Carnival of Space #367

It’s been a sad week for the fans of Robin Williams.  I’m sad too.  I figured out how to overcome 20 years of debilitating depression though.  If I hadn’t, this would have contributed to my depression I expect.

If you or someone you know is suffering from depression, please take a warning from our beloved ‘Mork from Ork’ and get help!

I can think of three things that might make a difference.

If you are truly missing some chemical you need, get a doctor to help you pinpoint what it is and use supplements or a prescription to make up for that need.

You could try the method which worked for me.  I found this idea in a book.  I’ll have to look up the title & author.  It was suggested try this for a week.  The question you ponder is “What happened today that was OK or that went well or that you were happy about?”  At the end of a week, she advocated repeating the process.  So I did.

It took 14 months and then I had a revelation.  If I thought about it, I could find at least one thing that was OK, that went well or that I was happy about every day of my life.  I’ve never been as depressed since.  I have experienced shorts bouts of melancholy since then.  I just reactivate this exercise and very soon, I’m back on track.

It’s an amazing process.  I suggested it to a friend who seems to have overcome this horrible thing even faster than I did.  What about you or your friend?  What have you got to lose?  Your depression?  Not a downside, IMHO.

The third method involves tapping.  I’ve done this for other things and it’s quick and effective.  I recommend doing some research on it and finding someone who can help you learn it.  I got the info from a naturopath doctor.

I think Mork would have liked  the Carnival of Space.  We bring you news & views in a very civilized manner.  Robin Williams, as an actor, knew that ‘the show must go on.’

And so, The Show Goes On!  I offer you the Carnival of Space #367!

NASA’S NuSTAR Catches a Black Hole Bending Light, Space, and Time
Shannon Hall | Universe Today

NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) has captured a spectacular event: a supermassive black hole’s gravity tugging on nearby X-ray light.

A Spectacular Dawn Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter Set For August 18th
David Dickinson | Universe Today

We’re talking about a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Venus. Venus has been dominating the dawn sky for 2014, and Jupiter is fresh off of solar conjunction on the far side of the Sun on July 24th and is currently racing up to greet it.

NASA’s Chandra Observatory Searches for Trigger of Nearby Supernova
Megan Watzke | Chandra X-Ray Observatory

NASA’s Chandra Observatory Searches for Trigger of Nearby Supernova

Here, There & Everywhere at the South Holland Public Library
Meg Klinkow Hartmann, Library Director, South Holland, Illinois | Here. There. Everywhere.

Here, There & Everywhere was exhibited at the South Holland Public Library, IL from July 3 – 30, 2014

Video of the Supermoon rising
Allen Versfeld | Urban Astronomer

Urban Astronomer was asked to film the rising Supermoon for a Slooh broadcast. Here he tells how he had to learn to video astronomical events, edit the footage, and care about Supermoons, all before deadline.

Is It Time To Feel Upbeat About Space Again?
Joe Latrell | Photos to Space

Space has been down in the dumps lately. Can a movie help bring it back?

Bacteria Discovered in Lake of Oil: Implications for Extraterrestrial Life?
Paul Scott Anderson | The Meridiani Journal

A recent discovery by scientists may have implications for possible extraterrestrial life: Bacteria have been found thriving in a lake of oil in Trinidad, again showing how life can exist in even the most inhospitable conditions on Earth. The discovery brings to mind the similar environment on Saturn’s moon Titan, where lakes and seas of liquid hydrocarbons (methane/ethane) exist at the moon’s poles.

The new findings were just published in the journal Science by an international team of scientists who studied Pitch Lake, a natural liquid asphalt lake in Trinidad, and found microorganisms (bacteria and archaea) living in tiny water droplets within the oil deposits. There is relatively little water in the lake, so the discovery of such a thriving ecosystem was unexpected. Yet these miniscule water droplets are apparently more than enough to sustain microbial life within them, even though the surrounding oil is…

SpaceX Success Has Made Enemies of the Allies of Big Government Contractors
Brian Wang | Next Big Future

Falcon 9 rocket is putting payloads into orbit for less money than the big government contractors charge.

As one might expect, government officials who have such contractors in their own districts and states are unhappy with this. And apparently some are willing to smear SpaceX as retribution.

Scaling ISRU for Using Mars Resources for Space Missions
Brian Wang | Next Big Future

Scaling systems for getting Oxygen and rocket fuel from the Mars atmoshere are examined. Robert Zubrin and others have looked closely at getting needed resources from the Mars atmosphere.

Elon Musk Statements and My Own Extrapolation of Developments Towards an Eighty Thousand Person Mars City by 2040
Brian Wang | Next Big Future

[Elon Musk] is hopeful that the first people could be taken to Mars in 10 to 12 years. Elon think it is certainly possible for that to occur. He says the thing that matters long term is to have a self-sustaining city on Mars, to make life multiplanetary.

Here I have combined various statements from Elon Musk with my own extrapolation of developments towards and eighty thousand person Mars City by 2040.

Spacex hopes to recover and reuse a first stage next year.

Spacex hopes to carry hopes the Dragon 2 will carry NASA astronauts to the International Space Station as soon as 2016.

The seven person Dragon 2 capsule can land and be reused.

Musk’s schedule puts him well ahead of NASA, which is only talking about getting man to Mars by the 2030s – and then only if it can get billions in public funding and build a rocket big enough for the job. Musk’s Falcon Heavy booster is scheduled to fly within the next year, and will carry enough payload to…

Surf Saturn’s Rings In Amazing Raw Cassini Images From This Week
Elizabeth Howell | Universe Today

When Saturn is at its closest to Earth, it’s three-quarters of a billion miles away — or more than a billion kilometers! That makes these raw images from the ringed planet all the more remarkable.

A Piece of Vesta Has Been Stolen!
Jason Major | Universe Today

Calling all meteorite collectors and enthusiasts! There’s a hot space rock at large and, as Indiana Jones would say, it belongs in a museum. Perhaps you can help put it back in one.

We’ll add more as they come in.

Thank you Robin Williams, for Mork, for Bicentennial Man, for the laughs…

Photo Credit: ABC