Observing Sun Spots

There has been a lot of activity on the sun all spring. Currently there is an amazing line of sunspots across the sun facing the earth. While we won't be able to see the Solar eclipse from here this weekend, it was a beautifully clear afternoon so the boys and I set up the telescope to take a look. We also experimented photographing the sun and tried out some different filters.

SAFETY WARNING: NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN, ESPECIALLY THROUGH ANY KIND OF OPTICS WITHOUT PROPER FILTERING. DOING SO WILL CAUSE PERMANENT AND SEVERE EYE DAMAGE IN A MATTER OF SECONDS.

That said, we are using a Celestron C-8 telescope. This is an 8 inch reflector type telescope. We used a 40mm eyepiece so we had a magnification factor of 50x. Mounted to the front of the lens is a Baader AstroSolar filter to make it safe to look at the sun.

"The edges of the sun were so wavy with energy." -MTC

"This was unlike anything I'd ever seen before." -DSC

We are sure to do some more observing of the sun as well as the moon and planets. We also hope to see the Venus transit in June.

Shuttle Enterprise Transfer Flight

Space Shuttle Enterprise is being moved from Smithsonian Air & Space where it has been on display to the Intrepid Sea, Air, Space Museum in NYC. Over the weekend, Enterprise was mounted on top of SCA905, a specially modified Boeing 747 that was used to ferry the Shuttles from remote landing sites back to Kennedy Space Center. The transfer flight for Enterprise was originally scheduled for this morning (Monday 23 Apr) but was postponed due to weather constraints. SCA905 is now scheduled to fly from Dulles Airport in Chantilly, VA (Washington, DC) on Wednesday morning (25 Apr). SCA905 will make several flybys of NYC Metro landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty and the Intrepid before landing at JFK Airport. This will be a unique opportunity to see Enterprise in flight. Following NASAtv (www.nasa.gov/ntv) on Wednesday morning from 9-12 will also give you some sense of when you might have a chance to see the flyover.

This is a photo I took of Enterprise last month when I visited her at Udvar-Hazy Smithsonian Air & Space

I am especially excited about this transfer flight as I have been invited to take part in the welcoming ceremonies for Enterprise at JFK airport on Wednesday morning. Getting to see Enterprise in flight mounted to SCA905 one last time as I first saw her in the 1977 will be very special. I am getting my camera and hankie ready!

Shuttle Enterprise, known as OV-101, is the prototype shuttle used to test how the shuttles would fly through the atmosphere on reentry from space. Enterprise made her maiden flight in August 1977, flown to altitude aboard SCA905 and released for a free-flight and landing at Edwards Air Force Base.  For more info on Enterprise: http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/enterprise.html.

Enterprise holds a special place for me. OV-101 was originally Christened "Constitution." This was not a very popular name choice and many people, myself included, waged a write-in campaign to re-name her Enterprise for the flagship of the Star Trek television series.

Though she never flew in space, Enterprise proved that the orbiters could be controlled in the atmosphere and landed on a runway. Flight characteristics could be studied in full-scale with human pilots at the controls. Without her, none of her 5 sister ships would ever have existed. As Neil de Grasse Tyson once said, "The space shuttle was the realization of aerospace engineering. The fusion of aircraft and spacecraft." Join me as I welcome her to NYC and her new home at the Intrepid Museum.

An Evening With Astro Ron Garan

Ron Garan

Westchester Amateur Astronomers and the Iona College Physics Department are delighted to welcome NASA astronaut and Hudson Valley native son Ron Garan home to New York for a presentation and discussion about his journey of 65,340,224 miles in 2,624 orbits around the Earth during the 164 days he was in space as a crew member onboard the International Space Station.

The talk will be on Wednesday March 14 at Iona College's Murphy Auditorium, located across North Avenue from the Main Entrance to Iona. Doors will open at 7PM.

The even it free, but requires reservation tickets. Reserve online at EventBrite.

The Road to MSL

Confessions of a Space Geek
My MSL NASA Tweetup Story

Chapter 1: The Road to MSL

I have always been a "fan" of NASA and have always thought of myself as a bit of a "space geek." I have vivid memories of watching Apollo mission events on television at school and at my father's television store as a boy. I remember thinking "how cool" the moon buggy was and wanting to someday drive one. I remember watching in fascination as our first orbiting laboratory, SkyLab, was launched and utilized. I recall lying on my back one summer evening in Iowa, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Apollo-Soyuz linkup as it flew overhead on one of its orbital passes. I followed the entire shuttle program, being one of those children who thought the prototype orbiter deserved a better name than the one chosen by the powers that be, and sending in my postcard vote to have it christened "Enterprise." I mourned the losses of Challenger and Columbia. I celebrated the successes of the shuttle program, including the three astronaut catch of the disabled satellite, missions to service the Hubble Space Telescope, the launches of the first American women and African Americans into space, and the construction of the International Space Station.

STS-135
©MWilkinson

I watched countless launches and landings on television, and when regular television deemed them unworthy of air time, I listened on the radio and watched on NASAtv on the computer. I got up before dawn to watch shuttles on night launches streak across the eastern sky and in July 2011, was able to take my family to Kennedy Space Center to witness the final shuttle launch, STS-135 Atlantis, in person.

