Carnival of Space #39

Welcome to Carnival of Space #39! The Carnival of Space is a collection of blogs that share hosting of each other's stories. Its a convenient place to see whats going on in the space blog community. This is my first Carnival of Space hosting, and I'm glad to be a part of this community! Follow me as I take you on a tour of a selection of space blogs on this busy week #39.

We'll start our tour with Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy Blog, where Phil puts the final nail in the coffin of the Asteroid 2007 TU24 scare. With a logically explained video presentation, Phil debunks the myth in a scientific manner, showing why 2007 TU24 will not hit us or even affect us.

Robert Simpson, at Orbiting Frog, writes to us with an article on omnipresent astronomy. This involves connecting all sorts of astronomy equipment, including telescopes, into one big network. This could significantly improve both professional and amateur astronomers' observations, making them that much more useful.

Amanda Bauer, of Astropixie, brings us news of Virgin Galactic's Spaceship Two. Included in her article is a really cool simulation video of a Spaceship Two flight.

Robert Nemiroff sends us a new Astronomy Photo of the Day (aka APOD). In this APOD, we see astronaut Clay Anderson's self-portrait with a reflection of the ISS and Earth on his visor. It really sums up human progress.

Next Big Future's Brian Wang writes about The Spaceward Foundation's 2008 Space Elevator Power Beaming Challenge. The elevator challenge consists of a 1 kilometer climb with a $2M prize for the best space elevator. The challenge resembles an Olympic event for space elevators.

The article "Putting the Pieces Together in Space" on Paul Gilster's Centauri Dreams shows several different ways of assembling modular spacecraft once in orbit. The section on magnetic flux pinning sure got the electrical enginerd in me interested!

As the Messenger probe raced away from Mercury, Stuart Atkinson was moved to record its historic first fly-by of the furnace planet in one of his astro-poems.

Nancy Houser, of A Mars Odyssey, writes of the American spy satellite that has recently lost power and propulsion, and is expected to reenter the Earth's atmosphere in late February or March. The story is presented from both American and Russian points of view.

A Babe in the Universe details recent discoveries by the Hubble Space Telescope of intense hot storms on Jupiter. These storms are seen in visible light and infrared, and seem to appear in pairs.

Missy Frye, from Observations from Missy's Window, asks "Should Lunar Missions be scrubbed?" and examines current thoughts on the status of the American space program.

Chris Lintott discusses the recent picture from Mars showing a supposed "bigfoot". Obviously , this is just an illusion. "Bigfoot" was just a rock.

What would our galaxy look like to an outsider? At Starts With a Bang, Ethan answers this question.

The Astroprof commemorates the 50th anniversary of the American space program on January 31st. Explorer 1 was the United States' first space mission.

Occasional Cynic contributor Old Space Cadet presents an intriguing question about the legality of potential space tourism vehicle companies taking deposits from hopeful astronauts, and whether or not it's a violation of law.

Dr. Pamela L. Gay, of Star Stryder, writes to us with an article on dark energy, and provides evidence of its existence, hoping to quiet dark energy's critics.

Tim Jones at Remote Central tells the story of British astronomers locked out of the Gemini telescopes due to budget cuts, even in the face of the 2009 International Year of Astronomy.

And then we have my submission to this week's Carnival: Ten Essential Astronomy Accessories, a list of accessories to get you started in the field of amateur astronomy, even if your astronomy budget isn't very big. (Believe me, mine's not!)

If you'd like to see your blog here, head on over to Universe Today and check out the information on the Carnival of Space. We love to see new members in the community!

Clear skies!