2019年1月31日 星期四

Twin Galaxies in Virgo


Spiral galaxy pair NGC 4567 and NGC 4568 share this sharp cosmic vista with lonely elliptical galaxy NGC 4564. All are members of the large Virgo Galaxy Cluster. With their classic spiral arms, dust lanes, and star clusters, the eye-catching spiral pair is also known as the Butterfly Galaxies or the Siamese Twins. Very close together, the galaxy twins don't seem to be too distorted by gravitational tides. Their giant molecular clouds are known to be colliding though and are likely fueling the formation of massive star clusters. The galaxy twins are about 52 million light-years distant, while their bright cores appear separated by about 20,000 light-years. Of course, the spiky foreground stars lie within our own Milky Way. via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2RXVF4a

CASIS Now Has An Official Fictitious Name



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NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Lucy Mission

NASA has selected United Launch Services LLC (ULS) of Centennial, Colorado, to provide launch services for the agency’s first-ever mission to explore Trojan asteroids.

January 31, 2019
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ISS Daily Summary Report – 1/30/2019

Kubik: Today a crewmember upgraded hardware for the Kubik-6 unit. Kubik is a small controlled-temperature incubator or cooler with removable inserts designed for self-contained, automatic microgravity experiments such as those using seeds, cells, and small animals. NanoRacks External Cygnus CubeSat Deployer (NRCSD): Today a crewmember installed NRCSD-15 deployer with the 5 planned cubesats onto the …

January 31, 2019 at 12:00AM
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Hubble Accidentally Discovers a New Galaxy


Despite the vastness of space, objects tend to get in front of each other. via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2D1HosS

The Day America Became A Spacefaring Nation



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2019年1月30日 星期三

Sharpless 308: Star Bubble


Blown by fast winds from a hot, massive star, this cosmic bubble is huge. Cataloged as Sharpless 2-308 it lies some 5,200 light-years away toward the constellation of the Big Dog (Canis Major) and covers slightly more of the sky than a Full Moon. That corresponds to a diameter of 60 light-years at its estimated distance. The massive star that created the bubble, a Wolf-Rayet star, is the bright one near the center of the nebula. Wolf-Rayet stars have over 20 times the mass of the Sun and are thought to be in a brief, pre-supernova phase of massive star evolution. Fast winds from this Wolf-Rayet star create the bubble-shaped nebula as they sweep up slower moving material from an earlier phase of evolution. The windblown nebula has an age of about 70,000 years. Relatively faint emission captured in the expansive image is dominated by the glow of ionized oxygen atoms mapped to a blue hue. SH2-308 is also known as The Dolphin Nebula. via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2SfJfnB

CASIS Is Changing Its Name By Pretending That Its Not

Keith's note: CASIS is clearly trying to rebrand and/or rename itself. But instead of admitting it - and do so in an open, forthright, ethical - and legal way, they are trying to use smoke and mirrors - and some outright deception and misinformation instead. I sent the following questions to CASIS and NASA today. I'll let you know if/how they respond.

"- Is this a board meeting for CASIS? Or is this a board meeting for an organization called the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory?
- Has CASIS been dissolved? If so, when did this happen? If not, why is CASIS no longer identifying itself by its legally incorporated name?
- Is "the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory" the new (formal) name for CASIS? If so when did the name formally change? in what state was this name change formally made? Will this name change be reflected in formal quarterly reports to NASA on the CASIS contract? Will this name be used for all payload and commercial agreements?
- If there is a new entity called "the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory" is it a non-profit organization? A for-profit company? An NGO? A partnership? An LLC?
- If there an organization called "the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory" does it have a formal, legally document board of directors? If so where is that information formally recorded and who are the members of that board?"

Meanwhile:



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Sailing Over the Caribbean From the International Space Station


Portions of Cuba, the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands are viewed from the International Space Station. via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2GbJQ3d

OSIRIS-REx stable in Bennu orbit, team refines sample collection plans

The team has yet to find a Bennu sample site that matches their pre-arrival expectations, meaning their plans will probably have to change.

