What Is Some Advice That Really Helped You Get To Where You Are Now?

We’re sending people to space this week 🚀 Here’s your chance to ask a past Flight Director in Mission Control your questions!

Ginger Kerrick will be taking your questions in an Answer Time session on Friday, September 27 from 12pm - 1 pm ET here on NASA’s Tumblr! Ginger served as a Flight Director in Mission Control for 11 years and is now the Flight Integration Division Chief at Johnson Space Center. Find out what it’s like to send humans to space and learn more about her position as our first female Hispanic flight director. Make sure to ask your question now by visiting http://nasa.tumblr.com/ask!

Ginger Kerrick, as a child, dreamed of growing up to be either a basketball player or an astronaut. When neither dream came to fruition, Kerrick developed a fresh perspective – best summed up by the phrase “It just wasn’t meant to be” – and later became part of our team, serving in the Mission Control Center at the NASA Johnson Space Center as a Flight Director who has, to date, supported 13 International Space Station and five joint space shuttle missions. It was there that Kerrick, a few years earlier, became the first non-astronaut Capsule Communicator (CapCom), the flight controller that speaks directly to the astronaut crew in space, on behalf of the rest of the Mission Control team. 

Today, Ginger Kerrick is the Flight Integration Division Chief at our Johnson Space Center. Her department is responsible for crew safety and training, among a list of other duties. She has worked for NASA since 1994, and interned here while she was earning a bachelor’s degree in physics from Texas Tech University. She also has a master’s degree in physics from the university.

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How to See Comet NEOWISE

Observers all over the world are hoping to catch a glimpse of Comet NEOWISE before it speeds away into the depths of space, not to be seen again for another 6,800 years. 

For those that are, or will be, tracking Comet NEOWISE there will be a few particularly interesting observing opportunities this week. 

Over the coming days it will become increasingly visible shortly after sunset in the northwest sky.

The object is best viewed using binoculars or a small telescope, but if conditions are optimal, you may be able to see it with the naked eye. If you’re looking in the sky without the help of observation tools, Comet NEOWISE will likely look like a fuzzy star with a bit of a tail. Using binoculars will give viewers a good look at the fuzzy comet and its long, streaky tail. 

Here’s what to do:

Find a spot away from city lights with an unobstructed view of the sky

Just after sunset, look below the Big Dipper in the northwest sky

Each night, the comet will continue rising increasingly higher above the northwestern horizon.

There will be a special bonus for viewers observing comet NEOWISE from the northeast United States near Washington, DC. For several evenings, there will be a brief conjunction as the International Space Station will appear to fly near the comet in the northeast sky. Approximate times and locations of the conjunctions are listed below (the exact time of the conjunction and viewing direction will vary slightly based on where you are in the Washington, DC area):

July 17 :  ~10:56 p.m. EDT  = NEOWISE elevation: ~08°   Space Station elevation: ~14°

July 18 :  ~10:08 p.m. EDT  = NEOWISE elevation: ~13°   Space Station elevation: ~18°

July 19 :  ~10:57 p.m. EDT  = NEOWISE elevation: ~10°   Space Station elevation: ~08°

July 20 :  ~10:09 p.m. EDT  = NEOWISE elevation: ~17°   Space Station elevation: ~07°

It will be a late waning Moon, with the New Moon on July 20, so the viewing conditions should be good as long as the weather cooperates. 

Comet NEOWISE is about 3 miles across and covered in soot left over from its formation near the birth of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago - a typical comet.

Comets are frozen leftovers from the formation of the solar system composed of dust, rock and ices. They range from a few miles to tens of miles wide, but as they orbit closer to the sun, they heat up and spew gases and dust into a glowing head that can be larger than a planet. This material forms a tail that stretches millions of miles.

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Five Fun Facts for the 2015 Geminid Meteor Shower

The Geminid meteor shower peaks this weekend starting on Sunday, Dec. 13. Here are a few fun facts:

Fact #1:

The Geminid meteor shower can be seen from both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Because they are pieces of an asteroid, Geminid meteoroids can penetrate deeper into Earth’s atmosphere than most other meteor showers, creating beautiful long arcs viewable for 1-2 seconds.

