<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="0.92">
<channel>
	<title>Slacker Astronomy</title>
	<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress</link>
	<description>If you aren&#039;t going to care about something, may as well not care about astronomy</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:06:28 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<docs>http://backend.userland.com/rss092</docs>
	<language>en</language>
	<!-- generator="WordPress/3.2.1" -->

	<item>
		<title>Comet Lovejoy from the space station</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Mega Cool. &#8211;Ben Comet Lovejoy from the space station International Space Station Commander Dan Burbank captured spectacular imagery of Comet Lovejoy as seen from about 240 miles above the Earth’s horizon on Wednesday, Dec. 21. Burbank described seeing the comet as “the most amazing thing I have ever seen in space,” in an interview with [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/12/comet-lovejoy-from-the-space-station/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>CASSINI DELIVERS HOLIDAY TREATS FROM ACROSS THE SOLAR SYSTEM</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Holiday Greeting from your favorite ringed planet. &#8211;Ben IMAGE ADVISORY: December 22, 2011 CASSINI DELIVERS HOLIDAY TREATS FROM ACROSS THE SOLAR SYSTEM No team of reindeer was necessary for these holiday treats from NASA&#8217;s Cassini spacecraft. A beam of radio signals, from clear across the solar system, has delivered a Christmas package of glorious images [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/12/cassini-delivers-holiday-treats-from-across-the-solar-system/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Hubble Serves Up a Holiday Snow Angel</title>
		<description><![CDATA[fyi: Be sure to check out the zoom in video from entire galaxy to HST shot. http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2011/38/video/b/ &#8211;Ben Hubble Serves Up a Holiday Snow Angel December 15, 2011: The bipolar star-forming region, called Sharpless 2-106, or S106 for short, looks like a soaring, celestial snow angel. The outstretched &#8220;wings&#8221; of the nebula record the contrasting [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/12/hubble-serves-up-a-holiday-snow-angel/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>MSL is on its way to Mars !!!!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[MSL is on its way to Mars !!!! Next Stop Gale. Congrats to NASA, JPL and the ULA Atlas V / Centaur teams. &#8211;Ben A signal from NASA&#8217;s Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft, including the new Curiosity rover, has been received by officials on the ground. The spacecraft is flying free and headed for Mars after [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/11/msl-is-on-its-way-to-mars/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Latest from Cassini: The Saturn Storm Chronicles</title>
		<description><![CDATA[News from your favorite Ringed Planet &#8211;Ben November 17, 2011 Dear Friends and Colleagues, Ever since the birth of a colossal atmospheric disturbance that has ravaged the northern face of Saturn for nearly a year, the Cassini imaging team has been systematically recording the associated tumultuous changes in the planet&#8217;s appearance. Today, I am enormously [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/11/latest-from-cassini-the-saturn-storm-chronicles/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Earth &#124; Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over &#124; NASA, ISS</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Nice collection of time lapse videos of Earth @ Night as seen from the International Space Station. &#8211;Ben Earth &#124; Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over &#124; NASA, ISS http://vimeo.com/32001208]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/11/earth-time-lapse-view-from-space-fly-over-nasa-iss/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Rover&#8217;s Eye View of Three-Year Trek on Mars</title>
		<description><![CDATA[not as smooth as other rover movies but still nice. &#8211;Ben Three years on Mars &#8230; in 3 minutes By Alan Boyle It&#8217;s been a long, lonely three years for NASA&#8217;s Opportunity rover, which has just finished a 13-mile (21-kilometer) trek from Victoria Crater across the Martian wasteland of Meridiani Planum to Endeavour Crater. A [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/10/rovers-eye-view-of-three-year-trek-on-mars/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>GLORIA</title>
		<description><![CDATA[sounds interesting. Also interesting no US partners. &#8211;Ben What is GLORIA? GLORIA stands for &#8220;GLObal Robotic-telescopes Intelligent Array&#8221;. GLORIA will be the first free and open- access network of robotic telescopes of the world. It will be a Web 2.0 environment where users can do research in astronomy by observing with robotic telescopes, and/or analyzing [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/10/gloria/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Aurora From Orbit Sept. 17, 2011</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Coolest thing I&#8217;ve seen all month. &#8211;Ben Aurora From Orbit Sept. 17, 2011 This gorgeous view of the aurora was taken from the International Space Station as it crossed over the southern Indian Ocean on September 17, 2011. The sped-up movie spans the time period from 12:22 to 12:45 PM ET. While aurora are often [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/09/aurora-from-orbit-sept-17-2011/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Is this one of the &#8220;First Stars&#8221;?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A Star That Should Not Exist The above link is to astrobites. The article is about a star that is 13 billion years old and of very low metallicity (4.5×10^-5 that of the Sun). Could this be a Pop III star? Doug?]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/09/is-this-one-of-the-first-stars/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>New method detects emerging sunspots deep inside the sun</title>
		<description><![CDATA[fyi: &#8211;Ben New method detects emerging sunspots deep inside the sun, provides warning of dangerous solar flares, say Stanford researchers Sunspots spawn solar flares that can cause billions of dollars in damage to satellites, communications networks and power grids. But Stanford researchers have developed a way to detect incipient sunspots as deep as 65,000 kilometers [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/09/new-method-detects-emerging-sunspots-deep-inside-the-sun/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Hubble Movies Provide Unprecedented View of Supersonic Jets from Young Stars</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Fun bit of Astro 14 yr time lapse. This is Not Computer fluid dynamics modeling but OBSERVED data. So HST has done TWO movies?? This one and the Crab nebula, are there any others??? &#8211;Ben Hubble Movies Provide Unprecedented View of Supersonic Jets from Young Stars Stars aren&#8217;t shy about sending out birth announcements. They [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/09/hubble-movies-provide-unprecedented-view-of-supersonic-jets-from-young-stars/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>CASSINI CLOSES IN ON SATURN’S TUMBLING MOON HYPERION</title>
