Have you ever observed the Milky Way? It is approximated that about 80% of Individuals simply cannot see the arc of the spiral arms of our property galaxy anymore owing to worsening mild pollution, but that rarity is spurring an curiosity in looking it out—and capturing it on digicam.
Travel images weblog Capture the Atlas has just revealed its 5th edition of its once-a-year Milky Way Photographer of the Yr, a collection of the best 25 shots of the Milky Way.
Right here are 10 of the finest visuals from the competitors, which contains pictures made in 12 international locations, along with some commentary by Dan Zafra, editor of Seize the Atlas, who curates the opposition.
Why is photographing the Milky Way so preferred?
“Part of the excitement of photographing our galaxy is to seize a subject with lots of particulars, shades, and textures which are not absolutely noticeable to the human eye,” claimed Zafra. “Our vision is extremely poor at night, we can see some light and darkish nebulae but our eyesight hasn’t progressed to see colors or all the particulars that our cameras can seize.”
“Seeing our Milky Way photographed in the again of the digital camera screen is a quite moving expertise for most photographers, and the prospect to see our MW in unique positions and angles relying on the latitude and hemisphere can make it even much more fascinating.”
How to acquire a brief photograph of the Milky Way
All of these photographs are painstakingly produced using star-trackers and several exposures, but there are less difficult techniques of undertaking it—though you do require a handbook digicam on a tripod. “For anybody capturing the Milky Way for the initial time, apart from the basic principles of taking pictures for the duration of or about the new moon and staying away from sources of mild air pollution, I would recommend the pursuing configurations,” explained Zafra. So here goes:
- Applying the greatest aperture of your lens
- Setting the maximum ISO authorized by the camera even though holding the sound less than control
- Adjusting a shutter velocity involving 10-25 seconds relying on the camera and focal duration.
“Also, utilizing a extensive-angle lens with a rapid aperture helps make a big variance regardless of the digital camera model,” said Zafra.
Are star-trackers applied in all of these visuals?
“17 out of the 25 photographs showcased in this year’s version had been taken using a Star tracker, whereas right up until a pair of a long time ago, we by no means noticed extra than two or three tracked pictures in the list,” explained Zafra. A star-tracker tracks the rotation of the Earth, so in its place of blurring as they move throughout the evening sky the stars remain pin-sharp. It allows photographers to just take extremely-very long exposures. “This speaks a whole lot about the present-day development in wide-area astrophotography, where by photographers are using star trackers and the in advance of talked about Astro-moded cameras to seize extra details, colors, and normal quality of their illustrations or photos,” claimed Zafra.
The pattern for astro-mod cameras
Astro-modified cameras have develop into incredibly well-liked in the last few of yrs. An Astro-moded digicam is a camera that has the very low-go filter eradicated from the sensor and replaced by a various filter that blocks the UV and IR light-weight but permits extra light-weight transmission, specifically in unique color wavelengths based on the filter. “The most well-known for astrophotography is the h-alpha (hydrogen-alpha) filter that captures the red nebulosity in some locations of the night sky,” said Zafra. You can see that in several if the Milky Way images featured listed here.
Why to use an astro-mod digicam
The popular perception is that these modifications are created just to seize the shades in the nebulae,” reported Zafra. “However, the biggest advantage of Astro-mod cameras is the ability to seize extra mild, which translates into cleaner images with less digital sound.”
Do they make the Milky Way glimpse unrealistic? “In my opinion, these filters will not make it appear unrealistic, they simply just assistance seize a little something that our eyes cannot see but that it truly is out there in the night time sky,” said Zafra.
Other traits in Milky Way photography
The key tendencies are the use of star-trackers and Astro-moded cameras. “However, technological know-how is regularly evolving and we are observing a major pattern in direction of automatization in astrophotography,” said Zafra, who is at the moment screening a machine known as the Benro Polaris that can automate diverse processes like polar alignment, panoramas and tracking exposure periods. “I believe that the long run is leaning toward automating all the technical techniques and leaving additional home for the artistic section of the astrophotographer,” explained Zafra.
The advancement of astro-tourism
“Other trends are extra relevant to Milky Way destinations or astro-tourism, “said Zafra. “Key places wherever astrophotographers are going to photograph the evening sky involve La Palma and Tenerife in the Canary Islands in Europe, the US National Parks in western North The us and the Atacama area in South The united states.”
These are also the a few top spots on the earth for the world’s most significant and finest telescopes. It’s no coincidence.
Where else to do astrophotography
There are limitless destinations to do astrophotography exactly where not a lot of folks have photographed the Milky Way prior to. “Examples in North The united states incorporate general public lands outside Countrywide and State Parks, which are fewer crowded,” explained Zafra. “One superior example in this article are the BLM lands found on the Jap side of the California Sierra or Countrywide Monuments like the Grand Staircase Escalante in Utah.”
Zafra also mentions some other otherworldly spots for adventurous astrophotographers like the Peruvian Andes. “You can see our Milky Way at larger elevations with no men and women and with no mild pollution at all,” he mentioned. “Other regions in Africa, Australia, and New Zealand also present excellent chances for original Milky Way illustrations or photos. I very endorse checking mild pollution maps and do some research on the internet to come across some of these areas.”
The best put to choose shots of the Milky Way
A single of Zafra’s preferred destinations for Milky Way photography is Loss of life Valley Countrywide Park. “This is a vast National Park, with unlimited miles of attractive landscapes and foreground factors that offer you the chance to discover unique compositions whilst remaining fairly available,” he mentioned. “This is also one particular of the ideal locations to photograph Milky Way panoramas, due to the fact there aren’t components blocking your look at on the horizon.”
The Capture The Atlas competition’s timing is no incident for the reason that late May is at the peak of Milky Way year when it is easiest to see it increasing from each hemispheres (though it can be observed from February by way of October in the northern hemisphere and from January through November in the southern hemisphere).
Wishing you clear skies and extensive eyes.


The research project “Tent – Photographic latency in Kepler’s camera” aims to design and build a vertical camera obscura, an optical and photographic device that allows to see and photograph the stars in the sky (at night). This device is inspired by the tent-camera described by the early 17th-century astronomer Johannes Kepler, of which a 19th-century model built by Charles Chevallier (1804 – 1859), kept at the Museu da Ciência da Universidade de Coimbra, was analysed.
Based on Kepler’s work, it can be assumed that he used a camera obscura to draw the stars and thus represent the chart of the heavens. However, no specimen of this hypothetical version has survived to the present day, and most existing tented camera obscuras are adapted for landscape drawing.
In this research project, we try to reconstruct a version of the vertical camera obscura for astronomical observation, with the double purpose of educational dissemination and use in artistic and photographic research projects.
During the course of the project, preliminary models were tested at the Osso Cultural Association, at the 2022 finalists exhibition at the Escola Superior de Artes e Design de Caldas da Rainha and at the Astronomy Park of the Centro de Ciência Viva de Constância. The tests performed so far allowed addressing technical issues related to the optical and structural properties of this device, namely regarding its portability, wind stability and ability to allow the projection of the stars at night with enough intensity for its visualization and photographic record.
Tests have shown that it is possible to see stars projected onto a sheet of paper using only the image projected by a simple plano-convex lens and that these bright points can be captured photographically using paper or low-sensitivity photographic emulsions.
The development of the tent-camera was adapted to an artistic and pedagogical use, trying to reconcile the possibility of drawing the projected image, making photographic records without using other equipment or just seeing the projected stars in small groups, encouraging discussion and sharing about what is being observed.
In the scope of the exploration of the artistic and pedagogical potential of this device, long exposure photography sessions during the night and cloud drawings in the day sky have been carried out so far.
The project results from a collaboration between LiDA, the Research Unit Glass and Ceramics for the Arts (VICARTE) of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the New University of Lisbon, the Research and Study Centre in Fine Arts (CIEBA/FBAUL) of the University of Lisbon and the Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry – Clean Technologies and Processes (REQUIMTE).


Sunday, August 26, 2012
On 21 July 1969, in front of our black-and-white TV set in the living room of 16 rue Rambuteau in Paris, it was almost as if I were there on the surface of the Moon, alongside Neil Armstrong.
Christine and I watched the incredible events unfolding in real time on our fuzzy TV screen. In an adjacent bedroom, our two-and-a-half-year-old Emmanuelle was no doubt far more fascinated by the presence of her two-months-old brother François. I've always looked upon François and Emmanuelle, in a way, as Children of the Moon.
That was surely one of the USA's greatest hours.
And yesterday, one of the USA's greatest quiet heroes went back to the Moon, forever.


