Space (part 5) - Perseverance

 

(wikipedia/Perseverance's first photo)

Perseverance!

Its definition according to Merriam-Webster:

continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition : the action or condition or an instance of persevering : STEADFASTNESS

These qualities capture the essence of the latest NASA mission to Mars.  Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator of the agency's Science Mission Directorate, explained:

"Yes, it's curiosity that pulls us out there, but it's perseverance that does not let us give up." 

Perseverance was chosen from its naming contest for students K-12.  The winning essay was written by seventh grader Alex Mather. For the full story:  What's in a name: Why NASA chose 'Perseverance' for its next Mars rover

And for an overview of this latest mission: Mars Perseverance Mission Overview

Perseverance was launched, July 30, 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, another testament to its name:

(reference: https://youtu.be/CSvbtlcH6mw )

February 18, 2021, Perseverance successfully landed on Mars, a shown in this animation:

(reference: https://youtu.be/hVd6nhESYok )

Yea!

Modern marvels of technology recorded the actual landing:

(reference: https://youtu.be/4czjS9h4Fpg )

And what a magnificent view!

Check out Mastcam-Z's First 360-Degree Panorama:

(reference: https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/25640/mastcam-zs-first-360-degree-panorama/ )

Thus Perseverance joins her four sister rovers: Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity,  and Curiosity.

Reference: The Mars Rovers

So the Maritain Chronicles continue as we persevere!

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Other posts in the series:
  

Space (part 1) - NASA at 60 (2018)
  

Space (part 2): Earthrise - 1968  (2018) 

Space (part 3): Apollo 11 Golden Anniversary (2019)

Space (part 4) - Mooned in 2021 (2021)

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photo:  wikipedia/Perseverance's first photo

Space (part 4) - Mooned in 2021

 

wikipedia.com/moon phases

With 2020 hindsight, what will 2021 bring?

Leave it to astronomy to predict all the phrases we will be going through:

( reference: https://youtu.be/8XV2-pmiyAg )

We've been mooned!

How nice.

Here's to 2022!

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Other posts in the series:
  

Space (part 1) - NASA at 60 (2018)
  

Space (part 2): Earthrise - 1968  (2018) 

Space (part 3): Apollo 11 Golden Anniversary (2019)

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Photo: wikipedia.com/moon phases

Physics (part 6) - Eclipse 1919

wikipedia/1919eclipse

May 29, 1919

The day that made Einstein world-famous.

And it was on that day astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington experimentally confirmed Einstein's Theory of General Relativity.

After World War I, Eddington had secured an expedition to West Africa to observe the total solar eclipse. The results showed starlight was displaced along the sight line near the sun. Just as Einstein had predicted.

Spacetime lattice analogy/wikidpedia

So we could say--Eddington made Einstein famous. {Reference: The man who made Einstein world-famous}

 Check out the video below:

{reference: https://youtu.be/5Z6EItMIU7k }

 A new paradigm shift for the new science of the 20th century. And the re-writing of many science books.

A hundred years ago. Goodbye Newton. Goodbye Euclid. And the rest is history.

Happy Relativity Centennial.

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Previous posts in this series:


Physics (part 1) - Picking Feynman's Brain (2013)
  
Physics (part 2) - Flat Earth? It depends ...  (2015)

Physics (part 3) - 100 years of Einstein (2015) 

Physics (part 4) - Einstein and Pi  (2016)

Physics (part 5) - Be Curious, Don't Give Up (2018)

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photos: wikipedia/1919eclipse ; Spacetime lattice analogy/wikidpedia

Science 101 (part 7) - Sun Henge

Summer Solstice Sunrise over Stonehenge 2005/wikipedia.com

The Summer Solstice 

As of this posting, it's coming up June 21, 2018.

When the day will get as long as it will get this year. At least in the northern hemisphere.

The Science?

It's explained in this video:

(reference: https://youtu.be/BoBg_FFystw )

An intriguing spot to observe the solstice is in England.

Stonehenge

Many gather there for various reasons to observe and experience the turning point of the seasons. For the Solstice can not only be reduced to a scientific fact. But also one of myth and lore and wonder.

The video below relives the longest day of the year at Stonehenge with sunset on 20 June and sunrise on 21 June, 2017.

(reference: https://youtu.be/1qsFbwZ-uKY )

For many, the Solstice is a mystical, spiritual, even religious experience. 

And in that vein of thought, let's go back to the revelation of the origin of the seasons:

In the Beginning...

As in Genesis 1:

And God said, 

Let there be lights
 in the firmament of the heaven 

to divide 
the day from the night; 

and let them be 
for signs, 

and for seasons, 

and for days, 

and years:

And let them be for lights 

in the firmament of the heaven 

to give light upon the earth: 

and it was so.

