Category Archives: Multiple media

The Sun flips in Solar Dynamics Observatory imagery

July 17, 2016 TopSpacer

Here’s a cool GIF animation of images of the sun from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO):

On July 6, 2016, engineers instructed NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, to roll 360 degrees on one axis. SDO dutifully performed the seven-hour maneuver, while producing some dizzying data: For this period of time, SDO images – taken every 12 seconds – appeared to show the sun spinning, as if stuck on a pinwheel. This video was taken by SDO’s Atmospheric Imaging Assembly instrument in extreme ultraviolet wavelengths that are typically invisible to our eyes, but was colorized here in gold for easy viewing.

This maneuver happens twice a year to help SDO’s Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager, or HMI, instrument take precise measurements of the solar limb, the outer edge of the sun as seen by SDO. Were the sun perfectly spherical, this would be a much simpler task. But the solar surface is dynamic, leading to occasional distortions. This makes it hard for HMI to find the sun’s edge when it’s perfectly still. HMI’s biannual roll lets each part of the camera look at the entire perimeter of the sun, helping it map the sun’s shape much more precisely.

HMI tracks variations in the solar limb over time to help us understand how the shape of the sun changes with respect to the solar cycle, the sun’s 11-year pattern of solar activity. The more we know about what drives this activity – activity that can include giant eruptions of solar material and radiation that can create hazards for satellites and astronauts – the better we may someday predict its onset.

Multiple media, Space Arts, Space participation

Space Arts: Speed of light public path Kickstarter + Space the place for important art + The Sci Art Exchange

June 26, 2016 TopSpacer

The Kickstarter The Speed of Light Project by Caspar Noyons has raised $9,141 towards a goal of $11,148 goal with two days remaining. The goal is to create an installation that demonstrates the 8.3 minutes that it takes for light to travel from the earth to the sun. The plan is to build a 555 meter long trail on which a person will

follow a LED path (3 LED per meter, 1665 LED’s in total) showing the exact speed of 4km/h which is slow walking pace. This journey will then take the amount of time required: 8.3 minutes. A perfect place for this is the IJpromenade in the North of Amsterdam. Next to the IJ Canal it offers a great open space next to the water along a long straight line of just the right size.

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Space imagery produces works of spectacular beauty: Out of this world: why the most important art today is made in space – The Guardian

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Check out the Sci Art Exchange, which

wants to change the world by bringing science and technology together with art to capture minds and hearts, engaging all of society in the future of space exploration, and promoting scientific innovation and collaboration.

Find their latest news at SciArt Exchange (@SpaceArtSAE) on Twitter.

Jancy Mcphee of the Exchange talked about the project at the Space Apps NYC conference in April (find lots more videos from the event):

Living in Space, Mars, Multiple media

Mars explorer travel posters

June 26, 2016 TopSpacer

Check out the free Mars Posters at NASA JPL . Here is a sampling:

P01-Explorers-Wanted-NASA-Recruitment-Poster-600x[1] — **Explorers Wanted on the Journey to Mars** Hike the solar system’s largest canyon, Valles Marineris on Mars, where you can catch blue sunsets in the twilight, and see the two moons of Mars (Phobos and Deimos) in the night sky.

P02-Work-The-Night-Shift-NASA-Recruitment-Poster-600x[1] — **Work the Night Shift on Martian Moon Phobos** Night owls welcome! If you lived on Mars’ moon Phobos, you’d have an office with a view, mining for resources with Mars in the night sky. Settlers below on Mars would see Phobos rise and set not once, but twice in one day!

P03-Farmers-Wanted-NASA-Recruitment-Poster-600x[1] — **Farmers Wanted for Survival on Mars** Got a green thumb? This one’s for you! In space, you can grow tomatoes, lettuce, peas, and radishes just like you would find in your summer garden. New ways of growing fresh food will be needed to keep brave explorers alive.

P07-Some-User-Assembly-Required-NASA-Recruitment-Poster-600x[1] — **Assembly Required to Build Our Future on Mars and its Moons** Are you someone who can put things together, solving challenges to ensure survival? Dare to forge our future with space-age tools – build spaceships to carry us to Mars and back, and habitats to protect us while we’re there.

Astronomy, Education, Multiple media

Videos: “Sailing Amongst the Stars” – a new space documentary series

June 4, 2016 TopSpacer

Below are the initial entries in a space documentary series of videos on Youtube:

Dr. Kaii is proud to present a new series where he finally gets to give over all the wonderful ideas, facts and knowledge about the galaxy that are just waiting to blow your minds.

Using the photo-real sandbox tool Space Engine, this is a whole new type of documentary, with the potential for hundreds of effortless episodes, with the ability to demonstrate the size and awe of the universe in ways never seen before.

Subscribe and follow, I can’t imagine any scenario where you’d regret it 😉

The series is viewer supported:

To keep these videos going, donations would be most gratefully received here: http://bit.ly/SASDonate
To keep Space Engine free and continually developed, donate here: http://en.spaceengine.org/i…

Download Space Engine and follow along here: http://en.spaceengine.org/l…

Astronomy, Multiple media, Satellite Watching

Images: ISS and Mercury captured crossing the face of the Sun

May 31, 2016 TopSpacer

An image of both the planet Mercury and the Int. Space Station transiting the face of the Sun simultaneously:

Space in Images – 2016 – 05 – Space Station Mercury

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“Space Station Mercury” – Thierry Legault

On 9 May Mercury passed in front of the Sun as seen from Earth. These transits of Mercury occur only around 13 times every century, so astronomers all over Earth were eager to capture the event.

For astrophotographer Thierry Legault, capturing Mercury and the Sun alone was not enough, however – he wanted the International Space Station in the frame as well.

To catch the Station passing across the Sun, you need to set up your equipment within a ground track less than 3 km wide. For Thierry, this meant flying to the USA from his home near Paris, France.

On 9 May there were three possible areas to capture the Station and Mercury at the same time against the solar disc: Quebec, Canada, the Great Lakes and Florida, USA.

Choosing the right spot took considerable effort, says Thierry:

“Canada had bad weather predicted and around Florida I couldn’t find a suitably quiet but public place, so I went to the suburbs of Philadelphia.”

With 45 kg of equipment, Thierry flew to New York and drove two hours to Philadelphia to scout the best spot. Even then, all the preparations and intercontinental travel could have been for nothing because the Station crosses the Sun in less than a second and any clouds could have ruined the shot.

“I was very lucky: 10 minutes after I took the photos, clouds covered the sky,” says a relieved Thierry.

“Adrenaline flows in the moments before the Station flies by – it is a one-shot chance. I cannot ask the space agencies to turn around so I can try again. Anything can happen.”

The hard work and luck paid off. The image here includes frames superimposed on each other to show the Station’s path. Mercury appears as a black dot at bottom-centre of the Sun.

For Thierry, the preparation and the hunt for the perfect shot is the best part.

“Astrophotography is my hobby that I spend many hours on, but even without a camera I encourage everybody to look up at the night sky. The International Space Station can be seen quite often and there are many more things to see. It is just a case of looking up at the right time.”

Watch a video of the pass, including another moment with an aircraft flying by.