Category Archives: Of Interest

Latest Solar Activity

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SOLAR ERUPTION: A teepee-shaped magnetic prominence that solar astronomers had been monitoring for days erupted this morning. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the action:

Although much of the prominence fell back to the sun, some of the structure did fly into space, producing a coronal mass ejection. SOHO coronagraphs of the CME show that it is propagating up and out of the plane of the solar system: movie. Probably no planet will be hit by the expanding cloud

ANd then, there is this to consider also:

CALM BEFORE THE STORM? Solar activity remains generally low, but the quiet is unlikely to persist with so many sunspots turning toward Earth. NOAA forecaters estimate a 30% chance of M-class solar flares during the next 24 hours.

this is all from:   spaceweather.com

German Satellite is Due to Hit October 22/23

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Falling German Satellite Poses 1-in-2,000 Risk of Striking Someone This Month

by Leonard David, SPACE.com’s Space Insider Columnist
Date: 12 October 2011 Time: 07:41 AM ET
Artist's impression of the ROSAT satellite in space
Artist’s impression of the ROSAT satellite in space
CREDIT: German Aerospace Center

A big German satellite near the end of life is expected to plunge back to Earth this month, just weeks after a NASA satellite fell from orbit, and where this latest piece of space junk will hit is a mystery.

The 2.4-ton spacecraft, Germany’s Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT), is expected to fall Oct.  22 or 23.

The satellite will break up into fragments, some of which will disintegrate due to intense re-entry heat. But studies predict that about 1.6 tons of satellite leftovers could reach the Earth’s surface. That’s nearly half ROSAT’s entire mass.

There is a 1-in-2,000 chance that debris from the satellite could hit someone on Earth, though the likelihood of an injury is extremely remote, German space officials say. For German citizens, the risk of being struck is much lower, about 1 in 700,000.

All areas under the orbit of ROSAT, which extends to 53 degrees northern and southern latitude, could be in the strike zone of the satellite’s re-entry.

The bulk of the debris is likely to hit near the ground/ocean track of the satellite. However, isolated fragments could descend to Earth in a 50-mile (80-kilometer) swath along that track. [Photos: Germany’s ROSAT Satellite Falling to Earth]

The satellite will be the second large spacecraft to make a pre-announced fall from space in as many months. On Sept. 24, NASA’s 20-year-old Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) crashed into the Pacific Ocean in a widely publicized death plunge.

The ROSAT project was a collaborative venture among Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It was developed, built and launched on behalf of and under the leadership of the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Germany’s space agency.

ROSAT undergoing tests in the space simulation chamber
The ROSAT satellite undergoing tests in the space simulation chamber at Dornier.
CREDIT: Dornier (now Astrium Friedrichshafen).

The uncontrollable ROSAT

ROSAT was placed into Earth orbit on June 1, 1990. The highly successful astronomy mission ended after nearly nine years, with commands sent on Feb. 12, 1999, to shut the spacecraft down.

The spacecraft does not have its own propulsion system, so it could not  be maneuvered into a controlled re-entry at the end of its mission.

Moreover, the satellite is zipping through space in deaf and silent mode. That is, ROSAT is no longer able to communicate with DLR’s control center in Oberpfaffenhofen, nor is it possible to establish contact with the spacecraft.

Still, the DLR says the probability of ROSAT coming down over an inhabited area is extremely low.

to read more, go to:    http://www.space.com/13261-german-satellite-falling-earth-rosat-risk.html

10/11 7th Day of 9th Level of Consciousness

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FROM kASHONIA’S  BLOG — Read & Decide for Yourself:   

By KASHONIA on OCTOBER 4, 2011

Hello,

The following is a very important and relevant article to read at this time.  It is from Dr Carl Calleman whose extensive research of the Mayan Callendar and Culture suggests that the Mayan Calendar actually ends in just 3 weeks time, on October 28th.

My article  http://www.kashonia.com/summary/callemans-9-mayan-levels-consciousnessexplains Dr Calleman’s research and fully explains what the 9 levels of consciousness are all about and their timelines.  You’ll see from the timeline table that at this moment we are in the “7th Day” of levels of consciousnesss, or waves – 1 – 8.  We are also in the 6th Night of Level 9.

We will be entering the 7th Day of the 9th Level of consciousness next Tuesday, October 11th.

All 9 levels of consciousness are timed to end on October 28th.

