Postcards from space

Tom Smith, Allentown, PA — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:53:00 GMT

I learned to love astronomy by watching Carl Sagan's Cosmos series. A year or so ago I purchased the undated DVD version of the series and absolutely fell in love again. I lent the first disc to a co-worker and never got it back. Does anyone know if it is possible to get a copy of Disc 1 or would anyone be willing to make me a copy? I'd gladly reimburse him or her for the cost of the DVD and mailing.

[ALAN ADDS: I can't encourage DVD piracy here, but perhaps someone can point Tom to eBay listings or other sources for a partial set.]

Postcards from space

Eric, Salinas, CA — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:27:50 GMT

So cool how amateur inventors can make very useful things that can benefit all of us. The ISS is very special and should be supported by all. I can't wait for the next shuttle mission that will help improve the ISS's capabilities.

Postcards from space

Serge, Atlanta, GA — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:13:19 GMT

Hi Tom Smith

I don't have any of the DVDs, but you can probably find them on ebay. But although the DVDs are great, do you have the book? I would highly recomend the book as well. It is what got me hooked into astronomy and it was "hook, line, and sinker" as Carl Sagan himself would put it, as I am now on my way to getting a Ph.D. in astronomy. Whenever I have a rough day when things on my research are just not working out I open Cosmos to its very first paragraph:
"The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us -- there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensations, as if a distant memory, of falling from a height. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries."

Although I did not know this when I started, Carl Sagan was the undertgraduate advisor of my current thesis advisor (Him at Cornell, me at Georgia State), and you can just tell when a person was touched by Segan's spirit. There is just a different way of seeing things, a different enthusiasm that is hard to describe.

Serge
dieterich@chara.gsu.edu

Postcards from space

Sean, Leesburg, VA — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:16:45 GMT

Ham radio is a great hobby. It's been a real treat to hear Richard call so frequently from the ISS because usually the astronauts are very busy and only have a little bit of recreation time to make contacts. So making voice contact with any astronaut in space is quite a special occasion.

This morning at 6 AM I was one of the lucky ones who Richard heard. He responded that I was "five nine" meaning in ham speak "loud and clear" before moving on to the next ham. This was during a period lasting less than 10 minutes while the ISS passed over Florida and northeast across the western Atlantic. It was still dark in Virginia but the sun struck the ISS and I watched it drift across the early morning sky like a slowly moving star.

At 7:35 AM I let my son try to reach Richard and after a few calls, Richard called him back and completed the exchange. He is seven and in second grade, and boy was he thrilled. All this with nothing more than a 50 watt ham radio in a Volvo using a handheld antenna made from a tape measure and PVC pipe. My wife has been emailing a recording of this "QSO" to all of our family and friends.

When you listen to Richard calling down to us, you can tell he makes an extra effort trying to pick the smaller voices out of the crowd. You can hear his voice rise in excitement and encouragement when he is able to make the contact. His grandfather was a ham, his father was a ham and a Skylab astronaut, and it is obvious he wants to pass along this tradition and spark that same curiosity in space and science in the youth he reaches.

We are very fortunate to have had Richard spend so much of his time in space reaching back to Earth and touching so many of us.

Postcards from space

Miles Mann Chelmsford Mass — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:54:26 GMT

I would like thanks to all of the volunteers and organizations around the world that assisted MarexMG with getting the SpaceCam1 project running from the International Space Station.

Special thanks to:
The ARISS team for getting all of the flight safety approvals from several space agencies.
The ARISS hardware team for resolving the complex (ISS) power and data infrastructure requirements.
The Silicon Pixels Company for developing the SpaceCam1 software.
The NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency for letting the amateur radio community conduct this new series of educational experiments.
The Intuit Corporation for implementing the "We Care & Give Back" program.
The Vendors, for providing hardware and technical expertise, Kenwood Corporation, Icom, David Clark and DCI.ca
And of course my family for letting me indulge in my Hobby.

I believe educational projects of this type, on ISS, will help generate interest in cosmic exploration. And they are fun for the crew too.

73 Miles WF1F, Manned Amateur Radio eXperiment MG (MAREXMG)
Wf1f@issspacecam.org

Postcards from space

Linda , Kevil, KY — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 08:18:02 GMT

Back in the '50's, I was inspired to "LOOK TO THE SKIES!" by early Science Fiction writers & the B & W Sci-Fi Movie "Saturday Matinees" for kids; by the DISNEY series about "THE SUN" & "Mr. Wizard"; early "POPULAR MECHANICS" magazines -- I have one from 1957 & these old issues are fascinating to look at, even now. I loved the SKYSHOW at Chicago's ADLER PLANETARIUM when in H.S.-- was absolutely disgusted when Sen. John McCain chose to "throw SCIENCE and apparently PLANETARIUMS under the Bus, recently!

My "Theory of Education" is that every Student from Elementary thru High School should have as part of the School's CORE Curriculum -- age appropriate SCIENCE FICTION books, art, pop culture, and for 4th Grade up, Movies -- for nothing else so OPENS the Mind, Excites & Inspires the Imagination, leads to "FUTURISTIC" thinking & "OUT of the BOX"thinking!

And, after 8 years of an Anti-Science "LUDDITE" regime in the White House, God knows we need more FUTURISTS & "Out of the Box" thinkers-- to remind our Children and Ourselves to WATCH THE SKIES!

There's still a part of every Baby Boomer who watched "INVADERS FROM MARS" that looks to the STARS, because that's where the ALIENS will be coming from, to put "THE MARK" on the backs of our Parent's NECKS!

Imagination of our KIDS-- will be what takes us to the STARS in the future. I don't know Video Game Millionaire Richard Garrett, but I betcha' he read SCIENCE FICTION as a child!

Postcards from space

S.B. Stein E.B. NJ — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:00:41 GMT

If we can continue to have people dabble in the sciences and do things on their own, improvements might be found by the most unlikely people. I hope that this continues.

Postcards from space

arnold, st.louis,mo — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:53:38 GMT

In one of the latter episodes of Cosmos Dr. Sagan spoke of a hypothetical inter galactic conference of intelligent species in the Milky Way & he asked the question "who speaks for earth?? Of all the people that I have learned about (living or dead) Dr Carl Sagan spoke for earth more pasionately, eloquently & correctly than anyone. I am afraid that He was our last best hope

Postcards from space

Thomas Ashby, Calgary — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 07:39:01 GMT

Carl Sagan was an inspiration for the '70s and the early '80's until personal computing took over.

Carl Sagan was like J.Bronowski who equally was awesome Think Mars at the end of the vid...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2p9By0qXms&feature=related

Postcards from space

Serge, Atlanta, GA — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:07:09 GMT

An interesting question is whether or not Sagan would be able to do what he did in the 70's and 80's today. Would he be drowned by the 150+ channels in cable TV? Would our ever shortening attention span allow him enough time to develop his ideas? I think there are always those who are willing to listen and pay attention, but the overall popularizing of astronomy he did would probably reach a lesser segment of the population today. That is why higher thinking in high and middle school curricula is so important. School is the one place we still have the opportunity to capture the imagination of the overall population, but it needs to be done right and it is not an easy job.

dieterich@chara.gsu.edu

Postcards from space

Dr. Karl Kolb Ph.D. — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 21:34:09 GMT

I love the ISS but do any of you know NASA intends to take it down much sooner than its planned demise? I thought it was to stay up until 2050 but I hear it could be 2020 or sooner. What a waste.