In the spirit of the Olympic games!

Canadian astronaut Ken Money (1993)
Photo: Canadian Space Agency

In the spirit of the Olympic games, I was watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympic games of London 2012, when I started to wander if there has ever been a Olympian who is/was also a "Astronaut" (Cosmonaut, Taikonaut)? Then I found Major Kenneth Money.

One of the Canadians who wore both military and Olympic uniforms also went on to wear an astronaut’s uniform. Kenneth Money was born in Toronto and joined the Canadian military in 1953. He set records in the high jump as a student at the University of Toronto and represented Canada in the event at the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, finishing in fifth place.

Money went on to become a jet pilot, earn advanced degrees in physiology and publish widely in scientific journals. He contributed new knowledge to the study of motion sickness and the biological effects of space flight. In the 1980s, Major Money was selected to be part of the Canadian astronaut program, working as one of the team members on the 1992 Spacelab mission that saw Roberta Bondar (Canada’s first female astronaut) go into space. Money was a backup astronaut for the mission, contributed to experiments with the International Microgravity Laboratory, and was a Spacelab operations radio communicator. In 1994, Money was awarded the Meritorious Service Cross for his many contributions to science and technology.

So in the spirit of the games, I wish everybody good Olympic games for the next 19 days!

Don't forget that the Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity) is going for the gold on August 6. Lets cheer it up and see what happens.

Clear skies!

Source: http://veterans.gc.ca/eng/feature/olympics/Money

Links Through Space 25 000 VIEWS and counting, Thanks for your support!

Links Through Space has reached 25 000 views.

Astronomy is growing all around the world and the people are interested.
Thank you for your support and be assured we will keep on taking pictures of the night sky and report astronomy related news.

For the future Our Astronomy Club here in Kustavi, Finland remains open for new projects and activities concerning Astronomy that is beneficial for all. Public Observations, Starclubs, DVD's and much more...

*** FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT BE IN FINLAND OR COMING TO FINLAND READ THE FOLLOWING***

Astronomy Club Toutatis is having a Annual Astrophoto exposition at the headquarters of the club in the beautiful island of Kustavi, Finland.

From 01.08.2012 to 01.09.2012 The exposition is open and we are showing Astrophotography, Videos, Timelapses and Introduction to telescopes and much more.

Welcome to all. Free Exposition. Cafeteria on site. This will be a blast... off!!!!

You can have more information HERE on Our Astronomy Club INFOS

Thank you again for your support!

Clear skies!

Gaming for real science! Want to participate?

As NASA's Mars Rover Curiosity prepares to land on Mars, public audiences worldwide can take their own readiness steps to share in the adventure. Landing is scheduled for about 10:31 p.m. PDT on Aug. 5 (1:31 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6), at mission control inside NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, USA.

Martian fans can help NASA test-drive a new 3-D interactive experience that will allow the public to follow along with Curiosity's discoveries on Mars. Using Unity, a game development tool, NASA is pushing new limits by rendering high-resolution terrain maps of Gale Crater, Curiosity's landing site, collected from Mars orbiters. A 3-D "virtual rover" version of Curiosity will follow the path of the real rover as it makes discoveries. 

"Technology is making it possible for the public to participate in exploration as they never have before," said Michelle Viotti, Mars public engagement manager at JPL. "Because Mars exploration is fundamentally a shared human endeavor, we want everyone around the globe to have the most immersive experience possible."

For a cool, immersive view of Mars Rover Curiosity and other spacecraft, space enthusiasts can also use their Apple iPhones to access a new augmented-reality experience that "projects" 3-D images of robotic explorers for first-hand, up-close inspection. For those wanting a live, community experience, museums and civic groups worldwide are hosting Curiosity landing events, often with big-screen experiences and public talks.

"Multiple partnerships united around science literacy can really make a difference in reaching and inspiring more people around the world," Viotti said. "NASA welcomes innovative collaborations that inspire lifelong learning and access to discovery and innovation."
Information on all of these activities is available at: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/participate . You can follow the Curiosity mission on Facebook and on Twitter at http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity and http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity .

Source: nasa.gov
Photo caption: MSL Mars Curiosity credit: NASA

Jupiter occultation by the Moon!

The Moon occults Jupiter Credit: Gadi Eidelheit

In the early morning of July 15 Stargazers had the chance to witness a planet occultation by our Moon.
An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer.

This time it was Jupiter that was occulted by the Moon. Here you can see on the picture Jupiter going to pass "behind" the Moon. Gadi Eidelheit took his telescopes outside and took pictures/videos of the event.
You can visit his site and read his article on the subject. Visit Gadi's blog HERE.

For my part, I missed the show because I was so tired and my telescope was not with me. The only thing I did was look through my window and look at Jupiter and the Moon. I didn't even bother to take a picture with my phone or nothing. The next morning feeling fresh and awake, I was feeling a little sad that I didn't go out and have a look.

Thanks to Gadi and many others Stargazers who went outside and recorded this event, I had the chance to see it and enjoy (second hand) the event! Thank you Gadi for the Pictures and videos.

Wikipedia: Occultation
Link to Next Lunar Occultation: HERE

Clear skies!

New Techniques for Finding New Worlds

Looking directly at stars is a bad way to find planets orbiting faraway suns but using a new technique, scientists can now sift the starlight to find new exoplanets millions of times dimmer than their parent stars.

“We are blinded by this starlight,” says Ben R. Oppenheimer, a curator in the American Museum of Natural History’s Department of Astrophysics and principal investigator for Project 1640. “Once we can actually see these exoplanets, we can determine the colors they emit, the chemical compositions of their atmospheres, and even the physical characteristics of their surfaces. Ultimately, direct measurements, when conducted from space, can be used to better understand the origin of Earth and to look for signs of life in other worlds.”

Read more: Article by John Williams on Universe Today

From One Star to Another!

Stars within 50 Light Years from the Sun (click to Enlarge)

As the Stars are being scrutinized in greater details for neighbouring planetary systems, the question arise <<Where are all these Stars and can I look at them through my telescope?>>

Of course you will not see the companion planets around the Star, but you can still see the light of the Star shinning strait through the telescope into your eyes and imagine the planet surrounding the Star.

On the picture you can see Stars within 50 Light Years from our Sun.

Here is a example of a Star within 50 Lys, 55 Cancri in the constellation Cancer. This Star system has already 5 confirmed planets in it. Wikipedia HERE

You can see the full list of Stars and its properties HERE.

As you look through your telescope tonight at these Stars, think that maybe someone or something is looking back at you. A little bit of action in your observation session tonight!
Good luck and clear skies!

Russian scientists propose mission to "tag" dangerous Asteroid

Russian scientists propose mission to "tag" dangerous asteroid. Russia's Flagship Planetary Mission is uncertain. US-Russia Asteroid-deflection Mission talks.
 
Here is an intriguing article on Russia's Planetary Missions. Anatoly Zak from Russian Space Web writes an eye opener in Russian Space programs.

Like a potential criminal tagged with a GPS bracelet, the Earth-threatening space rock could be fitted with a tracking device, helping to watch its orbital movement with unquestionable precision, Russian scientists said.

Source: RussianSpaceWeb 

Photo: Basic scenario of the Russian mission to Apophis. Credit: IKI

Exoplanets: Small Rocky worlds may abound

See bottom text for Source/Caption

Great News for Exoplanet Research!

The number of found exoplanet is growing and you can see here on this photograph 60 or more Star systems with there neighboring planets casting a shadow on the surface of there respective Suns.

Not all stars are created equal. Although all of them are born mostly with hydrogen, the trace amounts of other elements present can vary by at least a factor of ten, depending on the particular conditions of the star's birth cloud. 

Since planets condense out of the material in disks around young stars, astronomers wonder whether stars with relatively large amounts of these other elements will make rocky planets more easily.

