Novae in Different Lights
- By Maggie Masetti
- November 25, 2014
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In part one of this series, we talked to researcher Laura Chomiuk about the scientific mysteries of novae V959 Mon. She has collaborated with two Blueshifters, Koji Mukai, and Tommy Nelson, who also study novae, but primarily at X-ray energies. We chatted with Tommy to learn more about his research … Continue Reading →
Contest: 3rd Annual Halloween Costume Contest Results
- By Maggie Masetti
- November 21, 2014
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Thank you so much for your entries for our space/science Halloween costume contest! We were really sorry to not be able to hold the contest last year, and this year, it took us a bit to get the go-ahead. Though we aren’t able to have kids participate at this time, … Continue Reading →
Mr. Clark Goes to Goddard
- By Maggie Masetti
- November 18, 2014
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Occasional Blueshift blogger Amber Straughn is currently working on Hubble’s 25th anniversary celebration. Currently working for her as an intern is Carl Clark. Carl has written the following blog for us about himself, getting to work on Hubble, and his general love for NASA. Enjoy! I am Carl Clark, a … Continue Reading →
A “Noval” Mystery
- By Maggie Masetti
- November 10, 2014
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The mystery around Nova V959 Mon was recently deciphered with the use of multiwavelength light – including radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray. First off, what is a nova? It’s basically a huge thermonuclear explosion that’s caused when a dense white dwarf star pulls material from an orbiting companion star onto itself. … Continue Reading →
The “Air” Up There
- By Maggie Masetti
- November 7, 2014
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When NASA Goddard scientists Martin Cordiner and Conor Nixon took a look at the chemical make-up of the atmosphere of Titan using a millimeter wave telescope, what they found was surprising. Cordiner led an international team in a study of Saturn’s moon using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a … Continue Reading →
SpaceCrafts: Realistic Rockets and Other Adventures in Space Costuming for Kids…
- By Maggie Masetti
- November 4, 2014
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Last year at Halloween, Dirk Schoellner tweeted a shot of one of his sons dressed up for Halloween – as the James Webb Space Telescope costume. We, of course loved it, so the Schoellners did a tutorial for us about how they built it. This was not their first year … Continue Reading →
Spooky Astronomy, part 5
- By Maggie Masetti
- October 31, 2014
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Welcome back for Spooky Astronomy! Over the years, we’ve shared our favorite Halloween-ish images to get into the spirit [no pun intended] of the season! Past Spooky Astronomy posts: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. Here are a few fresh images for this year: Jack-o’-lantern! It was nice of the sun to … Continue Reading →
Our 3rd Annual Halloween Costume Contest
- By Maggie Masetti
- October 27, 2014
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That’s right, it’s back! A little late, but better than never! We weren’t able to hold this last year due to the timing of the shutdown, but we’ve gotten the go ahead to have our costume contest this year. I know we didn’t give you all much time to plan, … Continue Reading →
Silver and Gold
- By Maggie Masetti
- October 17, 2014
- 2 Comments
The other big news for the James Webb Space Telescope is the tests they are doing, mounting mirrors onto the test version of the structure that will secure them to the telescope. This structure is called the backplane, and it’s like the spine of the spacecraft. The test version of … Continue Reading →
A “Seamless” Unfolding
- By Maggie Masetti
- October 13, 2014
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Recently, there was a Google Plus hangout with NASA and Northrop Grumman to talk about the James Webb Space Telescope’s giant sunshield. This sunshield is, as someone on Twitter pointed out, big enough to host a very awkward game of tennis. (Yep, it’s for real the size of a tennis … Continue Reading →