Where No Man has Gone Before
My personal memory of the Apollo program and the Moon landing.
“This storm we’re having? You know what’s causing it? It’s all of those men stomping around on the Moon.”
My Grandma would add a few more colorful words to embellish her pronouncements. Ever since that giant leap for mankind on July 20, 1969, she blamed the astronauts, NASA, the government (with all their covert weather experiments) for every weather event. If a thunderstorm happened during a lunar mission? She believed it was because they were up there drilling holes in the Moon.
Grandma was dead set against the idea of leaving Earth for any reason. I didn’t buy any of her theories. I was on team NASA and Apollo. We were going to the Moon!
Apollo missions 7 through 10 incrementally practiced the steps that would culminate in the landing. Apollo 7 and 9 were Earth orbiting missions. 7 tested the Command and Service Module (CSM). Apollo 8 tested the flight to the Moon, orbit, and head back to Earth. 9 tested the deployment of the LM (Lunar Module). By the time Apollo 11 launched, we had been to the Moon and back on Apollo 8 and 10. I’ll have more on the 10 mission later.
I believe there were two things that fueled my love of spaceflight: heavy marketing on the part of NASA to bring all things Apollo onto TV sets across America, and Star Trek.
Not long before my eighth birthday, NBC launched Star Trek in September 1966. With its space cowboy captain and logical science officer, I was a Spock fan from the start and on board for adventure every week. My younger brother was a fan of that other show, Lost in Space. I could never get beyond the whiny Dr. Smith and ridiculous plot lines that included things like talking carrots. I much preferred the socially conscious plots on Star Trek, even though at the time I didn’t know they were socially conscious—they were just cool.
Fueled by TV’s weekly dose of fictional space exploration, I devoured everything about Apollo. The closer they got to the Moon landing, the more excited I became at the prospect of humans walking on the Moon.
Did you know there was an Apollo launch every two to three months? We didn’t get much of a break after each flight before the coverage would ramp up again for the next mission. Apollo 7 and 8 were in October and December of ‘68. Apollo 9 was in March and 10 in May of ‘69. Apollo 11 and the Moon landing, July 1969. We continued the Apollo missions up to the last, number 17, in December 1972.
The Apollo 10 mission was my favorite. Come on, they nicknamed the Command and Service Module, Charlie Brown, and the LM, Snoopy. I was a big Snoopy fan. When the Sears Christmas “Wish Book” came in the mail, I would dog-ear all of the pages and circled the things I wanted. The Peanuts page had a lot of circles. The whole toy section of the catalog was pretty much circled by my brother and me. We didn’t get everything. I think my parents probably glanced at it and decided to get whatever they wanted since we apparently liked everything. I still have the Snoopy astronaut pennant from Christmas 1969. Yep, I liked that one a lot.
In 1969, there was no internet, no social media, no computers, no cell phones. There were telephones, TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines. All of the news about Apollo 10 came in through the daily newspaper and on the nightly news programs. My favorite newspaper headline was “Snoopy Sniffs Around Moon.” My ten-year-old self thought this was the best line ever. I clipped many articles about Apollo 10 and glued them into a scrapbook. I wonder if I would have done that if they had named the LM Huckleberry Hound. (highly unlikely)
Apollo 10 was the last test before the Apollo 11 Eagle could land. Snoopy was going to make a descent toward the surface. But let me tell you, I was not happy that Snoopy would not actually land on the Moon. Commander Tom Stafford and Lunar Module Pilot Gene Cernan took Snoopy down to just under 50,000 miles above the surface. I was rooting for them to go rogue and land it. (truth!) They stuck to the mission though, which was to descend toward the Moon and then head back and dock with the Command and Service Module. The ascent engine fired and then everything went sideways. The LM was spinning out of control. This was not a “Houston, we have a problem” moment. It was a bit more “Holy crap!”
This account on History.com tells the story best:
* * * * * * * *
Having demonstrated the LM’s descent engine could successfully control the spacecraft towards the surface, they pressed forward with staging. This was meant to mimic the moment of launch from the Moon’s surface. On a landing mission, the bottom descent stage of the module would serve as a launch pad for the crewed ascent stage whose smaller engine would propel it from the surface into orbit to meet and dock with the waiting Command Module. On Apollo 10, Stafford and Cernan would do the same thing in orbit.
Stafford moved a switch from the Safe position to Stage, activating the small explosives that forcibly separated the ascent stage from the descent stage. But rather than a smooth flight, the spacecraft started gyrating wildly, rolling, pitching and yawing around all three axis in turn. Almost instantly, Stafford saw a yellow gimbal lock light illuminate on a nearby instrument panel. The computer was close to losing its orientation in space, which would mean the crew could have no idea where they were and how to get home.
“We’re in trouble,” said Commander Tom Stafford. (Me here, I think he was either super cool under pressure or a master of understatement)
“Son of a bitch!” Cernan yelled as they got a quick sight of the separated descent stage passing by a window.
“We’re in trouble,” Stafford concurred. (he really was cool as a cucumber)
The spacecraft never went into gimbal lock. Stafford reacted quickly and began manually correcting the spinning and rolling to get the spacecraft back into the correct attitude for their continued ascent. Less than four minutes after the initial staging, everything had calmed down.
“I think we have got all our marbles,” Stafford called down to Houston.
* * * * * * * **
History.com has transcripts of the audio, and video as the near Gimbal Lock happened. Yep, I watched and read it all while researching this story. I’ve added the links at the bottom of this post.
Snoopy made it back to the Command and Service Module. He was still my hero. The historic Apollo 11 mission and the landing on the Moon’s surface was a go.
The big event, the one for which we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary this year, lifted off less than two months after Apollo 10’s return. President Kennedy issued a challenge for us to walk on the Moon before the end of the decade. NASA was on a tight timeline to get there before the end of the year. If this one didn’t make it, then one more scheduled for November would have their shot.
I was glued to the TV coverage, from the morning lift off on July 16, through the somewhat boring days it took for them to get to the Moon, to the exciting descent and landing of the Lunar Module. Finally, they were ON THE MOON! It was nearly 4:30 in the afternoon on the 20th and these guys were about to step out onto the surface.
It was… disappointing.
No, not the Moonwalk. But the fact that it took six and a half long hours before they opened the hatch and Neil Armstrong descended the ladder. Six and a half hours. That is an eternity for a ten-year-old child filled with dreams of space travel and watching it happen in real honest-to-goodness life. Captain Kirk simply stepped on the transporter and zip-zing, he and a couple of red-shirts were on the surface of some new planet. Man, we had a long way to go if it was going to take us six hours to put on our coat and boots to head outside.
It was 10:56pm when Neil hit the surface and said his famous words. “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” I was yawning like crazy. It was a long wait, but there was no way I would have gone to bed and missed the biggest event of the decade. My family watched them bounce around on the Moon for a while and then we went to bed. The astronauts did their thing, collected rocks, left some markers, took lots of pictures, and then jumped back into the LM and took off. A few days later, they were splashing down on Earth.
Three months later, we did it again. And again for five more trips. Today it’s no big deal. Pffft, go to the Moon, whatever. Been there, done that. But back then it was everything.
Think about this for a moment. We went to the Moon, walked around, came back, all using computer technology less sophisticated than your cell phone. We didn’t need no stinkin’ palm size computers. We had math. And physics. And people who took chances and broke barriers. People like test pilots, many of whom died during their test flights. We funded early programs like Mercury and Gemini putting people in orbit, learning how to live for days at a time in space. They all paved the way for the Apollo program to succeed. After that came the shuttle program and space stations and long-range exploration. Fifty years ago we were just getting started.
And don’t forget Voyager 1, launched in 1977. It is on a path to meet up with Captain Kirk sometime in 2273.
* * *
Cool references to check out
Transcript of ascent stage firing and near Gimbal Lock issue. Go to 102:45:16 time mark.
Audio and video of the near disaster. Starts at 1:09 into the video.
Vintage Space YouTube channel – lots of Apollo related videos explaining how things worked.


The Martian is an upcoming science-fiction film directed by Ridley Scott. The screenplay by Drew Goddard is based on the 2011 novel The Martian by Andy Weir. The film stars Matt Damon, with Jessica Chastain, Michael Peña, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels and Kate Mara in supporting roles. It will mark Scott’s fourth science-fiction film after Alien (1979), Blade Runner (1982), and Prometheus (2012). The film is scheduled to be released on October 2, 2015 in 3D and 2D.
Synopsis The Martian (2015) :
During a manned mission to Mars, astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after being caught in a fierce storm, and is left behind when the rest of the crew evacuate the planet and begin to head back to Earth. Watney finds himself stranded and alone, with only meager supplies and his ingenuity, wit, and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal home, despite knowing that even if his survival is made known there is no realistic prospect for a rescue.
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- All The Family
- Under 5s
- School Age
Come and join The Sober Parrot for Moon Historytelling: a silly, interactive adventure through the history of the moon for the whole family to enjoy! We will start by looking at the Greeks and Romans who believed a goddess pulled the moon through the sky each night. We'll zoom through some fascinating stories from other ancient cultures, including an explosive story from Ancient China.
Next we'll have a quick break at the Renaissance and meet VIP Astronomer Galileo, before jetting off to the Apollo missions and the moon landings. Together, we'll take a look at what they all thought about Moon, through games, stories and activities! Suitable for families of all ages, particularly suitable for ages 7 - 11.
Saturday 31st August
2pm - 3pm
Cost: £3 per child / adults free


Norway is an excellent place to see this magical dancing phenomenon. Many international students studying in Norway understandably want to see the Northern Lights during their stay. Here are some tips and tricks to assist in finding the lights!
What exactly are the Northern Lights?
The northern lights appear when charged particles from the sun collide with gaseous particles of the earth’s atmosphere. Actually not exclusive to the north, the lights can be seen in both the northern hemisphere (they are known as "Aurora Borealis" when they occur here) and southern hemisphere ("Aurora Australis") above the magnetic poles. The auroras occur at the poles because the atmosphere above a magnetic pole is weaker and therefore more particles from the sun manage to enter the earth's atmosphere. The phenomenon appears as coloured lights. Many colours have been reported but green or pink are common, the colour seen is dictated by the type of gas particle involved in the collision. These ethereal lights can take many forms - from scattered patches of light to streamers, arcs, or gyrating curtains.
You can read more about the northern lights here.
Can I see the Northern Lights in Bergen?
While at times it is possible to see the Northern Lights from Bergen, their appearance is sporadic and uncommon compared to areas in northen Norway. If you are really determined to see the Northern Lights during your time in Bergen, don't make the mistake of waiting for the lights to come to you. Commit to making a trip to where the lights are more likely to be visible.
Where and when can they be seen?
There is no such thing as a guaranteed time or place to see the Northern Lights, however the latitude of the northern coast of Norway makes it among the best places in the world to have a chance to view the Aurora Borealis. This Norwegian guide suggests the best places to observe the Northern Lights which includes Bodø, Lofoten, Lyngenfjord, Narvik, the North Cape, Senja, Svalbard, Tromsø, Trondheim, or Alta. Here is another guide for places with the best chance of seeing the Northern Lights. Or, perhaps other northernly neighbors may tempt you to take a trip, including Abisko, Sweden.
Dark and cloudless skies are necessary for the lights to be viewable. The most likely time to view them in the northern hemisphere is during the winter months. It is reasonable to try to see the Northern Lights between the end of September and the end of March. Generally, between 10pm and 2am on clear nights is a good time to look for them, however they can occur anytime during dark hours. There are online tools and apps that might help you decide whether or not to put on your coat and head out the door in search of the Aurora Borealis. Heres's a couple you might try:
- Norway Lights – App available for iphone, android and windows.
- Aurora Forecast – Online souce from the University of Alaska Geophysical Institute that predicts aurora activity for the Northern Hemisphere.
Wishing you all kinds of luck for viewing beautiful winter lights!


