S07 → N400
The Spike of Fascinating & Unexpected
SPIKE 43
→ CONQUERING SPACE.
© 1. George A. Van Biesbroeck/Smithsonian Institution — George A. Van Biesbroeck (1880-1974), astronomer at Yerkes Observatory, observing Mars when it approached close to the earth in 1926, and using the 40-inch refracting telescope, the largest of its kind in the world. / 2. RAÄ Fornsök Database — Tycho Brahe’s Stjerneborg from Joan Blaeu’s Atlas Maior, Amsterdam (1662). Stjerneborg (”Star Castle” in English) was Tycho Brahe’s underground observatory next to his palace-observatory Uraniborg, located on the island of Ven in the Öresund between Denmark and Sweden. / 3. Ed Turner — A 9-1/2” inch Zeiss telescope mounted more than two decades on the roof of the car of Whittier amateur astronomer Ed Turner (1933) / 4. Esther C. Goddard — Dr. Robert H. Goddard and a liquid oxygen-gasoline rocket at Auburn, Massachusetts (1926) / 5. NASA — Researchers view a demonstration of the moon dust simulator in the 8- by 6-foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel facility at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center. The researchers were studying the effect of the lunar lander’s retrorockets on the loose dust on the lunar surface. There was some concern that the retrorockets would kick up so much dust that the crew would lose the ability to see. They also did not know how the dust’s behaviour would be affected by the space atmosphere. This small vacuum tank was built for very preliminary investigations into this matter. The pipe entering the top of the tank supplied the airflow to the lander model, which was affixed to the pipe. The researchers altered the vacuum levels and speed of the airflow. / 6. NASA/Donaldson Collection/Getty Images — NASA space scientist and mathematician Katherine Johnson (pictured in 1962) was known as a “human computer” due to her precise mathematical calculations. On Thursday, October 8, 2020, Johnson was awarded the Hubbard Medal by the National Geographic Society for her outstanding contributions to science and exploration. / 7. NRAO/AUI/NSF — Jansky, working at Bell Telephone Laboratories. Karl Guthe Jansky (October 22, 1905 - February 14, 1950) was an American physicist and radio engineer who in August 1931 first discovered radio waves emanating from the Milky Way. He is considered one of the founding figures of radio astronomy. At Bell Telephone Laboratories in Holmdel, New Jersey, Jansky built an antenna designed to receive radio waves at a frequency of 20.5 MHz. It was mounted on a turntable that allowed it to be rotated in any direction, earning it the name "Jansky's merry-go-round". It had a diameter of approximately 100 ft. and stood 20 ft. tall. By rotating the antenna on a set of four Ford Model-T tyres, the direction of a received signal could be pinpointed. A small shed to the side of the antenna housed an analogue pen-and-paper recording system. Bell Labs, however, rejected his request for funding on the grounds that the detected emission would not significantly affect their planned transatlantic communications system. Jansky was reassigned to another project and did no further work in the field of astronomy. He died at age 44 due to a heart condition. In honour of Jansky, the unit used by radio astronomers for the strength (or flux density) of radio sources is the Jansky. The crater Jansky on the Moon is also named after him. / 8. NASA — Wernher von Braun, “Lunar Lander”, October 11, 1952 / 9. RAÄ Fornsök Database — A painting of Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg palace-observatory from his 1598 book Astronomiae instauratae Mechanicae / 10. Keystone-France/Getty Images — Ex-King Peter Ii of Yugoslavia at space exhibition with his 8-year-old son, Royal Prince Alexander, both dressed as astronauts at the Horticultural Hall in Westminster, London, on December 31, 1953.
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This endeavour requires advances in technology, engineering, and scientific understanding, as well as international cooperation among space agencies and organisations around the world. It also encompasses various scientific disciplines, including astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology, and utilises a wide range of observational techniques and instruments to gather data and information about the universe. Observations of space can be conducted using ground-based telescopes, observatories, and facilities, as well as space-based telescopes and satellites orbiting Earth or exploring distant celestial bodies. This research also contributes to our understanding of Earth’s place in the cosmos and our search for other planets and potentially habitable worlds beyond our solar system.
One fascinating aspect of conquering space is the “Overview Effect” experienced by many space travellers. The Overview Effect is a term coined by author Frank White in 1987 to describe a profound cognitive shift in awareness reported by astronauts who have seen Earth from space. When viewing our planet from the unique vantage point of space, astronauts often experience a sense of awe and interconnectedness with all life on Earth. They describe feeling a deep appreciation for the beauty and fragility of our planet and a realisation of the interconnectedness of all living beings. From space, national borders, political boundaries, and other human constructs disappear, giving way to a view of Earth as a fragile and interconnected ecosystem.
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→ Sourced from: SYSTEM 01 (BD/WT) / SYSTEM 03 (Specteore)
→ Stored online: N400 Spikes Repository
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