Awesomeness Round-up – 7/18/11

• By Maggie Masetti
• July 18, 2011
• 1 Comment

Hank Green is still increasing the awesome. Here he talks about what’s next for NASA (post-space shuttle). He interviews a bunch of NASA folks, including NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden.

Have you ever wondered how many people are in space at a given time? http://www.howmanypeopleareinspacerightnow.com/ has the answer! There really is a website for everything!

As you might know from our recent posts, we collaborated with Erik Trinidad from Fancy Fast Food on a video about space food. We also mentioned that there was going to be a way for you to join the shuttle astronauts for a special “All-American Meal” on July 14th. Though we’ve passed it, you can read a little bit more about it and about space food on this NASA web feature.

It’s been one year since the planet Neptune was discovered. Well, one Neptune year. That’s right, Neptune is so far away from that Sun that it has onyl just completed one circuit around the sun since it was discovered 165 years ago.

One June 25th and 26th, Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 captured these four photos of Neptune during the planet’s 16-hour rotation. The photos were taken about every 4 hours. High-altitude clouds composed of methane ice crystals are visible in the northern and southern hemispheres. You can read more at the NASA release.

Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Check out this amazing video of Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) data – it shows a close-up of the June 7, 2011 solar eruption and dark blobs of plasma falling toward the surface of the sun. Read the release for more on this unusual eruption.

In other solar news, you can read about how you can measure magnetic fields near the Sun.

The t-shirt company “Threadless”, which makes geeky and artistic shirts, is partnering with NASA for a challenge where you can design your own shirt around the theme “Final Frontier”. If your shirt wins, Threadless will sell it and maybe it will be worn by an astronaut! Check out the rules and other info.

Want to know what it’s like being an intern at NASA? Find out how to follow interns on social media as they talk about their experiences at NASA. (Or you could ask our intern Faith.

Lastly, let’s hear what astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson said about what NASA means to America’s future at the University at Buffalo Distinguished Speakers series.