MCF Spring Symposium: The Upper Midwest’s Largest Chromatographic Instrumentation and Supplies Exhibition
May 9-11, 2017 (Tue-Thurs)
Earle Brown Heritage Center
The Minnesota Chromatography Forum invites you to participate in the 38th Annual Spring Symposium and Intensive Short Courses at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Minneapolis, MN. This program will interest people from all areas of separation science.
Special Discounts for companies registering 10+ attendees!!
General Schedule and Deadlines
|Abstract Submission Deadline||April 2, 2017|
|Short Course Registration Deadline||April 30, 2017|
|Advance Registration Deadline for Symposium||April 1, 2017|
|Short Courses||May 9-10, 2017|
|Special Topic Sessions||May 10, 2017|
|Vendor Seminars, Exhibitor Reception||May 10, 2017|
|Spring Symposium Technical Program||May 11, 2017|
“Exploration of Martian Habitability with the Curiosity Rover”
Solar System Exploration Division
Goddard Space Flight Center
The Curiosity Rover has been on the surface of Mars for more than 4 years exploring the geology and chemistry of what was once a large lake billions of years ago. The goal of the mission is to understand the habitability of Mars, especially that of the ancient environment. Could microbial life have existed in this environment? The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) investigation of this rover conducts volatile and isotope measurements of both the atmosphere and solids to help elucidate ancient environmental conditions and the global changes that have transformed Mars over time. Chromatography is important for the search for organic compounds in rocks with SAM’s gas chromatograph mass spectrometer experiment. Key measurements from SAM, to date, include the first in situ detection of organics preserved in these rocks for billions of years, the first in situ exposure age and K/Ar rock formation age, detection of perchlorates in rocks and soils, measurement of the D/H ration of water that formed clays more than 3 billion years ago, and detection of methane in the atmosphere. The Curiosity Rover is presently on the flanks of Mt. Sharp and headed toward distinct clay and sulfate rich layers higher up on this central mound in Gale crater. These and other ongoing exciting discoveries from the mission will be described.
Where to Stay:
Embassy Suites Minneapolis – North
6300 Earle Brown Drive
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota 55430


Images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the Digitized Sky Survey and the Hubble Space Telescope and more.
Near Earth Object Program
Jet Propulsion Laboratory Pasadena, California
The Nine Planets
A Multimedia Tour of the Solar System, B. Arnett, University of Arizona
Managed by the Exoplanet Exploration Program and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA’s Astrophysics Division.
SIMBAD Astronomical Database
Contains information on 3.3 million astronomical objects.
Sky View Café
Interactive Planetarium, Kerry Shetline
Sloan Digital Sky Survey
digital map of the sky (Astrophysical Research Consortium, Apache Point Observatory, New Mexico)
Online Planetarium, Fourmilab, Schweiz
Accessible online within the university’s computer network:
- e-journals: extensive range of topical journals, many journal archives going back to the first issue, complete publisher collections (for example AIP, APS, Elsevier, IoPP, Springer, Wiley)
- bibliographic databases (INSPEC, Derwent Innovations Index, Scopus, Web of Science)
- e-books: Springer E-Book Collection Physics and Astronomy (all physics and astronomy books in German and English since 2005), all e-books from the Wiley Online Library and De Gruyter Online (excluding textbooks and teaching materials, which are offered on separate platforms)
Print holdings at the University Main Library:
- textbooks (English and German), to some extent with duplicate copies (one in the open stacks and one in the reading room)
- reference works
- introduction to areas of expertise and methods
- physics: history, society and philosophy
- a small number of conference proceedings and research literature in print
Libraries with additional holdings:


Extraterrestrial Contact Law
No federal law actually prohibits U.S. citizens from having contact with extraterrestrial beings.
PUBLISHED 1 FEBRUARY 2002
A federal law prohibits U.S. citizens from having contact with extraterrestrial beings.
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If the government has no knowledge of aliens, then why does Title 14, Section 1211 of the Code of Federal Regulations, implemented on July 16, 1969, make it illegal for U.S. citizens to have any contact with extraterrestrials or their vehicles?
On 16 July 1969, the United States of America (through the efforts of its National Aeronautics and Space Administration) was poised to achieve a milestone in space exploration. That day would see the launch of the Apollo 11 mission, an undertaking which would — if successful — see men set foot on a celestial body other than Earth for the first time in the history of mankind, when two astronauts would land on and explore the surface of our moon.
Of course, a key portion of this achievement was to be the safe return to Earth of those very same astronauts, a prospect that raised a number of issues we had not confronted before. Who knew what else might return to Earth with the lunar explorers? Although the moon was presumed to be lifeless, we couldn’t rule out the possibility that bringing back equipment and samples from the lunar surface might also introduce hitherto unknown microorganisms or germs into our environment, potentially triggering a scenario like the one described by Michael Crichton’s 1969 novel The Andromeda Strain, in which a sample-gathering satellite returns to Earth bearing deadly pathogens from space, touching off a plague that threatens to kill nearly everyone exposed to it.
To prepare for this eventuality, on the same day that Apollo 11 was launched from Kennedy Space Center, the United States adopted Title 14, Section 1211 of the Code of Federal Regulations, since known as the “Extra-Terrestrial Exposure Law.” The purpose of Title 14, Section 1211 of the CFR was not to “make it illegal for U.S. citizens to have any contact with extraterrestrials or their vehicles”; the law allowed the government to prevent the possibility of biological contamination from pathogens carried to Earth by men and objects returning from space by enforcing a quarantine on any people, plant or animal life, or other material that had “touched directly or come within the atmospheric envelope of any other celestial body.”
In other words, if you were an astronaut returning from a mission to the surface of the moon (or any other celestial body), the government could require you to undergo a quarantine; if you did not travel into space yourself but had indirect “extraterrestrial exposure” through contact with returning astronauts, their space capsules, or any samples or other material brought back from the surface (or atmosphere) of another celestial body, the government could require you to undergo a quarantine. Enforcement of the law was provided for by penalties calling for a fine of up to $5,000 or a term of imprisonment of up to one year for those who “disregarded of the quarantine rules or regulations or without permission of the NASA quarantine officer.”
Note that Title 14, Section 1211 did not make it “illegal” for “U.S. citizens to have any contact with extraterrestrials or their vehicles”; it simply required those who had such contact to submit to a quarantine at the request of the government. If a spaceship full of little green men landed in your back yard, you would not have been in violation of Title 14, Section 1211 and subject to a fine or imprisonment merely for shaking hands with your visitors or taking a tour of their spacecraft — you would only have been subject to those penalties if you refused to comply with a subsequent government quarantine order. (Even then, the law only applied to “NASA manned and unmanned space missions,” so contact with extraterrestrials who were traveled through space on their own would not have fallen under the provisions of this law.)
The “Extraterrestrial Exposure” law was removed from the CFR in 1991, NASA having determined that it had “served its purpose” and was “no longer in keeping with current policy.” That law is therefore no longer in force.


Repiton is a dark, green, brown and black planet on which trolls originate from. It is the only planet bearing life in its universe. It appears to have two moons and a sub-moon, one black and one white with a gray moon attached.
Repiton is the final sustainable planet in a long line of universal cycles and resets due to Kheparia's entrapment within the single planet she was able to create before being nearly murdered by Gaiaeon and the introduction of The Game. It is presided over by White Noise as its Eternal Guardian as were all other planets before it.
It is the only planet within the solitary universe with living creatures; said universe being in the shape of a creature that trolls do not know exists. Every planet with life on it is bound to have twelve players representing the twelve aspects of existence play a version of The Game, crafted by White Noise, with the intent of restoring and saving Kheparia. The players from Repiton are the final frontier for this mission and the last planet White Noise will be able to oversee as he is nearing death due to inevitable diminish of power from the Green Sun, which gives him life and is the source of his power.
The planet bound to playing The Game will only do so once the planet is nearing its demise. As such, Repiton is a wasteland on life support filled with black and overly toxic oceans, powerful radiation, parasitic undead, and no ruling class to keep things in order. These conditions being set by the cast's ancestors to set everything in motion for their descendants as an incentive for when they play The Game. The planet has been described politically as a 'feudal anarchy' by its creators.
Repiton was supposedly meant to be destroyed during the entry of the players as it has in past game sessions for further incentive, however, it has been stated by Zehanpuryu that this is not the case with the trolls session and that Repiton will be having later use. The reason for this is currently unknown.
Repiton has two moons and one sub-moon, one black and one white with a small gray moon attached. It is unknown if there is life on these moons or what their purpose is currently.
Main Article: Troll
Repiton is the only life-bearing planet in its universe. The only species that live on this planet are known as Trolls; a species of grey-skinned, orange-horned, humanoid aliens who have a major role in Vast Error as well as its source material. The creators have stated that Repiton has no distinct age demographic, nor are there trolls on other planets as every exploratory mission has ended in failure, leaving a majority of those who attempt to find a new home dead.
Repiton has alternate dimensions within it to some extent, most notably the 'Horrorcore Dimension' which was allegedly used by the planet's version of Hulk Hogan in order to aid a rival cult. Supposedly one headed by the planet's version of Weird Al Yankovic, who has been noted by pliableDecadence to be someone to watch out for with news about an event known as the 'Alpocalypse'.
Inhabitants of Repiton are known as Repitonians.
- Repiton is a shortening of the word "repetition". In relation to the constant universal cycle at play due to Kheparia's demise. It could also be a play on the use of archetypes within the comic, as these tropes are repetitive within the stories Vast Error is based on.
- The Black and White Moons are a distinct reference to Neon Genesis Evangelion (a notable source of inspiration for Austin) in which the eggs of the angels Adam and Lilith are referred to as 'The White Moon' and 'The Black Moon'. These were transport vessels for said angels to come to Earth.
- All signs on Repiton are based on elemental alchemy and its processes. There is currently no set limit on how many sigils there are on Repiton.
- The Black Depths have been said to be a reference to how 'Lake Springfield' looks after Homer Simpson dumps a silo full of pig crap into it from in The Simpsons Movie.
- Horses and horse-esque creatures are seen as ill omens and harbingers of doom on Repiton. This is another reference to the use of the creatures within Homestuck.
- The planet is not shown at the beginning of the comic and is instead introduced much later in order to make beginning readers believe that Vast Error is set on Alternia.
- Murrit mentions watching out for the other members of the main crew 12/6, implying Repiton's time goes by 12 hours a day, 6 days a week.
|v·d·eVast Error Locations|
|Sovara's hive||Dismas's hive||Arcjec's hive||Jentha's hive|
|Ellsee's hive||Albion's hive||Serpaz's hive||Laivan's hive|
|Occeus's hive||Tazsia's hive||Murrit's hive||Calder's hive|
|???||???||Land of Mirageand Monochrome||???|
|???||???||???||Land of Constructand Deluge|
|???||Land of Growthand Gravity||Land of Waveand Record||???|
|Skaia – Prospit – The Medium – Derse|


Space science makes us look outwards from our planet to the stars, moon, and beyond. It’s a subject that thrives more and more curiosity and ultimate questions. Even with the amount of technology that is present in the current world, scientists can’t answer all the questions that everyone has. Yet most of us enjoy spectacular photos from space and grow more and more curious. Such as how did our Earth and our Solar System form and evolve? What is our place in the universe? What are the conditions of other planets in the solar system?
For a long time, humans didn’t have any means to look into space and get real pictures of space. But, since the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990, it has provided us spectacular photos from space. This year the Hubble Space Telescope completed 30 years in space and the space photos from the Hubble Space Telescope have awed and inspired millions around the world. More than just pretty space photos, Hubble has collected dozens of data that has provided insight into space for scientists and the public.
Soon after WWII, an astronomer named Lyman Spitzer proposed the idea of launching a space telescope. This could overcome the limitations that were faced by ground-based observatories. Once the National Academy of Science supported the idea, they took it to NASA. NASA was already considering a space telescope of some type, to get spectacular images of Earth from space but they were unsure of how to proceed with it.
The large space telescope project was expensive, and it faced plenty of funding problems initially. But, later they were supported by the European Space Agency or ESA. Development began almost immediately and NASA planned to launch the telescope initially in 1983. However, they faced various delays, and finally, it was launched on April 24th, 1990. It cost $1.5 billion to create the largest space telescope. But there would also be a lot of ongoing costs – both expected and unexpected from the space telescope.
To get real pictures of space the Hubble had to be included with high-tech pieces of equipment. Initially, the space telescope included the Wide Field Planetary Camera, a Goddard High-Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS), a Faint Object Camera, a High-Speed Photometer, and a Faint Object Spectrograph. But, even with this high-tech equipment, the Hubble Space Telescope Images were blurry and pretty close to useless.
It was found out that Hubble’s main mirror has a small defect. One spherical aberration is caused by a manufacturing error. Even though the flaw was minute, it caused a major imaging problem. After a few years, NASA was able to send a crew of seven to fix Hubble. During the fix, NASA also installed two new cameras, including a Wide-Field Planetary Camera 2. Finally, in December 1993, the first breathtaking Hubble Space Telescope Images reached Earth.
Since then, Hubble has continued to collect data and provide information about our universe and take spectacular images of Earth from Space.
1. The Space Telescope Captures Clusters of Red, White, and Blue in Space
2. Hubble Captures Renergized Planetary Nebula
3. Hubble Spots Feathered Spiral
4. Hubble Detects Squabbligng Galactic Siblings
5. Hubble Uncovers An Oddball Galaxy
Spending thirty years in space and providing us with spectacular photos from space, Hubble’s advanced optics and perspective give indefinitely better space photos than ground-based optics can produce. Further Hubble Space Telescope images distant objects that otherwise cannot be seen at all. In 1995, when the astronomers pointed the Hubble Telescope into the sky in Ursa Major, it captured an image of over 3000 galaxies. These galaxies were located far away from each other and they could not have been identified with any other telescope.
Some galaxies are young such that they haven’t yet begun to form stars. Various other deep field observations in the same area were also conducted, diving deeper into space each time. These deep fields were called Hubble Ultra-Deep Field and Hubble eXtreme Deep Field discovered in 2004 and 2012.
A few of the additional highlights of the Hubble Space Telescope’s discoveries over the past few years are:
In 2020, Hubble clicked space photos that spotted a mysterious star-eating black hole at the edge of another galaxy.
In 2019, it took a zoomed photo of a spiral galaxy. This helped demystify black holes and showed us the colorful demise of a dying star. It also captured breathtaking images of Comet Borisov.
In 2018, it spied on the ‘El Gordo’ galaxy cluster. It even captures a giant storm on Neptune disappearing and catches the first look of a supernova explosion.
In 2013, the Hubble Space Telescope carried out several observations of the spectacular Comet ISON. The space telescope even examined an explosion on a distant star and discovered a new moon around the planet, Neptune. It also revealed details about the Milky Way’s history based on several images of 400 galaxies that were in various stages of evolution.
In 2014 it watched the asteroid P/2013 R3 falling apart and even observed a rare supernova called SN 2014J. This year the Hubble Space Technology also found an extremely distant “cosmic magnifying glass”. It even released an image known as the Ultraviolet Coverage of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. This image showed scientists the universe’s evolution.
In the year 2015, the telescope made fresh observations of the Pillars of Creation. These space photos were clicked to see how they have changed over time. The telescope also performed the best 3D view of the deep universe and observed a dark vortex on the planet of Neptune.
In 2013, the space telescope carried out observation of the Comet 252P/LINEAR. Then it captured the spectacular photos from space galaxies and showed the world that the universe it is surviving in likely has 10 times the number of galaxies.


Extinction of Dinos Theories of the Extinction of the Dinosaurs Controversy surrounds the extinction of the dinosaurs. According to mismatched supposition, dinosaurs were slowly driven to extinction by environmental changes cipher to the creeping withdrawal of shallow seas from the continents at the end of the dinosaur era. Proponents of this system propose that dinosaurs dwindled in number and variety over some(prenominal) zillion years. An opposing speculation proposes that the impact of asteroid or comet caused harmful destruction of the environment, leading to the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Evidence to reenforcement this theory includes the discovery of a buried impact crater (thought to be the result of a bulky comet striking the earth) that is two nose candy km (124 mi.) in diameter in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. The spray of carcass was blown from the edge of the crater. The debris has been found over broad regions of North America. Comet enriched material from the impact’s fiery e...If you see to get a full essay, order it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com
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The moon closed in on the Earth Saturday night. When I finally remembered to look at it, the time was 10:40 p.m., and the orb was pretty high in the sky, glowing brightly. So I ran inside, grabbed my Nikon D300 and Nikon 300mm (f/4) lens, and did my best to document it.
The supermoon was so luminous that my shutter speed was fast enough for handholding. At first I opted for that wide-open f/4 setting (ISO 320), which meant I had to go to –4 with exposure compensation to bring out the moon’s features.
Then I went into the house, looked at my results in Photoshop (as seen above), and felt satisfied. Until I read an article about the proper way to shoot the supermoon. The advice was to use at the very least f/8 and spot meter to adjust for the brightness.
Outside I went once again with the same equipment and changed the settings (ISO 200, exposure compensation –.3). How did I feel about the results?
Over the moon!


Main / Racing / Planetarium software
Name: Planetarium software
File size: 271mb
Stellarium is a planetarium software that shows exactly what you see when you look up at the stars. It's easy to use, and free. Latest version is - Stellarium - Stellarium Astronomy Software - Scripting. Planetarium software is application software which allows a user to simulate the daytime and nighttime sky on a computer. Such applications can be as. Planetarium Software. Redshift 7 Premium is a comprehensive guide to the heavens. Download of new discoveries and orbital data of satellites, comets and asteroids from the latest object databases on the Internet into the main Redshift database.
Cartes Du Ciel is another planetarium software on the desktop of most amateur astronomers. Celestia is a fantastic educational resource for showing children and new astronomers the workings of the galaxy and stunning views of solar system objects. Astronomy Software: Public Domain, Freeware, and Shareware. Astronomy software, such as the free Stellarium program, can you help plan nights of observation. Dozens of free or inexpensive computer programs can aid your observing or simply allow you to explore the sky, with options available for Mac, PC, and Unix. Introduction Astronomy Software is a pretty broad spectrum, providing everything from simple mapping software (relative positions of the solar.
Contrarily to other planetarium programs, once loaded the starry field looks really unusual. Instead of displaying a schematic map of the sky, the screen is now. Astronomy freeware. This category is for planetarium or sky observing software. No shareware. Over fifty other free software categories. 30 Sep - 9 min - Uploaded by Mark Patricio Stellarium is a free planetarium software that allows you to see stars, galaxies, planets and. Freeware, Shareware, and Commercial Astronomy Software -- For Amateur and Professional Astronomers. Stellarium is a planetarium software that shows exactly what you see when you look up at the stars. It's easy to use, and free.


