posted 10-05-2008 03:05 PM               

Although Brits Leonard & Thomas Digges might claim it...

It looks like the telescope was invented by Dutch glass maker Hans Lipperhey in 1608 and next year we'll celebrate the International Year of Astronomy as Galileo Galilei was the first to put the telescope to astronomical use...

posted 11-01-2008 09:27 AM               

The podcast episodes will be written, recorded and produced by people around the world.

collectSPACE was invited to take part in the project, and our first podcast is now on the calendar.

John Glenn's Fireflies and the Astronauts' Constellation
Friday, February 20, 2009

February 20, 2009 marks the 47th anniversary of the first American in orbit. Astronaut John Glenn circled the Earth three times and in the process, discovered a new stellar phenomena... or did he? collectSPACE.com recounts the tale of John Glenn's "fireflies" and shares the history behind their infamous scatological cousin.

posted 12-31-2008 10:17 AM               

Reuben H. Fleet Science Center Brings Jupiter, Saturn and Other Giant Planets Down to Earth with Interactive Astronomy Exhibition

"Giant Worlds: A Voyage to the Outer Solar System" to headline Fleet Science Center's celebration of International Year of Astronomy 2009

Decades of NASA research and stunning color photography from robotic spacecraft come to life in "Giant Worlds: A Voyage to the Outer Solar System," a three-dimensional, interactive exhibition opening at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center on Saturday, January 31, 2009. The new exhibition is just one of many ways the Fleet Science Center will celebrate International Year of Astronomy throughout 2009.

Making its West Coast debut, the 3,500-square-foot national traveling exhibition invites visitors to explore the amazing wonders of our solar system and its enormous giant planets. "Giant Worlds" is intimately linked to the progress and discoveries of NASA missions to the outer planets, and it provides an engaging, real-life context for learning about science, math and technology. Designed to engage curious minds of all ages, the exhibition is especially geared toward young people, with the hope of inspiring the scientists, engineers and solar system explorers of tomorrow.

"Giant Worlds" consists of 20 individual exhibits filled with interactive experiences, models and spectacular murals that reveal the grandeur of these amazing planets. Visitors can learn about gravity in a simulation that assigns a mass to the visitor's shadow and demonstrates how particles, such as those in Saturn's spectacular ring system, interact with the shadow. They can design and launch a virtual probe into Jupiter's crushing atmosphere and see how far their probe gets before it is destroyed. Visitors can also experiment with the properties of visible and infrared radiation and learn how scientists use light to probe phenomena like Jupiter's Great Red Spot.

Each giant planet is a dynamic and changing family of objects including the planet, its moons and rings. Visitors will learn how scientists study planets, from Galileo's early telescope to a bus-sized spacecraft that orbits Saturn a billion miles away.

"Giant Worlds" was produced by the Space Science Institute (SSI), a nonprofit organization that carries out world-class research in space and Earth science, together with innovative science education programs that inspire and deepen the public's understanding of planet Earth and its place in the grander Universe. The institute's integrated research and education programs span planetary science, space physics, astrophysics, astrobiology, and Earth science. The exhibition was made possible by $1.8 million in funding from the National Science Foundation. Partners include NASA's Cassini and Juno missions.

"Giant Worlds" will be open daily at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center from January 31 to May 3, 2009.

posted 02-10-2009 08:36 AM               

NASA's Great Observatories Celebrate International Year of Astronomy

Galileo first turned his telescope to the heavens in 1609, marking the dawn of modern astronomy. To commemorate 400 years of exploring the universe, 2009 has been designated the International Year of Astronomy.

In conjunction with Galileo's birthday on Feb. 15, NASA is releasing images from its Great Observatories -- the Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, and Chandra X-ray Observatory -- to more than 100 planetariums, museums, nature centers and schools across the country.

The selected sites will unveil a large 9-square-foot print of the spiral galaxy Messier 101 that combines the optical view of Hubble, the infrared view of Spitzer, and the X-ray view of Chandra into one multi-wavelength picture. "It's like using your eyes, night vision goggles and X-ray vision all at the same time," said Dr. Hashima Hasan, lead scientist for the International Year of Astronomy at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Participating institutions also will display a matched trio of Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra images of Messier 101. Each image shows a different wavelength view of the galaxy that illustrates not only the different science each observatory conducts but also how far astronomy has come since Galileo.

Messier 101 is a spiral galaxy about 22 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It is larger than our own Milky Way galaxy but similar in many ways. Hubble's visible light view shows off the swirls of bright stars and glowing gas that give Messier 101 its nickname "the Pinwheel Galaxy." In contrast, Spitzer's infrared-light image sees into the spiral arms and reveals the glow of dust lanes where dense clouds can collapse to form new stars. Chandra's X-ray uncovers the high-energy features in the galaxy, such as remnants of exploded stars or matter zooming around black holes. The juxtaposition of observations from these three telescopes provides an in-depth view of the galaxy for both astronomers and the public.

"The amazing scientific discoveries Galileo made four centuries ago are continued today by scientists using NASA's space observatories," said Denise Smith, the unveiling's project manager at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. "NASA's Great Observatories are distributing huge prints of spectacular images so the public can share in the exploration and wonder of the universe."

The unveilings will take place Feb. 14-28 at 76 museums and 40 schools and universities nationwide, reaching both big cities and small towns. Sites are planning celebrations involving the public, schools and local media.

The Astrophysics Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate supports the International Year of Astronomy Great Observatories image unveiling. The project is a collaboration among the Space Telescope Science Institute, the Spitzer Science Center in Pasadena, Calif., and the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass.

posted 02-20-2009 05:22 PM               

when I am talking about the orbits in lectures I find the "general public" like to know the total orbit time, it's a question often asked, "how long does it take to orbit the earth?" and how many sun rises/sets per orbit.