Turkey Eve

TAKING FLIGHT: We're happy to have company for Thanksgiving - Nonnie and Bops made the trek up to see us. This morning Christian and the kids took them to one of our Absolute Favorite Spots, The Museum of Flight.

As always, the kids had a wonderful time.

TOUCH AND GO:  Last Thanksgiving, I was in a seedy motel at the Space Coast, awaiting the launch of the Mars Science Laboratory. That was the trip of a lifetime.

Today, the Internet is abuzz with rumors swirling about some major discovery Curiosity has made on Mars. It's not the first time. Just days ago, the Internet was abuzz with "news" of a methane discovery on Mars. Since living organisms produce >90 percent of the methane found in our Earth's atmosphere, finding methane on Mars would be a strong indicator of life and A Really Big Deal. But, as it turned out, the methane source on Mars was actually MSL itself. That's right, stowaway methane from Earth.

And so, we still wait for any "Earth shattering" Mars news, although the MSL team is quick to point out that this mission is one for the books no matter what.

But one bit of news the MSL team released today was this animation of Curiosity in action. It's a short of part of MSL's day on Nov. 18, when it first touched a rock with an instrument on its arm, then tucked the arm away and traveled 83 feet.  Jet Propulsion Laboratory reports this was Curiosity's first "touch and go" day. The animation below used the same software the rover planners use to plot Curiosity's movements on Mars.
 
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cOgfzWhrRf8

HEARTWRENCHING:  This afternoon while I was working on an excessive amount of food for our upcoming Thanksgiving feast, I turned on the Food Network. I expected some Thanksgiving-themed cooking show to be on. Instead, the 'soundtrack' for my baking was "Hunger Hits Home," a one-hour documentary about the rampant childhood  hunger problem in the United States.

60 million kids in America face hunger this year. One in five U.S. children struggles with hunger and three out of five U.S. teachers see hunger affect their classrooms.

The hour was filled with one heartbreak after another. I swear, I was crying into my cornbread stuffing watching and listening to it as I worked.

At the end of the show, Guy Fieri suggested three ways to help. One, donate to the campaign to end childhood hunger by 2015. Two, encourage other people to watch "Hunger Hits Home." It's available free online for anyone to view. Here's a link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/hunger-hits-home/96181.html. And three, contact your local representatives to keep childhood nutrition programs alive and healthy.

Done, done and done.

HO-HO-HUBBLE: If you're planning on sending out Christmas greetings and are looking for some out-of-this-world ones, check out what Hubble has to offer. The telescope has a special holiday card site. There, you'll find "messages of joy and peace ... illuminated by the natural splendor of the universe." Sweet!

The cards are designed to be printed out using your home printer, or at photo stores or online photo labs.

Here's a sample of one beautiful option ... It's of Arp 147, a pair of galaxies. According to the Hubble site, the blue ring probably formed after the galaxy on the left passed through the galaxy on the right. Wild!