[caption id="attachment_3489" align="aligncenter" width="630"]

Supermoon[/caption]

.

Welcome back My Dear Readers to The Other Shoe. My Dear Readers, I am so sorry to day… but it IS true, that I am very disappointed. I am very disappointed that Danny’s Cancer Treatment Fund @ Indiegogo is OVER two weeks old, yet there is only $50 raised! There are more than two hundred ‘Shares’ on Facebook yet only $50 in contributions! Last week I; wrote, edited, published TEN articles equal to more than One Hundred PAGES of entertaining content. I paid $30 for advertisement on Facebook and still I am bereft of donations and contributors.

.

I would ‘blame myself’, but I strongly feel that; writing and publishing nearly a dozen articles, spending 12, 14, and 16 hours A DAY (promoting, linking, sharing, and writing) on my blog(s) and Facebook, spending money (that I really shouldn’t) to promote even MORE, and generally… lowering myself to daily asking for HELP! I, generally, feel that I have ‘done my part’. There is little more that I can do. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I will be: visiting my Oncologist, having a P.E.T. scan done, and have BONE MARROW removed from my pelvic girdle. I will try to write. However, I do not know how much I can get done… considering I will be out every day for the tests for ‘Staging My Cancer’!

.

Therefore, this week I will be running ‘The Story of Daniel’ again, ‘MMORPGs And YOU!’ and other previously published (but highly popular) articles in my absence. I am writing this edition of ‘The Mars Report’ on Sunday. I wanted to make the ABOVE announcement, and this announcement, too. My Dear Readers, traffic (between the two blog locations) IS AT AN ALL TIME HIGH! Between Seventy and ONE HUNDRED visitors A DAY! That is a LOT of visits, and a lot of visitors. I find it hard to swallow that out of all of you, My Dear Readers, NONE of you…; think I have cancer(?), are able to donate(?), consider me and my writings as worthy of your support(?), cannot share the cost of a week’s worth of Starbucks to HELP ME?

.

Today’s edition of ‘The Mars Report’ is not (for the first time) about Mars! There were no ‘new’ images from Curiosity in time for publication, so I went to NASA/JPL and picked up some of what they are featuring. Seems that July/August 2014 is the ‘anniversary’ for a lot of projects for NASA/JPL. This is the 50^th ‘Ranger’ lunar missions. These were the prequel for the Apollo missions of the late 60’s. The ‘Ranger’ space craft were sent to the moon to take “high quality’ images of the lunar surface, before crashing into it. The image, below, is one of the very first ‘High Quality’ images sent back by ‘Ranger 1’.

.

[caption id="attachment_3493" align="aligncenter" width="630"]

Lunar Surface ‘High Quality’ Image from Ranger 1[/caption]

(Lunar Surface ‘High Quality’ Image from Ranger 1)

.

Sticking, for the moment, with super or first lunar images and all things lunar. I give you a spectacular image of a ‘Supermoon’! Now, that word combination, was a first for me until about fifteen minuets ago. A ‘Supermoon’ is the term used for a Full Moon that happens at the same time as the moon achieves perigee. ‘Perigee is the moment when the moon comes its closest to the Earth during its orbit. On Sunday August 10^th, 2014 we experienced that combination of events. We achieved a ‘Supermoon’! The image, below, was taken in Washington, D.C. on August 10^th, 2014. This is a spectacular image of a ‘Supermoon’!

.

[caption id="attachment_3489" align="aligncenter" width="630"]

Supermoon[/caption]

(NASA Captures ‘Supermoon’ in Washington, D.C.)

.

That, My Dear Readers, should about do it for lunar images this week. However, there will be many more; lunar images, Ranger Lunar pics, and Apollo nostalgia all during this ‘50^th Anniversary of the Moon Missions’! I have to tell you, My Dear Readers, that I am pretty stoked about this ‘50^th Anniversary’ as the whole build-up to and the Moon Missions were some of the best times from my childhood. From the Mercury Redstone missions all the way up to the Apollo 11 Moon Landing are at the core of some of my fondest memories from childhood. My father, and I, bonded a lot during these missions. We talked about them, he helped me get the paper cut-out Lunar Lander and Saturn Vi-B rocket paper cut-out(s) for a local gas station. We sat and recorded many of the missions of reel-to-reel tape. And, for the First Moon Landing my father set up his SLR 35mmm camera right in front of our color TV… and he and I took pictures of the Moon Landing!

.

Those images, unfortunately, have been lost to me… over the years. When my Mother passed away… I was out here in California… and unable to make it back home to try and claim those (and many other) wonderful images and memories. Honestly, My Dear readers, I do believe that one of the biggest reasons for me picking ‘The Mars Report’ and ‘Lost In Space’ to be cornerstones to my blog(s) was that relationship with my father and those times together. Sniff… sniff.

.

Staying with the month, August, but moving 93 million miles. We come to our SUN! If you are one of My Dear Readers, then you will be fully aware that this summer has been one of the most active for sunspots in the past several decades. NASA/JPL has their very new ‘Solar Dynamics Observatory’ and it has been kept quite busy tracking and monitoring this warm of solar flares. There have, even, been some ‘X-Class’ solar flares, this summer. However, the summer came to an end with just an ‘M-Class’ flare on August 24^th, 2014. Later classified as an ‘M-5 Class’ solar flare, it was a nice bang to end the summer. It is on the left hand side of the sun in the images below.

