By Sara Bridges

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By Sara Bridges

Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences in the world; even the cavemen saw that the patterns and shapes of the stars were predictable and cyclical. But what about you, have you ever looked up at the night sky to see all the millions of stars twinkling back down at you? On first sight it can just look like a mass of stars with no meaning or direction, but if you look again you will notice that these stars make particular patterns which are known as constellations. There are eighty eight modern constellations recognised by The International Astro- nomical Union and each of these constellations have a name and an accompanying legend that makes looking at the night sky one of the most interesting and satisfying things you can do for both adults and children of all ages. People throughout the ages have used constellations for a whole manner of different reasons. Some farmers used them to help them determine when to plant and harvest in the days before there were calendars. The shapes that the stars seemed to form made it very easy for early farmers to remember their positions in the sky and therefore helped to them recognise when certain seasons were approaching. When they could see Orion high in the sky they knew it was winter, the ancient Egyp- tians prepared for the flooding of the Nile when they saw Sirius rise with the sun. In South Africa the Pleiades star cluster was known as the ‘digging stars’, when they re- appeared in the early morning sky it was time to start digging the ground in order to plant crops. So now fasten your seatbelt, kick and relax while we take a jouney together through space and time and look at some of the mysteries, wonders and beauties of our night sky. Pag. 002

When I was a young girl, I had a fascination with the stars and planets. It started one evening in the back garden when I looked up and saw three stars in a row. I asked my dad and he told me that was it was the constellation Orion and the three stars were his belt. That explanation of Orion and his belt lead to a thousand other questions about Orion and all the other constellations in the sky, many of which I will cover here in my article. At eleven years old my head was spinning with the night sky Frank Drake (above) was born and the universe. My dad bought me books on the subjects and in 1930 in Chicago. He is an would take me out each evening to watch the sky armed with astromomer and astrophysist. He is responsible for SETI and nothing more than a plastic sky map and a pair of binoculars. The Drake Equation. I learnt That same year at school there was a creative writing about the Drake Equation competition and we had to submit an article about any topic after looking up at the early morning sky and seeing the of our choice. I do not remember exactly what the prize Milky Way. The Milky Way is consisted of but I do remember that there were book tokens, a the centre our galaxy and it certificate and a small cash prize. really is something to see. Most of my friends were writing about birds, flags But for all it’s vastness it of the world, football, motor racing, so I decided I would is only one of a billion galaxies submit an article on Astronomy. in the observable universe. I went home with my assignment and began preparing an All the stars that are visible with the naked eye are part article that covered pretty much a lot of the things I am going of the Milkyway. The milky light to cover here but from an eleven year olds point of view. that you can see is caused by My dad bought me a telescope and I prepared a paper on light from other stars in the galaxy that are not visible to my passionate new hobby. I remember the headmaster the naked eye. didn’t like it and there was some controversy over whether I had prepared the article myself as it was a subject The Drake equation was devised by Frank Drake in 1962 that he deemed “unusual for an eleven year to take an interest and is used to estimate the in” number of extraterrestial After a few words from my parents, my article was civilisations in our Milkyway submitted. I won second prize, the head said he galaxy. It is used in the “search for Extraterristial intelligence” couldn’t accept it as first prize because in his opinion it was also known as SETI. too well written and it wouldn’t have been fair on the other kids whose ideas were not as “out there” . Frank devised this equation in readiness for a meeting called My parents were unhappy with his reasoning but I was only the Green Bank meeting in Vir- eleven and I didn’t see what the problem was with second gina.The meeting’s prize, I’d won a book token and an award. Job done!! It members were known as the order of the Dolphin wasn’t until I was older that I understood why my and they included people like parents were upset with the headmaster. Choosing a interest astronomers, scientists and in- that was different and writing about it shouldn’t be hushed up, dustrial leaders. played down or subdued. So with that in mind I now present to you my unadulterated, article on astronomy. Not the article that was done by me the innocent eleven year old who couldn’t see past the book token but by me the writer, written from the heart for your pleasure to share with you and encourage you in a science and a hobby that fascinates many people the world over. Pag. 003

To take an interest in astronomy you don’t need to invest in a lot of expensive kit, a good pair of binoculars or a telescope will suffice. To start with you can even try with just some warm clothes and the naked eye. It takes a little while for your eyes to become accustomed to the dark. What I find helps if you are only using the naked eye, is to lie on your back on the floor (preferably in your back garden or yard, and stare up at the sky. At first you may not see much, The equation is only compat- the brightest stars and planets becoming apparent first, but then ible to intelligent civillisations after a few minutes you will notice many thousands more within our galaxy. It doesn’t coming into view as your eyes adjust. apply to intelligence outside of our Galaxy because they are The sky has been used as a navigational tool for too far away to be able to de- thousand of years and if you know your constellations and the tect their radio signals. positions they are in at certain times of the year then you will The Drake equation is: never become lost and will always find your way home. Although it is not a method to get yourself home after a night N=R*fp*ne*fl*fi*fc*L in the pub. N= The number of civilisations in the Milky Way Galaxy whose electromagnetic emis- Constellations for Navigation. sions are dectable.

R* = The rate of formation of It is said that using the sky for navigation allowed for the stars suitable for the develop- discovery of America, whether you choose to believe the ment of intelligent life.

fp = The fraction of those stars whose with planetary systems.

ne = The number of planets per solar system with an envi- ronment suitable for life.

fl = The fraction of suitable planets on which life actually appears

fi = The fraction of life bearing planets on which intelligent ife actually emerges

fc = The fraction of civilisations that develop a technology that releases detectable signs of their existence into space.

L = The length of time such civilisations release detectable signals into space. official version of that discovery or whether you believe that it was discovered long before Columbus set foot there, it was very probable that they used the stars for direction. It is very easy to find Polaris (The North Star), it is very close to Ursa Minor also known as the Little Dipper (or in my house as a child “the little milk pan because it looks like a saucepan). Sailors could work out their longitude and latitude by looking at how high Polaris was in the sky. Pag. 004

Some of the most famous voyagers who used this method of Navigation were the Polynesians. These people were sea faring folk with strong and developed navigation skills. They navigated thousands of miles through the Pacific Islands and colonised islands by making long canoe voyages. They did not have any instruments to help them navigate, they used a method called Wayfaring which meant they used the position of the stars, sun, moon, winds and even direction of bird flight to tell them which way to go. It’s been said that the original numbers that Drake used in the equation back in 1961 The Polynesians built their canoes and developed a were compass called the Hawaiian star compass. It had thirty two R = 10 equidistant directional points around the horizon and each fp = 0.5 ne = 2.0 point was 11.25 degrees from the next. (11.25 x 32 degress = fl = 1.0 360 degrees). The four directional points each have traditional fi = 0.01 Hawaiian names. fc = 0.01 L = 10000 East is called Hikina (meaning arriving or coming) Therefore when you put where the sun and stars arrive at the Horizon. Drakes’s numbers into the equation you get the answer that there are 10 broadcasting West is called Komohana (meaning entering) where the civilisations within our galaxy. Makes you think doesn’t it!! sun and stars enter the horizon.

