Top Ten Valentine’s Day Messages

Rose

As you’re thinking about what to get your significant other for Valentine’s Day, you might be interested in some of the Valentine’s Day messages Name A Star Live customers have included on their Star Certificates in recent weeks. Below are some of the best messages we’ve received so far. Of course, we’ve changed the names in the messages to protect the privacy of our customers.  We hope these examples will give you some ideas about what to write for your loved one.  Have a happy Valentine’s Day!

  1. To my husband, BAC: I love you more than all the stars; even to Andromeda and back! Our eternal love will forever hold a place in the sky <3 Love your wife, MEC
  2. Happy Valentine’s Day, my love! Our first together, but let this star shine as brightly as our love grows each day. Now we can say our love has traveled through space and time! I love you, my heart!
  3. To my gorgeous boyfriend.  Now you have a star named after you.  Happy Valentine’s Day.  Our love will last for thousands of years like a star lives.  Lots and lots of love forever xxxxx
  4. A star is an amazing thing, beautiful and breathtaking. I dedicate this star as a symbol of our love, burning hot and bright through eternity. I love you.
  5. Once upon a time I wished upon a star for a sweet, handsome, honest, fun, loving, caring, smart, and romantic man. You’re everything I ever dreamed of. You are my prince 🙂 I love you xoxo
  6. No matter where we are under the stars, we will always be together…
  7. To a wonderful Husband, Father and Friend.  Every time you look into the night sky, I hope you see your star!  “To love another person is to see the face of God.” – Victor Hugo
  8. Princess, I love you to the stars! This one is named for you, the most adored person in my life! Your smile lights my soul more than the brightest star. I wish I could lasso it and give it to you!
  9. Loving you is like breathing I just can’t stop. How I wish that I could spend my whole life under the skies watching the stars with you.  I Love you.
  10. May this star prove my undying love for you. I love you my beautiful princess, forever and always.

December’s Stars and Planets

The best meteor shower of the year occurs in mid-December when ‘shooting stars’ appear to blast out of the Name A Star Live constellation Gemini.  The peak of this year’s Geminid meteor shower occurs over the night of December 13/14 when, under optimal observing conditions (e.g., FAR from city lights), you may be able to see as many as 80 to 120 shooting stars per hour.  But most people generally don’t observe under perfect conditions.  Still, you should see quite a show!

Also, if you’re busy the evening of December 13/14, not to worry: You can still see plenty of Geminid meteors between December 4 and 17.

Geminid Meteor Shower
This meteor shower is called “The Geminid’s” because meteors appear to shoot out from the constellation Gemini.  This year the “radiant” — the central point from which the shooting stars emerge — will be near the bright star “Castor” (at “A” in the diagram above).  The bright star “Pollux” is at “B.”  Castor and Pollux are the brightest stars in the constellation Gemini, which is outlined in this diagram.  Also outlined here is the Name A Star Live constellation “Cancer” (at “C”).

The best way to enjoy a meteor shower is to lie down in a lawn chair — along with friends and family, and maybe even the family dog  — and look up.  That’s it!  No telescopes, binoculars or apps required.  If you want to locate Gemini in the night sky, consider getting our planisphere constellation finder or our Virtual Planetarium™ software.  But you don’t really have to locate the constellation to enjoy seeing shooting stars: Just lie down on your back and look up. The farther away from city lights you get, the more shooting stars you will see.  The best time to see the meteors will be between roughly 10 pm and 2 am.  But if you can’t stay out that late Thursday night/Friday morning, there will still be plenty of Geminid meteors to see this coming weekend.  Be sure to dress for the weather, and bring along some food and drink.  Enjoy!

And here is a perhaps overly-dramatic video about this year’s Geminids: While the Geminid meteor shower is the best of the year, it is easy to overhype.  Still, this video is nicely done: Take a look!