		<description><![CDATA[fyi: &#8211;Ben August 26, 2011 Dear Friends and Colleagues, Yesterday, Cassini captured new images of Saturn’s moon Hyperion during its 2nd closest encounter with this deeply cratered body. Closest approach registered at 15,000 miles. Hyperion is a small moon &#8230; just 168 miles across &#8230; orbiting between Titan and Iapetus. It has an irregular shape [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/08/cassini-closes-in-on-saturn%e2%80%99s-tumbling-moon-hyperion/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>DISCOVERY OF GEOMAGNETICALLY TRAPPED COSMIC-RAY ANTIPROTONS</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Hmmm&#8230; Wonder if we can &#8216;harvest&#8217; them like this? EXTRACTION OF ANTIPARTICLES CONCENTRATED IN PLANETARY MAGNETIC FIELDS http://www.niac.usra.edu/files/studies/final_report/1071Bickford.pdf Warp drive might be closer than you think. &#8211;Ben &#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211; DISCOVERY OF GEOMAGNETICALLY TRAPPED COSMIC-RAY ANTIPROTONS The existence of a significant flux of antiprotons confined to Earth&#8217;s magnetosphere has been considered in several theoretical works. These antiparticles [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/08/discovery-of-geomagnetically-trapped-cosmic-ray-antiprotons/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>NASA&#8217;s Juno Spacecraft Launches to Jupiter</title>
		<description><![CDATA[YEAA!!! &#8211;Ben =========================== NASA&#8217;s Juno Spacecraft Launches to Jupiter PASADENA, Calif. &#8212; NASA&#8217;s solar-powered Juno spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 9:25 a.m. PDT (12:25 p.m. EDT) Friday to begin a five-year journey to Jupiter. Juno&#8217;s detailed study of the largest planet in our solar system will help reveal [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/08/nasas-juno-spacecraft-launches-to-jupiter/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Juno Press Kit</title>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;re going back to Jupiter next Month. Arrival July 2016. &#8211;Ben http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press_kits/JunoLaunch.pdf]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/07/juno-press-kit/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>NASA&#8217;s Next Mars Rover to Land at Gale Crater</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Onto Gale. &#8211; Ben NASA&#8217;s Next Mars Rover to Land at Gale Crater PASADENA, Calif. &#8212; NASA&#8217;s next Mars rover will land at the foot of a layered mountain inside the planet&#8217;s Gale crater. The car-sized Mars Science Laboratory, or Curiosity, is scheduled to launch late this year and land in August 2012. The target [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/07/nasas-next-mars-rover-to-land-at-gale-crater/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>ISS view of space shuttle Atlantis going home.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Cool pics. &#8211;Ben ============================ ISS028-E-018214 (21 July 2011) &#8212; This unprecedented view of the space shuttle Atlantis, appearing like a bean sprout against clouds and city lights, on its way home, was photographed by the Expedition 28 crew of the International Space Station. Airglow over Earth can be seen in the background. http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-28/html/iss028e018217.html http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-28/html/iss028e018218.html http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-28/html/iss028e018221.html [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/07/iss-view-of-space-shuttle-atlantis-going-home/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>More Dawn / Vesta images</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Some new pics in. I like this comparison one. &#8211;Ben http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/dawn/multimedia/pia14316b.html more at : http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/dawn/multimedia/index.html]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/07/more-dawn-vesta-images/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Neptune Completes Its First Circuit Around The Sun Since Its Discovery</title>
		<description><![CDATA[fyi: &#8211;Ben ================= Neptune Completes Its First Circuit Around The Sun Since Its Discovery July 12, 2011: These four images of Neptune were taken by NASA&#8217;s Hubble Space Telescope during the planet&#8217;s 16-hour rotation. The snapshots were taken at roughly four-hour intervals, offering a full view of the blue-green planet. Today marks Neptune&#8217;s first orbit [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/07/neptune-completes-its-first-circuit-around-the-sun-since-its-discovery/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>NASA Spacecraft to Enter Asteroid&#8217;s Orbit on July 15</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? &#8211;Ben NASA Spacecraft to Enter Asteroid&#8217;s Orbit on July 15 July 14, 2011 &#8211; PASADENA, Calif. &#8212; On July 15, NASA&#8217;s Dawn spacecraft will begin a prolonged encounter with the asteroid Vesta, making the mission the first to enter orbit around a main-belt [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/07/nasa-spacecraft-to-enter-asteroids-orbit-on-july-15/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Latest from Cassini: Saturn&#8217;s Giant Northern Storm Seen Up Close</title>
		<description><![CDATA[July 6, 2011 Dear Friends and Colleagues, Last December, a remarkable thing happened at Saturn. A massive, hissing, lightning-producing storm violently erupted in the northern mid-latitudes of Saturn&#8217;s atmosphere and grew to gargantuan proportions. By the end of January, it had wrapped itself entirely around the planet, developing an enormous degree of wavy, even sensuous, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/07/latest-from-cassini-saturns-giant-northern-storm-seen-up-close/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Dawn Captures Video on Approach to Asteroid Vesta</title>