The probability that mankind North is called Akua is the only intelligent life within our own milky way galaxy or indeed within the South is called Hema. Universe, is quite a low probabilty. The Universe must be teaming with life. The four cardinal directional points divide the circle of the horizon into four quadrants, which have been given names You only have to go pond dip- associated with wind directions: ping to see the hundreds of thousands of diverse living creatures within only a simple Ko’olau is the NE quadrant, named for the windward pond. side of the islands, the direction from which the NE trades, Compare that with a Galaxy the most constant of the Hawaiian winds, blow. that is said to be infinite. The Wow Signal

In July 1977, The Big Ear radio telescope at SETI picked up a strong narrowband radio signal coming from the direction of the constellation saggitarius, over 200 light years away. There is no known natural phenomon to explain it. The signal looks like it could be a sound of intelligent life. It lasts for 72 sec- onds. When the scientist Jerry Ehman first saw the printout he wrote down one word “WOW” But the wow signal has never been heard again. It remains The original print out of the one of astronomy’s most inexplicable moments. Wow! signal, complete with Jerry Ehman’s famous exclamation, is preserved by the Ohio Historical Society. Looking at life in a pond. Comparing the size of a pond with the Universe, is it logical thinking to assume we are the only life form within our Galaxy? Pag. 005

Malanai is the SE quadrant, named for “a gentle breeze” (PE) associated with Kailua O’ahu (SE part of the island) and Koloa, Kaua’i (S by E part of the island); on a wind map of Pukapuka, two “Malangai” winds blow from the SE... Each quadrant contains seven directional points and houses with the following names. The names were devised by Nainoa Thompson, the first Hawaiian in over 500 years to Apophis is an asteriod that will practice long-distance, open-ocean navigation without visit Earth on Friday 13 April 2029. Passing within the orbits instruments. of TV satellites, Apophis will be as bright as a star visible to the nakes eye. The close approach La: “Sun”; the sun stays in this house for most of the will be seen in Europe and Af- year as it moves back and forth between its southern limit at rica and there is a 0.8% probability that Apophis will impact the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 degrees S) at Winter Solstice to Earth. its northern limit at the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees N) at Summer Solstice. Apophis might pass through a gravitational keyhole causing a future impact on 13 April 2036, ‘Aina: “Land”; This house between 17 degrees and 28 an impact equivalent to 1,480 megatons of TNT. (The impact degrees on the horizon from east and west can be remembered that created the Barringer cra- because Hawai’i (‘Aina, or Land) is at 21 degrees N latitude ter was 8 megatons) and Tahiti (‘Aina, or Land) is at 18 degrees S latitude. Apophis will return again to Nalani: Named for the brightest star in this house, Ke visit the Earth and there will be a 1 in 250,000 chance of an ali’i o kona i ka lewa (Canopus), which rises in Nalani impact in 2036. It will again Malanai and sets in Nalani Kona. threaten the Earth in 2037, and Na Leo: “The Voices,” referring to the voices of the stars an impact would create at least 3,000 square kilometres speaking to the wayfinder. of damage.

A space probe is being sent Haka: “Empty”; named for the relatively empty skies to attach itself to Apophis, it around the north and south celestial poles; Kamakau say the will become visible to astronomers in 2011. It is paramount names of these areas are Uliuli (“deep, dark blue”) and Lipo that we are able to track Apo- (“deep, dark night”). phis on its orbit as if there is any deviation in the passby in 2029, we must know acurately I got my information about the name of these houses from whether that could affect the Will Kyselka’s Ocean in Mind 96-97. second passby in 2036. So the next few years are going to be very interesting for space ex- ploration and asteriod watchers.

Current size estimated at 100 to 120 metres in diameter, if Apophis should impact the Earth we can expect an impact equivalent to 1,480 tons of TNT! Pag. 006

The Polynesians used the star compass by using the horizon as a compass and learning which house on the star compass the stars rose and set in. The stars rise in the East and set in the west just like the sun does. So by recognising a star as it rises or sets and in which house this occurs gives you a directional point which you can steer your canoe and go in the direction you want. Although this form of navigation is not an exact science, knowing something about it and how to apply it could be the A man named Roy A Tucker who is an amateur astronomer difference between life and death and I would like to give you from Tuscon Ariziona, discov a quick and easy lesson of how to use this skill, should you ered Apophis using no more than a mediocre telescope and ever find yourself in a situation where you may need it. CCTV. He has also Whilst I am sure the majority of readers will not find discovered 223 other astroids in space. He alerted NASA of themselves alone on a boat and lost at sea, it is possible his find and this big asteroid you may lose your way or your camp if for example you were was named Apophis. out hiking or camping and using the celestial bodies can NASA has calculated that Ap- help you find your way back to where you need to be. ophis will pass us by so close it Most people who are out hiking or camping will have a will be visible to the naked eye. If these calculations are out by map with them but what if there is no compass? How would even a fraction, then it would you know which is North, South, East or West? be possible for this asteroid to be pulled into the Earth’s The sun always rises in the East and sets in the West. gravitational pull and into our When the sun reaches it highest point at noon, its position is atmosphere and would impact somewhere around Nicaragua south in the Northern Hemisphere. in South America. The North Star or Polaris is positioned in a northerly There are alreadu plans to fire a nuclear missile at Apophis in direction. It is not the brightest star in the sky as some people 2028 believe it is, but it is important in navigation because its Apophis is the name of the position is stationary and therefore if you follow it, you know devil in ancient Egyptian my- you are heading north. thology. It is the strongest and most demonic spirit known to If you look up and you can’t recognise Polaris because the acient pharos. He has been all you can see is a mass of twinkling dots, it is very easy to described as the challenger of light, which menat that all light locate by looking for other constellations such as the Ursa would be diminished if Apophis Major (The big Dipper or Great Bear). I can always spot this was to have his way on planet huge constellation by simply looking for an enormous saucepan. Earth.

Apophis is in fact the Greek name for the Egyptian mythological creature “Apep”; the symbol of all things evil, It is chaotic in Egyptian culture. Pag. 007

Then there is Cassiopeia which is another easy one to find because she looks like a W. Before being competent at using the night sky to find your way, it is important to have a basic knowledge of the constellations and their positions and I want to start with some of the most recognisable ones in the sky. The most famous navigational stars are the North Star, (Polaris) and the Southern Cross. The North Star is a part of the constellation Ursa Minor, which is also known as the Apophis was portrayed as a snake of unbelievable size and Little Dipper. The Southern Cross is a constellation of four length. As he was the personi- stars called Crixa, two of which point towards the celestial fication of darkness, and chaos. Apep’s natural enemy was south pole. Ma’at, or truth and light. Apep was believed to exist from Egypt’s era of the Middle King- Let’s begin by looking at Ursa Major. It is one of the dom onward. The belief sur- vived later into Coptic Christi- easiest constellations to find and a good starting point for anity, which was influenced locating other constellations. greatly by the Roman Catholic traditions. It looks like a large pan and if you follow the pan bowl Thus “Aphoph” has become the name of Apep in the upwards you will locate the North star. Now if you follow the Egyptian Coptic religions. curve of the pan handle downwards you will find the star Every year, a ritual called the Arcturus which is part of the constellation Bootes, then imagine “Banishing of Apep” would be held by the priests of Ra. They a hole in the bottom of the saucepan, all the milk inside would would take an effigy of Apep drip directly onto the constellation Leo and the bright star in this and in the center of the tem- ple they would pray that all constellation is Regulus. the wickedness in Egypt would go into the effigy. Then they would trample the effigy, crush it, beat it with sticks, pour mud on it, and eventually burn and destroy it. In this way, the power of Apep would be curtailed for another year. Below: Roy A Tucker, who discovered Apophis, he was raised in Memphis. In 1966, he became a member of Memphis Astronomical Society and received a Master’s degree in Sci- entific Instrumentation from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Another good constellation to use to help you locate the others is Orion. Orion appears in the winter and is one of the brightest constellations in the sky. Good indicators of Orion are the three stars that form his belt and you can use this belt as a pointer for other stars. If you follow the line of the belt you will arrive at the star Sirius which is the brightest star in the night sky and forms part of the constellation Canis Major.