 

Best Time of the Year to See Jupiter

The mighty planet Jupiter dominates the night sky in December.  It also reaches “opposition” this month, meaning that this is a point in time when the Earth is directly between the Sun and Jupiter.  That in turn means that this is the best time of the year to see Jupiter since it is so bright.  Look for the brightest ‘star’ you see over the eastern horizon after sunset: That will be Jupiter!  The king of the planets is located in the Name A Star Live constellation Taurus throughout the last month of 2012.

Jupiter in the evening sky
The view facing east in the early evening hours during early December.  Jupiter (at “A”) is in the V-shaped group of stars known as the “Hyades,” marked by the bright star Aldebaran (at “B”).  You may see the pretty group of stars called the “Pleiades” (at “C”).  Many people confuse the Pleiades with the Little Dipper, which is located toward the northern horizon.  Depending on your location on Earth, you may see the giant constellation Orion (“D”) rising above the eastern horizon.  If you live in the southern hemisphere of Earth (e.g., Australia or New Zealand), these stars will appear ‘upside down’ to you.

The Winter Solstice and the End of the World

There’s been a lot in media this year about how the ancient Maya predicted the world would come to an end around December 21, 2012, or that “Nibiru,” a supposed planet discovered by the ancient Sumerians, is headed toward Earth.  These are hoaxes.

Aztec Calendar
This image from NASA features, in the foreground, the famous Aztec calendar, while the background is a satellite image of the outer layers of the Sun. The Aztec calendar incorporates a mythological and calendrical system derived from earlier Mesoamerican cultures, including the Maya.  The calendar, which was extremely accurate, was developed by observing the Sun’s motions in the sky over a long period of time.

NASA Senior Scientist David Morrison does an excellent job refuting these — and other — end-of-planet-Earth hoaxes at LunarScience.NASA.gov/articles/doomsday-2012-fact-sheet.  NASA has posted another excellent discussion on this topic at www.NASA.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html .

In fact, we’re so confident that these are hoaxes that, should the world come to an end December 21, 2012, we will gladly issue full refunds to all our Name A Star Live customers on December 22!

But December 21, 2012 does mark the “Winter Solstice” — the point in time when winter begins in the northern hemisphere of Earth.  It’s a wonderful time of the year, with snow falling, Christmas carolers singing, New Year’s revelers partying, and football fans cheering.  We hope you have a very happy and safe holiday!

Finding your star in the night sky

Stars are located within constellations, which are just areas of the night sky. Scorpius, Aries and Taurus are examples of constellations. Your Name A Star Live Star Certificate displays the name of your constellation. You can use our online World Constellation Guide to determine if you can see your constellation during the evening hours (between sunset and midnight). Of course, you’ll need a telescope to see your star. But you can see your constellation without the use of a telescope. You can also find your constellation by using our Virtual Planetarium™ astronomy software. A planisphere is another useful device.

Our Virtual Planetarium Space & Astronomy Software

Name A Star Live’s Virtual Planetarium™ software includes a library of stunning astronomy imagery; information about the sky, the solar system and the latest space events; and space weather reports about sun spots, auroras and more. With an Internet connection hundreds of images can be updated with live satellite data at the click of a button. The software was developed by Rice University and the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and has received a favorable review on the “Top Ten Reviews” website.

Below are some screen shots that will give you a sense of what the software will look like on your computer.

Astronomy module
Astronomy module

Virtual Planetarium’s “Astronomy Update” features beautiful photos of stars, galaxies, and other deep space objects.  You can learn all about the wonders of the universe with the detailed information that accompanies each photo.

Solar system module
Solar system module

Closer to home are the planets of our solar system.  Virtual Planetarium shows you all sorts of info about the planets, their moons, and the latest discoveries by space missions, such as the Mars Curiosity Rover.  You can watch awesome movies about our solar neighborhood.  A click of the “UPDATE DATA” button downloads the latest NASA discoveries to your computer.  And check out the 3-D images using the 3-D glasses we send you with the software!

