I just requested this at the library. Can't wait to watch it! Afrofuturism! Crazy jazz! Science fiction! *LOVE*
Showing posts with label Space. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Space. Show all posts
9.03.2008
...teleport the whole planet here through music.
7.02.2008
Quick Question
If you had to decide between being the bride of Lucifer or the bride of an intergalactic villain, which would you choose?
You know how I love to travel, so it should come as no surprise that I would probably choose the intergalactic villain. However, my concern with this is that Lucifer would be totally ripped and gorgeous. Tough choice. What is sexier, magic or crime? Both have the potential to be very lame. Is the intergalactic villain a suave, Cary Grant kinda guy? Did hell freeze over or is it hott down there? You know I hate cold weather. Is space really cold? Which one would let me dress them? Who is a talker? Who could do me good and dirty?
These are my main concerns.
6.23.2008
sonographic!
tomorrow I will have an ultrasound. a few weeks ago I was seduced by an alien...this is kinda what happened:
except I wasn't wearing eyeliner.
If that scared you too much, watch this:
5.27.2008
5.12.2008
4.27.2008
Only 248 days to go!
2009 is the International Year of Astronomy, people.
Visit the website to learn more about initiatives and programs, etc.
Watch the trailer-style announcement:
I'm super excited!
4.22.2008
Super Crazy! Russian Cover-Up, Shuttle Almost Burns Up on Re-entry
This is taken directly from Universe Today, article by Ian O'Neill (www.universetoday.com)
Soyuz Capsule Hatch Nearly Burned Up and Crew's Lives Were on a "Razor's Edge"
Written by Ian O'Neill
First, Russian space officials tried to cover up the emergency landing of the Soyuz descent capsule on Saturday. Then they blamed the crew for changing their flight plan without communicating with mission control. Compounding the problem, an official cited a bad omen as a contributing factor to the hard landing. Within a couple of days, the truth behind the Soyuz "ballistic re-entry" began to come to light. Today, even more shocking revelations are being reported, including how the escape hatch nearly failed during the uncontrolled, fiery re-entry…
On Sunday, the Universe Today reported on the off-target landing of the Russian Soyuz descent capsule carrying South Korea's first astronaut, Yi So-yeon, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and NASA record breaker (for most time spent in space) American Peggy Whitson back from the International Space Station (ISS). The capsule had landed short of its intended target, 20 minutes behind schedule. The authorities later blamed the mishap on a change in flight plan and suggested the crew were to blame. Then, surprisingly, Federal Space Agency chief Anatoly Perminov placed some of the blame on the female dominant crew, saying women on board space missions were bad luck.
Yesterday, I reported on some updates to the drama that had unfolded. Apparently, even before the rescue helicopters had located the capsule, the Russian space agency publicised the crew's safe return, covering up the fact they had no idea where they were. What's more, the helicopters had been sent to the wrong location, and it was by chance that the capsule's parachutes were spotted. The capsule had landed in a zone reserved for emergency touch-downs and the crew suffered a "hard landing". Not being able to send a signal to mission control, the crew remained upside down, strapped to their seats for 25 minutes. Malenchenko was able to unlatch himself to get outside to use a satellite phone. Some news agencies reported that the parachute had even caught alight and set the surrounding vegetation on fire.
Today, even more revelations have been reported. According to an unnamed Russian space official, the capsule had entered the atmosphere in an uncontrolled manner. Rather than the capsule's heat shield taking the frictional re-entry burn, the escape hatch became exposed and bore the brunt of the high temperatures outside. The hatch sustained substantial damage. The antenna was also exposed to the heat, completely burning it up, explaining why the crew were unable to communicate with the ground. A valve that equalizes cabin with atmospheric pressure was also damaged.
"The fact that the entire crew ended up whole and undamaged is a great success. Everything could have turned out much worse. You could say the situation was on a razor's edge." - Anonymous Russian space official involved in the descent investigation.
