Tuesday, June 30, 2015

'Leap Second' Tue. Evening Due to Slowing Earth Rotation Rate

Portal icon
Pocket watch, savonette-type. (Image Source: Wikipedia.org ; Photograph by Isabelle Grosjean)

By Glenn A. Walsh
Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

On Tuesday evening, our clocks will slow down by a second, to match the slowing of the rotation rate of the Earth. At 7:59:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EDT) / 23:59:59 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on Tuesday Evening, 2015 June 30, an additional second will be added to the civil time scale just before the month of July officially begins according to Coordinated Universal Time, the international time scale used by many scientists.

Known as a “Leap Second,” one second is added to the time scale, periodically, either at the very end of June or the very end of December. Since the first Leap Second was added in 1972, 25 Leap Seconds have been added, the last one in June of 2012.

More - Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2015/01/slowing-of-rotation-rate-necessitates.html

Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.

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gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Also see: South Hills Backyard Astronomers Blog: < http://shbastronomers.blogspot.com/ >
Barnestormin: Writing, Essays, Pgh. News, & More: < http://www.barnestormin.blogspot.com/ >
About the SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
  < http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
  < http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
  < http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >

Thursday, June 25, 2015

2 Brightest Planets Close-in for Amazing Show June 30

http://en.es-static.us/upl/2015/06/Venus_Jupiter.jpg
Computer simulation of what a binocular view of Venus (centered) and Jupiter will look like on June 30 (Image Sources: Stellarium, EarthSky.org )

By Glenn A. Walsh
Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

The two brightest planets, as viewed from Earth in the evening sky, will appear to come extremely close at the end of the month. In a somewhat rare, close conjunction, Venus and Jupiter will seem to come within 0.3 degree of each other; not until August 27 of next year will they to seem to come this close again. Even now, as June is ending, Venus and Jupiter can be seen getting closer to each other, each evening after sunset in the western sky.

While most observers will see the apparent close approach of the two planets on the evening of June 30, the actual conjunction (astronomically, the moment when both objects have the same Right Ascension: 9 hours, 37 minutes), occurs the next morning. The conjunction of Venus and Jupiter occurs on Wednesday Morning, 2015 July 1 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EDT) / 14:00 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), when Venus will be 0.4 degree south of Jupiter. Of course, the evening of July 1 will also be a good time to see the aftermath of this conjunction, when the two planets still appear very close.

So, June 30 – July 1, Venus and Jupiter will appear so close, the apparent distance between them will be less than the diameter of viewing the Moon during the Full Moon phase. You should be able to stretch-out your arm and cover-up both planets at the same time with your “pinky” finger (now, that is rare)! In fact, you may have trouble distinguishing the two planets, separately, unless you use a telescope or binoculars.

Now, this event will occur each evening, from now through several days after the July 1 conjunction, as the two planets approach each other then separate after the conjunction, just after sunset in the western sky each night. Venus, being much closer to the Sun, always appears either shortly after sunset or shortly before sunrise.

Venus, being the brightest planet in the sky, will be very easy to find after sunset. In fact, it is so bright, that it is common to be able to find Venus a few minutes before sunset, which some people consider even more beautiful with a cobalt hue background of the early evening twilight. Being somewhat dimmer, Jupiter will be seen shortly after sunset, and it will be easy to find as it will appear as the brightest object just above Venus.

Another relatively bright object will also be visible in this area of the sky, the Star Regulus. Officially known as Alpha Leonis (a Leonis), Regulus is the brightest star in the Constellation Leo the Lion. Regulus will appear above, and a little to the left of Venus and Jupiter, as you look in the western sky.

Outside the Sun and the Moon, Venus and Jupiter are the brightest objects that can be seen in Earth's sky. Sometimes erroneously referred to as the “evening star,” Venus outshines any other planet as viewed from Earth for three reasons: Venus is the closest planet to Earth, it is closer to the Sun than Earth (second planet from the Sun, while Earth is the third), and Venus is constantly obscured by clouds which reflect the Sun's light more intensely than Jupiter's clouds (as Venus is much closer to the Sun than Jupiter). Venus is so bright, that often people will confuse it for a "UFO" (unidentified flying object).

