Show Notes

Neil Armstrong

_{YouTube Channel NASAexplorer}

• For the famed astronaut’s funeral set on Friday, August 31, flags will be flown at half-staff as ordered by President Obama as “a mark of respect for the memory of Neil Armstrong”.
• Before NASA
• He was licensed to fly at 16, before he got his driver’s license
• Armstrong was active in the Boy Scouts and he eventually earned the rank of Eagle Scout
• Recognized with the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award and Silver Buffalo Award
• July 18, 1969, while flying towards the Moon inside the Columbia, he greeted the Scouts: “I’d like to say hello to all my fellow Scouts and Scouters at Farragut State Park in Idaho having a National Jamboree there this week; and Apollo 11 would like to send them best wishes”. Houston replied: "Thank you, Apollo 11. I’m sure that, if they didn’t hear that, they’ll get the word through the news. Certainly appreciate that
• NASA
• He became a test pilot with what evolved into NASA, flying more than 200 kinds of aircraft from gliders to jets.
• Gemini 8
• Armstrong and pilot David Scott achieved the first docking of two spacecraft in orbit, linking up with an unmanned Agena target vehicle
• The mission was a near disaster, suffering the first critical in-space failure of a U.S. spacecraft after a stuck thruster set the Gemini spacecraft spinning
• Armstrong ultimately regained control by using their re-entry system thrusters, steadying the spacecraft and forcing an early, but safe end to the mission
• Apollo 11
• Armstrong privately concluded that they had a 90 percent chance of returning safely to Earth but only a 50–50 chance of pulling off a successful landing.
• It was crucial to land without any sideways motion, lest they risk tipping over at touchdown but the blast of the descent rocket was kicking up moon dust
• Armstrong fixed his gaze on rocks sticking up through the blowing dust; using them as reference points and guided Eagle slowly downward, about as fast as an elevator
• In those first few moments on the moon, Armstrong stopped in what he called “a tender moment” and left a patch to commemorate NASA astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts who had died in action.
• An estimated 600 million people [a fifth of the world’s population] watched and listened to the moon landing, the largest audience for any single event in history.
• In Wapakoneta, media and souvenir frenzy was swirling around the home of Armstrong’s parents where people were pulling grass out of their front yard.
• After Apollo 11
• Soon after returning from the moon, Armstrong announced he would not fly in space again.
• Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins were given ticker tape parades in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles and later made a 22-nation world tour. A homecoming in Wapakoneta drew 50,000 people to the city of 9,000.
• In 1970, Armstrong was appointed deputy associate administrator for aeronautics at NASA but left the following year to teach aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati.
• Words of remembrance
• Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 lunar module pilot and second man to walk on the moon | “Whenever I look at the moon it reminds me of the moment over four decades ago when I realized that even though we were farther away from Earth than two humans had ever been, we were not alone.”
• Apollo 11 command module pilot Michael Collins | “He was the best, and I will miss him terribly,”
