Current Happenings In Astronomy

« « A Short Introduction of Galileo Galilei | Astronomy Henge Stone » »

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

Astronomy has been with the human race as long as we can remember. In the beginning it was very connected to astrology, but as time went by astronomy became more and more scientific, relying on observation, measurement and the scientific theory to develop a knowledge of the universe outside our own planet and solar system. Astronomy is something too many people ignore, but those who keep their eyes on current happenings in astronomy find a wealth of interesting information.

In early November of 2008 NASA nearly bombed Australia with a 1400LB Ammonia tank jettisoned from the International Space Station. This coolant tank was thrown over board because it became too volatile to keep on board. Since most of the Earth is water, the chances were much greater the chunks would land in the ocean than on land. Australians were told that ammonia vapor could make their windows cleaner, but advised them to remove the residue with newspapers and some elbow grease. Luckily none of the pieces struck Paul Hogan, famous as the Crocodile Hunter. The Crocodile Hunter, however, was considered deceased after the incident. He was also deceased before the incident.

In September of 2008 China sent up its third successful manned space mission that included the first space walk by Chinese astronauts in history. Somehow the live video from the launch, including in ship video of the astronauts, was released on Youtube prior to the event. The flight did take place. The video had been produced for maximum PR effect.

Still in China, a gigantic telescope is being erected near the site of the 2008 Olympic games. Revolutionary is the way this telescope tracks the sky – with two moving mirrors. As a result this telescope doesn’t look like others. Forget the dome, this telescope is a crooked pi symbol. Leave it to the Chinese to come up with something out of the ordinary.

November 2008 also saw the launch of a satellite, in Kazakhstan. Satellite Astra-1M will be used for telecommunications. Proton-M launched it into space. European engineers created the satellite.

Astronomy hobbyists will love Worldwide Telescope. The software comes from Microsoft. It communicates with computers all over the world to bring amazing space images right to the desktop. It brings an observatory and the universe right to the desktop. The only downfall is that no new discoveries can be made, because it’s all pre-compiled astrological data and images.

Now you know some of the current happenings in astronomy.

Get Social, Bookmark Us!!:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.