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Arkansas Aurora

Photo taken near Ozark, Arkansas, on October 24, 2011 
by Brian Emfinger.

The southern states had quite a surprise this week when a coronal mass ejection from the sun lit up the northern night sky with a brilliant red aurora. On October 24, Brian Emfinger, a resident of Arkansas, saw the alert posted by Spaceweather.com and hurried outside with his camera to catch this image. "I ran out into the field and within a few minutes the aurora went crazy!" he said. 

 More photos of the aurora seen in other states can be found at the Spaceweather website.

Design an Experiment to Fly on The ISS!

Here's a fantastic opportunity for 14-to18-year-olds to try their skills at designing a space experiment. The competition, hosted by Lenovo, Space Adventures, NASA, ESA, and JAXA, will be from October 4th until December 7, 2011. The winners may get to fly to Japan to watch the rocket launch their experiment to space. Other prizes include a flight aboard a zero-g airplane that simulates weightlessness, and a brand new Lenova IdeaPad U300s.  Watch the video above for more information, and read the frequently asked questions here: Space Lab FAQs

Saturn's Shadows

Image, taken in August 2011, courtesy of the Cassini Imaging Team, ISS, JPL, ESA and NASA

This stunning view of Saturn could not be seen from Earth. It is an image captured by the cameras aboard the Cassini spacecraft. The sun is located to the upper right, out of view, and the vertical bar to the right is Saturn's very thin rings. As the sunlight pours through the rings, shadows fall on the southern part of the planet. Just beautiful!

The Redwoods

Growing is Forever from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

 You can smell a Redwood forest before you see it. It is a wonderful woodsy smell. I drove up to Muir Woods with my cousin Beth and my friend Liz a couple of years ago, and we could detect that wonderful scent in the car at least a mile before we actually reached our destination.
 The Redwoods are magical, awe-inspiring relics of a lost world. It seemed as though a dinosaur could burst through the woods at any moment and it wouldn't be a surprise.
  Please enjoy the video created by Jesse Rosten, another fan of the Redwoods.

Please Say "Yes," Mr. Lucas

Image courtesy of R. Hurt (SSC), JPL-Caltech, NASA

"Which sun is your favorite? The little red one or the big orange one?" We'd probably all have an answer to this question if we lived on the planet called "Kepler 16b," the first-ever confirmed planet to orbit two stars at once. This discovery has generated considerable interest among science fiction fans and Star Wars fans in particular. While astronomers are informally referring to the planet as "Tatooine" after the well-known (fictional) double-starred planet where Luke and Anakin Skywalker were raised, I am only guessing that copyright laws are preventing the discoverers from officially naming it after George Lucas' imaginary planet. (If they ask for your permission, Mr. Lucas, please say "yes!")
   The planet resides in the constellation Cygnus, about 200 light years from Earth. Evidence indicates that it is too cold to harbor life as we know it. Dr. Laurance Doyle, who is heading the team of astronomers who made the discovery at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, CA, has reported that amateur astronomers in Northern Asia will be able to find Kepler 16b as it transits across the big sun on June 28 next year. After that, it will be another 30 years before anyone on Earth can get a clear view of the double-starred planet.

Why This Sweet Lady Hates The Sputnik

Linda Shaw at her home in Springdale, Arkansas. 

   Linda Shaw graduated from Miami Sr. High School in June of 1958. It was a memorable year for her, of course.

  But space buffs may remember the previous year more vividly, since 1957 is the year that Sputnik was launched. The small satellite shocked the American public, as the purpose of the satellite was not clearly known. It was almost too small to be seen with the naked eye, and it transmitted a steady beeping noise that was recorded by radio amateurs and commercial radio stations and broadcast to the general public. Historians describe America's reaction as "near hysteria" to the strange little beeping thing. The great Space Race thus began between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, and no one could argue that the Soviets were far in the lead. 

   The U.S. began reviewing its science and education programs in order to become more competitive with the Soviets. Large amounts of money were poured into schools and research programs. It was decided that "America could become better educated and more powerful if their kids were smarter!" said Shaw. 

   Senior students at Miami Sr. High typically enjoyed the privilege of not having to take final exams if they had a passing grade in all of their classes. But the launch of Sputnik changed everything! "What better way to make them smarter than have seniors take final exams?" asked Shaw. "And I bet every senior in 1958 remembers that. No, it didn't make us smarter - just madder." 

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