• NASA Administrator Charles Bolden | “As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them, remembered for taking humankind’s first small step on a world beyond our own.”
• NASA Administrator Charles Bolden | “As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them, remembered for taking humankind’s first small step on a world beyond our own. Besides being one of America’s greatest explorers, Neil carried himself with a grace and humility that was an example to us all. When President Kennedy challenged the nation to send a human to the moon, Neil Armstrong accepted without reservation.”
• U.S. President Barack Obama | “Neil was among the greatest of American heroes – not just of his time, but of all time. When he and his fellow crew members lifted off aboard Apollo 11 in 1969, they carried with them the aspirations of an entire nation. They set out to show the world that the American spirit can see beyond what seems unimaginable – that with enough drive and ingenuity, anything is possible. And when Neil stepped foot on the surface of the moon for the first time, he delivered a moment of human achievement that will never be forgotten.”
• Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney | “Neil Armstrong today takes his place in the hall of heroes. The moon will miss its first son of Earth.”
• House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) | “Neil Armstrong blazed trails not just for America, but for all of mankind. He inspired generations of boys and girls worldwide not just through his monumental feat, but with the humility and grace with which he carried himself to the end.”
• In the words of Neil Armstrong
• “[The moon was] simply magnificent, beyond any visual experience that I had ever been exposed to.”
• “In my own view, the important achievement of Apollo was a demonstration that humanity is not forever chained to this planet, and our visions go rather further than that, and our opportunities are unlimited.”
• “I am, and ever will be, a white socks, pocket protector, nerdy engineer,” “And I take a substantial amount of pride in the accomplishments of my profession.”
• “I can honestly say—and it’s a big surprise to me—that I have never had a dream about being on the moon”
• The space race was “the ultimate peaceful competition: USA versus U.S.S.R. It did allow both sides to take the high road, with the objectives of science and learning and exploration.”
• From his family
• "Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.
• Multimedia
• Image Gallery Neil Armstrong – American Icon Remembered | Space.com
• YouTube NASA | Highlight Reel of Partially Restored Apollo 11 Video | NASAexplorer
• YouTube NASA | The 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11 | NASAexplorer
• YouTube NASA: Neil Armstrong Remarks from Congressional Gold Medal July 21, 2009 | tvspace
• YouTube The Åpollo–11 Channel | TheApollo11Channel
• Further Reading / In the News
• Neil Armstrong Info
• Biography : Neil Armstrong | NASA.gov
• The Apollo 11 Flight Journal | history.NASA.gov
• Debunking myths about Neil Armstrong | NBCnews
• For Neil Armstrong, the First Moon Walker, It Was All about Landing the Eagle | ScientificAmerican
• Neil Armstrong, 1st man on the moon, dies at 82 (Update) | phys.org
• Neil Armstrong, First Man on the Moon, Dies at 82 | UniverseToday.com
• Neil Armstrong: First Man on the Moon | Space,com
• Neil Armstrong (1930–2012): NASA Remembers an American Icon | Space.com
• Neil Armstrong Remembered: Tributes to 1st Man to Walk on the Moon | Space.com
• Neil Armstrong, First Man to Walk on Moon, Dies at 82 | Space.com

