All posts by TopSpacer

Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures available on line

An announcement from Andrew Fraknoi, chairman of the Astronomy program at Foothill College:

Popular Astronomy Lectures Can Now Be Seen on YouTube

We are happy to announce that the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures, featuring noted scientists giving nontechnical illustrated lectures on recent developments in astronomy, are now available on their own YouTube Channel, at:  http://www.youtube.com/SVAstronomyLectures/

The talks include:

  • Frank Drake discussing his modern view of the Drake Equation,
  • Michael Brown explaining how his discovery of Eris led to the demotion of Pluto,
  • Alex Filippenko talking about the latest ideas and observations of black holes,
  • Natalie Batalha sharing the latest planet discoveries from the Kepler mission,
  •   nthony Aguirre discussing how it is possible to have multiple universes, and
  • Chris McKay updating the Cassini discoveries about Saturn’s moon Titan.

The lectures are taped at Foothill College near San Francisco, and co-sponsored by NASA’s Ames Research Center, the SETI Institute, and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

Note that the top page of the channel shows the lectures in the order they happened to be uploaded to YouTube.  If you want to see them in chronological order, select the Playlist option.

Both new and older talks in the series will be added to the channel as time goes by.  Many noted astronomers have given talks in this series since its founding in 1999; recent lectures are being recorded so that people around the world can “tune in.”

We appreciate your sharing this information with colleagues, students, and interested astronomy enthusiasts.

KLM contest offers space trip prize

KLM Airline has opened a contest for a ride on the XCOR Lynx suborbital spaceplane: KLM – Claim Your Place in Space

On April 22nd 2013, KLM will give you a chance to win the ultimate journey of inspiration — a flight into space.

In an exclusive competition, KLM will be launching a high altitude balloon in the Nevada desert. All you have to do is simply predict how high the balloon will reach before it pops!

The winner will receive a ticket aboard the zero gravity SXC Lynx Spacecraft. A true once in a lifetime experience!

Visit http://space.klm.com/ for a chance to claim your place in space.

AMSAT and ISS amateur radio news

Go to AMSAT News for the latest headlines about developments in amateur and student satellites and for updates about amateur radio on the ISS.

ANS 104 Weekly AMSAT Bulletin – April 13, 2013:
* AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Solicited
* 7330.6 km Contact Made Via FO-29
* GS3PYE/p Satellite Operation Planned From Inner Herbrides Islands
* STEREO Space Weather Beacons Now Using AMSAT-DL Turbo Code
* AMSAT Awards
* Applications for Teachers Institute, ETP Grants Due in May
* Ken Pulfer, VE3PU, SK
* Cubesat Launches This Week
* April 17 Antares Launch Includes Three PhoneSat Cubesats
* PhoneSat Tracking Help Requested
* STRaND-1 signal reports requested
* Merritt Island High School Mission Selected for NASA Cubesat
Launch Initiative
* ARISS News
* Schedule of AMSAT Activities at Dayton Hamvention
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

The Space Show this week

Here are the programs on The Space Show this week:

1. Monday, April 15, 2013, 2-3:30 PM PST (5-6:30 PM EST, 4-5:30 PM CST): No show today as I am teaching my UND Space Studies class.

2. Tuesday, April 16, 2013 2013, 7-8:30 PM PST (10-11:30 PM EST, 9-10:30 PM CST): We welcome DR. BILL FARRAND, Senior Research Scientist, Space Science Institute. We will be discussing Mars Rovers and much more. Note that the toll free line will not be available for this program as I will be doing the program from a Los Angeles area hotel room.

3. Friday, April 19, 2013, 9:30-11 AM PST (11:30- 1 PM CST, 12:30PM-2:00 PM EST): No show as I am out of town on personal medical matters.

4. Sunday, April 21, 2013, 12-1:30 PM PST (3-4:30 PM EST, 2-3:30 PM CST). No program today due to planned travel back home.

See also:
/– The Space Show on Vimeo – webinar videos
/– The Space Show’s Blog – summaries of interviews.
/– The Space Show Classroom Blog – tutorial programs

The Space Show is a project of the One Giant Leap Foundation.