Dr. Lauri Grossman, Homeopath

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Solar System: OSIRIS-REx and Bennu

Let us lead you on a journey of our solar system. Here are some things to know this week.

This week, we’re setting out on an ambitious quest: our first mission to retrieve a sample from an asteroid and return it to the Earth.

1. Take It from the Beginning

Some asteroids are time capsules from the very beginnings of our solar system. Some meteorites that fall to Earth originate from asteroids. Laboratory tests of materials found in meteorites date to before the sun started shining. OSIRIS-REx’s destination, the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, intrigues scientists in part because it is thought to be composed of the primitive building blocks of the solar system.

Meet asteroid Bennu

Take a tour of asteroids in our solar system.

2. Creating the Right Ship for the Journey

At the heart of the OSIRIS-REx mission is the robotic spacecraft that will fly to Bennu, acting as the surrogate eyes and hands of researchers on Earth. With its solar panels deployed, the craft is about 20 feet (6 meters) long and 10 feet (3 meters) high. Packed into that space are the sample retrieval system, the capsule for returning the sample to the ground on Earth, plus all the hardware for navigation and communicating with home.

Explore the instruments and how they work

3. School of Hard Rocks

If you’re a teacher or a student, the OSIRIS-REx mission and exploring asteroids make for some engaging lesson material. Here are some of the things you can try.

Find dozens of lesson plans

4. Standing (or Flying) on the Shoulders of Giants

OSIRIS-REx is not the first time we have explored an asteroid. Several robotic spacecraft led the way, such as the NEAR Shoemaker probe that orbited, and even landed on, the asteroid Eros.

Meet the asteroid pioneers and see what they discovered

5. The Probability of Successfully Navigating an Asteroid Field is…Pretty High

How much of what we see in movies about asteroids is fact, and how much is fiction? This video lays out the basics. (Spoiler alert: even though there are millions of them, the average distance between asteroids in the main belt is something like 1.8 million miles, or about three million kilometers.)

+ Watch + See more videos that explain asteroids and the mission

Discover the full list of 10 things to know about our solar system this week HERE.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

This video is a response to popular flat-earther youtuber Jeranism. He has asked several questions regarding gravity and the Sun-Earth-Moon relationship.

Ken Ham the Anti Science Sham: Ark Encounter

Well, it’s time to take a look at Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter. After the video, we’ll elaborate on a few of the details. Ken’s Claims: Built from the specs taken directly out of the bible.  Mr. Ham usually fails to mention that the bible was pretty light on specs. The only information given is the following: Make thee an ark of gopher…

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We sincerely thank NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, who was kind enough to address our NASA Social group at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia today.

Successful Launch of Orbital ATK’s Cygnus Spacecraft

Successful Launch, #FlatEarth crowd!

At 11:05 p.m. (EDT) on March 22 the Atlas V rocket successfully lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

  Included in the 7,500 pounds of cargo aboard the Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft are numerous science payloads to support experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science.  (more…)

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Reader's Request: Gravity Discussion

Reader’s request from peterthemasterfoiler:

“Not conspiracy merely theory or misunderstanding. I was taught gravity was mass pulling against mass. My hypothesis is that it is the electrons pulling at the protons of the other object even though they are already bonded.”

Thanks peterthemasterfoiler, we’ll do our best to explain it!

(more…)

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Watch as NASA Test-Fires the RS-25 Rocket Engine

NASA test-fired an RS-25 rocket engine today, 08/18/2016 at the Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis in Mississippi. The RS-25 is one of four modified space shuttle main engines that will help lift the huge SLS rocket off the ground assisted by two solid rocket boosters.* The RS-25 engines are fueled by liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. Combined, the four RS-25 engines on SLS will generate 2…

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In case anyone is wondering why Science Denier Hall of Shame exists… This short video pretty much explains it.

#ReasonRally #FlatEarth #debunked #Science

Religious Fundamentalist Ken Ham Battles US Constitution on Twitter

Religious Fundamentalist Ken Ham Battles US Constitution

This morning, Ken Ham, of Answers in Genesis, took to Twitter to release a barrage of tweets insisting that public schools have the right to plan and execute school trips to his newly-opened Ark Encounter biblical theme park which teaches, among other things, that the Earth is no older than 6,000 years and that evolution is false.

It seems that Mr. Ham is blissfully unfamiliar with the…

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Cashing In on the Anti-Vaccine Scare

Science Denier Hall of Shame would like to thank @Takethatdoctors for bringing this to our attention. Here we go again.

John P. Thomas of Health Impact News has published yet another article on the dangers of vaccine use. It’s titled ‘Dr. Andrew Moulden: Learning to Identify Vaccine Damage’

It starts out like this:

Dr. Andrew Moulden wanted every parent in the world to know about the harmful…

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