Visual Astronomy

Dobsonian Altitude Brake Mod

2009-07-18T00:04:00.006-04:00

It's been a while since I posted a telescope mod article, so I figure'd I'd share this mod, submitted by a reader, Clay Cooper. Basically, he replaced the bolt that holds the springs with a 1/4-20 bolt with a knob and a washer. A simple and elegant solution to the pesky springs, this mod also allows adjustment of the altitude tension "on the fly". Check out the pics below to see!

If you've got any cool mods of your own, send 'em in to sean@visualastronomy.com!

Clear skies!

Apollo Program 40th Anniversary

2009-07-16T12:09:00.006-04:00

The 40^th anniversary of the Apollo moon landings is approaching, and many groups are having celebrations and commemorations. Apollo 11 landed on July 24, 1969, so this July 24^th will mark the 40^th anniversary of the first boots on the Moon. Looking forward, we are going back to the moon. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is already preparing our path back to the moon, with the end goal this time of a permanent Lunar settlement. A Lunar base camp would allow us to study the Moon and stars in greater detail than ever before, and may be used as a "rest stop" on the way to Mars. Below, you will find a list of links and resources on the 40^th anniversary of the Apollo landings.

NASA's 40th Anniversary Page

List of 40th Anniversary Events

Apollo 11 Page on Wikipedia

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Discovery Channel and other news and cable channels have specials throughout the anniversary period

Apollo Plus 40 on Twitter

If you've got any events that you would like added to the list, just leave a comment!

Clear skies!

Help Solve an Astronomical Mystery!

2009-07-13T23:26:00.010-04:00

Have you ever wanted to make a contribution to real science? Well, now you can, with the Citizen Sky Project!

The Citizen Sky project is an attempt to solve a 175 year-old mystery. Every 27.1 years, the star Epsilon Aurigae undergoes an eclipse. Astronomers have been studying this star for over 175 years, yet still don't fully understand the nature of its eclipsing object. Citizen Sky has more information on Epsilon Aurigae here. The problem is that the star is so bright that it cannot be observed with most large professional telescopes. So, the task has been assigned to amateur astronomers everywhere to help with observation during Epsilon Aurigae's next eclipse in August 2009!

Joining Citizen Sky is open to anyone, regardless of your previous experience in astronomy. Heck, you don't even need a telescope to observe Epsilon Aurigae!! According to citizensky.org:

"Citizen Sky welcomes everyone to be a citizen scientist. We will guide you through the process of how to observe epsilon Aurigae, how to send us your observations, and then how to see your results, analyze them, and even publish them in a scientific journal!! No previous experience is required. We hope that this project will involve thousands of people all over the world in real, active scientific research."

-- citizensky.org

So join Citizen Sky and make a difference in astronomy! I've already joined, and will be making observations whenever possible!

Clear skies!

Constellation Showcase: Hercules

2009-07-10T14:38:00.010-04:00

Welcome to this month's Constellation Showcase! This monthly segment details a currently viewable constellation, typically somewhere along the ecliptic or high in the Northern sky. This month we're going on a tour of Hercules, the Roman Hero!

In the star chart to the right, you can see the constellation Hercules. Hercules isn't a very bright constellation, but it contains a few interesting stars and clusters. To find Hercules, I usually find it easiest to first locate the central square segment. The constellation Cygnus can be useful in finding Hercules, as it is a very easy constellation to find (it is shaped like a cross) and is near to Hercules.

Hercules is a Roman adaptation of the Greek demigod Heracles. Heracles was the son of Zeus and Alcmena, a mortal. This makes Heracles half-god, half-mortal. There are many legends regarding Hercules, one of the most famous being the Twelve Labors of Hercules.

Nebulae

The only notable nebula in Hercules is Abell 39. This planetary nebula is very close to spherical in shape, and can make an interesting target in medium to large telescopes. Planetary nebulae form at the end of their central star's life. Stellar winds blow gas outward into space, forming a nebula. You can see this cool planetary nebula in the image to the left (WIYN/NOAO/NSF). The Abell 39 nebula is about 2.5 light-years across. The outer shell of the nebula is only about 0.34 light-years thick. In the center of the sphere, you can see a star. This is the central star, and the source of the gas that makes up the planetary nebula. It is approximated that this nebula started to form a little over 22,000 years ago, and has been expanding at a rate of about 35 km/s.

