consequences - to catastrophe. We mustn't let that happen," Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov was quoting as telling state TV.
Moscow would give its international partners "fair warning of our departure from the ISS in 2025", he added.
Appearing to pre-empt that decision, the head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin posted a video on the Telegram messaging app, adding that "the first core module of the new Russian orbital station is in the works", with the aim of having it ready for launch in 2025.
Russia recently celebrated its proud history in space, marking the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin becoming the first human to go into orbit. For years, Russia had a monopoly on manned space flight but last year Nasa astronauts were taken to the ISS via a capsule belong to Elon Musk's SpaceX.
Relations between Russia and the US and several European countries have frayed recently too. US ambassador John Sullivan is to return home for consultations this week, after Moscow "recommended" he leave temporarily. Russia's troop build-up near Ukraine's eastern border and its treatment of President Vladimir Putin's foremost critic, Alexei Navalny, have heightened tensions.
The Russian space module, being assembled by the Energia corporation, is set to cost at least $5bn (£3.5bn), Interfax news agency reports.
Mr Borisov told state TV that the planned Russian space station would orbit at a higher latitude and thus be better able to view the polar regions, which would be useful for the opening up of the Northern Sea Route. Russia hopes to develop the route as Arctic sea ice melts.
Russia would construct the new space station by itself, he said, while appearing to hold out the possibility of other countries taking part. "We'll definitely [take partners], but we'll manage by ourselves," he told Rossiya 1 TV.
Last month said it had signed an agreement with China's National Space Administration to develop a lunar research station on the surface of the Moon, in orbit or both.


Monday, August 22, 2011
Space shuttle Discovery finale
The space shuttle Discovery is seen touching down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 9 March this year being piggy-backed by a NASA Boeing 747, before being wheeled to a custom-built hangar.
It was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on 30 August 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on 9 March 2011. By its last mission, Discovery had flown 148 million miles (238 million km) in 39 missions, completed 5,830 orbits, and spent 365 days in orbit in over 27 years. Discovery is the Orbiter Fleet leader, having flown more flights than any other Orbiter Shuttle in the fleet, including four in 1985 alone. Discovery flew all three "return to flight" missions after the Challenger and Columbia disasters: STS-26 in 1988, STS-114 in 2005, and STS-121 in 2006. Discovery flew the third to the last mission of the Space Shuttle program, STS-133, having launched on (NET) February 24, 2011. Endeavour flew aboard STS-134 and Atlantis performed STS-135, NASA's last Space Shuttle mission. On 24 February 2011, Space Shuttle Discovery launched from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39-A to begin its final orbital flight.
NASA has offered Discovery to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum for public display and preservation, after a months-long decontamination process as part of the national collection. Discovery will replace Enterprise in the Smithsonian's display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.
(pics sent in by Cliff, info from Wikipedia)
at 9:17 AM


Today I was listening to my favorite Saturday morning radio broadcast, Dr. Yitzhak Noy reading and commenting on interesting newspaper articles from around the world. I had just come back from walking Daisy and tuned in to the tail end of an article he read about these strange bursts of radio energy and how some astronomers at Harvard had suggested they might be alien space travelers zipping around our galaxy at close to the speed of light.
Well, since I didn’t think Harvard was your usual source of unsubstantiated “Abducted by UFO” headlines, my curiosity was piqued and I Googled some key words and phrases I remembered from the article Dr. Noy had talked about and found Fast Radio Bursts Might Come From Nearby Stars from 2013 and then Harvard Scientists Theorize That Fast Radio Bursts Come From Alien Space Travel from a couple weeks ago (March 9, 2017).
Why was I intrigued? Although the conspiracy theories about incarcerating little green beings with elongated heads in Area 51 or UFOs coming to us from millions of light years away just to make crop circles, mess with our minds, and leave before we can talk to them may very well be true, I tend not to believe them because there seem to me to be many alternate explanations that could be offered that would be just as good if not better. Remember Occam’s Razor. The simplest explanation of those available to us is most probably the correct one. Here’s what intrigued me about the Fast Radio Bursts: since 2007 when they were first discovered by astronomers, nobody had ever come up with an explanation of how they could occur naturally. In other words, there were no other competing theories. The Harvard researchers went one step further and used currently accepted engineering principles to show how an alien technology could propel space craft weighing a million tons at 20% of the speed of light and be visible to us in the frequency and amplitude our radio telescopes recorded.
Anyway, I didn’t want to talk about this particular speculation about Fast Radio Bursts. If you want, you can read the articles yourselves. But the articles did get me thinking about what other kinds of conjectures might be made.
So, without further ado …
The Stone Conjecture:
- Life is probably pretty common in a mature universe. The first generation of stars after the Big Bang were made of relatively simple elements, but subsequent generations of stars were composed of increasingly heavier elements in a variety of configurations. Atoms of various elements bound together into increasingly complex molecules, giving rise to organic molecules. When the circumstances proved adequate, organic molecules combined into organelles and cellular structures igniting the engine of life. Cells differentiated into colonies of specialized organs giving rise to plants and animals on our planet to adapt to its ecosystem. When the variety and complexity of these adaptive systems reached a critical mass, consciousness arose and then self-consciousness. The same kinds of processes probably happened with other kinds of systems in other kinds of ecosystems randomly occurring around our galaxy and others throughout the universe. A system beyond a certain level of quantity, variety, and complexity would be unlikely to remain integrated in a dynamically changing ecosystem over a certain period of time without developing self-consciousness. Entropy would cause the system to break down. This is what happens when we die.
- Given #1, self-conscious life that developed significantly before us would possibly be significantly more advanced than us. The stars in the center of our galaxy probably gave rise to civilizations far more advanced than civilizations in our solar system located pretty far out along an arm of our galaxy. Our local star was created long after the stars clustering around our galactic center. What I’m talking about is only orthogonal to the Kardashev scale.
- There may be more dimensions of space than the three we perceive. Given #2, an advanced civilization might know whether there are more than three dimensions and take advantage of those dimensions in traveling from one point to another or they would perceive only the three dimensions of space that we perceive.
- Given #3, if space spreads out over more than the three dimensions we perceive, then an advanced alien civilization would either know the short cuts through higher dimensions from one point to another or know how to warp one of the observable dimensions to access hyperspace.
- As far as we can see with our telescopes pointed in every direction from the vicinity of our planet, there is something: meteors, moons, planets, stars, and galaxies. What we can’t see is probably dark matter. These are all potential obstacles for us to travel in a single vector at or near the speed of light. In other words, in order to avoid running into these obstacles we’d probably have to slow down our speed significantly and jinx up, down, left, or right, to go around.
- If there are only the three dimensions we perceive, then traveling through the galaxy at close to the speed of light would require tunnels of emptiness through our galaxy. Tunnels of emptiness through our galaxy or any other would not appear naturally. It might be an indication that an advanced civilization had ploughed that tunnel to allow near light speed travel. Travel between galaxies at light speed could probably be made without tunnels because the space is mostly empty. Of course there is the issue of dark matter, but current theories posit that matter does not interact with dark matter. See Why Doesn’t Dark Matter Interact with Ordinary Matter.


Sol: Sun Clock
- Just saw the Hubble Space Telescope pass under Sirius! Also Mars is right next to the Pleiades.Friday, 03.05.21 01:36
- @gruber @mikeindustries an oldie but still works well: https://t.co/AfDDysZNuITuesday, 03.02.21 05:15
- @gruber @mikeindustries I have a folder action on each of the possible locations notify me whenever something tries… https://t.co/Gq9gRgzT3pTuesday, 03.02.21 05:13
Tag Archives: marketing
After months of obscurity, Sol: Sun Clock rose to #11 on the Weather charts the night of the solstice, and the next morning, when Apps Gone Free went live, it quickly rose to #2. Downloads went from around 10 a day (paid) to the peak of 21,042 in one day. That is an increase of over 2000%! Over a period of three days, Sol topped 30K downloads.
I have a strong distaste for even mild extortion, especially when it comes to the "free" press, and I for one won't be buying my app reviews.