		<description><![CDATA[nice clip, more to come as Dawn enters orbit in Mid July. &#8211;Ben Dawn Captures Video on Approach to Asteroid Vesta &#8230;The video loops 20 images obtained for navigation purposes on June 1. The images show a dark feature near Vesta&#8217;s equator moving from left to right across the field of view as Vesta rotates. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/06/dawn-captures-video-on-approach-to-asteroid-vesta/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Time Lapse Video of the Very Large Telescope At Work</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Nice astro eye candy video. Have a safe memorial day. &#8211;Ben This Time Lapse Video of the Very Large Telescope At Work is the Coolest Thing You&#8217;ll See Today Time Lapse Video of the Very Large Telescope At Work http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-05/time-lapse-video-very-large-telescope-work-coolest-thing-youll-see-today http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFpeM3fxJoQ]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/05/time-lapse-video-of-the-very-large-telescope-at-work/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Scorpio May Lose Zodiac Status</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The biggest buzz coming out of the 218th Annual Meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Boston on Monday, centered around a plan to remove the constellation Scorpio from the Zodiac and replace it with the constellation Ophiuchus. &#8220;We&#8217;re mostly concerned with science and the facts, but astrology is just a mess, and this might [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/05/scorpio-may-lose-zodiac-status/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Photopic Sky Survey</title>
		<description><![CDATA[What a great project / Site Now I need a 120ft x 30 ft wall to mount the print on. I also need $495 more too. But I got the PC Wallpaper for FREE! Thx to MPS for the heads up. &#8211;Ben ===================== The Photopic Sky Survey is a 5,000 megapixel photograph of the entire [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/05/photopic-sky-survey/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Meathook Galaxy</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Nice eye candy. &#8211;Ben Two views of a lopsided galaxy [heic1108] The Meathook Galaxy, or NGC 2442, has a dramatically lopsided shape. One spiral arm is tightly folded in on itself and host to a recent supernova, while the other, dotted with recent star formation, extends far out from the nucleus. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/05/meathook-galaxy/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>McDonald Observatory Dodges Wildfire</title>
		<description><![CDATA[missed it by just a mile. scary pics with article. &#8211;Ben McDonald Observatory Dodges Wildfire &#8230;for the past two weeks, McDonald Observatory&#8217;s mountaintop perch has been under siege, as a catastrophic inferno dubbed the Rock House Fire has decimated more than 300 square miles of the surrounding countryside. Dozens of homes and businesses have been [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/04/mcdonald-observatory-dodges-wildfire/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Podcast: Kepler Slackerchat</title>
		<description><![CDATA[D&#8217;oh! We posted this podcast to the feed many moons ago but forgot to post it here! We also have another one half in the can that will be hitting the feed soon. If you enjoy the podcast, definitely subscribe to the feed. This podcast is a chit-chat show with yours truly (Michael Koppelman), Doug [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/04/podcast-kepler-slackerchat/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Changes in Titan&#8217;s Surface Attributed to Seasonal	Rainstorms !</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Latest news from your favorite ringed planet. &#8211;Ben =================================================== March 17, 2011 Dear Friends and Colleagues, Today, members of the Cassini Imaging Team are releasing new discoveries, published earlier in the journal /Geophysical Research Letters/ and today in the journal /Science/, showing surface changes in the equatorial regions of Titan attributed to methane rainstorms. The [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/03/changes-in-titans-surface-attributed-to-seasonalrainstorms/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>MESSENGER successfully entered orbit at Mercury!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Welcome to Mercury. Put on your Nomex jacket and stay awhile. &#8211;Ben MESSENGER successfully entered orbit at Mercury! Mar. 17, 2011 &#124; 18:16 PDT &#124; Mar. 18 01:16 UTC Just a brief post to announce that at 01:00 UTC MESSENGER completed a 15-minute burn of its main engines to enter orbit at Mercury! According to [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/03/messenger-successfully-entered-orbit-at-mercury/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>The Drama of Starbirth</title>
		<description><![CDATA[nice eye candy. &#8211;Ben The Drama of Starbirth A new image from ESO’s Very Large Telescope gives a close-up view of the dramatic effects new-born stars have on the gas and dust from which they formed. Although the stars themselves are not visible, material they have ejected is colliding with the surrounding gas and dust [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/03/the-drama-of-starbirth/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Janna Levin: The sound the universe makes</title>
		<description><![CDATA[cool. &#8211;Ben Janna Levin: The sound the universe makes We think of space as a silent place. But physicist Janna Levin says the universe has a soundtrack &#8212; a sonic composition that records some of the most dramatic events in outer space. (Black holes, for instance, bang on spacetime like a drum.) An accessible and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/03/janna-levin-the-sound-the-universe-makes/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Discovery spacewalk seen from the ground</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Way cool. Way to go Thierry Legault. &#8211;Ben Discovery spacewalk seen from the ground http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/03/09/discovery-spacewalk-seen-from-the-ground/]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/03/discovery-spacewalk-seen-from-the-ground/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Orion’s Lesser-known Nebula Takes Centre Stage</title>
		<description><![CDATA[fyi: interesting dust details. &#8211;Ben Orion’s Lesser-known Nebula Takes Centre Stage The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has taken a close-up view of an outer part of the Orion Nebula’s little brother, Messier 43. This nebula, which is sometimes referred to as De Mairan’s Nebula after its discoverer, is separated from the famous Orion Nebula (Messier [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/03/orion%e2%80%99s-lesser-known-nebula-takes-centre-stage/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>20-MILLION MILESTONE FOR 100-YEAR CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Congrats AAVSO. &#8211;Ben 20-MILLION MILESTONE FOR 100-YEAR CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT A citizen science project running for over 100 years reached a key milestone this month when an amateur astronomer contributed the 20 millionth observation of a variable star on February 19, 2011. A variable star changes in brightness over time. Records of these changes can [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/02/20-million-milestone-for-100-year-citizen-science-project/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>A Solar System Family Portrait, from the Inside Out</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Cool. Voyager I took a mosaic looking the other way, now thanks to Messenger we have this. &#8211;Ben A Solar System Family Portrait, from the Inside Out Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) and Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) Of Interest: In 1990, the Voyager 1 spacecraft captured the first [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/02/a-solar-system-family-portrait-from-the-inside-out/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Hubble Shows New Image of Spiral Galaxy NGC 2841</title>
