Perseid meteor shower tonight and tomorrow
The annual Perseid meteor shower is expected to peak tonight and tomorrow, and Alan Boyle at Cosmic Log has some good tips for the best way to not only view it, but to hear it as well!
Reporter arrested for discussing politics
Freedom of speech alert. In this post, I noted that though it seemed as if the arrest of four protesters on the University of Texas campus during a visit by President Obama seemed a violation of their rights, there wasn’t enough information in the reports to know for sure. We now have more information. Read this report also. And watch this video of the arrest of one protester, while wearing a press badge, and tell me if this isn’t an abuse of power.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Fourth spacewalk anticipated for coolant repairs
With the success of yesterday’s spacewalk, NASA engineers have revamped their remaining spacewalk plans for replacing that failed pump. The third spacewalk has been moved from Sunday to Monday to give everyone more time to prepare, and they are now planning a fourth spacewalk after that to finish things up.
Obamas’ vacation in DC
Important news! Obamas announce surprise vacation to nation’s capital!
Now available in hardback and paperback as well as ebook!
From the press release: In this ground-breaking new history of early America, historian Robert Zimmerman not only exposes the lie behind The New York Times 1619 Project that falsely claims slavery is central to the history of the United States, he also provides profound lessons about the nature of human societies, lessons important for Americans today as well as for all future settlers on Mars and elsewhere in space.
Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space, is a riveting page-turning story that documents how slavery slowly became pervasive in the southern British colonies of North America, colonies founded by a people and culture that not only did not allow slavery but in every way were hostile to the practice.
Conscious Choice does more however. In telling the tragic history of the Virginia colony and the rise of slavery there, Zimmerman lays out the proper path for creating healthy societies in places like the Moon and Mars.
“Zimmerman’s ground-breaking history provides every future generation the basic framework for establishing new societies on other worlds. We would be wise to heed what he says.” —Robert Zubrin, founder of the Mars Society.
All editions are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all book vendors, with the ebook priced at $5.99 before discount. All editions can also be purchased direct from the ebook publisher, ebookit, in which case you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
Autographed printed copies are also available at discount directly from the author (hardback $29.95; paperback $14.95; Shipping cost for either: $6.00). Just send an email to zimmerman @ nasw dot org.
Japanese approval for Hayabusa 2
The Japanese government has approved a new asteroid mission similar to Hayabusa. The new mission could launch as early as 2014 and bring samples back by 2020.
Camino del Rey
An evening pause:El Camino del Rey (The King’s Road) is a crumbling walkway high on the cliff walls of El Chorro canyon in Andalusia, Spain. The hike is not for the faint-hearted.
Leaving Earth: Space Stations, Rival Superpowers, and the Quest for Interplanetary Travel, can be purchased as an ebook everywhere for only $3.99 (before discount) at amazon, Barnes & Noble, all ebook vendors, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big oppressive tech companies and I get a bigger cut much sooner.
Winner of the 2003 Eugene M. Emme Award of the American Astronautical Society.
"Leaving Earth is one of the best and certainly the most comprehensive summary of our drive into space that I have ever read. It will be invaluable to future scholars because it will tell them how the next chapter of human history opened." -- Arthur C. Clarke
Spacewalk a complete success, old pump removed
Today’s spacewalk on ISS was a complete success. The astronauts successfully removed the failed coolant pump and made preparations to install the replacement pump on their next spacewalk.
NASA narrows asteroids to visit to three
NASA officials have reviewed the list of Near Earth Objects and found only three that meet all the constraints for a manned mission. Key quote:
Out of the 44 reachable asteroids, 27 were too small, and only 15 have orbits that allow for exploration between 2020 and 2050 — the timeframe NASA wants to pursue for NEO missions. The 180-day mission constraint further cuts the list to three.
It must also be noted that none of these asteroids are reachable without a heavy-lift rocket like the Ares V.
