[curiousuburb]

Originally Posted by jdcfsu Don't forget the wicked awesome "reenactment" the JFK Presidential Library is putting on right now in real time: http://www.wechoosethemoon.org/ Watching the launch today was really cool.

Nifty!

Some great film inside the modules in zero gee... real perspective on the size and tech of Columbia and Eagle. (Clips 3 top right, which is mistagged pacific ocean view... contains a cool flythrough).

edit:
Apollo/JFK connections are ironic in some ways, because JFK wasn't a Space enthusiast... LBJ proposed it to him to outdo the Soviets after Gagarin's flight.
That said, JFKs epic speeches May 25th 1961 to Joint Houses of Congress (b/w)... and Sept 12th, 1962 at Rice (colour) still gives me shivers. Great writer (Thanks Ted Sorensen), great message, great delivery.

[curiousuburb]

LRO Snaps low res images of Apollo landing sites.

Better res to come as orbit gets refined and equipment fine-tuned.

Originally Posted by Space.com New Photos Reveal Apollo 11 at First Moon Landing Site By SPACE.com staff posted: 17 July 2009 12:44 pm ET For stubborn folks who still believe the Apollo astronauts never landed on the moon, NASA has new images - definitive proof - that clearly show the Apollo 11 lander that carried the first astronauts to the lunar surface 40 years ago. The images, taken by NASA's first lunar scout in more than a decade, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), show the Eagle lunar lander at Tranquility Base, where Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on July 20, 1969. They were snapped between July 11 and 15 of this month and released by NASA today. Apollo 11 lunar module, Eagle. Image width: 282 meters (about 925 ft.) The image does not reveal whether the U.S. flag planted there is still standing or not. The Apollo 11 landing site wasn't the only one that the LRO camera (dubbed LROC) photographed: It also snapped pictures of the landing sites of the other five Apollo landings. (The remaining site, for Apollo 12, is expected to be photographed in the coming weeks.) The lunar modules for all of these sites imaged are visible as small dots; their shadows can also be seen. A few more details can be seen in the image of the Apollo 14 landing site, including scientific instruments and astronaut footprints. "The LROC team anxiously awaited each image," said LROC principal investigator Mark Robinson of Arizona State University. "We were very interested in getting our first peek at the lunar module descent stages just for the thrill -- and to see how well the cameras had come into focus. Indeed, the images are fantastic and so is the focus." As LRO gradually descends to a lower orbit, the images will improve and provide closer looks at the lunar landing sites. ... continues ...

See all the Apollo sites at this LRO page

[Robo]

That. Is. So. Cool.

Kind of pointless, considering all the stupid conspiracy theorists are going to just say that these images are fake too...but it's cool to see the site from a new angle, nonetheless.

[@_@ Artman]

It's only 6% of the population that don't believe. That will hopefully shrink as soon as these get wider coverage.

[jdcfsu]

Originally Posted by @_@ Artman It's only 6% of the population that don't believe. That will hopefully shrink as soon as these get wider coverage.

Or, you know, natural selection runs its course.

[turtle]

Originally Posted by @_@ Artman It's only 6% of the population that don't believe. That will hopefully shrink as soon as these get wider coverage.

Don't worry, it's all photoshopped in there. We know the truth.

[Banana]

Is it really 6% of (US?) population? That's pretty big considering that 6% of 300 million is 9 million.

I'm inclined to put it at 100,000. More likely less than that.


Furthermore, what's the ruckus about? I mean, if it was indeed true that the moon landing was faked... what's the gain? I don't get it.

[curiousuburb]

Originally Posted by @_@ Artman It's only 6% of the population that don't believe. That will hopefully shrink as soon as these get wider coverage.

Or we could send Buzz.

Apollo 11 astronauts and their wives at the lodge of Defense Minister Otto Greig, 40 miles from Oslo, during the "Giant Step - Apollo 11" Presidential Goodwill Tour.
October 11, 1969

From here

[jdcfsu]

Originally Posted by curiousuburb Or we could send Buzz.

Funny you mention that. Gruber just posted this video and I find it awesome: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUI36tPKDg4

Originally Posted by Gruber For those of you who are as proud of the Apollo 11 mission as I am, I suggest a few viewings of this clip of Buzz Aldrin punching jackass moon-landing-doubter Bart Sibrel in the face.