Ferguson & Magnus
©MWilkinson

About a year ago, I rediscovered NASA astronauts tweeting on their preparation for missions and started following various NASA Twitter accounts. When I learned that NASA held special events for their Twitter followers, I began to apply. First for STS135 Launch, then JSC Shuttle Simulator, followed by GRAIL and Juno launch TweetUps. I became what some of my fellow SpaceTweeps called a Tweetject. Then in September of 2011, I was finally selected to participate in a post mission Tweetup for STS-135 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. Even though this was a very short event, lasting only a couple of hours, it affirmed all I had thought a Tweetup would be. A chance to hear from people who were at the heart of space exploration and share that with people who shared my own enthusiasm and interest. I was able to meet several of my Tweeps in person and extend our virtual friendships to the physical world.

©NASA/JPL

When it was announced that there would be a Tweetup for the launch of the Mars Science Laboratory, I knew I would once again put my name in for consideration. I immediately recalled those first images sent back from Mars in 1976 by the Viking probe. I remember how exciting it was that summer to see the surface of Mars for the first time. The image of a rock strewn landscape and a cloudless sky first in black and white and then in Martian ocre, are forever etched in my memory. Several probes and rovers followed, each contributing to our understanding of our neighboring planet. Curiosity is the most sophisticated of all the robotic probes that have been sent to explore space and I found myself totally captivated by its design and potential. Being more connected to this important mission was very compelling. So, my application was submitted and the wait for a reply began.

On October 9 I opened my email to find a message from NASAHQ. As excited as I was to read it, I also didn't want to see the fateful "regret to inform that you were not selected" phrase I'd seen on my other attempts. Sure enough, that's exactly what it contained. But wait, there was a glimmer of hope this time, I WAS on the Waitlist! It would take another two weeks before I would hear that I had been moved from the Waitlist to the list of Attendees for the MSL Launch Tweetup. I was so stunned when the second message arrived, I hardly reacted. Once I convinced myself, after SEVERAL re-reads of the message, that I was indeed invited, the celebration began! I was going to be at Kennedy Space Center to help send off Curiosity on its mission to Mars!


Upcoming Chapters
Compelled to bring into curriculum
NASA is NOT Closed
Who Says Smart Isn't Cool?
Lift-Off
#NASATweetup Reflections
It Continues to be Relevant

MSL/Curiosty Launches to Mars

At the Countdown Clock on the Morning of Launch

We arrived before dawn to meet Astronauts Doug Wheelock, Leland Melvin, Charlie Bolden along with Lori Garver, Bill Nye, and Will.I.Am to witness this mornings launch. A few photos until I can prepare a proper post.

Bill Nye The Science Guy

Lori Garver, NASA Assistant Director

MW and Astronaut Doug Wheelock

Astronaut Leland Melvin,
NASA Director of Eduction

 

Astronaut Charlie Bolden, NASA Director

Will.i.am Speaks about the importance
of Math, Science and the Arts

Atlas V Launches from Pad 41
 carrying MSL/Curiosity
©mwilkinson

Launch -1 Day

Tomorrow is LAUNCH DAY! If all goes well, MSL/Curiosity will leap into space aboard an Atlas V launch vehicle at 10:02 a.m. A full day of presentations and tours. Each of the project members who presented were so enthusiastic about their work. I will share more about the presentations and more photos. I don't have the time or energy to write a proper post tonight an d have to get up very early tomorrow morning to be at the launch. In the mean time, here are couple of favorites from the tour today.

Inside the VAB
It's 40 stories to the top.
The entire Saturn V could stand erect in this room!

The VAB at Dusk

Pad 34
Abandon In Place

MSL Ready for Launch

MSL and Atlas V Launch Vehicle

Pre NASATWEETUP Activities

The past two days have been a wonderful opportunity to explore Kennedy Space Center and get to know some of my fellow SpaceTweeps. We spent Wednesday afternoon exploring the northern end of Merritt Island and the Wildlife Refuge there. Saw a lot of birds, including cormorant, pelicans, osprey, bald eagles, egrets and great blue herons. We also saw a manatee.

The next stop was Playalinda Beach, in the shadow of Launch Complex 39, where all of the Apollo and Shuttle launches took place. As the sun set, we were treated to a spectacular display of color and clouds.

Thanksgiving Day was spent at the Visitors Complex. About a third of the Tweeps attended "Lunch with an Astronaut" hosted by J O Creighton, 3-time shuttle astronaut. Creighton shared a description of the shuttle training flow and shared reflections from his missions. Later in the afternoon, I had an opportunity to ask him why he thought it was important for human space exploration to continue. He responded, "There a lot of reasons, but I think that the human desire to explore is one of the biggest reasons. So much [spin off] has come from the space program. It inspired an entire generation to explore science, math and engineering. And not just by those like myself who went on to become astronauts, or to work directly in the space program, but countless others who pursued careers in math, science and engineering." He concluded, "The robotic missins are learning a lot, but there is another dimension added when a human being is experiencing it directly."

I took a ride on the "Shuttle Launch Experience," a simulation of a shuttle launch. It was a lot of fun, and gave a great impression of what the launch might feel like.

After the simulation concludes, you exit down a spiraling ramp. Along the rail are plaques for each of the STS missions from 1 through 135. Each plaque featured a photograph of the crew, their names, and mission patch. It was a very moving exhibit, raising emotions, especially as you approached the Challenger and Columbia missions.

I also saw a full scale models of Curiosity and the Orion capsule, took part in a Lego build, and shared the day with some great people who all share my interest and passion for space exploration.

Now, it's time to get some rest before the official TweetUp begins tomorrow morning.


Happy Thanksgiving from Kennedy Space Center!