— NEWS BYTE —

NASA and Dinosaurs?

_{Credit: NASA/GSFC/Rebecca Roth}

• The low down
• Footprints of ankylosaur have been found on the property of a NASA‘s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland
• Significance
• Ankylosaur are members of the heavily-armored ankylosaur subgroup that lacked tail clubs but often sported prominent spike’s along their sides
• At least two, possibly a mother and child tracks of two nodosaurs have been confirmed
• A smaller print was discovered within the first, evidence that they were made around the same time and leading researchers to suggest it may have been a mother-and-child pair.
• The track has started to erode, and may have been damaged by a lawnmower, the roughly 112-million-year-old track still shows four toe imprints
• The tracks were found earlier this summer and recently NASA scientists were taken out to the site to see the fossil depression at that time
• Researchers found several more possible dinosaur tracks, the NASA facility may have been founded on a Cretaceous dinosaur stomping ground.
• Of Note
• Officials are already moving to protect the fossil, and they plan to bring in paleontologists to look for other dinosaur tracks
• What happens next will depend on the laws that regulate how fossils can be removed and curated.
• Further Reading / In the News
• Multiple Dinosaur Tracks Confirmed at NASA Center | UniverseToday.com
• NASA’s Nodosaur Track | Smithsonian.com

Musical training as a child has a life long affect

• A little music training in childhood goes a long way in improving how the brain function
• The low down
• Researchers for the first time have directly examined what happens after children stop playing a musical instrument after only a few years
• Compared to peers with no musical training, adults with one to five years of musical training as children had enhanced brain responses to complex sounds
• Making them more effective at pulling out the lowest frequency in sound crucial for speech and music perception, allowing recognition of sounds in complex and noisy auditory environments.
• Significance
• For the study, young adults with varying amounts of past musical training were tested by measuring electrical signals from the auditory brainstem in response to eight complex sounds ranging in pitch
• Forty-five adults were grouped into three matched groups based on histories of musical instruction
• One group had no musical instruction, another had 1 to 5 years the others had to 6 to 11 years
• Both musically trained groups began instrumental practice around age 9
• Musical training during childhood led to more robust neural processing of sounds later in life
• The study suggests that short-term music lessons may enhance lifelong listening and learning
• Of Note
• Prior research on highly trained musicians and early bilinguals revealed that enhanced brainstem responses to sound are associated with heightened auditory perception, executive function and auditory communication skills.
• The team believes that a few years of music lessons also confer advantages in how one perceives and attends to sounds in everyday communication situations, such as noisy restaurants
• Further Reading / In the News
• Practicing music for only few years in childhood helps improve adult brain: research | MedicalXPress
• Musical Training During Childhood Shapes Brains As Adults | medicalnewstoday.com

— TWO-BYTE NEWS —

Documentary : Chasing Atlantis

• The low down
• A documentary by 5 Canadians about going to see the last Space launch and looking at the legacy of the space shuttle
• Multimedia
• YouTube Chasing Atlantis channel
• Social Media
• Chasing Atlantis @chasingatlantis
• Further Reading / In the News
• Chasing Atlantis : the film
• Chasing Atlantis: An Upcoming Film about the Shuttle’s Legacy | UniverseToday.com

— Updates —

Hubble’s Hidden Treasures

• Last time on SciByte
• Apollo 11 & James Cameron | SciByte 40 – You could bring about the next great Hubble picture[April 3, 2012]
• The low down
• Over a million observations of the Universe have been made by the Hubble Space Telescope
• In April 2012 Spacetelescope.org asked the public to sift through the archives, adjust the colors of their favorite photos with an online tool, and submit to the contest
• The contest had about 3,000 submissions
• More than a thousand of these images were fully processed
• Multimedia
• Image Gallers Hubble Telescope’s Hidden Photo Treasures: 2012 Winners Gallery | Space.com
• VIDEO : Hubblecast 53: Hidden Treasures in Hubble’s Archive @ spacetelescope.org
• Further Reading / In the News
• Hubble’s Hidden Treaures Website
• Hubble Legacy Archive
• What is image processing?
• Hubble Treasures Contest : iPad and iPod Touch up for Grabs
• Join the 2012 Hubble’s Hidden Treasures Competition

– CURIOSITY UPDATE –

_{Credit: JPLnews}

• On August 22, scientists announced they have named for the late author Ray Bradbury
• Driving Begins
• Curiosity’s drive combined forward, turn and reverse segments. This placed the rover roughly 20 feet (6 meters) from the spot where it landed
• NASA Mars Rover Begins Driving At Bradbury Landing | mars.jpl.nasa.gov
• Multimedia
• YouTube Curiosity Rover Report (Aug. 24, 2012) | JPLNews
• YouTube What It’s Like to Land On Mars | JPLnews
• Social Media
• Curiosity Rover @MarsCuriosity
• Further Reading / In the News
• Pew! Pew! Pew! NASA’s Curiosity Rover Zaps Mars Rock with Laser | Space.com
• Martian Curiosity: How Do You Drive a $2.5 Billion Mars Rover? | UniverseToday.com
• Mars Rover Curiosity to Take 1st Martian Drive Wednesday | Space.com
• Curiosity’s Sundial Carries a Message of Hope | UniverseToday.com
• Curiosity Takes Aim at Martian Destination – Mount Sharp | UniverseToday
• Want To Live On Mars Time? There’s An App For That | UniverseToday.com

