Keep an ion this.

I loves me some ion thrusters, y'all.

Ain't bringing so much jollity now, are ya?

Ginormous something-or-other slams into Jupiter

One thought watching ISS Coverage today...

That's way too many people.

-The End.

40 Years Ago Today

Apollo 11 was launched. I swear I got teary typing that sentence. NASA has a wealth of very cool stuff on its website, including a remastered video of the moonwalk. You can also follow Apollo 11's progress in real-time, both on NASA's site and on www.wechoosethemoon.com. And that's a pretty cool anniversary logo.

I am resigned to getting nothing done for the next week.

Finally!

Liftoff!

Sky this Week.

Some good stuff in the sky right now...

Way cool binocs.

For the 7th anniversary of my 30th birthday, The Husband got me the most awesome pair of binoculars, which I had been coveting for some time.

I subsequently bought solar filters for them.

And this is what I can look at every day now.



It's ridiculously cool.

Early flight...

Old-Timey Daredevil, by the delightfully silly Ryan Berkley
(Available at etsy.com.)

Not space-related.

A 40,000 year old flute has been found.
As a music-lover, this pleases me.

There's just one thing: it's made of vulture bone.

All I can think of is a bunch of cavemen sitting around a fire playing it and thinking, "Myyyyy, how the tables have turned."

It also reminds me of a Far Side cartoon, which was Photoshopped into a real-life scene at Worth1000 by user Bigpeeler thusly:
(I actually cannot find the original Larson 'toon.)

Garrett Gets Some New Friends (or Guess My Application Got Lost in the Mail)

From NASA's website:

After reviewing more than 3500 applications, NASA has selected nine men and women for the 2009 astronaut candidate class. They will begin training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in August.

The new astronaut candidates:

Serena M. Aunon, 33, of League City, Texas; University of Texas Medical Branch-Wyle flight surgeon for NASA’s Space Shuttle, International Space Station and Constellation Programs; born in Indianapolis, Ind. Aunon holds degrees from The George Washington University, University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston, and UTMB.

Jeanette J. Epps, 38, of Fairfax, Va.; technical intelligence officer with the Central Intelligence Agency; born in Syracuse, N.Y. Epps holds degrees from LeMoyne College and the University of Maryland.

Jack D. Fischer, Major U.S. Air Force, 35, of Reston, Va.; test pilot; U.S. Air Force Strategic Policy intern (Joint Chiefs of Staff) at the Pentagon; born in Boulder, Colo. Fischer is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Michael S. Hopkins, Lt. Colonel U.S. Air Force, 40, of Alexandria, Va.; special assistant to the Vice Chairman (Joint Chiefs of Staff) at the Pentagon; born in Lebanon, Mo. Hopkins holds degrees from the University of Illinois and Stanford University.

Kjell N. Lindgren, 36, of League City, Texas; University of Texas Medical Branch-Wyle flight surgeon for NASA’s Space Shuttle, International Space Station and Constellation Programs; born in Taipei, Taiwan. Lindgren has degrees from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado State University, University of Colorado, the University of Minnesota, and UTMB.

Kathleen (Kate) Rubins, 30, of Cambridge, Mass.; born in Farmington, Conn.; principal investigator and fellow, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT and conducts research trips to the Congo. Rubins has degrees from the University of California-San Diego and Stanford University.

Scott D. Tingle, Commander U.S. Navy, 43, of Hollywood, Md.; born in Attleboro, Mass.; test pilot and Assistant Program Manager-Systems Engineering at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. Tingle holds degrees from Southeastern Massachusetts University (now University of Massachusetts Dartmouth) and Purdue University.

Mark T. Vande Hei, Lt. Colonel U.S. Army, 42, of El Lago, Texas; born in Falls Church, Va.; flight controller for the International Space Station at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, as part of U.S. Army NASA Detachment. Vande Hei is a graduate of Saint John’s University and Stanford University.

Gregory R. (Reid) Wiseman, Lt. Commander U.S. Navy, 33, of Virginia Beach, Va.; born in Baltimore; test pilot; Department Head, Strike Fighter Squadron 103, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, based out of Oceana Virginia. Wiseman is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Johns Hopkins University.

Nine people. Twenty-two degrees. I'm feeling pretty good about the future of the space program.