What's Up? The Space Place

Hey Space Placers! Read about the space missions that were selected by NASA today for further competition. OK, I confess,  Near Earth Object Camera (NEOCam) is my favorite because: 1. It will help find asteroids that threaten Earth; 2. Dr. Amy Mainzer would be the Principal Investigator of the mission - and I know her: Greg Redfern & Dr. Amy Mainzer, NASA JPL She is passionate about asteroids and this mission. NASA would do well to select the mission to protect Earth and learn more about our solar system. Sky Guy in the possible bull's eye of Hurricane Joaquin

Hey Space Placers! As usual, Google says it all   https://g.co/doodle/m4fgh2  when there is a major space event. Scroll through the headlines and stories   to get the background and latest on NASA's 9/28/15 announcement that "a mystery on Mars had been solved". The mystery being the cause of long, dark streaks found at numerous craters and hills on Mars during certain times - read seasons - on Mars. Due to the combined work of various NASA spacecraft studying Mars, scientists were able to definitely say that these dark streaks are liquid, but briny (salty) water areas. These are not fast flowing streams but areas where the Martian soil has become wet due to the presence of liquid water. What makes this announcement so important is that we are now talking about liquid water on PRESENT DAY Mars and not in the distant or geological past. Of course the presence of liquid water is necessary for life as we know it to exist AND can provide a valuable resource for futur...

Hey Space Placers! Totality Shenandoah National Park Greg Redfern You have to watch this Sunday's (9-27) rare Harvest-Supermoon Total Lunar Eclipse. All of the details are here . We are probably going to be cloudy here on the East Coast :-( Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! With Pope Francis visiting the U.S . and his stated stance on climate change , here is a video you should watch. All living things share this planet and one person's pollution is another's next breath. We have nowhere else to go at present and MUST take steps to preserve our planet's health. As I have stated many times, the Earth doesn't need humanity, we need the Earth. Humanity cannot continue its present course in population growth, go-go economics and power generation without consequences that could radically change civilization for the worse. Humanity as a whole must come together to change how we generate power and use our finite resources. Pope Francis is an inspiration due to his faith, his vision that includes science (he has a Master's degree in chemistry) and most of all, his humanity. Let's hope that his wisdom will influence members of Congress and others who continue to deny climate change is real and happening now. ...

Hey Space Placers! We are at T-10 days until 'The Martian ' makes its debut in movie theaters. On October 2nd we will be able to watch what I think will be a space blockbuster movie. The star of the movie, Matt Damon, plays marooned on Mars NASA astronaut Mark Watney. The film is based on Andy Weir's best selling 2011 novel of the same title and was directed by Ridley Scott. NASA went all out in supporting the film as it is a good promotion for the agency's " Journey to Mars" . Matt Damon has done a promotional video for NASA's 'Journey to Mars' which is a nice mix of the movie and NASA's efforts to get to Mars. I think that people seeing 'The Martian' will gain an appreciation for the efforts it takes to get to Mars and learn about the Red Planet. The astronauts aboard the International Space Station got an off planet premiere of the movie as you can see in the 9/20 post by Astronaut Lindgren. ISS is key to going to Mars as...

Hey Space Placers! A bit under the weather - cough, cough...... Check out this GREAT video on DARK MATTER  - a great primer on one of the biggest mysteries in our understanding of the Universe. Be sure to check out the other videos in this most excellent series by the great people at Keck Observatory. Sky Guy cough-cough in VA

Hey Space Placers! NASA's "One Year Mission" aboard the International Space Station (ISS) involving  Commander Kelly and his one-year crewmate, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, is at the half way point.  Click on this link to send your personal best wishes to them - I did. Sky Guy in VA