Sky Tonight module
Sky Tonight module

The “Sky Tonight” module shows you exactly where to look to see the major stars, planets and constellations visible from your home on any night of the year.  Toward the lower, left corner of the screen, click on “N,” “S,” “E,” or “W” to see what the night sky will look like when you face North, South, East or West, respectively.  Click “Z” to see what the sky will look like overhead (at what’s called the “Zenith”).  Since the stars move across the sky over the course of any given night, you can choose to see what the sky looks like at either 5 a.m. or 8 p.m. local time.  And you can change the date of the display to any date of the year.  While the software will not show the star you named, you can use it in combination with your Name A Star Live Star Chart to find the position of your star in the night sky.

Space Weather module
Space Weather module

Believe it or not, there is such a thing as “space weather”!  Basically it refers to the effects of solar radiation and storms on the planets, spacecraft and Earth.  For example, a solar storm in 1989 caused the Hydro-Quebec (Canada) power grid to go down for over nine hours!  On the other hand, the beautiful “Northern Lights” are also caused by space weather.  Virtual Planetarium’s Space Weather module explains this fascinating information and keeps you up to date with the latest space weather forecasts!

Tic-Tac-Toe module
Tic-Tac-Toe module

The Tic Tac Toe module provides a fun way to learn about space and astronomy — for all ages!

Virtual Planetarium is included in our Deluxe, Framed and Ultimate Gift Sets.  It’s also included in our Instant Gift Set Premium with Virtual Planetarium gift set.

Adopt-A-Star Programs in Museums and Planetariums

Name A Star Live is a unique name-a-star service in that we launch our customers’ star names into space.  When you name a star with us, you are made part of a real space mission!

In fact, there are many star-naming companies.  But did you know that a number of science museums and planetariums have “adopt-a-star” programs as well?

Like Name A Star Live, adopt-a-star programs typically provide customers a star certificate displaying the name of the star, as well as a star chart showing the star’s location within its constellation (area of the night sky).  Some organizations, such as the DuPont Planetarium at the University of South Carolina, will display the names of its customers on kiosks. Other planetariums even display adopted star names on planetarium ceilings.

Adopt-A-Star programs have been particularly popular in Australia and New Zealand.  The Sydney Observatory has a “Name A Star” program that helps fund the observatory’s heritage and collection program.  Perth Observatory, the Australian National University’s Mount Stromlo Observatory, and the Stardome Observatory in Auckland, New Zealand have all used adopt-a-star programs to raise funds for their educational facilities.

In fact, shortly before our 2009 Whetū Flight launch from New Zealand, an astronomer with the Stardome Observatory discussed the popularity of star-naming.  See his comments in the following New Zealand television report about the Whetū Flight:

The adopt-a-star programs are all certainly worthwhile.  But again, Name A Star Live is the only star-naming service that launches your star name into space.  After the launch occurs we provide you a Launch Certificate via the Internet.  Usually you can watch the launch online.   Many of our missions have been flown on rockets carrying student payloads.  This unique space experience is enhanced by our Virtual Planetarium™ space and astronomy software, developed by Rice University and the Houston Museum of Natural Science.  And our Ultimate Children’s and Stargazers’ gift sets help children and adults develop a lifelong interest in astronomy!

Beautiful Space Photos

Here are some beautiful space photos and videos that have been posted on the Internet recently.  The photos are from  NASA’s “Astronomy Picture of the Day.”  Enjoy!

The Tadpole Galaxy
The Tadpole Galaxy

In this stunning vista, based on image data from the Hubble Legacy Archive, distant galaxies form a dramatic backdrop for disrupted spiral galaxy Arp 188, the Tadpole Galaxy. The cosmic tadpole is a mere 420 million light-years distant toward the northern constellation Draco. Its eye-catching tail is about 280 thousand light-years long and features massive, bright blue star clusters. One story goes that a more compact intruder galaxy crossed in front of Arp 188 – from right to left in this view – and was slung around behind the Tadpole by their gravitational attraction. During the close encounter, tidal forces drew out the spiral galaxy’s stars, gas, and dust forming the spectacular tail. The intruder galaxy itself, estimated to lie about 300 thousand light-years behind the Tadpole, can be seen through foreground spiral arms at the upper right. Following its terrestrial namesake, the Tadpole Galaxy will likely lose its tail as it grows older, the tail’s star clusters forming smaller satellites of the large spiral galaxy.

