Tag Archives: space

I Spy the Transit of Venus!

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Greetings Friends!

Your favorite blogger from Tiny Planets here to share some awesome pictures from this week. Many of you may know that the Transit of Venus took place earlier. What does this mean? Well, even I had to look that one up and ask my dear friends Bing and Bong. They showed me this awesome video by our friends at NASA:

The Transit of Venus occurs when the planet of Venus passes right between the Sun and planet Earth. When all you dears living on Earth looked up at the Sun, you would have seen a black ball passing directly across the face of the Sun. Actually, you would have needed some special glasses to do that because we all know how dangerous it is to look directly at the Sun — don’t do it!

Anyway, the reason this whole thing is so exciting is because occurs in pairs 8 years apart every 243 years. So basically we will never see something like this until 2255! I hope you didn’t miss it, but incase you did, here is a picture to show you what it looked like:

Look at how Venus passed by the sun in 2004 and then a few days ago in 2012.

Enjoy the world around you — especially these moments of a lifetime!

Signing out, Halley

Aurora Tours the Galaxy: The Eagle Nebula

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Hi all, Aurora here! I have been busy visiting one nebula after another. Many are right in YOUR neighborhood. Check out these pictures I took of the Eagle Nebula just for YOU!

Eagle Nebula through a backyard telescope

This picture of the Eagle Nebula was taken by a backyard telescope. Can you see the eagle? Try tracing it out with your fingers.

Hubble's view of the Eagle Nebula

Okay, so this picture was taken by yours truly using the Hubble telescope. Can you see the eagle better? What color does it appear? Reddish-orange, right? So what does that mean the Eagle Nebula is made up of? Hydrogen! What other gases do you see? Not sure if I told you this yet, but the green usually means there is oxygen. Green can also be another gas, but for now it’s oxygen.

Now, put your finger on the tallest pillar.

Eagle Nebula with baby star

Finally, let’s look at the Eagle Nebula close-up! We can see a lot of details. Look at the tip! Did you know each tip holds onto a star? It’s like a star’s home! Totally cool, huh?

I have pictures from a lot of other fascinating nebulae, but you will have to wait till our next journey together for those. Until then, keep exploring and discovering!

Aurora

 

Beware the Zombie Satellite

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Zombie Satellite Galaxy 15

Orbital Sciences Corp

Zombies … do …. exist! And I have a story that proves it. So circle your spaceships around the red dwarf and listen up … no one knows if there are more out there and you DON’T want to be the one to find out! muahahahahahahahaha.

On October 13, 2005 the Galaxy 15 satellite was launched just like hundreds before it. It took it 6 days to reach its geosynchronous orbit over the planet. [For those of you who don’t speak SpaceEngineerese, that just means it reached the point above the earth that it’s supposed to stay and monitor).  It was a happy little satellite who faithful sent back data to its human masters. Until ….

On April 5, 2010 Galaxy 15 shook off the shackles of its creator and stopped responding to instructions. Instead it started to drift out of it’s designated spot over the earth and travel to the space graveyard . Betcha didn’t know that they keep graveyards out in space, did you?

What we do know is that unless satellite owners are very careful, Galaxy 15 can disrupt cable programming (gasp!) and other telecommunication devices.  So it’s very important for satellite owners to figure out ways to leap of its way or else! So far it has already threatened  three other satellites and has at least three others in its path. To avoid certain destruction, satellite operators must wait for the zombie to draw close and then manoeuvre their own satellite to “leapfrog” it. (It’s kind of like playing chicken where you stand your ground until the last possible minute and then you run for safety.)

Although the zombie is not responding to instructions from Earth it is still fully operational and transmitting data.  No one knows what really happened to make Galaxy 15 go rogue, although Orbital Sciences (the makers of Galaxy 15)  believe that it may have been caused by solar activity, no one really knows for sure. Orbital Sciences estimated that Galaxy 15 would have run out of power by September, but it is mysteriously still operational.

So next time your communications array stops acting up or your favorite vid-show begins malfunctioning, remember a zombie satellite just might be in your vicinity … and it just might be a friend of Galaxy 15!

muahahahahahahahaha.

Trick Out Your Ship at Ultra Ships Parts

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Next door to Speedy Spaceships there’s a new store in town. It’s called “Ultra Ships Parts”. They sell parts that will make your ship speedier, stronger Zapps or just make your ship as agile as a serpent.  And best of all they’re pretty reasonably priced.  Their stock is being expanded but for now you can purchase:

  • Lateral thrusters: Increases your ships ability to turn around quickly
  • Hyperdrive: Speeds your ship along into super speeds
  • Second Laser: Raises your Zapp rate
  • Matter Accelerator: Increase your Zapp speed

After you make your purchases, run don’t walk over to the hanger and select a ship to enhance. On the bottom of your screen you’ll see your purchases. Since you only get one upgrade per ship, I suggest you take a good look at your ship stock. Some ships are already designed for speed, so adding Zapp power might be your best choice. Once you’ve made your decision, click on the upgrade and click “Attach.”  When you take a look at your ship you’ll see your new look.

Now what happens if your upgrade makes your ship look lame? Never fear, the forever useful “Detach” button is here to take away your shame. Just click it and your upgraded piece will return to your toolbox for later use. No muss, no fuss. I can’t wait to see what you cadets come up with.  Happy Flying!