Archive for the ‘NASA’ Category

The Race for Space!

Saturday, January 16th, 2010

There is a race for Space, and it’s taking place right here on Earth. With this year’s Shorty Awards, we have a golden opportunity to put Space front-and-center … a position that has the potential to encourage greater participation in Space-related sciences, to promote the various Space programs, and even simply to remind people to “look up.”

Currently, there are several Space Tweeps in the running for a Shorty Award. You can help Space win the Shorty race by casting and encouraging votes for each, in their respective categories.   The nominees include NASA, SDO, astronauts Mike Massimino and TJ Creamer, Twitter ISS Alerts, Universe Today’s Nancy Atkinson, Journalist Miles O’Brien, Space Shuttle technician Jen Scheer, the AstronomyFM website, MeteorWatch founder Newbury Astronomy, and astronomy outreach enthusiast Tavi Greiner (that’s me!).

I’ve compiled a hyperlinked list to make voting a little easier.  Simply click on the various links, select the appropriate category from the little dropdown (this is important!),  state your reason for voting, and click “Tweet Your Vote.”  You can vote for more than one tweep in each category (such as the three in #science), but only once per tweep per category.

NASA in #government … Vote Here

NASA_SDO (SDO) in #science … Vote Here

twisst (Twitter ISS Alerts) in #science … Vote Here

FlyingJenny (Jen Scheer) in #science  … Vote Here

Nancy_A (Nancy Atkinson) in #journalist … Vote Here

TaviGreiner (that’s me) in #education … Vote Here

Astro_Mike (Mike Massimino) in #travel … Vote Here

Astro_TJ (TJ Creamer) in #tech … Vote Here

Miles O’Brien in #journalist … Vote Here

Astronomy.FM in #astronomy … Vote Here

NewburyAS (Newbury Astronomy) in #science … Vote Here

* If you know of any other SpaceTweeps in other categories, please share them in the comments section and I’ll add them to the list.

Video Podcast: Of Padrats & Spacetweeps

Monday, November 30th, 2009

On November 15, 2009, A Sky Full of Stars hosted a special AFM*Radio event, featuring a virtual tour of NASA’s LaunchPad 39A with Jen and Andy Scheer, both of whom work with NASA’s Space Shuttle program.  For those who missed the original presentation, we now have the Video Podcast available!

LiveStream
You can view a streaming version of the program on LiveStream – this will allow you to quickly navigate to any section of the 90 minute program.

Full Screen Version (640 x 480)

Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player.

SaveNASA Podcast Now Available!

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

On November 25, 2009 Astronomy.FM hosted an “A Sky Full of Stars” program featuring @Neal Wiser of the #SaveNASA movement. Tavi Greiner, Rob Keown, and Michael Foerster joined Neal to discuss the challenges facing NASA and the need for grassroots outreach and education, while listeners contributed their comments and questions via the AFM meeting room and through twitter.

Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player.

You can download the file here.

AFM*Radio Event: #SaveNASA (But, Why?)

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

savenasaIf you are a fan of NASA’s Space program, you are probably also well aware of NASA’s budget constraints.  Good science does not come cheap and this is especially true of Space-related studies, whether they be Earth-based or beyond.

Tonight, A Sky Full of Stars, in collaboration with Astronomy.FM*Radio, welcomes #SaveNASA founder, Neal Wiser, for a serious discussion about the state of Space-funding – why should we even be concerned about Space-science, and what can we do to effect NASA’s greater future?

NASA’s endeavors affect each and every one of us, so we want you to be part of tonight’s discussion.  We’ll open a virtual conference room, where listeners can share their thoughts and ask questions during the show; and we’ll also take questions and comments via Twitter at @aSkyFullOfStars and @Astronomy.FM.

Tonight’s presentation begins at 9 pm ET (0200 UTC).  You can access the conference room, which we’ll open about ten minutes before showtime, via the big blue widget on the Astronomy.FM home page.  This room does include audio, so if you’re listening to AFM*Radio before the show, be sure to turn off your media player to avoid a double-audio echo.

If you’d like to do a little research before the show, you’ll find NASA’s budget information, here, and President Obama’s recent Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education speech, here.  We are excited about tonight’s presentation and look forward to everyone’s participation!

Special Event: Of Pad Rats and SpaceTweeps

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

ScheersMECO

11/18 Replay: We will be replaying this program on AFM*Radio at 0200 UT 11/19 (9pm ET 11/18).  An 8pmET pre-show will include music and the latest updates on the Mars Spirit rover and NASA mission STS-129.

11/15 Update: You can find the PDF for the audio presentation here.

A Sky Full of Stars is pleased to announce an AFM*Radio Special Event, featuring a virtual tour of NASA’s Launch Pad 39A!  Join us November 15, 2009, at 2100 EST (Nov. 16, 0200 UTC) for an exciting interview and Launch Pad photo tour with Jen and Andy Scheer (@flyingjenny & @apacheman), both of whom work with *NASA’s Space Shuttle program.

Jen is a Shuttle Technician and founder of the Space Tweep Society.  Andy is a cryogenics lead technician at Kennedy Space Center’s (KSC) Launch Pad 39A.  Our program will feature Jen and Andy’s narrated “walk-down” of Pad 39A (where Space Shuttle Atlantis awaits its Nov.16 launch) and a fun discussion about SpaceTweeps and life and work at KSC.

We’ll also feature a live pre-show call-in from Astronomy.FM’s Development Director, Louis Suarato (@LouisS), who will be on location at KSC as one of a select few individuals attending NASA’s two-day Launch Tweetup.  The pre-show starts at 2000 EST (0100 UTC) and will include music, Space and astronomy news, and #STS-129 mission coverage.

Watch for presentation links here, at Astronomy.FM, and on Twitter at @askyfullofstars, @keownrwk, @TaviGreiner, and @AstronomyFM.

* Jen and Andy will be participating in this event as individuals and not as representatives of NASA *

Galilean Nights: Celebrating the Man

Monday, October 26th, 2009

The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) Cornerstone Project,  Galilean Nights,was observed throughout the world during October 22-24.  As part of this project, we at A Sky Full of Stars teamed up with Astronomy.FM‘s DeepSkyDivas on AFM*Radio to produce a perspective on Galilean Nights, including a history of Galileo, a chronicle of the Galileo Mission, and an overview of the IYA2009′s Galileoscope.

This program has been formatted as a slide show and you can view it below!