Astronomers measure the apparent brightness of celestial objects using a scale known as Visual Magnitude, which actually was first established by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus in the second century B.C. (one of the most famous of the ancient astronomers, his name is inscribed on the exterior, Indiana limestone wall of Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science, just below the planetarium dome). Visual Magnitudes are a logarithmic scale, where a change in Magnitude of one equates to a change in brightness of about two and one-half times. The lower the Magnitude number the brighter the object. This includes negative numbers. Here are the apparent Visual Magnitudes of some well-known sky objects --

Sun: - 26.75
Moon at Full Moon Phase: - 13
Venus at its brightest: - 5
Sirius, brightest star in the night sky: - 1.44
Star Regulus (a Leo A): 1.36
Star Polaris (a UMi A), the “North Star”: 1.97
Reflections or “Flares” from Iridium Communication Satellites: - 9
International Space Station: - 6
(Except for stars such as the Sun, Sirius, Regulus, and Polaris, the brightness from all the others are from reflected sunlight.)

At the July 1 conjunction, Venus, the brightest planet in the sky, will measure: - 4.6 in Visual Magnitude. The Visual Magnitude of the second brightest planet in the sky, Jupiter, will be: - 1.8. The Visual Magnitudes of the planets vary, depending on how close they are to the Earth and to the Sun. In the case of Venus, the brightness also depends on the phase of the planet (for this conjunction, Venus will be in a “fat” crescent phase). Both Venus and Mercury, the two planets closer to the Sun than Earth, have phases somewhat similar to the phases of the Moon.

Most stars, except for variable stars, have a fairly constant Visual Magnitude. Hence, Regulus will be shining at a Visual Magnitude of 1.36, as always.

Only about ten hours after the actual conjunction of Venus and Jupiter, the Moon's Full Moon phase occurs: Wednesday Evening, 2015 July 1 at 10:20 p.m. EDT / July 2 at 2:20 UTC. And, because this Full Moon comes on the first day of a 31-day month, the second Full Moon of July is known to some people as a so-called “Blue Moon,” which will occur Friday Morning, 2015 July 31 at 6:43 a.m. EDT / 10:43 UTC.

More on Venus: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus

More on Jupiter: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter

More on Star Regulus: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulus

More on Conjunctions of celestial objects:
More on Visual Magnitudes of celestial objects:

More on Hipparchus: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipparchus
Photo of Hipparchus name inscribed on exterior wall of Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science (inscription on right side of photo: southwest wall):

Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.

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Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >..

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Also see: South Hills Backyard Astronomers Blog: < http://shbastronomers.blogspot.com/ >
Barnestormin: Writing, Essays, Pgh. News, & More: < http://www.barnestormin.blogspot.com/ >
About the SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
  < http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
  < http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
  < http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Snowballs on the First Day of Summer!

http://buhlplanetarium3.tripod.com/BuhlSolsticeDay-2.JPG
Thirty years ago today (1985 June 21), Buhl Science Center Public Relations Director Jo Lee weighs and measures a visitor's snowball, on the Allegheny Square Plaza outside of Buhl's entrance, during the first time snowballs were used for free admission to Buhl's Summer "Solstice Day" activities.

By Glenn A. Walsh
Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

The first day of Summer, which coincides with Father's Day this year, begins early this afternoon, and again this year, snowballs will be flying in Pittsburgh! Pittsburgh's Carnegie Science Center continues a tradition that started thirty years ago at Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science, then known as Buhl Science Center.

Summer officially begins at the moment of the Summer Solstice, 12:38 p.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EDT) / 16:38 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on Sunday Afternoon, 2015 June 21. Due to the constant 23.4-degree inclination of Earth's axis relative to sunlight falling on its surface, the June Solstice is the only moment of the year when the Earth's North Pole is tilted the full 23.4 degrees towards the Sun.

Thirty years ago today, the Buhl Science Center started a tradition of free admission on the Summer "Solstice Day" (June 21), for any person bringing a snowball to the Science Center. In 2015, The Carnegie Science Center offers visitors bringing a snowball on "Snowball Day" (usually June 21) the opportunity to name their own admission price.

In a news article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in January of 1985, the public had been alerted to save snowballs in their freezer for this special event. And, the public responded.

According to Jo Lee, Buhl Science Center Public Relations Director, more than 1,200 snowballs were brought to the Science Center that Friday afternoon (1985 June 21), from locations throughout Western Pennsylvania including Hastings in Cambria County. Even a 3 1/2-foot snowman (actually called a snowwoman, by the girls who saved it and brought it to Buhl), complete with red and blue striped bathing suit, sunglasses, and straw hat, from Leechburg, Armstrong County, was assembled on the Allegheny Square Plaza outside of the Science Center's entrance!

Other activities in 1985's fourth annual Solstice Day event included cooking hot dogs by solar energy, in two large steel bowls. The hot dogs would cook at the focal point of the Sun's energy in the solar cooker, while the metal exterior of the cooker remained cool. There was also a sunrise / sunset photographic contest, and children could make their own home-made sundials to take home with them.