Russian Federal Space Agency spokesman, Alexander Vorobyov, continued to downplay the series of events saying that antennae were regularly damaged during capsule re-entries. He rated Saturday's event as a "3", where "5" on the scale would be critical.
This troubled landing has naturally raised questions about the safety record of the Soyuz capsules currently being used. This is the second time in a row (and the third since 2003) that there have been serious problems during re-entry of Soyuz capsules. The official continued to say that there can be no guarantee that this will not happen again:
"Considering that this situation has repeated itself, it is obvious that the technological discipline in preparing space equipment for a flight is declining. There is no guarantee that the crew of a Soyuz spacecraft landing a half a year from now would not face the same difficulties." - Anonymous Russian space official
During the confusion as to where the Soyuz capsule had landed, there are unconfirmed reports that the U.S. Defence Department tracked the off-target landing and pinpointed its location for Russian helicopters. NASA is reserving comment until the Russian Federal Space Agency finds the cause of the uncontrolled descent.
Investigators suspect that the ballistic re-entry was caused by an electrical short in the cable that connects the crew capsule's control panel with the Soyuz descent hardware. A short circuit in this cable can automatically trigger the ballistic re-entry mode and there is little the crew could have done to prevent it.
Sources: The Associated Press, New Scientist
4.21.2008
Oopsy-Doodle!
Normal G-forces during re-entry during this day and age are about 1.5 g's. However, during the early NASA days of the Apollo missions, etc, normal re-entry g's were around 7 g's. Cosmonauts in 1975 had a problem with their Soyuz rocket in re-entry and experience 14-15 g's! That is crazy you guys, most people can't do anything with their body once they reach about 10 g's.
4.06.2008
I've got your polar coronal holes RIGHT HERE!
in my pants.
vive l'eruption solaire:
Blogger's Note: No polar coronal holes are visible in this video. Use your imagination or follow this link: http://a1862.g.akamai.net/7/1862/14448/v1/esa.download.akamai.com/13452/mpeg/2008-03-28-hinode_NAM-Feb20-08.mpg
This is neat, too:
8.16.2007
perseids
so here's how it all went down:
p's parents house in g'town. a little more light pollution than expected, but all in all, not bad. about 2.5 - 3 hours viewing. we were in her driveway on some blankets, she decided to nap, I couldn't. I listened to my ipod and watched.
4 earthgrazers! I hadn't ever seen one before. they left a glitter path across the sky. yeah!
in total, about two dozen meteors. I don't think I've ever seen more than three before.
and you know what I realized? I LOVE STARS!!! I love the sky, I love being outside, I love frogs and bugs that sound ridiculously loud. I vow to make more time to do this, even when there is no meteor shower. maybe once a month at the new moon.
before next month comes around, I will figure out how to take good pictures.
8.06.2007
little updates
phone interview for a job today - didn't do so well! I do better when I can see a face, eyes.
um, I'm thinking about entering a recipe contest with a variation on my "this is good shit!" cake. yes, I will invite certain individuals over for taste-testing.
perseids peak this sunday night! as of now, just partly cloudy skies forecasted, keep your fingers crossed. it's a new moon that night, and that is a huge improvement over last year (or the last shower I tried to watch which was in the spring, I think).
interview tomorrow with the job I'm most excited about! I will be on the ball for that one, no kidding.
I'm looking forward to watching the shows we recorded from shark week. yeah, I know, but seriously there had better be a lot of shark teeth-in human flesh action or I will be disappointed.
started reading a sci-fi book, the first in a long time, recommended from a reading list. like the plot, and I've only read the first few chapters, but now I remember why I find it difficult to get into genre lit - the quality of the writing is lacking. it's not one of the legendary authors, so I wasn't expecting anything revelatory, but I was hoping for some finesse.
must read: in africa a thing is true at first light and a lie by noon... started it, but never finished, and a conversation saturday reminded me of the potential.
ciao!
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