The Trapezium
The Trapezium — four bright stars within the Orion Nebula

Near the center of this sharp cosmic portrait, at the heart of the Orion Nebula, are four hot, massive stars known as the Trapezium. Gathered within a region about 1.5 light-years in radius, they dominate the core of the dense Orion Nebula Star Cluster. Ultraviolet ionizing radiation from the Trapezium stars, mostly from the brightest star Theta-1 Orionis C powers the complex star forming region’s entire visible glow. About three million years old, the Orion Nebula Cluster was even more compact in its younger years and a recent dynamical study indicates that runaway stellar collisions at an earlier age may have formed a black hole with more than 100 times the mass of the Sun. The presence of a black hole within the cluster could explain the observed high velocities of the Trapezium stars. The Orion Nebula’s distance of some 1500 light-years would make it the closest known black hole to planet Earth.  Being able to clearly see the Trapezium is a sign of a good telescope!

On October 12, 2012, Felix Baumgartner — an Austrian parachutist — jumped from the edge of space, and thereby set the world records for the highest ever balloon flight, the highest ever parachute jump, and the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound without using powered flight.  His flight occurred over Roswell, New Mexico.  See Red Bull Stratos for more information.

NGC 2623
NGC 2623

NGC 2623 is really two galaxies that are becoming one. Seen to be in the final stages of a titanic galaxy merger, the pair lies some 300 million light-years distant toward the Name A Star Live constellation Cancer. The violent encounter between two galaxies that may have been similar to the Milky Way has produced widespread star formation near a luminous core and along eye-catching tidal tails. Filled with dust, gas, and young blue star clusters, the opposing tidal tails extend well over 50,000 light-years from the merged nucleus. Likely triggered by the merger, accretion by a supermassive black hole drives activity within the nuclear region. The star formation and its active galactic nucleus make NGC 2623 bright across the spectrum. This sharp cosmic snapshot of NGC 2623 (aka Arp 243) is based on Hubble Legacy Archive image data that also reveals even more distant background galaxies scattered through the field of view.

November’s Stars and Planets

The night sky puts on some neat shows this month.  And for those of you in the Land Down Under, you can look forward to an eclipse of the sun!

Shortly before dawn on November 26, Venus and Saturn appear very close together:

Chart showing planets and stars
Saturn and Venus appear to kiss shortly before sunrise on November 26. Go out about 45 minutes before sunrise that morning and face East-Southeast to see these two, bright planets.  If you’re lucky, you might also see the planet Mercury hugging the horizon.  You’ll also see the bright, binary star Spica, located in the Name A Star Live constellation Virgo.

The evening of November 27 also presents a wonderful show:

Star Chart for November 27
Look for the Moon and the planet Jupiter toward the East-Northeast the evening of November 27. Both of these solar system objects will be in the Name A Star Live constellation Taurus. Jupiter will be near the V-shaped group of stars (called “The Hyades”), marked by the star Aldebaran. Look above the Moon for the beautiful group of stars known as “The Pleiades,” which are often confused with The Little Dipper, which is a different group of stars altogether.

Those of you in Australia are in for a real treat this month: An eclipse of the sun!  The sun will be totally eclipsed by the moon along a narrow path across the Northern Territory and Queensland.  But those of you in the rest of Australia will see a partial eclipse (local weather permitting).

Australian map showing eclipse path
Australians will be able to see a solar eclipse the morning of November 14, 2012, weather permitting. A total eclipse of the sun will be visible along the path highlighted in red. A partial eclipse will be visible throughout the remainder of Australia, as well as all of New Zealand.

Never look at the sun directly, even during an eclipse!  For more information about the eclipse, including how to observe it safely, read “Australia counts down to solar eclipse” appearing in Australia’s Cosmos magazine.  Those of you in New Zealand might want to check out the Stardome Observatory’s webpage about the eclipse.  Also, no matter where you live, you can watch the eclipse live, online.