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If you follow the line of the belt to the right you will come to the star Aldebaran which is the brightest star in the constellation of Taurus. Now if you follow the line through Taurus you will arrive at a cluster of stars called the Pleiades.

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun and is the largest planet in our Solar system. It has been known since prehistoric times as the wandering star. If Jupiter were hollow you could fit the Earth inside it more than 1000 times over. It also contains two and a half times the mass of all the other planets combined. It has a mass of 1.9 x 1027kg and it is 142,800 kilometres (88,736 miles) It’s not so difficult to start identifying more and across the equator. more constellations. A good piece of kit that will help Jupiter was first visited by immensely is a sky map and you don’t need to rush out and Pioneer 10 in 1973 and then by Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, Voyager buy an expensive one. 2 and Ulysses. The spacecraft You can find them on the internet and you can Galileo orbited Jupiter for eight years and it is still regu- download them for free each month and print them off. When larly observed by the Hubble I was doing my school project I had this fantastic circular sky Space Telescope. map of the northern hemisphere on one side and the southern Jupiter is a gas planet and on the other. You could move the plastic cover on it to match probably does not have a solid the month of the year and seasons and it would show you the surface. What you would see when looking at this planet is position of sky. the tops of clouds high in it’s atmosphere. But if you don’t happen to have a posh rotating plastic Jupiter contains 62 known one, you can always try here....http://www.skymaps.com/ satellites. The four largest are downloads.html” Callisto, Europa, Ganymede and Io. They were named after Galileo Galilei and are collectively known as the Gali- lean moons. Galileo observed them as long ago as 1610. The German astronomer Simon Marius claimed to have seen the moons around the same time but he did not publish his observations and so Galileo is given the credit for their discovery. Pag. 009

How to use a star map On first glance they may look a little complicated, it takes time and patience to be able to recognise stars and remember their names but one of the most important things about using a star map is to be aware of your own position. People who are in the Northern Hemisphere will be looking a different sky to those who live in the Southern Hemisphere. It also depends on the time of night and the time Jupiter has rings like Saturn’s, but much fainter and smaller.. of year, as the Earth rotates but the stars do not. So the sky They were totally unexpect- will look different at different times of the night and day. ed and were only discovered when two of the Voyager 1 Polaris will always be situated at the north of the map, so scientists insisted that after it is important that you hold the map up at the sky with the traveling 1 billion km it was at least worth a quick look to see north point facing north. In this position the map should look if any rings might be present. Everyone else thought that exactly like the sky and is a good place to start familiarising the chance of finding anything yourself with the position of the stars. With patience and was nil, but there they were. It was a major coup. They have practice you will be able to eventually read the sky without since been imaged in the in- the star map. fra-red from ground-based observatories and by Galileo. Recently while I was attending one of Chris’s spacecamps, Unlike Saturn, Jupiter’s rings are dark. They’re probably we were introduced to an amazing piece of software that has composed of very small grains certainly come a long way since my little plastic sky map. The of rocky material. Unlike Sat- urn’s rings, they seem to con- software is called “Starry Night” tain no ice. The version we were shown was Starry Night Pro but In Roman mythology, Jupiter there are other versions available such as Enthusiast, space was the king of Heaven and earth and of all the Olym- and Astronomy and for the serious astronomer there pian gods. He was also known is Pro Plus. as the god of Justice. He was named king of the gods in the Starry night transforms your computer screen into a special meeting that followed virtual observatory. You select the nearest city to where you his overthrow of the god Sat- urn and the Titans. are and set the date and it brings a live view of the night sky However in Greek mythology onto your screen and names all the planets, stars, Jupiter was known as Zeus constellations, and satellites that are in view at that very and he received control of the skies in a game to divide the moment you are looking at it. world among his brothers., You can play around with the dates and travel in Poseidon and hades. rebeled against Zeus were struck time from 99,999 BC all the way to 99,999AD and view down by thunder and hail. His weapons included lightening, how the sky looks at any date in between. You can get more snow, hail and thunder. information about the starry night software either from Chris Everard or the starry night website at http://www.starrynight.com” So when is a good time to go out star gazing? It’s important to find the right time and place to do it as this will have a big impact on what you can see. After sunset is best and as the sky becomes darker more stars become visible. One of the best times to go outside star gazing is when there is a new moon as this is one of the times you will see the most stars. I love to view the sky at round 4am because you can see the misty Milky Way and Jupiter. Choosing the right place is also important. If you were to do it in the city, your vision may be impaired by the bright lights and objects, so the best place to go is somewhere a little remote without too many street lamps.

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You don’t have to drive to the top of a remote hillside to do it, your back garden with all the house lights off should be suffice to start with. If you are just starting out with this hobby or you just want to try it, there is no need to start buying expensive pieces of equipment. Your bare eyes will do to look for constellations, shooting stars and planets in the night sky. There were no telescopes in the ancient world and the star gazers in those days managed to put the constellations Zeus was born to Cronus and Rhea. They had several chil- together with only their eyes. If you decide that this hobby is dren including Hestia, deme- for you, you can always invest in a good pair of binoculars, ter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon. Cronus swallowed them all as they are especially good for looking at the dimmer stars. For soon as they were born as he had learned from Gaia and the more avid star gazers there is the telescope. They come at Uranus that he was destined all kinds of prices and some of them will even enable you to to be overthrown by his own son as he had once overthrown see the ice caps on Mars, the Rings of Saturn and the his own father. But when moons of Jupiter!! Zeus was about to be born, his mother devised a plan to save her son. Rhea gave birth to Zeus in Crete and handed Cronus a rock wrapped in swaddling cloths which he swallowed. Rhia hid Zeus in a cave called Mt Ida and he was brought up by nymphs. When Zeus was a man he forced Cronus to disgorge first the stone and then his siblings in reverse order of swallowing. Then Zeus released the brothers of Cronus, The Gigantes, The Hecatonchires and the cyclopes from their dungeon Sky watching is a wonderful in Tartarus. hobby for adults and children alike. It opens up a whole new As a token of their apprecia- wrorld of imagination and www.spacecamps.net tion, the Cyclopes gave him fantastic learning. Winter and Summer 2011 thunder and the thunderbolt and lightening which had pre- viously been hidden from him by Gaia. Together Zeus and his brothers and sisters along with the Gigantes, Hecatonchires and Cyclopes overthrew Cro- nus and the other Titans in a combat called the Titanomchy. The defeated Titans were then cast into a shadowy underworld region known as Tar- tarus. Atlas, one of the Titan’s that fought against Zeus, was punished by having to hold up the sky

The type of telescope that you need depends mostly on the observing you want to do. Many amateur astronomers own more than one telescope, each specialised for a different type of observing. But if you are a beginner, you might want to look for a telescope that you can use for several different activities.