What to See and Do in
Looking for an inspirational experience? Take a trip into space!
Prepare to be amazed as our guide takes you on an unforgettable tour of our universe. See the Universe recreated in front of your eyes from the comfort of your reclining seat inside the planetarium theatre day or night, rain or shine. Incredible video projections of stars and planets come to life on the giant domed screen above you with beautiful clarity.
For all your booking enquiries, phone or email us at firstname.lastname@example.org
09 624 1246
All electronic images and concepts are the copyright of See and Do New Zealand © 2010 -


All all know that Speedmaster is the star series of Omega that witnessed all the six moonfall missions. This year is the gold anniversary of the success of Apollo 11, Omega pushed out Moonshine™18K gold watches fake Omega Speedmaster “Apollo 11”BA145.022 that pay a tribute to the astronauts of Apollo 11.
The champagne dials copy watches in 42 mm have black agate hour marks, three chronograph sub-dials and black hands. Besides, there are white tachymetre scales on the burgundy ceramic bezels. Like all the Speedmaster watches, this edition can help the wearers have better controls of both time and speed. The combination of gold, black and burgundy gives the people vision impact.
The great astronauts together with Omega witness the birth of the limited watches replica Omega with only 1,014 pieces. On the backs of this edition has characters of “MASTER CHRONOMETER”, “APOLLO 11 – 50th ANNIVERSARY” and “THE FIRST WATCH WORN ON THE MOON”. Whether for collecting or wearing, the elaborate watches are worth.
How many sides does a sphere have? Luckily for OMEGA’s marketing department, the answer is: an infinite number. After visits to the Dark, the Grey, and the White Side of the moon, the Swiss giant invites us to discover one we didn’t even know existed: the Meteorite side.
Modeled after other Speedmaster Co-Axial chronographs Omega replica watches, the new GSOTM is the latest two-register, with small seconds at 9 o’clock, a 60-minute and 12-hour recorder at 3 o’clock, and a date window at 6 o’clock. Again, it is presented in a brushed and polished case measuring 44.25 mm across and 16.14 mm tall. But the watch looks a whole lot different from its predecessor.
A follow up to the cheap fake Omega Grey Side Of The Moon watches, the “Meteorite” borrows only the original’s grey ceramic case, ditching the sand-blasted platinum dial meant to romantically mirror the Moon’s surface, for one that actually orbited our planet before crash landing into it.
Meteorite dials seem to divide opinion. They are the marmite of the watch industry. Love them or hate them, they have a way of transforming the look of a watch. Many have experimented with such dials in recent memory – including OMEGA, who released the Speedmaster Professional Apollo-Soyuz a few years ago. Since then Jaeger-LeCoultre, Zenith, and Jaquet Droz have all released watches with meteorite dials, triggering a quick response from OMEGA, who may feel their self-proclaimed monopoly on space was being infringed (the Apollo-Soyuz Speedmaster, which had a meteorite dial, is no longer in production).
OMEGA’s meteorite is quite dark, which makes the information on the dial easy to absorb. To ensure optimal legibility, they’ve turned to their proprietary Sedna™ gold Omega cheap fake watches UK alloy to highlight the indexes, hour and minute hands, chronograph hand (which all contain Super-LumiNova), as well as the bezel, while the tachymeter scale is made with OMEGA Ceragold™. They’ve also inverted the colors of the date window. However, the Speedmaster logo remains red, in line with other next-gen Moonwatches.


Alisa wrote a lovely post today about stillness and the origins of the word solstice as December 21st is almost here. She explains the word comes from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still) referring to the point at which the sun pauses on its seasonal path (as viewed from Earth) before reversing direction. A night of stillness.
To illustrate “still” in the Pacific Northwest I have one more photo of the Arctic Rose. My bench on the fishing pier was too far away to capture more than a silhouette but here is the boat on a quiet autumn evening heading out for a night on the water.
Posted as part of Alisa’s Weekly Travel Theme: Still


On the eve of Jeff Bezos’ triumphant launch into space, Berkeley economics professor and former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich took to Twitter and offered a little snark.
“No one needs Bezos to launch rockets into outer space. We need him to pay his fair share of taxes so people can thrive here on Earth.”
The world is very fortunate that professor Reich was not around 100 years ago when Bill Boeing and Donald Douglas were vying to see who would be the first to use the then-new technology of the airplane to transport cargo and passengers around the world. Otherwise, millions of people might not be boarding airliners every day to visit relatives or attend business meetings in far-off destinations.
The suborbital jaunts accomplished by Richard Branson and Bezos were not just expressions of egos. They constituted the next steps in the creation of a brand-new industry, space tourism. Their main rival, SpaceX’s Elon Musk, is already planning flights of his Crew Dragonwith private passengers willing to pay lots of money for an out-of-this-world experience in low Earth orbit. The first of these missions, Inspiration4, is being mounted to raise money for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. Branson and Musk will charge a little less money for a few minutes of weightlessness and the best view of the Earth most have ever experienced.
While only the well-to-do will be able to afford private space travel, for the time being, that state of affairs will not last forever. Technological progress and economies of scale will combine to bring down the cost of a space vacation, bringing it into reach for more people. The same process that created the aviation industry will more than likely replicate itself with the commercial space sector.
Sometime in the future, people will be able to board a rocket ship and fly to a private space station for a week filled with experiences that currently only government astronauts and a few rich people have been able to have. A company called Axiom Space, which is partnering with SpaceX for private flights of the Crew Dragon, is already planning such an orbiting facility, which will primarily be for research and microgravity manufacturing. Interiors of the crew quarters are being designed by French industrial designer Philippe Starck. None other than former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine suggested that private people will one day voyage to commercial space stations, according to CNBC. “The future is going to be human space stations, commercially owned and operated,” he said.
The billionaires’ space race has already been of enormous benefit to NASA. SpaceX is transporting astronauts and cargo to and from the International Space Station for far less cost than the space shuttle used to. The first American astronauts back to the moon will ride to the lunar surface on a specially outfitted SpaceX Starship rocket, currently being tested at Boca Chica, Texas. Bezos is developing the Blue Moon lunar lander to compete with SpaceX, now with billions in incentives. NASA has chosen the SpaceX Falcon Heavy to launch the Europa Clipper for a savings of almost $2 billion over the Space Launch System.
Cheap access to space and returning to the moon are the keys to creating a space-based economy. Resources mined on the moon could be shipped to manufacturing facilities in Earth orbit. Space resource extraction is one of the projects being developed by Blue Origin. Space factories would use microgravity to create products that would be impossible to build on Earth. Combined with space tourism, space manufacturing would create immeasurable wealth.
The idea that two suborbital hops will lead to an Earth-moon economic sphere might seem like science fiction. However, a group of Japanese businesses, academics and elected officials recently proposed such a vision that they labeled “Planet 6.0.”
Boeing and Douglas might have shaken their heads at the idea of a world bound together by airliners. When they started civil aviation consisted mostly of barnstorming stunts at county fairs, the equivalent of Branson’s and Bezos’ suborbital hops. Yet what was the future to them is our present. No reason exists to suppose that the realm of human activity cannot be extended to low Earth orbit, the moon and, perhaps in the fullness of time, beyond. Such a future would make better use of the billions held by people like Bezos, Musk and others than to be paid as part of their “fair share of taxes.”


2018 Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Symposium: Boundaries
Hosted by the CC@MIT Student Advisory Council
Sunday, April 22 12pm-1pm and 4pm-5pm
Boundaries: we can set them, break them, be limited by them and move beyond them. This theme is found in both both art and science. Join a panel of local university students (from MIT, Northeastern, Harvard and Tufts) as they discuss their projects at the boundaries of science and the arts, and then join a conversation with them about ideas inspired by the world premiere of The Women Who Mapped the Stars at Central Square Theater. The conversation will also touch on themes of diversity and inclusion. After the matinee performance of The Women Who Mapped the Stars, the conversation will continue with actors from the cast and guest scientists. During the week of the Cambridge Science Festival, an interactive poster on display in the Central Square Theater lobby will invite audience members to express their opinions on diversity, inclusion and access in STEM and the arts.
12:00PM-1:00PM – Panel Project Presentations and Conversation
2:00PM-4:00PM – The Women Who Mapped the Stars
Directly following show – Post-Show Conversation
Harvard graduate student in Astrophysics, Chantanelle (Chani) Nava, is a Montana native who earned her B.A. in Physics with an Astronomy focus from the University of Montana. Chani performs research detecting and characterizing small planets around stars other than our sun, with the goal of detecting habitable planets that could potentially host life as we know it! Her love and interest in astronomy is fed largely by the natural universal wonder the science evokes and the connections it allows her to make with members of the community. When Chani isn’t doing something science related, she can be found focusing on one of her other loves: her family and friends, the outdoors, music, food, activism, and her cat, Kiki.
Ashley Villar is an astrophysics PhD student at Harvard University. She studies eruptions, explosions and collisions of stars in our night sky. Ashley is originally from Vero Beach Florida, before moving to Massachusetts to earn a degree in physics from MIT. She was inspired to study astronomy after reading the popular book, Death by Black Hole, while in middle school. You can read more about her work at ashleyvillar.com