Equator is an imaginary line that divides the earth in to two equal parts. Uganda pearl of Africa is one of the countries in the world that have got the equator intersecting the country, 14 countries and territorial waters are being traversed by the imaginary line and 7 of this countries are in Africa. The imaginary line crosses the country from along Kampala-Masaka road which is about 73 kilometers from the capital city.
The line is more than 40,000 kilometers longs and 78.7% crosses waters while 21.3% crosses over land, the latitude of the equator is by 0° on the equator line this is because both magnetic fields of the south and north hemisphere are pulling on the equal point. The equator is the only line of latitude which is a great circle.
The lucky countries being crossed by the imaginary line in Africa include; Gabon, Democratic republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Principe and Sao Tome. Another equator marker is located in Kasese district of Uganda within Queen Elizabeth national park.
This is an imaginary line that runs east to west on the Earth’s surface dividing the earth into northern and southern hemisphere. While at the equator if on poured water on a funnel on the northern hemisphere it’s runs clockwise and at the southern hemisphere it’s runs counter clockwise then the equator line the water goes straight caused by the cirrhosis effect of magnetic field.
While traveling for a great wildlife safari to the great lakes region of the country, tourists can stop by at the equator and take a few photos, there are also magical handmade crafts being sold at the shops where the equator is, this crafts are mostly connected to the equator they can be sovenirs to take back home for remembrance.
Many places near the equator are rainy throughout the year while other places receives rainy and dry seasons, the temperature at the equator can plummet during rainy seasons. There’s also a fact that the gravity at the equator is 0.5% less meaning any weight is 0.5% lesser at the equator this is because the earth is flattened at the poles and it’s not a perfect sphere.
The imaginary line is a few tens of kilometers further from the center of the earth, than when standing at the poles gravity is slightly less at the equator because gravity falls off with distance. A magnetic needle would have no dip and will remain at the horizontal position.
At this place you will also find a restaurant serving continental mouth watering meals and various drinks available including tasty coffee. While at the equator the sun rises and falls more rapidly yet with equal numbers of day and night,
The Ugandan equator can be accessed from Kampala- Masaka road 72 kilometers from the city or at Kasese which is 420 kilometers south west of Kampala.
To have an experience of standing in the middle of the world, tourists can go visit the Ugandan part and be among one of the lucky people to stand in the middle of the northern and southern hemisphere. The equator is a one stop point experience while visiting western Uganda. Various accommodation units are available in Masaka town.


雪ミク2017 - WINTER STARDUST NAVIGATOR
投稿日：2016/04/22 02:26:16 | サイズ：3050x3000px（3,444KB） | 閲覧数：5,724 | カテゴリ：クリプトン公式
!! I'm sorry, I'm not good at Japanese !!
Main concept --> Night at the Galactic Railroad --> Train Conductor --> Navigator + Compass
Star Design --> Compass look-alike
The very first concept for this design is "Starry Night Sky"! When I think about Starry Night Sky, I quickly thought of the story "Night at The Galactic Railroad", I really love that story! I thought about making Miku a Train Conductor, but then the idea shifted a bit into a Navigator, since I think the term "Navigator" fits more with the concept!
I then thought about her item, the star design resembles the compass design, so I made a compass and a small telescope as her items!
Let Miku leads your way!
19歳 | ID | ID/EN OK!
I'm not good at Japanese, sorry;;;


Andrew Fraknoi retired as the Chair of the Astronomy Department at Foothill College in 2017, having taught introductory astronomy and physics at three different colleges and universities (including SF State). He was selected the California Prof. of the Year in 2007 by the Carnegie Endowment for Higher Education and has won several national prizes for his teaching. He is the lead author of a free, open‐source, electronic textbook in astronomy, and has written books for teachers, children, and science fiction fans. He appears regularly on local and national radio, explaining astronomical developments in everyday language. The International Astronomical Union has named Asteroid 4859 Asteroid Fraknoi in recognition of his contributions to the public understanding of science.


The total solar eclipse of 2017 was one of the most awesome things I’ve ever been able to witness with my own eyes. I can’t even begin to describe how it was.
It’s an odd feeling knowing that something is happening in space that not a single person on earth can do anything about. It was really a moment that strengthened my faith in God and made me realize just how small we are as human beings.
While I did manage to get in a few pictures of the total solar eclipse of 2017, it made me realize that I’ll never be an astrology photographer. Maybe with a little more practice. As much as I don’t really care for the eclipse pictures I took, I figured it was better to have taken some than to not have taken any at all. They’re not bad, they’re just way out of focus. Apparently my eyes aren’t as good as I thought they were.
I did, however, see the cutest couple looking at the total solar eclipse of 2017 through an oatmeal box. They were an older couple that looked like a couple of high school students. Really, it was the sweetest thing how they kept passing the box back and forth to each other. Their son had a $20,000 setup and every once in awhile they’d go look through his lens in amazement. He let me look a couple of times and I couldn’t help but feel the same amazement.
At any rate, here are my pictures of the total solar eclipse of 2017 taken in St. Clair, Missouri at a rest area. Please feel free to share my photographs on your social media sites and when you get a moment, you can head to my Facebook page. If you like what you see, please leave me a review! It would be much appreciated!
Jimmy Harmon is an award-winning, published photographer using professional Sony photography equipment. From Senior Portraits and sports photography to wedding photography and model photography, contact Jimmy Harmon for your professional photography needs.
Jimmy is available to travel anywhere in the United States.


Based on my experience of the last few years viewing the Perseid meteor shower, I’m sharing in this article useful tips on how to watch the Perseid meteor shower 2022: guide to have an unforgettable experience every time watching a meteor shower.
Read this article to discover answers to important questions such as when to see the Perseid meteor shower, where to see the Perseid meteor shower, and useful Perseid meteor shower viewing tips! This is my complete guide to Perseids meteor shower 2022!
Perseids Meteor Shower Viewing
Seeing dozens of falling stars in a few hours is an amazing experience and the Perseid meteor shower makes this possible for everyone interested. Making a wish when seeing a falling star is one thing, but how about 50-100 (or more) wishes a night?
It’s an amazing experience, believe me, one that you too can easily have.
When to see the Perseids
The Perseid meteor shower can be seen between July 17th and August 26th.
Yes, during this entire time you can see falling stars! Isn’t it amazing?
When does the Perseid meteor shower peak?
While you can see falling stars during this entire time, there is a Perseid meteor shower peak.
So, the first element of this complete guide to Perseid meteor shower viewing is to find out when the most falling stars will be visible. For this, you can check your astronomical observatory’s site and discover the peak of the Perseids near you.
In 2022, the maximum of the meteor stream will be reached on the night of August 12 to 13 after 12:00 AM and until 5 AM..
This means there are three days – well, three nights actually – when the most falling stars will be visible. On the night of August 11 to 12 there is an upward slope of the current, reaching the maximum the following night, and on the night of August 13 to 14 there is a downward slope.
All these nights offer the opportunity to see many falling stars after midnight. Important to note is that in 2022 the moon is in its Full Moon phase, being bright and visible all night, which will make the number of visible falling stars to be smaller than in other years when the moon wasn’t as bright (full moon.)
Choose 1-2 in which to go see the Perseids. Why?
Because on one night it can rain or be cloudy, so you won’t be able to see any falling stars.
But if you know that in advance, you can go the night before and enjoy the Perseids.
So check the weather in advance, when planning when to see the Perseids.
How to see the Perseid meteor shower: guide and useful tips
Choose a suitable place to see the meteor shower – Where can you see the Perseids
The Perseids are best viewed in the Northern Hemisphere and if you want to be able to see as many falling stars as possible it is important to choose a place with as little ambient light as possible.
It is best to go as far from the city as possible, between 35 and 60 km.
You can search online using Google Maps for a suitable place near your city. Avoid forests and areas with clumps of trees to maximise visibility. Choose a place away from water (thus avoiding areas with many mosquitoes.)
If you find a place to see falling stars that meets all the requirements and after you go there, you see that it is a perfect fit for meteor shower viewing, then mark it on your map – note the coordinates so that you can go there next year or you can recommend it to your friends, if they ask you for the best place to see the Perseid meteor shower tonight.
How to see the Perseid meteor shower if you don’t have a car
If you don’t have a car but want to see the Perseid meteor shower, I’m here to tell you that there are ways to do that.
The first option, if you don’t have a car, is to talk to friends who have a car and who might be interested in such an experience.
If they didn’t see a meteor shower in the past and don’t know the things to do to watch a meteor shower, then you can choose the tips from this guide to meteor shower viewing and help them plan the trip.
Making the experience as easy for them as possible may determine them to go see the meteor shower and take you with them.
Alternatively, you can check to see if there are places in your city that ensure good visibility – astronomical observatories, terraces (malls) that are open late especially to see the Perseids, etc.
What equipment do you need to see the Perseid meteor shower
The Perseids can be seen without any equipment. You don’t need the telescope or anything else.
The only thing that you need is a clear sky to look at.
You’ll see that some falling stars will be bigger and more visible than others. But they will all be visible with your eyes.
In fact, using a telescope or binoculars to see the Perseids will only limit the number of falling stars that you will see because you will only be able to look at a small portion of the sky instead of a bigger one you can cover without any instruments, just by using your eyes.
What you need to bring with you to watch the Perseid meteor shower and have an amazing experience
This guide to watching the Perseid meteor shower aims to be the only guide you need for a meteor shower viewing.
So the next step, after you choose the place and the perfect night to view the Perseids, is to pack the needed items in order to have the best time meteor shower viewing.
Bring an anti-insect spray / post stings spray. This is crucial, especially if you are allergic to insect stings.
So don’t leave home without these two products. Apply the anti-bug spray when you get to the chosen place for watching the meteor shower.
Use the itch relief spray – post-insect bites – only if you are stung. (hopefully, you won’t be!)
Bring water – As you will be far from the city, it is best to have some water with you. I can tell you from personal experience, that, at some point during the night, you’ll want to drink water.
Bring snacks – it’s no picnic, but you might be craving for something good. You can take some crackers or protein bars – something simple. I know friends who took popcorn with them.
Bring chairs – well, you don’t want to be standing for hours, correct? So make sure you bring some chairs.
Insider tip: as you’ll be watching the sky to see the Perseids, if you have, it is preferable to take some chairs with folding backs, which you can stretch out to look at the sky easily. If you don’t have some chairs, expect a bit of neck pain the next day – don’t worry, it will go away! (been there, done that:D)
What to wear when going to watch the Perseids tonight?
Now, obviously, it will depend from one person to another, but you have to keep in mind a few aspects when it comes to what to wear when you go to see the Perseid meteor shower.
I know, it’s summer, it’s very hot during the day, but at night it gets a bit colder. That is why it is a good idea to bring some warm clothes for the whole family.
Fatigue, combined with the colder weather, will give children chills almost instantly. Even though I brought warm clothes, my son got a bit chilly the first time we went to see the Perseid meteor shower so the next time – and every time since then – he packed extra warm clothes for himself. He brings a hat, a warm overall,s or a jacket.
As a note, make sure the entire family uses long trousers and tennis shoes – not sandals (insects). A jacket or a warm sweatshirt should be brought along.
Check the weather forecast in advance and see how many degrees it will be when you go to enjoy the falling stars and dress accordingly.
Extra items you can bring
In this guide to see the Perseids, I covered so far the necessary items to take with you when going to see the Perseid meteor shower.
If you take in consideration all the recommendations offered so far, you’ll have an extraordinary experience watching the meteor shower.
At the beginning of the article, I said that you don’t need any special equipment to see the Perseids. However, if you want to use the time to see what other planets or stars are visible the night you are going Perseid meteor shower viewing, then you can bring off your extra items with you.
If you are passionate about photography or astronomy, then you can also take a tripod and camera, binoculars, or telescope with you to see different stars or planets visible during this period.
You can also download an app that will let you know what stars, constellations, and planets are visible in the sky exactly where you are when you go to watch the Perseid meteor shower.
It’s a fun activity – especially if it’s not your first time seeing the Perseids and if you have some friends with you that are also passionate about astronomy.
What are the Perseids?
We spoke about the best way to see the Perseid meteor shower, but exactly what are the Perseids?
Each year, when the Earth passes through the cloud of debris left by the comet Swift-Tuttle, tiny dust and particles from the tail of the comet enter the Earth’s atmosphere and we see falling stars.
This phenomenon is yearly, between mid to July and towards the end of August. This is actually great news because if one year is rainy and cloudy, then we can always try the next year to see the Perseid meteor shower.
The Perseids are famous because it’s easy to observe them – given that they are visible during the summer. There are also numerous falling stars at the peak of the Perseids, so they are hard to miss, and therefore fewer people will be disappointed about not seeing a falling star when they go to watch the Perseids.
Why are they called the Perseids?
Their name comes from the fact that the radiant – the point from which they appear to come – lies in the constellation Perseus – hence the Perseids.
So that’s it: what are the Perseids, the best time to view the Perseids, where to see the Perseids, and what do you need to bring with you when you go to watch the Perseids – all your Perseids questions answered plus multiple useful tips to make sure that you have an extraordinary experience seeing this meteor shower!
Enjoy the Perseids!


