2017 Super Solar Eclipse, Pt. 3 - Einstein and the 1919 Principe Solar Eclipse

In 1915, physicist Albert Einstein proposed a new, more comprehensive understanding of how the universe works. He called his new idea the theory of General Relativity. Einstein’s newest theory suggested that space and time are knitted together throughout the universe as a sort of invisible ‘fabric’ that is distorted - dimpled- by massive objects. Einstein named the fabric ‘space-time’ and re-defined gravity as how we feel and interpret the distortion of space-time caused by massive objects. The motion of the planets around the Sun, for example, is caused by the Sun’s mass distorting the surrounding space-time field into the shape of a well.

Try this at home: four people each grab a bed sheet at the corners and pull until the sheet is tightly stretched. Now a fifth person places a heavy ball (at least a basketball, but lighter than a bowling ball) on the sheet. As the ball rolls to the middle of the sheet it distorts the surface as it moves. That distortion of the sheet as it rolls is much like how space-time is distorted by massive objects, like stars. Use a smaller ball to try making an orbit around the bigger ball. The motion of the smaller ball is determined by the distortion caused by the bigger ball. It’s the distortion of space-time in a bed sheet!

But what does Einstein’s theory of General Relativity have to do with eclipses?

In 1919, British astronomer Arthur Eddington understood that the curvature of space-time should also bend light rays, so he figured that a good test of the theory would be to use the curved space-time field around the Sun to bend light from a star cluster positioned just behind the sun. To see that cluster just next to the sun, the adjacent sky would need to be dark. Eddington used the darkened sky of the May 29, 1919 total solar eclipse at the island of Principe, just off the coast of West Africa, to see the cluster. His measurements of the cluster’s position were close enough to Einstein’s predictions to confirm the theory of General Relativity and catapult Einstein to international stardom. Since then, tests of Einstein’s predictions carried out during total solar eclipses have continually confirmed the validity of his theory and existence of the space-time continuum.

Next Time: Where to go and how to view the August 21 eclipse!

2017 Super Solar Eclipse, Pt. 2 - Why Don't Eclipses Happen Every Month?

As we said in our first installment in this series, solar eclipses are about light and shadows. As the moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, the moon blocks light from the Sun creating a shadow that falls onto the Earth. Seems simple enough, doesn't it? But how can our little moon block all the light from our gargantuan sun? And why doesn't this happen every month?

First, the size. The sun is 400 times farther away from us than the moon is. The sun is also 400 times bigger than the moon. This situation creates a 1 to 1 ratio of size over distance. Viewed from Earth, the two objects now appear to be the same size. So when the moon passes directly between the sun and a point on Earth, the moon appears to completely cover the sun and the sun is said to be eclipsed by the moon. If the moon were smaller or even farther away, there would be no total solar eclipses. In fact, the moon is slowly orbiting away from Earth. At some point in the earth’s future, total solar eclipses won’t happen anymore.

(Try this at home: Use a soccer ball for the sun and a tennis ball for the moon. Now hold the tennis ball directly in front of the soccer ball and adjust the tennis ball’s distance from the soccer ball so that the tennis ball seems to just match the soccer ball’s size. This is exactly what’s happening between the sun and the moon as seen by an observer on Earth!)

Second, why not every month? If the orbits of the Earth and the moon were on the same plane, there would be solar and lunar eclipses every month. But the moon’s orbit has a slight tilt - about 5 degrees from horizontal. This means that only two points of the moon’s orbit line up directly with the Earth’s orbit every month. If the moon’s orbit weren’t tilted, we’d have a solar eclipse every month! The tilt of the orbit, the rotation of the moon’s orbit and the Earth-Moon system’s revolution around the sun, limit the number of solar eclipses to just two or three per year. Add in a few other orbital variations and solar eclipses in specific locations become very rare. The last total solar eclipse in Philadelphia: 29 Jul 1478. The next? 01 May 2079!

Next time, Einstein and the 1919 Solar Eclipse!

2017 Super Solar Eclipse, Pt. 1 - What's An Eclipse?

It’s coming. August 21^st. The slowly progressing cycles of Earth and Moon orbits around the sun brings us closer to a special triple alignment every minute. A dedicated group of observers who literally ‘chase’ these special alignments across our planet, wait patiently but plan thourougly their next expedition to bask in… the dark of the moon. This special alignment, called a solar eclipse, is visible from someplace on Earth about every 18 months -  that’s two total eclipses every three years. Often described as the most spectacular astronomical event to be seen from Earth, I recommend that no human should leave the planet without seeing a solar eclipse. Mabel Loomis Todd, a close friend of Emily Dickenson and an avid eclipse chaser in the 19^th century, said this after witnessing the May 28, 1900 total solar eclipse at Tripoli, North Africa: 

“I doubt if the effect of witnessing a total eclipse ever quite passes away. The impression is singularly vivid and quieting for days, and can never be wholly lost. A startling nearness to the gigantic forces of nature and their inconceivable operation seems to have been established. Personalities, towns, and cities, and hates and jealousies, and even mundane hopes grow very small and far away.”