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ISS Daily Summary Report – 1/29/2019

Bio-Monitor: Today a crewmember swapped out donned hardware with the spare garment and headband hardware to continue the 48 hour data recording session. The primary hardware garment was stowed. Although the ISS is equipped with health and life sciences research tools, the existing instrumentation for continuous and simultaneous recording of several physiological parameters is lacking. …

January 30, 2019 at 12:00AM
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2019年1月29日 星期二

Wide Field View of Great American Eclipse


Only in the fleeting darkness of a total solar eclipse is the light of the solar corona easily visible. Normally overwhelmed by the bright solar disk, the expansive corona, the sun's outer atmosphere, is an alluring sight. But the subtle details and extreme ranges in the corona's brightness, although discernible to the eye, are notoriously difficult to photograph. Pictured here, however, using over 120 images and meticulous digital processing, is a detailed wide-angle image of the Sun's corona taken during the Great American Eclipse in 2017 August. Clearly visible are intricate layers and glowing caustics of an ever changing mixture of hot gas and magnetic fields. Hundreds of stars as faint as 11th magnitude are visible behind the Moon and Sun, with Mars appearing in red on the far right. The next total eclipse of the Sun will occur on July 2 and be visible during sunset from a thin swath across Chile and Argentina. via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2TnnUG4

Space Foundation: "The State of Space"

Space Foundation Briefing: "The State of Space"

"Space Foundation CEO Tom Zelibor's remarks will highlight the roles, challenges and opportunities space has for our national, economic and educational security and explore the critical roles our public and private sectors, as well as students, teachers, taxpayers, investors and entrepreneurs, have in the next great human adventure in space. Following Space Foundation CEO, Tom Zelibor's remarks, an industry panel moderated by award-winning journalist, Jeanne Meserve will be held, along with an audience and media Q&A availability for program participants."

Webcast at 9:00 am ET: http://bit.ly/StateofSpace2019



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Why Is CASIS Is Making Itself Disappear?

International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory Annual Public Board Meeting

"On Friday, February 8, 2019, the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory will host its annual Public Board of Directors Meeting in Washington, D.C."

Keith's note: The press release says that "the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory will host its annual Public Board of Directors Meeting in Washington, D.C." It sends you to this link: https://www.issnationallab.org where you see "(ISS) U.S. National Laboratory" at the top of the page. If you scroll down to the bottom you see "THE ISS NATIONAL LAB IS MANAGED BY THE CENTER FOR THE ADVANCEMENT FOR SCIENCE IN SPACE, UNDER AGREEMENT WITH NASA. © COPYRIGHT 2011-2019 THE CENTER FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE IN SPACE, INC."

This is not a "International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory" board meeting. There is no non-profit organization in existence by that name. There is a non-profit named CASIS - "The Center for the Advancement for Science in Space" - and this is their annual public meeting. But they don't tell you that. The officers listed in this news release and on the agenda are officers for CASIS not for the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory. Oh yes: did I miss something? When was it announced that the ISS National Laboratory has a board of directors?

"CASIS" appears nowhere in the announcement or on the webpage. For that matter "NASA" is mentioned nowhere either. If you go to the original CASIS website address https://www.iss-casis.org/ you are automatically redirected to https://www.issnationallab.org/ "CASIS" is gone. If you go to the Internet archive you can see that a CASIS website existed as recently as 20 December 2018.

Who actually owns this "International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory" thing? Its not a non-profit. Its not a government agency. Its a thing created by Congress. CASIS does not own it - it just runs it. Or does it run the ISS National Lab since CASIS seems to be trying to make itself disappear and become the ISS National Lab instead. I wonder if the IRS knows that CASIS is operating under a new name and that it is using somewhat deceptive public statements so as to confuse people as to what this meeting is actually all about.

