The Thursday of our Spring Break

Hello Troops,
We start today's post with shocking news from Mars.



Yes, a new picture from Mars taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Could this be proof that life exists on Mars? Some ancient astronaut theorists think so (it is an interesting picture, wouldn't you agree).

Today is the Thursday of our Spring Vacation. Early this afternoon I drove the Battlestar to Lehi's Costco to restock on candy bars and other items. The Space Center runs on love, devotion, dedication, creativity, imagination and CANDY BARS! Candy bars are the currency with which we pay our awesome volunteers. Our volunteers know to check in at my desk upon arrival. I swipe their volunteer card and direct them with a nod, glance or a mumble to the Space Center's Candy Treasury filled with delicious mouth watering chocolates and other fine confectionery. They may select one candy bar to power them through the next two hours.

Costco is a dangerous place for me. There are so many cool things I never knew I needed until I see them at Costco, sitting on the shelves, and calling my name like the Sirens of old calling out and shipwrecking ancient sailors onto the rocks of Anthemusa. I stand shipwrecked on each aisle, memorized by the merchandise. I imagine the device in my home, filling a hitherto unknown and desperate need. An 80 inch LED TV caught my eye today. It sat on display right at the entrance, entrapping the innocent.

"Buy me..... Buy me....." It whispered into my ear. I nearly succumbed to the temptation, had it not been the $4000.00 price tag which quickly convinced me to lift anchor and sail away. Yes, Costo is a dangerous place for me. I wouldn't normally put myself in such peril, but Costco is the place where I buy candy bars and batteries for the Space Center. It is an evil I must learn to resist.

Megan and Christine spent much of the afternoon working on new summer missions for the Phoenix and Odyssey.

And now from the Imginarium's Dept. of Useless Items.....




Is this the story of your life living with mathematics?





And finally, the perfect analogy for those trapped in a room with an overly optimistic zealot. Aren't they the worst. They always smile, even at funerals. What is there to smile about at a funeral?

"Oh, let's be thankful they've gone to a better place!" they say with an obnoxious smile stretching from ear to ear.

"No, I'm not thankful they've gone on to a better place," I reply. "I kind of liked having them right here."

They fail a test at school. "Look on the bright side," they say. "At least now I know what I should have known!"

They are those who believe the word 'Impossible' was coined in the fires of Hell and used to thwart mankind of their true potential. "If there's a Will there's a Way," I've heard them say year after year after year.

This is my new comeback.



Have a great day troops!

Mr. Williamson

Space News Updates

NASA Torn over AGW

GOES-15 satellite in assembly. This satellite, launched in 2010, studies the Earth's weather and climate for NASA.

The struggle over Global Warming takes on a new dimension. Three years ago, President Obama gave NASA a new directive to build new satellites to study the problem of Global Warming, and to use its resources to push the government's agenda of using AGW (Anthropogenic Global Warming, meaning "man-caused") to legislate new rules against energy providers and new rules to change how Americans live. This agenda would cause many job losses and cost the American taxpayer hundreds of billions of dollars, in an attempt to "stop" Global Warming. Appointed by President Obama, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden (former shuttle astronaut and BIG fan of Barack Obama) has accepted this mission enthusiastically and directed NASA resources and facilities to cooperate in this endeavor. This effort has been pushed relentlessly by NASA's Goddard Space Center director Jim Hansen, who recently said that Global Warming is morally equivalent to slavery, and earlier said that people denying Global Warming should be prosecuted! Hansen has been politically active beyond his NASA responsibilities, working as an environmental advisor for AL Gore during his run for the Presidency (and well paid for the effort), as well as being arrested several times since 2009 for actively protesting energy issues such as the Keystone pipeline.

