There’s something really wonderful about the photo below, taken while the Queen talked to those aboard the International Space Station as part of her visit to NASA.
I disagree with (almost) all of this. But you knew that, didn’t you?
And nothing to do with the book, either! There’s an exciting Chandra press release out today, about the most luminous supernova seen to date, 2006gy. Sadly, the language of the release grates just a little; in the text the scientists quoted are careful to say that it’s the most ‘intrinsically bright’ supernova, but the headline, also picked up by the BBC, calls it the brightest ever. As several in recorded history have been visible in daylight, this distant but powerful supernova is a long way away from that accolade.
I was lucky enough to catch the London premiere of Roving Mars a few weeks ago, the IMAX film about my two favourite space missions, Spirit and Opportunity. I have slightly mixed feelings about the film. It captures the tension of working on such a mission extremely well; the shots of the team in the control room during landing are as tense as any I can remember, and the joy, excitement and sheer relief when the news of success filters through is breathtaking. The shots of the surface are great too, but the fact that the film’s producers couldn’t wait until the end of the mission (remember, they were only supposed to last 90 days!) leads to a slightly disjointed feel. They also didn’t spend enough time setting up the scientific results of the rovers.
But Mars is a beautiful world, and with new images being returned all the time, particularly from Mars Reconaissance Orbiter’s HiRISE camera, I hope there will be another chance to see it on the big screen. The recent flyovers of the Spirit and Opportunity sites made with HiRISE are as good if not better than Disney’s. In fact, they’re absolutely stunning.
(Big files ahead).
Here’s Opportunity at Victoria Crater
and Spirit at the Columbia Hills