Meanwhile CASIS is off trying to quietly develop its own commercial entity. They have been talking to various companies about it (who are not exactly pleased to hear this). Is non-profit CASIS trying to simultaneously hide itself behind the ISS National Lab while rebranding and reinventing itself as a company to use ISS National Lab resources? Maybe they will answer this at their meeting. Stay tuned.



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Falcon 9, Crew Dragon Roll to Launch Pad


Falcon 9, Crew Dragon Roll to Launch Pad via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2FSI0VC

ISS Daily Summary Report – 1/28/2019

Electro-static Levitation Furnace (ELF): Over the weekend, a crewmember installed ELF cartridge unit 001. ELF is an experimental facility designed to levitate, melt and solidify materials by containerless processing techniques using the electrostatic levitation method. With this facility thermophysical property of high temperature, melts can be measured and solidification from deeply undercooled melts can be …

January 29, 2019 at 12:00AM
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NASA's Annual Day of Remembrance Rescheduled

Keith's note: NASA Day of Remembrance events at Arlington National Cemetery will be held on 7 February.



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2019年1月28日 星期一

Ultima Thule from New Horizons


How do distant asteroids differ from those near the Sun? To help find out, NASA sent the robotic New Horizons spacecraft past the classical Kuiper belt object 2014 MU69, nicknamed Ultima Thule, the farthest asteroid yet visited by a human spacecraft. Zooming past the 30-km long space rock on January 1, the featured image is the highest resolution picture of Ultima Thule's surface beamed back so far. Utima Thuli does look different than imaged asteroids of the inner Solar System, as it shows unusual surface texture, relatively few obvious craters, and nearly spherical lobes. Its shape is hypothesized to have formed from the coalescence of early Solar System rubble in into two objects -- Ultima and Thule -- which then spiraled together and stuck. Research will continue into understanding the origin of different surface regions on Ultima Thule, whether it has a thin atmosphere, how it obtained its red color, and what this new knowledge of the ancient Solar System tells us about the formation of our Earth. via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2Uk6z0M

NASA Town Hall On Tuesday

Town Hall with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine

"Headquarters is hosting an agencywide town hall with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine on Tuesday, Jan. 29, at 1 - 2 p.m. EST. Please join this important discussion as we return to work and begin the process of an orderly restart that ensures employee safety and security. All employees, contractors and civil servants, are encouraged to participate in person at Headquarters in the Webb auditorium and remotely at the designated viewing location at their center. The event will air live on NASA Television (public channel), through your center cable or streaming distribution, and on the agency's website at https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive. You may submit questions securely from any computer or mobile device starting now and throughout the presentation."



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Remembering Space Shuttle Challenger


NASA lost seven of its own on the morning of Jan. 28, 1986, when a booster engine failed, causing the Shuttle Challenger to break apart just 73 seconds after launch. In this photo from Jan. 9, 1986, the Challenger crew takes a break during countdown training at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/VhBOGF

Why are there no stars in most space images?

Welcome Back To Work, NASA

NASA Administrator Message: Thank You! Let's Get Safely Back to the Business of Exploration

"We understand the worry and confusion coming back to work may cause and we're going to do our best to keep you informed as agency systems are brought back online and you're asked to pick up where you left off more than a month ago. As you probably know, the President signed S.24, the "Federal Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019," into law. The bill guarantees that federal civil servant workers will receive wages withheld during this shutdown, and future shutdowns. I understand our contractors are facing different challenges regarding pay and benefits and our procurement team will be working these issues in the days moving forward to try to do as much as we legally can to assist everyone affected."



