Mike Hodel's Hour 25

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June 2005


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Index to our previous shows

  • June 30, 2005 - Jan Siegel
  • June 5, 2005 - William F. Nolan
  • Shows from May, 2005
  • Shows from April, 2005
  • Shows from February, 2005
  • Shows from January, 2005
  • Shows from December, 2004
  • Shows from November, 2004
  • Shows from October, 2004
  • Shows from September, 2004
  • Shows from August, 2004
  • Shows from June, 2004
  • Shows from May, 2004
  • Shows from April, 2004
  • Shows from March, 2004
  • Shows from February, 2004
  • Shows from January, 2004
  • Shows from December, 2003
  • Shows from November, 2003
  • Shows from October, 2003
  • Shows from September, 2003
  • Shows from August, 2003
  • Shows from July, 2003
  • Shows from June, 2003
  • Shows from May, 2003
  • Shows from February, 2003
  • Shows from January, 2003
  • Shows from December, 2002
  • Shows from November, 2002
  • Shows from October, 2002
  • Shows from September, 2002
  • Shows from August, 2002
  • Shows from July, 2002
  • Shows from June, 2002
  • Shows from May, 2002
  • Shows from April, 2002
  • Shows from March, 2002
  • Shows from February, 2002
  • Shows from January, 2002
  • Shows from December 2001
  • Shows from November, 2001
  • Shows from October, 2001
  • Shows from September, 2001
  • Shows from August, 2001
  • Shows from July, 2001
  • Shows from June, 2001
  • Shows from May, 2001
  • Shows from April, 2001
  • Shows from March, 2001
  • Shows from February, 2001
  • Shows from January, 2001
  • Shows from November - December, 2000
  • Shows from September - October, 2000
  • Shows from July - August, 2000





  • Jan Siegel     Listen To This Show

    On Thursday - June 30th, 2005 - our guest on Hour 25 was author Jan Siegel chatting with us about her books as well as the art and craft of writing.

    Jan's series of fantasy novels that started with Prospero's Children meld our dreams and images of Atlantis, magic, dragons and other mythical creatures into a delightful contemporary story about young people discovering their heritage and learning that there is more to the world than meets the eye.

    And as interesting as her stories are, she is equally interesting as a person who can describe what it is she does when she is creating her stories. Her insights into writing are fascinating and a source of inspiration for anyone who wants to write or who is interested in the art and craft of writing. Enjoy.

    Prosperos Children    The Dragon Charmer    The Witch Queen




    Dateline: Mars


    NASA is releasing all of the images from the two Mars Exploration Rovers almost as soon as they arrive at JPL. The raw images for the Spirit rover can be found at the following Web Page and raw images for Opportunity can be found here. The images that have been released to the press, along with animations and explanatory text, can be found here. You can find larger versions of the images shown below at that last NASA Web Site.




    Opportunity

    Earth as seen from Mars. Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    The picture above was taken a few weeks ago by Opportunity and shows the Earth hanging in the Martian sky. I hope you were looking up and smiling on that day.


    Opportunity - tracks left in the sand after it got unstuck. Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    The image above shows the sand dune that held Opportunity trapped for several weeks. Notice the deep ruts that it left in the sand as it extricated itself. Now that Opportunity is free the engineers and scientists working on the project are coming up with new traverse routes that will allow this rover to continue its mission while hopefully staying out of any other sand traps.





    Spirit

    Sun on the horizon.  Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    On May 19 Spirit watched the sun setting over the rim of Gusev Crater. In addition to being an attractive picture, this image is scientifically valuable because studies of the variations in the light intensity of the darkening sky can tell researchers how dust and other particulates are distributed in the Martian atmosphere.