NASA ceases to be interested in the earth
The American Congress has finally approved a new NASA budget. The agency has $ 19.5 billion to spend over the year. Most of this money will go exclusively to space missions.
Although NASA is essentially a space agency, it has been pursuing a number of projects that have also been linked to our planet over the past years to better understand it. In the future, however, they will not be developed, as almost all the money received from the US government will go to space missions.
The US Congress has just approved a new budget, giving NASA $ 19.5 billion. The budget adopted without any opposition focuses almost exclusively on travel and space research.
Some of the money received will be spent on the Orion and SLS programs, as well as the unmanned missions scheduled for next year. The agency will also allocate funds to send man to Mars by 2030.
In addition, NASA will increase the presence of man on a low Earth orbit, and will also handle supersonic airplanes and travel related projects. Many resources can also be spent on the Asteroid Redirect Mission, which aims to capture asteroids flying close to our planet. For the time being, the program is still under question because it is unclear whether it will eventually be approved.


Alabama's top tourist attraction is looking to bolster its workforce, as it is holding a Thursday job fair.
The U.S. Space & Rocket Center is holding an on-site hiring event Jan. 4 from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. at the museum's Educator Training Facility.
The rocket center trying to fill positions including Space Camp counselors, museum guides and gift shop managers.
Applicants are asked to bring a resume and attend wearing business attire.
- Space & Rocket Center to hold Thursday job fair
- Rocket City Fair announced
- Space and Rocket Center CEO to speak to UNA students
- Space and Rocket Center, American Girl partner for Space Camp doll
- Rocket City Fair in Huntsville through Memorial Day
- Space company Vector wants to churn out rockets like Ford made Model Ts
- Huntsville Police help round up ponies that escaped from the Rocket City Fair
- Dubai space center is joining the race to Mars
- Space Accidents Fast Facts
- Justice to hold bipartisan briefing Thursday


Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and Blue Origin aerospace company, said that space tourism is necessary if humanity wants to continue living in a “prosperous civilization”. He proposed to move heavy industry into space.
People are killing the planet with their own hands, but humanity is unlikely to have to be evacuated from the dying Earth - rather, we could redirect the destructive energy into space, said Jeff Bezos in an interview with CBS.
“We, the people, must go into space if we want to live in a prosperous civilization. We have grown as a population, as a species, and the planet has become small to us, ” — he said. “This is noticeable due to climate change and environmental pollution due to heavy industry. We are in the process of destroying our planet.” — Bezos said.
We agree with the position of Jeff Bezos. This is a very good decision — to move the production of heavy industry and other industries into space. This step will significantly improve the ecological situation on our planet, but will also provide an additional increase in production.
The businessman said that the Earth - the best place for people. “We sent robotic probes to every planet in the solar system — that’s good.” Bezos said that humanity can save the Earth by “using the resources of the space”, and for this it is not necessary to move.
In particular, Bezos proposed to move into space the entire branch of heavy industry, which is dangerous for the ecology of the Earth. In his opinion, it is much cheaper and easier to produce, for example, microprocessors in space, and then deliver them to Earth. Thus, the planet will get rid of large and harmful plants and industries.
By sending research probes, we do not think about what AI can do for us invaluable and useful work in space for the preparation of our activities there.
1. AGI can and should manage fully automated and autonomous factories and ensure interaction between them. Build the whole process in which we have experience. And also to explore new objects, in the search for resources suitable for different levels of production. In general, do all that will help reduce the environmental burden on our planet.
2. There are space objects unfit for life, but rich in resources. AGI is able to organize the extraction and delivery of these useful resources by “space trolleys” to these industrial facilities.
3. AGI on other planets will be able to build from the first step an environmentally safe ecosystem that will not use nature as a landfill. Emission control and waste management will be carefully designed.
All these ideas seem futuristic, although they are not really among those on the far horizon. If we now begin to systematically build the necessary infrastructure, then in the foreseeable future we will be able to achieve the first results.


Welcome to squirrel class.
This week we are welcoming our new friends and families to Holy Innocents Preschool we explored playing in and around the setting and exploring new adventures.
This week we explored day and night and we explored the makaton sign for day time and night time. we explored lots of exciting books around owls like the Owl Babies and The owl who was frightened of the dark. The children also took part in creating telescopes to help them see the stars off a night time.
This week we explored Space and the planets we would see if we where able to travel into space. We shared lots of mallable material to create rockets and we created a large rocket out of a box just like our story whatever next by Jill Murphy.
We also joint our hedgehog class in exploring how we would move and jump and balance whilst in space.
This week we celebrate Chinese New year and Lunar New Year we decorated our role play area with red decorations as red is the colour that brings us Luck and we got to explore how to eat noodles using chop sticks with Hedgehog class. We also got the chance to explore the traditional lion dance in our PE session.
We took part in exploring the stars this week and we discovered that a star can be seen every where in the world.
Children took part in exploring the shape of a star they may be big they may be small and if we use a microscope we are able to see right up into space.
Children really enjoyed creating there own stars and creating their own planets in space.
This week we explored traditional stories we looked at where The 3 little pigs where we went and explored our playground and we found a house made of sticks so we shared our story in the house of sticks.
We also joint Hedgehog class on going on a bear hunt we went over the river and through the mud which went squelch squelch squelch, we had our snack in the forest where we got to share yummy cake for one of our friends birthdays.
We explored Goldilocks and the 3 bears story and we acted out the story using our storysack and porridge.