Remember that there are three basic types of telescopes: * Refractors - a lens is the primary device for gathering light. * Reflectors - a mirror is the primary device for gathering light. * Compound telescopes or catadioptrics - a combination of lenses and mirrors is used to gather light. Pag. 0011

There are a cou- ple of hundred billion stars just in our own Milky Way Galaxy, so the odds are good that we are not alone in the universe.

Left: Small Jam Is there other life within our jar teaming with Solar System? Given it’s life after a quick vastness it would seem more- dip in a pond. likey that we are not alone. After the battle with the Titans, Zeus shared the world with his elder brothers Po- seidon and Hades by draw- Constellation names, myths and legends. ing lots. Zeus got the sky and air, Poseidon the waters and Hades the underworld. There is so much more to star gazing than just being able to The ancient Gaia could not be claimed; she was left to read the sky and recognise constellations. As I mentioned all three, each according to earlier there are eighty eight recognised constellations and the their own capabilities, which explains why Poseidon was more familiar these stars and constellations become the more the earth-shaker (the god of Earthquakes) and Hades names you will come across. claimed the humans that died. Most if not all of these constellations have fantastic The Milky Way. names and with these names follow legend and mythology. If you look up on a dark, clear Many people believed the Gods lived in the Heavens and they night, away from city lights, you may see a wide band of created the stars to tell stories. faint light stretching above you, stiller than a cloud and The names of our constellations came from the Greeks glittering with densely packed and they named them after their mythological heroes. Which stars. Translated from the An- cient Greek as “Milky Way” means that with each constellation there follows an amazing for resembling spilled milk on story. I want to have a look and tell you about some of my the sky, that band of light is the center of our galaxy. own personal favourites. The Milky Way has the shape of a spiral, It’s on one of these spiraling arms close to the Orion center that the sun and Earth Orion, was a great hunter and he was the son of Neptune are located. who was the god of the sea. He was the most handsome man At 100,000 light years across in Greece and the women wanted to be with him and the men with pockets of clouds and gas and around 400 billion stars wanted to be like him. He was out hunting one day when he rotating around the galaxy’s centre. We revolve around met a woman called Artemis. the centre every 250 million She asked him if he would like to go hunting with her years. and he agreed. They became good friends and over time that But there is a super monster friendship grew into love but Artemis had taken a vow of lurking at the heart of our Milky Way. In the Galatic chastity and her twin brother Apollo did not approve of their Centre which is surrounded by 200-400 billion stars lies an relationship, he didn’t want to see his sister break her vow. enormous black hole called Orion was swimming in the sea one day when Apollo Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A* for short. saw him, immediately he ran to find Artemis and challenged her to an archery contest, asking her to hit the speck on the horizon (which was Orion in the sea) she agreed and she fired an arrow and hit the mysterious speck.

She wondered what it was and ran to the beach curious but when she arrived she saw it was Orion’s body with her arrow through his chest and realised she had been tricked by her brother. Pag. 0012

She ran to find Asclepius who was the God of Medicine but he couldn’t revive Orion, so Artemis lifted Orion’s body up and put him in the stars so that when ever she looked up at the sky she would be able to see her good friend. Another version of the legend of Orion was that he was the son of Neptune and he had inherited his mother’s hunting skills and had become very big for his boots. He thought he was so good that he vowed he was going to kill every animal The centre is packed with stars on Earth. and in the 1930’s a physicist called Karl Jansky began to Mother Earth retaliated and made a huge scorpion which take an interest in this central bulge. Orion was not able to defeat. The scorpion killed Orion and Artemis pleaded with the God Zeus to put him up in the He was employed by Bell Tele- phone and they had asked him heavens, eventually Zeus gave in and both Orion and the to investigate reasons of static scorpion were put up into the sky as constellations, the that may interfere with it’s radio voice transmissions. Jansky scorpion now better known as Scorpio. scanned the airwaves using a radio receiver. He found a signal that he couldn’t explain, it sounded like steam and he managed to narrow it down to the constellation sagittarius in the direction of the Galatic Centre. News of his findings escaped and Jansky had to as- sure the public that it wasn’t aliens seeking contact and that was all that was said about this finding for the next thirty years. Years later in the 1960’s Erick Becklin started to invesigate. At a time when Quasars had Sirius. (Canis Major) just been discovered, which were bright beacons of light coming from deep space. Er- This leads me to Sirius who is said to be Orion’s dog. Sirius is ick wanted to know were they coming from the Galactic Cen- known as the Dog Star, this is because it forms part of the tre and what powered them? constellation Canis Major (meaning big dog). It is the First he located our neighbour- brightest star in the sky and it is the closest star to the earth ing galaxy Andromeda which especially in the summer which is where we get the saying from our position can be seen in full view. However, we live in- “dog days of summer” side our galaxy and so Becklin had to find a way to see into it’s Canis Major is seen as one of the two hunting dogs of centre. He managed to find a Orion, The other being Canis Minor (little dog). Again there device that reads infra red light and with wave lengths similar are several stories of the myth of Orion and his dog. to the distance between dust The story tells us that after Apollo had tricked Artemis and particles. Using this instru- ment he was able to position into killing Orion with her arrow, Orion’s hunting dog Sirius of our Galatic Centre. This now opened the path for future as- was so overcome with grief for his master he would not stop tronomers to start probing for looking for him. So when Orion was placed in the heavens for more details. Artemis to be able to look at whenever she wanted, she placed Sirius his faithful hunting companion at his heels so they could be together as master and dog forever. However in Egyptian Mythology, Sirius was named the Dog Star after their God Osiris whose head in pictures often resembled that of a dog. Sirius was the most important star in ancient Egyptian astronomy.

