http://www.mikiesoft.net Astronomy & Space Exploration Wed, 20 May 2009 06:11:56 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The repairs made by the Atlantis Space Shuttle crew in their historic eleven day mission will enable the Hubble Space Telescope to see farther into our universe than ever before.  It was quite a ride for STS-125. Five spacewalks extended Hubble's lifespan until at least the year 2014 Replaced gyroscopes, batteries and ... http://www.mikiesoft.net/2009/05/atlantis-repairs-hubble-space-telescope.html Did you see how close the planet Venus was to the moon last night?  Suspended in the night sky, the pair was strikingly beautiful.   It took my mind off the fact I couldn't locate Comet Lulin, which was probably lost in the light pollution of the city lights. spaceweather.com posted some ... http://www.mikiesoft.net/2009/02/moon-venus-conjunction.html Comet Lulin http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/highlights/35992534.html http://blogs.usatoday.com/sciencefair/2009/02/where-to-look-f.htmlShareThis http://www.mikiesoft.net/2009/02/comet-lulin.html This is the International Year of Astronomy...the 400th anniversary of Galileo's telescope. Learn about our incredible universe at www.astronomy2009.org IYA2009 YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/user/astronomy2009ShareThis http://www.mikiesoft.net/2009/01/400th-anniversary-of-galileos-telescope.html 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy, with many exciting events planned, including the 400th anniversary of Galileo's telescope.  Witness other amazing scientific discoveries, download podcasts, take part in contests, and see a new high-tech documentary "400 years of the Telescope!" There's hundreds of exciting events planned already, with many more ... http://www.mikiesoft.net/2009/01/2009-international-year-of-astronomy.html NASA reviews their amazing achievements in 2008...The Ares I rocket, Hubble discoveries, the 10th Anniversary of the International Space Station, the Phoenix Mars Lander, and even a new swimsuit that broke world records. www.nasa.govShareThis http://www.mikiesoft.net/2009/01/nasa-in-2008.html Planet Venus was brilliant last night as it hung just below the crescent moon.  You could briefly seen this jeweled pairing in the early evening sky as New Year's Eve drew to a close.  If you had a clear horizon right after sunset, you might have seen Jupiter shining brightly ... http://www.mikiesoft.net/2009/01/venus-the-moon-ring-in-2009.html NASA has a great end-of-year review on their website nasa.gov.  The space agency achieved some great accomplishments in 2008:  A Mars landing with the Phoenix Lander, stunning photographs from other planets in our solar system, major additions to the International Space Station, a joint lunar science mission with India, progressed ... http://www.mikiesoft.net/2008/12/nasa-2008-year-in-review.html The Geminid meteor shower is usually the best show of the year as far as meteor showers go.  But a full moon will pretty much wash out most of this year's meteors during the peak of the Geminids show. However, you should still be able to see the two bright stars ... http://www.mikiesoft.net/2008/12/geminids-a-washout.html watch?v=9lMjY4RdSaw I was wondering what it must be like to celebrate a holiday like Thanksgiving in space.  A quick search discovered this year-old video from the collectspace YouTube Channel. It shows two of the astronauts aboard the International Space Station describing their Thanksgiving dinner and counting their blessings. The current astronauts have ... http://www.mikiesoft.net/2008/11/thanksgiving-in-space.html