SCIENCE CALENDAR

Looking back

• August 1971 | 41 years ago | Neil Armstrong Retires from NASA

Looking up this week

• Keep an eye out for …
• August 29 | The planet Mars is low in the west-southwest as night falls, and forms a triangle with two other bright objects to its right: the planet Saturn and the star Spica.
• August 31 | Just before sunrise | To the E-NE you can spot Mercury with the star Regulus just below it.
• August 31 | Full Moon – It is the second full Moon in the month of August, which according to modern folklore makes it a Blue Moon.
• August 31 | After Dusk | Mars and Saturn team up low in the western sky in early evening, with Mars to the left and Saturn to the right. Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, is visible through strong binoculars or a telescope, and looks like a tiny star quite close to the planet.
• Venus | ~2 hours before Dawn | Rises in the E-NE, by dawn it is high in the Eastern sky
• Jupiter | ~Midnight | Rises in the E-NE [orange star Aldebaran to the right/lower right], by dawn it’s in the upper SW
• Mars / Saturn [ and Spica ] | Dusk | Form a stretched out triangle low in the W-SW with Mars moving to the left
• Further Reading and Resources
• Weekly SkyWatcher’s Forecast: July 23–29, 2012 |
  UniverseToday
• Sky&Telescope
• SpaceWeather.com
• StarDate.org
• For the Southern hemisphere: SpaceInfo.com.au
• Constellations of the Southern Hemisphere : astronomyonline.org
• Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand : rasnz.org.nz
• AstronomyNow
• HeavensAbove

• The low down
  • Unlike the other planets Uranus has a bizarre 98-degree tilt relative to the solar system’s orbital plane and its magnetic axis is 60 degrees off from that
  • This unusual configuration makes the planet appear to roll around on its side as it orbits the sun every 84 years
  • When magnetic field lines converge, at a planet’s poles, they funnel incoming charged solar particles into the planet’s atmosphere
  • When those particles collide with air molecules, making the molecules glow producing Aurora
  • Now an international team of astronomers have used the Hubble Space Telescope to capture the first aurora seen on Uranus from Earth
• Significance
  • Scientists first observed the planet’s auroras only once, during a Voyager flyby in 1986 on the night side of the planet
  • There the probe’s instruments had a much better view of the glows, which lasted longer, covered a larger area, and covered the unlit side of Uranus
  • Scientists unsuccessfully tried to again detect this phenomenon in 1998 and 2005 from the Earth
  • The new observations of the Aurora seemed to indicate they lasted for only a couple of minutes
  • Different planetary arrangements could explain the significant differences in the two observations
  • In 1986 planet’s rotational axis was pointed almost directly at the sun, whereas in in 2011 the axis lay almost perpendicular to the flow of solar wind
  • When the team learned of an impending solar storm directed toward Uranus, timed their Hubble observations specifically to coincide with the solar storm
  • The storm would hit 3 months after the strong gust in the solar wind raced past Earth on its way to Uranus
  • In November 2011 researchers caught their first glimpse of the brief auroras from our planet’s neighborhood six weeks later
  • This new observational data should help scientists better understand Uranus odd magnetic field
• Of Note
  • Further investigations into Uranus’ auroras and magnetic field could provide insight into Earth’s own magnetosphere and how it interacts with the solar wind
  • This information will become invaluable with our ever increasing technological society
• Multimedia
  • Uranus IMAGE GALLERY: @ space.com
• Further Reading / In the News
  • Uranus auroras glimpsed from Earth | agu.org
  • Rare Photo: Auroras on Uranus Spotted by Hubble Telescope | livescience.com
  • Hubble Reveals Curious Auroras on Uranus | universetoday.com
  • Auroras Seen on Uranus For First Time | nationalgeographic.com
  • ScienceShot: Hubble Spots Auroras on Uranus | news.sciencemag.org

