The IRIS association is putting on a free conference, open to all. Entitled “COROT cherche... et trouve des planets” (COROT is looking for... and finding planets), it is hosted by Claire Moutou, an astrophysicist from the LAM, the Marseille Astrophysics Laboratory. We would reiterate that COROT is a space telescope belonging to the CNES devoted to the search for exoplanets, planets that orbit suns other than our own.
The conference is to take place on Tuesday 9 March at 21.00 at the CIQ Saint Jean in La Ciotat (Bouches-du-Rhône, France).
Richly illustrated, this book makes it possible to immerse yourself in the universe created by James Cameron for his latest blockbuster, Avatar. The sketches and the final computer generated renderings of spacecraft used by humans (the double page with the spaceship in orbit is superb) shows just how much the director, visibly inspired by his 3 years on NASA’s Advisory Council in addition to his own personal experience, wanted a technically plausible environment (read this Enjoy Space article). The producer, Jon Landau, even makes a direct allusion to the American Space Agency by confiding in his foreword that when James Cameron explained his film project to him, he understood “just how NASA’s engineers felt, that day in 1961 when the White House fixed the Moon as their objective”! Pandora, far-off world and moon of a planet situated in orbit around a sun other than ours, is obviously the star of this book which will delight Avatar’s fans and those who would like to know more about the creative process of the film.
The art of Avatar by Liza Fitzpatrick Publisher: Abrams 105 pages - $29.95 (retail price)
On Tuesday 1 December at 18:00, the “association Planète Mars” (The French section of The Mars Society) is organising a conference to be given by Alain Dupas in Paris entitled “Quelles stratégies pour les États-Unis et le monde pour l’exploration humaine du système solaire au XXIe siècle?” (What strategies for the United States and the world as regards human exploration of the solar system in the 21st century). Recognised as an expert in the fields of politics, technology and aerospace programmes, Alain Dupas will be covering a subject which is in the forefront of space news since the decisions of the Obama government will set NASA’s goals in this field —notably as far as the sending of astronauts to Mars is concerned — for the years to come.
This conference is to take place at the “École Militaire” (in the Bourcet amphitheatre), 1 place Joffre in Paris (Ecole Militaire underground station). Entry is free of charge, but registration is recommended either by going on to the “Association Planète Mars” website or by writing to this email address.
The American Space Agency is offering free software to users of Apple’s mobile equipment. It works with both iPhone and iPod Touch (provided that you are connected to a local WiFi network). This “NASA App” is a kind of portal that assembles and classifies the agency’s official news (text, images and videos) as well has having a navigation system that highlights the touch screen ergonomics. Be careful, however, when the application starts up as it does not seem to be listing all of NASA’s missions. You have to open the “Filter” menu in the top right hand corner and check the categories that you want to follow (Earth, Moon and Mars, Launch, etc.) in order to refresh the list and make it more complete, possibly by selecting everything. Without this manipulation, a mission as significant as Hubble, for instance, is not even covered! Once this ergonomic “error” has been corrected, the “NASA App” is full of promise.
With a shuttle mission taking place right now, this is the perfect time to take another look at a game of knowledge inspired by American spacecraft. "Go For Launch", created in 1998 by a technician working on the shuttle, is a board game of the Trivial Pursuit ilk. The board is based on a shuttle mission, but the questions (in English) are broader, organised into the five following categories: Apollo, Mercury and Gemini, planetary exploration, the space shuttle, and space techniques applied on earth. Anyone curious – or fanatic - about space will have great fun answering (or trying to) the game's 500 questions. "Go For Launch" is distributed by Space Shirts (see this article).
To sum up: the sky in the palm of your hand and at your fingertips on iPod Touch or iPhone! Only by using it, can you realize how amazingly efficient this application, exclusively designed (not an adaptation) for Apple’s personal portable media player and telephone, is. Ergonomics have not been forgotten and the majority of the functions are quickly mastered. Starmap is, therefore, the ultimate pocket planetarium, ideal for getting your bearings in the canopy of heaven, knowing the phases of the Moon and, of course, identifying where planets are. But the application can do much more, if its user so wishes, notably in its Pro version capable of simulating a telescope eyepiece field. Starmap can be downloaded from Apple’s iTunes Store.
A superb 3-D book on the Solar System for enthusiasts aged 7 and over. From the birth of the Sun to the formation of the Earth, via the exploration of our solar system, it contains a wealth of information, and above all, pop-up 3-D scenes featuring fantastic 3-D dioramas like those of the rover on Mars or the first steps on the Moon. Each scene has a short legend and texts written by scientists explaining each detail. A journey through space as though you were actually there!
Author: Ian Graham Publisher: Silver Dolphin Books Format: 21.7 x 30.7 cm – 30 pages Price: $ 17.95
The video below shows the French Language version.
The spaceship from James Cameron’s film is far less fanciful than it appears and even plausibly deals with several problems posed by interstellar travel.
Return to the Moon to take up where, way too soon, Apollo had stopped. Such was the ambition of the Constellation programme on the point of becoming a page in NASA’s history before it has even achieved its objective.
The American Space Agency is offering free software to users of Apple’s mobile equipment. It works with both iPhone and iPod Touch (provided that you are connected to a local WiFi network). This “NASA App” is a kind of portal that assembles and classifies the agency’s official news (text, images and videos) as well has having a navigation system that highlights the touch screen ergonomics. Be careful, however, when the application starts up as it does not seem to be listing all of NASA’s missions. You have to open the “Filter” menu in the top right hand corner and check the categories that you want to follow (Earth, Moon and Mars, Launch, etc.) in order to refresh the list and make it more complete, possibly by selecting everything. Without this manipulation, a mission as significant as Hubble, for instance, is not even covered! Once this ergonomic “error” has been corrected, the “NASA App” is full of promise.
To sum up: the sky in the palm of your hand and at your fingertips on iPod Touch or iPhone! Only by using it, can you realize how amazingly efficient this application, exclusively designed (not an adaptation) for Apple’s personal portable media player and telephone, is. Ergonomics have not been forgotten and the majority of the functions are quickly mastered. Starmap is, therefore, the ultimate pocket planetarium, ideal for getting your bearings in the canopy of heaven, knowing the phases of the Moon and, of course, identifying where planets are. But the application can do much more, if its user so wishes, notably in its Pro version capable of simulating a telescope eyepiece field.