This was the only free admission event of the year sponsored by the Buhl Science Center. Ms. Lee emphasized that this type of event was to show young people that Science can be fun! But, Science also means that the snowballs were weighed, measured, and a teacher showed the children how to test a melted snowball for acidity. There were also contests for the largest snowball, smallest snowball, and the most number of snowballs. And, there was the "Great Melt-off, the slowest race Pittsburgh ever had," where snowballs were timed melting in the day's sunny, 76-degree Fahrenheit heat.

Summer had already begun (Summer Solstice in 1985 occurred at 6:44:09 a.m. EDT / 10:44:09 UTC on June 21) by the time the Buhl activities got underway at 11:00 a.m. EDT / 15:00 UTC. The activities wound-up around 4:00 p.m. EDT / 20:00 UTC. In 1985, Buhl Science Center closed on Fridays at 5:00 p.m. EDT / 21:00 UTC.

A year later, after successful lobbying by the author (Buhl staff member Glenn A. Walsh), Buhl resumed evening hours on Friday evenings until 9:30 p.m. ET, with the addition of Buhl's Astronomical Observatory remaining open on Friday evenings until 10:30 p.m. ET, weather-permitting, year-round. Except for laser shows and the popular four-month (November through February) exhibition of the Miniature Railroad and Village, year-round evening hours Thursday through Sunday had been eliminated in 1984.

The tradition of bringing snowballs for Summer "Solstice Day" continued until Buhl Science Center closed as a public museum on 1991 August 31. The Carnegie Science Center resumed this tradition, beginning with the Summer Solstice of 2007.

"Get out your snowballs."
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 1985 June 13.
Link >>> https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19850613&id=HdhRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=U24DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3179,3141334&hl=en

National Coverage via the Associated Press Wire Service ---

"Children stage icy reception to greet first day of summer."
The Gadsden Times, Gadsden, Alabama 1985 June 22.
Link >>> https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1891&dat=19850622&id=D7gfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qdcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4398,4456107&hl=en

"Pittsburgh celebrates summer with snow."
The Ledger, Lakeland, Florida 1985 June 22.
Link >>> https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=19850622&id=s-8vAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1vsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4275,2314751&hl=en

More on the Buhl Science Center's Summer "Solstice Day" Annual Event (1982 to 1991):
Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/Buhlexhibits.htm#solstice

More on The Carnegie Science Center's "Snowball Day" Annual Event (2007 to Present):
Link >>> http://www.carnegiesciencecenter.org/calendar/event-details/?eventID=1932&year=2015&month=6&date=21

Special Thanks: Eric G. Canali, former Floor Manager of Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science and Founder of the South Hills Backyard Astronomers amateur astronomy club.

Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.

Want to receive SpaceWatchtower blog posts in your inbox ?
Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >..

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Also see: South Hills Backyard Astronomers Blog: < http://shbastronomers.blogspot.com/ >
Barnestormin: Writing, Essays, Pgh. News, & More: < http://www.barnestormin.blogspot.com/ >
About the SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
  < http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
  < http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
  < http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >

Monday, June 15, 2015

Photos: Remnants of Russian Space Shuttle

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The remnants of the Russian Space Shuttle Buran, which was an operational program from 1974 to 1993. (Image Sources: Ralph Mirebs, Petapixel.com )

By Michael Zhang

Russian urban exploration photographer Ralph Mirebs recently paid a visit to the Baikonur Cosmodrome, where inside a giant abandoned hangar are decaying remnants of prototypes from the Soviet space shuttle program.

Gizmodo writes that the Buran program was in operation for nearly two decades from 1974 to 1993. One automated orbital flight resulted from the extensive program, but the project was shuttered when the Soviet Union collapsed.

Mirebs went into the massive 62-meter (~203 foot) tall hangar and captured a fascinating series of photos showing the detail and complexity of a space program that met an untimely end.

Mirebs Photographs of the remnants of the Russian Space Shuttle:
Link >>> http://petapixel.com/2015/06/14/photographer-captures-the-ruins-of-the-soviet-space-shuttle-program/

Source: Petapixel.com .

More on the Russian Buran Space Shuttle Program:
Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran_programme

More on the Russian Buran Space Shuttle Spacecraft:
Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran_%28spacecraft%29

Want to receive SpaceWatchtower blog posts in your inbox ?
Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >..