The first night that Sirius was seen every year was in July and this became the start of the Egyptian New Year and it was celebrated with a festival called Sopdet. When Sirius Pag. 0013

appeared in the night sky each year, the Nile would begin to flood and bring fertility to the land. The ancient Egyptians started to connect these two events together. That of the festival of Sopdet and the flooding of the Nile and so Sopdet became the Goddess of the fertility that came with Nile Floods. The Paranal Observatory in The arrival of Sirius and the floods also symbolised the in Northern Chile Egyptian New Year so she also became the Goddess of The Reinhardt Genzel and his New Year. team of German astrono- The star Sirius is hidden by the sun’s glare for up mers, who are based at the Max Plant Institute for Extra- to 70 days close to 4 July. The ancient Egyptians refused to terrestial Physics in Germany bury their dead during the 70 days Sirius was hidden from have spent 16 years mapping out the journys of 28 stars or- view, because it was believed Sirius was the doorway to the biting the very centre of our Milky Way Galaxy. afterlife, and the doorway was thought to be closed during this yearly period. They began in 1990 with a goal to pin point the location This is why it took seventy days to embalm the dead while of Sagittarius A star and find Sirius could not be seen in the sky. out what it is. The star is too small to see at 26,000 light years away so they studied the orbits of the stars around it. After studying the data they were able to calculate the speeds of the stars. and the position of Sagittaruis A* They also calculated it’s gravitation pull and discovered that it’s mass was appoximatley 300 millions times of our sun. This was strong but not conclusive evidence that it is a black hole. Both Reinhardt and Beck- lin wanted to be able to look through the gas and clouds of the Milky way and prove the existence of black holes. It was an extraordinary event that brought them that proof. In 2002 the German team was making observations with the extra large telescope “Array” at the Paranal Observatory in Northern Chile. One of the stars they had been following called S2 suddenly swerved towards the Galatic Centre Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (The Great Bear and The Small speeding up to approx 3 million kilometers per hour, com- Bear) ing very close to the possible black hole. If there had been also known as The Big Dipper and The Plough. a cluster of stars in there, S2’s path and light would have been distorted due to turbu- Ursa Major is the most well known constellation in the sky. lence. But it didn’t and this We looked at it earlier as a stepping stone to find other proved conclusively that Sag- ittarius A* is a black hole. constellations in the night sky. Quite close to her is Ursa Minor. One of the legends surrounding this constellation being that once a nymph called Callisto had an affair with Zeus. Callisto was training to be a hunter with Artemis (Orion’s old pal). Zeus would watch Callisto and one day in an effort to get near her he disguised himself as Artemis. Pag. 0014

Not long after their secret was out Callisto was disgraced and banished from the hunting class. She had a son called Arcas alone in the woods. Years later, Hera, Zeus’ wife found out. In order to protect Callisto he turned her into a bear. As a bear Callisto ran into the woods to hide and as she did so she bumped into her son Arcas who was hunting. Arcas Raised his arrow ready to slay the bear, Zeus had to save Callisto again and he turned her son into a bear also and picked them both up by their tails and launched them into The black hole, is thought to be 26,000 light years from Earth the sky. As he did this the tails of the bears stretched and you and four million times bigger than the Sun. Black holes are can see these two in the form of Ursa Major (Great Bear) and objects whose gravity is so Ursa Minor (little Bear) strong that nothing including light can escape them. It is said that black holes play an active part in the evolution of the universe. Giant black holes are found at the centres of almost every latge galaxy, it is also said that the bigger a galaxy is, the bigger it’s black hole which would indicate that they there is a relationship between the two. When matter falls into a black hole it heats up to millions of degrees. The more matter that falls into it, the more it pushes out. This can have the effect of limiting the growth of a galaxy, in effect putting an end to star growth. In 2001 scientists were were working with the new Chandra X-ray and they pointed it at sagittarius A* at the moment it errupted They saw flares which occur when matter builds up at the Event Horizon before Bootes. (The Herdsman) pronounced Bohoh-tease falling into it. The flares appear to be showing us that our Black Hole and Galaxy have settled There are several different legends surrounding this into a period of sleep. But one day they will wake up. constellation. One of them is about Icarius who was a Greek Astronomers in Antartica are shepherd. The God Dionysus taught Icarius how to make wine trying to ascertain when the and Icarius was very excited about his discovery and wanted Milky Way’s black hole will start eating again. Data from to share some of his brew with the other shepherds. He told their telescope has shown that there could be a disaster the shepherds to mix the wine with water but they wouldn’t in progress. A huge ring of gas listen and guzzled the wine down neat. is looming around the Galatic Centre and when it gathers The next day of course they were very sick with hang the same mass equal to around 300 million suns, it will reach a overs but they thought Icarius had tried to poison them and so breaking point. It will errupt with star formation before they killed him. When Dionysus heard about this he turned falling down into the ever his friend Icarius into the Constellation Bootes and as I hungry black hole. As the cloud enters it, the black hole will er- mentioned earlier, the brightest star in this constellation is rupt and become visible across most of the universe. Based on called Arcturus, which I said you can find by following the this, it is thought that events like this occur once every 400 In 1975, Stephen Hawking million years. calculated that once a black Reinhardt hole forms, it radiates energy Genzel based at and starts losing mass by giving the Max Plant off “Hawking radiation”. he has Institute for revised his belief that black Extraterrestial holes destroy everything that Physics in falls on them. Germany He now believes that black holes The Chandra X-Ray. may allow information to get First comissioned in 2001 out. Pag. 0015

tail down of Ursa Major. The story also goes on with another twist, Icarius’ dog was stricken with grief at the death of his master and he ran home to find Icarius’ daughter Erigone. Erigone followed the dog to her father’s body and was so upset that she hung herself.

The dog also died of a broken heart and so it is said that It’s not called spacecamps Dionysus turned them into constellations in the heavens out of for nothing, but don’t worry camping in the South of France respect for his friend. The dog who was called Maera became is 100% better than camping in Britain. Accomodation is al- Canis Major or Canis minor (it’s not been defined which located on a first come-first exactly) and the daughter became the constellation Virgo. served basis. you’ll either be staying in our guesthouse or gites, in a tent or even a tipee. Get ready to enjoy clear skies and great french wine.

Day1- MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE.

A guide to the night sky and the current UFO situation. with a film sceening followed by a BBQ dinner. After diner, a talk and demonstration of the Starry night software.

Day 2 - FILMING UFO’s

A guide to telescope, camera- scopes, binoculars and night- vision. The latest hardware is discussed with emphasis on cost effective systems to monitor low earth objects. and UFO’s. Followed by BBQ The royal Family: Cassiopeia, Cepheus and dinner and sky watch using Andromeda. night-vision gear.

Day 3 - CROP CIRCLES AND UFO’s Cassiopeia is one of the easiest constellations in the night sky to spot. It is made up of five stars and looks like a giant W A special lecture and screening about the relationship be- sitting in the sky. A lot of people in Arab cultures recognise tween balls of light and the this as a camel kneeling down. She sits with her daughter crop circle formations which they have been filmed making Andromeda, Perseus and her husband Cepheus and can be in Britain. found opposite the big dipper. Day 4 - ANCIENT ASTRONAUTS. This beautiful constellation is most visible in November; Extraterrestrial life. Chris however she can be seen all year round close to Polaris and Everard presents a slideshow spends six months of the year upside down. The constellation of alien photos and ET’s found in the archeological records of Cassiopeia contains two of the most luminous stars in the earth. Film screening, followed by BBQ dinner and UFO galaxy. skywatch. The myth that surrounds this family was one of my

Day 5 - HUBBLE & FUTURE OF favourite stories as a girl and if you like what you read here, UFOLOGY. then I can recommend the original film version of Clash of The last lecture and film The Titans as this film also tells the story beautifully. screening explores the latest discoveries from The Hubble, Cassiopeia was queen and consort of King Cepheus in discusses dark matter, dark Ethiopia. They had a daughter called Andromeda. Cassiopeia energy and wormholes, black holes and the likely future development of space-time travel. www.spacecamps.net Pag. 0016

was a very vain queen, quite arrogant and always boasting about her beauty. She said that both her and her daughter were more beautiful than Poseidon’s nymphs, The Nereids. Poseidon wanted to punish Cassiopeia for this and he sent Cetus a rampant sea monster to wreak havoc and destruction along the coast of King Cepheus’ country.

