World Cup fever

 

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Taken from an e-mail I got some time back, I thought I would share it for a bit of crack.

 

What the guys can expect and look forward to

Italy:

Germany:

USA :

Korea :

Portugal :

Brazil:

And finally...

 

ENGLAND !!!!!

[Astronomy Ireland] Observing Guide, Endeavour Launch, Moon Month

 

2011 Events Membership DVD Shop

1.  Observing Guide

Over the next month there are some amazing sights to be seen in the night sky over Ireland. We have put together a special page HERE outlining what you can see, including:

• The Moon, Saturn, and Spica form a celestial triangle tonight, Friday 13th

• The Sun is increasing in activity, and vast sunspots are visible almost daily

• A huge storm is raging on Saturn, the ringed planet

• Four planets pose a special challenge for avid morning-time astronomers

This is the perfect time for you to dust off your telescope and binoculars and get some amazing astronomy done!

2.  Endeavour Due to Launch Monday

Space Shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to launch on Monday, May 16 from the Kennedy Space Centre.

The penultimate Shuttle mission was originally scheduled for the end of April but had to be postponed due to problems with a heater circuit. Endeavour’s STS-134 mission will take a crew of 6 on a 16-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) to deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), a state-of-the-art particle physics detector which will increase our understanding of the universe’s origin.

The launch is set to take place at 1:56pm Irish time. Unfortunately we won't get to see the orbiter and its fuel tank in Irish skies this time around, but the launch can be watched live at www.astronomy.ie/nasatv

3.  Moon Month

On the evening of June 15th the Moon will rise fully eclipsed by the Earth’s shadow as seen from the eastern and southern parts of the country. People in the west and north will see the Moon almost completely enshrouded in darkness, as though a bite had been taken off!

Now is the time to get your own telescope and avoid the disappointment of missing this event. The total eclipse of the Moon is only a few short weeks away and Astronomy Ireland have prepared special Moon-Watching Packs to help you begin your exploration of our celestial neighbour. This will be the last total lunar eclipse viewable from Ireland for over 4 years! Call a member of the Astronomy Ireland Shop now for advice on the best way to capture this Event.

Astronomy Ireland

The world's most popular Astronomy Club
www.astronomy.ie

STS-134 Crew Returns to Kennedy Thursday

 

Wed, 11 May 2011 07:37:25 -0500

Technicians at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A are preparing space shuttle Endeavour for its upcoming launch attempt. Teams have completed all retesting of the aft load control assembly-2 (ALCA-2) and will install the aft compartment flight doors today.
At NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the STS-134 crew will spend the day in spacewalk procedure review meetings with their spacewalk flight control team. The six crew members are set to arrive tomorrow at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility at approximately 9 a.m. EDT. Crew arrival will be aired on NASA TV (www.nasa.gov/ntv).
Endeavour is scheduled to launch Monday, May 16 at 8:56 a.m. on a 16-day mission to the International Space Station.

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NASA'S Fermi Spots 'Superflares' In The Crab Nebula

 

NASA'S Fermi Spots 'Superflares' In The Crab Nebula
Tue, 10 May 2011 23:00:00 -0500

The famous Crab Nebula supernova remnant has erupted in an enormous flare five times more powerful than any flare previously seen from the object. On April 12, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope first detected the outburst, which lasted six days.

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[Astronomy Ireland] Shuttle Launch, Morning Planets, Friday 13th,Moon Month,

 

2011 Events Membership DVD Shop

1.  Shuttle Launch Rescheduled

Space Shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to launch on Monday, May 16 from the Kennedy Space Centre.  Initially the launch was scheduled for Friday, April 29 but had to be postponed due to problem with a heater circuit linked with the Shuttle's Auxiliary Power Unit.  Endeavour’s STS-134 mission will take a crew of 6 on a 16-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) to deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), a state-of-the-art particle physics detector which will increase our understanding of the universe’s origin.

To watch the launch visit www.astronomy.ie/nasatv

2.  Morning Planets

Over the coming weeks the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter will be visible in the morning sky.  All four planets will be visible just before sunrise, close to the horizon in the eastern sky.  However make sure you get to see this over the next few days as Mercury will disappear soon.

Don't forget to email what you see to observe@astronomy.ie and we will try our best to publish your pictures and observations in forthcoming issues of 'Astronomy & Space' magazine.

3.  Friggatriskaidekaphobes won’t know what they’re missing!

While many treat Friday 13th with superstitious caution and may not feel like going outside this Friday, rational stargazers across the world will rejoice with the chance to see an incredible sight. The Moon, Saturn and one of the most dazzling stars in the night sky, Spica, will shine to the south during the evening of Friday the 13th. This event is even more special due to the Earth-sized storm that is currently raging on Saturn's surface. With a modest sized telescope it is possible to see the storm and amazing detail within the rings. The position of the Moon and Spica will act as a signpost that will allow everyone to easily find Saturn.

For more information about this event, see www.astronomy.ie/saturnstorm

4.  Moon Month

On the evening of June 15th the moon will rise fully eclipsed by the Earth’s shadow. Now is the time to get your own telescope and avoid the disappointment of missing this event. The total eclipse of the Moon is only a few short weeks away and Astronomy Ireland have prepared special moon watching packs to help you begin your exploration of our celestial neighbour. This will be the last total lunar eclipse viewable from Ireland for over 4 years! Call a member of the Astronomy Ireland Shop now for advice on the best way to capture this Event.

