Space and astronomy news
And now we finish our trilogy of Saturnian astronomers and missions with a look at the Dutch astronomer and mathematician, Christiaan Huygens. It was Huygens who discovered Titan, and figured out what Saturn’s rings really are, so it makes sense that a probe landing on the surface of Titan was named after him.
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Last week we talked about the Italian astronomer Giovanni Cassini. This week we’ll talk about the mission that shares his name: NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft. This amazing mission is orbiting Saturn right now, sending back thousands of high resolution images of the ringed planet and its moons.
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As many of our readers know, I also work with the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. This award winning daily podcast that was supposed to last for only one year — the International Year of Astronomy — is now in its third year. Unfortunately, the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast is in trouble due to a lack of funding and audio. We’ve done over two and a half years — 959 podcasts so far — all on a shoestring and by the generous donations of audio and funds by our listeners. But things are looking a little grim, and we’d at least like to make it to the end of the year. As Pamela Gay said in her blog post about this, “At a certain level, it is hard to walk away from something feeling like it is halfway done. This is the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast, and we’d like to complete the 2011 calendar year.”
Each 365 Days of Astronomy podcast gets at least 3,000 downloads — some get as many as 10- 15,000 downloads. It’s a wonderful way to have your voice heard, your story told. As Phil Plait has mentioned, 365 DoA is a great venue to not only educate people about astronomy, but to get them personally involved. If you would, please consider submitting audio or making a donation to help us keep a good thing going. We know times are tough, but will appreciate any help you can provide.
Thanks!
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While at the 2011 Lunar Forum last month, which was sponsored by the NASA Lunar Science Institute, I had the chance to talk with NASA astronaut Dr. Yvonne Cagle. I asked her how she sees NASA’s future without the space shuttle as well as her view of commercial space companies providing access to the ISS. We also talked about the challenges of doing medical procedures in zero-g and more.
You can listen to the podcast on today’s episode on the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. Here’s the link to the website where you can listen, or you can download the episode here.
We wanted to spend a few shows talking about some of the most recognizable constellations in the night sky. We’ve chatted about Orion the Hunter, but now we’re going to talk about the Big Dipper, also known as Ursa Major, or the Great Bear – apologies to our southern hemisphere listeners.
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How’s the weather? Maybe a better question is… why’s the weather? What is it about planets and their atmospheres that create weather systems. What have planetary scientists learned about our Earth’s weather, and how does this relate to other planets in the Solar System. What is the most extreme weather we know of?
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A huge part of the Solar System is just made of ice. There are comets, rings, moons and even dwarf planets. Where did all this ice come from, and what impact (pardon the pun) has it had for life on Earth?
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Ice in Space shownotes and transcript.
UT writer Steve Nerlich and I have collaborated for a couple of podcasts on the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast series where we talk about our favorite space shuttle missions. We actually did the first one last year, and decided to do an encore this year with the end of the space shuttle program upon us. Give us some love and have a listen:
My Favorite Space Shuttle Missions, Part 1
My Favorite Space Shuttle Missions — Part 2
And if anyone is interested in doing their own podcast on 365 Days of Astronomy and sharing your interests in space and astronomy, there are plenty of days available throughout the rest of the year. Find out more at this link.
Most people know how to find two constellations: the Big Dipper, and Orion the Hunter. You can teach a small child to find Orion, and at the right time of year, they’ll find it in seconds. There’s so much going on in this spectacular constellation, from the star formation in the Orion Nebula to mighty red supergiant Betelgeuse, ready to explode. Let’s learn about the history and science of the constellation Orion.
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The Earth seems like a safe place, most of the time. But we have evidence of terrible catastrophes in the ancient past, times when almost all life on Earth was wiped out in a geologic instant. What could have caused so much devastation? And will something like this happen again?
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