Fact #2:

Geminids are pieces of debris from an object called 3200 Phaethon. It was long thought to be an asteroid, but is now classified as an extinct comet.

Phaethon’s eccentric orbit around the sun brings it well inside the orbit of Mercury every 1.4 years. Traveling this close to the sun blasts Phaethon with solar heat that may boil jets of dust into the Geminid stream. Of all the debris streams Earth passes through each year, the Geminid shower is the most massive. When we add up the amount of dust in this stream, it outweighs other streams by factors of 5 to 500.

Fact #3:

Because they are usually bright, many people say Geminid meteors show color. In addition to glowing white, they have been described as appearing yellow, green, or blue.

Geminid meteoroids hit earth's atmosphere traveling 78,000 mph or 35 km/s. That may sound fast, but it is actually somewhat slow compared to other meteor showers.

Fact #4:

Geminids are named because the meteors seem to radiate from the constellation of Gemini. The shower lasts a couple of weeks, with meteors typically seen Dec. 4-17, peaking near Dec 13-14.

Fact #5:

The Geminids started out as a relatively weak meteor shower when first discovered in the early 19th century. Over time, it has grown into the strongest annual shower, with theoretical rates above 120 meteors per hour.

Join In:

This Sunday, Dec. 13, our Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, will host a live tweet chat highlighting the 2015 Geminid meteor shower. This online, social event will occur 11 p.m. EST Dec. 13, until 3 a.m. EST on Dec. 14. To join the conversation and ask questions, use #askNASA or @NASA_Marshall.

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@lmndmlk: How many hours a day do you spend working?

Twins Study Reddit AMA

Our Human Research Program is conducting a Twins Study on retired twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly. The study began during Scott Kelly’s One-Year Mission, which encompassed International Space Station Expeditions 43, 44, 45 and 46. 

Now that Scott has returned from space, researchers are integrating data as well as taking measurements on Earth from the twins. This is the first time we have conducted Omics research on identical twins. Omics is a broad area of biological and molecular studies that, in general, means the study of the entire complement of biomolecules, like proteins; metabolites or genes. 

Comparing various types of molecular information on identical individuals while one undergoes unique stresses, follows a defined diet, and resides in microgravity to one who resides on Earth, with gravity, should yield interesting results. It is hoped one day that all individuals will have access to having their Omics profiles done. This is a first step towards personalizing medicine for astronauts and hopefully for the rest of us. 

For background, check out NASA’s Omics video series at https://www.nasa.gov/twins-study.

During this Reddit AMA, you can ask our researchers anything about the Twins Study and Omics.

Participants include:

Kjell Lindgren, M.D., NASA astronaut, Expedition 44/45 Flight Engineer and medical officer

Susan M. Bailey, Ph.D., Twins Study Principal Investigator, Professor, Radiation Cancer Biology & Oncology, Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University

Christopher E. Mason, Ph.D., Twins Study Principal Investigator, WorldQuant Foundations Scholar, Affiliate Fellow of Genomics, Ethics, and Law, ISP, Yale Law School, Associate Professor, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine

Brinda Rana, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego School of Medicine

Michael P. Snyder, Ph.D., M.D., FACS, Twins Study Principal Investigator, Stanford W. Ascherman, Professor in Genetics, Chair, Dept. of Genetics, Director, Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine, Stanford School of Medicine

Join the Reddit AMA on Monday, April 25 at 11 a.m. EDT HERE. 

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Subtle Lunar Eclipse

Today’s (Feb. 10) lunar activity comes in the form of a penumbral eclipse. What does that mean and how does this type differ from a total eclipse? Let’s take a look:

First off, what is a penumbra? During a lunar eclipse, two shadows are cast by the Earth. The first is called the umbra (UM bruh). This shadow gets smaller as it goes away from the Earth. It is the dark center of the eclipse shadow where the moon is completely in the shadow of the Earth.

The second shadow is called the penumbra (pe NUM bruh). The penumbra gets larger as it goes away from the Earth. The penumbra is the weak or pale part of the shadow. This occurs because the Earth is covering a portion of the sun.