1 edition of Picture album of the Deep Space Network found in the catalog.
Picture album of the Deep Space Network
by Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology in Pasadena
Written in English
|Statement||compiled by N.A. Renzetti and D. Worthington.|
|Contributions||Renzetti, N. A., Worthington, D.|
|LC Classifications||TL3026 .P53 1994|
|The Physical Object|
|Pagination||v, 77 p. :|
|Number of Pages||77|
|LC Control Number||95179889|
Deep Space Network aka DSN's profile including the latest music, albums, songs, music videos and more updates. NASA will spend 11 months upgrading the only piece of its Deep Space Network that can send commands to the probe, which has crossed into interstellar space. Antennas belonging to the Deep Space.
Space Flight Operations Facility (SFOF) is a control room and related communications equipment areas at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, 's Deep Space Network is operated from this facility. The SFOF has monitored and controlled all interplanetary and deep space exploration for NASA and other international space agencies since Architect: NASA. The distance from Earth also meant that NASA’s Deep Space Network antennas in Spain, Australia, Mexico and California had to be expanded to .
9. Chandra and the Deep Space Network Data from Chandra are transmitted via the Deep Space Network stations to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and from there to the Chandra Operations Control Center in Cambridge, MA. Please note: In this illustration, Chandra's solar panels are positioned incorrectly to show entire working surface. The Role of DBNs in the Rise of Deep Learning. Although we don’t emphasize DBNs as much in this book, this network played a nontrivial role in the rise of deep learning. Geoff Hinton’s team at the University of Toronto persisted over a long period of time in advancing techniques in the image modeling space to produce great advances.
An introduction to Viking mythology
Of mind and heart
Biblical sexuality and the battle for science
Minimum prices European trade in agricultural and horticultural products.
Abstract expressionism, the formative years
Site value of shops.
Panama Canal, ferry and highway.
O beloved kids
The Deep Space Network emerges from this study not only as a complex, human-machine system of worldwide dimensions, but also, more convincingly, as a focus for the aspirations of the NASA scientists for ever-bigger science, and of the JPL engineers for ever-greater innovation and enterprise in navigating to distant targets and communicating at Cited by: Explore releases from Deep Space Network at Discogs.
Shop for Vinyl, CDs and more from Deep Space Network at the Discogs Marketplace. Discover releases, reviews, track listings, recommendations, and more about Deep Space Network Meets Higher Intelligence Agency* - Deep Space Network Meets Higher Intelligence Agency at Discogs.
Complete your Deep Space Network Meets Higher Intelligence Agency* collection/5(). Check out Deep Space Network on Amazon Music. Stream ad-free or purchase CD's and MP3s now on Amazon. The NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) is a worldwide network of U.S. spacecraft communication facilities, located in the United States (California), Spain (Madrid), and Australia (Canberra), that supports NASA's interplanetary spacecraft missions.
It also performs radio and radar astronomy observations for the exploration of the Solar System and the universe, and supports selected Earth-orbiting Organization: Interplanetary Network Directorate, (NASA. brings you the latest images, videos and news from America's space agency.
Get the latest updates on NASA missions, watch NASA TV live, and learn about our quest to reveal the unknown and benefit all humankind. Site Manager: Jon Nelson Webmasters: Anil Natha, Luis Espinoza Webmasters: Anil Natha, Luis Espinoza.
(See the appendix at the back of the book.) The technology underlying many of the major engineering changes, discussed earlier in The Advance of Technology in the Deep Space Network 07 chapter 9/4/02 PM Page The Advance of Technology in the Deep Space Network Figure An early parabolic design of a DSN antenna.
W6TRW 53rd Annual Awards Banquet “Deep Space Communications and the Deep Space Network” Presented by: Steve Townes, WB4ILW, President JPL ARC Saturday, Nov. 9th, – pm Bluewater Grill, N. Harbor Drive, Redondo Beach Captain’s Cabin, 1st Floor, back area Your RSVP needs to be received by Oct.
25th with your. History of the Deep Space Network at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory website "Uplink-Downlink - A History of the Deep Space Network - " (pdf) by Douglas J. Mudgway JPL's DESCANSO book series provide much technical background on NASA's Deep Space network, e.g.: "Large Antennas of the Deep Space Network" by William A.
Imbriale. The Deep Space Network (DSN) is NASA's international network of antennas that supports interplanetary missions, some selected Earth-orbiting missions, and radio three Deep Space Communications Complexes combine to make the largest and most sensitive telecommunications system in the world.
To give some idea of DSN's sensitivity, the antennas are still able to capture. This electronic book on CD-ROM provides a comprehensive guide to the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN), an international network of antennas that supports interplanetary spacecraft and radio and radar astronomy operations for the exploration of the solar system and the universe.
The network is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. we know of the famous voyager spacecraft which flew out in 2 editions - 1 and 2 in they carry human voice and form to be found in interstellar space should they come across an alien life out there where are the 2 spacecraft now.
how rich that their services were to our. The Goldstone Deep Space Communication Complex is located on the Fort Irwin Military Base, near Barstow, California. Reservations are required for tours of the Goldstone Complex. To book a tour, call () or email [email protected] The Goldstone website posts information on tours and other special events.
The New York Times tries to shock and frighten with its title: When Voyager 2 Calls Home, Earth Soon Won’t Be Able to Answer. NASA will spend 11 months upgrading the only piece of its Deep Space Network that can send commands to the probe, which has crossed into interstellar space.
Deep Space Network is the largest and most sensitive scientific telecommunications system in the world. AT&T will provide a high speed VPN to connect Deep Space Network's giant radio antennas. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for The NASA History: Uplink-Downlink: A History of the Deep Space Network, by Douglas J.
Mudgway (, Paperback) at the best online prices at eBay. Free shipping for many products. On Decem a memo from Dr. William H. Pickering, the then Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory was sent to the senior staff.
This memo established the Deep Space Network (DSN) combining the responsibilities of the Deep Space Instrumentation Facility, interstation communications, and multi-mission components of the Space Flight Operations Facility.
This April photo of Deep Space Station 12 (DSS) in Goldstone, California, was featured in Space Programs SummaryVolume 3–The Deep Space Instrumentation Facility. The foot (meter) Echo antenna can be seen through the window of.
NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) is a collection of antennas at three sites around the globe used to communicate with interplanetary spacecraft missions. DSN also is used by radio and radar astronomers to observe the Solar System and the Universe. The international network also supports selected Earth-orbiting missions.
Photo with thanks to Richard Mallis – sourced from the Picture Album of the Deep Space Network, compiled by N A Renzetti and D Worthington. (Mike Dinn recalls that Dr Renzetti had photos of the various stations displayed along the corridors at JPL.) Scan: Colin Mackellar.It explained the flow of data from a spacecraft to the Deep Space Network stations (or Deep Space Instrumentation Facilities) to the SFOF.
A series of photos showed various work stations in the SFOF, as well as the technology being used in the facility (in the main operations area and behind the scenes).This kind of data can then be radioed through space to Earth, where the giant antennas of NASA's Deep Space Network receive the signal.
Computers on Earth then turn the numbers back into the pixels that make up a picture from space, showing what the spacecraft's camera saw. But, now you may be wondering how we get color pictures from space.


| Space Update|
your kids on to amazing Earth views of space and space views of Earth
Looking for an astronomy project to stimulate young learners? Space Update is an interactive, real-time display system of 600 MB of images and movies: the best of NASA space science, (including NEW Hubble images, planetary missions, and space weather missions), plus teacher's lesson plans and activities suitable for kids ages 7-18. Space Update has been tested extensively in both museum and school settings.
The software includes sections on Astronomy, Solar System, Space Weather, Space Events and Sky Tonight, each which can run separately or as a linked system. Space Weather shows you today's Sun and aurora! An internet connection is not required, but will allow live links and free image updates.
The Sky Tonight section shows the evening and morning skies, including stars, nebulae, the Moon and the planets for the entire year from one of several latitudes (30° N, 40° N, 60° N).
Click photo to view enlarged image
|Space Weather describes what space weather is, what an aurora is, shows auroral images and movies, magnetic fields of the planets, etc. It also includes daily images of the sun in several wavelengths,daily images of the aurora and real-time predictions of space weather.|
|Space Update system requirements: Mac: PowerPC with 64 MB free RAM, CD player, System 8.1or higher with Quicktime 4 or higher installed; Windows: 95/98/NT/2000 and ME, with at least 64 MB of RAM, and Quicktime 4 or higher.|


20 March 2011 - Equal day and night over the equator
Sunday March 20th 2011 marks the March Equinox when the subsolar point begins to move into the northern hemisphere bringing longer days to northern latitudes for the next 3 months.
On the Kenyan Coast in equatorial latitudes - the equinox also announces the arrival of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which brings with it some heavy rainfall. The ITCZ generally follows a few weeks later - which is why the first rainy season of the year occurs in April and May.
The Kenya Coast has shown signs of this change in weather - also closely linked in to the changing of the monsoon wind, which turns at this time of year from the north-easterly Kaskazi wind to the southerlyKusi wind.


I thought I would share some interesting space-related information, since I don’t know if I can think of any more digital topics to rant on, at least for the moment. I hope you are at least intrigued by the following, even if astronomy/science isn’t your area of interest… 🙂
The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram: This diagram, as you can see, charts the temperatures, luminosities (brightness), and sizes of different stars in our galaxy. This diagram is particularly useful in stellar astrophysics, in helping to categorize and better understand the stars and star systems which are being studied (including our own star!!)
This image is of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, the deepest image of the Universe to date.
This is a map configured over the course of many years by scientists of the known Universe from our perspective. There are over 50,000 galaxies charted here. (If you think that is a large number, it is thought that there are hundreds of billions of galaxies in the Universe, and to blow your mind even more, hundreds of billions of stars in each of those galaxies. Imagine how many stars and star systems there are in the entire Universe. Is your head spinning yet?) 🙂
This photograph is based on the theory of space-time as a dimension. Each object, due to the force of gravity (so it is thought) sits in its own slightly warped nest in space and time. Supermassive black holes have enough gravity, however, to truly indent the dimension of space time. Time literally slows down close to a black hole, and once something is inside the black hole, in a sense, (it is thought) it is no longer really in our universe. As well, nothing, not even light, can escape a black hole (thus where it obtained its name).
Here is a digitally enhanced image of a supernova. A supernova is the death of a massive star, which has used up all of its fuel for nuclear fusion. It is thought that our sun is actually a second (or third) generation star, and that our solar system was actually formed from the supernova of the star that existed here prior to the sun. Some even more massive stars will collapse into a black hole. Our sun will merely expand once it has used up its fuel, before retracting into a white dwarf star, while other, more recently discovered stars known as brown dwarfs (which would fall at the bottom left of the HR diagram) will (and have) trudge on for possibly trillions of years. Their sizes are so small, temperatures so low, and luminosities so low, that they use up their ‘fuel’ at a very slow rate.


