Ouch! An assembly
fault in the control systems of TMA-11 resulted in a high-G
ballistic re-entry and a landing nearly 300 miles off-course.
Even worse: a potentially disastrous fire occurred as the crew
waited over an hour for rescue teams to arrive.
We're all becoming complacent again: just
occasionally we receive a reminder of how dangerous space travel
really is....
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The
satellite photo on the left is of the region to the NW of Ullapool
on the Scottish west coast. This circular structure has been flagged
for years as a possible impact site: now it seems there's proof
that it is:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7314329.stm
OK Rob: samples
required! (About 70, I believe!)
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Dave & Mark
carrying the flag at the Brighton Science Fair. Mark says:
Although all of our visitors were very inquiring (including
a lot of stall holders), the day was quiet - not least of all
due to the fact that it was £15 to get in (ouch!) But they had
a couple of good speakers, Marcus Du Sautoy and Richard Fortes,
but even the attendance for them was very small... Mark, as usual,
did a fantastic job in setting up the display - all I did was
talk and provide a few space rocks!
Well done, Guys!
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A
blown-up section of an image from the Mars rover Spirit shows
what looks like a person perched atop a rock on Mars. The image,
shown here, was grabbed from panoramic images taken by Spirit
from 6-9 November 2007.
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Astronomers have now been denied access to the two best optical
telescopes in the World for the sake of a few milion pounds. (Read
about it HERE
) Remind me: how much did the Government spend bailing out Northern
Rock? And how much are the Olympics already over budget? |
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Sir Arthur C Clarke: the nearest thing to a space visionary
we've had in the UK. Sadly it was announced today (March 18th)
that Sir Arthur has died. If you haven't already had a look, there's
a
10 minute talk about the future of Spaceflight etc on You Tube!
Click the picture to view it!
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A
couple of amazing photographs just in
(courtesy of Mark Ford!) from the Messenger probe, which reached
Mercury on January, 14th
(This, as you'll all be aware, was my birthday!)
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Latest
announced attendees at
Autographica in April will be
James McDivitt and David Scott.
If you'd like more info, click HERE
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Just
a 'heads up' for those of you who collect meteorites & tektites:
the 'online auction sites' have hundreds of Moldavites and Desert
Glass
samples for sale at the moment: most of these originate in China,
and most are fake! This is definitely a case of 'buy from a source
you know you can trust': there are a few on EBay: e-mail Ian or
me
for their names!
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I
trust EVERYONE has signed this:
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Physics-Funding
If not, join Patrick Moore, Heather Couper, and Brian May
The line HAS to be drawn somewhere! (Don't forget to sign with
your 'letters': BSc, FRAS, MBAA, or, best of all, FBIMS!)
This is what we'll lose if we ignore what Mr Brown has in mind:
the Isaac Newton on the Canaries
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In
case anyone is interested, the next
Autographica will be in April, at the
Metropolitan Hotel, NEC, Birmingham.
Among the space-related guests will be
Dr Ed Mitchell (Apollo 14) and the first
man to 'walk in space', Alexei Leonov.
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The
Geminid meteor shower should reach a peak on December 13th.
It could be the best meteor shower of 2007! The Geminid shower occurs
when Earth passes through the path of 3200 Phaethon, a rocky asteroid
that sheds bits of debris as it orbits the Sun. So, if it's clear
where you are,
take a look: especially if the Perseids were a disappointment this
Summer!
Postscript! The webmaster had clear skies
and sat outside from midnight
until 2.00 am, and saw.... just two erratics! Mind you: Holmes was
still visible
to the naked eye! |
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Comet
Holmes was still visible to the naked eye on
December 11th, although clear, dark skies are necessary.
This chart shows the comet's path through Perseus until
March. If you haven't seen Holmes yet, take your binoculars
out and give it a try! It's elementary! |
Have
you seen Comet Holmes yet? Although having begun
to fade from its spectacular peak of brightness towards the
end of November, this fascinating object is still visible and
may yet flare up again! This photo shows Holmes at its best:
in October the comet brightened from a magnitude of 17 to
about 2.8 in only 42 hours! By mid November, Holmes was
the largest object in the Solar System! |
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In
October, 2007, four of us gathered at the Radisson Hotel,
Heathrow. The event - Autographica 10 - was an opportunity
to spend some time together, but also (and primarily!) we had
the chance to meet some of our great heroes: Scott Carpenter
(Mercury MA-7) Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11) Al Bean (Apollo 12)
Al Worden (Apollo 15) and Gene Cernan (Apollo17) Three
Moonwalkers in one room!
A great day out for Mark and Dave, a great weekend for David
and Rob, who arrived on Friday night and therefore joined the
Astronauts for drinks and dinner! Next opportunity? April 2009
at the NEC! |
Gene
Cernan, Al Bean and Buzz Aldrin. Captain Cernan is seen
here using his 'gentle, diplomatic' approach in an attempt to get
Dr Aldrin to carry out his scheduled talk. When Aldrin declined,
Cernan took his place! What a gent! And Rob sat next to him at
dinner, too! Well worth the journey down from the Hebrides! |
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