Clusters

Hercules is home to one of the most famous globular clusters, M13. This beautiful globular cluster, also known as the Great Cluster in Hercules, contains a few hundred thousand stars packed into a spherical cluster only 145 light-years across! Even in small telescopes, this cluster is astonishing. In larger telescopes, M13 takes on a whole new look. The larger the telescope, the smaller objects it can resolve, so medium to large telescopes really start to show great detail in M13. Under dark skies, it is sometimes even visible to the naked eye! To the right, you can see the Hubble image of M13. The position of M13 is marked on the constellation map at the top right of this article, too.

Hercules is also the home of M92, another globular cluster. Although it isn't as impressive as M13, it is still an entertaining target. M92 is also marked on the map at top right.

I hope you enjoyed this month's installment of the Constellation Showcase, and that you will join us next month, when we will showcase another constellation!

To receive more articles like this, subscribe via RSS Feed or e-mail!

Clear skies!

Previous Constellation Showcase - Orion

Total Solar Eclipse, July 22, 2009

2009-07-02T22:14:00.008-04:00

On July 22nd, 2009, viewers in India and Southeast Asia will be treated to a total solar eclipse. With an incredibly long totality of 6 minutes and 39 seconds, this solar eclipse will be the longest solar eclipse until 2132! Totality occurs at 2:35 UTC. This eclipse will be visible starting in India, moving through Nepal, Bangladesh, China, and the southern end of Japan, finally ending in the South Pacific. Of course, the best place to see the eclipse would be at maximum totality, seen best from Iwo Jima. If you can't get there, though, any viewing area in the maps below will give an excellent show! To see a detailed map of the total eclipse's path, click any of the maps below.

The eclipse's path through India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan.

The eclipse's path through China.

The eclipse's path through southern Japan.

For more detailed maps, see NASA's page on the eclipse.

SAFETY FIRST!

Although you will want to look at this eclipse, DO NOT LOOK AT A SOLAR ECLIPSE without proper safety equipment. Doing so can cause permanent and irreversible eye damage and possibly blindness.

In order to safely view this eclipse use a pinhole eclipse viewer. Here's how to make one for cheap.

Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA's GSFC

Clear skies!

Astronomy Calendar, July 2009

2009-07-01T14:15:00.003-04:00

The following is a list of celestial events occurring during July of 2009.

July 4 - The Moon will be 0.5 degrees from the star Antares. An occultation will be visible from Japan and Hawaii at 10:00 UTC.

July 10 - Mars is 5 degrees south of M45. Jupiter is 4 degrees south of the Moon, and Neptune is 3 degrees south of the Moon.

July 13 - Jupiter is 0.6 degrees south of Neptune.

July 18 - The Moon is 0.5 degrees north of M45. Mars is 5 degrees south of the Moon.

July 20 - The Moon is 1.6 degrees north of M35.

July 22 - A total solar eclipse will be visible from India, Southeast Asia, and the South Pacific. Click here for more details.

July 29 - Delta Aquarid meteor shower peaks. The Delta Aquarids are typically considered minor shower, with hourly rates near the 20 meteor per hour range. The Delta Aquarids tend to produce bright yellow, slow-moving meteors.

Clear skies!

2009 Bootids Off to a Good Start

2009-06-22T13:55:00.003-04:00

While observing last night, I observed an abnormally high hourly rate of meteors. While on a typical night, one might see about 10 per hour, I was seeing about 1 every few minutes, which I would estimate to 20-30 meteors per hour. At first I was confused, but then I remembered: the Bootid meteor shower began on June 21^st! Typically considered a minor shower, the Bootids have been more active in the last few years. In 2004, they reached a peak of over 100 per hour!

Shown above is the direction from which the meteors will appear to radiate.

The Bootid meteor shower peaks on June 27^th. It is believed that since the shower's parent comet, 7P/Pons-Winnecke, passed closely to Earth in 2008, that the hourly rate for this year will also be quite high.

So get out and check out this meteor shower! It will go until about July 2^nd, so you'll have plenty of time!

Clear skies!

Stellarium's Light Pollution Feature

2009-06-21T16:23:00.004-04:00

I just recently upgraded to the new Stellarium. In the new version 0.10.2, many new features were added. The one I found most interesting was the light pollution simulation. Kind of shocking to see the differences immediately between perfect dark sky and nearly no stars. Makes me thankful for the (kind of) dark skies I do have.

