Regardless of what happens in next week's election, here's something to take your mind off of politics, and, well, all earthly things in general. A week after Election Day, the moon will be the closest it's been to the earth in nearly 70 years, displaying a spectacular supermoon. Here's how to see the supermoon on Nov. 14, because, chances are, you'll enjoy the opportunity to space out and decompress.
Supermoons themselves are not very rare, as they happen an average of four to six times per year. The last supermoon of this year occurred on Oct. 18, but November's supermoon should be special due to a few factors. As NASA announced earlier, on Nov. 14, our moon will look up to "14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than an average full moon," so find a balcony, stand in a field, or get as far away from city lights as you can manage to really see it at its best and brightest.
Missing Soundtracks: From the Earth to the Moon
Big, bright supermoons occur because the moon orbits in an ellipse, according to NASA. Seeing as the moon doesn't move around the earth in a perfect circle, it can be closer to the earth than normal by as much as 30,000 miles (this close side of the orbit is called the "perigee"). A supermoon happens when, in addition to being at perigee, the Earth, sun, and moon line up during orbit (an occurrence called "syzygy"). Add perigee to syzygy, and you've got yourself a supermoon.
: Under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Librarian of Congress is to select recordings that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" of 10 years of age or older, to assure the long-term preservation of their legacy for future generations. Librarian James Billington announced his annual selection of 50 sounds for addition to the National Recording Registry yesterday, based on the nominations received from the public during 2004 and from the National Recording Preservation Board, which comprises leaders in the fields of music, recorded sound and preservation. The new additions honor a wide variety of spoken and musical recordings, including Giant Steps by John Coltrane, the 1977 soundtrack to Star Wars, and Neil Armstrong's broadcast while on the moon: Houston. Tranquility base here. The Eagle has landed... That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
: Thirty five years after Buzz Aldrin took a walk on the Moon, he has strolled onto Sesame Street to help mark the children's show 35th anniversary. In an episode debuting on public television today, Cookie Monster questions if the moon is a cookie. Sesame Street's Gordon brings Aldrin to Cookie Monster to explain that while the Moon is made of rock, its still an exciting, beautiful place we can look up at from the Earth.
: When Sergei Krikalev and John Phillips of the ISS Expedition 11 crew launched with ESA's Roberto Vittori this evening at 7:46 p.m. CT, the patches on their Sokol spacesuits may have had some collectors wondering about missing emblems. As previously noted, the Soyuz TMA-6 three man crew had been photographed wearing a mission patch that was to symbolize their ride to orbit together. Tonight, that badge was absent from the crew's adornments, though a patch designed by Krikalev was seen on their right shoulders. Meanwhile, the two Expedition members wore a mission insignia representing their long duration flight, but it was missing from the market. Whereas usually before a flight, NASA's official patch company AB Emblem makes the souvenir versions available, a delay in the artwork being finalized has led to production delays, says the company.
: Buzz Aldrin's next book is also his first for children. In late May, Harper Collins will publish the moonwalker's Reaching for the Moon, a picture book documenting that the journey Aldrin made from childhood eventually led him to achieve his dream and walk on the moon. Reaching is illustrated by Wendell Minor, one of six American artists selected to cover the return to flight of Discovery in 1988. Pre-orders have begun through buySPACE for Aldrin signed copies.
: The crew of NASA's second return to flight mission, STS-121, visited Kennedy Space Center Friday to take part in the Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT), getting a hands-on look at Space Shuttle Atlantis. When they launch, seven crew members are planned to be aboard the orbiter, but their final seat has yet to be officially filled. The missing mate has been suspected by collectors as the reason a patch had not been seen. That is, until cS staff photographer Ben Cooper noticed the emblem in a single NASA photo from today's CEIT. Alas, the insignia does not give any clue to the identity of seventh; only six names are sewn.
: Federal investigators have located more than half, 14 of the 26 items that were on loan from NASA to the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center later to be listed as missing during an audit last spring, reports The Hutchinson News. The now-known whereabouts of the artifacts include the Omniplex Science Museum in Oklahoma City, the same museum where Max Ary was hired as president after he left the Cosmosphere. Two weeks ago, Ary was indicted on charges of stealing those same artifacts. The items remain on display at the Omniplex, which spokesperson says has recent loan agreements with the Cosmosphere. Other pieces have been tracked to the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Long Island, NY, and having been loaned to the creators of the movie Apollo 13. The artifacts turned film props were never returned and finding them now may prove difficult, says a studio rep. The Cosmosphere has yet to have any items returned, though believes they will.
: When the tenth crew of the International Space Station touched down in Kazakhstan last night, their Soyuz may have made quite the splash. The area was saturated from recent rains and winter snow; so much so that the first members of the recovery team to reach the spacecraft decided to fly the crew to a nearby town where the ground was drier. Leroy Chiao and Salizhan Sharipov returned to earth after nearly 193 days in space. ESA visiting crewman Roberto Vittori joined the Expedition 10 duo for their ride home after being on-board the ISS for eight days. The trio is now at Star City; Chiao and Sharipov will remain there for a few weeks for exams and debriefings before leaving for Houston, Texas in May.
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