October 2003

• Hollywood Takes Us to Space
  
  
• Planetary Update
  
  
• Constellation of the Month
  
  
• The Moon
  

Hollywood Takes Us to Space

Of course, everyone loves to be entertained... and if you are reading this, you have some interest in space and space exploration. Why not combine the two? I just wanted to take this month's issue of the Skyline to remind you of some films that tell the stories that help inspire us to explore.

The Right Stuff

Released in 1983, and based on the book by Tom Wolfe, this Academy Award winning picture puts you in the middle of the dawning of the space age.

The movie begins as Chuck Yeager speeds his jet faster than the speed of sound. At the time, many people thought that would be impossible -- how could you make a noise, and then fly fast enough to arrive at a place in time to hear it reach you?! As Chuck Yeager reached the impossible, it opened a window to new ideas and possibilities.

The bulk of the film follows the development of the space program. No one knew what would await a human beyond the atmosphere of the Earth. The first astronauts had to be courageous, intelligent, and perhaps just a little crazy. The film presents all of these aspects of the Mercury astronauts... [from the film] "It takes a special kind of man to volunteer for a suicide mission. Especially one that's on TV."

You'll get to experience the rigorous training of the first astronauts. You'll see the stress on them and their families. The film is exciting, frightening, inspiring and at times quite funny. It's a reminder that our heroes, while extraordinary, are still just people.

Apollo 13

Another modern classic, Apollo 13 dramatically shows the certain danger of space travel. For those of you who would like some more depth, the film was based on the book Lost Moon, by Jim Lovell, who provides a first hand account of the event -- he was on board with Fred Haise and Jack Swigert, when the most famous space crisis occurred.

"Houston, we have a problem..."; even the youngest visitors to the Planetarium know the phrase. When I ask them what it means, or where it comes from, most don't know.

Most of us consider a flat tire a few miles from home to be a crisis. When you see that these men were running out of air a little over 200,000 miles away from the Earth, it sure puts things in perspective!

Working for NASA, whether as an astronaut or for Mission Control or as the thousands of other integral members of the program, requires courage, intelligence, ingenuity, and grace under pressure. These are the stuff of heroes, and the Apollo 13 mission is a showcase for all of these.

October Sky

Homer Hickam grew up in a coal mining town in West Virginia. His life was changed on the morning of Saturday, October 5, 1957. The entire world changed on that day as a radio receiver heard a steady "beep, beep, beep..." sound which was projected to the Earth from space. It came from Sputnik, a Russian satellite, the first to be placed in orbit around the Earth. The Age of Space had begun!

Homer recorded his inspiration in his memior called Rocket Boys, which was adapted to become this movie.

Hickam immediately wanted to know everything about how to send a machine into space. He faced opposition from his father and most of the coal mining in which he lived. Support from his teacher and mother and a group of friends propelled him forward towards his dream.

Most of us would consider the journey from deep in the coal mines of West Virginia to outer space to be too far... Homer Hickam shows us that, though it may be a bit of a struggle, it is not too far at all. (And this month is a perfect one to watch "October Sky"!)

Planetary Update

Saturn appears low in the east right around 10:00 pm EST. It will be much easier to spot a little later as it drifts higher in the sky. Saturn is always a wonderful planet to view through a backyard telescope, although it this point you do have to stay up late to get a look at it. As fall turns to winter it will be visible quite a bit earlier. Saturn is over the easily-recognized constellation Orion. It will basically be right in the middle of Gemini.

For the very early risers, Jupiter peeks up over the eastern horizon at about 3:30 am EST. Since winter brings us darker mornings, those of you who get up before the sun may be able to spot Jupiter over a cup of morning coffee. It stands out quite a bit -- it's certainly brighter than anything nearby. Jupiter will be lingering right below the constellation of Leo.

Mercury and Venus are very close to the sun throughout this month; since they will be out during the day, they will be drowned out by the sun's light.

Constellation of the Month

This month I will feature a tiny, little-known, aptly-named, triangle-shaped constellation called Triangulum!

Yes, there is a constellation which is Triangulum, the Triangle. It consists of three dim stars which hang out a little ways behind the great square of Pegasus. Of all the constellations I have featured so far, this is probably the most challenging to spot. I mention it mainly for our telescope using folks, because it has a great object nearby...

Triangulum, with the Triangulum Galaxy

Those of you adept with a telescope will be able to find this great galaxy from your backyard -- it is quite near the zenith point (the imaginary point marking the "top of the sky") at around 1:00 am EST. It is one of the better galaxies to see through a backyard telescope. At less than 6th magnitude, some people claim that they can see it with the naked eye on the darkest nights.

Triangulum can be tricky to find, but holds a nice gem of a galaxy -- it's worth a look!

The Moon

The phases for this month:

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