Your next chance to see one? August 21^st. Don’t miss it!

There are three types of solar eclipse visible from Earth; total, partial, and annular. While the first two types seem pretty straight-forward, that last one might be a bit challenging to understand. But before we figure that one out, let’s start at the beginning: What is a solar eclipse?

A solar eclipse is an astronomical event observed on Earth when light from the sun is blocked by the moon. Eclipses are all about the alignment of these three objects, which one is blocking the sun’s light, and the shadows they create. When the moon lines up directly between the Sun and the Earth, it blocks sunlight from reaching a narrow strip of Earth for a few hours. It’s a narrow strip and there’s a time element involved because the earth and the moon are in constant motion. This event is a total solar eclipse; the sun is ‘eclipsed’ - completely blocked - by the moon. If the moon doesn’t exactly line up in front of the sun, only part of the sun is eclipsed and the event is a partial solar eclipse. Then there’s the very special case – the annular eclipse, where the moon lines up directly in front of the sun but isn’t big enough to completely cover the sun. In this case a ring of sunlight encircles the moon as it stands in front of the sun.

Sound complicated? They can be but for the casual observer, it’s just light and shadows. Try this experiment: Stand outside in bright sunlight. Allow your shadow to fall on a nearby person, plant or pet. Your body, blocking light from the sun, creates a shadow, causing a solar eclipse for whatever is in your shadow. Exactly the same as the moon; blocking light from the sun, it creates a shadow, causing a solar eclipse for whatever is in its’ shadow. Get it? That’s all an eclipse is! For scientists who study eclipses, they are incredibly complicated and each solar eclipse has its own signature.

In the next installment, eclipse mechanics and why they don’t happen every month!

This five-part series will look at why eclipses don’t happen every month, a brief history of observing eclipses, how Einstein used an eclipse to prove his theory of general relativity, and of course, how you can become an eclipse observing expert just by holding a spaghetti strainer!

Antares Re-Supply Rocket Chases ISS Tonight

ASTRO ALERT            ASTRO ALERT            ASTRO ALERT            ASTRO ALERT

TODAY

MONDAY, OCT. 27^th, 6:45 p.m.

ROCKET LAUNCH VISIBLE FROM PHILADELPHIA AREA

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, located at Wallops Island, VA is now launching rockets ferrying supplies up to International Space Station.  This evening, 41 minutes after sunset, an Antares rocket, built by Orbital Sciences Corporation, will transport 5000 pounds of science experiments and supplies to the astronauts aboard ISS.

Antares is due to lift off at 6:45 pm EDT weather permitting. Right now weather forecasts indicate nearly perfect conditions for the launch. Since the launch facility is relatively close by, the launch will be visible along the Mid-Atlantic seaboard. From Philadelphia, look to the southeast about two minutes (6:47) after launch and you should see the flame of rocket exhaust, about 5 degrees above the southeast horizon. We should see it reach up to 20 degrees maximum height and binoculars are highly recommended to help you see it.

You’ll find more information about seeing the launch here.

Making the launch even more special, its destination, International Space Station, flies right over Philadelphia at almost exactly the same time as Antares is heading up to meet ISS! Here are the details of this excellent flyover:

ISS rises out of the WNW at 6:48p, crosses its highest elevation of 61 degrees at 6:52, then passes right in front of the bright star Altair in the constellation Aquila at 6:53. It sets in the SE at 6:57p. ISS looks like a bright star moving with a steady speed across the sky, no strobe flashes like a plane would have. Antares’ trajectory up to orbit puts it on the same orbital path as ISS and will catch up to it.Antares is chasing ISS!

You can find a map of the ISS flyover here.

Tonight’s weather will be excellent. Be sure to have a look at the waxing crescent moon as well. Mars is the pinkish, non-twinkling object a little to the left of the moon. Enjoy!

- Compiled by D.H. Pitts, Chief Astronomer, Franklin Institute Science Museum, dpitts@fi.edu, 215 448 1234, 10/31/14.

NE US Eclipse Viewers Clouded Out, But…

Planning on viewing today’s eclipse at sunset from somewhere in the northeast? Forgeddabowdit!  You’d better book a flight to Pittsburgh or Atlanta because these are about the only two places where it looks like you’ll have clear skies at sunset.For details about eclipse times, see yesterday's blog entry.

Eclipses are always dependent on the weather. Today the weather in the northeast ranges from rain in New England to overcast across the Delmarva Peninsula. A low-pressure system slowly pulling out to the northeast has brought occasional rain and solid cloud cover expected to last through Thursday night. Clearing should begin tomorrow morning but that’s 12 hours after the eclipse has passed.

Fortunately, there are 5 webcast options for viewing the eclipse online as seen from locations where the sky is expected to be clear today. Most begin their coverage at 5p EDT. You should be able to find good weather at one of them. 

Good Luck! Let me know which one worked best for you.

Slooh Community Observatory - http://live.slooh.com/

Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, CA  - http://new.livestream.com/GriffithObservatoryTV/solareclipseOctober2014

Lupica Observatory, Torrance, CA - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ocuc2TP0hoU

McMath Solar Telescope, Kitt Peak, AZ - https://sites.google.com/site/mcmathpierceeclipse/

University of Arizona’s Sky Center - http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/css/eclipse/

Total Solar Eclipse Visible Across North America Oct. 23rd

ASTRO ALERT            ASTRO ALERT            ASTRO ALERT           

THURSDAY, OCT. 23^rd, 2014

PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE VISIBLE

A partial solar eclipse occurs tomorrow, Thursday Oct. 23^rd, across North America. The eclipse is visible from the mid-Atlantic region south into Florida and Mexico, west out into the Pacific Ocean, north into Canada. For details about visibility in your area check out this link.

For the PHILADELPHIA AREA, the eclipse begins at 5:51 pm, reaching its maximum of less than 20% coverage at 6:08 pm. Unfortunately, sunset occurs at 6:10 pm. We will not see very much because only a small portion of the sun will be covered by the moon. No effects typically associated with eclipses will occur because the eclipse is so minimal.

Solar eclipses occur when the moon passes between the sun and the earth and the moon’s shadow fall onto the earth. In this case, the moon will not completely block the sun’s light as seen from the earth, so only a portion of the sun will appear covered by the moon.

For us, the eclipse begins 19 minutes before sunset, when the sun is very low in the western sky. Maximum eclipse occurs just two minutes before sunset. Viewers in this region will need a completely unobstructed view of the western horizon and clear skies in the west. The sun will set as the eclipse is in progress.

Viewers further west will see more of the eclipse before sunset occurs for them. No one on the planet will see a total solar eclipse because the Sun-Moon-Earth positioning isn’t correct for that.

To safely view the eclipse you’ll need either a pinhole camera-like device like this or this one , something with lots of holes like this or a piece of pegboard. You can also view the event directly IF you have the correct filter material like these kids do.

Weather is the most important factor: if the sky isn’t clear, we won’t have any opportunity to see anything. In case of cloudy weather, the eclipse will be broadcast live here.

There are two solar eclipses next year, neither visible from our area. The next visible for us is August 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse visible for the Carolinas!

- Compiled by D.H. Pitts, Chief Astronomer, Franklin Institute Science Museum, dpitts@fi.edu, 215 448 1234, 10/22/14.

New Planetarium Show's a Winner!

IPS/MIFF 2014 Best 3D Show Award Trophy

The Franklin Institute’s most recent planetarium show co-production, “To Space and Back”, received two more film festival awards this past June. The International Planetarium Society/Macao International Fulldome Festival selected TSAB as the best 3D planetarium show and the best 8K show over nearly 60 other entrants at the 2014 festival held in Macao, China. This brings the total number of awards to five since the show was released in March 2013. Co-produced by TFI and Sky-Skan, Inc., world leader in planetarium projection equipment, the show was written by Sky-Skan producer Annette Sotheran-Barnett and TFI Chief Astronomer Dr. Derrick Pitts. The other awards are:

-       First Prize – First International Fulldome Festival in Russia, 2013

-       First Prize Audience Choice – Imiloa Fulldome Film Festival, 2013

-       Honorable Mention – Jena/Zeiss Fulldome Film Festival, 2013

And this year:

-       Best 3D Show – IPS/Macao International Fulldome Festival

-       Best 8K Show – IPS/Macao International Fulldome Festival

Created to help viewers, particularly teen viewers, better understand how space exploration and satellite communications shapes their lives, TSAB uses innovative production and composition techniques to entertain viewers as they are drawn deeper into the story of their connection to space technologies every day.

While the show is produced in standard formats of 2K and 4K resolutions, show producer Sotheran-Barnett pushed the envelope on fulldome capability by building some of the most difficult and complex CGI models ever made for planetariums. Several scenes show the highest resolution fulldome projected images ever produced – 8K. To make these scenes most stunning, the show runs at 60 frames per second – twice the frame rate of the most sophisticated Hollywood films. The most advanced version presents the show in 8K resolution, at 60 frames per second, and in 3D! Because this version places such a high demand on playback computers and projectors, only the newest theaters with the most advanced playback equipment can run it – right now just two theaters in the world, Macao Science Center Planetarium and Beijing Planetarium – where the show premiered this past June.  TSAB currently plays in 30 theaters and on every continent except Antarctica.

The show runs 25 minutes and has two versions; one narrated by BBC Top Gear host James May, the other voiced by Pitts. The decision to add Pitts as a narrator came when the National Air and Space Museum’s Einstein Theater included that request for Pitts’ voice as part of their contract to run the show in Washington. The show opened at NASM in September.

Longtime Fels Planetarium show producer Pitts is very pleased with the success of what is currently the most technologically advanced and highly awarded planetarium show on the planet; “Right where a Fels Planetarium show should be,” he says. TFI and Sky-Skan plan to co-produce another fulldome blockbuster soon.

- 9/2014, by Derrick Pitts, Chief Astronomer, Franklin Institute Science Museum, dpitts@fi.edu, 215 448 1234.

There's No Such Thing as A 'Blue Moon'

Despite the success of The Marcels' 1961 doo-wop hit, I have to bring you the bad news that there is no such thing as a 'blue moon' - at least not in this solar system.  Did you see ‘the’ blue moon last Tuesday? Have you ever seen a blue moon? I didn’t see ‘the’ blue moon’ on Tuesday because there wasn’t one. Have I seen a blue moon ever? No, because the moon cannot be blue. If you’re wondering what all this claptrap is about,  as it turns out, Tuesday's full moon was NOT a blue moon, neither in the 'traditional' sense or literally, even though several national news outlets described it as one.

Unfortunately, what we all describe as a 'blue moon' is a clash between folklore and science. The traditional 'blue moon' that most of us refer to is the instance when there are two full moons in one month. Happens every 2.7 years on average and here's how to think about it:

Given that there's a full moon every month, there should be 12 full moons in a year and therefore 3 full moons in each season (3 for spring, 3 for summer, 3 for fall, 3 for winter). Occasionally, due to calendrical quirks, there can be 4 fulls in one season and in some folklore, the third of the four is called a 'blue moon'. This 'definition' hasn't been current or contemporary for many, many years. In recent folklore (actually the mis-translation of someone else's definition of the phenomenon!) , a 'blue moon' is defined as the second full moon in a month and Tuesday's full moon DID NOT satisfy the required criteria for 'blueness' according to modern popular folklore.

Now, how did this false 'blue moon' get into the popular press, you may ask? Newsroom researchers, armed with access to the World Wide Web can search up all manner of obscure trivia to fill the massive amounts of on-air time the news programs have strapped themselves with. Some well-meaning but astronomically challenged researcher found this trivia point and with no one on their staff to properly vet this, they RAN with it! It's not even a scientific phenomenon. The so-called 'blue moon' is a result of our civil calendar trying to trap the eternal motions of the moon into a limited framework. The moon doesn't care about months or seasons – it just orbits the Earth. End of story. We humans add the rest.

The photo of the blue moon was FAKED – either by coloring the moon blue with some graphic image tool or an actual photo of the moon, seen as blue because of some completely unrelated atmospheric effect (like volcanic dust aerosols or forest fire smoke particles) allowed the moon to be seen as blue and THAT image was connected to the 'blue moon' story. This is an excellent 'teachable moment' about how access to information does not make one an expert or how NOT to use the Internet.

Another example of overzealous Web searching is the announcing of inconsequential meteor showers like the Delta Aquarids in July, with an hourly rate of 16 meteors per hour. On any given night, anyone almost anywhere can see 10 meteors per hour, so seeing six more per hour is not worth announcing as 'nature's celestial fireworks'. BTW 16 per hour is one every 3.75 minutes – one of the better examples of the phrase 'about as exciting as watching paint dry'. Even the best showers of the year only average a meteor every 30 seconds – and that’s average! Sometimes we can see a flurry of meteors or a bright fireball occasionally, more often it can be minutes between faint, short, unspectacular streaks. Hardly celestial fireworks.

But meteors showers are to be noted if you happen to be out on the night of peak ‘shower’ activity. Unless you’re out to view the November Leonid shower at one of its 33-year maximums, don’t make a meteor shower the focus of your observing session. Use it as an added treat to being outside at night, enjoying a casual look at the heavens. And by all means, DON’T get up at 2 a.m. to see a meteor shower. If you’re an insomniac or raiding the refrigerator because you just can’t get that last slice of cherry cheesecake out of you mind, have a look to see what’s happening.

Sound like astronomy observing blasphemy to discourage observing? Not at all, just helping casual observers, like most folks,  focus energy and interest to the real exciting sights, like Comet ISON coming later this year.  That'll be worth getting up in the middle of the night!

Has This Model Been Discontinued?

I don't have a personal story about having met Neil Armstrong. Let's just say our circles didn't overlap. Unlike many others who met him or idolized him, he wasn't my hero either. But he was certainly a person of high achievement and great integrity. He accomplished an extraordinary task, one unlike almost any other in the history of mankind, yet he never 'traded' on its significance. Most extraordinary. And for that (as well as his incredible ability to perform in the highest pressure situation ever known), I laud him.

Many would say that his passing marks the very tail-end of a remarkable era, that of the Greatest Generation. NBC News icon Tom Brokaw coined the term to describe those men and women whose personal needs took a far backseat to the formidable task of defeating Germany and Japan in the Second World War. For Armstrong, his assignment as Commander of Apollo 11 was never about the individual but always about the goal and the team that would make it possible to achieve the goal. He was a finely tuned instrument that would help make it possible for America to achieve the greatest technological challenge ever known to humankind. We didn't know very much about Armstrong when he came to the assignment and even after he played his part in accomplishing the goal of landing a man on the moon, he purposely made it almost impossible to know much about his life. It was never about him, it was about the mission to which he was assigned and its successful accomplishment.

Are there still people like this in the today's world? Undoubtedly, there are quiet 'heroes' all around us but the world has changed. Now one can be famous just for being famous. You don't have to do anything challenging, dangerous, civilization-advancing, or intellectually remarkable to be famous. Cmdr. Armstrong's deeds made him famous. The world tried to make Cmdr. Armstrong a famous personality but he wouldn't allow it. And again, for that, I laud him.

My one story about Cmdr. Armstrong is so tangential. In the earliest version (2002) of a space science exhibit here at Franklin Institute entitled Space Command, we had on display memorabilia of one of the men who worked in the 'white room' for Apollo missions. The 'white room' is the area at the top of the rocket launch tower at Kennedy Space Center where astronauts enter the spacecraft and the space craft doors are closed and locked from the outside(in the Space Shuttle era this room was called the 'close-out' room). Over the years, this 'white room' worker collected all kinds of images and signatures from the astronauts of the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and even Space Shuttle programs. One of his items we had on display was a personal check. It was written out to him by Neil Armstrong. Apparently Neil owed him $10.00! The account names printed on the check were Neil and his then-wife Janet and it was signed by Neil, but – get this – it was dated July 16, 1969, the day the crew of Apollo 11 blasted off atop the Saturn V, headed for what became the most historic journey ever.

Among all the other things Armstrong needed to be concerned with that day, he pays off a $10. debt? Was it really that important?  Or was it a practical joke of some sort? Not likely. Armstrong didn't seem to be that kind of guy. Maybe it was an unusual way to mark the day in a special way for a special friend? Did he think there was a chance he wouldn't return so he squared all his accounts? I never got the real story. The materials belonged to a guy who bought them from a friend, a NJ dentist, the son of the guy who worked close-out for Apollo missions. The father and son hadn't been on speaking terms, the father died, and the son just wanted to get rid of the stuff. When offered to us to purchase, we declined since we are not a collections museum. I have no idea where the stuff is today, probably sold into a private collection. But I always thought that check might tell a story of one man's great integrity.

Ad Astra Neil.

T-24 Hours To Mars!

 At the time of this post, our latest effort to look for life on Mars is just one day away from landing. Traveling now at 8,039 miles per hour and closing from 215,000 miles, the Mars Science Lander is on course and working perfectly.  When it enters the Martian atmosphere MSL’s speed will have increased to 13,000 miles per hour because of the pull of Mars’ gravity. To say it will be a challenge to get rid of all that velocity and land safely is this years’ greatest understatement. Even the engineers who designed the braking system will sit on pins and needles waiting for The Signal. Landing time: Monday Aug. 6, 1:31 A.M. EDT.

DSN Parkes 64-meter radio dish in New South Wales, Australia

NASA will use all of its listening resources including the three satellites already in place orbiting Mars, and the Australian branch (the side of Earth facing Mars at landing time) of the Deep Space Network to catch the signal indicating MSL has landed.

While the NASA engineers are biting their nails down to the quick tomorrow, here’s how you can stay on top of this most exciting event since Armstrong and Aldrin stepped on the moon in 1969.

First, check out what the entry, descent and landing challenges for MSL will be in this ‘must see’ video description of  “7 Minutes of Terror” . http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/videos/index.cfm?v=49

Then follow MSL in a real-time simulated fly-along right down to landing. Since there won’t be real-time live images being broadcast, this will be the best way to have the feeling of being there as MSL lands. http://eyes.jpl.nasa.gov/

While you’re away from your computer, your smartphone can keep you in touch through an app called ‘Mission Clock’. This one keeps up-to-the-second, real-time countdown clocks marking hundreds of activities of many different space missions. Available at the App Store.

Because of the great interest in the possibility of life on Mars over 50 years ago, the Franklin Institute’s Fels Planetarium Director Dr. I.M. Levitt, built the world’s first ‘Mars Clock’ in cooperation with the Hamilton Watch Company in the 1950’s. Want to know what time it is on Mars right now? Use this link http://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/download_mac.html

to download an online version that will show Mars local times at various locations on the planet.

Once MSL lands, it’ll be another seven minutes before we know for sure whether it landed safely or in pieces. You can be sure NASA will post that news as soon as it comes to earth and you’ll find it at the main NASA Mars Science Laboratory website http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/participate/.

Want to really understand how awesome rocket scientists and engineers can be? Then don’t miss this landing. This is truly a case of “Go big or go home.”

Ad Astra Sally K.!

We need more adventurers like Sally Ride. The first American woman in space, Sally Ride immediately became a household name and a beacon of aspiration for women of all ages when she flew on the seventh Space Shuttle mission. At a time when it seemed that one of the basic criteria for becoming an astronaut was to be male, Ride opened a new chapter as an explorer. Ride's selection as the first American woman in space was a clear indicator of NASA's acknowledgement of the importance of diversity. Since here first flight in 1983, more than 40 women have become NASA astronauts. Clearly, she inspired women to pursue the high call to space and likely inspired scores more to pursue careers in science and technology fields.

Ride was finishing her doctorate in astrophysics at Stanford University in 1977 when she saw a NASA ad calling for astronaut candidates in the Stanford student newspaper. She applied immediately and when selected for astronaut training two years later, was among a group of 35 chosen (including five other women) from over 8000 applicants.

For Ride, when this unique opportunity presented itself, she saw it as a career possibility she couldn't resist. After all, her parents supported her childhood interest by providing a telescope for her; she was 10 years old when Alan Shepard became the first American in space, 11 when John Glenn flew his three orbits and 18 when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin  set foot on the moon. So by the time she's studying astrophysics and sees the ad calling for astronaut candidates for the then-new space shuttle program, she realizes this as her chance to be on the cutting edge of space exploration, to participate in the adventure of a lifetime.

Flying on two shuttle missions as a mission specialist, her duties included performing experiments and launching and retrieving satellites. Her third flight assignment was cancelled due to the explosion of shuttle Challenger in 1986. Later, she would be the only person to serve on the disaster review board for both shuttles Challenger and Columbia. Among her many other achievements and appointments, she served as a member of the President's committee on Science and technology and the National Research Council's Space Studies Board.

She was a frequent guest speaker at science museums and conferences around the world. This was probably an outgrowth of her strong advocacy of better science educational experiences for kids, especially for girls. I had several conversations with Ride about ways to improve science education during her visits to the Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia where I am Chief Astronomer and a Senior Science Educator. While some have described Ride as an 'absent heroine', I found her to be quite the opposite in that she regularly demonstrated her understanding of being a role model by visiting schools, writing books, giving speeches, and in 2001 founding 'Sally Ride Science', a company 'dedicated to supporting girls' and boys' interest in science, math and technology' and more specifically aims 'to make a difference in girls' lives and in society's perception of their roles in technological fields.' Well beyond the end of her space career, Ride used her knowledge, experiences, intellect, celebrity and influence to help others, particularly children, to better understand and appreciate science.

Today we see a space program much evolved from the time when Ride was flying. We have a fully operational space station; the Chinese have a space station and plans to visit the moon by 2020; private companies now offer flights to the edge of space for $200,000 and NASA is on the verge of 'outsourcing' some of its basic operations. Ride spent over fourteen days in space - not a record by any means, but she leveraged what time she did spend in space to become a truly inspirational leader showing kids, particularly girls, what they can achieve in the exciting fields of sci-tech through desire, education and dedication. She demonstrated that if you want to, you can become an explorer, an adventurer, and can even blaze trails, opening doors for others and that it can all be done in a quiet, dignified manner while maintaining a personal life.

Her legacy carries on well beyond what she could have ever imagined in the lives she changed with her pioneering spirit.

Ad Astra Sally K. Ride!

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch Opens New Era in Space Access

At 3:44 a.m. today, a SpaceEx Falcon 9 rocket carried their Dragon space capsule into earth orbit, bound for rendezvous with International Space Station. The launch represents the first attempt for a non-NASA American spacecraft to re-supply ISS since the close of the Space Shuttle Program ten months ago. The 180-foot tall, 367 ton rocket flawlessly pushed up to a 210-mile altitude where on Thursday it will meet ISS, if all systems continue to perform as expected. SpaceX has been steadily working towards developing a safe and affordable launch vehicle system since 2002.

Although many people, including many revered veterans of America’s space program, are doubtful that an independent organization like SpaceX can develop launch capability, while just the beginning of the mission, this launch will hopefully give skeptics more data with which they might form a more reasoned opinion.

SpaceX actually is not the first independent contractor to attempt to provide launch services. The French corporation Arianespace has been providing launch services for corporate and national clients worldwide, since 1980.  One of their clients, the European Space Agency, a partner of the ISS program, has been re-supplying ISS with their 6-ton freight capacity Automated Transfer Vehicle since 2008. Swiss-owned SeaLaunch, with 32 launches under its belt has been providing heavy-lift launch and recovery services since 1999. Its partners and sub-contractors include the Russian Energia corporation and the American Boeing Commercial Space Company, using the Ukrainian-built Zenit rocket.  To say “It’s not rocket science” would carry the sentiment too far but the use of successful long-range rocket technology has been known for 70 years, so it’s not surprising that SpaceX has tackled the challenge or has a good chance to be successful at providing safe and low-cost space access outside of NASA.

John Holdren, assistant to the President for Space and Technology sets the context of SpaceX’s efforts clearly in his congratulatory message to SpaceX this morning:

"Congratulations to the teams at SpaceX and NASA for this morning's successful launch of the Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Every launch into space is a thrilling event, but this one is especially exciting because it represents the potential of a new era in American spaceflight. Partnering with U.S. companies such as SpaceX to provide cargo and eventually crew service to the International Space Station is a cornerstone of the president's plan for maintaining America's leadership in space. This expanded role for the private sector will free up more of NASA's resources to do what NASA does best -- tackle the most demanding technological challenges in space, including those of human space flight beyond low Earth orbit. I could not be more proud of our NASA and SpaceX scientists and engineers, and I look forward to following this and many more missions like it."

In the recent past, I’ve been trying to get skeptics to realize that the American space program has not come to an end because of the close of the Space Shuttle program but is instead evolving into a new type of space programming in which our national space agency lets go of the routine, almost mundane work of schlepping water and toilet paper up to ISS and gets on with the big, exciting, challenging missions of deep space exploration – returning to the moon, going on to asteroids and Mars and establishing real outposts in low earth orbit, on the moon and on Mars.  Without this first step in the evolution of NASA and the American space effort, we’ll never be able to shake off the old and embrace the new. No, it will not be an easy shift nor will it be without risk – unfortunately the history of exploration will always punctuated by those who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for the advance of mankind. But in almost every effort, the risk has been worth the cost, just as this will be worth the noise of skeptics trapped in the past.

For today though, let’s wave our hats and shout Hurrah for the successful launch of Falcon and Dragon and for the ever-hopeful entrepreneurial spirit of those like Elon Musk who believe in the bright future ahead – in space.

SuperMoon 2012

Look! Up in the air!  It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s SUPER-MOON!

This month’s full moon occurs this Saturday, May 5th at 11:35 p.m.  It coincides with a minimum perigee just one hour earlier, bringing the moon 3 percent closer to Earth than average perigees. The result? The moon will appear 14% larger and 30 percent brighter than other full moons this year – a super moon.

The elliptical shape of the moon’s orbit allows for both a minimum distance and a maximum distance from Earth. The minimum is called ‘perigee’ (‘peri’ - Latin for close to, ‘gee’ - Earth), the maximum is ‘apogee’ (‘apo’ Latin –‘far from’).  The moon’s orbit also slowly rotates around Earth. This means the dates for perigee and apogee gradually slide along the calendar from month to month.

Although an optical illusion already causes the moon to appear unusually large at moonrise, with a minimum perigee 3% closer than average, the full moon will appear even larger when it rises Saturday at 7:49 p.m EDT.

Is it really ‘super’? Only as far as ocean tides are concerned. With this ‘close’ close approach, the moon will exert 42 times more force on tides than it would at the next apogee two weeks later.

Will the close approach cause any disasterous effects? Nope. No earthquakes, tidal waves, crime sprees, heart attacks, or volcanic eruptions. ‘Supermoon’ actually happens once a year, quite frequently when measured in geologic or even astronomical time. And it seems the earth has managed to survive each time.

Then why do we call it ‘super’? As Madison Avenue has directed us, everything should sound more attractive or interesting when supersized! Well, almost everything….  Great time to get a ‘moon-tan’ or blame your drunken walk home Saturday night on the extra gravitational pull of the moon. Enjoy!

Dance of the Planets - March 2012

Observing planets is a great way to begin learning your way around the night sky. This month, it’s particularly easy because all of the planets visible without binocs or a telescope are well-placed for easy viewing. Don't miss the 'Dance of the Planets' in the western sky after sunset over the next two weeks, March 1 - 14. Venus (low and bright) and Jupiter (higher and dimmer) have been visible for months as the sky darkens after sunset. Jupiter is descending daily toward Venus and the two come closest on March 13th. Tiny and elusive Mercury is visible way below Venus around 6:30 p.m., reaching its maximum elevation for this viewing season of 17 degrees on March 5th. Mercury’s a challenge because you need a clear view of the western horizon. It will appear as a bright pinpoint, lowest in the diagonal line coming down from Jupiter through Venus. Because Mercury is the planet closest to the sun, it’s only available for a few days, so try to start finding Mercury now. If you take just a quick peek to the west at 6:30 every clear evening you’ll be able to see the daily change in position of the planets. Unsure about which is a star and which is a planet? It’s easy to distinguish them – stars twinkle but planets don’t.

A little later, by 8 p.m. Mars is well up in the east. Its salmon color is easy to see even under city lights. Mars is closest to Earth this year on March 5^th.  No, it will not be the size of the full moon! That story is an Internet hoax from 2004. It will be visible all night. By 10 p.m., the ringed planet Saturn is also above the horizon in the east and is visible throughout the night. If you do have a telescope but haven’t used it yet or for awhile, here’s a good excuse to get it out, dust it off, and get a good look.

