Anonymous ID: ba8bdf March 31, 2024, 8:11 a.m. No.20657069   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7101

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Mar 31, 2024

 

Total Solar Eclipse Below the Bottom of the World

 

In late 2021 there was a total solar eclipse visible only at the end of the Earth. To capture the unusual phenomenon, airplanes took flight below the clouded seascape of Southern Ocean. The featured image shows one relatively spectacular capture where the bright spot is the outer corona of the Sun and the eclipsing Moon is seen as the dark spot in the center. A wing and engine of the airplane are visible across the left and bottom of the image, while another airplane observing the eclipse is visible on the far left. The dark area of the sky surrounding the eclipsed Sun is called a shadow cone. It is dark because you are looking down a long corridor of air shadowed by the Moon. A careful inspection of the eclipsed Sun will reveal the planet Mercury just to the right. You won't have to travel to the end of the Earth to see the next total solar eclipse. The total eclipse path will cross North America on 2024 April 8, just over one week from today.

 

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html?

Anonymous ID: ba8bdf March 31, 2024, 8:43 a.m. No.20657207   🗄️.is 🔗kun

First woman of Vietnamese origin to fly into space

March 29, 2024 | 12:02 am PT

 

A Vietnamese American woman will be flying into space as part of a campaign sponsored by American non-profit organization Space for Humanity.

Amanda Ngoc Nguyen, 32, is going to space in line with the Space for Humanity’s Citizen Astronaut Program, which aims to "empower each citizen astronaut to address global challenges with a broader outlook," according to the organization.

 

Nguyen will fly to space on a New Shepard rocket of Blue Origin, an American aerospace manufacturer, defense contractor, and launch service provider, becoming the first woman of Vietnamese origin to fly in space.

 

"I am thrilled to be partnered with Space for Humanity, not just for their support, but also their vision and values. Together, we're committed to changing the way we all think about the cosmos, each other, and humanity's future. I look forward to my journey to space as well as our continued journey to a brighter and better future," Nguyen said in a Space for Humanity's statement.

 

A 2019 Nobel Peace Prize nominee and Time Woman of the Year in 2022, Nguyen is a civil rights activist and founder of Rise, known for her work on the Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act and advocacy for Asian American rights.

 

In a video released by the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam on Thursday, Nguyen said in Vietnamese:

 

"I am Vietnamese. I’m flying to space so that young Vietnamese women can see themselves among the stars. What’s important for me is that I can carry my community by my side. I might be the first, but I will not be the last."

 

No specific date for the New Shepard launch has been announced. 

 

https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/first-woman-of-vietnamese-origin-to-fly-into-space-4728175.html

Anonymous ID: ba8bdf March 31, 2024, 9:02 a.m. No.20657289   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7304 >>7362 >>7403 >>7423 >>7482 >>7562 >>7684

SpaceX knocks out 2 Space Coast launches as ULA delays final Delta IV Heavy

UPDATED: March 31, 2024 at 9:46 a.m.

 

A retry for the final launch of United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy, the last of the Delta family of rockets, remained up in the air over the weekend, but in the meantime, SpaceX sent up a pair of rockets from the Space Coast on Saturday.

 

First up from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39-A was the Eutelsat-36X mission flying a communications satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit after lifting off at 5:52 p.m. The first-stage booster flew for the 12th time with landing on the Just Read the Instructions droneship downrange in the Atlantic Ocean.

 

Next was a Falcon 9 on the Starlink 6-45 mission carrying 23 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 9:30 p.m. The first-stage booster flew for the 18th time and made another recovery landing on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic.

 

This marked the 259th and 260th reflights of first-stage boosters on the seven-year anniversary of SpaceX’s first booster reuse.

 

The duo became the 21st and 22nd launches from the Space Coast in 2024, with all but one flown by SpaceX.

 

Their flight comes after ULA’s scrub of the Delta IV Heavy flight with just under four minutes on the countdown clock this past Thursday at Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 37. At issue was a pump on the gaseous nitrogen pipeline from the shared ground systems supplying the Space Force station with the inert gas that is needed for safe launch operations.

 

“The team continues to troubleshoot the pipeline and more time is needed to instill confidence in the system. We will continue to work with our customer to confirm our next launch attempt and a new launch date will be provided upon resolution,” ULA posted late Thursday, and has not updated its status since.

 

Now the rocket on the NROL-70 mission carrying a classified satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office awaits confirmation from ULA on when they will attempt a retry.

 

The first launch of a Delta class of rockets came more than 63 years ago and this will be its 389th launch attempt among all its versions.

 

Delta IV Heavy is making its 16th flight having been introduced in 2004. The medium-lift version of the Delta IV last flew in 2019 while the smaller, older Delta II rocket retired in 2018.

 

The Delta family of rockets along with Atlas V rockets are being replaced by ULA’s new Vulcan Centaur, which made it maiden launch this past January.

 

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/03/30/spacex-lines-up-2-space-coast-launches-today-as-ula-delays-final-delta-iv-heavy/

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=eutelsat36d

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl-6-45

Anonymous ID: ba8bdf March 31, 2024, 9:24 a.m. No.20657397   🗄️.is 🔗kun

'Everything is interrelated.' For the Navajo Nation, the April 8 solar eclipse is a spiritual experience

Mar 31, 2024

 

The "Great North American Eclipse" is just a little over a week away.

For many in the path of totality, preparing for the total solar eclipse on April 8 includes coming up with a plan of where to watch it, who you are going to watch it with, and securing protective solar glasses to be able to safely witness the procession of celestial transformation in the sky. But for the indigenous communities of North America, it's a whole different type of preparation, and a philosophy that's very different from Western culture.

