Thoughts About NASA's Budget Cut

I am not going to write a long post about the recent proposal to cut NASA's planetary exploration budget, mainly because other people have already done so here, here, and here (and many other places as well). I do, however, would like to share a few quotes from these articles that I feel perfectly summarize the issue:

"There is no other country or agency that can do what NASA does—fly extraordinary flagship missions in deep space and land spacecraft on Mars. If this budget is allowed to stand, the United States will walk away from decades of greatness in space science and exploration. But it will lose more than that. The U.S. will lose expertise, capability, and talent. The nation will lose the ability to compete in one of the few areas in which it is still the undisputed number one."

- Bill Nye, Executive Director of the Planetary Society

". . .Reducing America’s presence in space- which is what the current budget amounts to- is a bold statement to the effect that the US is no longer looking outward. We’re no longer interested in pushing the boundaries of what we can do, because we seem to be more interested in wallowing around in what we can’t. . . . I’m interested in science and engineering and technology, not least because those things make life better for everyone . . . The technology we build today will help feed, clothe, and heal the people of tomorrow. . . ."

- Dark and Sinister Force for Good Blog

 

The Legend of Drizzt Board Game Review

After my short visit earlier last year, I would like to once again venture into the colorful world of board games. I recently had the opportunity to take a closer look at the newly released cooperative board game, The Legend of Drizzt from Wizards of the Coast. Although the four or five sessions I played with friends hardly make me an expert, they provided me with enough oversight that I feel confident sharing my impressions of this latest iteration of the adventures of Drizzt Do’Urden.

For any of you not familiar with Drizzt Do’Urden—the renegade dark elf and perhaps the most well-known fantasy hero after the Fellowship of the Ring—I highly recommend purchasing a few novels based on his adventures. Although the board game does not require any previous knowledge of the back-story, knowing the underlying universe and the characters certainly gives an extra dimension to the game. Furthermore, thanks to the excellent penmanship of R. A. Salvatore—the author of the Drizzt books—it is hard to imagine any fantasy-loving person walking away dissatisfied from purchasing his books. But let us get back to topic.

Why Space?

On November 3, 2011, the Planetary Society and the Mars Society hosted a co-sponsored forum, titled “NASA at a Turning Point: Vibrant Future or Close Up Shop?” While the discussion centered around NASA and the implications of its recent budget cut, the underlying message of the speakers was much more universal!

I am sure many of you have asked the question at least once: why do we "waste" money on exploring space when humanity have other, much more vital problems here, on this planet? Well, I hope that the following videos (together roughly one hour long) will provide you with the answer. They contain an insightful and thought-provoking discussion, which I highly recommend watching (even for those not interested in space).

Mars Society: Capital Hill Forum - R. Zubrin Speech (part 1 of 2)

Mars Society: Capital Hill Forum - R. Zubrin Speech (part 2 of 2)

Mars Society: Capital Hill Forum - Q&A Session (part 1 of 4)

Mars Society: Capital Hill Forum - Q&A Session (part 2 of 4)

Mars Society: Capital Hill Forum - Q&A Session (part 3 of 4)

Mars Society: Capital Hill Forum - Q&A Session (part 4 of 4)

Mars Society: Capital Hill Forum - Closing Statements
 

2011 Hubble Space Telescope Advent Calendar

Continuing a years-long tradition, The Atlantic once again began its annual Advent Calendar, revealing a new and interesting picture every day until the December 25th. “Why is that noteworthy?” one might ask. Well, if the title did not give it a way, they use images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, giving a unique flavor to the holiday season. I personally love spending a few minutes every day checking out the latest picture and reading the description.

2011 Hubble Space Telescope Advent Calendar
 

Las Vegas

The short movie below is the next in the series I began about a year ago. It gives tribute to Las Vegas, part of Day 7 of my Route 66 journal.

As always, the film is available in Full HD on YouTube; although this time it does not make that much of a difference as my camera were not too good at handling night shots and, unfortunately, it shows on the quality. Also, due to the song I used in the video (Little Less Conversation by Elvis Presley & JXL), the audio track is muted in Germany, for which I apologize.

Please give it a thumbs up and share it with others if you like it; thanks!

Our Future in Space

I would like to share a video today that is not exactly current—it was shot back in July at the annual TAM Conference in Las Vegas—but the validity of the topics discussed in it more than justify the delay. In fact, I think I am not exaggerating if I state that, for any person with even the slightest interest in space, science, and astronomy, this video is a must-watch!

It is basically a panel discussing, as the title suggests, humanity’s future in space. What makes this video unique, however, are: 1) The participants who are all world-renowned scientists and 2) The typically thought provoking topics they discuss—and their often conflicting viewpoints.

It is a little long—53 minutes—but well worth the time!

 

The Spectacular Draconids

Skywatchers rarely consider the annual Draconid meteor shower a noteworthy phenomenon, often regarding it as lackluster and uninteresting—especially when compared to other meteor showers, such as the Leonids or the Perseids. Not this year though!

On October 8^th, Earth will move through the denser regions of the debris left by the Comet Giacobini-Zinner, resulting most likely in a spectacular display of falling stars, estimated to reach 750 meteors per hour. This is many times more than the above mentioned Leonid and Perseid meteor showers’ average. In fact, the Draconids this year are expected to be so abundant that NASA is afraid that they might damage satellites or the International Space Station.

Astro Photography and Slooh

Today, I would like to take a detour from my usual Route 66 topic and venture into the field of amateur astronomy.

In the past year or so, I had spent considerable time clinging onto slooh.com’s robotic telescopes. During this time, I had snapped hundreds of pictures, on occasion revisiting the same celestial object time after time waiting for the perfect conditions to produce the clearest pictures. At the bottom of this post, you can find a gallery of some of these images. Before getting to them, however, I would like to talk a little about Slooh, more precisely, about the discontinuation of their “Free Tier” service and how I think this might impact users.

The Painted Desert

It took a while, but I have finally completed the next piece of my ongoing video series from around Route 66. This time, I would like to introduce the Petrified Forest National Park and the surrounding Painted Desert of Arizona, which you can read about in Day 6.

As always, the film is available in Full HD on YouTube (please give it a thumbs up and share it with others if you like it).

Route 66 Travel Guide

I think anyone would agree that spending a couple of weeks on the Mother Road hardly makes one an expert. It is also true, however, that even a short trip can grant experiences that some—especially those who have never visited Route 66 before—might find helpful. Therefore, in this article I would like to offer a few tips and tricks that I learned while on the road. My guide is by no means a complete one—it might not even be that good—but I hope it will provide a good starting point for at least some of you wanting to explore America’s Highway.