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Old 10-04-2008, 07:37
ElMarko
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Aye, fair point.

Come on girls, ride those big long rockets!

Ahem.
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Old 11-04-2008, 14:33
Ricardodaforce
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Folks a recommendation for you.
I've just finished reading (again) Andrew Chaikin's "A Man On The Moon". It is a brilliant history of Apollo.
Go buy it!
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Old 11-04-2008, 16:35
Ricardodaforce
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Last voyage of the Russian space shuttle?
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Old 13-04-2008, 03:11
Relugus
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The Gas and Ice giants could solve our energy problems:

http://starsdestination.blogspot.com...for-going.html
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Old 13-04-2008, 04:12
pammi_i
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The Gas and Ice giants could solve our energy problems:

http://starsdestination.blogspot.com...for-going.html
Woah! This explains why they want to go back to the Moon then. Good article, thanks for posting it.

I like this thread
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Old 13-04-2008, 09:27
ChristineCagney
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The Gas and Ice giants could solve our energy problems:

http://starsdestination.blogspot.com...for-going.html
Ooo interesting link.
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Old 13-04-2008, 16:06
Ricardodaforce
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Yep, that was an interesting read. Thanks for the link.
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Old 19-04-2008, 10:27
Mandark
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Russian Soyuz capsule lands well off course. Not much more news yet though.
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Old 19-04-2008, 14:32
ElMarko
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Another ballistic reentry. Two in a row. Something's going on with the Soyuz navigation software.
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Old 19-04-2008, 14:52
mollymorals
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i like looking at the stars on google earth
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Old 19-04-2008, 18:04
ElMarko
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i like looking at the stars on google earth
I like the irony of using Google Earth to look UP instead of DOWN
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Old 19-04-2008, 19:43
Ricardodaforce
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Here are a couple of links about the Soyuz re-entry.

CNN

BBC
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Old 20-04-2008, 17:28
Ricardodaforce
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Another book to recommend to you. Moondust by Andrew Smith.
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Old 22-04-2008, 12:20
Carlos_dfc
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Another book to recommend to you. Moondust by Andrew Smith.
I've just read that - fantastic read
It's on sale at Tesco for £6 at the mo - or at least, it WAS, a week or so ago when I got it.
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Old 22-04-2008, 12:34
Carlos_dfc
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Sorry this is late - meant to post it yesterday, but things happened at home which kept me away from the 'pooter'

Peak of the Lyrid meteor shower was at about 5am this morning (04:00 UT)
Best time to view would have been during the few hours before dawn this morning - BUT, luckily meteor showers tend to go on for a while, (many days, sometimes weeks) The Lyrids have a pretty narrow 'peak' (decent rates for maybe 24hrs or so either side of peak time) but you should still be able to see some tonight if you have a clear sky (maybe 15/hr rate)
Look to the East, just after it gets dark - as the name suggests, the 'Lyrids' emanate from the constellation Lyra.
Vega, the brightest star in Lyra, will be rising from the NE as it gets dark, up diagonally across the East as the night progresses - can't miss it, very bright
The radiant of the shower is slightly to the right of that star.


*note*
Shower meteors don't appear AT the radiant, but seem to shoot away from it. So to maximise how many you'll see, concentrate your gaze either to the left, or right of Vega (N/NE or SE)
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Old 06-05-2008, 23:27
HenryGarten
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Did anyone see Mercury close to the crescent moon tonight?

Also Mars in a line with Castor and Pollux?
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Old 07-05-2008, 21:13
Ricardodaforce
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Have any of you seen this?
A brilliant resource for all things Apollo.
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Old 07-05-2008, 21:36
KJ44
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Have any of you seen this?
A brilliant resource for all things Apollo.
I have, and thoroughly recommend it to anyone who wants to understand as-close-to-first-hand-as-possible what happened.
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Old 11-05-2008, 18:50
Tissy
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There was an article in the paper yesterday about a new 12 part programme on Discovery Channel featuring Space, ISS and the future of Space travel etc., but I`ve failed to find any listings

Do anyone know any further details?
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Old 12-05-2008, 18:02
Ricardodaforce
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There was an article in the paper yesterday about a new 12 part programme on Discovery Channel featuring Space, ISS and the future of Space travel etc., but I`ve failed to find any listings

Do anyone know any further details?
I'd like to know too!
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Old 18-05-2008, 16:50
KJ44
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ITV just showed Apollo 13 again. That film pulls no punches in its criticism of media indifference and cynicism, and the last line wondering about going back again says it all.

I remember seeing Jim Lovell's spacesuit next to the Saturn V. Lump in the throat stuff.
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Old 18-05-2008, 22:58
LibertyBell7
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Hi all

I have read so many books about the Apollo program but realise that my knowledge of what preceeded it is comparitevly sparse.
So can anyone recommend any books chronicling Mercury and Gemini?

Cheers in advance.
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Old 18-05-2008, 23:03
HenryGarten
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Guess some of you will be familiar with the Tunguska event. The hundreth anniverary is coming up on June 30th. I guess there will be some discussion of it over the next month.
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Old 18-05-2008, 23:13
Carlos_dfc
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ITV just showed Apollo 13 again.
Did you spot the deliberate mistake near the beginning?

While Armstrong/Aldrin/Collins are at the Moon, the other astronauts are having a party. Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks) is out in the garden looking up at the Moon, which is almost 'full'.
In reality, when Armstrong et-al were there, the Moon was only a crescent.

Apparantly, the film-makers deliberately had an almost full Moon for that shot, because if you ask people old enough to remember Armstrong's first Moonwalk, they almost always think they remember the Moon as being full (or pretty close to full)
Andrew Smith also mentions this phenomenon in his book 'MoonDust'.
Personally, I think people must have been looking at the Moon in wonder, AFTER the landing, and that's the image they remember and assosciate with the landing.
(It would be 'full' about a week after Armstrong and colleagues got home)
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Old 18-05-2008, 23:15
Carlos_dfc
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Guess some of you will be familiar with the Tunguska event. The hundreth anniverary is coming up on June 30th. I guess there will be some discussion of it over the next month.
There's a 4 page article about it in the June issue of 'Astronomy Now' magazine.
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