The only way that the King and Queen could stop his destruction of their country was to give their daughter GLIESE 581g Star System Andromdeda to the sea monster. So they tied her to a rock as After 11 years of observations, astronomers in Hawaii an offering to Cetus. have discovered a planet 20 In the meantime Perseus who had recently killed the light years away that is said to have a similar atmosphere and Gorgon Medusa, was travelling back home on his flying horse gravity to the Earth. They are Pegasus and on his way he saw the body of Andromeda tied also saying that there is a100% chance of life on this planet to the rock and he fell in love with her. and it may contain water. He immediately went to Queen Cassiopeia and her This planet has been discov- husband and asked them if could marry their daughter if he was able ered only three years after another smaller planet was to rescue her before the sea monster ate her, Andromeda was discovered orbiting the same already promised to her uncle Phineus, but Cassiopeia agreed star. The discovert was made at the W M Keck Observato- to the request. Perseus rescued Andomeda and they returned ries. to Ethiopia to marry. Is this more concrete evidence Cassiopeia and Cepheus began to arrange the wedding as that shows our universe is teaming with life and all promised but when the celebrations started Phineus had in our back garden within the something to say about all this and he demanded his right to universe...the Milky Way. marry Andromeda as she had already been promised to him. It has also been said that of all the similar systems in the Naturally family being family the King and Queen sided Universe, up to 20% of them with Uncle Phineus and all three of them challenged Perseus. could sustain life. Perseus killed them by using the head of Medusa and after The planet is too small to be their deaths they were place in the sky, where Cassiopeia was seen by a telescope due to its vast distance from us. In fact placed upside down for half if the year as punishment for her it would take us 20 years to make the journey there and arrogance and vanity. 20 years back again. Scientists discovered the planet because just as with the case of Sagit- tarius A*, the Black hole at the centre of our Milky way, they noticed the gravitational wob- bles in the stars that are the tell tale signs that show something is in orbit. The planet orbits a star in the constellation of Libra and it only takes 37 days to orbit it’s sun.

Perseus. I want to look at Perseus separately; after all he was the hero of the story and wasn’t strictly related to the Cepheus Family. Our hero was an adventurer and he led a full life. Pag. 0017

He killed the Medusa as we have already seen and he got the girl. He cleverly defeated Medusa by using a mirror so that he was able to see her without looking directly at her as one direct look at The Medusa would turn you to stone. He took off her head with his sword and it was from her blood that that the winged horse Pegasus was created. He was flying on Pegasus’ back when he found Andromeda tied to the rock waiting for Cetus to come and take her. After Perseus has defeated Cassiopeia, Cepheus and However one side of the planet is always facing its star and this Phineus, he married Andromeda and they spent many happy means that this side would al- years together until their deaths when they were put up in the ways be in constant daylight and the other side in constant sky by the sky gods. darkness. The second brightest star in this constellation is called Six planets have been found Algol, which in Arabic means head of the ghoul or demon. It in orbit around Gliese 581 and just like our solar system, those represents the head of The Medusa and every three days this planets have circular orbits. star becomes much dimmer. After a few hours it brightens up The age of this star sytem has again and this is because Algol is two stars that are going not been discussed but just im- around each other. agine, if life has not yet evolved on this planet, it’s going to have One of the stars is dimmer and larger than the other, all the time in the universe to do so. when it passes in front Algol becomes dimmer and this gives Professor Steven Vogt, a professor of Astronomy and As- trophysics at UC Santra Cruez Said: “Personally, given the ubiquity and propensity of life to flourish wherever it can, I would say that the chances for life on this planet are 100 percent. I have almost no doubt about it. The question wouldn’t be to de- fend that there is life at Gliese 581g … ‘the question,’ would be to demonstrate that there isn’t”

If the planet does sustain life it would be very useful if the aliens had extra muscles, due to the possibility the gravity is higher than that of the Earth. So if a normal earthling took a walk over there they would weigh three times as much as they do on the Earth. I guess another way around that Stephen Hawking has claimed that any would be to crawl on the floor and get around that way. civilisation with which humanity could communi- cate is likely to be much older and more Gliese 581, the brightest object in technologically advanced than ours. So they this Nasa image from 2007, is would probably have the ability, and possibly the only 20 light years from Earth motive, to eradicate humanity and strip-mine and is one of our nearest our planet for parts. It would be safer not to neighbours actively broadcast our presence.

Do they really come in peace? Pag. 0018

Cetus

The constellation Cetus represents the Sea Monster of Poseidon. It is one of the largest constellations known. Because of this it can only be seen a few months of the year, from October to January. His head is a circle next to the constellation Taurus. It is also known as the whale and is situated along a region of the sky which is known as The Water with other Pictured above: Maria Orsic, a water type constellations like Aquarius, Pisces and Eridanus. famous medium who became the leader of the Vril Gesellschaft. She was born in Vienna. She disa- peared in 1945 and it said that The Constellations have she has gone to Aldebaran star system. provided people of all ages with the most amazing stories and legends. In 1917 four members of the Vril society met in a cafe in When you look up at the Vienna. There was one woman night sky you are not only and three men. The woman looking at millions of stars, was a ‘spiritual medium’. They but also at many stories met in secret and nobody knew from the ancient world. what the meeting was about. They discussed secret revela- tions, the coming of the new There to be treasured and age, the Spear of Destiny, the passed down through the magical violet black stone, and generations. making contact with ancient peoples and distant worlds. Their source of power was the Black Sun, an infinite beam of light which, though invisible to Hercules. the human eye, exists in anti- matter. The Vril emblem became the Black Sun, a secret I want to finish off with my own personal favourite constellation philosophy thousand of years myth, I would like to tell you about Hercules and his 12 old provided the foundation on which the occult practioners labours. of the Third Reich would later build. The Black Sun symbol Hercules was a Demi-God and his father was Zeus and can be found in many Babyloni- his mother was human. Hera was Zeus’ wife and she raised an and Assyrian places of worship. They depicted the Black Hercules but when she realised that Hercules was not actually Sun - the godhead’s inner light her son she became enraged with jealousy. in the form of a cross. This was not much different from the After Hercules was married his step mother made him German’s Knight’s Cross. lose his mind and in his insanity he killed his wife and The woman allegedly chan- children. After awaking from this insanity he couldn’t believe neled information from Aryan aliens living in Alpha Tauri, in what he had done and he prayed to the god Apollo for help. the Aldebaran star system. Apollo told him he would have to go to the King of These aliens had once visited Earth and settled in Sumeria. Tyrins who was called Eurystheus and serve him for twelve years. Vril is the shortening of “Vri-Il”, which in the ancient He was told by Eurystheus he will have to serve twelve Sumerian language translates years of punishment in order to pay for these atrocities and as “Like God” The Vril medium was a woman that called her- perform twelve almost impossible tasks. self Sigrun. Sigrun is based on Sigrune, one of the Norse God Wotan’s nine daughters and also a Valkyrie. Pag. 0019

He had to: Slay the “Nemean Lion” and bring the skin of the lion which terrorised the hills of Nemea.

