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Planetary Radio • Mar 15, 2017

The Great American Eclipse—Be Part of It!

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On This Episode

20180418 mike simmons

Mike Simmons

Founder and former leader for Astronomers Without Borders

It’s coming! Will you be in the path of totality? Astronomers Without Borders President Mike Simmons says be there if you can. He also tells us about AWB’s Google-funded outreach program that will use the August 21st total solar eclipse as a starting point. Casey Dreier explains the NASA Authorization bill just passed by the House. Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye has a message about space exploration for POTUS, while Mat and Bruce visit Mars and Venus.

Hinode views an annular solar eclipse
Hinode views an annular solar eclipse On January 4, 2010, the Hinode solar mission captured these breathtaking images of an annular solar eclipse. An annular eclipse occurs when the moon, slightly more distant from Earth than on average, moves directly between Earth and the sun, thus appearing slightly smaller to observers' eyes; the effect is a bright ring, or annulus of sunlight, around the silhouette of the moon. Hinode, a Japanese mission in partnership with NASA, NAOJ, STFC, ESA, and NSC, currently in Earth orbit, is studying the Sun to improve our understanding of the mechanisms that power the solar atmosphere and drive solar eruptions.Image: JAXA/NASA/Hinode/XRT
Astronomers Without Borders
Astronomers Without Borders

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This week's prizes are a Planetary Radio t-shirt, now available in both men’s and women’s styles. Also, a 200-point iTelescope.net astronomy account, and a Planetary Society rubber asteroid.

iTelescope.net
iTelescope.net

This week's question:

In the film Men in Black, where was one of Agent J’s teachers from? He thought she was from Venus, but he was wrong.

To submit your answer:

Complete the contest entry form at http://planetary.org/radiocontest or write to us at [email protected] no later than Wednesday, March 22nd at 8am Pacific Time. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Last week's question:

What is the diameter of the primary mirror on the great observatory on the Spitzer Space Telescope?

Answer:

The answer will be revealed next week.

Question from the week before:

Several spacecraft landing sites on Mars are designated as memorials. What is the designation of the Viking One memorial site?

Answer:

The Viking One landing site is the Thomas A. Mutch Memorial Station.