The Pie Master (@rdcopple) header
The Pie Master (@rdcopple) profile picture

The Pie Master

@rdcopple

Too many faces, not enough pies. "It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, no matter how satisfying & reassuring." CS

 At large in North America
Joined December 2015
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  • Followers766
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Photo by The Pie Master (@rdcopple)Photo by The Pie Master (@rdcopple)Photo by The Pie Master (@rdcopple)Photo by The Pie Master (@rdcopple)Photo by The Pie Master (@rdcopple)Photo by The Pie Master (@rdcopple)Photo by The Pie Master (@rdcopple)Photo by The Pie Master (@rdcopple)Photo by The Pie Master (@rdcopple)Photo by The Pie Master (@rdcopple)
Image from The Pie Master (@rdcopple)
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Ready for launch! It was amazing to see the unveiling of the all-new Space Shuttle Endeavour exhibit at the California Science Center. Over 15 years ago, the crew of STS-134 and I landed Endeavour for the final time, but this ship will continue to inspire millions of visitors each year.
Image from Captain Mark Kelly (@CaptMarkKelly)
Image from Captain Mark Kelly (@CaptMarkKelly)
Image from Captain Mark Kelly (@CaptMarkKelly)
Image from Captain Mark Kelly (@CaptMarkKelly)
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The Pie Master retweeted
NASA en español (@NASA_es) profile picture
NASA en español
@NASA_esNov 13
El telescopio espacial @NASARoman ha alcanzado un hito importante: sus instrumentos y componentes ópticos ya están alineados con precisión, acercándolo un paso más al inicio de sus operaciones científicas. Roman nos ofrecerá una visión más amplia del universo, ayudándonos a resolver interrogantes fundamentales en los campos de la energía oscura, los exoplanetas y la astrofísica.
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As Voyager 1 approaches one light-day from Earth, you can track its position, visualize the time it takes for its messages to reach home, and re-create its tour of the solar system. All it takes is our free, online solar system simulator! Try it out: eyes.nasa.gov/apps/solar-sys…
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On this day in 1988, the Soviet Union launched its first full-scale reusable space shuttle, Buran ("Snowstorm"). Its first and only orbital flight was made without a crew. Learn more from our AirSpace podcast: s.si.edu/3O6swhc
Buran space shuttle positioned vertically as if about it launch.

ALT Buran space shuttle positioned vertically as if about it launch.

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The Pie Master retweeted
Sky & Telescope (@SkyandTelescope) profile picture
Sky & Telescope@SkyandTelescopeNov 10
Our passing glance at Miranda, the fifth-largest moon of Uranus, revealed a bizarre geology that has yet to be explained. Read more: buff.ly/6Rie8Wb
Miranda, the puzzling Uranian moon

ALT Miranda, the puzzling Uranian moon

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This time-lapse shows the glittering sky over NSF @KittPeakNatObs throughout the night. On the left is the KPNO 2.1-meter Telescope. To the right of the 2.1-meter is the WIYN 0.9-meter Telescope, followed by the WIYN 3.5-meter Telescope. 📷KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/R.T. Sparks
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Announcing the winner of the Museum’s 2027 Michael Collins Trophy for Lifetime Achievement: Apollo astronaut Charlie Duke! Gen. Charles M. “Charlie” Duke is one of the most accomplished astronauts of the Apollo era and continues to be a powerful advocate for human space exploration and scientific discovery. Duke served as a fighter pilot and aerospace engineer before walking on the Moon during Apollo 16.
An astronaut in a white space suit stands in front of an American flag and a neutral background, smiling while resting hands on a moon globe. The suit displays a NASA logo.

ALT An astronaut in a white space suit stands in front of an American flag and a neutral background, smiling while resting hands on a moon globe. The suit displays a NASA logo.

An astronaut stands on the lunar surface during an Apollo mission to the Moon. He is standing near a lunar module and an American flag, with the barren, cratered landscape of the Moon visible.

ALT An astronaut stands on the lunar surface during an Apollo mission to the Moon. He is standing near a lunar module and an American flag, with the barren, cratered landscape of the Moon visible.

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Happy Birthday to all my brothers & sisters in the Aerospace, Defense & Space Industry Sectors. Saepius Exertus, Semper Fidelis, Frater Infinitas.
Terran Orbital (@TerranOrbital) profile pictureTerran Orbital
@TerranOrbitalNov 11
Happy 251st birthday to the United States Marine Corps! From all of us at Terran Orbital, thank you to the Marines who serve today, the generations who served before them, and the families who stand beside them. We’re proud to work alongside Marine veterans who bring the same dedication to our team that they brought to the Corps. Happy birthday, Marines. Semper Fi! #MarineCorpsBirthday #USMC #SemperFi
Image from Terran Orbital (@TerranOrbital)
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GO BEARS!🐻
UC Berkeley (@UCBerkeley) profile pictureUC Berkeley
@UCBerkeleyNov 10
A UC Berkeley-led NASA mission has made spaceflight history. On Nov. 7 and 9, ESCAPADE’s twin spacecraft successfully executed the first-ever powered gravity assist for a deep-space mission — firing their engines as they swung around Earth to set course for Mars. Video: Advanced Space/Matt Bolliger
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The Pie Master retweeted
NASA Marshall (@NASA_Marshall) profile picture
NASA Marshall
@NASA_MarshallNov 9
What's triggering repeated outbursts from a giant, unstable star? Using NASA's @chandraxray, astronomers found a hidden companion, likely a black hole or neutron star, that keeps pulling material away from the massive star as they orbit one another. 🔗 go.nasa.gov/4iH2jqx
A composite NASA Chandra X-ray and Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) optical image of the galaxy NGC 4559 located about 30 million light-years from Earth. The Chandra data shows X-ray point sources represented in purple, and the SDSS data shows the galaxy and foreground and background objects in red and blue. The luminous blue variable and supernova impostor AT 2016blu is in the middle of the small square. X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Virgina/M. Aghakhanloo et al.; Optical: SDSS; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/P. Edmonds