*— NEWS BYTE — *

Martian Dust Devils

_{Credit: MSSS / JPL / NASA}

• Last time on SciByte
  • Amazon & Martian Weather | SciByte 39 (March 27, 2012) : Martian Storm Chasing
  • Solar Storms & Higgs Boson | SciByte 37 (Mar 13, 2012) : Martian Dust Devil
• Thanks Angela for pointing this out
• The low down
  • Unlike a tornado, a dust devil typically forms on a clear day
  • The ground is heated by the sun, warming the air just above the ground, heated air near the surface rises quickly through a small pocket of cooler air above it and the air may begin to rotate, if conditions are just right.
  • The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been examining Mars with six science instruments since 2006
  • Mars orbiters, rovers and landers have all captured devils in action before
• Significance
  • Typical tornadoes on Earth are less than 10 miles tall, while dust devils on our planet seldom reach more than 300–900 feet [100–300 yards]
  • The Feb 16 dust devil lofted a twisting column of dust more than half a mile [800 meters] high, and had approximately a 90 ft [30 yards] radius
  • The March 14 dust devil stretched 12 miles [20 kilometers] up from the planet’s surface and had a 230 ft [70 m]
  • The mass of an dust devil column on Mars is less than 1 percent than that of one on Earth, allowing their incredible heights on Mars
  • In addition more thermal convection from the surface make makes if possible for the dust devils to go higher into the atmosphere of Mars then they do here on Earth
• Of Note
  • Although you would be blasted by sand and dust these dust devils are unlikely to knock you over because of the low density of the Martian atmosphere
  • This mission has returned more data about Mars than all other orbital and surface missions combined and can reveal features as small as a desk
  • More than 21,700 images taken by HiRISE are available for viewing on the instrument team’s website
• Multimedia
  • YouTube VIDEO : Mars’ Whirling Dust Devil | JPLnews channel
  • YouTube VIDEO : Storm Chaser on Mars| JPLnews channel
• Social Media
  • HiRISE @HiRISE
• Further Reading / In the News
  • A Monster Dust Devil Stalks the Martian Landscape | uahirise.org
  • New Gigantic Tornado Spotted on Mars | universetoday.com
  • The Serpent Dust Devil of Mars | uahirise.org
  • Huge Dust Devil on Mars Captured in Action @ UniverseToday.com
  • Mars orbiter catches twister in action @ PhysOrg.com
  • Photo from NASA Mars orbiter shows wind’s handiwork (Jan 2012) @ PhysOrg.com

Studying the high-altitude jet stream

_{Credit: NASA Wallops}

• The low down
  • After several days of delays due to the weather NASA launched the 5 ATREX rockets within 5 min of each other on March 27
  • Each of the rockets released a chemical tracer that was used to get more data of the high-altitude jet stream located 60–65 mi [95–105 km]
  • Two of the rockets also contained instruments to measure temperature and pressure
  • Hopefully this data will help us to better understand the processes behind this jet stream
• Significance
  • The high-altitude jet stream that this project was looking at is much higher than the one in the nightly weather report
  • The upper jet-stream typically has winds of about 200–300 mph [320–480 km/hr] and is a region of electrical turbulence that can affect satellites and radio
• Of Note
  • NASA will release more information about the outcome of the mission after scientists have had time to review the data
• Multimedia
  • YouTube: Lighting the Sky: NASA’s ATREX Mission Launches | NASAExplorer
  • IMAGE GALLERY | space.com
• Further Reading / In the News
  • Psychedelics in the Sky: NASA Launches 5 Rockets in 5 Minutes | universetoday.com

*— TWO-BYTE NEWS — *

Counting Penguins from space

_{Credit: (left) DigitalGlobe; (right) British Antarctic Survey}

• The low down
  • A simple snap of a photograph of a penguin colony, and some marking can help scientist accurately count the number of penguins in a colony
  • Those numbers are hard to get however in remote places, especially in the Antarctic
  • A new technique uses satellite imaging to report results
• Of Note
  • Scientists have now found twice as many Emperor penguins than thought to exist
  • This brings the total colonies to 44 (7 new ones) and ~595,000 (+/- 81,000)
• Further Reading / In the News
  • ScienceShot: Counting Penguins From Space | news.sciencemag.org

