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Amateur Astronomy
The First Seven Astronauts
Everything starts somewhere, and the space program began in earnest with the selection of the first seven astronauts that would participate in manned space flight. The NASA selection committee was made up of Charles Donlan, a senior management engineer; Warren North, a test pilot engineer; Stanley White and William Argerson, flight surgeons; Allen Gamble and Robert Voas, psychologists; and George Ruff and Edwin Levy, psychiatrists.
When the selection committee began their task, they received 508 applications. This number was reduced to 110 candidates after records were reviewed. The 110 candidates were brought together at an undisclosed location. A battery of tests were given and interviews were conducted. It took a month but the number of possible candidates was reduced to 32.
The 32 candidates were then subjected to even more stressful physical, psychological, and mental examinations. They were given full-body x-rays, tested in pressure suits, endured a variety of cognitive tests and really intense interviews. Finally, 18 or the 32 were recommended to the Mercury program without any medical reservations.
The final choices were made by Robert Gilruth, who was the head of the Space Task Group, as well as Charles Donlan, Warren North, and Stanley White.
The first seven astronauts selected for the Mercury program (the first manned space flight program) were Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper Jr., John H. Glenn Jr., Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Walter M. Schirra Jr., Alan B. Shepard Jr., and Donald K. "Deke" Slayton. Their names will resound through history forever.
Six of the original seven flew in Project Mercury. Only "Deke" Slayton did not fly because of a heart condition that had not been discovered. Deke later flew as a crewmember of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
See Also:
A Second Earth in Our Solar System [Life On Other Planets]
Famous Astronomy Quotes
The Planet Saturn
The planet Saturn resembles the planet Jupiter in many ways. Saturn is also a planet that has very little if any solid matter. It is believed that there is a hard rocky core, but that belief is unproven (albeit very probable) theory. Saturn, like Jupiter, is made up of gases and liquids. There is an internal heat source. We know this because Saturn radiates more energy than it receives.
Saturn rotates fast. It makes one complete revolution once every 10 or 11 hours. Saturn rotates around the sun once every 29.5 years. Because it rotates so fast, Saturn is flattened at the poles, making it an almost oblate planet.
The space probes, Pioneer 11, Mariner 11 and 12, and Voyager I and II, provide the best and most accurate information to astronomers about the planet Saturn, even though the Hubble space telescope takes very good images of Saturn. The space probes get "up close and personal," so to speak, and have provided information about Saturn that nothing else could have provided.
Wind velocity on Saturn is extreme. Wind speeds of more than 1,118 mph have been recorded. Unlike the winds on Jupiter, however, wind speeds on Saturn do not seem to be closely related to the positions of the belts and bands.
The rings around Saturn are one of the most interesting features. Really high-resolution pictures taken on the Voyager missions tell us that the rings are actually made up of hundreds of thousands of very small rings. The evidence suggests that the rings are composed of particles that are mostly ice crystals. A lot has been learned about the rings of Saturn over the last 20 or so years, but there is so much about them that is still a mystery. |
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History of Astronomy
Astronomy is the oldest of all sciences. It has its roots back in the beginning of time. There is evidence of astronomy playing a large role in religious, mythological, and astrological practices of pre-history. Mankind has always looked to the heavens with wonder mixed with a healthy dose of curiosity.
In the earliest cultures, heavenly bodies were identified as gods or spirits, and these gods and spirits were thought to control such things as rain, drought, seasons, and the tides. The first astronomers are believed to have been priests or Magi. The earliest calendars were based upon the phases of the moon and the time between phases.
Western astronomy has its roots in ancient Mesopotamia astrology. The modern practice of dividing a circle into 360 degrees, of 60 minutes each, began in ancient Mesopotamia with the Sumerians.
The oldest astronomical writing that we have is Tablet 63 of the Enuma Anu Enlil. It is called the Venus tablet of Ammi-saduqa. The Venus tablet lists the first and last visible risings of Venus over a period of about 21 years, and it is the earliest conclusive evidence that the phenomena of a planet were recognized.
Since the beginning of time, man has looked up. The sky, particularly the night sky, has been full of mystery that humankind wanted to understand.
The old civilizations of China, India, Greece, and Rome all looked to the stars for explanations to earthly situations and problems, inspiration and guidance. They found all of those things, but they also found knowledge, and over the centuries our knowledge of astronomy has grown. But there are those who believe that we have only just begun to learn all the heavens have to teach us.
Related Topics: The Demotion of Pluto,
Astrology Beliefs, Our Solar System
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