Here, you can see the option in the Sky Views options screen.

This is the view simulated with no light pollution. This is what perfect dark skies would look like.

This is moderate light pollution. My skies are somewhere between this LP level and the dark sky above.

This shows heavy light pollution. I've been in places with more LP than this, and I couldn't see any stars!

In the near future, I'll be putting together a complete list of the new features of Stellarium. But tonight I'll be busy out at the 'scope!

Clear skies!

New York Teen Discovers Supernova

2009-06-17T14:10:00.005-04:00

Caroline Moore, of Warwick, New York has made history as the youngest person to ever discover a supernova, at 14 years old. Moore's discovery was made by examining images taken in a Meade LX200 16-inch telescope (similar to the 'scope at right). Discovered on November 7th, 2008, this supernova is just now getting worldwide media coverage. In fact, I hadn't heard about it until I saw it on the news. I was surprised to see amateur telescopes on TV during an interview segment!

Known as Supernova 2008ha, this supernova is one of the weakest supernovae ever discovered. It was about 1000 times weaker than the typical supernova. Located in the galaxy UGC 12682, Supernova 2008ha is over 70 million light-years distant. It is theorized that this supernova is just a very weak Type Ia supernova, but there may be something more here. Maybe a new phenomenon? A star collapsing into a supernova? Only time will tell. One thing is for sure, though: This is an amazing discovery by Caroline Moore.

For more information, check out the scientific paper.

Clear skies!

The Summer Solstice

2009-06-17T12:57:00.006-04:00

Each year, the summer solstice signals the "beginning" of the summer season. The summer solstice is very similar in meaning to the winter solstice, but opposite in the position of the sun.

The summer solstice is the day during which the sun is at its most Northern point in the sky (usually near June 20^th or 21^st). Consequently, it is also (typically) the longest day of the year, having the shortest night. The word solstice itself comes from a Latin phrase meaning "the Sun stands still". For a few days before and after solstice, the sun would be changing declination so slowly that it would appear to be standing still.

The easiest way to visualize this is to imagine yourself standing on a sphere (the Earth). If you're standing in the Northern hemisphere, the sun will always appear to be slightly South of your location. The more you tilt the North pole away from the sun, the further South the sun seems to dip. The tilt of the Earth's axis is not changing, but its position relative to the Sun is, producing the same effect.

The summer solstice occurs on the following days in upcoming years:

June 21, 2009 - 5:45 UTC

June 21, 2010 - 11:28 UTC

June 21, 2011 - 17:16 UTC

Clear skies!

Thin Crescent Moon

2009-05-26T22:53:00.006-04:00

This image, taken by a Twitter friend @tavigreiner, caught my eye. It's a picture of a very thin crescent moon, only 1.5 days old. Finding a moon this new can be a challenge, and finding pictures of it as nice as this is rare.

Courtesy of @tavigreiner.

This photo made the Amateur Astronomy Photo of the Day! Just figured I'd share this one with you!

Clear skies!

A Quick Update

2009-04-15T13:33:00.002-04:00

Hi all, sorry for the blog not being very busy for the last few weeks. I've been incredibly busy with our senior design project, a radio telescope. We've been working on some noise issues and trying to get more gain. Due to our budget and space constraints, we can't make a dipole array as typically seen on amateur radio telescopes. Instead, we're going with a set of active antennae, with preamplifiers on the antenna itself.

So things should start winding down within the next few weeks, and I can start posting at full speed again. I've got a couple posts ready to go out in the next few days, so stay tuned!

Clear skies!

100 Hours of Astronomy

2009-04-03T18:46:00.006-04:00

Welcome to the 100 Hours of Astronomy! Although it technically started yesterday (April 2^nd, 2008), the 100 Hours of Astronomy will continue through April 5^th, 2008.

The 100 Hours of Astronomy (100HA) is a cornerstone project of the International Year of Astronomy 2009. All across the world, people are getting together in parks and public venues to show the world the skies! Most of the big events are starting today, so check out the official 100HA website to see some of the webcasts! Part of the 100HA is the "24 Hour Star Party", an event taking place on Saturday, April 4^th, 2009, which includes public "sidewalk astronomy". If you would like to attend an event like this, check out the forum at www.cloudynights.com and see if there are any postings for your area.

