"SPACESHIP GAIA COSMIC EXPLORER" LINK-UPS

"WHERE DID THE MOON COME FROM?"

How was the Moon created? The standard model for many years now considers its formation as due from a Mars-sized planet which collided with the early Earth, sending large chunks of the Earth into orbit which gradually drew together to form the Moon.

Now that model is being challenged by the fascinating results of research which began late in 2001.

Announcing a New Discovery about the origin of the Moon, the result of that two-and-a-half-year research project, are Princeton University Mathematics teacher and author Edward Belbruno, the Executive Vice President of the New York Space Society, and Princeton astrophysicist Richard Gott, with their findings submitted in a paper to the prestigous "Astronomical Journal" in mid-May 2004.

Space.com also had a report on June 20 of their findings, and a recent issue of "Discover" Magazine featured an article by the authors.

For the COMPLETE REPORT by the authors on their exciting revolutionary discovery, click-on the FIRST LINK below.

The second link is about Belbruno's NEW BOOK: "Capture Dynamics and Chaotic Motion In Celestial Mechanics: With Applications to the Construction of Low Energy Transfers," published this year by Princeton University Press, describing a successful technique used to save a lunar satellite in the 1990s.

ON VIDEO -- "THE DISH"

"The Dish," a delightful movie released in early 2001, and now on video, is based an Australian radio telescope team, headed by actor Sam Neill, which was responsible for getting the first TV transmission from the Moon's surface from Apollo 11.

Members of the NSS/NY chapter were treated to a preview showing of the movie in early 2001 before its general U.S. release.

WATCH THE SKIES! OBSERVATORIES ON-LINE

By Harold Egeln

Inspired by a suggestion by astonomer and columnist Thomas Hamilton to check out the Custer Institute observatory in Southold on eastern Long Island, I did. I was so impressed by its website, that I checked in on a few other observatory websites, and the inspiration for this new regular section came.

Below are the website links to the Custer Institute Observatory in Southold, LI; the McDonald Observatory at the University of Texas in Austin; and the Grasslands Observatory in Arizona, along with a fun and informative site called "Astronomy Cafe."

THE CUSTER INSTITUTE OBSERVATORY offers programs on astronomy, science and culture. Its observatory is open to the public on Saturday evenings, weather allowing.

The MCDONALD OBSERVATORY site has sections on its Visitors Center, "Star Date" Magazine, its E-Newsletter with a News Section, "Sky Tips" and fascinating space photos.

The GRASSLANDS OBSERVATORY, marking its 20th anniversary this year, offers an unobstructed view of the sky and has a totally awesome website. Among its many features is a stunning Image Gallery with dazzling photos of arp galaxies, Messier Objects, NCG Objects, comets and asteroids, the Moon and planets, and much more. It puts you right in the picture!

The Grasslands News and Essays section ("Latest News & New Updates") is filled with detailed essays which grab the reader's attention, backed by superb graphics and photos. The latest essay, "Finding Our Place in the Universe" is not only a joy to read, but a delight of facts and astronomical observations.

You also get a virtual tour of the observatory, its 24-inch telescope and the control room, and much more. The co-partners of Grasslands are ("bravos" please) Tim Hunter and James McGaha, a retired Air Force pilot. McGaha was recently a "star" in his own right, appearing on the "Peter Jennings UFO Report" on ABC-TV, giving a reasoned skeptical point-of-view on UFOs.

Also included in the links below is the fun-and-fact filled "ASTRONOMY CAFE" by astronomer Dr. Sten Odenwald. The "Cafe" is designed for the "astronomically disadvantaged" but offers valuable basic information for the layperson on a range of topics. For instance: "How a Research Paper in Astronomy is Written," an excellent guide.

So, stellar readers, enjoy our new "WATCH THE SKIES! OBSERVATORIES ON-LINE" section. If you have a favorite observatory anywhere in he world which you would like to be highlighted, please contact me at the e-mail address at the end of this newsletter. [After the current newsletter is "beamed" away by our cyber-space transporter, the archive can be accessed from this E-Journal's Home Page.]