What's Up? The Space Place

Hey Space Placers! Got this from NASA contacts a few days ago and wanted to share it with you. I hope you will tune in to the links as they really show how ISS benefits us here on Earth. From NASA: Always on the lookout for good products and content to share, we’re pleased to share a video that highlights how the International Space Station is impacting the lives of people around the globe through its evolving role as a groundbreaking platform for scientific research. We are finding that many people are quite interested in the benefits of space for life on Earth. The newest of the "Benefits to Humanity" video series, this 6 minute video takes you on the high seas of the frigid Atlantic for a glimpse at how technology onboard the space station is making travel on the waves a safer place -  watch the video here  - and please share it with others at your site, professionals in your field, and even your family and friends! In a nutshell, the Vessel-ID System investigat...

Hey Space Placers! Tune in to the sky tonight and tomorrow night to watch the Moon move in on Saturn and Mars. The two planets are keeping each other company in the west and the Moon will make a nice addition to the sky scene. You can also get an idea about how far the Moon moves in the sky from night to night by watching tonight and tomorrow. Enjoy! Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Tune in today, 8/29/14 at Slooh to see Neptune - starting at 8 p.m. EDT - and asteroid 2002 CU11 at midnight EDT (8/30/14). Slooh will be on the Internet streaming live views of these solar system objects using a telescope in the Canary Islands. Neptune is at opposition tonight, or directly across from the Sun and 2002 CU11 is making a close approach to Earth. Enjoy the show! Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! NASA made an announcement on July 31st as to what the agency's next Martian rover will comprise. You can read about the Mars 2020 Rover here . With new instruments and exploration objectives this new rover will build upon the experiences and discoveries of previous Red Planet explorers. The new rover will be primarily based on the nuclear powered Curiosity Rover/Lab but will feature changes in chassis and I am sure wheel design. Curiosity's wheels have actual gaping holes in them caused by the tortuous and rocky terrain it has been traveling over. NASA's Maven mission will be arriving at Mars next month on the 21st and all is GO on the spacecraft. Finally, here is a VERY COOL poster from NASA and how they intend to get HUMANS to Mars : Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Sorry I missed you yesterday but I came down off the mountain from NOVAC' s Almost Heaven Star Party and had to unpack after 4 days being in a tent, etc., etc. Here is my have pic I took of the summer Milky Way: People really like it and it has been published:  http://d1jqu7g1y74ds1.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/CLouds-Above-Clouds-Below.jpg I am going to be at Shenandoah National Park tonight at Big Meadows Lodge 9 pm giving my next talk in the "Let's Talk About Space in the Shenandoah National Park", "So, You Want To Be An Astrophotographer?" We will also be at Big Meadows afterwards having a star session. Looks like it will be clear so people can see the Milky Way for themselves. More pics coming of the sky from AHSP soon. Sky Guy back in VA

Hey Space Placers! UPDATE: New NASA Press Release Hopefully you have been able to tune in to the news conferences on NASA's New Horizons missions that I blogged about yesterday. I was not able to as I am listening to talks and getting ready to hopefully see the sky tonight at the Almost Heaven Star Party . I am giving a talk tonight on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and after that it is out to MY telescope which I have set up: Today is a big day in New Horizons' mission as the spacecraft crosses the orbit of Neptune and next up will be Pluto at closest approach on July 14, 2015. Yesterday was a landmark date for Pluto as well…. it was the 8th anniversary of Pluto being reclassified as a dwarf planet . I am wearing my "RIP Pluto" T shirt to commemorate the event. Here's to clear skies and as tropics tonight. Sky Guy In WVA

Hey Space Placers! Still living inside the clouds here at Almost Heaven Star Party! Was real windy last night and it is a total "in the clouds" day today. NASA will be carrying live on the Internet two different sessions tomorrow , 8-25-14, on its New Horizons mission to Pluto. The sessions will run 1-2 pm EDT and 2-3 pm EDT. You can submit your questions via social media also. Sky Guy Living in the Clouds in WVA

Hey Space Placers! As I prepare to give my talk on "The Future of U.S. Manned Spaceflight" today at Almost Heaven Star Party, two incidents remind us that getting to space is not easy. The European Space Agency (ESA) announced today that two of their Galileo GPS satellites that were just launched on 8/22/14 by a Soyuz rocket   are in the wrong orbit. The satellites are under control and safe. ESA is assessing the situation and will decide on the appropriate course of action. A Space X Falcon 9R rocket exploded on Friday during a fight test . The F9R is designed to be a reusable rocket and Elon Musk commented in a Tweet after the incident that "Rockets are Tricky". Both of these incidents show us that access to space is not easy. Each organization will review data and telemetry to determine what happened, make corrections and try again. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! I'm heading out to AHSP . It is cloudy and will be for the next few days :-( But there is still plenty to do there. If it is clear tomorrow morning make sure you get up before dawn and view the splendid trio of Venus, Jupiter and the waning crescent Moon in the East. They will form a big, bright triangle and the Moon will have Earthshine I am sure. I will be sharing (I hope) pics & tales from AHSP with you over the coming days. Sky Guy on the way to AHSP!