Spectral observations of the star's light can reveal its original elemental composition, while the dramatic new methods for detecting exoplanets can identify, at least approximately, which stars host rocky planets (like the Earth) and which ones host primarily gaseous planets (like Jupiter). Recent observations have concluded that heavy-element-rich stars are much more likely to harbor gas giant planets like Jupiter, but the relationship for the smaller, Earth-sized planets has been unknown.

In the latest issue of the journal, Nature, CfA astronomers Dave Latham, Guillermo Torres, Gilbert Esquerdo, John Geary, Bob Stefanik, and Samuel Quinn, and their colleagues report on their spectroscopic studies of 152 stars hosting exoplanets, a subset of the 1235 candidate stars identified by the Kepler satellite as host stars.

The scientists find that planets with radii less than four Earth radii form around host stars with a wide range of elemental abundances (but on average, they look like the Sun), whereas large planets like Jupiter preferentially form around stars that have a higher abundances of elements than does the Sun. The wide variety of conditions in stars that host Earth-like planets prompts the team to conclude that terrestrial planets may be widespread in the disk of the Galaxy, with no special requirement of enhanced element abundances needed for their formation.

Source: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Photo: This artist's illustration shows the 63 hot Jupiter systems (planetary systems with Jupiter-size planet candidates) in three-day orbits, with simulated stellar colors, and disks and transiting planet silhouettes shown at the same relative scale. Credit: Fermilab Center for Particle Astrophysics/J Steffen.

Canadian Tech goes to Mars! Happy Canada Day!

A close-up of APXS's sensor

Happy Canada Day for all the Canadians in the world... and beyond!

As the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL, or Curiosity) is getting closer to its landing on Mars on August 6, the Canadian Space Agency is also eager to see the project unravel.
This laboratory on wheels will act as a motorized field geologist and geochemist, probing and analysing the Martian surface using, among other things, its Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) provided by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The spectrometer, specially adapted and tuned for the mission, will analyse samples to help ascertain the potential habitability of Mars.

What is the APXS instrument?
Roughly the size and shape of a Rubik’s cube, APXS's sensor will be able to gather data day and night. It will take two to three hours to analyze a sample to determine what elements it is made of, including trace elements. A quick-look analysis can be completed in about ten minutes. APXS, which sits on the end of the rover's robotic arm, will move in close to a sample and bombard it with alpha particles (charged Helium nuclei) and X-rays to study the properties of the energy emitted from the sample in response. The APXS instrument on Curiosity is an updated version of the spectrometers that were successfully used on the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) and Mars Pathfinder missions.

The added capabilities and the big instruments in the rover's belly, Curiosity needs more energy to operate. It receives its energy from a thermoelectric generator that uses the decay heat from radioactive isotopes to generate about three times the amount of energy that a MER rover achieved under ideal conditions with its solar panels. This also means that Curiosity will be able to operate much better during the Martian winter, when the capabilities of the MER rovers were curtailed due to the low-standing sun.

The CSA is an international partner on NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission, led by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Dr. Ralf Gellert of the University of Guelph is the Principal Investigator for APXS. He provided the scientific design based on the MER instrument (developed at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, in Mainz, Germany) and leads the APXS science team, which includes: the University of New Brunswick , University of Western Ontario , JPL, University of California, San Diego, Cornell University and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. MDA is the prime contractor for APXS.

Source: Mars Rocks: Canada's Contribution to Curiosity, the Next Mission to Mars, Canadian Space Agency
Photo: A close-up of APXS's sensor head as it undergoes vibration tests at MDA in Brampton, Ontario. The sensor head is the part of the instrument that will be placed into contact with Martian samples for analysis. (Credit: MDA)

China’s Shenzhou-9 and Crew Return to Earth

China’s Shenzhou-9 spacecraft and its three-member crew has returned to Earth with a jarring, rolling ground landing in Inner Mongolia at 10:05 local time (02:05 GMT). While in space, the crew successfully carried out their 13-day mission, accomplishing a manual docking with the Tiangong-1 laboratory module and performing a series of experiments. The crew included the first Chinese woman in space, 33-year-old female fighter pilot Liu Yang, along with commander Jing Haipeng, and Liu Wang.