[@_@ Artman]

Buzz Aldrin - American Bad-Ass.

[curiousuburb]

Something big hit Jupiter when we weren't looking.

Scientists have found evidence that another object has bombarded Jupiter, exactly 15 years after the first impacts by the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. Following up on a tip by an amateur astronomer that a new dark "scar" had suddenly appeared on Jupiter, this morning between 3 and 9 a.m. PDT (6 a.m. and noon EDT) scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., using NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility at the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, gathered evidence indicating an impact. ... continues ...

The 'scar' is roughly the size of Earth.

[Robo]

I'm glad we have Jupiter!

[ronmexico]

Those photos of the moon are so cool!

[Moogs]

Jupiter's gravity FTW. Vacuum of the solar system.

[@_@ Artman]

Originally Posted by curiousuburb The 'scar' is roughly the size of Earth.

Here are two of the photos taken by the amateur observer Anthony Wesley...





...with more of his photos and information on the observation here.

[Luca]

I've always loved Boston.com's "The Big Picture" photo blog. Every single installment is great, regardless of the subject matter. Of course, earlier this week they had to have an entry for the Apollo missions:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/200...apollo_11.html

[curiousuburb]

Hubble photo of Jupiter July 23rd... (impact first detected July 19)

Originally Posted by Spaceflightnow This Hubble picture, taken on July 23, is the sharpest visible-light picture taken of the atmospheric debris from a comet or asteroid that collided with Jupiter on July 19. This is Hubble's first science observation following its repair and upgrade in May. The image was taken with the new Wide Field Planetary Camera 3. The combination of the Hubble data with mid-infrared images from ground-based telescopes will give astronomers an insight into changes of the vertical structure of Jupiter's atmosphere due to the impact. The expanding spot is twice the length of the United States. First discovered by Australian amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley, the feature is the impact site and "backsplash" of material from a small object that plunged into Jupiter's atmosphere and disintegrated. The only other time in history such a feature has been seen on Jupiter was in 1994 during the collision of fragments from comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. The spot looks strikingly similar to comet Shoemaker-Levy 9's impact features. The details seen in the Hubble view shows lumpiness in the debris plume caused by turbulence in Jupiter's atmosphere. The impactor is estimated to be the size of several football fields. The force of the explosion on Jupiter was thousands of times more powerful than the suspected comet or asteroid that exploded in June 1908 over the Tunguska River Valley in Siberia. This is a natural color image of Jupiter as seen in visible light.

Looks like the newly upgraded camera works.

[Mugge]

Looks like Betelgeuse is burning a little too bright for it's own good:

http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/p.../pr-27-09.html

Sounds like it's going to be one heck of a bang...

[Moogs]

[600 Light Years away or so... may have already asploded!] Or, it could be a 1000 years yet before it asplodes... maybe we will feel the shock wave of the asplosions on December 21, 2012. We're doomed?

[Brad]

Originally Posted by Mugge Looks like Betelgeuse is burning a little too bright for it's own good: http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/p.../pr-27-09.html

I always love how an "artist's impression" can turn a tiny blurry smudge into what looks like a still frame from the next big-budget Hollywood sci-fi movie.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Brad I always love how an "artist's impression" can turn a tiny blurry smudge into what looks like a still frame from the next big-budget Hollywood sci-fi movie.

Artists do tend to be the creative type.

[curiousuburb]

Originally Posted by Brad I always love how an "artist's impression" can turn a tiny blurry smudge into what looks like a still frame from the next big-budget Hollywood sci-fi movie.

OTOH, if they leave it to Hollywood, it looks like Michael Keaton.

[drewprops]

Flying Zarquon Holy FISH is Ford ever going to be wozzed by this one. I mean!!! Look at it.... just... LOOK!! Wow, man, this is big! Big, BIG, BIGG!!! This has Zaphod's fingerprints all over it... oh wow is Granddad ever going to be PISSED.



Hey, did anybody catch that story about Venus having a weird bright spot in its cloud layer following on the heels of the Jupiter plume?