Hey Space Placers! I'm getting ready for the 2014 Almost Heaven Star Party . I honestly can't remember the last time when I went to a star party WITH my telescope. I've been to many as a speaker - I'll be talking about NASA's Manned Spaceflight Program and James Webb Space Telescope at AHSP. I should have Internet while at AHSP so I can stay in touch. I wanted to tell you about a neat fund raiser by the good folks of Uwingu - the same folks that are taking names for Martian craters to make a "people's map of Mars". I have a crater named 'REDFERN' that is in Gale Crater where Curiosity is located: Redfern Named  by   gredfern 2014-02-27 Diameter:   6.61 km (4.11 mi) Latitude:   -6.37 ° N,  Longitude:   137.12 ° E District:   3377 ,  Province:   405 Citation:   Named for the family of "SkyGuyinVA" Greg Redfern, a NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador, cruise ship lecturer, space contributor to WTTG and WTOP and "Wh...

Hey Space Placers! Tune in today at 5:30-6:30 p.m. EDT for a NASA live Webcast on Ancient Earth & Habitable Planets . Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Here is a fascinating article on new research done by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NOAJ) that shows the Moon's deepest mantle layer is still hot. When we look at the Moon we are seeing the outermost layer of the Moon, the crust. Underneath the crust lies the mantle and then at the very center of the Moon the core. This structure, although vastly different in size and scope, is the same for the Earth. The Moon and Earth are locked in a gravitational sequence that produces tides which affect both the Moon and Earth. The research done by an international team shows that the deepest interior of the mantle is soft due to this tidal heating. Our view of the Moon has changed from being a dry, dead and geologically dormant world to one where water exists, a tenuous atmosphere and now interior heat. The Moon beckons us to return to explore and I believe inhabit it. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! We had a capacity crowd at Big Meadows Lodge at Shenandoah National Park to learn about the James Webb Space Telescope. Families with kids, couples and attendees from international venues enjoyed learning about the space telescope successor to Hubble. It was cloudy at the Park last night but what really struck me was how QUIET it was. There were lots of people staying in the campsites and the lodge where we were but the quiet was surreal. It made me realize how precious a commodity silence is in modern times. We saw license plates from FL, VA, PA, NJ, NY, MN, CA and MD. People were riding bikes - one gent from the Netherlands was taking on the fluctuating terrain of Skyline Drive - to families riding together. The campgrounds are a mixture of tent and RV separate sites. It was neat to see people and their campsite set ups. Nothing beats the smell of a campfire in the wilderness air. It was cloudy so we could not have our star party that follows my talk an...

Hey Space Placers! Heading up to the mountains. Tonight I will be at Shenandoah National Park's Big Meadow's Lodge at 9 p.m. to talk about NASA's James Webb Space Telescope . This is the 3rd in the "Let's Talk About Space at Shenandoah National Park" . Don't forget to look for Jupiter & Venus tomorrow morning - see yesterday's blog for details. Oh, and here's my first astropic with my new 80mm f/5 short refractor from last night: Looking forward to getting more pics with this 'scope. Sky Guy in the Mountains of SNP

Hey Space Placers! If you have not seen Venus and Jupiter in the morning sky before dawn yet, you need to set the alarm for about 45 minutes before sunrise, get out and look. See my previous  blog for background and a pic. At their closest on the morning of August 18th the two brightest planets in the solar system will be  close enough to view in a telescope at low magnification - that is close. Depending on your viewing location they will be separated by a 1/2 of a degree or less - the size of your little finger at arms-width. Sky & Telescope  The key to seeing the planetary pair is having a clear view of the ENE horizon and hopefully no intervening clouds or haze close to the horizon. If you have binoculars they will enhance the view immensely. You can read more about this skywatching treat  here   and here . I'll be up at Shenandoah National Park on Sunday, August 17th, giving my 3rd "Let's Talk About Space at Shenandoah National Park" pr...

Hey Space Placers! 7 possible specks of Interstellar Dust have been retrieved from NASA's  2006 Stardust Mission. If confirmed this would be an impressive addition to our knowledge of the environment between the stars. Here   is an excellent news release on the potential find and its implications. Scientists have discovered supernova remnant material in the interior of the Allende Meteorite and others. Have a good weekend and be sure to look at Jupiter and Venus - see my blog from yesterday. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Supermoon (one more next month) and the Perseids have come and gone. But there is a real skywatcher's treat in the predawn sky for the next several days. Bright Jupiter is moving out of the Sun's glare while Venus is sinking lower in the east each day. This will make for a fascinating view in the sky before dawn culminating on the 18th when the two are very close together. We see this movement as a result of planetary motion. Venus, Earth and Jupiter all orbit the Sun in their  gravity defined paths or orbits. This changes the view of the planets every day. Jupiter will be in our evening sky and Venus will transition from the morning to evening sky in the coming months. In my picture that I took at Shenandoah National Park yesterday, 8/13/14, you can see Jupiter in the lower left while Venus dominates the sky scene to the upper right. To see the planetary duo you need to have a clear view of the eastern horizon and need to start looking around 5:...

Hey Space Placers! Tonight is the predicted peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower. It looks like DMV will be clouded out BUT you can LISTEN for them on the Internet via  space radar  - a favorite activity of mine - anytime up until the shower ends sometime after August 13. This includes day time hours as well. NASA will have a live Internet chat at 11 p.m. EDT and streaming (weather permitting) at 9:30 p.m. EDT so  you can    VIEW them via NASA . The almost Full Moon is in the sky all night and will dampen this year’s   Perseid Meteor Shower   but the brighter meteors will still be visible . Each year during August the cometary debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle intersects the Earth and produces a wonderful display of falling or shooting stars - meteors. These bits of comet dust, about the size of a grain of sand, hit our atmosphere at 140,000 miles per hour!   At a dark sky site with no Moon present one can count on seeing up to a 100 meteors ...

Hey Space Placers! I hope you had a chance to get in the hoopla around the world regarding Supermoon Sunday - see my blog from 8-10-14 for details. It was wonderful - to me - to see such a reaction to a splendid astronomical event. I watched the Supermoon from 1/4 mile above New York City on the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building and took this pic with my iPhone: We have one more Supermoon next month so here's to clear skies! Sky Gut Back in VA

Hey Space Placers! Tonight is the night for Supermoon Sunday  . I hope your skies will be clear where you live so you can see this fun and beautiful event. I will be at the top of the Empire State Building in New York City to watch the Moon rise and hopefully get a pic to share with you. Wish me luck! Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Get the low down on Supermoon Sunday (8/10/14) and the ongoing Perseid Meteor shower here  Here's to clear skies! Sky Guy in NYC

Hey Space Placers! Two weeks from today, August 22nd, is the start of the 10th annual Northern Virginia Astronomy Club's (NOVAC)      "Almost Heaven Star Party"  (AHSP) . If you are in the DMV and love astronomy, telescopes, star parties and getting together with other like minded people at a dark sky site - this is YOUR event. The Milky Way is REALLY something to see at the West Virginia location of The Mountain Institute where AHSP is held. AHSP MILKY WAY AT SUNSET BY NOVAC-LESNICK I will be there with my telescopes - yes that is plural - as I bought a short 80mm f/5 refractor to obtain wide field views and astropics. I will be giving a talk on "The Future of U.S. Manned Spaceflight". There is a great lineup of other speakers and topics as well as fun excursions during the day and night. I hope to see you all there. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Been making the media rounds today about our next "Let's Talk About Space at Shenandoah National Park". Enjoy our Fox 5 segment . I'll have more on Supermoon Sunday and the Perseids this weekend. Try and get out to see the Perseids each night until the predicted peak on the night of 12-13 August. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! I am back and on line again from New Orleans. My humble and sincere thanks for putting my blog at OVER 1 MILLION page views! Thank you! Today the European Space Agency (ESA) successfully rendezvoused its Rosetta spacecraft with Comet 67/P after a daring 10 year flight. The images being transmitted are simply stunning. The detail we can see will only get better as Rosetta gets closer and lands its Philae Lander in the near future. We will have a ringside seat as Rosetta follows 67/P as it nears the Sun and begins to "turn on" due to the heat from the Sun. Get the latest on Rosetta  - ESA Sky Guy Back in VA

Hey Space Placers! I have been in New Orleans and very busy and unable to blog - sorry. Lots of family here for an event and it has been go, go, go. It will be that way for the next few days as well. I did get to NASA's John C. Stennis Center and Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) on Wednesday and I am still coming down from that incredible day. I accomplished so many personal wishes by be able to TOUCH, yes TOUCH, the following: A Saturn V F-1 engine; A Saturn V S-IC stage (the first stage of the Saturn V that had five F-1 engines); J2-X engine S/N 003 - the development rocket engine for the upper stage of the Space Launch System (SLS); One of the three ORIGINAL Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) that powered the very first Space Shuttle mission - STS-1 Columbia; I also got to tour the Test Stands at Stennis that were used to static fire the F-1, SSMEs, J2-X and will soon test fire the RS-25 rocket engine that will power the SLS. The RS-25 is a SSME with an upgraded flig...