This was a Lunch Break Science event at the Science Museum. The talk was given by the Byrd Theatre’s Todd Schall-Vess. He gave an excellent overview of Nikola Tesla’s contribution to science, and also the gut wrenching details of how he was cheated out of large amounts of money several times in his life.
Events
Iridium flare 10:10 pm, July 21
Iridium flare at 10:10 pm tonight (July 21), -5 mag, 44 degrees high, in the ENE direction.
Lunchbreak Science, Tesla–July 22
July 22, 2009, Science Museum, 12-1 pm, FREE, Tesla: The Original Spark of Genius. Todd Schall-Vess, General Manager, Byrd Theatre
Alan Bean, art exhibit at Smithsonian
Alan Bean, NASA astronaut, and 4th man to walk on the moon, is also an artist. He hightlighted some of work at the recent Green Bank Starquest convention, and he now has a large exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum in DC. The exhibit will run through January.
Apollo 11 is getting ready to launch!
This is from Komando.com.
Today is an important day in America’s history. It’s the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch from Cape Canaveral, FL.
Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the moon. To commemorate the anniversary, NASA is recreating the mission. You can watch it on today’s Cool Site.
Brandermill Skywatch, Aug. 3
John Raymond, our outreach coordinator, has arranged for a Summer Skywatch on Monday, August 3, 8:30 – 10 pm at Swift Creek Middle School. This is a repeat performance – last year we provided telescopes and astronomers for a skywatch which was well attended by lots of interested Brandermill residents. Please let John or me … Read more
Iridium flare tonight (July 13)
There’s going to be a nice flare tonight (July 13) at 21:04:33, -4 magnitude, 65 degrees high, in the east (84° degrees). I’m also going to start posting these events on Twitter at richastrova (note the VA on the end, richastro was taken).
Shore-leave convention
This is in Baltimore this weekend. I’ve never been before, but it looks pretty good. It’s basically a sci-fi convention, but here’s some interesting astronomy lectures that are happening, as well.
ISS pass Fri. night (July 10), 9:10 pm
If you missed last night’s (yes, it was visible, despite the clouds), here’s another chance. It’s later tonight, so we might have a better chance of seeing the Russian space craft, too. -1.5 magnitue, traveling from the WSW to NE direction, it will get 37 degrees high. There’s a Russian space ship following it, Progress … Read more
ISS pass, Thurs. night (July 9), 8:45 pm
-3.2magnitue, traveling from the SW to ENE direction, will get 56 degrees high. There’s a Russian space ship following it, Progress 33. You might be able to see it, as it’s following the ISS closely, preparing for a dock on July 12. If you go to this post on CloudyNights (http://tinyurl.com/lnguu9), you’ll see an amazing … Read more