    Dateline: Comet Temple 1

    Deep Impact Mission Events
    (Times for all events given in Earth-received time (PDT))
  • July 2, 11:07 PM: Impactor released into comet's path
  • July 3, 9:22 PM: 1st Impactor targeting maneuver
  • July 3, 10:17 PM: 2nd Impactor targeting maneuver
  • July 3, 10:39 PM: 3rd Impactor targeting maneuver
  • July 3, 10:52 PM: (+ or - 3 min.): Impactor collides with Tempel 1
  • July 3, 11:05 PM: Flyby spacecraft goes into shield mode
  • July 3, 11:06 PM: Flyby's closest approach to Tempel 1

    These various events will be covered live on NASA TV and a NASA webcast. {Though you'll probably be able to catch some, or all, of these events on any of the various 24 hour news services.} The schedule for the coverage is as follows.

  • Pre-impact update: July 3, 11 AM
  • NASA TV encounter coverage: July 3, 8:30 PM
  • Expected time of impact: July 3, 10:52 PM
  • Post-impact briefing: July 4, 1 AM
  • Post-impact press conference: July 4, 11 AM

    More information about the Deep Impact mission can be found at the Project's Official Web Site.

    Orbit of comet Tempel 1.  Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL

    This illustration shows you the orbit of Earth and comet Tempel 1, along with their positions when the Deep Impact spacecraft was launched and at the time of the spacecraft's encounter with the comet.


    Orbit of Deep Impact and Tempel 1.  Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL

    Here's a closer view of the trajectory of the spacecraft. As it crosses the orbit of the comet it will actually be moving slower than Tempel 1 and thus it will get 'run over' by the comet.

    About one day prior to the collision the spacecraft will release the Impactor - which will actually hit the comet - while the main body of the spacecraft will perform a small trajectory correction maneuver that will cause it to pass close to the comet without hitting it. The Impactor will relay pictures and other data right up to the time of impact while the other vehicle will photograph the collision and make other measurements.

    At the time of the encounter the spacecraft and comet will be approaching each other at a relative velocity of over 6 miles per second. The nucleus of the comet is only a few miles across and thus if the timing of the spacecraft's arrival is off by just a couple of seconds it will miss the comet entirely. Pulling off this mission has been described as attempting to hit a bullet with a bullet while photographing the results from a third bullet.


    Tempel 1 outburst on June 14.  Image credit NASA/ESA/JHU.
    Image Credit: NASA/ESA/JHU

    Telescopes from all over the Earth have been scrutinizing comet Tempel 1 in advance of Deep Impact's arrival and on June 14 the Hubble Space Telescope caught this image of a gas outburst on that comet.

    Comets are thought to be collections of dust, rocks and frozen volatiles. As the comet approaches the Sun the increasing temperatures cause the volatiles to turn into gas and flow away from the comet. This is what creates the comet's coma and tail. This process is not uniform and sometimes pockets of gas burst into space in a huge cloud causing a sudden increase in the comet's brightness. Which is exactly what this image from Hubble shows.


    Tempel 1 outburst on June 23  Image credit NASA/ESA/JHU.
    Image Credit: NASA/ESA/JHU

    A few days later the Deep Impact spacecraft took this series of images showing another gas outburst from Tempel 1. In this series of images the 'nominal' light from the comet has been subtracted from the images so that the gas outburst can be made more highly visible. This is why the comet appears to be missing from the first image in the series.


    Tempel 1 as seen on June 30 from the Deep Impact spacecraft.  Image credit NASA/JHU.
    Image Credit: NASA/JHU

    And here is the view of Tempel 1 today - June 30 - just a few days away from the encounter. The comet is still almost three million kilometers from the spacecraft and closing the distance by roughly 12 kilometers each and every second. Things should be getting very exciting in just a few days.





