Jbrackettssa - John Brackett, NASA / JPL Solar System Ambassador

No test? Oh well, I’ll go look at rockets.

My Brother in-law and I made a day hop to Huntsville this past Saturday. I had originally planned to take a test at MSFC, but the current government shutdown nixed that idea.

Instead, we took in the U. S. Space and Rocket Center. I never get tired of seeing the huge Saturn V or the full shuttle stack on the grounds.

U.S. Space & Rocket Center

U.S. Space & Rocket Center

The U.S. Space & Rocket Center (USSRC) is the largest spaceflight museum in the world. Open 7 days a week, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Closed Thanksgi

Got my boarding pass! Stay tuned for an exciting week coming up. Shane Kimbrough, who graduated from The Lovett School and Georgia Tech, will be going to space for the third time. He will also be flying in his third type of spacecraft! He has flown in the Space Shuttle, and a Soyuz capsule. This time, he will be riding a Space-X Dragon to the ISS. . . . . #nasa #iss #internationalspacestation #crew2 #dragon #spacex #spacexdragon https://www.instagram.com/p/CNwBb46DZVL/?igshid=1gj6rezp2dk7w

Looking forward to a Saturday launch for SpaceX’s 21st cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. #nasasocial #nasa #spacex #space #iss #internationalspacestation #dragon https://www.instagram.com/p/CIXVnpCD4d_/?igshid=m9m1riesurea

“The Dolphin” - Located in the Southern Temperate Belt of Jupiter and imaged by the Juno Spacecraft. Taken on PJ16. Processed by John Brackett credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / John Brackett #missionjuno @nasajuno #juno #jupiter @nasa @nasasolarsystem #nasa https://www.instagram.com/p/B9N6dR-nTps/?igshid=1uonlxjmq96ie

Looking Up -

When I was a kid, my parents bought me a pretty basic telescope. I’m sure it was only used less than fifty times. It was a pain to lug it outside and set up. The finder scope was always loose and impossible to align. Eventually, the telescope became part of my room decor.

It wasn’t all the telescope’s fault. I was naive and fell for the pretty pictures on the box showing me the universe. I thought I was going to set up in the backyard and find a comet in five minutes. I’d have my Doctorate by the end of the week...

Alas, the only thing I could line up was the Moon. I wasn’t patient enough to look for subtle differences from viewing to viewing. I was young, dumb, and bored. The telescope came out less often. Eventually, it quit getting brought outside at all.

Thirty five years later, a spark in me reignited. I found telescopes with red-dot finder scopes and computerized tracking. I now knew those incredible images on the old box required long exposures and specialized settings. I wanted to try again.

My new telescope has allowed me to see many aspects of the Moon I could never appreciate before. Also, with my camera mount, I can now see and photograph deep space objects. The joy I experienced on seeing my first nebula was overwhelming. I showed my wife my first picture like I was a schoolboy with an A+.

Now for the cool part... I get to share this with my daughter. At five years of age, she can identify the four major planets in the sky. I am jealous of the technology she’ll get to grow up with, but for now, we will use my telescope and maybe even find a comet.

Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn... These are what I consider my best images. I’ve learned so much this past year, but I have a long way to go. I’m really looking forward to getting Mars later this Summer. #celestrontelescope #celestronuniverse #celestron127slt #backyardastronomy #space #venus #jupiter #saturn #planets https://www.instagram.com/p/CBhhlXVHakg/?igshid=1t6l5o4999j6q

My latest Mission Juno image, “Down South”... PJ33 Southern Latitudes. Color/Contrast adjusted, denoised Image Credit: NASA / SwRI / MSSS / John Brackett #nasa #missionjuno #jupiter #solarsystemambassador https://www.instagram.com/p/CPUbXIJDlji/?utm_medium=tumblr

What’s Up November 2017

What’s Up For November?

Dawn pairing of Jupiter and Venus, Moon shines near star clusters, meteor activity all month long!

This month binoculars will come in handy–to view the moon, star clusters, and a close pairing of Venus and Jupiter.

You can’t miss bright Venus in the predawn sky. This month Venus pairs up with Jupiter on the morning of November 13th.

The Leonids peak on a moonless November 17th. Expect no more than 10 meteors an hour around 3:00 a.m., the height of the shower.

The Northern and Southern sub-branches of the Taurid meteor shower offer sparse counts of about 5 meteors per hour, but slow, bright meteors are common.

The nearby November Orionids peak on the 28th. In contrast to the Taurids, the Orionids are swift. But don’t expect more than 3 meteors per hour.

The moon glides by three beautiful star clusters in the morning sky this month, and a pair of binoculars will allow you to see the individual stars in the clusters. Aim your binoculars at the Pleiades and the moon on the 5th.

Then aim at the Messier or M-35 cluster and the moon on the 7th and the Beehive cluster and the moon on the 10th.

Meanwhile, at dusk, catch Saturn as it dips closer to the western horizon and pairs up with Mercury on the 24th through the 28th.

Also, Comet C/2017 O1 should still be a binocular-friendly magnitude 7 or 8 greenish object in November. Use Polaris, the North Star as a guide. Look in the East to Northeast sky in the late evening.  

Watch the full What’s Up for November Video: 

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

Gathering materials for my first Solar System Ambassador event, the landing of the Perseverance rover on Mars. This one hits me a little differently, since I had a small part as a judge in the name choice essays. Perseverance touches down on Mars on February 18, 2021. #mars #perseverance @nasa @nasasolarsystem #space #marsrover #mars2020 https://www.instagram.com/p/CLBiu2uD1gX/?igshid=1x25d71dp0b22

It’s here! My first children’s book for ages 4-7 is available on Amazon. “Mission, GO!” by Johnathan Brackett is available in Kindle form or paperback. Thanks to friends and family for the encouragement. #space #astronaut #stem #steam #spaceflight #iss #internationalspacestation https://www.instagram.com/p/CJJXR_njF53/?igshid=1gqq80oafbo1b