Captain Drew Twittered: "Our Vacation on Venus: Farquand left our George Foreman Thermonuclear Tandoori Oven™ on all night. Hope nobody noticed. http://is.gd/1VxL6 "


...

[!Marc!]

Originally Posted by Moogs [600 Light Years away or so... may have already asploded!] Or, it could be a 1000 years yet before it asplodes... maybe we will feel the shock wave of the asplosions on December 21, 2012. We're doomed?

It has shrunk 15% in the last 20 years, so we might be very lucky and see it right at the end of our lives but I very much doubt it. I (crazily) guess it probably has to shrink at least 90% until it hits the iron core and rebounds, which means probably another 100 years at least.

[Moogs]

IOW, it asploded 500+ years ago.

[Enki]

Originally Posted by !Marc! It has shrunk 15% in the last 20 years, so we might be very lucky and see it right at the end of our lives but I very much doubt it. I (crazily) guess it probably has to shrink at least 90% until it hits the iron core and rebounds, which means probably another 100 years at least.

Exponential accelerating curves? I don't remember seeing what the rate of shrinkage is. The off-gassing has to be relatively insignificant compared to the total mass. Smaller and denser, means greater gravity at the surface which means more inward acceleration per unit time... Whenever this one does go we learn a bunch more about how big stars really die.

[!Marc!]

Originally Posted by Enki Exponential accelerating curves? I don't remember seeing what the rate of shrinkage is. The off-gassing has to be relatively insignificant compared to the total mass. Smaller and denser, means greater gravity at the surface which means more inward acceleration per unit time... Whenever this one does go we learn a bunch more about how big stars really die.

I think its safe(ish) to say that it would be somewhat exponential shrinkage - If this is indeed the final years of this stars fusion and not a large pulsation, then I think an implosion would be very hard to describe in linear terms. Still I wouldn't hold out for it in my lifetime - but if it did go typeII Supernova, it would surely be the astronomical event of our lifetimes.

Incidently, I just watched last night great lecture on stellar evolution, so this was all fresh in my mind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNhLG... 5A12E&index=9

[curiousuburb]

Meanwhile the Rules for Taikonauts seem pretty strict.

Originally Posted by BBC Would-be astronauts competing for China's next space programme must comply with 100 rules - excluding those with bad breath or a runny nose. The list, intended to recruit "super human beings", also prohibits those with body odours, tooth cavities or scars which may "burst open" in space. China will launch a space module next year and hopes for a docking by 2011. But aspiring "taikonauts" will get nowhere without marital approval. Wives get the final say under the new rules. If a would-be astronaut's spouse does not like the idea of them going into space they must remain on earth. ... continues ...

[Moogs]

Asteroid Tracker Widget FTW.

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id...asteroid-watch

Here's a nice site if you want to find stuff by date, closest estimated approach, etc.
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/ca/

There's a doosy in 2011 that looks to pass potentially less than 1 LD (Lunar Distance) away. Large Magnitude, very "slow" velocity compared to others those (about 1km/s). It's called 2009 BD, which I guess means it was discovered this year.

[@_@ Artman]

Report: NASA can't keep up with killer asteroids

NASA is charged with spotting most of the asteroids that pose a threat to Earth but doesn't have the money to complete the job, a federal report says. That's because even though Congress assigned the space agency that mission four years ago, it never gave NASA the money to build the necessary telescopes, according to the report released Wednesday by the National Academy of Sciences. Specifically, the mission calls for NASA, by the year 2020, to locate 90 percent of the potentially deadly rocks hurtling through space. The agency says it's been able to complete about one-third of its assignment with the current telescope system. NASA estimates that there are about 20,000 asteroids and comets in our solar system that are potential threats. They are larger than 460 feet in diameter — slightly smaller than the Superdome in New Orleans. So far, scientists know where about 6,000 of these objects are. Rocks between 460 feet and 3,280 feet in diameter can devastate an entire region, said Lindley Johnson, NASA's manager of the near-Earth objects program. Objects bigger than that are even more threatening, of course. Just last month astronomers were surprised when an object of unknown size and origin bashed into Jupiter and created an Earth-sized bruise that is still spreading. Jupiter does get slammed more often than Earth because of its immense gravity, enormous size and location.