Tag Archives: space

C is for Calvin- #AtoZChallenge

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For “C“, I’ll tell you a little about “Calvin”. Calvin is the name chosen for the latest creepy alien we get to ‘meet’.

I went to see the movie “LIFE” the other day.

I’ve always been into science fiction. Not like a huge geek or anything, but I love the way the stories make you think. About all the different possibilities. What would people do under these circumstances? Or those? The genre allows so much freedom to explore.

LIFE starts out on the International Space Station (ISS). They retrieve a returning Mars probe and find a single celled organism onboard. It grows. Rapidly. Proof of ‘life beyond Earth’. The world is fascinated. They name it “Calvin”.

Too bad, but all the wishful thinking in the world doesn’t make Calvin a nice guy.

International Dark Sky Week!

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Celebrate International Dark Sky Week! | Today’s Image | EarthSky.

I didn’t know this week was anything special. Good thing I looked at some of my emails this afternoon. 😉

I always loved looking at the stars on night watch. That’s one of the things I miss the most about working in the oil field. There are always too many lights on to be able to really see the stars at night.

They’re posting some absolutely gorgeous photos on this site. Check it out.

5 Sky Events This Week: Moon Poses with Winter Gems and Little Bear Runs With Meteors

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5 Sky Events This Week: Moon Poses with Winter Gems and Little Bear Runs With Meteors – News Watch.

Another interesting week in the sky. I tried really hard to watch the Geminid meteor shower last weekend, but it was too cloudy here in Texas. I tried to check it out online, but I couldn’t find anything other than clouds or a few photos. I was hoping for a video from somewhere with clear skies, but I never found one.

Jupiter should be shining bright and easy to spot next week. If you have a telescope, you should even be able to spot Callisto as she crosses Jupiter. Hopefully even I will be able to see Jupiter, if not her moon. The lights are so bright on the rigs I work on, its impossible to see all but the brightest stars most of the time. 🙁

Looks like we’ll have another chance to catch a meteor shower too. The Ursid shower probably won’t be anywhere near as good as the Geminid would have been, but it’s something to look forward to.

Next Saturday is the Winter Solstice too, so for all you Pagans out there, I hope you are able to throw some good parties!! 😉

Enjoy the show! Its FREE!! 🙂

This Is Mars in Extremely High Resolution

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This Is Mars in Extremely High Resolution | Collage of Arts and Sciences.

Another good article from the Smithsonian this morning. This one is about Mars. The article shows a dozen or so beautiful black and white photographs of Mars. They were taken over the years by various spacecraft. That in itself is pretty fantastic.

Now, a French photographer, editor, designer- Xavier Barral is putting together a book. Called This is Mars, it will showcase about 150 of these gorgeous pictures. I’ll have to look for it at the library. 🙂

Best Stargazing Events of September 2013

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Best Stargazing Events of September 2013 (Sky Map Gallery) | Space.com.

This is pretty neat. I just found this. It gives you a run down on all the interesting things you can see in the night sky throughout the month of September. Tonight is the Harvest Moon. The 22nd is the equinox. It tells you where to look for the  planets,etc.

Be sure to flip through the slide show. 🙂