FULL MOON AFFECTING YOUR SLEEP????

 Hey, Space Placers!

As if we didn't have enough affecting our sleep!!!!

Full Moon

Greg Redfern

Now research indicates that the Full Moon may be a contributing factor to less sleep!

Sky Guy in VA

THE CAUSE OF DEATH OF THE DINOSAURS CONFIRMED

 Hey, Space Placers!

The asteroid impact led to the extinction of 75% of life, including all non-avian dinosaurs. 

Credit: Willgard Krause/Pixabay.

It has been known for some time that the dinosaurs got wiped out by an impact event that literally set the whole planet on fire followed by sunlight being blocked out for years by all of the soot and debris in the atmosphere.

There is a geologic marker that exists everywhere on the planet that corresponds to this impact event known as the KT layer. I have stuck my finger in the KT layer in Colorado and seen it up close and personal. 

The KT Layer in Colorado (Not my finger)

Greg Redfern

The only thing missing to seal the cause of death was the crater caused by the impact and whether it was death by comet or asteroid. 

The crater was discovered years ago and the impactor type has been conclusively proven to be an asteroid about seven miles across that hit in the Yucatan Penisula 66 million years ago.

The planet is at risk for impacts and in fact gets hit every single day by cosmic debris. Some of it explodes in the atmosphere and some of it makes it to the ground as meteorites. I can guarantee you that there is cosmic dust on your roof at some point and quite possibly in your hair if you spend a lot of time outdoors hatless.

Earth will get clobbered again with a "Big One" or perhaps just a city killer. This is an absolute certainty in the 4 billion years the planet has left before it dies due to the Sun's death throes.

Astronomers and space agencies watch the skies and develop space missions and response scenarios for planetary defense.

As I always tell my audiences, "The dinosaurs are dead because they didn't have telescopes or a space program".....

Sky Guy in VA

PERCY LANDING VIDEO AND MORE.....

 Hey Space Placers!

Percy (Mars Perseverance Rover) is safely on Mars and this video shows how it was done in amazing clarity.

Percy's microphones also recorded sounds from Mars! Amazing to hear wind from the Red Planet.

A panoramic color view of Percy's landing site taken on 2/22/21. See more pictures here.

Percy will be providing much, much more in the mission for us to see, hear and learn about Mars.

Stay tuned!

Sky Guy in VA

THE EIGHTH CONTINENT BECKONS

 Hey Space Placers!

Watch this cool video about using the Moon, what many call the Eighth Continent, as a refueling station. This could revolutionize our ability to colonize the Moon and explore the solar system.

Several nations are actively pursuing lunar exploration programs and some are planning on sending humans there. We must do so if we as a species are to survive and thrive.

Sky Guy in VA

MARS ROVER PERSEVERANCE IS SAFELY ON MARS

 Hey, Space Placers!

Yesterday was a glorious day as Mars Result over Perseverance safely landed on Mars at Jezero Crater.

Check out the pics sent back.

More as the mission develops.....

Sky Guy in VA

Seven Minutes of Terror for Mars Perseverance Rover

 Hey Space Placers!

If NASA’s newest mission to Mars, Perseverance Rover https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasa-s-next-mars-rover-is-ready-for-the-most-precise-landing-yet , survives the harrowing “Seven Minutes of Terror”

   

to make a successful landing Thursday, Mars Curiosity Rover https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/home/  will no longer be the sole active Rover on the Red Planet. 

Landing at Jezero Crater is scheduled for approximately 3:55 p.m. EST but NASA won’t know if their newest Rover is alive or dead for another 11 minutes, 22 seconds. That is how long it takes the telemetry from Perseverance to reach Earth traveling at the speed of light - 186,00 miles PER SECOND. 

As stated by NASA, “Jezero is a basin where scientists believe an ancient river flowed into a lake and deposited sediments in a fan shape known as a delta. Scientists think the environment here was likely to have preserved signs of any life that gained a foothold billions of years ago – but Jezero also has steep cliffs, sand dunes, and boulder fields. Landing on Mars is difficult – only about 50% of all previous Mars landing attempts have succeeded – and these geological features make it even more so. The Perseverance team is building on lessons from previous touchdowns and employing new technologies that enable the spacecraft to target its landing site more accurately and avoid hazards autonomously.”

Mars Perseverance Rover is the most sophisticated mission yet sent to the Martian surface and carries the first ever helicopter (drone) to another planet. At some point the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/6-things-to-know-about-nasas-ingenuity-mars-helicopter    will attempt powered flight and will return video and data. THAT will be something to see. 

Commentary starts live at 2:15 p.m. EST on NASA TV https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive . There are other social media outlets and activities you can participate in https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/timeline/landing/ .

This mission has a direct and very personal connection for Northern Virginia https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2021/02/va-student-who-named-mars-rover-excited-for-mission-broadcast/  you may not have known about. 

Also Krispy Kreme is offering “Mars Donuts” on Thursday to celebrate NASA’S latest mission to Mars. https://wtop.com/food-restaurant/2021/02/krispy-kreme-offering-limited-edition-mars-doughnut-to-celebrate-nasas-rover-landing/ 

With winter storms very likely keeping us indoors Thursday, tune in and cross your fingers for this epic event. Before the live commentary begins watch this excellent video on the mission.

 

Go Perseverance!

Sky Guy in VA

MEET FARFAROUT

Hey Space Placers!

Learn all about FARFAROUT, currently the the most distant known object in the Solar System. 

This illustration imagines what the distant object nicknamed “Farfarout” might look like in the outer reaches of our Solar System. The most distant object yet discovered in our Solar System, Farfarout is 132 astronomical units from the Sun, which is 132 times farther from the Sun than Earth is. Estimated to be about 400 kilometers (250 miles) across, Farfarout is shown in the lower right, while the Sun appears in the upper left. The Milky Way stretches diagonally across the background.

Credit:

NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva

As we get bigger telescopes and James Webb Space Telescope operational there will be solar system objects farther out that will beat FarFarOut's distance. THAT is pretty exciting!

Sky Guy in VA