Updates in this Newsletter- IceInSpace Astronomy Calendar - Submissions Open for the 2016 Calendar!
- Col. Chris Hadfield Touring Australia
- First View of Earth from Moon
- Mercury Messengers Final Resting Place
* IceInSpace Astronomy Calendar - Submissions Open for the 2016 Calendar!
It's on again! Last year's Astronomy Calendar Competition was a huge success, with over 250 entries, 63 fantastic photographers, over 1000 votes cast and over 2500 calendars sold (400 via IceInSpace!), so we're running the competition again for 2016.
The
IceInSpace Astronomy Calendar for 2016 will again be made up of images
captured by and
chosen by the IceInSpace community!
Yes - you can submit
your images for the chance to appear in the calendar, and you get to vote for the final images that will make up the calendar!
For more information about how to submit your images and how to vote, check out the article here:
IceInSpace Calendar Competition 2015
Image submission opens on Tuesday the 5th May at 9am, so start preparing your images!
* Col. Chris Hadfield Touring Australia
Col. Chris Hadfield tweeted the other day: "Good morning, Australia! I'm greatly looking forward to being in Perth, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne in August!
I've only been to Australia once, but have seen it so vividly from orbit."
From the tour page:
"Chris Hadfield has lived a life most of us can only live vicariously. A Spaceman’s View of the Planet takes us on a journey to the International Space Station, where Chris Hadfield’s daily life is dedicated to countless scientific experiments studying the universe, testing spaceship design, and monitoring the human body’s reaction to weightlessness – ultimately to enable mankind to travel into deep space. In a thought-provoking interview with veteran journalist Ray Martin, we follow Chris Hadfield’s journey from boyhood to spaceman, and hear his views on the earth, climate, mankind and exploration itself."
Reigster for Pre-Release Tickets available at the
Lateral Events page.
I've read his books, and he's a great communicator. I'm sure it'd be a fantastic night.
* First View of Earth from Moon
The world's first view of Earth taken by a spacecraft from the vicinity of the Moon. The photo was transmitted to Earth by the United States Lunar Orbiter I and received at the NASA tracking station at Robledo De Chavela near Madrid, Spain. This crescent of the Earth was photographed August 23, 1966 at 16:35 GMT when the spacecraft was on its 16th orbit and just about to pass behind the Moon.
Two years later in December 1968, there was another memorable moment. We got to see earthrise for the first time when the crew of Apollo 8 became the first people to leave our home planet and travel to another body in space. But as crew members Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders all later recalled, the most important thing they discovered was Earth.
On December 2013 in celebration of Apollo 8's 45th anniversary, NASA released this video (6.53 mins). We get to experience all the excitement hearing the astronauts talk as they see the earthrise for the first time while frantically trying to photograph it.
It's a must watch! (click on "show more" for all the details)
Image credit:
flickr/NASA on The Commons
- Suzy
* Mercury Messengers Final Resting Place
On April 30th, this region of Mercury's surface got a new crater! Traveling at 3.91 kilometers per second (over 8,700 miles per hour), the MESSENGER spacecraft collided with Mercury's surface, creating a crater estimated to be 16 meters (52 feet) in diameter.
Originally planned to orbit Mercury for one year, the mission exceeded all expectations, lasting for over four years and acquiring extensive datasets with its seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation. On April 30th, the spacecraft succumbed to the pull of solar gravity and impacted Mercury's surface.
As the first spacecraft ever to orbit Mercury, MESSENGER revolutionized our understanding of the solar system's innermost planet, as well as accomplished technological firsts that made the mission possible.
Read more and see some great images and videos at
NASA's Messenger page.
Thanks for reading! Keep looking up!