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Also see: South Hills Backyard Astronomers Blog: < http://shbastronomers.blogspot.com/ >
Barnestormin: Writing, Essays, Pgh. News, & More: < http://www.barnestormin.blogspot.com/ >
About the SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
  < http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
  < http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
  < http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >

Public Comments: Proposed Pittsburgh Bus Rapid Transit Project

The following are the public comments of Glenn A. Walsh regarding the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, which proposes to build a BRT line between the Downtown and Oakland / University and Medical Center areas of the City of Pittsburgh. These comments were transmitted on June 2, via electronic mail, to the Principal Transportation Planner of the City of Pittsburgh, as directed in the Scoping Booklet for the National Environmental Policy Act Review for the Downtown - Uptown - Oakland - East End Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Study.




Source: Glenn A. Walsh, 37- year public transit advocate and a Charter Member of the Port Authority of Allegheny County's citizens advisory committee (member of Allegheny County Transit Council: 1984 to 1989).

Want to receive SpaceWatchtower blog posts in your inbox ?
Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >..

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Also see: South Hills Backyard Astronomers Blog: < http://shbastronomers.blogspot.com/ >
Barnestormin: Writing, Essays, Pgh. News, & More: < http://www.barnestormin.blogspot.com/ >
About the SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
  < http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
  < http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
  < http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Pluto's Moons Spin Unpredictably in Orbit

This image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows Pluto and its five known moons. The New Horizons team plans to study the moons during July's Pluto flyby. L. Frattare / STScI / NASA / ESA
This Hubble Space Telescope image shows Pluto and its five known moons. The New Horizons spacecraft will study Pluto’s moons during its July, 2015 flyby.
(Image Sources: L. Frattare / STScI / NASA / ESA.)

If you lived on one of Pluto’s small moons Nix or Hydra, you’d have a hard time setting your alarm clock. That’s because you couldn’t know for sure when, or even in which direction, the sun would rise. This is a surprising result of new observations of the Pluto-Charon system published in the journal Nature, and it’s illustrated by a new computer animation (Internet link to new computer animation at end of this blog post).

Charon, Pluto's largest moon, is much larger than the other moons and more than half the size of Pluto.

In the animation, Pluto’s moon Nix changes its spin unpredictably as it moves through space, orbiting the double world Pluto and its largest moon Charon. The view is from the surface of Pluto as Nix circles the Pluto-Charon system. This is a time-lapse view of the moon, compressing four years of motion into two minutes, with one complete orbit of Pluto-Charon every two seconds (in contrast to the actual orbital period of 24.9 days).

The animation comes after comprehensive analysis of all available Hubble Space Telescope data showing that two of Pluto’s moons, Nix and Hydra, are wobbling unpredictably.

Scientists believe the other two small moons, Kerberos and Styx, are likely in a similar situation, pending further study.

John Grunsfeld is associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C. He said:
Hubble has provided a new view of Pluto and its moons revealing a cosmic dance with a chaotic rhythm. When the New Horizons spacecraft flies through the Pluto system in July we’ll get a chance to see what these moons look like up close and personal.
Why the chaos? Scientists say it’s because the moons are embedded inside a dynamically shifting gravitational field caused by the system’s two central bodies, Pluto and Charon, whirling about each other. The variable gravitational field induces torques that send the smaller moons tumbling in unpredictable ways. This torque is strengthened by the fact the moons are football shaped rather than spherical.

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will get a closer view of the Pluto-Charon system, when the spacecraft flies-by the system next month.

More Including New Computer Animation:
Link >>> http://earthsky.org/space/plutos-moons-tumble-in-chaotic-dance

Source: EarthSky.org .

More on Pluto: Link >>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto

More on Charon: Link >>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charon_%28moon%29

Want to receive SpaceWatchtower blog posts in your inbox ?
Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >..

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Also see: South Hills Backyard Astronomers Blog: < http://shbastronomers.blogspot.com/ >
Barnestormin: Writing, Essays, Pgh. News, & More: < http://www.barnestormin.blogspot.com/ >
About the SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
  < http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
  < http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
  < http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >

Friday, June 5, 2015

Clean-Up Space Junk w/ Laser Cannon?

A rearward view of the International Space Station backdropped by the limb of the Earth. In view are the station's four large, gold-coloured solar array wings, two on either side of the station, mounted to a central truss structure. Further along the truss are six large, white radiators, three next to each pair of arrays. In between the solar arrays and radiators is a cluster of pressurised modules arranged in an elongated T shape, also attached to the truss. A set of blue solar arrays are mounted to the module at the aft end of the cluster.
"International Space Station after undocking of STS-132" by NASA/Crew of STS-132 - http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-132/hires/s132e012208.jpg(http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-132/html/s132e012208.html). Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:International_Space_Station_after_undocking_of_STS-132.jpg#/media/File:International_Space_Station_after_undocking_of_STS-132.jpg

By Danielle Venton

If a team of astronomers has its way, the International Space Station will be outfitted with a spiffy laser-wielding telescope. No, no, hold on—it’s not to kill aliens or rebel civilizations. It’s to clean up a huge mess.

