What's Up? The Space Place

Hey Space Placers! I am enroute to join Holland America's Statendam for a 16-day cruise from Lima, Peru to San Diego, CA. This is a bit of a nostalgic trip as I gave my first cruise lectures on Statendam 17 years ago during the 2/98 total solar eclipse in the southern Caribbean with Sky & Telescope and a number of other Scientific Expeditions lecturers that are now friends, including WTTG Fox 5's Sue Palka. She and her cameraman Joe caught the eclipse on wet film (no digital) and got it off the ship in time for the 10 o'clock news in DC. HAL Statendam Image courtesy of www.shipspotting.com I hope to see the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds which are the largest dwarf galaxies to our Milky Way Galaxy - this is on my bucket list to do so. I also hope to see and photograph as well the Southern Cross and the incredible southern Milky Way. As usual I can't say how well the Internet will hold up but I will try to post each day to share the sky and hopefull...

Hey Space Placers! WOW! They - Scott Kelly, Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka - are in orbit after a flawless launch from night time Russia at 3:42 p.m. EDT, March 27, 2015. Their Russian made rocket and Soyuz spacecraft performed perfectly to get the trio into space and begin the six-hour chase to rendezvous and dock with the International Space Station which currently has three crew members aboard.   WTOP Radio spoke live with Astronauts Terry Virts and Samantha Cristoferetti two weeks ago . Off to Work NASA Both Scott and Mikhail (Misha) are beginning their epic ' One Year In Space' Mission that will provide medical data on two humans' long term exposure to space. This acquisition of medical data is pivotal to identifying medical issues for humans on a projected 500 day mission to Mars and ways to overcome them. I have always said that is is really human issues, not technical issues, that will make getting humans to Mars so difficult. As an added medic...

Hey Space Placers! I actually have TWO items to add to this update from my 3/24/15 blog. One is that Mars Rover Opportunity just finished the 1st ever MARATHON on Mars as stated by NASA, "by driving  26.219 miles (42.195 kilometers) -- with a finish time of roughly 11 years and two months."  NASA A Red Planet Record that will last for some time as NASA's other Rover Curiosity has a LONG way to go in terms of time and distance to meet and beat Oppie's record. Meanwhile in orbit around Mars NASA's newest mission to the Red Planet, the  Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft,  as stated by NASA, " has observed two unexpected phenomena in the Martian atmosphere: an unexplained high-altitude dust cloud and aurora that reaches deep into the Martian atmosphere". Artist's Conception of Mars Aurora NASA These discoveries only further heighten scientists' interest in the Red Planet's atmosphere. One thing is...

Hey Space Placers! NASA's Curiosity rover has made a very interesting find on the Red Planet. Curiosity Selfie NASA Using its onboard sample laboratory Curiosity has detected Nitrogen which is a biologically useful element for life as we know it.  The discovery was made after a sample was heated up and analyzed.  This is further evidence that the location where Curiosity has been exploring, Gale Crater, was habitable for life in the distant past. There is no evidence to support that this Nitrogen was caused by biological processes currently ongoing at Mars as the planet is deemed inhospitable for life. But we know that Mars in its ancient past had loads of water - in fact new research just published states that there was enough water on the planet 4 billion years ago to cover all land to a depth of 140 meters! It is more probable that there was an ocean that held the majority of the water and some depths could have reached 1.6 km. Credit: ESO/M. Kornm...

Hey Space Placers! We had a wonderful audience of 80-90 at the Peaks of Otter last night listening to my talk on "The Future of U.S. Manned Spaceflight." The sky was so-so but clear enough for us to go outside and see the brighter stars. The tree frogs were LOUD (wonderful!!!) and a lone owl Hoo-Hooed for a magical time. Next Friday a new 3 person crew will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS) with two of them earmarked to spend a full year on board instead of the usual six months.  American Astronaut  Scott Kelly  and Russian Cosmonaut  Mikhail Kornienko  will provide crucial data with their bodies about what happens to humans in long duration exposure to spaceflight. This will help fill in gaps in our knowledge that will be necessary for making manned flights deep into space. An added bonus to this knowledge to be gained by this mission is the fact that Scott Kelly has an identical twin, Mark Kelly, that is a retire...