In the following article, which Carl says will probably be his last before the completion of all 9 levels, he demonstrates how so many of the events happening around the world at this time have indeed occured because the cosmic energy is such that they were destined to occur at this time.

He completes the article with three possible scenarios of what might happen after October 28th, 2011.

Carl says he leans towards scenario 2.  Personally, I think number 3 is more likely.

This really is a fascinating, must read article.

Love, Kashonia

***********

The “End” of the Mayan calendar, Solar Flares and Earth Changes

by Carl J. Calleman

 

We have now celebrated the Cosmic Convergence and there is less than one night and one day before the fulfillment of the evolutionary plan for all of creation (or at least the attainment of the top level).

As predicted the Ninth wave of this plan, which is coming to a close together with the other waves of the Mayan calendar on October 28, 2011, has brought a tremendous energetic frequency increase to the world. This has been experienced on a personal level by many, but it has also been easily visible in the spread of political and economical chaos in large parts of the world. The current instability is evident not only in what is actually happening, but also in the constant shifts in how events or developments are perceived and reported.

Greece, for instance, is one day said to be bankrupt, another fully afloat with the help of the troika, and the next day it is again said to be bankrupt. One day the Ghaddafi regime has fallen and another it is again fighting only to have fallen the next day again.

In this world of uncertain interpretation of news alternative media on the Internet have gone in to try to fill the gap sometimes speaking with total certainty about impending catastrophes. There, one day the comet Elenin is said to create earthquakes and to set an end to the world, the next it does not exist and then it is back again (or was it planet X?).

Anything, no matter how crazy or farfetched, can today find an attentive audience on YouTube and be presented as if it was serious information.

To the instability of the world has thus been added information chaos and it is a common feeling among many that they do not know who or what to believe anymore. The mental framework within which people have understood the world is eroding and this, as much as the actual course of events, is a sign of our times. Some reject the meaningfulness of mental understanding altogether.

This erosion prepares the ground for a new opening and radical shift in our ways of thinking and relating and attests to the fact that much of the world has been shaken off its previous balance by the Ninth wave.

Underlying all of this we may find a somewhat nervous expectation of something unknown and dramatic that is to happen. It is not surprising that in the minds of many people this expectation has been largely negative. After all, the development of the Ninth wave has been essentially predictable according to Revelation 16, where it is the seven days that bring the most destruction to the old structures of the world.

Thus, progress along the old routes has step by step been blocked and the experience of a dead end to our current civilization has spread widely with little to yet show in terms of alternatives. The novelties that have been generated by the Ninth wave have thus in the world at large been few and far in between. While many may have had inner awakenings of oneness, the external manifestations of these have been very marginal.

As part of the erosion of the current world I had predicted at a relatively early point, quite correctly, that the fifth day of the Ninth wave would be the energy that would precipitate the economic downturn (And the economy may be the best mirror of how humans relate to one another).

This was in fact also the time when the so called “markets” truly started to be affected by the global loan crisis, which has since with every new shift point of the Ninth wave continued to deepen. The drawn out nature of this crisis does not change the fact that we are going towards a collapse of the economical and political system of the world and there are no signs that this could be averted.

Growth in key countries such as the US and Germany has come to a halt (not to mention Greece and Italy), which in practice blocks all attempts for the repayment of debts.

The economic downturn has displayed some surprising elements such as the expressed desire of a choir of some of the super rich to be taxed more heavily and the possibility that China will buy debt from Italy or other Euro countries to keep them afloat.

I however find it hard to believe that any of this would actually happen and the feeling one gets is that the rulers are running out of tricks.

Despite the dead end, it can however probably be said that life in much of the world still appears much like business as usual.

Thus, no occurrence has yet been powerful enough to precipitate the collapse that many are expecting or fearing and it now seems that this will not happen until in the seventh day of the Ninth wave, October 11-28.  If so, the end of the calendar may become a very marked discontinuity.

What we are witnessing is thus not another recession, but the end of the world capitalist system and the protests in the US against “Wall Street” may be an indication as good as any of this.

One however gets the impression that as long as the old system survives, there is no real opening to create a new world to replace it. To do so would be too much in conflict with the legality of the current dualist power structure.

Only after some kind of full collapse has occurred would people in general be compelled and inspired to create a new way of living and relating in the realms of politics and economics.

to read more, go to:   http://www.kashonia.com/summary/mayan-calendar-scenarios

Grassroots Movements Everywhere

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by Stephen Lendman

Ordinary people across the Middle East, Europe and America are fed up and want long denied social justice.

