News on Hubble from Hubbell Street

NASA has announced the Hubble Telescope servicing mission has been rescheduled for May 12.  Yaa.  The grand dame has pushed back the mysteries of the cosmos since 1990.  HST, (Hubble Space Telescope) was supposed to get it’s 3rd and final repair and upgrade last month from the shuttle Endeavor, but a hardware failure on Hubble caused the postponement of the flight.

Bit O’ History – Hubble was not really designed to be repaired in space, but right after it came online the photos were blurry.  The lens manufacturer, Perkin Elmer, overground the reflecting surface making the images in focus in the center point, but blurry extending outward.  After a billion dollars on the manufacture, you can imagine the disappointment.  However, engineers in Tucson built corrective optics to correct the main lens distortion.  Thus the first servicing mission and the universe opened like never before.  Astronomers were astounded at the amount of new information and science.  The cosmos was far more vast with other galaxies discovered by the millions.

The second mission replaced worn hardware, like gyroscopes, cooling devices and greater capability to see beyond visible light.  This was expensive, but relatively easy decision for NASA because the realization that no other instument was producing large amounts of discovery like Hubble.

When hardware started slowly degrading a few years back, one of the cameras hasn’t operated in years, HST was put on the chopping block to make way for a newer, bigger, better telescope – The James Webb Telescope.  However, no other scientific instrument was more famous, produced more science and created more awe in the scientific community than Hubble.  The Webb telescope is also way behind schedule.  NASA then began to consider repairing and updating HST one last time.  THEN Columbia.  The loss of the shuttle Columbia finally killed the Hubble project.  The telescope would be used until it no longer functioned and then dropped into the Pacific Ocean.  Since the new NASA requirements stated that astronauts had to be able to be rescued, shuttle missions are now limited to the space station.  Hubble is in an entirely different orbit than that of the ISS, (International Space Station) and so wasn’t capable of being serviced.

NASA was finally convinced that Hubble needed to be repaired not only by the scientists, but by private citizens interested astronomy, like me, that a 3rd and final upgrade and repair was worth the risk and money.  The retirement of the shuttle fleet was extended 1 additional launch.  You may not have known, but with the shuttle Endeavor on launch pad 39A in November, another shuttle was being readied on pad 39B as the rescue backup in case something happened during Endeavors flight.  Then the unexpected hardware failure on Hubble.  The hardware that failed has a backup on the HST, which is functioning normally allowing time to prepare an addition to the servicing mission of replacing the control board that failed.  So barring any additional setbacks, the Hubble Space Telescope will be visited one last time in May, producing new science with cutting edge upgrades for many years to come.

This may seem like ordinary news to you, but it makes me almost giddy.  Please visit the Hubble website at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html.  If you have any questions about the pictures, science or technology, just give me holler.

bob

Beautiful Planet Conjunction

Tonight and over the next few nights there is a conjunction of Jupiter and Venus at Sunset.  If you look to the Southwest, the 2 brightest “stars” are actually the planets Jupiter and Venus close together in the evening sky.

Monday night December 1, the 2 planets from our vantage point will be even closer together and will have the added bonus of the crescent moon forming a triangle.

If you’re a little ambitious the next few nights take your binoculars of at least 10x, steady yourself on the side of your house or on top of your car, and look for the 4 Galilean moons of Jupiter.  The 4 largest moons of Jupiter will look like tiny, bright pin pricks around the planet.  At least 3 should be easily visible.  This way you’ll know which planet is which.  Venus will be the brighter of the 2 planets, but it’s fun to see what Galileo saw through his primitive telescope looking at Jupiter.

In conjunction from earths vantage, the actual separation of the 2 planets is somewhere around 350 million miles or 560 million kilometers.

bob

Isn’t Every Day Thanksgiving?

Almost 20 years ago I stopped by the bank to get a few dollars out of the ATM.  In line behind me was this prettie brunette in hiking shorts who smiled and said “looks like it’s take a number at the bank”.

What are you thankful for today?  Since I don’t have a picture of that moment, I thought I’d share a different moment with that same prettie brunette in London a couple of years back.

Happy Thanksgiving
bob

Robert Lancaster – The Modern Braveheart

One of my greatest dislikes about people on this planet are those like Sylvia Browne.  If you’re not familiar with Sylvia Browne, look out.  She’s one of those hack psychic readers that prey on the emotions of people looking for answers to life, lost loved ones and so on.  She’s been on a.m. radio late-night and The Montel Williams T.V. show many times dispensing her prognostications to audience members and people who call in asking about job opportunities, murder victims, love, missing children, kidnap victims, etc.  She’s been wrong so many times that in skeptic circles she’s like a bad tune you can’t seem to forget.  She even hung herself live on the radio one time.  News came across that 6 of the 7 miners trapped in a coal mine were alive and she said live on the radio that she had predicted this.  Problem was that the news information was wrong and corrected about an hour later that 6 of the miners were dead with only 1 survivor.  This news correction came out while she was still on the radio.  I’ll try to find the original broadcast to link to.

 

Her claims of helping solve crimes are well documented on her website www.sylviabrowne.com, except that they are totally bogus.  Even many of the individuals and agencies that she “helped” have come forward to disavow her abilities.  She is probably one of the most criticized psychics around, yet she still makes huge sums of money.  Her appearance on the Larry King show is legendary when she not only agreed to talk with Larry, but was on with the original mythbuster himself James Randi.  Randi offered her, or any other psychic, 1 million dollars to take a test and prove their paranormal abilities.  Sylvia Browne agreed to take the test.  www.randi.org.  This was a few years ago and, hold your breath for a great shock, the prize remains unclaimed.

 

A gentleman by the name of Robert Lancaster has a website, www.stopsylvia.com.  We should all be this courageous when we see this type of reprehensible behavior.

 

The worst kind of human predator is the one that preys on the emotionally distraught, like parents of missing children.  Take some time to learn about this woman.

 

Footnote: The Montel Williams Show is going off the air.  You could feel this when the integrity level of the planet went up.  Although he has stated he personally does not believe in Sylvia Browne’s “powers”, he had her on his show because the sponsors liked the ratings.  Can you say hypocrite?

 

 

bob

In Memory

Words cannot begin to express my gratitude at the sympathy expressed by everyone over the passing of my Father.

 

Pop passed away quietly October 12th at my brother Jay’s home.  Jay & Liz will always be heroes near and dear to my heart if for no other reason than the kindness and caring nature they showed during this difficult time.  Taking care of all the arrangements and providing Momma with a sanctuary to deal with her grief as well as their own.  Allowing a loved one to die with dignity is such a great gift, like Ray Sanders did for Rene, I am indebted to Jay and Liz for their final gift to Pop.  Liz helped with Momma and Jay even made the Ossuary Box for Pop’s remains.

 

Unfortunately, I missed the graveside service since Karen had just gotten out the hospital and was still suffering from vertigo and I was needed at home to help take care of Mother Krell.

 

Making travel arrangements at the last minute, I did arrive in time to see many friends and family at Pop’s celebration service that evening.  I was actually on the plane when Pop was interred in a grave hand dug by Jay, friends and family.  The outpouring of respect from members of the community, church and family is a testament to the impact this gentle and shy man had on the lives of others. 

 

Kristi, Shawn, Erin and Callee drove over from Iowa to attend and I got to visit with them for just a few minutes before they had to leave.  For these 4, my heart grows ever fonder.

 

bob