Astronomy Ireland

The world's most popular Astronomy Club
www.astronomy.ie

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Endeavour's Launch Officially Set for April 29

 

Space shuttle Commander Mark Kelly and his five crewmates are scheduled to begin a 14-day mission to the International Space Station with a launch at 3:47 p.m. EDT on Friday, April 29, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The STS-134 mission is shuttle Endeavour's final scheduled flight.
The launch date was announced Tuesday at the conclusion of a flight readiness review at Kennedy. During the meeting, senior NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the mission and determined the shuttle and station's equipment, support systems and personnel are ready.
The crew consists of Commander Kelly, Pilot Greg H. Johnson, NASA Mission Specialists Michael Fincke, Andrew Feustel and Greg Chamitoff and European Space Agency Mission Specialist Roberto Vittori. They are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy on Tuesday, April 26, for final launch preparations.
STS-134 is the 134th shuttle mission, Endeavour's 25th flight and the 36th shuttle mission to the station.

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Abbeyshrule Airport

Seven-year-old boy buys fighter jet on eBay

 

Thanks to eBay, a seven-year-old London boy managed to purchase a real-life Harrier fighter jet. It was easy: All he had to do was click on a bright "buy it now" button on the auction site, send a payment of about $113,000, and he'd be ready to live out every young man's fantasy. There was just one problem: He didn't have the money — and his dad found out about his shopping spree.

 

Whoops! The fun was over right then and there as the boy's dad immediately called up Jet Art Aviation Limited, the company who had placed the jet on eBay, and explained the situation. According to My FOX Chicago, the company was very understanding and canceled the sale right away.

Image via Jet Art Aviation Limited

There aren't any details regarding what happened after that — though we do know that Jet Art Aviation Limited put the jet up for auction again — but we imagine that there is one very disappointed seven-year-old boy in London right now.

 

By Rosa Golijan

Storm Passes Over Shuttle Endeavour, No Initial Injuries or Damaged Reported

 

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 18:03:30 -0500

A strong storm front passed over NASA Kennedy Space Center’s LC-39 area, including Launch Pad 39A, about 5:20 p.m. EDT. Initial reports are the Florida launch pad experienced high wind and potentially small hail in the area near the pad. No one was injured and initially no obvious damage was observed. The storm moved through the area quickly. Teams will perform a full survey of the pad to confirm there was no damage Thursday morning and verify the exact wind speeds and adverse weather conditions that were seen at the pad. Space shuttle Endeavour’s six astronauts, who are at Kennedy for their launch dress rehearsal and related training known as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, still are scheduled to hold a Q-and-A session with media on Launch Pad 39A Thursday morning at 8:40 a.m. The event will be carried live on NASA Television.

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Tokyo earthquake as aircraft was on taxiway: pilot tells his story

 

"I was taxi-ing out for departure from Narita to Fukuoka, with a full load of passengers, after push back when I noticed something was wrong with the nosewheel steering - well that's what I thought the problem was.
The plane wanted to move across to the right side of the taxiway, and I had to use the tiller to try to bring it back, then it wanted to move quickly over to the left side, so I decided to stop, and return to the gate to get the steering checked out.
That was when ATC announced "Jishin, jishin! All aircraft stop in present position. Earthquake."
I stopped and set the parking brake, then the whole aircraft began to roll and shake so forcefully. It was lucky everybody was seated with their seatbelts fastened, it was like an amusement park ride.
The leading called up and asked what was going on, why had we stopped, and were we going to evacuate?
I made a p.a. and instructed everyone to remain seated.
The violent thumping and shaking continued for 4 minutes, and although I thought about shutting the engines down, it was just too rough.
When it finally stopped, I told the first officer to start the APU and to call the company to see if we could return to our spot.
No-one answered.
We called on the company radio many times, but no replies, so we called up ground, and requested a return to our spot.
"Negative, remain in your present position, " SMC said, "all staff have evacuated the terminal and many are on the apron. If you taxi back, you may ingest them. Hold position."
We opened the cockpit windows and looked back towards the terminal, and sure enough there were hundreds of people standing outside, away from the buildings, in case they collapsed.
"Narita airport is now closed to all traffic. All departure clearances are cancelled indefinitely," ground control broadcast.
In Japan, it's standard procedure to close an airport when an earthquake occurs. Usually it takes about 20 to 30 minutes to re-open, after they have carried out a runway and taxiway inspection, to make sure there are no cracks.
Well we sat there for 4 hours. Four hours with the APU providing the electrical power, and the heated air conditioning.
By way of the public address system, I let my passengers know as much as we knew from the updates our company transmitted. Because of the circumstances, I advised my captive audience that it was okay to use their cell phones.
Because my English is not so good, I tuned one of the ADFs to an English-speaking radio station and held the hand mike to the speaker so that the non-Japanese passengers could understand the true situation.
The flight was cancelled, and we got sent to the Marroad Hotel just near the end of runway 16L. It looks like it might have got a few new cracks too.
It wasn't the nose wheel steering after all!"

Image Credit:Major Nelson

report via pirep.org