		<description><![CDATA[nice pic. &#8211;Ben Hubble Shows New Image of Spiral Galaxy NGC 2841 Hubble Space Telescope reveals a majestic disk of stars and dust lanes in this view of the spiral galaxy NGC 2841, which lies 46 million light-years away in the constellation of Ursa Major (The Great Bear). This image was taken in 2010 through [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/02/hubble-shows-new-image-of-spiral-galaxy-ngc-2841/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Stardust NExT Comet Tempel 1 flyby movie</title>
		<description><![CDATA[been waiting for someone to post it, didn&#8217;t find one so I made one myself. &#8211;Ben http://freemars.org/mnfan/MNSFS/2011-02-Tempel1-stuff/Tempel-1_4-64.gif 931K animated GIF]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/02/stardust-next-comet-tempel-1-flyby-movie/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Super Massive Black holes &#8211; lite</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Super Massive Black holes &#8211; lite. Now with just 1/10 the mass. &#8211;Ben Broad-line active galactic nuclei rotate faster than narrow-line ones &#8230;we can derive the central black-hole masses more accurately; they are two to ten times smaller than has been estimated previously&#8230; http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v470/n7334/full/nature09761.html Supermassive black holes not so big after all http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/4060/supermassive-black-holes-not-so-massive]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/02/super-massive-black-holes-lite/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>All 1,200 newly discovered exoplanets orbiting in one gigantic solar system</title>
		<description><![CDATA[interesting data visualization. &#8211;Ben This amazing video brings together all 1,236 exoplanet candidates that the Kepler telescope has spotted, and it imagines how they would look all together in a single solar system. All the planets are to scale and in the correct relative positions to their star. Prepare to be blown away by just [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/02/all-1200-newly-discovered-exoplanets-orbiting-in-one-gigantic-solar-system/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Cosmos At Least 250x Bigger Than Visible Universe, Say Cosmologists</title>
		<description><![CDATA[boy, do I feel &#8216;small&#8217; now. &#8211;Ben &#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;- Cosmos At Least 250x Bigger Than Visible Universe, Say Cosmologists When we look out into the Universe, the stuff we can see must be close enough for light to have reached us since the Universe began. The universe is about 14 billion years old, so at first [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/02/cosmos-at-least-250x-bigger-than-visible-universe-say-cosmologists/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>What Would Neptune Look Like if it Orbited Earth?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[interesting data visualization. &#8211;Ben ============== What Would Neptune Look Like if it Orbited Earth? Here&#8217;s an animation I did to make you feel small. While watching the video of the lunar eclipse I posted the other day I was looking at the curvature of the earth&#8217;s shadow on the moon. It made me think about [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/01/what-would-neptune-look-like-if-it-orbited-earth/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Podcast: Monstrous Supernovae</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Doug talks with Dr. Rachid Ouyed about monstrous supernovae and the extremely interesting prospect that they may result from the transition from a neutron star to a strange star. Just when you thought things couldn&#8217;t get any denser&#8230; You can listen to this podcast using some device to physically move the air. Your ears can [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2011/01/podcast-monstrous-supernovae/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>We Caught It!  Gigantic Storm Erupts in Saturn&#8217;s Northern Hemisphere</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Looks like someone is just starting to pour cream in their coffee. &#8211;Ben =============== December 27, 2010 Dear Friends and Colleagues, Just down on the ground today &#8230; our cameras on Cassini have captured sight of a gigantic storm recently erupted in the northern hemisphere of Saturn. This storm had been sighted by the amateurs [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/12/we-caught-it-gigantic-storm-erupts-in-saturns-northern-hemisphere/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>IceCube Neutrino Observatory  completed</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Cool! &#8212;Ben Construction of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory was completed at the the South Pole in Antarctica on December 18, 2010 New Zealand time. This scientific milestone marks completion of the world&#8217;s largest neutrino detector and a powerful tool for exploring the Universe&#8230; http://icecube.wisc.edu/complete.php]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/12/icecube-neutrino-observatory-completed/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Cassini Marks Holidays with Dramatic Views of Saturn&#8217;s Moon Rhea</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Happy holidays from Snowy MN. &#8211;Ben ======================= Dear Friends and Colleagues, In celebration of the holidays, and to mark the end of another fabulous year in orbit around Saturn, the Cassini imaging team is releasing today some very high resolution views of Saturn&#8217;s moon Rhea, including a 3D look at a tectonically fractured region showing [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/12/cassini-marks-holidays-with-dramatic-views-of-saturns-moon-rhea/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Citizen Scientists Join Search for Earth-like Planets</title>
		<description><![CDATA[More armchair astronomy to do. ==Ben Citizen Scientists Join Search for Earth-like Planets Web users around the globe will be able to help professional astronomers in their search for Earth-like planets thanks to a new online citizen science project called Planet Hunters that launches December 16 at http://www.planethunters.org Planet Hunters, which is the latest in [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/12/citizen-scientists-join-search-for-earth-like-planets/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Vote for the Most Inspiring Astronomical Photo of the Year</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Most I had seen in a lot of places before but a few were new. Eventually I voted for &#8216;Enceladus and its Plumes&#8217; Cause I hadn&#8217;t seen anything quite like it in previous years. So what is your favorite and why? &#8211;Ben ========== Vote for the Most Inspiring Astronomical Photo of the Year 16 December, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/12/vote-for-the-most-inspiring-astronomical-photo-of-the-year/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Happy Thanksgiving, America. &#8211; -Voyager2</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Greeting from the edge of the solar system. &#8211;Ben Happy Thanksgiving, America. I am thankful for the entire solar system behind me, and the cosmos ahead of me. I am currently 13 hrs 05 mins 21 secs of light-travel time from Earth http://twitter.com/Voyager2]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/11/happy-thanksgiving-america-voyager2/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Brian Marsden 1937-2010</title>