.

[caption id="attachment_3491" align="aligncenter" width="630"]

Solar Dynamics Observatory Captures Images of a Late Summer Flare[/caption]

(Solar Dynamics Observatory Captures Images of a Late Summer Flare)

.

Keeping with Anniversaries, but moving (approx) 2.77 billion miles for our sun, we come to our next image for the day. Twenty-Five years ago (this August) Voyager 2 made its closet past to Neptune! (also the main topic of ‘Lost in Space – Tour of our Solar System’ two weeks ago). Taken from 4.4 million miles away, this image of Neptune was taken by Voyage 2 on August 25^th 1989. From August 20^th to August 25^th 1989 Voyage 2 took the most spectacular images of Neptune ever seen by man! On the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of these images, and Voyager 2’s encounter with Neptune I give you… NEPTUNE!

.

[caption id="attachment_3487" align="aligncenter" width="630"]

25 Years Ago –August- Voyager 2 Image of Neptune[/caption]

(25 Years Ago –August- Voyager 2 Image of Neptune)

.

Well, it just wouldn’t be ‘The Mars Report’ without an image of/from the Martian surface! On August 5^th 2012 the Martian rover Curiosity landed at Bradbury Landing on Mars. Shortly after the landing, Curiosity snapped the image we see below in all its original splendor. In the foreground we can see the shadow of Curiosity. In the background we can see, the main science target, Mount Sharp! I must admit that this edition of ‘The Mars Report’ is just chocked full of anniversaries! ENJOY!

.

[caption id="attachment_3494" align="aligncenter" width="630"]

Curiosity’s View Two Years Ago at Bradbury Landing[/caption]

(Curiosity’s View Two Years Ago at Bradbury Landing)

Moving away from; Mars, Anniversaries, the Moon and our solar system we get out next image from the Hubble Space Telescope. It is not often that Hubble captures images this dramatic, and awe inspiring. This image was taken earlier this month, and shows that Hubble can still take incredible images. Taken by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys it shows a small young stellar object (YSO) known as SSTC2D J033038.2+303212[1] at the top of the image. Now, at the bottom of our image we see ‘Reflection Nebula’ known as B77-63. This cloud of interstellar dust and gas is, actually, reflecting and refracting light from the stars within the nebula! The contrast between the bright light at the top and bottom of the page, is stark in comparison to the deep darkness all around. This is the kind of thing that photographers and cameramen are always searching for.

.

[caption id="attachment_3488" align="aligncenter" width="630"]

Hubble Takes a Look at Light and Dark in the Universe[/caption]

Hubble Takes a Look at Light and Dark in the Universe)

.

Coming to our final image of this edition, I take you to a very distant object traveling through our night sky. ‘Rosetta’ If you, My Dear Readers, are not familiar with that spacecraft’s name? Reading here, at The Other Shoe, you soon will be. The ‘Rosetta’ spacecraft was launched March 2004. It arrived, at its target, the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko August 2014! The craft is made up of two parts; an orbiter to take images of the comet, and dozens of other scientific measurements and readings. In addition, the second half of the spacecraft is a lander! Once all of viable surface is imaged and a prime location is picked? The spacecraft will separate and the lander will make it was to the surface of the comet. This is expected to happen in November of 2014. What a wonderful ‘Holiday’ treat for all the people at NASA/JPL and all of us space-enthusiasts! Until then, My Dear Readers, I will be following this spacecraft and keeping you upraised of its progress and accomplishments.

.

I might just make a whole new series for ‘Rosetta’! Depending on the status of my cancer, in the next month of so, I might/might not take up ‘Rosetta’ and 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as the main topics of an article series, like, ‘Comet Crazy!’ or ‘The Adventures of Rosetta!’. We shall see. Until then, and for the time being, enjoy this image of the surface of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as taken by the orbiter half of the “Rosetta’ spacecraft.

.

[caption id="attachment_3490" align="aligncenter" width="630"]

Rosetta’s Target, Up CLOSE[/caption]

(Rosetta’s Target, Up CLOSE!)

.

That, My Dear readers, brings us to the end of this edition of ‘The Mars Report’ right here at The Other Shoe. I hope that you, My Dear Readers, enjoyed our trip all around our solar system and the universe. Our thanks to; Hubble, Curiosity, and Voyager 2! Thanks to the incredible American ingenuity that created these spacecraft, and their instruments we are privy to the wonders of our solar system and our universe. I will strive to keep bringing these wonders to you, My Dear Readers, each and every week.

.

Now, My Dear Readers, on to another subject and one that I hesitate to breech. However, if I do not stress this point. If I do not try and try and try to garner and gather support? I will be unable to start and continue to battle this cancer! In order for me to beat this cancer, I simply must raise more MONEY! In two weeks I have only received donations amounting to $50. Whereas I am very grateful! I simply must DO BEYYER! Without better resources? I will fail at my battle and LOOSE MY LIFE!

.

There, I said it! I finally put it out there, and told you the way it IS! Without your help I WILL DIE! I do not mean… in YEARS. I mean in MONTHS! Without your HELP My Dear readers, I COULD be DEAD BY CHRISTMAS! PLEASE HELP ME BEAT THIS CANCER!

.

Adieu!

.

Thank YOU!