I myself will be helping with an event in Northeast Ohio tomorrow (April 4, 2008). If you'd like details, send me an e-mail and I'll give you directions. The weather isn't looking good for Ohio, however.

Clear skies!

You Can Help AAVSO!

2009-03-29T13:47:00.004-04:00

Ever wanted to subscribe to Sky & Telescope? Need to renew? I recently heard of a promotion and would like to pass it on. The picture below will lead you to a page where you can subscribe for 47% off. Also, $5.00 of your purchase goes straight to the American Asociation of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO).

So help yourself and AAVSO today!

NOTE: I receive NO compensation, monetary or otherwise, for the posting of this link.

The Vernal Equinox

2009-03-20T09:00:00.001-04:00

Each year, the vernal equinox signals the beginning of spring (in the Northern hemisphere). So what determines the date of the vernal equinox?

Technically speaking, the vernal equinox occurs on the day when the Earth's axis (which is tilted by 23.5°) is pointed neither towards nor away from the Sun. The Sun will appear directly centered over the Earth's equator. Put simply, however, the length of the day and night are nearly equal, hence the term equinox. Therefore, after the vernal equinox, the days will be longer than the nights, signaling the beginning of spring. Typically the equinox occurs on March 20^th or 21^st.

Precession of the Equinoxes

The Earth's spin axis is not fixed in direction, however. It actually wobbles about its axis, much like a top. It takes our planet about 26,000 years to complete one "wobble". This has some interesting effects on the view from planet Earth. Not only will it eventually cause our beloved pole star, Polaris, to no longer remain stationary, but it also causes an effect known as the "precession of the equinoxes". This causes the point on the celestial sphere that the Sun occupies to move over the course of 26,000 years.

Lately, much ado has been made about this, as the Sun will soon appear to cross the galactic center on the winter solstice of 2012. This is pure superstition, however, and has no credible basis in real science (just see this post).

Balancing Eggs

Contrary to popular belief, it is not any easier to balance on egg on the equinox than it is on any other day of the year. If you try long enough, you can balance an egg on its end any time of year. It just happens to be that more people try it on the equinox than any other time, and so the myth perpetuates.

The following table lists some upcoming equinoxes.

2009 - March 20, 11:44 UTC

2010 - March 20, 17:32 UTC

2011 - March 20, 23:21 UTC

2012 - March 20, 05:14 UTC

Clear skies!

StarWalk Review: A Planetarium for the iPhone

2009-03-19T20:31:00.011-04:00

For the high-tech crowd out there, a new iPhone app aims to put a planetarium on your phone! Star Walk, by Vito Technology, is a planetarium simulator that runs on the iPhone or iPod Touch and can be purchased at the iTunes App Store for $4.99. Recently, I was contacted by Vito Technologies about an evaluation version of the application. Although I don't personally own an iPhone, many of my friends do. Luckily for me, one friend let me borrow his iPhone for a few minutes to try out this new software. Below, I've written a review from the time I spent testing the software.

Features

First impressions are important in many things, and here, Star Walk did not let me down! The first thing you notice when you start this app is that it asks permission to find your current location. I guess this is commonplace in iPhone apps any more, but it surprised me how easy it was. I simply clicked "Yes" and the iPhone triangulated my position via cell signal and adjusted the star field accordingly. On the more advanced iPhone 3G, it uses GPS navigation to find your location for an even more accurate fix! Below, you can see the screenshot of this step, and it's approximation of my position. I'm in Youngstown, OH, so you can see that it is very accurate!

As cool as that was, Star Walk has more to offer. After completing the location setup, the star field comes up, in typical iPhone quality, full of color and smooth movements. Moving and rotating the star field is accomplished by dragging one finger across the screen, while zooming in and out utilizes the iPhone's Multi-Touch interface. Star Walk includes many objects, including the Messier catalog, planets, and meteor showers. Below you can see the interface. I have M39 highlighted to show that part of the interface. After a few minutes getting used to Multi-Touch (I'm not a native iPhone user) I found navigation to be quite easy and intuitive.

When you select an object, there is a button in the corner of the screen with an 'i' on it. Clicking this button gives you information on the object, as shown below demonstrated with Saturn. Star Walk has information such as this for everything that you can see in the display. The coolest thing I noticed here is that if you click the button with a 'w' on it, it takes you to the Wikipedia page for that object!