		<description><![CDATA[RIP &#8211;Ben It has just been announced in a Central Bureau Electronic Telegram that Brian Marsden died this morning after contracting pneumonia on top of the leukemia he had been fighting this past year. From Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams #2554: &#8220;He will be remembered as contributing much to celestial mechanics and the dynamics and orbits [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/11/brian-marsden-1397-2010/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Slacker Mike Live on Astronomy.FM</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I have been asked to appear on the Astronomy.FM Radio program Event Horizon this Friday to discuss the AAVSO, our upcoming centennial celebration, variable stars, citizen science and whatever else we can squeeze into 60 minutes. If you log in you can follow along in the chat room, ask us some questions and participate in [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/11/slacker-mike-live-on-astronomy-fm/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title></title>
		<description><![CDATA[Cool blog by the Bad Astronomer. &#8211;Ben =================== Sunset on Mars I know, it may not look like much, but think about what you’re seeing: a sunset on another world. And those images were taken by a robotic probe that took years to design and build, months to travel the hundreds of millions of kilometers [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/11/1072/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Mars rovers fans: have a look at these panoramas</title>
		<description><![CDATA[If you can see these on a large screen monitor, Do. I like &#8220;Husband Hill Summit&#8221; The Bounce marks on &#8220;Mars Opportunity, Eagle Crater&#8221; are cool too. &#8211;Ben Mars rovers fans: have a look at these panoramas on Arounder: The fullscreen views are epic! http://mars.arounder.com/]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/11/mars-rovers-fans-have-a-look-at-these-panoramas/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Mars3D.com</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Lots of cool new computer generated based on real data Mars flyover videos here: &#8211;Ben ======================================= Welcome to the new site! Over the last few months NASA has been releasing extremely high resolution elevation and image data for Mars collected by the HiRISE instrument. I have modified the software that I wrote ten years ago [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/11/mars3d-com/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>awesome animation of Jupiter&#8217;s clouds</title>
		<description><![CDATA[cool Voyager 1 &#8216;enhanced&#8217; video of Jupiter and the Great Red Spot. &#8211;Ben An awesome animation of Jupiter&#8217;s clouds Ready to see something beautiful? Here&#8217;s a team effort by Björn Jónsson (who did the image processing) and Ian Regan (who tweened the animation) to create a really mesmerizing view of the motions of Jupiter&#8217;s clouds. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/11/awesome-animation-of-jupiters-clouds/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>EPOXI flyby loop</title>
		<description><![CDATA[nice. Actual time lapse so you could see some rotation instead of zoom would be nicer. &#8211;Ben EPOXI Mission http://epoxi.umd.edu/3gallery/vid_20101104_approach.shtml]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/11/epoxi-flyby-loop/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>fwd: A Story of Saturn&#8217;s Rings&#8230;the Latest from Cassini</title>
		<description><![CDATA[news and pics from Saturn &#038; Cassini team. I like the Tallest peaks pic. &#8230;Cassini&#8217;s narrow angle camera captured a 1,200-kilometer-long (750-mile-long) section arcing along the outer edge of the B ring. Here, vertical structures tower as high as 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) above the plane of the rings &#8212; a significant deviation from the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/11/fwd-a-story-of-saturns-rings-the-latest-from-cassini/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Visualizing Epsilon Aurigae with Ryan Wyatt</title>
		<description><![CDATA[We got skipped last month but we are back on The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast this month with another exciting installment! This time we are interviewing the über cool Ryan Wyatt, who is a science visualizer and director of the planetarium at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. We have had Ryan [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/10/visualizing-epsilon-aurigae-with-ryan-wyatt/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Pope&#8217;s Astronomer Would Baptize Aliens</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I know it reads like a National enquirer story but&#8230; I&#8217;ve met Br Guy Consolmagno. http://freemars.org/mnfan/MarsSociety/2008/Mars-Soc-Conf-2008/2008-08-16-149.jpg He&#8217;s ok. &#8211;Ben Pope&#8217;s Astronomer Would Baptize Aliens Published September 21, 2010 &#124; FoxNews.com One of the pope&#8217;s astronomers would happily baptize an alien if asked &#8212; &#8220;no matter how many tentacles it has.&#8221; Guy Consolmagno, a trained astronomer [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/10/popes-astronomer-would-baptize-aliens/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Seasonal changes in Mars&#8217; methane</title>
