It's official #JPL (includes pics of MARS taken by ME!!!)

[ABEL]

I went to my astronomy club meeting tonite. They had a guest speaker. I wasn't able to catch his whole name since it was kinda noisy in there with all the applause...but he's a propulsion scientist for JPL!!! (NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory). Y'all remember the Mars Rover? He worked on that, and he's working on the two current rovers that are scheduled to land on Mars in January. His speach was very interesting. He also brought along an actual Space Shuttle heat tile, a piece of Aerogel click here , which is the lightest known solid substance (they use it for insulation), and he also brought along a meteorite. We all got to hold them


Here are links to some of the photos I took tonite.

Unfortunately Snapfish is down at the moment so I can't post the actual photos I will update this thread with the actual photos later when Snapfish comes back up.


Here's the guest speaker....(I swear, he looks just like Commander Riker from Star Trek Next Generation )
http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/users/3f46...JPL+Scientist+Mars+rover.jpg?bcTewR_AosVbjGdX

Guest speaker with one of the club membes holding the Space Shuttle heat tile (no, it's not a tile from Columbia)
I didn't get a pic of the meteorite, but in the background you can just barely make out one of the other club members holding it
http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/users/3f46..._Space+Shuttle+heat+tile.jpg?bcTewR_AgQthX.Nq

While the adults finished the meeting, the kids went to make edible Mars Rovers
http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/users/3f46...+made+edible+Mars+rovers.jpg?bcTewR_AikJTMXfK

And here are two pictures of MARS that I actually took!!!!!!! I took them with my digital camera looking thru a telescope...If you look closely at the top of Mars, you can actually see the POLAR ICE CAP!
http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/users/3f46...o+thru+telescope+by+ABEL.jpg?bcTewR_AWZW0vB.3

and zoomed in a little closer...
http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/users/3f46...ru+telescope+by+ABEL---1.jpg?bcTewR_AiAt2D31G

 

[ABEL]

I hate Yahoo and I hate Snapfish

 

[ABEL]

I guess y'all will have to wait for the photos after Snapfish is back up. Sorry

 

[Angela Harlem]

the links dont work
hafta wait for snapfish to come back i guess.

sounds cool abel!

 

[Angela Harlem]

haha those 2 replies weren't here when i wrote that.....

 

[ABEL]

sorry angie

I just read that the free version of Yahoo photo albums doesn't allow public sharing

 

[nbcrusader]

I was at JPL when the mission after the Mars rover was supposed to land. It was a very long, quiet time at JPL as the probe was lost.

 

[martha]

I went to apply for a job at JPL once (lifelong dream and all). I was laughed out of the building. Literally.

 

[adamswildhoney]

sounds awesome abel :yes;

 

[ABEL]

i didn't know this till i talked to my parents last nite, but my mom reminded me that the husband of one of my cousins is an engineer for JPL (i guess i remember hearing it a long time ago but had forgotten)


and yeah, snapfish is still down

 

[ABEL]

I went to apply for a job at JPL once (lifelong dream and all). I was laughed out of the building. Literally.

I'd love to work for JPL or NASA....as an artist or graphic designer of course

actually, I think I'd take just about any job to work there...it would be cool



they'd probably laugh at me tho too

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

i know a few people who are engineers that work for the JPL.

 

[verte76]

Oh, so that's why I can't upload pix in Snapfish. I want to see your pix!!!

 

[ABEL]

YAY Snapfish is finally back up!!!

here are the photos!


Here's the guest speaker....(I swear, he looks just like Commander Riker from Star Trek Next Generation )

Guest speaker with one of the club membes holding the Space Shuttle heat tile (no, it's not a tile from Columbia)
I didn't get a pic of the meteorite, but in the background you can just barely make out one of the other club members holding it

I jokingly said to them "I guess the heat tile didn't have the tape on it when it was on the shuttle" (the tile is so delicate it was already beginning to fall apart from being handled)

Here he is holding the Aerogel....that stuff is pretty cool! It's light as a feather! (lighter than a feather, actually I guess )

 

[ABEL]

While the adults finished the meeting, the kids went to make edible Mars Rovers

Here's the JPL guy looking thru the telescope at Mars

And here are two pictures of MARS that I actually took!!!!!!! I took them with my digital camera looking thru a telescope...If you look closely at the top of Mars, you can actually see the POLAR ICE CAP!

and zoomed in a little closer...