Also, you can change the current time using a touch-friendly interface. This is useful for simulating future and past events. This is especially useful when you want to, for example, figure out how much the Moon will interfere with the next meteor shower.

Star Walk also includes a "night mode" (shown below) that changes the screen to dim shades of red that preserves your night vision for use under the stars.

Conclusion

After only a few minutes testing this app, I would say it is a must have for amateur astronomers. The interface is easy to use and useful. The inclusion of a night mode is a serious plus for this software. Overall, Star Walk reminds me of a mobile version of Stellarium, albeit with better graphics and user interface. If I had an iPhone, I would definitely be purchasing this app, especially since it's so cheap at $4.99. The only thing that I found issue with in Star Walk is the fact that it doesn't render the positions of planets' moons. This would be a very valuable feature, and would hopefully be added in future versions. The other features of this program, however, are valuable enough to make this app a great buy!

In short, I recommend this app to all iPhone or iPod Touch users with a curiosity about the night sky!

Click here to download Star Walk from the iTunes App Store.

NOTE: I receive no compensation, monetary or otherwise, for the publishing of this review.

Clear skies!

Saturn - March 14, 2009

2009-03-15T01:53:00.004-04:00

Tonight, I got my third night of clear skies in a row, which is a rarity in Ohio during the winter. So I spent most of the night observing Saturn, both with and without a #80A filter. I also spent some time on M51, the Owl Nebula, and Comet Lulin. Below is a sketch I made of Saturn tonight.

Saturn - March 14, 2009.

A Reader-Submitted Photo of Debris Re-Entry

2009-03-13T16:38:00.007-04:00

The other day, a reader named Ferzeno from Jakarta, Indonesia sent me a photo he took on his way home from work. The picture shows an unknown re-entrant. Said Ferzeno:

"The sky was clear. It was just like a comet, with a bright long tail. I saw it at 05:57 PM [10:57 UTC] and took a picture from my cellphone... It traveled downward very fast."

Below, you can see the object in the center of the picture. Also beneath that, is a close-up of the unknown object. My best guess is that it was a piece of debris from the recent collision between Cosmos 2251 and Iridium 33. If anyone else saw this event or caught it in a photo, leave a comment below!

Unknown re-entrant captured by Ferzeno in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Image captured March 11^th, 2009 at 10:57 UTC.

Closeup view of re-entrant.

Clear skies!

Clear Skies For My Birthday

2009-03-11T23:21:00.002-04:00

Again this year, the weather gave me a birthday present and a few hours of clear skies! They're already starting to cloud over, but at least I got some observing time in during spring break. I've been pretty busy working with our radio telescope, gathering data and working out any kinks I find along the way. Looks like we've got a noise floor issue to deal with before we move forward, but we maybe, just maybe, might have captured the Crab Nebula with the radio telescope.

You know you're a geek when you spend spring break working on a radio telescope!

Clear skies!

First Interferometry Data!

2009-03-05T16:50:00.008-05:00

Today we mounted our interferometer to the roof of the engineering building and left it recording for a few hours while we went to Arby's. Below is the (noisy) data we captured. Although its incredibly noisy, it proves that the interferometry function is working properly and both amplifiers work well. Check it out below!

First interferometry data from Project Odin. Note the rise in signal strength on the bottom chart (the interferometry) near 22:00 (Time is incorrect, it was actually near noon local time). This corresponds to the time in which the Sun moved through our beam pattern! Note that because of RFI and short timespan, the typical fringes are missing.

Over the next week, we will be running the radio interferometer continuously, in a more radio-friendly environment. I can't wait to see the results!

Astronomy Calendar, March 2009

2009-03-05T16:21:00.005-05:00

The following is a list of celestial events occuring during the month of March 2009:

March 3 - The Moon is 0.8 degrees North of M45 (the Pleiades) at 08:00 UTC.

March 8 - Saturn is at opposition. Opposition is the point where we are closest to Saturn, and thus it will be the best viewing time. Daylight Savings Time begins today. (I think we just need to get rid of DST, however). The Moon is 1.5 degrees South of M44 at 02:00 UTC.

March 11 - Double Galilean shadow transit at 04:03 UTC.