Hey Space Placers! Been watching March Madness and my UCLA Bruins and UVA Cavaliers ARE IN! New Horizons Pluto System Flyby NASA The New Horizons Mission to Pluto Team needs your help in coming up with names for features they are GOING TO FIND when they flyby Pluto and its moons in the coming months. The Team wants to have a library of names to draw from because the features are going to come fast and furious, especially at closest approach on July 14, 2015. Get all the information here    and vote for your favorites by April 7, 2015. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! There will be a total solar eclipse on 3/20/15 for viewers in the Arctic and Northern Europe locations. It is not visible from the U.S. Sky & Telescope illustration; source: Fred Espenak Details about the eclipse are here: http://www.space.com/28861-total-solar-eclipse-march20-safety.html http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/march-20-total-solar-eclipse-030620152/?et_mid=732921&rid=246413889 http://astro.ukho.gov.uk/eclipse/0112015/ Internet viewers can watch the eclipse live   starting at 4:30 a.m. EDT. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Today, 3/18/2015, marks the 50th anniversary of the first walk in space. This daring feat was accomplished by USSR Cosmonaut Alexi Leonov. Take a wonderful photographic tour    to see how far we have come. Astronaut Selfie NASA By the way I never did see the Aurora get down to VA or any other state in the mid latitudes. But it was fun looking and following NOAA & Tweeting live. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! The Earth was hit by a major solar storm today    that has made Aurora, the glowing Northern Lights, visible in many Northern Hemisphere locations including Europe, the U.S. and the International Space Station (ISS). Aurora from ISS 3/17/15 Astronaut Terry Virts Check here to see if the Aurora will be visible tonight from your location. Take your camera out and try to get some time exposures from a tripod. I last saw Aurora in VA (and photographed them) in 2003. Let me know if you see any. Sky Guy in Hopefully Clear VA

Hey Space Placers! I have had several blogs on the Rosetta Mission and its Philae Lander that touched down on Comet 67P but landed in a shady spot. Phil had to shut down due to lack of power from its solar cells. Comet 67P is getting closer to the Sun and the angles of sunlight are changing on the comet so Philae might wake up if she gets enough solar power to charge her batteries. Rosetta is trying to make contact with Philae   and will continue to do so. Tune in to this wonderful video that gives background on Rosetta and Philae. I sure hope Philae wakes up as I got attached to that daring little spacecraft that could. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! On Friday, March 13, 2015 WTOP anchors Debra Feinstein and Mark Lewis did a LIVE 10-minute interview with NASA Astronaut Terry Virts and European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut Samantha (Sam) Cristoforetti aboard the International Space Station (ISS) .  Debra & Mark Talking LIVE to Terry and Sam Greg Redfern WTOP had set up a live blog page in advance so that our audience could send in their questions to ask Terry and Sam. The response was gratifying especially with the number of students from kindergarten and up that sent in wonderful questions. Several of the students’ questions were asked and then answered by Terry and Sam, all to the thrill I am sure, of classrooms in the DMV.   I was fortunate to be in the ‘Glass Enclosed Nerve Center’ with Debra and Mark while they did the interview and watched Terry and Sam on NASA TV. The clarity of the reception during the interview was amazing - it was better than a cell phone or landline - es...

Hey Space Placers! I'll be writing a more in depth column on the wonderful experiences I had regarding the LIVE Interview of astronauts Terry Virts and Samantha (Sam) Cristoferetti aboard the International Space Station (ISS) - see my 3-13-15 blog for background. But in case you missed it here is the 10 minute segment . It is worth a listen. Sky Guy in Clearing VA

Hey Space Placers! March 13, WTOP will be carrying a LIVE 10-minute interview at 10:20 am EDT with two astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) . WTOP will be talking live with NASA Astronaut Terry Virts and European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut Samantha (Sam) Cristoforetti Listen Live today: http://wtop.com/listen-live/ You can follow ISS , Terry and Sam on Twitter as I do. Terry and Sam have Tweeted gorgeous and stunning pictures from ISS. By the way, you can actually see ISS fly over your location by subscribing to Spot The Station . It is a beautiful sight, especially when you realize you are looking at a million pounds of space hardware and six humans 250 miles up traveling at 17,500 miles per hour! Sky Guy at WTOP Today

