9/11/01 -- 9/11/09

NGC 7331

After some processing of the image below. Not sure if I like the processing though, will take some more work.

Ares-1 solid rocket test.

There was a problem about a week ago when this monster was supposed to be lit. You know how these things are, "place on ground, light fuse, get away, do not point at face...."
Today the the full test firing of the first stage of the Ares-1 went off. This is the rocket that will get the future astronauts off the ground and is basically the same thing that the shuttle uses, but without the shuttle and tank. Again, this is one of those rockets that once lit - you fly - until it's done.
Interesting history behind this rocket. The segments have all flown before on the shuttle, including STS-1 way back in 1981 when Columbia first flew on it. (Click graphic for details).

Live image from backyard observatory

Just for fun, here is what a single raw image looks like from our backyard observatory. I'm out back right now imaging the NGC 7331 galaxy group, and surfing the internet while monitoring the scope. The techie details:

• Scope: Meade LX200 Classic 12"
• Guiding scope: Orion 80ED with Meade DSI for guide camera.
• Imaging software: ImagesPlus 3.80 (Just got the newest version and testing it out right now)
• Camera: Canon 350D (with IR mod)
• Image: single 5 minute frame at ISO 800. Dust specks, vignetting from f/6.3 reducer, and red sky from light pollution are all visible.

Check back later for the final stacked version. Should look better if all works out right!

Another 2000 sols on Mars - Opportunity this time

The stuck Spirit rover had it's 2000 day celebration recently, and now it's Opportunity's time for it's 2000 sol anniversary. Opportunity has been stopped for a while poking, sniffing and looking very closely at the "Block Island" meteorite found a while back just sitting out in the open on the open plains of Meridiani Planum. The rover is still working it's way across to the big Endeavor crater and is currently 4.2 km into it's 19km journey.
A poster celebrating the rover's 1,910 days past warranty expiration is shown below. Be sure to download the full image to read the poetry.

| Full size at Astro0's blog page |

First light with "new" Hubble telescope

We have been waiting a while for these to be released. After Hubble was upgraded a few months back, it has been going through a bunch of calibrations, testing and other stuff. We did get a quick peek at Jupiter when the "Wesley Impact" happened, but then back to the calibrating. Finally, the first new images are out, and they are....uh....speechless. (Just look at them!)
Zoom I think my favorite of the new ones is the Stephan's Quintet image (the one at the top right). Zoom in close on the image and look around the galaxies. There are a whole bunch of other galaxies in the background! This is a tough object to image from the backyard, and seeing it like this (and that background stuff!) made me have to get up off the floor - fell out of my seat when I first saw it.

| Hubble site - all the new images |

The always fun to watch SRB camera views.

(Double click the video for other view options)

Want a job with JPL? Here's your chance!

I'm actually "employed" by JPL myself and have one of these jobs as a Solar System Ambassador. The job doesn't pay anything, but you do public outreach activities such as star parties, talks at schools, Space Day activities at local museums, and whatever else you can come up with to get the public interested in our Astronomy hobby. You do get on lists for a ton of email links from NASA with links to download a ton of information on space exploration, and every now and then you'll get a large envelope full of goodies to give out (or keep some of it yourself!) to the public. They also send you a snazzy name tag with your photo on it next the words "NASA" and "JPL". Pretty official! I've done it for about 2 years now and have a lot of events logged on my profile page.
Here are the details:

Wanted: Volunteer Ambassadors to the Stars

What do a teacher, surfer, firefighter, award-winning book author and neurosurgeon have in common? A love of space and a desire to share that passion. They've joined a growing number of private citizens in NASA's Solar System Ambassador program, which brings space information to the public through planetarium talks, telescope-viewing parties, mall displays and other events. Now you can volunteer too. Applications are being accepted through Sept. 30.

Ambassadors are U.S. citizens selected from all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico or U.S. citizens serving U.S. audiences abroad. The program is one of the longest-running NASA volunteer outreach projects.

Requirements:

* Ideal volunteers are self-starters who are enthusiastic about space exploration and active in their communities
* Demonstrated ability in public engagement and/or disseminating information
* Initiative and ingenuity to engage his/her community in learning about NASA's space exploration efforts
* Ability to inspire community youth to seek careers in science and technology
* Makes the best responsible use of the materials provided
* Each ambassador agrees to hold at least four public events during the year and report on those events

Volunteer Benefits Include:

* Receive online training from JPL
* Educational materials supplied by various space missions
* Contact with mission scientists
* E-Mail updates with mission information and news
* Satisfaction of knowing you've made a difference in someone's life

Rocket jiggling old and new.

Once again it seems that the best way to test a rocket stack on the pad is to jiggle it by hand or foot. The Aries 1-X rocket is completely stacked, and the biggest thing to come out of the VAB in Florida since the Saturn V in the early 70s. Back then they had a bunch of guys pulling on a rope and others pushing with their feet to get the full 363 foot tall beast to rock back and forth.
Today, they are still doing similar things with the new Ares rocket. If I had a chance to do this, I'd do it with my bare feet - yeah, I'd be pretty excited to smear my greasy toes on one of these!

Aries jiggling:

Saturn V jiggling:
| Click here for video and more details on why they did this |

Whoopie! There's Apollo 12 site.

If Pete Conrad was still alive, I'm sure that is probably what he would say. His words when he was the 3rd person to step on the moon was "That may have been one small step for Neil, but it's a long one for me!"
The LRO has recently sent back some photos of the Apollo 12 site where Pete Conrad and Alan Bean explored. They landed next to the Surveyor 3 spacecraft which is also easily seen in this photo. The orbiter still has few more weeks before it reaches it's final low orbit, so hopefully we'll see even more details of the Apollo sites coming up.

| More detail on the photo on LRO site |

Jupiter from a couple nights ago.

Might be the last clear night for a while from the looks of the forecast. A bright moon was out, but it was a nice warm evening anyway, so it was better to spend time outdoors. Deep sky imaging was pointless with the moon, so I tried Jupiter. Atmosphere was pretty stable so the image isn't too bad. I need to stack more frames though, this was maybe 200 images stacked. Odd things happening with the observatory computer though, might need some work or an upgrade.
No sign of the 'Wesley Impact" I think that has disappated below the reach of my equipment and skies.

(Click photo for full size)

In space, nobody can hear you scream.

...but there are still sounds that come from the sky in the form of radio emissions. I came across a very interesting web page by a Swedish space enthusiast named Sven Grahn. He has an interesting hobby of using radios to track and record the sounds from spacecraft. He has quite an extensive collection of sound recordings on his site all the way back to Explorer-1 (though he didn't record the older stuff). There is a lot of links and articles on the web page too. I think I could spend a long time reading and listening to his stuff.
Reminded me of the "Lost Cosmonauts" site that claims to have recordings of Russian space disasters and the final gasps of Cosmonauts before they died in a horrible fiery death. I'm not really sure what to make of this site, but I'm still wondering if Yuri Gagarin may have only been the first to survive a trip into space? There might be some mystery in there still.

| Sven Grahn's Space Sounds |