Sunday, August 24, 2014

How Much Does it Cost to go to the Moon?

First thing's first: a special thanks to Matt Schexnayder of www.selfstorage.com for providing the following guest post.

By Matt Schexnayder
When deciding to rent a storage unit, convenience and location are usually two of biggest factors (along with cost obviously) that play into a persons decision. Now, what if that wasn't the case? What if you had the option to store things on the moon?

You heard it right, what if the moon was a viable option to store your belongings? Recently people, or scientists rather, have been discussing the potential the moon has for stashing important documents, rocket launch pads, and even solar farms. 

Intrigued by this idea, the team at SelfStorage.com decided to take this idea and run with it. In the following infographic, we took a look back at what humans have already done with this "habitable space" as well as what potential it has in the future. 

Click the picture for a link to the full image (this HTML stuff can be problematic on this platform)


Image courtesy of: SelfStorage.com


Yep, that's right: for every pound you shoot to the Moon, it'll cost you $100,000. Needless to say, going to the Moon (let alone Mars) will cost a fortune but, in the long run, can you put a price on the survival of our species?

I think not.


Humble Requests:

If you found this informative (or at least entertaining), help me pay my bills and check out my Examiner pages for space news, cleveland photography, national photography, and astronomy for more great stuff.

If you think this was cool, why not tell a friend?

For something even better, follow this blog.




Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Listen to the Perseids with Spaceweather Radio!


Tonight or tomorrow morning (your pick) marks the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower for 2014 one of the big three meteor showers of the year. Unfortunately, not all of us will be graced with clear skies tonight, which will mean no meteors. 

However, even with clouds, there is still a way to enjoy the Perseid Shower: Spaceweather Radio.

Free to anyone with the Internet, Spaceweather Radio is really the Air Force's Surveillance radio channel, based out of Texas. Whenever a satellite passes over the base where the tower is located, there is an audible “ping” on the radio. However, besides satellites, the radio can also pick meteors, too, which can also be heard on the radio.

So, if it's looking to be cloudy wherever you live, don't despair, you can catch the shower in a way you've probably never imagined.

Humble Requests:

If you found this informative (or at least entertaining), help me pay my bills and check out my Examiner pages for space news, cleveland photography, national photography, and astronomy for more great stuff.

If you think this was cool, why not tell a friend?


For something even better, follow this blog.