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2019年1月27日 星期日

The Long Gas Tail of Spiral Galaxy D100


Why is there long red streak attached to this galaxy? The streak is made mostly of glowing hydrogen that has been systematically stripped away as the galaxy moved through the ambient hot gas in a cluster of galaxies. Specifically, the galaxy is spiral galaxy D100, and cluster is the Coma Cluster of galaxies. The red path connects to the center of D100 because the outer gas, gravitationally held less strongly, has already been stripped away by ram pressure. The extended gas tail is about 200,000 light-years long, contains about 400,000 times the mass of our Sun, and stars are forming within it. Galaxy D99, visible to D100's lower left, appears red because it glows primarily from the light of old red stars -- young blue stars can no longer form because D99 has been stripped of its star-forming gas. The featured false-color picture is a digitally enhanced composite of images from Earth-orbiting Hubble and the ground-based Subaru telescope. Studying remarkable systems like this bolsters our understanding of how galaxies evolve in clusters. via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2DEtkqV

Remembering

Ancient Memorials for Modern Space Explorers, SpaceRef

"A week prior to my departure I got a call from June Scobee Rogers, the widow of Challenger's commander Dick Scobee. She was thrilled with what we were doing and asked if we'd like to place a few mementos in the inukshuk. She then described what she was sending. A day or so later a package arrived. As I opened it I told my wife, with a bit of a tear in my eye, "this is history". I had been sent one of the few items Dick Scobee had left in his briefcase when he took off for his last mission: a business card and a mission lapel pin. I am certain that his family has so little in the way of such items. As such I was really honored that the family had chosen this inukshuk we planned to build on Devon Island, as the place where such precious items would rest."

Larger image

Scott Parazynski: Still on Cloud 10 (on the summit of Mt. Everest), SpaceRef

"I tied off a pair of flags I'd made to honor astronauts and cosmonauts who had perished in the line of duty (Apollo 1, Challenger, Columbia, Soyuz 1 and Soyuz 11), as I could think of no finer place on Earth to hang them. In the coming days, weeks, months and years, like their Tibetan prayer flag counterparts, they will weather under the wind, sun and snow, and slowly lift back up into the heavens."

Arctic Memorials and Starship Yearnings, SpaceRef

"Given the sheer mass of the structure, and the slow manner with which things change here, this inukshuk may well be standing 500 years from now. That should be long enough. Maybe someone serving on a starship will think to visit it."

Columbia: Thinking Back - Looking Ahead, Excerpt from "New Moon Rising", by Frank Sietzen, Jr. and Keith Cowing

"At the end of the event, Rona Ramon, Ilan's widow, spoke last. Steeling her emotions with grace and clarity, she spoke elegantly and briefly. She thanked all for coming. And then she talked of her husband, and the flight of the lost shuttle. "Our mission in space is not over" she told the hushed audience. "He was the first Israeli in space -- that means there will be more."



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2019年1月26日 星期六

NASA Gets a Three Week Reprieve

If ever there was an example of how quickly political winds can shift, look no further than the sudden end to a seemingly endless government shutdown on January 25th.

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NASA Is Open Again



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2019年1月25日 星期五

The Shutdown Is Over - For Three Weeks



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2019年1月24日 星期四

Moon Struck


Craters produced by ancient impacts on the airless Moon have long been a familiar sight. But only since the 1990s have observers began to regularly record and study optical flashes on the lunar surface, likely explosions resulting from impacting meteoroids. Of course, the flashes are difficult to see against a bright, sunlit lunar surface. But during the January 21 total eclipse many imagers serendipitously captured a meteoroid impact flash against the dim red Moon. Found while examining images taken shortly before the total eclipse phase began, the flash is indicated in the inset above, near the Moon's darkened western limb. Estimates based on the flash duration recorded by the Moon Impact Detection and Analysis System (MIDAS) telescopes in southern Spain indicate the impactor's mass was about 10 kilograms and created a crater between seven and ten meters in diameter. via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2CKI9GQ

Furloughs Hit LPI



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JSC Furlough Support Open House



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Rogozin Gets Scolded By Putin's No. 2

