Do you know this piece of lunar history? #spacehistory

I recently visited the best space museum I’ve ever seen – a place where you’re nose to nose with spacecraft that actually flew. Space-ready engines and an entire Titan rocket too. Replicas, like the Wright Brothers’ first airplane, are accurate enough to fly.

The picture below features a reconstruction of the Kitty Hawk Flier that Orville Wright piloted on December 17, 1903. But here’s what gave me goosebumps.

Look at the right-hand side. See that safe sitting on the blue pedestal, open to display precious artifacts?

It contains a postage-stamp-sized piece of fabric from the Wrights’ original plane and a sliver of its wooden propeller. Neil Armstrong carried these souvenirs with him on the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle, landed on the moon, and brought them back to Earth a mere 65 years and 7 months after Orville’s flight.

Click here to learn more about the Stafford Museum, and don’t miss it if you’re in Oklahoma, USA. Everything a space geek could want.

Most of us will rely on science fiction to get into orbit. Here are links to a couple good sci-fi reads, plus a bundle of sci-fi and fantasy to check out. Click a link below the image and start reading.

The Heisenberg Corollary – Cutting-edge science. Blood-thirsty aliens. Can a band of nerdy scientists save the multiverse one dimension at a time? A science fiction fantasy mash-up with attitude. Humorous Science Fiction. Click here now.

Defiant Space– A planet desperate to survive. A starship with monstrous enemies. Can a mission into the unknown prevent catastrophe? Space Fleet, Space Opera. Request a free review copy! Click here now.

Dozens of Sci-Fi and Fantasy stories to choose from – If you have Kindle Unlimited, read for free. Click here now and start browsing.

Do you listen to audio books? Amazon is testing a new Virtual Voice, and I created an audio version of a lonely gardener’s space station adventure, Venture. Listen to the free sample or the entire story – Kindle and paperback editions available too. Post a review and let other sci-fi fans know: How’s the story? How’s that Virtual Voice? Should others read or listen? Click here to check it out.

HAPPY READING

3,000 years ago, a star went nova, and it’s light is about to reach Earth #NASA #astronomy

You’ve heard of Old Faithful – that’s a geyser. How about the binary star T CrB? It’s one of only five recurring novas in our galaxy. Astronomers believe it will explode again between now and September 2024.

T Coronae Borealis, or T CrB, may have been spotted as far back as 1217. It was observed in 1866 and 1946. The nova isn’t likely to be noticed by anyone who’s not looking for it, but still… way cool:

The star system, normally too dim to see with the unaided eye, will jump to magnitude +2 during the event. This will be of similar brightness to the North Star, Polaris.

Once its brightness peaks, it should be visible to the unaided eye for several days and just over a week with binoculars before it dims again, possibly for another 80 years. NASA

While we’re waiting, there’s time to study the constellation of Corona Borealis where T CrB resides.

If you’d like a little help, the best book I’ve ever found for identifying constellations is The Stars by H. A. Rey. The book may have been written for kids, but it’s excellent for all ages. I have the World-Wide edition. Even if you’re not looking for T CrB, this book belongs on your shelf. Click here to find it on Amazon or search your favorite spot for used books. It’s been around forever.

Thanks to NPR for Never seen an exploding star? and NASA for View Nova Explosion, ‘New’ Star in Northern Crown.

Lost a tooth? Maybe you can grow a replacement! #sciencefacts

We humans have a third set of teeth, buried in our jaws as buds. Dentists may be able to coax them to grow and replace a lost tooth.

Mice are specially bred for laboratory use – I don’t know if these guys could survive in the wild.

Japanese researchers found a gene that controls a protein that shuts off tooth growth. Suppress the protein production, and a new tooth could grow. This works in mice, but, of course it does. You can do anything in mice. What about people?

No one told me before, but, apparently, humans have the start of a third set of teeth already embedded in our mouths. This is bad for a tiny fraction of people who spontaneously grow too many teeth for their mouths, but could become a way to treat tooth loss. An upcoming clinical trial could [fingers crossed] lead to new teeth in humans within a decade. “Clinical trials are scheduled to commence in July, 2024. They hope it will be available for dentists to use by 2030.” euronews

As an individual with a mouthful of dental work, including crowns that can’t last forever, this strikes me as hopeful news.

Thanks to Dr Katsu Takahashi, head of the dentistry and oral surgery department at the Medical Research Institute Kitano Hospita, and his 2023 paper published in Regenerative Therapy reporting anti-USAG-1 antibody treatment in mice that could offer “a breakthrough in treating tooth anomalies in humans.”