Casual Astronomy, Spaceflight News and Lower California Weather

Same here, JF. :^) I thought it worthy of a spotlight.

I've added a WunderPhoto at the end of the blog entry.

I added events in the blog entry through the targeted November 1 launch of space shuttle Discovery on STS-133.

I added a couple more WunderPhotos at the end of the blog entry.

Fsh Sorry to hear that. It is interesting that many different cultures have chosen this time to honor the dead in their different ways.

For example, for Día de los Muertos:

....
People go to cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed and build private altars containing the favorite foods and beverages as well as photos and memorabilia of the departed. The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so that the souls will hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them. Celebrations can take a humorous tone, as celebrants remember funny events and anecdotes about the departed.
....

btwntx09 Thanks for your kind words and the account of your beautiful night in Baytown.

JF That's a small compensation for your current drought pattern. Me, I haven't seen a moonrise for the cloudiness in over a week. :^/

I added some WunderPhotos at the end of the blog entry.

SpaceX has changed its Falcon 9 launch window reservation from November 8 to November 18th. The November 18 date may be regarded as NET (No Earlier Than). Demonstration Flight 2 of the Falcon 9 rocket will be Demonstration Flight 1 for the Dragon Spacecraft.

That's good news, Fsh! :^) They were trying a leak issue fix on a tight timeline. It appears that was successful and they will be launching as previously scheduled. NASA should be publishing the docking, undocking and landing times soon and I'll add them in the blog entry.

Lol, I was wondering if you planned on seeing this one and forgot you don't have to make that long drive. Clear Skies!

Thanks for posting the heads up for your ISS (International Space Station) flyover, Fsh.

That reminded me that many areas of North America will be able to see evening ISS flyovers for the next several days including one this evening for Southern California.

Ground Track for ISS Flyover of Southern California and Nearby Areas (Times marks are PDT.)


Predictions of visible spacecraft flyovers for other times, places and spacecraft can be found at:
Simplest - Satellite Flybys by SpaceweatherPhone.com
More satellites and more info - Heavens-Above.com.

I added the times in the blog entry per comment 15 and added a WunderPhoto at the end of the blog entry.

I missed this evening's International Space Station Flyover but there's another for SoCal the evening of the 27th.

CybrTeddy Yes, this is the very last time Discovery will fly. Thanks for the history video and other materials.

Thanks for the reminder on the Great World Wide Star Count, sp. I think the Five Simple Steps section on their web page will make it really easy for anyone this year. I've always thought their activity guide PDF is really good too.

For anyone who wants to know this "citizen science event is designed to raise awareness about light pollution and the night sky as well as encourage learning in astronomy."

Miscellaneous News

1) More details on comment 13 in
Spaceflight Now | Falcon Launch Report | SpaceX reschedules next Falcon 9 launch for Nov. 18.

2) Spaceflight Now | Breaking News | NASA launches next round of commercial crew program

3) 10 things you should know about NASA’s Curiosity Cam - SmartPlanet

I added another WunderPhoto at the end of the blog entry.

From NASA’s buying data for future moon missions - SmartPlanet:

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The space agency announced earlier this month that it is willing to buy data from six of the teams that are still competing for Google’s Lunar X Prize, which has a $30 million purse.

The teams are required to design a robot, get it to the moon and have it move half a kilometer and send back data and high-resolution pictures. (There’s not been a robot on the moon since the Soviets sent one on their last mission in 1976.)
....
NASA’s announcement looks like a good deal for both the space agency and the X Prize teams. NASA doesn’t have to spend anything unless the data is valuable and unique and meets certain milestones — and even then it’s only $10 million worth of data per team. The teams, meanwhile, get another way to fund their projects, and at a cost that’s far lower than the billions NASA would have spent on previous robotic moon missions, had they been allowed to continue.
....

Many areas of North America will be able to see evening ISS flyovers for the next few days including one this evening for Southern California and nearby areas.

Ground Track for ISS Flyover of Southern California and Nearby Areas (Times marks are PDT.)


Predictions of visible spacecraft flyovers for other times, places and spacecraft can be found at:
Simplest - Satellite Flybys by SpaceweatherPhone.com
More satellites and more info - Heavens-Above.com.

Over the next three days a smaller craft will be traveling an orbit very similar to the ISS with a decreasing time interval and apparent separation.

Spaceflight Now | Space Station Mission Report | Cargo craft begins pursuit of International Space Station

JF Intriguing article... I wonder how many more events like that are just a little beyond the reach of *recorded* history. I'm guessing quite a few more will be uncovered as time passes.

aqua It's all good. :^) After all, these are, "Blogs for people who love weather and the outdoors!" and gardening is another weather sensitive outdoor activity. I've even been planning to add comments on the Woodland Hills, CA microclimate events if you can imagine that! ;^) I think that's probably what many are expecting when they first visit here anyway.

btwn Thanks for the great article. I, like 1 out of 3 readers of the article so far, would volunteer.

The Vandenberg Delta II launch has been pushed back 48 hours. Link

I changed the info in the blog entry and title.

JF So when someone took a really, really close look at the universe it was discovered to be pixelated?! Are we really in The Matrix after all?! Just when we were sure we knew where physics would never lead us! LOL

Seriously though, some of this discovery story reminds me of the accidental discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation which ultimately validated the previously sometimes scorned* Big Bang.

*[The Big Bang] is an irrational process that cannot be described in scientific terms %u2026 [nor] challenged by an appeal to observation. - Fred Hoyle

Thanks for the articles and videos on polygonal vortices. Finally someone has demonstrated conclusively that in some polar planetary atmospheres and some powerful tropical cyclones they are a marvelous result of simple fluid dynamics processes. The New Age woo industry will have to look elsewhere for "manifestations" of mysterious energies known and mastered by ancient civilizations.


Skye Something to be said about NASA funding is they squeeze everything they can out of every penny we give them.


Fsh Thanks for the update. Hope you can get good tickets for the new showtime. ;^)

The launch of shuttle Discovery on the STS-133 mission has been delayed at least one day. I updated the No Earlier Than (NET) launch time in the blog entry. More details can be found in
Spaceflight Now | STS-133 Shuttle Report | Helium leak repair delays launch of shuttle Discovery.

Yet it certainly is a popular idea as attested to by the box office alone.

BTW I added a new WunderPhoto at the end of the blog entry.

The launch of shuttle Discovery on mission STS-133 has been pushed back another day to NET (No Earlier Than) November 3, 3:52pm&plusminus; EDT. I'll update it in the blog entry shortly

JF I agree that as long as the freedom to consider any idea is preserved we'll manage to find our way forward even if we stumble occasionally.

Bf OMG! It's a good thing I already had breakfast or I'd just have to go hungry.

Pictures - Spaceflight Now | Space Station Mission Report | Space station's spectacular views of Earth


The Progress resupply craft has docked with the International Space Station (ISS). Manual override of the autopilot was used at the last minute. More details are in
Spaceflight Now | Space Station Mission Report | Cosmonaut flies resupply ship to space station docking.

Karen You're welcome! :^) A special commendation is due to sp for the heads up.

shore I had always wondered about that! Thanks for clearing that up for me. :^)