Here’s a good overview of the risks and rewards involved in meteorite collecting: Meteorites: Risky Investments From Space – ABC News.
Find more at HobbySpace about collecting meteorites and other space memorabilia and collectables.
Asteroids and Congress + Space law roundup + Open lines on The Space Show
Politics and asteroids: Lawmakers: Not spacey to study asteroids – Breanna Edwards/POLITICO.com
Res Communis posts the latest collection of space and aviation law, regulation and policy links: Library: A Round-up of Reading.
Talk space policy on The Space Show tonight: Twitter / SpaceShow:
Open Lines tonight,7-9 PM PST (10 PM -12:00 AM EST). Space/Stem topics OK. Listen @ http://www.thespaceshow.com . Call 1-866-687-7223
Alan Stern and naming exoplanets
Alan Stern, former head of the New Horizons mission to Pluto and former head of NASA space science division, is also involved in several commercial ventures, including Uwingu, which aims to raise money for space science projects via profit making products and services. The first Uwingu service invites the public to suggest names for the many planets that are being found orbiting other stars. The names selected will not be official or binding but the activity can still be fun for the public. Stern talks with New Scientist about Uwingu and exoplanet naming: We need to rethink how we name exoplanets – New Scientist.
High altitude balloon kits and tutorials
High altitude balloon projects have become increasingly popular with students and hobbyists in the past few years. Usually such balloon adventurers would gather up the necessary info and materials from a variety of sources. Now there are sites that offer complete kits. For example, the project in the previous post used hardware from High Altitude Science. That site offers weather ballooning kits and offers on line tutorials.
Here are some similar stores:
Here are a couple of tutorial/testimonials :
- High Altitude Balloon Launch – SparkFun Electronics
- Flight 2 – High ALtitude Object
- Do-It-Yourself Gadgets: Weather Balloon Kit – tutorial (in English) for flying in Germany
Find lots more info and links in the HobbySpace Near Space section.
Hello Kitty reaches new heights in balloon flight viewership
I guess everybody else has been pointing to the high altitude adventure of Lauren Rojas’s Hello Kitty doll. Her video has reached almost 769,000 views at the moment.
Besides the cuteness, it was quite an impressive project for a 13 year old
- Hello Kitty says hello to space, thanks to Antioch teen’s science project – Inside Bay Area – Feb.7.13
- The science behind Hello Kitty’s wild ride – Inside Bay Area – Feb. 7.13