The view from Apollo 8

• The low down
  • December 24, 1968, Apollo 8 : Commander Frank Borman and crew members William A. Anders and James A. Lovell, Jr. became the first humans to photograph the Earth rising over the moon.
  • This video recreates what they saw, and interweaves the photographs they took and hear the original audio recording
• Multimedia
  • YouTube :NASA | LRO Brings “Earthrise” to Everyone

Asteroid Lutetia Flyby

• The low down
  • Images from ESA’s robotic Rosetta spacecraft were compiled to make a video of the bly-by it made
• The mission was focused on determining the origins of the asteroid and it’s unusual colors by taking data and images
• Multimedia
  • YouTube :Rosetta flyby of asteroid Lutetia – EXTENDED

SPACECRAFT UPDATE

The Shuttle Shuffle

_{Credit: Ken Kremer}

• Multimedia / Further Reading
  • YouTube : Discovery’s Journey Playlist | NASA
  • Welcome, Discovery! | Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
  • Space Shuttle Discovery Buzzes D.C. Monuments (Pictures) | news.nationalgeographic.com
  • Discovery & Enterprise – Historic Nose to Nose Shuttle Image | universetoday.com
  • Photos: Space Shuttle Discovery’s Final Voyage (to Museum) | space.com
  • Shuttle Discovery Flies Over Washington D.C. to New Home | universetoday.com
  • Discovery Does Dulles & DC | universetoday.com
  • Gallery: Discovery Leaves Kennedy Space Center for the Final Time | universetoday.com/
  • flickr |Space Shuttle Discovery | flickr.com
  • Discovery Poised for Final Takeoff on April 17 | universetoday.com
  • Discovery Enters Eternal Smithsonian Home as Historic Relic | universetoday.com
  • Space Shuttle Discovery Enters Smithsonian for Museum Display | space.com
  • Managers Defer Ferry Flight Decision until Monday | NASA.gov

Private deliveries to the Space Station

• The historic flight of the first commercial transport to the International Space Station, The Dragon, now has a launch date of around May 7.

SCIENCE CALENDER

Looking back

• April 25, 1990 : 22 years ago : Hubble Space Telescope Deployed : In 1990, the $2.5 billion Hubble Space Telescope was deployed in space from the Space Shuttle Discovery into an orbit 381 miles above Earth. It was the first major orbiting observatory, named in honour of American astronomer, Edwin Powell Hubble. It was seven years behind schedule and nearly $2 billion over budget. In orbit, the 94.5-in primary mirror was found to be flawed, giving blurred images and reduced ability to see distant stars. However, correcting optics were successfully installed in 25 Dec 1993. The telescope 43-ft x 14-ft telescope now provides images with a clarity otherwise impossible due to the effect of the earth’s atmosphere. Instrument packages capture across the electromagnetic spectrum.

Looking up this week

• Keep an eye out for …

• Wed, April 25 : Orion is to the lower left of the Moon

• Sat, April 28 : Mars and Regulus are in the South and Saturn and Spica are in the SE with about 5* between the pairs (three fingers at arms length)

• April 28 – Mar 01 : Venus is high in the W just after sunset, setting around 11

• Mars is high in the S at dusk

• Jupiter is low in the W in the sunset, far below Venus

• Saturn is low in the SE peaking in height around midnight

• The southern hemisphere should, Keep an eye out for …

• Wed, April 25 : Orion is the ot upper left of the moon and Venus

• Further Reading and Resources

• More on what’s in the sky this week

• Sky&Telescope

• SpaceWeather.com

• StarDate.org

• For the Southern hemisphere: SpaceInfo.com.au

• Constellations of the Southern Hemisphere : astronomyonline.org

• Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand : rasnz.org.nz

• AstronomyNow

• HeavensAbove

The post Martian Dust Devils & The Shuttles | SciByte 43 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.