Londoners are enraged about growing social pain, government in the pockets of monied interests, and endless imperial wars they want ended – NOW!

On October 8, The London Guardian headlined, “Stop the War Coalition demo in London marks 10th anniversary of Afghan war,” saying:

Protesters read aloud names of fallen UK soldiers, sacrificing their lives for war profiteer gains.

Masses “attended the Stop the War Coalition demonstration in Trafalgar Square, led by a former soldier who refused to fight and a 106-year-old peace activist.”

Court martialed and jailed for refusing to serve, Lance Corporal Joe Glenton read a letter to Prime Minister Cameron signed by other former US and UK servicemen, saying:

“We are making this statement in defiance of the propaganda and lies in support of the so-called war on terror for the last 10 years.”

“We know these wars have nothing to do with democracy or security or women’s rights or peace or stability. They are fought for money and power and nothing else.”

Precisely so! Wars are never for liberation, humanitarian reasons or democratic values. They’re for imperial dominance, colonization, resource and people exploitation, and war profiteering enrichment, no matter the body count to achieve them.

…

Spreading US Protests

At the same time, Occupy Wall protests spread in weeks to nearly 1,000 cities and towns nationwide. They’re the first national uprising in decades. Nothing like them has been seen since earlier civil rights and anti-Vietnam war activism.

Global justice demonstrations since Seattle 1999 lasted several days then ebbed. Today’s rage against the system shows promise provided spirited energy doesn’t wane, leaders emerge to sustain it, and focus concentrates on what matters most – money power in private hands to make more of it at the public’s expense.

Wall Street controlled money can’t co-exist with democracy and social justice. It bribes political Washington to get what it wants. It buys members of America’s duopoly like toothpaste.

Americans have the best democracy money can buy. Addressing Freedom Plaza activists on October 8, Ralph Nader said:

“It is time for citizens to push their elected officials to break the corporate stranglehold on our country.”

“Congress has done more to bail out Wall Street than Main Street.” Infinitely more, in fact, with sustained trillions of dollars of handouts. At least, $16.1 trillion but very likely much more unreported.

“Wall Street crooks have avoided penalties and prosecution and continued to receive bonuses and excessive compensation while pensions and saving have been looted.”

Record corporate profits belie a growing Main Street Depression. Unemployment is over double official numbers. America’s worst ever housing crisis continues with no end in sight. Millions lost homes. Millions more will before it ends. Washington is doing nothing to help or create jobs.

“(I)income inequality in this country” is unprecedented. (T)he top 1% of the population has financial wealth equal to the combined financial wealth of the bottom 95% of the people.”

Protests across America are “way overdue (to make) the president and Congress listen.”

They hear, but they don’t care. They know, but they do nothing. They talk, but they don’t act.

Business as usual won’t end until people power replaces fossilized duopoly power with progressive government of, by and for the people.

Its main focus must be on returning money power to public hands where it belongs. Without it other objectives will fail, including ones Occupy Wall Street (OWS) adopted on September 29.

They stress:

to read more, go to:   http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2011/10/10/social-justice-protests-head-everywhere#more19020

Ufo’s Visiting the Mayans?

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UFOs Visited the Mayans, Upcoming Film Claims
Benjamin Radford, Life’s Little Mysteries Contributor
Date: 05 October 2011 Time: 02:42 PM ET
aliens
aliens
CREDIT: Dreamstime.com

According to film producer Raul Julia-Levy, extraterrestrials contacted the Mayan civilization in Mexico thousands of years ago — and he claims he’ll prove it in an upcoming film, “Revelations of the Mayans 2012 and Beyond.”

Unproven claims of ancient astronauts in the Americas have been made for decades, most prominently by Erich von Daniken, author of the best-selling classic work of pseudoscience “Chariots of the Gods?: Unsolved Mysteries of the Past” (Putnam, 1968). Von Daniken wrote that ancient Egyptians had neither the intelligence nor the tools to create the massive pyramids at Giza, and thus they were made by aliens.

Some claim the giant drawings in the Nazca desert of Peru were created by spaceships. In fact, the Nazca Lines were created by the Nazca Indians, probably as part of a ceremonial ritual

So the claims in this documentary by Julia-Levy (son of late actor Raul Julia) are nothing new — but the evidence for those claims is said to be.