    Listen to this show

    webcasting


    Click here to listen to the entire show. {1:28:35}

    Or

    • Click here for the show's intro music.{0:41}
    • Click here for the show's opening and our introduction of Jan Siegel {5:26}
    • Click here for our story about the Cosmos 1 Solar Sail {2:24}
    • Click here to learn about the docking of the Progress with the ISS {2:15}
    • Click here for an update about the Mars Express mission {3:11}
    • Click here for news about the Deep Impact mission {4:41}
    • Click here for our interview with Jan Siegel. {1:08:17}
    • Click here for the show's closing.{1:40}

    • Click here for our current show.
    • Click here for links to all of our previous Shows that you can listen to on the Hour 25 Web Site.
    If you enjoyed this show and would like to know when other interviews are uploaded to the Hour 25 Web Site, then send an email to me at wwjames@earthlink.net and I will add your name to the free Hour 25 Newsletter mailing list. That way you'll get a brief notice in your email every time a new show gets uploaded to the web.





    Links for more information relating to this week's show

    Jan Siegel
  • More information about Jan Siegel can be found at this Web Site from her publisher.
  • You can find another interview with Jan from Locus here or from Harper Collins (Australia) here.

    Space News
  • More information about what happened on the all-too-short flight of the Cosmos 1 solar sail can be found at this Planetary Society Web Page. Additional information about solar sails can be found here.
  • More information about the Deep Impact mission can be found at the Project's Official Web Site.

    Space News - Mars
  • For more information about the Mars Exploration Rovers be sure to check out the MER Web Site at JPL or this Mars Rover site at Cornell University. You can also get information about the MER mission by reading the News Updates posted by Dr. Steve Squyres, the project's Principal Investigator.
  • To learn more about the Mars Express mission you can go to this ESA Mars Express Web Site, this Mars Express Web Page from JPL, this NSSDC Mars Express Web Page, or this Web Page from Mars News.Com.
  • For more information about the Exploration of Mars be sure to go to the JPL Mars Exploration Site, the Center for Mars Exploration at NASA Ames, or the Mars Missions Web Site at the Planetary Society.
  • Information about the data returned by previous Mars missions can be found at this Mars Web Page at the NSSDC.
  • Information about the Phoenix Mission to Mars can be found at this Press Release from the University of Arizona. You can view a 3D picture of the Mars Phoenix spacecraft here.
  • For more Mars news be sure to check out the Mars News.Com Web Site.
  • Percival Lowell did much to shape our ideas about Mars in the early years of the 20th Century. You can learn more about his work by reading this on-line copy of his 1895 book Mars.

    Space News - The Cassini Mission to Saturn
  • Much information about the Cassini mission can be found at the Project's Official Web Site at JPL.
  • JPL is constantly releasing pictures from Cassini. You can find them by going to this JPL Web Page.
  • Additional information about the Cassini mission can be found at this ESA Web Site.

    For On-Going Updates on Space News
  • Links relating to the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia can be found here.
  • The Reusable Launch & Space Vehicle News Web Site Web Page that is part of the Hobby Space Web Site is a really good place to watch for news about, well... Reusable Launch Vehicles and related subjects. I check it out just about every day and often find news there that doesn't show up anywhere else. Give it a look. {And while you're there be sure to check out some of the site's other pages. Wow! Is there a lot of information there.}
  • The Space Today Web Site is a great place to find space news from all over the 'net.
  • The Spaceflight Now Web Site carries real time information about current space missions and presents a lot of space and astronomy news. This is the place I go to when I want up to the minute information about current space missions. Do I need to say more?
  • The NASA Watch Web Site is another great place for getting information about current space missions. Check there also for news about other 'goings on' within NASA. Highly recommended.

    ISS News
  • The Florida Today Web Site has a very interesting report about the causes of the ISS budget problems and their impact on the space program. It makes very interesting reading.
  • Click here to view the press kits for various ISS missions.
  • Check out the NASA International Space Station Web Page or the Boeing Web Page to learn more about this project.
  • A great source of news about Russian space activities, including their work on the ISS, can be found at the Russian Space Web.
  • Do you wonder where the Space Station is right now? You can use your browser to view real time maps showing the location of the ISS by going to this link at the NASA Space Link Web Site or here at the Johnson Spacecraft Center. Please note that your browser must support Java to make use of this satellite tracking software.
  • You can find out when the ISS - or many other spacecraft - can be seen from your location by going to this NASA Web Page. Please note; your browser must support Java for this application to work.

