Hubble 3D in IMAX

In case you were not aware there are only four space shuttle launches left before NASA retires the fleet.   Seeing a space shuttle launch first hand has always been a dream of mine but sadly probably one that I will never be able to take off of my bucket list.   I was  thinking the other day that the whole 3D revolution is interesting and all, but there is one thing I really wish producers would try to do before it is too late, capture a shuttle launch in 3D .  I guess it turns out that they may have done that, and in IMAX to boot.

On March 12, 2010 a new IMAX film called Hubble 3D was released.  Hopefully the entire movie is in 3D and not just the stuff taken in orbit.  Of course, you have to have a 3D IMAX theater in your area in order to see it, and as far as I can tell our local one at the Science Center of Iowa doesn’t do 3D.  Might have to make a trip in to Chicago or something to see it someday.  Of course, anyone with a way to get me to a real launch can give me a call too….

Lunar Landing Site Photos- Just Another Conspiracy?

NASA

I have always been fascinated with the moon landings even though they took place before I was even born.  Ever since they occured back in the 60′s there have been a small but vocal number of people saying that the entire moon landing sequence was faked.  My personal feeling on these conspiracy theorists is that they should go ask Elvis for his opinion, but still the debate raged on.  Now, forty years after the launch of Apollo 11 (the first mission that actually landed on the moon) NASA has proof that we were actually there in the form of photos from the recently launched Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

I doubt that these photos will satisfy any of the naysayers.  The photos are a little grainy and the resolution is not really good enough to make out fine detail, although you can see the tracks the astronauts left in the soil as they walked from the landing module to a scientific experiment site.  Personally I think the images are very cool although much less spectacular than I was hoping for.  Without the help of NASA putting arrows and markings on the photos I doubt I would be able to figure things out on my own.  If we have sattellites that can see my car in my driveway you would think that they would put something equally as powerful on this space probe.

It just so happened that a few days before the anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch I checked out Buzz Aldrin’s new biography, Magnificent Desolation.  It’s a good read.  Maybe I’ll blog about it tomorrow to give a little review.