Russian space chief told to drop grandiose talk, get more done, Ars Technica

"On Wednesday, the prime minister of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, expressed his displeasure with the situation. During a meeting in Moscow with senior Roscosmos officials, Medvedev made sharply critical remarks that were reported by several Russian news organizations, including Gazeta.RU and RIA Novosti. "This is a blunt and direct assertion: We need to quit projecting future plans, stop talking about where our missions will land in 2030, get to work, talk less, and do more," Medvedev said. "We need to be more active in commercializing our space industry and increase Russia's international market share of commercial launches. ... Now Medvedev, in a public setting, has called Rogozin out for this tactic. He also expressed concern about Russia's success in attracting commercial satellite launches amid the rise of SpaceX and other international competitors."



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Unpaid NASA Rocket Scientists Now Clean NASA's Toilets



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NASA's Ability To Process Research Proposals Is Shutting Down

Keith's note: If you go to NASA NSPIRES (NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System) website you will see the following notice:

"The NSPIRES Help Desk is not available due to a power outage in the building. Expect responses to your email inquiries within 24 hours. The phone service is not available. If the partial federal shutdown extends past January 31, then NSPIRES will be unavailable due to a lack of funding."

SMD AA Thomas Zurbuchen issued a series of tweets today via @Dr_ThomasZ: "NASA recognizes that researchers plan research, budgets & hiring 6 - 12 months in advance due to proposal evaluation & selection timelines. Unfortunately, during the shutdown, Notices of Intent (NOIs) and proposal due dates have to be postponed to undetermined future dates. The postponements related to the partial government shutdown have introduced uncertainty into this planning and may lead to some adjustments. A blanket amendment to Research Opportunities in Space and Earth (ROSES) 2018 will be issued, noting that:

1) All due dates should be assumed to be "TBD" as long as the government continues to be shut down.
2) New dates will be announced as soon as possible once the government reopens
3) The ROSES 2019 initially planned on Feb. 14 will be delayed significantly
4) There will be no ROSES-18 or ROSES-19 proposal due dates earlier than 60 days following the end of the partial government shutdown."



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2019年1月23日 星期三

Matterhorn, Moon, and Meteor


Fans of planet Earth probably recognize the Matterhorn in the foreground of this night skyscape. Famed in mountaineering history, the 4,478 meter Alpine mountain stands next to the totally eclipsed Moon. In spite of -22 degree C temperatures, the inspired scene was captured on the morning of January 21 from the mountains near Zermatt, Switzerland. Different exposures record the dim red light reflected by the Moon fully immersed in Earth's shadow. Seen directly above the famous Alpine peak, but about 600 light-years away, are the stars of the Praesepe or Beehive star cluster also known as Messier 44. An added reward to the cold eclipse vigil, a bright and colorful meteor flashed below the temporarily dimmmed Moon, just tracing the Matterhorn's north-eastern climbing route along Hornli ridge. via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2W7h4Gy

Planetary Society Doesn't Care Much About Loss Of Astronauts



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NASA Furlough Update

NASA Internal Employee Memo: An Update to the Furlough

"While many of you may not immediately see this message, I wanted to send a note of thanks to the entire NASA family. Your dedication is an inspiration to everyone caught up in this furlough and your ongoing work is vital to the safety and success of NASA. During a lapse in funding by the federal government there are many routines and procedures that must be followed. Many of these happen behind the scenes. However, one of those procedures will be visible as a second round of furlough notices will be distributed. After the first 30 days during a lapse of funding, agencies are required to deliver another furlough notice. You do not need to take any additional action.

I want you to know how much I appreciate your patience and commitment during this unique time in American history. I understand this furlough is a real hardship for many of you and while civil servants will eventually receive back pay, the situation is not as clear for many of our family members in the contracting community. We are working with procurement and contracting officers to mitigate the impacts for you as we all look forward to the ultimate resolution of this lapse in appropriations."



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What’s next for China in lunar exploration?

China has big plans for the future, including lunar sample return, a robotic research base, and potentially human missions.

