Solar System: From TED Talks To Data Releases

Microsoft Creates Emotion Recognition Tool. Upload Your Image and Give It a Try

Project Oxford is Microsoft’s collection of machine-learning application programming interfaces (APIs). Now the tech giant can add emotion recognition to its API portfolio.

Note: This one was also a little off. I tried to give it an easy one (surprise). But apparently, Project Oxford thinks that I am judgy and filled with scorn.

Read more at: http://futurism.com/links/microsoft-creates-emotion-recognition-tool-upload-your-image-and-give-it-a-try/

An amateur astronomer discovered a new exploding star on Christmas Day

Although no three kings were present at the time, amateur astronomer Emmanuel Conseil discovered a 'new star' or nova in the Triangulum Galaxy on Christmas Day. He made the discovery using the online Slooh observatory, whose telescopes are located...

What a way to spend Christmas!

NASA's solar-powered Juno breaks distance record at 793 million km from the Sun

Proof that solar power can really take us places.

On the home stretch to Jupiter, NASA’s Juno probe has made history, becoming the most distant solar-powered spacecraft ever launched by humankind.

Juno broke the record this week at 19:00 UTC on Wednesday, January 13, hitting a whopping 793 million kilometres (493 million miles) from the Sun – not too shabby for a vessel that relies on solar rays to keep the lights on.

Juno pipped the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft, the orbit of which hit a high point of 792 million kilometres (492 million miles) in October 2012 as it homed in on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Injecting Gases Into The Stratosphere Could Reduce Hurricanes

In an attempt to combat climate change, a multinational team of scientists are studying how shading sulfate aerosols that are dispersed into the stratosphere could help cool the planet and reduce the number of hurricane occurrences. “We’re basically mimicking a volcano and saying we’re going to put 5 billion tons of sulfates a year into the atmosphere 20 kilometers high, and we’ll do that for 50 years,” says John Moore, head of China’s geoengineering research program

Read more at: Injecting Gases Into The Stratosphere Could Reduce Hurricanes

Scientists Get Their First Glimpse At How New Memories Are Born

This is the closest we’ve come to watching new memories form in real time… http://futurism.com/scientists-get-first-glimpse-new-memories-born/

Let History Never Forget the Name Enterprise

Just as the captains of the fictional 24th century Starfleet blazed a trail among the stars, the space shuttle Enterprise helped pave the way for future space exploration. 

Fifty years ago, Star Trek debuted with the USS Enterprise as the main space-faring vessel used in much of the Star Trek universe. As such, the vessel holds a treasured place in the hearts of Star Trek fans and is as much of a character in the show as Kirk and Spock. Over three different series and a total of 14 seasons on TV and 13 feature films, the iterations of Enterprise have captured the imaginations and provided inspiration for its fans across the globe. 

This brief history of the shuttle tells the tale of humanity’s first reusable spacecraft. Space shuttles were first built in the late 1970s and were flown in space from 1981 to 2011. Their missions ranged from helping to build the International Space Station to repairing the Hubble Space Telescope.   

It’s All In The Name

The first shuttle was originally to be named Constitution, celebrating the country’s bicentennial and was to be unveiled to the public on Constitution Day, Sept. 17, 1976. However, a massive letter-writing campaign by Star Trek fans prompted President Gerald Ford to suggest the change. In the above photo, we see the shuttle Enterprise rolled out in Palmdale, California, with cast members of Star Trek on Sept. 17, 1976. 

To Boldly Go …

This circular red, white and blue emblem was  the official insignia for the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Test flights and became a model for future space shuttle mission patch designs, including placing the names of the crew on the patch . The four astronauts listed on the patch are: 

Fred Haise., commander of the first crew 

Charles Fullerton, pilot of the first crew 

Joe Engle, commander of the second crew 

Dick Truly, pilot of the second crew 

First Impressions

In this image, Enterprise makes its first appearance mated to its boosters as it is slowly rolled to the huge Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center. Although she never flew in space, shuttle Enterprise underwent a series of fit and function checks on the pad in preparation for the first launch of its sister craft, Columbia.

Not Meant To Be

Enterprise sits on Launch Complex 39 at Kennedy Space Center undergoing tests after completing its 3.5 mile journey from the VAB. Have you ever wondered why Enterprise never went into space? Converting Enterprise from a training vehicle to space-worthy one was too cost prohibitive, our engineers felt.

Engage

Commander Fred Haise and pilot Charles Fullerton are seen in the cockpit of Enterprise prior to the fifth and final Approach and Landing Test at Dryden Flight Research Center (Armstrong Flight Research Center). The tests were performed to learn about the landing characteristics of the shuttle.

It’s Been An Honor To Serve With You

The Enterprise’s two crews pose for a photo op at the Rockwell International Space Division’s Orbiter assembly facility at Palmdale, California. They are (left to right) Charles Fullerton, Fred Haise, Joe Engle and Dick Truly.

Fair Winds And Following Seas

On July 6, 2012, the Enterprise, atop a barge, passes the Statue of Liberty on its way to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, where is now permanently on display.

Learn more about Star Trek and NASA.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

The Detection of Gravitational Waves, Evidence of the “Impossible Particle” – it has been a fantastic week in science. 

Clickable image with links to the stories: http://tinyurl.com/jqhz76o

Astronomy Photo of the Day: 11/23/15 - The Plieades

November is the month of the Pleiades. When the leaves turn orange and begin to fall in the North, look to the skies, and you will see the Seven Sisters.

Ultimately, the ‘Seven Sisters’ is the common name given to this open star cluster. It stems from the fact that, although the region is dominated by a number of middleaged stars, most nights, only 6 or 7 are bright enough to see.

In fact, the Pleiades contains over 3000 stars.

The cluster is located in the constellation Taurus. It’s is one of the nearest star clusters to Earth and is also the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky.

Image credit: Marco Lorenzi http://www.glitteringlights.com

Staring at the sun does make you go blind. The lens in your eye concentrates the sun’s rays, which burn a permanent blind spot into your retina- just like ants under a magnifying glass. This effect is amplified during a solar eclipse.

It’s called solar retinopathy.

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