		<description><![CDATA[very interesting. Seasonal Geology and/or Biology. I&#8217;m hoping it&#8217;s biology. Lets go to Tharsis, Elysium and Arabia Terrae and find out. &#8211;Ben ===================================== Seasonal changes in Mars&#8217; methane DR EMILY BALDWIN ASTRONOMY NOW Posted: 21 September 2010 Using three martian years worth of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) data, scientists presenting their results at the European [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/09/seasonal-changes-in-mars-methane/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Extraordinary Celestial Spiral IRAS 23166+1655</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Cool. &#8211;Ben An Extraordinary Celestial Spiral This remarkable picture from the Advanced Camera for Surveys on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows one of the most perfect geometrical forms created in space. It captures the formation of an unusual pre-planetary nebula, known as IRAS 23166+1655, around the star LL Pegasi (also known as AFGL 3068) [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/09/extraordinary-celestial-spiral-iras-231661655/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Slacker Doug Welch awarded the Royal Society of Canada&#8217;s McNeil Medal!!!!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Our own Doug Welch has been awarded the prestigious McNeil Medal by the Royal Society of Canada. The McNeil Medal is awarded to a candidate who has demonstrated outstanding ability to promote and communicate science to students and the public within Canada. Previous winners include David Suzuki, Jay Ingram, and Bob McDonald. Congrats Doug!]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/09/slacker-doug-welch-awarded-the-royal-societys-mcneil-medal/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Accuracy, Precision and Uncertainty in Data</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I recently gave a talk at the Citizen Sky Workshop in San Francisco entitled Accuracy, Precision and Uncertainty in Data. Click that for a PDF of the slides from my talk. Eventually (I think) I&#8217;ll be able to link to a video of the talk as well. I welcome questions or discussion about this. I [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/09/accuracy-precision-and-uncertainty-in-data/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>The Re-finding of Feige 85</title>
		<description><![CDATA[by Doug Welch Is there anything more lost than a star in a catalogue which can no longer be found? Such errant entries have been grist for the mills of all sorts of astronomical detective stories. The missing or mis-recorded entries span the range from the sublime to the ridiculous. For instance a whole cottage [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/08/the-re-finding-of-feige-85/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Podcast: Fun from the Sun</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This month Michael (that&#8217;s me), Doug and Mike get together on Skype to discuss the Sun. If I may have a moment, the Sun is unquestionably the most important thing in our universe. Every scrap of energy we have on this planet comes from the Sun. It&#8217;s big, bright and hugely important to the evolution [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/08/podcast-fun-from-the-sun/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Cassini Images from this Weekend&#8217;s Enceladus, Tethys and Dione Flybys!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[new pics from Saturn sys. &#8211;Ben Cassini Images from this Weekend&#8217;s Enceladus, Tethys and Dione Flybys! August 14, 2010 Dear Friends and Colleagues, Just down on the ground today &#8230; images from Cassini&#8217;s close flybys of Tethys, Dione and Enceladus this weekend. Go to &#8230; http://www.ciclops.org/view_event/140/Enceladus_Tethys_and_Dione_Rev_136_Raw_Preview &#8230; and see some gorgeous raw images of these [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/08/cassini-images-from-this-weekends-enceladus-tethys-and-dione-flybys/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Life is common but time and distance too great</title>
		<description><![CDATA[As I awed over another unbelievable Hubble image I couldn&#8217;t help but think the Universe is teeming with life. With billions of galaxies with billions of stars over billions of years &#8212; the math is undeniable: even the most unlikely situations will occur a great number of times. This is articulated mathematically with the Drake [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/08/life-is-common-but-time-and-distance-too-great/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>An &#8220;Island Universe&#8221; in the Coma Cluster</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Nice eye candy. &#8211;Ben An &#8220;Island Universe&#8221; in the Coma Cluster A long-exposure Hubble Space Telescope image shows a majestic face-on spiral galaxy located deep within the Coma Cluster of galaxies, which lies 320 million light-years away in the northern constellation Coma Berenices. The galaxy, known as NGC 4911, contains rich lanes of dust and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/08/an-island-universe-in-the-coma-cluster/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>meteorwatch.org</title>
		<description><![CDATA[interesting site and tweet map. &#8211;Ben http://meteorwatch.org/ http://meteorwatch.org/meteor-map/#twitter-feed-map]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/08/meteorwatch-org/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Podcast: Lucas Macri on the Extragalactic Distance Scale</title>
		<description><![CDATA[We have a new podcast on the feed and once again it is the extended version of our most recent contribution to The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast. Michael Koppelman interviews Dr. Luca Macri of Texas A&#038;M University about his work on the extragalactic distance scale. You can subscribe with RSS and/or iTunes with the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/07/podcast-lucas-macri-on-the-extragalactic-distance-scale/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Dazzling Display of Promethean Force on Saturn&#8217;s F Ring</title>
		<description><![CDATA[more cool ring structures. &#8211;Ben &#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;- July 20, 2010 Dear Friends and Colleagues, Today, the Cassini Imaging Team is proud to release some outstanding new image mosaics and computer simulations of everyone&#8217;s favorite ring, Saturn&#8217;s F ring: the narrow, dynamic, and extraordinarily complex set of strands of ring material caught between the orbits of its [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/07/dazzling-display-of-promethean-force-on-saturns-f-ring/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Astrofest 2010</title>
		<description><![CDATA[step away from the computer and go &#8216;LOOK&#8217; at something. &#8211;Ben ================================ from : Jim Cuca wglogowski@gmail.com Dear astronomy enthusiast: The Chicago Astronomical Society invites you to attend our annual star party, Astrofest, which will be held September 10-11, 2010 at Vana&#8217;s near Kankakee, Illinois. Registration forms and related information are available at http://www.chicagoastro.org/index_files/Page345.htm The [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/07/astrofest-2010/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>OSTP to Co-Host &#8220;Astronomy Night on the National Mall&#8221;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[another astro event in DC. WOW! &#8211;Ben OSTP to Co-Host &#8220;Astronomy Night on the National Mall&#8221; OSTP, in conjunction with Hofstra University, will co-sponsor a free, open to the public star party July 15 on the National Mall in Washington, DC. If you are near the DC area in come enjoy close-up views of the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/07/ostp-to-co-host-astronomy-night-on-the-national-mall/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Latest from Cassini! Large Propeller Features Found in Saturn&#8217;s Rings</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Cool. &#8220;&#8230;the giant propeller &#8220;Earhart&#8221; named after another aviator, Amelia Earhart&#8230;.&#8221; &#8211;Ben &#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211; July 8, 2010 Dear Friends and Colleagues, Today, a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters by members of the Cassini Imaging Team reports the discovery of dozens of kilometer-sized moonlets in Saturn&#8217;s outer A ring, eleven of which have been carefully [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/07/latest-from-cassini-large-propeller-features-found-in-saturns-rings/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Podcast: AAVSONet with Arne Henden</title>
