Archives for May 2007
Clouds in space
Published on 24 May 2007 at 2:17 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under nebula.
It has been cloudy here the last few days. But, that got me to thinking about clouds in space. Interstellar space is not empty. There are lots of things out there. Granted, these things are so far apart, and space has such low density that it is more empty than the best […]
SOFIA Aircraft Dedicated
Published on 21 May 2007 at 1:16 pm.
2 Comments.
Filed under airborne telescopes.
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The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) took to the air a month ago. Now, the aircraft carrying the telescope will be rededicated. This particular aircraft had been dedicated as “Clipper Lindbergh” in 1977 by Anne Lindbergh, Charles Lindbergh’s widow, when it began service for Pan American Airlines.  Now, Erik Lindbergh will rededicate the aircraft to his grandfather on the 80th anniversary […]
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The Celestron SkyScout
Published on 17 May 2007 at 2:34 pm.
3 Comments.
Filed under amateur astronomy, skywatching.
We recently got a handful of new things for our astronomy classes. And, I got together with a friend and she and I were able to test one of the new arrivals last night. So, I thought that I might share some of my observations. The item is Celestron’s new SkyScout.
The SkyScout […]
Project Mercury’s finale
Published on 16 May 2007 at 6:09 pm.
2 Comments.
Filed under space exploration.
May 16, 1963, project Mercury effectively came to an end with the splashdown of the Faith 7 capsule and astronaut Gordon Cooper.
Actually, some felt that the Mercury program had sort of ended with Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8), Wally Schirra’s textbook flight of October 3, 1962. Certainly Gordon Cooper’s Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) flight of May 15 […]
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STS-117 Atlantis Rollout (again)
Published on 15 May 2007 at 4:10 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under space shuttle, space station.
The Space Shuttle Atlantis is again on the launch pad. This morning, it was rolled about to Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. It’s been there before. Atlantis was moved to the launch pad three months ago in preparation for a mid-March launch to the International Space Station. However, […]
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One in Four
Published on 14 May 2007 at 4:26 pm.
4 Comments.
Filed under college teaching.
The local newspaper is doing an interesting series on Texas public schools. This past weekend, we had a very contentious school board election. The state legislature is babbling about education, funding of education, and “accountability” of educators, including talk of a statewide test for college students, to go along with the statewide […]
Where are they now?
Published on 13 May 2007 at 2:44 pm.
6 Comments.
Filed under space exploration.
Five human-made spacecraft are on their way out of the Solar System. The most recent one, New Horizons, was launched only 16 months ago, yet it is already 5.13 AU from the Sun (One Astronomical Unit, or AU, is the average distance that Earth is from the Sun). New Horizons is the fastest […]