I had actually not been to one of the meetings in a couple months, so I didn't even know who the guest speaker was going to be. It's funny, just before I left my apartment, something told me I should grab my camera and bring it with me, so I did....I'm glad I did

 

[ABEL]

for those of you who don't know or remember what Commander Riker looks like, here's a pic of him....the resemblance is freaky...they could almost be twins

 

[Mr. BAW]

I actually investigated an accident that happened on JPL property; I was given security clearance to many parts of the property and I was invited into the large room with the full-screen displays of what's in orbit, where and its direction; fascinating without a doubt...Mrs. BAW will tell you that I am a space-buff...every Saturday morning, NBC will confirm this, our local paper will write "whats in the sky" and they will tell you which way to look at which time of evening, they have the schedule for the space shuttle (I have that on my favorite list) and when it will fly over So Cal...Mrs. BAW thinks I'm nuts but what the heck, its been this way since I was a kid....yes, I had posters of the solar system and such....then the posters went to pro football teams and then to SI swimsuit edition,,,,oh never mind; I'll be watching Mars tonight...

 

[Mr. BAW]

Here's the link to the Internation Space Station and its location.



http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/temp/StationLoc.html

 

[ABEL]

Mr. BAW, you (and anyone else) might be interested in watching this video he showed at the meeting last night of the launch of the MER rover. It's animated but it's really interesting.

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/gallery/video/animation.html

 

[Mr. BAW]

Hey kid; I just came in from looking at Mars; Mrs. BAW wasn't too excited but hey, its the closest it will be for the next 200+ years, right???

I will PM you a couple of photos that I took of the stars on a recent trip to the desert!

 

[ABEL]

cool Mr. B! Actually Wednesday (Aug. 27) Mars will be the closest...I know around here there are going to be a lot of star parties...you may want to check your local paper or news stations this week for star parties (especially at the community colleges and planetariums around here)...they'll have telescopes set up for Mars Observing. I can't go to any of the star parties on Wednesday, but I am planning on going to one on Saturday.

NASA also has a section on Mars, but I'm sure you've probably already seen it Mr. B

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/watchtheskies/18jun_approachingmars.html

I don't know tho...I may have to reconsider going to fencing class on Wednesday to go to some of the star parties

 

[BAW]

 

[Mr. BAW]

I'm trying to put up a brick wall along the south side of the house and I went to a fencing class at Home Depot...

 

[ABEL]

 

[Mr. BAW]

Yeah, yeah. she can say anything she wants but we know what we like...Me and Abel - Nerds Forever...

 

[ABEL]

I'm trying to put up a brick wall along the south side of the house and I went to a fencing class at Home Depot...

btw Mr. B, did I tell you that a couple years ago I took a Physics 1411 and 1412 (introduction to Astronomy) course at a community college here? just for fun? that's where I learned how to operate the planetarium! On the first Friday of every month, they have free public planetarium shows and I operate the star projector!

 

[Mr. BAW]

Abel, do you have a telescope at home....I only have binoculars..I may buy me a telescope....come to Orange county..I will share!

 

[Mr. BAW]

I am NOT surprised; I guess Mrs. BAW is very lucky that I found her in Orange county,,,,if I was in Dallas, we would have met and you know what......

 

[Mr. BAW]

I just realized, we could have a real dog and pony show...with your projector expertise, coupled with the fact that I played the phonograph for the 1964 and 1965 Edison Elementary School Carnival cakewalk, we could go far!!!!!

Yeah, Baby! Yeah!

 

[ABEL]

Abel, do you have a telescope at home....I only have binoculars..I may buy me a telescope....come to Orange county..I will share!

unfortunately I only have binoculars too. but I've learned from being in the Astronomy club, that binoculars are actually wonderful for observing

if you get that telescope, someday you and Mrs. B should come to Texas and we can go camping at the Astronomy club's dark sky observing site in Oklahoma I bet you can see more from there than you could in Orange county

oh oh! you know what would be fun? every year (usually around the end of April or the first part of May I think) they have the Texas Star Party in the Davis Mountains of West Texas. I've never been (mostly cuz I don't have anyone to go with and I don't want to drive all that way myself) but that would be fun to go to sometime too I did go one year when they had it down in the Hill County.