Read more: Article by Nancy Atkinson on Universe Today

Virtual Star Parties every Sunday on Google +!

You want to see the night sky and chat about it on the computer. Every Sunday on Google + Frasier Cain and many More host a hang out where you can listen and participate.

Some people have there "web cam" hanging out of there telescope to show a specific object in the night sky and have a topic. The hang out place is for people to interact, participate and listen to topics related to space and to be able to see it through a telescope (or many telescopes).

Have a look at this "mini" documentary on the hang out phenomena on Google + and join the fun!




You can have more information on the hang outs and the schedules here on Google + HERE

Mars! You poke my Curiosity.

Mars Science Laboratory (MSL, or Curiosity) is a Mars rover launched by Nasa on November 26, 2011. Currently en route to the planet, it is scheduled to land in Gale Crater at about 05:31 UTC on August 6, 2012. The rover's objectives include searching for past or present life, studying the Martian climate, studying Martian geology, and collecting data for a future manned mission to Mars.

The project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of California Institute of Technology. When MSL launched, the program's director was Doug McCuistion of NASA's Planetary Science Division.

Here is a great video from Nasa on the landing of the rover. This last leg of this epic journey into interplanetary exploration within our solar system shows how the project is simply over futuristic.






There are 42 days left before the Mars rover landing. On August 6th the small car size rover willl be expected to land in Gale Crater on the surface of Mars to look for evidence of life.

Here are the goals and objectives of the Mars Science Laboratory project.
The MSL (Mars Science Laboratory) mission has four scientific goals:

1. Determine whether Mars could ever have supported life
2. Study the climate of Mars
3. Study the geology of Mars
4. Plan for a human mission to Mars

To contribute to these goals, MSL has six main scientific objectives:

1. Determine the mineralogical composition of the Martian surface and near-surface geological materials.
2. Attempt to detect chemical building blocks of life (biosignatures).
3. Interpret the processes that have formed and modified rocks and soils.
4. Assess long-timescale (i.e., 4-billion-year) Martian atmospheric evolution processes.
5. Determine present state, distribution, and cycling of water and carbon dioxide.
6. Characterize the broad spectrum of surface radiation, including galactic radiation, cosmic radiation, solar proton events and secondary neutrons.

As part of its exploration, it is measuring the radiation exposure in the interior of the spacecraft as it travels to Mars, important data for a future manned mission.

READ more on Wikipedia: Mars Science Laboratory

Shenzhou 9 Launches and Docks with Chinese Spacelab

A Chinese Long March 2F rocket blasted off carrying the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft and three Taikonauts including 33-year-old female fighter pilot Liu Yang, China’s first woman sent to orbit.
Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/95854/shenzhou-9-launches-with-first-chinese-woman/#ixzz1yGzvN3lt

The crew of the Chinese Shenzhou-9 spacecraft docked today with the Tiangong-1 mini-spacelab and the three taikonauts entered the small spacelab for the first time.
Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/#ixzz1yGzfoiQB

Transit of Venus 2012: The Conclusion

Transit of Venus 2012
Credit: Janne Leppäkoski

12.06.2012 Kustavi Finland                                                           

The Transit of Venus 2012 comes to an end for our Astronomy Club Toutatis. We took lots of pictures of many stages of the event including phases and whereabouts of the Planet. Starting with Venus slowly going towards the Sun and achieving its phases to the Transit of our Sun's disk. we took the time to follow Venus for almost half a year until this June, we hope to follow it again as it starts it's phases on the other side of the Sun. As a morning star I guess.

