Solar Flare

An illustration of Parker Solar Probe approaching the Sun. Credits: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

SUNSHOT: Saturday night, we stayed up way too late to watch a first-of-a-kind probe, the Parker Solar probe.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

At about half past midnight Saturday/early Sunday morning, it roared off a launch pad at the Space Coast, atop a big ol' Delta IV. Such a mammoth rocket! Love to watch it go!

                Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will be the first-ever mission to "touch" the Sun. The spacecraft, about the size of a small car, will travel directly into the Sun's atmosphere about 4 million miles from our star's surface. Launch is targeted for Aug. 11, 2018.

After watching the video (above), the kids and I talked about *why* NASA would want to study solar winds. I dropped a hint or two and they quickly remembered that some space probes rely on solar winds for travel, and if we know more about solar wind, we could potentially better harness that power.

The mission is named for Eugene Parker, the physicist who first theorized the existence of the solar wind in 1958. Remarkably, it’s the first NASA mission to be named for a living researcher.

Renowned physicist Eugene Parker watches the launch of the spacecraft that bears his name – NASA’s Parker Solar Probe – early in the morning on Aug. 12, 2018, from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Credits: NASA/Glenn Benson

On board the probe: A memory card containing more than 1.1 million names submitted by the public to travel with the spacecraft to the Sun. As you might expect, we here at MPA are on board, at least in name. Can't wait to touch the sun!

'HONEY DO: Last week was all about rock-n-roll for MPA. Wednesday night we went to an EPIC concert by Pearl Jam at Safeco Field. It was three-plus hours along and we were super tired on Thursday, but wanted to keep a promise to CJ that we could go to KEXP (a world-famous radio station, broadcasting from Seattle Center), to see Seattle punk/pre-grunge band Mudhoney talk about their THIRTY years of existence.

Below, CJ will share a bit about it. ... 

In 2018, KEXP-FM, did a series of "Turntable Sessions", featuring interviews with bands associated with the station. On 9 August 2018, KEXP did an interview in their headquarters with Seattle band Mudhoney, composed of lead singer Mark Arm, guitarist Steve Turner, drummer Dan Peters, and bassist Guy Maddison. During the interview session, the band primarily talked about their early days, in the late 80s (before grunge became a national sensation). Prior to the formation of Mudhoney, Mark Arm and Steve Turner were both members of a band named "Green River" (after the notorious Green River Killer who make local headlines in the mid-80s. Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, who would later be in Mother Love Bone and Pearl Jam, were also in Green River. Green River put out two EPs and an album prior to disbanding.

During the interview, the band discussed about some of Mudhoney's discography. Steve Turner expressed regret at the fact that he wore shorts on the cover of Mudhoney's self-titled album. The band also mentioned their upcoming (as of the time I'm writing this) album "Digital Garbage", set to release on 28 September 2018.

After the main interview, the band took questions from the audience. I got to ask if the band was aware of "Greta Van Fleet," an up-and-coming band from Michigan that is said to be revitalizing a dormant rock scene in the U.S. Mark Arm was not aware of the band's existence, and half-jokingly inquired if I was in it. Meanwhile, Dan Peters stated he had read a column in a magazine about Greta Van Fleet, and that was the extent of his knowledge about Greta Van Fleet.

Apologies that I don't have a photo of the event to share. My cell phone was behaving badly. :(