Slay the 9-headed “Lernaean Hydra” who lived in the swamps near a place called Lerna.

Capture the “Ceryneian Hind”, the Golden Hind of Artemis which was a deer that belonged to Diana the god- It was after this that the so- dess of hunting and the Moon. ciety Thule was created. They went on to build the Vril Ma- chine. A saucer shape inter- Capture the “Erymanthian Boar” which lived on a dimensional time travel ma- chine. Their first flight was mountain and would destroy everything that got in its allegedly in 1934. way. It is also said that the Thule members were the first group to attempt the back-engi- neering of an extraterrestrial Clean the “Augeas” Augean stables in a single day. These spacecraft. were the stables that belonged to King Augeas. John Von Helsing, a german writer describes the discovery of a crashed saucer in the Slay the “Stymphalian Birds”, a flock of birds that Black Forest in 1936 he said that this technology was taken gathered at a lake near Stymphalos. and mixed with information the Vril Society had received through channeling and was Capture the “Cretan Bull” made into a project called the Haunebu. Steal the “Mares of Diomedes” which were man eating German aircraft historian Henry Stevens states: horses. "Haunebu was allegedly the first large flying saucer devel- Obtain the Girdle of the “Hippolyta” Amazon Queen. She oped in Germany. According was the queen of a tribe of women warriors. to plans that are said to have been obtained from classified German SS files, the Haunebu was approximately 75 feet in Obtain the Cattle of the Monster “Geryon”, Geryon was diameter and may have actu- the son of Chrysaor and Callirrhoe. Chrysaor had sprung ally lifted off for the first time in August 1939, a few weeks from the body of the Gorgon Medusa after Perseus behead- before the outbreak of World ed her. War II.

Thule is a Greek word mean- Steal the Apples of the “Hesperides”. These were golden ing “land” The society was apples which belonged to Zeus and were guarded by a one named after “Ultima Thule” which means the “Farthest hundred head dragon. Land” Capture and bring back “Cerberus”, Cerberus was a beast who guarded the entrance to Hedes and prevented the living from entering the world of the dead.

Some people have alleged that the Skull & Bones society has ties to the Thule Society as well as the Vril Society, This would tie in with the Nazi memorabilia found in the campus building affectionatley known as The Tomb. This can only remain an assupmption though, without supporting evidence from the members themselves.

Left: George W. Bush “It’s so secret I can’t talk about it.” Pag. 0020 the effect that the star is winking. Algol is the white star in the right leg. Perseus is only visible in the northern hemisphere in the winter and visible in the southern hemisphere in the summer. If you look at the picture of Perseus, you can see the image of a man, with two feet that look like they are curling

The Thulists believed the Earth was hollow and spent years searching the entrances to the inner world where they could contact ancient civilisations that went underground and worship the Black Sun. Despite Thule’s business contacts and political connections, having laid the very foundations of Na- zism by founding the German Workers Political Circle, Ger- man Workers Party and finally the National Socialist Ger- man Workers Party (NSDAP) by 1920, Thule’s ultimate goal was to prove that the Aryan race came from this farthest north land- possibly Atlantis, which was lost. Thule had high ranking Nazi party including Rudolf Hess and Alfred Rosen- berg, Hermann Goering, Hein- upwards, it also looks like he is carrying something in his rich Himmler and of course Adolf Hitler. Power through hand, maybe some sort of weapon. anti-semitism and national so- cialism were the first steps of Thule’s sinister plan to subju- After performing these tasks he became a true hero and it gate the entire world by recon- is from here that the Greeks use the term Pathos which means necting with the Aryan race. experiencing a virtuous struggle and suffering which will lead With the Nazi Party in power in 1933 Thule and Vril were giv- to fame. en official backing to continue Just as a side note to this myth, there is a fun fact, the the disc development plans. Another Thulist, Dr. Krohn, constellation of Hercules contains a fuzzy cluster of stars designed the Nazi flag which called “The Great Globular Cluster”. It is a cluster of approx contrary to popular belief does not come from the Swastika 500, 000 old stars which are about 22,000 light years away. at all. The German Hakenk- reuz (Hooked Cross) is derived Back in the seventies, scientists sent a message to this from the Black Sun symbol cluster using a radio telescope. We are not expecting a reply worshipped by all three occult groups. Thule had this symbol just yet though as it the message will still take another 21,965 atop a German dagger in 1919- years to arrive and another 22,000 years for a reply to travel fourteen years BEFORE Hitler even came to power. In just 25 back! years, Thule created the Nazi Party, the Nazi Flag, groomed Hitler, created Himmler’s em- The stories I have talked about also have many other pire within Germany (which ensured the Holocaust), spread interesting versions as well as the versions I have given you the myth of Aryan superiority, here and they all make wonderful reading for both children built occult discs, secret bases outside the Reich, and evenn and adults alike whether it be the ancient Greek stories and planned a return in the future.. their heros and villains or the ancient Egyptian stories of our constellations. As you can see, our night skies are full interest, from ancient ways to navigate, to farmers growing their crops, to using the sky as a calendar, to telling children bedtime stories, to a wonderful hobby of simply looking up at the night sky and recognising a whole galaxy of stars; astronomy is far from the dull science it so often seems to be portrayed as in Pag. 0021

the media or down the pub.

Stop the press!! Book your place in space! Who says money can’t buy you everything! Very soon it will be able to secure you a place in space. The Virgin Galatic spaceship 2 is the world’s first manned commercial spaceship. Spaceship 2 and her mothership Whiteknighttwo are a new era in commercial space flight with Virgin Galactic is the world’s flights to commence from Spaceport America in New Mexico. first spaceline. Giving you the Sir Richard Branson first revealed the rocket plane on opportunity to become one of the first ever non-professional 7 December 2009. SpaceShipTwo was presented to the world in astronauts. the Mojave desert, in California. The vehicle will undergo testing over the next 18 months before being allowed to take ticketed Virgin Galactic will own and operate its privately built individuals on short-hop trips just above the atmosphere. spaceships, modelled on the Sir Richard,intends to run the first flights out of New Mexico remarkable, history-making SpaceShipOne. before extending operations around the globe.

