4/16/2013

April 15, 2013 – Space Museum and Hubble Pictures

This morning we made our way to the New Mexico Museum of Space History.  This museum is a Smithsonian affiliate so we knew it was going to be a great visit.

http://www.nmspacemuseum.org

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We started at the Outdoor Exhibits - John P. Stapp Air & Space Park:

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Andy and I had the most fun with the Whisper Dish.  There were two dishes facing each other.  In front of each is a pole with a ring on the top.  One of us put our ear to the ring while the other whispered thru the ring on the other dish.  WOW!  It was like whispering in each other’s ears – :-):

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In this picture you can see the two dishes facing each other:

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One of the exhibits:

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The museum was set up on four floors with various exhibits.  I took lots of pictures but will just give you some of the highlights or what I found the most fascinating.

Here is the first one:

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There was a listing of where (general area) the prehistoric observatories are located but no details and a note that they are not open to the public – Bummer!

Interesting…..

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Yesterday, I talked about the Tularosa Basin.  It was formed by a dome that collapsed.   The black above is the Valley of Fire lava field and the white directly below is the White Sands National Monument.

Not many exhibits include the toilet….

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There was an exhibit on Satellites – past, present, and future, and what they do and have done for us.  Notice the panel in the middle of the picture – CLASSIFIED!  No other info!

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Throughout the museum were pictures and a little information on the inductees to the International Space Hall of Fame   This Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to recognize the imagination, efforts, and achievements of those who have endeavored to advance man's knowledge of the universe, and his ability to explore space.

Here is a link to a list of those inducted:

http://www.nmspacemuseum.org/halloffame/index.php?type=all

One of the things I found interesting is that many who went into space died in their 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s.  I wonder why.

This was the memorial area dedicated to the crews of Apollo 1, Space Shuttle Challenge and Space Shuttle Columbia.

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The Space Museum is also home to the remains of HAM, the first chimpanzee in space.  His resting place is currently being upgraded as an Eagle Scout project so his plaque has been removed and it was in the museum office:

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Our last stop was the IMAX theater where we saw the movie “Hubble”.  The movie showed the history of the Hubble telescope, footage on the astronauts repairing and maintaining the telescope and the best of all, pictures from the Hubble – AWESOME PHOTOS!

We finished the evening by having dinner at the Elks and meeting more folks from the area.  Great time and great food.

 

Please pray for all those affected by the horrific act in Boston.

I will leave you with some photographs from the Hubble Telescope – WOW!

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