 

"The Navajo worldview includes a holistic and ordered universe where everything is interrelated and all the pieces of the universe are enfolded within the whole," Nancy C. Maryboy, founder and president of the Indigenous Education Institute, said in a release. "At the same time, every piece contains the entire universe, creating a network of relationships and processes in constant flux. Unlike Western astronomy, traditional Navajo astronomy is highly spiritual in accordance with a worldview where everything is considered living and sacred."

For the Navajo (Diné) community, it's more than a celestial event — it's about history, self-awareness, and honoring the sun and moon. The sky is the same for everyone, but when it comes to worldview, the eclipse means something completely different. According to experts, it's important to understand that eclipses have always been part of our lives and when they occur, it helps us better understand how the sun, moon, and Earth are all intertwined.

 

"It's a very personal relationship that native people have with the sky. It's not focused through a telescope, it's not something you've taken from Greek astronomy, it's something that is very personal and creates a way of knowing and a way of living," Maryboy said. "These stories that are told amongst indigenous peoples, they're not just fairy tales, they're not just something you can smile at and go on with your life. They're real, and they are based on real constellations and stars in the sky."

According to the Navajo (Diné) beliefs, instead of waiting for totality to occur and then cheering loudly and celebrating, the entire experience has a more serious tone and strong reverence. For the Navajo, an eclipse is deeply rooted in the respect of the cosmos, and it serves as an event of renewal and contemplation with guidance passed along from generations before.

 

"Our elders tell us that the sun, the moon and the Earth go through constant renewal by aligning themselves," Dr. David Begay, a Navajo astronomer, explained in the same release.

 

"It's one of the natural laws that's been observed over the years and the sun rebalances itself with the alignment. Over the years, people must have experienced that looking at the sun directly during an eclipse can hurt your eye, damage your eye, so it's a restriction. When there's an eclipse, they tell people, 'Go inside.' Respect the cycle and let time pass."

But deciding how to watch and experience an eclipse comes down to the individual, and for those deciding to venture outside, there's an option for a more modern approach. While many adhere to original rituals and traditions, the development of safety viewing glasses for those in the path of totality in more recent times has allowed families to have another option while taking part in the tradition.

 

"It's all about being reverent to what's going on, being very quiet. Traditionally people would be inside and they wouldn't drink anything or eat anything," Maryboy said.

"But they would either do that during just the totality or for the entire eclipse and it all depends on your family yourself, your community with what you're going to follow. Today, people do go out and they do look at the eclipse in many instances, but we have glasses now that protect your eyes, which we've never had way back hundreds of years ago when these protocols were laid down."

 

No matter what each individual decides, at the end of the day, those within the Navajo (Diné) community hope that for the upcoming solar eclipse and the many more to come there can be a better understanding by other cultures of their beliefs and how special these cycles are.

"We think of it as something that fits into a Navajo story and provides rules for living. Living in harmony with that cosmic order, living your life on Earth," Maryboy said. "I would like to see people realize how complex and beautiful Navajo astronomy is and how people live by it. It's not just something that you go out and jump up and down, shriek and get so excited … it's more like expressing you're all about it. You're seeing a once-in-a-lifetime event and you want to give it the honor and respect it deserves."

 

https://www.space.com/total-solar-eclipse-2024-navajo-nation

Anonymous ID: ba8bdf March 31, 2024, 9:53 a.m. No.20657504   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7513

Robbie Williams being targeted by aliens to be a 'messenger' because he's famous

UPDATED21:23, 30 MAR 2024

 

Robbie Williams has warned that aliens are choosing to contact him because he's well-known and they want him to be their messenger.

 

The 50-year-old singer has experienced several strange encounters. He once revealed that he saw a UFO so close that he could've hit it with "a tennis ball". Another time while writing the song Arizona which is about alien contact, a "gold ball of light" appeared in the studio when his song was playing.

 

Robbie feels that extraterrestrial beings keep visiting him because they know he can tell the world about them due to his pop star status. He explained: "I sometimes think - and I try to separate narcissism and ego, unsuccessfully a lot of the time - but there's lots of different theories that we all have to do with this stuff but I often wonder if I'm supposed to see it because of my public platform. Am I supposed to see this so I can talk about it? " Robbie, his wife Ayda Field and their four kids Teddy, 11, Charlie, nine, Coco, five, and Beau who is three live in Beverly Hills.

 

Being an LA resident for almost 15 years, the Angels singer has had most of his strange meetings in the city. He believes that Los Angeles attracts visitors from other planets. He revealed: "For some reason, I feel closer to the woo-woo in Los Angeles than I do in England. I had a house in Wiltshire, the grounds and the house were a thousand years old and you would think that there I would be inundated with spectres or doors slamming, other people experienced it, but I didn't. It's not until I go to Los Angeles where I live, or lived for a while, that it's like there's vortexes here, it's a very strange land," reports the Daily Star.

 

Recounting the UFO sighting at his recording studio in 2008, he once explained: "I'd just written a song called Arizona, and it's all about alien contact and I was playing that."

 

"I stood on the balcony and there was this big ball of gold light that turned up - we thought it was Venus or Mars or something. Then the song stops playing and it disappears. But then we put Arizona on again and the ball turned back up. It happened four times. After that a massive electrical storm started and these two big massive balls of light started dancing in the sky. It was like a whole light show for about an hour."

 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/robbie-williams-being-targetted-aliens-32478229