Finding your star in the night sky

Stars are located within constellations, which are just areas of the night sky. Scorpius, Aries and Taurus are examples of constellations. Your Name A Star Live Star Certificate displays the name of your constellation. You can use our online World Constellation Guide to determine if you can see your constellation during the evening hours (between sunset and midnight). Of course, you’ll need a telescope to see your star. But you can see your constellation without the use of a telescope. You can also find your constellation by using our Virtual Planetarium™ astronomy software. A planisphere is another useful device.

For being the twinkle in my life…

Star Field“For being the twinkle in my life” — A beautiful Star Certificate message from one of our recent customers!

When you name a star with Name A Star Live, you get a letter-size Star Certificate that displays the name of your star, the star’s astronomical coordinates, and a personal message for your gift recipient.  It’s a wonderful gift idea for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, a birthday, or any occasion!

Here are just some of the personal messages our customers included on their Star Certificates last week:

  1. For being the twinkle in my life.
  2. Happy Birthday little star. May your light grow to be brighter than all the stars combined with a heart that is just as big.
  3. Merry Christmas Sweetheart!  Mommy and Daddy love you very much!  Wish upon a star!
  4. Knowing you is a gift from God, and this is just a simple gift wrapped in thoughtfulness and tied with love.
  5. This is a special star in the sky that will always be watching over you, named just for you.
  6. A star is only as beautiful for whom it’s named after.
  7. It’s officially written in the stars. You’re the best boss in  and out of this world
  8. When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true.  – Pinocchio    I’m glad I wished for an amazing person like you.
  9. Wishing my Baby Girl a very Happy First Christmas
  10. The Heavens shine more brightly now.

Top Ten Star Certificate Messages

Mystic MountainWhen you name a star with Name A Star Live, you get a letter-size Star Certificate that displays the name of your star, the star’s astronomical coordinates, and a personal message for your gift recipient.  It’s a wonderful gift idea for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, a birthday, anniversary, graduation or any occasion!

Here are just some of the personal messages our customers included on their Star Certificates last week:

  1. My love there are not enough stars in the sky to shine down upon you and reflect the love I have for you..
  2. Grandma and Grandpa love you so much.  Happy 1st Birthday  Hugs and Kisses to our angel
  3. Your leadership.compassion and commitment has inspired others to dream more, learn more, care more and become more. You will be greatly missed!
  4. This star was named for you, to honor my favorite shining star. I love you!!!!
  5. Happy Birthday Dad!  You are a shining star among men….
  6. This is our Deployment star, everytime your missing me and lonely just look up and we will both be looking at the same thing. I love you.
  7. I thought it would be cool for you to have your “own piece of the universe”
  8. Forever flying through space lighting up the heavens.
  9. Congratulations on your marriage.  May your star shine forever.
  10. … Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to our year.  Your Star will always be a part of our Family.

 

October’s Stars and Planets

Zodiacal Light
Zodiacal Light, a.k.a. “False Dawn”

If you’re an early riser, you’re in astronomical luck in October! While Mars is fading rapidly in the western sky during the early evening hours, Venus and Jupiter dominate the early morning eastern sky.  And if you live in mid to northern latitudes on Earth, you’re in for a special treat: the zodical light, or “false dawn.”

False Dawn

The false dawn looks like a faint, triangular-shaped light that stretches from the eastern horizon up into the sky above.  It appears during the period of time between about 1 to 2 hours before sunrise at about this time of year.  This year, the best time to view this spectacle is between October 13 and 27.  To see it, go far from city lights on a clear, moonless night.

This strange celestial display is caused by the reflection of sunlight off of tiny particles of dust in space.  The dust orbits the sun in the same way Earth does. So at this particular time of the year — when the days and nights are of roughly equal length — we view this dust when it is aligned vertically in our pre-dawn, eastern sky.  A similar thing will happen six months from now, only the triangular shape of light will appear in the western sky, after sunset.