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2019年1月22日 星期二

Did Trump Really Want Humans On Mars By 2020?

Trump Reportedly Demanded That NASA Fly a Manned Mission to Mars by 2020, Splinter

"When the NASA administrator explained that it would take until the 2030s to send a manned mission, Trump didn't accept it. "Trump bristled," Sims writes. The president allegedly asked, "But is there any way we could do it by the end of my first term?" President Deals then tried to negotiate. Trump did not seem worried about the time. Sims wrote that he leaned in toward Lightfoot and made him an offer. "But what if I gave you all the money you could ever need to do it?" Trump asked. "What if we sent NASA's budget through the roof, but focused entirely on that instead of whatever else you're doing now. Could it work then?" Lightfoot told him he was sorry, but he didn't think it was possible. This left Trump "visibly disappointed," Sims wrote. "But I tried to refocus him on the task at hand. We were now about 90 seconds from going live."



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NASA's Annual Day of Remembrance Postponed

NASA's annual Day of Remembrance Postponed

"NASA's annual Day of Remembrance reminds us to reflect on not just the sacrifices that have been made by our fallen family, friends, and co-workers, but also to remind us of our core values of safety, integrity, and teamwork as we carry out our history-making missions. Unfortunately, most of our NASA family are on furlough and we recognize your participation in many of the Day of Remembrance activities would be a challenge. As a result, we have decided to delay our observance until we are all able to come together as a family to remember our fallen astronauts and those who have given their life in pursuit of exploration. An updated time for our commemoration has not yet been selected, but we will make this a priority once the furlough is over and everyone is back to work."



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Israeli Beresheet Moon lander ships to Florida for mid-February launch

Launch is currently set for 19 February, and Beresheet will spend two months traveling to the Moon ahead of touchdown in April.

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NASA Has Been In Safe Mode For A Month



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NASA GRC Shutdown Event

"The Great Lakes Science Center is hosting an event on Thursday, January 24, from 10 a.m. to noon for the GRC Civil Service and Support Service Contractor Workforce impacted by the partial government shutdown. This is an opportunity to receive community resource information as well as to interact and connect with GRC colleagues. We understand GLSC will be inviting representatives and/or will have information available from local financial institutions, community organizations, the employee assistance program and the Ohio Unemployment Office. In addition, people will be on hand to answer questions about NASA HR related issues, government employee benefits, outside employment rules, and other available resources. The science center will provide free parking to attendees and as always; NASA Glenn employees and contractors, as well as their immediate family, will receive free admission to the Science Center. Attendance is entirely voluntary."



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2019年1月21日 星期一

Lunar Eclipse over Cologne Cathedral


Why would a bright full Moon suddenly become dark? Because it entered the shadow of the Earth. That's what happened Sunday night as the Moon underwent a total lunar eclipse. Dubbed by some as a Super (because the Moon was angularly larger than usual, at least slightly) Blood (because the scattering of sunlight through the Earth's atmosphere makes an eclipsed Moon appeared unusually red) Wolf (because January full moons are sometimes called Wolf Moons from the legend that wolves like to howl at the moon) Moon Eclipse, the shadowy spectacle was visible from the half of the Earth then facing the Moon, and was captured in numerous spectacular photographs. Featured, a notable image sequence was captured over the Cologne Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Cologne, Germany. The lunar eclipse sequence was composed from 68 different exposures captured over three hours during freezing temperatures -- and later digitally combined and edited to remove a cyclist and a pedestrian. The next total lunar eclipse will occur in 2021. via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2HzN8Q2