Rebuilding the American space program — the right way
In reading my post, Both for and against the Obama plan, reader Trent Waddington emailed me to say that this “is so fatalistic that it seems you don’t think it is worthwhile even spending a few minutes explaining why the policy is good. It’s easy to dismiss something a politician says as the stopped clock that is right twice a day. It’s harder to set aside your skepticism and explain why something is good policy.”
Trent is absolutely correct. What I wrote was very depressing and fatalistic. However, I think it very important to be coldly honest about things, no matter how bad they look. Once you’ve done that, you then have the right information necessary for fixing the situation.
My problem with most of the debate about the future space policy of the United States, — as well as innumerable other modern issues faced by our government — is that people don’t seem to want to face up to the reality of the problem. In the case of space and Obama, I doubt any advice, gentle or otherwise, is going to move him into putting forth a plan for NASA that has any realistic chance of getting passed by Congress. As I noted in a different post, he doesn’t play the game. He acts like the worst sort of autocrat, convinced that if he simply says what he wants to do, everyone must agree.
The reason the good part of his plan (commercial space) is not passing Congress is not because people think it is a bad idea. It is being rejected because » Read more
National anthem forbidden at Lincoln Memorial
Freedom of speech alert! Plus a bit of stupidity. A security guard at the Lincoln Memorial ordered students to stop singing the National Anthem, staying that their actions were a violation of federal law.
California budget a billion over in first month
The great disconnect, part 2,345: In July, the first month of California’s fiscal year, the state spent $1 billion dollars more than had been forecast. Meanwhile, the state legislature has not yet passed a budget.
Diversifying your research portfolio
In this paper [pdf] adapted from a lecture he gave at an astronomy conference, Harvard researcher Abraham Loeb warns young scientists that their tendency today to take on safe research projects is unwise. Moreover, he notes the increasing “herd mentality” due to “stronger social pressure”, “more competition in the job market,” and the “growing fraction of observational and theoretical projects . . . done in large groups with rigid research agendas and tight schedules.” Key quote:
It is always prudent to allocate some limited resources to innovative ideas beyond any dogmatic “mainstream,” because even if only one out of a million such ideas bears fruit, it could transform our view of reality and justify the entire effort. This lesson is surprisingly unpopular in the current culture of funding agencies like NSF or NASA, which promote research with predictable and safe goals.
Hubble image of face-on galaxy
Another spectacular Hubble Space Telescope image was released today, showing a face-on spiral galaxy in the Coma cluster, located about 320 million light years away. Key quote:
The galaxy, known as NGC 4911, contains rich lanes of dust and gas near its center. These are silhouetted against glowing newborn star clusters and iridescent pink clouds of hydrogen, the existence of which indicates ongoing star formation. Hubble has also captured the outer spiral arms of NGC 4911, along with thousands of other galaxies of varying sizes.
More details about tomorrow’s planned spacewalk
Here’s another detailed look at tomorrow’s planned spacewalk, and what NASA engineers are doing on the ground and what the astronauts will do in space to eliminate the ammonia leak.
SpaceX readies Dragon for first flight
SpaceX is readying its Dragon capsule for its first test flight, sometime this fall.
ISS tour, part 2
An evening pause: Mike Finke’s tour of ISS continues, showing us the Columbus module, a crew cabin, the Destiny module, and into the Harmony module.
Protesters arrested on Texas campus during Obama visit
Freedom of speech alert? I’d like more information. Four protesters arrested on a Texas campus on Monday during a visit by Obama.
Update on plane crash: O’Keefe and son survive
Update: Keith Cowing of SpaceRef reports that Sean O’Keefe and his son have survived the Alaskan plane crash today that killed former senator Ted Stevens.
Update: Thanks to commenter Ric who noted that Ted Stevens was not governor but senator. Too much travel and not enough sleep. I’ve corrected the webpage.
State Department: The Taliban is not a terrorist organization
Talk about having trouble with reality: According to a new State department report listing worldwide terrorist organizations, the Taliban does not qualify.
We don’t have a deficit problem
In an amazing illustration of what I call the great disconnect, AFL-CIO chief Richard Trumka blandly claims in this interview that the United States does “not have a deficit crisis.”