How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book helped me mourn the loss of Pluto.
When I took my first astronomy class, well before the official demotion of Pluto, we were taught that it wasn't really a planet because it hadn't cleaned it's region of space, among other reasons. I was dubious but figured that for the sake of that class, I'd use whatever definition the teacher wanted, but I wasn't changing my view of what traditional planets were. When, years later, the announcement came that Pluto no longer could be considered a planet, I was conflicted. Sure, I had heard this might be coming, but didn't that mean that the way I imagined the solar system was somehow wrong?
Well, now, I've come to terms with it. No, the solar system isn't that much different, yes, Pluto is still there, exactly the way it was before and for the most part unaffected by our attention, and yes, it really is for the best that we stop calling Pluto a planet.
I can move on now. We live in a solar system with, probably, eight planets, four of which are gas giants and four of which are rocky. I'm good with that.
Besides helping me come to terms with Pluto's non planetary status, this book was educational and thoroughly entertaining. Brown made astronomy dramatic and interesting. I liked it.
This is probably one of those cases where a geeky science book will appeal mostly to the people outside of the field it deals with, as a lot of time is spent explaining concepts that are, in my opinion, common knowledge, but to someone mostly unfamiliar with astronomy, that is probably a good thing.
I enjoyed it. Now I'm going to go see about pulling that straggling has-been of a planet off of the solar system model my parents bought my daughter back when we thought of them as nine.


Inspiration Through Failure: Elon Musk and SpaceXJanuary 23, 2015 AHH the abort button is so close to his hand! Careful, buddy. from wikipedia.org
How many times to we fail and then give up? More than anything, failure keeps us from driving forward. But what if we looked at failure in a completely different way? What if instead of being afraid of failing, we welcomed failure as something that pushes us forward, even forward faster than success?
Elon Musk is often compared to Tony Stark, the alter ego of superhero Iron Man. I'm pretty okay with the comparison - both were child geniuses who built empires based on technology. Although I'd argue that Elon Musk is even more inspirational, because Elon Musk has transformed his genius into innovative visions for our future, and he's making them real.
One of those real visions is SpaceX, the company that's taking over NASA to become the primary channel for space flight. Musk doesn't profit immensely from these ventures (he made his fortune creating PayPal), but pursues them because he loves innovation.
Perhaps the most important lesson that we can learn from Musk is that failure is important, not just something that happens, but something that must happen in order for us to be successful.
Last week saw Musk live that out. SpaceX was poised to do something incredible - to send a rocket full of supplies to the International Space Station and then have that rocket touch back down safely so that the same unmanned machine could be reused. The mission went well until the moment of truth - touchdown - when the rocket came this close to landing perfectly but instead landed much too roughly (and when I say "much too" I mean it exploded). One could technically consider this mission a failure.
Rather than meeting this with bravado or blame, Musk issued the following tweet in the hours after the rocket missed it's landing:
Rocket made it to drone spaceport ship, but landed hard. Close, but no cigar this time. Bodes well for the future tho. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 10, 2015That's what I call "getting over it in 140 characters." Musk sees inspiration even in failure. And that's something that we can take to our children, and to ourselves, as we pursue our own successes.


Mars in The Well
Minh Quý Truong (and Freddy Nadolny Poustochkine)
Mars in the Well, 2014. Film, colour, sound, 19’.
Childhood memories and the landscape of his hometown are the materials of his films. Mars in the Well is largely shot in his parents’ farm in Buon Ma Thuot. Faced with the predicted catastrophe of rising water levels (in the Mekong Delta, the sea is already penetrating up to 60 km inland), Minh Quý envisages 2053 as the year Saigon will be submerged, and the year of Vietnam’s first attempts at a manned mission to Mars.


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I Am Flying to the Moon is another launching game in which your goal is to reach the Moon in as few days as possible. Start off with a wooden rocket and purchase the necessary upgrades with the money you accumulate in each launch. The money you receive for each launch is based on the altitude, duration, and number of checkpoints reached. You can collect money in the sky, as well as other bonuses, such as fuel, nitro boosts, and repair kits. You'll also encounter bad objects in the sky, so watch out!


Universe of Stars
I love seeing a brilliant night sky, especially in winter when its cold and clear. It reminds me in the most glorious way that we are riding on a jewel of a planet in an unfathomably vast universe. A walk under the Milky Way quickly puts life in perspective, if even just for a moment. This journal page is both tribute and reminder. Tribute to a cold, clear walk in the shadow of Vermont’s Green Mountains, and reminder to make more time for stars.
Here’s wishing you a universe of stars during this dark and wondrous time of year.
About the night sky:
Are the stars more brilliant in Vermont than other places? Yes. That’s because there is less light pollution to block them out. Check out this map to see how dark it is where you live.
Many thanks to Mike and Barbara Young at Mountain Valley Retreat B&B in Killington, VT for sharing their little piece of heaven and their warm hospitality.
Thanks Cinda! Maybe I should incorporate a night sky viewing and painting session into Arts and Birding.
Ah yes! (As the wife of an astronomer, I am a big fan of dark skies.) I am fortunate enough to now live in a rural area where I can see the stars and the ‘Silver River,’ as the Chinese so beautifully describe our galaxy. Lovely painting, Jean.
Glad to know about the Silver River– love that. I’ll have to do some research to learn more. Thanks!
Absolutely beautiful, Jean. I, too, love the dark star-filled skies of clear, cold winter nights. Thank you for the lovely sentiments. May I borrow your lovely “wish” as a closing for my restorative yoga classes that I am teaching this month?? It seems especially fitting.
Borrow away Laurel! I took beginning yoga this fall and have thought of you often because of it. I’d love to be in your class! Namaste!
Kind of odd that the map shows Canada more light polluted than the USA… something is wrong with that picture… I just don’t believe that at all. My local area is about right though… the big national forest nearby is the best dark skies, and having been out there at night… the stars and the moon cast shadows… it is awesome.
I agree– I wondered whether there just is no data for that green swath of Canada. Glad you live near some dark skies!
Beautiful, Jean. At this time of year in the Pacific Northwest it is a joyful gift to see a dark, starry sky … rain and clouds so often hide the stars.
mmm…yes, you really do have to take advantage of clear skies there! I enjoyed some rainy, foggy, and misty travels in the Pacific NW many years ago.
Thank you for this really delightful post. As a child I remember laying in my yard and looking at the stars. Now, the area I live in is way too full of night lights! I have driven out to the country near me to look for the northern lights and see the beautiful night skies. This is “wonder-full.”
Thanks Sue! I too now live in a place that is a little too bright. We have a long-standing family tradition of getting out in the woods or some natural area each December to walk at night and see the sky. Enjoy the holiday season!
Oh, I love your Universe of Stars sketch…would love to have it as a painting. I live in West Texas (Midland); but, every August we vacation in Keene Valley, 1/2 hour south of Lake Placid, NY, in the Adirondacks. How I love to look up at the night sky, there, and see the view in your sketch. I especially love the swaths of stars which give a real feeling of the Milky Way. How did you get such a “dusting” of small stars in your sketch?
After a 35-year absence from any consistence at drawing and trying to learn watercolor (due to other time-consuming responsibilities), I have decided that keeping a journal will be ideal for me. So, I hope you won’t mind my questions. I used misket, in the past, but it
Sorry, I was interrupted by a phone call and didn’t realize I hadn’t finished my sentence. I did not find misket thin enough to spatter, 35 years ago. I have seen a misket pen advertised; but, I cannot imagine you used that. I’m stumped at how to get such a wonderful “starry sky” effect.
Hi Liz- I did spatter misket to mask the stars, but mine is so old that much of it is congealed, so I used the liquid part surrounding the glob and luckily, it worked. I also added a couple of stars with the back end of a brush. I build up layers of sky and mountain to get the dark colors; it’s critical to let each layer dry before going back in or you’ll disturb the color underneath.Glad this reminded you of your summers in the Adirondacks.
Gosh, I’m so surprised to learn that you could get such delicate, fine dots with misket. My misket is probably dried up, too. I bought some, a few years ago, when I took a wc workshop and I have been too busy, since then, to paint. Practicing on starry skies, with your sketch as an example, looks like a fun technique to have fun with over the holidays. After trying a sky like yours, if it works, I think I’ll try a desert starry night scene with the three Wise Men riding on their camels. Thanks so much for taking time out to reply… and MERRY CHRISTMAS!
So beautiful Jean!
My husband thought your beautiful painting was a photo. Just lovely, Jean! I live in the country, and your painting transports me right there, in the crisp, cool air. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Laura- I used to live in a more rural area and I miss it!
Jean, your captures so much truth! It is wonderful!
Thanks for this lovely post and reminder Jean. I made my Christmas cards this year and I reminded my friends that there will be a full moon on Christmas. My wish is for everyone to enjoy it and to get out and enjoy each full moon this year. I listed the dates and the Native American full moon names inside the card. Your post makes me feel that I am not alone!! I was feeling as though my card might be a little to much of what I enjoy.
You can never go wrong with the moon! It sounds like a great card to me. I’m giving a variation of this painting as a card.
All the wonder and mystery…beautiful! (K)
I was reminded how lucky I am to live in Vermont. I often go outside in the evening in winter time just to look up! You captured it perfectly Jean. Great seeing you if only briefly.