So from sunset to dawn for the next two weeks, you can see all the classical planets in their best view of the year. Want to make it even more fun?  Point them out to a friend or neighbor; they'll think you're a genius. Once you've seen them a few times, you'll begin to recognize them as 'celestial friends' of a sort from season to season.  Enjoy!

To The Moon, Newt!

A viewer of Current TV's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" wrote in to ask what Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich had in mind when he stated that "By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon. And it will be American."

As a contributor to the program for astronomy and space topics, their booking producer asked my opinion of what I thought of Gingrich's declaration. Here's my response to the producer and the viewer who wrote in:

"On one hand, I commend him for two things: 1. Looking for something to ignite the imagination and the enthusiasm of our youth and;  2. Thinking of using our space program as a way to drive tech STEM education and tech development in the US in the future.

On the other hand, let's pretend this story has come up on an episode of  'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'. Rogers' question would be: "Children, can you say 'pandering'?"

By 2020, huh? Let's add Newt's promise to discussions about the length of time an ice cube could exist in hell, or the possibility of flying pigs, etc.
We currently do not have a plan for the establishment of a lunar base. We don't have the specialty manufacturing base necessary to build the equipment (that hasn't been designed yet). Congress has hasn't been presented with any sort of logical rationale for the enormous expenditure it would take to accomplish such a task in eight years. I'm not saying it couldn't be done BUT such an effort would have to command the direct and complete commitment of Congress to provide a blank check to NASA and require the country to completely re-focus its attention away from overseas conflict, the financial recovery, international terrorism, energy issues and above all, the Washington partisan politics, bickering, backbiting and frozen non-functioning. To do what Newt is suggesting, the country's leadership would have to be convinced that mounting such an effort would do something not only miraculous – like something on the level of how JFK's declaration was meant to squash the Soviet threat – but it would also have to benefit every congressional district or else who but those who have the space industries in their districts would support it?

Newt's tactic here? Tell the Floridians whatever they want to hear to get their vote. He'll just screw them later. It's like coming to Pennsylvania and saying fracking for natural gas will be the nation's new energy policy once he's elected.

If we really hustle, we might get back to the moon by 2020. Permanent base? 2030 if we're really committed at the earliest.

Ad Astra,
Derrick (Still available for tonight) Pitts"

I gave a highly condensed version of this response last night as the No. 1 story on "Countdown".

The scary part is that the other Republican candidates railed against Gingrich's idea but for all the wrong reasons. In last night's debate, a week before the Florida primaries, Mitt Romney vaguely said he supports manned space exploration, then said it's too expensive and admitted he would fire anybody who came to him with a multi-billion dollar proposal to build a base on the moon. Rick Santorum said space is important but exploring space is too expensive. Ron Paul flatly said he doesn't think we should go to the moon, that there are more important issues to deal with here like healthcare, and that space research should be pursued for national defense purposes. None, except Gingrich, mentioned anything about the importance of the space program as a driver of American technological development or world technological and economic leadership. True, at one time, the importance of the space program was primarily for military supremacy but since the end of the Apollo program,  the space industry's importance has become far greater than its military importance for the nation's educational, research, industrial and military complexes.

Three things any presidential candidate must remember about the importance of and need for a robust space program of any sort are: a clear vision is an absolute must, congress will fight you tooth and nail, and it will be beneficial - not during your term or terms as president, but only in the long run, maintaining this country's superiority and security.

Quadrantid Shower Peaks Tomorrow Morning, January 4

The expectation for the Quadrantids this year is an hourly rate of 120 per hour(!), with a waxing gibbous moon setting in the west during the pre-dawn hours. The region of radiant for this shower is northern Bootes, formerly known as Quadrans Muralis 150 years ago – hence the name of the shower, the Quadrantids. Since Bootes rises around 1 a.m., your best bet for viewing between midnight and sunrise tomorrow morning. The moon will be setting (with Jupiter) just as Bootes has come up in the east, along with Saturn.  Mars is already well up in the east. Spica is the bright star south of Saturn.

Best bet for viewing? Anywhere away from city lights. Two of the darkest locations around near Philadelphia are the NJ Pine Barrens and what I call 'the back route' to Cape May – down Rt. 55, south through the Vineland –Millville area towards Belleplain State Forest. The sky is very dark and it's not too far a drive.

As much as we might like to be open to observe meteor showers here at The Franklin Institute, with light pollution from city buildings and street lights, we can't see enough of the meteors to make it worthwhile for an audience to come here. Planets, stars, the moon - and even a few nebulae and star clusters we can see but meteors are very difficult.

While there are several minor showers this spring, the next big shower after the Quadrantids is the Perseid shower on August 12.