Well, things are getting tougher for NASA to follow the President's lead and the failing push for Global Warming belief. Yesterday, 49 NASA astronauts, scientists and employees sent Adminstrator Bolden a letter of complaint, stating that NASA should "refrain from including unproven remarks in public releases and websites." The group is concerned that NASA's Earth studies have not proven yet that Man-made carbon dioxide release is causing Global Warming, and in fact that there is a great unsettled debate about if it is actually happening. This contradicts the politicalized belief in AGW, and its adherents who claim that the science is "settled". You can read more of the letter and its argument here: http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/washington-secrets/2012/04/astronauts-condemn-nasa’s-global-warming-endorsement/469366

In fact, NASA's own studies are now showing that the Global Warming danger does not even exist! Data from NASA satellites, climate stations and new studies are showing that there actually hasn't been warming for the last 15 years. Even Britain's own East Anglia Climatic Rwsearch Unit (which has previously been a HUGE proponent of AGW) now supports the studies which show the SUn itself has largely been a culprit in the cycles of warming and cooling over the centuries. Now, it seems the Sun is entering a period of little sunspot activity, which relates to the 11-year solar cycles. If the Sun continues in this direction, we may even see unusual COOLING in the climates which is reminiscent of several "mini-ice-ages" recorded in the last 500 years. To read more about the new studies, go here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2093264/Forget-global-warming--Cycle-25-need-worry-NASA-scientists-right-Thames-freezing-again.html

So what is NASA to do? Well, for one thing, they might consider firing Jim Hansen, who has been very controversial and in fact embarrassing to the agency. He continually takes money from pro-AGW political groups (such as Al Gore) and his recent arrests do nothing for the reputation of NASA. Second, how about actually performing some science? Pay attention to the actual data coming in and stop "spinning" it to match the demands of the White House.

Harrison "Jack" Schmidt, one of the signers of the petition. He was the only scientist among the astronauts to explore the lunar surface on Apollo 17.

Dodging Solar Storms

Coronal Holes (false color). Credit: SDO/AIA. Thanks to Spaceweather.com.

Every morning I like to check the weather reports. Not just local weather, but also the "weather" in space. Not only do we face threats from Near-Earth-orbiting asteroids, rogue asteroids, meteor showers, and cosmic radiation, but we have a giant nuclear fusion generator only 93,000,000 miles away pumping out stellar winds and radioactive storms that could damage life on Earth. It's interesting that the active events in our solar system have been linked to weather descriptions on Earth.

Thanks to Dr. Tony Phillips, you can watch out for our interplanetary space weather, too. He's created the website http://www.spaceweather.com to bring you the latest news in space storms and potential hazards to Earth. Over the years, as I've visited the site each day, I've really come to understand better the overall picture of our solar system's "weather" cycles and how it all affects us here on planet Earth.

Take sunspots, for example:

Woops! No big Spots!

Every day you can monitor the surface of the Sun that faces the Earth. Sunspots are linked to magnetic solar storms which can emit large blasts of energy towards the Earth. More significantly, recent studies of sunspot populations over time has revealed that the amount of sunspots often has influence on the amount of cosmic radiation hitting the Earth, and even how much cloud cover we have, therefore impacting Global Warming. Forget about the minimal natural effect carbon dioxide has on the climate, the Sun is the real culprit!

And then there's coronal holes. As seen in the top picture, we study x-rays from the sun to monitor these gaping holes in the Sun's plasma, and we've learned how magnetic lines flowing from the holes directs the Solar Wind. That wind also has its affect upon our atmosphere. Thank goodness for our own magnetic fields, which shield us from the Sun's expulsion of solar particles.

Currently, it seems the surface of the Sun is quiet with regard to Sunspots, but coronal holes exist and solar flares could erupt towards Earth at any time. On Spaceweather.com, you can look at predictions for the Sun's interference with our magnetic fields, and when a large coronal mass ejection occurs, you can read warnings of when the storms will hit Earth and expected damage that could be done. Some storms have been able to knock out power grids, interfere with satellite communications, threaten radiation damage to astronauts, and worse. It was increased solar activity which caused the rapid loss of altitude of the famous Skylab space station in the early 1970's eventually causing it to enter the Earth's atmosphere far earlier than planned.

Of course we also get the magnificent Aurora Borealis, the Northern lights. With the change in seasons, we now approach the time when the rising Sun will be up in the Arctic circle for 6 months, and the night lights (interaction of solar particles with the Earth's magnetic fields) will not be visible again until Winter. The past winter has seen tremendous northern lights activity, even being spotted as far south as Northern Utah on rare occasions.

Make a visit to SpaceWeather.com. Check out why there may be little sunspot activity for now, how that may affect us on Earth, and how it relates to the Sun's 11-year cycle.

So don't just think about if there might be some rain this morning or if there's a dangerous storm front approaching. Watch out for spaceweather!

A Call to the Space Center Leads to an Enjoyable Conversation with the Director

"Why can't we go to the Space Center?" Nick asked with a sigh. Nick and James sat outside pondering their next move. Nick's mother banished both of them to the outdoors. She thought they needed some fresh air.

"Four hours of video games is enough," she explained to the boys. They objected, but it didn't do any good.

"The guy said the Space Center was closed this week when I called." James answered with an added shrug of the shoulders for emphasis.

"Maybe he just meant they were closed for a couple days. I'll bet they're open now. Call and find out." Nick shoved his friend, unplanting his backside from deck.

"I'm telling you they are closed."

"Call and see!"

"OK, ok." James pulled his phone out from his pocket and dialed the Space Center.

"Space Center," Mr. Williamson answered in his bright and welcoming voice. He strictly reserved his Bright and Welcoming Voice for telephone calls and the issuing a 'Get Out of Jail Free' cards to members of the Space Center staff and volunteers who do remarkable things above and beyond the call of duty.

"Are you open this week?" James asked, not realizing he was actually talking to the founder and director of the Space Center himself. Had James known............ well, it really wouldn't have really matter so never mind.

"Sorry, we are closed for Spring Vacation," Mr. Williamson replied with a voice so rich in melody, his words could have been sung over the phone - giving the listener something to whistle for the remainder of the day.

"Well, my friend and I were just wondering." James was about to say "bye" when Mr. Williamson cut him off with a question.

"Bored are we?" Mr. Williamson deciphered the sound of his disappointment. Mr. Williamson continued to explain the reasons for closing the Center

"You see, Spring Break gives us an opportunity to do maintenance on our ships. We are so busy during the school year that we rarely can get into the ships to fix things that break or modify the ships so they run better."

James held up the hand that wasn't holding the phone and tapped his forefinger and middle finger against this thumb, giving Nick the universal symbol for 'this guy won't stop talking'. Nick smiled.

"Let me hear." Nick pulled on James's phone. Nick held the phone away from his ear so Nick could hear the lecture for himself.

Mr. Williamson spoke in one long run on sentence, seemingly without needing to pause for a breath - the sure sign of an experience Space Center Flight Director. "


"Most people don't know all the work that's needed just to keep the Space Center running. Just yesterday, Jon replaced the video projector mount for the Voyager. Today he's in the Phoenix taking up the floor to replace the blue rope lighting......."


..... Christine is in the Odyssey cleaning. The Odyssey hasn't had a good clean in a long time...

....She's making a real mess of things. She is watching the BBC show "Sherlock Holmes" while she cleans. Everyone around here is a real fan of the new Sherlock Holmes......


.....Jackie was here helping Christine. The more hands the merrier when it comes to cleaning we always say.....

.....Megan Warner is a Phoenix Flight Director. She's taken everything out of the Phoenix's Control Room for a good clean. Jon is going to install a new shelve.....

...of course, this deep cleaning means everything from the ships must be stored in the Space Center's office. You should see my office. It's a real mess right now.....



....Matt Ricks is the Space Center's Tech and a member of our Programming Guild. He is in the Magellan debugging the Magellan's new simulator controls. The Magellan is converting from a Starbase to a Starship this summer.....



.....Yesterday the Phoenix Flight Directors spent time decorating the school's Faculty Lounge. They put out a few props to see what it would take to create a Canteena scene in the Faculty Lounge for the Phoenix's new summer story.....



.....They also spent a good part of the morning painting a couple of lamps for the Canteena. So now I hope you understand why I have to close the Space Center from time to time. Because even when we are closed, we are here working to ensure people like you always have the best experience we can give with the resources we have."

Mr. Williamson stopped talking when he heard the steady beeping tone a phone makes when the person on the other end hangs up . He hung up the Space Center's phone confident he'd educated a young Space Center fan on the inner workings of the Second Happiest Place on Earth!