Family gathering at Organ Pipe Cactus.
Each year the people change, too. This year there are seven of us in the group
– some returning, some first-timers. Even those of us who have been here
before are not the same we were then. The eyes that look out over the desert are
a year older, a year richer in experience and memory.
Again this year we take the Ajo Mountain loop drive, and this too is different
and yet the same. For the first time, we hike up the Arch Canyon Trail, where we
pause and marvel at the towering rock walls all around us. Later, we hike the
Estes Canyon / Bull Pasture loop trail, which we had also hiked last year. But
then, this trail was awash with wildflowers; now there are only a few. More
fortunately, last year this trail was uncomfortably hot; this year late
afternoon clouds make for perfect hiking conditions. Indeed, before we can make
it back to our cars, the clouds have unleashed a furious combination of
lightning strikes and pelting raindrops. That evening, back at the campground,
as the storm recedes, I take some photos of the distant lightning. Again, no two
lightning strikes are ever identical – each traces its own random branches
between cloud and ground.
Soon, the sky clears and the magnificent starry sky is revealed. What could be
more unchanging than the stars in their eternal expanse? But even the sky has it
“wanderers”, or planets as we call them, and this year there are
four that can be seen with the unaided eye. Venus blazes brightly in the west,
Jupiter is almost as bright in the east, and Saturn rules the sky almost
straight up. Faint Mars is there too, if you know where to look. Through my
telescope, Jupiter and Saturn are revealed to be systems of their own, each with
its own orbiting swarm of moons. Again, the pattern never exactly repeats.
Even when I deliberately try to make things the same, changes intrude. Every
year I stand in the exact same spot and take the same photo of the visitor
center. But this year my photo shows that the visitor center has a new sign,
having been recently named the “Kris Eggle Visitor Center” for a
park ranger who was killed by drug smugglers along the border. Nearby, a
memorial plaque provides a place to pause and contemplate this particularly
For all the changes I have seen at Organ Pipe, one thing remains the same: as I
leave behind this desert wonderland and drive back to the city, I look back on
the weekend as time well spent. Year after year, I'm very glad I came.


Man on the Moon: a day in the life of Bob
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2017 is the 15th anniversary of the creation of Bob, Man on the Moon, celebrate with this anniversary edition. Enjoy the stunning artwork Simon Bartram has become famous for. Bob is everyone's favourite man on the moon; follow him on his daily adventures. Bob has a special job - looking after the moon. He keeps it clean and entertains passing space tourists as well as giving guided tours. He knows everything about the moon and that there is definitely no such thing as aliens!


PAWTUCKET, RI (WPRI) – A Pawtucket woman recently discovered something quite unusual while looking at footage from her doorbell camera.
After some research, she learned that it could have been something extraordinary.
“I checked my Ring doorbell and saw a strange light in the sky,” recalls Kathleen Weaver-Saunders.
Weaver-Saunders said she had never seen anything like it while browsing her security footage.
“It lit up what looked like everything Pawtucket,” Weaver-Saunders said, describing the bright glow in the sky at the end of the video.
The apparent meteor, based on its movement from the southeast, could be a piece of debris left behind by Halley’s Comet, the most famous of all comets.
The meteor could have been part of the orionid meteor shower, which occurs when Earth passes through comet debris. The small piece of rock may have exploded, leaving lightning in the sky.
“It was surprising to me that no one else reported it,” Weaver-Saunders said.
In fact, 12 News checked with the American Meteor Society’s Fireball Log, and there was no report around the time the doorbell picked up this streak of light over Rhode Island. .
Weaver-Saunders said she had the home security doorbell camera installed, but recently she’s been trying to find more information about another unwanted visitor to her property.
“There’s a skunk that’s in the neighborhood and I was wondering if she lived on our property because every night the smell was awful,” Weaver Saunders said with a chuckle.
In the meantime, Weaver-Saunders said she was fascinated by what she found looking at her security footage.
“I feel a little lucky to have experienced something like this because I have never experienced anything like this before,” said Weaver-Saunders.
Whether or not a piece of Halley’s comet exploded in the sky or not, the orionid meteor shower will be visible mostly over the next two nights, weather permitting.


