Sidebar: Naming the James Webb Space Telescope

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Source: James Webb Space Telescope from NASA.

Now that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is settling in at its new location 1 million miles away, we will be hearing that name for at least a decade every time NASA has new findings related to distant planets. It is worth noting that some people are not so pleased with the spacecraft’s designated name.

A recent article in Scientific American magazine highlighted some resistance to allowing former NASA administrator James Webb’s name to be part of the new space telescope. In the article, “NASA Won’t Rename the James Webb Space Telescope—and Astronomers Are Angry,” we are told that more than 1,200 individuals, “including scientists,” signed a petition asking for a new name. The petition stated that Mr. Webb was in key government positions during a period when gay and lesbian federal employees were fired due to their sexual orientation.  NASA later reported it did not have any evidence to support such a name change and considered the matter closed.

I will admit that I liked the name Hubble for the space telescope being replaced by the JWST. It seemed appropriate to name the telescope after Edwin Hubble, who proved there were galaxies beyond our Milky Way. That is an impressive accomplishment, whereas Mr. Webb was a successful Washington bureaucrat. Maybe another scientist would have been more appropriate.

That said, getting space programs funded is no easy task, so even if they want to name a space telescope after a U.S. Senator I will not issue an objection if that senator can get the job done. And let’s remember that we do have many perfect people for naming rights. Even Edwin Hubble, for all of his great accomplishments, was under a cloud of suspicion regarding a questionable redaction of part of a translation of George’s Lemaître’s 1927 paper that first reported what is today know as Hubble’s Law. While Hubble was eventually cleared of any questionable deeds, had it been raised at the time NASA was naming the space telescope it could have become an issue.

You may recall that NASA has used other questionable names for its missions in the past. For example, the god Apollo has many misadventures involving innocent women. Just ask Cassandra. And Mercury was far from innocent. The pesky god was known for rape and even Pandora’s Box. For some reason, I do not believe any of the gods would pass the test today.

Source: “Pandora” by Charles Edward Perugini, 1839-1918.

Podcast: Interview with William Shatner

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Source: Etonline.com.

On this week’s StarTalk Radio podcast, Neil deGrasse Tyson interviewed William Shatner (aka Captain Kirk) about his acting career and recent trip into space on a Blue Origin rocket. If you saw the Amazon Prime show called Shatner in Space, you have seen the Blue Origin drama (or the infomercial, if you prefer). In his chat with Dr. Tyson, you learn more about this short voyage, including his reluctance to go on the second rocket trip rather than the first, his uneasy stomach once in space, and the travails of being the oldest “astronaut.”

It is always fun to hear from the man who helped to create a growing interest in space travel from his first days as Captain James T. Kirk on Star Trek back in the mid-1960s. We need both scientists and science fiction to keep the dream alive. And just as Neil deGrasse Tyson has stepped into the shoes of Carl Sagan on Cosmos, we have seen Patrick Stewart’s Captain Picard and others step into the shoes of Mr. Shatner on Star Trek. Hopefully, we can continue to create such spirited pairings in the years to come.

Source: iHeart.com.

Chinese Satellite Close Call

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Source: China’s Space Debris Monitoring and Application Center tracking of the satellite and debris – provided by CNN.

Orbiting the Earth is complicated enough without the Russians and other creating new obstacles. China recently learned about these hazards when one of its science satellites came close to colliding with debris created last November from a Russian anti-satellite test. China’s satellite missed the debris by about 48 feet, which the Chinese government called “extremely dangerous.” No kidding.

That same debris has threatened the International Space Station as well, which Russia also funds and occupies. It is not clear why Russia would endanger its own cosmonauts residing on the station.

That said, it is interesting that China is upset with Russia after similarly creating space debris back in 2007 part of its own anti-satellite experiments. The space community was similarly frustrated with the impact on orbiting spacecraft. In fact, the ISS had to dodge that debris as well last November.

Everyone’s spacecraft are at risk when we test weapons in space. We have to decide if we want to conduct science or simply give way to orbiting debris forevermore.

Television: Updates on Star Trek

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Source: Paramount Plus.

If you are a Trekkie, you will want to stay abreast of some of the new and returning Star Trek series. I have provided some dates for your calendar.

— Star Trek: Discovery: Season 4 returns with new episodes on February 10th after taking a short break. Here is the trailer for the season. You can learn more about the series and watch earlier episodes at Paramount Plus.

— Star Trek: Picard: The series returns with its second season on March 3rd. Check out the trailer and you may recognize a few faces, including Q, Guinan, and the Borg as well. You can find season 1 episodes at Paramount Plus.

— Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: This new series premieres on May 5th. The series will follow Captain Pike and his time on the USS Enterprise. You can meet the actors of this series via this trailer.

If you are a fan of the animated series, you may want to check out these links for Star Trek: Prodigy and Star Trek: Lower Decks.

Source: Paramount Plus.

NASA and MIT Found More Than 5,000 Exoplanet Candidates

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Source: NASA’s TESS.

The volume of possible new worlds continues to expand with the work of the MIT-led NASA mission to observe the heavens for potential exoplanet candidates. Since 2018, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) program has been monitoring stars for temporary drops in brightness caused by planetary transits (the mapping of the initial two years of viewing is provided above). With the addition of new candidates from July 2020 to June 2021, the count of potential exoplanets now exceeds 5,000. Potential candidates will be studied to learn more about their characteristics. TESS’s mission goal has been to discover 50 planets of size less than 4 Earth radii with measured masses.

You can read more about some of TESS’s earlier exoplanet discoveries (shown below and here). For instance, L 98-59b is about 80 percent Earth’s size and orbits L 98-59, an M dwarf about one-third the mass of the Sun. L98-59 is about 35 light-years away. 

Source: NASA’s TESS.