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The Sky is Waiting.
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The Current Number of Exoplanets Discovered is: 4149
Pictured is a Delta IV rocket launch from Cape Canaveral on November 21st, 2010. The image is a 20 second exposure taken at dusk, shot from about 100 miles west of the launch site. The launch placed a classified payload in orbit for the United States Air Force.
Difficult but not impossible to catch against the dawn or dusk sky, spotting an extreme crescent moon can be a challenge. The slender crescent pictured was shot 30 minutes before sunrise when the Moon was less than 20 hours away from New. A true feat of visual athletics to catch, a good pair of binoculars or a well aimed wide field telescopic view can help with the hunt.
The Sun is our nearest star, and goes through an 11-year cycle of activity. This image was taken via a properly filtered telescope, and shows the Sun as it appeared during its last maximum peak in 2003. This was during solar cycle #23, a period during which the Sun hurled several large flares Earthward. The next solar cycle is due to peak around 2013-14.
Located in the belt of the constellation Orion, Messier 42, also known as the Orion Nebula is one of the finest deep sky objects in the northern hemisphere sky. Just visible as a faint smudge to the naked eye on a clear dark night, the Orion Nebula is a sure star party favorite, as it shows tendrils of gas contrasted with bright stars. M42 is a large stellar nursery, a star forming region about 1,000 light years distant.
Orbiting the planet in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) every 90 minutes, many people fail to realize that you can see the International Space Station (ISS) from most of the planet on a near-weekly basis. In fact, the ISS has been known to make up to four visible passes over the same location in one night. The image pictured is from the Fourth of July, 2011 and is a 20 second exposure of a bright ISS pass.
Next to the Sun, the two brightest objects in the sky are the Moon and the planet Venus. In fact, when Venus is favorably placed next to the Moon, it might just be possible to spot the two in the daytime. Another intriguing effect known as earthshine or ashen light is also seen in the image on the night side of the Moon; this is caused by sunlight reflected back off of the Earth towards our only satellite.
A mosaic of three images taken during the total lunar eclipse of December 21st, 2010. The eclipse occurred the same day as the winter solstice. The curve and size of the Earth’s shadow is apparent in the image.
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Review: Blockbuster Science by David Siegel Bernstein
On sale now…
So. The future is now. Is it what you expected? As a child of the 1970s, 2017 seemed like an imaginably far off date. Heck, 2000 seemed impossibly remote, a year straight out of science fiction. And while we’re not vacationing on Phobos and traveling via teleporter just yet, we are all carrying computers in our pocket, and everything is finally made of plastic.
But what’s next?
Blockbuster Science: The Real Science in Science Fiction by David Siegel Bernstein out from Prometheus Books looks ahead at the cutting edge of multidisciplinary fields. Chock full of science fiction references, the author uses these as a spring board to look at the latest scientific findings straight from tomorrow’s headlines.
From gravitational wave detection to genetic engineering and the very edge of time and space, it’s all covered in the mind expanding sweep of this book. Will we ever leave Earth for good? Will we finally transcend our human form in a sort of trans-humanist immortality? There are so many variables, especially when it comes to social and cultural impacts, that it’s nearly impossible to imagine what the future will be like, until we get there.
Most older science fiction tended to simply juxtapose technology on the cultural mores and sensibilities of the day. Modern science fiction still does this today. But Blockbuster Science does more than just look at future science as a panacea for Earthly modern woes… it also looks at how applications can aim us towards the shiny white, Star Trek style future, rather than a dystopian, Road Warrior style kind of future, one where we’re all fighting over dwindling resources.
Be sure to check out Blockbuster Science for a glimpse at 2018 and beyond. There’s hope yet, thanks to science.