March 12 - My birthday! Maybe I'll get clear skies.

March 16 - GLOBE at night campaign begins and runs until March 28.

March 20 - Vernal Equinox occurs today.

March 22 - Jupiter is 1.5 degrees South of the Moon.

March 24 - Mars is 4 degrees South of the Moon.

March 30 - The Moon is 0.6 degrees North of M45 (the Pleiades).

There are no major meteor showers in March.

If anything new develops, I'll update this list. Clear skies!

Best Images of Comet Lulin

2009-03-03T17:18:00.013-05:00

Imaged by many astronomers, Comet Lulin may have been one of the most popular non-regular comets I've seen recently. There were so many great images I couldn't possibly include them all, so I've posted the best for your viewing below. Overall, I think Comet Lulin was a great way to kick off the International Year of Astronomy. If you didn't get to see the Comet, just check out these beautiful pictures of the popular green comet! If your image isn't on the list, and you'd like to see it here, just submit your image to me at sean@visualastronomy.com or post a comment below!

This first image is actually an animation. Click the image above to see an animation of Comet Lulin moving across the sky. This is REALLY cool, I'd suggest taking a peek! (Image is 10 MB) Courtesy of Hiro.

Courtesy of James Champagne.

Courtesy of Burley Packwood via West Seattle Weisenheimer.

Courtesy of Mike Broussard.

Courtesy of John Wohlfeil.

Of course, as a visual observer, I've got to include at least one sketch! Courtesy of Jeremy Perez.

Comet Lulin caught with a DSLR and 30 sec. exposure. Courtesy of Tavi Greiner.

Courtesy of Myron Almond.

There are also excellent conversations on Comet Lulin at Cloudy Nights and SLOOH.

Clear skies!

Video of NEO Asteroid 2009 DD45

2009-03-02T11:36:00.002-05:00

Today, March 2, 2009, a Near Earth Object known as Asteroid 2009 DD45 made a close pass to Earth. Asteroid 2009 DD45 passed within 63,500 km (~39,000 miles), or about 0.17 Lunar orbits. Below is a video of the NEO Asteroid 2009 DD45. The video is in real-time, and you can see the asteroid as a white speck that floats from right to left.

(Some feed readers may require you to follow the link to the actual page)

Sending Earth-Life to Phobos?

2009-03-01T16:44:00.001-05:00

In the near future, the Russian space agency and the Planetary Society will be sending samples of life to the Martian moon, Phobos. The mission, known as Phobos-Grunt, aims to send several different types of Earth-life to the barren moon of Mars. The Planetary Society will be sending 10 life forms in its cargo. These include tardigrades (or water bears), various plant seeds, and bacteria cultures. The Russians are sending more complex life, also, including some crustaceans, mosquitoes, and fungi. The Russians have already tested whether a mosquito can survive in space (they can).

The purpose behind this mission is to determine the effects of long-term space travel on biological systems. Lessons learned here may affect future plans for human flights to Mars or beyond. The Phobos-Grunt mission, isn't a one-way suicide mission, however. The samples will be returned to Earth for observation and testing. Also, this mission is intended to be an example of "reverse panspermia", if you will. By determining whether life can survive long-term exposure to radiation and temperature variations, this mission can give us insights into the possibility of panspermia (life originating on Earth via microbes arriving on meteorites).

This seems to fly in the face of typical spaceflight practices, however. Typically, a spacecraft not carrying humans is sanitized of all life forms before launch, to prevent an accidental spread of Earth life to other planets. Now, we're purposely sending our life forms to, in this case, a nearby planet's moon. While there wouldn't be any life to disturb on this airless moon, what are the ethics of sending Earth life to space? Can we ethically plant life on other planets? If so, what checks do we need to execute to ensure we don't destroy something that was already there? Needless to say, since Phobos has no atmosphere, the chances of life ever procreating there are about zero. As such, its not a really big deal for us to even leave life there. If, however, these organisms return from their trip, it might be strong evidence to the possibility of panspermia.

What do you think?

Carnival of Space #92

2009-02-27T22:35:00.001-05:00

Carnival of Space #92 is live and ready for your viewing at the Google XPrize blog, The Launch Pad.

The Carnival of Space is a gathering of space blogs. Published weekly, it consolidates news and posts from space blogs everywhere! So head on over and check it out for the latest happenings in the space and science world!