		<description><![CDATA[We have a new podcast on the feed. Mike Simonsen interviews Dr. Arne Henden about AAVSONet, a network of remote, robotically controlled, and automatically queued telescopes for the use of AAVSO members. (UPDATE: Fixed link, it was pointing to the wrong show! Subscribe or listen now!]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/06/podcast-aavsonet-with-arne-henden/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Podcast: Citizen Sky with Rebekah Turner</title>
		<description><![CDATA[We have a new (belated) podcast on the feed! Michael, Doug and Mike regale us with their wit and humor and then Mike interviews Rebekah Turner about the Citizen Sky project. You can subscribe with RSS and/or iTunes with the handy links on the right side of this page or download and/or Listen Now! This [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/05/podcast-citizen-sky-with-rebekah-turner/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>New PBS Video-Journey into the Sun</title>
		<description><![CDATA[fyi: &#8211;Ben ======================= Hi- We thought your readers might be interested in this new video about the sun. You can watch it online now, just click on the link. Journey into the Sun http://www.kqed.org/quest/television/journey-into-the-sun Scientists at Stanford University and Lockheed Martin are playing pivotal roles in a nearly billion-dollar NASA mission to explore the sun. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/05/new-pbs-video-journey-into-the-sun/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>starrycritters.com</title>
		<description><![CDATA[news to me dept. Nice astro eye-candy site. &#8211;Ben starrycritters.com The ancient peoÂ­ples saw picÂ­tures in the sky. From those patÂ­terns in the heavÂ­ens, ancient stoÂ­ryÂ­tellers creÂ­ated stoÂ­ries about heroes, maidÂ­ens, dragÂ­ons, bears, cenÂ­taurs, dogs and mythÂ­iÂ­cal creaÂ­tures. What kid doesnâ€™t see dragÂ­ons and angels in the clouds while lying in warm grass on a [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/05/starrycritters-com/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Cut by Saturn&#8217;s Shadow</title>
		<description><![CDATA[more from Saturn &#8211;Ben http://twitter.com/carolynporco Witness one out-of-this-world vista&#8230;from Cassini at Saturn. So glad I&#8217;ve lived to see such sights! http://bit.ly/bZI0vP http://www.ciclops.org/view/6300/Cut_by_Saturns_Shadow?js=1]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/05/cut-by-saturns-shadow/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>SDO first Light today  4-21-10</title>
		<description><![CDATA[watch it LIVE on NASA TV. http://www.nasa.gov/ntv NASA Science News Conference on the Solar Dynamics Observatory 12:15 PM &#8211; 1:15 PM CDT http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/ http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/assets/docs/SDOfirstlight.pdf]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/04/sdo-first-light-today-4-21-10/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>A Movie of Saturnian Lightning &#8230; A First from Cassini!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[FYI: &#8211;Ben ================== April 14, 2010, Dear Friends and Colleagues, Ever since the beginning of the Cassini mission, a major goal of the Imaging Team has been the detection of Saturnian lightning. The process of electrostatic discharge and lightning production is tied to the motions of electrically charged particles and molecules in the Earth&#8217;s atmosphere, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/04/a-movie-of-saturnian-lightning-a-first-from-cassini/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Podcast: Interview with Bob Naeye of Sky &amp; Telescope</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Our latest contributions to The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast featured a two-part interview with Robert Naeye, Editor-in-Chief of Sky &#038; Telescope magazine. Mike Simonsen talks to Bob about amateur astronomy in Part 1 and science journalism in Part 2. In the extended versions, we hear more from Mike and Bob as well as insightful [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/04/podcast-interview-with-bob-naeye-of-sky-telescope/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>From Cassini: Closest Views of Saturn&#8217;s &#8216;Death Star&#8217; Moon</title>
		<description><![CDATA[FYI: Some in 3D. &#8211;Ben &#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212; Dear Friends and Colleagues, After spending some quality time poring over the images and data Cassini collected last month during its closest flyby yet of Saturn&#8217;s &#8216;Death Star&#8217; moon, Mimas, we are finally ready to release the goods. And they are outta sight! After much deliberation, we have concluded: [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/03/from-cassini-closest-views-of-saturns-death-star-moon/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>The Sun Gets Active Again</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This is a solar image from St. Patrick&#8217;s Day sent in by one of our Slacker friends, Glen Ward. You can clearly see a solar prominence in profile here. A prominence is usually in the form of a large, bright loop extending outward from the Sun&#8217;s surface into the corona. A prominence forms in about [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/03/the-sun-gets-active-again/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Hunting the Edge of the Universe</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In April, NOVA will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope with a two-hour special that examines how a simple instrument, the telescope, has fundamentally changed our understanding of our place in the universe. NOVA sent me an advance copy of this two part series to review and share with you. The episodes [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/03/hunting-the-edge-of-the-universe/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>This is your chance for your name  to go to Mars!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This is your chance for your name to go to Mars! Fill in your information below and your name will be included with others on a microchip on the Mars Science Laboratory rover heading to Mars in 2011! More at: http://marsparticipate.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/participate/sendyourname/]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/03/this-is-your-chance-for-your-name-to-go-to-mars/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Amateur astronomers to shed light on solar storms</title>
