Fascinating Facts - "Space"

[shuffy]

Thanks for that Alan, I really enjoyed it, a lovely lighthearted way to start the day.

[Batu Kawa]

quote:

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Originally posted by Alan Marsden

Space - Mrs Brown - (speakers on ) !

http://dingo.care-mail.com/cards/flash/5409/galaxy.swf

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Alan, excellent, I had not seen that one before, not only funny but very accurate as well.

Well done Eric Idle.

[Batu Kawa]

Jeremiah Horrocks (1619 to 1641) and the Transit of Venus.

On 24 November 1639 (Julian Calendar) in the tiny Lancashire
village of Much Hoole, Jeremiah Horrocks made the first
observations of a Transit of Venus.

He was one of the first Englishmen to appreciate the astronomical
revolution going on in Europe following the works of Tycho, Galileo and Kepler.

It was Horrocks who first proved that the orbit of the moon is an
ellipse, and Newton made good use of Horrocks’ discovery.

Horrocks, who died at age 22, can be considered to be the father
of British astrophysics for the remarkable depth of his
accomplishments.

His legacy reverberates today.

[LDunlop76]

quote:

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Originally posted by rocketmanjohn

When I was having stents installed in my heart I kept drifting in and out of consciousness,doped up to the eyeballs and very happy, I was approached by the surgeon. He was very small with a large bald head and a funny colour under the theater lights. I well remember shouting 'Oh my God, it's the Mekon', remembered where I was and pretended to be asleep again. The look on the poor mans face was great.
John

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Literally LOL'd when I read that! []

[LDunlop76]

quote:

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Originally posted by Batu Kawa

Jeremiah Horrocks (1619 to 1641) and the Transit of Venus.

Horrocks, who died at age 22, can be considered to be the father
of British astrophysics for the remarkable depth of his
accomplishments.

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I wonder how much more he might have discovered if he hadn't died so tragically young?

[Alan Marsden]

At twenty two years of age Jeremia Horrocks passed away, he'd completed his lifes work in astrophysics, he was also likely the local curate at St Michaels in Much Hoole, (a church I've frequented many times , my family being associated with it ) .

If he were around today he'd still be in school at that age racking up the bills ,and taking years to pay them off !

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_Horrocks

[Batu Kawa]

NASA - Butterfly Nebula

The Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of the "butterfly
wing"- shaped nebula, NGC 2346. The nebula is about 2,000
light-years away from Earth in the direction of the constellation
Monoceros.

What resemble dainty butterfly wings are actually roiling cauldrons
of gas heated to more than 36000 degrees Fahrenheit

It represents the spectacular "last gasp" of a binary star system
at the nebula's centre. At the centre of the nebula lies a pair
of stars that are so close together that they orbit around each
other every 16 days. This is so close that, even with Hubble, the
pair of stars cannot be seen as two separate components.

Astronomers believe that one of the stars, when it evolved and
expanded to become a red giant, actually swallowed its companion
star in an act of stellar cannibalism. The resulting interaction
led to a spiraling together of the two stars, culminating in
ejection of the outer layers of the red giant. Most of the outer
layers were ejected into a dense disk, which can still be seen in
the Hubble image, surrounding the central star.

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegall...e_285.html

This image, together with a detailed overview of the Nebula, was featured
on "The Sky at Night" Monday evening on BBC4 by "dear old" Patrick Moore,
(repeated Saturday 10th October on BBC2 at 14:10 for anyone who may want
to see the programme).

[Batu Kawa]

UCLAN - Alston Observatory

Press Release:

"To mark International Year of Astronomy 2009, the University of Central Lancashire
is putting on a series of events for schools, community groups and the general public.

Making use of our enhanced Alston Observatory (near Longridge, Lanacashire) we
will provide exciting opportunities to learn about astronomy, inlcuding some hands-on
activitites".

http://www.alston-observatory.uclan.ac.uk/#overview

(Scroll down the web page, or click on the "Obervatory Overview" link to see pictures
of the facility)

I am almost certain that most of the local population are unaware that this facility exists.

[shuffy]

Not a lot going on for 'the man in the street'[] and We certainly didn't know it existed David .

[Batu Kawa]

quote:

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Originally posted by shuffy

Not a lot going on for 'the man in the street'[] and We certainly didn't know it existed David .

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I agree, the last few posts have been a "bit heavy" so how about this one.

Maybe not for "the man in the street" but most certainly for the "man next door"[]

Mr. Gorsky
=-=-=-=-=-=

On July 20, 1969, as commander of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module,
Neil Armstrong was the first person to set foot on the moon. His
first words after stepping on the moon, "That's one small step
for a man, one giant leap for mankind," were televised to Earth
and heard by millions.

But just before he reentered the lander, he made the enigmatic
remark, "Good luck, Mr. Gorsky."

Many people at NASA thought it was a casual remark concerning
some rival Soviet Cosmonaut. However, upon checking, there was
no Gorsky in either the Russian or American space programs.

Over the years many people questioned Armstrong as to what the
"Good luck Mr. Gorsky" statement meant, but Armstrong always
just smiled.

On July 5, 1995, in Tampa Bay, Florida, while answering
questions following a speech, a reporter brought up the 26 year
old question to Armstrong.

This time he finally responded. Mr. Gorsky had died and so Neil
Armstrong felt he could answer the question.

In 1938 when he was a kid in a small Midwest town, he was
playing baseball with a friend in the backyard. His friend hit a
fly ball, which landed in his neighbor's yard by the bedroom
windows.

His neighbors were Mr. and Mrs. Gorsky. As he leaned down to
pick up the ball, young Armstrong heard Mrs. Gorsky shouting at
Mr. Gorsky.

"Sex! You want sex?! You'll get sex when the kid next door walks
on the moon!"