What is this earth-shaking new evidence? The filmmakers are being coy about what exactly they have (they want you to go see the movie), but a statement issued by Luis Augusto García Rosado, the minister of tourism for the Mexican state of Campeche, issued a statement that contact between the Mayans and extraterrestrials is “supported by translations of certain codices.” (The fact that this stunning revelation was announced by a tourism official — and not, say, a professional archaeologist or anthropologist from the Smithsonian Institution — raises suspicion that it may not be based in solid scientific research.)

García Rosado also referred to “landing pads in the jungle” that date back three millennia. It’s not clear why aliens would need a designated landing pad for their spaceships, since many eye-witness reports of (supposed) extraterrestrial craft suggest that they can land on just about any terrain (though maybe alien landing gear technology has improved over the past 3,000 years).
Julia-Levy and others involved in the film were unavailable for comment.

to read more, go to:    http://www.livescience.com/16400-ufos-aliens-visited-mayans-mexico.html

Deepak Chopra on The ‘Occupy’ Movement

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Deepak Chopra

Author, ‘War of the Worldviews’; Founder, The Chopra Foundation

 The ‘Occupy’ Movement: Turning Anger Into Awareness
Posted: 10/6/11 09:16 AM ET
If you haven’t found yourself caught up in the Occupy movement yet, the best place is in the thick of the action. I went down to Wall Street one night to see for myself. Like many people, if not all, the outcome of the financial crash still rankled. No one can watch the TV coverage of the Occupy America sit-ins and marches without sharing in some kind of frustration and anger.

When you get down there, though, you feel something else. Unlike the Tea Party, the Occupiers are young and idealistic, repeating a time-honored coming of age phase that is being acted out in public. Anyone who has lived through the sixties can stand aside and predict what will happen, because it has happened so often before. Ideals become lost in confusion, cynicism, and hard clashes with authority and other reactionary forces.

But let’s not make such predictions. If Occupy America turns anger into awareness, we might get something like a Tea Party for the left. Or even better, a reform movement that marches for an ideal that succeeds. If the Tea Party represents the ornery, “I’m mad as hell, and I won’t put up with it anymore” side of America, the Occupiers represent the side that says, “This country stands for justice and equality.”

Despite the media coverage of mass arrests, despite the Times‘s finger-wagging that the movement is often muddled and misinformed, none of that is the point. The point is justice. Unlike the anti-war movement of fifty years ago, now we have a President who believes in justice and equality. It’s fashionable to bash President Obama right now, but he has had to make choices between bad and worse, facing an intractable downturn and an opposition that leaves him no breathing room.

If Occupy America can channel its anger into awareness, the next step is to ask, “What is our goal?” When I was down among the demonstrators, I led a meditation on that question, and it seemed to calm down the people around me, which demonstrates, I think, that the whole Occupy movement is about angry idealists, not just people who feel screwed by Wall St., although that is the spark and the point of injustice that somehow must be faced.

Pragmatists claim that one outcome — a heavily regulated financial sector — will never happen. The banks were bailed out three years ago, and once they felt strong, they lobbied with all their might to insure that no meaningful regulation would be passed. that is outrageous, of course, and so is the immorality of how Wall St., having caused the crash, continues to take ungodly risks, but now with a government guarantee that they won’t fail, no matter how reckless their behavior. Right now Wall St. is the pure culture of money at its most selfish, greedy, and anti-social. If you aren’t angry about that, you aren’t breathing.

We stand at a pivotal moment when anger can continue to fester and feed upon itself — if that’s what you want, the Tea Party is ready to welcome you with open arms. Or anger can rebuild the system that caused all the problems. Occupy America is pure democracy against pure power, because nobody should have any illusion about who holds all the aces. I can’t predict where the movement will go; perhaps it will fizzle out tomorrow with a resigned sigh.

But I do know that truth must be spoken to power. Eventually, all change starts there, by ignoring the odds and the threat of punishment, by standing up and saying “I accuse you of injustice.” This action must be taken over and over again, and if the people speaking truth to power have right on their side and not just a boiling stew pot of rage, things will change. There’s no reason why an Arab spring can’t turn into an American autumn.

deepakchopra.com

Occupy Movements Growing

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LIVE UPDATES: Occupy Wall Street Gains Support From Politicians Even As Protesters Face Arrests

Live Updates Occupy Wall Street

First Posted: 10/7/11 05:16 PM ET Updated: 10/7/11 07:38 PM ET

Occupy Wall Street, a cause that began as a small band of protesters in Zuccotti Park, has gained endorsements from major unions and progressive leaders as well as prominent politicians. It has survived police crackdowns in Seattle and mass arrests in New York. Within a few short weeks, it has come to resemble a movement, with more than 900 meetups in 900 cities across the country. ‘Occupiers’ have erected tent cities in town squares and held rallies in front of city halls.