Since ancient times, humanity has gazed up at the stars in awe and wonder. The night sky presents a portal into the vast mysteries of the universe, stirring philosophical thought about our place in the cosmos. This universal human experience has also played a profound role in the symbolism and rituals of Freemasonry. As Masonic initiates progress on their spiritual journey, they are continually encouraged to look upwards towards the heavens.
The lodges themselves are oriented to the cardinal points of the compass and symbolically placed under a celestial canopy decorated with a blazing star, the sun and moon, and lesser stars. Why does Freemasonry direct its members skywards? By contemplating the heavenly bodies, Masons connect to divine principles and the Great Architect of the Universe. The stars represent the source of illumination guiding the way as Masons seek truth and light.
Ancient Philosophies and the Influence of the Stars
Masonic symbolism shares resonance with ancient cosmological philosophies that recognized an influence or connection between the celestial realm and earthly affairs. Plato believed the orderly motion of the planets reflected a cosmic harmony that shapes human destinies. The 3rd-century philosopher Plotinus viewed the stars as emanations from the divine source, possessing higher intelligence than humans. But he believed the human soul could transcend earthly limits and reunite with the divine through philosophical contemplation.
Hermes Trismegistus taught the stars transmit spiritual knowledge and energies as intermediaries between the earth and the divine. While aspects of these philosophies were mistaken, such as astrological determinism, they pointed towards a profound truth – the interconnection between the divine cosmos and the human mind. The ancients believed aligning one’s life to the harmony of the spheres allowed our highest selves to shine through.
The Blazing Star – Inner and Outer Light
The Blazing Star is one of the most prominent Masonic symbols, representing the light of Divine Providence that guides the Masonic initiate towards truth. It first appears as a faint glimmering ray in the 1st degree tracing board, but later reveals its full splendor, like the Morning Star heralding a new dawn. The Blazing Star represents the apex of Mason’s spiritual ascent, having perfected himself to become a light unto the world.
One theory proposed by Masonic scholar Albert Pike identifies the Blazing Star with Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. Sirius was associated with Anubis, the jackal-headed Egyptian god who escorted souls to the afterlife. This Sirius-Anubis connection highlights Masonry’s illumination from ancient esoteric traditions centered around the heavens. Just as Anubis guided dead souls through the night sky, Masons looked to Sirius, the Blazing Star, as the guiding light on their quest for truth.
But the Blazing Star holds more symbolic meaning than its astronomical identity. It embodies the oneness of the Supreme Being, representing omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence. Masonic initiates follow this light within their inner journey toward knowledge of the self and the divine essence at the core of their being. The star guides masons to look within and find the inner light of conscience. By lifting their eyes to the celestial canopy, Masons are reminded that the mysteries of the universe can be found within and without. The star shines its light down into the darkness of material existence, but the mason must also look up to glimpse its divine source.
Ascending the Pathway to the Gods
In ancient mythology, figures like Hermes, Thoth, and Anubis represent the archetype of the messenger or wisdom keeper, initiating humanity into esoteric knowledge of the gods. They stand for the tools of initiation that facilitate the construction of an inner Spiritual Temple. The Egyptians associated Sirius and Anubis with teachings on the immortality of the soul, the law of karma, and the influence of the stars on human evolution.
There are signs these teachings originate from the Egyptian mystery tradition, which venerated Sirius as the source of celestial wisdom. The 19th-century author H.P. Blavatsky called Sirius “the great instructor of mankind” and the secret doctrine hints at its role in humanity’s spiritual history. Masonic light may also be kindled by the spark of Sirius, the flaring signal fire that has burned across centuries and cultures.
While Masonry’s ancient origins may be veiled in mystery, its call to contemplate the heavens is universal. Throughout history, geometric alignments of temples and monuments to the stars have shown how humanity strives to connect the earth with the cosmos. The first traced steps of ritual and architecture attempted to harness divine powers and bring astronomical rhythms down to earth. In Freemasonry, the Lodge’s alignment to the four cardinal directions and stellar ornamentation continues this tradition.
The Compass and Square: Navigating by the Stars
In Freemasonry, the compass and square are essential tools for orienting one’s purpose and constructing moral living. As a guiding emblem, the compass directs our steps and circumscribes our desires to keep us within proper bounds. The square teaches us to approach life and our deeds with rectitude. When applied to the celestial realm, these tools hold deeper significance.
The compass allows Masons to draw a circle linking the celestial with the terrestrial, mapping the cosmos within the confines of the Lodge. The movements of the stars provide fixed reference points for aligning earthly bodies and activities. The square establishes the straight path of virtue, righteousness, and enlightenment. Just as the square sets the 90-degree angles of architecture here on Earth, the fixed stars provide the constant squares and angles in the sky for aligning temples and monuments since time immemorial.
By following the compass and the square, Mason can discover his proper place in the cosmic order. He transcends his earthly beginnings but also recognizes the glory of creation in the heavens above. In navigating by the stars, the Mason journeys both beyond and back home again.
Seeking the Lost Word
Central to the Masonic journey is the search for “that which is lost”- the lost word or the hidden gnosis of life. The astronomic symbolism in Masonry reveals that gaining this transcendent knowledge requires guidance from above. By following the movement of the stars – the solar year, the lunar month, and the daily east-west passage of the sun – a Mason learns the rhythms of eternity. The heavens provide the temporal means to glimpse the eternal, using the very boundaries of earthly existence to look beyond them.
As the Daystar rises in the East to dispel the darkness of night, so too does the inward sun dawn over the mind and heart of a Mason. He realizes the loss of light throughout humanity’s long-suffering in darkness is ultimately a preparation for the eternal light yet to come. The quest for the lost word is a pilgrimage leading upward through the starry canopy towards that Word, who stands at the apex and end of the journey.
The Philosopher’s Stone – Giving Form to Formlessness
Alchemists interpreted the seven classical planets and luminaries as stages of transformation in the alchemical Great Work of achieving enlightenment. They sought to synthesize the divine forms signified by the wandering stars into the unified primordial matter – the Philosopher’s Stone. This metaphoric process reflected the Masonic journey of working upon the rough stone of the ego self in order to polish and perfect it into a shining, luminous stone reflecting the light of heaven.
Just as the alchemists extracted the animating soul out of substances by dissolving and coagulating matter, so too must the Freemason break down the rigid thoughts and structures that conceal the radiance of Being. By harnessing the patterns above to the work below, the uneven matter of creation is remade into that First Matter from whence it arose. The sparks of divine light within the stone are brought forth by the alchemical work. Ultimately, the Freemason, like the alchemist, seeks to unify the microcosm with the macrocosm – to align human endeavor with the cosmic patterns above.
References to planets and stars in Masonic symbolism are not meant to imply astrological determinism between celestial bodies and human lives. Such superficial analysis misses the ultimate aim of unity that underlies the apparent divisions of creation. The Masonic work is to harmonize all these diverse energies into an orchestrated whole, making music of the spheres from the raw sounds of space and time.
By elevating human love to divine love, faculties of desire to selfless service, and disciplined skills to the needs of the Great Architect, the Mason progresses in their spiritual evolution. We are like stars in the process of becoming, whose outer forms change over time while our inner essence grows brighter. By giving form to formlessness, the Mason sculpts rough stone and square into a shining ideal.
The Journey Continues…Look Up!
Freemasonry’s rich astronomical symbolism encodes the ancient perennial wisdom at the heart of all the mystery traditions. While the true origins may never be known, it hints at the presence of an esoteric transmission through the ages, passing the light forward in alignment with the heavens. This spiritual lineage appears as a guiding star for humanity, moving ever brighter along the horizon.
Although the contemporary study of the cosmos may reveal new and astonishing facts, it is the contemplation of infinity that humbles the mason. The celestial canopy’s glimpses into timeless eternity remain breathtaking and baffling. While new discoveries may further prompt us to admire the handiwork of the Creator, fundamental questions about the purpose and destiny of consciousness in the universe still stir within.
The Masonic initiate is instructed to follow knowledge wherever it leads. The mystery religions of antiquity offer a lamp to light our way as we confront the unknown. By searching for ancient wisdom in the patterns above, and aligning to those patterns here below, the Mason works to achieve harmony between the two realms. He comes to know himself as a microcosm of the macrocosm – a little world mirroring the greater universe. Over the ages, Freemasonry’s initiatic journey has remained focused on the heavens where signs of God’s presence are continually revealed, but its ultimate goal is the perfection possible within human nature.
As we follow this meandering stellar pathway forward, it is easy to become distracted by the tangled growth of the lower world that threatens to obscure our vision upward. But if we lift our eyes to the sky, the stars can still reveal the Way, just as they have done for countless centuries. Their unfolding story directs our attention beyond the temporal landscape to the eternal cycles of creation. By contemplating the cosmos through the web of mythology and symbolism ascribed to the heavens, a deeper understanding unfolds.
So, brothers, let us remember to look up! Keep your eyes focused above the mundane in order to glimpse the Glory of the Grand Architect. Follow the planetary path to discover Wisdom so that like the Blazing Star, your own Light may also shine. Make haste for the hourglass is draining. The secret lost word is waiting to be discovered. The celestial gnosis calls to us from above! May we raise our collective consciousness to mirror the heavens so that our Lodges might become sacred sanctuaries for mystical awakening. Only by gazing upon the cosmic splendor above are our minds opened to the vast potential within.


Explore the wonders of the Universe at B.C’s top Space and Earth Sciences attraction, The H.R. MacMillan Space Centre.
Enjoy hourly shows in our immersive Planetarium Star Theatre, live science demonstrations in GroundStation Canada, and interactive displays and exhibits in our Cosmic Courtyard.
From rocket launch demonstrations, to Mars rovers, to views of the constellations, there is something for everyone at the Space Centre. Plus, touch one of the only five touchable moonrocks in the world!
Located just 5 minutes from downtown in beautiful Vanier Park , Vancouver or a quick ride along the False Creek via the local foot ferry .
Visit our website: spacecentre.ca
1100 Chestnut Street in Vanier Park, Vancouver.
5 minutes from downtown across the Burrard Bridge
5 minutes’ walk from Kitsilano beach or 15 minutes’ walk from Granville Island via the Sea Wall.
Transit: 2 or 22 bus to Cornwall
May 22-September 5
Daytime: 10am-5pm – daily
Evening: 7:30pm and 9:00pm shows – Friday and Saturday
Observatory: 8pm-midnight – Friday and Saturday
September 6-May 23, 2018
Daytime: 10am-3pm – Weekdays
10am-5pm – Saturdays and Holidays
12pm -5pm – Sundays
Evening: 7:30pm and 9:00pm shows- Saturday
Observatory: 8pm-midnight – Saturday Only


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This weekend was “Manhattanhenge,” a term popularized by Neil deGrasse Tyson, the director of the Hayden Planetarium, to describe the solar event where the sunset is lined up with the east-west streets on Manhattan’s grid. Mr. Tyson argues that this is perhaps a unique urban phenomenon in the world, if not the universe.
Crowds, armed with cameras, gather on the avenues. The best views are the major cross streets in Manhattan: 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd, 57th, among others.
Manhattan’s grid, adopted by the city in 1811, is set 28.9 degrees east from due north. If it had been aligned due north, the effect would be seen on the spring and autumn equinoxes, when the sun sets on the east-west line. Instead, because of Manhattan’s tilt, those now take place about three weeks before and about three weeks after June 21, the summer solstice, the official beginning of summer.
On Saturday, May 30, around 8:17 p.m, the sun was half above the horizon, half below. At the same time on Sunday, May 31, the full sun was visible just above the horizon. The next one is just weeks away — on July 11 and 12. (The image above: manhattanhenge 2009was originally uploaded by mudpig.)


