Thank you Ben for your service and all of your incredible art over the years.
Nobody can fill your shoes either.
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
June 9, 2024
How to Identify that Light in the Sky
What is that light in the sky? The answer to one of humanity's more common questions may emerge from a few quick observations. For example is it moving or blinking? If so, and if you live near a city, the answer is typically an airplane, since planes are so numerous and so few stars and satellites are bright enough to be seen over the glare of artificial city lights. If not, and if you live far from a city, that bright light is likely a planet such as Venus or Mars the former of which is constrained to appear near the horizon just before dawn or after dusk. Sometimes the low apparent motion of a distant airplane near the horizon makes it hard to tell from a bright planet, but even this can usually be discerned by the plane's motion over a few minutes. Still unsure? The featured chart gives a sometimes-humorous but mostly-accurate assessment. Dedicated sky enthusiasts will likely note and are encouraged to provide polite corrections.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html?
NASA Administrator Remembers Apollo Astronaut William Anders
JUN 08, 2024
The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on the passing of Apollo astronaut Maj. Gen. (ret.) William “Bill” Anders, who passed away June 7, in San Juan Islands, Washington state, at the age of 90.
“In 1968, as a member of the Apollo 8 crew, as one of the first three people to travel beyond the reach of our Earth and orbit the Moon, Bill Anders gave to humanity among the deepest of gifts an explorer and an astronaut can give.
Along with the Apollo 8 crew, Bill was the first to show us, through looking back at the Earth from the threshold of the Moon, that stunning image – the first of its kind – of the Earth suspended in space, illuminated in light and hidden in darkness: the Earthrise.
“As Bill put it so well after the conclusion of the Apollo 8 mission, ‘We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.’
“That is what Bill embodied – the notion that we go to space to learn the secrets of the universe yet in the process learn about something else: ourselves. He embodied the lessons and the purpose of exploration.
“The voyage Bill took in 1968 was only one of the many remarkable chapters in Bill’s life and service to humanity. In his 26 years of service to our country, Bill was many things – U.S. Air Force officer, astronaut, engineer, ambassador, advisor, and much more.
“Bill began his career as an Air Force pilot and, in 1964, was selected to join NASA’s astronaut corps, serving as backup pilot for the Gemini XI and Apollo 11 flights, and lunar module pilot for Apollo 8.
“He not only saw new things but inspired generation upon generation to see new possibilities and new dreams – to voyage on Earth, in space, and in the skies.
When America returns astronauts to the Moon under the Artemis campaign, and ultimately ventures onward to Mars, we will carry the memory and legacy of Bill with us.
“At every step of Bill’s life was the iron will of a pioneer, the grand passion of a visionary, the cool skill of a pilot, and the heart of an adventurer who explored on behalf of all of us.
His impact will live on through the generations. All of NASA, and all of those who look up into the twinkling heavens and see grand new possibilities of dazzling new dreams, will miss a great hero who has passed on: Bill Anders.”
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-administrator-remembers-apollo-astronaut-williams-anders/
https://www.nasa.gov/former-astronaut-william-a-anders/
Las Vegas Raiders have a UFO story to tell: 'It's real'
06-09-2024
During an appearance on "The Jim Rome Show" recently, Las Vegas Raiders star edge rusher Maxx Crosby shared a story about seeing a UFO on a team flight — and he wasn't the only one to see it.
Crosby said the Raiders were flying back from Miami when he and other players spotted a UFO during the flight. But not only did the team see it, the pilots did, as well.
“It’s real,” Crosby said to Rome. “Like we were literally on a flight back from Miami, and we’ve seen a UFO with our own eyes. And that sounds crazy, but you can ask the pilots, anybody that was there.
It was wild. And I seen it, and they had no idea what it was. There was nothing on the radar, nothing. And it was like a big shining light going in and out.”
When asked if he believes in aliens and UFOs, Crosby was definitive in his answer.
“There definitely is,” Crosby replied. “That’s not even a question.”
Crosby didn't say specifically which flight the incident occurred on, but the Raiders faced the Dolphins twice in Miami during his stint in Las Vegas, once in the 2022 preseason and then again during the 2023 regular season.
The truth is out there.
https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/las-vegas-raiders/news/las-vegas-raiders-ufo-story-tell/d58ef7ecee868c55d4455747