The Planets This Month

Venus is the ‘morning star’ — the bright point of light you’ll see toward the east before sunrise.  Look for the giant planet Jupiter — in the consetllaton Taurus — toward the south, near the prominent constellation Orion, shortly before sunset.  (If you live in the southern hemisphere of Earth, Jupiter will appear toward the north shortly before sunrise.)  Jupiter will also appear as a bright ‘star’ in the night sky.

But fear not, fellow night owls, for you too can feast your eyes on some celestial treats! The planets Neptune and Uranus will be visible through binoculars and small telescopes during the evening hours this month. While you can see both Neptune and Uranus through a telescope, Uranus — strictly speaking — is just barely visible to the naked eye — but just barely! In order to see it, you’d need to go far from city lights and view it on a clear, moonless night. (And you better have good eyesight to boot!) We recommend sticking with your telescope or binocs!

Finding your star in the night sky

Stars are located within constellations, which are just areas of the night sky. Scorpius, Aries and Taurus are examples of constellations. Your Name A Star Live Star Certificate displays the name of your constellation. You can use our online World Constellation Guide to determine if you can see your constellation during the evening hours (between sunset and midnight). Of course, you’ll need a telescope to see your star. But you can see your constellation without the use of a telescope. You can also find your constellation by using our Virtual Planetarium™ astronomy software. A planisphere is another useful device.

How We Launch Your Star Name Into Space

New Frontier Flight launch
Launch of The New Frontier Flight, 2:44 am CDT, May 22, 2012 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Click the image above to view launch video provided by our sister company, Celestis, Inc. Image Credit: NASA

Many of our customers ask us, “What is this launch thing you do?  How do you launch my star name into space?  How does that all work?”

In principle, it’s rather simple.  But in practice, it’s rather complex.

Each Name A Star Live customer gets a letter-size Star Certificate that displays the name of their star, an optional personal message, and the astronomical coordinates of their star.  We store this information in our database.  We then save that database onto a computer chip, which is then placed inside a rocket.

That’s the easy part.  Arranging for, and conducting the launches is the difficult part!

Our parent company, Space Services, Inc., has contracted with various launch service providers to launch our payloads from locations around the world.  Space Services missions have blasted off from the Canary Islands, Florida, New Mexico, California, New Zealand, and even a tiny, remote island in the Pacific Ocean.

We fly as a “secondary payload” on board rockets with commercial or scientific”primary payloads,” such as communications satellites.  As a secondary payload, we have no control over when liftoff will occur.  Indeed, launch delays are common in the aerospace industry, and there are a variety of reasons that cause such delays.  For example, if there is a technical problem with the launch vehicle, or with the primary payload, we must wait until the problem is fixed before liftoff can occur.

Our payload — the computer chip that contains our database of star names, messages and astronomical coordinates — must be placed in the rocket at least weeks, and sometimes months, ahead of time.  For our November 2012 launch, we must provide our payload to the launch services provider in October 2012 — a relatively short time period.  Hence, we have a mid-October deadline for customers to name stars for inclusion on this mission.  But for our New Frontier Flight that flew into Earth orbit May 22, 2012,  we had to deliver our database back in October 2011 — approximately eight months prior to liftoff.

Being a part of a real space mission is very important to many of our customers: After the launch takes place, we provide each of our customers a complimentary Digital Launch Certificate, certifying their participation in the mission.  Usually, customers can travel to the launch site to view the launch in person.  We also are often able to webcast the liftoff live, via our website.

We do our best to keep our customers informed of the latest launch news.  We update our online launch schedule as soon as events warrant.  We encourage all of our customers to follow our launch news on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  And, of course, we issue our monthly e-newsletters.

Despite the many problems we must overcome to launch your star name into space, we enjoy providing this service: Spaceflight is our passion, and so we very much appreciate your participation.  After all, it is your purchase of Name A Star Live gift sets that help us pay for these missions into the final frontier!