Here at the bottom you can see our latest short videos of the view from our telescope. On the first video, you can see the Sunspots in the middle of the Sun just before they sink into the clouds. The second video is also the Transit of Venus from our telescope 8" reflector.
This shot is with a canon 550D prime focus through a X2 Barlow to the scope. The last video is Us setting the camp with the telescope and the tent. :) 

Hope you have enjoyed the experience of Venus and it's transit as much as we did. We want to thank everybody involved in this fabulous journey through Space. Thank you!

Transit of Venus with Sunspots 1493 and 1496

Transit of Venus in clouds

Setting up the camp

Transit of venus 2012: The return home

Amazing double rainbow on the way back home
Click to enlarge Credit: S. Lamoureux

08.06.2012
Middle of Finland, Finland

On the way back home, we saw an amazing double rainbow. At first it stood out only as a red ray of light, as we called it a redbow. Then the colors slowly came about.

This picture was taken with a fisheye lens 8mm.

The return home took 18 hours. Many great hours in a cramp car and radio music. Thanks to Sam, Uolevi and Nina to be part of this unbelievable journey.

Click HERE to read the 15th post of our journey through astronomy in Enontekiö, Lappland

You can see our Astrophotos of the Transit of Venus HERE 

Transit of Venus 2012: New Astrophotos!

Transit of venus 06.06.2012  Enontekiö, Finland
Credit: KTY Toutatis ry.

Enontekiö, Finnish Lapppland
Transit of Venus 2012

Here is the last picture of the 3 pictures I manage to capture of the transit. Really starting to glow out of the clouds, the Sun shone direcly to the lens with no Sun filter. This was an amazing moment, just above the cloud blanket. Venus was brillant, I mean pitch black!

HERE are more Astrophotos of our Astronomy Club.

Click HERE to read the 14th post of our journey through astronomy in Enontekiö, Lappland

Transit of venus 2012: Astrophotos of the Transit in Enontekiö, Finland

Transit of venus seen from Enontekiö, Finland
06.06.2012 00h21UT / Credit: KTY Toutatis

Here is an other picture of the Transit. Real sharp. Good shot!

This picture was taken at 00h21 UT. You can clearly see the black dot and the Sun.

Picture specs:
Canon EOS 550D
f/0
Exposure: 1.3 sec.
ISO 100

Click HERE to read the 13th post of our journey through astronomy in Enontekiö, Lappland

Enjoy!

Transit of venus 2012: First Astrophotos from Transit of Venus Enontekiö, Finland

Transit of Venus 2012 / Enontekiö, Finland

Enontekiö, Lappland, Finland
Transit of Venus 2012

First contact!
Here is our first picture of the transit of Venus. This picture was taken with SkyWatcher 200mm/HEQ5/x2 Barlow/Canon 550D prime focus

We really had to chase the Sun around in the telescope. The picture is taken with guiding system (Synscan).

Enjoy the picture and hop outside for an early stroll down the river and feast yourself on this fabulous sight.

Click HERE to read the 12th post of our journey through astronomy in Enontekiö, Lappland

TRANSIT of VENUS 2012! 1 day 19 min 10 sec to GO!

View the Transit of venus 2012 simulation from your location.
Watch how the Transit unfold itself on the disk of the Sun.
Show SUNAEON simlations to your friends, family, neighbours and enjoy the transit of venus 2012.

Click HERE to read the 11th post of our journey through astronomy in Enontekiö, Lappland

TRANSIT of VENUS 2012! We arrived at Enontekiö

The happy bunch

04.06.2012 Enontekiö, Finland

We arrived in Lappland in the village of Hetta in the early hours of the morning. The Sun had only set for an hour before it rose again and started our day at 03h40 in the morning. It was the shortest night I have ever experience.

We slept into the next day and woke up to a fabulous landscape. The "Midnight" Sun was shining and the village was buzzling with people.

After a good breakfast, we headed to our observation place and looked for the best possible place for the seeing of the Transit and a good place to set camp and fishing grounds.

So here we are now sipping tea and wondering about tomorrow...
The Transit of Venus 2012 has begun!

Click HERE to read the 10th post of our journey through astronomy in Enontekiö, Lappland

Enontekiö, Finland