(CLICK HERE FOR LIVE UPDATES)

It’s unclear just where all these general assembly meetings, Twitter updates and teach-ins are heading. But Democratic leaders including Vice President Joe Biden and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosiexpressed support for the protesters this week and officials such as U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have said they sympathize with the protestors’ feelings of anger towards big banks’ role in the financial crisis

Organized labor has also backed the protests including during a march this past Wednesday that brought 10,000 protesters to lower Manhattan. Though the demonstration was peaceful, some protesters ended up in confrontations with police and 28 participants were arrested. At least one baton-wielding incident produced mass outrage. These incidents will either become minor distractions or defining moments.

Occupy Wall Street has been largely receptive to the support they’ve received from union leaders and politicians, even if the protesters are wary of their hierarchical structures.

“We’re very excited to have our union brothers and sisters march on the heart of greed,” spokesman Patrick Bruner told HuffPost’s Matt Sledge before a 10,000-strong Wednesday march organized in coordination with labor.

“We don’t necessarily think that the way they’re structured is the best,” Bruner said, referring to the unions’ top-down organizational style. “But we believe the 99% needs a voice, and they’re one of the few remaining.”

Despite gaining traction across the country, protesters have been criticized for not having a clear platform. However, they adopted the “Declaration of the Occupation of New York City” last week. Their list of grievances is long, with issues including the foreclosure crisis, work-place discrimination and student loan debt. The protests in New York and other cities focus on income inequality, a theme common in the group’s internet presence, including on a Tumblr that showcases Americans dealing with joblessness and other issues.

Even if the protesters were able to narrow their concerns to one, easily defined goal, some organizers say that would miss the point. So what comes next?

for much more, including opinions, videos, and photos, go to:    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/07/live-updates-occupy-wall-street_n_1000770.html#liveblog

Everyone’s Ancestor Somewhat Sophisticated

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Ancestor of All Living Things More Sophisticated than Thought

Charles Choi, LiveScience Contributor
Date: 05 October 2011 Time: 12:49 PM ET
cell structure with organelles surrounding a nucleus
The last universal common ancestor, rather than a primitive blob of chemicals, likely was more complex, even having so-called organelles or miniature organs.
CREDIT: David Huntley | Shutterstock

The mysterious common ancestor of all life on Earth may have been more complex than before thought — a sophisticated organism with an intricate structure, scientists now suggest.

The last universal common ancestor, or LUCA, is what researchers call the forerunner of all living things. Much about LUCA remains enigmatic — many think it was little more than a primitive assemblage of molecular parts, a chemical soup from which evolution gradually built more complex forms. Some even debate whether it was even a cell.

Now, after years of research into a once-neglected feature of microbes, scientists suggest the last universal common ancestor was indeed complex, and recognizable as a cell.

Miniature organs

The researchers focused on a region of cells loaded with high concentrations of polyphosphates, molecules such as ATP used to transfer energy around the cell in chemical form. This storage site for polyphosphates may represent the first known universal organelle — compartments within cells that essentially act as miniature organs — the investigators suggest. Other kinds of organelles include the chloroplast, which gives plants the ability to use sunlight as energy, and the mitochondrion, which allows life to use oxygen for respiration.

Scientists had thought organelles were absent from bacteria and their distantly related microbial cousins, the archaea. Now these findings suggest this polyphosphate storage organelle is present in all three domains of life — bacteria, archaea and the eukaryotes, which include animals, plants and fungi.

“It was a dogma of microbiology that organelles weren’t present in bacteria,” said researcher Manfredo Seufferheld, a stress physiologist and cell biologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Still, earlier research of his and his colleagues’ showed that the polyphosphate storage structure in at least two bacterial species was physically, chemically and functionally the same as an organelle called an acidocalcisome found in many single-celled eukaryotes.

To look for this storage unit, in their latest research the team analyzed the evolutionary history an enzyme known as a vacuolar proton pyrophosphatase (V-H+PPase), which is common in the acidocalcisomes of eukaryotic and bacterial cells. The results showed archaea also have the enzyme and a structure with the same physical and chemical properties as an acidocalcisome.