    Space Related Organizations
    If you are interested in learning more about current space activities there are many local and national organizations you might want to know about. Joining these organizations and taking part in their activities is a good way to stay abreast of things going on in space as well as a way to show your support for those activities. Listed below are some of those organizations.
  • The Organization for the Advancement of Space Industrialization and Settlement has long been place for persons living in the Los Angeles area to gather and discuss the promise of space. Be sure to check out their Web Site for information about their meetings and other activities.
  • The Orange County Space Society is another Los Angeles area organization that provides a focal point for persons who are interested in space developments to get together and share their ideas. They have created a number of displays explaining the history and importance of space exploration that have appeared at various public events. Be sure to check their Web Site for information about their meetings and other events.
  • The National Space Society has a long history of being an advocate for a vigorous space program and provides much information to its members through their magazine and Web Site.
  • The Space Frontier Foundation is a strong advocate for a non-governmental space program and serves as a focal point for much activity in that arena. Their annual conference in Los Angeles during the Fall is a great way to find out what is happening in the non-government space arena.
  • The Space Access Society is focused on reducing the cost of going into space by promoting non-governmental launch vehicle programs. Their annual conference in the spring is a major source of information on non-traditional launch vehicle activities.
  • The Planetary Society is focused on the exploration of the Solar System and has a wealth of information for its members and others.

  • Click here for information about the audio files used for Hour 25 and for information about configuring your browser and downloading audio players.

    Please note Web Pages from external sites will open in a separate browser window and that Hour 25 Productions are not responsible for the content of any external Web Sites.

  • Return to the Index for this month's shows




    William F. Nolan     Listen to this show

    On Sunday - June 5th, 2005 - our guest on Hour 25 was author William F. Nolan chatting with us about his books as well as the art and craft of writing.

    It has been said that the luckiest person is the one for whom the work that puts bread on the table is that which he would do, even if he wasn't getting paid to do it. And by that criteria William F. Nolan is a very lucky man.

    He is someone who lives to write and who has succeeded in doing that in many different genres. As he says, he is a writer. Not a horror writer or a mystery writer or SF writer or a biographer or writer of westerns or a writer of technical manuals. Even though he has done all those things. No, he views himself as a writer because that's what he does. He writes. And what he writes depends on what story he has to tell.

    And to him, writing is the reason for living. When asked, "When do you take a vacation?", his answer is "When do you take a break from breathing?"

    Having written 70+ books and numerous scripts for TV and movies, he is a person who has sparked our imaginations for many years. His stories have frightened us with tales of carnivorous trains, diabolical creatures and worlds where it is against the law to grow old. He is a master of the art and craft of writing. It was a great pleasure to sit and chart with him about that which he loves so much.

    Sharks Never Sleep      Black Mask Murders

    Sharks Never Sleep and The Black Mask Murders are a couple of really cool books that show off Bill Nolan's considerable talents as a writer. They can be a bit hard to find today, but a few are available to order from his Official Web Site, just scroll down to the bottom of that page and you'll find the appropriate link.

    We've also recently found some copies at Bookfellows {a.k.a. The Mystery and Imagination Bookshop} in Glendale. Though, you might want to call or check their web site to make sure they still have copies in stock since these books don't seem to spend a lot of time waiting on the shelves for somebody to buy them. Give them a read. I think you'll enjoy them.



    Dateline: Mars


    NASA is releasing all of the images from the two Mars Exploration Rovers almost as soon as they arrive at JPL. The raw images for the Spirit rover can be found at the following Web Page and raw images for Opportunity can be found here. The images that have been released to the press, along with animations and explanatory text, can be found here. You can find larger versions of the images shown below at that last NASA Web Site.

