What's Up? The Space Place

Hey Space Placers! To honor the upcoming 50th anniversary of the iconic Apollo 8 mission to the Moon , the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has named two craters on the far side of the moon "8 Homeward" and "Anders' Earthrise". CAPTION The  Earthrise  colour photograph taken by astronaut  William Anders . It depicts the moment that our shiny blue Earth came back into view as the spacecraft emerged out of the dark from behind the grey and barren Moon. This is arguably the most famous picture taken by Apollo 8. It became iconic and has been credited with starting the environmental movement. Two of the crates seen in this photo have just been named by the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN) of the International Astronomical Union. Credit: NASA/IAU I will be doing a special write up for Apollo 8's 50th, but suffice it to say this image is in all probability the most famous of all from Apoll...

Hey Space Placers! The International Astronomical Union (IAU), the organization responsible for naming astronomical objects, has invited public organizations to name exoplanets and their stars. Here is a portion of the press release from IAU: The IAU invites all public organisations with an interest in astronomy to register on the IAU Directory for World Astronomy website for the NameExoWorlds contest, where they will in early 2015 be able to suggest names for exoplanets and their host stars. For the first time in history the public will then be able to vote for the official name of stars and planets. The IAU Directory for World Astronomy will function as a permanent platform for the global astronomical community. The deadline for registration for the contest is 31 December 2014. Details of the registration procedure can be found on the website . Eligible organisations include: planetariums, science centres, amateur astronomy clubs, online astronomy platforms, but also non-prof...

Hey Space Placers! Still mad about Pluto's demotion to minor planet status? Want to learn more about the whole "what is a planet" debate? Tonight at 7:30 p.m. EDT is you chance as the  HARVARD-SMITHSONIAN CENTER FOR ASTROPHYSICS (CfA) hosts an Internet debate. Here are the details from the CfA  press release: CFA TO HOST DEBATE ON “WHAT IS A PLANET?” In 2006, when the International Astronomical Union (IAU) voted on the definition of a “planet” and booted Pluto out of the club, confusion resulted. Was a “dwarf planet” a small planet or something else? Was a “dwarf fruit tree” a small tree or something else? Almost eight years later, most astronomers and the public are still as uncertain about what a planet is as they were back then. On September 18th, three different experts in planetary science will present each of their cases as to what a planet is or isn’t. Science historian Dr. Owen Gingerich, who chaired the IAU planet definition committee, will present the hi...