Jupiter Occulation

Lieut Evans observing an occulation of Jupiter during the British Antarctic Expedition 1910-13.
June 8th 1911
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Yuri Alexseyevich Gagarin

On April 12th, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alexseyevich Gagarin became the first human in space. His remotely controlled Vostok 1 spacecraft lofted him to an altitude of 200 miles and carried him once around planet Earth. Commenting on the first view from space he reported, "The sky is very dark; the Earth is bluish. Everything is seen very clearly". Alan Shepard, the first US astronaut, would not be launched until almost a month later and then on a comparatively short suborbital flight. Born on March 9, 1934, Gagarin was a military pilot before being chosen for the first group of cosmonauts in 1960. As a result of his historic flight he became an international hero and legend. Killed when his MIG jet crashed during a training flight on March 27, 1968, Gagarin was given a hero's funeral, his ashes interred in the Kremlin Wall. On yet another April 12th, in 1981, NASA launched the first space shuttle.

a great loss

British expatriate science fiction author, futurist, and visionary Arthur C. Clarke died on Wednesday in a hospital in his adopted hometown of Colombo, Sri Lanka. He was 90 years old.

"Sir Arthur passed away a short while ago at the Apollo Hospital. He had been in hospital for the past four days. He had been in and out of the hospital in recent weeks," said Clarke's assistant, Rohan de Silva.

Reports say that after a long 50 year battle with post-polio syndrome, Clarke died at 1:30 a.m. (local time) on Wednesday from breathing complications.

Famous for writing over 100 science fiction and science publications, including 2001: A Space Odyssey, he is also credited as the one who presented the concept of the geostationary communication satellite.

"Sometimes I am asked how I would like to be remembered. I have had a diverse career as a writer, underwater explorer and space promoter. Of all these I would like to be remembered as a writer," said Clarke not long before he died.

the young family

The Young Family (2002-3) presents a transgenic creature. The inspiration behind this work is the expectation that we have of growing human organs in other species, especially pigs. Rather than make a didactic image that argues for or against these technologies, I want to address the reality of these possible creatures in a very compassionate way. The question I raise, that I am interested in, relates to the distinction between human and animal characteristics: Not so much her humanity, but the 'animalness' in us. Genetically, we share traits with her, but also we share the fundamental trait of looking after offspring. I am interested in the kinds of ways that we look at the many ethical issues that surround medical technologies.
There are two kinds of people who are thinking about these issues; those who are objective observers, and those that are actually affected by the issues, such as somebody who has a family member who is affected by a disease. These two viewpoints are often very different. It is impossible to be objective about these issues when you are emotionally involved, but I don't think that is a bad thing. These are not simple issues with easy answers: It is one thing to talk about an idea and another to be confronted by the emotional reality of a creature, and yet another to be in need of what that creature might provide.

Title: The Young Family 2002-3
Author: Patricia Piccinini (+)

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Sir Arthur C Clarke

Arthur Charles Clarke, mais conhecido como Arthur C. Clarke (Minehead, Somerset, 16 de dezembro de 1917) é um escritor e inventor britânico, autor de obras de divulgação científica e de ficção científica, como por exemplo os contos The Sentinel, A Estrela, A muralha das Trevas, As Canções da Terra Distante e os romances 2001: Uma Odisséia no Espaço, 2010: Uma Odisséia no Espaço 2, 2061: Uma Odisséia no Espaço 3, 3001: A Odisséia Final, Encontro com Rama, O Enigma de Rama, O Jardim de Rama, A Revelação de Rama, As Fontes do Paraíso, O Berço dos Super-Humanos, A Cidade e as Estrelas.

Desde pequeno mostrou sua fascinação pela astronomia, a ponto de, utilizando um telescópio caseiro, desenhar um mapa da Lua. Durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial, serviu na Royal Air Force (Força Aérea Real britânica) como especialista em radares, envolvendo-se no desenvolvimento de um sistema de defesa por radar, sendo uma peça importante do êxito na batalha da Inglaterra. Depois, estudou Física e Matemática no King's College de Londres.
Talvez sua contribuição de maior importância seja o conceito de satélite geoestacionário como futura ferramenta para desenvolver as telecomunicações. Ele propôs essa idéia em um artigo científico intitulado "Can Rocket Stations Give Worldwide Radio Coverage?", publicado na revista Wireless World em Outubro de 1945. A órbita geoestacionária também é conhecida, desde então, como órbita Clarke.
Desde 1956 vive em Colombo, no Sri Lanka , em parte devido a seu interesse pela fotografia e exploração submarina.

Teve dois de seus romances levados ao cinema, 2001: Uma Odisseia no Espaço dirigido por Stanley Kubrick (1968) e 2010: O ano do contacto dirigido por Peter Hyams (1984), sendo o primeiro considerado um ícone tão importante da ficção científica mundial que especialistas lhe atribuem forte influência sobre a maioria dos filmes do gênero que lhe sucederam.

Também em reconhecimento a Clarke, o asteróide 4923 foi batizado com seu nome, assim como uma espécie de dinossauro Ceratopsian, o Serendipaceratops Arthurcclarkei, descoberto em Inverloch, Austrália.