Very good question Phil. I think I'm right in saying that 5 November was the actual date in the Julian Calendar, and so was a date that the plotters would have recognised.
The calendar was changed to the Gregorian version in Britain in 1752, so in that year, we famously lost the days as a result of that.
There's a good synopsis of what happened at the National Maritime Museum website here http://www.nmm.ac.uk/explore/astronomy- ... leap-years
On your last point regarding international differences (the Gregorian calendar was adopted in Europe in 1582), there are conversion tables available to tally up the different dates and I'd venture that historians would tend to talk about the calendar in use in the country they are mainly talking about, or based in.


|STOP CASSINI EARTH FLYBY
The Cassini space probe executed a flyby maneuver around the Earth on August 18, 1999 at 3:28 A.M. GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), which was on August 17, 1999 at 8:28 P.M. PDT. This probe is carrying a record amount 72.3 lbs (32,8 kg) of deadly plutonium on board approached Earth at record speeds in excess of 81,000 mpn (133,150 km). Those at greatest risk were at the southern hemisphere, since NASA made the closest approach point at an altitude of 1166 km (725 mi) over the eastern south Pacific at -23.5 degrees latitude and 231.5 degrees longitude. The spacecraft may have been visible from small islands in that area, such as Pitcairn Island or Easter Island. 137 W longitude and 23.5 S latitude over the South Pacific Ocean.
|According to the NASA Environmental Impact Statement, in the event of a collision with our atmosphere this mission has the potential to expose five billion people to 99% or more of the radiation from the plutonium. Thus, there is the possibility of releasing 400,000 Curies of plutonium in fine particles throughout our atmosphere. This would more than double the human-made plutonium activity in the atmosphere!|
There is a debate among scientists about
how damaging low level
radiation is to the human body. NASA claims that only
"2,300 health effects could occur over a 50-year period". Dr. Ernest
Sternglass, professor emeritus of radiological physics at
the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine said that "they
underestimate the cancer alone by 2,000 to 4,000 times."
According to Dr. Sternglass, there have been recent studies showing that low-levels of radioactivity are disproportionately
more damaging than high levels.
This Website was designed to be a source of information and to coordinate actions to help expand public awareness about the dangers of the Plutonum space program and the Cassini space probe's flyby of Earth.
|This site is no longer under construction, but will remain posted online to copy, use or link for references.|
This page was last revised 9/1/99 6:15:42 PM by The NoFlyby Webmaster
This site was hosted on The Nonviolence Web, and is now hosted on www.FlyByNews.com. NoFlyby is also affiliated with
The Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space.
This site was hosted on The Nonviolence Web, and is now hosted on www.FlyByNews.com. NoFlyby is also affiliated with The Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space.


Type 0 - Subglobal Culture. Wood, coal, oil based fuels. Species confined to planet. Pictured: A gas plant in Iran. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Type 2 - Stellar Culture. Utilizes the energy output of the sun. Interplanetary travel and space colonization. Pictured: A Dyson sphere. Credit: dottedhippo/iStock/Getty Images Plus.
Type 1 - Global Culture. Utilizes the energy output of the entire planet. Pictured: Earth from space. Credit: NASA.
Type 3 - Galactic Culture. Harnesses the energy output of a galaxy - 10bn x the output of a Type 2 civilization. Traveling across interstellar space populating thousands of worlds. Pictured: The Whirlpool Galaxy. Credit: NASA.
Our core principles and values revolve around the betterment of the human species through collective efforts. We believe that our future is open-ended and spectacular, but we can reach that future only if we come together as one species under the sun, and fight to make that future happen. We can achieve our potential only if we look forward instead of backwards, if we resolve our conflicts and come together in pursuit of our common goals, and if we have an open mind to explore the myriad of solutions available. We base our philosophy on the following core principles and values:
Future and futurism. You can't get there if you don't dream it first. You can't dream it first if you don't let go of your doubt.
Space travel. Let's face it, space travel is the future. That doesn't mean we shouldn't give our 110% to make things better on Earth. But humankind has much greater plans.
Bettering ourselves. The question isn't why we're here, but how to be the best version of ourselves while we're here. We are the waking universe looking back on itself. We need to come together, warts and all, and advance civilization.
Everyone, literally everyone who believes in the values we outlined above is welcome to join us in our quest. It doesn’t matter where you’re coming from, who or what you are. So long as you believe in the human potential to reach the stars, you are welcomed!
The only boundaries we encounter is those we set ourselves. We believe that we can achieve 1000,000 more wonderful things so long as we come together and dare to create our common future!
Type 4 - Universal Culture. Harnsesses the energy output of a billion trillion suns. Traveling across the universe. Immortal. Pictured: Galaxy cluster SMACS 0723. Credit: NASA.
Type 5 - Multiverse Culture. Can jump between universes. Capable of universe wide manipulation. Pictured: Multiverse 'bubbles'. Credit: Verse and Dimensions Wiki.
The Kardashev Scale of Civilization Types
We are currently Type 0


Responsabile: Giulio Sandini
Ente Finanziatore: ASI
This project is aimed at designing an experimental protocol and set-up for a microgravity experiment on the alfa space station. The specific objective is twofold:
The rationale of the projects comes from the fact that only in space such a research can be performed (it is impossible to eliminate gravity for a long period on earth) and the potentially strong influence of gravity on perceptual development. Technologically the main difficulty arises from the need to maintain a population of rats in space for as many generations as possible. This will be accomplished through robotics technology. The project is done in collaboration with the "Istituto Superiore di Sanita'" in Rome.
Back to past projects@LIRA


