From the Inside Out

NASA is letting the public choose the name of its newest addition to the International Space Station (Node 3 and its cupola). According to the NASA website, the “name should reflect the spirit of exploration and cooperation embodied by the space station, and follow in the tradition set by Node 1-Unity and Node 2-Harmony.”

The cupola will be delivered to the space station in December and will offer spectacular views of Earth. Six rectangular windows and one circular window will offer a panoramic view unrivaled by any other spacecraft ever flown. The cupola will also contain a robotics workstation to allow astronauts to control the giant robotic arm of the space station. Node 3 will house many of the station’s life support systems.

The leading names are:

• Earthrise
• Legacy
• Serenity
• Venture

However, you can suggest a name if you think you have a better one. One of my favorite “write-in” names is Tranquility, but since I’m a huge Joss Whedon fan, I’ve got to stick with Serenity. It’s the name of Whedon’s 2005 movie which was the continuation of a short-lived scifi series on Fox. Serenity was also the name of the cargo ship that transported the characters around the ‘verse. It’s just so fitting for the space station.

Voting is open through March 20, and the winning name will be announced in April. I’ve already placed my vote. To register yours, click here.

Gazing at the night sky this week will give you a rare glimpse of an unusual comet. Lulin, a green, backward-flying comet, is on its closest (and possibly final) approach to Earth. Lulin is 38 million miles away, but in dark locations, you can see it with the naked eye. In the city, binoculars are all that’s needed. To the naked eye, the comet looks like a fuzzy patch of hazy light. With binoculars or a telescope, you should be able to see the comet’s brighter center, along with its dual tail.

Comet Lulin is remarkable because it travels backward around the sun in the opposite direction of the planets. Because of this, it appears to move in relation to the stars while you watch, something you don’t get to see very often.

To find Lulin, look high in the southeast sky for big, bright Saturn. Comet Lulin will be a fuzzy smudge slightly above and to the right of the planet. Refer to the chart below courtesy of Sky and Telescope.

If you miss it tonight, Lulin will still be visible the rest of the week. And if you miss it altogether, you could be out of luck. Astronomers aren’t sure Lulin will ever reappear in the inner solar system.

For the past couple of nights, the sky has put on a spectacular show. Venus, Jupiter, and the slender crescent moon have converged in a rare conjunction to form a tight triangle or “smiley” face.

The moon is the brightest object, closest and smallest of the three and is 252,000 miles away. Venus, the second brightest, closest and smallest, is 94 million miles away. And Jupiter, the largest, is 540 million miles away.

The three celestial objects come together from time to time, but often they are too close to the sun or unite at a time when they aren’t so visible. The next time the three will be as close and visible as this week will be Nov. 18, 2052, according to Jack Horkheimer, director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium.

Some historians think that a similar conjunction between Jupiter and Venus in 2 B.C. may be the source of the “star of Bethlehem” story related in the Bible. The stellar pair would have appeared so close together, scholars think, that they might have seemed to meld into one brilliant beacon of light.

It’s a beautiful sight, and you don’t even need a set of binoculars or a telescope to appreciate it. The two planets will remain together tomorrow night, but the moon will begin to move away. If you haven’t witnessed the conjunction yet, glance up on Tuesday night and enjoy.

As the full moon rises on Wednesday, you will get a unique view of its size. That’s because the moon will look unusually large as it rises in the evening. It’s simply an illusion (a trick that happens when the moon is near the horizon) that is more prominent during a full moon, but it’s a neat sight to behold. Even space station astronauts will witness the same effect.

According to an article on Yahoo News, “The illusion will be particularly noticeable at this ’solstice moon,’ coming just two days before summer starts in the Northern Hemisphere. The reason, according to NASA, lies in lunar mechanics: The sun and full moon are like kids on a see-saw; when one is high, the other is low. This week’s high solstice sun gives us a low, horizon-hugging moon and a strong, long-lasting version of the illusion.

Here’s how it works: Your mind believes things on the horizon are farther away than things overhead, because you are used to seeing clouds just a few miles above, but the clouds on the horizon can indeed be hundreds of miles away. So if we think something (such as the moon) is farther away, and it’s not, then it seems larger.

If you remain doubtful, test the idea yourself. Go out at moonrise with a small object, perhaps a pencil eraser. Hold it at arm’s length as the moon rises and compare the sizes of the moon and the eraser, then repeat the experiment an hour or two later when the moon is high in the sky.”

Moonrise times vary by location. On Wednesday, it will come up at these local times at these locations: Dallas, 9:03 p.m.; New York City, 8:58 p.m.; Seattle, 9:51 p.m.

Science was one of my favorite subjects in school.  Sometimes I still wonder how I ended up as an art major who eventually got a business degree.  I guess the popular, artsy side suppressed the inner geek.  Still, years later I continue to be fascinated by the way things work.  Meteorology, biology, chemistry, and astronomy…I love them all.  

Typically, I don’t allow the geek to surface, but sometimes she finds her way out.  Tonight is one of those nights.  So, be warned…here comes the astronomy news.

On April 6, the Japanese lunar orbiter “Kaguya” saw the earth, moon and sun line up.  It provided the perfect opportunity to capture a full ”Earth-rise” in HD video.  This line up occurs only twice a year.  The orbiter records the movies as it comes around the back side of the moon and into view of the Earth.  Click on the picture below to check it out.

Yes, I’m aware it’s a bit nerdy, but you have to admit the sight of our brightly colored planet rising from the darkness is beautiful.  It’s a sight that is unique in the universe – there’s nothing else like it. 

Earth is undoubtedly the most intriguing planetary body in our solar system.  I find it baffling that people can witness it’s beauty and complexity in the vast void of space and still not see the hand of a Creator.