2019年1月20日 星期日

InSight Lander Takes Selfie on Mars


This is what NASA's Insight lander looks like on Mars. With its solar panels, InSight is about the size of a small bus. Insight successfully landed on Mars in November with a main objective to detect seismic activity. The featured selfie is a compilation of several images taken of different parts of the InSight lander, by the lander's arm, at different times. SEIS, the orange-domed seismometer seen near the image center last month, has now been placed on the Martian surface. With this selfie, Mars InSight continues a long tradition of robotic spacecraft on Mars taking and returning images of themselves, including Viking, Sojourner, Pathfinder, Spirit, Opportunity, Phoenix, and Curiosity. Data taken by Mars Insight is expected to give humanity unprecedented data involving the interior of Mars, a region thought to harbor formation clues not only about Mars, but Earth. via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2VZDKbI

2019年1月19日 星期六

Some Countries Think That Their Space Program Is Important



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NASA Shutdown Update

Shutdown stalemate spurs fears of exodus from NASA Ames, Mountain View Voice

"A lot of our talented folks, they've already found other jobs because they can't afford the loss of these paychecks," she said. "At this point, it's hard for us to justify what we consider meaningful work for the American taxpayer." The experience was all too familiar for Matt Linton, a computer security engineer who left NASA in 2013 during a similar government shutdown that lasted about two weeks. At the time, "a major tech employer" in Mountain View called him up to offer a job with an 85 percent pay increase. Their pitch was simple: Sure, you love working at NASA, but we can actually pay you. With a mortgage on a Sunnyvale house and a newborn child, Linton said he couldn't find a way to say no."

Unpaid NASA workers protect critical missions during government shutdown, CBS

"But at some point, if the government remains in partial shutdown and NASA continues to be unable to pay its mounting bills, projects on the ground, at least, could face slowdowns or work stoppages. Insiders say the agency is probably on solid ground through the end of the month, but if the shutdown extends very far into February, serious consequences, in terms of delays and higher costs, may be unavoidable."

JPL May Have to "Adjust Staffing Levels" if Government Shutdown Continues Into February, Pasadena Now

"Caltech President Thomas Rosenbaum on Tuesday issued a message for the Caltech community saying the institute's operations continue despite the shutdown, but added "future negative consequences" could be possible - especially with regards to JPL. "The most significant impact is on JPL," Rosenbaum said. "Prior to the shutdown, laboratory management worked with NASA to maximize the available funding for JPL's tasks. To date, JPL has been able to avoid furloughs, but may have to adjust staffing levels if the shutdown continues into February."

Doug Jones Risks His Alabama Senate Seat Over the Shutdown and the Wall, NY Times

"In Huntsville, the effect of empty offices at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center on the Army's Redstone Arsenal base has rippled through the contractors, restaurants and hotels that power Rocket City. "For us, because we're a small town, the shutdown is kind of difficult. But there's also things in politics that may be worth doing," said Angie Gates, whose small family restaurant has lost patrons. "If Doug Jones doesn't support the wall, I don't support him."

Furloughed NASA employee's dream job turning into a nightmare from government shutdown, ABC 5

"A dream job quickly turning into a nightmare for one furloughed NASA Glenn Research Center employee. "They have that big sign that says research and development for the benefit of all. And my first day driving in there really made me feel like this is it, this is home," The worker said. "That job security is what drew me to it" But now he's sitting at home waiting for the shutdown to end to get back to work. "I really don't have a ton of savings built up, I just have a month or two set aside so if this lasts another week or two I'm going to be in deep water." The worker said. "I'm going to have to be talking to my landlord, talking to my creditors and telling them this is where I'm at and pretty much being at their mercy."

Shutdown imperils NASA's decadelong ice-measuring campaign, Science

"The spreading effects of the partial U.S. government shutdown have reached Earth's melting poles. IceBridge, a decadelong NASA aerial campaign meant to secure a seamless record of ice loss, has had to sacrifice at least half of what was supposed to be its final spring deployment, its scientists say. The shortened mission threatens a crucial plan to collect overlapping data with a new ice-monitoring satellite called the Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat)-2. The nearly monthlong spending impasse between Congress and President Donald Trump, "throws a giant wrench into that long-developed plan," says John Sonntag, an IceBridge mission scientist at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland."

