DR.SKY SPEAKS AT SPACEFEST V
Spacefest is a unique gathering of astronauts, space scientists and space artists with a something special for every space enthusiast and collector both young and old. It was conceived and organized by Kim Poor and Novaspace to fill a void in the space community.
Novaspace began in 1978, as the mail-order source for a few prints by Kim Poor. Moving out of the house in 1989 to a small rented shop, we began to add other artists, most of whom attended space art workshops held by the IAAA (International Assoc. of Astronomical artists), a loose affiliation of like-minded men and women, who had made Kim their first President. Workshops were held in Hawaii, Death Valley, N.Arizona-Utah, Moscow, NASA-JSC, and Iceland.
I had the opportunity to speak at SPACEFEST V in Tucson, over the Memorial Day weekend and I must say, it is a most amazing event!
My talk, was about how people of all ages and backgrounds can help educate people on the wonders of Astronomy, Space, Aviation and Weather…we need more people to share the wonders of these topics with the next generation of students. I find it amazing, how many people do NOT know who the first man on the Moon was! When Neil A. Armstrong passed away, last year, I was shocked that a major TV network, marked the passing of America’s first man on the Moon and mentioned in error, that Neil Young had died! An innocent mistake, but one that reveals that maybe we really are not keeping science and technology alive with this current generation of young minds….
I also spoke about the need for the world to pay attention to the effects of the upcoming Solar Max, which hits in 2013-2014…..and how powerful Solar flares, can ruin your day, with greater dependence on electronic device in our present world.
Finally, I touched on the need to look at the threat from EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse), in the form of small devices that could be used by the bad guys to cripple our way of life, to a larger rocket launched device that could, if detonated above the USA or other nation, send us back to the stone age’s very fast!
I had the honor to meet many of the greats in the space world and got to meet my old friend Jim Scotti, of the U of A, who is the one guy that I will be calling, when he discovers the asteroid that is on a collision course with Earth…..hope it’s not too late?
Hope to be back at SPACEFEST VI in 2014…….Clear Skies………