		<description><![CDATA[more armchair astronomy work for the internet masses. &#8211;Ben Amateur astronomers to shed light on solar storms &#8220;&#8230;Becoming a solar storm tracker involves setting up a â€˜Zooniverse account,â€™ logging into the Solar Stormwatch site at http://solarstormwatch.com and completing a short interactive training programme. Almost anyone can help the project says Dr Davis. â€œMany motivated individuals [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/03/amateur-astronomers-to-shed-light-on-solar-storms/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>TENTH ANNUAL ISAAC ASIMOV MEMORIAL DEBATE 3/15 @ AMNH in NYC</title>
		<description><![CDATA[for anyone who happens to be in NYC next Mar 15th. wonder how long till the podcast is posted? http://www.amnh.org/podcast/index.html &#8211;Ben AMNHlogo Media Inquiries: Department of Communications 212-769-5800 communications@amnh.org www.amnh.org _____________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYâ€™S TENTH ANNUAL ISAAC ASIMOV MEMORIAL DEBATE ASKS â€œWhere Next for the Manned Space Program?â€ WHAT Tenth Annual Isaac Asimov [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/02/tenth-annual-isaac-asimov-memorial-debate-315-amnh-in-nyc/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Forest of Jets</title>
		<description><![CDATA[fyi: More images from Enceladus flyby last Nov. 21 2009. &#8211;Ben Forest of Jets Cassini&#8217;s close flyby of Enceladus last Nov. 21 revealed a forest of new jets spraying from the prominent fractures crossing the south polar region and yielded the most detailed temperature map to date&#8230; http://ciclops.org/view_event/129/Forest_of_Jets]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/02/forest-of-jets/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>STS-130 as seen from ISS @ Sunrise</title>
		<description><![CDATA[cool pic. &#8211;Ben http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-130/html/iss022e062674.html lots of other STS-130 pics here. http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-130/ndxpage1.html]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/02/sts-130-as-seen-from-iss-sunrise/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>GeoStationary HighWay</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Cool astro photo &#8216;movie&#8217; by Babak A. Tafreshi . &#8211;Ben Geostationary Orbits are over five times the radius of the Earth, approximately 36000 km above sea level. Objects in such orbits have orbital period equal to the Earth&#8217;s rotation and would remain stationary over the same point on the Earth&#8217;s equator. Geostationary objects appear motionless [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/02/geostationary-highway/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Jurassic Space: Ancient Galaxies Come Together After Billions of Years</title>
		<description><![CDATA[more cool HST galaxies gone wild pics. As always, be sure to zoom in to the FULL frame (2758 X 2567) 6.8MB JPEG http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/images/hs-2010-08-a-full_jpg.jpg to see all the &#8216;tiny&#8217; galaxies. I like pair in the bottom left. &#8211;Ben ================================== Jurassic Space: Ancient Galaxies Come Together After Billions of Years February 18, 2010: Imagine finding a [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/02/jurassic-space-ancient-galaxies-come-together-after-billions-of-years/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Happy BD Nicolaus Copernicus</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Happy BD Nicolaus Copernicus 19 February 1473 the first astronomer to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology, which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe &#8211;Ben http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Copernicus]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/02/happy-bd-nicolaus-copernicus/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Prometheus Popping in 3-D</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Saturn&#8217;s potato-shaped moon Prometheus is rendered in three dimensions in this close-up from Cassini. This 3-D view is a color composite picture made from two different black and white images that were taken from slightly different viewing angles. The images are combined so that the viewer&#8217;s left and right eye, respectively and separately, see a [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/02/prometheus-popping-in-3-d/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>&#8220;PLUTO IS A PLANET IN NEW MEXICO DAY&#8221;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8216;Is it Legal?&#8217; Really IS just a matter of time and/or geography. I&#8217;m not sure I like the gov. defining my science. Although they do define the weights and measures. I heard Indiana tried declaring pi = 3.0000 awhile back (1897). Well at least they tried to. &#8211;Ben =================== 2010 Regular Session HM 17 &#8220;PLUTO [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/02/pluto-is-a-planet-in-new-mexico-day/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Emission Spectra Scarves</title>
		<description><![CDATA[cool retweet. Move over Dr Who scarves&#8230; There is a NEW geek scarf in town. &#8211;Ben from @starstryder &#038; @Moonrangerlaura I found a reason to go by more yarn &#038; study emission line lamps http://bit.ly/dbvTHf aka: http://sternlab.org/2010/02/emission-spectra-scarves/]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/02/emission-spectra-scarves/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Mimas and Calypso Rev 126 Flyby Raw Preview</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Cassini is headed towards that small moon. That&#8217;s no small moon, That&#8217;s a Space Station! oh wait, yes it is just a small moon. &#8211;Ben ===================================== ****** Forwarded Message Follows ******* February 15, 2010 Dear Friends and Colleagues, Latest images from Cassini&#8217;s flybys of Saturn&#8217;s `Death Star&#8217; moon, Mimas, and one of its small moons, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/02/mimas-and-calypso-rev-126-flyby-raw-preview/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Happy Valentine&#8217;s Day</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Just for you on Valentine&#8217;s Day, we&#8217;ve got a video of hearts in space, Hearts in Space- Sixty Symbols and a special alert to be on the lookout for northern lights tonight.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/02/happy-valentines-day/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Slacker Astronomy now on facebook</title>
		<description><![CDATA[That&#8217;s right! There is now a new way to keep up to date with all the things we should be doing, but probably aren&#8217;t&#8230;the Slacker Astronomy Fan Page on facebook. You can find us here.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2010/02/slacker-astronomy-now-on-facebook/</link>
			</item>
</channel>
</rss>