    Opportunity

    Opportunity - a wheel stuck in the sand. Image credit NASA/JPL.      Opportunity - another wheel stuck in the sand. Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    There two pictures above show just how deep Opportunity's wheels had sunk into the sand of that Martian dune.

    You can go here to view movies of the rover's wheels spinning in the sand while it tried to extricate itself from this Martian sand trap.


    Opportunity - tracks left in the sand as Opportunity gets unstuck. Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    And now for the good news. Opportunity has gotten unstuck!

    Here you see the deep tracks left in the sand as Opportunity worked itself out of this Martian sand trap. Scientists and engineers will now spend time studying this sand dune so they can better understand why it succeeded in capturing Opportunity while other sand dunes were only a minor hindrance to the rover's progress. Doing this will help them to keep from getting caught in the future sand traps.





    Spirit

    Spirit studies a series of rock outcrops.  Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL

    While exploring the Columbia Hills Spirit took this false-color image of three rock outcroppings. It then moved closer to them and took closeup images and acquired other data. Studies of such rock outcroppings allow scientists to study native bedrock that has not been covered by decades - or centuries - of drifting dust.

    Shown below are false color closeups of those three outcroppings.


    Methuselah - close up - false color.  Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    Methuselah

    Jibsheet - close up - false color.  Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    Jibsheet

    Larry's Lookout - close up - false color.  Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    Larry's Lookout




    Listen to this show

    webcasting


    Click here to listen to the entire show. {43:00}

    Or

    • Click here for the show's intro music.{0:41}
    • Click here for the show's opening {13:29}
    • Click here for our interview with William F. Nolan. {27:07}
    • Click here for the show's closing.{1:43}

    • Click here for our current show.
    • Click here for links to all of our previous Shows that you can listen to on the Hour 25 Web Site.
    If you enjoyed this show and would like to know when other interviews are uploaded to the Hour 25 Web Site, then send an email to me at wwjames@earthlink.net and I will add your name to the free Hour 25 Newsletter mailing list. That way you'll get a brief notice in your email every time a new show gets uploaded to the web.





    Links for more information relating to this week's show

    William F. Nolan
  • More information about William F. Nolan can be found at his official Web Site. You can also find more information, as well as pictures of many of his books, at Tim Sinniger's - Nolansworld Web Site.
  • You can find another interview with Bill here.
  • A wealth of information about Logan's Run can be found at the City of Domes Web Site.

    Space News
  • More information about the upcoming flight of the Cosmos 1 solar sail can be found at this Planetary Society Web Page and information about how you will be able to view the solar sail while it is in orbit can be found here. Additional information about solar sails can be found here.
  • More information about the Deep Impact mission can be found at the Project's official Web Site.
  • You can learn about the discoveries made by the Voyager spacecraft, as well as stay abreast of its current activities, by going to the Project's official Web Site. Data from the Voyager Project can be found at this Web Site produced by the National Space Science Data Center. Many of the famous pictures from Voyager and other interplanetary spacecraft can be found at the NSSDC Photo Gallery.

    Space News - Mars
  • For more information about the Mars Exploration Rovers be sure to check out the MER Web Site at JPL or this Mars Rover site at Cornell University. You can also get information about the MER mission by reading the News Updates posted by Dr. Steve Squyres, the project's Principal Investigator.
  • To learn more about the Mars Express mission you can go to this ESA Mars Express Web Site, this Mars Express Web Page from JPL, this NSSDC Mars Express Web Page, or this Web Page from Mars News.Com.
  • For more information about the Exploration of Mars be sure to go to the JPL Mars Exploration Site, the Center for Mars Exploration at NASA Ames, or the Mars Missions Web Site at the Planetary Society.
  • Information about the data returned by previous Mars missions can be found at this Mars Web Page at the NSSDC.
  • Information about the Phoenix Mission to Mars can be found at this Press Release from the University of Arizona. You can view a 3D picture of the Mars Phoenix spacecraft here.
  • For more Mars news be sure to check out the Mars News.Com Web Site.
  • Percival Lowell did much to shape our ideas about Mars in the early years of the 20th Century. You can learn more about his work by reading this on-line copy of his 1895 book Mars.