If anything rivals the human drive for exploration, it is the apparent need to leave a spectacular plume of trash in our wake. In space, the problem is becoming acute. Decades of discarded satellites and unchecked collisions have left some 3,000 tons of debris in orbit. Mankind’s slovenly ways threaten our continued use of space-based satellites, which have become a core component of modern technological infrastructure.

Lasers could be the saviors in operation Orbital Clean House. A team of astronomers at Japan’s RIKEN, a network of basic-research laboratories, have proposed adding debris-zapping capabilities to a telescope they are already developing for the International Space Station.

If the notion of lasers in space sounds slightly terrifying, you’re not alone. “The problem with it is mostly political,” says Don Kessler, who spent more than 30 years at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. “Everyone is afraid you are going to weaponize space.”

For the team at RIKEN, the proposed laser cannon is a way to not only clean up their beloved orbits but also make their telescope, the Extreme Universe Space Observatory, more practically relevant, says project scientist Marco Casolino. With its wide field of view and the ability to register even the quickest flashes of light, the scope would be well suited for spotting debris as it whizzes past the International Space Station.

Now, the RIKEN team isn’t the first to suggest lasers as debris-fighting tools: Scientists have for at least 30 years kicked around the idea of laser-vaporizing an object’s surface and knocking it into the atmosphere to burn up.

In the United States, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration—which publishes Orbital Debris Quarterly News, a must read for space junk enthusiasts—proposes fighting space debris with a ground-based laser.

More - Link >>> http://www.wired.com/2015/05/laser-cannon-space-debris/

Source: Wired Magazine.

Related Blog Posts ---

New USAF 'Space Fence' to Track Space Junk by 2019  (2014 May 10):

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2014/05/new-usaf-space-fence-to-track-space.html

New Satellites to Watch Space Junk, Foreign Spacecraft  (2014 Feb. 22):

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2014/02/new-satellites-to-watch-space-junk.html

Finding Space Junk: DARPA Seeks New Sensors  (2013 Dec. 26):

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2013/12/finding-space-junk-darpa-seeks-new.html

Space Junk Tracking to be Hindered by Shutdown of USAF 'Space Fence'  (2013 Aug. 15):

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2013/08/space-junk-tracking-to-be-hindered-by.html

China Space Junk/Russian Satellite Collision Never Happened?  (2013 March 20):

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2013/03/china-space-junkrussian-satellite.html


China Space Junk Crash w/Russian Satellite: Legal Action Unlikely (2013 March 13):

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2013/03/china-space-junk-crash-wrussian.html

DARPA Asks Amateur Astronomers to Track Space Junk  (2012 Nov. 15):

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2012/11/darpa-asks-amateur-astronomers-to-track.html

Space Junk Prompts Space Station Orbit Change  (2012 Oct. 3):

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2012/10/space-junk-prompts-space-station-orbit.html


Swiss May Remove Space Junk  (2012 Feb. 17):

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2012/02/swiss-may-remove-space-junk.html


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gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
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Barnestormin: Writing, Essays, Pgh. News, & More: < http://www.barnestormin.blogspot.com/ >
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  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
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  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
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* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
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Monday, June 1, 2015

Astronomical Calendar: 2015 June


In time for the 71st anniversary of D-Day (June 6), the day Allied Forces began the invasion to liberate Europe during World War II, a new Omnimax film titled "D-Day: Normandy 1944" and narrated by famous broadcaster and World War II author Tom Brokaw, has begun public showings at the Rangos Omnimax Theater in Pittsburgh's Carnegie Science Center.
More information: Link >>> http://www.carnegiesciencecenter.org/omnimax/d-day-normandy-1944/
(Image Source: The Carnegie Science Center)

Astronomical Calendar for 2015 June:
Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium4.tripod.com/astrocalendar/2015.html#jun

The current month's Astronomical Calendar can also be found on the cover page of the History of The Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science, Pittsburgh web site at this link:
Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#astrocal 

Source: Friends of the Zeiss.

Want to receive SpaceWatchtower blog posts in your inbox ?
Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >..

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Also see: South Hills Backyard Astronomers Blog: < http://shbastronomers.blogspot.com/ >
Barnestormin: Writing, Essays, Pgh. News, & More: < http://www.barnestormin.blogspot.com/ >
About the SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
  < http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
  < http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
  < http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >