03.24.11
Posted in Astronomy, Space Shuttle at 8:00 am by Rebekah
Yesterday I posted about the incredible opportunity I have to attend a NASA Tweetup for the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour.
Now here’s a few photos of a space shuttle LEGO set I received on my 11th birthday, and figured I’d dig it out again to commemorate the event. I really wanted a set with a horse farm, which my parents ordered, but LEGO sent us the wrong one. My parents wrapped up the space shuttle set anyway and then I received the horse farm a few days later (we were allowed to keep the first one).
In the end I think I wound up a little happier with the space shuttle anyway, as I had just seen Comet Hale-Bopp and was getting more interested in astronomy!
Click on the following images to enlarge.
Hmm, do you think I should bring the LEGO space shuttle to the launch? 🙂
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03.23.11
Posted in Astronomy, Space Shuttle at 8:00 am by Rebekah
Some dreams really do come true.
Ever since I was born, I have had a deep desire to witness a space shuttle launch. I have always been fascinated with the stars, and spent several years intensely studying astronomy.
I published and sold my own astronomy newsletter, called “The Stellar Report”, for over 4 years (with a couple of special issues a few years later). I sent in a question to a 2-minute program on NPR that I listened to when I was younger, called “Earth and Sky”, and they used my question and mentioned my name on a broadcast on January 2, 1999 (PDF transcript here). I was an officer and member of the Central Washington University Astronomy Club for my undergraduate years (we stargazed, put on planetarium shows, etc.).
I used to really want to be an astronomer before I got more into geography and meteorology, and I have often dreamed of going to space. I still love watching the stars and taking photos of stars, comets, the Moon, and other space objects with my camera and telescope. I took perhaps my best astrophotos of Comet Hale-Bopp in April 1997, using my Dad’s SLR mounted to a binocular tripod set on an upside-down barrel, standing where our barn collapsed due to snow on New Year’s Day. Sometime I’ll get around to scanning those photos and posting them online.
However, as the space shuttle program is winding down, I was beginning to think that my lifelong dream of seeing a space shuttle launch would never be fulfilled.
In August 2005, while in Oklahoma at the end of an undergraduate research program, I got to see the Space Shuttle Discovery fly overhead about 24 hours before landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. This shuttle mission, STS-114, was the first return to flight following Columbia’s disaster in February 2003.
In June 2007, I visited Washington, DC, and the highlights of my trip were touring NASA Goddard and seeing the Space Shuttle Enterprise on display at the Udvar-Hazy National Air and Space Museum.
While these events thrilled me to the core, I still wanted to experience a launch.
Last week, I found out that NASA recently began hosting “Tweetups” (meetings of people on Twitter). Last Monday, for 24 hours, NASA Twitter followers could throw their names in a hat for a chance to view the penultimate space shuttle launch in April, from the media site at the countdown clock.
On a whim, I threw my name in. I knew they would have several thousand people entering, and would only choose 150.
By Monday, I had forgotten about my entry. I then happened to check the junk mail folder of my email in the late afternoon, and saw I had an email from NASA.
I had to read the email a few times before I realized that I wasn’t seeing things. It began thus:
“Dear Rebekah LaBar,
Congratulations, your registration has been selected to attend the NASA Tweetup at space shuttle Endeavour’s targeted launch April 18-19 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida! The event will provide you the opportunity to speak with shuttle technicians, engineers, astronauts, and managers, and to experience the launch of space shuttle Endeavour to the International Space Station.”
WOW!!!!!!!!!
I’d won a golden ticket, even better than one for Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory!
I began to shake.
I also teared up.
What this means is that out of over 4,100 entries, I was randomly invited along with 149 others to attend a 2-day event on which we would tour the Kennedy Space Center facilities, hear speeches from and talk with NASA astronauts, shuttle engineers, etc., and view the April 19th launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-134)…from a mere 3 miles away!!!!!!! This location will be at the media site, by the countdown clock and Vehicle Assembly Building. This is the closest you can get to view the launch, and you can’t even buy tickets for anywhere nearer than 6 miles away (and even those tickets are scarce…the free viewing area is 12 miles away).
Here’s a satellite image pointing out where we’ll be in relation to the launch pad (click to enlarge). The image came from a former NASA Tweetup attendee.
I’m still in disbelief, and I know it won’t start to sink in until I begin my trip, in just 3.5 weeks!
I plan on driving, for various reasons: 1) I hate flying anymore, it is too much of a hassle; 2) driving would be cheaper than flying and renting a car (we still pay for our own expenses, as the ticket is just for the event); 3) if the flight gets delayed, I can easily change my plans, rather than worry about switching a flight date and paying fees; and 4) less important, but the only part of the Southeast I have seen is Atlanta, and I would like to see some of the Southeast from the ground.
My car seems to be fine, but today I’m taking it in for a check-up to make sure everything’s good to go.
I will be sure to write more about this once-in-a-lifetime, dream-come-true, unforgettable experience as the time approaches, and of course throughout the trip. As it’s a Tweetup, I think that means I’m expected to tweet through the event on Twitter, but of course I will be doing that in addition to taking countless photos and videos. 🙂
One more thing: May 1st will mark my 25th birthday, which will now be extra special this year between my sister coming down for a few days that weekend and the Florida trip and space shuttle launch just before that!
Thank you NASA, and praise be to God!
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03.22.11
Posted in Non-US Weather, Weather News at 8:00 am by Rebekah
This week’s post in the global weather and climate series features Palma, Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands of Spain.
Harbor of Palma, with Bellver Castle in the background, from Wikipedia
The city of Palma was founded by the Romans back in 123 BC, so as you can imagine, the town (and the island) has gone through a long history, between the Romans, the Muslims, the Moors, the Vikings, the Spanish, etc.
Palma is situated on the southwest coast of the island of Mallorca (sometimes spelled Majorca). Mallorca is one of several islands belonging to the Balearic Islands, off the east coast of Spain in the Mediterranean. The Balearic Islands are part of Spain. Palma (also known as Palma de Mallorca), the capital of the Balearic Islands, is now home to about 401,270 people.
Tourism plays a large part in the economy of the islands; in 2010, over 6 million people came to visit tourist resorts on the island of Mallorca (according to Wikipedia). Mallorca is about 1,400 square miles in size (about 3,600 square km).
Serra de Tramuntana, a southwest-northeast mountain range on the northern coast of Mallorca; the highest point, Puig Major, is 4,741 ft tall (1,445 m). From Wikipedia
A few more facts about Palma (from Wikipedia):
- Time zone: Central European Time (UTC+1) or Central European Summer Time (UTC+2)
- Average elevation: 43 ft (13 m)
- Climate zone: Mediterranean (warm, dry summers; mild, wetter winters)
- Average high temperature: 71 °F (22 °C)
- Average low temperature: 58 °F (14 °C)
- Average annual high/low temperature range: 59 to 85 °F (15 to 30 °C) / 47 to 72 °F (8 to 22 °C)
- Average annual precipitation: 17 inches (427 mm)
Weather: June through August are the driest months of the year in Palma; every other month receives between 1 and 2.7 inches of precipitation. We are starting to go into the drier period, and temperatures are currently pretty seasonable.
Temperatures this week are expected to start out a little lower, with highs near 60 °F, but will rise up to 70 °F by Saturday. Lows this week will be in the mid-40s to near 50 °F.
There is a chance of rain today and tomorrow, but then it should dry up for the rest of the week. They have been getting a mostly east wind lately, as there is a rather large high pressure system sitting over Europe at present.
GFS model from 00Z run; valid for 12Z (1 pm local time). Map shows surface pressure and 3-hour precipitation. From Weather Online UK
For weather maps and information on current and forecast Palma, Mallorca, and Balearic Island weather, see the Agencia Estatal de MeteorologÃa (Spain’s national weather service; good if you understand Spanish, though there is a semi-English version), Weather Underground and Weather Online UK (global maps and models).
For a bit more information on Palma, here’s a link to Wikipedia. Here is the city’s website (in Spanish).
Next Tuesday I plan to take a look at the climate and weather in another part of the globe. As always, if you have any suggestions for future cities, please leave a comment!
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03.21.11
Posted in Weather Education at 8:00 am by Rebekah
Last week in the weather education series we looked at weather radars; this week we’re going to take a look at weather satellites.
Types of Satellites
There are two major types of satellites: polar and geostationary.
Polar satellites orbit the earth from pole to pole. This allows the satellite to take images of pretty much the entire earth.
Geostationary satellites orbit the earth around the equator, but they are so far out in space (about 36,000 km, or 22,500 miles) that they practically remain stationary above a certain spot on earth.
Most of the U.S. weather satellite images you see are from the GOES series (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite), from either GOES-11 (GOES West, at 135°W over the Pacific Ocean) or GOES-13 (GOES East, at 105°W approximately over the Rockies). GOES-12 (GOES South, formerly GOES East at 75°W over the Amazon River, off the East Coast) was placed into standby in April 2010.
Europe and Africa is imaged by the European Meteosat series, operated by EUMETSAT.
The western Pacific, including Australia and eastern Asia, is imaged by the Japan Meteorological Agency’s MTSAT.
Weather Satellite Channels
There are three primary bands: visible, infrared, and water vapor.
- Visible (0.4 – 0.7 µm) – this band is in the visible range, so this is what the earth would look like if you were in space. It is based on reflected sunlight, so these images are only available during the day. Visible satellite images show cloud tops, and the thicker the clouds, the whiter they appear on the satellite image.
- Infrared (11 – 12 µm) – this band is in the infrared (longer wavelength) range, so this is in effect sensing heat. From an infrared satellite image, we can deduce the cloud-top temperature. Infrared satellite images are lower-resolution than visible satellite images, but they are available night and day (since they don’t depend on the visible range). The higher the cloud tops, the whiter they appear on a visible satellite image.
- Water vapor (6.7 µm) – this band detects water vapor in the mid-levels of the atmosphere. This can be helpful for determining winds/troughs/ridges/etc. in the mid-levels. It is important to note that just because you see a stripe across a water vapor image, doesn’t mean there are any clouds there (it could just be moisture in the air). These images also are available night and day. Color schemes depend on the website you’re looking at; if it is a black and white image, the whiter the region, the more the moisture. Water vapor images are often colored, and typically higher moisture content will be shown in purples and/or greens, with drier air shown in reds and/or oranges.
Check out a few satellite sites for examples!
NOAA GOES
College of DuPage (has regional satellite images and my favorite for hi-res visible images)
EUMETSAT (Europe, Africa)
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Next Monday we will talk about lightning detection systems.
Visible (0.4 – 0.7 µm) – this band is in the visible range, so this is what the earth would look like if you were in space. It is based on reflected sunlight, so these images are only available during the day. The thicker the clouds, the whiter they appear on a visible satellite image.
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03.20.11
Posted in Weather News at 8:00 am by Rebekah
Happy first day of spring!
Here’s a look at today’s forecast highs from The Weather Channel.
Temperatures will be well above average from the Mississippi Valley into the Plains, but near or below average for the West Coast and the Northeast.
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