    Space News - The Cassini Mission to Saturn
  • Much information about the Cassini mission can be found at the Project's Official Web Site at JPL.
  • JPL is constantly releasing pictures from Cassini. You can find them by going to this JPL Web Page.
  • Additional information about the Cassini mission can be found at this ESA Web Site.

    For On-Going Updates on Space News
  • Links relating to the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia can be found here.
  • The Reusable Launch & Space Vehicle News Web Site Web Page that is part of the Hobby Space Web Site is a really good place to watch for news about, well... Reusable Launch Vehicles and related subjects. I check it out just about every day and often find news there that doesn't show up anywhere else. Give it a look. {And while you're there be sure to check out some of the site's other pages. Wow! Is there a lot of information there.}
  • The Space Today Web Site is a great place to find space news from all over the 'net.
  • The Spaceflight Now Web Site carries real time information about current space missions and presents a lot of space and astronomy news. This is the place I go to when I want up to the minute information about current space missions. Do I need to say more?
  • The NASA Watch Web Site is another great place for getting information about current space missions. Check there also for news about other 'goings on' within NASA. Highly recommended.

    ISS News
  • The Florida Today Web Site has a very interesting report about the causes of the ISS budget problems and their impact on the space program. It makes very interesting reading.
  • Click here to view the press kits for various ISS missions.
  • Check out the NASA International Space Station Web Page or the Boeing Web Page to learn more about this project.
  • A great source of news about Russian space activities, including their work on the ISS, can be found at the Russian Space Web.
  • Do you wonder where the Space Station is right now? You can use your browser to view real time maps showing the location of the ISS by going to this link at the NASA Space Link Web Site or here at the Johnson Spacecraft Center. Please note that your browser must support Java to make use of this satellite tracking software.
  • You can find out when the ISS - or many other spacecraft - can be seen from your location by going to this NASA Web Page. Please note; your browser must support Java for this application to work.

    Space Related Organizations
    If you are interested in learning more about current space activities there are many local and national organizations you might want to know about. Joining these organizations and taking part in their activities is a good way to stay abreast of things going on in space as well as a way to show your support for those activities. Listed below are some of those organizations.
  • The Organization for the Advancement of Space Industrialization and Settlement has long been place for persons living in the Los Angeles area to gather and discuss the promise of space. Be sure to check out their Web Site for information about their meetings and other activities.
  • The Orange County Space Society is another Los Angeles area organization that provides a focal point for persons who are interested in space developments to get together and share their ideas. They have created a number of displays explaining the history and importance of space exploration that have appeared at various public events. Be sure to check their Web Site for information about their meetings and other events.
  • The National Space Society has a long history of being an advocate for a vigorous space program and provides much information to its members through their magazine and Web Site.
  • The Space Frontier Foundation is a strong advocate for a non-governmental space program and serves as a focal point for much activity in that arena. Their annual conference in Los Angeles during the Fall is a great way to find out what is happening in the non-government space arena.
  • The Space Access Society is focused on reducing the cost of going into space by promoting non-governmental launch vehicle programs. Their annual conference in the spring is a major source of information on non-traditional launch vehicle activities.
  • The Planetary Society is focused on the exploration of the Solar System and has a wealth of information for its members and others.

    Click here for information about the audio files used for Hour 25 and for information about configuring your browser and downloading audio players.

    Please note Web Pages from external sites will open in a separate browser window and that Hour 25 Productions are not responsible for the content of any external Web Sites.

  • Return to the Index for this month's shows




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