News-y

GROUNDED!: We finally got some great news today that is about a month in the making. CJ and Annabelle have both been accepted in Private Pilot Ground School via the Highline School District at The Museum of Flight this summer!

This program provides the opportunity for students who will be in grades 9-12 next fall "to explore the world of aviation while creating a base of aeronautical knowledge that pilots need to successfully pass the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) private pilot exam," per the program's website. 

To get them eligible to participate required a mountain of paperwork, visiting multiple different offices at multiple locations, a flurry of emails and a few phone calls. But the work paid off, fortunately. It's just such a great opportunity. The program only costs $35 out-of-pocket apiece, and the if they successfully complete the class, the kids will each earn 5 college credits for it. Sweet!

NASA NEWS: Today, we checked in on a couple of NASA missions we've been watching. 

First up was news from the Mars lander InSight. In the photo below, you can see InSight's wind and thermal shield, which covers the probe's seismometer, or Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS). 

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/CNES/IPGP/Imperial College London

As you might recall, among other things, InSight's equipment is designed to record "marsquakes" on the Red Planet. On April 6, 2019, SEIS appears to have recorded trembling that appears to have come from underneath the planet surface, as opposed to being caused by forces above the surface, such as wind or the lander's moving parts. 

This video shows that event.  


NASA notes that audio from InSight's sensors have been sped up by a factor of 60 in the video as the actual vibrations on Mars would not have been audible to the human ear. More about the InSight mission can be found here: https://mars.nasa.gov/insight .
Meanwhile, asteroid Bennu continues to be studied by OSIRIS-REx, a spacecraft that arrived in the asteroid's area back in December.

Just released is this technicolor GIF. It's made from over 11 million measurements of the asteroid.
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/oxkbEkiuSSUPo5odNKbDXf-970-80.gif
The space probe continues to orbit Bennu, and it's still scoping out the best spot for a sample collection from Bennu's rocky surface. 
Here's a cool photo of Bennu's south pole.

 After the sample is collected from Bennu, the probe is set to head back to Heart in March of 2021.

ACTIVE: This afternoon, our bees were as active as I've ever seen them. Dozens and dozens were buzzing about the hive, coming and going. Here's a short video. 

It's amazing how much noise they make. What you hear in the video is not traffic or wind, it's them. I could actually hear them from inside the house through a closed window today.