Prior to a couple of years ago, I’d never even heard of a “super moon.” Don’t get me wrong — I was well aware of the phenomenon itself. I’d just never heard the term “super moon” being used to refer to it, before. I suspect that a lot of others hadn’t as well.
In my own estimation, I believe that the proliferation of the term owes much to the modern popularity of social media. As, of course, the scientific term for the super-moon phenomenon: A perigee-syzygy of the Earth and Moon, just doesn’t come close to functioning as well at being effective social media clickbait!
A super-moon occurs, on average, about once every fourteen months, or so. However, due to the somewhat erratic nature of the moon cycle, it is possible to, sometimes, get a couple of occurrences close together. Such is the case with the upcoming super-moon scheduled to occur on September 9th — just four days away. In case you missed it, the last super-moon occurred just last month. On August 14th.
So, what is a super-moon, anyway? Or, speaking more scientifically, what is a perigee-syzygy of the Earth and Moon? And, how does one best capture photographs of this marvel? And, why would anyone want to?
I’ll get to the good stuff regarding how to photograph the supermoon in just a second. But, first, I think that — if you don’t already know — you should probably understand just what a super-moon is. You know? So you can better decide as to whether you really even want to go to all the bother of photographing it or not in the first place.
The moon is constantly orbiting around the Earth. And, in its orbital journey around our planet, its situation, in relation to both our view of it, and to the position of the sun, causes us to see the moon in different states of illumination, at different times. About once a month the moon occupies a position wherein it exists in opposition to our sun — that is, that it occupies a position wherein the moon hangs in the sky on the opposite side of the earth from where the sun is. When this happens, we see what’s called a full moon.
Along with this, the moon’s orbit around the earth is not perfectly circular. It’s actually elliptical in shape — like an oval. And, because of this, logically, the moon, at different times during one full orbit of the earth — which it completes about once every 27.3 days (called a sidereal month) — is, at any given point along its orbital path — either closer, or farther away from the Earth than at any other given point. And, at one point in the moon’s orbital path it’s the closest to Earth that it ever gets.
Now, this point along the moon’s elliptically shaped, orbital path around the earth, where the moon is the closest it ever gets to earth, may occur when the moon is in any given lunar phase. It might happen when there’s a half-moon visible in the sky, or a brand new moon, that appears as just a sliver, is visible in the sky. But, it also might happen exactly when the moon is full. And, when it does — when these two events occur at the same time — when the moon is at its closest position to earth that it ever reaches along its orbital path AND it happens to be a full moon, THAT is a super-moon. Or, a perigee-syzygy.
This convergence of the moon attaining its closest position to earth while, at the same time, appearing to us on earth as a full moon, happens, on average, about every fourteen months, or so. Although, as explained previously, sometimes you can get a couple of them occurring fairly close together. Or, at other times, the stretch between two consecutive ones occurring can be significantly greater than fourteen months apart. But, generally, they most often happen about once every fourteen months.
So, why would anyone want to photograph this phenomenon? And, if you do, what sort of tips for taking pictures of the super moon would be helpful to know in best understanding how to photography the supermoon?
People, understandably, love photographing the full-moon. It’s a beautiful, awe inspiring sight. And, of course, many photographers are naturally drawn toward attempting to capture such things in their photographs. The super-moon is the largest full-moon that occurs. It’s a full moon that happens at the precise moment when the moon is at its closest position to earth. So, at this time, the disc of the moon actually appears larger in the sky than it does at any other time.
But, how much larger? Spectacularly larger? Frighteningly larger? Well, no. Not quite. In fact, it appears so completely underwhelmingly larger that if you didn’t have prior knowledge that a super-moon was occurring, upon setting your gaze upon the super moon hanging in the sky, you’d almost certainly just think it was a regular, old full moon that you were looking at.
The moon does, actually, appear larger in the sky during a super-moon than at any other time, yes. But, the increase in visible size is so actually so minor that, unless the super-moon was hanging in the sky right next to an average sized full-moon, you wouldn’t notice anything noteworthy about the size of the super moon. If the two were hanging there, side by side, for easy visual comparison, an average person’s comment might be something along the lines of “Oh, yeah. I suppose it does look a little bigger, huh?”
So, whether or not you wish to go out of your way to photograph the super moon is entirely up to you. But, you should know, beforehand, that your photographs of the super-moon will not end up being any more, or less, noticeably spectacular than any photograph you might take of an ordinary, average, old, regular full moon.
Take any good photograph of any full moon that occurs, show it to people and tell them it’s a photograph of the super-moon. They wont know the difference. They wont know you’re lying. Nobody, but nobody — even the most experienced astronomer whose area of professional study focuses specifically on lunar phenomenon, who won a Nobel Prize for some discovery involving the orbital characteristics of the moon and delivered his PhD dissertation on the effects of lunar apogees — will be able to point at something in your photograph of a regular full-moon and say “That’s not a photograph of the super moon! That’s just a regular, old full moon!” Nobody!
However, if after reading all of that, and familiarizing yourself with the realities of the super-moon, you still want to photograph it — for documentary purposes, or whatever — and you’re still interested in tips for taking pictures of the super moon, then I’m happy to oblige, and provide you some:
Of course, the first, and most important thing to know is: any and all of the rules and/or tips for taking pictures of the super moon will be exactly the same as all of the rules and tips for best taking photos of any full moon. So, if you’re already well-versed in such, there’s no need to read any further. There really isn’t. If you know how to take good photographs of the moon, there’s nothing extra you need to know in order to take good photographs of the super moon — it’s all the same. If you’ve already mastered photographing the full moon well, then you’re already a master of photographing the super-moon. There’s no difference between the two, so just go out and shoot it!
But, if you’re not experienced or knowledgeable regarding how to best photograph the moon, I’ll give you the top tips for taking pictures of the super moon (and, any other sort of moon) that you should know here, but keep in mind that these tips work equally well for photographing the super-moon phenomenon, or just a regular full-moon. There are no specific ‘how to photograph the supermoon’ tips — there are only ‘how to photograph the moon’ tips.
Tips for Taking Pictures of the Super Moon:
Focal length: First off, I suppose the most important thing is that you use a telephoto lens, if you have one. And, the longer the focal length of your telephoto, really, the better if your primary interest is just in capturing the super moon itself.
There’s nothing that will more drastically and immediately add to the visual impact of your lunar photography than getting a big, huge moon disc into the frame of your picture. A short focal length just wont cut it. At 50mm, say, the moon is going to appear in your photograph as an entirely nondescript, featureless, small, white dot. Boring! At 100mm, it doesn’t get much better. You may pick up the hint of some lunar surface details, but your moon will still be tiny in the photo — underwhelming, to be sure.
A 200mm lens, in my personal opinion, would be the absolute minimum you’d want to shoot with. 400mm would be MUCH better. And, if you have it, an 800mm will really provide for some absolutely jaw-dropping moon shots. So, if you can get your hands on an 800mm telephoto lens, or larger — or, a good 400mm with an optical doubler, go for it!
Composition & compositing: Unless you’re using an 800mm or greater telephoto lens, your image is going to contain something else besides the moon. Anything less than 800mm at the minimum and the moon will not appear in your photograph of sufficient size that it will dominate the area of the photograph’s frame.
This means that, your photograph — in order to be an interesting photograph — will not simply be of just the super moon itself. Instead, it will be a photograph of a scene, with the super moon present in that scene.
This poses a problem, however. The super moon occurs at night. The moon is very, very bright in the night sky. And, of course, under such conditions, every thing else that will appear in your photograph is very, very… not bright. So, exposing the image for proper exposure of the super moon will render everything else in your photograph as black. If you’re using less than an 800mm, or greater, lens, then your resulting photograph is going to come out as a small looking moon surrounded by an ocean of inky blackness that contains no visual information at all.
To get a truly mind-blowing photograph of the super moon, you’re going to need a tripod, and a knowledge of how to bracket your shots for different exposures. You’re going to need to set your camera on its tripod and take one photo properly exposing for the moon, and another photo properly exposing for the picture’s foreground elements. Then, you’re going to need to merge those two photographs in Photoshop — or whatever image manipulation software you use — into one, single photo.
So, use a good, stable tripod, along with a remote shutter-release (in order to eliminate camera shake, and movement)
When taking your photo, understand that — unless you’re using a ridiculously long telephoto lens, or you’re shooting through a telescope — you’re not photographing the super moon, really. You’re photographing a scene that has the super moon in it — wherein the super is is just the primary focus, or subject, of a larger, wider photographic scene. And, as such, be sure to follow all of the basic rules for photographic composition that you normally would for taking any picture.
Camera settings: It’s best to set your camera into manual mode. Cameras are designed to best meter ordinary scenes with ordinary lighting. And, the super moon is no such thing. The unusual lighting conditions inherent in such a photo will seriously confuse your camera’s on-board metering computer. If you use an automatic mode, your super moon will appear as a blown-out white blob in your photograph. You don’t want that.
Set your camera to shoot at its base ISO. For most cameras this will be 100ISO. But, on some, it may be 200ISO. Set your aperture to f/8, or f/11. If you’re shooting at f/8, set your shutter-speed to 1/250 if you’re also shooting at 100ISO, or 1/500 if you’re shooting at 200ISO. If you choose to shoot at f/11, then your camera should be set to 1/125 shutter speed if also shooting at 100ISO, or 1/250 if shooting at 200ISO.
Focus your camera on the moon, and shoot. You can use your camera’s auto-focus, or you can simply go into manual focus and focus on infinity. Focusing on your lenses infinity setting with provide good focus for the moon. Just be careful, and know your lens! As, some lenses will allow you to actually focus PAST infinity. And, doing such will bring the super moon out of focus in your image. That’s no good. A nice, crisp, tack-sharp moon is imperative for a spectacular super moon photo!
Misc. tips: Remember about paying attention to your foreground objects — in most cases your photograph of the super moon will be a photograph of a scene that contains the super moon — not merely of the super moon itself. Well, that is, if your interest lies in capturing a truly stunning image of the super moon. If it lies in just documenting the super-moon, without worry regarding anyone being too impressed with the photograph, then you don’t need to worry so much about the surrounding elements, I suppose.
With this in mind, make sure to put some thought and effort into the composition of the entire scene — i.e., choose your foreground. Don’t just aim at the super moon and capture it with whatever foreground objects happen to be where you happen to be standing while taking the photo. Try to put your mind toward making an interesting and beautiful photograph. Choose the scene; choose the scenery.
Water works exceptionally well for this — exceptionally well. If you can get a river, lake, pond, large puddle, what have you, into the foreground, to catch the super moon’s reflection, it will go a long way in adding to the visual impact of the image. Any reflective surface will do the same. However, you may need to increase the bracketing of your shots. The reflective surfaces reflecting the moon, depending on how reflective they are, might be significantly brighter than other non-reflective elements in your scene, but still be significantly less bright than the moon itself. If this is the case, then simply taking and compositing two shots — one for proper exposure of the super moon, and one for proper exposure of non-reflective foreground objects — could result in blown-out moon reflections on the reflective surface. Or, underexposed, less than dazzling reflections. So, you may need to add a third exposure into your bracketing — one for proper exposure of the super moon’s reflections upon the reflective surfaces visible in your image.
Shoot in RAW! – If your camera has the ability to do so, shoot in RAW mode. The lighting conditions present in lunar photography are bizarre and unusual and it can be difficult to nail them in-camera. Especially if you don’t have a lot of experience doing such photography. If you don’t absolutely nail the exposures 100% when taking your super moon photos, if you shoot them in RAW mode, you’ll be able to adjust the image by a stop or two in Adobe Lightroom, or whatever RAW processing software you use, without compromising the final image quality significantly.
So, that’s it — some great tips for taking pictures of the super moon! The next super moon is coming up quickly. It’s happening on the night of September 9th, 2014 — so, get out there and get some pictures of it!
I’ll end off this article on tips for taking pictures of the super moon by providing some links to other lunar photography resources that I think you’ll find informative. But, if you’ve got any tips for taking pictures of the super moon of your own that you’d like to share, we’d love to read them, and would be very appreciative if you’d take the time to use the comment box provided below, so our other readers can benefit from your own tips or suggestions.
Good luck with capturing the super moon, and happy shooting!