ALT A composite NASA Chandra X-ray and Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) optical image of the galaxy NGC 4559 located about 30 million light-years from Earth. The Chandra data shows X-ray point sources represented in purple, and the SDSS data shows the galaxy and foreground and background objects in red and blue. The luminous blue variable and supernova impostor AT 2016blu is in the middle of the small square. X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Virgina/M. Aghakhanloo et al.; Optical: SDSS; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/P. Edmonds

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No other traveler has ever journeyed so far from home. Voyager 1 is about to become the first human-made object to reach a distance of one light-day from Earth, or about 16 billion miles. ½
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Happy Birthday, Carl. We all miss you at @NASAJPL. #CarlSaganDay
Image from The Pie Master (@rdcopple)
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#OTD in 1970, Luna 17 launched to the Moon carrying Lunokhod 1, the first successful Soviet rover. It entered lunar orbit a few days later and soft landed on the Moon on November 17.
This image shows the Soviet lunar rover Lunokhod 1, a remotely controlled Moon vehicle. It has a tub-like body, eight wheels with open spokes, and various instruments mounted on top, including an antenna. The background is plain, emphasizing the intricate design of the rover.

ALT This image shows the Soviet lunar rover Lunokhod 1, a remotely controlled Moon vehicle. It has a tub-like body, eight wheels with open spokes, and various instruments mounted on top, including an antenna. The background is plain, emphasizing the intricate design of the rover.

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The Pie Master retweeted
NASA Goddard (@NASAGoddard) profile picture
NASA Goddard
@NASAGoddardNov 9
Lucy: 1 Odysseus: 0 The Lucy spacecraft has officially reached the Jupiter Trojan asteroid region, just 5 years after launch — half the time it took Odysseus to get home from his voyage to the Trojans.
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#MeteorSighting: Several witnesses reported sighting a fireball off the west coast of Florida on Nov. 8 at 10 p.m. ET. The event was confirmed by multiple publicly accessible cameras in the region, as well as by the Geostationary Lightning Mapper onboard the GOES-18 and GOES-19 satellites. The object - caused by a small, 2 foot fragment of an asteroid - was first spotted above a point in the Gulf due west of Islamorada. It traveled southwest at 54,500 mph before disintegrating above the ocean, northwest of Key West. More on this fireball: go.nasa.gov/488qpV0 Supplemental data was provided by the American Meteor Society
This graphic reads, Meteor Sighting Florida at the bottom. It features an outline of the state and Florida Keys with an illustrated meteor traveling southwest over the ocean off the west coast. Credit: NASA/Alyssa Lee

ALT This graphic reads, Meteor Sighting Florida at the bottom. It features an outline of the state and Florida Keys with an illustrated meteor traveling southwest over the ocean off the west coast. Credit: NASA/Alyssa Lee

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The Pie Master retweeted
NASA Artemis (@NASAArtemis) profile picture
NASA Artemis
@NASAArtemisNov 9
POV: You are landing back on Earth after a ten-day mission flying around the Moon.
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The Pie Master retweeted
Celestron (@Celestron) profile picture
Celestron
@CelestronNov 9
Meet the Trifid Nebula (M20), located approximately 5,200 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. This stellar nursery combines glowing red hydrogen gas, blue reflection nebulosity, and dark dust lanes that appear to divide the nebula into three sections. Behind those dark clouds, new stars are taking shape! 📷: @gary_looked_up captured this colorful celestial wonder using a Celestron Origin Intelligent Home Observatory.
Image from Celestron (@Celestron)
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The Pie Master retweeted
HUBBLE (@HUBBLE_space) profile picture
HUBBLE
@HUBBLE_spaceNov 9
Lessons from a globular cluster 🧑‍🏫 Globular clusters like Messier 30 (M30) are ancient, roughly spherical clusters of stars. Ones that formed within the Milky Way, preserving the original chemistry of our young galaxy, help astronomers understand its history. 1/2
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The first flight of the Saturn V 🚀 This day in history in 1967, Apollo 4 launched a mission that tested all aspects of the Saturn V launch vehicle. More on Apollo 4 and the mighty Saturn V rocket: s.si.edu/472RiYj
View of the Saturn V launching from across a body of water. The sky is dark blue and the flames of the launch are reflected in the body of water at the bottom of the photo.

ALT View of the Saturn V launching from across a body of water. The sky is dark blue and the flames of the launch are reflected in the body of water at the bottom of the photo.

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42 years ago today, Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from LC-39A on STS-51A, the first flight to retrieve satellites from orbit and bring them home. Commander Frederick "Rick" Hauck, Pilot David Walker and Mission Specialists Joseph Allen, Anna Fisher and Dale Gardner deployed Anik D2 and Leasat 1, then went after Palapa B2 and Westar 6, stranded in useless orbits after their upper stages failed on STS-41B earlier that year. Allen and Gardner, flying the MMU jetpacks for the last time, captured each satellite on separate spacewalks, with Fisher on the robot arm. Hence the famous "For Sale" sign. Both satellites flew again in 1990. youtube.com/watch?v=BydQ5PIH…
Image from NSF - NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight)
Image from NSF - NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight)
Image from NSF - NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight)
Image from NSF - NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight)
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