“This organelle appears to be universal,” Seufferheld told LiveScience. “This suggests the last universal common ancestors had a lot more cellular structure than others had thought.”

Describing a common ancestor

By comparing the sequences of the genes for this enzyme from hundreds of organisms representing the three domains of life, the researchers constructed a family tree showing how different versions of the enzyme in different species were related. The more similar sequences were, the more closely they were related, and the less similar they were, the more distantly they were related.

to read more, go to:    http://www.livescience.com/16398-common-ancestor-complex.html

Strange Signals fr/the Crab Nebula

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Shattered Star Sends Mysterious Signal

Shattered Star Sends Mysterious SignalCredit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Gehrz (University of Minnesota)The Crab Nebula, the leftovers of a star that went out in a supernova in 1054, is sending out strange signals that scientists can’t fully explain. According to research published in the Oct. 7, 2011 issue of the journal Science, astronomers have detected pulsed gamma rays from the neutron star within the nebula that are far higher than the scientists expected.

The pulsed gamma rays have energies between 100 billion and 400 billion electronvolts, far higher than the 25 billion electronvolts previously detected. A 400 billion electronvolt photon is almost a trillion times more energetic than the photons that make up visible light. Explaining this high energy is going to require major adjustments to astronomers’ theories of the energy interactions in the nebula.

“The finding shows that the theory is not there yet,” said study researcher Henric Krawczynski, a professor of physics at Washington University in St. Louis. “We know less about these systems than we thought.”

from:    http://www.livescience.com/1-image-day.html

“Observe the Moon” Night 10/08

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‘Observe the Moon Night’ to Light Up Skywatchers on Saturday

by Denise Chow, SPACE.com Staff Writer
Date: 07 October 2011 Time: 02:54 PM ET
A setting, waning crescent moon amid the thin line of Earth's atmosphere.
A setting, waning crescent moon amid the thin line of Earth’s atmosphere.
CREDIT: NASA

This weekend, the nearly full moon will to take center stage Saturday night for skywatchers around the world.

Amateur astronomers and casual stargazers are gearing up for the second annual International Observe the Moon Night on Saturday (Oct. 8), in what promises to be a fun and stimulating public event, organizers say.

NASA and lunar enthusiasts the world over are set to celebrate Earth’s natural satellite tomorrow in a worldwide event designed to engage people in lunar science and education. Space enthusiasts and the general public are invited to gather together, look up, and learn more about the enchanting moon

nternational Observe the Moon Night got its start after two earlier NASA celebrations that aimed to spark interest and enthusiasm about Earth’s nearest neighbor in the sky.

The full moon is expected to peak on Oct. 12, but it will be the smallest and most distant full moon of the year. This year’s International Observe the Moon Night also coincides with the peak of the Draconid meteor shower, which is expected to deliver hundreds of “shooting stars” per hour. But, the meteor shower’s peak could be largely invisible to skywatchers, since it occurs during daylight hours in NorthAmerica, and elsewhere, the nearly full moon will likely outshine the pretty light show.

Several NASA centers, such as the Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will host public events tomorrow night.

The event organizers include scientists, educators and moon buffs from government, non-profit organizations and businesses across the U.S. and the world.

“We believe in the inspirational power of the moon — a celestial body that has influenced human lives since the dawn of time,” the event’s website reads. “Through International Observe the Moon Night, we hope [to] instill in the public a sense of wonderment and curiosity about our moon.”

Last year, there were 278 moon-watching events in more than 40 countries, including China, Germany and Egypt.

NASA has one spacecraft circling the moon, a pair of small spacecraft that recently entered into the moon’s orbit, and a pair of twin probes that are expected to arrive at the moon by New Year’s Day.

The unmanned Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been circling the moon since June 2009. The car-size spacecraft recently snapped images of three Apollo landing sites that revealed new details about the regions on the moon that were visited by humans. The $504 million probe is currently on an extended mission through at least September 2012.

The two small Artemis probes, which stand for Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of the Moon’s Interaction with the Sun, began their lunar orbit journey over a year and a half ago. This summer, both probes entered into lunar orbit, where they will study the moon’s interior and surface composition.

Last month, NASA successfully launched two identical spacecraft on a mission to unlock mysteries of the moon that are hidden beneath its surface. The $496 million Grail mission (short for Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory) will closely study the interior of the moon, from crust to core, and will map the moon’s gravitational field in unprecedented detail.

for more, go to:    http://www.space.com/13224-international-observe-moon-night-2011.html