Benedict Redgrove featured in a WIRED UK special with his epic work on NASA. Documented with his ALPA 12 MAX and STC.
Benedict Redgrove got featured with his images of NASA's spacecraft, robots and vehicles in an article of British cosmologist and astrophysicist Martin Rees for WIRED UK. Benedict is using ALPA 12 MAX and STC cameras.WIRED UK - November 2016: "...You are about to witness the future of Nasa. WIRED has been given exclusive access to document the space agency’s next products – as well as some classics that boldly took us here. These never-before-seen photographs are part of an eight-year project that took us deep inside its facilities. They show that, although shifts in funding priorities and the rise of commercial space travel are changing Nasa’s focus, its Journey to Mars project exemplifies how it's as dedicated as ever to pushing the boundaries of space travel. The photographs were taken by Benedict Redgrove, who visited three Nasa sites. He uses ALPA MAX and 12 STC cameras, stitching together multiple images to create photographs with an epic quality. “I shoot about 40 images,” he explains, “then layer them to achieve the highest definition.” Redgrove's project won’t be complete until 2018, but for now, immerse yourself in WIRED’s epic space journey. Ruby Lott-Lavigna..."WIRED UK was so kind to send us the complete article as high quality PDF:Where NASA Goes Next - WIRED UK, November 2016 - Full Rez 12.6 MBWhere NASA Goes Next - WIRED UK, November 2016 - Low Rez 2.9 MBLinksWIRED UKbenedictredgrove.comBenedict Redgrove on InstagramCopyrightArticle/text/graphics © WIRED UKImages © Benedict Redgrove
Copyright Benedict Redgrove


Off to the Moon? Don’t forget the Sextant!
“It is good to know what our species is capable of when it gets out of its own way”.
That was a comment I read recently, referring to the moon landings 50 years ago. But there’s a fascinating back story to the Apollo 11 adventure that is worthy of note for its pioneering spirit and sense of bravado and derring-do.
Neil Armstrong could not have said it better than “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind”. The amount of innovation and inventiveness required to overcome the technical challenges of getting man to the moon was astronomical in itself. Even so, some of the methods they employed have their roots in ancient navigation practices, and were not what one would expect to find in a spacecraft.
In the lead-up to the Apollo 11 moon landings, the Apollo 8 mission has been described as the most dangerous while carrying the most risks of the unknown. Apollo 8’s mission was to get to the moon, orbit it ten times, and return the astronauts safely back to earth, and for this they employed “inertial navigation”. This basically requires knowing where one is at the start of the journey and then tracking the direction and speed travelled using multiple gyro’s and accelerometers to calculate the current location.
Many mariners, especially old-timers like me, will recognize this as a spiffy version of DR (Dead Reckoning), where the same result on a boat is accomplished primarily using a compass and log. Modern navigational aids, like GPS, RDF, Loran, and others, give instant fixes that tell you where you are without the need to know historical data.
On the other hand, DR and Inertial Navigation are totally dependent on the accuracy of the instruments and the correct application of the data. Gyro’s and accelerometers are mechanical devices that are prone to a slight amount of drift, so on Apollo 8 there had to be some method of checking for errors and making adjustments. Wandering off track at sea might be a bit of a bother and lead to a surprise landing, whereas getting lost in space, where things look to be much the same wherever you are, would have more serious consequences. Unless, that is, there were a method of correcting the track now and again.
Navigating by DR on a boat, we can make corrections from depth readings, bearings, transits, etc., except when one is in the middle of an ocean with no reference points. That’s when a sextant would come in handy, if there happened to be one on board and, more importantly, if anyone knew how to use it. But you wouldn’t expect to find a sextant on a rocket ship to the moon, would you?
Yes, actually, that’s exactly what was installed in the Apollo 8 capsule, a space sextant. This resembled a pair of binoculars that was fixed in position, and was used to measure the angle between reference stars and the edge of the earth. Once a couple of fixes had been taken, they could be used to correct the inertial navigation’s assessment of the spacecraft’s location.
But how would the astronauts make those corrections to the Lost-in-Space-Era onboard computer? They also had to enter commands to steer and orientate the capsule, and since this was 1968, keyboards and mice weren’t in use back then.
The answer to this dilemma is so elegant in its simplicity that it’s difficult to believe it was used to send men to the moon and back. First, NASA came up with the idea of a membrane keypad that they coined a Display Keyboard, or DSKY for short. Then, to keep things simple, in addition to a numeric keypad, they designated two buttons to separate the actions of: 1) what to do, and 2) to what magnitude.
For instance they might want to turn the spacecraft 90 degrees to the right, so they’d hit button 1 and enter a code for “turn to the right”, and then hit button 2 and enter 90. So simple. But to simplify it even further, button 1 was labeled “Verb”, an “action” word, and button 2 was labeled “Noun”, a “thing”.
It was so simple, what could possibly go wrong? Well, even astronauts have finger-trouble it seems, and on the way back to earth, one of them accidently hit a sequence of keys that told the inertial navigation that they were back on earth. Oh No! Luckily, they managed to get out of that little pickle.
But don’t take my word for it. Do yourselves a favor and watch the spellbinding and brilliantly produced Nova documentary on Apollo 8 here: https://www.pbs.org/video/apollos-daring-mission-ntnwii/


IKEA have launched their 2015 catalogue spoofing the Apple Advt. The catalogue has been engineered to perfection with tacticle touch technology, eternal battery & others. At only 8mm thin & weighing in at less than 400g, the 2015 IKEA Catalogue comes pre-installed with thousands of home furnishing ideas.
Dell has jumped on the Selfie bandwagon with a new video called ‘Center for Selfie Improvement”. This video helps people how to take perfect selfie with various techniques. This is also posted on Dell Tumblr Blog @ http://dell.tumblr.com
NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman has shared the first Vine Video from the International Space Station. NASA which has been active on many social media platforms has had a great sucess in connecting with the people. This video is taken from about 250 miles above earth. Showing Sun setting over the earth. Recently Chris Hadfield recorded David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” & posted on youtube. This has got millions of views. NASA is also on instagram with great pics of the planet & our system.
The vine says
“1st Vine from space! Single Earth orbit. Sun never sets flying parallel w/terminator line #ISS #Exp40 @astro_alex”
Features Mario Götze, Eden Hazard, Thiago Silva, Andrea Pirlo, David Luiz, Andrés Iniesta, Thibaut Courtois, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr., Wayne Rooney, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Gerard Piqué, Gonzalo Higuaín, and Tim Howard.
Tag with #RiskEverything — http://www.nike.com/riskeverything


We are excited to announce a SPECIAL EDITION of AoTATX on Monday, June 5th. #AoTATX32 will offer three exciting talks on a range of exciting topics presented by astronomers from around the country visiting Austin for the American Astronomical Society's 230th meeting. The awesome speakers we have confirmed include Dr. Jackie Faherty, an expert in the field of brown dwarfs and exoplanet atmospheres, Prof. Konstantin Batyginwho is the originator of the search for Planet 9, and Dr. Bonnie Meinke, a planetary scientists and outreach astronomer for the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes.
#AoTATX32 will be hosted by our Host Binary Stars, A$AP Rocky Planet (Raquel Martinez) and AstroBoz (Dr. Brandon Bozek)! In addition, #AoTATX32 will feature Astronomy in the News, trivia, and some brand new giveaways. Finally, we will have telescopes on hand to look for exciting objects in the night sky (weather permitting)! Join us for a night full of astronomy fun over pints of beer!
As always, AoTATX is FREE and open to all ages! The North Door bar opens at 6pm. The show starts at 7:30pm. Find us on Facebook (Astronomy on Tap ATX) and Twitter (@AoTATX).