It is these spaceships that will allow sub-orbital space tourism for the first time in the history of the universe

Spaceship2 will carry around 6 passengers and two pilot 60 miles above the Earth. The vessel is around sixty foot long and ninety inch diameter. This is similar to a Falcon 900 executive jet but there is no floor in order to allow maxiumum room for Eve Branson, used to be a the astronauts to float in zero gravity. dancer and actress. She was also a former flight attendant. For the passenger, well they all get to sit in the same So energetic and spirited was style seat as the passenger behind them, well I guess for the price Eve Branson, that she learned of a ticket you wouldn’t want to spend all that money and then to fly gliders at a time when few women drove cars. She find yourself fighting for a window seat with fellow passengers. flew so well that she trained So to prevent this you each get two windows, one side with the Royal Air Force (RAF) cadets for duty during window and one above your head, this means that if after forking the Second World War. out all that money on a ticket and you are up there you decide you don’t want to experience floating free in space and you find yourself glued to your seat, you’ll still get to see the wonderful view safetly from your seat. Pag. 0022

Tickets cost $20,000 dollars a snip with deposits of $2,000 required. There are no travel agents to take your booking, for your $20,000 a space agent will deal with your every need. You can book directly with Virgin Galatic or with your local accredited space agent. VSS Enterprise took her maiden flight on 15 July, she flew safely attached to Virgin Mothership Eve, who was named after Branson’s mother. VMS EVE has nose art of a blond woman Burt Rutan (above) was holding the Virgin Galactic corporate flag. determined to find a failsafe The image is based on how Evette Branson looked when solution which remained true to Scaled Composite’s philoso- she was younger and is called Galactic Girl. This aircraft was phy of safety through simplic- ity. His inspiration for what officially launched on Monday July 28, 2008, in Mojave, is known as the feathered re- California, USA, at the Mojave Spaceport, home of Scaled entry was the humble shuttle- cock, which like SpaceShipTwo Composites. relies on aerodynamic design and laws of physics to control speed and altitude. On December 12, 2008 VSS EVE performed her first taxi Once out of the atmosphere tests and a week later her maiden flight. the entire tail structure of the The VSS Enterprise 2 maiden flight time was 6 hours and spaceship can be rotated upwards to about 65º. The feath- 12 minutes and the astronauts on board VMS EVE were Mark ered configuration allows an Stucky, Peter Kalagiammis and Brian Maisler. automatic control of altitude with the fuselage parallel to On board VSS Enterprise were Peter Siebold and Michael the horizon. Alsbury. It is the largest all composite aircraft ever constructed and it has the longest single-piece composite aircraft part: at140 ft (43 m).

Some critics dismiss this particular branch of the Virgin name as nothing more than a PR stunt. If it is, it is an expensive one. Half a billion dollars has been ploughed into a space port complete with ‘space hotel’ in New Mexico, and millions more into em- ploying field-leaders in craft design and project planning. Days before Branson spoke to The technology for Virgin galatic is owned by a company TravelMail, Galactic appointed called The Space Company. This was formed by Burt Rutan and former NASA chief of staff George T Whitesides to help Sir Richard Branson in 2005. It is jointly owned by Virgin Group oversee the scheme’s transi- tion into full operation. and Scaled Composites. The Space Company will manufacture aircraft for Virgin Galatic as well as other interested buyer During the early test phase of Space Ship Two’s system on 26 July 2007 an explosion occurred during a fuel flow test at the Mojave Air & Space Port. The test included filling the oxidizer tank with 4,500 kg (10,000 pounds) of nitrous oxide followed by a 15 second cold flow injector test. Even though the tests did not ignite the gas, three employees were killed and three injured, two critically and Pag. 0023

one seriously, from shrapnel wounds.

Burt Rutan remarked on the safety of the vehicle:

“This vehicle is designed to go into the atmosphere in the worst case straight in or upside down and it’ll correct...This is designed to be at least as safe as the early airliners in the 1920s...Don’t believe anyone that tells you that the safety will be the On 10th October 2010 in Mo- same as a modern airliner, which has been around for 70 jave CA, VSS Enterprise was years.” described by Scaled Compos- ites pilot Pete Siebold as “a joy to fly” and the company I suppose that is something to think about before confirmed that all objectives of the flight were successfully splashing $20,000 dollars on a ticket!! It’s not as safe as a completed. modern airliner. They don’t appear to mention that anywhere in the sales pitch. The two main goals of the flight were to carry out a clean Everyone is very excited about the commercial launch release of the spaceship from of Spaceship2 which is estimated to take place in about 18 months its mothership and for the pi- lots to free fly and glide back time. and land at Mojave Air and However there is another project under way and that’s Space Port in California. the Launcher one Satellite System. Virgin Atlantic have been in talks with Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) in Guildford. SSTL is a world leader in the production of low-cost small satellites, and it was keen to explore the possibility of working with Virgin Galactic on a way to get these spacecraft into orbit much more cheaply than is currently possible. Dr Adam Baker was hoping on some funding from the UK government but that funding was not very forthcoming and so Dr Baker has now moved across to Virgin Galactic to lead its

15th July was a significant mile- own in-house efforts to give the project momentum. stone for Scaled Composites A small satelite that wants to get into space could cost as the team marched towards appoximetely $5m to $10m and Dr Baker wanted to keep as close the first solo flights of VSS En- terprise (SpaceShipTwo). to $100m as he can for his project. But now there is doubt in the investment as it seems the For the first time VSS Enter- prise flew with crew on board. funding is just not coming through. When Dr Baker started As planned, the spaceship re- working at Galactic, the company’s President Will Whitehorn mained attached to VMS Eve (captive) for the duration of said that Launcher One could start operating a year after the the flight and numerous com- sub-orbital tourism business was up and running. bined vehicle systems tests were conducted. In addition However, Dr Baker left Virgin Galactic last month and there is and for the first time, the two still no clear explanation from the company as to why the project is crew members on board VSS not set to follow Mr Whitehorn’s timetable. Enterprise, evaluated all of the spaceship’s systems and func- tions from end to end in the air. Pag. 0024

When Virgin Galactic were looking for some atmospheric music to herald the launch of their ground-breaking ‘Space- ShipTwo’, they turned to Above & Beyond. At an event hosted by Richard Branson in the Mojave Desert, the track chosen to accompany the offi- One thing is for sure though, Virgin Galatic are going to cial unveiling of SpaceShipTwo be big news and once the teething problems have been ironed out it was Above & Beyond’s club anthem ‘Buzz’, which was in- looks as though we are really going to see commercial space travel spired by the Apollo 11 moon- in our life time. landing. After the unveiling of Although at the current prices it will be more of a toy for the world’s first space tourism spacecraft, Above & Beyond the filthy rich and it could be many many years before the likes of performed an exclusive DJ the rest of us get to experience it. set in front of an audience of 800 dignitaries, celebrities and There is always a positive to this and that is that by the soon-to-be astronauts, plus the time the ticket prices have come down, which they will, simple assembled global media. ecomonics will see to that, by the time the prices are reduced some of the major safety issues will also have been sorted and maybe by that time a seat on the SS2 will more much more safe than an aeroplane in the 1920’s.

Branson initially suggested that space tourism would be mainstream by this year. Heexpects to send men and women beyond the pull of I hope this pit stop article introducing you to stars and Earth’s gravitational field constellations has raised enough interest for you to give it a go and in the next 24 months, with Branson’s own personal jour- try it for yourself. One of the beauties of it is that you control the ney in VSS Enterprise pen- expense. Be it the naked eye and a flask of coffee out in the garden, cilled in to take place by 2012. a camping weekend with your telescope or an exclusive ticket on the SS2 with Virgin Galatic. Pag. 0025

You can even just take a trip out to one the many giant telescopes and astronomy centres such as the Jodrell Bank observatory in Cheshire.

Who knows, after a few months of star gazing and learning to recognise stars and planets in the night sky, you might just see something you don’t recognise… but let’s leave that for another issue of Feed your Brain

By Sara Bridges 2010

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