And God made two great lights; 

the greater light to rule the day, 

and the lesser light to rule the night: 

He made the stars also.

And God set them 
in the firmament of the heaven 

to give light upon the earth,

And to rule over the day 

and over the night, 

and to divide the light 
from the darkness: 

and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:14-18 (KJV)

And for a Summer Solstice that is really out of this world, check out the view from the International Space Station:

( reference: https://youtu.be/Kb84FkTuHuQ )

And God saw 
every thing
 that He had made, 

and, behold,
 it was very good. 

...

Genesis 1:31 (KVJ)


So marks the changing of the seasons.

Have a blessed summer!

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Previous posts in this series:

Science 101 (part 1) - Vernal Equinox  (2013)

Science 101 (part 2) - The Sound of Music? (2013)

Science 101 (part 3) - From Galileo to Apollo (2013)

Science 101 (part 4) - Cosmos Continued ... (2014) 

Science 101 (part 5) - August Meteor Showers (2016)

Science 101 (part 6) - June's Strawberry Moon  (2017)

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Photo:  Summer Solstice Sunrise over Stonehenge 2005/wikipedia.com

Science 101 (part 6) - June's Strawberry Moon

Strawberry/wikipedia

Coming June 9, 2017 is the full moon. And as EarthSky reports, the year's smallest moon.
[reference:  Year’s smallest full moon on June 9 ]

But such beauty in nature deserves a more than just the scientific facts.

The June full moon of Native American folklore is the Strawberry Moon. Its European counterpart, the Rose Moon. Where the sky and earth meet in the eye of the beholder.

Its story is told below:

(reference: https://youtu.be/pluyns382cM )

For more information where science meets folklore, check out:

*  National Geographic article: Full Moons: What's in a Name? 

*  The Old Farmer's Almanac: Full Moon for June 2017

Science written  in earth and sky. 

Spring to Summer.

It's June.

The time when flowers come to full blossom.
Earth's fruits to fruition. 

And a favored month for marriages.
New beginnings on earth.
  

Blessings....
And enjoy the strawberries!

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Previous posts in this series:

Science 101 (part 1) - Vernal Equinox  (2013)

Science 101 (part 2) - The Sound of Music? (2013)

Science 101 (part 3) - From Galileo to Apollo (2013)

Science 101 (part 4) - Cosmos Continued ... (2014) 

Science 101 (part 5) - August Meteor Showers (2016)

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Photo: Strawberry/wikipedia

Science 101 (part 5) - August Meteor Showers

2010 Perseids/wikipedia

Space can be a dangerous place. Especially when you are by things going really, really fast. Like debris. Even those those of us on earth.

One of the effects of such a collision is meteors. And below is a "crash course" on that space junk crashing into our atmosphere:

( reference: https://youtu.be/TuDfZ2Md5x8 )

This coming August 13-14, 2016 will be a peak of the Perseid Meteor Showers.  And they can be quite awesome if you live in the neck of the woods with a dark sky.

(reference: https://youtu.be/KzLknGRZlLs )

If you are one to look at the night sky, there's plenty of advise out there, such as:

* Perseid Meteor Shower 2016: When, Where & How to See It

As the late great Jack Horkheimer (the original Star Hustler and advocate for naked eye astronomy) would say:

Keep looking up!

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Previous posts in this series:

Science 101 (part 1) - Vernal Equinox  (2013)

Science 101 (part 2) - The Sound of Music? (2013)

Science 101 (part 3) - From Galileo to Apollo (2013)

Science 101 (part 4) - Cosmos Continued ... (2014) 

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Photo:  2010 Perseids/wikipedia

Culture 101 (part 10) - Summertime! x 3

Summer field in Belgium

Three faces of Summer

1. The scientific face

Yes, summer solstice officially begins June 21, 2013 in the northern hemisphere.  [reference:  First Day of Summer 2013 Solstice Dates Times Photos]

And for my science loving friends, the reasons for the seasons are well explained in the video clip below:




Now, wasn't that intellectual?

2.  The Romantic and Poetic face:

Solomon knew something about romance and the change of seasons when he penned this -

¹¹ See! The winter is past;
    the rains are over and gone.
¹² Flowers appear on the earth;
    the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
    is heard in our land.
¹³ The fig tree forms its early fruit;
    the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
    my beautiful one, come with me.”

from Song of Solomon 2 (NIV)

3.  The artsy and cultural face

In 1935, what the History Channel calls the first great American opera, Porgy and Bess, premiered on Broadway.  [reference: Porgy and Bess, the first great American opera, premieres on Broadway — History.com This Day in History — 10/10/1935]

One of the memorable numbers from the opera is Summertime, as sung below in  this clip:




Lyrics are here: PORGY AND BESS SUMMERTIME LYRICS


The Mind, Body, and Soul -

Enjoy these three facets of summer!

