National Science Fiction Day

Posted on by onespaceman2000

January 2nd is National Science Fiction Day, or at least it is recorded as such on the nationaltoday.com website. Whatever you think about such national days, it is nice to consider the role of science fiction in creating interest in science overall.

Here are a few facts recorded on the official page for this special day:

— January 2nd was chosen as the day to celebrate National Science Fiction Day because it is the recorded birth date of the great science fiction writer Isaac Asimov.

— Mary Shelly’s book Frankenstein from 1818 is considered to be the first science fiction book.

— Other science fiction books and stories from the 1800s include Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth and H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds.

— Georges Melies’ 1902 film A Trip to the Moon is considered to be the first science fiction film.

I am a fan of science fiction, as you will learn from this site, so I appreciate a separate day to consider all of the great works of this genre.

Source: War of the Worlds from the Best in Film website.

Movies: Look Up at NASA’s Work

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Source: Leonardo DiCaprio shown in Netflix’s Don’t Look Up.

You may have already watched the star-studded movie Don’t Look Up released by Netflix over the holidays about a comet on its way to destroy our planet. It is an amusing film. Hopefully, it will also move people towards NASA and away from politicians, not that politicians really have much of a following. The more interesting story that should capture the public’s attention pertains to a little NASA spacecraft, part of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, that will crash into a real asteroid next fall to determine whether or not we are able to nudge one of these monsters in a new direction – that is, away from Earth. The asteroid in question is called Dimorphos, which is about 160 meters in diameter and would create an explosion equivalent to approximately 500 megatons of TNT should it strike our planet. The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima was equivalent to about 16,000 tons of TNT. So this test is pretty important in terms of long term planning as well as survival. Check out the DART link above to read more about the mission.

Source: NASA.

Extra: Astronomy.com has an interesting story worth checking out – “Astronomer Amy Mainzer spent hours chatting with Leonardo DiCaprio for Netflix’s Don’t Look Up.”