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Earthlings in Space

Astronaut Ed Lu and cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko boarded the International Space Station (ISS) on April 25, 2003. They are scheduled to remain there until sometime in October — the exact arrival date of their relief crew on a Russian Soyouz has not yet been announced. NASAexplores LIFTOFF (a website created for youngsters that makes an interesting read for adults, too) recently published a feature about the two spacefarers. Have a look if you want to know more about veteran astronaut Lu and the seasoned Colonel Malenchenko. You can also subscribe to non-intrusive E-mail alerts from the LIFTOFF webmasters by clicking the Join Explores link at the top left of the page.  LIFTOFF!


"In a galaxy far, far away…"

August 21, 2003

This is how the original Star Wars movie begins, and we find that the galaxy far, far away is much like our own, except for many unusual beings, and a much higher level of technology. Movies like Star Wars stretch our imaginations, and while we don't know whether there are other highly evolved life forms out there, we do know that there are galaxies far, far away, and we have learned much about them.

In Descriptive Astronomy, we will start closer to home and look first at what we view around us without the aid of any kind of technology. In other words, we're going to look at the sky! We will then start to discover what additional information may be obtained using many kinds of telescopes and other instrumentation. Eventually we will venture out into our solar system, and finally to the stars beyond.

To borrow from Buzz Lightyear, we will be attempting to travel "TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!"  (By the way, do you know that Buzz's ship is #42? Bonus Points to you if you know why this is significant and e-mail the answer.)

Now in case you need all the nitty-gritty information for Descriptive Astronomy, you can find it in the syllabus. You can print the syllabus from the website if you lose your handout. During the course of the semester, visit Planet Psi often to find a printable copy of class handouts.

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Weekly
Essentials


Question of the Week:
Your Second Bonus Point Challenge.

In class we talked about some measurements that Aristarchus and Eratosthenes made, but not really about who they were. Find something else out about these two Ancients and E-mail your answer no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, September 5. Correct answers earn 10 Bonus Points.



Answer to Last Week's Challenge.

Mars was 34.65 million miles (55.76 million km) away at closest approach. This information was in the article cited on the Planet Psi home page and also on the front page of Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

To convert to AU as requested:
   (34.65 million mi) x (1 AU/ 93 million mi) = .373 AU

Those who answered got it right. Congratulations!

THE QUESTION: On August 27, how far away in AU will Mars be from Earth?



Another Bonus Opportunity,
And a Great Way
To View the Starry Night.

Attend an observing night or a planetarium show run by Dr. Austin. There will be a sign-in sheet for my class there. You can find the specific dates and times on the Physics and Astronomy Department's Astronomy page.


More Ways to Earn Bonus Points (BP)

1. Come to class and hope I take attendance (5 BP).

3. Take online quizzes that can be found on the textbook website and submit results to me following the directions on the site. I will count one submission per student per chapter or section. (1 BP for each correct answer.) Quizzes for a particular chapter must have been taken before the test over that material or they won't count.

Remember, 100 BP = 1% added to final grade (e.g., 140 BP = 1.4%).


Dr. Heather
Woolverton
Autumn, 2003

WHAT DIS?

1

A Return to Apollo?

NASA "is giving serious consideration to bringing back a new version of the Apollo capsule," TIME Online Edition reports. Read Broward Liston's analysis of current thinking about how the U.S. might put women and men into space in the climate of caution following the loss of Shuttle Columbia.

Dark Universe

BBC reports that the future looks darker and darker: Astronomers have confirmed by a new method one of the saddest stories of the Universe — one day the stars in the sky will all stop twinkling.

Ozone Satellite

A satellite designed to monitor the depletion of the ozone layer — with an emphasis on changes occurring over Canada and the Arctic — was launched on August 12.

Fate of the Hubble

The New York Times enthusiastically endorses the Hubble Space Telescope, but at what cost? Read the editorial about the future of U.S. space exploration.

New Life Form

NASA scientists have discovered a new extreme-loving microorganism in California's exotic Mono Lake. Astrobiologist Richard Hoover likens it to life on Mars.