Hey Space Placers! Tomorrow (3/11/15) at 11:00 a.m. EDT you will want to tune in to NASA TV to watch the live test firing of NASA's newest Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) . The test, QM-1, will last two minutes and be a full up firing of the new and improved and more powerful SRB that will be used to launch NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) . QM-1 SRB Image Credit: Orbital ATK As Al Shepard said, "Let's Light This Candle!" This will be something to hear and see as 3.6 MILLION pounds of thrust blast into the Utah desert. Sky Guy in VA - Home of Orbital ATK

Hey Space Placers! FINALLY I think winter has gasped its last cold breath for us on the US East Coast. I am hoping skies will clear so I can get the telescope and camera out. In the meantime NASA is holding celebrations this month leading up to the 25th anniversary (hard to believe it's been that long) of the launching of Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Yes, HST turns 25 next month and is still going strong. It is not known how long HST will continue to operate but it is a good bet that NASA and its partners will keep the space telescope going as long as they can before they have to deorbit HST for safety. Check out this listing of events from NASA. There will be more next month. Be sure to vote for your favorite HST photo ! You have until April 6th. This fun event mimics March Madness in NCAA Basketball by having brackets and HST photos in "playoffs" against each other - brilliant idea. Sky Guy Waiting For Clear Skies in VA

Hey Space Placers! UPDATE: The late Leonard Nimoy,  "Mr. Spock",  narrated a neat video  about the Dawn mission in 2007. It explains what the mission would do and how the ion propulsion engine works. Robert Mase, right, project manager for the Dawn mission at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, speaks at news conference, with Carol Raymond, deputy project scientist at JPL, left, at JPL in Pasadena on Monday, March 2, 2015. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is scheduled to slip into orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres on Friday, the last stop in a nearly eight-year journey. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) Read all about today's historic arrival at dwarf planet Ceres. I'll be following these and other missions and sharing with you. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! The International Space Station (ISS) does a lot of research in a variety of fields including medicine. One of the biggest medical issues facing humanity is dreaded Alzheimer's which gradually robs a person of their mind and their very self. In the U.S. a new diagnosis is made every 67 seconds! Research is currently being conducted aboard ISS that will help to determine the origins of the disease which may ultimately help researchers find a cure or way to combat the disease. Sky Guy in Snow Covered & Soon to be SINGLE DIGIT TEMPS VA

Hey Space Placers! NASA's premier on Mars science lab/rover Curiosity is undergoing diagnostic tests following a transient short circuit on February 27, 2015. This raw-color view from Curiosity's Mastcam shows the rover's drill just after finishing a drilling operation at "Telegraph Peak" on Feb. 24, 2015. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS As a result the rover will remain stationary while these tests are done to see what caused the event and what the fix may be. The rover is not in any immediate distress. Curiosity has been on Mars for over a year and is in the Gale Crater making her way along the slopes of Mount Sharp. I'll let you know further developments. Sky Guy in Soon To Be Snow Covered (AGAIN) VA

Hey Space Placers! Been awhile since I posted anything on the amazing Rosetta mission, so check this out: That rectangular black shape you see at the bottom of this pic is of the Rosetta SPACECRAFT. I really can't recall another mission where the spacecraft's shadow was recorded on the surface of the celestial body it was orbiting. This remarkable pic shows the surface of Comet 67P as it appeared on Valentine's Day 2015. Rosetta will be orbiting the comet while it gets closer and closer to the Sun. What a ring side seat we are going to have! Sky Guy in CLOUD COVERED VA

Hey Space Placers! I am a Trekkie dating back to the original 3-season TV show 'Star Trek ' that aired on NBC 1966-69, I THINK on Monday nights. I NEVER missed an episode. It was such a groundbreaking series that was created by a former Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) patrolman named Gene Roddenberry . As a street officer in LA I am sure he saw plenty to give him reason to envision a better world for humanity and Star Trek was the result I believe of those images.  Star Trek dealt with racism, interracial mixing of the sexes - the 1st EVER kiss of a white man (Capt. Kirk) and black woman (Uhura) on TV took place on Star Trek, poverty, communism vs democracy, the cold war, space-time and a host of other themes. I can honestly say I never saw a bad episode and each caused me pause to think and ponder. In 1966 I was in full astronomy mode to follow in 1968 with telescope and camera. NASA was in full swing to get to the Moon and astronauts were flying Mercury, Gemini and...