Penumbral eclipses occur when only the outer shadow (the penumbra) of Earth falls on the moon’s surface. This type of eclipse is much more difficult to observe than total eclipses or when a portion of the moon passes into the umbra. That said, if you’re very observant, you may notice a dark shadow on the moon during mid-eclipse on Friday evening. You may not notice anything at all. It’s likely the moon will just look at little bit darker than normal…like this: 

Earth’s penumbral shadow forms a diverging cone that expands into space in the opposite direction of the sun. From within this zone, Earth blocks part but not the entire disk of the sun. Thus, some fraction of the sun’s direct rays continues to reach the most deeply eclipsed parts of the moon during a penumbral eclipse.

For most of North America, the penumbral eclipse will begin at moonrise (sunset) on Friday, Feb. 10 and will be obscured by evening light. Here’s a guide of when to look up:

Fun fact: Aristotle (384 – 322 BCE) first proved that Earth was round using the curved umbral shadow seen at partial eclipses. In comparing observations of several eclipses, he noted that Earth’s shadow was round no matter where the eclipse took place. Aristotle correctly reasoned that only a sphere casts a round shadow from every angle.

To learn more about lunar eclipses, visit: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11828

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What did you major in? What was your college experience?

A Q&A from the Space Station!

Did you miss it? Astronaut Scott Kelly answered questions over the weekend on People Magazine’s Facebook page! Anything and everything from his favorite food in space to his year aboard the International Space Station. 

Here are a few highlights from the conversation:

Follow Astronaut Scott Kelly during the remainder of his year in space: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

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Hi there! Does the study of Earth Science teach us much about the science of other planets? Can much be assumed to be similar, or is the geology/biology incomparable? Thank you!

The Overview Effect

Observing Earth from space can alter an astronauts’ cosmic perspective, a mental shift known as the “Overview Effect.” First coined by space writer Frank White in 1987, the Overview Effect is described as a feeling of awe for our home planet and a sense of responsibility for taking care of it.

See Earth from the vantage point of our astronauts in these perspective-changing views:

Floating Free in Space

Astronaut Bruce McCandless II used his hands to control his movement above the Earth during the first-ever spacewalk that didn't use restrictive tethers and umbilicals. Fellow crew members aboard the space shuttle Challenger captured this image on Feb. 7, 1984, through windows on the flight deck.

Of his famous spacewalk, McCandless wrote in 2015: "My wife [Bernice] was at mission control, and there was quite a bit of apprehension. I wanted to say something similar to Neil [Armstrong] when he landed on the moon, so I said, 'It may have been a small step for Neil, but it’s a heck of a big leap for me.' That loosened the tension a bit."

Earth Reflections

Astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson looks through a window in the Cupola of the International Space Station (ISS). A blue and white part of Earth and the blackness of space are visible through the windows. The image was a self-portrait using natural light.

In a preflight interview for Expedition 23/24, Dyson said: “hands down, the best part about it is being able to look at that view every day and during the time frame we’ll be up there, hopefully, we’ll have a big bay window and much more opportunity to observe this beautiful planet.”

Taking in the View

As astronaut Nick Hague prepared to conclude his six-month stay aboard the ISS, he shared this photo saying: "Today is my last Monday living on this orbiting laboratory and I’m soaking up my final views. The @Space_Station is truly an engineering marvel. #MondayMotivation." 

He and Expedition 60 and Soyuz commander Alexey Ovchinin of the Russian space agency Roscosmos​ completed a 203-day mission, spanning 3,248 orbits of Earth, and a journey of 80.8 million miles.

Earthrise

On Dec. 24, 1968, Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders became the first humans to witness the Earth rising above the Moon's surface. 

 Anders, photographing the Moon from the right-side window, caught sight of the view, and exclaimed: “Oh my God, look at that picture over there! There’s the Earth comin’ up. Wow, is that pretty!”

The Blue Marble

Besides Earthrise, the Blue Marble is probably the most famous image of Earth that NASA has produced. Taken by the Apollo 17 crew on their way to the Moon in 1972, the Blue Marble and other NASA imagery of Earth has been credited by some with helping to fuel the environmental movement.

For more information on the Overview Effect, check out this episode of Houston We Have a Podcast. 

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