Profile
Photos
Comments
August 2nd, 2009
Orbiting Toolbag Will Enter Atmosphere Aug. 3
ISS Toolbag. Credit: NASA TV
The most famous toolbag in the world (and pace) will soon be no more. The ISS Toolbag will enter Earth's
atmosphere and completely burn up. Current estimates say the toolbag
should become a fireball on August 3 around 1316 Universal Time. It
should be visible over the Pacific Ocean west of Mexico (12.7° N,
257.1° E). Astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper dropped the
backpack-sized kit on Nov. 18, 2008, while she was working outside the
International Space Station. Since then the toolbag has circled Earth
over 4,000 times, and has even been visible from the ground. Keep track
of the toolbag at Heaven's Above or on SpaceWeather.com's Satellite Tracker.
A Plethora of Recent Astronomy Cast Offerings
Fraser and Pamela recently unleashed their astronomical prowess in a big way with five new episodes of Astronomy Cast. Included are some very thought-provoking topics like astrobiology,
space elevators and interstellar travel, not to mention a whole host of
other topics covered in a couple of questions shows. So, here's a
chance to immerse yourself in Astronomy Cast!
Episode # 145: Interstellar Travel
Questions Show: Imaging Extrasolar Planets, Infinite Universe, Inside a Black Hole
Episode # 144: Space Elevators
Questions Show: Matter Balance, Jumping Light Speed, and Black Hole Star Formation
Episode # 143: Astrobiology
Opportunity Spies Unusual Rock — Large Meteorite?
'Block Island,' an odd-shaped, dark rock, which may be a meteorite. Credit: NASA/JPL
The Opportunity rover has come across an odd-shaped, large, dark rock, about 0.6 meters (2 feet) across on the surface of Mars,
which may be a meteorite. The rover team spotted the rock called "Block
Island," on July 18, 2009, in the opposite direction from which it was
driving. The team then had the rover do a hard right (not really, but
you know what I mean) and backtrack some 250 meters (820 feet) to study
it closer. Oppy has been studying the rock with its alpha particle X-ray spectrometer to get composition measurements and to confirm if indeed it is a meteorite.
Below, see a close-up, colorized version of Block Island and a 3-D
version, both created by Photoshopper Extraordinaire Stu Atkinson.
Click to continue…
Top Five Celestial Objects Anyone Can See With a Small Telescope
Popular Mechanics has a great series of articles today on amateur astronomy, including Affordable Ways to Become an Amateur Astronomer, and How to Computerize Your Telescope. But my favorite is the Top Five Galactic Bodies Anyone Can See With a Cheap Telescope. Number one on the list is the Orion Nebula, above. Granted, with small telescopes, it won't look like this Hubble Space Telescopestars image, but The Great Nebula is even visible with the naked eye in the
northern hemisphere, and looks pretty impressive in small telescope,
too. To find it, those in the northern hemisphere will have to wait
until cooler weather approaches. But look for Orion's belt, three
bright in a row. Hanging south from the belt is Orion's sword, composed of three bright dots; the center dot is the great nebula.
Click to continue…
The Perils of Wearing a Spacesuit
Scott
Altman, in front of a portait presented to him by the Lakeview Museum
in Peoria, IL and painted by artist Bill Hardin. Photo: N. Atkinson
A spacesuit is a complicated conglomeration of switches, dials, hoses, tabs, and
multiple layers of high-tech material. It serves various functions and
is part miniature spacecraft, part atmospheric re-creation, and part
medical necessity — with the number one priority of protecting those
who wear it. But that doesn't mean a spacesuit is always comfortable.
"The whole suit is like a big bladder and it weighs about 80 lbs," said
astronaut Scott Altman, explaining the intricacies of the orange ACES
launch and entry space suit to a group of children, "and it's not always easy to move around in
it." But, undoubtedly today's suit is more advanced and slightly more
comfortable than the spacesuit Altman's STS-125 crewmate, John
Grunsfeld assembled as a child, concocted from vacuum cleaner parts and
ice cream tins.
Click to continue…
https://www.universetoday.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 3, 2005
Lee Seung Seop
On this day ... Lee Seung Seop 28, died from exhaustion in South Korea
after playing the computer game StarCraft continuously for 49 hours.
Lee Seung Seop was an industrial boiler repairman in Taegu, South
Korea. On August 3, 2005, he achieved global notoriety when he visited
a nearby Internet cafe and proceeded to play World of WarcraftStarCraft for almost fifty consecutive hours. Ultimately exhaustion and
dehydration induced heart failure and he went into cardiac arrest. He
died shortly thereafter at a local hospital. A friend commented: "He
was a game addict. We all knew about it. He couldn't stop himself."
About six weeks prior to his death, his girlfriend, also an avid gamer,
broke up with him and he had been fired from his job for missing work
to play computer games. and
August 3, 1492
Christopher Columbus sets sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain to the America Continent.
Columbus was not the first European to reach the continent. Many
historians today acknowledge that Vikings had traveled to North America
from Greenland in the 11th century and set up a short-lived colony at
L'Anse aux Meadows. Columbus landed in the Bahamas and later explored
much of the Caribbean, including the isles of Juana (Cuba) and Espanola
(Hispaniola), as well as the coasts of Central and South America. He
never reached the present-day United States.
August 3, 1941
Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart Google Videos Martha Stewart is an American business magnate, television host, author
and magazine publisher. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia,
she has gained success through a variety of business ventures,
encompassing publishing, broadcasting, and merchandising. Stewart's
syndicated talk show, Martha, is broadcast throughout the world, she
has written numerous bestselling books, and she is the publisher of
Martha Stewart Living magazine.
In 2001, Stewart was named the third most powerful woman in America by
Ladies Home Journal. In 2004, she was convicted of lying to
investigators about a stock sale and served five months in prison.
Stewart began a strong comeback campaign in 2005, with her company
returning to profitability in 2006.
“I was married for 30 years. Isn't that enough? I've had my share of dirty underwear on the floor.”
Martha Stewart quotes~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PHYSICS
Measuring the Speed of Light in Composite Materials PhysOrg - August 2, 2009
Guiding Light Around Corners With New Metamaterial Device Science Daily - August 2, 2009
Restart of Large Hadron Collider now November PhysOrg - July 30, 2009
Scientists Claim New State of Matter Created Live Science - July 28, 2009
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Didn't we just have a powerful eclipse?
Oh that was a total solar eclipse and now we are in the energies of ...
Penumbral Lunar Eclipse August 5, 2009 NASA
Lunar Eclipse Wikipedia
Full Moon - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse - 13º Aquarius Astrology
Jupiter is in Aquarius which has been a very powerful positive force in my life this year and
into early 2010. The current eclipses have added to the energies, as if
turning the time lock of reality up another notch. A Full Moon brings
things to closure.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
AUGUST 2009
Commemorative Events in August
August 5 - Full Moon - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse - 13º Aquarius
August 20 - New Moon 27º Leo
August 21 - Ramadan
August 22 - Sun in Virgo
August 31 - September 13, 2009 - US Tennis Open