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Previous posts in the Culture 101 series:

Culture 101 (part 1) - Reagan's Challenge (2012)

Culture 101 (part 2) - Easter Eucatastrophe (2012)

Culture 101 (part 3) - Paul Revere's Ride (2012)

Culture 101 (part 4) - Gold Diggers and the Great Depression (2012)

Culture 101 (part 5) - Blue Bloods and 9/11 (2012)

Culture 101 (part 6) - Gilligan's Island and Breast Cancer Awareness (2012)

Culture 101 (part 7) - Band of Brothers  (2013)

Culture 101 (part 8) - Snow White (2013)

Culture 101 (part 9) - Father Knows Best (2013)

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Photo from:  Wikipedia - Field Hamois Belgium

Science 101 (part 1) - Vernal Equinox

Ecliptic Path

When I was in kindergarten, my teacher sent instructions home to my parents so they could  illustrate to me what happens as the world turns.  This was my first introduction to Astronomy 101. We used the visual aids at hand - an orange, pencil, and candle. Crude, but effective.

My mother skewered an orange (the earth) with a sharp pencil (the axis of rotation)  as juice squirted out at its poles.  For a moment, things got a bit sticky.  She lit candle and its light bathed the skin of this speared fruit while she rolled the pencil in her fingers to spin the orb about its axis.

Not only did this show me why we had day and night, but also why we got the seasons with the tilt of the axis.  Little did I know that when I grew up, so many were ...

Not as smart as a kindergartner!

Not even teachers.  On the local news, I recall a journalist asked a woman about what caused winter.  She knew the answer to that as she proudly proclaimed she was school teacher.  The earth was closer to the sun in winter.  That's why.   

Not.

Maybe it was in the southern hemisphere.  Partial credit here?  Actually the earth is closer to sun when it's winter in the northern hemisphere.  (reference: Why Earth is Closest to Sun in Dead of Winter | Space.com)   But that is not why we have the seasons.

I'm sure the woman was a good teacher, but she was not alone in here lack of knowledge of basic astronomy.  Many smart and educated people don't know this.

During my work life in a technical field, my co-workers were diverse from all over the country as well as the world.  One young man that I had shared a cubicle with had no clue what caused the seasons.  Yet, he was eager to learn and I pointed to a website with some good graphics -  much like the one below.

He got it and was appreciative.  And I cut him some slack, as he was one of the Vietnamese boat people and had a challenging childhood.  While I was watching Star Trek in my youth, he had lived under a repressive regime, the aftermath of the Vietnam War.  But to his credit, he escaped to the United States and went on to college earning degree in engineering - and that took some gumption.

There is much we do not know.  Some may not be important to us or be our passion.  Yet with the ubiquitous internet, there is access to all kinds of information.

So I began another series dedicated to the basics of science -

*  Science 101  *

And for the advent spring this March 20, 2013, the Vernal Equinox, the clip above pretty much explains it.  (reference: March Equinox: March 20, 2013, 11:02 UTC)  And the video so much better than reading the multitude of words I could write about it.  I love YouTube!

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Some of my articles on physics:


Black Holes - What does it look like inside them?

The Scotsman who beat Einstein 

Fractal Dimensions – Twilight Zone? No, Nature!

Mr. Spock and Dr. Einstein

Winter Driving - It's all about the friction

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Photo from wikipedia:  Ecliptic Path

Catch a Falling Star out of Leo?

When I was active in Amateur Radio, we Hams got excited about the Leonid meteor shower.

This time of year, the earth passes through the debris left behind by the Temple-Tuttle comet. The particles passing through the earth's atmosphere result in a delightful cosmic light show that appears to come from the constellation Leo. Hence, this meteor shower is often called the Leonids.

Since the meteors ionize the air, radio waves reflect off the upper atmosphere. When this happens, the Amateur Radio Operators (Hams) love to get on the air and talk around the world .

Also, for those who like to wish upon a star, this is a good time.

Here are some pictures of past Leonid meteor showers, courtesy of environmental graffiti: Meteor Showers!!!

For stargazers: Happy viewing this Monday and Tuesday of the Leonid Return.
For Hams: May your talk be heard around the world: As the World Turns Ham Radio News.


For more information, check out:
The 2009 Leonid Meteor Shower at the NASA site, science.nasa.gov
Heads up! Leonid meteor shower is next Tuesday at the Kansas City Science News Examiner site.
Major Meteor Showers in 2009 at skytour.homestead.com/


Links:
Photo from everystockphoto.com: Meteor Shower