Monthly Archives: June 2014

Living in Space, Multiple media, Solar Science

Video: The sun goes round and round in Vine post from the ISS

When the International Space Station’s orbit follows above the line between day and night on earth, the sun will never go completely below the horizon. ISS astronaut Reid Wiseman created a 6 second looping video he made from images over such a 92 minute orbit.  The clip is on the Vine site, which hosts short looping videos :

Update: Reisman later posted this – Twitter / astro_reid:

 Our orbit is almost parallel to the terminator so it is daylight with a low sun angle 24 hrs a day now on the #ISS. pic.twitter.com/Vd7bGm4Rnu

EarthTerminator

History, Solar Sci-Fi, Space Arts

Museum of Science Fiction planned for D.C.

The Museum of Science Fiction is a Washington, D.C. based project to

build a museum, an experience that does justice to the breadth and richness of science fiction history, where we preserve that history in perpetuity and inspire visitors to embrace the genre and its ideas. As a first step, we are developing a 3,000-square-foot preview museum where we can test exhibit concepts and new interactive technologies to share a real-time look into this grassroots effort. We have begun our site selection process. We expect to open the full-scale facility within 24 to 36 months.

Here is a video about the museum

Seattle’s EMP Museum “Music + Sci-fi + Pop Culture”, founded by Paul Allen, now includes the former standalone Science Fiction Museum and is referred to as the  “Science Fiction Hall of Fame”.

History, Space films and videos, The Moon

The Last Man on the Moon + The last Soviet robot on the Moon

The documentary The Last Man on the Moon focuses on Apollo 17 astronaut Eugene Cernan. He was the last person to leave his footprint on the Moon when he stepped from the surface into their lunar module for the return trip to rendezvous with the command module on Dec. 14, 1972.

The film had its debut this week in the UK:

Here’s the trailer:

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The last Soviet visitor to the Moonleft its footprints, so to speak, visible from orbit:

Lunakhod-2_track_M122007650RE_500x500Lunokhod 2 track as seen by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

The Lunokhod 2 itself is also visible in LRO images at Soviet Union Lunar Rovers – NASA.

More about Lunokhod 2:

Exoplanets, SETI

Less giggling over searching for ET

The search for signs of extraterrestrial life gets fewer giggles when mentioned today in mixed company. Kathleen Toerpe , deputy CEO for Programs and Special Projects at the Astrosociology Research Institute and editor of The Journal of Astrosociology,  writes about the growing acceptance of the search for extraterrestrial life as a serious and worthwhile pursuit : Putting the ‘Giggle Factor’ to Rest – Centauri Dreams.

Once exiled to the fringes of legitimate scientific inquiry by the Giggle Factor, the search for extraterrestrial life has gained new momentum, focus, and funding as the search broadens to encompass the search for microbial, in addition to intelligent, life. In the end, it may be the children who lead the way into a new future for SETI. In his opening statement, Committee Chair Smith reminded the high school students in attendance at the hearing that day that one of the hearing’s purposes is “to inspire students today to be the scientists of tomorrow.” And the noticeable lack of giggling in the room was magic to my ears.