By Eric Saltmarsh
MAY, JUNE, AND JULY NIGHT SKIES
As spring turns to summer, we’re treated to two meteor showers and two planet oppositions.
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks before dawn on May 7th. During the peak, this shower produces 30 or more meteors per hour. The constellation Aquarius, where the meteors appear to emanate from, doesn’t rise until after 2am MDT, so early morning viewing is best. The moon sets around 9:45 MDT on the 6th, so dark skies will prevail, weather permitting. The shower produces a smaller number of meteors from mid-April until the end of May, but the pre-dawn hours on May 7th should provide the best display. The meteors are caused by the Earth colliding with orbiting dust left behind by Halley’s Comet.
In late July, a second meteor shower takes place, also emanating from Aquarius. The Delta Aquarids peak on the night of July 28th and the pre-dawn of the 29th, with 20 meteors per hour visible. The shower radiant (the area of the sky where the meteors appear to come from) rises about 11pm MDT and will be visible until dawn. A waning crescent moon rises at 3:30am MDT, but shouldn’t compromise the viewing. This, too, is a long-running meteor shower, beginning in mid-July and running until late August and is due to the Earth’s passing through cometary debris.
The planet Jupiter is at opposition on June 10th. As such, Jupiter will be in a line, with Earth in the middle and the Sun at the opposing end. On that evening, Jupiter will rise in the ESE at the same time the Sun sets in the WNW. Jupiter will be visible all night, seen against the backdrop of the Milky Way in the constellation Ophiuchus, and will be the brightest object in the sky, excepting the Moon and Venus. Due to the slightly elliptical orbits of Jupiter and Earth, Jupiter’s closest approach to Earth, a mere 400 million miles away, will occur two days later.
Given Jupiter’s relative proximity to Earth, this is an optimal time to view the planet’s four largest moons – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. These moons were named for lovers of Zeus — the Greek god of the sky and thunder and king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Collectively, these moons are known as the ‘Galilean moons’ in honor of Galileo Galilei, who, in 1610, first observed the moons and realized they orbited Jupiter (incidently, 1610 was the year Santa Fe was founded by Spanish colonists).
These four moons are among the largest objects in our solar system and are easily viewed through a small telescope. Every night, the moons are in different locations relative to Jupiter as they dance around the planet. Sometimes one or more of the moons ‘disappear’ as they pass behind or in front of Jupiter. Other times, they’re paired on opposite sides of the planet or strung out like a string of beads.
Saturn arrives at opposition on July 9th. On that night, Saturn sits at the eastern edge of the Milky Way, in Sagittarius (when looking at the sky, east is on the left). This is an opportune time to view Saturn’s spectacular rings since the planet will be closest to Earth and the rings will be tilted 24 degrees, allowing for almost maximum viewing.
The rings are composed of ice particles. Their age has recently been estimated to be about 100 million years. That sounds like forever, but it means that the rings have only encircled Saturn for the most recent 1% – 2% of the planet’s entire existence. Saturn, its rings, and several of its brightest moons can be viewed in small to medium telescopes.
Here is a summary of night sky events occurring in May through July 2019:
May 4: New moon.
May 7: The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks before dawn.
May 18: Full moon occurs at 3:11pm MDT in the constellation Libra. This is considered a ‘seasonal Blue Moon’ because it’s the third of four full moon in one season. Four full moons in one season happen about once every three years, hence the phrase, ‘once in a blue moon.’
June 3: New moon.
June 10: The planet Jupiter is opposite the Sun in the sky.
June 17: Full moon occurs at 2:31am MDT. The Algonquin tribe calls this the Strawberry Moon in recognition of this ripening fruit.
June 21: Summer solstice occurs at 9:54am MDT when the sun reaches the imaginary line called the Tropic of Cancer – the northernmost position in its annual journey above and below the equator. Interestingly, the summer solstice now occurs in the constellation Taurus, so the imaginary line would more accurately be called the Tropic of Taurus today.
June 23: The planet Mercury is at its easternmost distance from the sun, setting an hour and 45 minutes after the Sun, in the WNW. Mercury is just to the left of Mars on the Gemini-Cancer border. Look for the two planets about 45 minutes after sunset.
July 2: New moon.
July 9: The planet Saturn is at opposition, rising in the ESE as the Sun sets in the WNW.
July 16: Full moon at 3:38pm MDT on the border of the constellations Sagittarius and Capricorn, just east of the planet Saturn. My favorite name for this full moon is the Thunder Moon, which seems apropos, given the summer monsoon season.
July 28-29: The Delta Aquarid meteor shower peaks on the night of the 28th and morning of the 29th. Approximately 20 meteors per hour might be seen during the peak.
July 31: New moon.
Moonrise over the Cerros Negros, foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Santa Fe, NM.
The last supermoon of 2019 rises almost due east, just three hours after the spring equinox. Santa Fe, NM.
The return of the summer Milky Way, just before dawn in April. Northeast of Los Cerrillos, NM.
Circumpolar windmill. Santa Fe, NM.


with 300 Fabulous Images, 50 Fantastic Projects, And Lots Of Fascinating Scientific Information, This Is Simply The Most Out-of-this World Introduction To Astronomy A Child Can Have.
an Excellent Introduction To Astronomy...outstanding Background Information ...spectacular Color Photos And Other Graphics, Useful Charts, And Graphs Augment The Text.--school Library Journal, Starred Review
what Are Stars? Why Does The Moon Change Shape? Budding Astronomers Will Find Answers To All Their Questions About The Night Sky--and Far More--in These 50 Eye-opening Activities. Three-hundred Color Photos And Illustrations, Some From Nasa's Magnificent Collection, Help Kids Soar Out Into The Solar System And Get Their Bearings Among The Stars. Youngsters Will Learn To Use Binoculars And Telescopes, And How To Chart Their Viewing Highlights In A Stargazing Notebook. A Photographic Trip To The Moon Will Inspire Kids To Map Its Many Phases, Calculate A Person's Lunar Weight, And Find Out What Happens During An Eclipse. Voyaging Farther Out Also Reveals Why The Other Planets Wouldn't Make A Good Home For Humans, And Will Help Children Understand Why Earth Is Avery Special Place. a Selection Of The Children's Book-of-the-month Club And The Scholastic Book Club.
Authors : Joe Rhatigan, Rain Newcomb, Greg Doppmann
Publisher : Lark Books
Published Year : 2005
Format : Paperback, 128 pages
Dimensions : 8.30 (w) x 9.90 (h) x 0.50 (d)
ISBN : 1579906753
ISBN13 : 9781579906757
With 300 fabulous images, 50 fantastic projects, and lots of fascinating scientific information, this is simply the most out-of-this world introduction to astronomy a child can have.
"An excellent introduction to astronomy...outstanding background information ...Spectacular color photos and other graphics, useful charts, and graphs augment the text."--School Library Journal, starred review
What are stars? Why does the moon change shape? Budding astronomers will find answers to all their questions about the night sky--and far more--in these 50 eye-opening activities. Three-hundred color photos and illustrations, some from NASA's magnificent collection, help kids soar out into the solar system and get their bearings among the stars. Youngsters will learn to use binoculars and telescopes, and how to chart their viewing highlights in a stargazing notebook. A photographic trip to the moon will inspire kids to map its many phases, calculate a person's lunar weight, and find out what happens during an eclipse. Voyaging farther out also reveals why the other planets wouldn't make a good home for humans, and will help children understand why Earth is avery special place. A Selection of the Children's Book-of-the-Month Club and the Scholastic Book Club.