AstrotalkUK

Not for profit website/blog on astronomy, space and my writing

Episode 36: October 11th 2010 – UK Space Policy and Yuri Gagarin’s visit to Manchester and London in July 1961

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Next year April 12th  2011 marks the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s,  mankind’s,  first steps  into space. It was a product of the accumulated technology of many countries over many years but particularly driven by the the political landscape resulting from the 2nd world war. Since then successful robotic missions have visited the planets, asteroids and comets. 24 men have gone to the moon and a dozen have even walked on its surface.

Subsequent achievements have fallen short of the expectations raised in the wake of Gagarin’s flight. Gagarin himself  spoke openly about his desire to go to the moon and Mars. That sounds like a pipe dream now but back in 1961, he was absolutely serious and realistic.

So what happened? Had the space race been won when Neil and Buzz landed on the Moon? Had the motivation borne out of political rivalries of the cold war finally been exhausted? Perhaps, the problems closer at home of poverty, population growth, environmental concerns  raced to the top of the political agenda and forced  governments into a pragmatic reconsideration on how they spent their cash?

Big questions. Too big for this episode where Dr Chris Welch from Kingston University provides a brief outline of the current status of the Space policy here in the UK.   Dr Welch  also happens to be the chair of the of the recently launched YuriGagarin50 group which has amongst its aims:

Stimulate celebration and recognition of the global significance of Gagarin and his flight – ‘the first person in space, the first person to see the Earth as a planet’.

After his flight Yuri Gagarin embarked on a world tour which included a 4 day visit to the UK which surprisingly included a visit to Manchester on 12th July 1961. By chance, Gagarin’s first job was as a moulder in a foundry in Moscow.   He came to the UK and Manchester at the invitation of the Manchester based Amalgamated Union of Foundry Workers. I will be producing another episode  focusing on Gagarin’s UK visit next year. Did you see Gagarin in July 1961? Do you know someone who did? Share your memories. Drop me a note at info@astrotalkuk.org.

With many months to go to next year’s 50th anniversary, there are several events already being planned  to celebrate mankind’s first steps in to space. Keep an eye on the events calendar at  www.yurigagarin50.org

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The quote for this episode is from the Soviet government in 1961 following Gagarin’s success in Vostok 1. Perhaps they were deliberately winding up the Americans but there is something warm and reassuring to see a couple of familiar words in the quote  “all mankind” that are on the plaque left on the Moon by the Apollo 11 astronauts. A 1961 official Soviet Government and Communist Party announcement said.

“We regard these victories in the conquest of outer space not only as the achievement of our people but as an achievement of all mankind”

A video version of this podcast is available on Vimeo here.

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Perseid Meteor Shower 2010

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The Perseid meteor shower is widely accepted to be  the best in the bunch available throughout the year. With only the waxing crescent Moon setting early, 2010 is likely to be the  best for many years.

The Zenith Hourly Rate (ZHR) predicted to be between 70 and 100  but only in dark cloud free skies.  With luck we may even see some fireballs.

The shower is the result of the dust particles  left in the path of the Earth’s orbit by comet Swift Tuttle burning up as they hit the atmosphere at 40 miles per second. The radiant (the constellation of Perseus, just below and to the the left  of the “W” of Cassiopeia) reaches an altitude of 55 degrees  at about 3am on Friday 13th. But that’s just the peak. There is lots of activity a few days either side.

Episode 35: 22nd July 2010: Dr Edgar Mitchell – Apollo 14

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A man playing golf on the moon is one of the images permanently etched into the collective memory of humanity’s first exploration of the moon. The so called “golf player” was Alan Shepard the guy with him was Dr Edgar Mitchell whilst Stuart Roosa orbited the moon in the command module. Today, Ed Mitchell, two months away from his 80th birthday is the only remaining member of the Apollo 14 crew.

On a recent visit to Pontefract, organised once again by Ken Willoughby, he describes his personal journey to the moon. Amongst other things he highlights his javelin throw which, by a narrow margin, beat the golf ball, as a picture in his presentation illustrates. He spent nine hours on the surface of the moon during two EVAs on February 5th and 6th 1971. Apollo 14 was his only space flight and he left NASA in the following year.

Ed Mitchell is perhaps best known for his epiphany moment on the return journey to Earth when he experienced a unique spiritual sensation which has dominated his professional and personal life ever since. To help understand it, he left NASA and establish the Institute of Noetic Sciences. Over the last few years he has frequently spoken publicly about his interest in the paranormal, ESP and UFOs. He asserts that the Roswell incident was real, aliens have landed on the Earth and the US military is responsible for a cover-up.

It is strange that someone (a navy pilot and an Apollo astronaut) with a professional life dominated by leading edge science and technology can hold such an unscientific position. He appears oblivious to the contradiction in referring to himself as an astrophysicist and yet accepting Fred Hoyle’s Steady State explanation of cosmology, for which there is little evidence, over the Big Bang. I wonder how he explains Hubble’s law and the expansion of space, Cosmic microwave background radiation and the relative abundance of primordial elements.

I really should have asked him. I did not in part out of deference. Despite his age and unusual views, he remains a member of a unique group of individuals with a special contribution to human history. Who knows, he may well turn out to be right. In the meantime, the main road of science, directed by the sign posts of  observational evidence, is probably still the  best path to a more accurate understanding of the cosmos.

Dr Mitchell was kind enough to share his power point slides which I have incorporated into the hour long video presentation. Links to that presentation and a video version of this episode below.

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An increasingly familiar quote from someone else who made a huge contribution to how we should go about understanding the cosmos. Carl Sagan.

“I believe that the extraordinary should be pursued. But extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence” .

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Episode 35 – Video (10 minutes)

Dr Edgar Mitchell 2nd July 2010 from AstrotalkUK on Vimeo.

Wordcampuk – Manchester 17-18 July 2010

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Not very astronomical but may be of interest, especially if you are in Northwest England and express geeky tendencies. You may be aware that Astrotalkuk.org uses an extremely popular blogging platform called WordPress. No? No matter.

WordPress users and developers around the world have annual get-togethers to talk about the latest developments in WordPress through something called “Wordcamp”. The first UK Wordcamp was in Birmingham in 2008, in Cardiff last year and next weekend it comes to Manchester. More here.

I recorded this interview with Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little WordPress founding developers last year. Here is another minute and a half of “silliness” not included in the original recording.

Matt turned up at Cardiff wearing a hat. He posted a picture on his blog displaying the odd haircut which triggered the hat but I cannot find it now. Matt – next time you attend a wordcamp in the UK wearing a hat, make it a stetson, we won’t let you in otherwise:) You are a Texan!