NASA postdocs hit by shutdown get emergency lifeline, Nature

"Many of the NASA fellows are foreign citizens on J-1 visas, who would have to leave the United States within 30 days if they lost their jobs. "Our understanding is that the approach we're taking means that the J-1s can continue uninterrupted," says White. That doesn't reduce the anxiety of one fellow on a J-1 visa, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid any potential retaliation. "This is a big point of concern for many of the postdocs," the person says. "With this kind of visa we cannot look for another job. That's really, really scary."



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2019年1月18日 星期五

Total Lunar Eclipse at Moonset


The Moon slid through Earth's shadow on January 31, 2018 in a total lunar eclipse. In this time-lapse sequence of that eclipse from Portal, Arizona, USA, the partial eclipse starts with the Moon high in the western sky. The eclipse total phase lasted about 76 minutes, but totality ended after the dark, reddened Moon set below the horizon. The upcoming total lunar eclipse, on the night of January 20/21, will be better placed for skygazers across the Americas, though. There, all 62 minutes of the total phase, when the Moon is completely immersed in Earth's dark umbral shadow, will take place with the Moon above the horizon. Watch it if you can. The next total lunar eclipse visible from anywhere on planet Earth won't take place until May 26, 2021, and then the total eclipse will last a mere 15 minutes. via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2CuHpW7

Shutdown Update



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Miseries mount as shutdown drags on

The partial government shutdown that shuttered NASA continues with no end in sight. The U.S. space program sits idle, the vast majority of its workforce sent home. Space science and exploration projects are disrupted. Paychecks are absent. And an unsettling realization has dawned on hundreds of thousands of public employees and contractors affected by the shutdown: this time is different.

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Planetary Deep Drill completes second field test

2019年1月17日 星期四

Uber Driver Offers Free Rides In Silicon Valley



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NASA Civil Servant Unions: Remember The Contractor Employees



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Slava Linkin, 1937-2019

Your Guide to the Total Lunar Eclipse on 20 January

NASA Shutdown Update

Message from Bob Gibbs to the NASA Workforce - Important Information Related to the Government Shutdown, NASA

"I am reaching out on behalf of NASA's leadership to provide you with an update on the government shutdown and provide information and resources during this difficult time. While some of this information may be repetitive, we wanted to take this opportunity to both provide you with the updated information we currently have as well as highlight important issues. First, I understand that this is a difficult time for everyone. So, I would like to thank you all for your commitment and patience as the lapse in funding continues. As a reminder, important information is being added to NASA's shutdown public website on a regular basis so please remember to visit often."

Temporary Opportunities For People Affected During Shutdown (TOPAS), LinkedIn

NASA employess have created a LinkedIn Group to share Government Shutdown information: "The group offers people affected by shutdown chance to look for temporary opportunity. Businesses can find talented workforce to solve problems on temporary basis without long-term commitment."

Funding furloughed NASA postdocs, GoFundMe

"This is an emergency for these folks, both financially and professionally. A lack of funding for them will push them to find other jobs, and could lead to a significant brain drain for the United States space sciences community. So we are starting a GoFundMe campaign to allow them to continue their research during the government shutdown."



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2019年1月16日 星期三

Cabin Under the Stars


Gocka's, a family nickname for the mountain cabin, and a wooden sled from a generation past stand quietly under the stars. The single exposure image was taken on January 6 from Tanndalen Sweden to evoke a simple visual experience of the dark mountain skies. A pale band of starlight along the Milky Way sweeps through the scene. At the foot of Orion the Hunter, bright star Rigel shines just above the old kicksled's handrail. Capella, alpha star of Auriga the celestial charioteer, is the brightest star at the top of the frame. In fact, the familiar stars of the winter hexagon and the Pleiades star cluster can all be found in this beautiful skyscape from a northern winter night. via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2FEG02h

The Shutdown Is Spreading



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NASA's Exploration Of The Cosmos Hobbled By Terrestrial Politics



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