Well, look-y here… a special gift, and it’s even a few days early.
At the beginning of each month, we always look forward to this regular feature from MSNBC.com. It features the best pictures from (or of, or about) space to have popped up in the last 30 days. Without exception, it is always cool.
Among the highlights from February: Spacewalking, a unique view of the recent snowstorms to hit the northeast, Martian chocolate and one very big cosmic potato.
Extra! Extra! Read all about it!
Galahad series author Dom Testa unveils a brand new series of articles exclusively at ClubGalahad.com!
Beginning today, Dom will tackle a series of scientific subjects related to the Galahad series and bring them to life right before your eyes. Are you ready to get the real-life download on artificial intelligence, comets, anti-gravity, space farms, and much more?
Follow this link to learn all about the science behind Galahad!
Two hundred twenty miles above the earth, astronauts have installed a 23-foot expansion aboard the International Space Station that comes with quite a bonus: a seven-window cupola that allows them to look down on the home planet from a unique vantage point.
The expansion is called Tranquility — named for the spot where Americans first landed on the moon in 1969. For now, it’s just a nice amenity, but the plan is to eventually outfit Tranquility with all the bells and whistles (like, say, a toilet) that will allow it to be converted into living quarters.
“I don’t think space station’s ever going to be the same after this,” said NASA’s mission control in a congratulatory phone call.
For the American astronauts involved in the project, there won’t be much time to enjoy the fruits of their labor. The shuttle Endeavor and its six astronauts are due back in Florida by the end of the weekend, with the shuttle Discovery scheduled to take their place at some point in April.
Well, Galahad fans… the wait is almost over!
The second entry in the Galahad series, The Web of Titan, hits bookstores on June 29. You can find it at your local independent bookstore or you can pre-order it on popular sites like Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
What is the mysterious metal pod orbiting one of Saturn’s moons? How will Triana and the crew deal with a sweeping, unknown epidemic? And why are the systems aboard Galahad beginning to fail one by one? Find out for yourself on June 29!
And don’t forget that the new paperback edition of The Comet’s Curse is available everywhere on March 2!
2010 is shaping up to be the year of Galahad — hop on board now!
On Thursday morning NASA launched a new $850 million mission designed to help us learn more about the sun than has previously been possible. The Solar Dynamics Observatory will spend the next five years taking measurements of the sun, in some cases capturing images with 10 times better resolution than HD television.
You can watch video of the launch here. And remember: these aren’t CGI, Hollywood-style special effects. This is a real rocket, launched into space at 2,300 miles per hour. Amazing.
One of the important outcomes that is expected to come from this mission is the ability to predict solar weather disturbances, which include things like solar flares. We may not realize it, but variations in the sun’s weather can cause major problems here on Earth, like disrupting power grids and knocking out satellite communications, which we use for things like cell phones and cable television.
As Dean Pesnell, an SDO project scientist for NASA, puts it, “Our sun affects our lives more and more as we depend more and more on technology.”
Speaking of technology… there’s even an iPhone application that allows you to track the progress of the SDO mission and get a constant stream of 3-D views of the sun. You can download it for free right here. Enjoy!
As February announces its presence this week, it’s time once again to spend a few minutes flipping through MSNBC’s photo gallery of the best space photos from last month. Regular visitors to the Club Galahad site know that we cannot get enough of these photos. They are always, always fantastic.
Among the highlights this time around: Saturn’s moons, the Flame Nebula, Martian sand, and a very unique look at the immediate aftermath following the recent earthquake in Haiti (as seen from space).
Enjoy.
We at Club Galahad have seen our fair share of fun videos on YouTube. Unfortunately, we’ve probably seen MORE than our fair share of terrible videos, too. If only there was a link that we could click on that would take us to some sort of clearinghouse for cool videos, and maybe even teach us a thing or two in the process.
Oh wait, there is. This link will take you to a blog post appropriately titled, “100 Coolest Science Experiments on YouTube.” As writers, we appreciate the descriptive succinctness of the title. And as fans of science experiments, we appreciate having so many gathered together in one place for our viewing pleasure.
You may find that your favorite video details whether ingesting Pop Rocks and soda will make your stomach explode. Or you may really enjoy learning how to make a tornado in a bottle. We like those too, but when it comes to science experiment videos, we’re pretty sure that there’s no one better than Steve Spangler. Thankfully several of his videos made the list (whew).
Watch and enjoy.