Category Archives: Space participation

IAU sets its names for new Pluto moons – Vulcan not accepted

July 2, 2013 TopSpacer

The International Astronomical Union (IAU), which likes to present itself as the decider of all things astronomical, issued a press release on names for the Moons of Pluto today: Names for New Pluto Moons Accepted by the IAU After Public Vote – IAU.

Mark Showalter of the SETI Institute led the team that spotted the new Pluto-ian moons with the Hubble Space Telescope. He

decided to call for a public vote to suggest names for the two objects. To be consistent with the names of the other Pluto satellites, the names had to be picked from classical mythology, in particular with reference to the underworld — the realm where the souls of the deceased go in the afterlife. The contest concluded with the proposed names Vulcan, Cerberus and Styx ranking first, second and third respectively. Showalter submitted Vulcan and Cerberus to the IAU where the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN) and the Committee on Small Body Nomenclature (WGSBN) discussed the names for approval.

However, the name Vulcan had already been used for a hypothetical planet between Mercury and the Sun. Although this planet was found not to exist, the term “vulcanoid” remains attached to any asteroid existing inside the orbit of Mercury, and the name Vulcan could not be accepted for one of Pluto’s satellites (also, Vulcan does not fit into the underworld mythological scheme). Instead the third most popular name was chosen — Styx, the name of the goddess who ruled over the underworld river, also called the Styx.

Here is a SETI Institute video with a discussion of the name selection:

Astronomy, Education, Space participation

Planetary Resources exceeds $1.5M for Arkyd space telescope Kickstarter

July 1, 2013 TopSpacer

The Planetary Resources Kickstarter campaign to fund the ARKYD public space telescope ended this evening with 17,612 backers pledging $1,505,276 towards the original goal of $1,000,000. Richard Branson is adding another $100k.

Congratulations to the PRI team on a very successful crowdfunding effort and a great public participation project that will be active for many years.

Astronomy, Education, Space participation

Richard Branson adds $100k to Arkyd public space telescope Kickstarter

June 30, 2013 TopSpacer

Live webcast from 6:00 – 9:00 pm ET:

A message from Planetary Resources:

In the final hours, we’re $100K closer to $2M —
Sir Richard Branson supports the ARKYD!

Hi there,

Well here we are, in the final hours of our crowdfunding campaign. We have a lot in store for you during our LIVE FINALE EVENT, beginning at 3:00 p.m. PDT today (convert to your time) through the close of our Kickstarter campaign at 7:00 p.m. PDT. But before all of that fun starts, we wanted to share with you some exciting news.

We are pleased to announce that Sir Richard Branson has joined Planetary Resources’ core group of investors.

“I’m excited to be part of the Planetary Resources’ team working on extracting precious minerals from near Earth asteroids. The only way to truly explore our Solar System is to develop the technology and means to sustain our presence in space without depleting resources of Earth.” — Richard Branson, Chairman of the Virgin Group.

AND . . . he is so excited that the ARKYD will provide unprecedented public access to space, he has generously made his own campaign pledge of $100,000 to support interactive programming to strengthen STEM education, and to move us closer to our remaining three stretch goals.

The remaining stretch goals have been reduced by $100,000 thanks Sir Richard Branson’s substantial pledge to ARKYD – A Space Telescope For Everyone:

$1.4 Million — THE BETA-SELFIE: Double your selfie experience and see yourself in development! Every selfie pledge or higher receives an exclusive digital Beta-Selfie, taken in 2014 during the crucial integration phase of spacecraft build! Become a part of the build and catch a glimpse of our clean-room squad in action!

$1.6 Million — ASTEROID ZOO: We will team with Zooniverse to develop a platform that will allow YOU to find asteroids at home, and help train computers to better find them in the future. Support citizen science that helps astronomers to identify more asteroids today, and the ARKYD to find asteroids when it arrives in orbit.

$1.9 Million — ALIEN PLANETS: We will add exoplanet detection capability to the ARKYD by enhancing the space telescope’s stability systems and dedicating time to monitoring candidate star systems.

We thank you Richard for your support of Planetary Resources and for your contribution to inspire and excite the next generation of explorers!

Let’s keep kickin’ to $2 million!!! Our campaign closes at 7:00 p.m. PDT today!

Thanks!

Chris Lewicki, President & Chief Engineer
Eric Anderson, Co-Chairman and Co-Founder, and
Peter Diamandis, Co-Chairman and Co-Founder

Astronomy, Education, Space participation

Final day for Planetary Resources Arkyd public space telescope Kickstarter

June 30, 2013 TopSpacer

A message from Chris Lewicki of Planetary Resources :

The Final Day and one EPIC closing finale.

24 hours remain to join the ARKYD cause.

Tune in with us at 3:00 PM PT [Sunday] (convert to your time) to close the campaign with us.

We are going ALL OUT for this event. What does “ALL OUT” mean?

A Tesla Cannon.
3D Printed Rocket Nozzles.
Free Add-Ons Every Half Hour.
Bill Nye, the Science Guy, in a Bow Tie.
Special support for ARKYD from the one and only Sir Richard Branson.

And if you have pledged:
Share with your friends. Your neighbors. And your neighbors pets, random strangers, grad students, online stalkers, Klingons, grandparents, mantis shrimp, and Japanese Party Goers. Because they too deserve to pledge and be part of history.

If you have NOT pledged:
Pledge. This is Your Last Chance to Join the Movement and Open Space for